We turn back to Luke chapter
7. Lord willing, we're going to
have a baptism tonight. John Parker, if he's well enough,
he's sick right now, he's had a hard time, but he plans on
being here tonight and we're going to have a baptism. And
if anyone else wants to confess Christ in believers baptism,
let me know after the service. Now, before I attempt to bring
this message, I've got Two requests. And here's the first one. Pray
for me. That I would bring a message
that comes from the Lord. And secondly, pray that you and I ask the Lord
to give you and I ears to hear this message. I've entitled this message, Who
Loves Much? The Lord said regarding this
woman, that she loved much. Now, He's the one who really
knows. All kinds of people say, I love Jesus. But He knows, and
He makes this statement regarding this woman, she loved much. Now I want to be like her, don't
you? I want to be first of all, somebody the Lord loves. And
I want to be someone who loves much. Is he not worthy of much
love, much adoration, much worship? I want to be somebody who loves
much. Now we know from Matthew's account
that the Lord had given right before this what has been called
the Great Invitation. And I believe that it would be
more accurately called the Great Command. And what a great command
it is. Turn to Matthew chapter 11. Hold
your finger there in Luke 7. Matthew 11, verse 28. Come unto me, all ye that labor,
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. And you shall find rest unto
your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Now
there were some people listening when he made what is called the
Great Invitation. Now turn back to Luke chapter
7, right after this, beginning in verse 36. One of the people that were listening
at this time was this Pharisee by the name of Simon. Verse 36,
and one of the Pharisees desired him. He heard this message of
our Lord, he heard these claims of our Lord, and he desired him. He desired him that he would
eat with him. And he went in unto the Pharisee's
house and sat down to meet. Now evidently, this Pharisee
was impressed with something the Lord said. He had some kind
of interest in what the Lord was saying, and he wanted him
to come into his house and eat. He wanted to hear more about
what he had to say. So he invited him into his house,
and the Lord sits down to eat with him. Verse 37, And behold, A woman in the city which was
a sinner. And before I say anything about
this woman who was a sinner, I want to tell you about a man
who was a sinner. Turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter
1. Hold your finger there on Luke 7. Now this man that I'm getting
ready to speak of is the Apostle Paul. And I dare say that this man's
love for Christ was great. I dare say that there's no one
to ever live who has ever been as committed to the Lord Jesus
Christ as this man, the Apostle Paul. You'd agree with that,
wouldn't you? Paul the Apostle. Now look what
he says about himself, verse 15. 1 Timothy chapter 1, this
is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. Everybody
right now ought to receive this as the best message they've ever
heard. That Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. look what he says next of whom
I am chief now when he says I am chief this is in the present
active tense he didn't say I was chief he said I am chief present tense It's in the active tense. This
is not just a title that's given to me. In my own mind, I have
earned this title. The chief of sinners. Now, as I said, Paul the Apostle
was a man who loved Christ. He was a man who lived for the
glory of Christ. When he died, he said, I've fought
a good fight. I've finished my course. And
I have kept the faith. And yet his own testimony of
himself was that he right now, present tense, was the chief
of sinners. Those who live near Christ speak
like this. Only those who live near Christ
speak like this. Now, if I am in a hardened and
backslidden condition, or if I'm just lost, I'm not going
to talk like this. You see, it's those who are near
Him that see this. If this room were in the dark,
and you just had a candle flickering, You wouldn't see much, would
you? Be very little we would see. But if you turn on a 5,000
watt light bulb, you see a whole lot more, don't you? Those who
are in His presence can't see themselves as anything but the
chief of sinners. You can't be in His presence
and feel any different than that. Of the demographic, that is entitled
sinners, Paul says, I am the chief. I think it's interesting
to note regarding this man, he went from being the least of
the apostles, to less than the least of all the saints, to right
before he died, he said, I'm the chief of sinners. I was telling
somebody about what I was going to try to preach on. who loves
much out of this passage of scripture. And they sent me this quote from
Martin Luther, and I really like this. I got it at 6.30 this morning
and I wrote it down. Martin Luther said, every time
you insist that I'm a sinner, you call me to remember the benefit
of Christ my Redeemer. upon whose shoulders, and not
mine, lie all my sins. So when you say I'm a sinner,
you do not terrify me, but comfort me immeasurably." Now, this woman was a sinner,
verse 37. Behold, a woman in the city which
was a sinner. when she knew that Jesus sat
at meet in the Pharisee's house, 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, and anointed them with ointment. Now this woman was a sinner. In all likelihood, she was a
prostitute. And a well-known one at that.
