Self-seeking stubborn mules

King James Version

Luke 16:15 (KJV) 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 .

What is that verse above mean? I mean is sports an abomination unto God? Is a car collector or an art collector on abomination unto God? Are hoarders an abomination unto God?

Let's look at some people's response

"In God's sight they are not owners of these things but managers. If they are generous in using what God has entrusted to them, God will reward them with permanent riches. If they are selfish, there will be no reward (Luke 16:10-12). They have become slaves to money and therefore they are disloyal to God (Luke 16:13)

Look at the wording how it's put in Matthew

Matthew 19:24

“And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God ."

So a rich man entering God's Kingdom is very hard. Off the top of my head blessed are the poor for they shall inherit the earth. What about the rich ruler who tested him and he called him a good master and he said who are you calling good. He was teaching him and those listening. He had great riches from I guess in his family inheritance but that was holding him back and he the lord told him to sell these things and give the money to the poor and then he will have treasures in heaven. Then he was instructed to pick up his cross because truly it is a cross. Christ instructed Apostle Peter to follow him and he even told him what manner of death would be his ends on Earth. What about the tax collector? He was a short man who ran to see the Lord and he said he would give his money to the poor because he had money and Look What the Lord said to him,     “ Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.   10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost .

Many people especially young celebrities when they get into trouble their celebrity being money oriented where other people don't have that capability like them becomes very difficult to manage and they get entangled in this life of idolatry and fornication. They don't live the life in Christ but they live the life in whoring the world. Be careful what you want it might make you God's enemy and lead you straight to the pit. That's not his way. It's enmity to befriend the world in this way. James 4:4

Look at what Henry Matthew says about this in his commentary

Matthew Poole's Commentary

"By justifying here is to be understood either an appearing before men as just, and strict observers of the law, or a predicating of themselves as just: You (saith our Saviour) make a fine show, and great brags amongst men; but God’s eye goeth deeper, he knoweth the heart, what pride, and covetousness, and hypocrisy lodge there . Men do not know your hearts , but God knoweth them . All is not gold by God’s touchstone that glitters in man’s eyes. Nay, many things which are highly esteemed amongst men, as matters of great devotion and piety and merit, and which they applaud others for, are in the sight of God no better than abominations . This highly obliges all not to make their estimate of things, from the value and estimate which men put upon them; not every thing, but many things which are highly esteemed amongst men are abomination in the sight of God."

John 10:10 is very important. What does the thief come to do? He comes to steal to rob, to kill. What did Christ come to do? To give you an abundance of life and through those parables he taught great lessons. He said his sheep hear his voice and they listen to him. God is love but when people talk about unconditional love they want to be loved in a sense for everything including their faults. You see the wages of sin is death and God is Holy and he can't stand sin. He tells us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. So how do you do that? First of all you get rid of all baggage and all things that are idolatry in your life and you get yourself on the narrow path that Christ taught about. Then when you think of fornication you put in your mind the things that be of God. (Read the Bible) You rebuke the thoughts of fornication let's say if it be of a past relationship. You pray for that person so they in turn don't also fall into condemnation (temptation). Then you remember that hell is a real place. You make a commitment in prayer to do God's will instead of your own. You don't want to be looking back at the past so often as people do because you have to go forward. You tell yourself the wages of sin is death. You think about the people in hell right now that had a chance to listen and repent but they could have refused to understand or even listen so they perished. You seek the righteousness of Christ and you confess your sins whenever they occur. You forgive others but you cannot walk in sin. Power of the mind and making the right choices is very important. It's completely possible to overcome it (flesh) because greater is he that is in you than in the world. You have to tell yourself you don't want to put Christ to an open shame and trample the blood nor do you want to abuse God's grace and mercies.

Titus 3:9 kjv

9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

"At first, the early Church was only comprised of saved Jews. Before Gentiles were welcomed into the Church, only Jewish believers or Jewish proselytes were members of Christ's Body, and many found it difficult to break the tradition of the Jewish elders. This caused foolish controversies about genealogies, and disputes about the Mosaic Law to develop – which were unprofitable and worthless, because the consequence was 'divide-and-conquer'."

Source: Here

Interesting to see Henry Matthews commentary on this

"Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

Another good commentary is here

In closing...

Who are the sheep in the Bible? He said his sheep hear his voice and they listen to him. He knows them and he calls them by name. Will your name be written in the Lamb's Book of Life? Are you saved? Do you have an interest in reading your Bible?

"Sheep are the followers of Christ, while goats chose not to follow Christ. The parable is based on the differences in behaviour between sheep and goats. Sheep are gentle, quiet, innocent animals. They do not give their shepherds a lot of problems."

"They are often gentle creatures that run from a fight. In calling the disciplines sheep, Jesus is not advocating a fatalist view as if to say some people are wolves and some are sheep, and you must accept your status in life and learn to live with it. Instead, He is saying that He wants His followers to be sheep." Feb 1, 2022

My afterthoughts and after notes. I think on judgment Day he Christ has a problem with sheep that are abusive and don't listen to him but try to justify themselves by their good works. Their hearts have not been transformed or they are backsliders. In other words they are not born again Christian believers. He doesn't recognize them and they have strayed. They can be true believers mostly but it doesn't mean that others won't enter as well because they won't most likely because the way is extremely narrow. Christians can be abusive against each other. This is a grave concern. If you/we call yourself/ourselves a saint but your or we are abusive we have to examine ourselves to see if we're in the faith. It's one thing  being bold in preaching or being firm in the faith but pride can't seep in easily and as one preacher said then we become the policeman of God and now we're becoming Pharisees. This angered Christ greatly. What did they lack? Fairness and mercy. Remember if you if don't forgive others God will not forgive you. Love covers many sins.