Do You Act Like an Alien?

“Unfortunately the modern church has too often tried hard to avoid being strange. Modern Christians have adjusted to the world’s standards.  We don’t want to sound unscientific, so we find ways to reinterpret Genesis 1 so it fits with current scientific theory.  We don’t want to look odd, so we conform our fashion sense to that of the world, without considering whether or not God has something to say about our clothing. We don’t want to be uncool, so our tastes become identical to the world.  This makes things a lot easier.  There’s no conflict between the church and the world when the church imitates the world. We don’t seem alien and strange, as if we have come from another planet, but we are acting against our nature: we are children of God, children of the resurrection, but we behave the same as the children of the devil, as if we were still in the same old, dead flesh as everyone else.” (Peter Leithart, From Beyond the Veil, p. 115)”

Your Idols Will Kill You

Satan is the master of the bait and switch. It is the old game where someone is led to believe they will receive one thing, usually good, and they receive another usually bad.  A good recent example is where a young lady thought she had won a Toyota car. However, when she went to get her prize she found that she had won a toy Yoda doll instead.  Satan loves to do this. He promises us something great and tells us pursue it. We believe him and run after what he has promised.  But right at the end he switches the prize.  A good example is Adam and Eve.  Satan made them believe that glory waited if they just ate the fruit. Eat this fruit and you will be like God. But what they got was death, alienation from God, alienation from one another, a dead son, and getting kicked out of the garden.

Ezekiel 23 gives a terrifying picture of this exact thing.  Israel longs for help from the nations surrounding her.  Instead of trusting in God, she listens to Satan and runs to Assyria for aid.  Ezekiel says, “She lusted for her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians” (vs. 5, 12).  Like a young woman longing for the arms of a coworker instead of her husband, Israel looked upon the glory of Assyria and Babylon, all her mighty captains, all her great warriors, all her great power and she left her husband, the Lord, and slept with Assyria and Babylon.  However, this did not bring her the satisfaction or deliverance she expected.  Like the young man addicted to pornography, she found herself destroyed by the very thing she lusted for.  Ezekiel says that Assyria slew Israel by the sword (vs. 10) and that God sent those nations that she lusted after to deal furiously with her, take her children, and strip her naked (vs. 25-26).  Like Adam and Eve in the garden Israel expected to find glory and deliverance, but instead they found death.  So is the end of all who trust in idols. The idols promise bread, but in the end give us stones.

The point of this is that we must kill our idols or they will kill us. Nothing outside of Christ will bring peace, satisfaction or deliverance. Just like Israel, we love setting up idols, things we lust after that we think will satisfy us. These idols can be another man or woman, a new job, more money, more power, more time, control over other people, a bigger church, children that are holier than anyone else’s, a better education, a better sex life, better friends, a new president, a new congress, etc. etc. etc.  The list never ends. However, these things will not fill us. We will not be delivered or satisfied if we get those things. They are cracked pots that hold no water.  If we pursue them in an ungodly fashion, if we slowly begin to long for them instead of longing for Christ, then we are headed for nakedness and the sword. The idols will not show us mercy.

How do we kill our idols?  We bring them to Christ. We seek his mercy. We confess our adultery with the world. We confess our sins. Then we believe that he forgives. And we believe that by His Spirit and His Word he will slay our idols.  Only when Christ cuts off the heads of idols can we have true life. The idols promise life but give us only death. Christ promises that if we die and our idols with us then and only then can we have life eternal. 

What happens to our friends, jobs, marriages, sex, churches, money, reputation, etc. when we stop making them idols? What happens to these things when Christ slays them with the sword of his mouth? They become what they truly are: gifts of grace given to us by Christ to enjoy and to use to build his Kingdom.  If we put them under Christ they become a joy and we find the right kind of fulfillment in them.  If we put them in place of Christ or beside Christ or on the throne with Christ they become beasts that devour us.   We must slay our idols or they will slay us. 

Legalism and Worldliness: A Pastoral Approach

  Pastors are always fighting on two fronts: legalism and worldliness (antinomianism).  I would like to briefly address both of these.  I am going to approach it as a pastor, but it applies to parenting as well.

                Pastors should aim to make every man mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:28)  This means that the flock should have a true and growing faith in Christ that shows itself in obedience to God's Word. However, we like to separate true faith in Christ from obedience to God's Word. This is where the problems come.  Let me explain.

                Some people emphasize obedience to God's Word. Some temptations for this particular group are a judgmental attitude, emphasis on outward behavior without concern for inward heart issues, and separating relationship from obedience.  This group is in danger of divorcing obedience from a true and growing faith in Christ. But of course, obedience which does not flow out of faith in Christ and is not for the glory of God is not true obedience.

                Others emphasize faith in Christ. They use the word "grace" like it is a magic charm. They love the word "love."  This group is not so concerned about obedience. In fact, for them obedience is usually a bad thing because it shows that you are trusting in your works and on your way towards legalism.   This group is in danger of divorcing faith in Christ from obedience to God's Word. But of course, faith that does not lead to obedience is not faith at all.

                My point is simple: We tend to drift to extremes. On one end is legalistic conformity to a law (usually our own) without faith and love. The other is worldliness in the name of grace and faith. Pastors should address both of these of temptations in their flocks.  Why? Because both the legalist and the worldly exist in every church, and often in every heart. 

                How should a pastor address these two groups?  By preaching and teaching all of God's Word, which will naturally address both legalism and worldliness and bring balance to the Christian life.  Let me give you two examples of how a pastor could address this.  

                First, anyone who preaches through a book of the Bible will have opportunities to address both legalism and worldliness. From Genesis to Revelation these two attitudes of the human heart are present. For example, I recently preached through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).  It begins with grace, the “poor in spirit,” and ends with obeying Jesus’ commands. (See Matthew 5:3 and 7:24-27) There is no divorce of grace and obedience, of faith and works.  Some books of the Bible might lean more heavily one way or another. If you want to specifically address legalism, Galatians might be a good choice. If you want to specifically address worldliness, I John would be a good choice.  But in Galatians you will find good works and in I John you will find faith in Christ. So any man who preaches regularly through books of the Bible will address both of these tendencies. If he doesn’t he is missing something.