Luke 14:16-24 (NKJV)16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, 

Luke 14:16-24 (NKJV)

  ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor 

Luke 14:16-24 (NKJV)

and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ 

22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”

EXCUSES, EXCUSESLuke 14:16-24

Excuses, Excuses

Have you ever had anyone give you an excuse for not doing something?

Have you ever given an excuse for not doing something?

An excuse is often defined as a reason someone gives for doing or not doing something

Excuses, Excuses

For most, there is a difference between an excuse and a reason

An excuse, as the Bible defines it, means to cloak; a pretense or show

In other words, an excuse is not normally the real reason for something, but rather an answer given to cloak the real one

Excuses, Excuses

An excuse may work with people, but it doesn’t quite work the same with God

God knows all and sees all, therefore we cannot cloak the reality of our situations or the purpose behind our decisions

There are many in the Bible who tried it with God, yet it never works with Him

Excuses, Excuses

Tonight, we want to look at some biblical examples of those who made excuses before God

We want to see how God handled those situations

We need to take a good look at how this applies to what we do in our lives

Examples, Examples

We don’t have to read very far into God’s word to see the first example of an excuse

In fact, the very first sin brought about the very first excuse

Adam and Eve had disobeyed God’s only “thou shalt not” (Gen. 3)

Examples, Examples

Notice Adam’s excuse first (v. 12)

Then God turns His attention to Eve (v. 13)

The excuses given in the garden of Eden were based on Adam and Eve not obeying God as they should

God did not accept their excuses and drove them from the garden

Examples, Examples

Then there is the example of Moses in Exodus 3 & 4

Moses was told by God that he would be the spokesman and leader to bring God’s people out of captivity

Moses made 4 excuses before he finally just asked God to send someone else

Examples, Examples

Notice that Moses was making excuses for why he did not want to follow God’s commands

Ultimately, God did not accept His excuses either

God eliminated every excuse and even provided Moses with help

Examples, Examples

King Saul was no different when it came to excuses

In I Samuel 15, Saul was told to utterly destroy everything in Amalek

Saul did not do all that God had commanded him, leaving King Agag alive as well as the best of the livestock

Examples, Examples

So when Saul was called on it, what was his excuse?

He blamed the people for taking the plunder and claimed he had done what God asked (vs. 15, 20-21)

God did not accept his excuse, rejecting him from being king (v. 23)

Examples, Examples

What about the NT, do we see any examples there?

Luke 14:16-24

They all began to make excuses why they could not attend the supper

The master was angry! (v. 21)

Examples, Examples

The master obviously represents God in this parable

The master was not happy, nor did he accept the excuses that were given

So he went out and invited others to come in the place of those who made excuses

Examples, Examples

Jesus spoke in another place about those who made excuses (Matt. 25)

He was speaking of those who would enter into eternal life and said they fed Him when He was hungry, gave Him drink, took Him in, visited Him and clothed Him

Then He spoke of the wicked

Examples, Examples

Jesus said they did not do those things

Their reply (excuse) was, “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?” (v. 44)

Christ did not accept their excuse as to why they did not serve others

No Excuse

The bible never excuses anyone from their rebellious behavior

Everyone is responsible for all that they do

Jesus spoke of those who rejected Him as those who “have no excuse for their sin” (Jn. 15:22)

No Excuse

Paul said the Gentiles were without excuse because they could see that God existed from nature (Rom. 1:20)

No one is excused from their sins

Everyone will give an account of their actions before God (Rom. 14:12; II Cor. 5:10)

Our Excuse

What about us? Are we guilty of making excuses?

Do we make excuses for why we cannot be here on Sundays and Wednesdays?

Do we make excuses as to why we do not read our Bibles like we should?

Our Excuse

Do we make excuses when we do not pray?

Do we make excuses when we fail to help others in need as we should?

Do we make excuses as to why we have not obeyed the gospel and put on Christ in baptism?