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March 30, 2020 1:00 am
Americans are adrift in a sea of moral relativism. We need a moral compass. The cross of Christ is that compass, and the church must live by the cross if our culture is to survive. Let’s help the world by first calling the church back to the cross of Christ.
Click here to listen (Duration 25:02)Race Morris looking to Jesus.
Americans ever drift in a sea of moral relativism. We need a morning cross of Christ is that Congress and the church must live by the cross. If our culture is to survive from the Moody Church in Chicago. This is with Dr. Erwin teaching sauce make it across the finish line. Estimates are today will be seeing how the apostle Paul directed the Corinthian believers on how to live on that see moral chaos Dave. I want to commend you for the way in which you put that in the sea of oral chaos. I just got off the phone a moment to go with someone and we were discussing what is happening in our schools. What is happening in our culture. The kind of challenges that people face in this world.
And yes, it is a sea of moral chaos at the end of this broadcast. I'm going to be mentioning a resource that we are going to offer you and it's one that I think will help you in the midst of this sea of confusion. But right now we turn to the pulpit of Moody church where I discussed the fact that the cross of Christ ultimately is the load to start. I might put it that way. It is the center of moral sanity that's open our Bibles and listen, you know, I have a friend lesson who doesn't think that he should attend a restaurant where liquor is served because he's contributing toward the liquor. Let's find that he is that conviction but I wonder what happens when he eats somewhere else.
How does he know how the money that is being given is going to be used if you have that beer that you're not going to associate with idolaters and swindlers in immoral people then you have to going to go to northern Wisconsin. Then goodbye a little plot of land that a little bit of acreage and not see anybody for at least five years but watch carefully. The man from whom you purchase that plot of land he might miss use that money for immoral purposes. Paul says that's not what I'm talking about. Of course you have to do business with these people. Verse 11.
Actually I wrote you not to associate with any so-called older brother if he should be an immoral person or covetous, or an idolater or revile her or drunkard or swindler not even be such a one for one of I to do with judging outsiders. Do you not judge of those are within the church. He said that's your responsibility you're pointing their fingers at them and you have not cleaned up your own act, but those who are outside thought judges remove the wicked man from among yourselves is a what Paul is saying is I don't come here to Corinth with a with a morality campaign to clean the place up because I know number one.
It won't work. I number two. Even if you got them cleaned up morally unless they were rightly related to God you would not be doing for them.
Anything that would be of eternal significance and consequence. You would be imposing an outer law upon them without an inner transformation of heart and that won't go any where that will not fuel the stall train along the tracks supposes first of all what you need to do is to take care of the sins of the flash in chapter 6, he goes on to say you should take care of the sins of the spirit and sometimes we emphasize one and we say nothing about the other. What is it in chapter 6 will he's talking about some of these people who are going to court you know we think we live in a litigious society and we do but evidently at Corinth, there were perhaps a number of attorneys there also who majored in disputes and your brothers are going to court among brothers. People from the same church are going before ungodly judges trying to resolve these disputes. Paul says in verse five. I will pick it up in verse three. Do you not know that we shall judge angels how much more matters that pertain to this life, if then you have law courts dealing with matters for this life. Do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church.
I say this to your shame. Is it so that there is not among you one wise man will be able to decide between his brother, but brother goes to law with brother and that before unbelievers. Actually, then it is already a defeat for you that you have lawsuits, one with another, why not rather be wrong. Why not be defrauded. I can just hear the people say yeah but my rights he chiseled me out of the inheritance. He didn't give me what's coming to me and we need to set the record straight always find those who believe that the whole cause of justice rests with them every single wrong done has to be pursued legally so that they bring justice to every situation you can do that in the world. In fact, you can't do it in the world and you shouldn't dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves.
Vengeance is mine, I will recompense, says the Lord. But as weak as we rear a generation that is long since lost confidence in God's ability to handle things. We therefore think to ourselves, we must handle it in our way and we are going to get the most farthing of what is coming to us.
No matter how late it all looks pulses, clean up your act.
Clean up your act and then when he goes on to say is that these very famous words verse eight do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God and that can mean a that they will not be in heaven and is certainly there is good evidence that that perhaps is what he meant. On the other hand there are those who say no. There are people who are involved in these kinds of sins were Christians and they will get into the kingdom, but they will not rule with Christ in the kingdom they will not inherit the kingdom. Either way, what the apostle Paul is saying is that you take lightly what God takes very seriously and now he lists 10 sins, five of them we could say are the sins of the flesh.
The other five are sins of the spirit.
Four of them are sexual do not be deceived and how easy it is to be deceived when we want to do our own thing for neither fornicators. That usually is immorality among the unmarried, nor idolaters, and tell you Calvin said that our hearts are idol factories with all kinds of idols that are in our minds.
Oftentimes, or adulterers married unfaithfulness or effeminate, nor homosexuals.
The two parts that are played in the homosexual community nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor Ray Bieler's, nor swindlers shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Don't ever think they will. What a statement.
