Aren't you grateful that Jesus
is the sinner's friend? What a title. Would you turn
back to Luke chapter 7? I've entitled this message, Wisdom's
Children. I'd like to read verses 24 through
35 now of Luke chapter 7. And when the messengers of John
were departed, you remember they came with the question, are thou
he that should come or look we for another? And then the Lord
demonstrated to them who he was in verses 19 through 23. And they're on their way back
to John. And when the messengers of John
were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John.
What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with
the wind. But what went ye out for to see?
A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, They which are gorgeously
appareled and live delicately are in king's courts. But what
went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you,
and much more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written. Behold, I send my messenger before
thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say
unto you, Among those that are born of women, there is not a
greater prophet than John the Baptist, but he that's least
in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard
him and the publicans justified God being baptized with the baptism
of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers
rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized
of him. And the Lord said, where unto then shall I liken the men
of this generation? And to what are they like? They're
like unto children, sitting in the marketplace and calling one
to another and saying, we piped unto you and you've not danced.
We've mourned to you and you've not wept. For John the Baptist
came neither eating bread nor drinking wine. And you say, he
has a devil. The son of man has come eating
and drinking. And you say, behold a gluttonous
man and a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But
wisdom is justified of all her children. Wisdom's children. I remember hearing Brother Mahan
give this definition of wisdom, and I liked it. Wisdom is the
right use of knowledge. It's a good definition, isn't
it? It's the right use of knowledge. I may have vast amounts of accurate
and even scriptural knowledge and still be nothing more than
a fool in God's sight. Am I one of wisdom's children?
I'm asking myself that question and I hope you're asking yourself
the same question. Am I one of wisdom's children? Am I one whom the God of glory
would deem as a wise man? Or am I someone he would deem
as a fool? Am I one of the wise virgins?
Or am I one of the foolish virgins? Would I be somebody that God
would say to me, thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required
of thee. Then who shall those things be
which thou hast provided? Well, I know this about wisdom's
children. Our Lord said in verse 35, but
wisdom is justified of all her children. Now, what is it that
led the Lord to make this statement? Well, you remember the setting.
John had sent two of his disciples to ask the Lord if he was he
that should come. Look in verse 19. And John calling
unto him two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus saying, art
thou he that should come? Or look we for another. Was John doubting Christ? I don't
know. He may have been. Who knows what
was going on through his mind as he sat there in prison. Nobody
knows, but he sent two of his disciples and he asked the Lord
this question, are you he that should come or should we be looking
for somebody else? Verse 21, in that same hour,
he cured many of their infirmities and plagues and of evil spirits
and gave unto many that were blind, he gave sight. Then Jesus
answering said unto them, go your way and tell John what things
you've seen and heard have that the blind see. The lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised. And to the poor, the gospel is
preached and blessed as he whosoever shall not be offended in me."
And when the messengers were departed, no doubt to give John
this message, he began to speak unto the people concerning John. Now as they went off, perhaps
the crowd was questioning John. Well, why was he doubting Christ?
Is he waffling? What was wrong with John the
Baptist? And the Lord speaks to them of his servant. And he
says, when the messengers of John were departed, he began
to speak unto the people concerning John, what went ye out into the
wilderness for to see? When he was out there preaching,
what was it you were looking for? What did you go out to see?
Did you go out to see a reed shaken with the wind? Who could
be changed by public opinion and current thought? Who could
be influenced? Influenced to change. Someone
who was politically correct. Is that what you went out to
see? No, you're not interested in that. Verse 25, But what went
ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment,
living in the lap of luxury, a voluptuous person, taken up
with the pleasures of life. Our Lord tells us men like that,
gorgeously appareled, living delicately, living in luxury,
are in kings courts, courtiers, Politicians, lobbyists doing
what they do for the comfort and the ease of the flesh. Verse 26, But what went ye out
for to see? A prophet, one who speaks for
God. That's the one I want to hear,
don't you? I want to hear that man who speaks for God, not the
man who's controlled by what he can get out of it, not a man
who can be bent back and forth. I want to hear a prophet. What'd
you go out to hear? A prophet. Now look what our
Lord says about this man. Yea, I say unto you and much
more than a prophet. You see, this is the one of whom
the prophets wrote. Isaiah and Malachi foretold the
coming of John the Baptist. Verse 27. This is he of whom
it is written. Behold, I send my messenger. before thy face, which shall
prepare thy way before thee. Now, the only one who's able
to make this judgment says in verse 28, for I say unto you,
there's something very special when he says it, isn't it? I
say unto you, this is not man's opinion. This is what God says,
the God man. I say unto you, Among those that
are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the
Baptist. Now that's the Lord's estimation
of this man. Among those that are born of
women, John the Baptist is the greatest of all the prophets.
