Rookie Mistakes Series: #2 Hidden Christianity (Part B)

How do you not get angry with some people? How do you live this perfect, this model life? And he comes along and says the Pharisees have been teaching you things that are wrong. This is what God wants.

And he lays it out to them. It is not the gospel in the sense of giving us the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the salvation of sinners. It is the teaching of God. It is the teaching of righteousness from God.

Share more information about Cross Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Hidden Christianity is the title of Pastor Rick's message as he teaches through Matthew chapter 5. What kind of city am I as a Christian? Are we as a church? Are we safe for the things of God? Doctrine? Is our doctrine safe? Are we clean? Are we dealing with sin when it rears its head?

Or will we look the other way and let it have its way with us? Are we well cared for as individual Christians? Are we in the Word? Do we keep up our devotional time?

Do we follow hard after God as the psalmist wrote? If the Christian is unkind, if the Christian is unkept, mean-spirited, if you are that way as a believer, you should know better. You know that is not right.

That is a rookie mistake. Unkind Christians go to, you know, you can go to some churches or you can go around some people that profess Christ and they're just not very friendly. They won't even greet you. I mean, you weren't friendly. They don't have to, you know, reach in their pocket and give you ten dollars.

No, I'm not opposed to that. It's not unbiblical. But for some of them, you're surprised. You go in a church and they don't even say hello to you.

Is it passing you in the hallway? Is the city well kept or is it not? The Bible tells us truths about God and ourselves as sin and salvation. It never leaves us without solutions. And because of some of its truths, because some of its truths are unpleasant to the natural mind, of course, some turn away and they begin to heed fables and they go after other things. Outside these walls and the walls of all the churches that are preaching the gospel and upholding the gospel, there's not enough to preach it.

It must be accompanied by an earnest attempt to follow it, to do it. It's very easy to preach the word. It's another thing to do it and we all know that is true, which is one reason why some make this amateur mistake in the workplace, don't want to tell anybody they're Christian because they're not living the life and they're right there in front of other people. And if I tell them I'm a Christian, they're going to say to me, are you're a Christian? The way to deal with that is if you, in two ways, in the early stages, make sure you live the Christian life and when people ask you things about yourself, you tell them the truth.

When they say, what did you do for the weekend? Don't leave out the part that you went to church because, oh, I don't want to tell them because once they know I go to church and they'll be watching me. Well, that will going to help you out, you know, because you'll be mindful and careful, put attention into walking the straight and narrow. If they don't know you're a Christian, you'll be trying to, you know, get away with things that you shouldn't be getting away with. But what if you have already been working someplace for years and you've been hiding your faith? You've been a dim-lit city.

You've got to stop. You've got to clip the wicks, make the lamps burn brighter, make the announcement clear, reevaluate everything. My experience is, true Christians in the workplace, you don't have to look for them.

Their light is shining. And we should be that way, each and every one of us. And so, again, outside these walls, no shortage of people who are determined to reject Jesus Christ, who hate him even, want to remove his influence and destroy his children. I just saw a headline the other day. I stopped listening to the news, but every week or so I have to find out if we're still here or not, and only they have that answer. And so, what's the first thing I click on? What's one of the first things I see?

Chick-fil-A in London is closing after six months because of the sexually or the homosexuals protesting their presence. Because the fact that they have announced that, as a corporation, they are very interested in Jesus Christ, they become a light to the world, and there are those evil ones in this world that hate that light. And I have to ask myself, am I hiding my faith? In light of these verses, no pun intended, in the presence of these verses, to move away from the pun, do I hide my faith from anyone? There's a difference, again, from withholding the preaching of the Gospel in certain environments, in front of certain people, or at the leading of the Holy Spirit.

We covered that last session, that even the Apostle Paul was held back at times. That's one thing not to preach it, but it is another thing not, another thing to hide it. God did not illuminate the truth in our hearts so that we could keep it from others. Do you know that there is, there's no speed of darkness? There is a speed of light, we know that, and it's very fast, but there's no speed of darkness except spiritual darkness.

