Kingdom Weal and Worldly Woes, Part 1
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Analyzing the woes of wealth-- both material and spiritual.
Text: Luke 6:24-26
Date: 03/06/2022, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 54
Description:
After presenting four Beatitudes that express the state of blessedness of those who are redeemed by the grace of God, Luke alone among the Gospel writers offsets them with four corresponding woes. Each one of these woes expresses the opposite situation-- the state of cursedness of those who reject Jesus and fill their lives with the idols of the fallen world. As we did with the Beatitudes, we will carefully evaluate each statement, realizing that Jesus is once again speaking spiritually using physical and material illustrations. Ultimately, we will consider these woes as they apply to Christians, and analyze and lament the devastating consequences when the church loses its focus and exchanges Kingdom Weal for Worldly Woes! This is the first of three sermons on this passage (originally written as one), focusing on the woes of wealth.
View:
Options:
I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 6:24-26.
A. Context
B. What Jesus does not mean.
1. Being rich is not sinful, James 5:4-6.
2. Eating and being filled is not sinful, Deut. 14:29, Isa. 55:1, Song 5:1, Matt. 11:19, John 6:11-12.
3. Light-hearted laughter is not sinful, Luke 6:21,23, Psa. 2:4,37:13,59:8, Eccl. 3:4, Jer. 33:10-11.
4. To be well-liked is not sinful, 1Sam. 18:6-7, 2Sam. 3:36, Esth. 10:3, Acts 10:22, Rom. 12:18, 1Tim. 3:7.
C. What Jesus does mean.
1. Two vital concepts.
a. The meaning of the word "woe".
i. A prophetic warning, Isa. 3:11, Jer. 23:1, Ezek. 24:6, Hos. 7:13, Eccl. 10:16.
ii. The idea of sorrow or lament.
iii. A state of cursedness, Mark 14:21.
iv. Summation
b. The idea of idolatry, Ex. 20:3-6, Matt. 5:21-22, 27-28.
2. The idol of wealth, vs. 24.
a. Scripture's pejorative view of wealth, Mark 10:22-25.
b. "Consolation" in the here and now only, Luke 16:25.
c. The "weal" perspective, Luke 6:20, Rev. 3:17.
3. The idols of hedonism, vs. 25.
a. The idols of excess.
i. The image of gluttonous living, Luke 16:19-21.
ii. The "weal" perspective, Luke 6:20.
b. The idols of the mindless pursuit of sensual pleasures.
i. A life of hedonistic pursuits.
ii. A life that denies death and judgment, Isa. 22:13, 1Cor. 15:32, Luke 12:19-21, Eccl. 2:1-3, 10-11.
iii. The "weal" perspective, Luke 6:21, Rom. 1:28-32, Ex. 32:17-19.
4. The idol of popularity, vs. 26.
a. The "weal" perspective, Luke 6:22-23.
b. Focus on false teaching, John 15:18-19, 2Tim. 4:2-4, Jer. 23:25-27, John 7:7, Rom. 16:17-18, Matt. 10:34-36.
III. Application
A. Overview, Luke 6:20
B. The warning against idolatry and its consequences.
1. The idol of wealth.
2. Filled with the wrong things.
a. As individual Christians.
b. As the church, Acts 6:2, Matt. 23:23.
3. A shallow silliness.
a. The pursuit of shallowness.
b. Forgetting how to weep.
4. The danger of false teaching, Jer. 8:11.
IV. Conclusion
