Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a young lady who loved playing practical jokes. She had just graduated from a gourmet cooking class. So at an elegant student reception in a physician’s home near Miami, she decided to put her new cooking skills to the test.
She took dog food and put it on delicate little crackers with a wedge of imported cheese, bacon bits, an olive, and a sliver of pimento on top. Then she served them up – hors d’oeuvres a la Alpo.
She put those miserable morsels on a couple of silver trays and with a sly grin, watched them disappear. One guy couldn’t get enough. He kept coming back for more. When they broke the news to him, he probably barked and bit her on the leg! He certainly must have gagged a little. (Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, p.147)
Do you know: Satan does the same thing to us. He dresses up a lie and makes it look so good, and if we’re not careful, we swallow it hook, line and sinker, or maybe I should say, dog food, crackers and olives.
Now, we might gag on dog food if it were fed to us, but Satan’s lies are no joke. They are deadly poison, and they will destroy the spiritual vitality of any Christian or any church that indulges is such deceptive delicacies.
The question is: How can we avoid being taken in? How can we keep from being deceived by teaching that sounds so good, but is absolutely deadly to the soul?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Timothy 4, 1 Timothy 4, where the Bible warns us about deceiving spirits and how to keep them from destroying our churches and our own spiritual vitality.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. (NIV)
The Bible warns us that we must WATCH OUT FOR LIARS IN THE CHURCH especially in these last days before Jesus comes.
We must be careful lest false teachers lead us astray. We must be on the guard against deceiving spirits who can make a lie sound so true.
Nearly 25 years ago, Randy Hunt, in his book, The Seduction of Christianity¸ wrote: “Christianity may well be facing the greatest challenge in its history: a series of powerful and growing seductions that are subtly changing biblical interpretations and undermining the faith of millions of people. Most Christians are scarcely aware of what is happening, and much less do they understand the issues involved.
“The seduction is surprisingly easy,” Hunt said. “It does not take place as an obvious frontal assault from rival religious beliefs. That would be vigorously resisted. Instead, it comes to some Christians in the guise of faith-producing techniques for gaining spiritual power and experiencing miracles and to others as self-improvement psychologies for fully realizing human potential that are seen as scientific aids to successful Christian living.” (The Seduction of Christianity, Hunt & McMahon, pg. 11)
Randy Hunt wrote that nearly 25 years ago, and he was right on! Now, more than ever, the Christian church is in danger of giving up the power of the Gospel for the impotence of a self-help spirituality, which depends on human effort and “believe-it/achieve-it” rituals. A lot of Christians are no longer looking to Christ and the Bible for answers. They’re looking to “feel-good,” pop psychologies, which tell them that they are no longer sinners in need of a Savior, but super human beings with unlimited potential, if they can just learn to tap into that potential. It sounds good, but it is an absolute lie, which will destroy us in the end.
It’s like the man who decided he was spending way too much money on oats to feed his mule. So he decided to slowly substitute sawdust in the mule’s diet. Everything went fine for a while, but by the time the mule was satisfied with sawdust, he died.
Well, that’s what happens to churches and to individuals when they substitute the sawdust of error for the nourishing diet of God’s Word. They die.
American Methodism at one time recorded one of the most astounding growth records in the history of Christianity. They exploded from a membership of 14,988 in 1784 to 7,729,791 in 1939! That’s because they believed the Bible and had a simple faith in the gospel of salvation. (Luke Tyerman, The Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley, 3 vols, 3:519)
Then the liberal theologians took over their seminaries. They denied the inerrancy and authority of God’s Word, and taught Methodist pastors to do the same. Now, with the rare exception of a few pastors, they teach a man-centered religion, which does not satisfy the soul, and in the last hundred (+) years, Methodists have closed more churches than those that remain today.
Now, I’m not just picking on the Methodists, because we can say this about almost any major denomination in the United States of America. All across the board, the church’s numbers are quickly declining. And now, in our own Evangelical churches, we’re not even keeping up with the population growth. We’re loosing 80-90 percent of the next generation, most of whom will never come back to church.
