The Right God

This sermon on the first commandment was preached years ago but much of what I said could be said today.  In fact, there may be an even greater need for its lessons. 

The Right God

Text: EX 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me. DT 5:7 "You shall have no other gods before me.

Text intro: Many of the commandments may have sounded strange to the ears of the Israelites. Just like they may sound strange to us. As we look at them, in the light of our culture, we may need to recapture that strangeness in order to fully appreciate what God demands of us.

As we look at this commandment, and the others, we will find that it, like the other, has both a negative and a positive thrust.

Ex. 20:2,3

Sermon Intro:  You may remember that Madonna, the flamboyant singer and actress, gave birth to a daughter last year [1997].  If you don't remember the wedding, there's a reason for that but we won't go into it just now.

According to a news item dated in early December, Madonna, raised a Roman Catholic, has decided to have her daughter baptized. Now, before you assume Madonna may be returning to the faith of her childhood; maybe you should hear her own words on the subject.

There are a lot of things about Catholicism that I disagree with, but there are a lot of things I’m still intrigued by.  I still go to church and light candles.  The church provides a kind of sanctuary and a sense of community.  I’ll teach [my daughter] about Catholicism  but also about all religions, especially Buddhism, Judaism and the Kabbala [Jewish mystical teachings].  My own religion combines all those.  I would rather present the Bible to my daughter as ‘Some very interesting stories you could learn from’ rather than ‘This is the truth.’

This kind of thinking isn't limited to Hollywood types, you can find it almost everywhere today.

Under the guise of tolerance (which used to mean that divergent viewpoints would be allowed to exist side by side but now means that divergent-even contradictory--viewpoints must be seen as having equal value) we have created a culture in which Madonna's plans for her child are considered enlightened.

Thirty-five hundred years ago, many of the peoples the Jews might  have encountered would have told them "Of course, you may continue to worship Yahweh; think of him as one of the many gods." Later, the genius of the Roman conquerors would be seen in their willingness to add new gods to the pantheon. Conquered nations could continue to worship their own gods, while adding the gods of the Romans.

Our own age is hardly more subtle. The dictates of our pluralistic age iiisists that Jesus is one of many religious teachers, each of whom is worthy of our admiration.  If I find satisfaction in Jesus, fine; but this does not permit me to try to “sell” you  on Jesus if you have found satisfaction in another spiritual leader.  Our enlightened perspective allows us the freedom to pick and choose our own “gods” according to our own “needs” and tastes.

The first commandment does not allow the true believer to worship at such a spiritual smorgasbord. 

The relationship God wants us to have with him involves our complete commitment to him.

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT CALLS US TO CONTINUAL DILIGENCE.

On our vacation this past summer we visited the ruins of the Mayan city of Chichen Itza. This city, which was old when Columbus "discovered" the New World, was a center of training in Mayan science, government, and the worship of the Mayan gods. The most prominent feature of the ruins, which cover some 12 square miles, is a massive pyramid. Atop that pyramid is the temple of Kuculcan, the snake-god of the Mayans. Even though the pyramid has weathered the elements for centuries, it is still apparent that a committed people built this place of worship and the other structures around it.

The longing for some god to worship lies deep within the human heart and, almost inevitably, it will find expression. [Some twenty years after I preached this sermon, popular writers speak of ‘the god delusion,’ suggesting that the almost universal human tendency to believe in some ‘god’ is rooted in the pitiful hope that we are not alone, that beyond this world there is a powerful being who cares for us.  One is tempted to ask why that should be the delusion and to ask, rather, why atheism shouldn’t be the delusion.  Just a thought.]

Certainly it did among the peoples in the ancient world. Every culture had gods who were seen to be responsible for every facet of nature.

Although the Hebrews had been redeemed by Yahweh, they, too; were susceptible to the enticements of the “gods” of Canaan.  For example, they sometimes joined in the various gods associated with agriculture rather than worshipping the God who created the seasons.

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1. The first commandment addresses this temptation.

The Hebrew idiom used in the first commandment might be translated either as “in addition to me” or “in opposition to me.”  William Albright translated as “thou shalt not prefer any other gods to me.”

The Old Testament never quite affirms the existence of these gods and by the time we reach the days of the prophets, they were viewed as a demonic illusion.

Still; the worship of these gods remained a powerful temptation that plagued Jewish life until it was finally purged by the hard days of the Exile.

2.  Even though we are seemingly more sophisticated than these ancient peoples, we are also susceptible to the enticements of the “gods’ of our culture.

If God-the Creator; the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ--is not the God we worship, some other “god” will replace him.

Luther understood this. Listen to his description of a god. “A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need. To have a God is nothing less than to trust and believe Him with our whole heart. As I have often said, the trust and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol.... That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your God."

1. We must be diligent or we may succumb to the gods of sensuality.

----In the ancient world sensuality was personified as such goddesses Diana, Venus, Astarte.

