Sermon Series: Getting to Know God 

Two Things That Are Never Free 

Luke 7:36-50 

PSBC September 30, 2001

In a nutshell: Both freedom and forgiveness are not free. Both of them cost dearly. God alone, provides forgiveness, through Jesus Christ. Our feelings of gratitude for our freedom can guide appropriate feelings of gratitude for peace.

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I. Introduction

A. War Against Terrorism

We are at war. Our president has declared it, and our congress is supporting it. The enemy is terrorism. This enemy has threatened one of the basic and most beloved values Americans hold dear-our freedom.

We've seen our freedom threatened on several different levels over the past two weeks. -The freedom to walk outside and trust that we will be safe from weapons of mass destruction, has been taken away. -The freedom to expand our economy, naturally, has been taken away. -The freedom to feel safe when we fly has been taken away. -The freedom to take care of farm crops with airplanes has been taken away. -The freedom to haul certain cargoes from place to place has been removed. The list could go on and on. The United States of America, the way we knew it on September 10th, 2001, is no longer. And so, now, we are at war-a war like we have never fought before-but a war, nevertheless. It is a war to regain our freedom. But friends, understand, the new freedom we gain at the end of this war will come at a great cost.

But that's the way it's always been.

B. Lincoln illustration

On Nov. 19, 1863, Pres. Abraham Lincoln stood on the battlefield at Gettysburg to dedicate a portion of that land as a national cemetery. The featured speaker of the day was Edward Everett. Everett was considered the greatest classical orator of his time. He was a former United States representative, and senator, Governor of Massachusetts, envoy to Britain, and President of Harvard University. He spoke for more than two hours to an audience of over 25,000 people. He gave a masterful address, that was broad in its scope and dramatic in its presentation.

Next on the program's agenda were some musical selections by the Baltimore Glee Club.

Then, finally, President Abraham Lincoln was introduced, and he delivered one of the most famous speeches in American history-The Gettysburg address. Most of you know the first few lines, but allow me this morning to read a portion of the text that you may not be very familiar with...

C. Portion of the Gettysburg Address

"We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

"But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here; but it can never forget what they did here.

"It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

But Gettysburg does not stand alone as a battleground for freedom. I could mention many other places and other wars, and they would all mean the same thing-Valley Forge, Flanders Field, Pearl Harbor, Omaha Beach, Iwo Jima, Pork Chop Hill, the Mekong, Desert Storm, and now the events of 9/11/01. All of them are scenes of courage and of carnage!

C. Freedom is never Free

But friends, we must realize that if freedom is to be carried on from generation to generation-if our children and our grandchildren are to enjoy freedom-then we must be willing to pay the price. Because "freedom is never free."

You know, when you think about it, that's quite a paradoxical statement, "Freedom is never free." But it's true! Freedom has never been free. It has always come, and will always come, at a huge cost.

D. Forgiveness Isn't Free, Either

Well, in that same vein, let me switch gears, but make a similar statement at the beginning of our study this morning. "Forgiveness is never free." Forgiveness also comes at a great cost. And our parable this morning is designed to teach us that. The single concept taught about God in this morning's parable, called the Parable of the Two Debtors is this-God grants forgiveness, no matter how much or how little is needed. Please turn in your Bibles with me to Luke 7, starting at verse 36.

E. Background

While you're turning there, let me give you some background. Jesus has been preaching the gospel and performing miracles in Northern Galilee. The time is at the end of his second year of ministry.

As he looked out on the people who were following Him, He knew that there were some in the crowd who realized their sinful condition before a Holy God, and by faith they had entered into the baptism of John for the forgiveness of their sins. And now that Jesus was on the scene, they were believing, by faith, that Jesus was God's Messiah.

But also, in this same crowd were very religious people-Pharisees and lawyers who rejected their need to have their sins forgiven, and refused to enter into John's baptism. They felt that they were good enough to be good enough to dwell with a Holy God.

These were the people who had problems with Jesus They had problems with His authority, His popularity, and His miracles.

So, on many occasions, these prominent religious people would invite Jesus to dinner. And every one of these dinners were deliberately designed to trap or test Jesus' claim to being the Messiah, or to discredit His popularity, or to catch Him in some theological inconsistency.

But over and over Jesus was willing to accept their invitations in order to reach out to them in love and look for opportunities to teach the truth. So on this occasion, when the invitation was extended, Jesus entered the home of Simon the Pharisee, and "reclined at table," sitting on a pillow on the floor with his feet curled up underneath him.

In his commentary, William Barclay wrote the words on the front or your WIGs this morning, describing the scene… "The scene is a courtyard of the house of Simon the Pharisee. The houses of well-to-do people were built around an open courtyard in the form of a hollow square. Often in the courtyard there would be a garden and a fountain; and during warm weather, meals were eaten outdoors. It was the custom that when a rabbi was having a meal in such a house, all kinds of people came in-they were quite free to do so to listen to the pearls of wisdom which fell from his lips. That explains the presence of the women." So, that paints the scene and give you the background. So, let's get into this morning's story… II. The Parable of the Two Debtors

A. Beginning Scene

Luke 7:36-39 36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is-that she is a sinner."

