Grappling with God Q&A #5 - Hypocrisy, Idolatry, and Other Sins.

Today we are concluding a series called Grappling with God in which we've been looking at questions that y' all have submitted. You have asked over 80 questions and many of them are really, really good questions. As we've been thinking together about issues of faith and religion and Christianity and the Bible, what it looks like to live that out. And today we're going to look at a series of questions that are pretty related. We've been trying to kind of pick out themes from the questions that you all have been asking.

Here's the deal. You've asked so many great questions. Some of them we weren't able to get to during Sunday mornings. And so we had some deep dives. But you kept asking really good questions.

So what we want to invite you to do is keep asking questions. And what we're going to do in the future is we're going to host a series of deep dives. We've also got this fall we're going to have a handful of larger gatherings called, I think it's called the Big Idea. And we're taking some of the questions you've asked and doing kind of a really big deep dive on those questions. Also some of you have asked questions that we're going to do like whole sermon series on one of them.

One of the questions that you submitted, actually a few of them were around artificial intelligence and the nature of humanity and like what happens when the AI asks to receive Jesus. That is an excellent question because it's here and we want to do more than just a 10 minute bit on a Sunday morning. We're actually going to look at the nature of humanity and what it means, like things like the soul and stuff like that. Also a lot of you ask questions about politics and government. We're going to do a sermon series this fall that's going to explore some of those things.

So keep asking questions. You can submit your questions here. And if you're joining us online, if you go to our website, DSBC Church. On the front page of our website is the Grappling with God image with a link there that you can submit questions. So, so please do keep submitting questions as we continue on, even this morning.

So some of the questions here are a couple of the questions and these all kind of have a similar theme and maybe we'll catch the theme as we go through. So one of you asked, why do so many Christians celebrate warfare and violence? And somebody else asked, how is it that Christians continue to support vote for leaders who are clearly evil? Excellent, excellent question. So We've hit on this particular question a few different ways, but now we're to it.

And one thing I would notice especially with this first question is the Bible assumes bad Christians, and many of them are in the room presently.

So first I would just notice that the Bible expects people of faith to not always live in line with that faith. In fact, oftentimes you'll catch things in the Bible where somebody, like a pastor, somebody is saying things like, knock it off. You know that what you're doing is not in line with or in step with the Gospel. So the Bible, like, expects that people of faith. And this would just say Christians in the New Testament would do things that, that are not in line with the teaching of Jesus, with the example of Jesus, with the way of Jesus.

Is that, okay? So first of all, the fact that there's Christians who are hypocrites is an expectation that the Bible has. And the Bible brings a corrective word to those folks. Now, you'll see throughout Scripture people who are called, like, hypocrites or deceivers or wolves in sheep's clothing. Jesus says, I think it's Matthew 7.

He says that. And so you do have some people who are actively deceiving. So that's one category. People who are actively trying to manipulate, trying to use God talk, to manipulate, like folks. And then you have people who are in earnest trying to follow Jesus but failing or giving back into their old way of being or their old self.

The Apostle Paul would talk about, there's a new self, there's an old self. Remember, you have a new self in Jesus. Don't live in light of the old self. And a great example of this would be a dude who wrote part of the Bible. I just want you to capture something for a minute.

A dude who wrote part of the Bible also was really crappy at being a good Christian. Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, after spending three years with Jesus, Peter wants to do a good thing, protect Jesus. When the guards come to take Jesus, and what Peter does is he pulls out a sword and strikes at one of the people cutting off his ear. After three years of Jesus being like, we don't do that.

Every time people. Every time one of his followers would reach for the sword, Jesus would be like, no, we don't do that. Like, the way of the cross is not the way of the sword. And Peter just. In the book of Galatians, there's another dude who wrote part of the Bible named Paul, and he tells about how he had to confront Peter, many years after the resurrection, for being a hypocrite, for saying Jesus is for all people, but then being worried about who he was seen with.

Cause he was gonna make. He was afraid he was gonna look bad. And the apostle Paul said to the apostle Peter, hey, knock it off. What you are doing is not in line with the gospel. So why are there Christians who celebrate warfare and violence?