----In any community of some size you’ll find the shrines to sensuality (adult book stores, art movies). Much entertainment seems to be driven by appeals to our sensual natures.  [Today (2015), near the area of town referred to as “the campus” there are large billboards urging people to take STD—sexually transmitted diseases—seriously, to go to a doctor at the first suspicion something might be wrong.  A national news magazine reports that HIV infections are on the rise again.  At the risk of sounding prudish, the commitment to the gods of sensuality is so consuming that many are willing to risk their lives in pursuit of its pleasures.]

2. We must be diligent or we may succumb to the gods of materialism. 

----We called the 8Os the decade of greed, but has that much changed in the 90s? [Or in our age.]

"Things' still give security to too many people.

3. We must be diligent or we may succumb to the gods of fame.

It is frightening the number of people who seem to worship celebrities.  They hang on every word a popular singer or movie star utters.  They take their advice about how to live even though the star’s own life might be in shambles.  As elections near, politicians would rather have the endorsement of a rock singer than that of an economist or historian.

----Both Elvis and Diana have “cult” followings long after their deaths.

5. We must be diligent or we may succumb to the gods of selfism.

----Some people find alternative gods by looking in the mirror. (ILL) Robt. Bellah interviewed Sheila Larson.  Here’s what she said: I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can't remember the last time I went to church.  My faith has carried me a long way. It's Sheilaism. Just my own little voice."

----We worship at the altar of selfism when we insist that our opinion has more weight than the very word of God.  Whenever we take more comfort in our perspective than in God's revelation.

----Within our culture, within our churches, there is a temptation to succumb to the gods of selfism in the form of spiritual self- confidence.

This is at the heart of what Luther said about other gods: "That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your God."

When we look to ourselves as the source of our hope and our salvation, we displace God--who is the redeemer.

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT CALLS US TO A CONFIDENT DEVOTION.

1. Our devotion to God is a response to God's devotion to us.

The negative side of this commandment says, "You will have no other gods...." The positive side of the commandment is implicit--"You will have me...."

God had already demonstrated his commitment to them when he redeemed them from slavery. Early in the story, when the Lord was instructing Moses regarding his message to the people, Moses was told to tell the people--Exodus 6:6-8.

Throughout their history God would again and again demonstrate his commitment to those who trusted him.

In the OT the Exodus was the great reminder of that commitment; in the NT the cross would be the great token of that commitment.

2. Our confident devotion is rooted in God capacity to redeem.

Only a few weeks before the people of Israel had seen the great deliverance God accomplished on their behalf They could confidently pledge to worship him alone.

When we understand the breadth of the salvation God has provided through Jesus Christ, we can commit ourselves to him with complete confidence.

Why should we need to kneel to another God when we have so great a salvation provided through Jesus Christ?

The later prophets would underscore the simple reasonableness implicit in worshiping God. (Isaiah 44:6-20)

CONCLUSION

We face the challenge of this commandment every day.  Here’s an anonymous testimony many of us could claim as our own.

As a young Christian, I thought it incredible that a group of people who had witnessed the Red Sea parting could forget what God had done and return to the worship of false gods. Soon after their miraculous deliverance from the hands of the Egyptians, the Israelites were again committing sin. And the Bible reports scores of incidents throughout Israel's history when people knew the goodness of God but still pursued other paths to life.

These stories used to surprise me. But today, when I face the realities in my own life, I'm not surprised at all. I am a believing man, a man who has seen God's hand obviously working in my life. And yet at times, I still search for something other than God to give me satisfaction and fulfillment. And in so doing, I fail to remember what is true.

Richard Gorrie tells about one of the problems missionaries faced when working in India. Many of the Hindus, upon hearing the story of Jesus, were quite willing to add Jesus to their list of deities. Asked if they were Christians, they would answer in the affirmative. For them, being a Christian was a matter of worshipping Jesus also. Only when a convert testified to worshipping Jesus only was he or she considered a true Christian.

It's a test that may need to be invoked in our culture as well. Are we in danger of simply making Jesus one source of spiritual insight in our lives? Or are we determined to trust Jesus only for spiritual understanding and salvation?

That Big Little Word: Sin

Today’s message is a little different.  It is more like a lecture than a sermon; in fact, I used the material teaching a course on theology, then revised it slightly for a sermon.   I hope it will serve as a model for studying the Bible’s words.  That can be rewarding.  If you don’t have resources like Vine’s wordbook or Strong’s concordance, you will find the following sites useful:  biblegateway.com or blueletterbible.org.  Each will give you access to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a variety of translations (including several in languages other than English). 

