Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Agenda #4: Death by Lethal Religion

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Agenda #4: Death by Lethal Religion · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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You've probably heard it said, too much of a
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good thing can be bad for you, right? Well, that
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actually can be true of religious things. And
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we're going to see today it's possible to be
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doing good things, right things, religious things,
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and yet be fundamentally going in the wrong spiritual
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direction. Stay with me today as we discover
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how to avoid death by lethal religion. Lethal
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injection works in three stages. Anesthetize,
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paralyze, stop the heart. Chip Ingram says that's
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exactly what religion does to the soul. And Jesus
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himself had the most devastating words in all
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the Gospels to describe it. Today, Chip opens
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Acts chapter 9 to show the difference between
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a man who was religiously perfect and spiritually
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blind and what happened when the living God finally
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got his attention. I'm Dave Drewy, and this is
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Living on the Edge, continuing Chip's series,
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The Jesus Revolution. Well, don't go anywhere
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after the message. Chip's going to share about
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our mid -year match, and it's something you'll
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want to know about. Well, here's Chip now. We've
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talked about three specific agendas that Satan
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has. Not sort of the scary type, demonic things
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like on movies, but subtle agendas that are deceitful.
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The kind of agendas that get us off course and
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we don't even know it. Acts chapter 9 may be
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the most diabolical and most deceptive of all
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because it comes packaged in spirituality. We're
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going to talk about agenda number four. And agenda
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number four is death by lethal religion. Religion
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may be one of the most powerful ways in all the
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world in the name of God. That Satan deceives
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people, steals their life, ruins their relationships,
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warps their thinking about themselves and God.
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And as I was doing the research, I came across
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a little information about lethal injection.
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Now, you know that this is not about capital
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punishment and your views on that. This is about
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after the Supreme Court. deemed for a season
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in America that it was cruel and unusual punishment,
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lethal injection became actually the preferable
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way for capital punishment. And I don't know
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why, but in my mind as I was praying, I thought,
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I wonder how that works. That's the rationale,
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that it should be done in a way that's kinder,
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if there's a kind way to kill people. And I think
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about how Satan is working. It is a very kind
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way through religion that he destroys people.
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Lethal injection has a three -step process. Step
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one, it's done intravenously and it anesthetizes
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the person. Sodium pentothal is given and within
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about 10 to 30 seconds, a person goes into a
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deep sleep. So the goal is to anesthetize. In
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other words, a person's eyes shut and they fall
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asleep. The second thing that happens is they
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give the person a paralyzing agent. It's called
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pancurium bromide or pavilon. It's a muscle relaxer
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that's given at a dose that causes the muscles
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to be paralyzed so the ability to bring in oxygen
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for life is inhibited. And the third stage then
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is a toxic agent called potassium chloride. And
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it's given in a dose to stop the electrical impulses
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sent to the heart. And so the way lethal injection
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occurs is you anesthetize persons, then you paralyze
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them, and then you put a toxin that goes straight
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to their heart to stop the heart from beating.
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And I want to tell you if you want a profile
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of how the enemy works through religion, it's
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that. First of all, he has all these things about
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God and he anesthetizes us. We go to sleep. We
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become unaware. We say God words. There's God
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patterns. There's religion without reality. Second,
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you get paralyzed into patterns. And patterns
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that you feel obligated to do that over time
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become a way of performing before God. Or so
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you think. And then finally, religion always
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has this one common denominator. It will close
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your heart. It'll close your heart toward the
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real God. It'll close your heart toward people.
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It makes you rigid. In fact, look at the definition
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of religion in Webster's. It says to acquire
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a deep conviction of the validity of a religious
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belief or practice. Now, that's sort of the common
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term, but notice the roots. It's an old French
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word from Latin. Religio means to fear the supernatural.
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At the heart of religion is a fear -based. And
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then notice the French word, religare, if that's
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how you pronounce it, is to tie or to bind up.
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It has the idea of the state of a life bound
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by a vow. In essence, religion is an external
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set of rules and practices to either merit God's
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favor or to avoid his or her wrath, depending
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on the religious system. And so at the end of
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the day, it's rooted in fear. Religion binds
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people. It ties people up. It gets them on some
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sort of a performance trap to think if I do certain
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things at certain times in certain ways, somehow
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I'll be acceptable by God. Jesus, interestingly,
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speaks to religious leaders. If you want, open
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to Matthew chapter 23. I'm not going to read
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the whole chapter at all, but as you open to
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Matthew chapter 23, I'm going to skip around,
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but here's what I'm going to do. I want you to
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hear what the Son of God said to the most religious
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people on the planet. This is what he said to
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the people that were the most disciplined, were
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the most spiritual. They knew the Bible better
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than anyone else. This is from the very lips
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of Jesus. This is his view of what religion does,
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how diabolical it is. Then Jesus said, Matthew
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23, verse 1. To the crowds and to his disciples.