Why? Because like many of the major denominations before us, we are substituting the pure, plain teaching of the Word of God for books and DVD’s about biblical subjects, and some of them have very little biblical content in them at all. Every week, I get advertisements from evangelical publishers for so-called “Bible studies” that are nothing more than repackaged pop-psychologies with Christian jargon. We’re no longer calling our young people (and old alike) to trust in the authority of God’s Word. Instead, we’re telling them, “Believe in yourself.” We’re feeding people feel-good stories with a moral that basically says, “Try harder and you will succeed.” My friends, this teaching is killing our churches today!
But this is nothing new. Similar things were happening in the First Century Church. There were teachers then who were preaching the so-called “gospel” of self-effort. Look at verse 3.
1 Timothy 4:3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. (NIV)
These teachers were coming up with all kinds of restrictions, all kinds of disciplines and rituals, whereby a person might hope to better themselves. Like many teachers today, they were trying to mix the pop philosophy of their day with Christianity. In Bible days, Greek philosophy was very popular, especially Plato. Now, Plato taught that the body is evil and the soul divine. Therefore, in order to free the soul from any evil influences and achieve salvation, you must abstain from as many pleasures as possible (Plato’s Phaedo). In other words, live a celibate life and don’t eat anything that tastes good. That’s the way to find God and heaven. Just like false teachers today, these ancient teachers were teaching a self-help spirituality full of restrictive rituals which have absolutely no power to change a person’s life whatsoever.
It was a dead religion then, and it still is today. In every generation, this self-help spirituality rears its ugly head, and if we want to remain vital as a church, we have to keep it from rearing its ugly head here. We can’t be mixing into our teaching the sawdust of self-effort. We have to guard against these lies, which will destroy us. Instead, if we want to be alive and growing as a church, and as individuals, then we must…
FEAST AT THE TABLE OF GOD’S WORD, which teaches us about God's grace.
We need to serve up and enjoy large portions of the Bible, which tells us how gracious and generous our God is.
You see, the Bible does NOT teach a self-help spirituality full of restrictive rituals. No! In fact, it teaches just the opposite. The Bible teaches us that we are absolutely helpless on our own. We cannot help ourselves. We are sinners in need of a Savior, but God has provided that Savior in Jesus Christ our Lord.
God is a good God, who made everything good. God is the one who created sex and food for our enjoyment within their proper contexts.
1 Timothy 4:4-5 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (NIV)
Within the boundaries of God’s Word, we can enjoy everything God has created. We can enjoy sex in the context of marriage. We can enjoy food in the context of moderation. God is a gracious, generous God, “who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment,” 1 Timothy 6:17 says, and He does it not because we have earned it or deserved it in any way. No. God gives us good gifts purely out of grace. And as long as we’re grateful, we can enjoy the good things God has given us!
I love the old story of the bum that begged on the streets for a living. He had been away from home for 18 years when one day he touched a man on the shoulder and said, “Hey, mister, can you give me a dime?”
The man turned around and the bum was shocked to see that it was his own father. He said, “Father, Father, do you know me?”
The father threw his arms around his son and with tears in his eyes, said, “Oh my son, at last I've found you! I've found you. You want a dime? Everything I have is yours.”
Think of it. Here was a tramp, begging his own father for ten cents, when for 18 years the father had been looking for his son to give him all that he had. (J. Wilbur Chapman; Bible Illustrator #1445; 9/1988.22)
That’s the kind of God we serve! When we trust Christ as our Savior, He places the wealth of heaven at our disposal. He gives us everything freely to enjoy. Jesus said, “I am come that you might have life, and that you might have it abundantly” (John 10:10). God is not some stingy, old miser sitting in heaven thinking up ways to make his children miserable. NO! He is a loving and gracious Heavenly Father who enjoys giving good gifts to His children, and like any father, He loves to watch his children enjoy those gifts.
That’s the God of the Bible, and that's what we need to teach if we’re going to remain vital as a church.
1 Timothy 4:6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister (literally, a good table-waiter) of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
The picture here is of a banquet being placed before God’s people where Jesus is the honored guest. Imagine yourself as the waiter or waitress at this banquet. Tell me, what would you serve? What would you serve if you were a good waiter or waitress? Would you serve moldy bread and stale water? “I’m sorry folks, but God ran out of food. This is all we have left in the heavenly kitchen. But if you pretend to enjoy it, maybe God will like you and let you come into his kitchen someday where you can find more moldy bread and stale water.”
