Lies That Kill Series #3 - To Be Free You Have to Break-Free

[1]

He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and saying, ‘The time has come!’  But don’t believe them.  Luke 21:8

So far in our series we have seen two lies:

Lie #1 is false teaching itself, false ideas and doctrines that can destroy us, or which can be destroyed by a pure heart when God forgives sin, and clears our conscience, and helps us be committed to a genuine faith in Jesus Christ.

Lie #2 is found in a currently popular saying:  I’ve gotta love me first.  Jesus says in response:  listen to the commandments of God and love Him first, others also, and don’t worry about yourself so much; God will take care of you.

Lie #3 which we explore this morning is that the only way you can find fulfillment in life is by breaking-away from any restraints that God (or anyone else) tries to place on you.  To that Jesus says:  Go ahead and dig your heels in against me; what you’ll find is more emptiness than you ever imagined.

I want to share two stories to illustrate what this lie is like, and what it means to rebuke this lie and experience the truth of real freedom.  Both stories are set in London, England; the first is about the Queen’s husband, and is a true story.  The second is fantasy about a cab driver. 

The Queen’s Husband

Phillip is 98 years old and married to the U.K.’s Queen Elizabeth.  My own Queen Elizabeth (no relation) and I have been binge-watching The Crown on Netflix; season 3 had an eye-opening look at Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh’s life.

For more than 60 years Phillip has played second fiddle to the Crown’s wishes and instructions.  His days are filled with delivering meaningless speeches at the grand openings of restaurants, dental clinics and coal miner’s union gatherings.  Inbetween those monumental accomplishments are polo matches, yachts, whiskey and sports cars.  As a jet-certified pilot the Queen’s husband longed to be what Buzz Aldren, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins lived…a moon-walking adventurer seeking the highest of experiences possible to the human being.  In short, the Queen’s husband was a bored and angry man, who, after meeting the three astronauts in 1969 following their historic first-ever footsteps on another celestial body, added emptiness and despair to his repetoire, because he found out they were no closer to understanding the meaning of life than he.

Ultimately it was the despair that drove Phillip to seek help from Bishop Robin Woods, and, in time, rediscovered faith in God.  This led the Duke on a lifelong journey of soul-searching and humanitarian endeavor.  In his early arrogance Phillip felt trapped by the monarchy ordering even the smallest step of his days; he pushed God far from his heart and mind, and longed to break-free and really live.  When finally broken by despair and a sense of meaninglessness in life, he confessed his need and was found by God.  Life’s meaning was not out there above some cloud; it was (in his words) in here (head) and here (heart)!  He didn’t have to break-free; brokenness revealed the Son who could set him free, indeed.

The Cabbie’s Trip
Our second story comes from the rich mind of C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia.  There are 7 novels in all, the first, and perhaps most widely known is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Narnia is a mystical, magical, fictional place which most fans of Lewis imagine represents God’s Kingdom.  Lewis wrote these stories to stir the fantasy-receptive minds of children.  I love re-reading them!  (Don’t tell anyone).

The final book in the series is The Magician’s Nephew, which starts in London, but quickly moves via teleportation to  Narnia.  The nephew is Diggory, and…

After the witch causes havoc in London, Polly and Diggory manage to get her back into one of the magical worlds (Narnia) which is formed moments after they arrive. However, whilst transporting themselves and the witch, they also transport their uncle and a cab driver (cabby) who Aslan makes the first ever king of Narnia.[2]

Here’s how Lewis describes Cabby’s meeting with Aslan, the lion, who is by all accounts the undisputed representation of Jesus in the story:

“In the darkness something was happening at last.  A voice had begun to sing…Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself….It was so beautiful we could hardly bear it…One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out – single stars, constellations, and planets, brighter and bigger than any in our world…

‘Glory be!’  Said the Cabby.  ‘I’d ha’ been a better man all my life if I’d known there were things like this’…

They made you feel excited; until you saw the singer himself, and then you forgot everything else.  It was a Lion.  Huge, shaggy, and bright, it stood facing the risen sun.  Its mouth was wide open in song and it was about three hundred yards away…The lion was striding to and fro about that empty land and singing his new song.  It was softer and more lilting than the song by which he had called up the stars and the sun; a gentle, rippling music.  And as he walked and sang the valley grew green with grass.  It spread out for the Lion like a pool.  It ran up the sides of the little hills like a wave.  In a few minutes it was creeping up the lower slopes of the distant mountains, making that young world every moment softer.  A light wind could now be heard ruffling the grass. Soon there were other things besides grass…”[3]

Conclusion

Two stories and one conclusion, which the Apostle John wrote long before C.S. Lewis ever held a pen:

So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.  John 8:36

The Queen’s husband, Phillip had to see there was nothing over the next cloud’s end that was worth seeing until he first opened his heart to see what God wanted to give him.  Only then was he a fit vessel for the great humanitarian and spiritual work God was able to do through him since that time.