What a statement, but then he goes on to say in verse 11, and as such were some of you. Such were some of you but you were washed, you are sanctified, you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God. Notice a couple of things about this verse. First of all, he not only lists the sins of the spirit and I mentioned that some of those but notice he says revile learners never met a revile or revile or is someone who gives you abusive speech normally angry people normally angry people and people who always think the worst of every situation. They prejudge everything and that they make it the very very worst and only when they are convinced otherwise. Do they give somebody the benefit of the doubt. Don't think that a person like that going inherit the kingdom of heaven, but don't be deceived because it's easy to excuse it and I think that they will and that he goes on to say yes swindlers, you know, there are those who are dishonest in business, always chiseling somebody always trying to get the best deal. Always trying to make promises and then thinking of ways that they get out of those promises, and that he says that the covetous, the covetous, in fact, in chapter 5, verse 11. Your memory says that if someone is covetous and claims to be a believer don't even eat with him on associated with them. I've seen discipline of the church for a lot of different things.
I've never seen it for covetousness pulses in all, let's put that sin on the list along with all the others that are more noticeable.
But then he says, and such were some of you that's your past behavior, but you are washed now if we were writing this. We have said, you are justified, sanctified and washed. But Paul begins with their experience first and says you are washed real following me today want you to know today that the world has no answer to the problem of guilt. None whatever you either do one of two things I learned it in the University psychology class you sublimate it, sublimate it.
I don't know exactly how the prophet told us to do it but that's what he told us to do you try to work it into your psyche. You try to ignore it so that it no longer really causes you any trouble that's I think what sublimate means you know, my wife and I had a alarm clock.
One of these, the deep you know on these digital gadgets and it was beeping in our bedroom every hour and we toyed with it and couldn't get it to stop beeping. So I said I'll put it in my study that was about five or six months ago. Now every hour on the half hour. I still hear the beep you know what not very loud anymore and one of these days that battery is going to give up the ghost and say I'm finished. That's the way the world's is handle your conscience.
You feel guilty, let it die like a bad array so that you no longer hear its screen sorts whistle learn to live with it become hard, just do it actualize your self. That's one way the other way. Of course, is to drown it with drugs and alcohol.
Christianity says that there is a way to be washed. The nature of the cross that we take into the world actually does cleanse the conscience. I mean imagine having committed the sins known.
These are terrible things and their people are listening to this message.
You have done some of these things.
I may be even worse things and imagine being washed by God, cleanse you can get up in the morning and you can look into the mirror and you can see yourself because inwardly you have been made clean, and where can you find that in our political agendas here in America you can't find anything like that that that's unbelievable. I mean that you will be washed some of you, bless you. You live with fear that someday your past life is going to come up to haunt you.
And you wonder who knows now and who might find out. Once you have been washed. You give all that to God, trusting him that even if the lid is blown out of your life he'll walk with you through the experience because he really does love you and if he washes you. You are plain your washed, Paul says you are sanctified.
That is to say you were set apart in pageant people having committed these kinds of things and they have a mark on them. That says, set apart by God before God's special handling.
Jesus said in John 17. I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth, set apart by God and then he says you are justified your declared as righteous as God. Thanks to Christ you gave him your sin, and he gives you your righteousness and you make it to the doors of heaven welcomed by Christ himself up to tell the story of Roger because he was with us. Actually, I looked up the date it was about six or seven years ago when he came to Moody church had been a homosexual prostitute. He estimated 1500 different partners at least he was dying of AIDS emerita young woman, then miraculously she did not to catch a bad virus but I did an interview with him because I found his story so fascinating as to how God saved him out of such a life.
He was gloriously converted then then it took him two years before the word of God cleansed him so that he was able to to give up totally. His his desires that he had had in his unconverted days and and now he he radiated the that piece in the freedom of God that that refers to him and such were some of you died later of AIDS. He had it when AIDS was the kind of thing that if you had.
It was a two-year death sentence. Basically and and now he's gone but I imagine him coming into heaven through the back door but welcome to the front porch by God declared as righteous as Christ one hope what what I gospel that we have to carry into the world that is so much better than simply trying to get people to change their lifestyle. However important that might be the fact is, how can you reach inside and changes somebody who perhaps doesn't want to be changed, who's been told that he can't and who feels the sense of self-condemnation about the kind of secret life that he is living and now suddenly Thompson washes him and sanctifies him and declares him righteous. What is the bottom line that I'm trying to share with you today. It is simply this, that if we want to change the world. It will happen through the proclamation of the gospel outside these walls and the purification of the church within these walls is not all of the problems in America are really the Fulton those humanists and those liberals and those Supreme Court justices, and all the people that we target it could well be that the problem is much closer to home.
Remember when Jonah was out on the AC and that he encountered there, a mighty big storm and the ship was battered and they didn't know what the world to do. And so they decided to toss this guy over. Actually, he volunteered a Jonah had a suicidal streak in him anyway.
Later on he wanted God to kill him because he didn't have the nerve to do it himself. Lord, slightly dead. I can't take all his grace that you're given to other people, but you know it's interesting that the storm was not the result of the pagans. It was not because these pagans were worshiping their pagan gods and God hurled a storm out of heaven because he wanted to teach them a thing or two about those awesome idols and those God's that's not what happened. The reason for the storm was that there was a disobedient prophet was going in the wrong direction when God gave him clear guidance as to what his will was no Jonah was in those kind of guys who could look to God's I got I do your will.