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The teachers of the law and the Pharisees, they
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sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and
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do everything they tell you. But do not do what
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they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
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Now, listen to what he says religion does. They
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tie heavy loads and they put them on men's shoulders.
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Everything they do is done to be seen by men.
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They love the place of honor. They want the most
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important seats in the synagogue. Skipping down
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verse 13, woe to you teachers of the law and
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Pharisees, you hypocrites. You shut the kingdom
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of God in men's faces. You yourselves do not
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enter and you will not let those who are trying
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to enter to enter. Woe to you teachers of the
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law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You travel
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over land and sea to win a single convert and
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then you make him twice as much a son of hell
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as yourself. These are not calm words. These
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are not nice words. These are not Jesus meek
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and mild. This is Jesus attacking what's diabolical
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and what religion does to the human heart. He
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goes on, because this is what really happens.
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Woe to you, blind guides. Later he calls them
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blind fools. Then he says, you blind men. Woe
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to you, teachers of the law and the Pharisees,
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you hypocrites. You give a tenth of your spices,
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of your mint, of your dill, but you have neglected
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the far more important matters of the law. justice,
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mercy, and faithfulness. Woe to you teachers
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of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You
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clean the outside of the cup, but inside you're
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full of greed and self -indulgence. Blind Pharisees,
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you hypocrites. You look like whitewashed tombs
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which are beautiful on the outside, but on the
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inside you're full of dead men's bones and everything
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unclean. On the outside, you appear to people
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as though you are righteous, but on the inside,
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you're full of greed and hypocrisy and wickedness.
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And then it's just like Jesus went off and he
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said, you snakes, you vipers, how will you escape
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the condemnation of hell? And then he says, I'm
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sending you prophets. I'm sending you wise men
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and I'm sending you teachers. teachers and wise
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men of the truth of love and life. And this is
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the prediction he makes. Some of them you will
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kill and crucify. Others you will flog in your
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synagogues and you will pursue them from town
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to town. So upon you will come the judgment of
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all the righteous men all the way from Zechariah
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to Berechiah. All will come upon this generation.
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I don't know about you. Those are the strongest
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words that are anywhere in this book. Those are
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from the lips of Jesus about religion. And no
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one is immune over time to becoming religious.
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You can even make up your own religion. Secularism
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is a religion. Humanism is a religion. So here's
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the question I want to ask and answer. What's
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the difference between dead religion and a living
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relationship with God. What's the difference
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between a dead religion and a living relationship
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with God? And I want to suggest that Acts chapter
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9 will give you a very clear picture of it. And
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what I'm going to do is I'm going to read through
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Acts chapter 9, but I want you to think more
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like a movie viewer than someone sitting in a
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church listening to the Bible being read. Because
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the structure... The Holy Spirit has instructed
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Luke, what you're going to see is there's going
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to be a scene number one, and then a scene number
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two, and then an intermission. And then there's
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going to be a scene number three and a scene
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number four. And what we're going to find is
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that there's this contrast. There's going to
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be the contrast. He's going to speak about the
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most religious man in the world at the time,
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the greatest intellect, the greatest Pharisee
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of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised the eighth
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day, a Pharisee according to the law faultless,
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Saul of Tarsus. The first half of this chapter
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will be Saul's story. The second half will be
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of a fisherman, a regular guy named Peter, who's
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blown it and struggled. But he's following Christ
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passionately. And what the author's going to
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do, he's going to say, here is Saul's life. This
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is what religion does and looks like. And here's
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Peter's life. And then right in the middle, he's
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going to say, here's the key. Here's the point.
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Here's what I want you to get. So open your Bibles
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to Acts chapter nine, but you need to follow
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along scene number one. The movie has begun.
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We pick up the story. Meanwhile, Saul was breathing
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out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples.
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He went to the high priest and he asked him for
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letters to the synagogues in Damascus. So if
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there were any one found there who belonged to
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the way. The early Christians were called that.
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They were the way. They said Jesus is the way.
