Entering In (Luke 11:52)

Introduction

My watch says it’s noon. I better wrap this up in a hurry. Competing with growling stomachs this morning. I want to talk to you for a few minutes this morning about the essence of it all. Salvation. Entering in. The fold of safety. Have you entered in? A couple of verses I want to begin with this morning that really speak tragically on this subject. Matthew 23 and verse 13. As a scathing denunciation of the religious leaders begins, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men. For you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Jesus is saying, not only are you not entering in, but you are standing in the way of others.

There are others that are proceeding toward the entrance. And you are standing in the way. You are a hindrance to people who would know the salvation that comes from God. No wonder Jesus pronounced a woe. We must work diligently. Consider our motives. Consider our activity in the kingdom to make sure that we are not as they were. Hindrances to others rather than facilitators. That’s what we want to be in this place. We want you to enter in. We want to facilitate your entrance into the greatest things and the greatest relationship. That is a similar text is found in Luke 11. Again, after Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees and about ceremonial washing and has some unpleasant things to say about the Pharisees, the lawyers object and say, you’re insulting us too.

When you insult them in this vein, you are insulting us too. And basically Jesus goes on to say, you’re no better than they are. And he says, Woe to you, lawyers, in verse 52, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. Do you realize how much that happens even still today? People who take away the key of access to the knowledge that they need to be saved because error is presented. You take away the key of knowledge, you do not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you to enter in. For you to know the means of entering. And so when we talk about this and we try to describe to folks what the New Testament is telling us about salvation and entering in.

1. By Grace Through Faith: Faith Is the Driving Force

We talk about God’s part, God’s greater part. And that font is slightly larger for God’s part. But if we were truly going to compare God’s part to man’s part, God’s part would be in a huge font. And ours much smaller in comparison. God’s part. Without what God had done, has done for us and the provisions of redemption and all that we read about in the New Testament that has worked on our behalf. We could not enter in without Him. But thanks be to God. Because He has provided a means of entering. And so we talk about what we must do to appropriate those blessings. To enter in the process. Because obviously, just because of Jesus’ work on the cross, everybody doesn’t automatically enter in. There must be a way of receiving his salvation.

And so we’ve often talked in terms of steps, though the New Testament doesn’t present it that way. That word is not used. But we’re trying again to facilitate understanding as to what exactly is man’s part. This is not a bad way of doing it. I don’t think it’s the most precise or the most accurate way of describing it. Now let me tell you why. Now again, I guess I’m just taking attacking sacred cows everywhere this morning, and I that could bring me peril. But I want us to be able to explain to people how salvation works, and when you talk about steps, and we how many steps are there, everybody? Good. So you all been trained in the five steps. Faith. Well, hearing. You gotta hear the word first.

That’s the first step. And then there’s faith and repentance and confession. Baptism, the ultimate step at the top of the staircase that places us in Christ. There’s not anything necessarily harmful with that. But it could lead us to some misconceptions about how it works. They’re not independent steps of one another. And that’s sort of maybe the idea of the sort of a graduation, you take this step and then this step, and then this step. But really, all the steps are interrelated. And so if it’s taught properly, you see, the faith step in particular is the fuel for everything that follows. You don’t do repentance without faith. You don’t do confession without faith. You don’t do baptism without faith. And while all of those steps are important, and various texts emphasize each of those things in regard to entering in fuel is the driving force of rep.

Faith is the driving force of repentance. It is the driving force of confession. It is the driving force to understand that immersion in water causes us to be cleansed by the blood of Christ. And so please understand that when Paul says, For by grace have you been saved through faith, that’s really it. There’s God’s part. Grace. The favor that He’s bestowed upon us that we have sung it this morning. How is it possible that we should gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. Our response is simply faith. Embracing Jesus as Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, His Word as the message that will cause us to be saved, the truth that sets us free, and our confidence in Him and our confidence in His Word will then compel us to make whatever changes we must make.

Repentance will compel us to speak his name before men and our loyalty to him, and will cause us to surrender and submit to an act which causes our sins to be washed away in his blood, as we identify with his death and resurrection. Verse 10 for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. I want to suggest to you that is what naturally follows the faith that saves.

