The Local Christendom Podcast with Aaron Ventura

The Rewards of Divine LoveSunday, June 21st, 2026Fourth Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WALuke 6:27–36
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for Your Only Begotten Son, who lived what He taught, and who showed us by his life and death and resurrection, how to overcome evil with good. Teach us to do the same, by the power of Your Holy Spirit working within us, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
In Acts 20:35, the Apostle Paul says to the Ephesian elders, Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Now where exactly does Jesus say this?
Well, if you were to search all four gospels, you would discover that Jesus never says these exact words anywhere in his teaching. And therefore, Paul is either quoting some oral tradition that he and the Ephesians are familiar with, or what is probably more likely, Paul is just summarizing what Jesus is teaching right here in the Sermon on the Plain: It is more blessed to give than to receive.
It is more blessed, to love your enemies, to do good to those who hate you, and to lend to those who cannot repay you, because this is what God has done for us, and God is the most blessed, the most happy, the most joyful God, abundant in every good.
So if you had to summarize this section of Jesus’ sermon, you could rightly summarize it by saying, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Now this morning we are focusing on verses 32-36, which is where Jesus seeks to motivate us, motivate his disciples to give away the love that they themselves have received.
And the logic of his argument runs like this: Because God’s love is a free gift of Divine mercy, therefore you should freely give what you have freely received.
Once upon a time, you were God’s enemy, you were God’s debtor, but Christ came and paid your debt, He suffered and died on the cross to reconcile you to God, and so the friendship with God that you now enjoy is all a gift of His mercy, so therefore show mercy to your enemies.
Moreover, because this supernatural love of charity is infinite (it is a participation in the very essence of God), the more love that you give away, the more love God bestows.
As Jesus will go on to say in verse 38, Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
So charity is this grace that increases the more you give it. You could think of your heart like a little teacup (or if you prefer, a shot glass), and when you become a Christian, God pours out His love so that it fills your little cup to the brim. On His side, He is and has an inexhaustible ocean of love to give you. But on your side, you can only receive as much love as the size of your heart allows.
Paul describes this reality in 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 when he says, O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open. That is, open your heart to God!
Well how does God open your heart? How does God give you a bigger cup? Well, He does this by giving you opportunities to pour out the love that He has given you into people who do not deserve it. God enlarges your heart by giving you opportunities to show mercy to people who do not deserve mercy.
When you do this, walking in faith, living in hope, trusting God to supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus, then God expands your capacity to both give His love and receive His love. And thus, we experience what Paul says that Jesus says that, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
So that is main point of this section (the blessedness of charity), and Jesus gives us two incentives (motivations) to be generous with our love the way that God has been generous towards us. And we find those two incentives in verse 35, where Jesus says, But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest.
What are the two incentives to love your enemies?
1) For a reward that shall be great.
2) And that ye may be the children of the Highest.
What does this mean? To understand these incentives, let us walk through our text, starting in verses 32-34. Jesus says…
Verses 32-34
32For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
33And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
34And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
First, notice the contrast Jesus is making here, between the way that sinners love, and the way his disciples are to love.
Sinners are people who love those who love them, who do good to those who do them good, they make loans and receive back interest on those loans. That is just what ordinary human beings do, and Jesus calls them sinners. Sinners love this way.
So ask yourself, do you only love like these sinners love? Do you only do good to the people you like, to the people who look like you and share your values, to people who appreciate your love, and say thank you? Is there anything in how you act, that transcends what is common amongst sinners? This is the question Jesus asks three times in a row when he says, “what thank have ye?”
Other translations say, “what credit is that to you?,” or “what benefit is that to you?” In Greek the word for thank/credit/benefit is χάρις, from which we get the English word charisma, grace, or favor.
The idea is that a believer is someone who has received χάρις/grace from God, and therefore χάρις/grace should be manifest in how we treat other people, even those who are our enemies.
So do you love those who love you? Great. Sinners can do that. Racists and Kinists do that. There is nothing meritorious, gracious, or praiseworthy about that kind of love that sinners have for one another. What thank have ye?
But believers, we are those who love those who hate us. We do good to those who desire to do us evil. We lend to people who cannot repay, because we have God’s grace within us. This is the contrast Jesus is making between sinners and true disciples, between Christians in name only, and those who love God above all else. One has grace, the other does not. So which kind of person are you? What do the thoughts of your heart and your words, and your actions reveal about what you actually love? Do you have grace within you?
Now in verse 35, Jesus tells us plainly that there is a reward for those who have and manifest grace. He says…
Verse 35
35But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest…
What is this great reward that Jesus speaks of?
Recall that charity is the love that comes from God, unites us to God, and loves everyone in relation to God. Charity values God more than anything else, and therefore desires God more than anything else.
The soul that has been touched by this Divine flame says with Song of Solomon 8:7, Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can the floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, It would utterly be contemned.
Or if you like a more homely analogy, we are all like onions, you don’t just take a bit out of an onion, but God’s love comes along and cooks us low and slow until we become sweet.
So if you were to ask a person that is full of charity/sweetness, “What reward do you want for loving your enemies?” They would say to you something like, “I just want my enemies to know and love God, and I want to know and love God more than I presently do.”
Or, as Moses says to God upon the mountain, if I have found grace in thy sight, please, show me Thy glory (Ex. 33:17-18). Is that what you heart desires?
The great reward that charity desires is the increase of charity in oneself, so that more charity can be shared with others. Put another way, charity asks God for a bigger cup, a larger heart, a sweeter and more open disposition, so that we can have more of Him.
And if that is the honest desire of your heart, that is the surest sign that you are a true son of Abraham. For what does God say to him in Genesis 15:1, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Now this great reward of knowing and loving God begins in this life and is perfected in the next.
