Who Started The Rumor (LHCOC)
Who Started The Rumor?
Introduction:
1. Today is Sunday, September 14, 2008. One phrase will get your attention as we begin our lesson today: “High gas prices.”
2. Why are gas prices so high? May I suggest that while hurricane Ike may have something to do with it, we are the ones who brought it on ourselves.
a. About 4:00 PM on Thursday I caught word of the price increase of $1.00 by 9:00 PM, and apparently I was not the only one. People were lined up at most gas stations filling up and many stations were running out.
b. People’s sources were so reliable that we really did a number on ourselves.
c. Basic economics tells us that when the demand goes up, and the supply is down, that we pay a lot more, and unfortunately, an effective way of limiting the demand is to raise the price.
d. Across the nation gas prices are up about 14 cents from last week. Some states have seen a drop in gas prices over the last day or so, but not most of the SE US.
e. Gas increase rumors caused increase in demand and as a result, an increase in prices. TN, GA, AL, SC highest (increase 50+), most other states are seeing an increase but only 10 cents.
3. Here is where I am going with all of this…sometimes we can do a number on ourselves religiously as well.
a. People make many statements and accept them as truth.
b. We hear things over and over again and just accept them as truth without thinking or referring to the Bible.
c. Pop Quiz:
- The name Lucifer is mentioned in the Bible referring to the devil (Isa.14:12).
- The Bible says we are justified by faith only.
- The Bible says that we are to celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas day.
- The Bible clearly says that Satan is a fallen angel from heaven (Eze.28; Isa.14; Zech.3; Rev.12)*. The popular religious view of Satan owes more to John Milton and his book: Paradise Lost (1667), than to the teachings of Scripture.
- Accepting “Jesus into your heart,” in order to be saved is mentioned in the Bible.
[If you answered false to every question in the quiz, then you get a 100. Take away 20 points for every question you answered yes to.]
4. People make many statements and accept them as truth, but when compared to what the Bible says (or is really saying) the very opposite is usually the case. Today we want to look at a few examples.
Discussion:
I. CHOOSE THE CHURCH OF YOUR CHOICE
A. Should the church that Jesus died for be treated like a buffet line?
1. The pluralistic society in which we live would say so.
2. Pluralism is a term used to describe the acceptance of all religious paths as equally valid.
B. Because it is politically incorrect to offend, many have adopted this popular slogan.
C. Nothing could be farther from the truth (Eph.4:4; 1 Cor.15:24; Mt.16:18).
1. Those who advocate, “Choosing the church of your choice,” do not totally believe what they are saying.
a. Tell a Catholic to become a Jehovah’s Witness, and see what they say. Tell a protestant to become a Catholic, and see how they react. Tell Evangelical to become a Mormon, and see what they say?
b. Do you really think that thousands of different kinds of churches that all teach different doctrines are going to go to heaven?
2. It is impossible for two conflicting views to both be correct.
a. Either one is right and the other is wrong, or both are wrong and neither is right, but both cannot be right at the same time.
b. This rule is true in any area of life that follows a standard for a rule.
3. The Bible teaches there is only one church. We follow its pattern, and wear the name of its owner.
II. GOD IS A GOD OF LOVE AND WOULD NEVER SEND ANYONE TO HELL
A. Do we really think Adolf Hitler, 9/11 terrorists, murders, rapists, etc., will be in heaven?
1. God is judge, but everyone on earth has a choice to obey God, those who do not will be punished eternally.
2. We can be assured of that from the word of God (Mt.25:31ff).
B. People advocate this philosophy for at least one of the following reasons:
1. Emotionally tied (lost a loved one who was a good person, but never did what God required of them).
2. Misunderstanding of biblical truths.
a. God is love (Jn.3:16; Rom.5:8), but God is also a God of vengeance (Rom12:19).
b. God does not want anyone to go to hell (1 Tim.2:4; 2 Pet.3:9).
c. But those who do not obey God on His terms are rejecting His only begotten Son.
C. The truth of the matter is that God has revealed Himself through nature and through the Bible. Those who do not obey Him will be punished (Ps.19:1; Acts 17:27; 2 Thess.1:7-9).
III. THE BIBLE DID NOT SAY NOT TO
A. Give me a $100 dollar bill, send me to the store to get a loaf of bread, and a gallon of milk, and then bring you back the change.
1. What if I went to the store, bought a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk and brought you back the $95 dollars that were left over? You would be happy and I would have obeyed exactly what you said.