BACKGROUND:

CORNELIUS PLANTINGA, JR. WROTE

"THE AWARENESS OF SIN USED TO BE OUR SHADOW. CHRISTIANS HATED SIN, FEARED IT, FLED FROM IT, GRIEVED OVER IT. SOME OF OUR GRANDPARENTS AGONIZED OVER THEIR SINS; A MAN WHO LOST HIS TEMPER MIGHT WONDER WHETHER HE COULD STILL GO TO HOLY COMMUNION. A WOMAN WHO FOR YEARS ENVIED HER MORE ATTRACTIVE AND INTELLIGENT SISTER MIGHT WORRY THAT THIS SIN THREATENED HER VERY SAL VA TION.

"BUT NOW THE SHADOW HAS FADED. NOWADAYS, THE ACCUSATION YOU HAVE SINNED 15 OFTEN SAID WITH A GRIN AND A TONE THAT SIGNALS AN INSIDE JOKE.

"THE NEWER LANGUAGE OF ZION FUDGES: 'LET US CONFESS OUR PROBLEM WITH HUMAN RELATIONAL DYNAMICS, AND ESPECIALLY OUR FEEBLENESS IN NETWORKING.' OR, 'I'D JUST LIKE TO SHARE THAT WE NEED TO TARGET HOLINESS AS A GROWTH AREA.' WHERE SIN IS CONCERNED, PEOPLE MUMBLE NOW."

I HAVE TO AGREE WITH PLANTINGA. FOR A LONG TIME I'VE FELT THE DOCTRINE OF SIN TO BE ONE OF THE MOST NEGLECTED DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY.   I WANT TO EXPLORE WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT SIN.

WHY IS SUCH AN UNDERSTANDING IMPORTANT?

--BECAUSE AN UNDERSTANDING OF SIN WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND SO MUCH ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION.

--BECAUSE AN UNDERSTANDING OF SIN WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND WHY WE SEEM, AT TIMES, TO SUFFER FROM SPIRITUALLY SPLIT-PERS6NALITIES.

--BECAUSE AN UNDERSTANDING OF SIN WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND THE WONDERS OF THE SALVATION WE HAVE IN CHRIST.

MY TEXT TO ROOT WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY IS ROMANS 3:23.  SOME OF YOU CAN QUOTE IT WITHOUT TURNING A PAGE OF YOUR BIBLE.

THERE'S NO DOUBT IT IS A BIG LITTLE WORD: THIS WORD “SIN.”  WE HEARD IT USED THIS PAST WEEK BY THE PRESIDENT TO DESCRIBE CERTAIN BEHAVIOR IN WHICH HE ENGAGED, BEHAVIOR WHICH HAS SHOCKED A NATION.  QUITE A FEW AMERICANS WOULD AGREE WITH HIS USE OF THE TERM.  [This sermon was preached during the investigation of President Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky.]

YET, IF WE COULD EAVESDROP OUTSIDE A CONFESSIONAL WE MIGHT HEAR A SWEET, KINDLY GRANDMOTHER INTONE THE ANCIENT FORMULA: "FORGIVE ME, FATHER, FOR I HAVE SINNED."

AND, SOMEWHERE, IN SOME CHURCH THIS MORNING A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER MAY BE LEADING AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD BOY IN "THE SINNER'S PRAYER."

THAT THE PRESIDENT MIGHT USE THE WORD TO DESCRIBE HIS BEHAVIOR IS UNDERSTANDABLE. BUT CAN THE GRANDMOTHER REALLY MEAN THAT SHE, TOO, IS GUILTY OF SIN? IS THAT EIGHT-YEAR-OLD WHOSE MOST NOTORIOUS CRIME TO DATE MAY HAVE BEEN PAINTING DRACULA FANGS ON HIS SISTER'S BARBIE DOLLS ALSO A SINNER?

WHAT DO WE CHRISTIANS MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SIN.

DEFINITIONS ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY HELP ASSURE THAT WE ARE ALL SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE.

BIBLICAL TERMS RELATED TO SIN.

SEVERAL BIBLICAL WORDS ARE RELATED TO THE CONCEPT OF SIN.

WORDS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT:

CHATA WITH ABOUT 522 OCCURANCES THIS IS AN IMPORTANT WORD FOR SIN. THE BASIC IDEA IS THAT OF MISSING THE MARK; MISSING THE MARK AND HITTING SOME OTHER MARK.  HERE’S CHARLES RYRIE: ‘THE IDEA IS NOT MERELY A PASSIVE ONE OF MISSING, BUT ALSO AN ACTIVE ONE OF HITTING.'

EXODUS 20:20

JUDGES 20:16

RA   IS USED SOME 444 TIMES.  IT CARRIES THE BASIC MEANING OF BREAKING UP OR RUIN; IT IS OFTEN TRANSLAED AS "EVIL".

GE 3:5 "FOR GOD KNOWS THAT WHEN YOU EAT OF IT YOUR EYES WILL BE OPENED, AND YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL."

GE 38:7 BUT ER, JUDAH'S FIRSTBORN, WAS WICKED IN THE LORD'S SIGHT; SO THE LORD PUT HIM TO DEATH.