God says to Moses in Exodus 33:20, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
And it says in 1 John 3:2, we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
And in Revelation 21:3-4 it says, And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
To behold God face to face in glory, after death, is the greatest reward of all. That is when Jesus will say to us, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord (Matthew 25:21).
So that is the future and perfect reward that God promises to those who love Him, but there are also rewards we can begin to experience in this life, here and now when we love our enemies. So what are those rewards? They are joy and peace.
Joy and peace are the two unique effects of divine love.
It says in Psalm 119:165, Great peace have they which love thy law: And nothing shall offend them.
And Jesus says in John 15:9-11, As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
So do you know the joy and the peace that comes from possessing and delighting in what no one and no thing can take away? Do you have God hidden in your heart? Are not you hidden in God’s heart? Is not your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, where no mortal creature can ever blot it out?
It says in Zephaniah 3:17, The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
So what can your enemies really take from you, if God is your exceeding great reward? If God is truly your all in all?
What if your enemies are actually helping you do what John the Baptist says in John 3:30, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”
Sometimes God permits us to suffer temporal losses, persecution, hatred and contempt, because He wants to increase our joy and peace in Him.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:10, Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
How is this possible? Only if you know that God is the good that cannot be taken from you, no matter what they do to your body, your reputation, your possessions, your homeland, your culture your family, the people that you love.
Jesus says in Matthew 10:28, Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
And what does Paul say at the climax of Romans 8? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That is the truth that gives birth to joy and peace, because it is rooted in what no creature can take away, namely the love of God for us.
This is also what will set you free to forgive those people who have hurt you the most. As Jesus says in verses 35-36, ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
So whose child are you? Who is your father? God, or the devil?
God forgives; the devil holds grudges.
God forgets your sins, He removes them as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103), he drowns them in the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). Whereas the devil is constantly out to accuse you, to condemn you, for sins you may have done and for sins you have not done, the devil is a fanciful liar and he will do whatever he can to keep you holding on to sins, real or imagined, and he will encourage you to play the victim, to blame other people, to not take responsibility for your actions, to exaggerate the faults of others, and to minimize your own. The devil is a deceiver for he himself is deceived.
Who is Jesus? He is the way, the truth, the life. Jesus is the God who humbles himself even unto death for sinners. Whereas the devil never humbles himself, he exalts himself in pride.
The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is kind to the unthankful and evil, the devil is cruel to everyone he meets.
So whose child are you? Who is your father?
You will know who you are, by how you treat those who hate you.
James 2:13 says, For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Conclusion
Are you merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful? Because showing mercy is its own reward.
It says in Proverbs 11:17, 25, The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh…The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters others, will also be watered himself.
It really is more blessed to give than to receive. It is better for your health, in this life and the next, to show mercy rather than to harbor bitterness.
And so the place you must constantly dwell and return to if you would become merciful as your Father is merciful, is the place where God most revealed His mercy: Upon the cross of Jesus Christ.
At the cross you must see what your sins deserved. Not just the world’s sins, or those people’s sins, but your sins. Your sins deserve crucifixion. Your sins deserve never-ending punishment. Your sins were an affront to the infinite dignity of God. Your sins were an offense against your Creator such that Peter says the Jews is true for you. He says in Acts 3:14-15, But you denied the Holy One and the Just…and killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
Do you really believe what God says about your sins and what they deserve? If you don’t believe that you deserve damnation, then it will be hard to show mercy and to forgive the people who hurt you.
But if you do believe that you have truly offended God, and that He would be just to condemn you to hell for all time, then you can also see just how kind He has been to you, to the ungrateful, and the evil.
At the cross we also see what Jesus gave up to win us. What he sacrificed to save us. What value the Father placed on restoring us to fellowship with Him. As it says in Romans 8:32, He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Do you see how pitiful we are!? We are hardly willing to suffer the slightest insult, the slightest injustice, the slightest indignity. We are petty to the core. Would like God to be petty with you? It says in Psalm 130:3, If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? None of us, apart from the cross.
A soul that is filled with grace, thinks to itself, “whatever evils I suffer here, are infinitely less than the punishment I deserve, and whatever evil is done against me, is less than that wickedness I have committed against the infinitely glorious God.”
If that becomes your heart’s rationale, well then God has started to enlarge your heart, and pour His love into it, and so may He, both now and forever, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Acts of Divine LoveSunday, June 14th, 2026Third Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WALuke 6:27–36
Interpretive Note:
These precepts are binding upon all believers as to the disposition of the heart (the habit of charity).
They are binding in action when the following conditions have been met:
1. It is a case of serious necessity (e.g. without a coat they will freeze).
2. It would not undermine the common good (e.g. they ask to borrow your phone but then refuse to give it back, you should freely give it to them, vs. they ask you for your gun and likely intend it to use it to harm someone, therefore you refuse to give it).
3. It would lead your enemy to eternal life (e.g. the object demanded, or endurance of the wrong suffered, would not contradict the manifestation of kindness and gentleness).
In doubtful circumstances, these become counsels of perfection that may or may not be acted upon depending on one’s state.
These precepts are not civil laws, nor contrary to the justice of the civil law.
In cases where the civil law cannot or will not restrain evil, we may not take vengeance into our hands.
In cases where greater harm would be done by not appealing to the civil law, we are bound to appeal to the civil law, but not for private vengeance, rather for the public good.
We may desire temporal evils for our neighbor, namely the just punishment for sin, but only for the sake of their attaining to eternal life.
