In the 15th chapter of Acts,
verse 26, James sends out the letter as a result of the council
at Jerusalem recommending Paul and Barnabas and their ministries
with these words. He says, these men have hazarded
their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's a pretty
good description. of a man who walks with God and
faithfully serves the interest of his kingdom. What on earth
would cause a man to willingly put his life in jeopardy, to
hazard his life for the gospel? What inspires such a man? Thirty-six
years ago, Brother Walter Working at Cameron Iron Works in Houston,
Texas. Good job. Owned a house. I think
he had four of his five children at the time. Packed his wife
up. Packed his children up. Sold
his house. Moved to Medina, Mexico to preach
the gospel. Slept in rented huts with hammocks
stretched across the room. That's what they slept on. No
prospect of livelihood. no prospect of support, and there
he has planted his family for the gospel's sake. About five
or six years ago his son Cody had a kind of gravy job everybody
wants. I told somebody the other day
he had a horrible job. He had to carry a pager 40 hours
a week and worked sometimes, sometimes two or three days,
but he was a computer man and they don't call and had a good
job. Good job. Sold his house, took
his wife and three children, packed up, went to Merida, and
planted his family there to preach the gospel. Brother Lance Heller,
going to school, trained as an engineer, got married and God
saved him. This man who had been raised
on the mission field in Papua New Guinea had gotten a taste
of what life was like in this society, and then God interrupted
everything. He married a woman who was raised
with a silver spoon in her mouth. Y'all probably don't know this
about Robin. Her family is what we call filthy rich. They got
all kinds of money. She was raised with a live-in
maid and they packed up and moved to New Guinea. What inspires
such an act? What inspires such lives? You
men and women who seek to serve God, take up your cross daily
and follow Christ. You count the cost and you say
it's worth it, I'll follow you. You make sacrifices to support
the gospel here and around the world. What inspires such lives? Turn to Luke chapter 7, I'll
give you the answer. Luke chapter 7, verse 36. Let's read the whole narrative
together. This is given to us in greater
detail here in Luke than in any of the other four Gospels, but
it is a narrative that is given in all four of the Gospel narratives. One of the Pharisees desired
the Lord Jesus that he would eat with him. And he went into
the Pharisee's house and sat down to meet, and behold, a woman
in the city A woman that everybody knew. Small town, kind of like
ours. Everybody knew her. Everybody
knew her. She had a reputation. Everybody
knew her. Which was a sinner. When she
knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, this is
what she did. She brought an alabaster box
of ointment. and stood at his feet behind
him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did
wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet." As
you'll read later on in the same passage, she just kissed him
and kissed him and kissed him. Just kept on kissing his feet. And anointed them with the ointment.
Verse 39, now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it,
he spoke within himself. He didn't say a word, he just
said it in his own mind. This man, this man, contemptible
word, this man. Folks say he's God, this man. Folks say he's a prophet, this
man. If he were a prophet, if he really were a prophet, he
would have known who and what manner of woman this is that
touches him. For she is a sinner. Oh, what a rare thing that is.
A sinner. A sinner. A sinner is a sacred
thing. A sacred thing I know for the
Holy Ghost has made him so. And Jesus answering said unto
him, you see this man is God, he heard what Simon was saying
in his own mind. He said unto him, Simon I have
some what to say unto you. And he said, Master, you almost
hear the hiss of the devil in the kitchen, Master, Master,
pretended reference, say on. And the Lord Jesus said, verse
41, there was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one
owed 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing
to pay, he frankly, freely, sovereignly forgave them both. Tell me therefore,
which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose
that he to whom he forgave most. And the Lord Jesus said to him,
You have rightly judged, verse 44. And he turned to the woman
and said to Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into your
house and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed
my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. You gave me no kiss, customary
thing to do, but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased
to kiss my feet. My head with oil you did not
anoint, but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore
I say unto you, her sins which are many are forgiven, for she
loved much." But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
And he said unto her, the Lord Jesus turned and spoke to that
woman before this crowd and before this proud Pharisee. He said
to that woman who was a notorious sinner, that woman whose reputation
everybody knew, thy sins are forgiven. Let me give you another
word. He said to that woman, There
is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
Your sins, your great multitude of sins, are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with