Spiritual darkness has speed because it influences others, evil recruits, it goes out and seeks who it can corrupt, and that is why that spiritual darkness has speed, and that is why that salt is necessary to slow it down. Darkness is metaphorically used in Scripture in several ways. There's the darkness of ignorance, there's the darkness of hardship, you know, you can just be in poverty and struggling and blessings seem to be distant and you just, darkness in your life, in that sense. There's the darkness of evil that you've been around someone and you can see the evil in their eyes, you know, this person's up to no good. Of course there's the darkness of sin, though the darkness of sinful man, you know, we sing in the hymn, though the darkness hide thee.

But it does not travel, physically speaking, but we need to remember it travels spiritually and what are we going to do about it? Well, you're not going to do anything about it if you're hiding the gospel, because light defeats darkness, that's what the Scripture teaches, teaches us, it's a physical law, it's a spiritual law. John, John's gospel chapter 1, speaking of the Christ, in him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The darkness couldn't deal with it. That's the meaning, one of the great meanings of that verse. Matthew 5, again, verses 13 and 14, our texts say this very thing, you're the light of the world.

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. This is spoken to believers. In the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, where our text comes from, it is made clear that Jesus started out this sermon for his disciples, others then gathered around. We know that by the end of the sermon, folks are wondering, who is this man?

No one's ever spoke like this and taught like this. Matthew, look, if you have your Bibles open, verse 1 of Matthew 5, if not I'll just read it, and seeing the multitudes, that is the Christ, he went up on a mountain, and when he was seated, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them saying, and then the sermon begins, of which our text is a part of. Incidentally, it's not a mountain, the Greek word can be a hill, and that's more accurate, wish the translators would do that and be more consistent with that, because if it were a mountain, you're just not going to have the multitudes climbing up the mountain to hear the sermon, but a hill, you can make a hill, and in that region, where he was in Capernaum, there are quite a few hills. As I'm quick to always say, whichever direction you're going in in Israel, especially Jerusalem, you're going up a hill. Even when you're going down a hill, you're going up a hill. But spoken to believers, do you know that in every unbeliever is the potential to be a believer? That's pretty insightful. That means those who are not saved can be saved. Do I have a role in this? Am I part am I part of the solution? Or am I withholding it when I shouldn't be? And so it is why Christ started his sermon to his disciples, and the others began to gather around, because he wanted them to hear it.

He did not want to cover it up, they needed it. As you read the sermon, the flesh is just taken apart, dismantled. You're done with the sermon of the mountain, and you're left with this, who will save me from the judgment to come?

How do you not get angry with some people? How do you live this perfect, this model life? And he comes along and says, the Pharisees have been teaching you things that are wrong. This is what God wants, and he lays it out to them. It is not the gospel in the sense of giving us the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the salvation of sinners. It is the teaching of God, it is the teaching of righteousness from God, and it tells every reader, you don't have what it takes by yourself.

You need help. And of course the story goes on to make it clear that God is willing to help. When the disciples heard this, there were other things they heard, and they would say, they said on one occasion to them, then who can be saved? If this is righteous, if this is the standard of God, who can be saved? And Christ said, with men it's impossible.

But with God, with God it is made possible, and we know that to be the gospel. So the city is set on a hill, it is elevated, it is above its surroundings. You have to ask yourself, have I lost my elevation? Am I no longer a city on a hill? Have I lowered the standards? So long as the church is free to preach the gospel, she's not underground.

And in this country we are still above ground. Though it may bring some persecution, well that it comes, that's part of preaching the gospel is persecution. But a church or a Christian without light is delighting hell.

And none of us want to be that. At the end of the message, if you have been hiding your light in Christ and come up for prayer with the pastors, ask for the courage necessary for the wisdom to be able to be a light in a dark place, that no one is doubting where you stand when it comes to eternal matters, to salvation, to Jesus Christ. This is very important to Christianity, but as I mentioned, it's something that I've noticed that many Christians neglect. They know they're not supposed to deny Him, and they may suppose that because no one is asking them if they're a Christian, that they're not denying Christ.