Prayer
O Father, we praise You for great Your mercies. Your mercy that removes our misery, heals our defects, and gives us a perfection far beyond what we justly deserve. Grant that we may become merciful and kind, even as You are, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Last Sunday we began to wrestle with this command from Jesus to love your enemies. And we acknowledged that this command is probably the most difficult moral action that any human being can do. We said further that this act of loving your enemies from the heart is indeed impossible apart from the grace of God. And therefore, to love your enemies, you must first receive God’s love, receive salvation, receive a new heart, so that you are no longer an enemy of God, but rather His most intimate friend.
This friendship that results from God’s grace is what we call charity. Charity is a supernatural kind of love, that comes down from God to raise us up to God.
When God converts you and regenerates you, He infuses into your soul this new power to love the way that He loves. And when you exercise that power, you become what 2 Peter 1:4 calls, a partaker of the Divine Nature which is essentially love all the way through. Love unites the Beloved to the Lover. Love unites us to the love that God is.
It says in 1 John 4:16, God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Paul says in Romans 5:5 that, the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
And so here in this Sermon on the Plain from the Lord Jesus, Jesus is giving now spiritual laws for a spiritual people. Jesus is giving supernatural precepts that only a supernatural person, living in a state of grace, has the ability to carry out. And therefore, if you are unable to love your enemies, the way Jesus is telling you to, you are either not a Christian at all, or you are a very spiritually stunted Christian.
Whatever the case, these commands to love your enemies expose the radical selfishness of our own hearts. And what we discover behind all these commands to love, is that love is radically God-centered, not Me-centered. Love considers what is best for others, not merely what is best for Me.
When God’s love comes and indwells a believer, it starts to mortify/kill/crucify/purge the Self (the Ego).
God’s love is like a consuming fire, a jealous flame, and we are like a stump of wood. And what happens at conversion is God cuts you down, graciously sets you on His sacrificial altar, and then He turns up the heat. He starts to transform you from a stubborn piece of wood that was fixed to the dirt, into a heavenly fire that can now ascend upward.
This is the divine flame of the Holy Spirit. And He is intent on converting you from wood to fire, from earth to heaven, from dust to divinity, from inordinate self-love to a God-ordered divine love. This is the love Jesus is revealing here, the supernatural fire of charity.
Now with all that by way of review, let us consider again the outline of our text.
Outline of the Text
Our text divides into two basic sections.
In verses 27-31, Jesus teaches us What Charity Does Toward Its Enemies.
And then in verses 32-36, Jesus teaches us Why Charity Does This.
So what does charity do, and why does charity do this?
This morning we’ll focus mainly on the specific acts of charity, and next week we’ll focus on the reasons why. So starting in verse 27 we see that charity does good to those who hate us. Jesus says…
Verse 27
27But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Now recall that charity does not just seek any good for our enemies, charity seeks the greatest good for our enemies, which is their conversion to Christ.
And just as we were formerly enemies of God,living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another (Titus 3:3),so also are those people who presently hate us. And therefore, observing the Golden Rule as Jesus will give in verse 31, we are to, Do for our enemies what we wish someone had done for us when were God’s enemies. This is the logic of charity.
It says in Titus 3:4 that what converted us from a state of hatred was that, the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
In other words, because salvation is wholly of grace from beginning to the middle to the end, therefore, we are to be gracious, merciful, kind, generous, to show our enemies what has already been shown to us.
If it was the appearance of God’s kindness and love that converted you, then that same appearance of God’s kindness and love through you may become the means by which God saves your enemies’ soul.
Well how do we do this practically? Jesus goes on to give five illustrations of charity in action. And they are: 1) we bless, 2) we pray, 3) we turn the other cheek, 4) we give away necessities, and 5) we forgive our debtors. So in verse 28 Jesus says…
Verse 28 – We Bless & We Pray
28Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Now to bless means to say something good to someone (or to wish them good). And the good that we wish for those who curse us, is that they stop cursing, stop blaspheming, and instead confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Now consider for a moment the alternative. What if you curse those who curse you? What do you think they will do in return? Probably curse you again.
And so what is Jesus doing here? He is calling for a de-escalation of the conflict. And the way you de-escalate is by choosing to not return evil for evil, but rather to overcome evil with good.
As we heard earlier from Proverbs 19:11, The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.
And in Proerbs 10:12 it says, Hatred stirreth up strifes: But love covereth all sins.
So this how God intends to make peace on earth. When they curse we bless them back. When they wish us evil, we wish them good in return.
It says in Proverbs 26:2, As a flitting sparrow, as a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.
Meaning, it does not matter how much the wicked may curse you, if you are innocent, that curse cannot land on your head. And in fact, sometimes that curse boomerangs, and falls upon the person who sent it. And so don’t fall into the trap of cursing back. Choose to bless, and not merely with your words, but genuinely from the heart, desire their salvation.
David prays in Psalm 141:10, Let the wicked fall into their own nets, While I escape safely. That is, we pray that those who curse, fall in their own wickedness, so that they cease from sin. This is how you bless, even as you ask for God to punish your enemies. You pray for their temporal punishment, so that they may escape eternal punishment. Charity only wishes God’s justice upon the evil, as a means to them seeking His mercy.
Now when we do this, and bless from the heart, what we are also doing is praying for our enemies. The next thing Jesus says is, pray for them which despitefully use you.
Now think about a time when someone has used you for their own selfish interests. How did that make you feel? Angry? Bitter? De-humanized? Like an object and not a person.
Well now think about a time when you have used someone else for your own selfish interests. Can any of us honestly say that we are not guilty of that sin? We have all done this in various degrees to our shame.
Well Jesus says that when people use you, and use you with contempt, they want to spite you, they want to humiliate you, they want to de-humanize you, then go to God and pray for them.
Do you see how God’s love, charity, is totally opposed to man’s natural desire for vengeance, for what you think is justice. When in reality, to pray for those who use you, is also to humbly acknowledge that you are guilty of having done the same (and maybe worse), and yet God forgave you.