2. What if I went to the store, bought a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, some cookies, a package of ribeye steaks, some ice cream, and a salad, and then brought you back the $25 dollars that was left over? Would you be happy then, I mean come on, ribeye steak, ice cream? But you did not say not to.
B. This logic is commonly used to try and say that using mechanical instruments of music in worship is okay.
C. When the Bible teaches something as truth, it excludes everything else.
IV. ALL CHURCH PEOPLE ARE JUST A BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES
[It is nice to know that God has rounded up all the hypocrites and put them in church buildings — at least on Sunday mornings — so that all the people in the world who live faultless lives don't have to put up with them.]
A. People who make this claim usually use it as an excuse of why they do not go to church.
1. Is a church building on Sunday AM the only place where we can find hypocrites? No, they exist on the golf course, the highways, in business; they are everywhere.
2. Although someone may not attend church because of hypocrites, have you heard of people giving up golf, or driving their car, or working for a living because of them? Of course not, it wouldn't be practical.
B. Think about it, is there a religion in the world that does not have one hypocrite associated with it?
1. Friends, I believe it would be suffice to say, there are also hypocritical Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists, even atheists!!!
2. You heard about the atheist who once participated in a formal debate with a minister.
3. The atheist clearly out-debated the preacher, but the minister was declared the winner because at the end of the debate, in a sudden flush of victory, the unbeliever shouted out: “Thank God I'm an atheist!”
C. The bottom line is that just because the church contains hypocrites does not mean that all Christians are hypocrites.
1. The apostle Paul said, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Tim.1:15).
a. People misconstrue sinning with hypocrisy. There is a difference. Hypocrisy is a type of sin, and while everyone sins, not everyone is a hypocrite.
b. If you were to give me an example of a hypocrite who goes to church, I could give you an example of a church member who was living consistently with the teachings of Jesus.
2. Friends, there are hypocrites in the church ... and folks who wrestle with just about every other kind of sin. But the difference is whether or not one is in Christ, and repents of his/her sins.
V. THE BIBLE SAYS WE ARE NOT TO JUDGE
A. Matthew 7:1 is commonly used to convey the idea, "You live your lifestyle and I’ll live mine. But don’t you tell me how to live, and certainly don’t you try to impose your standards of morality on me.”
1. "Judge not that you be not judged" is spouted by a lot of people who have no earthly idea what Jesus meant by that. Jesus is speaking people who are truly hypocrites.
a. People who have major spiritual problems were going around trying to fix the minor spiritual problems of others.
b. Jesus’ point was don’t go around condemning others when you need to get your life right first.
2. Friends everybody judges, and we make judgments all the time. We judge food, clothes, hair, TV shows, cars, and all sorts of stuff. We make judgments about events and issues, and everybody does it.
B. As Christians, we are to be people of good judgment, and have the ability to carefully discern right from wrong (Heb.5:14).
1. And yes, this includes evaluating the lifestyles of individuals at times, because there are lifestyles that are prevalent in our society today that are sinful.
a. Because of sin in society today, having a rainbow bumper sticker on your car automatically makes others think of you as a homosexual or bisexual.
b. Girls today are not able to introduce their friend as their girl friend because of the way people think.
2. Many times we’re not the ones doing the judging - it’s God. He has pronounced things to be good or bad. We are simply communicating that.
a. If I see you at the store with a case of beer in your cart, I am not judging wrongly if I were to tell you that getting drink is a sin.
b. If I see you with a round mark on your neck that resembles a hickey would I be wrong for telling you that sexual relations outside of marriage is a sin? (curling irons do make marks…sorry Amanda).
c. “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col.1:28).
VI. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS BELIEVE IN JESUS
A. The truth is that there is not one thing alone that will save anybody.
1. We are saved by grace…Ephesians 2:8, 9
2. We are saved by faith…Romans 5:1, 2
3. We are saved by baptism…1 Peter 3:21
4. We are saved by blood…Revelation 1:4, 5
5. We are saved by obedience…Hebrews 5:8, 9
6. We are saved by works…James 2:14-26 – (vs. 24) You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
7. We are saved by endurance…Hebrews 10:35-39
8. We are saved by hope…Romans 8:19-25 –
B. Most people who say that all you have to do is believe in Jesus do not practice what they preach.
1. Faith + Repentance
2. Faith + Confession or prayer, etc.
Conclusion:
1. In Joshua 24, Joshua stood up before all of Israel and said, “choose you this day who you will serve.”
a. We have a choice today on who we will serve.
b. We can go by what the popular vote is and go with the flow or we can go by what the Bible says and fulfill what it says to the best of our ability.
2. Do you want to do what God would have you to do?