When we come to that kind of confidence in Jesus and his word, then workmanship is what we were created in Christ Jesus for. That we should walk in his good works. I urge you, Paul says, in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 20. He urges the Corinthians who have become estranged to be reconciled to God. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. And then he says, He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. That’s grace. He who knew no sin became sin on your behalf that you might become the righteousness of God. And that’s what the faith part is designed to do. And so really, when we talk about entering in, what we’re talking about is gaining access to something or a portal for access.

2. Entering In Through the Grace Portal

That’s why Jesus says, I am the not just way. I know you thought you were thinking, John 14 and verse 6. But he says earlier in John 10, I am the door. I’m the door. I’m the way. I am your access, your portal to entering in. So I want to look at two passages with you this morning, and we’ll be done. Let talk about this access that has been provided by God’s awesome grace. And our logical and smaller yet essential response of faith for the all-important purpose of access. Entering in through the portal that Jesus made possible. When I use the word portal, I think Star Trek for some reason. I don’t know why that comes to mind. But it seems like they were always going through portals and a portal in time.

And they would end up somewhere drastically different than they were before. That’s really what happens in our salvation. We go from a place where sin is controlling and destroying us, and we are liberated as we go through the portal unto salvation and freedom and liberty, as we talked about on Wednesday night. And it’s better than Star Trek, I’ll tell you that. The gospel is about gaining access.

Where it speaks of Christ’s death and how amazing it is that God would demonstrate such a love toward us that we could escape the wrath of God. That’s why entering in, this access is so important. We escape the wrath of God that is real that you do not want coming to your doorstep. We are saved from the wrath of God through him. And because of that, this word appears several times in this section. It is a word of just bursting forth in rejoicing and praise for what God has done. We exalt, he says, in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, because we have received this reconciliation, this coming together, because we have entered in to access with our God, based on what Christ did, dying for the unrighteous.

So I want you to go back to verse 1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Where there was enmity, where there was hostility, where there was separation because of our sins. We have come to peace. We have been granted access. We have reconciled through Jesus Christ unto a holy God through whom we have obtained, through our Lord Jesus, through whom we have obtained our introduction. Okay, that’s our entering in. Our introduction by faith into this grace. There it is. Grace by faith. We have been introduced by faith into this grace. And don’t miss this part. We have to continue. We are his workmanship. As we saw in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10.

Faith is where all of this started, and that’s why it’s the key of all the steps, because it is what continues after we enter in faith. It drives our behavior. This faith in which we stand and we exalt in hope of the glory of God. And it will certainly be worth it all. And not only this, the fact that we’ve actually entered in, people. Okay, that’s astonishing. Let’sonishing. And not only this, we exalt in our tribulations. You know, it makes you turn your head a little bit. Who gets excited about tribulation? Knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance. You see, we’re we’ve entered in, but we’re heading to the glory of God. And so that brings about perseverance and perseverance. Proven character. Your character grows deeper and richer in the image of Christ.

Proven character and proven character, really. Who you become in Christ, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. This ultimately will cause us to realize our hope. Perseverance, proven character, hope. And that hope does not disappoint. Because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Don’t let that passage scare you. Don’t skip over it. I know it has a unique application to a first century audience. How did they know anything about the love of God or access and going through the grace portal? How did they know anything about that? It was because of the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit that was working among them in the absence of the written word.

And the Holy Spirit had come to them and taught them the things about salvation. And what is the essence of all of those things? God loves you. For God so loved the world. And that you must respond in love to him and tells us how to love. And so the love of God grips our hearts. It coincides with faith. Now abide faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. And so don’t let verse 5 scare you because it has a unique application to a first century audience that we’re being guided by the gifts of the Spirit. But what were those gifts designed to do? To create an understanding of your knowledge of the love of Christ and your love in return, to know the breadth and the height and the length and the depth of the love of Christ which surpasses now’s process.

3. Coming to Him as to a Living Stone

So that’s a brief explanation of this concept of by grace through faith, by which we enter in through the grace portal to all of the rich blessings of God. So I want to take you to one more text, and we’ll be done this morning. That is similar to first to Romans chapter 5, I noticed. And that is 1 Peter chapter 2. We’re going to look at some verses and we’ll be done this morning. As we paint this glorious picture of access.

And coming to him. There you go. That’s entering in. And we cannot come to God without faith, the Hebrew writer says in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4. And so, coming to him, this is my desire for you. I don’t want to stand in the way of that. Like the Pharisees and the lawyers did. I want to facilitate that. I want you to know the truth that brings you through the grace portal into this grace and all of its provisions. Coming to him. Now, the problem with starting in verse 4 is it builds on everything that’s preceded it. And there’s so much there. How much time do we have? Okay. According to his great mercy. He has caused us to be born again to a living hope.

