Following Jesus Changes Who We Are
Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael J. Moffitt September 01, 2024
SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 4:1-9
One of the most frightening changes in our culture is that we seem to have lost our ability to debate. I remember listening to my father and his friends wax eloquently over things going on around the world, and what should be done. I don’t recall anyone getting really angry and calling someone stupid, or crazy for believing certain things. I really enjoyed being able to consider both sides of a debate. This should be a normal way for children to learn.
I still can enjoy debates between intellectual heavy weights like John Lennox and Richard Dawkins. Lennox teaches science and religion at Oxford. He holds a Doctor of Science in Mathematics, Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oxford, and Master’s Degree in Bioethics. He is a committed Christian who proclaims his faith boldly, but civilly.
Richard Dawkins is a noted atheist, who also is an evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He holds degrees from the University of California at Berkley, and Oxford. In other words these men are noted for their intellect. I doubt that the average person tunes in to their debates or others like them because that doesn’t seem to be something of real interest to most.
What I miss is the ability to debate in a civilized manner between those who have different political or religious viewpoints. It seems to me that the reason may be that in our culture not many are prepared to debate on any meaningful topic. Instead opposing opinions are often detested without really knowing why. Often to disagree with someone is seen as hatred. I’ve encountered quite a few people who make truth claims without any substantial reason, other that catch phrases and sound bites.
As you know I spent a great deal of my adult life as an over the road truck driver. I remember what it was like when I first started driving a tractor trailer. It’s not one of those things that you just know intuitively, you need to be trained. Some are not cut out for the lifestyle, but nobody shows up for driver training as polished. At first it was intimidating but over the years and many miles it became a way of life for me. It was no longer intimidating because I really was a truck driver, not just someone who had little experience. Not only could I drive a truck, but I knew them. I knew the makes and models, the different shift patterns, etc. Once I driven one for a while I knew when something didn’t feel right or sounded different. That was important because maintaining a vehicle is vital if you want it to last a long time. The thing is that if I didn’t have training it would be evident very soon. How I felt about being a truck driver, or what I had heard others say about truck driving didn’t matter in the least.
The point of me sharing these two examples is because once you have been a Christ follower for years you know what it means to actually follow him instead of just knowing some things about him and his word. Knowing Jesus Christ is life changing and never stops being so. At some point in the journey you will have a deepening relationship and a longing for more of him, the more of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
Over the past month and a half Bart and I have attempted to introduce the promise that God will continue to pour himself into those who follow him. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:19 that this pouring out will continue throughout eternity because God’s glory, his goodness, his power, wisdom, and love are unlimited. However, we also have stressed that if a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ, repenting of their sins, embracing him as Savior and Lord it will by necessity lead to becoming more like Christ.
It’s something that is so certain that when the word of God is preached or taught as ultimate truth the Holy Spirit opens the heart of those we may have attended church all their lives. When that happens and Jesus is embraced things will change. The question becomes this- do you believe that what is being preached or taught is actually the truth?
Recently Teresa and I were traveling on the interstate and I thought back to when I was growing up and sometimes traveled with my parents on vacation. I’ve always loved cars, and I would look at each car the we passed or who passed us. This was a time when cars were distinctive. I could easily identify each make or model and usually knew the year. Now-a-days there are many brands that basically look like other brands, and I often can’t tell the difference until I read the name or symbol on the car.
The same is true about words. I miss the times when you could depend on a word having meaning and when people spoke to each other the words they chose to use were important and intentional. Nowadays, this is also different. Depending on who you are speaking with ‘bad’ could mean ‘good’, gay can mean sexual preference instead of feeling jovial, “sick” can also mean “really impressive” instead of feeling ill. I’m a Christian...well unfortunately that too can mean different things depending on who you’re talking with and what they believe it means to be a Christian.
I can remember a time that when a person told me they were a Christian, there were certain assumptions I could make about what they believed. Even as an unbeliever I was familiar enough with the claims of Christianity that I assumed those who claimed to be Christians believed that the Bible is the word of God, and that Jesus Christ was his/her Savior and Lord. Sadly, I can no longer make those assumptions but need to ask the person what they are saying when they tell me they are a Christian. What are they telling about themselves?
Dr. Michael Youssef founder and president of “Leading the Way” and author of more than 40 books. One is entitled “Saving Christianity?” he writes,
“From the first century to the twenty-first century, the greatest threat to Christianity has never come from the outside--- from persecution, atheism, the godless culture, or opposing religions. In fact, external attacks have historically strengthened and purified the church. The greatest threats to the church have always been internal. The greatest threats have come from those who claim to be Christians, who are leaders in the church, but whose teachings and doctrines are at odds with God’s Word. Satan is working overtime to destroy the church from within. It’s always an inside job. Many once evangelical churches are now filled with the unsaved, the uncommitted, and the unconverted. As the church goes, so goes society.”
