The Consequences of Clergymen With No Convictions
Exodus 32:1-9, 15-28, 35
Intro: What are convictions? I do not speak necessarily of the conviction of the Holy Ghost, but I speak of the conviction of the conscience. Convictions are not a matter of theology, but they are a matter of lifestyle. Convictions deal not with what you believe, but they deal with how you live. Moses had them, but Aaron did not. Aaron believed all the same things that Moses did, but his lifestyle choices were a bit different. He had no convictions. We are in a day when:
1. Parents have no convictions about their children’s lives.
2. Parishioners have no convictions about their church lives.
And it is so because
3. Preachers have no convictions about their Christian lives!
We are reaping, in this day, years of clergymen, preachers, with no convictions. It has injured the church. It has undermined the institution of the home. It has scarred the morality of society. I want to show you the consequences of clergymen with no convictions:
I. Corrupt Worship:
A. Worship the Wrong Things: v. 4, “And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
B. Worship the Wrong Way: v. 6, “And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” It was all of the flesh, and they were not serious.
II. Calloused Consciences:
A. They Worshiped a False God with no conviction: v. 6
B. They Wore no clothes, but had no shame: v. 25, “And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies.” Now that they had been caught, they were ashamed, but when Moses was in the mountains, they were not ashamed to be naked.
C. They Wrought this evil before their children without concern.
III. Cowardly Leadership:
A. Cowards in dealing with Carnality: v. 1, “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.”
B. Cowards in dealing with Accusation: v. 21, “And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?” The people must have made him do it. God forbid, he should take any of the blame! The real problem with churches today is not the parishioners; it is the preachers! We have come to see a generation of preachers that are cowardly.
C. Cowards enough to lie about their sins: v. 24, “And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.” THE CALF JUST CAME JUMPING OUT??? DID HE REALLY EXPECT PEOPLE TO BELIEVE THIS? He was not man enough to face his misdeed; therefore, he made excuses and created outright fabrications to explain it. This will not be sufficient when we stand before God in Judgment one day.
IV. Chastisement of the People:
A. Destruction of their Picture: v. 20, “And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strowed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.” Remember that the calf was a symbol used in Egyptian pagan worship. They had made a picture of Egyptian life. They sought to be just like them.
B. Drinking of the Powder: v. 20, They eventually had to digest what they had done. We may do wrong today and enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, but there will come a time when we will have to digest our deeds!
C. Death of the People: v. 28, “And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.” This absence of conviction is killing our churches, our children, and our character!
Conclusion: Our children are dying without God and going to hell while the church has eating, drinking, and playing. They need Jesus. May God once more give us men and women with convictions again! Let it begin with our ministers, but let it flow through our members!
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