Verse 3 of chapter 1. What a great hope it is. He goes on to describe, despite trials. A hope that should cause us to be holy as God is holy. To conduct ourselves in this sojourn here with fear, because we have been redeemed, not with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of a lamb. And our souls have been purified in obedience to the truth. 1 Peter 1 and verse 22. We have come into access. We have gained access. Our souls have been purified in obedience to the truth. We’ve been born again of the incorruptible word. And so he says, don’t leave off in the pursuit of what faith should do, laying aside all wickedness, malice, he says. Hypocrisy, guile, envy, those things aren’t consistent with a walk in Christ.

Like newborn babes, because of your faith, long for the pure milk of the word that by it you may grow in respect to salvation if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. And coming to him, he says, now let’s look at this. And coming to him as to a living stone, rejected by men. As we saw this morning in our class.

4. Spiritual Perception Is Everything

You also, you also as living stones. We have come, we have gained access to the living stone. And you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. I want to make five quick observations about this text, and the lesson will be yours. Number one, spiritual perception is everything. Do you know how many people reject what verse 4 is telling us? That Jesus is indeed the reigning king, that he is even to this day the living stone.

I want to tell you this morning that in regard to your entering in the grace portal, spiritual perception is everything. You have got to realize that in the spiritual realm, Jesus reigns. He is King of kings and Lord of Lords. And what this is all about today is about people who acknowledge that they are more than what you see. That we are more than flesh and blood, because it cannot inherit the kingdom of God. But that we are souls made in the image of our God, and we will be judged on the last day. And eternal life is ours if we will cling to the king. Spiritual perception is everything. And I’ll tell you what else we know from this passage. That the house that we’re a part of when we enter in is a solid and enduring house.

There isn’t a politician in this world strong enough to remove me from this house.

This house exists. No matter what men do or say, or even if they take my life.

This is why you’re here. This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, for those who don’t perceive and refuse to perceive, for those who oppose those who disbelieve, the stone which the builders rejected, this became the very cornerstone. It doesn’t change a thing. Because men reject Jesus. To some, he is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word. And look at this. Would you look at this phrase? And to this doom, they were also appointed. I’ll need Jesus. You have assigned yourself to the most unimaginable horror and doom. To this doom they were appointed. Those who are disobedient to the word.

5. Response to the Word Is Everything

Is everything. How can you have two things that are everything? Because, well, just like you could have two kings, there was no one like him before or after him. I mean, you have that in the Old Testament. No, because spiritual perception and response to the word go hand in hand. It is because you understand the great spiritual realities that you also understand that this is the living and abiding word of God by which we were born into him and gain this access, this incorruptible word. And that my whole life now is about responding to the word. Jesus Himself being styled the Word. Jesus and His words. My response to them is everything. And then this mission statement follows. Knowing this, he says, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.

Yes, peculiar, unusual. That you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. We have entered in.

As aliens and strangers, we have no permanent residence here. We are temporary earthly beings. Don’t get too attached here.

6. It's Not All About Me

There’s not been a believer in any age who did not need to be admonished about what our faith calls us to be and do in this world. The devil will oppose our mission every step of the way. But we are called to be holy to the Lord. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles. So that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers.

Glorify God in the day of visitation. Something struck me about this verse. It’s not all about me. It’s all about him. The whole point of my excellent response and my excellent behavior and the influence that will have upon the world around me, and some will be influenced by the way that I live and the choices that I make and is that I live by my faith. It’s not about me. It is about glorifying him. It’s always about that. It’s not about me. And whatever you do, don’t live your life in such a way that it’s always all about you. That’s what we’ve been redeemed from. That’s empty. That’s destructive. That will lead you to the doom that we read about in verse 8. We must get the focus off ourselves and place it upon the one who deserves such focus.

Our perfect God. It’s not all about me.

Conclusion

And so these concluding thoughts from verse twelve. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles so that they will observe. Is that your behavior in the world? Are you noted as a person of influence in your allegiance to the Lord? And are you day of visitation ready? It’s coming. Have you entered in through the portal? Have you come to him who is the living stone? Bring Christ your broken life, marred by sin. While there’s time and opportunity, let’s stand and say.