Normally, when a guest arrived at a home in first century Palestine, the host made him feel welcome by going through certain common courtesies:

1. First of all, his feet would be washed. A guest's feet would be caked with dirt after walking in sandals on the dusty roads. So a servant would greet him at the door with a basin of water, and would wash and dry his feet. 2. After his feet had been cleaned, the host would come and greet him with a kiss to make him feel welcome, and let him know that he was an honored guest. 3. Then since baths were a scarce commodity in those days, the host poured some scented oil or scented water over the guest's head, to counteract the smell of body odor and make them smell as good as possible. All of these things went together to say, "You are welcome in my home."

But when Jesus visited the home of this Pharisee, Simon, none of these things happened. So, Jesus sat down at the table, without His feet being washed, without being officially greeted, or without the benefit of covering his body odor.

B. The Woman

Now, as they began eating, an unusual thing happened. A woman-Luke calls her a sinner-which means "an immoral woman, or a prostitute," came from the outskirts of this courtyard and walked right up to Jesus and sat down at His feet. She started to cry. Her tears fell on His feet, so she dried them with her hair. Then she broke a vial of expensive perfume and anointed his feet, and out of love and gratefulness, began kissing them.

All the while, Simon the Pharisee was watching. He must have been greatly offended and embarrassed by what was going on. Because all the things that he had failed to do to make Jesus welcome, this woman was now doing. Simon knew what kind of woman she was. So as he judges her, he also judges Jesus. He assumes that Jesus, in encouraging her, and her immorality. Simon thinks, "If this man really were a prophet, He would know that this is an immoral woman."

Now, if you go to verse 48, I want you to see what Jesus says…

Luke 7:48 48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

Now, the construction of this verse in the Greek language of the New Testament tells us that Jesus already knew the woman. The best way to translate verse 48 is… "Your sins have been forgiven." In other words, Jesus had met her before, and had already forgiven her and she had become one of His followers.

You see, Jesus knew more about her than Simon knew. Simon thought of her as a prostitute on the street. Jesus saw her as a forgiven sinner, washed clean by the grace of God.

C. Jesus Tells the Parable

Then Jesus begins to tell the parable. Look at verse 40…

Luke 7:40-43 40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. 41 "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

A denarius was a day's wage. So to put it in perspective, one man owed the equivalent of 50 working days, & the other owed 500 working days. Using a 5-day work week, one man owed him 2 ½ month's wages and the other owed him almost two year's wages.

But neither man could pay back the money lender. So, the money lender did something very unusual-he forgave both of them their debts. He marked "Paid in Full" to their IOU's. And based on that, Jesus asked Simon a simple question…Which of them will love the forgiving-money lender more?

And at that time the light bulb clicked "on" in Simon's brain, and he started to see the initial point of the story-"the prostitute is the one who owes 500, and I'm the one who owes 50." So, he answers, "I suppose it would be the one who owed the most, who would be the most thankful." And Jesus said, "You have judged correctly."

Then Jesus turns to the woman…

Luke 7:44-47 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

D. Tie in to patriotism

Now how does all this talk of forgiveness tie into our feelings of patriotism and the cost of freedom that I began this message with? Well, I think freedom and forgiveness are very similar. They correlate with one another in at least three ways:

III. Three ways Freedom and Forgiveness Correlate

A. Every one of us is in Debt

The first way is that every person in this room is in debt. And I'm not talking about merely money. In fact, take money out of the picture, and we are still all in debt to at least… …society, …to our nation, …and to God. Everyone of us!

Now, I phrase it this way because I think we can all relate to debt. If I were to talk about atonement or regeneration or propitiation, some of you might go out of here scratching your heads. But when I talk about being in debt, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Because just about all of us owe something to some financial institution.

Now, an important asset when you're in debt is a good memory. Because if you don't remember to whom you owe money you're going to have all kinds of trouble. That's why your credit card companies and your mortgage companies and car companies send you monthly statements and use payment coupons. If we didn't have those things, we would forget. And Simon's problem was that he had a poor memory.

I can just imagine when Simon looked at himself he thought, "God, you are so lucky to have me on your team. I'm a pretty special guy. I have memorized the law. I pray beautiful prayers. I give sacks of money to your Temple. And I do many charitable things for You. After all, I'm a Pharisee and a teacher. In fact, I've mastered the art of being a Pharisee. God, I hope you appreciate me."

What Simon forgot was that he was a sinner. His sins, were sins of the heart, and he wasn't recognizing these heart issues as sins. So, it was easy for him to forget that he needed forgiveness, because his sins weren't as obvious as the immoral woman's sins-but he still had a debt.

When it comes to freedom, it is pretty easy for us to forget how indebted we are to those who paid a price to achieve freedom for us. That's why I believe history is such an important subject in school. History doesn't let us forget that our freedom came with a price. Up until September 11th, it was pretty easy for us to get in a plane and fly from one place to another without even thinking about the blessing of that freedom-but now we do.