The one that I have sent. But look what he says next. But
he that's least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Now who's least in the kingdom
of God? Did not the Lord Jesus Christ
say, he who is infinitely great, he who is infinite in holiness,
he who has all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in him,
he's the same one who said, I am a worm. and no man, not even fit to be
called a man. On the cross, the Lord Jesus
Christ, when he was made sin, he was made least in the kingdom
of heaven. And can you compare him and John
the Baptist? Why John the Baptist doesn't
even deserve to tie his shoes. John the Baptist knew that. He
that's least in the kingdom of heaven is infinitely greater
than John the Baptist. Oh, John the Baptist was a great
prophet, but he's just a man. Just a man. Verse 29. And all the people that heard
notice him as in italics, all the people, after hearing the
Lord Jesus, what he said about John the Baptist, all the people
that heard and the publicans. I think that's an interesting
addition. All the people that heard, and then he mentions this
particular demographic, the publicans, the most despised people of that
day. All the people that heard and
the publicans justified God. Remember, wisdom is justified
of all her children. All the people that heard justified
God. being baptized with the baptism
of John. Now, but the Pharisees, now they
heard the words audibly. They heard the same words, these
people who justified God, the exact same word, heard the same
message. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel
of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. All the people that heard, you
see, there were some people who heard the audible words But they
didn't hear. The Lord said to him that hath
ears to hear, let him hear. Not everybody has ears to hear. Do you know what a precious thing
it is if you can hear the gospel? If you hear with hearing ears,
so there comes as good news to you. Not everybody hears with
hearing ears. Two people can hear the same
message. One hears it as gospel. The joyful sound, good news. Another hears with a critical
ear and they do not hear the gospel in what they're hearing.
They hear something else. But all who heard, all who heard
without any exception, they justified God. And what that makes me think
of is, Lord, make me a hearer. Be more ready to hear than to
give the sacrifice of fools. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. Let every man be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath, slow to pop off at what God has
said. And I love this addition in verse 30, or verse 29, and
all the people that heard him and the publicans. And the publicans,
now what's that all about? The publicans, I mean, What that
reminds me of, you can only hear the gospel as a publican. You
can only hear the gospel as a sinner. You can't really hear it any
other way. All the people that heard and this demographic called
the publicans. What they do, they justified
God. All the people that heard justified
God. They cleared God, not that He
needed to be cleared, but they cleared God of all wrongdoing.
Whatever He does is right. Whatever He does is just. They
justified God. They believed whatever God did
was right. And here's what came to my mind
when I was thinking about this thing of justifying God. You remember that passage
of scripture? Let's go ahead and turn there
in Romans 9. Now, there are two kinds of people
in this world. There are saved and lost, righteous
and wicked, those that love God, those who don't, sheep and goats. There are so many different ways
of describing these people, but here's one way of describing
all people. were either those who justify
God or were those who set in judgment upon God. On two kinds
of people, those who justify God and those who set in judgment
on God and become God's judge. Look here in Romans chapter nine,
verse 19. Well, verse 18, therefore, Hath
he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardens. Now there's two kinds of people.
