INTRODUCTION
• OPEN WITH VIDEO
• SLIDE #1
• That guy had gone a little off course didn’t he? I hope that we do not become “Fat Christian” as we saw in our video!
• If we are not cautious, we can gradually slip away from what God wants us to do with our lives.
• Many times we subtly slip into problems in our walk.
• How would you like to be able to stop that gradual slip before it starts?
• How many times in life do you wish you had a do over?
• We are going to shift gears for the next 8 weeks and look at a series that that can help keeps us from some of the snares that Satan puts out for us.
• I want to take us through a series of messages on how to be a bad Christian.
• Obviously we do not want to be bad Christians.
• It is my hope that as we journey through this series together that we will be able to recognize some potential pitfalls so that we can avoid them before we fall into them.
• As we begin our 8 week trek, let us look at the context of Matthew 23 which will be the basis for our journey.
• It was Tuesday of the last week of Jesus ministry. It has been called the Great Day of Questions. The religious leaders were peppering Jesus with questions beginning in Matthew 21.
• He has his disciples around Him along with some of the religious leaders with other religious leaders on the fringe within earshot.
• The religious leaders did a good job making a relationship with God a very difficult thing. This did not please Jesus.
• Today in the first message in our series, we will begin by seeing that we will become a bad Christian by making Christianity a burden to others.
• Let’s turn to Matthew 23:1-4
• SLIDE #2
• Matthew 23:1-4 (ESV) 1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
• The first way we can make Christianity a burden is by:
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
We can make Christianity a burden on others when we:
I. LACK TRUE AUTHORITY (V2)
• The religious leaders of Jesus of Jesus day had a monopoly on perceived authority.
• An ancient Jewish saying held that God gave the law to angels, angels gave it to Moses, Moses gave it to Joshua, Joshua gave it to the elders, the elders gave it to the prophets, and the prophets gave it to the men of the synagogue who were later called scribes.
• Over the course of the years, those synagogue scribes became responsible not only for copying and preserving but also for teaching and interpreting God’s law.
• There were no more prophets after the Exile, and the scribes inherited the primary role of spiritual leadership in Israel. In Jesus’ day scribes were found among both the Pharisees and Sadducees but were more commonly associated with the Pharisees.
• Not all the leaders were bad, but as a whole, Jesus did not have a whole lot good to say about them.
• We are told in verse 2 that these people sat in the Moses seat.
• Here is a picture of a “Moses Seat”.
• SLIDE #4
• It does not look like much and it does not look comfortable, but it was the place to sit if you wanted people to listen to you.
• The key to our Lord’s point is the fact that the scribes and Pharisees had seated themselves. They were not appointed by God to sit in the chair of Moses and had not even been elected by the people. They had simply arrogated to themselves that position of authority which was therefore spurious.
• Look at the verse 2 in the NASB.
• SLIDE #5
• “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
• This seems to be the literal reading of the passage.
• Therefore to sit in the chair of Moses was tantamount to being God’s authoritative spokesman, and it was that very claim that many of the scribes and Pharisees made for themselves.
• John MacAthur Jr. states in his commentary on the passage.
• The key to our Lord’s point is the fact that the scribes and Pharisees had seated themselves. They were not appointed by God to sit in the chair of Moses and had not even been elected by the people. They had simply arrogated to themselves that position of authority which was therefore spurious. (FAKE)
• What does this all mean for us?
• The religious leaders did not have any true authority outside of God’s word.
• In verse three Jesus told the people to listen to what the religious leaders told them to do and observe what they were told.
• The scribes were not being accused of corrupting the text, but their practice was corrupt. Hold on to that thought.
• The religious leaders used their false authority to add to God’s commands therefore making a relationship with God an impossible burden for the people.
• Jesus acknowledged their authority as long as they stayed within the confines of God’s word.
• Even though they as we will see in a moment did not practice what they preached, their practice did not invalidate the truth of God’s Word!
• When we pull the “Thus Sayith the Lord”, we need to make sure that we are standing within the real authority of God’s word.
• Too many times we can fall into the trap of adding what we think God should tell people to what He really tells them.