him began to say within themselves, who is this that forgives sin
also? And the Lord Jesus just ignored
them. He just ignored them. And he said to the woman, Thy
faith hath saved thee. Go in peace. It would not be
possible for us to conceive of two people more opposite than
Simon the Pharisee and this woman who was a sinner. Without question,
there are many good, profitable lessons to be learned gleaned
from this story of this woman in the Pharisee's house. We would
be wise to lay them to heart. I pray that God the Holy Spirit,
who calls these words to be inscribed in his book, will inscribe them
upon our hearts. Number one, we see this. Many,
like this proud Pharisee, have a form of godliness, who know
nothing whatsoever of the grace of God that's in Christ Jesus. Simon showed much outward respect
for the Lord Jesus. He showed much outward respect
for the master, his word, and his disciples. What could have
been more respectful? He opened his house and threw
a lavish dinner party in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, this great
prophet who had come to town. And yet he was totally ignorant
of Christ, totally ignorant of who he was, totally ignorant
of his gospel. totally ignorant of the grace
of God. He knew nothing of God's saving power. He knew nothing
of God's saving grace. Religious, yes. Clean living,
yes, sir. Yes, sir. Folks looked at him
and said, boy, he's a fine man. He's a fine man. Folks looked
at him and measured him by the standard of what men call godliness
and righteousness, and there, there's an example of what a
man ought to be. But he didn't have any idea who
God was. He didn't have any idea who Christ is. He didn't have
any idea what grace is. This Pharisee, in his proud heart,
was repulsed by the sight of this woman who was a sinner in
his house. I can almost picture him sitting
smugly as he watches what's going on. Sort of an apparently open
courtyard, and this woman walked in. And he said, what's she doing
here? What's she doing here? She's
got no business here. And then she walks over to the
Lord Jesus, stood behind him, and began to weep. Because she
saw there what few people saw. She saw him who had both spoken
peace to her heart and forgiven her sins. And she broke out with
heartfelt gratitude, weeping for him. She saw that he must
soon go to the cross and there endure the wrath of God as her
substitute. And she had come here to anoint
him specifically for his burial. We're told that in Mark's account.
She began to wash his feet with her tears and wiped them off
with her hair. I suppose, a little embarrassed. It was quite a mess I made. Everybody's
watching me. She just humbly wipes his feet
with her hands and as she dried his feet She picked him up like
you've seen so many mothers do with a baby they love and adore
just Kissed Kissed Kissed Kissed And the Pharisee Could not stomach
it He could not stomach the idea
that this woman should be at any place recognized and accepted
with him, that she should stand side by side with him, that he
should enter into the kingdom of God side by side with this
woman who was a sinner. Now obviously as our Lord gave
the parable of the predator, the Pharisee acknowledged that
he had sinned, but that was nothing. He said, a man had two debtors. One owed 500 pence, another 50.
And the man frankly forgave them both. And Simon could kind of
look up. He said, well, yeah, I probably
would be ranked among those who owe 50 or less. I have committed
some sins. I'd have to acknowledge that.
But he looked at this woman and said, she's a sinner. She's a sinner, not me. He acknowledged
he had done some evil, but he refused to acknowledge that he
is evil. He acknowledged that he had committed some sin, but
he refused to acknowledge that he is sin. He acknowledged that
he had committed transgression, but he refused to acknowledge
that he's a transgressor at heart. And then this woman, she stands
as though it were naked before everybody. a known sinner, a
debtor to mercy, expressing her love and gratitude to the Savior. This Pharisee was religious,
but he was lost. His doctrine was right. Search
the doctrine of the Pharisees. His doctrine was right, but he
didn't know God. He was respectable, but not gracious. I say to you, my friends, Don't be satisfied with religion. Don't allow Satan to content
your heart on the road to hell with respectability. You've got to have Christ. You've
got to have Him. All right, here's the second
lesson. Sin has made us all debtors before God Almighty. We owe a
debt we can never pay. By reason of our sin, we are
all head over heels in debt to the law and justice of God. You
see, sin, regardless of how little it appears to be before men,
regardless of how insignificant the sin may seem to men, sin
is the reflection of man's heart hatred for God. Our acts of sin
are the reflection of our natural enmity against God. Every transgression
of God's law, every iniquity, every corruption in our hearts
is a declaration that we would, if we could, kill God Almighty. That's what sin is. The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, Our great Savior stepped in between
us and He to whom we owe the debt. God demands justice. God demands
satisfaction. And the Lord Jesus stepped in
and said, I'll take their debt. And He paid it in full. With
His blood and with His life, He paid our debt. You see, the forgiveness of sins
is an act of strict justice. God Almighty forgives sin only
when justice is satisfied. He forgives sin freely to us
in our experience of it. But He only forgives sin on condition
