You will remember in the story
of the rich man and Lazarus, when old dives, as he is called
by most, the rich man lifted up his eyes in hell and cried
out to Abraham that he would send Lazarus to dip his finger
in water and cool the tip of his tongue because he was tormented
in the flames of God's wrath. Abraham responds There is between
us and you a great gulf fixed so that it's impossible for any
of you to pass over here or any of us to pass over to you. I'm
going to tell you that gulf has been fixed of old from eternity. There is among the inhabitants
of this world at all times, at any time, from the beginning
of time to the end of time, but two races of people, an elect
race and a non-elect race, sheep and goats, a people whom God
is determined to save and the people whom God uses to save
those whom he's determined to save. A people loved of God and
a people used of God for the saving of those whom he loves. And not one will cross from one
group to the other. There are saved sheep and lost
sheep, but all God's sheep are his sheep. There are those who
are called and those who are not called, but all God shall
be called and shall be saved by his grace. And we will justify
him in everything he does. Lindsay began this morning and
will continue, the Lord willing, for a few weeks, teaching on
the subject of justification. The Lord God has justified us
freely by his grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus.
The Lord Jesus Christ justified us with his blood so that the
law and justice of God has no reason and no grounds upon which
to bring us into condemnation. We experience this blessed justification
when God the Holy Spirit grants us life and faith in Christ,
revealing Christ in us so that we are brought into the enjoyment
of what God in Christ has done for us at Calvary. I repeat,
and I'm sure Lindsey will in the next several weeks, our faith
does not justify us. Even if it were perfect faith,
it wouldn't justify us. Believing God is not going to
put away sin. Believing God doesn't satisfy
justice. Believing God doesn't bring in
righteousness. Our faith simply receives, enjoys,
apprehends justification accomplished by Jesus Christ our Lord and
our Redeemer. To suggest, as most do, that
somehow it is faith that gives merit and efficacy to the blood
of Christ for justification is to teach salvation by the works
of man's faith. And our faith is not that by
which we're justified, rather it is that by which we receive
justification. Now tonight I want you to look
with me, if you will, in Luke chapter 7, and I want to talk
to you about another kind of justification. We do rejoice
in the blessed gospel doctrine of free grace justification.
It is the bread and butter of this assembly. It's the staple
diet of our souls in this place. The message we preach is justification
by grace alone in Christ alone. But the title of my message tonight
is Wisdom Justified. Let's begin reading in Luke chapter
7 verse 31. The Lord said, Where unto shall
I liken the men of this generation? Now underscore those two words,
this generation. And to what are they like? They're
likened to children sitting in the marketplace and calling one
to another and saying we have piped to you and you have not
danced. We have mourned to you and you
have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither
eating bread nor drinking wine and you say he has a devil. The
Son of Man is come eating and drinking and you say behold a
gluttonous man and a winebibber. a friend of publicans and sinners.
But wisdom is justified, now look at it, of all her children. In these few short verses, in
this very brief paragraph, our master teaches us a great glaring
difference which always manifests itself between the saints of
God and this generation. I want us to look at three things
in these verses. First, what does our Lord mean
by this generation? And then secondly, what's the
other generation? And then thirdly, our Savior
himself. Number one, this generation. Our Savior speaks here first
about a group of people called this generation. At first glance,
it looks as though the Master is saying this generation in
the same way that we normally would say it. We talk about a
group of people living at a specific time. We live in this generation. David served his generation by
the will of God. We are trying to serve our generation
for God's glory. But if you look in the scriptures,
those two words, this generation, are always used together referring
to a specific group of people. Look them up and follow with
me if you will. Turn to Psalm 12. Psalm 12. Let the book of God speak for
itself. When you want to interpret scripture, don't get Webster's
Dictionary down and try to figure out what it means. Get God's
book down and find out what it means. This generation refers
to a specific group of people who live in all generations. In Psalm 12, we read, help, Lord,
this prayer. For the godly man seeth. for
the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak
vanity, every one to his neighbor, with flattering lips, and with
a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off the flattering
lips and the tongue that speaks proud things, who have said,
With our tongue will we prevail, our lips are our own, who is
Lord over us. for the oppression of the poor,
for the sighing of the needy. Now will I arise, saith the Lord,
I will set him in safety from him that putheth at him. The
words of the Lord are pure words, as silver is tried in the furnace
of the earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them,
O Lord, your pure words, and your people. the poor and needy
who cry to you day and night thou shalt keep them thou shalt
preserve them look at it from this generation forever from
this generation the wicked walk on every side when the vilest
men are exalted this generation look in psalm 71 verse 12 oh
god Be not far from me, O my God,
make haste to help, or for my help. Let them be confounded
and consumed that are adversaries to my soul. Let them be covered
