BE SURE YOU KNOW WHY YOU BELIEVE

MIKE CUNNINGHAM

January 13, 2008

A few weeks ago in my Christmas message I spoke about a bad experience I had back in the seventies. As a spiritually young Christian with little more than a saving knowledge of the bible, I allowed myself to become convinced that I was living in the end times and that the return of Christ and the end of the world was fairly imminent. Obviously, I shared my belief with anyone willing to listen, and obviously I was mistaken. I was unaware of the fact that, along with perhaps millions of other Christians, I was being deceived big time by so called prophecy experts and their followers in the Burlington area; so much so, that I unknowingly attempted to and did indeed deceive others.

At that time millions of Christians viewed current events as being so bleak, especially in the Middle East, that their prognosis for our world was terrible. We were assured that it was our generation of people who were living on what was referred to back then as being “the late great planet earth,” which we were assured was a place on which “Satan was alive and well.” Today, thirty some odd years later, the ominous times in which we are living, coupled with their misunderstanding of certain prophetic Biblical passages, has convinced millions of Christian’s to conclude you and I are living in “the end times,” and the return of Christ and the end of the world is right around the corner. Phenomenal best sellers such as the current “Left Behind” series by LaHay and Jenkins have contributed to the conviction that folks who are alive today are currently living in what Hal Lindsey has referred to as being “the terminal generation.” “Throughout Christian history, bizarre fringe groups and well meaning saints alike have been fully convinced that events in their lifetimes were fulfilling Bible prophecy,”[i] and, I might add, everyone of them without exception was mistaken.

You and I have been deceived many times in the past and if we’re honest with ourselves, we must admit that we also have deceived other people. In the financial sector alone; the recent collapse of Enron and the current debacle plaguing huge financial institutions are prime examples of corporate greed and mega deceit. Closer to home, the memory of the deceptive accounting practices concerning construction costs of the newly renovated Fletcher Allen Health Care will stay with us for a while. Folks have been led to believe someone was their friend only to discover later on that the person actually couldn’t stand their guts. And in some cases that startling revelation only surfaced with a suit for divorce. The victims of sexual predators and serial killers each experienced the horrible consequences of deceit. And every one of you folks could add lots of other examples, couldn’t you? On a scale of one to ten; what do you believe is the greatest and most devastating deception any human being could possibly be led to believe? I know I answered that question in my New Year’s message which prompted the following Email.

“Mike, I appreciate your sermon; it addresses a very sensitive issue fueled with human emotion and mankind’s warped sense of “fairness,” and our propensity to create a god of our own making, according to our fallen nature. Most often when we ask someone the question, do you think you will go to heaven?’ the response is: “I hope so,” or “yes.” When you follow up with the question, “Why do you think you will go to heaven,” the answer is usually “Because I am a good person,” or “I try to do what is right”” etc. Rarely will you hear someone say, “because Jesus Christ died for me and I trust completely in His sacrificial death on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins.” In other words, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him.” We want to think that somehow just being good will get us in to heaven. Repent and Believe is not even on the radar screen, certainly repentance is not even understood. Whether a Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, or agnostic, the reality is the same, without faith in Jesus Christ as risen Lord and Savior, sins penalty remains. In His service, Guy.” And as I pointed out in my New Year’s message; there are churches which teach and millions of people who have deceived themselves into believing that God will come up with a way to let real nice people into His heaven apart from a belief in His Son and being washed in His precious Blood, which is always manifested by the forgiven sinners sincere struggle to lead a godly life.

Romans 1:18-25 (ESV) ¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

There’s a lot more in these passages besides the absurdity of Atheism, God’s hatred of homosexually, and that, unless forgiven, His punishment for sin is in God allowing human beings to continue to sin and worship themselves eternally. I could leave it at that, but if I did, and although each of you would probably leave here this morning feeling pretty good; I would be deceiving each of you as well as all those who may read this message later on. The reason being is that I would be shortchanging you. Allow me to explain.

Romans 1:18 (ESV) ¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

We might wonder why anyone in their right mind would not want to escape the wrath of God. Well; they either don’t believe there is any such thing, or, if they do, they are convinced they will not experience it because they really try hard to be a good person. Once when Jesus found Himself in the midst of certain Sadducees who had locked horns with each other concerning whether or not there was life after death, an unnamed scribe approached Him.

Mark 12:28-34 (ESV) ²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. ³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.” Luke’s Gospel gives us another account of the same profound truth.