But it's not that way alone. I mean, if someone asks you you're a Christian, you say, no I am not. If you are, then you are denying Him. But also, if you're in the workplace or the school or the neighborhood or wherever, and you are hiding the fact that you are full out in for Christ, then you are denying Him.

If you cannot shine your light for as aggressively as you'd like to because just life doesn't have you in those places where you can, then you can light runways for others to shine their light, to do what they have to do, and fall into a role of a support role. Song of Solomon, and you know the Song of Solomon is about Solomon the king. He wants the Shulamite, but he can't have her because she loves the shepherd, and he tries to influence her with his power and his wealth, but she doesn't take it. She stays in love with the shepherd, and this relationship that the two have, she of course is a type of the church, and the shepherd is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Solomon makes himself, he doesn't see the church of course, he just sees this event taking place, but he sees himself as the one who is trying to spoil that relationship, and he loses in the end.

And we have this verse in Solomon, Song of Solomon, chapter 6 verse 10, who is she who looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome as an army with banners. It is a picture of the church. That's what the church is supposed to look like to others. When it comes to the truths that we hold, we are as awesome as an army with banners, and in those days of course they would have all these banners when they went out to battle, and it would be quite intimidating to the other side. That's how the church was in the book of Acts.

It intimidated those who were against its message until of course many were trying to destroy her. And so how God sees the church is one thing. How does the church see herself? How God sees the individual Christian is one thing. How does the individual Christian see themselves? Critical question because how do you see yourself?

Do you see yourself as one, yes Lord I struggle, but I love you and I know who you are. Or maybe you see yourself as I believe you, but I'm afraid. Maybe you have courage enough to admit that you're afraid. God will then say, what are you going to do about it? Because it's not a pass. It's not that I'm afraid to share the gospel.

He's not going to say, okay don't worry about it. Blessed are you when men revile you, persecute you for my name's sake. So they persecuted the prophets who were before you. He says that right early into the sermon there in verse 10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And once we get it into our heads it's not so bad, but if we're resisting it we die a thousand deaths because we are running away from the things that we claim to believe and are full out against them, at least in our behavior.

It costs something to shine and that's what we have to understand. Any of you here consider yourselves a mean Christian? Don't answer out loud. But if you do, are you satisfied with that? Are you going to do something about it? Do you understand the harm that you're doing to others?

Do any of you here think that you are a dim Christian? That you have this light but you cover it. You put it under a bushel. Two things can happen if you take your light and you stick it under a bushel. The first is the bushel can put out the fire, the flame. The flame is not big enough, conditions are right, snuffs it out. Or that flame can ignite that bushel.

Which is it going to be? It's up to the Christian. It costs something to shine. It's not enough to build or to dwell on a hill. You have to radiate. You have to shine and maintain. It's going to cost you. Every time those of you who get a utility bill, you are reminded it costs to illuminate. It costs to shine, to stay bright. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 15.

And I will gladly spend and be spent for your souls, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. You see, the ones that he loved didn't love him back because they weren't willing to be spent. They resisted kindness and love and forgiveness while all Paul was doing was pouring out kindness and forgiveness on them. And he never backed down from his points. He never backed down from truth. If they were wrong, he stood his ground. He did not say, peace at any cost.

That's another rookie mistake we may get to at some other point in the series. But that is a mistake that many Christians make. They think that peace is more important than purity. You don't have peace without purity. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Well, I guess we're not doing it purity because I just bit into it enough that now you won't be interested in it. But he spent his life wisely, this apostle.

And so I read it again. I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If you are one of those Christians, you're mean-spirited, you're not being spent for the kingdom. You're spending yourself on your flesh and your carnality.

You say, Pastor, I didn't come to church to get beat up. Well, you should if you're doing these things. We help you out. We won't even charge you.