But it's also easy to come to church, and open our Bibles ,and never even give the freedom to do so, a second thought. We so easily forget our pilgrim forefathers who crossed the ocean to this new land. We so easily can forget the blood that was shed at Valley Forge, or at Gettysburg, or on D-day.

We owe a great debt to our country, and to those who have gone before us.

But friends, we also owe a great debt to God. Through Jesus' Christ's life, death and resurrection, He redeems and forgives us. That puts us in His debt. Every one of us is a debtor because of our sin, regardless of how much or how little sin we have.

B. We Can Never Repay That Debt

Secondly, we can never repay that debt.

Illustration: If all my creditors would decide to collect everything I owe, all at once, I would be in deep trouble. Because I owe more than I can pay all at once. I can and am whittling away at it, but I couldn't pay it all back if everybody wanted their money at the same time.

And when I think of the debt of freedom that I owe to our forefathers, I realize that it is also a debt which I cannot re-pay.

Then when I think of the debt that I owe God for the price that He has paid for my sins, I realize that I can't pay that back either.

If you go back to the scene in Simon's house, this immoral woman came to Jesus and fell at His feet. She wet His feet with her tears. She humiliated herself and dried those dirty feet with her hair. Then she anointed Him with expensive perfume. That was an expression of gratitude and love.

You might be tempted to say, "Well, that's a good way to pay God back." But, friends, she wasn't paying Him back. All she was doing was saying, "Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for forgiving my sins."

And that's all we can do, too. We can never pay God back. -But we can intentionally get involved in advancing God's Kingdom through the use of our spiritual gifts and our talents. -We can give our tithes and offerings with joy and sacrifice. -We can worship and pray. -We can go to work and honor God in how we do our job. -We can rise above dysfunctional family backgrounds, and let the Spirit of God change us and make us new. -And we can intentionally be looking for ways to be links in the chain of events that brings people to faith in Jesus Christ. We can do all these things, and we should be doing these things-because they say "thank you" to God for our forgiveness. But we will never-even if we work 20 hours a day the rest of our lives-never be able to pay the debt that we owe God for our forgiveness.

C. Both Cost

Then finally this final point-Forgiveness and Freedom Both Cost.

The Good News of Jesus Christ is that forgiveness is available to everyone. But that forgiveness isn't free. Forgiveness, like freedom always costs something. Freedom costs lives, resources, time, resolve and will. Jesus illustrated the cost, when He said that clearing the debts of the two debtors, cost the moneylender 550 denarii.

And when God said, "I forgive your sin," it cost God something, huge. You see… …before the forgiveness there had to be the agony of Gethsemane, and the suffering and humility of the cross …before forgiveness there had to be pain and death on that cross; separation from God; and the resurrection. Those are the costs of forgiveness. And all of that had to be paid before the ledger of our lives could be cleared from sin, and forgiveness could become a reality. But now that the price for forgiveness has been paid, it is available to everyone-no matter how much or how little is needed.

And isn't that also true of our freedom? The price has been paid. It is available to all who come to this great country-no matter who they are or where they came from. That is why we revere the Declaration of Independence. That's why we get misty-eyed looking at the Statue of Liberty. Because freedom is available to all of us who have come to find a home in this great country.

Illustration: Tradition tells us that Abraham Lincoln went to a slave auction, and he noticed a black woman who was about to be auctioned off. So he entered the bidding. The bidding went back and forth until finally he won, paid the price and purchased her. They brought her over to him, and he instructed them to take the shackles off her wrists and ankles. Then he said to her, "You are free to go."

The woman looked at him and said, "You mean that I don't have to go home with you?" He said, "No, you don't."

She said, "You mean that I don't have to do what you tell me to do, or say what you tell me to say?" "That's right."

"You mean I don't have to be your slave, I don't have to put up with your whims and your fancies?" He said, "No, you don't. I paid the price for you, and so I can now set you free."

At that the woman bowed her head, and tears started coursing down her cheeks. She looked up at Abraham Lincoln and said, "Then I guess I'll go with you."

IV. Conclusion

Friends, freedom is never free. It always costs someone something. And forgiveness is never free. There was a price that had to be paid for that as well.

But lest you think freedom and forgiveness are completely alike, let me tell you the BIG difference! -In the case of freedom, we have to go on paying the price. It will never stop. As long as there is evil, self-centeredness, demagoguery and hate in the world, people, who enjoy freedom, will have to continue to pay the price. -But in the case of forgiveness-that cost has been taken care of once and for all through the work of Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross and His resurrection from the dead.

Hebrews 7:27b … He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

You have been given freedom. But in the days ahead we will be called upon to defend it and secure it all over again.

You have been given forgiveness. But unlike freedom, you will never have to defend or secure it, ever again. Jesus did that, once and for all. The question is, "Have you accepted it?"

Amen