PASHA CONTAINS THE IDEA OF REBELLION. IT IS OFTEN TRANSLATED AS 'TRANGRESSION'.

ISA 1:2  “HEAR, 0 HEAVENS! LISTEN, 0 EARTH! FOR THE LORD HAS SPOKEN: "I REARED CHILDREN AND BROUGHT THEM UP, BUT THEY HAVE REBELLED AGAINST ME.

TAAH  THE WORD MEANS TO WANDER AWAY, TO GO ASTRAY. THE SIN IS DELIBERATE, NOT ACCIDENTAL.   SEE PS 58:3, ISA. 53:6. EZEK 44:10

SUMMARY OF THE IDEAS FOUND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT VOCABULARY FOR SIN:

1. SIN MAY TAKE A VARIETY OF FORMS AND THE VARIED VOCABULARY HELPED THE ISRAELITE ANALYZE THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF HIS PARTICULAR SIN.

2. SIN IS CONTRARY TO A NORM WHICH GOD HAS ESTABLISHED IN HIS LAW; SIN IS DISOBEDIENCE.

3. OT EMPHASIS IS ON THE POSITIVE COMMISSION OF WRONG. BUT THE ESSENTIAL IDEAS OF WRONG DONE AND GOOD NOT DONE ARE BOTH PRESENT.

WORDS USED FOR SIN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT:

KAKOS  As AN ADVERB THE WORD OFTEN REFERS TO PHYSICAL DISEASE; AS AN ADJECTIVE ID USUALLY INDICATES MORAL BADNESS.   MATT 21:41; ACTS 9:13; ROMANS 12:9; I TIM. 6:10   [HENCE THE REFERENCE TO SIN AS A DISEASE HAS SOME JUSTIFICATION.)

PONEROS THE BASIC TERM FOR EVIL. MATT 7:11; 12:39; ACTS 17:5; ROM 12:9; 2 JN 11. SOMETIMES USED OF SATAN AND EVIL SPIRITS.

ASEBES BASIC MEANING IS GODLESS. ROM 4:5, 5:6 USE THE TERM FOR THE UNSAVED. SOMETIMES  APEARS WITH OTHER WORDS FOR SIN.

ENOCHOS MEANS GUILTY AND USUALLY REFERS TO GUILT WORTHY OF THE DEATH PENALTY. MT 521-22

HAMARTIA THIS IS THE MOST FREQUENTLY USED WORD FOR SIN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.

HAMARTIOLOGY IS THE TRADITIONAL TERM FOR THE STUDY OF THE DOCTRINE OF SIN. CHARLES RYRIE COMMENTS:  "WHEN A WRITER WANTED ONE INCLUSIVE WORD FOR SIN, HE USED THIS ONE.  THE METAPHOR BEHIND THE WORD IS MISSING THE MARK, BUT, AS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THIS IS NOT ONLY A NEGATIVE IDEA BUT INCLUDES THE POSITIVE IDEA OF HITTING SOME WRONG MARK.  NWHEN IT IS USED IN THE GOSPELS IT ALMOST ALWAYS OCCURS IN A CONTEXT THAT SPEAKS OF FORGIVENESS OR SALVATION."   MATT 1:2, JN 1:29; ACTS 2:38, Ro 5:12, JAMES 1:15; REV 1:5.

ANOMOS FREQUENTLY TRANSLATED AS 'INIQUITY".   THE WORD LITERALLY MEANS LAWLESS. USED OF THE ANTICHRIST (2 THESS 2:10).

HYPOCRISIS—THE WORD INCORPORATES THREE IDEAS: TO INTERPRETNFALSELY AS AN ORACLE MIGHT DO.   IT SUGGESTS AN EFFORT TO PRETEND AS AN ACTOR DOES; AND TO FOLLOW AN INTERPRETATION KNOWN TO BE FALSE.   OF COURSE, WE GET THE WORD HYPOCRITE FROM THIS TERM;  ONE WRITER SAYS, “HYPOCRITES FIRST DECEIVE THEMSELVES INTO MAKING WRONG RIGHT; THEN THEY DECEIVE OTHERS."

THERE ARE OTHER WORDS FOR SIN USED IN THE NEW TESTAMEN T BUT THIS IS ENOUGH TO INTRODUCE THE KEY IDEAS.

SUMMARY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT VOCABULARY:

1. THERE IS ALWAYS A CLEAR STANDARD AGAINST WHICH SIN IS COMMITTED.

2. ULTIMATELY ALL SIN IS A POSITIVE REBELLION AGAINST GOD AND A TRANSGRESSION OF HIS STANDARDS.

3. EVIL MAY ASSUME A VARIETY OF FORMS.

4. MAN'S RESPONSIBILITY IS DEFINITE AND CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD.

TOWARD A DEFINITION OF SIN

DALLAS SEMINARY’S CHARLES RYRIE SAID, "SIN IS MISSING THE MARK, BADNESS, REBELLION, INIQUITY, GOING ASTRAY, WICKEDNESS, WANDERING, UNGODLINESS, CRIME, LAWLESSNESS. TRANSGRESSION, IGNORANCE, AND FALLING AWAY."

