Theme: 7 Deadly Temptations Series
Purpose: Defeating the temptation to compare ourselves to others, Eyes on Christ
Today we start a new series I am calling the 7 Deadly Temptations.
o Have you heard of the 7 deadly sins? These are just about as bad—except that we can overcome them! We can win over temptation!
o We will be covering a different temptation each week, and I think, even the most seasoned Christian (read old) faces these temptations from time to time
o Emerson, talking about temptation said, “Call on God, but row away from the rocks!”
o Thomas Watson said, “Who would have thought to have found adultery in David, and drunkenness in Noah, and cursing in Job? If God leaves a man to himself, how suddenly and scandalously may sin break forth in the holiest man on earth!”
o What I have been saying—keeping in step with the Spirit is not only a daily walk, but sometimes a moment by moment walk—always facing the same question, “Will you trust me with your obedience?”
o Let me remind us of that pivotal verse in 1 Cor 10:13, “No temptation has seized except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted God will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
o Everyone goes through the same temptations
o God knows your limits and is believing in you to be obedient…inviting you to trust him with your obedience
o There is always an escape route that He will provide—look for it.
Today we are going to look at the Temptation to Compare Ourselves to Others
o Pastor Marc read from 2 Cor 10. Let me give you some context:
--false teachers, practiced in the art of speaking / oratory
--they would charge their hearers when they spoke—more like going to a conference than church
--Paul says in 10:12 that they “measure themselves with themselves” meaning that they thought anyone else was not worthy to compare themselves to
--Even worse, the Corinthians started to compare Paul with these false teachers—Paul, these guys are smooth, what have you got?
--Paul says in verse 13, that he will only boast in the Lord—Paul is trying to show and tell the Corinthians that comparing ourselves with ourselves is not the way to go.
--In verse 18 Paul says that “it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”
o I think this is a problem within the Christian church—a deadly temptation that we all face from time to time—the temptation to compare ourselves with others
Why do we do it? Why do we compare ourselves with other believers?
1. So we can see our progress
2. to see whether we are moving in our spiritual life in relation to others or are we stagnating
3. Sometimes I think we compare ourselves with others around us to see where we fit (some feel real pressure to be as spiritual ((or not)) as those around them—actually a good thing if it spurs others genuinely toward spiritual growth—
--mentors in the Lord are good—but the downside is that they are not perfect—they will fail, they will have a bad day sometimes
4. The danger in this temptation is that our constant comparing ourselves with others helps us self-justify our lack of spiritual growth—after all, one might say, I am not a spiritual giant, but I am not as bad as you—not something we would say out loud, but you and I do the math in our heads all the time.
While we are here, there seem to be two tensions in the spiritual life that bear a moment of our attention:
Personal Relationship with Jesus ----- Believers in Community
--have to have a personal relationship --have to be a part of community
--it has to be real with Jesus --I need support and accountability
--to a certain degree, my lack of spiritual growth not only affects me, but the community of believers I am a member of—my growing in Christ will help inspire others though too
--But when it comes to comparing, we have to be so careful—Paul says don’t do it
--Because we are vitally connected to community, we can’t help but notice other people— we have to be careful not to look at people, but at Christ
Dangers of Comparing Ourselves with Others
o We may become self-satisfied spiritually—“I’m alright—as good as the pastor’s wife, as good as the Board members”
o When we keep our eyes on other people, we will be disappointed—people will fail us, they will hurt us sometimes
o We may base our attitude of forgiveness on what others do—have you ever met bitter Christians? I have and its not pretty—and when you and I are self-justifying, we will find any excuse to do what we want to do
o One of the biggest dangers of comparing ourselves with others, is that we might be tempted to base our level of spiritual growth on the Lowest Common Denominator around us
Lets look at some examples from Scripture:
--Joshua, protégé’ of Moses, escorted Moses up the mountain to receive the 10 commandments, didn’t go all the way of course
--Watched the miracles in Egypt, how God rescued the people from the hands of Pharoah, watched as the people grumbled against Moses and the Lord for the lack of water—and then, how God provided!
--And Joshua led God’s people for a whole generation, and then challenged them not to look at what their neighbor was doing spiritually, but look at God’s standard. He said in
Joshua 24:14-15, “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the LORD, But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve; whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua plants the stake—I am not comparing—just living in obedience.
