The Fatal Mistake of Religion and Spirituality

utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This is the gospel of Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Please remain standing as we together recite

the affirmer Christian faith by saying the Apostles' Creed.

I believe in God the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

On the third day he rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and is sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

He shall come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Just remaining standing for another moment

and just bow our heads in prayer.

Father,

Father,

I thank you that you are a God

who has spoken

and has spoken in your word

and continues to speak to us,

not just in private revelations, Father,

but everything, Father,

ultimately is at one in harmony

with how you have spoken to us

in your word written in the Bible.

And Father,

we ask that you help us

to use the best of our minds

and the best of our hearts

and the best of our wills

to understand your word.

But Father,

as we ask for this,

we confess before you

that the best of our minds

is not enough,

that we need, Father,

you to meet us in the Bible

as you pour out

your Holy Spirit upon us,

that our mind unaided

is inadequate

to truly digest your word

and have your word

enter into us

so that our lives

will bear fruit for your glory.

So Father,

we stand before you,

we ask that you would pour out

your Holy Spirit upon us

with might and power

and deep conviction

so that we might

perfectly love you

and worthily magnify

your holy name

today and every day

until we see you face to face.

And this we ask

in Jesus' name,

your Son and our Savior.

Amen.

Please be seated.

Just a little while ago,

I discovered that

a friend of mine

whom I've known

for quite a few years,

that he's probably

about the same age as me,

that his marriage

of 30 plus years

has probably come to an end.

And that's, of course,

a very sad thing.

Ever since I've heard about it,

I've been praying for him

and his wife.

And he and his wife

attend a very, very,

very solid church

where they have been

very, very active

and involved.

And, you know,

they've done all sorts

of the things

that you would think

to be right

in terms of their kids

and all sorts

of other things.

And I don't know,

obviously,

what goes on

inside the house

and I don't know

what's, you know,

brought the marriage

maybe to an end.

Maybe not to an end,

but maybe to an end.

But it's just very sad.

And it raises

a very interesting

type of problem.

It sort of touches

on a deep fear

that many of us have

about the Christian faith

is that it sometimes

it just seems

as if it doesn't work.

Right?

That here's this couple

that could be married

for over 30 years

and attend

a really solid church

and they probably

read the Bible

and prayed

and maybe even read

the Bible

and prayed together

and did all sorts

of the things

that you think

they should do.

So how on earth

could something

like this happen?

And because you see

at a very, very deep level

many of us believe

and think

that Christianity

should make us better

and it will work out

so that our lives

are better

and that they're an example

and they bring glory

to Christ.

And that's not only

how we think

it's how many people think

that, you know,

doing something like that

things should turn out different

and if they don't

we think to ourselves

like where on earth

is God?

And maybe even start

to think

well why on earth

would we even bother

with all of this stuff?

So when we hear stories

about this

apart from the fact

that we might now

be very touched

and maybe some of you

will pray for this

unnamed couple

that I learned about

a couple of months ago

but it raises

sort of real issues

for us

like how on earth

can Christianity be true?

How on earth

can the Bible be true?

if things like that

happen to people

who seem to do

the right things?

And if that's the case

why bother?

So as I said

we're going through

the book of Romans

and the book of

the text of scripture

believe it or not

with all that odd language

about circumcision

and uncircumcision

it actually goes

to the very heart

of this particular question

and this particular fear

and expectation

that many of us

carry around.

But just before we go there

if you have your Bibles

you might want to start

turning to Romans for it.

Andrew could you put up

our verse Romans 1

16 to 17?

