The Four Woes of Luke 6 - Woe 4: Against Conformity to this World

"'Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.'"

~Luke 6:26 (ESV)

<Read Part 3 |                     

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What is laid out here for us is a conformity to this world--the world recognizing a person as a worldly person and not observed as a Christian. What is evil here is a lack of distinction from the world around us and its ways. It is a woe to us if we are spoken well of by the world due to being of and like the world. It is a woe to us if our lives do not display the fruit of regeneration in Christ.

In days of old, as yet today, false "prophets prophes[ied] falsely" and "priests rule[d] at their discretion" and "people love[d] to have it so" (Jeremiah 5:31).

So are we not the same when our lives please the culture--when compromise blends us in with the world? Do we not then blaspheme the name of Christ? For to be friends with God (saved) is to be enemy of the world (no longer pursuing the things of the flesh and the lies of the world's ways). As such we are to, with rejoicing in the freedom of salvation, live to glorify His name! Let us cast off all that is worthless--media that glorifies sin even to the slightest, fear of man and living for man's approval, and "every weight, and sin that clings so closely." For many eyes are upon us. Let not the eyes of the world be the ones that speak well of us, but the "cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1).

So may we not give our time and energies to celebrating that which Christ died for, but admiring and exalting His name. All earthly glory will fade, and if we pursue pleasure in the world, it is but a chasing of the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:11). For if we are found sleeping, what will we do when the end comes (Jeremiah 5:31)?

"Father, thank you for revealing to us what is of worth and for warning us against our own proneness to sin and to be conformed to this world. We would not see but that You had chosen to show us. By Your Spirit we now have light to see and discern what is pleasing to You. Father, give us an eternal perspective that causes us to cast off sin and that which is worthless and vain to feed our souls to purity of soul in You. Amen."

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Challenge and Application Questions

• Are there areas of worldliness in your life that glorify that for which Christ died?
• Do you lack an eternal perspective on the here and now and the decisions you make concerning media and other forms of worldliness?
• Do you desire and seek actively for an eternal perspective?
• What areas of grace-motivated change has the Lord done in your life concerning living for Him and not for worldliness?

The Four Woes of Luke 6 - Woe 3: Against Foolish Satisfaction

"'Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.'"

~Luke 6:25b (ESV)

<Read Part 2 | Read Part 4>

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At first or lasting impression of this verse might be to think it is a sin to laugh or perhaps a sin to be "overly happy." I've had thoughts like this. But once again, the Greek will serve us well!

Let's look at some Greek definitions:

Woe to you who...

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Laugh
(G.1070) To laugh (as a sign of satisfaction); laugh.

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now, for you shall

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Mourn
(G.3396) pěnthěo; from 3997; to grieve (the feeling or act):-mourn, (be-)wail.

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and

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Weep
(G.2799) klaiō; To wail out loud (as opposed to silently); bewail; weep.
    →Bewail: To express sorrow for; grief expressed; lament (Webster's 1828 Dictionary).

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Those who laugh in earthly satisfaction shall soon be sorrowed. We see one clear example of this later in chapter twelve where Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool. This character told his soul in effect, "Soul you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax! Partake in the fruits of your labors and place your dependence in them. Eat, drink, be merry." God said to him, "Fool!" because his faith and dependence were cast on the which is perishable and has no eternal value. Becuase of this, his very soul was demanded of him that very day.

But Jesus' warning is to us as well: "So is the one lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:21). Rich toward God? I thought that was an interesting word to use: toward. Back to the Greek (note the asterisks (*)):

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Toward
(G.1519) ěis; - to or into (indicating the place reached or entered); of place, time, or purpose. Abundantly. against, *among, as, at, [back-]ward, before, *by, *concerning, +continual +far more exceeding, for [intent, purpose], fore, +forth...

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We are to be rich concerning God, rich by God, rich among God. This is what is missing in the rich fool. Earthly goods are to be used and worked for but our master must be God and our satisfaction in Him alone. We are to store up our riches among the eternal. "No one can serve two masters.... You cannot serve both God and money" (Matt 6:24).

So let us not give laughs of satisfaction because we have goods laid up on earth; they will not last the fire of Judgement Day. They won't! This is not my idea, it is God's promise that everyone's work will be tested and revealed by fire (I Corinthians 3:13).

"God, thank you for Your merciful warnings to the proud and sinful like me. May we not be left weeping now or when our days are through. Rather, let us rejoice today that we have You! That we have all that we need. That we have all that we need in You. Amen."