Those he shows mercy to, and those he hardens as an act of
his irreprehensible justice. Now you and I are in one of those
two groups. We're either those who he extends His mercy and
grace and favor to, or those whom He hardens as an act of
His justice. Therefore hath He mercy on whom
He will have mercy, and whom He will, He hardens. Verse 19,
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why does he yet find fault for who
has resisted his will? If I'm somebody who's his heart,
who he's hardened my heart, and I can't resist his will, he's
hardened me, how can he hold me responsible? How can he find
fault with me if he's sovereign, if he's the first cause behind
everything, if he controls everything, and I'm in his hand, how can
he find fault with me if he's the one who hardened me? Now
that's an objection I dare say that every one of us have made
before in dealing with the things of God. But look how Paul answers
that. Nay, but O man, who are you that replyest, that
answers in dispute, that disagrees, that sits in judgment upon God? O man, who are you? to reply against God, since when
do you have the moral authority to set in judgment upon God and
say, I agree with that, or I disagree with that. For a sinful man to set in judgment
on God. Now back to our text in Luke
chapter seven. And all the people that heard
and the publicans They justified God. Now that doesn't mean they
brought him into a state of justification. You know that God is just. But
they agreed with him like David did in Psalm 51 when he said,
against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in
thy sight that you might be justified when you speak and clear when
you judge. Everything you do is right. Whatever you do with me, it's
right. It's just, it's holy, and it's
true. Now these people who justified
God, notice he says they were baptized with the baptism of
John. Now what's that all about? Being
baptized with the baptism of John. We'll turn to Mark chapter
one and let's look at the baptism of John. Verse four, we'll start starting
Verse one, in the beginning, the beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the son of God, as it is written in the prophets,
behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee, the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight. John,
did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all
the land of Judea and they of Jerusalem and were all baptized
of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins." Now there's
the baptism of John. He preached the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins. Now, what does that mean? The
word for is quite often in the New Testament translated concerning. He preached the baptism of repentance
of a change of mind concerning the remission of sins. Does that mean our sins will
not be remitted until we first repent of our sins? And when
we repent of our sins, then we will be rewarded with the remission
of sins. Well, let me ask you a question. What's meant by repenting of
your sins? Does that mean you're real sorry? How sorry is sorry enough? If you've really repented, does
that mean you've stopped doing it? And you're not like that
anymore? What sin, honestly before God,
what sin have you stopped? Name me one. What sin have you
stopped? Now, I'm not in any way excusing
the commission of sin under any circumstance. We ought not ever
sin again. And I mean that from the depths
of my heart. These things have I written unto you that you sin
not. We ought not sin, and I don't want to sin. But what sin, if
repentance is you being sorry and stopping it, what sin have
you been sorry enough over? And what sin have you eradicated
and stopped to where you don't commit that particular sin anymore
in your heart? Now, if you have any honesty,
you know that you've not done that. This repentance, this is
a change of mind concerning or regarding the remission of sins. You see, the natural man thinks
the remission of sins comes at the end. If I do this, if I repent,
if I believe, if I get my life straightened out, if I change,
then I'll have the remission of sins. All that is a salvation
by works. That's all it is. The gospel
does not end with the remission of sins. The gospel begins with
the full, free, frank remission, doing away with, of sin. Now,
understand this. My sins are not forgiven because
I believe. My sins are not forgiven because
I repent. My sins are not forgiven because
I change. My sins are forgiven for Christ's
sake. Ephesians 4.32 says, Be ye kind,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you. Now here's the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins. What does baptism tell me? What
does baptism tell me? Baptism is such an important
issue. What does it say? When I'm baptized, here's what
I'm saying. I'm saying that the life of Jesus
Christ, when he lived, my only hope of being saved is that he
lived for me. When He kept the law, I kept the law. When He
died, I was in Him. I died. My sins were paid for.
When He was raised from the dead, I was raised with Him. And I'm
complete in Him. I'm confessing union with the
Lord Jesus Christ as everything in my salvation. That's why my
sins are remitted. Because Christ lived for me.
Because Christ loved me. Because Christ died for me. Because
Christ was raised for me. Because Christ gave me His Spirit.
