Sunday Sermons
Knowing God
Knowing God
“Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I delight in these things’, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). One hurdle in getting to know God that has been present throughout the ages has been the inconsistent and sorry examples and lives of some of those who have loudly professed to believe in God and represent Him. God knows all too well the bad press that He receives when professed believers in Him do terrible things. He plainly told David after David’s adultery, “Because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” (2 Samuel 12:14). It is a sad fact of history that often the nation of Israel lived far below the moral standards that God had given for that nation, in fact, they often lived below the moral standards of the pagan nations that surrounded them, and as a result, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Romans 2:24). As a result, Christians are repeatedly admonished to live in such a way that God is honored (Titus 2:10 “that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect”), so that our behavior gives people a reason to believe rather than poke fun at what the Bible says (1 Timothy 5:14 “and give the enemy no occasion for reproach”). In this lesson I want to present a sample of the refreshing picture of God that one finds in the Bible, in contrast to all the misconceptions concerning Him.
God and snobs
Both the secular and the religious world contain people who think that they are better or more important than others, and who view others with contempt. Jesus specifically rebuked such an attitude, “And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt” (Luke 18:9). In this parable, Jesus taught that God is not impressed with people who are full of themselves and their accomplishments (18:11-12). We are offended by people who are over-confident and arrogant, and so is God, “God is opposed to the proud” (James 4:6). God loves people who are honest about their failings, humble, and who want to do better (18:14 “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other”; Romans 12:3 “For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think”).
God and hypocrites
The world has probably always been plagued by religious showmen, people who want everyone to know how much they are doing, what they are sacrificing, and what they are accomplishing. God doesn’t like people who insist on tooting their own horn,“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full” (Matthew 6:1-2). Jesus severely condemned the Pharisees for, among other reasons, “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men” (Matthew 23:5). If we are put off by people who are filled with greed and lust who hide behind religion, then we are not alone. God is disgusted by people who use religion to cloak and cover sinful desires, “men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Timothy 6:5). If we are disgusted by the scandals that seem to constantly rock the religious word, scandals that involve greed and lust, so is God. God does not excuse such men, He does not come to their defense, rather, He issues severe condemnation upon them (2 Peter 2:3 “and in their greed they will exploit you…their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep”; 2:13-18 “They are stains and blemishes…having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children..”).
No lose ends
The God that the Bible reveals is so refreshing, because following the final judgment there will be no lose ends. There will be no unsolved crimes, every injustice will be dealt with, and no one will escape justice because of a loophole, technicality, or accounting slipup in heaven, “That each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10); “who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6; Hebrews 4:13). Yes, in this life, there are people who seem to elude justice, but they will not elude God’s justice. Paul noted, “The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after” (1 Timothy 5:24). The point being that sins, both public and extremely secret and private, will be recompensed at the judgment.
God and freeloaders
If we are discouraged and frustrated by people who seem bent on getting something for nothing, using the system and running one scam after another, we do have a friend in God. “For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone will not work, neither let him eat. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12). In the book of Proverbs, God did not make an excuse for the sluggard, but rather exhorted him to learn from the ant, who does not need someone constantly prodding them to stay productive (6:6-7). “The ants are models of diligence in that they work tirelessly in spite of having no taskmaster to goad them on, and they prepare for winter in spite of having no administration to lay out economic plans” (Garrett p. 96). The ant shames the lazy person. The ant “knows the time” (6:8), whereas, to the lazy person all time is alike. Kidner notes, “He does not commit himself to a refusal, but deceives himself by the smallness of his surrenders (“A little sleep, a little slumber”). So, by inches and minutes, his opportunity slips away” (p. 42). God warns the sluggard that a judgment is coming upon them, even in this life, “your poverty will come in like a vagabond” (6:11). There does come a time in life when you can no longer recover from wasted opportunities, a time when age or lack of experience will prevent one from making a decent wage. “Poverty and indebtedness cling to the slothful like incorrigible beggars who always linger about the house and always want more. Laziness will siphon off resources until the indolent have nothing left” (Garrett p. 97).
