Join us on Sunday, March 4, at 4046 NE MLK BLVD at 5:30 pm Cole Brown will continue a series, The King and I, and preaching from Mark 4:35-5:20. We would love for you to join us for a night of worship and fellowship together.
fear
Jesus Hates Religion Part 3
September 27th, 2009 | Posted in sermons |
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Introduction
John has spent most of his life in some form of church leadership. He has spent his life explaining the Scriptures to people and calling them to worship God in obedience. As such, he has influenced hundreds and hundreds of people. And most of these people would point to John as the prime example of what a minister should be. Until they found out that he had been stealing money from the church.
Beth has been a Christian for as long as she can remember. She was born in the church, raised in the church, and to this day spends most of her time in the church. To say that Beth appeared to be a devoted follower of Jesus would be an understatement. Everyone around her would point to her as the perfect example of someone who takes their faith very seriously. Until they found out that she left her husband for a married man.
I don’t know if you know John. I don’t know if you know Beth. But you do know people like John and Beth. You know people who appear to be firmly devoted to God, people who you would point to as the very example of what a person of faith should be, who eventually turn away from God and turn toward the most heinous of sins.
Why is this? Why is it that can say this knowing that most of you – if not all of you – know exactly what I’m talking about? Why is it so common to see the most devoted religious people turn out to be guilty of the most despicable moral failures? That’s a very important question. And perhaps it brings to mind even a more important question: how do you make sure that you don’t become one of them?
Jesus will answer both of those questions for us tonight as we continue to listen to his words from Matthew 23. Turn there with me if you will.
Religion Produces Sin
Over the past two weeks we have summarized Jesus’ teaching in this chapter with these strong and offensive words: “Jesus Hates Religion (And You Should Too).†Now when we use the word religion, remember, we’re talking about any and every system of belief that says, “If you obey these teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed.†Every religion in the world promotes some variation of this basic philosophy. Every religion in the world claims that if you obey certain teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed by God, or by the universe, or by other people, or by karma, or whatever. This is even the message of thousands upon thousands of Christian pastors. But it’s not the message of Jesus. And it’s not the message of the Bible. No, the message of Jesus and the Scriptures is very different. The message of Jesus and the Scriptures is that religion, as just described, is evil.
Jesus has spent the first portion of the chapter explaining this very thing to his disciples. But now he transitions and begins to communicate the same message directly to the religious leaders of his day. Let’s listen to what he says to them in verses 13-15.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and then you make that convert twice as much a child of hell as you are.â€
Two weeks ago we saw that Jesus hates religion because it produces fear. Last week we saw that Jesus hates religion because it produces pride. Tonight we see a third reason that Jesus hates religion. Jesus hates religion because it produces sin.
Now on the surface that statement sounds false, doesn’t it? I mean if religious people are known for anything they are known for doing everything they can to avoid sin. But Jesus tells us that religion does not lead people away from sin. It leads them to it. He gives us two examples of this in the verses we just read. First, he says that religious people claim to teach other people how to get to God. But their teaching actually makes it more difficult for people to get to God. Instead of helping them walk into God’s kingdom they slam the door to God’s kingdom in their face. Second, he says that religious people claim to convert people into children of God. But they actually just make them twice as much a child of hell as they were before, and as the religious leaders are themselves. Because of that, Jesus tells the religious leaders, “Woe to you.†Or, to translate that into words more suitable to our culture, “I am greatly displeased with you and your judgment is coming.â€
Jesus hates religion – and Jesus will judge religious people – because religion produces sin. And while that statement may sound false on the surface when you dig deeper its truth becomes glaringly obvious. Religion not only produces sin. Religion produces sin in three different ways.
First, religion produces sin because religion requires that you trust in yourself and not in God. Remember, when we talk about religion we’re talking about any system of belief that claims that if you obey its teachings then you will be accepted, loved, and blessed. Religion by its very definition must produce sin because religion by its very definition is idolatrous.
We commit idolatry anytime that we give to creation what belongs to Creator. When we trust a created thing more than the Creator we are idolaters. And that’s what religion requires that we do. Religion tells us that our position with God depends upon how well we can keep the demands of our religion. If I am accepted, loved, and blessed by God it is because I have obeyed him. What this means is that I trust in myself to make me right with God and I trust in myself to keep me right with God. It means I trust creation more than I trust Creator. Religion produces sin because religion, by its very definition, requires idolatry. It requires that we break the first and most important commandment, which is to have no other gods before the True God.
That’s the first of three ways that religion produces sin. The second is this: religion produces sin because religion calls you to do good things for bad reasons. This is what we’ve seen over the past two weeks together, right? Because religion tells you that you are most accepted, most loved, and most blessed by God when you are most obedient to him religion can only offer you two motivators. If you have a religious view of the world you can only be motivated by fear or pride. If you believe that the acceptance, love, and blessing of God depends upon what you do then you will obey God out of fear. You will obey God because you fear that if you don’t you will not be accepted, you will not be loved, and you will not be blessed. If you believe the acceptance, love, and blessing of God depends upon what you do then will also obey God out of pride. You will obey God because it feeds your pride to believe that you have worked hard to earn the acceptance, love, and blessing of God. As we have shown in great detail over the past two weeks, a religious view of the world does not allow for any other motivators. It only allows for fear and pride.
