Jesus was saying god hates what people love

JESUS WAS SAYING GOD HATES WHAT PEOPLE LOVE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
LUKE 16:14-1514 The Pharisees, who lovedmoney,
heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to
them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the
eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What
people valuehighly is detestablein God’s sight.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Explanation Of False Judgment
Luke 16:14
W. Clarkson
Herein is a marvellous thing, that the men who were reputed to be the best
and wisestamong the people of God went so far astrayin their judgment and
their behaviour that they treated with positive contempt the Goodand the
Wise One when he lived before their eyes and spoke in their hearing. It
demands explanation.
I. AN APPARENTLY UNACCOUNTABLE FACT. Here we have:

1. Heavenly wisdom derided by those who were divinely instructed. The
Pharisees hadthe Law of God in their hands. Moreover, they had it in their
minds and memories; they were perfectly familiar with it; they knew it well to
the lastletter. They had the greatadvantage of the devotional Scriptures
following the legal, and the didactic and the illuminating prophetic Scriptures
added to both. Then, to crown all, came the enlightening truths of the great
Teacherhimself; yet they failed to appreciate and even to understand him.
Nor did they simply turn from him without response;they took up the
position of acute and active opposition - "they derided him;" they soughtto
bring his doctrine into popular contempt.
2. Divine goodness deridedby those who were exceptionallydevout. No man
could impeach the devoutness of the Pharisees, thatis to say, so far as manner
and habit were concerned. Their outward behaviour was reverent in the
extreme; their habit of life was regulatedby rules that brought them into
frequent formal connectionwith God and with his Word. Yet with all their
exterior piety they saw the Holy One of God living his transcendently
beautiful his positively perfect life before them, and, instead of worshipping
him as the Sonof God, instead of honouring him as one of the worthiest of the
sons of men, they actually judged him to be unholy and unworthy, and they
endeavouredto bring him under the contempt of all goodmen! Such was their
moral perversity, their spiritual contradictoriness.
II. THE TRUE EXPLANATION OF IT. That which accounts for this radical
and criminal mistake of theirs was spiritual unsoundness. They were all
wrong at heart; they loved the wrong thing, and a false affectionled them, as
it will lead all men, very far astray. Everything is explained in the
parentheticalclause, "who were covetous."Forcovetousnessis an unholy
selfishness. It is a mean and a degrading carefulness abouta man's own
circumstances, a small and a withering desire for an enrichment at other
men's expense;it is an affectionwhich lowers and which enslaves the soul,
ever dragging downwards and deathwards. And it is also a guilty worldliness.

It is not that ambition to make the most and best of the present, which may be
a very honourable aspiration; for "all things are ours [as Christian men],
things present" as well as things to come (1 Corinthians 3:22); it is rather the
moral weaknesswhichallows itself to be lost and buried in the pursuits and
pleasures of earth and time; it is the narrowing of the range of human
attachment and endeavourto that which is sensuous and temporal, excluding
the nobler longings after the spiritual and the eternal. This worldliness is not
only a guilty thing, condemned of God; but it is a disastrous thing, working
most serious evils to mankind.
1. It distorts the judgment.
2. It leads men into wrong and mischievous courses ofaction; it led the
Pharisees to take such an attitude and to initiate such proceedings against
Christ as culminated in his murder.
3. It ends in condemnation - such severe judgment as the Lord passedon these
blind guides (see Matthew 23.). If we would be right at heart and in the sight
of God, it is clearthat "our righteousness must exceedthe righteousness ofthe
scribes and Pharisees."
(1) Multiplied ceremonialismwill not suffice.
(2) Perfectedproprieties will not avail.
(3) Only a humble, trustful, loving heart will make us right.

A true affection, the love of Christ, will lead us into truth and wisdom, will
commend us to God, will land us in heaven. - C.
Biblical Illustrator
The Pharisees also, who were covetous.
Luke 16:14-18
Lovers of money
ClericalWorld.
Those "lovers ofmoney" heard what things? As rulers of the people they
heard the parable of the "unjust steward," andtheir own doom as men
entrusted with the priceless riches of God's teaching pronounced: "How is it
that I hear this of thee?" Theyheard, "He that is faithful in that which is
least" — money — "is faithful also in much."

I. "LOVERS OF MONEY" DERIDE A STRICT SCRUPULOSITY. "Be
faithful in the least." Manyof the customs of trades and professions are out of
harmony with the gospelteaching on strict conscientiousness.
II. "LOVERS OF MONEY" DERIDE THE TEACHING OF THE GOSPEL
ON SELF-DENIAL. Self-denialand a race for wealthare incompatible
things: "Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
III. "LOVERS OF MONEY" DERIDE THOSE WHO CALL THE PURSUIT
OF RICHES THE WORSHIP OF "MAMMON."
IV. "LOVERS OF MONEY" NEED ROUSING BYA STERNER
TEACHING. Was not the Saviour impelled to the utterance of the parable of
"Dives and Lazarus" — look at it — by the looks ofcontempt implied in the
word ἐξομυκτήριζον, the distended nostril and curled lip of these Pharisees?
Does this help to explain our Lord's unusual severity: "In hell he lift up his
eyes, being in torment" "Nothing will shake "the lover of money" but stern
teaching, and not always that.
(ClericalWorld.)
Ye are they which justify yourselves before men
Men often highly esteemwhatGod abhors
C. G. Finney, D. D.
Show how and why it is that men highly esteemthat which God abhors.
1. They have a different rule of judgment. God judges by one rule; they by
another. God's rule requires universal benevolence;their rule is satisfiedwith

any amount of selfishness, so it be sufficiently refined to meet the times. The
world adopts an entirely different rule, allowing men to set up their own
happiness as their end. But God's rule is, "Seek notthine own." God regards
nothing as virtue exceptdevotion to the right ends. The right end is not one's
own, but the generalgood. Hence God's rule requires virtue, while man's rule
at best only restrains vice. Men very inconsideratelyjudge themselves and
others, not by God's rule, but by man's. Here I must notice some of the
evidences of this, and furnish some illustrations. Thus, for example, a mere
negative morality is highly esteemedby some men. Again, a religion which is
merely negative is often highly esteemed. So also of a religion which at best
consists offorms and prayers, and does not add to these the energies of
benevolent effort. Again, the business aims and practices of business men are
almost universally an abomination in the sight of God. ProfessedChristians
judge themselves falsely, because they judge by a false standard. One of the
most common and fatal mistakes is to employ a merely negative standard. The
goodChristian in the world's esteemis never abrupt, never aggressive,yethe
is greatly admired. He has a selfishdevotion to pleasing man, than which
nothing is more admired. Now, this may be highly esteemedamong men; but
does not Godabhor it?
(C. G. Finney, D. D.)
God knowethyour hearts
The heart-searcher
C. M. Merry.
I. This truth is eminently calculatedto deepen our sense ofthe
unapproachable greatness ofthe Godwith whom we have to do.
II. This truth illustrates, not the greatness only, but also the forbearance and
mercy of God.

III. This truth should teachyou, my brethren, the folly, not to dwell on the
guilt, of formality and hypocrisy.
IV. This truth is adapted to console andencourage the often misjudged and
afflicted people of God.
V. This truth assures us beforehand of the equity of the Divine awards at the
judgment-day.
(C. M. Merry.)
God's knowledge ofthe heart
Sir James Simpson.
At the present day many persons have photographs of their faces taken, which
they present to their friends. But if it were possible to have an album of
photographs taken of our sinful souls, revealing and blazoning forth all the
evil deeds they had eachdone, all the evil words they had ever spoken, and all
the evil thoughts they had ever thought, how hideous and horrible would such
pictures be! Would any man dare to give his true soul-photograph to any
brother man? I think not; and far less to his friends. Yet the things and
thoughts we would thus concealfrom others, and even from ourselves, are all
known to God. He has full and faithful photographs of all; for He is perfectly
cognizantof every single one of our evil deeds, and words, and imaginations.
Nay, possibly we unwittingly carry about with us complete photographs of our
own souls. May not the unsaved soul carry this recordwith it at death? May
not unsaved sinners be thus both their own self-accusersand witnessesbefore
the judgment-seatof Christ? Nor can anything except His blood, "which
cleansethfrom all sin," blot and washout the record of our iniquities, and
prepare the soul, by the grace ofGod, to receive the image of His Son.

(Sir James Simpson.)
Every man pressethinto it.
Violence victorious
R. Sibbes, D. D.
I. THE STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
1. A kingdom.
2. The kingdom of heaven.
II. THE DISPOSITIONOF THOSE WHO SEEK THIS KINGDOM. Violent.
1. Betweenus and the blessedstate we aim at there is much opposition; and
therefore there must be violence.
(1)The means of grace and salvation are opposedfrom within us.
(2)There is also opposition from the world.
(a)Snares and delights, to quench our pleasure in the goodthings of the Spirit.
(b)Fears, terrors, and scandals, to scare us from doing what we ought.

2. God will have this violence and striving, to testthe truth of our profession.
3. God will have us getthese things with violence, that we may value them
more when we have them.
4. The excellence ofthe thing requires violence.
5. The necessityrequires it. The kingdom of heavenis a place of refuge as well
as a kingdom to enrich us.
III. THE SUCCESS OF THIS EAGERNESS. The violent take the kingdom by
force. Why?
1. Becauseit is promised to the violent (Matthew 7:7; Revelation3:19-21).
2. The spirit whereby a man is earnestis a victorious spirit. The Spirit of God
possesses them; and with His help they cannotfail.
3. Only the violent take it, because Godoffers it on this condition alone.
4. Only the violent can prize it when they have it.
(R. Sibbes, D. D.)

