It is amazing and frightening what some who call themselves Christians actually believe. Far too many believe their own words have the power to create reality. Hundreds of thousands who have bought into hyper-grace believe the ten commandments have no place in the life of the believer. The reality is that no one in the church wants to talk about the 800 pound gorilla in the room; false conversions. That is the end result of most false teachings. When Jesus first started preaching the Bible says very plainly that His message was repent for the kingdom of God is at hand! When the Pharisees approached John the Baptist he told then to go and produce fruit in keeping with their alleged repentance. The Apostle Paul summarizes it well:
Now I would remind you, brothers,of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. - 1Corinthians 15: 1-2 (ESV)
Take these verses very seriously beloved. The path leading to destruction is broad because there are many people on it. People who were fully "churched." People who attended a steepled building every week. People who tithed or gave sacrificially every week. People who had the best of intentions but failed to realize the wickedness of their own hearts. People who will stand before Jesus Christ on the last day wailing "Lord Lord!" He will turn to them and say He never knew them. How terrifying a thought! These verses from Corinthians cannot be clearer. What many people believe in will be for naught. They will have believed in vain. They would have served in vain. They would have churched in vain.
The warning from this portion of the key verses should be even more horrifying for us as believers! If we take in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ then we will be filled with His marvelous light. We will be a beacon of God's true light to the lost who stumble in the darkness of this world. But if we were brought to churchianity by a false gospel then Christ does not truly dwell inside of us. There is none of His marvelous light inside of us. We are as pitch black as the world but the staggering difference is we think it is light. In many cases the deceived think it is an overwhelming light when it really still is a thick and relentless darkness. Why is this such a big deal? Why is Jesus pointing this out? Because when you know you are in darkness there is still a chance that you will seek God out. There is always a chance for you to want the light you see in true believers. But if you have convinced yourself that your deepest darkness is actually blinding light - how deep is that darkness! It is so much harder then; to convince someone to come to the foot of the cross if they think they are already saved. Try to have a rational, biblical conversation with a follower of Joseph Prince and you will understand what I mean. Or try to explain to someone who likes Joel Osteen why he is a dangerous wolf tearing apart the sheep of God. What we value is extremely important but what we believe will determine heaven or hell. Lastly, Jesus is asking, who is it that we are serving?
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.- Matthew 6: 19-24 (ESV)
The dictionary defines serve as to "act as a servant." I know this thinking flies in the conventional face of the new age "Friend of God" theologies but it is an important distinction to understand as followers of Jesus Christ. When we refer to Christ as "Lord" I think we fail to grasp what we are saying sometimes. That means He is Lord over our lives. We cede control of our lives to Him, understanding that He knows better than we do. Jesus asked once why we bother to call Him Lord if we refuse to do what He says. Turning control of our lives over to Jesus is not just some trite Christianism. It means we understand that our lives are no longer our own. That we trade our will in for His. Where do we find His will? In His Word. There is a growing movement in these last days towards experiential Christianity. Where the Bible is relegated to some archaic formulations that no longer have cultural relevance. Where everything is left up to the whims of our own personal experiences. Sure it is couched by talking up the Holy Spirit and pretending it is a spiritual experience but the reality is that it is designed to remove the Bible from the equation. The heretic Bill Johnson once taught that it is not the "Father, Son, and Holy Bible"; meaning we should not be paying as much attention to the Word of God as we do to our own "spiritual" experiences. What utter nonsense and heresy. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit ARE His Word. It is the Word that was made flesh and dwelt amongst us. Despite the obvious references in the Bible to servanthood as the blueprint for the Christian faith, the world as always offers the opposite. The world rewards independence. It honors individuality. The truth we miss though is we are servants one way or the other.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6: 20-23 (ESV)
The freedom the world offers is thinly disguised slavery to sin. Make no mistake about it beloved. We are going to serve one way or the other. Slavery to the world may come with some trinkets and baubles but they will not survive the test of fire and they will not accompany us eternally. That is the point Jesus is making here to conclude this teaching. He uses money specifically but this can be anything we serve over God. Jesus is supposed to be our only Master. When we allow anything else to master us, it cannot work. We will default to one and start to loathe the other. Bob Dylan once sang:
But
you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody
There is no third choice and there are no split loyalties. These treasured teachings from Jesus on the mount ask us three important questions today. What do we value? What do we believe? Who do we serve? They are interwoven, which is why Jesus taught them together. What we value can form the backdrop of what we believe and what we believe can determine who we serve. Let the answer to all be the only true Master of all, Jesus Christ.
Reverend Anthony Wade - April 11, 2015