And I hope you can see why this produces sin. If the only way that religion can motivate you is through fear and pride then you are sinning even when you do good because when you do good you are only doing good for self-serving reasons. You are doing good because you want to avoid God’s punishment (fear) and you want to earn God’s blessing (pride). As a religious person your obedience has nothing to do with you valuing God and it has everything to do with you valuing yourself. Even when you are most obedient to God you are not obeying God because you love him, you are obeying God because you love yourself.
So far we’ve seen that religion produces sin because it requires that you trust in yourself rather than God and that religion produces sin because it requires that you do the right things for the wrong reasons. Third, and finally, religion produces sin because its motivators of fear and pride are not strong enough to keep you from giving in to temptation.
As a human being nearly everything you do is motivated by one of three motivators. Fear, pride, or love. All three of these motivators are very strong motivators. But the one of these three motivators that religion cannot provide you with is love. And love is a far stronger motivator than either fear or pride.
To illustrate this I want you to imagine that this building were to catch on fire tonight. And let’s say that because of where I’m standing I was somehow able to get out of the building before many of you did. And as I stand out there watching the flames consume the building I notice that one of our visitors is still in the building. Now the question at that point is, Am I going to go in to try to save him or am I going to stay out to try to save myself? The answer to that question will entirely depend upon whether I am motivated by fear, or pride, or love. If I am motivated by fear then I am not going to go in to rescue a visitor who I don’t even know. If I am motivated by pride then I may go in to rescue the visitor just so that people will look at me as a hero. But you know what will keep me from going into the building to rescue a visitor out of pride? Love. If I love my life more than I love the pride I would feel from saving a stranger then I am not going in. You see, pride is a strong motivator. It might be strong enough to get me in the burning building. But love is a stronger motivator. So if my love for my own life outweighs my love for my own pride then the visitor, who I have never met, is going to burn up in this building. But now imagine that the person inside the building is not a stranger. Imagine that the person inside the building is one of my children. You can imagine that as I stand outside the burning building I would be overwhelmed with fear. But no matter how afraid I was to go into that burning building I can promise you that fear would not keep me out. Why? Because there is a stronger motivator involved. My love for my child is going to overpower my fear of going in and my prideful concern over whether or not I’ll look foolish doing so. Because of my love for my child I am going to toss my fear to the side, I’m going to toss my pride to the side, and I’m going to run into the burning building. You see, fear and pride are strong motivators but they will always lose to love as the strongest motivator.
Now let’s translate this illustration into terms of obedience and sin. Remember, as a religious person I can only be motivated to obey God by either fear or pride because I believe that it is my obedience that earns me God’s acceptance, love, and blessing. That was what John believed, the man we talked about when we began tonight. John had been involved in church leadership for years. People saw him as the prime example of what a minister should be. And, as far as his outward actions were concerned, he certainly was. For years he handled the church finances with the utmost integrity. He dealt honestly with every single penny that came into the church. But, as a religious person, his financial integrity was motivated by his fear and his pride. And while fear and pride were strong enough motivators to keep him straight for 15 years they were not strong enough motivators to keep him straight forever. Because, eventually, his love for money grew to be stronger than his fear of punishment and his pride in being a good Christian. And the moment that happened – the moment that he began to love money more than he feared God’s punishment and took pride in his own obedience – he began to skim off the top. At first he did this sparingly. A little here and a little there. But when he realized that God didn’t send any immediate punishment — and that he didn’t feel any overwhelming guilt — his fear and his pride became even less powerful, his love for money became even more powerful, and he started to take more and more money week after week. John fell into this heinous sin because his religion could not provide him with the one thing that he needed to resist temptation: to love God more than he loved himself.
Beth’s situation was very similar. Beth had been a consistently obedient Christian for years. Everyone pointed to her as the ideal example of someone who is devoted to God and to his pleasure. For 10 years she seemed to have the perfect marriage. But, Beth would now admit to you, she was never happy with him. She always wondered what it would be like to be with another man. But she remained faithful to her husband nevertheless. Why? Because of her religious motivations of fear and pride. She had to remain faithful to her husband out of fear that God would punish her if she didn’t and out of the prideful desire to earn God’s favor by being a good Christian wife. Well, those motivators were enough for 10 years. But eventually they were overpowered by the stronger motivator of love. Beth left her husband for another man, a married man, because at that moment Beth loved her own pleasure and her own happiness more than she feared God’s punishment or took pride in being a good Christian wife. Beth fell into this heinous sin because her religion could not provide her with the one tool she needed to resist temptation: to love God more than she loved herself.