BAPTIST THEOLOGIAN AUGUSTUS STRONG SAID,  "SIN IS LACK OF CONFORMITY TO THE MORAL LAW OF GOD, EITHER IN ACT, DISPOSITION, OR STATE."

TWENTIETH CENTURY THEOLOGIAN OLIVER BUSWELL OFFERRED THIS DEFINITION: "SIN MAY BE DEFINED ULTIMATELY AS ANYTHING IN THE CREATURE WHICH DOES NOT EXPRESS, OR WHICH IS CONTRARY TO, THE HOLY CHARACTER OF THE CREATOR."

NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICAN THEOLOGIAN A. A. HODGE SAID SIN IS "ANY AND EVERY WANT OF CONFORMITY WITH THE MORAL LAW OF GOD, WHETHER OF EXCESS OR DEFECT, WHETHER OF OMISSION OR COMISSION. SIN IS ANY WANT OF CONFORMITY OF THE MORAL STATES OR HABITS AS WELL AS ACTIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL WITH THE LAW OF GOD."

THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH DEFINES SIN AS "THE PURPOSEFUL DISOBEDIENCE OF A CREATURE TO THE KNOWN WILL OF GOD.'

IN THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER THERE IS A FAMOUS PRAYER OF CONFESSION IN WHICH THE CONGREGATION ASKS FOR PARDON, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT   “WE HAVE DONE THOSE THINGS WE OUGHT NOT TO HAVE DONE AND LEFT UNDONE THOSE THINGS WHICH WE OUGHT TO HAVE DONE."

WITHIN-THAT SIMPLE STATEMENT IS A TWOFOLD UNDERSTANDING OF HOW SIN EXPRESSES ITSELF. ON THE ONE HAND, IT EXPRESSES ITSELF ACTIVELY IN WHAT HAVE OFTEN BEEN CALLED "SINS OF COMISSION". IT ALSO EXPRESSES ITSELF PASSIVELY IN WHAT HAVE BEEN CALLED "SINS OF OMMISSION."

LET ME OFFER A WORKING DEFINITION: SIN 1S THAT IMPULSE WITHIN THE HUMAN PERSONALITY, ROOTED IN ESTRANGEMENT FROM GOD AND DEMONSTRATED IN THE PERSISTENT TENDENCY TO DO THOSE THINGS WE OUGHT NOT TO DO AND TO LEAVE UNDONE THOSE THINGS WE OUGHT TO DO.

[THIS IS A FAR DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING OF SIN THAN THE SUGGESTION MADE BY A POPULAR TELEVISION PASTOR THAT SIN IS FUNDAMENTALLY “LACK OF SELF-ESTEEM.”]

IT IS IMPORTANT TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN SIN AND SINS.  SIN IS THE CONDITION; SINS ARE THE EXPRESSION OF THAT CONDITION AND MAY VARY FROM CASE TO CASE.

HOW THAT IMPULSE EXPRESSES ITSELF IN MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN, AND, IN TURN, IN FAMILIES AND NATIONS EXPLAINS MUCH OF WORLD HISTORY.

CONCLUSION

FOCUSING ON THE ISSUE OF SIN MAY SEEM LIKE A DOWNER TO SOME OF YOU.

TO SOME DEGREE YOU ARE RIGHT.  WE DO NOT LIKE LOOKING AT THE DARK SIDE OF HUMANITY. WE PREFER TO LOOK FOR SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, OR PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS BEHIND WARS, MURDERS, DIVORCES, CRUELTY, RACISM, AND THE CATALOG COULD GO ON AND ON.   WE PREFER TO AVOID HAVING TO ADMIT THE PROBLEM LIES WITHIN EACH OF US—THAT WE ARE ALL INFECTED WITH SIN, THAT WE HAVE ALL MISSED THE MARK, THAT WE ARE ALL REBELS AGAINST GOD.

YET, THE VERY FACT THAT THE GREAT PROBLEM OF HUMANITY CAN BE DESCRIBED AS IN TERMS OF SIN OUGHT TO GIVE US A SENSE OF HOPE.

JOHN ALEXANDER POINTS OUT THE POSITIVE TRUTH OF RECOGNIZING SIN AS OUR PROBLEM:

"SIN IS THE BEST NEWS THERE IS, THE BEST NEWS THERE COULD BE IN OUR PREDICAMENT.

     "BECAUSE WITH SIN, THERE'S A WAY OUT THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY OF REPENTANCE.

“YOU CAN'T REPENT OF CONFUSION OR PSYCHOLOGICAL FLAWS INFLICTED BY YOUR PARENTS—YOU'RE STUCK WITH THEM. BUT YOU CAN REPENT OF SIN. SIN AND REPENTANCE ARE THE ONLY GROUNDS FOR HOPE AND JOY.  THE GROUNDS FOR RECONCILED, JOYFUL RELATIONSHIPS.  YOU CAN BE BORN AGAIN."