But I have no idea what it might be many of us say that but that God's is Jonah I want you to go to Nineveh that is very, very clear, and Jonah said no. And God says because of you my servant, the storm is coming.
That's the problem may well be, and while we expend a lot of energy trying to clean America up God says I want my people were called by my name to be cleansed and to walk in freedom, and then you'll be in a position where you will have a significant effect in your society.
If it is true.
If it is true that one immoral person can infect the whole congregation and a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
And you think that's a bit unfair. Let me say that the reverse is also true that sometimes righteousness on the part of one congregation can have an impact that is much bigger than one might think, and that ought to be a cause for symbolism. One day God said that Josh, what I want you to conquer Jericho, but after Jericho's Concord. I want you to burn everything. This is the first victory remaining in the land want you to spare anything, was a guy by the name of Aiken who had a better idea. Aiken said to himself, but what am I going to do. Here's some silver. Here's a good coat.
It's too good to burn up as I took it and hid it in the stamped next battle that they came to was AI and lo and behold 36 men die on the battlefield and Josh was crying up to the Lord saying what went wrong thought you were on our side was a big deal why you allow these pagans to win the war got Joshua get up, stop praying now is the time to just quit praying said you got a problem is a guy by the name of Aiken who hid something in his tent. Will God didn't give the name places there's somebody or somebody that's got somebody better find out who it is and you member the process that they went through and Aiken was finally uncovered and he said you know I saw this Babylonians garment and I saw the silver and he said I sought and I coveted it and I took it. Now I have a question for you, but suppose that after the defeat of AI you asked a military commander.
Why did Israel lose the war. He wouldn't of said well I'll tell you what there is this guy back there was got something in his tent that he shouldn't have even crossed his mind. It is said, you know, bad strategy, not enough man what you need to do is to think more carefully as to how you can attack the enemy, better weapons, that's what he lives out. Let me ask you what is the connection between something that is hidden in a tent, what is the connection between that and defeat on the battlefield answer is there is no logical connection between those two events except that God decided to make a connection between them and God says that as long as you don't clean up your act, you won't win those battles that you become so angry about that you think we should be winning. The problem is not so much outside the walls as it is within the wall.
Who knows who knows who knows but that God might get grant us the gift of repentance and purity, and humility.
Who knows about that we might yet influence our Corinth if God is gracious and we look into our own hearts and see the sins in our own hearts that we so readily condemn in the world is then you see that the church having evaluated itself makes its greatest impact upon society. How do we get the engine going. The engine is fueled by the cross of Christ to reconcile sinners to himself and the power of the Holy Spirit of God who sets us on fire for him. That is the answer ultimately ultimately to our predicament.
I end with a note of optimism. It was Solzhenitsyn who said that it's possible sometimes to shout in a valet and your shout begins an avalanche. Who knows, who knows, but that God may yet be gracious to us but he says judgment begins at the house of God. It begins with us begins with us before we can see the transformation of the world. So where are you at today two categories of people to whom I speak. Number one.
Those of you who have never personally accepted Christ as Savior.
You have not been washed, sanctified, nor justified in the name of Jesus. Today you can reach out in faith to receive that gift humbled yourself admit your need you to save yourself. God is the one who saves second category you are concerned about America and you know Christ as Savior. You begin where you are, you begin sharing with your neighbors with your friends. You begin with your own life and you recognize that the best way for us to clean up the nation is to begin with ourselves first. Whatever God says to you and to me.
May he grant us the grace to follow through and obedience not important that you listen to the sermon, though I hope that you did. As I look at you. I think some of you did.
Maybe some of you didn't. What is important is that whatever you've heard, you will pay to the very end of my friend, this is Pastor lutes and I'm absolutely convinced that we cannot clean up the culture until we clean up the church. We need to understand the bedrock of our faith. What we do in a culture that is increasingly self absorbed individualized and always creating its own truth, will the answer is we go back to the Bible and remember what the chief responsibility of the church is this is the second to last day that we are offering a very special resource Christians, politics, and the cross. It's a book I've written. By the way, the subtitle is an urgent plea for the church to return to its mission in the midst of the political chaos that we are in all of the charges and counter charges in the midst of the moral freefall that all of us experience as we look at our culture.
We need to get back to the basics.
There is no easy fix. And that's why I've written the book Christians politics and the cross to help us to get back to what is most important. Would you write this down. Here's a web address RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com for a gift of any amount.
This book can be yours, or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember, this is the second to last day that we are making this resource available RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 and thanks in advance for helping us in this ministry you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. There is a basic problem in evangelism. The world thinks the cross we preach about his foolish but to us it's the power of God.
So how do we bring the message of the cross to a rejecting world. Next time I'm running to win will learn how to have a real impact on those around us in a series on Christians politics and the cross when looser will bring his final message across our challenge before a watching world.
Thanks for listening for pastor Erwin looser, this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the booty church