This is why it is so common to hear of very devoted religious people turning out to be guilty of the most despicable moral failures. Because their worldview, their religion, produces sin by requiring that they trust in themselves more than they trust in God, that they do very good things for very bad and very selfish reason, and that they try to fight sin with the very weak weapons of fear and pride instead of being empowered to fight sin with love.
If you have a church background, if you are a person of faith of any type, you have to ask yourself if you are guilty of thinking and living in this way. You have to ask yourself if you are living as though your acceptance, love, and blessing from God depends in any way – even the smallest way – on you. Because, remember, Jesus pronounces judgment not only on those who teach a religious view of life but on those who live according to a religious view of life. Hear his words again from verses 13-15.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and then you make that convert twice as much a child of hell as you are.â€
These are very strong words of very strong judgment awaiting those who teach or follow a religious view of the world. Now maybe you think these warnings don’t apply to you because you’re not religious. Maybe you’d describe yourself as irreligious or as spiritual. So you think this whole warning about religion producing sin is not relevant to you. But it is. Because, the truth is, an irreligious view of the world does exactly the same thing. Remember that the root sin of all sins is idolatry. The root sin of all sins is to give to creation what properly belongs to the Creator. We sin and we sin greatly anytime we love a created person or thing more than we love the Creator of that person or thing. We sin and we sin greatly anytime we trust a created person or thing more than we trust the Creator of that person or thing. We sin and we sin greatly anytime we fear a created person or thing more than we love the Creator of that person or thing. We sin and we sin greatly anytime we live for the pleasure of a created person or thing more than we live for the pleasure of the Creator of that person or thing. If you are an irreligious person then everything you do is done for the pleasure of someone other than Jesus out of fear, or trust, or love for someone other than Jesus. Which means that everything you do – no matter how good it might appear to be – is actually very wicked.
The Gospel Produces Righteousness
You see, religion and irreligion look very different on the outside. But at their core they are exactly the same. They both require that you give to creation what belongs to the Creator. So Jesus hates religion – and Jesus hates irreligion – for the very same reason. Jesus hates religion and irreligion because they produce sin and lead to death.
So what are we to do? The truth is every one of us is guilty, in some measure, of either religion or irreligion. So how do we escape the judgment that such people deserve? How do we break free from these systems that perpetually produce sin? How do we get to the point where we can do the right things for the right reason?
It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that Jesus has the answer. No, more than that, Jesus himself is the answer. Jesus did not just come here to teach us how to live a righteous life. He came here to live a righteous life for us – in our place. Jesus did not just come here to teach us how to avoid God’s judgment. He came here to receive God’s judgment for us – in our place. And then he rose from the dead to defeat sin and death for us – in our place.
You see this is the unique message of Christianity that separates it from every single religion in the world. While every religion in the world says you will be most accepted, most loved, and most blessed when you obey God, Christianity says that you are fully accepted, fully loved, and fully blessed simply by turning to Jesus in faith because Jesus obeyed God perfectly – in your place.
And as you turn from your religion and turn from your irreligion and turn to Jesus in faith you are freed from fear. Why? Because Jesus has taken all of your punishment and no punishment remains. You are freed from pride. Why? Because Jesus has provided all of your righteousness and you have none of your own. And you are given the power to fight sin and win. Why? Because now you have the one tool that you need: a love for God that is greater than your love for yourself. Knowing that you are forever free from the wrath of God that you deserve you are moved to love God more than yourself, because he poured that wrath out on himself instead of on you. Knowing that you contributed absolutely nothing to your own salvation you are moved to love God more than yourself, because he contributed everything.
While religion produces sin the gospel of Jesus produces righteous obedience. You see, it is precisely because you believe that Jesus has done everything for you that you are now moved to do everything for him. No longer obeying out of fear and pride but now obeying out of sheer gratitude for who he is and what he has done. And the beauties of sin become less and less and less attractive once you have truly beheld the beauties of Christ.
Jesus Hates Religion Part 2
September 20th, 2009 | Posted in sermons |
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Introduction
Everyone who knows her would tell you: Cindy is a good person. She does all that you could expect of her and more. She’s very involved in her local church. She volunteers her time and her energy to teach the church’s children, to clean the church’s bathrooms, and to visit the church’s sick. If you were to observe how Cindy handles her finances you would be blown away by her generosity. She gives to her church, she gives to local non-profits, she gives to the homeless, she gives to her family and friends who are in need. If you need someone to pray for you you would ask Cindy because you know that she spends hours praying for other people. If you had a question about the Bible you would ask Cindy because you know she spends hours studying the Scriptures. If you needed advice about marriage, parenting, relationships – anything – you would go to Cindy because she wisely applies God’s Word in every area of her life. Cindy is by all accounts a good person. Cindy is by all accounts a good Christian.
But God sees things differently. Because while everyone else simply sees what Cindy does, God sees why Cindy does what she does. And God is disgusted by Cindy’s goodness because he sees that Cindy’s goodness is not good at all. It is evil. And he hates it.