YOU SEE, WE MUST NOT BE AFRAID TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR GREAT PROBLEM IS SIN. FOR GOD HAS PROVIDED THE SOLUTION TO THAT PROBLEM.

Staying Sane--Sexually

I preached this sermon years ago.  It reflects what was happening then but the fundamental message remains relevant.  The file was old and may have some format issues--I have tried to edit those out.        

Ephesians 5:1-14

      We are living in days of sexual insanity.

      It was one of those times when I didn’t have the remote at hand so I couldn’t hit mute or change the channel; I had to listen to the commercials.

      The one that caught my attention depicted an attractive young woman waking down the sidewalk in a busy city.  For some reason we overhear her thoughts, "My mother always told me to wear clean underwear because you never know when you might be hit by a bus." 

      At this moment she makes eye-contact with an attractive man, a stranger, sitting at an outdoor cafe.  He smiles at her, she smiles at him, and we again overhear her thoughts as she adds, "But I can think of a better reason."

      I guess the message of the commercial is, if you enjoy casual sexual liaisons with total strangers, better use our product.

      Then, of course, there is what seems to be the motto of Las Vegas:  "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."  Shouldn’t that make the citizens of Las Vegas proud as they celebrate the city’s centennial?  Come to our town and you can cheat on your spouse or engage in casual sex and we won’t tell.  (Unless, of course, your story is good enough for CSI).

      And, then, maybe you’ve heard the new cell phone commercial on the radio.  It involves a hillbilly type character whose friend calls to let him know his wife is on her way home.  This thoughtful act allows the hero to get his girlfriend out the back door before his wife arrives.

      The message seems to be: even if you’re an ignorant redneck our product will help you cheat on your wife.

      For several years "Sex and the City" suggested young, single career-minded women were obsessed with sex.  Now, "Desperate Housewives" lets us know the same obsession thrives in the suburbs.  What’s next, "The Amorous Amish" or "Agrarian Affairs?"

      We are living in a day that seems obsessed with only one aspect of our human nature, our sexuality.  Gratifying that part of our nature seems to be the most important quest in our lives.  It is what the old philosophers would call the highest good.

      Christians are not immune to this obsession.  In fact, it blinds them to the contradiction between biblical morality and our culture’s standards.   Listen to this story Calvin Miller tells:

"Christal was a business woman in our congregation.  She and Elliott had been married for seven years and had two beautiful children.  She came to me for counseling and said, 'I am going to leave Elliott.  Three years ago on a corporate trip to Milwaukee, I met a man who loves me and tells me so in ways that Elliott has never done.  I can’t live without him.  He is awesome in bed.   Pastor, you’ve seen Elliott, you know how overweight he is.  Furthermore, he hasn’t met my sexual needs for years.  But Pete is different; look at this.'  She took a picture out of her wallet.  Pete was incredibly handsome.  [Chrystal continued,] 'We’ve been sleeping together regularly.  I can’t stay away from Milwaukee.  On my last business trip, we agreed to divorce our mates and marry each other as soon as we can.  I can’t live without him, nor he without me.'  Then she added, 'Besides being a hunk, he is a devoted believer in Christ!'"  (Disarming the Darkness, p. 122.)

      Did you hear that?  No wonder the divorce rate among Christians is about the same as it is among non-believers.   [Recent studies have shown this needs to be qualified.  Christians who faithfully attend church have a much lower divorce rate than those Christians who do not attend church  but tell statisticians they are "Christians."] It seems Christians are caught up in the very sexual insanity that has gripped the rest of the culture.  That insanity seems to be rooted in the notion that the sex is primarily a physical act.  Oddly enough, this obsession has served, not to elevate the value of sex, but to trivialize it.  Having sexual relations with another person is on the order of grabbing a burger at McDonald’s or a salad at Panera’s; it’s just something you have to do now and then.

      And our culture maintains this attitude despite the catastrophic impact on our society.  It’s estimated that over a quarter of children born today are born out of wedlock.  More than thirty sexually transmitted diseases are spreading through our population including HIV/AIDS.  There seems to be a connection between depression serious enough to inspire suicide and sexual activity among teenage girls. 

      We see this and still the obsession survives.

      How do we stay sexually sane in such a sensual society?

      Paul left some clues when he wrote to the Ephesians.

      While Paul’s letter may have been intended as a kind of open letter to the churches in Asia Minor, he was certainly including the believers at Ephesus, the most prominent city in the region among his intended readers.  He probably understood that the city’s culture had an impact beyond its boundaries, just as our American culture has an impact in a much larger world.