Takenby force
T. T. Shore, M. A.
Let us look in a large way at this important truth. Everything great on earth
has to be achievedby long, earnest, persistenttoil. If you seek to become
master of any art, any literature, any science, anyaccomplishment, you do not
sit down and say, "Godis the giver of all good, and I shall not be so arrogant
as to strive for that which He alone can bestow." Youknow very wellit can
only be had by meeting every obstacle andconquering it. The very value of
the thing is estimatedoften by the straining endeavour, the unconquerable
zeal, and the cease. less labourwhich are requisite to its attainment. We so
often see only the results in certain lives, and not the long processeswhich
have been leading up to those results, that we are tempted sometimes to forget
this. A poetwrites some verses that cause the whole nation's soul to burn and
glow;an oratormakes some speech that thrills his country to its very heart's
core;a philosopher observes some phenomena which open up a whole field of
scientific truth. We are dazzled with the success;we are forgetful of the long,
patient hours of study and of thought which have gone before. Millions had
seenapples fall before Newtondid, and it revealednothing to them; millions
had seenthe kettle lid blown off by steam before Watt did, and it suggestedno
thought to them; millions had lost their dearestfriend before Tennysonlost
Hallam, and they wrote no "In Memoriam";millions had watchednations
reeling with the shock of revolution before Burke gazed on the shattered
throne and the polluted altar of France, and no burning words of eloquence
fell from their lips or from their pen. To the souls trained in patient thought
the revelationof greattruth comes — or rather, what are common facts to
others are revelations to them. Don't call these things accidents. "The
accidentalfalling of an apple was the cause of the discovery of the laws of
gravity," says a popular treatise. A fearful untruth. The cause of the discovery
was the long period of deep self-sacrificing thought which Newtonhad given
to Nature. "Whata lucky man Newtonwas to have that apple fall before
him!" said a young man once, in my hearing. "Rather," saida thoughtful
man, standing by, "whata lucky apple to fall before Newton!" There is a
world of truth in that. So one might go through the whole range of human
experience and culture, and everywhere the kingdom that you want to become

master of has to be takenby force. The door is opened to the persistent
knocking. The bread is given to the unwearied demand. The treasure is found
by the one who has been seeking. Now we come to the highest life of all — to
the culture of that part of our nature which transcends all else. Is it not this
greatprinciple which pervades all the physical and mental world; which we
see in every tiny plant as it struggles through the earth towards the light, in
every mighty oak scarredwith the lightnings and storms of ages, in every
torrent that fights its way towards the ocean;which we see in every
achievementof physical science,in every path she has constructedacross
mountain or morass, in every railroad for which she has torn and blasteda
way through the granite of the earth; which we see in every greatpainting
that has glowedwith beauty on the canvas, in every great work of the sculptor
who has made the cold marble breathe and live; which we see in every page of
every greatbook in which Science records herfacts, or poet, or historian, or
philosopher has penned his researchesand his thoughts — is not, I say, this
greatprinciple, which thus meets us everywhere — in all noble results, and all
greatachievements, in every department of human thought and life — to be
found anywhere in the grander life of the immortal soul? Surely it is,
brethren, and we ignore the teaching of Christ and of His apostles if we
regard Christ's religionas merely a means by which we are to be saved from
all trouble and responsibility about the future. There are people who tell you
that all you have to do is to "acceptChrist," "believe in Him," and then He
has done all for you — you need have no more anxiety or trouble. All through
those Epistles, which are so full of the gospelof the grace ofGod, and where
Christ and Him crucified is the central fact of the Christian faith, the apostle,
in words which thrill with the living powerof deep personalexperience,
speaks ofthe Christian life as a ceaseless, protracted, fearfulstruggle. Be
exhausts things sacredand profane to find imagery to depict and to impress
this truth. The Christian life is a race for which no previous preparation is too
careful; in which every nerve is to be strained, and on which all our force is to
be concentrated, that we may " obtain the prize" (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
(T. T. Shore, M. A.)

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(14) And the Pharisees also,who were covetous.—The words are important as
showing that they had been listening during the previous parable, and that the
words, though addressedto the disciples, had been meant also for them. (See
Note on Luke 16:1.)The word for “covetous”is literally lovers of money, as
distinct from more generalcupidity, and as being used by St. Paul in
2Timothy 3:2, and nowhere else in the New Testament, furnishes another
instance of community of language betweenhim and the Evangelist.
Derided him.—The verb implies visible rather than audible signs of scorn—
the distended nostril, and the sneering lip, the naso suspendere adunco of the
Roman satirist. It is, i.e., a word that forcibly expresses the physiognomy of
contempt (see Galatians 6:7). Here againwe have a word common to the two
writers just named. The motive of the derision lies on the surface. Thatthey,
the teachers ofIsrael, should be told that they were like the Unjust Steward,
that they were wasting their Lord’s goods, that they must make friends with
the unrighteous mammon of quite another kind than those whom they were
wont to court—this was more than they could stand. They have felt the force
of the rebuke, and therefore they stifle it with mockery—
“A little grain of consciencemade them sour.”
BensonCommentary
Luke 16:14-15. The Pharisees,who were covetous — Of a very worldly spirit;
heard all these things — Namely, concerning the true use of riches, and the
impossibility of men’s serving God and mammon at the same time; and they
derided him — As a visionary, who despisedthe riches, honours, and

pleasures of life for no other reasonbut because he could not procure them.
The original word, εξεμυκτηριζον, is very emphatical, signifying, they mocked
him, by a scornful motion of the mouth and nose, as wellas by what they
spake to him. The word might properly be rendered, they sneered. “There
was a gravity and dignity in our Lord’s discourse which, insolent as they were,
would not permit them to laugh out; but by some scornful air they hinted to
eachother their mutual contempt.” — Doddridge. And he said, Ye are they
which justify yourselves before men — By shunning the company of sinners,
and your care of external appearances,you make specious pretences to
extraordinary sanctity before the world, and you seldom fail to acquire a
greatreputation for it. Or, the meaning may be, You think yourselves
righteous, and persuade others to think you so. But God knoweth your hearts
— You cannot justify yourselves before him, who knows you to be so far from
being righteous, that you are very wicked. Forthough you may have covered
the foulness of your crimes with the painted cloak ofhypocrisy, and by going
about, thus adorned, have cheatedthose who look no further than the outside,
into a high admiration of you, you cannot screenyourselves from the detection
of God, whose eye penetrates through every covering, and who judges of
things not by their appearances, but according to truth. Forthat which is
highly esteemedamong men, &c. — In consequenceofwhich it comes to pass
that he often abhors both men and things that are held in the highest
estimation.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
16:13-18 To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve
God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke
thus, the covetous Phariseestreatedhis instructions with contempt. But he
warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its
meaning: this our Lord showedin a case respecting divorce. There are many
covetous sticklers forthe forms of godliness, who are the bitterest enemies to
its power, and try to setothers againstthe truth.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible

They derided him - The factthat they were "covetous"is here statedas the
reasonwhy they derided him, or, as it is literally, "they turned up the nose at
him." They contemned or despisedthe doctrine which he had laid down,
probably because it showedthem that with their love of money they could not
be the true friends of God, or that their professionof religion was really false
and hollow. They were "attempting" to serve God and mammon, and they,
therefore, lookedupon his doctrine with contempt and scorn.
Justify yourselves - "Attempt" to appear just; or; you aim to appear righteous
in the sight of people, and do not regard the heart.
That which is highly esteemed - That is, mere external works, or actions
performed merely to "appear" to be righteous.
Is abomination - Is abominable, or hateful. The word used here is the one that
in the Old Testamentis commonly given to "idols," and denotes God's
"abhorrence" ofsuch conduct. These words are to be applied "chiefly" to
what Jesus was discoursing about. There are many things esteemedamong
people which are "not" abomination in the sight of God; as, for example,
truth, parental and filial affection, industry, etc. But many things, much
sought and admired, "are" hateful in his sight. The love of wealthand show,
ambition and pride, frivolous and splendid vices, and all the wickedness that
people contrive to "gild" and to make appearlike virtue - external acts that
"appear" wellwhile the heart is evil - are abominable in the sight of God, and
"should be" in the sight of people. Compare Luke 18:11-14;1 Samuel 16:7.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
14-18. covetous… derided him—sneered at Him; their master sin being too
plainly struck at for them to relish. But it was easierto run down than to
refute such teaching.
Matthew Poole's Commentary

Concerning the Pharisees’covetousnesswe have often heard before;and
indeed they were so from this principle, that none but the rich were happy
and blessed, and that all poor people were cursed, John 7:49; in oppositionto
whom some think that our Saviour, Luke 6:20, blessedthe poor. The promises
relating to the Old Testament, and made to the Jews, were generallyof
temporal blessings, though under them spiritual mercies were also
understood. As hypocrites cannever endure to have their beloved lusts
touched, and persons that have drank in an error have no patience to hear it
contradicted; so the Pharisees had no patience to hear that doctrine, which
crossedwhatthey had taught, and struck at their darling lusts.
They derided him: the word used signifieth a deriding with the highest degree
of scornand contempt.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And the Pharisees also who were covetous,....Or lovers of money, the love of
which is the root of all evil; and that they were, is evident from their
devouring widows'houses, under a pretence of making long prayers for them,
Matthew 23:14
heard all these things; as well as the disciples, being in company with them,
Luke 15:2 even the parable concerning the unjust steward, and the
application of it; and the directions given about using the things of this world,
and the distributing of them to the poor, and showing a greaterconcernfor
riches of an higher nature:
and they derided him: lift up their nose, ordrew it out to him, as the word
signifies, in a sneering way; they rejectedand despisedwhat he said about
their injustice, in their stewardship;the calling of them to an accountfor it,
and the turning of them out of it; and concerning the true use of worldly
riches, and the contempt of them; they lookedupon themselves safe and
secure in the goodopinion of the people, and happy in the enjoyment of

worldly things; and lookedupon him as a weak man, to talk in the manner he
did.
Geneva Study Bible
And the Pharisees also, who were covetous,heardall these things: and they
derided him.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Luke 16:14-15. The mocking sneer(ἑκμυκτηρίζειν, Luke 23:35;2 Samuel
19:21;Psalm 2:4; Psalm34:19; Psalms 3 Esdr. Luke 1:53) of the Pharisees,
who indeed so well knew their pretended sanctity to be compatible with their
striving after temporal possessions, Jesus, in Luke 16:15, disclosesatits
source, which was the self-conceitoftheir righteousness. ὑμεῖς ἐστε κ.τ.λ., ye
are the people who make yourselves righteous (i.e. declare yourselves as
righteous) before men. Contrast:the divine δικαίωσις as it especiallybecame
the substance ofthe Pauline Gospel.[201]The Pharisee in the temple, Luke
18:11 f., gives a repulsive illustration of the δικαιοῦνἑαυτόν, andhe even
ventures it in the presence ofGod.
ὅτι τὸ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὑψ. κ.τ.λ.]since, indeed, that which is lofty (standing in
high estimation) among men is an abomination before God. Comp. Psalm
138:6. Thence it is plainly evident that God knows your (evil) hearts,
otherwise that which is lofty among men would also be highly esteemedwith
Him, and not appear as an abomination. This generally expressedjudgment of
God has as its concrete backgroundthe seemingly holy condition of the
Pharisees,and hence is not indeed to be arbitrarily limited (multa, quae, etc.,
Kuinoel); but, moreover, neither is it to be pressedto an absolute and equal
application to all, although in relative variation of degrees it is valid without
exception. Schleiermacherand Paulus find a concealedreference to Herod
Antipas; but this without the slightesthint in the connectioncould not