Phillip got set free by the Son of God, and he was free indeed.

While Phillip was married to a queen, and would himself never be a king, Cabby had never even been close to a king.  A nobody, just a poor cab-driver from the inner city of London is taken by surprise to Narnia.  And, staring into a thousand points of light, hearing the song of the King of Kings, his heart is opened to the sound of grace.  And when grace lands in your heart and soul in full force there is no stopping what it can do with the rest of you!

Aslan made the nobody cabby the first-ever king of Narnia.  This is the upside-downness of Jesus the Son, and the way His grace sets people free. 

And this table is a place where that grace abounds for whosoever will come.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…Amen!

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com.    All Scripture from The New Living Translation (unless otherwise stated) 

[2] Answers.com  Narnia images courtesy of WikimediaCommons.com

[3] (The Magician’s Nephew) - photo credit “sarahrichterart” (pixabay).

Lies That Kill - Series #1. False Teachers; Don't Believe Them

[1]

He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and saying, ‘The time has come!’  But don’t believe them.  Luke 21:8

This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope.  I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith.  May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.  When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth.  Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees.  These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.  The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.  But some people have missed this whole point.  They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions.  They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently.  We know that the law is good when used correctly.  For the law was not intended for people who do what is right.  It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders.  The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching  that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.

1 Timothy 1:1-11

A 2^nd grader explained what false doctrine is...he said: false docter-in is what happens when sick people get the wrong medicine!  That's pretty close to the result of false doctrine.  When people are wrongly taught in spiritual matters they get morally sick.  The best medicine is to study God’s Word; right doctrine is like an immunization or cure against disease.

The epistles of Paul are full of great spiritual medicine to help us.  In Paul's day there were plenty of false teachers to go around. The Gnostics were steeped in false belief, just a hair removed from truth.  They believed in God, and even Jesus, but saw God as so far removed from man that there could never be a relationship.  And since God wouldn't touch or create anything bad (like material things, or humans), the creation happened when an emanation, slightly lesser in deity, went out from God.  From that emanation, another, lesser emanation flowed – and another – until the deity of God was far enough removed to dabble in things of the evil flesh. 

According to gnostic thinking, Jesus was one of those lesser emanations; he was better and more holy than the average bear, but a lot less than God.  Since they considered our fleshly bodies evil, they also dismissed resurrection of the physical body.  Paul knew such teachers were always on the prowl for converts:  

I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.  Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Acts 20:29-30  

In our day we have Mormonism, which is a rebirth of the error of gnosticism; they do not believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. 

We also have the New Age teachers who would rather study the emanations than accept the revealed Word of God.

Among the worst of false teachers are those who teach the prosperity gospel, diverting our attention from the riches of faith, which God said was much more important than worrying about material things or wealth.[2] 

False teachers abound, so we need what truth brings.

Truth brings encouragement 

Paul left Timothy in Ephesus as a pastor, so Paul could continue on to Philippi to check on the church there.  This first letter to Timothy is filled with encouraging, strengthening help.  Paul called Timothy his true son in the ministry.  I don't know what could be more encouraging for a timid young pastor than to have the affirmation of the seasoned elder statesman of the faith.

God's people need to know how to live like God's people.  That means knowing how to recognize and deal with false teaching.  The question becomes, How can I be safe from false teachers?  The answer centers around what Paul revealed to Timothy as the reason he was writing:

The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.  1 Timothy 1:5

Simply stated, the "bullseye" of Christianity is love.  The things which help keep a believer on track, and safe from every twit who has a new way of freeing your spirit or being at one with the cosmic presence, are the trinity of pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith.  From these, genuine Christian love sprouts like a redwood.  The best way to avoid a counterfeit anything is to constantly handle the real thing. 

Notice the rings of the bullseye Paul laid-out for Timothy...

The Bullseye's Outer Ring:  A Pure Heart

The (spiritual) heart is the center of your will, emotions and mind.  This is where all of your decisions are made. 

Our physical heart makes biological life possible.  The spiritual heart makes a relationship with God possible.

What makes a heart pure? 