Because we need Jesus.

So why do Christians sin? Well, I don't know, you tell me. Why do you guys keep doing it? I've got it on lock, but you Philistines keep screwing up. Wait, no.

Is that right? No. Why do we keep sinning? Why do we keep reaching for the fruit in the garden? Because every day we are faced with tests, are we not?

Will we choose the way of Jesus or will we choose the broken path? And that broken path always presents itself as awesome. And so why do we do it? Oh my goodness. Because we're human and we sin and we fail.

This is why one old theologian said, all of life is repentance. Every moment recognizing, oh, am I going down a broken path? And then choosing to turn to repentance and to afresh believe in the good news of Jesus. So why do so many Christians celebrate war and violence? Why do Christians do anything bad?

We just, we are in need of constant repentance.

I will say this though. Sometimes it's tempting to give into a despair because all we see in media is bad examples of Christians. Have you ever seen a news story of Christians living faithfully and serving in their local community? Who would watch that?

Much of the time we're presented at a national level, like national media level, we're presented with bad examples of people using the name of God to do ungodly things. My invitation for those of us that might be despairing a little bit like, am I part of the wrong team? Look local.

Usually, at least in my experience, the faithfulness of people of faith is seen in quiet, small, non spectacular ways. It's the day to day faithfulness and the day to day selflessness of people deferring to each other, sacrificing for each other, sharing with one another, loving one another, practicing the fruit of the spirit with each other. And as far as I could tell, that doesn't make the news because it's not salacious, but it is good. And so look local, look to the Christians around you. I know not all of them are going to be great examples.

I am after all the pastor of this church.

But when we want to see God at work, it's oftentimes in the small and in the quiet and in what we sometimes call the mundane, not the salacious or the scandalous. And this thing about Christians, why do they continue to support vote for leaders who are clearly evil? My estimation is they don't think that's what they're doing. And usually I think that the evil team is the ones I do not prefer.

I mean, it's very tempting, is it not, to have a favorite political team and then to project onto the other team the category of evil so that I could feel justified in my vote and I could feel like I'm on the winning team. And why do I do that? Remember that one, remember five minutes ago? That's why I do it. When we think about voting, just real quick, we are going to spend a bit more time on this in the fall, but I would just notice that we have different ideas about what it means to vote.

Sometimes we think it's an endorsement, sometimes we think it's like pick the lesser of two evils, things like that. Sometimes we're confused about what voting means. And so we're going to talk a lot about that in the fall. But I would just notice that there have been Christian Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Whigs and Tories. There have been Christians in the Labor Party, the socialists, the feudalists, the aristocratic, the revolutionary, the loyalists, the monarchist, the parliamentarian, the tribalistic, the capitalistic, the free market, liberalistic, the distributistic, the corporatistic, the mercantilistic, the agrarianistic, the libertarians, and the librarians.

There have been Christians a part of all of those. Why? Well, because Christianity is for the whole world and there have been many different forms of government. And much of the time it's Christians just trying to figure out how to make the wisest, most loving decision they can based on the information they have at the time. Christians cannot be fully identified with any single political ideology or format.

The churches always contain believers who sought to follow Jesus while arriving at very different conclusions about things like economics, governance, citizenship and public life. And so we will always be confronted with Christians who vote a different way or believe a certain form of government is different. And Jesus has brought us together, by the way, as a bunch of misfits with these different convictions to figure out how we can better practice the fruit of the Spirit, especially with the political other. And Lord help us today to do that. Well, how do we reconcile Matthew 10:34 as Jesus saying, I did not come to bring peace but a sword with Matthew 5:9's Blessed.

Excellent question. This would be just real quick. First of all, Jesus calls us to be peacemakers, people who pursue the making of peace, not to be disengaged, but to go into places where there's conflict and to make peace. The context of Matthew, chapter 10. Jesus is talking.