Now I don’t tell you this story so that you will look at Cindy differently. I tell you this story so that you will look at yourself differently. Whatever your spiritual beliefs may be I want to challenge you tonight to look beyond the good things you believe and beyond the good things you do and, instead, look at why you do the good things you do. If God were to pull back all of your good deeds right before our eyes, if God were to pull back all of your good words and good actions and show us your motives, would we be impressed by your motives or repulsed by them?
That question will be answered for all of us tonight as we continue to listen to Jesus’ words from Matthew 23. Turn there with me if you will.
Good Things for the Wrong Reasons
Last week we summarized Jesus’ teaching in this chapter with these strong and offensive words: “Jesus Hates Religion (And You Should Too).†Now when we use the word religion, remember, we’re talking about any and every system of belief that says, “If you obey these teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed.†Every religion in the world promotes some variation of this basic philosophy. Every religion in the world claims that if you obey certain teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed by God, or by the universe, or by other people, or by karma, or whatever. Even thousands of Christian pastors teach this very message. But not Jesus. And not the BIble. No, the message of Jesus and the Scriptures is very different. The message of Jesus and the Scriptures is that religion, as just described, is evil.
But don’t take my word for it. The authority here is not me, the authority is Jesus. You’ll remember from last week that at this point in Matthew 23 Jesus is speaking to his disciples about the religious leaders of their day. As he does so he is communicating something that would have absolutely shocked his audience. He is explaining that these people who appear to us to be most pleasing to God are actually least pleasing to God. Here in verses 5-12 he gives us another reason why,
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’ But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.â€
Last week we saw that the first reason Jesus hates religion is because it is born from fear and it produces fear. Tonight we see that the second reason Jesus hates religion is because it is born from pride and it produces pride.
This is clear to us right away in verse 5. Jesus does not deny that religious people often do good things. His issue is that they do good things for the wrong reasons. As we said last week. they do good things because they fear not being accepted, loved, or blessed by God. Tonight we see that they also do good things because of their own pride. Jesus says, “Everything they do is done for other people to see.†And then he goes on to give specific examples.
First, he says that they “make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long.†Phylacteries were leather boxes with Scripture passages enclosed in them that the religious leaders physically tied to their foreheads and to their arms. They did this to show how seriously they took God’s command to keep his Word close to them. They also tied tassels to their garments as reminders to obey God’s commands. These things by themselves were enough to communicate their devotion to God. But the religious leaders didn’t merely want other people to know that they were devoted to God they wanted other people to know how much they were devoted to God. So they not only tied boxes and tassels to themselves, they tied wide boxes and long tassels to themselves so that others would see how righteous they were and how sincerely devoted to God they were.
Then he goes on to give a second way that this pride is manifested. He says, “They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’†The religious leaders of Jesus’ day wanted to be honored, they wanted to be respected, they wanted to be set apart from other people, they wanted to be treated differently. They wanted to be seen as special.
How Religion Produces Pride
Now here we are 2,000 years removed from their situation. I doubt any of us are tying leather boxes to our heads. And few of us are demanding that people call us Rabbi. But Jesus’ words are just as applicable to us here and now as they were to the religious leaders of his day. And why? Why are Jesus’ words just as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago? One reason, of course, is that we are prideful people by our very nature. But the second reason, and the reason we’re more concerned about today, is that religion itself feeds and multiplies the pride that is already within us. In fact, religion so feeds our pride that it is impossible to be a religious person and not also be a very prideful person.
“Woah! Wait a minute, Cole, that’s a very strong and broad statement you’re making.†Well, I realize that, but please understand that I don’t say offensive things because I get some sick pleasure from offending people. I say things like it is impossible to be a religious person without also being a very prideful person because it is true. Let me explain. Remember, religion is any system of belief that says, “If you obey these teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed.†And the truth of the matter is that, with the exception of Jesus, every religious leader in history claims that if you obey certain teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed by God, or by the universe, or by other people, or by karma, or whatever.
It shouldn’t take long to see how this type of thinking produces pride. It tells you that whatever good things you receive in life you receive because of your own obedience to this particular religion. You’re accepted by God because of what you’ve done. You’re loved by God because of what you’ve done. You’re blessed by God because of what you’ve done. Religion tells you that your position with God depends on your obedience to God and as long as you believe that your position with God depends on your obedience to God you will be a prideful person who can only point to yourself as the one to credit for any and every good thing that comes into your life. You see, pride is not just something religious people have to watch out for. Pride is the natural consequence of having a religious view of the world.