So if you're a guest

here this morning

as we've been going

through the book of Romans

the text that we're reading

the way the book of Romans

is written

the book of Romans

is a book

and Paul sat down

and he wrote the book

and the way it's written

is that the first 15 verses

are basically

hi I'm Paul

this is a few things

about me

and these are some

of the things I've done

and he's trying to make

a personal connection

and then in verse 16

and 17

he almost models

those of you

who are used to academia

he almost models

the universe

the abstract

that appears

at the beginning

of academic papers

where they try to summarize

the entire article

in a paragraph

and in fact

many people

don't read articles

they just read

the abstracts

because it's a lot quicker

get rid of all

the other bump

confession is afterwards

if that's what you've been doing

and pretending

that you've been reading

the whole paper

and Paul actually

models this

it's almost like an abstract

verses 16 and 17

Paul gives an abstract

of the entire book

of Romans

and then after

verse 16 and 17

he tries to sell

the problem

in verses 18

in chapter 1

to chapter 3

verse 20

is Paul selling

the problem

if you're used to

management type

of language

where you have to

first sell the problem

before you sell

the solution

that's what happens

118 to 320

and then 321

which we looked at

last week

is Paul beginning

to outline

what the solution

to the problem is

and chapter 4

that's all part of Paul

trying to outline

the solution

so we're sort of

oriented in the book

because everything

in the book

is summarized

in these two verses

would you read

these two verses

out loud

with me

for I am not

ashamed of the gospel

for it is the power

of God

for salvation

to everyone

who believes

to the Jew

first

and also

to the Greek

for in the gospel

the righteousness

of God

is revealed

from faith

to faith

as it is written

the righteous

shall live

by faith

so that's what

the whole book

is about

and it doesn't

sound like

it's talking

about anything

like that

very much

with all this

going on

and on

and on

about circumcision

but it's dealing

directly with

this problem

how is it

that somebody

could go to

a good church

for 30 years

a solid church

and believe

the right things

and probably

be pretty good

at prayer

and reading the bible

at least

if not exemplary

at least average

in those circles

and how

can

why isn't it

why is it

that something

like that

would happen

why isn't it

that their lives

are better

well let's

let's listen

to what Paul

says here

in Romans

Romans 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

beginning

at the first verse

what then

shall we say

was gained

by Abraham

our forefather

according to the flesh

just pause

right off the bat

so what's

happening here

is this

when I was

in the Anglican

Church of Canada

people called

me a fundamentalist

and it was

a slur

it was

an insult

and

and one

of the reasons

that they called

me

would insult

me

by calling

me a fundamentalist

is because I would

ask the question

what does the Bible

say

as if that's

somehow

a narrow-minded

anti-intellectual

fundamentalist

question

but the Bible

teaches you

to ask

what does the Bible

say

so what Paul

has just done

in chapter 3

in verses 21

to 31

which is just

before this

is he outlines

this

these series

of images

about what it is

that God has done

for us

in the cross

how God

has acted

in a way

which is right

with effective

power

to make

human beings

right with

himself

and he gives

these series

of images

about it

and then the reader

might be saying

well that's alright

that just popped

out of his head

and Paul

who's writing

to Jewish

and to others

he says

he really says

to himself

you might be saying

well that's just

popped out of your head

Paul

what does the Bible

say

and that's what

Paul does right now

he says

well I've said this

what does the Bible

say

it's not a

fundamentalist question

it's a Bible

question

if you read the Bible

you realize

that the Bible

wants us to ask

that question

what does the Bible

say

and the other thing

and I'm not going

to try to prove it

or disprove it

right now

but it's interesting

that when Paul

says well what

does the Bible

say

as you read it

you'll see that

basically

he believes

that the Bible

teaches

that when you

hear the Bible

speaking

you're hearing

God speaking

you know

Paul knows

all about

different authorship

and all that

but that ultimately

there's one divine

author of all

of the scriptures

whether the scriptures

are written by

Moses in the year

1400 BC

or David

400 years later

that ultimately

even though there

were different

human authors

there's one divine

author telling

one story

one coherent

story that begins

at Genesis 1

and goes to

Revelation 22

and so Paul

asks the question

what does the Bible

say

is this whole

image that God

does something

with effective

power in a way

which is right

to make human

beings right

with himself

is this something

that the Bible

teaches

and that's why

he says

goes to Abraham

and he's also

going to go

to King David

he's going to go

to the book

of Genesis

and the book

of Psalms

so we'll just

read that verse

one again

what then shall

we say was

gained by Abraham

our forefather

according to the

flesh

by human descent

because Paul

was Jewish

for if Abraham