possibly present itself to the hearers;the less that even Luke 16:18 cannot be
referred to the relation of Herod to Herodias (see already Tertullian, c. Marc.
iv. 34), since this latter was not forsakenby Philip, but had separatedherself
arbitrarily from him.
[201]To attribute δικαιοσύνη as the fundamental demand of Christianity to
the influence of Pharisaismon the development of Christ (see especially,
Keim, Der Geschichtl. Chr. p. 35) is the more doubtful, as this fundamental
thought prevails throughout the whole Old Testament.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 16:14-18 form a “somewhatheavily built bridge” (H. C.) betweenthe
two parables, which setforth the right and the wrong use of riches.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
14-31. Dives and Lazarus,—a Parable to the Covetous, PrecededByRebukes
To The Pharisees.
14. who were covetous]Rather, lovers of money, 2 Timothy 3:2. The charge is
amply borne out by the references in the Talmud to the rapacity shewnby the
Rabbis and Priests ofthe period. See Matthew 23:13.
they derided him] The word is one expressive ofthe strongestand most open
insolence, Luke 23:35. There is a weakerform of the word in Galatians 6:7.
Here the jeering was doubtless aimed by these haughty and respected
plutocrats at the deep poverty of Jesus and His humble followers. It marks
howeverthe phase of daring opposition which was not kindled till the close of
His ministry. They thought it most ridiculous to suppose that riches hindered
religion—forwere not they rich and religious?
Bengel's Gnomen

Luke 16:14. Καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι, the Pharisees also)His words were addressed
to the disciples in the hearing of the Pharisees.—φιλάργυροι, covetous)A class
of persons who are the most ready of all to take offence.—ἐξεμυκτήριζον, they
beganto deride Him) who was the teacherof singleness ofheart. [Whereas
they fancied themselves to be accomplishedin (furnished with) such prudence
as to be able admirably to combine the service of God and that of mammon.—
V. g.]
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 14. - And the Phariseesalso, who were covetous, heardall these things:
and they derided him. This shows that many of the dominant secthad been
present and had listened to the parable of the unjust steward. Although
scrupulous, and in a wayreligious men, these Pharisees were notorious for
their respectand regardfor riches, and all that riches purchase, and they felt,
no doubt deeply, the Lord's bitter reproach of covetousness.They, the rulers
and leaders of Israel, the religious guides, were evidently attackedin such
teaching as they had been lately listening to, not the common people whom
they so despised. The scornful words alluded to in the expression, "they
derided him," were no doubt directed againstthe outward poverty of the
popular GalilaeanTeacher. "It is all very well," they would say, "forone
springing from the ranks of the people, landless, moneyless, to rail at wealth
and the possessorsofwealth; we can understand such teaching from one such
as you."
Vincent's Word Studies
Covetous (φιλάργυροι)
Rev. renders literally, according to the compositionof the word, lover, of
money. Only here and 2 Timothy 3:2. Compare the kindred noun, 1 Timothy
6:10. The usual word for covetous is πλεονέκτης (1 Corinthians 5:10, 1
Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 6:10).
Derided (ἐξεμυκτήριζον)

Only here and Luke 23:35. Lit., to turn up the nose at. The Romans had a
corresponding phrase, naso adunco suspendere, to hang on the hookednose:
i.e., to turn up the nose and make a hook of it, on which (figuratively) to hang
the subjectof ridicule. Thus Horace, in one of his satires, giving an accountof
a pretentious banquet at the house of a rich miser, describes one of the guests
as hanging everything to his nose;i.e., making a joke of everything that
occurred. The simple verb occurs at Galatians 6:7, of mocking God.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 16:14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to
all these things and were scoffing at Him.
KJV Luke 16:14 And the Pharisees also,who were covetous, heardall these
things: and they derided him.
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money Luke 12:15;20:47; Isaiah
56:11;Jer 6:13; 8:10; Ezek 22:25-29;33:31;Mt 23:14
were scoffing at Him Luke 8:53; 23:35; Ps 35:15,16;119:51;Isaiah53:3; Jer
20:7,8;Heb 11:36;Heb 12:2,3
Luke 16 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 16:14-18 Scoffing or Submitting? - StevenCole

Luke 16:14-15 Why False TeachersMockthe Truth, Part 1 - John MacArthur
The Worship of Mammon
Evelyn De Morgan
PHARISEES SCOFF AT JESUS'
TEACHING ON MONEYAND MASTERS
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money - Jesus had just described two
masters, Godand mammon. He had hit a nerve and presseda "Hot Button"
of the Pharisees!The Pharisees were the prototypical hypocrite - they
pretended to be lovers of God. In fact they were lovers of money, who
worshiped at the altar of the god Mammon depicted above in gold with a firm
grip on a gold money bag! One cansee them scoffing at Jesus'"exclusive"
statementthat a person can serve only one master, either God or gold! These
"gold-diggers"woulddefinitely be offended by this dogmatic declaration!
They were deceivedand did not recognize that their love of mammon
precluded their love of Messiah, andthus shut them out of the Kingdom of
God. Beware ofthe eternal danger inherent in the love of money! This
axiomatic truth begs the question - What/Who do you love? John was very
clearin his first letter when he issued a strong command
Do not love (present imperative with a negative = stop doing this or don't start
loving) the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves (present tense -
continually) the world, the love of the Father is not in him (ED: NOTE THE
PRINCIPLE - LOVE OF THE WORLD PRECLUDES LOVE OF GOD, cf
Lk 16:13). 16 For (term of explanation) all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the

Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts;
but the one who does (present tense - speaking not of perfectionbut of the
generaldirection) the will of God lives (abides) forever. (1 John 2:15-17-note,
cf James 4:4-note)
Jesus teachesthat one can be "religious" andcovetous. In fact, the most
covetous men are sometimes the most religious, as were the Phariseesperhaps
the most religious sectthat ever lived. Paul has an apt descriptionfor these
religious hypocrites...
For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that
they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose godis
their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who settheir minds on
earthly things. (Php 3:18-19-note)
PastorStevenCole introduces his message onLk 16:14-18 with these
comments - A “Frank and Ernest” cartoonshows the perpetual bumblers
standing at the PearlyGates. St. Peter has a scowlon his face. Ernie is smiling
innocently, but he’s wearing a T-shirt that says, “QuestionAuthority.” Frank
is whispering to him, “If I were you, I’d change my shirt, Ernie.” (See cartoon
from Bob Thaves, 10/4/95 - see anothercartoonon Questioning Authority)
Americans generallyaren’t inclined toward submission to authority, even
when that authority is God. Like Ernie, we could easilyend up at heaven’s
gates wearing a “QuestionAuthority” T-shirt! But that’s not an advisable
thing to do! Our text deals with the authority of Jesus, althoughthe flow of
thought is difficult to track. At first it seems like a disjointed bunch of verses.
Lu 16:14 mentions the Pharisees’scoffing atJesus’teaching about money, but
then the restof the verses don’t deal with the subject of money at all. The final
verse of the section(Lu 16:18), on divorce, seems totally foreign to the context.
Probably what we are looking at is a condensed versionof what originally was
a longer discourse. The transitions are missing, which makes it more difficult

to pick up the flow of thought. But the overall theme has to do with the
authority of Jesus and God’s Word versus the self-proclaimed authority of the
Pharisees,who are rejecting Jesus and God’s Word. They would have
protestedthat they kept the Law, but Jesus brings in the word about divorce
to show them an example of how they only keepthe Law when it fits with
what they want to do. When it doesn’t fit, they invent ways to dodge it. Thus
while the outcasts (Lu 15:1-note) are flocking into the kingdom, the Pharisees
will be castout, condemned by the very Law they proclaimed to follow. To
paraphrase and give the flow of thought in Lu 16:14-18, Jesusis saying,
“You Pharisees pride yourselves on keeping the Law, but God knows your
hypocritical hearts. What you’re missing is that the old dispensationcame to a
climax in John’s ministry, since he introduced the goodnews of the coming of
God’s king and kingdom. Ironically, while you are scoffing at Me and My
kingdom, the very ones you despise—the poorand the notoriously sinful—are
stampeding to get in. When I say that there has been a transition from the
Law to the Gospel, I don’t mean that the Law is setaside. Rather, it has been
fulfilled in Me. For example, I uphold the true intent of God’s Law regarding
divorce and remarriage, but you Phariseesneatlyset it aside with your liberal
interpretations.”
So the issue is Jesus’authority versus the self-proclaimedauthority of the
Pharisees,who were scoffing at Him. The messageforus is Since God’s
kingdom comes in the person of Jesus, we must submit to His authority, not
scoffat it. (Luke 16:14-18 Scoffing or Submitting?) (Bolding added)
POSB - The religionists and others standing before Jesus couldnot believe
what they were hearing.
⇒ Jesus was saying that a man’s energy and effort in seeking and looking
after money was wrong, that a man could not seek money and at the same
time keephis mind and thoughts upon God. It was impossible to concentrate

on both. Jesus was demanding total allegiance,allof one’s mind and thoughts,
energy and effort. Those who heard Jesus knew exactlywhat He was saying.
⇒ Jesus was saying that a man must not give himself to seek the comfort and
ease and pleasures and possessions ofthe world.
⇒ Jesus was going againstthe philosophy of the world, a philosophy that had
even permeated religious circles:that money and possessions are a sign of the
blessings ofGod.
PastorJohn MacArthur introduces his sermon on this sectionnoting that
"One of the real paradoxes of religion is this: that those who are the greatest
enemies of God are those who are the most religious. One would assume that
the more religious you are the closerto God you are; the more religious you
are the more favorable to God you are;the more religious you are the more
God would approve of you. But just the opposite is true. The archenemy of
God is false religion. The most vile and violent enemies of God are those who
rejectHis truth and substitute anything else. Thosewho will suffer the
severesteternalpunishment in hell are those who have rejectedthe truth and
embraceda false religion. It is an ironic reality that those who are the
recognizedrepresentatives ofGod are actually filled with the greatest
contempt for God and will receive from God the severestjudgment. Sadto
say, but true, that the religious leaders of Israelfit into this category. The
Pharisees were the religious leaders of Israel. They had the people. The
temple practices were operatedby the Sadducees but they were the religious
liberals, and didn't have strong influence with the people. Basicallythey ran
the powerstructure in Jerusalem, but the leaders of the people in the
synagoguesscatteredthroughout the nation of Israel were the Pharisees. It
was their systemthat was basicallypropagated, believed and embracedby the
populace. (They are Jesus') archenemies,the instruments of Satan.
Pharisees (5330)(pharisaios)is transliterated from the Hebrew parash(06567
- to separate)from Aramaic word peras (06537)("Peres"in Da 5:28-note),