And this pride doesn’t just impact how you view yourself. It also impacts how you see other people. It’s not a coincidence that the first word my irreligious friends use to describe religious people is “judgmental.†This isn’t just a prejudice of our culture. This isn’t some false image created by the media. This is the very real and very natural result of having a religious view of the world. If the reason I’m accepted by God, loved by God, and blessed by God is in even the smallest possible way due to who I am or what I have done then I cannot help but look down on other people. If only you would do what I do you could have the same thing I have. I have worked hard for all that I have why can’t you work hard too? My religion very clearly tells me to do A, B, and C and I have done it. Therefore, there’s no excuse for you not to do the same thing.
You cannot be a religious person without also being a prideful person. It is impossible. It will impact how you view yourself, it will impact how you view other people and, worst of all, it will impact how you view God. If you believe that you are accepted by God, loved by God, and blessed by God because of your own obedience to your particular religion then you think very highly of yourself and very little of God. First of all it shows that you don’t think God is very righteous. You have to have a very small view of God’s righteousness to believe that the eternally holy God is somehow impressed by your willingness to give a small percentage of your money to the church or by your ability to abstain from fornication for a whole year. Really? Do you think the very source of goodness is so impressed by you doing what you’re supposed to do anyway that he is compelled to reward you with acceptance, love, and blessing?
Having a religious view of the world forces you to have a very high view of your own righteousness and a very small view of God’s righteousness. Having a religious view of the world also forces you to have a very small view of God’s wisdom. If you believe that you are accepted by God, loved by God, and blessed by God because of your own obedience to your particular religion then you believe that God is at best naïve and at worst an idiot. If you’re obeying God because you think that by obeying God you will earn his acceptance, his love, and his blessing then you are not obeying God because you love him, you are obeying God because you love yourself. You’re doing the good things you do in order to get from God the good things you want for yourself. Do you really think that little of God that you think he is too foolish to recognize that the only reason you’re obeying him is to get what you want from him? The average woman is smart enough to know the difference between a man who is doing nice things for her because he loves her and a man who is doing nice things for her because he wants something from her. If a 20 year-old girl can figure that out you don’t think that the very God who created her can figure it out? Really? Do you really think that God is that naïve? You have to think he’s that naïve if you think that he accepts you, loves you, and blesses you for obeying the commands of your religion. Having a religious view of the world forces you to have a very small view of God’s wisdom.
How This Works in Your Life
That’s the case with Cindy, who we talked about earlier tonight. Everyone around Cindy is impressed with her devotion to God and to God’s people. But not God. Because he sees her pride. Yes, she does many good things but she does these good things for very bad reasons. She does these things out of pride. Pride that tells her she can earn God’s acceptance, love, and blessing if she just tries hard enough. Pride that tells her that the reason to do good for God is to get good from God.
This is why Jesus hates religion. Jesus hates religion because of what it does to Cindy. And Jesus hates religion because of what it does to you. It enslaves you. It enslaves you. Do you see that? If you live as though the acceptance, love, and blessing of God depends upon how well you obey God then you will forever be a slave to pride. No matter how much you talk about God’s grace and God’s love you will always be a slave to pride because you will always believe that in some way you have earned God’s acceptance, love, and blessing; you will always think that the difference between you and “less godly†people is that you are willing to work harder; and you will always have a small view of God’s righteousness and God’s wisdom.
Now maybe you’re not a religious person. Maybe you would describe yourself as spiritual or irreligious. So maybe you think that this isn’t an issue for you. But it is. Just as it is impossible to be religious without also being prideful it is impossible to be irreligious without also being prideful. As an irreligious person you know that you didn’t make yourself and you didn’t make the world around you but, nevertheless, you think so highly of yourself that you feel you have the right and the ability to define your own meaning and your own purpose in life. As a “spiritual†person you believe there is someone or something greater than you to whom you owe your existence. But you think so highly of yourself that you feel you have the right and the ability to define your own way of relating to the greater being rather than letting the greater being define that for you. As an irreligious or spiritual person you know that all types of people follow all types of different spiritual paths. And you think so highly of yourself that you believe they are all equally valid pursuits, as though you are the one who gets to decide on what basis God does or does not accept human worship.
The Way Out
Religion and irreligion look very different on the outside. But, at their core, they’re exactly the same. Jesus hates religion – and irreligion – because both systems of thought are born of pride and both produce pride. And if you find yourself identifying in even the smallest way with either religion or irreligion you should pause right now and listen very closely to these words of Jesus. After explaining how the religious leaders of his day were filled with pride he then says this in verse 12, “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.â€
Jesus tells us that the difference between being proud and humble is not just the difference between being an unlikable person and a likable person. The difference between being proud and humble is the difference between life and death. Jesus is talking here about the Day of Judgment, the great day when he will return to judge the wicked and reward the righteous. And he says very plainly that those who humble themselves in this life will be exalted in the next while those who exalt themselves in this life will be humbled in the next. In other words, the humble will be welcomed into the presence of God where they will experience everlasting joy while the proud will be cast out of the presence of God where they will experience everlasting torment.