This is a major concern for Christianity, and the church, in our world today. There are many authors, speakers, and even pastors who have the idea that Christianity and the Bible must be reconsidered and re-thought because claims of absolute truth is nothing more than arrogance. They claim we should be humble enough to be vague in what we believe as we rethink the claims of the authority of God’s Word and the claims of Jesus Christ. What they claim as a new way of thinking is as old as sin itself. It has always been the by-product of Satan who is a liar. In John 8:44-45 Jesus confronting the religious leaders in Jerusalem said,
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
What was true in the time of Jesus Christ upon the earth has not let up. Today many “religious” thinkers feel free to doubt the authority of God’s word and its relevance for today’s more progressive thinkers. They doubt whether or not we can really know if Jesus was God’s Son, and surely the resurrection is an allegory for something, and how do we really know that Jesus said all the things that the men who wrote about Jesus claimed. They question the Bible’s authority concerning morality and many find it antiquated. Perhaps the truth claims of Scripture worked in a less informed culture but surely we don’t want to be shackled to such outdated and draconian laws today.
Michael Youssef points out,
“They question the Bible while making certainties and sacraments out of gender politics, victim politics, environmental politics, and on and on. Subordinating the gospel to the political agendas of this fallen world is not an act of humility. It is breathtaking arrogance.”
We must not be those who panic or live-in fear of what we see going on all around us, but instead we must hold fast to the promises of God found in His word. It’s very helpful to realize that what is happening in our world was happening in the world when Jesus was here in his humanity, The solution now is the same as it was then. The cross is the greatest single example of humility as God incarnate allowed himself to be arrested, beaten, tortured, humiliated, and crucified as a criminal.
This is where we start to understand the truth of the cross of Jesus Christ.
Martin Lloyd Jones put it this way,
“Do you know what the gospel does? It shows you yourself. And nothing else in the whole world does that but the cross. There is nothing that will ever humble a man or a nation but the cross of Christ…. the cross tells us the simple plain truth about ourselves…. when I look at the cross and see Him dying there, what he tells me is this: you have nothing whereof to boast. The cross tells me that I am a complete failure, and that I am such a failure that he had to come down from heaven, not merely to teach and preach in this world, but to die on that cross. Nothing else could save us.”
In the cross of Jesus Christ we not only see the greatest example of humility and love but our only source of hope and the foundation of the truth that we build our lives upon. Jesus said in Mark 3:25, “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”
Satan is more crafty than we might imagine and knows where our defenses are weakest. Judas was the perfect example of the cunning of our enemy when Satan tempted him in what was likely the area of his greatest weakness, love of money and power. He wasn’t hoping that Jesus would be crucified but sought to put Jesus in the position where he would be forced to finally declare himself and defeat the enemy, Rome. Jesus was about to declare Himself, but Rome was not the enemy in His sights. Jesus came to undo the dominion of Satan by defeating sin and death. Judas misunderstood everything that Jesus had been preaching and Satan destroyed him hoping to ruin the plans of Jesus. He didn’t seem to realize that this was the plan of the Father and the Son. Essentially, it was also Satan who didn’t understand.
The Apostle Paul knew the weakness of the human condition and wrote in Ephesians 6:10-12,
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
One of the areas of real concern today is the subject of what is evil. Many are suggesting that abortion is a woman’s right and is therefore good, whereas someone who seeks to stop abortion is considered evil. Sexual perversions of a magnitude that are clearly demonic in origin, are being legalized and called enlightened. Those who believe that the sexual union is to be between a man and a woman who are married are considered prudish and judgmental, therefore evil. There are policies that are being sought within the Progressive movement of our Congress that are designed to cripple the family and bring godless teaching in the school systems, where students are taught to that these sinful practices are normal and the best way forward to a unified country. Again we see the lie of the enemy. The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 5:20,
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!“
What about the unseen world that Paul refers to that contains spiritual beings both angels and demons, not seen by the naked eye? I would suggest that we can affirm their presence by the acceptance of godlessness in the areas I just mentioned and others throughout our land.
In these verses Paul is teaching the Ephesian church to be aware of the spiritual forces all around them. Remember that the temple of the goddess Diana was located there and that guaranteed dark spiritual forces all around. Paul wanted the Christians to know that they were not helpless in the midst of such activity, but they needed to remember to whom they belonged. They must not forget that in their own strength they would not be able to stand. They must rely on the strength and power of the Holy Spirit and by taking advantage of the means of grace like Scripture, prayer, and corporate worship they could withstand spiritual warfare and demonic temptation.
