Luke 12:58-59

The Gospel of Luke chapter 12, verses 58 and 59, When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him, lest he hail thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, the officer cast thee in the prison. I tell thee thou shalt not depart thence till thou hast paid the very last might. May God blessed to us his sacred and holy word this morning. There was a man that decided to make all his funeral arrangements early. He picked out the burial plot. He chose the inscription for the, the stone for his headstone. He selected the casket he wanted and type of service he wanted and all the other necessary things. And he paid all the expenses in advance and he figured, well, when I die, everything’s taken care of. A minister who knew the man well heard that he was busy preparing for the inevitable day. So he said to the man, I understand. You’ve done everything providing a realtor. resting place for your body. Have you given any thought to making arrangements for a resting place for your soul? And he proceeded from there. Talked to the man about being reconciled with God and obtaining in a heavenly home. Jesus has recently spoken about being ready for his second coming. We’ve talked about that in verses 42 to 48. And he’s mentioned the very very much. very severe punishment that awaits those who were unprepared for that day. He’s spoken of death. He’s spoken of hell, the many stripes that await those who know God’s truth but don’t obey it. So it’s only fitting that he closes the chapter here with a parable which illustrates his teaching. We want to talk about being reconciled with God. About being reconciled. prepared to face God when your time comes to stand before your maker. Now let me begin by saying this. In earthly affairs, you reason it best to come in agreement with a powerful adversary. The case supposed here is that of a man who is exposed to a lawsuit because, evidently, he did something wrong to his neighbor. And the adversary is the plaintiff who has brought up. a lawsuit against the man. And it’s a good rule, I think, whenever possible to avoid lawsuits. This is especially true when you’re in the wrong and almost sure to come out the loser. At all costs, avoid such disputes when the evidence is stacked up against you. Proverbs 258 says, go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof when thy neighbor hath put you to shame. Lawsuits are expensive. They can have severe repercussions like land you in jail, as we see here in our text. So the idea is trying to be reconciled with your neighbor before it comes before the court and deliver yourself from disaster. The word deliver here means deliver by way of reconciliation to make amends, to patch things up. So in earthly affairs, you reason it best to come to an agreement with a powerful adversary. We can understand that. We’re familiar with that situation. But we see here also, and I’ll say this secondly this morning, the immense importance of you seeking to be reconciled with God before it’s too late. Now, I think there’s more important meaning to this text than just a parable about lawsuits, because that doesn’t seem to fit in with what he’s taught up to this point. His teaching here is, I think, illustrative of what he’s been leading up to these other verses. it’s to be figuratively applied the state of sinners in reference to God. It was appropriate for the Jews who had prejudices which caused them to be hypocritical and unbelieving with regard to Christ. And overlooking all the signs of the times, this is certain to doom their souls. Because they’re not reconciled with God. it’s going to land them in hellfire. In this parable, then we find instruction to individual sinners, not just in Jesus’ stuff, but I think in every age and nation. Let me begin by saying this. God is your adversary because you’re a sinner. God has a grievous complaint against you. Because you have broken his law. You’ve transgressed against him. You owe God a great debt, a debt of obedience, which you have not rendered to him. And therefore God is angry we read in Scripture with the wicked every day. Psalm 711. You are subject then to his righteous wrath because of your sin. So the thrice whole. Holy God is an adversary to all those who disobey his law and rebel against his authority. God does not overlook, nor does he forget wrongdoing against him. He keeps a careful record of the violations of his law. We have a book of works where read about in Scripture that he is complying. howling, if you would, keeping track of all that we do. The Bible speaks about your need to be reconciled with God before it is too late. So you’re spoken of in Scripture as an enemy of God, Romans 510. God stands opposed to you originally as you come into this world as a sinner. And that’s not a good situation. But to be in. and the face of the Lord is against them to do evil. Cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Psalm 3416. Contrary to popular belief, God is not a benign being, nor does he look favorably upon all men. On the contrary, he is at war with sinners. And his holy wrath is stirred up against them. When you get in the book of Revelation, and you read in chapter 19, by Christ riding on a white horse and going forth to make war against all those who are his enemies, we read. Revelation 1911 to 16. So God is your adversary because you’re a sinner. Jesus Christ is your judge to whom you’re going to have to give an account. Now, you should be concerned to give diligence that you may be delivered or reconciled regarding your adversary, you have to seek peace with God before you are hauled before the judge and condemned. In Job 22, Eliaphas says to Job, acquaint now thyself with Him, with God, and be at peace. Thereby good shall come unto you. Boy, you. you need to get reconciled with God, then good things will happen to you instead of back. Now, Laifahas, I think, was wrong in his estimate of Job, but his point is true with regard to man in general. Agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, we read in Matthew 525. Making peace with God is something that is to be done quickly. You’re in a dangerous position. And while you are in the way, while you’re still alive, while you’re still alive, while you’re still in this life, you better do this. Because after death, it’s too late to be reconciled with God. Therefore, give no sleep to thine eyes till this is done. This is an important duty that you have. is the judge to whom all unrepentant sinners are going to be delivered. As the Lord declares, all judgment is committed to the son by God the Father, John 522. If you reject Jesus Christ as the Savior, I’m telling you he’s going to be your judge. You’re going to stand before him and give an account. Revelation chapter 6 says this, and his enemies said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us. Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand? I like what Matthew Henry said. He said, it’s a fearful thing to be thus turned over to the Lord Jesus when the lamb shall become a lion. we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, scripture says, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he had done, whether it be good or bad. First or second Corinthians 510. There was a man sitting in a law office with aspirations of being a lawyer. And he was in training. And he was in training. And he sat alone very early in the law office. the day. And the Lord began to deal with his heart. He began to ask himself various questions and proceeded to answer those questions. I often do that myself. I don’t know if it’s a sign of you’re losing your mind or not, but I think a lot of us do that. He said, Charles, what are you going to do when you finish your legal training? I’m going to hang out of shingle and start my law practice. He’s the answer. And then what? I’m going to get rich. Then what? I’m going to retire. And then what? I’m going to die. And then what? And the words flowed right out of his tongue, the judgment. From Hebrew or Hebrews. It’s just, for some reason, it’s stuck in his mind. That passage is a point on the man wants to die, and after that, the judgment. And he was so convicted, he was so frightened that he immediately began to pray to the Lord. And after days of struggling, he came to realize the vanity of the selfish life that he was leading in his need of Jesus Christ as the Savior. So he never did get into the law practice. He went into the ministry. And became a minister instead. You should realize the day is coming. When you’re going to have to stand before Christ, the judge, it’s inevitable. So, you’re going to have to stand before Christ to judge. Jesus Christ is the judge before whom you must give an account. Now, thirdly, you should fear being sent to the prison of hell. If death comes before you are reconciled with God, you’re going to be cast into prison. Now, what can this prison be? Well, I suggest to you it is the prison of hell. You remember those who lived in Noah’s Day prior to the flood? who died in a state of unbelief, and they were described by Peter as the spirits in prison. In 1. Peter 319. The angels are the officers who drag you off to the prison, to whom Christ will deliver you when you’re cast into hell. For Matthew 13, 41, 42, says, The Son of Man shall send forth his angels. and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fires. There shall be wailing and gnashing and gnashing of teeth. How was a prison in which you were cast and you remain in a continuous state of enmity with God? How awful and helpless is such a situation? Because you cannot be released till you pay the very last month. Of course, Matthew says, Farlin. And when shall that be? One of the ancient writers said, if we shall remain in prison until we pay the utter boss farling, and we never are able to pay it, it is manifest that future punishment is eternal. Sin is an infinite evil, and it requires an infinite punishment. Now, the sufferings of Christ are of infinite value because of his God. and he made sufficient satisfaction for sin. But the sufferings of the most miserable of the condemned are limited in intensity and are never satisfactory to take away sin. Your dying soul under the guilt of any sin is lost forever. Don’t misinterpret this verse 59. You know, when I’m Lord said, till heaven and earth pass, one jodder, one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. He didn’t mean that there would be a time in the future when the law would pass away. He meant they would never pass away. When we read in the writings of Paul, when he prayed that the Philippians might be sincere, without offense to the day of Christ. He didn’t mean that after the day of Christ that they could be insincere and offensive, did he? No, that they would remain that way, forever. So Christ is not teaching here. There is a chance. There is some hope of escaping. Hellfar. He teaches just the opposite. as he taught elsewhere, the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment of the righteous and the life eternal. Matthew 25. You should fear being sent to the prison of hell. Now, fourthly here, you can never rest until you know you’re reconciled with God. Boy, when you look at this parable and you understand its implications, it ought to be a very sobering experience. It ought to be a very sobering experience. awaken us to the danger if we’re not reconciled with the Lord. You don’t want to come before Christ unless you’re at peace with God. He will be condemned. You will be cast into hell for certain. You need to know you are reconciled with God and your sins are forgiven. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. through our Lord Jesus Christ. By putting our faith and trust in Christ, we can be reconciled with God. We can have our sins forgiven. We can have Christ’s righteousness given to us. When we were enemies, we were reconciled by the death of God’s son. My friend, it’s better to plead guilty now. Sue for peace now. On the basis of your faith in Christ because there is, therefore, now, no condemnation to them which are on Christ Jesus. You get in Christ Jesus now, by faith, there is no condemnation to worry about in the future. Seek peace with God so that good may come to you. Find the perfect righteousness of Christ to clothe you. Avail yourself of God’s method of reconciliation and secure your future. Now, the only way anyone can really know the bliss of reconciliation with God is to experience it for themselves. I can talk about it, but you need to experience. They have that burden lifted off you. That you can go to God as a father. That you are accepted in Christ Jesus, the beloved. There was a native boy who often visited the house of the missionary, who worked with the boy’s tribe. And one day, the missionary gave the boy a sugar cube, which he had never seen before. And he put it in his mouth, and it was sweet. When he reached home, he told his father about this sweet stuff that the missionary gave. And his father asked him, well, is it like so-and-so? The boy says, I don’t know. I can’t tell you that. So we ran back down the street to the missionary’s house. Can I have another sugar cube so that my dad can taste it? So he gets it, he takes it home. He wants to know how sweet it is, and I can’t tell him. I can’t explain it to him. He has to taste it for himself. And that’s what I would say to you. You have to taste it for yourself. reconciliation to God has a sweetness in it and only he who enjoys it knows it. My friend, to lay your head down at night to be reconciled with God to know all things are right between you and the Lord that if you die, you go to me with the Lord. There’s nothing more precious than that. Believe me. There are a lot of people go through life frightened, scared to death, of dying. I would hope that we would be prepared to die. Because it could come at any time. And if we’re prepared to die, then to be absent with the body. We know we’ll be present with the Lord. And that’s the good thing. Well, many, you know, many make all kinds of arrangements, and you may make all kinds of arrangements for your death, taking care of the body, don’t forget to make arrangements for your soul. Take care of that. Because you’re not ready to die until you reconcile with God. Otherwise, you’re going to be condemned to the prison of hell and face eternal punishment. And that’s not where you want to end up. So may God bless to us his word this morning and encourage us in the book.