of payment. He only forgives sin on condition
of justice satisfied. He only forgives sin on condition
of righteousness maintained. And that can be done only through
Christ the Substitute. And yet, in our experience of
it, this matter of forgiveness is absolutely free. He gives us forgiveness without
a cause in us. He justifies us without a cause
in us. He justifies us freely by His
grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. So forgiveness
in our experience of it is an act of pure, free grace. Now thirdly, and this is where I want to camp
a little while, the great mainspring, the driving force of service
to Christ is love for him. It is gratitude. which arises
from a sense of great forgiveness. That's it. What motivates men
and women to hazard their lives for Him? What motivates such
acts as this woman performed here, not to be seen of men,
not for herself, but just for the Savior, love for Him, gratitude
arising from a heart that's experienced grace and forgiveness. How I
wish I could drive this point home to the hearts of all who
would attempt to rouse men and women to live for Christ and
serve him. The mainspring, the driving force
of Christianity, the motive and inspiration for all devotion
and service to Christ, That which compels and constrains believers
to live in this world for the glory of God is grace experienced,
forgiveness known and felt in the heart, in the very soul of
a man, and the deep gratitude too, and love for Christ, which
arises from the experience of God's free and sovereign grace
in him. Believers are motivated by grace.
by gratitude, by love. They are not motivated, they
cannot be inspired, they cannot be moved by the threat of the
law, by the promise of reward, or by the hope that others will
look at them and recognize them as being fine, godly people. Look at the scriptures. Turn
to 2 Corinthians 5. Look at verse 14. The love of Christ constraineth
us. The love of Christ pulls us in
place. The love of Christ constricts
our thoughts. The love of Christ keeps us in
line. The love of Christ is that force
which pulls us toward Him. Because we thus judge, this is
what we understand, that if one died for all, then we're all
dead. Now this is what that means. We who know Him understand that
when He died, when He died for all His people, we died in Him,
all. When he died and paid the debt
of sin imputed to him, I died and paid the debt that God Almighty
demanded from me. If one died for all, then we
died when he died. And that he died for all, for
this purpose. This is why he laid down his
life for you by God's hand. This is why the Son of God came
into this world and died for me. that we which live should
not henceforth live unto ourselves but unto him that died for us
and rose again. That's why he redeemed us so
that he might have us lock, stock, and barrel. Now tonight I want
to look at this woman who was a sinner This woman who is here
held before us by the Spirit of God in this book of inspiration
as an example. She's held before us as an example
that we who would follow Christ ought to follow. And I have four
questions I want to raise and briefly answer. I pray that God
the Holy Spirit will apply them to our hearts. Number one, who
was she? Who was this woman? Wisely and graciously in this
text, the Holy Spirit tells us absolutely nothing about her
except this, she was a sinner. She was a sinner. Thank God I can identify with
this woman. She was a sinner. Everybody around
her knew it, but more importantly, indescribably more importantly,
she had learned She was a sinner. She was a sinner who had been
forgiven. She was a sinner who believed
the Son of God. She was a sinner who was overwhelmed
with gratitude because of the grace she had experienced. This
woman was a sinner who was loved of Christ and therefore she loved
Christ. We love Him. Yes, we do. If we're his, Ron
Wood, we love him. We don't talk about our love
for him. I hear folks sing, oh, how I love Jesus. And I sit and
listen with a heart that cries, oh,
how I wish I loved him as he ought to be loved. My love for
him is not worth mentioning. Not worth mentioning. Yours either. Not yours either. But love him. Lord, you know all things. You
know that I love you. Every believer in the core of
his being, every believer at the very essence of what he is,
Every believer, every man, woman, child who's experienced God's
free grace in his depth of his soul loves Christ. Because. We love him because
he first loved us. His love preceded our love. His
love exceeds our love. And his love's the cause of our
love. But Wes, if we know him, we love him. And if we don't
love him, we're yet under the wrath of God. If any man loved
not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be damned. This woman who
was a sinner, being forgiven, being given faith in Christ,
this woman looking to him, loved him. But what did she do? We're told in our text that when she knew, the Lord
Jesus said it meet in the Pharisees' house. She picked up an alabaster
box and brought it and came to him. She made it her business
to know where her savior was and to be there. She made it her business to know
where he was and that's where she was. You apply that to yourself however
you will. Where he is, let me be. Where he meets with sinners,
let me be. Where he speaks, let me be found. Where he shows himself, let me
be in the company. Where he comes, let me be there
waiting for him. As he passes by, let me be where
he passes by. She brought with her an alabaster
box. There's an alabaster box of ointment.