with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt, verse 14. But I
will hope continually. and will yet praise thee more
and more. My mouth shall show forth thy
righteousness and thy salvation all the day, for I know not the
numbers thereof. I will go on in the strength
of the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from
my youth, and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also,
when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, until
I have showed thy strength to this generation, and thy power
to everyone that is to come. Lord, be with me, keep me from
this generation, but give me grace to show your strength,
your power, your work to this generation. Look at Matthew chapter
12. Verse 41. Our Lord Jesus says
the men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgment with this generation
and condemn it. Because they repented not at
the preaching of Jonah. And behold a greater than Jonah
is here. Verse 42. The queen of the south shall
rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn
it. for she came from the uttermost
parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold
a greater than Solomon is here look in chapter 23 of Matthew you see this generation always
has reference to a people self-righteous in their own eyes a people who
will never seek mercy A people who constantly cavil at the truths
of the gospel, a people who constantly oppose God's people, a people
who constantly oppose his servants and their message. This generation
refers to those like the self-righteous Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians
of our Lord's day. Look here in Matthew 23 verse
29. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because
you build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchers of
the righteous. You quote Gil, Spurgeon, Edwards, and Calvin.
You say these are our fathers. You wear their names and their
clothes, but you don't come near preaching what they did. If they
were around, you'd kill them too. And you 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. Oh, we wouldn't have
done that. We wouldn't have imprisoned those sons. We wouldn't have
killed them. No, no, no, no. We build statutes to them. Wherefore, you are witnesses
unto yourselves, that you're children of them which killed
the prophets. Fill you up, then, the measure of your fathers,
you serpents, you generation of vipers. How can you escape
the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto
you prophets and wise men and scribes, and some of them you
shall kill and crucify, and some of them you shall scourge in
your synagogues and persecute them from city to city. that
upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from
the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias, the son
of Barchaius, whom you slew between the temple and the altar." Do
you see how our Lord loves all this generation together? What
one did, the other did. You may not have the same political
power, you may not have the same legal means, but what one does,
the other does. I bring you all together, the
blood of all the prophets, from Abel right down to the end is
on you. Verily I say unto you, verse
36, all these things shall come upon this generation. And yet our Lord speaks like
this, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Thou that killest the prophets,
and stonest them which is sent unto thee, how oft would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens
under her wings, and you would not. God's purpose is absolute
and inviolable. God's purpose will never be broken,
altered, or changed in any way. And yet men perish in their ungodliness
because of their own purposed determination and rebellion against
God Almighty. How often would I have gathered
you? But you would not. Behold, your house is left unto
you desolate. Now look back at our text. Luke
chapter 7. said where shall I liken this
generation? What should I compare you to?
He said you're like children in the marketplaces playing.
Saying one to another we piped to you and you have a dance,
we mourned to you and you didn't cry. Our Lord here shows us that unbelieving
religionists are always opposed to They always find fault with. They always are quick to slander
God's people, God's servant, God's way, and God himself. Because you see, the people of
this generation are enemies to God. The carnal mind is enmity
against God. It is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can it be. It is enmity against God. Always has been, always will
be. Cain always persecutes Abel. Ishmael always persecutes Isaac. Nimrod always persecutes the
other sons of Noah. Ham always exposes that which
he considers to be evil in God's people. We ought to always take
care not to offend. Endeavor in your life. Now I
keep telling you don't try to show folks godliness or Christianity,
don't try to do that because they don't understand it. But
do take great care not to offend people. Live among your neighbors
and folks you work with and folks you live with, family and friends,
live among them to the best of your ability peaceably and blamelessly. So that no one has any just reason
to look at you and accuse you of evil. But don't ever imagine
that you're going to change this generation. It ain't going to
happen. It ain't going to happen. I don't
care if you're married to them, or if they're your own sons and
daughters, or your mother and father, or live in your house.
It ain't going to happen. You're not going to change this
generation. You're not going to change it. Having said all of that, we must
not concern ourselves too much with the cavils of men. If men
and women are determined To set themselves in opposition to us,
as we endeavor to serve our God and his cause, just let them
go ahead. Just let them go ahead. Don't
let it disturb you too much. We must not court the favor of
men, and we must not fear the frowns of men. This generation
is hard, implacable, peevish. Our Lord likens them to children.
