Authentic to be Accepted
Finding God at the End of Your Rope - Part 3
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Matthew 15:1-20, James 1:19-27
But what goes out of the mouth comes from the heart. And that's what contaminates a person in God's sight.
Matthew 15:18
Believing in Jesus is easy. Even the demons believed he was the Son of God. What sets us apart? What makes us "Christian?"
Being a Christian is not merely about "believing", but actually imitating Christ. James writes, "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22). Some are quick to object that this sounds like "works righteousness," as if somehow we must be "good enough" to get into heaven. The truth is that this is not about being "good enough" or about "getting into heaven." It is about living out of our identity.
To be a Christian is quite literally to be filled with the Holy Spirit. How can one be filled with the Holy Spirit and not produce the fruit of the Spirit? Or as James writes, how can fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? (James 3:11). Answer: they can't. The word "Christian" literally means "little Christ." It is easy to call ourselves a Christian, but if we do not look like Christ, the label simply does not fit. We are frauds, or as Jesus says, blind hypocrites.
[We have] "taken the message of Jesus and the biblical mandate to pattern our lives after Jesus, and reduced it to the near-effortless act of 'accepting Christ into your heart.' In fact, it’s become a bizarre religion where one can actually refer to themselves as a Christian while simultaneously disagreeing with what Jesus taught.
That’s not how this thing was originally supposed to work, folks. If one disagrees with Jesus, the word Christian ought not apply.
In Americanized Christianity we use Christian as a noun when originally, Christian was more of an adjective. It wasn’t so much about something you were, but was more about something you were doing. You were actively living out the teachings of Jesus, and this was easily observable– either you agreed with Jesus and did what he taught, or you didn’t.
~ Benjamin L. Corey, "There's Only Two Types of 'Christian' (And You Should Be Able to Tell the Difference)"
We might deceive others. We might even deceive ourselves. Though it is likely easier to deceive ourselves than others. People can generally tell what we really believe better than we can simply by watching our behavior. Even if we managed to fool ourselves and everyone else with our "Christian" label, we cannot fool God. Perhaps then it would be best if we begin asking God, in the words of John Wesley, "Am I an altogether Christian, or an almost Christian only?" Only God knows. Only God can reveal the truth of our hearts.
Let us pray then with the Psalmist:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24
** Note: This Sermon was recorded at New Hope United Methodist Church on March 19, 2017. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, I interrupted this series to address the present fears and concerns in our nation and world. Stay tuned for a video of that message to be posted on Monday afternoon (3/16/20). For now, I invite you to continue following our Lent series: “Finding God at the End of Your Rope” with this pre-recorded sermon.