Count The Cost
03/01/09 AM
Text: Ephesians 5:15 - 17 (NASB) Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Introduction
Comic Non-Sequitur by Wiley Miller, one of the characters invents a “magic math” method. The character, Danae Pyle, is a pre-adolescent, atheist, semi-Goth girl with a usually pessimistic view of the world. Her method involves beginning with the answer and working backwards to fill in the equation so that the answer one has is always right.
Show strip from 2/24/2009 (These strips ran 23-28 February 2009.)
When I read these comics it struck me that this was the way many people approached their spiritual lives, with a type of “magic religion” method. They first decide what type of life they wish to live and then back fill that choice with a set of “convictions” to fit the lifestyle they have chosen.
Our Sister Sally recently related a conversation she had with someone she knew who had asked her about what church she attended. After she had given her answer the person responded by saying that they did not follow the entire bible because it had been changed by man over time and that while they believed Jesus was a wise teacher they did not believe him to be deity. They were clearly exercising the “magic religion” method.
But both of these methods share the same flaw: Show strip from 2/27/2009.
The Need To Be Right
ILL: A Marine recruiting sergeant who happened upon an impressive sight while traveling the backwoods country. At this one roadside farm, he saw targets painted just about everywhere -- on the barns, on fences, and on all the outbuildings. And exactly in the center of each target’s bull’s eye, there was a bullet hole! Knowing the Marine Corps could use a marksman like that, the sergeant stopped at the farm house in hopes of recruiting this sharpshooter. His knock on the door was answered by a gangling, barefoot lad of a not-too-bright appearance who proudly admitted that he had made the targets and bullet holes. The sergeant asked him how he managed to get a perfect bull’s eye with every shot. He drawled, "Aw, that’s easy, Sarge. I jes’ shoot first, an’ then I paint rings around the bullet hole!"
A. That is “magic religion”, a lot of people making bull’s eyes like that too. They "shoot" first by committing themselves to some religious position or affiliation, then later, when necessary, "paint on" the target rings to justify their actions.
ILL: My Mom’s family is from southern Indiana and when I was a child we often made summer trips out to visit. We would always stay at the farm house of my Great-Uncle George who lived out in the woods some miles from the city of Evansville. This was a rustic farm house with a hand pump and outhouse for amenities. A setting quite rustic from my limited point of view but one of great wonder for a young boy, especially the workshop. Great Uncle George was a craftsman from the old school and was adept with any hand held tool. In his workshop he taught me many lessons in how to approach a job, wisdom that I carry with me to this day. One bit of carpenter’s advice he gave me: Measure twice, cut once.
1. The more consequential the action, the more carefully it needs to be thought out.
2. Craftsmen know it is never a waste of time to ensure accuracy.
3. It is far better to make sure one is right deliberately, cautiously, and carefully than hastily and thoughtlessly to act in ways that turn out to be wrong.
C. It is possible for a person’s life itself to be “ill-measured.”
1. Look at how much thought most of us give to our education and careers.
In regard to God and the eternal, we are sometimes shockingly careless.
I. IN THE MATTER OF RELIGION IN GENERAL
A. Given the ramifications of the question, the casual way in which many have tossed aside “religion” is nearly incredible.
B. The average person has rejected religion on the basis of hastily made assumptions from inadequate information, not a serious consideration of the genuine article.
1. Many have never taken the time to try to investigate the stereotypes, caricatures, and prejudicial slogans that turn people against religion.
2. Often, modern people do not even have the curiosity of the Athenian philosophers to hear the case for Christianity - Acts 17:16-21.
3. Perhaps we are more like those in Athens who hurriedly mocked than those who wanted to hear more before making up their minds - v.32.
C. Many have never truly “considered” or “looked at” the evidence.
II. IN THE MATTER OF “CHOOSING A CHURCH”
A. How thoughtful is the average person’s analysis of what is “proper” conduct for the local church?
B. Many people’s approach to choosing a local church is little better than hit-or-miss.
1. If all the seven churches found in the second and third chapters of Revelation were in Southern California, on what basis would we decide where to identify ourselves?
C. The question of whether a doctrine is true is no trivial matter, and it takes some searching find out!
D. Dealing responsibly with the question of truth requires at least the attitude of the Bereans:
Acts 17:10 - 11 (NASB) The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
1. How carefully do we check the “accuracy” of churches and their practices against the authoritative standard of the Scriptures?
III. IN THE MATTER OF THE LIFE THE CHRISTIAN SHOULD LIVE
A. In a world filled with evil, there is no realistic hope of living acceptably before God without a careful, circumspect approach to the matter:
Ephesians 5:15 - 17 (NASB) Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
1. Imagine your life as a speech. What kind of speech is it: a painstakingly prepared text, or an impromptu performance that you make up as you go along?
2. We need more men and women who will consciously and carefully distinguish right from wrong.
Hebrews 5:14 (NASB) But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
B. Socrates is reported to have said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Life is too consequential not to be thoughtful and deliberate about it.
1. We ought to carefully settle on what is true, build our convictions based on truth and then fit our lives to those convictions.
C. The spiritual consequences of “ill-measured” deeds are eternal; we can’t afford to cut now and measure later.
D. We get one life, and only one. Once done, that life can’t be undone.
Conclusion
What kind of words describes the quality of your life’s “workmanship” up to now?
1. Haphazard, slipshod, makeshift?
2. Or purposeful, meticulous, thorough? 2 Timothy 2:15.
Jesus warned us to “count the cost” (Luke 14:25-33) of discipleship.
This would involve an equally sober assessment of the cost of non-discipleship!
The fact is it costs very much more to refuse discipleship than to accept it.
How carefully are we considering this?
Invitation