How many of us have despitefully used Christ? We come to church, we receive baptism, we hear the Word, we receive the very body and blood of Christ from this table, but then we go out and commit the same sins again and again and again.
Thanks be to God that Jesus prays for us. That we have a mediator who is willing to forgive us, again and again and again and as often as we confess our sins and return to Him. And so this is why we pray for those who use us. This is what Jesus has done.
Later in Luke 17:3-4 Jesus will say to his disciples, Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
Why do we do this? Because God does this for us. And so bless those who curse you, and we pray for those who despitefully use you.
In verse 29 Jesus teaches us to 3) turn the other cheek, and 4) give away necessities. He says…
Verse 29 – We Turn the Other Cheek & We Give Away Necessities
29And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
Notice that both of these actions require supernatural humility and restraint, what the Bible calls meekness/mildness/gentleness. When someone strikes us, our reflex is to strike back. When someone robs us of our raincoat (called here the cloke), our instinct is to cling even more closely to whatever we still have on, our shirt (coat here refers to the undergarment).
Well, the love of charity that arises from meekness does not clutch to what it has, but rather opens its arms wide, even as Jesus did on the cross.
Charity is willing to suffer consecutive assaults on our dignity. That is what Jesus is saying here. They smack you once, and you are willing to be smacked again. They take your coat, and you are willing to give them your shirt too.
It is the repetition of personal affronts that Jesus is calling us to patiently endure.
Now we should note here that this is not a command for absolute pacifism, as if there is never a time for self-defense, or the defense of others, or even the defense of your property. Remember these are not civil laws, they are private precepts (or counsels) that depend upon the situation.
The principle is that your heart does not desire personal vengeance, or retribution, your heart desires their attainment of eternal life. Because when they strike you, they are really striking at God. When they take your coat, they are really robbing God.
What does God say to Saul after consenting to the murder of Stephen? “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Notice, Jesus takes our suffering personally, as if it was done to Him.
And because of this, later the converted Apostle Paul will say in Romans 12:19, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
So whatever you and I suffer for righteousness’ sake, Jesus takes personally as done to Him. And He says, I will repay. I will see that justice is done, and mercy is shown, in accord with my perfect wisdom.
So leave it to Him who knows better than us what is good for us, and for our enemies. Jesus is the one who has the power to destroy both soul and body in hell. So give place for God’s wrath, don’t take vengeance into your own hands.
Now the fifth and final action Jesus describes is that of forgiving our debtors. He says in verses 30-31…
Verse 30 – We Forgive Our Debtors
30Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Now what is most likely in view here is a situation where you choose to lend to someone, and then they either defraud you, or refuse to pay the loan back, or squander the money and are unable to pay you back. And in such a situation, Jesus says, write it off as a gift. Forgive whatever they took you for.
One of the reasons this is the most likely situation in view is because a few verses later Jesus will contrast this act of forgiveness,with the way the sinners lend to one another.
He says in verse 34-35, And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return.
Now if you find this to be a hard saying, to forgive someone who has defrauded you, then it might be because you still don’t know the blessing of hating money.
Recall the very first words of this sermon, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. That is, blessed are those who do not love money, whose hearts are not attached to earthly goods. They are the blessed ones to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs, and they shall be heirs of everything.
And so because God has forgiven us, and paid our debts (which we could never repay!), and He has given us grace, and promised us eternal life, and has in store for us imperishable riches beyond the heart’s imagining, we are then willing to forgive those people who defraud us of mere earthly stuff.
In Hebrews 10:34 the Apostle Paul encourages the Hebrew Christian who practiced what Jesus is preaching here. He says to them, for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.
Dear Christian, do you know what you have? A better and more enduring possession for yourself in heaven? Because only that will detach your heart from the love of money. And when your heart is attached to this world, it prevents your soul from flying upward to God, to heaven.
And so heaven is where you need to be making more frequent deposits. And you do that at times by suffering temporal losses, by forgiving debts, by being wise and generous with whatever God has given you. This is how, Jesus says, you become rich toward God. He says in Matthew 6:20-21, But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Our heart is secure, when it is hidden in God. And that security is not shaken by liars and cheats and robbers.
Conclusion
David says in Psalm 119:32, I will run the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart.
And so if you are struggling to run in God’s commandments, or perhaps you feel that you can hardly walk in them, then start by asking God to enlarge your heart.
Remember charity is God’s love, flowing into us, and then into others. So go to the one who has nothing but love flowing out of him. Go to the cross, go to the dead body of Christ, of which it says in John 19:34, But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
If you go the cross and stare at Christ, and think about why He is there, and what He has suffered, and how there is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life to turn His enemies into His friends, well that is what enlarges our heart.     To know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19).
May God grant us this fullness of love, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Logic of Divine LoveSunday, June 7th, 2026Second Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WALuke 6:27–36
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for Your great mercies, how they are new every morning, how they sustain us in the night, and how they lead us to eternal life. Please teach us now to become merciful as You are merciful, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Imagine for a moment that you are alone. And you are standing on the shore of a secluded lake. The water is still. The sun is shining above you. It is warm but not too warm. There are no sounds or noises or any people to disturb you. All is calm. All is peaceful.
Now imagine flying above the surface of that lake. And see how the more still it stands, the more it can reflect the light of the sun above you. If that lake is perfectly still, it can become a mirror image of the heavens above.
Well that is what God created you to be. A perfect image and likeness of the Divine light, reflecting as in a mirror God’s radiance, warmth, goodness, and love.
In the Garden of Eden we were like this. But after the fall, sin shattered us. Sin made us to be more like a stormy sea, dark, brooding, with waves of doubts crashing against one another, and therefore unable to reflect the Divine light above.