Whatever you may think of Jesus I can assure you that Jesus is not a liar. For that reason, the proper response to Jesus’ words is absolute dread. Because the truth is there is not one of you in this room who is truly humble. Religious, irreligious, whatever – every one of us is stained by our own pride. And for that reason we deserve to be humbled when we finally do stand before the God who made us and sustains us for every moment of our existence.
As prideful people every one of us should respond to Jesus’ words with dread…until we look to what Jesus has done for prideful people. Being God himself – being the only truly good, truly wise, truly just, truly loving being in existence – Jesus humbled himself for us even as we refused to humble ourselves for him. He willfully stepped away from the constant praise of his angels and he stepped into human flesh to be born from the womb of a poor young woman he created, in a manger made for animals he created, to live as an outcast in the world he created, and to eventually be murdered by the very people he created. In between his humble birth and his humble death Jesus spent every millisecond of his existence humbling himself in perfect obedience to God the Father and in perfect service to mere human beings.
Jesus did this for the pleasure of God and for the good of his people. And, because of that, God took his humbled Son and exalted him by raising his lifeless corpse from the dead, bringing him back into the glories of heaven, and seating him at his right hand where he presently sits reigning and ruling over all of creation.
Jesus humbled himself and, consequently, Jesus is now exalted above all. And Jesus did not do this merely to teach people a lesson on how or why you should be humble. Jesus did this, he did all of this, to make people humble. He lived and died in humility in place of those who have not lived in humility. So that tonight, right now, if you turn from your religion or from your irreligion and turn to Jesus in faith God declares you to be humble, as though you had lived the perfect life of humility that Jesus lived. If you turn from your religion or from your irreligion and turn to Jesus in faith, tonight, God will not humble you under his wrath, he will exalt you, because he counts Jesus’ punishment as your own, as though Jesus had lived the prideful life that you have lived.
So what are you waiting for? The ultimate act of humility that you can ever perform is to flee from religion, flee from irreligion, and acknowledge that you have nothing to offer God. Nothing. And that he has everything to offer you through Jesus Christ who lived the perfect life of righteousness and humility that you have failed to live, who died the death of separation and judgment that you deserve to die, and who rose from the dead to bring you to God now and forevermore. Stop trusting in your goodness and trust in his.
Jesus Hates Religion Part 1
September 14th, 2009 | Posted in sermons |
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Introduction
I want to start tonight by telling you about a young man named Tim. When Tim was in his early twenties his father was diagnosed with cancer. Tim was heartbroken. Worse than that, Tim was afraid. You see, Tim was aware that he hadn’t been as good of a person as he knew he should be. He knew he wasn’t the most religiously faithful person in the world. And so he couldn’t help but think, “God is punishing me for not being obedient to him. If I wouldn’t have done what I did last month, if I would have been living right more consistently, my dad wouldn’t be sick right now.†Tim was afraid that his dad was going to be taken from him because of his own lack of obedience to God.
And so what did he do? He immediately started doing everything he could to earn his way back into God’s good graces, thinking that if he just did the right things then God might remove his punishment and spare his dad’s life. So Tim started going to church more, he started praying longer, he started reading the Bible more consistently, he made sure he was faithful to give money to the church and to help those in need. He did these things faithfully. He did these things religiously.
And then his dad died.
And Tim became more afraid than before. Because even with all these new things he was doing he knew that he was still falling short of God’s standards. As far as he could tell, all of the good things he had been doing were not good enough to remove God’s punishment from him. So he became even more intensely committed to those and other things. Tim thought, “If I just do better, if I just try harder, if I’m just more obedient to God, if I’m just less self-absorbed then God will be pleased with me and he won’t bring suffering like this into my life again.â€
Well, Tim did do better, Tim did work harder, but suffering still came just as suffering still comes for all of us. So now, three years after his dad’s death, Tim is still ruled by fear. The fear of whether or not God accepts him. The fear of if and when God is going to punish him again. Despite all of his attempts to earn God’s favor Tim is never quite sure if he’s good enough.
What about you? Whatever your spiritual beliefs are, do you ever find yourself influenced by fear? Are you ever concerned about whether or not you’re good enough? Are you ever worried about whether or not God accepts you? Or other people accept you? As you strive to do good things, as you strive to be a better person, do you ever become weary? Or burdened?
If you would answer any of those questions with a “yes†Jesus wants to speak to you tonight. And he will. As we open up the Scriptures to Matthew chapter 23 tonight and for the next four weeks. But before we hone in on the specific verses we’re going to focus on tonight Jeff is going to set the context for us by delivering Jesus’ entire teaching from this chapter. As you listen to Jesus’ words remember that he begins by addressing his disciples and then goes on to talk about the scribes and the Pharisees, the very well-respected religious leaders of his day.
What the Problem is Not
Jesus’ words in this chapter speak to Tim and to his situation and they speak to every one of you, because every one of you can identify with Tim in some way. As you probably already know, we have chosen to summarize Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 23 with these strong and offensive words: “Jesus Hates Religion (And You Should Too).†Now why would we say that? It’s clear that there’s something about the religion of the Scribes and Pharisees that has Jesus vehemently upset. But what is it? What is it about religion that so repulses Jesus? What is it about religion that should so repulse you?
