Are You the Real Deal?

Imagine that Billy Graham would be standing in the front of our church building getting ready to come inside to speak. Most people would love to hear him speak. We know that while he was on this earth, he had a powerful message which God had blessed.

Now imagine that the world seems to be improving somewhat. The economy seems to be coming back to normal. Crime seems to be decreasing. Government officials are actually looking to the Bible to understand how best to lead this nation. Overall, it seems that we can be encouraged if we use our imagination.

Then Billy Graham begins to deliver his message. However, his message is not one of hope. It is a message which points out that the religion which many practice, is absolutely worthless. Needless to say, all those who came to hear Billy Graham would most likely not have anything good to say about him afterwards. They were hoping to hear instead a positive affirmation of what they had been doing. The religious activities they were doing, they wanted him to say they were doing just fine.

That might be a little bit of a picture of what we see in this part of Jeremiah 7. Jeremiah stood at the temple gate and delivered a message which probably caused the remaining time of his ministry to be opposed.

The problems were getting worse again, since Josiah, a godly king had just died. Pharaoh ended up installing Jehoiakim as king. Everything which Josiah had done in an attempt to bring the nation back to God, the new king was quickly undoing. He was establishing, once again, the worship of false gods.

False religion is as worthless as no religion. Repentance is necessary if we expect God's blessing.

Real Repentance Requires Changing to Godly Behavior. - 7.1-7

It is never easy to tell a group of people that what they are doing is wrong. Yet, that was what Jeremiah was called to do with his message. Judah’s worship, as it had been going on at that time, was a complete joke. The people needed to understand that they could not base their safety and security on the temple or any of their forms of worship.

We see the whole theme of Jeremiah’s message inJeremiah 7.3: “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place.” Simply saying, the right words could not give them God's blessing. Coming to the temple could not guarantee them eternal security. They had to change their lifestyle. They had to turn away from wickedness and sin. They could no longer be content to go on with their idea of worship, as the only, established way. There was a need for complete repentance.

Jeremiah goes onto to point out some of the specifics. It seems as if the people looked to the temple as if it were almost like a magical power. The false prophets were saying all sorts of things that would make the people feel good and worthwhile and safe. Listen to Jeremiah 7:4 ““Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’”

Yes, it was the temple of the Lord. The problem, however, was what the false prophets were leading the people to believe. They believed that no harm could come to the temple. They believed that God would step in and protect his people, so that His temple would not be destroyed. But a temple without godliness is a lie.

Jeremiah goes on to tell the people that there was a way they could possibly remain in the land. The people needed to practice justice; take care of the alien, fatherless, and widow; avoid innocent blood being shed; and get rid of any idolatry.

As we see throughout the Bible, God is not as concerned with the outward as most people are. God is concerned with genuine godliness that is from within.

Yet, the fact of the matter is that there is genuine godliness that does come from real repentance. And if that happens, there will obviously be a change of behavior. Just saying you are sorry, and asking for forgiveness of someone else is meaningless, unless there is a change of behavior backing up what was said. The strange idea of cheap grace and forgiveness is not a biblical teaching. Somewhere along the line, people have attributed certain characteristics to God that the Bible never claims for God to have. Throughout Scripture, God demands actions must back up words. Words without godly behavior show a person to be a liar. God always gives the call for genuine repentance to be seen by a change of behavior. Those preachers and church people who suggest as long as a person says they're sorry, yet go on with life as if nothing happened, while continuing to live an ungodly life, are no better and no more godly than those false prophets who were deceiving the people.

I understand that those are strong words; yet they are backed up by God's Word. Repentance is absolutely necessary if we expect God's blessing. In this section so far we've seen that real repentance requires changing to godly behavior.

In this next section, we see how a person will have godly behavior.

Real Repentance Requires Worshipping God Only. - 7.8-19

Even with what Jeremiah had been preaching, there seemed to be only indifference. The people believed that if you ignore something long enough, maybe everything will work out and the negative will just go away.

You see that these people were willing to trust in deceptive words in order to put salve over their sins. Take a close look at Jeremiah 7:9: ““Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known,” Count how many of the 10 Commandments they were breaking. You should come up with five of them. These people were blatantly breaking the commandments, while at the same time, expressing their confidence in the temple of the Lord. The way the Hebrew is written here, places the emphasis upon the violence of their actions. It is if they were going to the temple, in order to release them from the guilt of their actions. Rather than change their lifestyle and follow God, they would rather trust in a ceremony or a ritual or a building.

