6 June 2022
EXCUSES ARE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE. (Part 2)
‘
Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’” (Luke 14:16-21 NIV)
They all, with one consent, began to make excuses. May the Lord help us again as we make further insight into the passage before us. What blurred our understanding? The inherited corruption of Adam interfered and ruined our knowledge of the purpose of God in redemption. What rebels are we to refuse to partake of the banquet of love? The gospel is preached to many, and we all make excuses. So the parable has it, and indeed, the fact proves it.
When we take the two characters in the parable to represent all of humankind, we find the enemies of God. Those on the highways need to be compelled to come in; they had a natural reluctance to feast at the good man’s table, and so all sorts of men are opposed to the gospel. They are perfectly willing to sin—content even to perish in sin, but to come to Christ, to accept the great atonement, to put their trust in Jesus—this is a thing they care not for, and with one consent, when they hear the gospel they begin to make excuses.
Let us agree that many reading this exhortation, who have been blessed with hearing the gospel for years, but till now, the only treatment they have given to the gracious message is to make excuses about it. Let us deal with such, very simply and very affectionately, peradventure they earnestly desire to make a change and accept the gospel of salvation without excuse. The other day when you went to a funeral, you came home with your mind very solemn, and you thought then that, indeed, you would yield to the commands of Jesus. When you were sick and had that week or two tired and alone, you vowed and resolved—but your resolves melted into thin air when you recovered and were on your feet again. You are almost persuaded to be a Christian because of the prevailing circumstances; you say a prayer, but some ill sinful feelings tempt you the next moment, and there you are, according to the old proverb, “The dog has returned to his vomit and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” How many times did you have convictions of sin and yet say, like Felix to Paul, “Go your way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for you”? (Acts 24:24-25).
How do we quench these convictions by downright opposition to Christ? How do we get over the nagging desire in our hearts because of the absence of the Holy Spirit? What use is it to us to make efforts to excuse and patch up a truce between our soul and our convictions? The natural self-righteousness of a person prompts him to frame excuses. According to our gauge and measure, we are all the best persons in the world. If we could sit as judges, the verdict would always be, “Not guilty.” Sin, which would be very shocking in another, is excusable in us; what would be abominable in other men becomes almost commendable in ourselves, so we partially judge our case! Since the sinner cannot think it fits for himself to be an unbeliever in Christ, his enlightened conscience will not let him say that he is relatively safe. At the same time, he refuses to fly to the wounds of Jesus. He runs to excuses so that he may still say, “I am rich and increased in goods,” and not be driven to the unhappy necessity of crying, “I am naked and poor and miserable.” The sinful self is hard to conquer, but the righteous self is the worst enemy of the two.
Keep a date with us the Sunday 12 June 2022.
Comments