signifying to separate, owing to a different manner of life from that of the
generalpublic. They were a small but highly influential group who
emphasized meticulous observance the Torah supplemented by their
numerous extrabiblical traditions, and they taught that by keeping the Law
one could righteousness before Godand retains his favor.
Ironically, it was the zealof the Pharisees forthe Law that causedthem to
become focusedon rituals and external acts that symbolized in their warped
way of thinking that they were keeping of the Law. They abandoned true
religion which is internal and of the heart and exchangedit for external
behavior and ritual as their means by which they would achieve (self)
righteousness. Thus it is not surprising that they would oppose the authority
of Jesus the Righteous One the only Source of righteousness acceptableto
God. These hypocrites claimed to know the Scriptures but they missedthe
truth of how one might attain true righteous which was described very clearly
in Genesis 15:6-note whenAbraham "believedin the LORD; and He
reckonedit to him (imputed or placed on his "spiritual account")as
righteousness."We see this same truth in Isaiah53:11 "As a result of the
anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the
Righteous One, My Servant (MESSIAH - JESUS), will justify (DECLARE
RIGHTEOUS)the many, As He will bear their iniquities (cf 1 Pe 2:24-note, 2
Cor 5:21-note, 1 Cor 1:30). Earlier in Jesus'ministry the Pharisees had
invited Him to meals in their homes (Lk 7:36-note, Lk 11:37-note, Lk 14:1-
note), but from this time (after Luke 16)until His Crucifixion He was never
invited to share a meal with them. Their antagonismand animosity toward
Jesus was reaching a "fever pitch" and eventually became a plot to kill Him!
It is an amazing thought that the plot to kill Jesus was being orchestratedby
the leaders of religionin Israel!
Lovers of money (literally "lovers of silver")(5366)(philarguros is from philos
= loving or friend + arguros = silver [literally in Rev18:12, Mt 10:9, Jas 5:3;
figuratively of "goodworks" in 1 Cor3:12 which endure the fire of God's

final judgment] in turn from argos = white, shining, bright, glistening) is a
adjective meaning loving silver. Since all money in Jesus'day was coinage
with no paper money, one could say they were lovers of coins. This adjective
describes a person who is fond of money with the connotationof this person
having a greedydisposition. The word appears as a proper name in one
secularwriting! Imagine living with that name! But that is in a sense whatthe
Pharisees did for it is one of several"names" Jesus attachedto these evil men!
It is notable that the Pharisees were ofthe same ilk as the false disciple Judas
who even pilfered the money box (Jn 12:4-5, 6) and then betrayed Christ for
30 silver coins, ironically the price of a slave (Ex 21:32)!
Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, wentto the chief priests, and
said, "Whatare you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?" And they
weighedout to him thirty pieces of silver (argurion). And from then on he
beganlooking for a goodopportunity to betray Him. (Mt 26:14-16)
MacArthur explains that Judas "was in it because he thought Jesus would
bring the kingdom and he would be wealthy and rich and prominent in it.
Pretty typical; he was moved by avarice."
Another reasonthe Pharisees who were lovers of money were scoffing at Jesus
is because He had just taught in Luke 16:9 to "make friends for yourselves by
means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive
you into the eternal dwellings." In other words Jesus was saying invest in
God, not in yourself, which clearlywould have convictedthe greedyPharisees.
They had no interest in or intention of using their money for purposes that
Jesus had just brought to their attention. Like they lover of money Judas, they
were in religion for the money for themselves, not for God and His Kingdom.
And so they were exposedand convictedby Jesus'words which motivated

them to mock His words. They were like those people Jesus describedin John
3:19-20
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved
the darkness ratherthan the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “Foreveryone
who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his
deeds will be exposed."
Jesus was the Light of the World (Jn 8:12) and His truth stirred up hostility,
anger, animosity. In short, as Jesus taughtin John 3:20, the Pharisees hated
the Light! Why? Because theirdeeds were evil and they knew it!
Wayne Barberdefines lovers of Moneyas "prosperity seekers – they pursue
and cherish money. A person working overtime to get wealthyqualifies as a
lover of money. It doesn'tmatter if you are wealthy or not. The keyis what is
your motivation and how you got there. A lover of self will love money
because moneyis what does for self what humanly speaking nothing else can
do. Whereas Christianity seeks to put self on the Cross, money builds self up
in the world's eyes. Application: How do you handle money? This will tell you
where your heart is "for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also"
(Mt 6:21-note)And we canfind this in the ministry – "Name it and Claim it",
"Getright with God and getrich." This message worksin America but try
preaching it in Romania. This messageis like poisonwhich will start with the
dead ones and move eventually into the living ones and paralyze the things
that God is wanting to do."
The corresponding noun (philarguria) occurs in 1 Ti 6:10, where Paul
explains that "the love of money is a rootof ALL sorts of evil, and some by
longing for it have wandered awayfrom the faith and piercedthemselves with
many griefs." Indeed, the Pharisees wanderedfrom the Truth of God's Word

(missing the personificationof Truth standing and speaking in their midst
warning about money) and ironically would end up piercing their souls with
many griefs, even as they cheeredon the piercing of the Son of God on the
Cross!
Were listening to all these things - They were listening not to learn from Jesus
the MasterTeacher, not to hear and heed the Word of God, but to ridicule
Jesus, the Living Word and Lord of the Universe!
TURNING UP THEIR
NOSE TO JESUS!
Were scoffing at Him - The contempt of the Pharisees forJesus was visible!
Woe!These religious bigots understood full well what Jesus was saying about
money. But as with all who are of their "ilk" (lovers of money), they did not
appreciate nor appropriate what He was saying. In fact to the contrary they
mockedthe Son of God! What beganin Luke 15:2-note as grumbling and
complaining had escalatedin chapter16 to open scoffing and mocking of God!
And clearly their open mocking was intended to deter any of those following
in the crowdfrom accepting that Jesus was the true Messiah. Beloved, every
false religion will targetJesus in one way or another. They may not do it
openly (e.g., the Mormons claim to believe in Jesus), but their teachings will
distort the truth that Jesus is the Son of God and that He Alone is "the way,
and the truth, and the life" and absolutely "no one comes to the Father but
through" Him. (John 14:6) It is only logicalthat, like the Pharisees,EVERY
false religion must somehow attack the claim that "there is salvationin no one
else;for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men
by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) So the next time someone tries to sell
you a false religion, press them about what they believe the Bible teaches
about Jesus!The Phariseesunderstoodwhat Jesus was claiming and thus did

all they could to invalidate His claims, until finally they were forcedto kill
Him!
Wiersbe - They professedto trust God, but they measuredlife by wealth and
possessions, the same as the unbelieving worldly crowd. Far too many
professedChristians today are making the same mistake. With their lips, they
honor the Lord; but with their wealth, they live like the world. (Ibid)
Guzik quips "The derision of the Phariseeswas basedon their own self-
interest. They were lovers of money. Often we reject the messageofJesus
because it hits too close to home."
Solomondescribed men like the Pharisees
Proverbs 13:1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, But a scofferdoes not
listen to rebuke.
Proverbs 14:6 A scofferseekswisdomand finds none, But knowledge is easy
to one who has understanding.
Proverbs 15:12 A scofferdoes not love one who reproves him, He will not go
to the wise.
Rod Mattoonapplies this truth - Let me ask, "Do you find yourselves making
fun of Bible preaching, godly living, or Christians that desire to walk with
God? Do you have the traits of a scorner? Do you turn up your nose about the
importance of serving one masterin your life? Do you turn up your nose
about the importance of making the Lord more important than money?"

Scoffing (1592)(ekmukterizo fromek = out + mukterizo = mock from mukter
= nose, nostril) means literally they were holding up their nose at Jesus!They
were ridiculing Him, sneering at Him, treating Him with disdain and
contempt. This is repudiation in the most severe degree!The imperfect tense
indicates they were manifesting this evil behavior toward Jesus againand
again, over and over. One can envision them listening to the His words in Lk
16:1-13 and scoffing overand over, after every sentence He spoke! The
Messianic Psalm22 emphasizes that this scoffing of Jesus will continue for Ps
22:7 says "All who see me sneer(Lxx = ekmukterizo) at me." But guess what?
God gets the last laugh so to speak, forthis same verb is used in the
Septuagint of Ps 2:4 which says "He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord
scoffs (Lxx = ekmukterizo)at them." The only other use of ekmukterizo in the
Septuagint is in Ps 35:16.
Rod Mattoonmakes a play on the meaning of ekmukterizo entitling his
sermon on Lk 16:14-18 "Thumbs Up or Thumbed Up Noses!"
The only other NT use of ekmukterizo is by Luke describing the mocking
attitude of those at the foot of Jesus'cross, indicating that mocking or scoffing
at Jesus had become the pattern from Luke 16 to the end of Jesus'life.
And the people stoodby, looking on. And even the rulers (SURELY
INCLUDING THE PHARISEES)were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved
others; let Him save Himself if (SINCE)this is the Christ (MESSIAH) of God,
His ChosenOne.” (Luke 23:35-note)
Wiersbe - The Wall StreetJournal quoted an anonymous wit who defined
money as "an article which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere
exceptheaven, and as a universal provider for everything excepthappiness."