Simon knew who she was. He said, regarding the Lord,
this man, if he were a prophet, if he knew what manner of woman
this was that touched him, he wouldn't have allowed it. For
she is a sinner. Now what is a sinner? This woman
was a sinner. Paul the Apostle was a sinner.
What is a sinner? Well, a sinner is the one who
commits the sin. That's so simple. God doesn't put sins in hell.
He puts the people who committed those sins in hell. Sin is against
God. Sin is the transgression of the
law. A sinner is the one who transgresses
God's holy law. He puts other gods before the
living God. He commits idolatry. He takes the name of the Lord
God in vain, failing to use the proper reverence for His holy
name. He fails to keep the Sabbath. He fails to rest. He fails to
honor authority, honoring his mother and father or any other
God-given authority. He murders. If he doesn't murder
physically, he murders by innuendo, by word, by silence. He commits
adultery, either physically, in his heart, or spiritually. He steals. He takes that which
does not truly belong to him. That's not just being a thought
shoplifter. He lies. He doesn't tell the
truth. And he covets. A sinner is someone
who all he does is break God's law. Now that's
what a sinner is. He cannot not sin, and a sinner
cannot sit in moral judgment on anybody. He can't look down
his nose at anybody because that sinner knows that he is the chief
of sinners. And that sinner knows he has
no claims on God. God doesn't owe me anything except
judgment. Now, question. Would that be
you? Would that be you? No? Well, then you're not a sinner.
You know, there are people who would say, no, that's not me.
That's not me. I understand that. There's a
lot of people like that. But to you who fit this description,
the Lord Jesus Christ is the sinner's friend. This man receiveth sinners. and eateth with them." He said,
I came not to call the righteous but sinners. Sinners to repentance. Now I have no doubt that this
woman heard those words, come unto me all ye that labor and
are heavy laden. No doubt, she said with David,
mine iniquities have gone over my head as a heavy burden. They're too heavy for me. And she came to Christ in obedience
to His command. And it's so beautiful the way
she came. You know what's most beautiful about it? She didn't
say anything. She didn't say a word. Not one word comes out
of her mouth. But what she did, she wasn't
prodded into doing it. She wasn't pushed into doing
it. She wasn't manipulated into doing it. When she came into
the Pharisee's house, as a matter of fact, she showed a lot of
courage in doing that because she knew what that Pharisee would
have thought of her being in his house. She showed some remarkable courage
in coming to the Lord Jesus Christ like this. came with such humility. She
came behind Him. And she came to the only appropriate
place for her, His feet. She demonstrated this time some
understanding of the majesty of His person and her own utter
unworthiness. And she came with an alabaster
box of ointment, And she came weeping. I pictured the tears
coming, pouring out of her face. She came weeping. I mean, she
was sobbing. Tears of sorrow and tears of joy. Both of them. You see, she'd come to Christ.
And you can't come to Christ without feeling joy. Now, sorrow,
yes, but I think maybe some of you ladies, the way you've Taking
care of your hair, you've got this long hair. Can you imagine
taking your hair and using it to wipe somebody's feet with?
And clean off the dirt? But that's what this woman did.
She came weeping behind him at his feet, weeping and washing
his feet with her tears. And she took her hair and wiped
them off. And she kissed his feet. You
know what this is? This is an object of divine worship. She's worshiping the Lord Jesus
Christ. And what is so beautiful is He
accepts her worship. He didn't say, get away from
me. He didn't say, move on. He didn't say, touch me. Don't
touch me. He accepted this woman's worship. And the Lord Jesus Christ will
accept folks like this. Oh, isn't it beautiful what she
does? Verse 38, again, she 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, and anointed them with
the ointment. Now, verse 39, when the Pharisee... You don't have to look very far
to find the Pharisee. Look in your own heart. That's the religion
of the natural man. That's me and you by nature.