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Whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners
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to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey,
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suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
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He fell to the ground. He heard a voice say to
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him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who
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are you, Lord? Saul said. I am Jesus who you're
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persecuting, he replied. Now get up and go into
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the city. and you will be told what you must
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do. The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless.
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They heard the sound, but they didn't see anyone.
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Saul got up from the ground, and when he opened
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his eyes, he could see nothing. So they led him
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by the hand into Damascus, and for three days
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he was blind. He didn't eat or drink anything.
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We'll learn later he's praying during this time.
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His world is turned upside down. Damascus, by
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the way, is about 140 to 150 miles from Jerusalem.
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I mean, this guy is zealous. This guy is sincere.
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He sees these people following Jesus, and he
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thinks it's ruining Judaism, and he wants to
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go get them. And so he gets these letters, and
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scene number one, murderous threats. He was there
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standing as a young man, and people put their
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coats down here, and Stephen was killed. And
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he goes, yes, and I'm going to get Stephen and
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all the rest of them. And I mean, he's willing
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to travel. It's probably by day. So it's probably
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a seven to 10 day walking trip to find these
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other, quote, Christians. Not called that yet.
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They're just called followers of the way. And
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bam, a light. And he realizes that persecuting
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these Christ followers is actually Jesus. And
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he realizes that he's now been messing with the
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God of the universe. And for three days, he doesn't
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eat, he doesn't drink. He's trying to make sense
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of it all. Scene number two, the big change in
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Saul's life. Picking it up at verse 10. In Damascus,
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there was a disciple named Ananias. And the Lord
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called to him in a vision, Ananias. Yes, Lord,
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he answered. And the Lord told him, go to the
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house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for
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a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
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In a vision, he's seen a man named Ananias come
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and place his hands on him and restore his sight.
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Lord, Ananias answered, I've heard many reports
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about this man and all the harm that he has done
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to the saints in Jerusalem. And he's come here
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with authority from the chief priest to arrest
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all who call upon your name. But the Lord said
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to Ananias, go. This man is my chosen instrument
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to carry my name before the Gentiles and their
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kings and before the people of Israel. And I
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will show him. how much he must suffer for my
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name. Then Ananias went to the house, and he
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entered it, and placing his hands on Saul, he
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said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared
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to you on the road as you were coming here, he
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has sent me here to you so that you may see again
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and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately,
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something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and
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he could see again and he got up and he was baptized.
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And after taking some food, he gained his strength
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and Saul spent several days with the disciples
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in Damascus. In a word, he was converted. In
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a word, he realized that the Yahweh of the Old
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Testament, that the angel of the Lord, that the
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Messiah is Jesus. And all that knowledge. And
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all that wisdom. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
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He was trained under the top Pharisee of the
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day. Secular writers say of the Apostle Paul,
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he was the greatest intellect in all of the culture
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in the first century. And now this man has just
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had this jarring relationship. He's gone from
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a religious person, literally without fault,
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to someone that has met the living God personally.
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Things are going to change. Before scene number
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three and four comes, there's an intermission.
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Imagine, you know, when you watch a television
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show and, you know, the camera's on and maybe
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there's this couple and they're walking on the
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beach and they're talking about maybe getting
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married and this and that. And then the camera
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shifts and there's this couple sitting at a kitchen
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table talking about their daughter and whether
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they should be marrying this guy and what this
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is. You know, we don't think about it, but the
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cameras are shifting and these things are happening
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at the same time. Now what Luke is going to do
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is he's going to say, This amazing thing happened
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in this man's life. And in the intermission,
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I want you to see that it had real impact. It
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had impact short -term and long -term. In fact,
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Luke is going to gloss over a period of time
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and skips what Paul talks about as three years
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in Arabia where he went and spent personal time
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with God. And then, as though the camera comes
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back to the main story, he comes back and zeroes
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in and says, now this was Saul and religion.
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Now here's Peter and relationship. Let's read
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the intermission together. Picking it up, verse
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20. So what happened to him? At all at once he
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began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus
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is the Son of God. All those who heard him were
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astonished and asked, isn't this the man who
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raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call
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on his name? And hasn't he come here to take
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them as prisoners to the chief priests? I mean,
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they're just like wiping their eyes going, are
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you kidding me? Yet Saul grew more and more powerful,
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and he baffled the Jews living in Damascus by
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proving that Jesus is the Christ. He's the Messiah.
