Luke 16:14-16 KJV
And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
I am not sure we always place these three verses in context one with another, but the plane fact is, they are in the same context. Jesus' words about every man pressing into the kingdom of God is contextually connected to the covetous nature of the Pharisees.
The word “presseth” means "to force." When John the Baptist began his public ministry multitudes came to be baptized of him. Many of whom he refused because they had not shown meat worth y of repentance. When Christ began His public ministry multitudes followed Him. He was often "pressed" by the throngs of people who crowded around Him. But they were not all disciples and there came a day when they turned from Him. They tried to "force" themselves into His fold, but they were eventually unsuccessful.
No we have a type of Christianity that "presses" people into the kingdom of God. We have soul winning tactics that involve more of the skills of the presenter and the will of the hearer than the work of the Spirit of God. We have people expecting that they will go to heaven because they have made some sort of decision or profession, but they bear no fruit of the new birth.
Covetous religious leaders, many of whom are probably well intentioned, have gathered together congregations around them, promising that those followers have a home in heaven because they believed what the preacher said. It is a process that is highly esteemed among men these days but may well be an abomination in the sight of God.
We must get back to following Jesus Christ, to listening to His call and to waiting upon His work in the souls of sinners. Only then will there be an abundant entrance into the kingdom.
And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
I am not sure we always place these three verses in context one with another, but the plane fact is, they are in the same context. Jesus' words about every man pressing into the kingdom of God is contextually connected to the covetous nature of the Pharisees.
The word “presseth” means "to force." When John the Baptist began his public ministry multitudes came to be baptized of him. Many of whom he refused because they had not shown meat worth y of repentance. When Christ began His public ministry multitudes followed Him. He was often "pressed" by the throngs of people who crowded around Him. But they were not all disciples and there came a day when they turned from Him. They tried to "force" themselves into His fold, but they were eventually unsuccessful.
No we have a type of Christianity that "presses" people into the kingdom of God. We have soul winning tactics that involve more of the skills of the presenter and the will of the hearer than the work of the Spirit of God. We have people expecting that they will go to heaven because they have made some sort of decision or profession, but they bear no fruit of the new birth.
Covetous religious leaders, many of whom are probably well intentioned, have gathered together congregations around them, promising that those followers have a home in heaven because they believed what the preacher said. It is a process that is highly esteemed among men these days but may well be an abomination in the sight of God.
We must get back to following Jesus Christ, to listening to His call and to waiting upon His work in the souls of sinners. Only then will there be an abundant entrance into the kingdom.
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