Luke 10:25-28 (ESV) ²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

Christ then went on to tell the lawyer His famous “Parable of the Good Samaritan,” and how we are to love our neighbors in need; folks who are unable to help themselves. That’s always been my favorite parable and it’s the one which inspired me and a wonderful friend named Genevieve to come up with the idea of creating what became known as “The Samaritan Connection.” But I can assure you our almost three hundred Good Samaritan volunteers didn’t have a corner on the neighbor helping neighbor market. On the contrary, many decent men and women have often excelled in doing for others that which they couldn’t do for themselves. A great case in point was in an article in yesterdays’ Burlington Free Press captioned: “Volunteers rally to help elderly couple. Colchester couple’s home will receive new roof today.” It seems the couple who are in their 70’s, living on Social Security and in failing health couldn’t come up with the $4,800.00 needed to replace the roof on their mobile home which had a big hole in it. Good compassionate people rallied to their aid and were expected to be on the scene at 8AM yesterday morning with the manpower and materials and were expected to have the job finished by midday.

We all know churches in our community some of whose members stand out in doing outstanding works of benevolence for needy people. They have helped found and staff soup kitchens, emergency shelters, free health care clinics, respite houses, substance abuse treatment programs and a myriad of other wonderful things which greatly enhance the quality of life of their less fortunate neighbors. These good people are wonderful assets to the folks in communities in which they live. And it isn’t just Church goers who engage in such acts of love. Some of the nicest, most caring, most giving and most compassionate people are those who never set foot in a church except for an occasional wedding or funeral. They want nothing to do with churches, but they like helping people, and often a great personal sacrifice, they do help the best they can. What a tremendous blessing these folks are, and perhaps continue to be, to some needy followers of the Risen Savior.

Finally, let’s not forget the men and women in our military, the police, firefighters, and others who put their lives on the line daily so that the rest of us can enjoy freedom and safety. If as Guy said in his Email you were to ask all these folks I just spoke about if they thought they would go to heaven, assuming they believed there was such a place, they would no doubt answer, “yes.” The reason being is because “I am a good person or “I try to do what is right.”

Romans 1:18 (ESV) ¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,

On the authority of God’s Holy Word I can say it’s entirely possible that, unless they accept the free gift of forgiveness of their sins through the atonement of Jesus Christ, His wrath will be poured out upon most of them. Where do I get off making such a statement? How about “The Parable of the Good Samaritan,” and all that loving your neighbor as you do yourself stuff? Surely these works of righteousness count for something, don’t they?

Isaiah 64:6 (AMP) ⁶ For we have all become like one who is unclean [ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment; we all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away [far from God’s favor, hurrying us toward destruction]. WOW! Take a moment and think about that statement. Doesn’t it seem as though there’s something wrong with this picture? Are you having difficulty in connecting the dots?

Mark 12:28-30 (AMP) ²⁸ Then one of the scribes came up and listened to them disputing with one another, and, noticing that Jesus answered them fitly and admirably, he asked Him, Which commandment is first and most important of all [in its nature]? ²⁹ Jesus answered, The first and principal one of all commands is: Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord; ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment.

Now let me ask this question. If all these good people I have been speaking about were tried in a court of law and accused of obeying this commandment; would there be enough evidence to convict them? Perhaps some of them would be, but not most of them. Think of the ones you know personally, those who want little or nothing to do with the One who taught, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6 ESV). The sad fact is that perhaps most of these folks have deceived themselves into believing they are not all that bad and that each of them is a good person. And it’s equally sad that there are churches which encourage that terrible deception. After all, they don’t steal, or engage in sex outside of marriage or do drugs or booze and the like as some of their neighbors traveling on the fast lane to Hell are doing. These so called good people do not believe that God views them as being sinners deserving of eternal punishment and many churches foster that self deception. Speaking of such deceived folks and God’s wrath and mans ungodliness and unrighteousness, Lloyd-Jones writes: “they have never seen that the first sin-the very essence of sin-is ungodliness. There is no greater sin than to feel that as you are, unaided, you are fit to stand in the presence of God, because it means that you have no conception of the glory and the majesty and the holiness of God, and that in itself is sin of the deepest dye. It means you have a little god of your own which you have conjured up in your own mind, a god who is more or less like yourself.”[ii]

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And you and I know many of those so-called good people who have brushed aside being godly as described in this first great commandment. They have little or no interest in diligently searching the Scriptures to learn how they can love Him with all of their mind, and with all of their heart, and with all of their soul, and with all of their strength, ; nor do they want to discover how they can glorify God in his or her every thought, word and deed in their daily walk. They have deceived themselves into believing that by trying to be a nice person and doing good things makes them righteous in God’s sight and that sincerely struggling to be godly is irrelevant. Each of us needs to be certain WHY we believe what we do. Is it because it’s what we want to believe or because it’s the truth as revealed in the Bible? My prayer for every one of you folks who have heard my message this morning and for those who may read it later, that everyone’s answer is the latter. We believe because it’s the truth.

[ii] Romans, The Gospel of God, Exposition of Chapter 1: 1-31, © 1985,D. Martyn-Lloyd Jones Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan 49530, page 358.