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He's the long -awaited one. He's the one Isaiah
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53 foretold. He's the one that would be born
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of a virgin. He's the one. All those passages,
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Paul likely had nearly all the Old Testament
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memorized. And all those passages and all that
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learning and all that religion and all that discipline,
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now he's looking at it through a brand new lens.
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It's through the lens of Jesus who he's met.
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Notice what happens next. After many days had
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gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him. But
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Saul learned of their plan and day and night
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they kept close watch on the city gates in order
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to kill him. But the followers took him by night
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and they lowered him in a basket through the
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opening in a wall. Later, when he comes to Jerusalem,
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he tried to join the disciples. But they were
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afraid of him, not believing he was really a
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disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him
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to the apostles and he told them how Saul on
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his journey had seen the Lord and how the Lord
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had spoken to him and how in Damascus he'd preach
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fearlessly in the name of Christ. See, he didn't
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have just an experience. His experience led to
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a calling. His experience led to behavior that
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demonstrated he had a change of mind that led
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to a change of heart that led to a dramatic change
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in mission in his life. And so Barnabas says,
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guys, you can trust this guy. Believe me, I've
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seen him. I mean, I've seen him preach now. He's
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on our team. So Saul stayed with them and moved
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about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in
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the name of the Lord. He talked and he debated
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with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill
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him. When the brothers learned of this, they
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took him to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
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Now, every now and then, Luke does this about
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three or four times. He'll not only have an intermission,
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but he'll have a commercial. And what he does
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in the commercial is he stops and gives a progress
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report. So, you know, we're now in Acts chapter
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9, and so he kind of stops and says, oh, by the
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way, remember Jesus was ascended in chapter 1?
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Remember how the church was born in chapter 2?
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Remember all those miracles, the growth of the
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church, then the persecution? By the way, let
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me give you an update on how it's all happened.
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And so he gives this progress report in verse
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31. Then notice the church throughout Judea,
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Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace.
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Well, their number one enemy just became their
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number one advocate. It was strengthened and
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encouraged by the Holy Spirit, and it grew in
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numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. And
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if you're in your own Bible, circle the word
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the church. And I just want you to notice it's
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singular. The church where? Judea, Galilee, and
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Samaria. Those half reads. See, there's a lot
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of local expressions, but the church. It's all
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of us. They look different than us, and they
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may worship different than us, and they may view
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a few minor things different than us, but the
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church, the people that follow Jesus and love
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him, and we're all in this together. Now scene
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number three. As Peter was traveling about the
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country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.
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There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic
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who'd been bedridden for eight years. Aeneas,
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Peter said to him, Jesus Christ healed you. Get
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up and take care of your mat. Immediately, Aeneas
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gets up, and all those who lived in Lydda and
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Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
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And so we get this quick snapshot. And so we
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have the Apostle Paul, on the one hand, a religious
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man walking, ready to kill people, and he's blind.
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And when he ends up being blinded by the light
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of the truth, he becomes an invalid and they
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walk him into Damascus. Now the author wants
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you to know that's what happens with religion.
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People who think they can see are actually blind.
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And then here's someone who's in need and is
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paralyzed physically. And notice how carefully
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the text says. Peter says, in the name of Jesus.
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It's the person. It's the power. It's the living
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relationship. And then he says this little phrase,
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take up your mat. Now, it's similar to when Jesus
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said, take up your mat, but this phrase is a
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shade different. When we see that, and I read
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that because it's a paralytic, we often think
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it's about taking up your mat and walking, which
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it could be. But the primary use all through
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the New Testament of this little phrase is that
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you can now get up, you can live, you can do
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something. Open your mat and eat to get strengthened
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so that you can begin a new life. Scene number
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four. Peter is about 10 miles from another city
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called Joppa. And as we pick up the story in
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verse 36, in Joppa there was a disciple named
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Tabitha. which translated means Dorcas, who was
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always doing good and helping the poor. About
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that time, she became sick and died and her body
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was washed and placed in the upstairs room. Lydda
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was near Joppa, so the disciples heard that Peter
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was in Lydda and they sent two men to him and
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urged him, please come at once. Peter went with
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them and when he arrived, he was taken upstairs
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to the room and all the widows were standing
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around crying and showing him the robes and the
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other clothing that Dorcas had made while she
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was still with them. Peter sent them all out
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of the room. Then he got down on his knees and
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he prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he
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said, Tabitha, get up. She opened her eyes and
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seeing Peter, she sat up. He took her by the
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hand and helped her to his feet. Then he called
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the believers in and the widows and he presented
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her to them alive. This became known all over
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Joppa and many people believed in the Lord. And
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then notice this final line, Peter stayed in
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Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
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Now, you need to remember that Peter was a really
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good Jewish boy. And Peter's categories, he was
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religious, but he was open. And he heard Jesus,
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and he knew the passages about the Messiah. And
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he was open rather than his rules and his patterns.