      High on a mountain above Ephesus stood the temple dedicated to Artemis, the goddess known in the west as Diana.  In fact,

Artemis, under a variety of names, was worshipped throughout the Near East.  She was seen as the giver of life and eventually was associated with fertility and sensuality.  The temple, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was the economic heart of the city and included hundreds of prostitutes who descended into the city each night to earn money for the temple.  Into this culture, where sex was so engrained in the day-to-day thinking of the people, came Paul and the message of the Gospel.

      It was inevitable that those who came out of that culture into the community of Christ would need counsel and guidance as they struggled toward a more sane understanding of their sexuality.  What did Paul say to them?  What does he say to us?

      By the way, what he says he says to all of us.  He speaks to young and old, men and women.  In my library I have a book on sexual temptation; its title is "Temptations Men Face."  Please.  It must have been written back in the day when we honestly believed that half the population was immune to the temptations that plagued our half of the population.  We know better now; of course, Paul knew better centuries ago.  He speaks to all of us and has some good news for all of us.

      He gives us all the good news that you can stay sexually sane in a sensual society.

I 

Sexual Sanity Recognizes the Noble Character of God's Special Gift of Our Sexuality.

      Do keep in mind that Paul is writing to saints to show them how to be saintly.  The Ephesian culture had put out so much misinformation about sex that the apostle had to help these Christians toward a proper regard for their sexuality.

      Sadly, the church has sometimes put out misinformation about sex.  Even as great a thinker as Augustine believed that sexual activity between husband and wife should only be grudgingly allowed, that celibacy was so much better. 

      Some Corinthian Christians, who lived in a culture as sex-obsessed as that of the Ephesians, thought the solution was to deny their sexual needs.  To that Paul said, "NO, NO, NO."

      Instead, reminds us that we dishonor the Creator who gave us the gift of sexuality, both when we deny that we are sexual beings and when we sully the gift through misuse.

      Several years ago, when we still lived in Texas, Pat gave me a nice jacket.  Winter was approaching and I was going to need it.  Our dog also needed a new doghouse.  I built one for her but, not being the greatest carpenter, it had some gaps where the wind could get through.  I dashed into town to get some caulk and some paint.  When I got back I quickly went to work caulking and painting the new doghouse.  I’m not the greatest painter in the world either and I had not taken off my new jacket.  Needless to say, I got paint on the jacket.

      I had treated Pat's gift thoughtlessly.   Our sensual society teaches us to treat God's gift thoughtlessly. 

      I think this shapes Paul’s reminder that there should be no place for "coarse jesting" in the Christian's vocabulary.  Another translation says we’re to avoid "obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes."  The New Jerusalem Bible uses "salacious talk' to describe what Paul is condemning.  He’s warning us against the attitudes that lead to treating sexuality flippantly and makes light of sexual sin.

      Paul is talking about the kind of thing which could get you called onto the carpet for sexual harassment these days.  Isn’t it interesting that it’s taken almost 2000 years to realize that this type of "dirty talk" is a kind of verbal sexual assault?

      The principal behind what Paul is saying would also apply to pornography.  In our nation alone pornography is a billion dollar business.  Big cities and many small cities have outlets for pornographic magazines, books, and videos.  I heard someone say the other day that the pornography business is always on the cutting-edge of technology.  Of course, while we know millions of people buy pornographic materials, we may never know how many men and women who would never enter a pornographer’s shop will sneak a peek on the internet.

      But isn’t pornography harmless?  Why are we making such a fuss over a few pictures?

      I could go into detail about the violent character of those pictures but, instead, let me point out something I discovered when I was asked to speak on pornography to a BSU in Texas.  When asked if there was a connection between pornography and violence against women, a group of university sociologists and psychologists couldn’t agree.  When a national gathering of police chiefs was asked if there was a link between pornography and sex-crimes, they were almost unanimous in their agreement that there was.

      Consider this, Alaska and Nevada have the highest readership of pornography in the nation.   Those same states also have the highest percentages of sexual assaults in the nation. 

      Is pornography dangerous?  Is second-hand smoking dangerous?  We’ve banned smoking from public places on less evidence than we have for the danger of pornography, yet our culture’s sexual insanity persists in defending its benign, even beneficial nature.

      Christians ought to see pornography for what it is, a tragic corruption of the gift God has given us.

       Ultimately, Christian sexual sanity avoids the distortions of either immorality or repression.

[In the minds of many, this is not the Christian view of sexuality.  I recently read one person’s characterization of what he had learned about sex when he was a youngster in church:  “Sex is evil, filthy, and degrading.  You should save it for someone you love.”  Some Christian writers—Augustine and Tertullian—may have come close to saying that but it’s not really the Biblical view.  Were I preaching this sermon today I might stress this a little more.]

     

II 

Sexual Sanity Guards and Enriches Our Sexuality.

     

      Claiming to liberate sex, our culture has trivialized it.

      Claiming to have a healthy view of sex, our culture has exposed us to diseases and neuroses.       