The writer might have added that money is also a provoker of covetousness
and competition, a wonderful servant but a terrible master. (The Bible
Exposition Commentary – New Testament, Volume 1)
May our hymn to Him and our prayer to Him be this stanza from Be Thou
My Vision (Play Fernando Ortega's version):
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise.
Thou my inheritance now and always.
Thou and Thou only first in my heart,
High king of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
Luke 16:15 And He saidto them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the
sight of men, but Godknows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed
among men is detestable in the sight of God.
KJV Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves
before men; but God knowethyour hearts: for that which is highly esteemed
among men is abomination in the sight of God.
You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men Luke 10:29;11:39;
18:11,21;20:20,47;Pr 20:6; Mt 6:2,5,16;23:5,25-27;Ro 3:20; James 2:21-25
God knows your hearts 1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Chr 29:17;2 Chr 6:30; Ps 7:9;
139:1,2;Jer 17:10; Jn 2:25; Jn 21:17; Acts 1:18; 15:8; 1 Cor 4:5; Rev2:23
or that which is highly esteemedamong men is detestable in the sight of God
Ps 10:3; 49:13,18;Pr 16:5; Isaiah1:10-14;Amos 5:21,22;Mal 3:15; 1 Pe 3:4;
5:5
Luke 16 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Luke 16:14-18 Scoffing or Submitting? - StevenCole
THE DETESTABLE
DECEPTIONOF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of
men - Jesus is now directly addressing the Pharisees who practiceda religion
of outward show before other men. Their religion was false, fake and phony!
Here Jesus accusesthem of literally "declaring their own righteousness!"
Their desire was for the approval of men, not the approval of God. Their self-
righteousness producedno transformation in their heart. If they scoffedwhen
Jesus spoke aboutmoney, imagine their reactionto His "frontal assault" on
the very foundation of their false religion! And He may be speaking of the
propensity of men to use their wealthto justify themselves before other men.
Have we not all seenwealthychurch members who court favor and honor of
men with their wealth? They are "justifying" themselves before men.
In Matthew 23 addressing the Pharisees Jesussaid
So you, too, outwardly appearrighteous to men, but inwardly you are full of
hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Mt23:28)
Mattoon- These men, are like many today. They were consumedwith self-
justification, justifying themselves before men. The only problem with that is
they will not stand before men one day to give an accountof their soul and
neither will you. We will all stand before the Lord Jesus Christ (ED: EITHER
AT THE "BEMASEAT" JUDGMENTOF BELIEVERS OR THE GREAT

WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENTOF UNBELIEVERS - 2 Cor5:10-note,
Rev 20:11-15-note,Book ofLife, All the MajorJudgments in the Bible). The
Bible declares the fallacyof self-justification. You are not as goodas you
think, no matter how religious you think you are.
In the sight of men - Literally it reads "before men." But not in the sight of
God! Their thin "veneer" of external righteousness might be enough to fool
men, but not God! And why not? As Jesus explains it is because Godknows
their hearts.
As Mattoon says "God's view and man's view of sin are at different ends. Sin
is not done by chance, but by choice. Sinis not liberty to do what you want, it
is lawlessness. Sinis not weakness,it is willfulness. It is not a disease,it is a
decision. Jesus taughtthe importance of examining yourselves in order to
conquer self-justificationand having a ministry with other people. Self-
righteousness claims to be both lawgiverand judge, claiming authority that
belongs only to the Lord. The attitude of "judge" in the self-righteous person
creates problems in the area of judging others. The selfrighteous, judgmental
person tends to deny and oppose the Gospel, because the Gospelproclaims
man's sinfulness and lostness evenas it proclaims God's mercy and grace. The
self-righteous persondoes not want to hear about being a sinner. The result is
the rejectionof Jesus Christ."
Steven Cole on justify yourselves before men - Outwardly, the Pharisees could
compare themselves with others and justify themselves, becausethey did more
and went farther than the average Jew. Theywere meticulous in keeping all
the outward rules, but they were living before men and not before God, who
examines our thoughts and motives. They were filled with pride and
hypocrisy, which Godhates. When they gave alms, they did it to be noticed by
men. When they uttered long prayers, it was to impress others with how
spiritual they were. Although they may have fooledothers, they could never

fool God. Jesus rips off their mask of righteousness and exposes them for what
they were, detestable in the sight of God. True religion is a matter of the heart
before God. The instant you get a glimpse of God in His absolute holiness, the
light of His glory also shows you how vile and filthy your ownheart is before
Him. Ratherthan boasting in your gooddeeds and parading your supposed
righteousness before others, you shrink back in fear of being instantly
consumed. You despair of ever being righteous enoughto presentyourself
before God, because you know how deceitful and desperatelywickedyour
heart is. But that is preciselywhere the gospelbreaks in, because you also
realize that if you are to stand before God, you need a Savior and Mediator.
You need a righteousness otherthan your own. Jesus is that Savior; He
extends a free pardon to every sinner who repents and trusts in Him. He
clothes the believing sinner with His perfectrighteousness, reconciling us to
God. In that new relationship with God, we then learn to live, not as pleasing
men, but God, who examines our hearts (1Th 2:4). Jesus is saying that if you
are not living openly before God, judging your sin on the thought level,
seeking to please Godwith your thoughts and attitudes, as well as with your
words and deeds, then you are living as a Pharisee, notas His disciple.
Christians don’t live to impress others with how spiritual they are. Christians
live openly in the sight of God, seeking to please Him. Thus the first thing our
text proclaims is that God’s kingdom comes in the person of Jesus the King.
Christianity is not a matter of following a bunch of outward standards. It is a
matter of submitting ourselves to His authority, down to the heart level. But,
as our text shows, that is not the only possible response. (Scoffing or
Submitting)
MacArthur comments on the phrase those who justify yourselves - "People in
false religion that they are self-justifying. This is absolutelyunmistakable and
is really one of the greatdefinitions of false religion. Pharisaic Judaismis a
system of self-justification, making your self-righteous by ritual and by
maintaining certain standards and laws and ethicalcodes and traditions,
making yourself acceptable to God by your works.

Justify (1344)(dikaioo from dike = right, expectedbehavior or conformity)
primarily means to make right. Dikaioo is in the present tense indicating the
Pharisees were continuallytrying to justify themselves before men, to
"declare themselves righteous!" In contrast, when God justifies, He declares a
sinner righteous on the ground of the propitiation offeredby the Lord Jesus
(Ro 3:24-26-note)and He does this in moment of time. In other words, at the
moment of salvation the savedsinner who is now in Christ by grace through
faith is 100% justified in the eyes of God. We callthis "pasttense salvation."
This is the major difference betweenreligionand salvation, for the former
says "do" and the latter says "done." (cfJn 19:30-note)In this passageJesus
is saying the Pharisees soughtto make themselves right in the eyes of God (cf
Lk 10:29-note). Statedanother way, by their "righteous" deeds ("righteous"
in their eyes), the Phariseessoughtto save themselves or earn their salvation.
We know from Ephesians 2:9-note that salvation is "not as a result of works,
so that no one may boast." (cf Ro 3:20, 21-note, Ro 3:28-note, Ro 4:5-note, Gal
2:16-note, Titus 3:5-6-note, 2 Ti 1:9-note)
Self-justificationbefore God is impossible as Jesus taught in the story of the
tax collectorandthe Pharisee:
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax
collector. 11 “The Pharisee stoodandwas praying this to himself: ‘God, I
thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or
even like this tax collector. 12 ‘I fast twice a week;I pay tithes of all that I
get.’(NOTICE HIS EMPHASIS ON HIS WORKS = "THOSE WHO
JUSTIFYYOURSELVES")13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance
away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his
breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 “I tell you, this man
went to his house justified (dikaioo)rather than the other (THE PHARISEE);
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself
will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14-note)

APPLICATION - Let's pause a moment and apply this sectionwhich was
directed primarily at the Pharisees - Is Jesus'statementnot also directed at
every soul that seeksto justify himself or herselfby their own works? Have
you ever askeda person "Where are you going when you die?" And if they
respond, as many do, "Well, I think I'm going to heaven." And you follow up
with the question of "Why do you think you're going to heaven?" One of the
most common replies I hear is "I'm a goodperson and try to do more good
than bad." (Watch this 2 minute video in which men and womenon the street
were asked"How does a personget to heaven?")They may even say"I
believe in Jesus,"but they still place their emphasis on their goodworks
meriting God's favor when they die, which is same approachof the self-
justifying Pharisees. Pauladdressesthis false belief in Romans 10 writing
Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them (THE JEWS)is
for their salvation. 2 ForI testify about them that they have a zeal for God,
but not in accordance withknowledge. 3 For not knowing about God’s
righteousness (IN OTHER WORDS THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW
HOLY GOD IS AND THAT HE REQUIRES ABSOLUTE PERFECT
RIGHTEOUSNESS IN SINFUL MEN) and seeking to establish their own
(LIKE THE PHARISEES IN Lk 16:15), they did not subject themselves to the
righteousness ofGod. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
everyone who believes (IN SHORT GOD ACCEPTABLE RIGHTEOUSNESS
IS RECKONED ONLY TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN CHRIST, NOT TO
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THEIR "RIGHTEOUS" WORKS OR EVEN
TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN CHRIST PLUS THEIR WORKS.
SALVATION IS BY BELIEF IN CHRIST ALONE!). (Romans 10:1-4-note)
Jesus speaksto the self-justificationof the Phariseesin Matthew 23
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites, because youshut off the
kingdom of heaven from people (WHY? BECAUSE THEY REJECTED

CHRIST AND FAILED TO TEACH THE PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR NEED
TO BELIEVE IN HIM - THEY DID NOT HAVE THE "KEY" WHICH IS
THE GOSPEL);for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those
who are entering to go in. (Mt 23:13)
But - This is a strategic term of contrast. Wheneveryou encounter a BUT,
considerthe "5P's" -Pause to Ponder the Passagethen Practice it in the
Powerof the Spirit. What's the clearcontrastin this case?The contrastis
betweenoutward or external (in the sight of men) and in inward or internal
reality (in the sight of God), because Godknows whatis in every person's
heart.
Bock explains the Pharisees "seek to justify themselves in the eyes of men. But
God knows their hearts. It is what God thinks that counts. Accountability
before the divine is more important than the world's opinion." (Ibid) (Bolding
added)
Guzik - It is one thing to justify yourselves before men, because smoothwords
and a “loving” smile can deceive men. But God knows your hearts—whenyou
serve another master, it is impossible to be justified before God, no matter
what men think. Forsome people the idea God knows your hearts is comfort;
for others it is a curse.
God knows your hearts - What's Jesus saying? While we might see the
"religious acts" ofthe Pharisees as having a form of righteousness (cf2 Ti
3:5), we cannot see their hearts. We can't know what motivates them. Jesus is
saying that God is not fooledby their external acts, for He Alone canjudge
the motives, thoughts and intentions of a man's heart (see 1 Cor 4:5, Heb 4:12-
note). This of course includes Jesus forJohn 2:25 says "He did not need
anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man."

