Family Fairytales:
Lie #2: “It Doesn’t Matter What They Believe”
Philippians 2:10-11
Sunday Morning, May 15, 2011
Springhill Baptist Church
Again, thank you for being here today. You’ve joined us today for the second week in our series, “Family Fairytales: Seven Lies about You and Yours.” Today we’re going to look together about a lie that is very persistent and pervasive in our culture today. It’s one of those lies that, while it’s not voiced a lot, it’s really at the foundation of how many people think today about spiritual things in general.
It’s a lie that goes like this: “It really doesn’t matter what they believe.”
“It really doesn’t matter what our children believe.” Now, again, this lie manifests itself in our culture in a couple of different ways. First of all, there are those that come right out and admit that this is the way they approach spiritual things in their families.
“I don’t really worry about what they believe, as long as they believe it sincerely. If they want to be a Muslim or a Hindu or a Buddhist or an Atheist, I don’t really have a problem with that, as long as they try to be a good person.”
You may know someone like that. You may have thought such a thing yourself. Now, it’s important for me to point out that I’m not talking about different Christian denominations here. I’m a Baptist through and through, and I hope my kids will grow up to be Baptists, but I don’t believe that Baptists will be only ones in Heaven with our Lord Jesus. I do, however, believe that you have to put your faith and trust in Jesus and him alone for eternal life.
It does matter what you believe.
There’s another way this lie manifests itself in our culture today, though, and I think this way will probably hit a little closer to home for many of us. You see, I also believe that there are those who will tell their kids that it matters what they believe, who will talk about Jesus from time to time and who really think that “religion” is important, but who, when it comes to day-to-day life, live as though it doesn’t matter what you believe.
They say they trust in Jesus, and that he’s the only way, but when you look at the way they do business, when you look at their integrity or their habits or their lifestyle, you get a different story. While they may not voice this lie, the inconsistency of their life sings it loud and clear, day after day, to their children:
I doesn’t matter, really, what you believe, because it really doesn’t matter how you live.
So, what we’re going to do today is answer this lie, and I really believe that, in order to do that, we need to go to Scripture. As Christ-followers, Scripture is our guide. Period. We are to follow Jesus and His Word and nothing else. There will be times when we are tempted to let our lives and what we think about God be guided by what’s popular. But Jesus, who we follow, was never worried about what was popular. While he didn’t go out of his way to offend people, he wasn’t afraid to do so, if the truth required it.
And neither should we.
As Christ-followers, we don’t want to offend people, and we should certainly not go out of our way to offend people, but the fact is, as we live in this world that is sinful and broken, there will come times when what we believe will be offensive to those around us. There will come times when what we say about Jesus will come into direct conflict with what most other people say about him. And that’s the case with what we’re going to talk about today.
Because, you see, it does matter what they believe. It does matter what our children believe. How do I know? I know, because it all comes down to what the Bible says about Jesus.
Look with me at Philippians 2:10-11 (Read passage)
First, notice the subject of our conversation:
1. “At the name of Jesus”
Notice the names that aren’t included. We don’t see “In the name of Mohammed.” It’s not “In the name of Buddha.” We don’t read “In the name of Mary or Gandhi or the Dali Lama.”
And it’s certainly not my name…or yours.
“At the name of Jesus.”
It’s important to keep in mind, on the one hand, how ordinary this name is. In Jesus’ day, his name was far from unusual. You might compare it today to someone named Josh or Steve or Tom. Even today, the name “Jesus” is still pretty common, especially in Latin circles. Just last weekend, in the Kentucky Derby, there was a jockey named Jesus (riding a horse, ironically enough, by the name of Shackelford).
But while there are and have been throughout the course of history plenty of people named Jesus, there is, for all practical purposes, only one Jesus.
There is only one Jesus who healed the sick with a word. There is only one Jesus who gave sight to the blind. There is only one Jesus who made the lame to walk. Only one Jesus who raised a man from the dead.
There is only one Jesus who was born of a virgin. There is only one Jesus who was God in human form.
And there is only one Jesus who gave his life for us. One Jesus who was tortured, who bled and died hanging on a crude cross…for us.
One Jesus who rose from the dead. And one Jesus who will one day come again—emptying graves and emptying this world of sin and darkness and pain.
“At the name of Jesus”
Jesus.
Now, look at the next word with me...
2. “every”
Again, we have to notice what is not said here. The word is “every,” which means “all, in totality, without exception.” Paul explains it like this:
It includes “those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” In other words, all the heavenly beings one could imagine, all the population of this world we live in, and even the most horrifying demons of Hell. Every.
We’ll have to acknowledge this morning that, in many ways, this word “every” is the most offensive word in this very offensive verse in the Bible, and the offense comes with the universal nature of the word. We live in a world that likes to believe that whatever you believe is good for you, and whatever I believe is good for me.
But please notice: the word is not “some”. It doesn’t even read, “Most knees will bow.” That word, “every” isn’t limited to those who would believe. It isn’t limited to those who choose to follow Jesus verses some other path. The word is “every,” which means…every. Everyone. Everyone from every religion in every part of the world.
Every Muslim. Every Hindu. Every Buddhist. Every Communist. Every Humanist. Every Atheist. Everyone.
