Luke chapter 7, a meal together is always, or can, no it's not always, that's a wrong
statement.
A meal together can be a wonderful time.
It can be miserable too, but there are several different reasons why somebody will invite
you to lunch or to invite you to dinner.
Have you ever been in a situation where somebody invited you to lunch or invited you to dinner
and you really didn't know why you were going?
You didn't know the real reason why you got invited?
I want to warn you that it's not always what it appears and you can lose your appetite
over wondering why you were invited to start with.
Sometimes people invite you for a ketchup meal, you know, just want to catch up.
We haven't seen each other in a while.
I had a buddy of mine that I grew up with that invited me on what I thought was a ketchup
meal a few years back and I found out he was selling something.
Somebody's always got something in the trunk, you know, but anyway, he was selling something.
He was trying to convince me to buy food in bulk to the point that if I bought enough,
they'd give me a freezer.
I thought, I don't think I need that much food today.
Let's just eat lunch, okay?
That's a little bit different than the old meat truck that I debated about driving in
college to get by one summer and making the rounds door to door.
Some people just want to catch up and some people want to win you over and that's exactly why
he invited me because he wanted to win me over and make a little money off of me and that's
what he was doing.
Other times people want to invite you over just to find out some information.
You know, you eat whatever's on the dish and then you get down to the real dish afterwards.
Tell me more.
I want to know.
And then sometimes it could be a dressing down.
They want you on their own turf to tell you their problem with what you're doing.
So Jesus was invited to eat dinner with Simon.
Now, don't get you Simons mixed up.
This is not Simon Peter.
This is instead a Pharisee named Simon.
And I don't think he caught Jesus by surprise.
Well, I'll be honest with you.
I know he didn't.
But whatever his motive was, he appears that he invited Jesus out of curiosity.
Jesus was making an impact.
Rumors were spreading.
People were excited and other people didn't like it and the message had got out.
And at this point, the message was that whoever Jesus is, he is a powerful man.
He is changing people's life.
There's something supernatural about him.
And they couldn't really define what all that meant, but there was something supernatural about that.
And as a Pharisee, as one of those chief priests and elders, as the religious aristocracy,
he's looking at this and seeing what's happening.
Now, is God speaking to him in his heart?
Maybe.
But the reality is, what he led Jesus there for was to try to get him somewhat in a trap.
But in the midst of this dinner, something else happened.
Now, I want you to understand the context.
When a treasured guest comes to visit a nice house of another, in this culture, it was quite a greeting.
I mean, whereas we answer the door with a handshake or a fist bump or whatever,
they opened the door and greeted guests with a kiss.
I'd wake you up.
Somebody invited you over to dinner, wouldn't it?
They didn't take their coat.
They had a servant wash their bare feet or wash their sandaled feet.
And then another may, in really nice places, may anoint their head with oil to refresh you, to bless you.
You can tell a nice restaurant.
When you go to the restroom, I always check the restroom if you want to know if the restaurant is really nice.
Just a little secret.
But when you go in the restroom, if they have mouthwash or cologne, men, I don't know what the ladies have,
but men, if they have that on the counter, you're paying way too much for supper.
I can tell you that.
And the difference in who rich folk are and us are normal folk,
if people take you to a good restaurant and they get an appetizer and dessert, that's rich folk, you know.
If you get both, sometimes you splurge and get one or the other, but that's rich folk.
But the anointing of the head with oil was kind of like that mouthwash in the bathroom.
It was kind of like that cologne, but it was, of course, a lot more personal.
Apparently, none of that happened when Jesus entered this house.
But folks knew he was there.
It was not odd in that day for those who would not be invited to such a dinner as this to come by.
Houses had openings for windows.
And it was not odd for people who would be passing by and hear of big folk eating together
to just see what it was like and to stick their head in the window
and to watch what was going on as the meal.
It would be odd in our culture, but in reality, in that day,
sometimes they'd even come in and sit along the walls and just listen and watch.
