Okay, Matthew chapter 18. Often times when I read a portion
of Scripture that we're going to bring the message from, I'm
always looking for a verse that I can take my title from. And
when I read this over initially, and I looked at verse 11, I said
that'll be a good place to start. That'll be the title for the
message. Verse 11, Matthew 18, the Son of Man. The Son of Man, talking about
the God-Man Mediator. The Word that was made flesh
and dwelt among us. The Son of Man, He is come. He
is come. And He's come to save His people. Called His name Jesus. He shall
save His people from their sin. He is what He's called. He is
the Savior of sinners, isn't He? The Son of Man has come to
seek and to save That which was lost. In Adam, we died. In Adam, we were lost. No way to come back. That's why the Lord Jesus Christ
came to bring us back. To bring us back. Now, that'll
be the title of the message. Christ came to save sinners.
Christ came to save His lost sheep, His little covenant children. That is good news, is it not?
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Paul said, I'm the chief one.
Do you remember who Saul of Tarsus was? A God-hater, persecuting
believers, And God saved him. And he said, thank God that he
came to save sinners. I'm the worst one. Don't you
think that about yourself? I do myself. I'm the worst of
the worst. Less than the least of all the
saints. The last time we studied about little children in verse
1 down through verse 6. And today we want to look at
verse 7 down through verse 14. But by way of a brief review,
the Lord Jesus Christ chooses His little children by His sovereign
grace and makes them totally dependent upon Him for all things
in salvation. Remember verse 3 and verse 4? He said, except you be converted
and become as this little child. Totally dependent upon Him. you
shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore
shall humble himself as this little child, that man is great,
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And it's because of his
fullness have we all received grace for grace. In the Lord
Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of a Godhead bodily and in Christ
believers stand complete. Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven? Christ. and all those in Him. They are
one with Him. My God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory through the Lord Jesus
Christ. We also learned from that lesson
last time in verse 5 and 6, the Lord is very protective of His
little children, isn't He? Whoso shall receive one such
little child in My name, receive Me. He's talking about covenant children
now, but whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which
believe in me, he'd be better off for him that a millstone
were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depths
of the sea. The Lord is jealous. and very
protective of his little children. The Lord's protective of his
children because of that vital union between Christ and his
body. When you persecute the Lord's
body, you persecute him, right? Christ in his church, Christ
in his bride, Christ in his elect, Christ in his wife, they're one. What's done to them and how you
treat the Lord's people is in essence exactly the same way
you treat Him. We're going to see this in Matthew
25. Turn over there. In Matthew 25. Remember when Saul of Tarsus
was on his way to Damascus? He turned to Matthew 25 verse
34. And he was going there to persecute
believers and the Lord Jesus Christ stopped him. and revealed
himself to Saul of Tarsus. And you remember what the Lord
said to him when Saul of Tarsus said, who art thou Lord? And
he said, I'm Jesus Christ, the one you're persecuting. He was
persecuting believers, but to persecute a believer, you persecute
the Lord because they're one together. Now in Matthew 25,
when the Lord comes back, verse 34, Then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you
gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took
me in, naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited
me. I was in prison, and you came
to me. Then shall the righteous answer
him, saying, Lord, when? When saw we thee hungered, and
fed thee, and thirsty, and gave thee drink? Or when? When did
we see thee a stranger, and took thee in, and naked, and clothed
thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came to thee?
