Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Like those stuck in quicksand, runners in life's race cannot win if they're caught up in addictions of any kind. Today, we'll trace the roots of addiction and then point the way toward freedom, freedom to live the abundant life God intended for His children.
Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, organized crime capitalizes on one form of addiction, that of drugs. But addiction takes many forms, and today you'll be talking about the pathways to addiction. Dave, that certainly is true, and there are so many different forms of addiction, as you've mentioned, we won't list them all, except to say this, and I love the way you described it, as runners in quicksand.
They just can't make progress because they always keep being pulled back. That's why this message is so incredibly important, and of course, our hope is that we might be able to point people to the cure. The past does not have to control your future. I want to ask you something. Did you know that the great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon struggled with deep depression?
C.S. Lewis writes of seasons of intense grief. Christians know that God gave us emotions. Now, as a farm boy, I remember when we would have what was called a runaway.
The horses would take over, and no matter what the driver did, the horses kept going where they wanted to go. That's the way our emotions are at times. It seems as if we just can't control them, and if we don't, they're going to lead us astray. I've written a book entitled Managing Your Emotions, God's Good Gifts Gone Wrong, very important book. For a gift of any amount, it can be yours. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com, or call us at 1-888-218-9337.
Now, I'm going to be giving you that contact information at the end of this message. For now, let us concentrate on the terrible problem of addiction and the hope that God offers. When we were in New York, we heard that during the days when heroin was big on the streets of New York City, now it's crack and some other kinds of drugs, there was a heroin addict who was absolutely determined to break the habit, and he wondered how he could do it. And he was going to lock himself in his room, but he realized that that wouldn't work, because if you lock yourself in, somehow you can find your way out. So he chained one of his hands to the radiator, thinking that this would do it. He would have to stay there. He could not go out onto the street.
But with one free hand, he eventually was able to take care of that radiator, perhaps with a wrench that was nearby and unscrew it, and he walked down the steps and onto the street, carrying the radiator, so that he could get another fix. And he explained it this way, he said, heroin has a voice, and when it calls, you have to go. Some of you have heard that voice, haven't you? It may not be the voice of heroin, but it may be the voice of alcoholism, the voice of sexual addiction, the voice of pornography, the voice of gambling. For some of you, it is the voice of cigarettes. When it calls, you must go.
Curse it a thousand times, and it returns with as great a force as ever. Well, you know that this is a series of messages titled, Why Good People Do Bad Things. We've talked about such issues as our desires, because we are desire-driven, as we shall see also in this message. We've spoken of shame, we've talked about the impact of the family, we've talked about anger. Today, we are going to talk about addictions, and if you think that this doesn't apply to you because you don't think of yourself as an addict, in a sense it applies to all of us, because an addiction is nothing more than the blinding self-absorption of sin.
And even those of us who don't consider ourselves addicts, we've all been there, we're all on some kind of a continuum. So what we'd like to do today is to begin by talking about how the human race, God, where it is, and then of course, we aren't going to leave you in darkness. We aren't going to leave you chained to that radiator. We're going to set you free. We won't. Christ is able to, as we talk about our great deliverer.
That's the agenda for the next few moments. Romans chapter 1, take your Bibles in turn, we shall be there at least briefly, because I want you to understand how we got where we are as a human race. The Apostle Paul outlines, basically, the human race and how it fell from God, but in a sense, this is the story of every one of us.
I shall read a few verses from chapter 1 verse 21. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal men, and to birds and animals and reptiles. How did we get the way we are as a human race? Well, first of all, it says that the human race exchanged light for darkness.
We just read it. Now, what you need to understand is that people who are walking in darkness think it is light. That's the part that's so deceiving about sin. If you were to talk to people who are practicing what this chapter is about, they would never say, now I'm walking in darkness. Some of them might, but most of them would say, this is liberation.
This is light. So notice, they exchanged light for darkness. They exchanged the creature for the creator, and they began to worship the creation. That's what the Bible speaks about, and certainly we see this no more clearly than in addiction, where that particular substance or that particular experience is worshiped as the centrifugal force of somebody's life.
It is the hub into which all other spokes come together. And then notice also, they changed the truth of God into the lie. I'm there in verse 25, where it says that expressly.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the creator, who is God-blessed forever. Amen. And lying at the heart of that worship is the worship of self. I am my own God. I have a right to fulfill my own desires.
I have a right to call my own shots. And as a result of that, we find that here in this chapter, you have the deepest and darkest and clearest picture of addiction imaginable. Notice what the Bible says. Three times, God gave them over. Verse 24, therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts. Notice verse 26, because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Verse 28, furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind. Can you find anyone more addicted to sin than someone from whom God has removed his hand and simply say, let him do whatever he wants to do?
What bondage. I'd like us to look at these verses and make some observations on what we've just read. First of all, I want you to notice that this is the history of the human race, but as I've pointed out, it's the history of all of us, because we've all been there. We're all on some kind of a continuum. And later on, the apostle Paul lists all the sins, many of which we may struggle with.