As Cole says the Pharisees "gave a lot to the Temple, but their giving was
done to impress men, but it didn’t impress God who looks onthe heart. They
were living for greed, not for God." He adds that 'You don’t have to be rich to
fall into the trap of loving money. Many who lack money love it just as much,
if not more, than those who possess a lot....Greedis often mentioned in the
Bible in the same breath as sexualimmorality (Eph 5:5; Col 3:5), and yet it is
far more toleratedin the church than sexual sin is. We tolerate TV preachers
who flaunt their wealth and luxurious lifestyles, until they fall into sexual sin.
But we should be just as intolerant (how’s that for a politically incorrect
word!) of greedas we are of sexualimmorality. As Jesus warns (Lu 12:15),
“Beware, and be on your guard againstevery form of greed; for not even
when one has an abundance does his life consistof his possessions....Ifyou
struggle with greed(and most of us do), I’ll tell you a simple way to combatit:
Give awayeverything exceptwhat you need to live on. That’s what Jesus told
the rich young ruler (Lu 18:22). Giving is the antidote for greed. So any time
you’re struggling with a greedy heart, sit down and write out a big check to
the Lord’s work. Go through all the junk in your house and give it to the
church missions yard sale. Try it and you’ll feel free inside!
Mattoon- Men's lives would be drastically changedif they would grasp the
truth that God knows and sees everything (and that HE OWNS
EVERYTHING)!
We see this truth repeatedly in the Scriptures in 7 (cf 1 Ki 8:39, Acts 1:24)
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance orat the height
of his stature, because I have rejectedhim; for God sees not as man sees, for
man looks atthe outward appearance, but the LORD looks atthe heart.” (1
Samuel 16:7)
“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him
with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searchesall hearts, and

understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find
Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.(1 Chr 28:9)
"For(THIS term of explanation EXPLAINS 2 Chr 16:8b) the eyes of the
LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support
those whose heart is completely His. You (KING ASA) have actedfoolishly in
this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars." (2 Chr 16:9)
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good. 11
Sheoland Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of
men! (Pr 15:3,11)
And they prayed, and said, "Thou, Lord, who knowestthe hearts of all men,
show which one of these two Thou hastchosen
(Acts 1:24)
Paul alludes to the human motivation for external religionin Galatians 6:12
writing that...
Those who desire to make a goodshowing in the flesh (THEY WANTED THE
APPROVAL OF MEN)try to compel you to be circumcised(JUDAIZERS,
WHO LIKE THE PHARISEES TAUGHT A WORKS BASED
RIGHTEOUSNESS), simply so that they will not be persecutedfor the cross
of Christ
MacArthur adds a pithy comment on these men who desire to make a good
showing in the flesh - They’re trying to appear righteous...noble....virtuous.
You know that's what is behind all the garb that ministers, priests and

sometimes preachers wear? There's no priesthood anymore, for we are all a
kingdom of priests (cf 1 Pe 2:9)....None ofus needs to go around with funny
clothes and weird hats and setting ourselves apart as if we're some kind of
transcendenthuman being....It is all about show...aboutwhatpeople think
(about a desire to make a goodshowing in the flesh).
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus was very clearwhen He warned
"Beware ofpracticing your righteousness before men (WHY? WHAT WAS
THEIR MOTIVATION?)to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no
reward with your Fatherwho is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do
not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagoguesandin
the streets (AGAIN WHAT IS THEIR MOTIVE?), so that they may be
honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their rewardin full.... 5“When
you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray
in the synagoguesand on the streetcorners (MOTIVE?)so that they may be
seenby men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full....16“Whenever
you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect
their appearance (MOTIVE?)so that they will be noticed by men when they
are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. (Mt 6:1-2-note,
Mt 6:5-note, Mt 6:16-note)
ILLUSTRATION - Have you checkedthe labels on your groceryitems lately?
You may be getting less than you thought. According to U.S. News & World
Report, some manufacturers are selling us the same size packageswe are
accustomedto, but they are putting less of the product in the box. For
example, a box of well-knowndetergent that once held 61 ounces now contains
only 55. Same size box, less soap.How something is wrapped doesn’t always
show us what’s on the inside. That’s true with people as well. We can wrap
ourselves up in the same packaging everyday—nice clothes, big smile,
friendly demeanor—yetstill be less than what we appear to be.

For that which is highly esteemedamong men is detestable in the sight of God
- Jesus is God and so He knows their hearts (cf Jn 2:25) and that all of their
religious activities were a facade to impress men. Detestable is a strong word
indicating God's utter hatred of religious hypocrisy, an "artform" which the
Pharisees hadmastered(before men but not before God!)
Guzik - God judges our hearts with a different set of values. Men may honor
someone becauseoftheir wealth or their public display of spirituality; but
God sees who they really are.
ESV Study Bible says highly esteemedamong men "includes any kind of
human achievementnot done for the glory of God."
Robert Stein on highly esteemedamong men - This is a proverb that warns us
not to conform to the way this world thinks (cf. Rom 12:2). Jesus was not
saying that values of the world are not exactly the same as God’s or that at
times they are different or that frequently they are different. Rather the value
system of this world is “detestable,”i.e., anabomination to God (cf. 1 Cor
3:19). An example of this is found in Luke 18:9–14. (New American
Commentary – Volume 24: Luke)
What the Bible Teachessays that highly esteemedamong men "takes in a
wide scope that includes all of society's values, allthat men place value upon
in the world of commerce, pleasure and religion. The word "abomination"
originally meant that which totally offends the sense ofsmell. This is one of
the most sweeping condemnations ofthe present evil age (Gal 1:4) to be found
in all of Scripture!"

Highly esteemed(5308)(hupselosfrom hupsos/hypsos = height, elevation)
literally means high, lofty, raised, elevated.
Detestable (abomination)(946)(bdelugma from bdelusso = emit foul odor,
turn awayfrom something or someone on accountof "stench" from bdeo = to
stink; related - bdekluktos)describes something foul, that which is extremely
hated, disgusted, detestedor abhorred. The first NT use of bdelugma is in Mt
24:15-note which is fitting as it describes the "Abomination (bdelugma) of
desolation" (the Antichrist) (cf Mk 13:14).
WILLIAM BARCLAY
It begins with a rebuke to the Pharisees. Itsays that they derided Jesus. The
word literally means that they turned up their noses at him. The Jew tended
to connectearthly prosperity with goodness;wealthwas a sign that a man was
a goodman. The Pharisees put-on a parade of goodness andthey regarded
material prosperity as a reward of that goodness;but the more they exalted
themselves before men, the more they became an abomination to God. It is
bad enough for a man to think himself a goodman; it is worse whenhe points
to material prosperity as an unanswerable proof of his goodness.
ALBERT BARNES
Verse 14-15
They derided him - The factthat they were “covetous”is here statedas the
reasonwhy they derided him, or, as it is literally, “they turned up the nose at

him.” They contemned or despisedthe doctrine which he had laid down,
probably because it showedthem that with their love of money they could not
be the true friends of God, or that their professionof religion was really false
and hollow. They were “attempting” to serve God and mammon, and they,
therefore, lookedupon his doctrine with contempt and scorn.
Justify yourselves - “Attempt” to appear just; or; you aim to appear righteous
in the sight of people, and do not regard the heart.
That which is highly esteemed - That is, mere external works, or actions
performed merely to “appear” to be righteous.
Is abomination - Is abominable, or hateful. The word used here is the one that
in the Old Testamentis commonly given to “idols,” and denotes God‘s
“abhorrence” ofsuch conduct. These words are to be applied “chiefly” to
what Jesus was discoursing about. There are many things esteemedamong
people which are “not” abomination in the sight of God; as, for example,
truth, parental and filial affection, industry, etc. But many things, much
sought and admired, “are” hateful in his sight. The love of wealth and show,
ambition and pride, frivolous and splendid vices, and all the wickedness that
people contrive to “gild” and to make appear like virtue - external acts that
“appear” wellwhile the heart is evil - are abominable in the sight of God, and
“should be” in the sight of people. Compare Luke 18:11-14;1 Samuel 16:7.
BRIAN BELL
. Intro:

1.1. A politician awoke afteran operation and found the curtains in his
hospital room
drawn. “Why are the curtains closed?”he askedthe nurse. “Is it night time
already?” - “No,” the nurse replied, “But there’s a fire across the street, and
we
didn’t want you to wake andthink the operation was unsuccessful.” ☺
1.1.1. This morning God gives us a glimpse beyond the veil of death.
1.2. A globalstudy reveals an overwhelming wealth gap!
1.2.1. I was sentthis article(by Todd Cernetic)that was reported and written
by
Thomas Kostigenfor MarketWatch.
1.3. The 3 richest people in the world: Bill Gates(53bill); Warren Buffett(46
bill);
& Mexicantelecommogul Carlos Slim Helú(37.6 bill) - have more money
than the poorest48 nations combined.
1.4. The richest 2% of the world's population owns more than half of the
world's householdwealth.
1.4.1. Assetsofjust $2,200 peradult place a household in the top half of
the worlds wealthiest.
1.4.2. To be among the richest10% of adults in the world, just $61,000in
assets is needed.
1.4.3. If you have more than $500,000,you're part of the richest 1%, the
United Nations study says.
1.4.3.1. 37 million people now belong in that category.

1.5. Half the world (nearly 3 billion people) live on less than $2 a day.
1.6. The world's total wealth is valuated at $125 trillion.
1.6.1. Although North America has only 6% of the world's adult population,
it accounts for 34% of household wealth.
1.7. The gospelcame to the Greeks & they turned it into a Philosophy,
The gospelcame to the Romans & they turned it into a System,
The gospelcame to the European’s & they turned it into a Culture,
The gospelcame to America & we turned it into a Business. (Stewart
McAlister)
1.7.1. Shopping & consuming is our #1 past time.
1.8. A Bumper stickerread – “MoneyTalks:Mine Says Goodbye!”
1.8.1. Moneyis much better at saying goodbye than it is at sticking around.
1.8.2. Maybe you can relate with what the Lord told Haggaiin1:6, “You have
sownmuch, and harvestedlittle. You eat, but you never have enough; you
drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is
warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes”.
2
2. HIGHWAY TO HELL! (14-18)
2.1. CONTRASTING VIEWS ABOUT MONEY! (14,15)
2.2. Recap– (16:1-13)Jesus was speaking to “His disciples” yet he was still
dealing
with the Pharisees& their greed. (see vs. 14 & 19)
2.2.1. See the vital connectionof vs.13 & vs.14.