By the way, you should go later today, go home and read your whole Bible. And when you get to Matthew, pay special attention to Matthew 5, 6, and 7, the Sermon on the Mount, then also Matthew 10. In Matthew 10, Jesus is talking to his followers about the things that might happen to them if they follow him. And he says things like, your family might leave you, your friends might disown you, people might call slander your name. And he talks about how there's.

If you follow the way of Jesus, you will likely experience division in the community of which you are part, because you follow me. So he's talking about division. So when he talks about I've not come to bring peace on earth, but the sword, he's using it as a metaphor for the division that's going to happen if you follow him. And here's oftentimes how the division happens. Jesus is not saying, follow me and go make division.

Jesus is not saying, follow me and go make conflict. What Jesus is saying is, if you follow me, you will likely experience resistance. So Jesus, the Prince of Peace, did things like confront religious hypocrisy. Do you know who resisted Jesus confronting religious hypocrisy? The people who were practicing religious hypocrisy.

Jesus, the Prince of Peace, drove out the Money Changers. Do you know who did not appreciate that? The Money Changers. Jesus challenged corrupt power. Do you know who did not like that?

Corrupt power. Jesus exposed systemic injustices. Do you know who didn't like that? The people who benefited from the systemic injustices. And when those things were done, there was what?

Conflict. And so what Jesus is saying here, I think, is that when we engage in peacemaking, which requires confronting injustice and what is broken when we live out the kingdom of God, idolatry is challenged, injustice is exposed, oppressive systems are destroyed, and idols lose their power, which means there will be conflict. So what Jesus is saying In Matthew chapter 10 is, as you follow me, don't expect that this ain't gonna cost you nothing. There will be conflict in your relationships. And so Matthew 5, 9 tells us what Christians are called to do, be peacemakers.

Matthew 10 tells us what may happen when we do it. Namely, faithfulness to Jesus will often provoke opposition from those who do not wish to follow the way of Jesus.

Next question. Are we in the end times like we read in Revelation? Sorry about that, I must have put that in the wrong. So Revelation, if we are, how should we prepare? Or do you think we should turn to God and pray?

Does Pastor Caleb think that everyone should turn to God and pray? Yes. It's important to ask which God, and that's the God, the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, who's ultimately expressed in the most vivid form in Jesus. So make sure it's that God and not one of the other ones. Are we in the end times?

Okay, so this is a question that has been very popular in Christian circles For the last 120ish years as Christians have viewed some of the stuff that Jesus said in Matthew and some of the stuff you see in the book of Revelation. And what has happened is that people have read that and they've tried to map that onto current events. And that's not a bad instinct. That's not a bad instinct trying to discern how the Bible might speak to us today. But one of the like, if.

Can I just, can I just come here? Can I just tell you my take on this stuff? I think there's a lot of money to be made in fear mongering. And I think a lot of people are using the book of Revelation and some of the end time stuff to generate fear and anxiety so people shell out dollars. I have seen people in my vocation sell end time survival.

If you read about the end times, you'll see that Jesus wins survival kit. For whom exactly? 1. 1. Like what team do you think you're on?

Like, okay, so why is this a lot of the end time stuff? Like so animating and anxiety inducing. I think there's a lot of money to be made in anxiety and fear mongering. 2.

We are in the end times rightly understood. Here's what the biblical authors when they will use the language of end times. So you have in Acts chapter two the author saying, in these last days God says, I will pour out my spirit on all people. Hebrews 1 says that God has spoken to us through his Son in these days last days. First Peter 1 says that Christ was revealed in these last times.

First John 2 He tells us that we are in the last hour. Here's what these biblical authors mean best I understand it is they look back on human history and they see God working in these different times or these different days or these different hours. But then Jesus shows up and they see that as the final hour. Jesus, death, burial and resurrection Inaugurates the final days. So there's one more work that God's gonna do in their imagination that's Jesus gonna return.

And so we're in the end of the story. But they're not looking at their watch necessarily saying, oh, it's hurry up. They're just seeing, like, the last work that God is going to do is Jesus is going to return. So we're in the last segment of time. However long that takes on the calendar.