Pharisees, separated ones. Now when the Pharisee which had
bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if
he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of
woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. Look how differently the Pharisee
acts toward the Lord. This woman sees him as altogether
lovely. He sees the Lord as somewhat
beneath himself. If he knew what manner of woman
this was, he wouldn't be letting her touch him. He wouldn't be
letting her kiss his feet. This woman is a sinner. Now,
one thing he was wrong of, he didn't really have any idea who
the Lord was, did he? But one thing he was dead right
about, this woman was a sinner. She was. I mean, what he said
was right on. She was a sinner. But this remark reminds us of
what is utterly unique about the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Gospel of the... Listen to
me. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only sinner's religion. All other religions are how to,
how to get better, how to make yourself worthy, how to do something
in order to be accepted. But the gospel is the sinner's
religion. And let me say this, the only
way you and I can hear the gospel is if we hear as a sinner. We
can't even understand. We can only hear the good news
as a sinner. This is the sinner's gospel. Aren't you glad that the Lord
allows sinners to touch Him the way this woman did? And I'm so
thankful He touches sinners. Remember that leper, Jesus moved
with compassion, reached forth His hand and touched him. He
touches sinners, and sinners touch Him. Now look at our Lord's
answer to reading this man's thoughts. Don't you think it's
glorious? The Lord is reading your thoughts
right now. He's reading my thoughts right
now. I mean, I know I've got my words, but He knows what's
in my heart. And He knew what was in this
man's heart. Verse 40, And Jesus answering
said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And
he saith, Master, say on. I'm listening. What have you
got to say? And then our Lord gives this very brief parable. Maybe it wasn't a parable. Maybe
it's something that actually took place. But let's read verses
41 and 42 together. Here was our Lord's response
to Simon's thinking. He says, 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 forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them
will love him most? Now, what did these two men have
in common? Well, they were both debtors. They were both debtors. I got
to thinking about debtors. people who owe money. You look
at some of them and you'd never know they owe money. I mean they
live like they're rich. They have big houses and big
cars and fine clothes and they're in debt up to their eyeballs. There are other people who are
in debt that try to just forget about their debts. I'm just not
going to think about it. Like Scarlett O'Hara, I'm not
going to think about it today. But that doesn't take away the
debts. And the other people who are debtors that make big promises.
They say the check's in the mail. They make big promises about
paying their debts. But they don't pay them. They're debtors.
Debtors. Everybody's debtors. Some people
act like they're not. Some people make big promises.
Some people just don't think about it. But both of these men
were debtors, and the second thing they had in common was
they both had nothing to pay. They didn't have a penny's worth
of merit. Not even a penny. They both had nothing to pay. But notice the language in verse
42, and when They had nothing to pay. Not before then, but only when
they came to the place where they had nothing to pay, the
Scripture says He frankly forgave them. You know what that means?
That means He unconditionally forgave them. Full, free discharge. Unconditional forgiveness. Are
you interested in that kind of forgiveness? He frankly forgave
them both. No strings attached. No conditions
to meet. And that's what these two fellows
had in common. They were both debtors. They both had nothing
to pay. And when they had nothing to
pay, He freely, unconditionally forgave them both. Now, what
was the difference between these two men? We've considered their
similarities. What was the difference between the two men? Well, one
owed a lot of money and one didn't owe very much money. One was
a 500 pence debtor and the other was a 50 pence debtor. One owed a great deal more than
the other. Now, there are four or five important
truths I want to bring from this brief parable. And here's the
first thing that we learn from this parable. There are differing
degrees of sin and guilt before God. And the scripture teaches that.
There are differing degrees of sin and guilt before God. Look over in Luke chapter 12,
verse 47. Verse 47. And that servant which knew his
Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according
to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did
commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes."