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He wanted to explore, and he watched him, and
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he saw, and he listened, and he saw the authenticating
23:35
miracles. And Peter becomes a follower. Not a
23:39
perfect follower. He betrays Jesus. He struggles
23:41
and he's restored and he's loved. And he begins
23:44
to become one of the leaders of the church. And
23:46
pretty soon now he goes to Samaritans. He was
23:49
taught as a little boy, you hate Samaritans.
23:51
They're half -breeds. Don't mess with them. Totally
23:53
different culture. And we learned in the last
23:55
chapter he's starting to teach and realize that
23:58
God loves him even though it breaks through his
24:01
religious, narrow, bigoted view of life. And
24:05
now Joppa actually is in an arena that is very
24:08
highly Gentile populated. So now Peter's doing
24:12
stuff that good Jewish boys don't do. And here's
24:15
the kicker. Luke lets us know he's staying with
24:17
a tanner. The rabbis in the day would talk about
24:20
a tanner is an unclean person. You don't go to
24:23
a tanner. You don't stay in a tanner's house.
24:25
You don't get near tanners. What tanners are
24:27
is they would take animal skins and go through
24:30
the process of what you do from animal skins,
24:32
either to make a leather coat or they would make
24:35
leather things that you could drink out of. But
24:38
it was a smelly, yicky thing. They're usually
24:40
on the edge of town. And Luke wants to be sure
24:43
that we understand that this follower of Jesus
24:48
is breaking the taboos of Judaism. And because
24:51
of personal relationship and life, he's with
24:55
a tanner, an undesirable. an unclean person.
24:59
There's scene one, scene two, scene three, and
25:02
scene four. Here's what I want you to see. This
25:06
is a picture of dead religion versus living relationship,
25:09
and Acts 9 is a study of contrast. When we are
25:13
seeking to make a point in our Western thought,
25:16
we tend to outline either things inductively
25:19
or deductively. Deductively is here's the point,
25:22
here's the statement, and here's the five points
25:25
that justify that. Inductively is we give all
25:29
the pieces and then we come with a big, this
25:32
is the point because of all the specific pieces.
25:34
This is an interesting, in Hebrew they use, it's
25:38
called a chiastic structure. C -H -I -A -S -T
25:41
-I -C. And all it means is when they want to
25:44
outline and make a big point at times, not all
25:46
the time, very often in the Psalms, often in
25:48
narrative literature, is what they will do is
25:50
they will outline it like this. Point one. is
25:54
the very first thing and also the last thing.
25:57
So it would be like A and A. Then the second
26:00
point, point B, would be the last thing and the
26:04
second to the last thing so that that which is
26:07
in the dead center is the main point. So it's
26:10
kind of like one and five are going to contrast
26:13
or compare. Two and four contrast and compare.
26:16
And so it's like, you know, like if you're bowling.
26:19
Help me with this. If you're bowling, you've
26:21
got to hit the head pin, right? Well, if you
26:23
were back here and you were setting them up,
26:26
what you would do when you set up all the pins,
26:28
you're setting up all the pins, they all veer
26:30
toward the head pin. And the structure of this
26:33
passage, and the reason I put it like this, this
26:37
is how the Holy Spirit put it together so we
26:40
could see the dramatic contrast between religion
26:43
and living relationship. Let me show it to you.
26:45
Look at this. Notice it opens with a Pharisee
26:48
who is clean. It ends with a tanner who's unclean.
26:52
The focus is what's Paul doing as the chapter
26:55
opens? With murderous threats, he wants to kill
26:58
people. The chapter ends with what? The focus
27:01
is life. She's resurrected. The subject is a
27:05
murderer in the opening chapter. The subject
27:09
is a doer of good works, someone who loves people.
27:12
You'll notice that Jesus, what's he do? He rebukes
27:15
Paul. But by contrast, he resurrects Dorcas.
27:20
When Paul meets Jesus, he's blind. When Dorcas,
27:26
did you notice the little phrase? When she's
27:28
resurrected, it says she opened her eyes. Those
27:31
things aren't put there by accident. The author
27:33
wants to carefully help you see the distinction.