God illustrates by explaining that what He did at Shiloh was going to happen to them at Jerusalem in verses 12-15: ““But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. “And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the Lord, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer, therefore, I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. “I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.”

One commentator, when dealing with the fact of God's repeated pleading with the people of Judah, stated, "the people trusted the temple of God instead of the God of the temple."

Brothers and sisters, you and I need to consider this as well. God is not dependent on any location for worship. God is not honored more by any particular style of worship. It doesn't really matter to God what committees or ministry teams are used in the overall working of the church. God is more interested that we worship him in spirit and in truth. God's true worshipers will obey him because of their love for him. It doesn't matter where a person worships; it is how a person worships.

Now this part of the message was the straw that broke the camel’s back for those in Jerusalem. The people of Judah, because of their lack of a relationship with God, considered Jeremiah's words to be heresy. Often times, many today would consider a lot of teaching from the Bible to be heresy. People who believe that a location, a building, a particular style of worship, etc., is the only way in which one can truly worship; they do not have a clue as to what it means to truly worship God and God alone. They are just as guilty as the people of Judah, who were in essence, practicing a false religion.

Now that Jeremiah had gotten their attention, he was fairly well despised. God tells him in verses 16 and following that it was unnecessary for him to waste his breath and energy by praying for this sinful people. That is pretty harsh.

Real repentance requires changing to godly behavior, which stems from worshiping God alone. We cannot worship people, places, or programs. The final test of real repentance is seen in the last section we will be covering today.

Real Repentance Requires Obedience to God. - 7.20-28

By now, we should be pretty well convinced that Jeremiah certainly was not going to win a lot of friends with his message. Jeremiah needed to remember that when God called him to this ministry, he was warned that there would be opposition. Here we find God telling Jeremiah, that the nation as a whole would not even listen to him.

The question arose among people who didn't really know God, "will more of this help?" The people felt like if they made more sacrifices, they could actually help the situation.

It is comparable to us thinking that if we go to church more often, if we give more in the offering, if we read the Bible more, if we spend more time in prayer, then things will get better. That is not the point! There must be repentance! There must be a change of heart! There must be a desire to truly worship God!

God answers their question by showing the absurdity of that question. The people might as well not waste their meat on sacrifices. They should eat it themselves. God isn't interested in worthless sacrifices. God wanted changed hearts. You see, the main element in the sacrifices was that there would be obedience to God. And godliness was of primary importance. The sacrifice is peripheral. Moral law is always superior to ritual law.

Brothers and sisters, we often expect God's blessing in a tangible way. Sometimes, we may even be so bold and brash as to demand God's blessing. After all, we are His children, heirs of Christ Jesus. Yet, I submit to you again and again, that if we expect God's blessing, repentance is necessary

It does not matter what you give in the offering. Unless it is preceded and followed by obedience and godliness, it is worthless.

It does not matter how long you have been going to church. Unless your life is marked by obedience to God, the hours you've spent here have probably been wasted.

It does not matter how many times you have read through your Bible, nor how many verses you have memorized. Unless you have applied the Bible to your life and have been and are obedient to God's Word, you have merely exercised your eyes and your brain.

Do you see what Jeremiah is saying? Moral law is always superior to ritual law. Obedience and godliness are of utmost importance. Whatever your sacrifice may be, that is peripheral. God is interested foremost in your heart. Jesus said, "he who loves me will keep my commandments." Anything else is a deception at best; a lie at worst.

Reflections

The question is asked by many; are you the real deal? It leads into the next question; are you simply playing church?

We cannot bank on God ignoring ungodly behavior, simply because you've said you're sorry. Real repentance requires changing to a godly behavior

Spending all kinds of energy on proving your spirituality attending Church is wasted time. A person cannot be absolved of wrongdoing by simply trusting in an institution, a building, or a constitution. My friends, our confidence must be placed in God alone. We must look to him only. Repentance requires worshiping God only

Neither should anyone assume that God will overlook an unbiblical lifestyle simply because of the words that are used; the songs you sing; the number of times that you have been to church; not even the particular church which you attend. Giving God more, doing more, getting more involved, is not what God asks of you.

Real repentance requires obedience to God. All those other areas will take place naturally as we obey God. By themselves, they will not make anyone more godly.

The question is still out there; are you for real? Remember false religion is as worthless as no religion. Repentance is necessary if we expect God's blessing. Be someone who is real; a real Christian who has godly behavior; a real Christian who worships God alone; a real Christian who is obedient to God.