2.2.1.1. Theirpassion…theirlove of material possessions.
2.2.2. This is a searching applicationof the callous Phariseesin their
indifference to the poor & outcast!
2.3. They learn the hard waythat life is like a greendot & eternity is like a
purple
line extending to the right with an arrow at the end.
2.3.1. Everything on the purple line is dependant on the greendot!
2.4. (14)They turned up their nose at Jesus, why?
2.4.1. Becausethey had a contrasting view of money.
2.4.2. Theysaw money as evidence of God’s favor, not as a false god
threatening to take God’s place.
2.5. So was Jesus advocating communism & opposing capitalism? No way! –
He
certainly opposedthose who acquire wealth unjustly, but He didn’t imply that
everyone should give everything to the poor & become destitute.
2.5.1. Thatwould simply create anotherevil…by making the poor rich, & the
rich poor. (The problem wouldn’t be solved)
2.5.2. He simply didn’t want people relying on their wealth for salvation.
2.5.3. Jesusdidn’t compel those who followedHim to renounce all their
wealth (Zaccheus gave only ½ away, yet was praised by Jesus)
2.6. (15)In Jesus’reply he gave them some statements(15-18)& 1 story(19-31)
2.7. This verse becomes the key to the rest as He contrasts their motives in
doing things
in the sight of man or for God.

2.7.1. There’s a life that constantly keeps Godin view…& one that doesn’t!
2.7.2. Ps.49 is a greatPsalmon this. - Vs.18,19sounds like this rich man.
2.7.3. (18b)“menwill praise you” to God it’s an abomination [a stench in His
nostrils
JIM BOMKAMP
VS 16:13-15 - “13 “No servantcan serve two masters;for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the
other. You cannotserve Godand wealth.” 14 Now the Pharisees, who were
lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15
And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of
men, but God knows your hearts;for that which is highly esteemedamong
men is detestable in the sight of God.” - Jesus teaches thata person cannot
serve two masters, you cannot serve God and mammon (or wealth)
6.1. Jesus challengesHis hearers here about where their loyalty
will lie. He tells them that it is impossible for a person to live for the things of
this world (‘wealth’) and also live for Christ. A person must choose to either
live for Christ or live for ‘wealth.’ Whatevera person choosesto live for, it
shall be the master overhim. ‘Wealth’ is fun initially to gain, howeverthe joy
soonleaves when a personrealizes that what you submit yourself to that you
are a servantto it, whether to Christ or to ‘wealth.’ ‘Wealth’ is a hard master
when you are enslavedto it. I could list here hundreds of testimonies of men
and women who became rich and yet who would testify that though they had
riches that their lives were absolutely miserable.

6.2. In these verses, we see thatin addition to speaking to His
disciples, that some Phariseeswere presenton this day and listening to Jesus
teachthese things, for they begin to scoffat Jesus atthis point.
6.3. The Pharisees,though they were very strict in the way in
which they attempted to keepthe Law of Moses,as wellas their own
manmade laws, they none the less loved the wealth and riches of this life.
Leading the people brought greatwealth to them and they did nothing
without a profit motive. Greatwealth was a sign to them not only of spiritual
successbut also of godliness.
6.4. Jesus teaching here about the importance of being a goodand
faithful stewardof the wealththat the Lord had given you was foolish and
offensive to them, and thus they began‘scoffing at Him.’ Even though I
believe that in their hearts they knew they must be wrong, the Pharisees none
the less chose to believe that spiritual and material wealth were intertwined.

6.5. Jesus condemns these Phariseesas He tells them that they
were ‘those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your
hearts.’ Though these Pharisees couldrationalize their sins awayand come
up with all kinds of arguments about why their lifestyles were indeed
righteous, Jesus on many occasions condemnedthem because their
righteousness was allon the outside, not on the inside of them.
7. CONCLUSIONS:
7.1. As we considerthis study on stewardship, lets be committed to
being goodand faithful stewards ofall of the things that the Lord has brought
into our lives. Lets have the wisdom to realize that it is much better to store
up treasures in heaven than upon the earth. Oh, if we do this what a joy it
will be one day when we are receivedinto heavenby all of those who have
passedon before us whom we have had an impact in their lives for Christ.
7.2. In America all of us are filthy rich compared to the vast
majority of people on the face of the earth. I believe that the mainstream
church in America is heading for judgment because they are living for the
things of this world and continually compromising with sin. Unless the
mainstream church begins to give sacrificiallyto the Lord and His work,

judgment is coming. A pastoronce said of the mainstream church, “The only
thing that we know about sacrifice is what the word means!’
7.3. Lets do what Jesus commanded us in verse 9, “Make friends
by means of the wealthof unrighteousness so that when it fails they may
receive you into the eternaldwellings.” Use you wealthand possessionso that
others might come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior!
7.4. The following poem describes how so often it is the case for
God’s people that rather than being goodand faithful stewards of all that God
has given them that instead they just give to Him the leftovers in their life, its
called“Leftovers,” and the author is unknown:
Leftovers are such humble things,
We would not serve them to a guest,
And yet we serve them to our Lord
Who deserves the very best.

We give to Him leftovertime,
Stray minutes here and there,
Leftover cashwe give to Him,
Such few coins as we canspare.
We give our youth unto the world,
To hatred, lust and strife;
Then in declining years we give
To Him the remnant of our life.
ADAM CLARKE
Verse 14
They derided him - Or rather, They treated him with the utmost contempt. So
we may translate the original words εξεμυκτηριζοναυτον, which literally
signifies, in illum emunxerunt - but must not be translatedinto English,
unless, to come a little near it, we say, they turned up their noses athim; and

why! Becausethey were lovers of money, and he showedthem that all such
were in danger of perdition. As they were weddedto this life, and not
concernedfor the other, they consideredhim one of the most absurd and
foolish of men, and worthy only of the most sovereigncontempt, because he
taught that spiritual and eternal things should be preferred before the riches
of the universe. And how many thousands are there of the very same
sentiment to the present day!
Verse 15
Ye - justify yourselves - Ye declare yourselves to be just. Ye endeavorto make
it appear to men that ye can still feel an insatiable thirst after the present
world, and yet secure the blessings of another; that ye can reconcile Godand
mammon, - and serve two masters with equal zealand affection; but God
knowethyour hearts, - and he knoweththat ye are alive to the world, and
dead to God and goodness.Therefore,howsoeverye may be esteemedamong
men, ye are an abomination before him. See the note on Luke 7:29.
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 14-15
Jesus rebukedHis critics for their hypocrisy. They were able to explain their
covetous practices to the Jews to their own satisfaction. Probablythey
reasonedthat any wealththat they could accumulate was a sign of God"s
blessing on them. This was a common misinterpretation of the law in Jesus"
day, as it is in ours. Their ostentatious display when giving alms may have
been part of this hypocrisy too (cf. Matthew 6:2-4), but God was their real
Judges , and He knew their greedyhearts (cf. 1 Samuel16:7; 1 Chronicles
28:9; Psalm 7:10).

What many people esteemhighly is the pursuit of money. That is detestable to
God because it is idolatry. It robs people of their future, and it insults God
who alone is worthy of our supreme devotion. Jesus illustrated this point with
the parable of the rich man and Lazarus that follows ( Luke 16:19-31). The
Pharisees"values were wrong. What really mattered and what they should
have concentratedon was the kingdom and God"s Word.
A GREAT GULF FIXED
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Luke 16:19-31
2-2-69 7:30 p.m.
Turn with me to Luke the third Gospel, verse 19 and reading from the
sixteenth chapter of Luke, verse 19 to the end of the chapter. On the radio
you are listening to the services ofthe First Baptist Church in Dallas. This is

the pastorbringing the messageentitled A GreatGulf Fixed. It is a message
from a narrative, a story, told by our Lord. And as we read it you will find
that text, A Great Gulf Fixed. Now all of us and if on the radio you can, get a
Bible and read it out loud togetherwith us here in this greatauditorium.
Luke 16, verse 19 to the end of the chapter. All of us reading together.
There was a certain rich man, which was clothedin purple and fine linen, and
fared sumptuously every day:
And there was a certain beggarnamed Lazarus, which was laid at his gate,
full of sores,
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table:
moreoverthe dogs came and lickedhis sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggardied, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off,
and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, FatherAbraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and coolmy tongue;
for I am tormented in this flame.

But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedstthy
goodthings, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and
thou art tormented.
And beside all this, betweenus and you there is a greatgulf fixed: so that they
which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither canthey pass to us, that
would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldestsend him to my
father’s house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come
into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses andthe prophets; let them hear
them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead,
they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses andthe prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
[Luke 16:19-31]

And you saw the text as you read this story from our Lord. A GreatGulf
Fixed. There are many times when I come across writings and people who
look upon us, who believe this Bible, as being in our attitudes and in our
theologicalpersuasions, theylook upon us as being antiquated. We are
peculiar remnants of an age that is passed. We burden ourselves, they say,
with medieval theology. We believe in hell, in judgment, in damnation, in
perdition. And we believe that the only grace that can save us is found in the
atoning love of our Savior.
And of course to most of this world the things that we believe are monstrous
and impertinent and without contactin modern life. So, I thought for a
moment tonight we would take one of the basic of all of the fundamental
tenants of the gospeland see whetheror not it is contemporary and pertinent.
And I do not know one that could be used more as a touchstone of the attitude
of modern theologyand modern philosophy and modern academic and
educationalteaching than this about perdition and damnation and hell and
judgment.
So, we are going to take it and look at it and see if it has any pertinency in our
modern contemporary life. We shall take just one part of it and beside all
this, betweenus and you, there is a greatgulf fixed.
Now, I have been a pastorfor forty and one years. And I have been the under
shepherd of this flock for a quarter of a century. And in those years if I were
stupid I would be cognizant and sensitive to some things. I would learn
something. And out of all of the years of my ministry I have never seena
more pertinent truth in human life than this one that I am taking as a
touchstone of Biblical theology, a greatgulf fixed. Betweenthe savedand the
lost, betweenthose who belong to God and those who refuse the overtures of
His mercies.