was justified

by works

he has something

to boast about

but not before God

and we'll just

pause here for a second

because you'll notice

as we go through

this chapter

and a lot in the

book of Romans

that the word

justified

is going to keep

coming up

and in this

particular case

for justified

what it primarily

means

is an official

authoritative

declaration

that you are

right

with God

so it's not

like if I was

to say

you know

to somebody

oh that's fine

you know

your debts

are all cleared

away

you can't just

say your debts

are all cleared

away

I mean

George

you're just

a pastor

you have

hardly any

money

you can't

cover my

debts

you don't

own the bank

you're not

my car company

you know

you're not

the student

loan

organization

you can't

just say

it's alright

so the word

justified

it's as if

there's an

official

declaration

by one

in authority

proper authority

with the power

to make such

a declaration

and know

whether it's

true

and in this

particular case

as Paul

unfolds it

it's not only

that God

is able to

make that

declaration

but that

he's the one

who's actually

made it right

it's the

complete opposite

of what we're

used to

when you're

dealing with

the insurance

company

and you're

dealing with

some little

minion

who gives

little

minion

types

of answers

and has

very little

authority

and you just

sort of wish

you could

leap through

the phone

and grab

them by

the lapel

or the shirt

and say

I want to

talk to

somebody

who can

make a

real decision

that's

going to

be right

and that's

what we're

sort of

used to

in our

bureaucratic

world

but this

word

justified

every time

you see

it

it's

an image

that comes

from the

law courts

of Rome

and it's

as if

a person

who has

the authority

and the power

to make

such a

declaration

they declare

that it is

right

that you are

right with

the organization

that it's

right with

you now

and it's

Paul is

saying that

God declares

as God

that you are

now right

with him

the creator

and sustainer

of the entire

universe

and the end

to which the

entire universe

he will bring

everything to

its proper end

with the new

heaven and the

new earth

and this

very same

God

can declare

for ordinary

human beings

like you

and me

in an

official

declaration

you are

right with

me

I have

made you

right

with me

in a way

which is

right

it's an

official

declaration

okay

let's

go back

to reading

go back

to verse

two

again

for

Abraham

was

had

this

declaration

by God

that he

was right

if he had

this by

works

I'm going

to talk

about that

in a moment

because it's

really important

he has

something to

boast about

just pause

here for a

second

if

if

well no

okay

we'll keep

reading

then we'll

go back

sorry

I'm going

to get

it can

go

okay

never

keep

but not

before God

he has

nothing to

boast about

before God

verse three

for what

does the

Bible

say

he says

what does

the Bible

say

Abraham

believed

God

and it

was

I'm going

to explain

this in a

moment

but

counted to

him

as

righteousness

and every

time you

see the

word

righteousness

understand

it as

right with

God

it's

it's more

than just

being a

good person

because God

is more

than good

God is

true

he is

beautiful

he is

wise

he is

just

he is

merciful

and

right with

God

you know

you can hear

a note

that's not

right

and you want

to get

the note

right

God is

the author

of music

it's a

bigger

concept

than

mere

morality

that you

are

right

with

God

who

is

more

than

just

moral

but

the

true

the

beautiful

the

just

he's

merciful

he's

the creator

he's

the

sustainer

he's

the end

of our

longings

and of

our

yearnings

he is

sovereign

he will

bring

all

things

to their

proper

end

and

we

are

right

with

him

in

the

full

sense

of

who

God

is

so

back

to

verse 3

for what

does

the

Bible

say

Abraham

believed

God

and it

was

counted

to him

as

being

as

righteousness

as

Abraham

is now

right

with

God

verse 4

now to

the one

who

works

his

wages

are counted

are not

counted

as a

gift

but as

his

due

and to

the one

who

does

not

work

but

believes

in

him

who

declares

that

you

are

right

the

ungodly

his

faith

is

counted

as

righteousness

and just

sort of

pause

here

for a

second

how

can

God

declare

that

the

ungodly

are

right

with

him

how

can

God

declare

that

the

ungodly

are

right

with

him

how

can

God

declare

in

verse 5

that

the

ungodly

are

right

with

him

this

doesn't

make

any

sense

to

us

doesn't

make

any

sense

to

us

it

would

be

as

if

a

Buddhist

where

Hindu

was

told

that

you

see

that

Hindu

monk

who's

been

fasting

and

doing

all of

these

religious

observances

and

has

been

meditating

and

doing

all of

that

and

then

you

see

this

other

person

over

here

and

they're

from

the

lowest

caste

and

all

they

do

is

they

rob

and

they

rape

and

they

pillage

and

that

one's

achieving

nirvana

and

this

one's

not

doesn't

make

any

sense

it's

as if

a

Muslim

would

say

here

is

this

person

and

they're

doing

all

of

these

things

they've

actually

learned

7th

century

Arabic

they're

following

everything

in the

Quran

and

there's

this

person

and

he

has

no

interest

in

going

to

Mecca

he

eats

pork

all

the

time

drinks

lots

of

