TITLE: Under the Circumstances

TEXT: Luke 14:16-24

PROPOSITION: There is no excuse for being lost.

QUESTION: What?

KEY WORD: Excuses

READING: Same

INTRODUCTION:

1. Excuse = unjustified reason

2. There is no valid reason for being lost.

3. Many give excuses. Here are some I have heard.

1. Too young

   1. Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”:

   2. Matthew 18:1-3 ¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, ³and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

   3. Matthew 19:13-14 ¹³Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
       

2. Too old

   1. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

3. Good enough already Acts 10 – Cornelius
   
    

4. Too mean I Timothy 1:15 – This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
   
    

5. Hypocrites in the church

   1. Sad – but true. There is no other place for them to go.

   2. Choice - Now or for all eternity

   3. Help us show them a better way to live.

6. Parents

   1. Honest, sincere, IF THEY HAD KNOWN...

   2. We are individually responsible to God
      
       

7. Which church? Too Confusing!

   1. Obey the Bible.

   2. Be a New Testament Christian.

   3. I am not inviting you to join “my” church or the church of some man, some denomination, some religious organization
      
       

8. Can't remain faithful – I John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

9. Don't know enough.

   1. Need to know: [1] Lost [2] God saves [3] Obey

   2. N. T. conversions - 1 sermon - 1 time
      
       

10. Too narrow-minded. Matthew 7:13-14

    1. School - Math, History, Science

    2. Narrow enough to do only God's will.

    3. Broad enough to do all God's will.
       
        

11. Too busy.

    1. Heart attack, car accident

    2. Judgment day, eternity
       
        

12. Plenty of time yet. James 4:13-14 ¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow ^we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
    
     

13. Away too long. Luke 15 – Prodigal Son