All right, let’s begin with a pastoralscene in my study acrossthe street. Here
sits before me a young wife and mother. She has been reared in a devout
home in the church. She has been reared in an affluent home. She has a fine
education. She has been sent to some of the brilliant collegesofthe land.
Now by her side sits a handsome young man, a gifted young man. And I can
easilysee how as she went awayto schoolthat she could have been introduced
to this young man, living as she did in an affluent circle and meeting this
handsome young fellow. But he was a gross unbeliever. And God interdicts
againstthe marriage of a Christian girl and an unbelieving boy. There is not
anything in God’s word that is more clearthan that. So, she violated God’s
mandate and married that unbelieving boy. They came here to Dallas to make
their home, and he was a young executive in one of the greatcompanies,
business enterprises in the city.
Now the reasonthey are there is on her account. She has persuadedher
husband in one last extremity to save her marriage and her home and to keep
for their little child, a few years old, the family together. She has persuaded
him in a last recourse to come and both of them to talk to me. So I sit there
before them and listen to them. And as I talk and as I plead and as I pray and
beg and importune and ask, do all in my powerto save the home, the young
man finally will say to me, "Would you like for me to be honest with you and
to tell you exactlywhat I think?"
And I say, "Yes, yes, yes indeed".
So he says very emphatically, "I don’t like anything that my wife likes.
Nothing. And she does not like anything that I like. Nothing. I don’t like
church. I don’t like the songs they sing. I don’t like the prayers they pray. I

don’t like the Bible they read. I don’t like the people, none of them. I don’t
like church. And I am not going to church and I am not going to have a
Christian home and a Christian family. I don’t like it."
Now he said, "She does not like what I like. I like to drink. I like the crowd
that drinks. I like to gamble. I like the crowdthat gambles. I like the world
and the people who live in it. And my wife was reared in a devout home, and
though we were married I do not like anything that she likes. And she does
not like anything that I like."
Just what would you do for this gulf that lies in betweenis not a fiction in
somebody’s medieval theologybut it is the truth of God as the Lord points it
out in human life. Now to go back to the years of my pastoralministry. I see
that gulf everywhere. I see it down every street. I see it in a thousand homes.
I see it in a thousand lives. The gulf that lies in between. And to reachover it,
to span it, to bridge it is for me, at least, in many of these marital situations
impossible.
Sometimes I look at two greatpeaks and in betweenis a dismal and dreary
sea. The archaeologists willsay there was a time when they were together.
But there was a washing and a washing and a washing and finally the great
gulf separating in between. So oft times life is like that. The gulf that
separates andit arises and it’s witnessedin every area of life. We shall speak
of this as the sermon progresses.
First of all we are going to look at this gulf fixed in between. We are going to
look at it in the Word of God. This is not exceptional. It is not unique. It is
not something that is singularly statedhere in my text. But it is a
concomitant, it is a corollary, it is a deduction that you will find if you read
God’s Word, all through the pages of its historical revelation. The gulf that

separates in betweendividing the soul and the heart and the life and the
affinity and the love and the attitude, the likes; all through the Word of God.
Now, to make it more pertinent for us I have taken a sweepof some of the
characters in God’s Book, and the gulf that lies in betweenthem as they
appear upon the stage of scriptural story. Lot, in Sodom. Lot was weak and
vacillating. Lot was greedyand filled with concupiscenceandavaricious.
When he lookedupon the cities of the plain and their fertility and their
abounding merchandising opportunities and opportunities for wealth and
aggrandizementand ambition, his eyes were widenedand they sparkledand
prospects and….
So we find Lot sitting in the gate of Sodom. He’s the mayor of the city. But
the epistle of Simon Petersays that Lot vexed his soul with the filthy
conversationof the Sodomites. Thoughhe was a compromised child of God
he still was a child of God. Thoughhe had forfeited every hope he ever had,
in the promises to Abraham, yet he had been brought up in the household of
Abraham. He worshiped and knew the true Lord, and when in Sodom he
heard and witnessedthe filthy unspeakable life of the Sodomites he
experiencedagonyof soul. The great gulf fixed betweenLot, a backslidden
child of God, but a child of God, and the filthy dirt of the unspeakable
Sodomites. The greatgulf in between.
Mosesand Pharaoh, "Who is this Jehovahyou are talking to me about? I’ve
never heard of Him. I don’t know His name. Neither will I obey His voice.
Jehovah. I’ve gotgods of my own. I don’t know anything about Jehovah."
The greatgulf in between. Or David and Goliath. In superiority, in
contempt, Goliath looks downupon that ruddy-faced shepherd boy, dressed
in the clothes of a shepherd lad. Armed with a slingshotand a little pouch, a
little leather bag holding five stones. And Goliath in his armor and his staff,
his spearbig as a weaver’s beamand his sword with all the strength of one

man just to raise it up, looks down and in contempt he says, "You come out to
fight me with a staff and with a slingshot? This day, this moment I will give
your carcassto the birds of the air to eat and to the beasts of the field to
devour." And David said in reply, "You come to me with a spearand with a
swordand with a shield but I come to you in the name of the Lord God
Jehovahwhom thou hastdefied" [1 Samuel 17:43-45]. A gulf in between.
And I haven’t time to speak ofDaniel and Belshazzar. In a drunken orgy and
the ancientman of Godreading the handwriting on the wall. Two men, side
by side, face to face, but an abysmal gulf in between.
Now, I have just come to the New Testament, nor have I time to speak of John
the Baptistand Herod Antipas, a weak, sensuous,vacillating ruler. John the
Baptist, rugged, prophetic, living as unto God and Herod, the king of Galilee
and Perea, the gulf in between. Or Jesus and the Sanhedrin presided over by
Caiphas. Or James the brother of John, whom we preachedthis morning and
Herod Agrippa I. Or of Paul, God’s servantand Demetrius, the silversmith of
Ephesus. Or the sainted apostle John and Diotrephes who spurned him and
casthim out. The greatgulf in between.
And this gulf fixed lies into the eternities that are to come. In the twenty-
fourth chapterof the Gospelof Matthew, "Two shallbe sleeping in a bed, one
takenand the other left. Two grinding in a mill, one taken and the other left.
Two working in a field, one takenand the other left." There they are side by
side working together, living together, but a gulf in between. One heaven
bound, one damnation bound.
Now in the moment that remains, there is no sadness in life like looking at that
gulf. A separationdeep, high, wide, fixed. And all who look upon it, if there is
in them the compassionofGod, there is an earnestpraying and seeking that it

might be bridged. Lord, Lord, cannotsomething be done? Is there no hope?
Is there no salvation? Is there no reaching across? Is there no bridging?
Let’s look at some of the things that you would think would bridge it. One is
blood. Wouldn’t you think that blood ties would bridge it? And yet I have
never been more hopeless as I see sometimes a father and his son. What
closerblood tie could there be than a man and his own boy? And yet
sometimes you will find that abysmal dreary sea lying in between, the father
on one side and the son on another side. Or a mother and her daughter. The
wife and her husband. Bloodties bridge it not, nor a common determination
and commitment. You will see people who are working for the same
purposes, committed to the same ends, sometimes devoting their lives together
to a greatcommitment, and yet betweenthem that same fixed gulf.
I have tried to call it to mind and cannot but somewhere in these days past I
saw on television a show of the SecondWorld War. And in that war,
portrayed there in dramatic form, there was a vicious air fight. There were
planes of Germany and planes of America who were in mortal combatin the
sky. And in that dramatic portrayal of that air fight it showedsome of our
American men falling down. Their planes shot and on fire and destroyedand
the men were falling to earth. And I remember two of them so vividly.
One of the men as he fought and as his plane was shotdown and he fell, the
camera in that dramatic sequence followedhim all the way to the ground.
One of those men cursed. He cursedthe Germans and he cursed the war and
he cursed his fate and he cursed the loss of his heart in the battle and fell
down cursing. The last boy that was showedin that sequence must have been
reared in a devout Christian home. Foras the camera followedhis flight from
the skydown to death on this earth, the boy was praying, asking God’s
remembrance and God’s grace and God’s blessing. So dying in the mercies of
Jesus.

Well, it made an impression on me. Both or all the young men giving their
lives for their country and what nobler thing could a boy do than to offer his
life for his land, where his people live, where his fathers are buried. But side-
by-side in a foxhole, on the deck of the same carrier, there in a same squadron
in a jungle they are baring their breasts to steeland to shrapnel and to
explosive gunfire. One will die with a curse on his lips and the other will die
with a prayer of remembrance before God. That gulf fixed in between. I see
it everywhere.
What can bridge it? In the other world there is no abridgement. It is forever
fixed. It is unbridgeable. As the author of Ecclesiastes avows, "As the tree
falls, so shall it lie." If a man dies lost he has died lost forever. If he falls into
torment, it is an everlasting judgment and damnation. There is no hope
beyond the grave, not for the lost man.
But in this life, in this life, now, while there is life there is hope. While there is
breath there is invitation. In this life there is no home that cannot be put
togetherin Christ. No life estrangedthat cannot be healed. No separation
that cannotbe brought back againin the Lord, in the Lord.
We wouldn’t be thus bold to say it but all over this house you could find men
and women stand up, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, stand up and
say this did Christ do for me and my home. This did the Lord do for me and
my family. This did God do for my soul.
You know, some of these old timers write such unusual things. And along this
line that I am following in the text, a long, long time ago an old timer wrote a
poem about the love of God that bridges that stream.

There is a bridge that spans the river
Twixt the earth and heaven above
And the bridge is strong, my brother
For the love built it on love.
Once a lost race stoodin wonder
Crying out to Godabove
And God sent a faithful Savior
And He spanned the stream in love.

Storms of earth can never harm it
Nor canhell its piers remove
It will stand through endless ages
For the Lord did build it in love.
[Author not found]
In the grace and mercy of Godthere is hope for every life, blessing for every
soul, a benediction for every soul, a blessing for every child. Our hope lies in
Christ. As the greatplaquard announcing our crusade of the Americas,
Christ the Hope of the World.
And that’s the messagewe sing about and preach about and plead about in
these holy services. To give your heart to the Lord, come. To bring your
family in the circle and circumference of this dear and precious church, come.
As God shall press the appeal to your heart, come. In a moment we shall sing
our song. In the balcony round, you, on this lower floor, you, make the
decisionfor Christ now. And when you stand up in a moment to sing, stand
up coming. "Here I am, pastor. I decide for God tonight." And come. You,
a couple you, a family you, a somebodyone you, come by yourself, bring your
wife, bring the children. Answer God’s call tonight. Make it now. And

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