In essence, that’s what a lot of churches teach with their good works religion. No wonder people are leaving them in droves! No!
If you were a good waiter or waitress at a banquet where Jesus is the honored guest, you’d serve prime rib with all the fixings. You’d serve the meat – tick, tender and piping hot. You’d serve baked potato with real butter and sour cream, fresh green beans steamed to perfection, perhaps a crisp salad, and for sure, homemade ice cream with chocolate syrup for desert. You’d serve up large portions of God’s grace. You’d tell people how much God loves them, and let them feast on the grace of God.
That’s what we need to do as a church if we’re going to keep from dying. That’s what we need to do as an individual believers, if we’re going to remain vital and alive in our Christian faith. We need to feast at the table of God’s Word, which tells us of God’s amazing grace. Then, we need to…
EXERCISE IN THE GYM OF GOOD WORKS.
You see, after such a meal, we better get out and do some exercise. Otherwise, we’ll become fat and lazy, spiritually. The point is, once we’ve received God’s grace, we need to discipline ourselves for godliness. We need to practice the spiritual disciplines that will help us become stronger in the Christian life.
1 Timothy 4:7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly (NIV) -- literally, exercise yourself for the purpose of godliness.
The Greek word is gumnazo, from which we get our word, gymnasium. We move from the banqueting table to the gymnasium, where we find a good workout to be very beneficial.
1 Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (NIV)
Now, please don’t misunderstand this. We don’t work for eternal life. No way! Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works that no one should boast.”
We don’t work FOR our salvation, but we do work, because OF our salvation. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
God didn’t save us so we could get fat and lazy. NO! He saved us so we could live godly lives full of good works. Philippians 2:12-13 says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
We don’t work FOR our salvation. We work OUT our salvation. We’ve already feasted at the banquet of God’s grace. Now we just need to work some of it out. We need to discipline ourselves. We need to engage in some spiritual exercises, so we don’t become spiritually fat and lazy!
At one time Billy Sunday was a great baseball player, a superstar athlete. When he came to Christ, an older Christian put his arm around the young Christian’s shoulder and said, “William, there are three simple rules I can give to you, and if you will hold to them you will never write ‘backslider’ after your name. Take 15 minutes each day to listen to God talking to you. Take 15 minutes each day to talk to God. Take 15 minutes each day to talk to others about God. (Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, #4618)
Now, as an athlete, Billy Sunday knew the meaning of physical exercise. But on that day, he learned the meaning of spiritual exercise. As a result, he grew strong in the Lord, and God used him, throughout His life, to bring hundreds of men and women to Jesus Christ.
If I could, I’d put my arm on everyone’s shoulder here and tell you all the same thing that man told Billy Sunday: Take 15 minutes each day to listen to God talking to you. Take 15 minutes each day to talk to God. Take 15 minutes each day to talk to others about God. Those are the spiritual exercises, the spiritual disciplines that will make you strong. Listen to God by reading His Word. Talk to God through prayer, and then tell others about God every chance you get.
If we want to remain strong and vital our entire Christian life, then we must feast at the table of God’s Word; and after that, we must exercise in the gym of good works. This is basic stuff, but it’s the basics that keep us going and growing.
Today, I feel a little like John Wooden, the Hall of Fame coach at UCLA from 1948 to 1975. When players gathered for the first day of basketball practice, they were full of anticipation, wondering how their coach, John Wooden, would set the tone for the long season to come.
Veterans knew what was coming, but first year players were no doubt perplexed by his initial lesson: He taught them how to put on a pair of socks. Now, he did not teach this lesson only once, but before every game and every practice. Why?
Well, Wooden discovered that many players did not properly smooth out wrinkles in the socks around their heels and little toes. If left uncorrected, these wrinkles could cause blisters that could hamper their performance at crucial times during games. Many of his players laughed at the lesson, but Coach Wooden would not compromise on this basic fundamental principle: “I stuck to it,” he said. “I believed in that, and I insisted on it.” (espn.go.com/page2/s/questions/wooden; www.PreachingToday.com)
So it is in the church and in our own spiritual lives. We must insist on the fundamentals of our faith. We must insist on grace and godliness. We must insist on God’s Word and good works. Otherwise, we run the risk of developing painful, spiritual blisters that can hurt us as we run our race before the Lord.