The only way for a heart to be clean is for God to clean it.  Isaiah said that all of our attmepts to clean up our own spiritual lives are like "filthy rags"  

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.  Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.  Isaiah 64:6

The special promise of God is that we can come to Him through Jesus' unique act of salvation.  Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and, if we confess our sins he forgive us our sins and purifies us from all unrighteousness.^{(1 John 1:9)} 

The Bullseye's Middle Ring:  A Good Conscience

Conscience is a moral barometer; it tells us whether we are doing right or wrong.  Responding to that Biblically is what we call integrity, or doing what you say you'll do.  It is also called a pure heart, or a heart of integrity.

Today even integrity is a relative matter.  Politicians, (even Presidents) are judged on their ability to govern and integrity seems to have nothing to do with the job.  Preachers discovered in extra-marital affairs go right on with their programs.  This is so different than what the Bible calls for in believers. 

A good conscience is available to those whose walk lives up to their talk.  Emerson said of Seneca the philosopher, He (says) the loveliest things, if only he had the right to say them."^[3]

A pure heart is the only place to start in the Christian life...But it is only a start!  Any conversion experience that still leaves you living a sinful life, without a deep desire to change, like a drowning man wants a boat, is not a conversion at all.  Love grows in a pure heart, where right actions allow good conscience.

The Bullseye's Center:  Sincere Faith

Faith is most often thought as being that quality of believing.  We say, we have faith in Jesus.  That is a verbal sense of the word faith.  But here Paul uses faith as a noun.  It is the object of belief, or what you believe.  Simply put, a sincere faith is something worth believing in! 

In Paul's context of opposing the false teachers, he was holding up THE FAITH, his doctrine of Christ.  He was saying that there is a time to be saved (pure heart) and a Godly way to live life (good conscience), and a sincere, or genuine doctrine to guide them both.  We move from the outer edge of the target to the middle!

Paul gave this concept to the Hebrews as well:  

So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again.  Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding.  Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.  Hebrews 6:1 

Facing the truth we have to admit that just because a person is saved does not guarantee he is immediately wise.  Many come to Christ with very little knowledge of the doctrines of the faith.  Unfortunately, too many believers never make a serious effort to move past the basics of the faith.  It’s not a matter of getting degrees in seminary or a certificate to hang on the wall.  Getting a deeper understanding of Christ, and how He expects us to live is a matter of obedience and coming to the point of being a strong witness to honor Christ.

Once past that point of salvation we have a responsibility to understand our faith. 

There are two primary reasons for growing deeper in understanding faith in Christ:

Freedom for me 

So many believers live defeated lives because they have so little knowledge of the liberating reality of Christ. 

Paul says many have missed this whole point which means missing the mark, which is one of the textbook definitions of the word sin.  Christ came that you might have liberty, an abundant life of joy and peace. 

When I begin to understand the doctrines of salvation and the joy of my inheritance in Christ, I am set free from worry and defeat…not just to feel the winds of freedom blowing in my hair as I do whatever I want…but to experience just how wonderful the relationship to Christ becomes when I know how to please and honor my Lord, and act like it too!

Freedom for you. 

Paul also says that those who missed the mark had turned to meaningless talk; that implies an empty result.  Whenever the subject of spiritual things comes up, folks who don't know any better want to debate empty issues that end in fruitless controversy. 

That has kept more people out of the kingdom than all the bars and brothels in the world. 

There is a right and wrong purpose of doctrine.  To discuss interesting, but surface issues of Christianity, while countless thousands in our own neighborhood perish without Jesus is wrong!  To allow years of learning the faith to perfect our witness so we may lead souls to the throne is right! 

Some things are just not debatable.

So, let’s review the progression of a babe in Christ to a strong disciple: 

·       A person on the outer ring of the bullseye receives a pure heart from God when he confesses his sins;

·       a person hitting the next closest ring to the bullseye is living his life in a holy manner, obedient, a person of good conscience;

·       but the one who takes the time to know Christ in an ever increasingly intimate way -- His fellowship, His doctrines, His power, His suffering...that is a person who has HIT the center of the bullseye!

Beloved, none of us can afford to be ignorant of the faith.  People are more informed than ever, and have a myriad of choices concerning religion.  If we are to remain strong as a witness for Christ, leading people out of darkness, we will have to go…

·       past the elementary doctrine of salvation, and

·       past the simple honest life of good conscience;

·       we must go on to maturity in the faith. 

The bullseye in Christian discipleship is to be a strong believer, grounded in Christ and His word.  All the rest is passing away.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…Amen!

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com.    All Scripture from The New Living Translation (unless otherwise stated) 

[2] See Matthew 6:19-33

[3]Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, (Philadelphia, The Westminster Press, 1975), 34