--Or look at Nicodemus. A Pharisee of the Pharisees---part of the Sanhedrin, John chapter 3 tells us. When all the other Pharisees wrote Jesus off as one who was dangerous to Judaism, Nicodemus sought Jesus out
--He didn’t look at what everyone else was doing, he listened to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and went to Jesus—He risked in faith, and Jesus told him more clearly than anyone else, that if you want to know what God desires, you have to be born again. This isn’t a term Billy Graham coined. Jesus told him that with God, we have to recognize we have to start over—as a baby—helpless except for the hands of a loving Father. Nicodemus didn’t compare himself with the other men of the ruling council and say to himself, “at least I’m as holy as them”—he risked in faith, and Jesus helped him realize what true faith was
--Or how about Cornelius the Centurion in Acts 10—soldier—not known for their morality—could take what they wished, take liberties with women etc.
--Cornelius didn’t look at the soldiers around him and say, “I’m good enough. In fact, I am probably better than most of those guys—at least I do good things for people” Many people testified to Cornelius’ gifts to the poor, that he and his family were devout and god-fearing. It would have been so easy to give into the godless military mindset of that era—but he didn’t…he didn’t look at other people— didn’t compare himself
--He was open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and it led Peter to his door—and changed the whole nature of the church
--Or Consider Aaron—Exodus 32—Moses’ brother—he, like Joshua had seen all the miracles, (in person)—remember he spoke for Moses. And then it happened. Moses had gone up to talk with God on Mt. Sinai, and everyone thought it was taking too long, probably Moses was dead— who knows when he might come down.
--Everyone said, Aaron, as the next in line, why don’t you make us a cow idol, so we can worship the god that really saved us from Egypt. Were not sure about the one Moses is supposedly meeting with. And because Aaron was more concerned about what others thought about appealing to the lowest spiritual common denominator, he made the idol. He gave into the temptation to fit in, to belong, at the peril of being disobedient.—It cost him everything.
So how do I live in Christian Community yet not compare myself with others? How do I not begin to gauge myself against others and become spiritually satisfied?
Hebrews 12:1-2 says this,
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (those who by faith accepted what God wanted for their lives—those who didn’t compare themselves and became spiritually self-satisfied), since we are surrounded by these folks, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith…”
You want to get out of this cycle of letting the people around you determine your spiritual depth?
1. Look to His Character
-- John 1 tells us that Jesus is God in the flesh, and the fullest manifestation of who God is. He is the model.
--heart of forgiveness, heart for the lost, love of God’s Word—in synagogue “as was his custom”, Scripture to defeat Satan’s temptations
--love for others trumped legalism every time—ate with sinners, not because he wanted to be like them, but to show them God loved them, to challenge them to go forward spiritually
--Find yourself comparing? Look to the gospels and watch Jesus’ character
2. Leave off entanglements
--The writer of Hebrews says in verse 1, “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”
--Leave off the lies of Satan that say, “You aren’t so bad…I mean, you are more spiritual than her…I mean you may not be a super believer yet, ..but you are ok..”
--Leave off the lie that says, “take it easy spiritually…don’t worry about growth in Christ—after all you did say a sinners prayer—you do come to church almost every Sunday..”
--Defeat temptation, claim the promise of I Cor 10:13—that God is inviting you to obedience! God is trying to help you win the battle for your mind, your heart—look for the escape door that God provides with each temptation
3. Obey His Leading
--Will you trust him enough to obey? I believe the central issue in the Christian’s life is obedience.
--We can be afraid of what God is asking of us, but will we be obedient? Will we love others like He asks us to? Will we Risk in faith like those listed in Heb. 11?
--If we leave the things that tempt us most behind, we will be able to hear the leading of Christ within us.
--What do we know we should be doing and aren’t now doing? That’s his leading—obeying what we know to be true—being obedient to God’s Word
--Ask, what do you want me to work on God? Lead me in developing my character for Christ
--If you and I ask with genuine sincerity, God will not leave us without an answer—Scripture says if we will seek, we will find.
When you and I stand before the throne of God on Judgment day, He will not ask what everyone else did, He will only be interested in you. Let’s kill the temptation to compare. He is inviting you to obedience this morning—will you trust him?