Because He keeps me by His grace. I'm in Him. That's what I confess. Now all that heard Him who were
baptized with the baptism of John. They made this confession,
the confession of salvation by Christ. All that heard, they
justified God. They said everything he does
is right. Look in verse 5 of Mark chapter
1. And there went out unto him all the land of Judea and they
of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan.
confessing their sins. Now, does that mean before they
were baptized, they had to give some kind of public confession
of sin, tell everybody what they did? I hope you know better than
that. No, it doesn't mean that at all.
Here's what their confession of sin was. They were saying,
I personally am so sinful that the only way I can be saved is
by what baptism life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection
of Jesus Christ, the Lord, my Savior. I confess the only way
I can be saved is by what He did. Now, they justified God,
didn't they? They cleared Him of all wrongdoing. What He does is right. I love
that scripture. In 1 John 1 9, if we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins. Notice, it doesn't say he's gracious
and merciful, although he is, but he's faithful. You see, if
my sins are forgiven, it's because he determined my sins would be
forgiven. He's faithful to do what he said he was going to
do. And he's just. His justice is honored and glorified
in the forgiveness of sins because sins are paid for. He's faithful
and he's just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. Now, let's go back to our text
in Mark chapter seven or I mean Luke chapter seven. And all the people that heard
and the publicans They justified God being baptized with the baptism
of John, but the Pharisees and lawyers. Now, our old buddies, the Pharisees,
I know them well. I know them well because that's
our natural religion. Pharisees, lawyers, the experts
in the scripture. Pharisee means separated one
and everybody by nature believes there's something that they do
that separate them from somebody else. God's people knows it's
what God has done that separates them from somebody else. But
the Pharisees, what did they do? Like I said, I know, I mean,
you know, people look what they had Pharisees back then and got
them now too. Got them now too. And if you want to look at one,
look at yourself, you'll find one. Look at the person beside
you. They're one too. That's our natural religion.
But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against
themselves, being not baptized of him. They wouldn't submit
themselves to such an indignity as being baptized with the baptism
of John. Verse 31, and the Lord said,
where unto shall I liken the men of this generation? And what
are they like? That's an interesting question,
isn't it? How would the Lord illustrate what these people
are? He says in verse 32, they're
like unto children sitting in the marketplace and calling one
to another and saying, we've piped to you, we've played merry,
happy music unto you, and you've not danced. And then we played
funeral music to you, mournful music to you. And you've not
wept. You're satisfied with nothing
and critical of everything. We play the happy music. You don't dance. We pay the mournful
music and you don't weep. Verse 30. Three. Here's what I mean by this. John
the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine. He came
as a strict ascetic. Alcohol never touched his lips.
He didn't eat meat. He just ate locusts and wild
honey. Living out in the wilderness with all the laws of the Nazarite. I mean talking about a strict
life. What'd you say about him? He's demon possessed. He's crazy. He's insane. The man's lost his
rocker. I mean, he's just out of it.
Verse 34, the son of man has come eating and drinking. He didn't come like John the
Baptist. You know, the Lord did drink alcohol. This is what he's
talking about. The Lord did drink alcohol. Of
course he didn't get drunk, but he did drink alcohol. He wasn't
the way John the Baptist was, stay away from it. He ate stuff
that John the Baptist would have never eaten. He came like one
of the people. And what did they say about him?
Well, they said John the Baptist was demon possessed, but they
said the Lord is a gluttonous man, a wine bibber, a drunk. Why, he's the friend of publicans
and sinners. I love when men would attempt
to defame the Lord, they gave him some of his most precious
titles. Isn't that glorious? What about
when they made fun of him saying, he saved others? Himself he cannot
save. Never were words truer. For me
to be saved, he could not save himself. What about when they
cried out? His blood be on us and our children. That's my prayer. His blood be
upon me, us and our children. What about when they mocked him?