The Bible says that your mind, your heart, your soul, is like a body of water. It’s like the Sea of Galilee, which can either be peaceful and calm at the word of Christ who says, “be still” and all is still (Mark 4:39), or we can be stormy, dangerous, and full of fear.
Paul says in Ephesians 4:14, that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine.
In Jude 13 false teachers are described as, raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame.
In Isaiah 57:20 it says, But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
It says in James 1:5-8, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
So what kind of body of water are you? What is the state of your heart? Do you have inner peace, or do you feel tossed about by conflicting thoughts, passions, fears, desires?
Nobody likes being double-minded, anxious, fearful. We all want to experience tranquility, but too often we do not know how to acquire it.
Well in our text this morning, the Lord Jesus teaches us where the peace of God may be found. And that peace of God, which Paul says in Philippians 4:7, surpasses all understanding, is only ever found where love is found. It says in 1 John 4:16, God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
And so this means that you will only ever experience peace, to the degree that you also have God’s love dwelling within you. Perfect peace can only come from a perfect love. However, in this life our peace is so often imperfect (or altogether lacking), our minds are easily disturbed because of the inconstancy of our affection for God.
And so here in this sermon from the Lord Jesus, God wants to show you what His perfect love looks like in action. What does God’s love look like, when it dwells inside a believer? That is what we shall begin to explore this morning.
Outline of the Text
Looking at our text, we can divide it into two basic sections as each relates to love. And this morning we’ll just look at the first section, and Lord willing next week we’ll take up the rest.
In verses 27-31, Jesus teaches us What Divine Love Is.
And then in verses 32-36, he explains Why we should love the way that God loves.
So what is divine love, and what is the logic of this love so that we can love even our enemies? To answer these questions is really to show us the path to peace.
Verse 27 – What is Divine Love?
27But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
First recall the context of this saying. Jesus has just pronounced four blessings/beatitudes upon the poor, the hungry, the sad, and the hated, “Blessed are you” he says, looking especially upon his disciples. And then he pronounced four woes/warnings upon the greedy, the self-indulgent, the haughty, and the vainglorious, “Woe to you” he says. And now here, Jesus announces a new audience for the teaching that follows. He says, But I say unto you which hear… Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.
Who are those who hear? Jesus is referring to those who are listening in order that they may understand and obey Him. In other words, Jesus is talking to believers.
Jesus does not expect unbelievers to be able to hear and do what he is about to command. And that is because this ability to truly love your enemies, and to do good to those who hate you, is a supernatural ability that comes from God above.
This power to love your enemies the way that God loves them, is a power that you must first receive from God as a heavenly gift. And therefore, only those who first hear with faith can also receive this gift of supernatural love.
Now we call this supernatural love from God charity, to help us distinguish it from the all the other natural loves where even sinners can love those who love them (as Jesus says in verse 32). But to love one’s enemies, and to do good to those who hate us, that is a divine kind of love. And in fact, it is a gracious participation in the very love that God is.
Paul describes the divine origin of this love in Romans 5:5 when he says, the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Notice that our heart was like an empty space, until God poured His love in.
And so we say that when the Holy Spirit fills our heart with God’s love, what we receive is a new heart, a new creation, a new disposition and habit of our soul where we can now love other people the way that God loves them. This is what we call charity. And it is a supernatural gift.
In 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, charity is described as the greatest of all spiritual gifts. And that is because unlike the gifts of faith, and hope, which eventually give way to sight and fulfillment, charity is a love that unites us to God here and now, and then increases even more when we behold God face to face. Paul says, charity never ends.
So charity is the beginning of God’s life within us, and it is only by His indwelling love, His Holy Spirit poured into our hearts, that we could ever dare hope to love people who hate us.
Charity is also the highest form of friendship, because charity unites our will with God’s will. Charity is like the love-knot that ties us to God. It is how our spirit becomes interwined with God’s spirit.
Paul describes this in Colossians 3:14-15 saying, And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Note again the connection between love and peace.
To Summarize: Charity it is the love that comes from God, it is the love that unites us to God, and when we are united to God as His most intimate friends, we are enabled to love other people, even our enemies, for God’s sake. Charity transforms every ordinary relationship into a relationship that has God as its reference point.
You could visualize this with a triangle. There is you and some other person on the same horizontal plane, and that line between could be a line of love, or enmity, or something in between. Charity sets God above that relationship, and so you can now love that other person through God, with God’s help, with the very love that God pours out into you, you can now pour out to them.
So this how charity transforms everything, and it is why it is the greatest of all spiritual gifts.
Now a second thing we need to note before we get into some of these actions that love does, is that these commands in verses 27-30 are for Christians as private persons, and not for the civil magistrate or public officials as such.
To put it another way, what Jesus is commanding here is not a new civil law for the government to enact or enforce. Because if it was, then it would contradict the Ten Commandments, and many other things that Jesus will say and do elsewhere. So we always have to interpret Scripture with Scripture, and that is especially true when it comes to these teachings here. Don’t get confused, these are personal and private commands for Christians as Christ, not new civil laws for the commonwealth or magistrate.
To give you just one example to illustrate this point, when Jesus says in verse 29, him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also, by saying this Jesus is not trying to legalize theft. Jesus is not decriminalizing stealing. He is saying that insofar as belongs to you as a Christian, freely give what you have freely received, and God will make it up to you. He clothes the grass and the lilies and can find you a new coat. Don’t take vengeance into your own hands.
The Apostle Paul elaborates on this more in Romans 12 and 13 when he says, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
And how does God repay evildoers? Paul goes on to say a few verses later, But if you do evil, be afraid; for [the powers that be, the civil magistrate] does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. (Rom. 13:4).
