EXCUSES

“But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused” (Luke 14:18 NKJV).

In context, the Lord Jesus tells a parable of a man making a great supper and invited many people. Instead of coming, they offered excuses. This supper and invitation are a picture of how people respond to their spiritual needs - excuses dominate their response. Thus, we want to note the priority in the excuses, the popularity of the excuses, the preposterousness of the excuses, and the passion in the excuses.

Priority in the excuses - The excuses offered for not attending the supper indicated that these folks had something more important to do than attend the supper. When people offer excuses for rejecting the Gospel or for not attending church, they are saying they have something more important than attending to their spiritual needs. Such God-dishonoring priority will bring nothing but trouble to the one making the excuses.

Popularity of the excuses – “All with one accord.” Excuses are not a rare thing. They are very popular. Sometimes the only unity a church will ever exhibit is in excuse making. All the people are capable of making excuses.

Preposterousness of the excuses – “I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.” Buying land without actually seeing it is really stupid. But that is what this man did, and he offers it as an excuse for not attending the supper. The preposterousness of this excuse is typical of the kind of excuses we often hear from people for neglecting their spiritual needs. Excuses are not wisdom but stupidity.

Passion in the excuses – “I ask you to have me excused.” People who make excuses can be so earnest. Of course, this does not justify the excuse. If folk were half as earnest in doing right as they are in making excuses, they would do great things for God. Excuses do not achieve anything worthwhile. We should be careful about filling our lives excuses, especially excuses in regard to the destiny of the soul.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“The wise person prioritizes the eternal over the temporary, investing in treasures stored up in heaven!”

Timothy Keller (1950 - 2023)

American Christian Pastor, Author, Theologian, and Christian Apologist

Word Study

Factions

In Gal. 5:20 we read, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions" (NASB).

“Factions” is the Greek word haíresis (αἵρεσις = hah'ee-res-is). It meant an opinion chosen or a belief, or doctrine generally held to be true. Later it came to refer to a sect, party or faction that held beliefs that were distinctive to it. Haíresis is the source of our English words heresy, heretic, heretical. However, haíresis as used in the New Testament did not refer to heresy in the same as we think of it today. Haíresis is used in the Book of Acts to describe various parties or sects – the Sadducees (Acts 5:17); the Pharisees (Acts 15:5; 26:5); and Christians (Acts 24:5-14; 28:22). However, here in Gal. 5:20 the apostle Paul said that haíresis or “factions” are the product of the sinful nature (5:19).

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“And I say unto you my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do” (Luke 12:40 KJV).

Did You Know…

According to the Book of Revelation, “the second death” is described as death and hell being “cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:14).

Bible Quiz

According to the Book of Matthew, what should you not do openly before men, otherwise you will have no reward of your Father in heaven?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What were the two different ways the men of Gideon’s army drank water from the stream? Some lapped like a dog, others bent down (Judges 7:6).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“SON OF DAVID”

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1 NJKV).

1. Meaning – SON OF DAVID was a Messianic title and speaks of the Lord Jesus as the lawful and legal heir to the throne of David.

2. Insights – The Lord Jesus Christ is the supreme sovereign in the line of David. When we read that the Lord Jesus is the Son of David, it means that He is the long-awaited Deliverer, the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. It was promised to Abraham that Christ should descend from him (Gen. 12:3; 22:18), and it was promised to David that Christ should descend from him (2 Sam. 7:12; Psalm 132:11). If one claimed to be Messiah and he did not come from the line of David, he would be easily discounted as a false Messiah! God had said 1000 years earlier that the Messiah must come from the line of David.

Did You Know – Christian History

Bill Wallace was born January 19, 1908, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was an American Southern Baptist medical missionary to China

Wallace was the son of a doctor and as a boy tagged along with his father on patient rounds. At age 17, Wallace heard God’s call to medical missions. He answered yes and recorded the commitment on the back leaf of his New Testament. After college, medical school and surgical residency, Wallace turned down a lucrative offer to become a partner with an outstanding surgeon. In 1935, he was appointed as a missionary to China by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board. Wallace went to Wuchow (now Wuzhou) in southern China, where missionaries were desperately praying for a surgeon. Immediately he gained a reputation as a kind man of few words, a gifted surgeon, a tireless worker, and a committed servant of the Lord Jesus Chris. He worked through Japanese bombing raids as the stretchers of the wounded lined the halls. After his first furlough back home, he returned in 1940 to a China on fire but refused to leave Wuchow as the invading Japanese closed in. To urgent appeals that he flee Wuchow, he responded, “I will stay as long as I am able to serve.”

When America entered the Korean War, anti-American feeling ran strong in China. Mission boards urged their people to leave China. Wallace refused. Although he was known as one of the best surgeons in China and many Communists had profited from his skill, he was not spared. Early on the morning of December 19, 1950, his home was raided, and Wallace, a man known for healing others, went to prison. Claiming they found a gun under his pillow, the Communists accused him of being a foreign agent. Brutal interrogation followed. Disoriented by lack of sleep and beatings, Wallace signed a phony confession. He became depressed but posted scripture verses on his cell walls to focus his faith. He witnessed about Christ to everyone who passed his cell. Two months after his arrest, Wallace was found hanging in his cell. The Communists claimed he killed himself, but his body told a story of terrible abuse. Armed guards tried to hide their handiwork by burying him in an unmarked grave. However, faithful Chinese Christians did not allow that. Risking their own lives, they laid him to rest with a proper ceremony. Above his grave they placed this sign: “For Me to Live Is Christ.” 

A Little Humor

Two kids went into their parents’ bathroom and noticed the weigh scale in the corner. “Whatever you do,” cautioned one youngster to the other, “Don’t step on it!” “Why not?” asked the sibling. “Because every time mom does, she lets out an awful scream!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“The gospel breaks hard hearts and heals broken hearts!”