Isn't it amazing that our Lord Uses that same comparison to
speak both of believers and of unbelievers and yet the comparison
is exactly opposite He says you cannot be converted except you
become as a little child The only way you'll ever come to
God in faith, the only way you'll ever trust Jesus Christ is as
a simple, trusting child. As a child looks to mom and dad,
just trust them. As a child is humble and obedient,
willing to serve and willing to be told what to do and willing
to please, you've got to be just that way. How you'll never come
to God trusting his son. But then not all children are
that way, are they? Not all children are anxious to please. Not all
children are humble and trusting. Children have a tendency to be
peevish and rebellious and obstinate
and stubborn and implacable. And our Lord looks at the religious
world and says, what shall I compare this generation to? You're like
peevish little children, insisting on moral aid, playing games with
eternal realities. Oh, what a lesson for us to learn. This generation, the religious
world around us, is a generation in which nothing ever satisfies,
nothing ever contents, a generation that always is quick
to find fault and point it out. Does that describe the religious
world? Does that describe religious folks you know? Never content. Always looking for something
new. Always looking for something new. Folks, there are businesses
that make fortunes. I mean make fortunes. Inventing
new programs for churches to practice and put into play every
year. Those folks aren't satisfied. They got something new. Never
content. Always finding fault. Always
bickering. Always nudging for room. Our Lord uses these two examples,
himself and John the Baptist. He says John the Baptist came
and here was a man, well you talk about straight-laced and
tough. This fellow was a Nazirite. He didn't eat certain breads
and meats. He didn't drink any wine. A razor didn't touch his
hair. This man lived on locust and wild honey. Don't read anything
about John the Baptist that appears to be the least bit the kind
of thing the pulpit committee would be looking at when they
went to look for a pastor. I mean this fella, he didn't
mix good. He didn't fit in. He wasn't one
of those fellas that kind of was a good socializer. He wasn't
the kind of fella to pat you on the back and make you feel
good about yourself. And he even looked and acted and walked straight.
I mean, he was an austere fellow. This is Elijah come to prepare
the way of the Lord. John came, and folks looked at
him and said, well, that man, he's sublime and mean. He's got
a devil. He's possessed of the devil. He can't be one of God's.
He can't be one of God's. And then the Lord Jesus says,
the Son of Man, speaking of himself, came. And wherever men got together,
he'd go sit down with them. He was a social mixer. A social mixer especially in
unsocial company. Whenever Republicans and Senators
got together, nobody else had anything to do with him, he was
always there. There was a marriage feast at Cana of Galilee, and
they were serving wine, and when they ran out of wine, the master
provided more for them. He's a glutton. He's always at
a party. All he does is just have fun.
He's a winebibber. He's the friend of publicans
and sinners. He must be one of them. He must be one of them. You see, their animosity was
not really against John the Baptist, nor even against the Lord Jesus
as a man and as a messenger from God. Their animosity, the animosity
of this generation is always against God, not just his messengers,
not just those who deliver the message, but against the message
itself. People all the time, they're
forever telling me, you know, oh brother so-and-so, he's a
dear brother, he just, he doesn't believe this, he doesn't believe
that, he can't stand this, He can't stand God. That's what
he is. He's upset with God. He's angry with God. He doesn't
believe God. Man's animosity, the animosity
of this generation, is animosity against God himself. The men
and women of this generation can't get a hold of God, so they
do what they can with his servants and with his people. It's been
true of you, of me, of this assembly, and it will be of any who come
after us as it has been of any who have gone before us. The
men and women of this generation hear the message of repentance
toward God and faith in Christ. That's what John the Baptist
preached, wasn't it? Repent and be converted. He prepares the
way of the Lord. Behold the Lamb of God, which
takes away the sin of the world. And that's what the Lord Jesus
came preaching. And yet folks wouldn't hear John the Baptist
and wouldn't hear the Lord Jesus because they both preached the
same thing. They were declaring the message of God. They refused
to bow to God's Son. They refused to believe God's
Word. They refused to confess their
sin. They refused to seek salvation on the terms that God provides,
grace alone. And so instead of doing what
God commands that they do, they find fault. John the Baptist. He has a devil. This Jesus of
Nazareth, he... Boy, look at his behavior. You
wouldn't see me in that place. You wouldn't see me with those
people. You wouldn't see me doing that. The pretended objections of this
generation to God's servants and God's people are only a smokescreen. That's all. Just a smokescreen
by which they endeavor to cover up their rebellion, animosity
and hatred. How often we see religious men
and women who give blind allegiance to a pastor, to a preacher, to
a teacher, to a church, to a denomination, and they just give blind allegiance
to them. They follow not the shepherd's
voice, but rather the voice of a man. And if you follow this
man's voice, now you listen to me, you listen to me, If you
follow this man's voice, if what you hear is this man's voice,
if your allegiance is to this man, to this congregation, to
this assembly, somebody will come along, got a prettier voice,
got a nicer church, nicer assembly, and you'll be out the door. But
if you follow his voice, or if God speaks to you through
these lips of If your heart is united to him and his church,
then you follow him. You follow him. And nothing is
going to divide you from him. I found that a long, long time
ago. I've been told and I really did believe it. It's a whole
lot easier to be a fellow's pastor when you live 5,000 miles away
than it is when you live 5 blocks away. Because he doesn't have
any responsibility. Nothing is expected from him.