• We will tell people what to wear to church if they are going to be a good Christian. Some will tell you what version of the Bible you will read if you are a good Christian. We tell people what style of music to listen to or how they should express themselves in the worship setting.
• If we are not careful, we can make Christianity a burden to others by pilling on thing to people that God never told them or by trying to make a new Christian have the maturity of someone who has been in the faith for years.
• Once we delve out of the authority of God’s Word, we can turn into a Pharisee.
• When we set ourselves in the “Moses Seat” we better make sure what we are telling people comes from God’s word. We cannot abuse the trust a person may have in us.
• Secondly:
• SLIDE #6
We can make Christianity a burden on others when we:
II. LACK INTEGRITY
• The religious leaders had another problem that made a relationship with God a burden.
• These guys had some integrity issues.
• Look at verse three with me again.
• SLIDE #7
• Matthew 23:3 (ESV) 3so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
• Notice that once again, the scribes are not accused of corrupting the text, but they are condemned for not practicing what they preached.
• Jesus distinguished between preaching and practice. Bad practice must be shunned!
• Lacking integrity can cause Christianity to be a burden on others.
• Imagine the confusion the people dealt with when they heard their leaders teach one thing, but live a different way.
• When our practice does not match our preaching, it can cause undue burdens on others.
• When we have to explain why Christians do certain things that we say God tells us not to do, it can be confusing.
• When I worked for Square D, it seemed like every time a scandal involving a Christian came to light, I was the guy they came to so they could tell me that Christianity was a farce because those who claimed to believe did not believe enough to live it.
• When I was a young Christian I remember going to a business run by a deacon from my church and the man cussed up a storm. It rattled me a bit because that is not the way a Christian and especially a deacon was supposed to talk.
• The former minister at my home church ran off with the secretary (she returned home). That spectacle will cause a lot of grief for that church.
• It seems like when we are short on integrity that we always have an excuse.
• God will understand that I am not living what I know to be right because I need to save some money.
• God does not want me to be unhappy so I will find someone who makes me happy.
• We need to do everything we can to maintain a high level of integrity!
• Finally:
• SLIDE #8
We can make Christianity a burden on others when we:
III. LACK SYMPATHY
• Wow, this can be a big one.
• Do you realize that there are a lot of people who are struggling?
• For some people have made understanding God’s word so difficult that people struggle with their faith.
• If you buy your children, grandchildren, a new Christian, or someone whom you want to see come to Christ, PLEASE do not buy them a King James Bible.
• Nothing against it, it was a good translation in the 1600’s!
• Anyway. No offense intended.
• Look at verse 4 with me.
• SLIDE #9
• Matthew 23:4 (ESV) 4They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,£ and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
• Laying on the shoulders was a term that was used of binding up a load and laying in on the shoulders of a beast of burden.
• The religious leaders would lay rules on others, but would find loopholes to keep themselves from having to follow them.
• SLIDE #10
• Matthew 15:4-6 (ESV) 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
• This goes really ties in with points 1 and 2.
• When we lay things on people we are not willing to abide by, we are burdening them.
• A relationship with Jesus is a process. We all have different rates of growth.
• We need to make sure we do not inundate people with so much they feel helpless.
• The religious leaders did not lift a finger to help those who were trying to grow; they just looked down on them.
• We need to make sure that we are sympathetic to the struggles of others.
• Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 11.
• SLIDE #11
• Jesus told us that a relationship with Him would not be a burden.
• Matthew 11:29-30 (ESV)29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
• We cannot shoot our wounded!
• Jesus wants us to bear one another’s burdens!
• Galatians 6:2 (ESV) 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
CONCLUSION
• There was a story told concerning former Prime Minister of India Gandhi.
• Years ago a British missionary asked the former Prime Minister of India Dr. Gandhi if he would consider becoming a Christian. Gandhi said no.
• The missionary said why.
• Ghandi had seen how the so called Christians in South Africa had treated non whites.
• Gandhi the English educated man of non violence had experienced first hand, ridicule, scorn and mistreatment at the hands of those who went to church on Sunday and claimed to be Christians.
• Gandhi said ‘I like your Jesus, I do not like your Christians, they are so unlike your Jesus.’
• Let us share Jesus and live for Jesus as Jesus would want us to!