Hail, King of the Jews. Oh, this is the King of the Jews. And what about this term of derision,
the French? Republicans and sinners. They couldn't think of a way
to defame him more, yet what a glorious title they gave him. Here is the friend, the friend
of sinners. This is that friend that loveth
at all times. This is that friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. The friend, the friend of sinners. Oh, how he proved his friendship
when he left glory and came to this sin-cursed earth to walk
amongst people like me and you. How he demonstrated his friendship
of sinners when he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, taking
upon the sins of all of his people and dying, suffering under the
wrath. Is he the sinner's friend? Oh,
how he showed his friendship to sinners when he raised from
the dead and he comes to Peter. He says, you go tell the disciples
and especially you tell Peter, the one who sinfully denied me
that I go before him. Oh, the sinner's friend. But verse 35. But wisdom is justified of all
her children. Now I'd like to close by looking
at a passage in 1 Corinthians 1. Wisdom. You see, wisdom has some
children. And wisdom begets wise children. And these children justify wisdom. Now look in 1 Corinthians 1,
beginning in verse 17. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, man's
wisdom, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. You see, when men try to explain
away the cross, when they try to give their explanation of
it, all they do is nullify it. It's to be preached in its naked
truth and naked simplicity. Four, the preaching of the cross,
and that word preaching is the word or the doctrine of the cross,
what it actually says. And what does the cross say?
Cross says God is holy. Cross says man is utterly sinful. The cross says there's complete
salvation through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
the doctrine of the cross. Tells who God is. Tells who man
is. Tells how God's saved by Christ.
That's the doctrine of the cross. Now the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. For it's written, God says, I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the understanding of the prudent. I think of what
our Lord said when he said, I've hid these things from the wise
and prudent and revealed them unto babes. Where is the scribe? Verse 20. Or where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the disputer, the sophist of this world? Hath not God made
foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom, by its own wisdom, it knew not
God. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews, the religious
fellows, require a sign. The naked word of God's not enough.
They need some kind of proof. And the Greeks seek after wisdom,
human philosophy, but we preach Christ crucified. Unto the Jews, that's a stumbling
block. And unto the Greeks, foolishness,
but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks. Aren't
you thankful he calls Jews and Greeks? Christ, the power of
God. and the wisdom of God. In Christ crucified, I see the
very power of God putting away my sin, giving me life from the
dead. I see the wisdom of God and how
he's made a way to be just and justify the ungodly. Verse 25,
because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness
of God is stronger than men. Does God have any foolishness?
No. Does he have any weakness? No,
but so to speak, his foolishness is infinitely wiser than men
and his weakness infinitely stronger than men. Verse 26, for you see
your calling brethren, How that not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty. and base things of the world,
and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not. To bring to naught things that
are, that no flesh should glory in his presence, but of him are
you in Christ Jesus. That's the place I want to be.
How about you? In Christ Jesus. How do you get there? Of Him
are you in Christ Jesus? If you're in Him, it's because
He put you there. Aren't you thankful for that?
It's the work of God. Salvation's of the Lord. Of Him
are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. Wisdom. wisdom. Somebody once said this
can read wisdom which is seen in righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. But he's made into us wisdom.
Now, God is God only wise and he can only have fellowship and
communion with one who is wise. He's not going to have fellowship
and communion with a fool. He only has fellowship and communion
with that one who is wise. Every believer, Christ is made
to them wisdom. Now, how much fellowship can
God the Father have with God the Son? Does God the Son have
sufficient wisdom for God the Father to embrace? He's wise. He's my fellow. He's one that
I can have intimate communion and fellowship with. Oh, yes. However wise Jesus Christ is,
that's how wise I am, because He's made unto me wisdom, which
is nothing less than righteousness, holiness, and complete redemption. Now let me tell you who this
wise man is. This wise man, wisdom is justified of all her children.
Christ is the wisdom of God. And this wise God begets wise
children and every wise child looks to Jesus Christ as their
wisdom before God. It really is that simple. Profound, yes. Impossible for
the natural man, yes. But simple. I'm looking right
now to Jesus Christ as my wisdom, as my righteousness, as my holiness,
and as my complete redemption and deliverance. That's what the children of wisdom
do. May God give you and I grace
to do this. Let's pray together.