So there is no contradiction between a Christian loving his enemies and suffering loss or persecution, and then the civil magistrate coming along and executing those same enemies for their crimes to protect and maintain the common good.
Whenever the common good is jeopardized by evil, the most loving thing the magistrate can do for them, is punish them, prevent them from doing more harm to themselves and others.
This is the love the magistrate (as magistrate) shows for the common good, and it is in no way opposed to the love you show by not withholding your private goods when certain need demands. But the point is, that punishment, the sword, vengeance, belongs to the lawful authorities, and not to private individuals as such.
So if you misunderstood this, you can end up with all kinds of weird and false conclusions about what a Christian can and cannot do. And so just remember Jesus never contradicts himself, he is not abolishing the law in any way, he is rather showing how love is the fulfillment of the love, specifically in our private affairs.
So what exactly does love for our enemies look like?
Well, we learn in verse 27, that to love means to do good to someone. Jesus says, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
So to love is to will what is good for someone. And we should go further and say that divine love (charity), wills what is what is most good for someone (what is best for them).
And so we should ask here, what is the best good we can will for our enemies? It is that they get converted to knowing and loving God. And this is what separates charity from all other loves. Charity wills God for other people, and therefore does whatever is within its power to give God to that person.
And so Jesus says the way you will lead people to me, is by doing good to them, even when they hate you. Later he will explain this more saying we are to be merciful, even as God is merciful. And then he goes on to say in verses 28-31 what kinds of private actions lead people to God.
Verses 28-31
28Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
29And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
30Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
These are the concrete actions of a person who desires his or her enemies to be converted to God. These are also the actions that only a blessed person can do. And by that I mean, you must be blessed in the sense that Jesus just pronounced blessings, upon those who contemn riches, who are poor in spirit, who hungry for righteousness, and so on. Only a person who first has the blessedness of God can love like God loves.
We observe in this list of actions, that these are all sacrificial acts, acts of suffering, of enduring the loss of material goods, the loss of our dignity (to be backhanded on our right cheek). It can include at times even the loss of our lives and livelihoods, and all because we desire God for the people who hate us.
This is the logic of divine love that produces Christian martyrs. Think of what Stephen says to God about the people who are presently stoning him to death.
It says in Acts 7:60, And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
Did God answer that prayer? Yes, and the fruit of that prayer was the conversion of Saul who became the Apostle Paul. Stephen’s blood was the seed of Paul’s conversion. Stephen overcame evil with good, and O how God blessed that offering!
Love of this kind is shocking. It is other-worldly. It does not make sense to the selfish heart, and that is the point. It says in 1 Corinthians 13:5, charity does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it thinks no evil.
Who loves this way? Nobody forsakes their goods and lives for their enemies, unless they are first convinced that God has loved them in this way.
So think. What did Jesus give up to save you? Heaven. What did Jesus suffer to make you His friend? Hell.
Everything here that Jesus commands, Jesus himself will later do as he goes to the cross.
Jesus blesses those who curse him. He prays for them from the cross saying, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And he prays this as they are parting his garments and casting lots for them.
The soliders took his cloke, and he offered them his life. They struck him on the cheek (John 18:22), and he turned to offer them his whole body to be crucified. They mocked at him. They stripped him of every dignity they could, and Jesus patiently endured all of it, from love for those who hated him.
This is the gospel. That while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son (Romans 5:8, 10).
And so if God’s love could change you from an enemy into His friend, then He can do the same for your enemies, changing them into His friends and yours.
Conclusion
And so I close with a question of application. Do you love your enemies? Do you do good to those who hate you?
Sadly, most of us are guilty of not even loving our friends. Many of us are guilty of not even loving our spouse, our children, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
How could we ever love our enemies, if we don’t even have genuine love for one another here?
This should make you sad. How little you love God. How little charity we exercise in our hearts for one another.
And so I want you go home this week, and meditate on this. Do you love other people with divine love? Have you actually received from God the love that the Holy Spirits pours into a believing heart?
Because if you are cold to other people. Cold to your spouse, cold to your parents, cold to some other race, or skin color, or class, or people group, cold to anyone, that should alarm you. Wherever there is coldness in your heart, that is a place where evil grows, and where God is absent.
So hear these words from 1 John 3:13-18 and ask God to convict you where you are fall short of His love. John says, Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
And so may we, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
 

Woe Unto YouSunday, May 31st, 2026TRINITY SUNDAYChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WALuke 6:20-26
Prayer
O Father, we thank you for the blessedness of Christ, and that by faith in His Passion, we may not only avoid eternal punishment, but we may attain unto eternal life. Teach us O Lord by the grace of Your Holy Spirit, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
In Revelation 3:20, our Lord Jesus says to the church at Laodicea, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.
Why did Jesus give this particular message to this particular church? What problems did the church at Laodicea have, so that they needed to be told in an inspired letter from Jesus, “I am outside! I am standing on your front porch, I am knocking on the door, and you need to let him in!”
How did a Christian church, likely planted by the apostles, become deaf to hearing the voice of God?
Well, we discover in the verses immediately prior that the church of Laodicea had become lukewarm. And they had become lukewarm because of their wealth.
Jesus describes their condition in Revelation 3:16-19 saying, because you are lukewarm, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, I have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—but you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. And then he says, Behold I stand at the door and knock.
So you see the church at Laodicea had a No Soliciting sign on the doorway to their heart. They did like or want visitors. They did not like or want anyone disturbing their way of life. They did not like or want anyone knocking and asking to be let in for a meal. And it was that imagined self-sufficiency, their own lack of felt neediness, that prevented them from hearing the voice of their Master. And because they could not hear his voice, and could not hear him knocking, they never got up to open the door and let God in.