That may have been the case here regardless.
For whatever reason, a woman with a reputation of disrepute came on the scene
and our passage talks about what she did.
Talks about the host's reaction to what she did
and the parable that Jesus shared to share truth with them.
It's found in Luke chapter 7, beginning in verse 36, and it says this.
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him.
And he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table,
and behold, a woman of the city who was a sinner.
When she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house,
brought an alabaster flask of ointment,
and standing behind him at his feet weeping,
she began to wet his feet with her tears
and wiped them with the hair of her head
and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
Now, if you don't understand the seating arrangement here,
they had very low tables and pillows around those tables,
and they ate like your mother told you not to.
They would eat laying on one elbow and one hand
and bring it to their mouth very close to the plate,
and their legs lay behind them.
If somebody was next to them, they would be kneeling down beside them.
That's why when Jesus talks about a man being in Abraham's bosom,
that's what it's talking about.
He's laying his head right here.
They're eating together.
They're in the same presence.
So Jesus' feet is back behind him,
and this lady comes in and anoints his feet.
Now, when the Pharisee, in verse 39,
who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,
is this man were a prophet?
If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman
this is who is touching him, for she's a sinner.
So at this point, he feels like he's got Jesus in a pinch, you know?
Either he has received the attention of a lady with a bad reputation,
therefore impure himself, because he would entertain such,
or either he didn't even know what kind of woman that was,
so he was not, therefore, a prophet.
He had him.
The whole meal had paid off.
It was worth it, you know?
His curiosity was solved.
But wait.
Jesus is on the scene.
It says in verse 40,
And Jesus answered,
saying to him,
Simon, I have something to say to you.
And he answered,
Say it, teacher.
He said,
A certain moneylender had two debtors.
One owed 500 denarii, and the other 50.
When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both.
Now, which of them will love him more?
Now, what he's saying is, on a common laborer's wage,
what he's saying is that one man is getting two years of his salary of debt forgiven,
and the other is getting about two months of debt of what he makes in two months forgiven.
Who do you think is more appreciative?
And Simon answered,
The one, I suppose, from whom he canceled the larger debt.
And Jesus said,
You have judged rightly.
And then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon,
Do you see this woman?
I entered your house.
You gave me no water for my feet,
but she has wet my feet with her tears,
and wiped them with her hair.
Which means she brought down her hair in public,
which is inappropriate,
and wiped his feet,
thought to be because of where they walked and who they walked behind,
the next man's donkey,
the most disgusting part of the body.
You gave me no kiss,
but from the time I came in,
she has not ceased to kiss my feet.
You didn't anoint my head with oil,
but she's anointed my feet with ointment.
Therefore, I tell you,
her sins, which are many,
I did know,
her sins, which are many,
are forgiven,
for she loved much.
But he who is forgiven little,
loves little.
And he said to her,
Your sins are forgiven.
Then those who were at the table with him
began to say among themselves,
Who is this?
Who even forgives sins,
and he said to the woman,
Your faith has saved you.
Go in peace.
In the story that I want to focus on
for the next few moments,
Jesus compared the state of one's soul
and their sin to a debt.
So let's just stay with that story, okay?
As he compares that,
let's unpack that,
and then find out how
to get out from under it.
Now,
as I prepared this,
I couldn't help but think of the irony
that I would be preaching a sermon to you
on how to get out of debt
when I just signed a contract
for a house in Picken, South Carolina,
the land of inflated housing.
But praise the Lord,
I signed a contract.
So,
we're getting there.
But this morning,
I speak of a different kind of debt.
First,
acknowledge your debt.
Because if our sin is a debt,
we're all in debt.
Having debt does not bother everybody.
Some don't mind debt.
It don't bother them.
Now,
I realize that people's got more than I do,
need some debt for tax purposes and all that.
I'm not talking about that stuff.
I'm talking about people who
dread seeing the bill come in the mail.