Nothing at all. And that's just the way it is.
And people today, just like they were at Corinth, they, oh, we
follow Apollos. Boy, he's a silver-tongued orator. There's nobody quite like him.
And we listen to Paul. Paul, you know, he was a well-trained
academic. We follow Paul. Others, well,
you know, we're a little rough for cut. Peter's more than I
like, and we follow Peter. And then there are those who
are just Christians, we follow Jesus. None of them follows any
of them. They're following their own lusts
and whims. Often times people compare preachers, you know,
Brother Fortner, he's so hard and stern and loud, so plain
spoken. And then they listen to Brother
Todd, and Brother Todd, he's too mild, he's too gentle, too
easy going, and just a little too quiet. So they listen to
Brother Richardson. Ah, he's too blunt. Get all excited
to hear Brother Simpson down in Powell, Brother David Simpson.
Y'all heard him here one time a few months back. Well, he's
just not emotional enough. Listen to Brother Donnie Bell
and say he's too emotional. And Brother Mahan, forgive me,
I'll throw him in. Well, I believe I'll go listen
to Brother Mahan. You know, he's getting a little old, he's not
the same preacher he used to be. Oh, what foolishness. That's
this generation. God's people, folks who follow
the Lamb, are interested in hearing His voice and knowing Him and
walking with Him. Whether He speaks by a fellow
like John the Baptist, or whether he speaks by one like the Lord
Jesus himself, Jesus of Nazareth. Tell you something else, most of those things that divide
religious people, most of them, now many of you have been in
churches one kind or another most of your lives, and my soul,
Baptist are the worst so we can I can talk pretty good about
Baptist I heard a story the other day fella been marooned on a
desert island for 20 years and somebody found him and He's sitting
out on the beach. There's three buildings back
there and fella asked him said what's that there? He said that's
where I live. Oh He said anybody out here with you. He said no
just me He said what's that building right behind you there. He said
that's where I go to church. Oh What's that other building? He
said, well, I used to go to church. That's a pretty good description
of most folks' ideas of religion. And they squabble and fight over
nothing. Squabble and fight because one
fella, he's kind of stern and austere, separated, straight-laced. Boy, you can't get along with
him. And the other, He has a glass
of wine with folks who have a glass of wine. He sits down and eats
with publicans and sinners. He kind of mixes too easy. Something
wrong with that? Now children of God, understand
something. Understand something. You and
I have no right to impose upon anyone restrictions that we invent
for ourselves. We have no right to take matters
of indifference and make them matters of necessity or of godliness. We have no right to do it. We
dare not do it. You leave it to others to live
for Christ and with Christ themselves alone. And at the same time,
we have no right under God to take matters of essential, vital
necessity and make them matters of indifference. We have no right
to do it. I have no right to say to any
man, you can't wear that color shirt. Or you can't go live in
this neighborhood. Or you can't do this, can't do
that, when the scriptures don't say it. I have no right to even
think it, Bobby, much less say it to you. I have no right to
form bondage for you, and don't want to, at the same time. We
have no right, not this preacher, not you, not this assembly, not
all the preachers and churches in the world, we have no right
to take the gospel of God's grace and say that's not necessary.
We have no right to take the blessed ordinance of baptism
and pervert it. We have no right to take the Lord's Supper and
say well that's kind of up to you. What our Lord reveals is
vital and necessary. We have no right to look at it
and say well that's not so important. In June, I just read in the paper
last week, I'll get it off my chest now, maybe I won't say
it anymore, but I probably will. Mr. Graham is coming to Louisville
again. I want to have a meet. And the fellow who heads up the
committee, if you want to send in the tape, send it and say
Don Fortner said get it to you. The fellow who heads up the committee,
president of Southern Seminary. Claims to believe the gospel
of God's free grace, heading up committee for Billy Graham's
evangelistic crusade, and uniting with Papist and Campbellites
in doing it. That's utterly reprehensible. And I'm telling you, we have
no right to make such compromise. No right. Then our Lord speaks
of another generation. The Lord says in verse 35, but
wisdom is justified of all her children. Here is a chosen generation. Here is the generation called
the generation of thy people. Here is a generation spoken of
throughout the scriptures in various ways. A generation of
the upright. The generation of thy children.