You see the problem if you are lukewarm is that you are not needy enough for God. You have just enough Christianity to feel good about yourself, to feel secure. You go to church. You take communion. You work hard, perhaps you even tithe, and because of this God has blessed you and you have started to prosper. But somewhere along the way, you start to rest in that prosperity and lose your sense of neediness. And thus, bit by bit, little by little, you stop seeking the eternal things which are above, the kingdom of heaven, and start to settle for earthly goods below.
This is how Christians, how churches, how whole societies become lukewarm. We forget that naked we came into this world and naked we shall leave it (Job 1:21). You brought nothing into this world, and it is certain you can carry nothing out (1 Tim. 6:7).
Well, it is for such lukewarm people, and lukewarm churches like Laodicea, that Jesus pronounces these Four Woes upon the crowds.
Woe to you who are rich. Woe to you who are full. Woe to you that laugh now. Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you.
And so this morning, I want you to receive these four woes as the word of love that it is. Jesus says, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
So whether you are a believer or an unbeliever, or unsure of what you believe, Jesus has a word of love for you this morning, if you will open your heart to hear it.
Outline of the Text
Now if you look at our text this morning, we are focusing on verses 24-26. And there Jesus addresses four classes/kinds of people:
In verse 24, Jesus pronounces a Woe upon The Greedy.
In verse 25a, He pronounces a Woe upon The Self-Indulgent.
In verse 25b, He pronounces a Woe upon The Haughty.
In verse 26, He pronounces a Woe upon The Vainglorious.
The Greedy, The Self-Indulgent, The Haughty, and The Vainglorious, these are the people Jesus wants to evangelize and bring into His kingdom. And he has already begun to do this by announcing who the blessed are. Who are the people that are truly happy? They are those who for Christ’s sake and the glory of God, become poor, hungry, sad, and hated. Jesus says, these are the blessed.
However, since not everyone is motivated to walk that hard path to blessedness, Jesus now turns to warning us of what awaits those who don’t follow that path. Where does the broad and easy way of sin lead to? It leads to destruction. It leads to eternal woe.
And so you could ask yourself here, What do I find more motivating in my relationship with God? The four blessings of Jesus, or the four woes? Which moves you to God more quickly and fervently? The promise of eternal life, or the threats of eternal punishment?
Well, the mature Christian should start to become more and more motivated by a love for God rather than a fear of God’s punishment. For as it says in 1 John 4:18-19, There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear [referring to the slavish fear of punishment]: because fear hath torment. He that feareth [like a slave] is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.
So that is the mature state you want to grow up into, loving God because He loved you first. You go to God simply because you love Him and want to rest in Him. Love should be the motivating force of your relationship with Jesus, not the fear of punishment.
However, there is a proper place for the fear of God’s judgment, and that place is usually found at the beginning of the Christian life. The fear of hellfire and damnation can jolt us awake. It can jumpstart and awaken us to a new openness to hearing God’s voice.
Of this it says in Proverbs 1:7, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
So are you are motivated more by love, or by fear? Well, it is for those people who are motivated by fear that Jesus now directs these four woes. And we see this in how Jesus marks a break between the four blessings and these four woes.
It says earlier in verse 20, And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. So the disciples are the first and primary audience as an example to the crowds. They’ve begun that life of poverty, hunger, sadness, and being hated. But then here, he says, But woe unto you that are rich, marking a contrast to the blessings he just pronounced on the disciples.
So who is this first Woe aimed at? It is aimed at whoever is Greedy. Jesus says in verse 24…
Verse 24 – But Woe unto the Greedy
24But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
Now recall from last week that it is not riches or wealth in itself that is evil, but rather the love of riches that is evil. And we know this because Paul says, everything that God created is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:4).
And so find in Scripture that many of the holiest men were also immensely rich. We could think of Job for example, or Abraham, or Daniel (who helped the rule the empire). In the New Testament, we could think of Lydia in Acts 16, or some of the other women who helped bankroll Jesus’ ministry. Matthew 27 tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was rich and used his wealth to give Jesus a burial place.
So this woe is not aimed at just rich people in general (Jesus is not a Marxist or socialist or trying to stir up class envy), No. This woe is aimed at those who live for riches, those who serve Mammon and not God, or who serve Mammon in the name of God. Many of the Pharisees were amongst this class.
And so the warning Jesus has for them is that ironically, they are not rich enough.Jesus says they have already received their consolation. Meaning, they are presently enjoying and spending their wealth, but at death, they won’t have anything left for eternity. Their investments and accumulation of riches is too shortsighted. They have not planned their finances around living forever. And in this sense, they are most poor and to be pitied.
Later in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus will illustrate this truth with the story of the rich man and Lazaurus. Listen to this section from Luke 16:19-26, “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted [consoled] and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ (Luke 16:19-26).
This story is a window into the future of everyone who does not live for God. And from the perspective of eternity, who has the better life? Who is truly rich? Lazarus, or the unnamed man now in torment?
We see also in this story that after death, there is no second opportunity to repent. There is great gulf fixed that none can pass over. There is a division at death between those who love riches and those who love Christ. Between those who have their portion in this world, and those who have God for their exceedingly great reward. If you spend your life serving and enjoying the world, hell is your reward. But if you spend your life in service of Jesus, enduring evil for Him, then an eternal consolation awaits you.
So which future is yours? On which side of the gulf will you be carried to if you died today?Jesus pronounces a woe from His love upon those who have their best life now, rather than reserving their best life for the age to come. Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
Now the second woe is upon The Self-Indulgent. Jesus says to them in verse 25a…
Verses 25a – Woe unto the Self-Indulgent
25Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger.
Who are The Full?