They don't say. In fact, some of the New Testament authors are like, hey, you guys are spending way too much time looking at your calendar. You need to be about the work of living out God's kingdom now. So Rene Padilla wrote this book called Mission between the Times. And he's talking about, like, we live in between two times in these end times, these last days, the time between Jesus first appearance, his death, burial, and resurrection, and then his ascension.

And we live between that moment and the moment when Jesus will return. And so what Padea would encourage us to do is we don't stand around looking up like this, going, one of you call me, let me know. We don't do that. We do what Jesus taught us to do in between the times. So we are in the end times.

What should we do? We should turn to God and pray and live on earth as it is in heaven and will one day be in totality in the future. The book of Revelation. So let me just give you a thing. If you read the Book of Revelation and feel anxiety, that's the inverse of what the Book of Revelation is actually trying to do.

The Book of Revelation is actually giving us hope. And if you want to know more, you're in luck, because in just a few weeks, we're going to do a deep dive in the Book of Revelation. And if you like dragons, you're gonna love this sermon series. The Old Testament. Next question.

The Old Testament talks about idolatry. We kind of hit on that on the first three bits. The Old Testament talks about idolatry. How do we recognize idolatry in our modern lives?

I love this question. Thank you, Charles. I did not pay Charles to ask this question, but if he didn't, I would have.

The Bible talks a lot about idolatry, which is making a good thing an ultimate thing. Oftentimes we think, oh, how silly. Those ancient people, they made little statues out of. You know what those statues were symbols of sex, money, and power. Could you imagine a society today that overvalues sex, money, and power in ways that corrupt the Human soul.

Hmm. Hmm. What is every song about?

Sex, money, power.

Okay, so are we at risk of idolatry, too? Yeah, it's not just some silly ancient people with little statues. I mean, my goodness, we are human. This goes back to the first question. And it is extremely tempting to look at a good thing and make it an ultimate thing.

And so how do we. I love this question. How do we recognize idolatry in our lives? The sneaky thing about idolatry is it never presents itself as idolatry. Sex, money, and power or whatever we're tempted to give ourselves over to.

They never show up in our lives and say, come on, disown God and worship me. Oh, okay. Evil never presents as evil. The sneaky thing about idolatry is it's often subtle and seductive. We often think that we're doing something that's probably good.

So let me give us just a few thoughts on how we might recognize it in our own life. So these are like self diagnostic one. Can I do without it? How do I know if something's become an idol in my life? One of the things that I can ask is, can I do without it?

Am I overanxious about losing it by the way, it or them? Because people can also fill in that spot of our savior, our idol. Can I do without? When a good thing becomes an ultimate thing, we might recognize without that, I am nothing. Am I somebody if I don't have a relationship with?

Fill in the blank. Is my identity wrapped up in it? Can I do without it? That's one diagnostic number two. This is.

I love this one. One of the ways you can tell something is an idol is it won't let you ask it questions.

Idols like to stay behind the curtain. You're not allowed to ask critical questions. Do I have. So check this out. When somebody talks to me about issue or about topic or about possible idol, do I have an unhealthy reaction when it's called into question?

Let's use greed. Caleb. I think you might be greedy.

If I notice that I'm having an unhealthy response to a critical question about issue, topic, something, it might become an idol.

Can you. Can I suffer or bear the weight of people criticizing said thing or said person? One of the ways that I think you can tell if something has become. If a political leader has become an idol is when someone criticizes that political leader, you lose your mind.

Right? A good thing made into an ultimate thing. Can I ask it questions? Can I engage in healthy critical thinking about things? Number three, we Find ourselves lessening or reframing.

So if somebody accuses me of greed, what. First, unhealthy response. Number two, Should I not be able to take care of my family? You see how I've lessened it and reframed it? So if someone says, caleb, you have an unhealthy relationship with money.

And I say, what are you saying? That I shouldn't take care of my family? That we shouldn't eat? Do you see what I'm doing? First, I'm exhibiting an unhealthy response because I'm yelling.

Number two, I'm reframing the question that was just asked into something that's absurd. Did the person who said, caleb, I think you're greedy, say, caleb, I think your family shouldn't eat. But I've reframed it to deflect and go back onto the person. Number four. I tell a story of why it's different for me.