If I were to ask that question of my irreligious friends most of them would say, “the rules.†They would say that the biggest problem with religion is this long list of rules because those rules open up the door for judgment. Maybe you would answer in the same way. But here’s the interesting thing. This is not Jesus’ answer. This is not Jesus’ issue with religion. Jesus is not opposed to religion because he’s opposed to rules. In fact, Jesus himself is quite a strict rule-giver. Remember the famous Sermon on the Mount found in this same book? In that sermon Jesus goes out of his way to very clearly define a number of rules. Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.†He says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.†He goes on to say, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.†Jesus is not anti-rule. Jesus himself has laid down the most difficult rules of all.
We see this in the opening verses of Matthew 23. Looking at verses 2 and 3 we see Jesus say, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you.†Jesus says that the scribes and Pharisees – the religious leaders of his day – are in some ways to be respected. Why? Because they sit in Moses’ seat. In other words, they interpret Moses’ teaching, they interpret the Scriptures, they interpret the inspired Word of God. When they interpret God’s Word properly, Jesus says, you must listen to them, you must be careful to do everything they tell you.
As we heard when Jeff shared Jesus’ teaching with us, Jesus does not approve of all of their teaching (not by any means). But he does approve of their teaching when it is consistent with what God has revealed in his Scriptures. Does Jesus hate religion? Absolutely. Does Jesus hate religion because he hates rules? No. So while, yes, you should hate religion you should hate religion not for your own reasons but for the same reasons Jesus hates it. And what are those reasons? We’ll uncover one of them now as we continue to examine these first few verses.
What the Problem is
Right after Jesus tells us to do what the religious leaders tell us to do in verse 3, he goes on to add, “But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.†Here we start to see Jesus’ distaste for these religious leaders. Jesus’ issue with religion is not that religion has rules. Jesus’ issue with religion is that religion calls us to obey both right and wrong rules for the wrong reasons. Again, Jesus’ issue with religion is that religion calls us to obey both right and wrong rules for the wrong reasons.
How do I know that? Because of what Jesus just said. On the one hand he said that there’s nothing wrong with rules per se. But then he says that the rules of these religious leaders are like heavy, cumbersome burdens that they heap upon our shoulders. So what’s the difference between the rules that we are to be careful to obey and these rules that Jesus calls heavy and cumbersome burdens? Well, there are three things I want to point out, one of which I want us to focus on for the remainder of our time together.
The first problem is that religion provides us with rules that even the religious leaders themselves can’t keep. That’s why Jesus says, “Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.†In other words, unlike Jesus, religious leaders are hypocrites. The second problem is that a significant portion of religious rules are man-made instead of God-given. Jesus is not against rules so long as those rules come from God. God-given rules are life giving. But man-made rules are life draining. And religion is filled with man-made rules. God says, “Don’t get drunkâ€â€¦religious people then say, “Don’t drink.†God says, “Don’t commit adulteryâ€â€¦religious people then say, “Don’t watch R-rated movies.†God says, “Pray to meâ€â€¦religious people then say, “Pray this many times a day for this length of time.†And why? Why is it that religious people create these additional rules? They do it to make it more difficult to break God’s rules, right? They say, “Don’t drink†so that it will be even more difficult for you to actually get drunk. They’re doing everything they can – including making up their own rules – in order to keep you and them from breaking God’s rules. And this brings us to the third reason that Jesus is opposed to such religious rules. They are born from fear and they produce fear.
This is the first reason that Jesus hates religion and you should too. Jesus hates religion because religion is based on fear and produces fear. Religion stacks upon your shoulders rule, upon rule, upon rule, upon man-made rule and then says that you must keep these rules in order to be accepted by God. And that’s the basic definition of religion that we’ll be working from these next four weeks. Every religion in the world basically says this: “If you obey then you’ll be accepted, loved, and blessed.†Every religious leader, with the exception of Jesus, teaches some variation of this same basic philosophy: “If you obey these rules then you will be accepted, loved, and blessed by God, or by the universe, or by others, or by yourself – or whatever.â€
And Jesus hates religion for this very reason. If you are most accepted, most loved, and most blessed when you obey the demands of your religion then you will only obey the demands of your religion out of fear. Everything you do you will be doing because you fear not being accepted, not being loved, or not being blessed. Remember Tim? The young man whose story we started with tonight? Tim was convinced that his father was dying because of his own disobedience. Tim was certain that if he had just obeyed the demands of his religion then God would be blessing him instead of cursing him with this suffering. So he immediately gave himself to following the very particular demands of his religion. And even though some of the things he was doing were good things he was doing them for only one reason: fear. He feared losing his father so he started doing religious things hoping that God would accept him, love him, and bless him in return by keeping his dad alive. But, as you know, his dad died. And then Tim responded with even more fear. Because as good as he was doing he obviously still wasn’t doing good enough to receive the acceptance, love, and blessing that he so desired from God. So he gave himself to praying even more, and reading the Bible even more, and going to church even more, and avoiding the “wrong†people and the “wrong†things even more. But for what? For fear. He feared what would happen to him if he didn’t do it. He feared that God would not accept him, would not love him, and would not bless him. He feared that God would allow even more suffering to come into his life.