Some people really don't care, I think.
It's been said that nobody spends money
quite so readily
as those who are hopelessly
and comfortably in debt.
Some folks today,
and this is an idea that's growing way too fast,
believe society owes them something.
And it don't matter how much you owe.
And that same mentality carries over
into what they think of God,
that somehow God owes them something.
So,
in order for him to forgive a debt,
that's no big deal.
It isn't really a priority anyway.
I wasn't worried about it anyway.
And that's like this Pharisee.
The Pharisee didn't think that he had any sin debt,
or at least he didn't have much.
I mean, this is not only a churchgoer.
This is a church leader.
It's so easy to point out outward sins.
He didn't have many of those.
Because if he had,
he wouldn't have been a church leader anymore.
So he didn't have those outward sins.
It's a whole lot easier to point at somebody else's sin.
To realize our own sin debt is not easy.
However, Scripture tells us
that if we don't acknowledge our sin debt,
we will never be forgiven of it.
1 John 1 verse 8 says,
if we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
John says in verse 10,
if we say we have not sinned,
we make him, being God, a liar,
and his word is not in us.
So if you're a Christian,
and you don't acknowledge
that you have an ongoing sin debt,
because this is not only speaking
to those who have not received Christ,
of course we must ask God
to forgive us of our sins,
acknowledge our sins,
confess our sins before him to be saved.
But once we're saved,
if we as Christians don't acknowledge
the ongoing sin debt in our life,
it is dulling the blade of our effectiveness.
Hebrews 12, 1,
after that wonderful chapter
of that hall of fame of faith
of all those folks
that lived so strong for the Lord
and trusted him in difficult circumstances,
after that in Hebrews 12, 1,
it talks about how the sin
that so easily encumbers us
and entangles us
as one entangled
in a race
where they're trying to
get out of a hurdle or something.
By the way,
if you missed Cindy McLaughlin
this weekend,
you need to look it up.
She ran the 400 meters
in whatever games those are.
How many games we got?
You know, I don't know what,
but anyway,
in the world games,
she ran the 400 meter hurdles,
beat the world record by a second,
which may not sound like a lot,
but what's the race?
They said,
if you lined up, folks,
ladies,
in the 400 meter race
without the hurdles,
she'd come in seventh in the world
without the hurdles,
but she had the hurdles.
It was amazing,
and I'll tell you why she did it,
because nothing encumbered that lady.
She was not entangled in any way.
She just whooped them.
Y'all know what that means?
She just whooped them.
She let nothing come in the way,
and don't you ever think
that you can run
your Christian life
free of hindrances
and have sin in your life,
because when sin is present
and not acknowledged,
you are limiting
how God will use you.
I know he can do all things
that he wants to do.
I'm telling you,
if you have sin in your life,
you'll hinder what God
will do in you
if you don't acknowledge it,
and that makes a difference in you,
but that also makes
an eternal difference
in the lives of those
that you ought to be influencing
and that you ought to be reaching,
because if your sin hinders you
from being everything
that you need to be for God
and hinders your conversation with God
and hinders the conviction
in your heart
that you need from the Lord
in your life,
if you've got sin
that you are harboring
and holding on to
and getting in the way,
you're not as sensitive
to how the Spirit leads.
You're not making the impact
of influencing
and reaching the world
that Christ has called us to,
and eternity is hanging
in the balance for some folks,
and God has called us
to be light,
and in order for us to do that,
we have to realize
the debt in our own life
and get it taken care of.
I want you to notice something.
I want you to notice the question
that Jesus asked in verse 44,
because you can easily pass by it.
He said,
do you see this woman?
Because Simon didn't really see her.
I mean,
she was standing there,
yeah,
but he didn't see her accurately.
I'll tell you what he saw.
He saw a guilty,
loose,
heathen woman,
and that is not what she was,
because what she was
was a broken woman.
