THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE TEXT: Matthew, selected texts
I. THE MESSAGE OF THE PARABLES: “The kingdom of heaven is like…” A. Parables are Word of the Kingdom (Mt. 13:19). B. Parables are an Announcement of the New Covenant, involving (1) a new disposition towards national Israel; (2) a new intimacy between Christ and His disciples, and (3) a new method of teaching (parables, a test of the heart and its response). C. Parables are a Call to Examine One’s Fruit-bearing. D. Parables are a Display of the Compassion and Elective Ministry of Christ.
II. THE ESSENCE OF THE PARABLES. This series attempts to recover the older understanding of the parables ― not as a disconnected series of lessons for the moral improvement of Christians, but as veiled gospel presentations to sinners, particularly those who “trust in themselves that they are righteous” (Lu. 18:9). In view of the modern professing church where salvation appeals are seldom, if ever, made to regular attenders, the parables of Jesus are a presentation of Christ requiring us (1) to acknowledge our own unworthiness for His kingdom, (2) to confess His lordship and His all-sufficient work in the salvation of sinners, and (3) to examine in ourselves whether that powerful work of God has been done.
A. Parables are Gospel, not Morals. B. Parables Conceal as well as Reveal.
III. THE PRACTICAL USE OF THE PARABLES. A. Problem. B. Response.
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