His generation. Certainly there is at least a
reference here to our Lord Jesus Christ himself who is made of
God and to us wisdom. He spoke for us as wisdom in
old eternity. He comes and fulfills all the
requirements of wisdom in the covenant of grace as our surety.
He teaches us to know wisdom as he gives us his grace and
his spirit in the generation in which we live. Certainly all
of God's elect justify him in all his person and work. And
yet there's more. The scriptures here I'm certain.
Our Lord Jesus here I'm certain. is declaring that all believers
justify God's wisdom in all things. Believers don't call God into
question. Believers don't drag God before
their bar or attempt to. In this generation, among this
generation, folks write books and have seminars on challenging
Demanding that God give answer for what he does. Demanding that
we find some way to push God out of the picture and say, God
just doesn't control. Believers justify God in everything. In everything. We begin justifying
him in our own condemnation. David said, Against thee and
thee only have I sinned, done this evil in thy sight, that
thou mayest be clear when thou judgest. God Whatever you do
with me or mine is right. Well, David, I'm going to kill
your boy. I deserve it. That's right. That's right. And he didn't say that lightly,
James. He's a brokenhearted man. He said, God, you're clear. I've done wrong, not you, not
you. And we look at God's judgment
in the world. and we say that his righteousness
is like the great mountains his judgments are a great beat but
we will praise him and we will be glad because of thy judgments
that's what the book says is what it says the ungodly this
generation the religious world around us they look at God's
judgments and they oh now you can't say God's got anything
to do with that You can't say that God has any
part in that tornado, that whirlwind, that terrible war, that famine. Surely, surely, if there's a
God in heaven, these things wouldn't happen. That's the language of
this generation. This generation. God's people
say, thy judgments are a great deal. I don't pretend to understand,
but your judgments are right. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments
are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast done all these things. Zion
heard and was glad. The daughters of Judah rejoiced
because of thy judgments. Yea, the way of thy judgments,
O Lord, and the way of thy judgments, we have waited for thee. The
desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance
of thee. With my soul have I desired thee
in the night, yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early.
For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of
the world will learn righteousness. Lord, you do right. You do right. Now there's one more thing here.
I want you to see this. When our Lord Jesus speaks of
the derision with which men spoke of him, he is declaring himself
to be a great Savior, for his enemies constantly derided him,
calling him the friend of publicans and sinners. Oh, how I delight
to tell you that's exactly what he is. In fact, in fact, he's
the only friend the only friend publicans and sinners have. The
only one. Publicans and sinners don't trust
each other, they just live together because nobody else has anything
to do with them. He's the only friend publicans and sinners
have. And this one is the only friend
who can do us any good. When the scripture sets him forth
as one who is the friend of publicans and sinners, what a marvel we
learn. Oh how willing God Almighty is
to save sinners. Oh how willing he is to be gracious. Usually when we find this context
where the Lord speaks of himself or others speak of him as being
the friend of publicans and sinners, Our Lord responds to their cavils
by saying, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance. Did you ever know that? Did you
ever notice that? Our Lord, he declares plainly,
David, he never called a righteous man to repentance. Never. He said not many mighty, not
many noble. He doesn't say not many righteous are called. Not
any righteous are called. I came not to call the righteous.
I came not to call the righteous. If you still got a notion that
you're righteous, you ain't been called. I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. For they that are whole need
not a physician, but they that are sick. This is one of the most blessed
things I ever learned in my life. Listen now. In Christ, God Almighty,
looks upon the sins of his people, even those who have not yet been
called. In Christ, God Almighty looks
upon the sins of his people as diseases, sicknesses, and infirmities
calling for pity, not as crimes calling for punishment. The whole don't need a physician,
but those are sick. My babies are sick. My babies
need help. And that's the attitude of God
toward needy sinners. Let the self-righteous of this
generation say and do what they will. Jesus Christ has come to
seek and to save that which was lost. And so we will continue
by his grace to bid sinners come to him. Come, ye sinners, poor
and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus really stands
to save you, full of pity, grace, and power. Amen. All right, Lindsay,
listen to him if you will.