Now, there's the words of our Lord. There are those who will
be beaten with many stripes, and there are those who will
be beaten with few stripes. The Bible teaches different degrees
of punishment, and it's according to light and privilege. Now, listen to this statement
real carefully. I say this with fear, I say it with trembling,
but you who hear the gospel, if you go to hell, you'll have
it worse in hell than somebody who never heard the gospel of
God's grace. If you've just gone to a church
where the gospel wasn't preached, you're not going to be punished
as severely as that one who's heard the gospel and ends up
not believing Christ. That's a very sobering thought,
isn't it? Anybody here, if you go to hell, You're going to be
beat with many stripes. You've heard the freeness of
the gospel of God's grace, and it meant nothing to you. The
Lord's not going to allow you to get by. Now, that's a sobering
thought, but it's true. There are different degrees of
sin and guilt before God, and it's based upon that person who's
been given much light. As a matter of fact, I didn't
finish reading that in Luke 12, verse 48. But he that knew not, and did
commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beat with few stripes.
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. And to whom men have committed
much, of him will they ask more." Now, second thing I'd like to
bring out of this parable, are you a 50 pence sinner or a 500
pence sinner? What kind are you? Both of these
men had nothing to pay. I don't care if he owed 50 cents.
I don't care if he owed 500 cents. Both of these men had absolutely
nothing to pay and that is why salvation must be free. That's why salvation by works
is impossible. Both of these men had nothing
to pay. Now, have I ever stood before
God as a bankrupt sinner with nothing to pay, standing
before God guilty as charged? No excuses, no extenuating circumstances. I stand before God guilty as
charged with nothing to pay. You know, you've only stood before
God like that when you really do see that you have no claims
on Him. If you're charging God with unfairness,
if you're getting mad at the Lord and saying, how can He be
this way and how can He be that way? You've never really owned
your guilt before God. Only those who stand before God
guilty as charged, that is the person that needs grace. Now, here's the third thing I'd
like to point out about this parable. Notice verse 42, and
when they had nothing to pay. When has to do with time, doesn't
it? When you gonna be there? When
you coming? When has to do with time? When did he freely forgive
them? when they had nothing to pay. Now if I have anything to pay,
I won't be forgiven. It was only when they had nothing
to pay that He frankly forgave them both. I love that hymn we
sing, In my hands no price I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Now notice it says, when they
had nothing to pay, He frankly. Unconditionally. You know, this
word forgave is not the word that we generally use for forgiveness
in the original. It actually comes out of the
word grace. And it means unconditional forgiveness. When they both had nothing to
pay, He unconditionally. That means with no strings attached. no conditions for them to meet.
Now, if forgiveness is unconditional, not, you will not be forgiven
unless you, then fill in the blank. That's conditional forgiveness,
isn't it? You will not be forgiven unless
you, fill in the blank, I don't care what it is, unless you anything.
That's not unconditional forgiveness. Unconditional forgiveness is
Forgiveness simply because God says you're forgiven for Christ's
sake. Not because you do anything.
Not because you ask for it. Not because you're sorry. Not
because you promise you'll never do it again. Unconditional forgiveness
arises from unconditional election. Thank God He didn't have to find
a reason in me to choose me. He did it simply because He would. Unconditional forgiveness arises
from unconditional redemption. He didn't see whether I deserved
His death. He did it because He would. Unconditional
forgiveness arises from unconditional Regeneration. Where He doesn't
wait for me to do something to give me life. He says, live! And I live. And from that, we
have unconditional forgiveness. Aren't you thankful that the
Gospel begins with the forgiveness of sins? It's not a formula that
I keep in order to achieve the forgiveness of sins. He forgives
me unconditionally. He, frankly, freely, forgave
them both. And then he asked this question
at the end of verse 42, Tell me therefore, which of them will
love him most? That's a no-brainer, isn't it?
That's a no-brainer. Simon, verse 43, answered and
said, Well, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. Well,
that's a correct supposition. And he said unto him, Thou hast
rightly judged You gave the right answer. Verse 44, now remember
what was going on at this time. This woman, washing his feet
with her tears, wiping them with the hairs of her head, anointing
his feet with this costly ointment, and kissing his feet, worshiping
him as God. And he turned to the woman. She never had said anything.