Look at verse 40. Matthew 25, and the king shall
answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, insomuch as you've
done it to one of the least of these my brethren, you've done
that to me. So, the Lord is very protective
of his children. Verse 7, Matthew 18, verse 7,
woe unto the world because of offenses. For it must needs be
that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense
cometh." Now notice there's a double woe there in verse 7. Woe unto
the world and woe unto that man. The Lord pronounces Himself,
pronounces His holy and righteous judgment upon those who cause
the little children of God to stumble, cause them heartache
and grief. for taking a bold and public
stand to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and contending for
the faith. These offenses against the Lord's
church will come. The all-knowing Lord says they
will come. Notice what it says there. For
it must needs be that offenses come. That's all in God's purpose
and His will. But woe to the man by whom the
offense cometh. It must needs be. Now, put your
bookmark there in Matthew 18. I want you to turn to John chapter
15. The Lord Jesus Christ was hated
by the self-righteous religious world, was He not? In John chapter
15, remember He said, these things must, needs come? Look what He
says here in John 15. Look at verse 17. These things
I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates
you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were
of the world, the world would love his own, but because you
are not of this world, I've chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hated you. Remember the word that I said
unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they
persecuted me, They will also persecute you. If they kept My
saying, they will keep yours. But all these things will they
do unto you for My namesake, because they know not Him that
sent Me. If I had not come and had spoken
unto them, they had not had sin. They have no covering for their
sin. He that hateth me, hateth my
father also. Now, stay right here in the book
of John. Look at John 16, verse 32. Behold, the hour cometh, yea,
is now, that you shall be scattered. Every man to his own, and you
shall leave me alone, yet I'm not alone because the Father
is with me. These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me you might have peace. In this world you shall
have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome. These offenses, must, needs come,
and they will come. It's all in God's Eternal purpose,
but woe to that man by whom the offense, and that word there,
offense, means a stumbling block or a stumbling stone. Woe to
that man by whom the offense comes. The Lord in vengeance
will meet him in righteous judgment according to His holy law. Now
verse 8 and 9. Matthew 18, verse 8 and 9. Wherefore, and remember, he's
addressing his apostles. He says, woe unto the world,
woe unto that man by whom our offense is cometh. But now he's
addressing, he says this to them. Wherefore, if thy hand and thy
foot offend thee, or offend one of these little ones, Cut that
off. Don't be a stumbling block. Cut
them off. Now, he's not talking about self-mutilation. Not talking
about that. It's symbolic. If those things
were offensive, let them go. Be done with them. Your foot,
your hand, cut it off and cast them from thee. It would be better
for thee to enter into life a cripple, halt or maimed, rather
than having two hands or two feet, they'd be cast into everlasting
fire. Talking about eternal condemnation.
Verse nine, if thy eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it
from thee. It is better for thee to enter
into life with one eye and having two eyes, they're cast into the
lake of fire. Remember, the Lord here is addressing
these apostles about, you remember their question was, who shall
be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? To be great is to
consider yourself less than the least of all the saints, to be
the chief of sinners, not worthy to be called a disciple of Christ. Therefore, let us not be the
cause of a stumbling block to one of the Lord's little children.
Let us not needlessly seek to harm one of the Lord's babes
in Christ. Let us, but rather let us deny
self, let us self-sacrifice our self-satisfying ways and the
ambitions that we might have rather than cause a hindrance
to God's little children. Don't put an offense or a stumbling
block in the way of God's little children. Now, let's see if we
can help ourselves on this verse. Turn over here to Philippians
chapter 2. Now, I think the Lord gives us
some good, good help here about God's little children.
Look at Philippians chapter 2 verse 1. If there be any consolation
in Christ, If any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
spirit, if any vows of mercy fulfill you, my joy, that you
be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of
one mind, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory,
but lowliness of mind. Let each esteem other better
than themselves. Let not every man on his own
thing, but every man also on the things of others. Let this
mind be in you, which was also in the Lord Jesus Christ, who
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon himself the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. Now look back to the text. Matthew 18. Much better to be
a blind, crippled beggar, worshiping the Lord around the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ, rather than to live a life A pleasure
seeking nothing but your own self, glory, vanity, and pride. Living for self. No man can serve
two masters. No man can serve two masters.
Now, another good parable the Lord gives us on that point.
You remember the rich man in Lazarus? That's found in Luke
16. Turn there. Luke chapter 16, verse 19. There was a certain rich man
which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously
every day. And there was a beggar named
Lazarus. Notice the Lord knows his people. Zacchaeus, make haste,
come down. There was a beggar there named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate and full of sores and desiring
to be fed with a crumb which fell from the master's table.
Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass
that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom. The rich man also died and was
buried. And in hell he lifted up his
eyes, being in torments, to see if Abraham afar off, and Lazarus
in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip
the tip of the finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am
tormented in this flame. And Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things, likewise Lazarus
evil things, but now he is comforted and you're tormented. And besides
all this, between us there is fixed a great gulf, so that they
which would pass from thence to you cannot, neither can they
which pass to us that would come from thence. Then he said, I
pray thee, therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to
my father's house. For I have five brethren that
he may testify unto them, also that they may come. I have five brethren that he
may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of
torment. And Abraham said unto him, they have Moses and the
prophets. Let them hear them. They have
the word of God. They don't need someone risen
from the dead. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham,
but if one went unto them from the dead, they would repent.