God and excuse makers
The excuses that some people make for not doing the right thing can be downright frustrating. Recently a family member of mine noted that someone at their work called in sick, not because they were actually sick, but because their family had been sick and they were afraid of getting sick, so they were not coming to work. After one preacher ran into a member who had not been attending for some time and asked him, “Where have you been?” The unfaithful member replied, “Oh, are you guys still meeting down there?” Jesus was a person who cut through people’s excuses (Luke 9:59-62). God knows that people will make excuses and some of those excuses will be pitiful, “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion in the road! A lion is in the open square!” (Proverbs 26:13). The sluggard does not view himself as being lazy! “Admiration for the wit of this portraiture has to be tempered with disquiet, on reflection that the sluggard will be the last to see his own features here, for he has no idea that he is lazy: he is not a shirker but a ‘realist’ (13); not self-indulgent but ‘below his best in the morning’ (14)” (Kidner p. 163). The verse does remind us that lazy people can come up with outrageous excuses to avoid work. In light of this verse, none of us should be surprised to find that a good number of people are really as “disabled” as they claim. There might not be any lions on the road or in the square in 21st century America, but there are a host of mysterious aches and pains, and strange diseases that only strike on sunny days, Fridays, and the day before a three-day weekend.
God and the know-it-all
“Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12). . “The saying uses a comparison to stress how difficult it is to curb self-conceit—a fool has more hope” (Gaebelein p. 1090). “The quint-essential fool is the one who is so sure he has all the facts of life straight that he refuses to submit to wisdom or instruction and is far worse off than the run-of-the-mill fool” (Garrett p. 213). “The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can give a discreet answer” (26:16). The lazy man’s problem is not a low IQ, for he considers himself a very smart fellow. “He thinks that he has life all figured out and has chosen the wise course of action” (Gaebelein p. 1091). He thinks that avoiding work is the surest proof of his wisdom. Here is the person who is not bothered in the slightest by their unwillingness to help, lend a hand, assist others, or do something productive. Getting out of working, having somebody else do it—now, that’s being smart! To this person, getting out of work is viewed as outwitting everybody else.
God and our conscience
There are people in this world who try to manipulate the desire to help others that resides in the heart of Christians. God exhorts us to help others, that is, people who truly need and want help (Matthew 25:35ff), yet God is so refreshing, because He also frees us from the tyranny of helping those who do not really want help. There is a definite warning in Proverbs to the person who might be tempted to hire a fool, “Like an archer who wounds everyone, so is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by” (26:10). “Anyone who hires a fool gives them ample opportunity to do great damage” (Gaebelein p. 1089). Hiring fools is just one more way of encouraging them to remain in their foolishness. Hiring foolish people so they can feel better about themselves is not a good idea, and giving someone a job will not bring about character that is not there to start with. Our society seems to think that “a job” is the answer to a lack of moral principles.
God and fad chasers
God is refreshing, for He keeps life simple, put Him first, keep His commandments, that is the prime directive (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Colossians 3:1-2; Matthew 6:33). Solomon noted, “Is there anything of which one might say, ‘See this, it is new?’ Already it has existed for ages which were before us” (Ecclesiastes 1:10). Fads even attempt to creep into the church. One denominational writer noted, “Think of the strategies and tactics employed by churches. At one time, coffee houses were the ‘in’ thing that every church had as a means of out reach. Then came the great bus ministries of churches, and the market in used school buses boomed, only to crash when the bus ministry craze faded. In the early 1990’s ‘seeker services’ and ‘user-friendly churches’ became ‘hot’” (Erickson p. 25). God is refreshing, because the truth remains the same. Christians must live what they profess (Matthew 5:13-16) and they must simply and honestly share it with others (Matthew 28:19-20). The “gospel” draws good and honest hearts (Romans 1:16), while fads come and go.
God and me
God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34-35); righteousness is what matters to Him, not fame or fortune. To Him the simple ordinary person, is just as important as anyone else (1 Corinthians 1:26).
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