In the Greek this word for strength is “kratos” and it can mean power, force, or mighty strength. It’s the same word that Paul used in Ephesians 1:19 for God’s “immeasurable power” which was the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. It’s also the same power that is at work within the believers now in 3:19-23. To assume that you are strong enough in your own strength to withstand the onslaught of the devil is arrogance and Satan loves it when we develop that attitude. We must be aware that the power of God is available to us through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. To feel adequate in our own strength is to invite an onslaught from the enemy.
Sometimes I see this working itself out in the lives of those I love. Not long ago I had an old friend that I haven’t seen in 25 years or more contact me because his life had become one tragedy after another. In all the years that I knew him he was a very strong Christian but now he has lost everything including his family. He’s 75 years old and lives by himself in section 8 housing, with no friends. It began by him thinking he was strong enough to withstand the kingdom of darkness and I know that Satan has delighted in taking him down. However, I hope that is not going to be the end of the story.
The Christian pursuit of unity and purity is complicated by the fact that we live under hostile conditions, and it may grow worse. Christ and the resurrection were the devils undoing and at the Second coming his defeat will be total and visible. But the peace of the cross will be experienced in the interim period only in the midst of spiritual struggle. Though the spiritual forces of darkness have been defeated, they are not harmless yet.
Even in the Old Testament the people of God had the choice to follow their Lord obeying His commands thereby receiving His blessing, or they could once again turn and follow the pagan gods. Moses reminds them in Deuteronomy 4:2-4,
“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal-Peor, for the Lord your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today.”
They were not to add or take away from the words that God had given them on Sinai. That didn’t mean there would be no more words from the Lord, but they should treat the words already given as sacred and holy. We can find a similar warning in the Book of Revelation 22:18-19. Moses reminds Israel of the lesson learned from the past when many turned away from their covenant with God and worshipped Baal (Numbers 25). God judged those who sinned against him and killed 24,000. Those who remained faithful survived, but they are given a warning as they prepared to enter the Promised Land that they were being tested.
They must remember that God’s covenant with Israel given to Moses on Sinai had the promise of great blessings for obedience but curses for failure to remain faithful.
Israel’s faithfulness could be a testimony to the other nations who would be watching. They could be a reminder that God stayed close to His people and gave them great wisdom and blessings. The laws given to them were not arbitrary regulations or merely to reveal sin. One of the most important reminders to Israel is seen in Deut. 4: 8-9,
“And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children”
In our gospel passage from Mark 7:1-23 Jesus is giving a similar warning to the religious leaders. He starts by warning them because they were more careful about keeping their own traditions, that were in addition to the Law of God, than they were the Law itself. He is pointing out that because of this they revealed their hearts were far from God. Their traditions had more to do with ritual cleansing of dishes, couches, and washing their hands before they eat.
The problem was that their hearts were far from the laws of God. Jesus was very clear that when the hearts of men are not given to the glory of God, they are in essence given over to the enemy. Jesus tells those who are listening something that I suspect every one of them was well aware of. Listen again to Mark 7:21-23,
“For from within, out of the heart of man, comes evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The irony of this is that the very ones who claimed to be keepers of the law were the most serious violators of it. The Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel readings all point us to our need to follow the word of God, even the law. Many feel that the law is no longer important because we are saved by grace through faith, not the law and that’s true. But one of the three functions of the law is that it teaches us of the perfect righteousness of God and our own shortcomings. This drives us to Jesus Christ for salvation. Paul taught in Romans 3:20,
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
Moses reminded Israel of what happened at Baal-Peor when Israel sinned against God. Today, all around we see a reminder of what can happen when a people or even a country turn away from the Holy Word of God. Think of the list that Jesus spoke in Mark 7:21-23. It looks very familiar doesn’t it.
In closing I want us to recite together the “Te Deum Laudamus” on page 17 in the Book of Common Prayer.
For those of you who use the ACNA Prayer Book for daily morning prayer, you’ll probably be familiar with this. “Te Deum Laudamus” which means “We Praise you, O God. Together.
We praise you, O God; we acclaim you as Lord; *all creation worships you, the Father everlasting. To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, * the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might, * heaven and earth are full of your glory. The glorious company of apostles praise you. * The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. *
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you: Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all praise, *
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide. You, Christ, are the king of glory, * the eternal Son of the Father. When you took our flesh to set us free * you humbly chose the Virgin’s womb. You overcame the sting of death * and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. * We believe that you will come to be our judge. Come then, Lord, and help your people, * bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints * to glory everlasting.
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance; * govern and uphold them now and always. Day by day we bless you; * we praise your Name forever. Keep us today, Lord, from all sin; * have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. Lord, show us your love and mercy, * for we have put our trust in you. In you, Lord, is our hope; * let us never be put to shame.”
In Jesus Name! Amen