Again, we could think of the rich man in Jesus’ parable, who feasted sumptuously every day without giving a thought to the beggar outside. These are those people who fill themselves with the world’s goods, with sensual pleasures, who live to gratify their carnal appetites.
Paul speaks of such people in 2 Timothy 3:2-4 saying, For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.
These are the full that Jesus is warning here. People who live to enjoy whatever makes them feel good, even if it is forbidden by the law of God.
Now there many ways that a person can commit these sins of self-indulgence.
For example, if you indulge in food to excess, that is the sin of gluttony. If you indulge in alcohol to excess that is the sin of drunkenness. If you indulge in drugs and pharmaceuticals, marijuana and the like, that is the sin of insobriety. If you indulge in sexual activity outside the bonds of marriage, that is fornication, lust, idolatry.
And of such people who live to indulge their flesh, the Bible says, they will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10). And so Jesus sounds the alarm from His heart of love and speaks, Woe unto you that are full [in this life]! Because [one day] ye shall hunger [but then it will be too late].And so unless you repent now of your sensuality and perversity, you will experience a hunger in every part of you that will never be satisfied.
This is the horror of hell. To be always hungry but with no hope of eating or drinking anything ever. To starve but to never die of starvation. To live in misery and to know that your misery will never end. What could be worse? What does the rich man cry out in the story? ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
Abraham says, “No water is coming. Not a drop.”
Whatever hell actually is, whatever realities are signified by these fearful parables, it is a torment far worse than anything you can imagine. To be in misery without hope of that misery every ending, it is fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God having rejected His love.  
And so Jesus describes hell over and over again as being a place of fire, darkness, where the worm does not die and where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And so descend into hell now in your imagination. And then shudder and fear for your life. Fear for those who are headed here. Because forever is a long time to be hungry and thirsty and in torment. And so from love Jesus says, “Woe to the self-indulgent, save yourself from this hell. Come to me and you will never thirst, come to me for abundant life. Come to me and hide yourself from the wrath that is to come.” This is the warning of love.
Now the third Woe is upon The Haughty. Jesus says in verse 25b…
Verse 25b – Woe unto the Haughty
Woe unto you that laugh now! For ye shall mourn and weep.
The laughter here is the laugh of those who scoff at Christ and His Word.
This refers to every person who laughs at hell thinking it is just a myth, a lie, a made up place to satisfy man’s psychological need for justice. Haughty and proud are such people. Heartless and cruel are they who deny God and exalt themselves against Him.
Think of Sodom and Gomorrah before it was destroyed. Think of King Belshazzar at his feast, before the Persians came and executed him. Think of the whole world before the flood, when for years Noah was building the ark, preaching righteousness, but they laughed at him to their own condemnation.
Or think of the Athenians in Acts 17, when Paul preaches of Christ, and the resurrection, and the judgment to come. It says, And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
Those who laugh now, shall mourn and weep. Those who scoff and treat lightly of the things of God, shall no longer be laughing on judgment day. So are you sober to this?
Have you taken to heart the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes when he says, It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity (Eccl. 7:2-6).
So Jesus, the wise man, the man of sorrows, the one who gives kind rebukes, says Woe unto you that laugh now! For ye shall mourn and weep. And blessed are you who weep now, for ye shall laugh and rejoice in eternity.
The Christian life is so often a valley of tears, but it is valley of tears that cleanse the heart, and water the soul so that it can be sorrowful yet always rejoicing. Sad over sin but hopeful for forgiveness. Sad over evil, but trusting that God has a good purpose in every evil He permits.
Fourth and finally, Jesus warns the Vainglorious. He says in verse 26…
Verse 26 – Woe unto the Vainglorious
26Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
We know from elsewhere in Scripture that,A good name is to be chosen more than great riches (Proverbs 22:1), and Paul makes having a good testimony with outsiders a qualification for eldership (1 Tim. 3:7). But what is impossible to do without, lying or deceiving yourself and others, is to be well spoken of by everyone.
Universal popularity is impossible for an honest man. And you have to accept that. If everyone likes you, then you have no principles. You are two-faced, or thee-faced, or four-face, or just a mirror of whoever you are around. And that is what false prophets do, they just tell people what they want to hear.
Paul warns of such people in 2 Timothy 3:12-13 saying,Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
So be warned if nobody dislikes you for your Christianity. Be warned, if nobody looks contemptuously at you for following Jesus. Be warned, if you are always hiding your light under a bushel, living in fear and shame of your Christian faith. Because that is the fear of man and it is offensive to God.
So confront this idol in your heart today if you are a people-pleaser. And by the way, that is pretty much all of us. None of us wants to be disliked, or lied about, or to have false rumors spread about us. We should want a good reputation, but we should want a good reputation with God and the godly.
Who do you fear offending more? God, or your coworker? God, or your unbelieving in-laws? Whose good opinion do you seek? God’s, or man’s? Do you want heaven to approve of you, or do you want the world’s applause as they head for destruction?
Jesus says in Mark 8:38, Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
And Jesus says in Revelation 3:5-6, He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Conclusion
Receive these woes and warnings as a loving rebuke from Your Savior. Don’t go on in your lukewarmness, be zealous and repent. Jesus suffered hatred and persecution far more than you ever will. He endured the cross, He was mocked, He was spat upon He was laughed to scorn, and all because He wanted to welcome you into His paradise.
So if you are still breathing it is not too late for you, to forsake this world that you may gain the world to come. Now is the time to contemn your riches, your self-indulgence, your wantonness, and vainglory, and every other sin that clings so closely.
Renounce and abandon those efforts to make a name for yourself, so that you may receive a name in heaven’s book, in the book of life, in the mouth of Christ, when he confesses your name before His Father and the holy angels. Live for that. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.