We're told in Mark's account it was spikenard, very precious.
She came to the Savior with a sacrifice. Now this alabaster box of ointment,
in Mark's account we're told, was worth 300 pence. Now don't just glance that over
and say, well that's worth about three dollars. That's 300 pence. was equivalent to a year's wages. This old gal, knowing she would
soon be discarded, had been saving up stuff for her retirement. She'd been putting it aside.
Every time she'd get a little money, she'd go buy a little
bit more of this ointment, put it in that box, save it. When Judas led the way, the disciples
as disciples often do following a fool, they said, why this could
have been sold for 300 pence, we could have fed lots of people,
look what we could have done with this money. But this woman
took everything she had, Larry, everything she had, everything
she had, and came believing that he was about to die for her. And believing that he who had
cared for her soul would care for her life, brought it and
just poured it out. Just poured it out. She came
in faith, sacrificing what she had to him just for his honor. She stood behind him at his feet. She knew her place. God's people
all know their place. Place of humility, reverence,
worship, readiness to do what he would have us do at his feet.
I'm your handmaiden, I'm your footstool, Lord, here I am. Just
do with me what you will. And she wept. She wept in sorrow for her sin. She wept in pain understanding
the cost of her redemption. And she wept with gratitude.
Oh, gratitude. The sweetest most bitter thing
in this world is repentance. Knowing her sin and knowing God's
grace. Knowing her transgression and
knowing God's forgiveness, knowing what she deserved and knowing
what God gave, her heart just burst within her. And she washed
his feet with the tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
Simon had neglected him, but this woman performed common courtesy,
washing the Savior's feet. And she kissed him. She kissed
his feet, expressing tender love devotion, adoration. Not really giving a flip what
anybody else thought about it. She knew the culture. She knew
her society. She knew the Pharisees. She knew
them well. We just think we know them. She
lived amongst them. She knew them well. She knew
exactly what was going through their minds. But she had one
thing on her heart. Him. Oh God, give me this one thing
on my heart. Him. Him. Him. And she anointed him for his
burial. She seems to have been the only one of the disciples
who understood what the Master taught. Nobody else until after
the resurrection really understood what he said about his going
up to Jerusalem to die as their substitute, rise again the third
day, and ascend up into glory, but she did. She understood exactly
what he said. In fact, our Lord said, when
you sum it up, I'll tell you what this woman did. She did
what she could. Turn to Mark 14. Mark chapter
14. Now David Coleman, this is what
I call for you and for me to do. This is what I call for my
family and yours to do. This is what I call for every
child of God to do. Let's just do what we can. Just do what we can. I wouldn't give A kid who weighs
40 pounds, a 75 pound box of rocks to pick up and throw across
the yard. But it might give him one. Because he can carry the
one, he can't carry the bucket full. And we are not responsible
to do anything except what we can. And by God's grace, for
God's glory, We're responsible to, and we ought to do, what
we can. What we can. Look here, Mark
14, verse 3. Being in Bethany, in the house
of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having
an alabaster box of ointment, a spikenard, very precious. And
she broke the box and poured it on his head. And there were
some that had indignation within themselves. There always are. No matter what you do, there
are some who do it better. No matter what you do, folks who
do nothing will have something to say about it, I promise you.
I promise you. You're sure to get criticism,
no matter what you do, from folks who do nothing. Well, this way
ought to do it. Well, do it then. They had indignation,
indignation. And they said within themselves,
why was this waste? Avoidment made. Verse 5, for
it might have been sold for more than 300 pence. It had been given
to the poor. What pretentious hypocrisy. Judah
said it because he carried the bag. And they murmured against
her, and Jesus said, let her alone. Why trouble ye her? Our Lord never used this word
with reference to anything else anybody ever did. Now listen,
she hath wrought a good work on me. What did she do? What was at
hand? Was she good? Walter and I were sitting out
on Walter's porch the other night discussing this thing of works, good works. I'll tell you what they are.