Are we having fun? There's like, 18 more. Okay, so I tell a story why it's different for me. I work so hard. Why shouldn't I just take a little bit off the top?

You see what I'm doing? I'm justifying something that I don't think other people should do. It may be that the thing becomes an idol. When I tell a story of why it's different for me. Number five, I put it back on the other.

We've already seen some of this. How dare you accuse me? Are you not greedy, too?

See, what I'm doing is I'm not allowing the introspection. Don't look in here. In fact, we should look at you.

Number six. My waking thoughts tend to drift towards it always when I'm bored. What am I meditating on? Maybe these are not like guaranteed proofs that the thing is an idol, but these are maybes at least an invitation for introspection. Number seven, how does my holding onto this thing or person impact others?

Throughout scripture, idolatry is often connected with injustice. When Israel worships other gods, the poor are neglected, the vulnerable are exploited. Violence increases, power is abused. And so we might want to ask, how does my holding to this thing impact the others in my life With a special eye towards the most vulnerable? Is my clinging to this thing hurting those that God says I should care for?

And so these are just a series of introspection questions. You should come up with your own. But these are questions not to take necessarily to, like, others per se. But at the very least, they are questions that we can pray through as we pray. Lord, Search me and know me.

See if there is any broken or errant way in me, and help me to know my own self. And this is the clarion call of Scripture. You ready for this? It's not if we're idolaters. It's when and what.

All of us are tempted to give ourselves over to something that is not God. Let me just ask real quick for those of you that have been Christians for, like day through.

And so all of life is repentance, every moment of every day, to turn from the broken path and to turn back to Jesus. The clarion call of Scripture is that when we feel that pull, or when we discern that we have taken a good thing and made it into an ultimate thing, the clarion call of Scripture is that Jesus loves you more than you could ever imagine, that he is nearer to you than you are to yourself.

Recent discovery of idolatry is not a recent discovery for Him. And so when he says things like, I will never leave you or forsake you, I love you and call you my own, dwell with me or abide with me, he's giving us those promises and invitations, knowing us more than we know our own self. See, the temptation, I think, is to recognize, ooh, I think I might be experiencing idolatry here. And then to feel like we can't take that before the Lord. I'll just ask you a question.

Do you think that he is surprised?

No. But he is tender and kind. And he says, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give to you rest. The clarion call of Scripture is, all of us are tempted to go our own way and to take a good thing and make it an ultimate thing. But those good things into ultimate things, it ends up destroying us from the inside because they can't bear the weight of all of our expectations, hopes and dreams.

But there is one who can. And it is out of love that Jesus says, repent and believe. And he longs to delight and dwell with us for all of our days. And so when we find that the answer to the question of, have I made a good thing into an ultimate thing, the gentle call of God is, come back to me. Come back to me.

I'm here.

And so, as we continue to grapple with God, we recognize that all of us are tempted to go our own way. And yet he is consistent, kind, and loving. He's given his life for you and for me. And his invitation for us as we grapple is, keep grappling, but grapple with me.

So I invite you to stand.

If it's helpful for you, close your eyes. You don't have to if you don't want to. And also if it's helpful, Just going to speak a blessing from 2 Corinthians over us this morning as we conclude this series. If it's helpful if you take the posture of just opening up your hands like this in a posture of reception or receiving what God has for us in this time, that you would receive These words from 2 Corinthians 13 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you for all the days of your life. Lord Jesus, we commit ourselves to you, knowing that you love us and that you're powerful to fulfill your promises towards us.

As we continue to grapple with these questions, we grapple with you. May we sense your presence as we go out from this place this morning. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen and amen. Friends, if you would like prayer this morning, members of our prayer team will be available up here at the front. If you're not able to make your way down, that's fine.

Just wave and get their attention. They would love to come and pray with you wherever you are in the room. And please, this week, do be praying for Splash Camp throughout the week and the 324 kids who are going to be here. Love y'. All.

We'll see you next time.