Thank God she was a freed woman,
and she was a forgiven woman,
and ironically,
what he saw in himself
was wrong too,
because he saw himself
as righteous and well off,
but because he didn't see
his own debt,
he was still shackled
and indebted.
It could be
that we can't really understand
the state of others
until we understand
the state of ourselves,
and when we understand
the state of our own situation,
we realize
we don't have a lot of time
nor a lot of place
to be pointing fingers
at other people.
We got enough
in our row to hoe
without worrying
about somebody else's,
or as Jesus put it,
the log is too big
in our eyes
to be worried
about the speck
in somebody else's.
I want you to notice
what Jesus seems to point out.
He does not spend,
and I'm talking more
than just this story,
he does not spend
near the time
pointing out
the blatantly wicked
who are obviously
against the things of God.
Instead,
Jesus goes about
and kind of goes after
the pseudo-faithful,
those who like to point out
the sins of others
and ignore their own.
And the reality is
that when you look
at the sins
that Jesus named
and pointed to,
it was often the sins
that are less seen.
That's why he spoke to them,
so the people would see them.
Jesus focused on
the sins of the mind.
Jesus focused on
the sins of the heart.
That's what he spent
his time teaching about.
Those sins of the mind
and the heart
that even most
godly-looking folks
may be dealing with.
I'm sorry.
I didn't do it.
Jesus did it.
He's messing with us.
Folks,
we are all in sin debt.
Second thing
is the debt we owe
is a debt
that we cannot pay.
Just like the debtors
in this story
that could not pay,
we can't pay.
Be clear about something.
We often think
that canceling our debt
and canceling our sin
allows us to escape
without any consequences.
And that is not true
at all.
If you have stolen,
there are consequences
to your theft.
Because one person
is without what they had
and you need to be charged
for it.
The breach has happened.
Even if you pay it back.
You know,
I walk down here
on the floor
and I get a little bit
too close to Kevin
and he gets nervous
and jumps up
and slaps me in the face.
We'll work all that out
after church
and I'll forgive him
and forget it.
But I'm telling you,
I'm going to be more careful
to come back over here
this time, you know.
I'm coming on this side
next time.
Because the reality is,
yeah,
the sin can be forgiven.
And the Lord will forget it
but there's a breach
that's happened.
I mean,
if you murder somebody,
that person is dead.
They're not coming back.
They're dead.
And however sorry you are,
you can't bring them back.
You can be forgiven
but the consequences
of that murder
is that somebody died.
If you lie,
somebody is deceived.
There's a trust
that is broken
and the consequences
remain in that.
Lives are affected
by that.
However,
when we ask God
to cleanse us
and we repent
of our sin,
he removes the sin debt
from us.
We're okay with the Lord
but let's don't get
so comfortable with that
that we miss the fact
that our sin causes
so many hindrances
in our life
that we cannot be casual
even though we know
we serve a good
and faithful
and forgiving God
that will cleanse us
when we repent.
And 1 John
will eat your lunch
about that particular matter.
We may still deal
with the trail
that our actions
or our thoughts
have left behind
but God removes the debt
and our guilt spiritually
but that will not happen.
That cleansing
does not come
when we are merely
watching out
for ourselves.
You see this clearly
with the two thieves
on the cross.
As Jesus hung
on what I believe
was Barabbas' cross
there were two thieves
probably a part
of Barabbas' gang
of thieves
hanging on each side
of the Lord.
And Luke chapter 23
verse 39
says one of the criminals
who were hanging
railed at him
saying are you not
the Christ?
Save yourself
and us.
But the other
rebuked him
saying do you not
fear God
since you are
under the same
sentence of condemnation?
And we indeed
justly for we are
receiving the due
reward of our deeds
for this man
has done nothing wrong.
Now I'm going
to tell you something.
When Jesus
and I know Jesus
had innate knowledge
that we don't have.
One reason
is because he had
a sinless relationship
with the Father
which would make
a huge amount
of difference.
