The people of Nazareth, Jesus' hometown, were unwilling to pay the price of receiving Christ. The cost required was a confession that they were sinners just like everyone else and that this son of Joseph they thought they knew was in fact the Messiah.
Huge crowds were following Jesus. He turned to them and challenged their motives. To follow Him, they must be willing to pay the price.
The parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. Those who trust in themselves and their own righteousness will perish. Those who humbly plead with the Lord for mercy in Christ will be saved.
Take up your cross and follow Me. What does this mean? It is an absolute condition to be Christ's disciple.
We approach Luke's Gospel by examining major themes in it. The first is The Cost of Following Christ.
Seeking more evidence than God tells us in His Word is sinful unbelief.
We call on J.C. Ryle to help us consider further this certainty of death and how it is the great leveler of all men, rich and poor, powerful and week.
Hell is real and hell is eternal. The Rich Man and Lazarus Parable.
We continue with this series on the Rich Man and Lazarus. Those who refuse to hear the Gospel of Christ call to repent and believe will one day find themselves in hell where they will "lift up their eyes" and see with clarity that hell is real and that it is too late for them.
This begins a series on Luke 16:19-31, the account of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Here we consider the two men's earthly states and think about the error of concluding that earthly prosperity evidences the blessing of God while poverty proves the absence of His blessing.