We think first of homosexuality, which is the focus of some of these verses. This past week, we heard a marvelous story of a man who came through a terrible, terrible experience because his wife left the marriage for a lesbian lifestyle. And he kept crying out to God saying, God, I want you to show me how this could have happened.
15 years later, she came back and explained how it happened. A high school teacher had seduced her into the lifestyle. You know, the Bible says here in verse 32 that those who do these things not only approve of them, the things that they do, but also approve, we could add, seduce those who do them.
What a lifestyle. But it's not just homosexuality. You'll notice that he lists 21 different sins. This morning, I debated whether I should read them all.
And I think I will. You'll notice it says in verse 29, they have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. They are gossip, slanderers, God haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful. They invent ways of doing evil.
They disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. I read this and I say, God, how can you know the human heart so well? He lists it for all to see. So even though this is the discussion of the human race, in a sense, we're all a part of it. Secondly, notice that all sins listed replace God. We've already emphasized that. Sin always makes the same promises that God does.
That's why it's so attractive. Jesus said, I am come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly. Alcohol says, if you really want the life, it's here in the bottle. The scripture says that God is the one who is never going to leave us nor forsake us. Sin comes along and says that I will be here to give you that euphoric experience. I will be here if you gamble, money will be with you until the day you die.
You can depend upon it. It's not like God who is invisible. I can give you something that's visible in a bottle or a needle or in a bank account.
I can give you something that actually works. That's the deception of sin. It replaces God. Notice that in each instance, the sin becomes the master and the person who commits the sin becomes the slave.
People say, well, how do these addictions develop? Well, the answer is all that you need to do is to commit little sins and harden your heart against them and keep those little sins in your heart and then in increments continue to sin more greatly, always believing the illusion that you are in charge. Alexander Pope was right when he wrote vice is a monster of so frightful a mean as to be hated needs but to be seen yet seen too oft familiar her face. We first endure then pity then embrace and I think of the number of people I have met in my pastoral ministry who have said there was something in life I said I would never do and now I've done it. The deceitfulness of sin and of course all gods demand sacrifice. The true God demands a sacrifice and believe me sin demands a sacrifice. People say of an alcoholic, does he not care about his family? The answer is no, he doesn't. His family has to be sacrificed upon the altar of his drink because all that matters is that precious bottle and as a result of that all kinds of sacrifices are made in order to fulfill these desires. You'll notice also that sin therefore can zoom easily out of control. Could I say that in verse 32 also I think you have a hint of the transformation of the personality.
You'll notice that the Bible says they know better down deep although they know and actually yes it is verse 32 although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death they not only continue to do these very things but approve of those who practice them. You know there is such a thing as an addictive personality. The addictive personality is driven by this sense of euphoria and the trance that is created by the addiction. I remember talking to a sex addict. He said that on Wednesday on Tuesday and Wednesday when I was working in the factory all that I was thinking about is what I was already planning on Friday and he said the very act of thinking about it brought such a sense of ecstasy to my heart. I became weak inside from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. There was this sensation that seemed to overcome me. It was almost as if I was in a trance and all that I thought about I could not think about the consequences. My mind was blinded to that. All that mattered was that experience and then each time as he did whatever it was that he was doing he'd have to involve himself in more risk the next time to get the same sense of ecstasy. On and on it goes until you live in this trance world over here and then you live in the real world over here and you can go from one world to another. Oh folks I'm describing something that is terrible that all of you and myself included are capable of.
Wow. What a diagnosis of the human heart. So the alcoholic drinks in order to solve problems that his drinking created. The gambler continues to gamble hoping that he'll be able to win back the money that he squandered the last time he was gambling and the sex addict goes for another experience in order to cover the deadness of the pain and the emptiness that was left behind after his last experience and on and on it goes. Now listen to what the Bible says about sin.
You say well can't they get out of that? Well I'm reading from the book of Proverbs. For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord and he examines all of his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnares him. The cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline and be led astray because of his own great folly. The cords of sin hold him fast.
What are some of those cords? One is denial. Denial. We've talked about this in other messages where a protective shell is developed because remember the truth of God turns into a lie and from now on all that's going to matter is this is this center of a man's life as he begins to think about the sins that he wants to commit and the euphoria that he receives. He becomes cunning. He becomes devious. He becomes one whose word cannot be trusted. He lies even when the truth would serve him as well and you reason with him and there is no possibility of rational reasoning. That's the thing some of you have experienced that. You know you said well isn't it as plain as the nose on your face that you're destroying yourself and your family. He simply does not see it because everything is deflected.