But he's also God
hanging there.
But when a man
is hanging on the
cross dying
and he says
what scripture
just said he says
my soul
something's happened
in that old boy's life.
When he's hanging
on the cross
in agony
and says
we are indeed
just
for we receive
the reward
for our deeds
but this man's
done nothing wrong
and Jesus said
oh and he said
Jesus remember me
when you come
into your kingdom.
And Jesus
goes on to say
today you'll
be with me
in paradise.
My point is
the first man
just wanted down.
He just wanted down.
The second one
wanted to be changed.
And it is the one
that loves God
that's forgiven
and the forgiven
ones are the ones
that love God.
The unforgiven
really do not
love God.
But it's not a matter
that we can solve
ourselves because
we can't pay it back
and we can't
make it go away.
We can't retrace
our steps
that we have
already committed
and changed
what has already
been done.
It is a debt
that we cannot
pay.
Now before I ever
get to my next
point you need
to get the fact
that we're all
in sin debt
and it's a sin debt
that we cannot
pay.
We cannot pay.
But the good
news is
and that's why
I'm here today
is because of
the good news.
You got to
understand the
bad news
to get to
the good news.
And the good
news is
the debt
that we cannot
pay
can be
canceled
today.
Praise God.
Because once
we do acknowledge
our sin debt
before the Lord
it is a relief
to know
that we can
be free
from it.
Because 1 John
1.8 and 1 John
1.10
in between those
two is 1 John
1.9
one of my
favorite passages
and that is
that we confess
our sins
he's faithful
and just
to forgive us
of our sins
and to cleanse
us from
all unrighteousness.
Now confession
means we're
agreeing with God
on what it is.
Not you know
Lord I might have
done something
a little over here
and you know
I mean to
ain't no big
deal but I need
to go ahead.
No no no
it is a big
deal.
Because as I
shared last
week your
little sins
that you think
are little
sins are the
same sins
in your life
and my life
that sent
Christ to the
cross.
So they're
all huge.
Because they
cause a debt
we can't pay.
Confessing is
agreeing with God
on the weight
and the magnitude
of that sin
and if we
I love this
passage because
it says he's
faithful and just.
that means that
if he
he's willing
but unable
if he was
willing but he
wasn't able
he'd be good
hearted but we'd
still be in the
same mess.
And if he was
not willing but
was able
he'd still be
hanging over our
head.
But the
scripture says
that when we
agree with him
on the state of
our debt
that he is
willing and
able to
forgive us
of our sins
and what I
love is the
last part
and cleanse us
from all
unrighteousness
that's because
if I ask you
to write down
your sins
on a sheet
of paper
and you got
honest enough
and weren't
worried about
your neighbor
enough to
actually write
down everything
you could think
of it would
still be
incomplete.
I could give
you a week
to do it.
It would still
be incomplete
because we've
got so good
at sinning that
we can't even
keep up with
all we've
done wrong.
So I love
that last part
because not only
does he forgive
us of our sins
that we confess
to him but he
cleanses us
from all
unrighteousness.
If he could
but would not
or was not
willing we
would be
in a mess
but thank God
he can and
he will
and we can
be clean.
Old hymn
says this
he paid a
debt he did
not owe
I owe a debt
I could not
pay I needed
somebody to wash
my sins away
and now I sing
a brand new
song amazing
grace Christ
Jesus paid a
debt that I
could never
pay.
Our sin debt
is only
canceled through
the shed blood
of Christ.
It is the
cross of Calvary
and our surrender
to his cause
and his kingdom
that brings
that.
So who do you
think has the
greater debt
in this story?
Is it the one
that knew she
was guilty of
great and
grievous sins
or is it
the one
that has
not confessed
the sins
of the heart
and the sins
of the mind?
It may
surprise you
when you see
what Christ
points out
so very
often.