I've been thinking about it a good bit since our conversation. I can do that, and it needs doing. I'll do it. That's it. I can't do what you do, but I
can do what God gives me the opportunity to do. Do it, just
for Him. Walter mentioned you read about
folks doing great heroic deeds. Involved in war, involved in
great catastrophes, men hazard their lives, risk their lives,
just ignore the danger and do something! Because they can!
Because it needs doing. Just for the one who needs it.
That's what it is. Here's something I can do. I
can't preach. I can't go to mission field. Nobody gonna pay any attention
to me. I've got a reputation. And I deserve anything folks
say, anything they do. But I've got this box of ointment. It's all I've got in this world. But He's given me something beyond
this world. I can give it to Him. She has wrought a good work on
me. For you have the poor with you
always, and whensoever you will, you may do them good, but me
you have not always." This is the only chance she's got. Only
chance she's got. She hath done what she could. She has come aforehand to anoint
my body for the burying. Verily I say unto you, wheresoever
this gospel shall be preached throughout all the world, the
whole world, This also that she has done shall be spoken of for
a memorial of her." What was her motive? What was her motive? Why did this woman do this? How
can such an act be explained? What would inspire a poor woman,
not a rich woman, a poor woman to make such a extravagant at
least it looks extravagant looks extravagant until you understand
why she did it such an extravagant sacrifice she owed much her life and he paid it and she loved him That's all. That's all. Oh, the love of Christ
constrains us. The love of Christ pulls my heart
down to His feet. The love of Christ pours out
my soul before Him. The love of Christ constrains
us. What was the result of this woman's
love for Christ and her devotion and service to Him? Two or three things. She was
scorned. Simon the Pharisee, who Mark
tells us was a leper. Isn't it amazing? That proud
Pharisee sitting there in his rotting flesh, his flesh displaying
the corruption of his heart, ridicules this woman. Scorns
her. She was ridiculed by Judas. And she was completely misunderstood
by all the Lord's disciples. They just didn't understand. You see, few there are who understand
devotion, wholehearted devotion to Christ. But she had come to Simon's house
not to be honored, But to honor God her Savior, and honoring
Him, she was honored by Him. He said long ago, 1 Samuel 2.30,
Him that honoreth me I will honor. And look how he honored her.
The Son of God came to her defense. He said, why do you trouble her? Let her alone, she's brought
a good work on me. And then the master spoke to
her, and I love this buddy, but he spoke to her in front of all
these people. He said to her, thy sins are
forgiven. He spoke a word of assurance,
declaring her, whom everyone knew to be a sinner, completely
forgiven. And I expect she just gushed
all the more. And then the Savior assured her
of her faith and spoke peace to her heart.
He said, Thy faith hath saved thee. You go on now about your
life in peace. Everything's all right. Everything's
all right. You see, the only way to inspire
consecration and devotion to Christ is to preach Christ. Preaching morality is useless. Preaching rules is useless. Preaching
standards is useless. The only way to inspire devotion
to Christ is to preach Him, lift Him up. And if you ever, or if
ever you see If ever you experience His grace, if ever His love lays
hold of your heart and draws out love for Him, you'll be all
right. You'll be all right. I'll leave
you just like that. The Apostle Paul says, you preach free grace. Preach up free grace. Preach
up free grace. This is a faithful saying. Preach
it so that those who follow Christ might be careful to maintain
good works. Preaching works only leads to self-righteousness.
Preaching works only leads to morality at best. Preach up Christ. If you want to teach men how to
give, point them to Christ. If you want to tell a husband
how to be a good husband, point him to Christ. You want to tell
a man how to be a good father? Don't. Don't give him a book
on fatherhood. Talk to him about Christ, who
is our Father, our everlasting Father. You want to teach folks
how to live in this world? Point them to Him, who is life.
Preach Christ. This is what the Apostle did.
He said, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You want
to know something about giving? Look at this, though he was rich,
yet for your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty
might be made rich. Now you sit down and debate about
what you want to give. Oh, the love of Christ constrains
us. J.C. Ryle wrote this, the heart
which has experienced the pardoning love of Christ is the heart that
loves Christ and strives to glorify Him. Understand this, the Son
of God is a great Savior, merciful, gracious, compassionate, ready
to save the very chief of sinners. I know it. Because He has said to me, thy
sins are forgiven. Now, what motivates you? What motivates me? Answer that question honestly,
and we will find out the state of our hearts before God Almighty.
Amen. Alright, Lindsay, you lead us
in a hymn. and the deacons will serve the Lord's table.