Good morning and welcome in everyone. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from Luke 7.
Luke 7:36-50 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
In this passage the woman displayed works of love, the evidence that showed that a change had happened in her life. Sincere love towards others is what the gospel is all about. The end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart. It doesn’t matter how we lived in our past, what matters is what we become in the future. Each of us are sinners, who have come short of the glory of God, and we all need to receive the forgiveness of Christ through the blood that He shed for us at the cross. It is only through doing this, that we can begin the process of becoming transformed from being malicious creatures, into creatures of love. Genuine faith will also result in works of love that this woman possessed, because if they are missing, faith is dead.
James 2:14-20 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Again, in our study passage, the woman manifested works of love. Over the span of many years, I have watched as many people who profess to be Christian, fight and bicker among themselves about being saved by God’s grace, or salvation by works, but what they really don’t understand is that these two concepts are intertwined with each other as much as two threads in your shirt. They are both required to inherit the kingdom of heaven. In Judaism, people were attempting to attain salvation by the works of the law, apart from faith and grace found in Christ. In Christianity, some people are attempting to attain salvation by grace alone, without any evidence of love and obedience. When you become a Christian, works of mercy and love need to be a part of your life, otherwise you are denying divine charity towards others. Can you see in this passage how her works of love, along with God’s grace and forgiveness both played a part in her faith and salvation? We are to abide in faith, hope and charity, but charity is the greatest. If genuine love towards God and towards others never manifests itself in deeds, then faith itself is dead. We are not justified by faith alone, but through sincere works of a converted heart.
1 John 3:17-18 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
This is why faith without works is dead, being alone. The woman in our study was filled with loving works and submission towards God, because of which, she was forgiven. She showed contrition, just like the humble publican. The works of the Apostle Paul were also generated out of a love for the Lord. Loving works towards God and others, shows that His grace is working in your life
1 Timothy 1:12-16 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
The Apostle Paul was a man who had been forgiven for a lot of things, and the life that he lived afterwards, was the evidence of how much he appreciated the mercy that the Lord had extended unto him. The more things that you have been forgiven by God, the more love that is generated in your heart for Him. God can take a chief of sinners, and through faith and an abundance of grace, can transform men into an Apostle, and a servant of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:8-10 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Remember, that the woman in our study was filled with humility and contrition, which is one of the first steps towards finding mercy with God. If you have truly been forgiven in your heart, then your life will have evidence of God’s grace at work in your life. Sincere love for God and others is more than just words, but requires deeds of submission, first of all to the will of God, and then to those who are over you in the Lord. As a Christian wife must submit to her husband in everything, if she genuinely wants to please God, we too must submit to God’s purpose in each of our lives, which will be evidenced by obedient and faithful…..
….Works of Love
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to hipcast, buzzsprout or amazon, or by getting our entire podcast feeds directly at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 