Give your flesh the beat down it needs for free. All of these things matter. As you go through the scripture and you live long enough, you find out it all matters.

None of it is filler. None of it is insignificant. You may not have enough savvy just yet to be able to pull out the value of so many things, but as time goes on and you stick at it, the list of how many things you understand and apply will increase. Now, Solomon also said, in much wisdom is much grief. The more you know, the more you hurt. How much does God know? At this moment, how much does God know about all of the wicked things, the painful things that are happening on this planet? He knows it all. In much wisdom, there is grief.

Okay, I know that as a Christian. What am I going to do with it? I'm going to shine. I'm going to be a city set on a hill no matter what.

Life is tough for everybody. I'm going to make it count, and I'm going to make it count the way the Lord has given it to me to count. And those who refuse to be spent will not shine. If someone becomes a Muslim, they have little problem, it seems, in telling everybody they're a Muslim. The women who'd gone the garb of a Muslim will put the scarf on, will walk around the neighborhoods. They don't mind announcing who they are. As much as we disagree with what they believe, they're letting their type of light shine. Nowadays, if someone is recruited into homosexuality and there's a lot of recruitment going on, that's why the numbers have increased, swelled over the years, but if someone goes into that sinful lifestyle, they have no problem flaunting it.

And yet, Christians make this rookie mistake, this basic mistake of hiding what they believe, which is far better than the two I just mentioned and everybody else. Wars are not won by defense. They're won by offense. If you are fighting a war and all you have is offense, you are under siege.

If you're going to win, you're going to have to attack. And the way we attack is we broadcast our truth. That's why many nations don't want the gospel broadcast over the airwaves. That's why they're trying to silence the voice of the gospel in this country and to silence churches.

They're so foolish to believe that if they mess with church tax-exempt status, somehow we're going to go away. I think that'd be a blessing, actually. Well, we're not that far along yet, but the point I'm making is, stay off of defense only. Learn how to attack so that the gates of hell do not prevail. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

That's what it is about. I close with this verse, especially for those of you who may be struggling with this, and it's okay. It's okay if you go up to another Christian and say, I'm struggling with letting my light shine. I'm afraid of what people will think of me. You better be more afraid of what God will think of you.

That can work in your favor if you're willing to spin it around. I pray I would never be around somebody for any length of time, and when they find out I'm a Christian, they're shocked. You're a Christian? Wow.

That would be a nightmare. Isaiah 60, verse 1. Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of Yahweh is risen in you. How sweeter is that verse in the eyes of the New Testament with all we know about the teachings of Christ, the life of Christ, who exemplified living for his Father's glory right there in front of us all. You teens, again, don't you dare be ashamed of Jesus Christ. Be delighted to let others know that you believe in Christ, that you go to church. Be ready for them to mock you, to not like you for doing it. So they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

It's worth it. You know, as a teen, and I'll be done in one moment, I remember as a teen when I identified hypocrisy in an adult, I was very much turned off by that adult. Didn't want to be around them, didn't want to, just didn't want to be around them. I believe that our teens today have the same sense, the same feeling, if they're around an adult that is a hypocrite. Well, you run the risk of being a hypocrite if you claim Christ and go to church and sing songs, but you are ashamed around others.

I'm not saying you have to cast pearl before swine. You have to be wise as serpents, as harmless as doves, but if you have the love of Christ in you, you'll have no problem letting your light shine. We're glad you joined us today to learn how to avoid some rookie mistakes in the faith. Pastor Rick will have more to share next time on Cross Reference Radio, a ministry of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. If you'd like to listen to more teachings from Pastor Rick, or if you'd like more information about this program, we invite you to visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com. We also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast so you'll never have to miss a program. Just search for Cross Reference Radio in iTunes, Google Play Music, or your favorite podcast app. What a great way to keep God's word with you wherever you go. We hope you'll tune in again next time as Pastor Rick continues studying through the scriptures, right here on Cross Reference Radio.