And he said unto them, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
So be careful not to offend one of God's little, little children. Cut those things off. Be done
with those things that would be a hindrance to us in the gospel. of God's saving grace and glory
in Christ Jesus. Now here's the last thought,
verse 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. We see the everlasting salvation
and the security of the Lord's little children, God's covenant
children, through His sovereign love, through His sovereign mercy. Take heed that ye despise not
one of these little ones, For I say unto you that in heaven
their angels do always behold the face of my Father, which
is in heaven, where the Son of Man has come to save that which
is lost. How think ye, if a man have a
hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave
the ninety-nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that
which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it,
verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than the ninety-nine
which went not astray, even so is not the will of my Father
which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. We see the everlasting salvation
and the security of the Lord's covenant children by his electing
sovereign love. The Lord Jesus Christ, it says
there, he came to save his sheep. To do so, he laid down his life
to pay their sin debt, and he did so successfully, put away
their sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is known
as the Good Shepherd, right? He's the Good Shepherd. What
did the Good Shepherd do? He laid down his life for the
sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ is called
the Cheap Shepherd of the Sheep. who's coming again to receive
those people unto himself. He's called the great shepherd
of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
David said, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. How think he, if a man have a
hundred sheep, Here's a sheep herder with a hundred sheep,
and one of them goes astray. What does he do? He seeks out
that one lost sheep. Now, we can boldly say the Lord
will not lose one of His little children. As it says in verse
14, Even so is not the will of your Father which is in heaven,
that one of these little children His covenant children should
perish. Now, he gives three reasons why. The first one is found in verse
10. The angels of the Lord watch
over them. You see that in verse 10? That in heaven their angels do
always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. These
elect angels are the servants of the Lord And they do carefully
watch over these little covenant children. They defend them, protect
them, and carry out the Lord's purpose concerning them. I'll give you two examples. You
remember when Peter, when the Lord Jesus Christ was arrested,
and Peter was a fisherman, he wasn't a swordman, but somehow
he had a sword, and he drew his sword to defend the Lord Jesus
Christ, and he struck off that ear of that servant, and the
Lord told him to put up your sword, Peter. He said, I could
call twelve legions of angels to wipe out this whole Roman
army. But he said, I don't need your
help, Peter. 12 legions of angels, if you
do the math on that, is 72,000 angels. So his angels are ready
and willing to execute the purpose of God. The second example I
give, remember when we studied through 2 Kings and Elisha and
his servant were in big trouble And the king of Israel, Hezekiah,
was in big trouble. The armies of the Assyrians came
against them. And there was a mighty army that
came against them. And the Lord sent one angel.
One angel. 2 Kings 19, verse 35. One angel killed 185,000 Assyrian
soldiers. One angel. Yet alone, twelve legions of
angels. Now, so we have these, I don't
believe in a guardian angel, I believe in guardian angels
are watching over God's people. Now we don't worship angels,
do we? You remember in Revelation 22 when John the Apostle bowed
before the angel of the Lord, and the angel said, oh, no, no,
he rebuked him. He said, don't do that. I'm your
fellow servant. You worship God. So we don't
worship angels. We don't pray to angels. The
apostle writes this in Hebrews 13. He said, be careful not to
entertain strangers, for some have entertained angels thereby. So we don't worship angels, we
don't pray to angels, we may entertain them not even knowing
so, but we don't ignore their ministry either, do we? They
have a vital ministry. The angel came to Joseph, the
angel came to Mary, the angels declared to the shepherds, glory
to God in the highest. It says in Psalm 34 that the
angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him. So
we have these, and then over in Peter, you remember in, I
believe it's 1 Peter, maybe chapter one, I think it is. He says,
when the gospel is preached, the angels look into these things. Now, I've never seen an angel.
But I know they exist, and I do know that they are sent forth
to minister to them who shall be the heirs of salvation. You
remember we studied that in Hebrews chapter 1? Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be the heirs
of salvation? So there's the first reason.
that we should not despise these little ones. They're angels,
always behold the face of my Father, and they're quick to
execute His purpose and His will. Second thing is this, and most
importantly is this, the Son of Man is come to save that which
is lost. The Lord Jesus Christ came in
the flesh as the Son of Man to save them. He remained what he
was, the eternal God, and became what he was not, flesh and blood
among us. And we know that he did not fail in his mission to
save his people from their sin. He executed salvation for them,
accomplished salvation for them. He cannot fail because he is
God. It says in Luke 9, 56, the Son of Man has come not to destroy
men's lives. That happened in Adam. He came
to save men. He came to save sinners. Save
sinners. I want you to turn and read this
with me. Galatians chapter 1. I quote this often. When I was
waking up this morning, early this morning, 4, 30 something,
5 o'clock, I always have especially on Sunday morning, I usually
turn to Galatians chapter 4. Galatians chapter 4, I always
have a scripture come to my mind and I'm thinking about the message
that I'm going to bring that day. And this verse came to my
mind real strong and real clear. Galatians 4 verse 4, but when
the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son
made of a woman made under the law, to redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because you are sons, verse 6, God has sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into your heart, crying, Abba, Father, Father, Father.
Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son, and of a son, an heir
of God through Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ came in
the fullness of time to save us from our sin. You remember
the Pharisees complained when he called Matthew the publican,
and they complained when he called Zacchaeus the publican, and the
Lord said to them, I didn't come to call the righteous sinners.
to repentance. He came to call sinners to repentance. The Son of Man. One preacher
of the past said, the Son of God became the Son of Man in
order that sons of men may become sons of God. Behold what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called
sons of God. And then he gives that illustration of the shepherd going after that
one sheep. He went astray, and the shepherd
went right after him. Now, we have that in another
parable, and it is found over in Luke 15. So turn back over
to Luke 15. And the Lord gives this parable
a little, and gives us a little more information. Look at Luke
15. Luke 15, verse 1. Luke 15 verse 1, Then drew near
unto him all publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees
and scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners, and
he eats with them. And he spake this parable unto
them. Notice the reference here, it's Matthew 18, 12, 13, and
14. What man of you, having a hundred
sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine
in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find
it? And when he found it, he lays
it on his shoulder rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls
together his friends and neighbors saying unto them, rejoice with
me. I found my sheep, which was lost. Now who found who? That sheep
didn't find itself. That sheep didn't know his way
home. The shepherd went out and found him, laid him on his shoulder,
and took him home to glory. Rejoice with me for I have found
my sheep which was lost. For I say unto you that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than
ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Thank God the Lord is seeking
out His sheep. He is the Good Shepherd seeking
His lost sheep. And He says, if it's lost sheep,
my sheep, hear my voice. I know them, they follow me,
and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither can any man pluck them out of my hand. Now in closing,
look at verse 14. Even so, Even so, as the shepherd
seeks that one lost sheep, successfully finds it, successfully brings
it home, even so it's not the will of your Father, which is
in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. Now, two scriptures I'm gonna
read. First of all, let's find 2 Peter, 2 Peter chapter three. 2 Peter 3, and I'll give you
a minute to find it. I want you to see this, and I
want you to mark it. 2 Peter 3, look at verse 9. Oftentimes, when you talk to
people about the sovereign grace of God, the sovereign mercy of
God, saying that God will have mercy on whom He will, He'll
save whom He will, oftentimes they come back with objections.
What about this? What about that? What about whosoever? What about this? And this is
one of the scriptures that people often use to try to refute what
we call sovereign grace. 2 Peter 3 verse 9. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, concerning his word, as some men count slackness,
but as longsuffering to us-ward. not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. Now, who are the usward? He's
long-suffering. It doesn't say to all men everywhere
that ever lived. It says to usward. Who's Peter
writing to? He's writing to the elect scattered
abroad. Who are these people? Let's see
if we can find out. Turn to John chapter six. John chapter six. Even so, it's not the will of
your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones
should perish. None of God's elect can perish because the
Lord Jesus Christ secured their salvation. Look here at John
chapter 6, look at verse 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. You see it? John 6, 37. All that
the Father giveth me. Now who's he talking about? He's
talking about those little children. He's talking about the elect
of God, given in Christ before the foundation of the world,
chosen unto salvation, predestinated to be conformed to the image
of Christ. All that the Father giveth me, they shall come to
me. And him that cometh to me, I'll never cast him out. I'll
never cast him out. For I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will, which has sent me, that of all which
he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again
at the last day." Those elect given to Christ in that eternal
covenant, those for whom He died and paid their sin debt, worked
out perfect righteousness for them through His obedience unto
death, He gives them eternal life and they cannot perish. Look at verse 40. And this is
the will of Him that sent me, that everyone would see it, the
Son, eyes of faith, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life, and
I'll raise him up at the last day. They're not going to perish.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that
believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting
life. shall not come in condemnation,
but is passed from death unto life." Life. Salvation in Christ. For the
Son of Man has come to seek and to save His lost children. And He cannot fail. He did not
fail. He cannot fail.