And said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou
gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with
tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. No place too
low, no task too menial for her. Thou gavest me no kiss, But this
woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my
feet. My head with oil, thou didst
not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore, I say unto thee, I don't suppose there's anything
more powerful in all the Word of God than when Christ says,
I say to thee, I say to thee, her sins, which are many. The Lord didn't
minimize her sin, did he? He said, in fact, she is a sinner.
Her sins are many. Many, many, many. As David said,
they're more than the hairs of my head. Her sins, which are
many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom
little is forgiven, the same loveth little." He didn't deny this woman's sinfulness.
She had many sins. But that one who's been forgiven
much, loves much. She wasn't forgiven because she
loved much. She loved much because she was
forgiven much. That's why she loved the way
she did. Someone who loves little is someone
who's been forgiven little. And how do you go about loving
Christ little? It's to not love Him at all. Now, how many times
have you heard religious people boast of their former life of
sin? Oh, I used to be a drug addict.
I used to be a womanizer. They'll talk about all these
wicked things they used to do. I used to be this way. I used
to be that way. Lord saved me from that. Well,
I'm glad you don't do those things anymore if that's the case. Yacht
not. No doubt, yacht not. Terrible person. I was a great
sinner, but God saved me from that. What's wrong with that
testimony? Paul didn't say of whom I was
the chief, did he? He said of whom I am. Right now. Present tense. The chief. You see, somebody
who sees the Lord Jesus Christ, who sees God, who sees the Gospel,
they see that. He didn't say, O wretched man
that I was. He said, O wretched man that
I am. Now know this, the more we know
of God and His grace, the more sinful we'll see ourselves to
be. I'm not talking about making an excuse for sin or acts of
disobedience in any way. But I am saying this, the more
I see of Him, the more I see of Him who is holy, the more
I see of myself. That's what it takes to see you're
a sinner. You've got to see Him. You see Him, you'll be like Isaiah. When I saw Him, I said, woe is
me, I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips and
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Now who is it that
loves much? Don't you want to be one of those
people? I do. I want to be someone who loves
much. I know this, I've sinned much. I've sinned against love, I've
sinned against light, I've sinned against grace. I've sinned when
I ought not to sin. I've sinned with my eyes wide
open. I've sinned much. And I know this, I've been forgiven
much. But to whom little is forgiven,
oh, you may feel better about yourself, but you love little. And look at verse 48, And He
said unto her, Thy sins, are forgiven. Now to every 500 pence sinner,
I can guarantee you this, your sins are forgiven. Verse 49, and they that sat at
meat with him began to say within themselves, who is this that
forgiveth sins also? Who does he think he is? I'll
tell you who he is. He's the only one who has the
authority and ability to do this. And he said to this woman, your
sins are forgiven. You know what that means? They
were forgiven. And he said to the woman, verse
50, thy faith hath saved thee, Go in peace. Notice He didn't say, your love
saved you. He didn't say your repentance
saved you. He said, your faith has saved you. Well, what was
your faith? Well, she heard the Lord say, come unto Me and I'll
give you rest. And she came to Him and found
rest. Rest in the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We which have believed do enter
into rest, for he that's entered into His rest has ceased from
his own works as God did from His. rest. She had the same faith old John
Newton said right when he was right before he died he was he
was up in his 80s he'd forgotten so many things he said I know
two things I know two things I'm a great sinner and he's a
great Savior that was her faith and he said go in peace You know,
the only time I have peace, I love peace. If I could get it in a
bottle and keep it all the time, I'd have it. I mean, peace is a wonderful
feeling. Isn't it the greatest feeling
in the world, peace? I don't know of anything I enjoy
more than peace. The only time I have peace is
when I realize that everything God requires of me, He looks
to His Son for. You know, I feel my body relax
when I hear that. My body just relax. I may be
tense, and I just relax. When He said it is finished,
it was finished. Go thy way. Thy faith hath saved
thee. I'm sure some people would say,
well, why did He say that? It's not your faith that saves you,
it's Christ that saves you. Well, if the Lord said it this
way, I think that's a good way to say it. I know some people are more sound
than the Lord, This is a good way to say it. Thy faith has
saved thee. Go in peace. Let's pray.