July 15, 2012
"So why do you keep calling me "Lord, Lord!' when you don't do what I say? -- Luke 6: 46 (NLT)
There are some growing and distorted theologies out there in modern Christianity. Theologies filled with the wisdom of man, designed to tickle the ears of the listeners. Designed to make us feel more comfortable with our sin so we are less effectual for God. In these last days the scheme of the enemy is to make the children of God impotent for the kingdom. The less powerful we are, the less people who are brought to the foot of the cross for salvation. These theologies are the result of men who are trying too hard to grow a church instead of focusing on growing the church. Growth is mistakenly measured by human measurements using worldly metrics. The more bodies there are the more the kingdom grows is the logic instead of the more mature believers become the better equipped they are. Regeneration and sanctification take a pulpit backseat over prosperity and tithing. Today we will take a look at one of the root problems associated with such theologies. Who exactly is Jesus to you?
We also must realize that who we say Jesus is needs to match who He really is to us. There is too much lip service paid to the sovereignty of God without proper follow through with our lives. One usual trite answer is to say Jesus is everything to me! Would your family agree? What about your co-workers? If we expect to see the power of God in our lives then it is not who we say Jesus is on Sundays but rather what our lives say He is the rest of the week. When no one is looking. When temptation comes knocking. When the world needs to see Jesus in us -- do they?
Unfortunately today we see a lot of theology that seeks to change the role of God. We see a lot of worship and preaching on God - our friend. Beloved God is most definitely our friend but even Jesus had context to why He called us friend:
This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. -- John 15: 12-14 (NLT)
If you do what I command? But what about the cross? What about grace? Beloved the grace of God does not remove our responsibility to do as He has commanded. When we seek to make God our friend without following what He has commanded us -- we are fooling ourselves. The Gospel is always balanced. We sing worship songs about being friends with God based upon Abraham but realize what Abraham had to do in order for God to consider him friend. Abraham left everything he knew in his life and moved to a foreign country simply because God said to. When we hear something from God we don't want to do, we enter into a 40 day fast to try and find confirmations against it! Abraham was willing to take a knife to the throat of his only child as a sacrifice to God. We think that getting up early on a Sunday is a worthwhile sacrifice to God; unless it is football season.
Another recent phenomenon is for God to be sold to female believers in an overly sexual way. God is the lover of our soul -- not our body. Yes there is a Marriage Supper of the Lamb but I do not see any verse about the honeymoon. Too many young women are being taught through modern worship to be anti-man instead of simply pro-God. Lyrics filled with double entendre and innuendo that would make a non-believer blush. Listen, this is not about saying God does not love us and He is not our friend. This is about who He is to us first and foremost. Once the foundation is set, then the relationship can grow.
Jesus first of all must be our Savior. God did not send His only Son to earth because we needed a friend. He sent Jesus because we needed a Savior.
God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. -- John 3: 17 (NLT)
Unfortunately a great deal of modern theology downplays sin and repentance which are the lynchpins to salvation. There is not one person who has been saved because of a church program. Not one person who has been saved because of a church growth strategy. Not one person has been saved through our efforts. Salvation comes through the weight of our sin bearing down upon us due to the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When you strip sin out of the Gospel then people are reacting in their flesh. They are reacting to guilt. They are reacting to the preacher and not the preached. The reality is that without sin there is no punishment for sin. Without a punishment for sin there is no heaven and hell. Without the consequences of heaven and hell there is no need for a Savior. Having Jesus as our Savior first also serves to keep us humble as we always remember where God found us. We need to realize that we needed to be saved! We need to never forget it!
The other half of who Jesus needs to be to us is Lord. Jesus needs to be our Lord. The dictionary defines Lord as "someone who has authority, control and power over another; master." My friends do not have authority over me. They do not exercise any control over me; or power. When we make God our friend before we make Him our Lord it is too easy to relegate Christ to the role of advisor in our lives. Someone we can check in with when we feel like it but basically live our life according to our will. Much of modern theology stays away from discussing the role of God as Lord of our lives because it doesn't sell as well as more seeker friendly topics such as prosperity.
Which brings us to the key verse for today with Jesus almost exasperatingly asking -- why do you call me "Lord Lord" when you don't do what I say? We are supposed to follow what God has said! Far too often we have Christians who raise their hands on Sunday and raise hell on Monday. Grace is not an excuse to ignore the teachings of Christ. Jesus did not teach us principles to follow in order to weigh us down but rather to free us from the typical heartaches we can face in this life.
And do not lose sight of what immediately follows this question in Scripture!
I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn't obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins." -- Luke 6: 47-49 (NLT)
Beloved this is foundational! When we seek to build
our lives in Christ we must build upon the correct foundation. That foundation
must be based upon who God is in our lives. Do not rush to see Christ as your
friend until you have made Him your Lord and Savior. By making Him Lord and
Savior you correctly understand what He has already done for you and respect
the fact that He is leading your life. Then when the floodwaters rise in our
lives we know that what we are building in Christ will stand the test.
Rev. Anthony