So very
often he
tells us
let's not
be concerned
let's don't
so concern
ourselves
with other
sins
as near as
much as we
do our
own
and let's
not only
concern
ourselves
with other
sins
as near
as much
as we
do
others
souls
because I
want you
to notice
Jesus was
more concerned
about the
unconfessed
sins
of the
Pharisee
than he
was
the
admitting
of her
many sins
as she
laid her
life out
before him
as she
laid her
reputation
out before
him
as she
put it
all on
the line
she could
have been
stoned to
death for
what she
did that
day
she laid
it all
out there
so he's
more concerned
about the
sin of the
fellow who
wouldn't
confess it
but he
was also
a whole lot
more concerned
and get
this now
with the
state of
her soul
than she
was all
the things
she had
done
wrong
only God
can cancel
sin
death
and that
only comes
through
Christ
and so we
have a job
to do
and that
job is to
acknowledge the
sin in our
own life
and ask
God
agree with
God on
it
and ask
God to
remove it
and repent
of it
repent
means 180
degree
I got
fired up
one time
when I was
young
preaching
and said
that's a
360 degree
turn
no
if it's
360 degrees
you keep
going in the
same direction
you're going
and it ain't
that
it's a
180
and second
job we
got
just go
tell somebody
that
go treat
them like
Jesus
would
care more
about your
soul than
you do
their sin
worry
more about
your sin
than you do
theirs
and when we
do that
we're on
track
you want to
know how to
get out of
debt
acknowledge
it
admit it
acknowledge
all of
it
turn
from it
and lay
it at the
feet of
the only
one that
can cancel
it
because you
know what
it's already
been paid
he's paid
for it
we just have
to admit it
and lay it
down
with every head
bowed and
every eye
closed
my burden
this morning
is
that there
may be
somebody
here
who's
never
acknowledged
that sin
before God
confess that
to him
and ask him
to come
into their
life
cleanse them
change them
save them
maybe you
think you
have
maybe other
people think
you have
that
and it'd
be
embarrassing
for you
to acknowledge
such as
that
well I
promise you
just like
that lady
left her
embarrassment
to the side
and dealt
with what
she needed
to do
in her
heart
you need
to deal
with what's
in your
heart
and what
God's
telling you
to do
maybe you're
here this
morning
and
you know
there's sin
in your
life
that you
need to ask
God to
forgive you
for and
to walk
away from
now's
the time
don't put
it off
you walk
out of this
room and
go on your
way
you'll forget
it
move on
now's the
time
get serious
with God
deal with
it
in any way
he tells
you to deal
with it
if that
means going
to somebody
go to
them
if that
means going
to the
altar
go to
the
altar
if it
means
standing
right
where you
are
and asking
God to
forgive you
and to
cleanse you
and to
make you
right again
do it
right where
you are
just do
what God
tells you
to do
maybe you're
here and
you have
done that
you know
that God
has forgiven
you
but there's
a matter
in your
life
you've
made a
personal
decision
for God
but you've
never made
it public
you've
never done
that through
baptism
and I'm
telling you
that's
not a
rite of
passage
it's a
hindrance
it's a
sinful
hindrance
to not
be
baptized
as a
believer
because it
is exactly
what Christ
not only
tells us
to do
but he
shows us
to do
so I
encourage you
to step
forward
and make
what was
private
public
maybe God's
leading you
to be a
part of
this church
you want
to join
us
in the
journey
join
hands
with us
invest
in us
let us
invest
in you
let us
grow
together
in the
Lord
it's
exciting
to be
a part
of that
God's
leading you
to do
that
we'd love
to guide
you
in that
process
I have
no idea
what God
is telling
you
I know
what he
told me
to say
but I
just know
you'll never
be satisfied
until you
be obedient
to him
so just
do what
he tells
you to
do
right now
Lord
Jesus
I love
you
and thank
you
for your
movement
of the
spirit of
God
in this
place
help us
to simply
be obedient
as you
speak to
our hearts
and lives
in Jesus
precious name
amen
stand
together