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Challenge and Application Questions

• Are there currently any false hopes that you are aware of in your own heart?
• How have you represented the rich fool?
• How had God rescued you from false hope?
• Do you have an eternal perspective on treasures (earthly and Heavenly)?

The Four Woes of Luke 6 - Woe 2: Against Filling Up with the World

"'Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.'"

~Luke 6:25a (ESV)

<Read Part 1 | Read Part 3>

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John Piper often talks of how humans are far too easily satisfied. A young kid would enthusiastically take satisfaction in making mud pies because he can't imagine what is meant by holiday at the beach.

The word "full" here in the Greek is "ěmpiplēmi" or "ěmplēthō" (^[1]) which means to fill in or up and to satisfy. One base Greek word implies "filling to the max." It is not talking about for food per se, but an overall filling of one's self that "makes no room" for anything else because one's satisfaction is in the here and now.

But Jesus mercifully warns us of this. If we fill ourselves with earthly treasures and think that the height of satisfaction, that is the height of ignorance for soon we shall realize, "If this is all there is to life, this is pathetic! I have no more dreams!" Soon the entertainment, fame, drugs, friends, possessions, relationships, immorality, money, or anything else we try to fill ourselves with other than Christ Himself--it will fail us and prove as an ugly deception. Worldliness and lust are ugly deceptions that do nothing but harden our hearts toward God, hinder the pursuit of God, and dull our sensitivity to the Lord's leading. Settle not for them! They lie to us! They do not deliver as advertised!

Our end is to hunger without satisfaction if we settle for less than God. The word "hunger" in the Greek, "pěinaō," means to famish--to crave and be hungered ^[2]. So what we think now to be our satisfaction other than God will leave us dying in starvation.

May we remind ourselves that Christ died to save us from this deceit! What a blessed relief! The Holy Spirit has opened our once darkened eyes to see what really matters and live life in the FREEDOM of the only satisfaction, Jesus Christ. Amen!

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Challenge and Application Questions

• What things less than God most beg to be known as and claim to be satisfaction in your life?
• Do you remind yourself of the Gospel and that Christ died to save you from that deceit when you are tempted to seek satisfaction outside of God?
• In light of the Gospel, have the deceitful things of the world dimmed and been exposed for what they really are?
• How are you applying the Gospel to your Christian life of discernment?

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1. Strong's concordance (KJV), Greek Dictionary 1705. (Back to reading)
2. Strong's concordance (KJV), Greek Dictionary 3983. (Back to reading)

The Four Woes of Luke 6 - Woe 1: Against Earthly Riches

"'But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.'"

~Luke 6:24 (ESV)

| Read Part 2>

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Jesus provides us with four merciful "woes" or warnings in Luke chapter 6. And no, they're not dazzled "woahs" as in "Woah, dude!" No, these are merciful warnings as in "Woe to you" from the mouth of Christ Himself. As with all of Scripture, we will do well to heed them and grow in our love for Christ in doing so!

There are many things vying for our attention that claim to be the ultimate comfort, yet they are earthly. Anything other than God that we look to to function as God is a deception and an idol. Only God, the only comfort, can function as God, the only comfort!

The rich are warned with a merciful warning that those who look to what they have now on earth for their comfort, that indeed shall be the end of their comfort. If that is all there is to life, does life not seem meaningless? But there is so much more to it, the glory of God! Eternal satisfaction in Him that ever increases!

Shall we seek after riches on earth? Shall we store up meaningless things? Shall we create idols to "function as God" to satisfy ourselves? Then that shall be our consolation, our comfort, our reward. The fact is that we all do! Our heart is a "factory of idols," as C.J. Mahaney quotes in his excellent and life-changing (I kid you not) message series, The Idol Factory. This series revealed to me the Biblical name of my many sins and the nature of the deception of my heart. I know I can so quickly, if my eyes are not on my Savior, be deceived into thinking satisfaction can be achieved in something other that Christ.

O, may it never be that we live our lives for these things! Christ is the only One needed, Who matters, and Who satisfies with an everlasting satisfaction and an ever-increasing thirst for more of Himself.

O, Fountain of Grace,
Fountain of Mercy, truth, and life,
You are the perfect Prince of Peace
All of my days,
May I always strive for Your name praised,
You are the God over all

Challenge and Application Questions

• What does satisfaction in Christ look like in the life of a Christian and why iks it critical?
• Are you satisfied in Christ? Evaluate your thirst for God.
• What competes most for your satisfaction, energies, your heart, your thoughts, and your devotion other that Christ (like the rich man's devotion to riches)? How will you seek to defeat these idols in your life and fall more in love with Christ?