alcohol

has

dogs

does

everything

that

doesn't

fast

during

Ramadan

and

he

is

going

to

heaven

and

he

is

not

it

is

as

if

we

heard

that

there

is

this

person

and

their

great

grandfather

was

a

bishop

and

their

grandfather

was

a

bishop

and

their

father

was

a

bishop

and

their

mother

was

a

famous

evangelist

and

they

go

to

church

every

Sunday

and

there's

this

person

and

they're

drunk

all

the

time

and

they

cheat

on

their

wife

and

they

do

they

are

the

one

going

to

heaven

George

this

is

wrong

that

is

not

how

the

world

works

and

yet

here

it

is

it

says

in

in

complete

and

utter

opposition

to

all

religion

and

all

spirituality

it

says

here

in

verse

five

who

justifies

the

ungodly

his

faith

is

counted

as

righteousness

who

declares

right

with

himself

the

ungodly

their

faith

is

counted

as

being

right

with

God

that's

a

really

astounding

thing

it's a

very

very

deeply

astounding

thing

and if

you could

put up

my

first

point

I can't

remember

now

I don't

know

if I

wrote

it

correctly

to

spirituality

and

religion

it

makes

no

sense

that

God

justifies

the

ungodly

to

spirituality

and

religion

it

makes

no

sense

that

God

justifies

the

ungodly

you

know

at the

heart

of all

spirituality

and

religion

and

we

make

a

big

difference

between

this

and

our

culture

we

say

that

we

are

spiritual

but

not

religious

but

the

Bible

would

say

that

ultimately

if

you

look

at

it

from

a

functional

viewpoint

that

functionally

spirituality

and religion

are exactly

the same

and at

the heart

of them

they believe

in works

they might

believe in

very very

different

works

a Buddhist

and a

Hindu

and a

Muslim

and a

Christian

might believe

in somebody

who's

spiritual

but not

religious

they might

believe in

very different

types of

works

but they

all ultimately

believe in

certain types

or combinations

of works

and by

that

I mean

we have

a basic

understanding

a basic

belief

that if

we do

certain

types

of

things

God

will

owe

us

so

if

you're

a

pagan

you might

believe

that if

you do

certain

types

of

sacrifices

you'll

both

get

God

or the

gods

off

your

back

but at

the

same

time

you're

not only

getting

the

God

or the

gods

off

your

back

but

you're

doing

certain

things

that

they're

indebted

to

you

and

for

Christians

this

comes

in the

form

of

this

sort

of

basic

belief

that

yeah

yeah

yeah

yeah

yeah

yeah

yeah

yeah

I

became

a

Christian

because

I

said

the

sinner's

prayer

yada

yada

yada

yada

yada

but the

fact

of the

matter

is

that

we

live

as if

our

standing

with

God

depends

upon

our

accomplishments

how do

I know

that this

is the

case

I

know

that

there

are

people

who

maybe

even

left

this

church

after

two

years

because

they

believed

that

God

owed

us

a

building

of

our

own

and

if

we

didn't

have

a

building

of

our

own

within

two

years

it

must

be

because

we've

continued

to do

something

wrong

now

they

would

never

say

that

they're

too

well

trained

but

in

their

heart

they

believe

that

it's

the

same

type

of

thing

that

says

how

is

it

after

I've

sacrificed

and

I've

given

all

these

tithes

and I've

given

all

this

money

to

the

church

and

I

had

that

opportunity

to

sleep

with

this

man

and

I

didn't

sleep

with

this

man

and

I

taught

Sunday

school

and

I

endured

the

youth

group

good

grief

and

then

this

happens

to

me

well

once

we

say

that

what

we're

saying

is

that

we've

done

all

these

things

to

put

God

in

our

debt

we've

been

working

God

working

the

angles

and

God

doesn't

recognize

that he

owes us

and goes

ahead and

does this

so I'm

finished

with God

where's

the bar

or whatever

spiritual

be spiritual

but not

religious

and

and that's

very very

very deeply

rooted

that we

either do

certain

things

to

merit

God

noticing

us

or we

do

things

to

put

God

in

our

debt

or

we

make

some

basic

claim

of our

being

connected

to the

right

way

well I

mean

my

dad

was

an

evangelist

and my

grandfather

you know

he was

a pastor

and my

great

grandfather

you know

he built

this

church

he

was

his

money

that

built

this

church

and

that's

how

Christianity

stops

being

listening

to

this

you see

if that's

your

understanding

of what

the

Christian

faith

is

then

that

God

justifies

the

ungodly

makes

no

sense

makes

no

sense

whatsoever

we're

talking

about

something

completely

and

utterly

different

but

here's

the

thing

you

go to

a lot

of the

bars

of the

city

on a

Friday

night

or a

Saturday

night

or maybe

if you

go

you know

right

I don't

know

when the

bars open

at 11 o'clock

and you'll meet

lots of

people

if you ask

them what do

they think

about religion

they'll go

oh

what a waste

of time

those guys

and gals

they're just

completely and

utterly

self-righteous

all they do

is just

bend

themselves

out of

shape

and you

know what

it's a

complete

and utter

waste

of time

it doesn't

work

I know

this guy

and he

was he

went to

the right

church

and his

wife went

to the

right

church

and they

went there

for 30

years

and then

after 30

years

of doing

all the

tithing

they did

and all

the stuff

with youth