Double-Minded
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CS Lewis writes, “Now that I come to think of it, I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate the bad mans actions; but not hate the bad man or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner. For a long time I use to think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later it occured to me that there was one man who I had been doing this all my life- myself. However much I might dislike my own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it. In fact the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things. Consequently, Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery. We ought to hate them. Not one word of what we have said about them needs to be unsaid. But it does want us to hate them in the same way in which we hate thing in ourselves: being sorry that the man man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere, he can be cured and made human again.”
We constantly say it. Over and over. Is it just something we say for our convenience? We say that we are supposed to love the sinner and hate the sin, but my question is… Are we ever ever ever ever ever ever gonna do it? A couple of you asked my opinion on the Alister Beg thing. A perfect time for us to do this. Can grandmother do for her grandson what we all do for ourselves everyday all the time? When are we gonna actually love the sinner and hate the sin? He is getting blasted for telling the grandmother to actually love the sinner and hate the sin. She is there for her grandson because she loves him. Now she takes a stand and doesn’t go and he will think typical Christian. Always saying love the sinner hate the sin and never doing it. If there is a problem do you think he will go to his grandmother to ask for advice. No way cause all she’s gonna do is tell you I told you so and this is what you get for being a homosexual. But if she goes… he would say, granny I know you were against my marriage, but came to support me anyway. You showed me that you really cared for me as your grandson. You loved the sinner. And again what we are seeing is a huge hypocritical position when it comes to Homosexuality
Why is Homosexuality a worse sin than others? Did you know it would be just as bad if you attended the wedding of a Christian marrying a non-Christian. This union is forbidden by God.
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
But no one throws a fit over this. No one judges people for this. Why not? Is it not just as much a sin as homosexuality? I used to ask other pastors what they would do in a crafted case study of mine. Now you have a Christian male and female who are dating and they come forward and tell you that they have been fornicating. Sex before marriage for the layman. How do you handle this? Well I tell them that they need to repent and ask the Lords forgiveness. Then I will help them to set up boundaries to make sure it does not happen again. Take time in prayer and discipleship. Walk hand in hand with them to be restored form this action. Now you have two Christian males who come forward to confess to having Homosexual sex. What do you do? Most of them express that they will expel them from the church. Kick them out. Then we talk about it for a little bit and they rethink their position not realizing the prejudice.
Even when it comes to the scriptures are we aware of the prejudice that comes even when it come to biblical exegesis. Shane we are supposed to treat Homosexuality different … it is the reason why Sodom and Gomorrah was judged. It so bad that God judged an entire nation for that sin. But was that really the reason why Sodom and Gomorrah was judged? Ezekiel says something different.
Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.
The sin is because of lack of hospitality for others. And homosexuality is mentioned as one of the detestable things they did. This is why I talk about how important hospitality is for our church. The lack of it is why Sodom and Gomorrah was judged. Lack of hospitality is worse than homosexuality. We do not purge hospitality ministries. So the question remains. Are we ever gonna show to others what we show to ourselves on a daily basis?
The problem that we will find in our passage today… we have the great ability to hate what we are supposed to love and love what are supposed to hate. But how are we supposed to know? Its called the word of God.
I hate those with divided loyalties,
but I love your instructions.
You are my refuge and my shield;
your word is my source of hope.
The grass withers the flower fades but the Word of our God stands forever.
Double Minded
The Good News
The first thing we will look at today is the reality, condemnation, and warning of the double minded. Second, we will see how the Bible is our source of hope. Finally, we will see the good news of the gospel which comes from the Bible.
Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause us to fall into real double-mindedness, it is the truth of the scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause us to see the reality of the single-mindedness of the scriptures and the truth of salvation in Christ and Christ alone.
I. Double-Minded
- No one can walk two roads.
A. An African proverb states… "The man who tries to walk two roads will split his pants." This proverb is dealing with the idea of double-mindedness.
B. The scriptures also chime in time and time again about doublemindedness.
Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
C. The person who is doubleminded is one whose loyalty is that which is divided between God and the World.
Spurgeon writes, “The opposite of the fixed and infallible testimony of God is the wavering, changing thoughts of people. David had an out-and-out contempt and abhorrence for the vain opinions of man’s conceited wisdom. All his reverence and respect went to the sure Word of divine truth. In proportion to his love for the law was his hatred of man’s made-up beliefs and opinions.”
D. Here in our passage we see the passionate attribute given to this thing we call double-mindedness. We might not think it is serious, but our psalmist is showing the true nature of what it is to be divided between God and the world. It is something that our psalmist inspired by God hates. The Hebrew word Sanay carries the idea of a disloyal person. Now we don’t need to think too hard about how much we intensely dislike a disloyal person. A deserter. You swore allegiance to our leader and now you desert us. For those of military background … I bet this rings a bell.
E. But it is a disloyal person in the sense that He is paralyzed between two differing opinions. Why is this something that should be scorned by us? Because why in the world are we paralyzed and afraid of the thoughts and ideals of men over the very Word of the living God? Can’t answer questions because we are too afraid to deal with the consequences. But Shane there are so many in the world that are smart and bring a lot to the table. I don’t care how influential or successful they are if it goes against the Word of God then it is immediately cast out. Why in the world do we find people in the church who cannot answer questions about the biblical morality of transgender, homosexuality, and the inability to define what is a woman?
F. We cannot walk to roads. We cannot serve two masters. We cannot live in the world and the kingdom of heaven at the same time. You will love one and hate the other. You can’t do it. If you think you are doing it you are not. Especially in our culture today… you cannot walk both roads. And if you try you will fail and you are gonna tick off the living who has no tolerance for it. And hates the double minded. He hates it. You are gonna make Him very upset. But Shane we are gonna get canceled, so what… we should have never been on prime time in the first place. We do not fear the culture, but we fear God who can destroy both the body and spirit in hell.
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.
G. But this is super important to see. Let’s face it an be totally honest with ourselves, our double-mindedness is a matter of the heart and about what it is we love. If we really loved the word of God with all of our heart in real single-mindedness then the ideas and philosophies of the world will have no attraction. We will hate the other.
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
H. But this is also not a choice. The Word tells us who we are not to love.
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
I. So do you see how serious all of this is. It is no small thing for us to be ignorant of the scriptures and it is no small thing to be a friend of the world. Two things that plague modern evangelicalism today. And what’s happening is we are becoming enemies of God right in His own house. Right in His face every single week.
II. The Good News
- The Gospel of Jesus
A. We wanna walk the straight and narrow path, but then we find our feet on the wide road that leads to destruction. We pray to the Lord for an undivided heart and yet we find ourselves divided. And now we find ourselves enemies of God right now right where we are. And this is the case because of our nature. Because of the flesh. Because of the wickedness in our hearts. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous not one. We are all by nature children of wrath. We like sheep have gone astray each of us to his own way. We all do what is right in our own eyes. There is no one on earth who always does good and never sins.
B. But there is salvation for us here today. Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. Jesus came into this world to seek and to save that which was lost. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. He became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
C. The promises continue for us today. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. All of this is written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God and we will have life in his name.
D. But Shane we are not doing what the Bible is warning us about. The true friends of God are not those who do not sin. But we are the ones who repent of our sins, heed the warnings, and follow hard after Christ.