How This Works in Your Life
This is why Jesus hates religion. Jesus hates religion because of what it did to Tim. And Jesus hates religion because it does the same thing to you. It enslaves you. It enslaves you. Do you see that? If you live as though the acceptance, love, and blessing of God depends on how good of a person you are then you will forever be a slave to fear. You will never know for sure when you have done enough good for God to accept you, love you, and bless you so you will break your back carrying these heavy burdens on your shoulders, always afraid that if you drop them then God will frown upon you and punish you.
Now maybe you’re not a religious person. Maybe you would describe yourself as spiritual or irreligious. So maybe you think that this isn’t an issue for you. But it is. Even if you’re not concerned about living for God’s approval you are concerned about living for someone’s approval. You’re living for the approval, love, and blessing of someone whose opinion you value. It might be your spouse, it might be your boss, it might be your peers, it might be karma, it might be your conscience. You too are living for the approval, love, and blessing of someone. This is why you get so upset when religious people tell you that God doesn’t approve of the way you live. This is why you are so quick to tell religious people that you may not go to church but you are a good person. You too are living for the approval, love, and blessing of someone. You’re thinking, “I better do this because if I don’t then I might not get what I want from this person…I better not do that or it might come back to hurt me…I better be like this so that this person will love me…I better not ever do that again or it’s going to be very hard to feel good about myself.â€
Religion and irreligion look very different. But at their core they’re really the same thing. Whether you’re religious or irreligious you’re living in fear. You’re doing what you do and saying what you say because you want the approval, love, and blessing either of the Creator or of the people he’s created. Jesus hates religion – and Jesus hates irreligion – for this very reason: it makes you a slave to fear.
Conclusion
Every religion in the world – EVERY religion in the world – tells you that you must earn acceptance, love, and blessing by doing what that particular religion demands of you. Every religion in the world thrives on your fear and tells you that you must earn acceptance, love, and blessing by your faithful adherence to the religion. Even irreligion does this. But not Jesus. No, Jesus is different. Jesus does not make God’s acceptance, love, or blessing dependent on your ability to measure up. Jesus does not heap burdens upon burdens upon your shoulders that you cannot carry. No, Jesus doesn’t offer religion. Jesus does not offer religion. Jesus offers something utterly unique. Something that no other system of belief or philosophy offers. Instead of offering religion Jesus offers redemption. Jesus offers rest.
Let me read to you the words of Jesus from Matthew 11:28-29. As he spoke to the religious and irreligious people of his day this is what Jesus said to them and what Jesus now says to you. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.â€
Religion offers slavery to fear. Jesus offers freedom to rest. Listen, if God’s acceptance, love, and blessing depends on your performance as so many religious people have told you then, yes, you should be plagued by fear. Because look, the holy and righteous God doesn’t merely demand your obedience to this or that rule, he demands absolute perfection. And you’re not perfect. In fact, you’re not even close. You are more likely to reach the moon with your bare hand than you are to ever reach perfection.
So if it’s up to how well you live to earn God’s acceptance, love, and blessing then, yes, you should be plagued by fear. But you don’t have to plagued by fear. Because it’s not up to you to earn God’s acceptance, love, and blessing. Jesus has earned the Father’s acceptance, love, and blessing for you. Being God himself he willfully became like you and came to you in order to save you. He lived the life of perfection that you daily fail to live. And he lived this life in your place. He also died the death under God’s righteous and wrathful judgment that you deserve to die for loving yourself more than the God who made you. And he died this terrible death of God’s rejection, hate, and curse in your place. And then the Father, God, raised his Son, Jesus, from the dead to show that his work was completed and accepted on your behalf.
Now, if you choose to trust in Jesus’ work and not your own then God has declared Jesus’ righteousness to be your righteousness so that, regardless of your performance, God accepts you, loves you, and blesses you on account of Jesus. If you choose to trust in Jesus’ work and not your own then God has likewise declared Jesus’ judgment to be your judgment so that, regardless of your performance, there is no wrath remaining for you, only the reward of being united to God now and forever on account of what Jesus has done in your place.
This is why while every other religion offers you fear Jesus invites you to come to him and find rest. Because all that God demands of you no longer rests on your shoulders. Jesus has taken your burden and made it his own so that you can be free from fear now and for all eternity. If you find your religion or irreligion wearisome, burdensome, exhausting, fear-inducing, or guilt-inducing the odds are you are missing out on the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. Flee from religion tonight, flee from irreligion tonight, and rest in Jesus who has met every one of God’s demands for you.