Everything is misinterpreted. Everything comes through the grid of this awesome deadly power of sin and as a result he builds that protective shell so that he can sink more deeply into his world of trance and so at the same time people are kept at bay. That's one of the snares that hold him fast. A second is shame and guilt. If he were to come clean if he were to come clean oh the price he thinks he would have to pay because he'd have to finally admit it. You see there's a part of him that has to remain secret and he does things to make him convince himself that he's not as bad as one part of him thinks he is. The other day I was at another conference and I was taken to the airport by a man whose wife was molested by her grandfather and before he did those things he would always buy her hymnals because she loved to play hymns and she'd have to play hymns for him before he did it. So how depraved can a man get?
Well you see in his mind he's thinking see I'm not that bad. I'm a very generous person. In fact I go to church.
In fact I buy hymnals. Do you see the deception of the human heart and then of course there are those who tell themselves I'm not really addicted. I'm reminded of the words of Mark Twain. I've smiled over them many many times throughout the years when he said I'm not addicted to cigarettes. He said I can give it up anytime I want.
I've given it up 1,000 times. Ah how we deceive ourselves. So the addict is faced with these increased desires with decreasing satisfaction. The cords of sin hold him fast and he begins to think there is no way out. Could I say a word about those of you who may live with addicts of one kind or another? There is such a thing as being an enabler which is sometimes destructive because you say well what's the answer?
Well we're getting to the answer. Don't be too don't be too anxious here but Jesus did say that the truth sets people free but you see many of these people are insulated from the truth. That's the purpose of the whole shell of denial is to insulate themselves. So if you're an enabler, if you lie for him, if you bail him out of jail, if you're the kind of person who mops up after him, after the vomit or whatever, you know what will happen is he'll be enabled to continue that lifestyle. What you need to do is to realize that only reality, only the truth can set him free and there are many many stories of people who finally were set free when the truth finally dawned in all of its ugly reality.
So there's that part of it. Also a little word of encouragement here. You know there are people who actually have learned that it's possible to help someone reach the bottom more quickly with family members gathering around and simply simply telling that person what his lifestyle is doing to each of them so that reality somehow sinks in. When people come to Christ and are converted their actual desire eventually leaves them. A new heart I will give you.
I will take out the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh says the scripture. There is a part of you that hates sin. There is a part of you that loves righteousness.
There's a part of you that wants to please God. Yes all that is true but of course as all of us know the struggle continues but thank God we can be on the winning side. I'm so thankful for the opportunity of ministering to so many people through the ministry of radio and of course also the internet and I want to thank the many of you who are a part of this ministry. We here at Running to Win always want to offer resources that we think will be of tremendous help to you. I've written a book entitled Managing Your Emotions God's Good Gifts Gone Wrong. One of the things about this book is it also comes at the end of every chapter with questions. Great opportunity for group discussion. Now for a gift of any amount this book can be yours here's what you do go to rtwoffer.com that's rtwoffer.com or if you prefer you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. I want to thank you in advance for standing with us because together we are making a difference and the messages that you are listening to are going out eventually around the world thanks to technology.
Here's how you can contact us rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. It's time again for you to ask pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Today's question deals with games of chance. Bill emailed us this question he gets right to the point. Is gambling in line with Christian teachings and if not why not?
Well Bill thank you so much for your email and I'm very very glad to be able to respond to your question. It is true that there is not a commandment in scripture that says thou shalt not gamble but I certainly agree with Augustin the great theologian who said that the devil invented gambling and I really do believe it is the devil who invented it. Let me give you some reasons why I think that gambling is sin.
First of all because it ridicules work as a means to obtain money. You know here in Chicago there was an ad that people could see as they drove by and the ad said that there are two ways to earn a million dollars. One is to work hard and the other is to gamble. So you are a fool as the saying goes if you work in order to gain money when all that you need to do is to play the lottery. Well you and I know that there are tons of people who give money that should be used for their children's clothes and for food and that money is going to gambling. I believe that gambling is legalized stealing actually. Now you say well Pastor Lutzer that's too harsh because aren't the people doing this voluntarily? They're voluntarily giving up their money. Yes they are but I think it's something like taking money from a drunk. He might give it to you voluntarily but should you take it morally?
I don't think so. So I tend to think that gambling really is stealing. Now I could go on about gambling and all of its effects that would be a huge huge answer that I could give but I want to end with one passage of scripture that maybe speaks to gambling like no other. The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 12 verse 11 he who works with his hands and with his land will have abundant food but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. In my opinion anyone who gambles is chasing fantasies.
He's going to lose, his family's going to lose, and he lacks judgment. Thank you Dr. Lutzer for that clear answer to Bill's question. If you'd like to hear your question answered go to our website at rtwoffer.com. There you can click on Ask Pastor Lutzer. You'll be able to write your question in or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337.
You can write to us at Running to Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60614. Addictive behavior. It always starts with small steps that lead to bigger steps. Soon the addict is trapped. But there is a way to rejoin the race of life. Next time on our broadcast the steps you can take to break free from addiction and get your life back Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-01-01 15:40:54 / 2024-01-01 15:50:00 / 9