      Claiming to be interested in the total person, our culture has become obsessed with only one aspect or our nature.

        The Christian understanding of our sexuality both guards and enriches the experience. 

      The pattern of one man married to one woman for life opens the way to developing a relationship which so far exceeds the definition of friendship that the Bible describes the two as becoming "one."  Out of this Biblical view of marriage comes the understanding of the sex act as so intimate, so profound, that it is only proper within the context of marital commitment. 

[Obviously this definition of marriage (“one man married to one woman”) has been rejected by the culture at large.  When I first preached this sermon, few would have imagined that same-sex marriage would be sanction by the Supreme Court.  From time to time, Christians have had to remind themselves that wha tis legal is not necessarily right and what is right is not necessarily legal.]

      Paul Bubna comments, "Modern man speaks of intercourse as 'having sex'.  However, the Scriptures never speak in this way.  In Biblical language a man "knows" his wife.  It is not an act, it is a relationship."

       This echoes Paul’s thought in I Corinthians 6:16.  Here it is paraphrased by Eugene Peterson:

There is more to sex than mere skin on skin.  Sex is as much a spiritual mystery as physical act.  As written in Scripture, ‘the two become one.’  Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy or the kind of sex that can never ‘become one.’

        Again, this runs contrary to our culture’s perception.  Our culture says a couple should sleep together to see if they’re right to get married.  The Christian view tells us that a good marriage is not based on good sex, but good sex is based on a good marriage.

      The fact is, a number of recent studies suggest that conservative Protestant women have the most satisfying sex-lives in our society.  You can almost hear the surprise in the comment of a researcher from the University of Chicago:  “Our results could be read to mean that an orthodox view of romance, courtship, and sexuality, your mom’s view, perhaps is the only route to happiness and sexual satisfaction.”

      By the way, there’s an unexpected bonus for the man and woman who follow the Biblical pattern in their marriage. 

      When a man and woman come to marriage as virgins and remain mutually faithful throughout that marriage, they create a “closed system” into which it is virtually impossible for a sexually transmitted disease to intrude.

      It’s one of the safeguards built into the Biblical vision of marriage.

      But what does the Biblical understanding of our sexuality say to those believers who aren’t married?

III 

Sexual Sanity for Married and Unmarried, Alike, Grows Out of the Transformation Wrought in Us by Jesus Christ. (8-14)

     

      What Jesus has done for us is dramatic; we were darkness, now we are light.  A change like that ought to express itself in our attitudes and behavior.  In a sensual society like ours, I believe itís almost impossible for a man or woman to develop attitudes and behaviors different than that of the prevailing culture unless they have allowed Christ to do his work in their lives. 

      Paul understands that our companions can influence our sexual attitudes and behavior (7).   We’re all susceptible to peer-pressure.   The culture around us can be a powerful force to mold us.  We need something more powerful to counter its influence.

      Everything changes when Christ goes to work in us.

      Enlightened by Christ, we can live within a culture, yet live above and beyond the norms of that culture. 

      Enlightened by Christ, we free seek to discover and do what pleases God (10).  As Christians, our attitudes and behaviors should be shaped by Godís will not our cultures norms;   Christ at work in us allows that to be a reality.

      Enlightened by Christ, we should strive to avoid every taint of sin (11-12). 

      Enlightened by Christ, we should live in such a way as to witness for Christ.   That single man or woman who claims to have been transformed by Christ is under observation.  If they fail to live any differently than non-believers, what kind of impact will they make?

      [Looking at this after so many years, I realize I did not demonstrate the compassion I should have shown.  Doubtless, it is difficult to remain sexually pure in this society.  Temptations are rife.  Loneliness may cause an ache that cries out for closeness, makes us vulnerable to those temptations.  In later messages I showed more of that compassion; maybe that comes from living more of life.

At the same time, many young Christians seem to have the same cavalier attitude toward sex as their non-Christian friends.  I’ve lost track of the couples that have asked me to perform their weddings and then, during our interviews, revealed they have been sexually intimate or have even been living together for months, if not years.  I haven’t decided it that reflects the failure of our churches to teach chastity or the raw power of our culture.]

      Conclusion

      I bought a new watch last week.  I wore it last Wednesday when the faithful, patient regulars attended our Bible study and prayer meeting. 

      We had what I hope was some good discussion and as we were leaving I looked at my new watch and noticed we had finished just a little before 8:00.   Still, everyone seemed in a hurry to get home.

      A few minutes later, as I pulled up to the curb at home, the voice on the radio said it was seventeen past the hour.  My new watch said it was 8:03. 

      Over the next couple days that new watch developed a pattern of slowing down and even stopping.  I took it back.

      I’d been relying on an unreliable source to tell me the time.

      Lots of folks we know are relying on an unreliable source to determine what’s right concerning their sexuality:  The voices of our culture.

      The only really reliable source is the word of the God who gave us that great gift.

      It will help us stay sexually sane in a day of sexual insanity.