But not just every religion. Every lifestyle:
Every drug-addict. Every gang-banger. Every pornographer. Every child-molester. Every murderer. Every cheater. Every liar. Every sinner. Everyone.
Every means those who have followed Jesus from childhood along with those who have wasted their lives in foolishness. Those who have spent their lives in church along with those who have spent their lives in bars, in jails, in the prisons of their own sin.
Every means those who bow with their knees and confess with their tongues voluntarily, along with those who will do so simply because they have no other choice.
Every.
And that brings us to the next phrase:
“At the name of Jesus.”
“Every.”
3. “Knee will Bow”
Since ancient times, to “bow the knee” has meant to acknowledge authority, to submit to the opinion or the truth that the one to whom you are bowing has power or authority over you. You bow to someone for whom you have a deep sense of reverence—not mock reverence like the old SNL's Wayne and Garth’s “We’re not worthy,” but real, deep awe.
Every knee will bow at the name of Jesus. Everyone—regardless of what they believe today—will acknowledge the power and dominion and majesty of Jesus Christ, the living breathing human expression of God.
Every knee will bow.
But not only that,
4. “Every tongue will confess.”
Not only will everyone who has ever breathed and ever will breathe offer up bodily expressions of awe and reverence, but we will, all of us, also offer up the same type of praise with our lips.
See, regardless of what you say about Jesus today—whether you call him a fool, or a liar, or unreal, or a pretender, or just a good teacher—regardless of what you say about Jesus today, the day will come, whether you believe in Him or not, when you will speak with your lips and voice with your throat that He is Lord.
Every tongue will confess.
“At the name of Jesus.”
“Every.”
“Knee will bow.”
“Every.”
“Tongue will confess.”
5. “That Jesus Christ is Lord.”
That Jesus Christ is worthy of our knees bowing and our tongues confessing. That He is worthy of our praise and honor. That He is God in human form; that He is Lord.
That He’s Lord of all creation. That He’s Lord of all time. That He’s ultimate authority above all authority. That He’s Ruler of rulers, the Chief of chiefs, the King of kings, the President of presidents, the Prime Minister of prime ministers. He is the Lord of lords. You cannot imagine a greater authority than Him!
And even if you don’t see it now, even if the only authority you acknowledge at this moment in time is you, and even if you live your entire life pleasing only yourself, the day will come when you will realize and acknowledge with your lips that Jesus Christ is Lord.
But you won't just acknowledge that He is Lord; you'll acknowledge that He’s the only Lord.
Do you see why this verse is so offensive in our culture today? It’s offensive, but it is necessary. And the reason it’s necessary is because this concept, this idea that Jesus, alone, is worthy of our praise, does not come naturally to us. The idea that someone else is in charge besides us—well, that just sort of grates on our nerves. As humans, we like to think of ourselves as independent and powerful. We don’t like the thought of submitting to someone more powerful than us.
That’s why we can’t just assume that our children will pick this stuff up on their own. They won’t. I promise. The idea that someone else is in charge of their lives is not something that they will pursue. They will not naturally gravitate toward that truth, no matter how true it might be. On the contrary, they will rebel against it with every fiber of their being, just as you and I would had we not been taught otherwise. They will, absolutely, every time, rebel against these things.
Unless.
Unless they are confronted with the powerful truth of the gospel in a very real and loving way starting when they are very young. Unless they are told about what Christ has done for them, about how He died for them, and about how they owe Him everything. Unless they have the most influential people in their young lives living it out, talking about it, and modeling it before them. Unless not a day goes by without someone influencing them, acknowledging the awesome majesty and power of this God...this Jesus.
These truths will not just be assumed, they won’t come naturally, any more than reading will just come naturally to someone who has never picked up a book.
That Jesus is Lord has to be demonstrated before them and repeated to them consistently by the people that they see as the wisest, most amazing people in their young lives. And, even then, though the odds of their keeping the faith will be greatly increased, it is still not guaranteed.
But either way, parents, the awesome truth that Jesus is Lord must be taught to them by you.
Because it does matter what they believe.
You see, the fact that Jesus is Lord carries with it some important consequences. If Jesus is Lord, that means that every person who has lived and every person who will ever live will have to face consequences. It means that anyone who does not put their faith and trust in this Jesus will suffer forever in a real place called Hell, and, friends, this is true no matter how much we don’t want to believe it, no matter how much this world tells us it’s ridiculous, and no matter how many preachers deny it. Because Jesus is Lord, Hell is real.
And because Hell is real, we must, we must, we must do whatever it takes to see to it that our children don’t end up there. We must empty ourselves in prayer. We must drag them kicking and screaming, if we have to, to church. We must talk about Jesus, no matter how much they roll their eyes, and we must show them the love of Jesus, no matter how ridiculous and unreasonable they find it to be.
Because it does matter what they believe. It matters more than anything. In fact, it’s the only thing that matters.
And friend, whether you’re a child who was forced to be here by your parent, or whether you are the parent, or whether your parenting days are long gone, or whether they’ve never happened, it matters infinitely what you believe.
What you do with Jesus will determine your eternal future.
Jesus told his disciples and He tells us today, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except by me.”
Friend have you put Jesus first in your life? Have you put him first in your family? Have you put him first in your home?
If not, you can do that today. You can renew your commitment to him, and you can start over today.