27:37
The apostle becomes an invalid. And remember
27:40
the story? The invalid becomes someone who walks
27:44
and serves. Both of them are told to get up.
27:49
The Apostle Paul says, God speaks to him, says,
27:52
get up, go where I tell you, this is what you
27:54
must do. The paralytic is, he gets up, and instead
27:59
of going, all the people of Lydda come. And they
28:03
believe and they hear because of the miracle.
28:06
The Apostle Paul is healed to carry his message
28:08
to the Gentiles. This paralytic is healed very
28:13
carefully. In the name of Jesus. And so, if you
28:17
take those things, the core teaching and point
28:21
is verses 20 and 22. If you still have your Bible,
28:24
open it up. I want you to see this. Verses 20
28:27
and 22, it is the dividing mark. It is the core.
28:31
It is the main point between dead religion and
28:34
a living relationship with the living God. Verse
28:37
20, at once he began to preach, notice, in the
28:41
synagogue. That's where the religion is. What's
28:43
he preaching? Jesus is the Son of God. That's
28:46
deity. Jesus is God. Truth. Person. Not rules.
28:54
Not patterns. Not ceremony. All those who heard
28:57
him were astonished and asked, isn't this the
28:59
man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among all those
29:02
who call upon his name? Second point. When you
29:05
meet the living God, your life changes. It's
29:08
dramatic. It's different. There's a before and
29:12
an after. I mean, there's something that happens.
29:14
Relationship with Christ brings life. Dead religion
29:19
brings death. Notice it goes on. And has he come
29:22
here to make prisoners? And then here he is,
29:29
instead of prisoners, what? He's setting people
29:32
free. Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and
29:35
baffled the Jews living Damascus. By proving
29:38
that Jesus is the Messiah. Here's what I want
29:42
you to see. Here's what happened. Two things.
29:45
Number one, he had 180 degree conversion. The
29:50
Apostle Paul was sincere, devoted, smart, educated,
29:55
a Roman citizen, wealthy. He had it going. And
29:59
I mean, he's going like this and bam, he meets
30:02
the living God. And now he's going exactly 180
30:05
degrees. degrees a different direction. It's
30:09
called conversion. Webster's defines conversion
30:12
as to turn from one belief or party to another.
30:17
Roger's synonyms are change, transformation,
30:21
resolution, metamorphosis, reformation. It's
30:24
the making over of something from something into
30:27
something new and different. The Apostle Paul
30:30
was transformed into something completely new.
30:34
Everything changed. When he met the living God,
30:39
his relationship with God changed, with the Jews
30:42
changed, with Christians changed, with people
30:45
changed, with himself. His perspective changed.
30:49
He went from being a persecutor to a preacher.
30:52
His values changed. He was a religious guy. You
30:56
heard Matthew 23. He was focused on fame, success,
31:00
prestige, status, and control. And now you can
31:04
read 13 books that were penned by the Apostle
31:07
Paul and he was consumed with people, relationships,
31:11
the hurting, the oppressed, and serving. His
31:15
goals changed. First half of this chapter, there
31:18
was a man who wanted to rise to the top. Second
31:23
half, there's someone who's concerned about reaching
31:24
the lost. In the first half, it's impressing
31:28
his contemporaries. Now he's someone you'll hear
31:30
over and over that He wants to please God from
31:33
the heart. And he went from persecuting Christians
31:36
to proclaiming forgiveness to all the known world.
31:39
You see, conversion is that point in a person's
31:42
life when they fully realize that their way is
31:46
not the right way. They may be devoted. They
31:50
may be sincere. They may be, quote, morally good.
31:52
They may be religious. But they realize that
31:55
Jesus Christ and he alone is the answer to the
31:58
most penetrating issues and problems of life.
32:02
Why am I here? Is there life after death? Who
32:06
is God? What do I do to have a relationship with
32:09
Him? Christ is the Son of God. He came and died
32:13
for all. He rose from the dead to prove that
32:17
it's true, and He offers eternal life to whosoever
32:20
would put their trust in Him. And then you'll
32:23
notice that after this 180 degree conversion,
32:26
what do you have? You've got 100 % call and mission.
32:30
You know, like he didn't say, oh, I'm so glad
32:32
I met Jesus. But boy, I sure don't want anyone
32:36
to know about it. After a few days, he's in the
32:38
synagogues. He goes, people, I was wrong. People,
32:42
you got to hear about this. People, you know,
32:44
look at this and this and this and this and this.
32:45
I mean, he was an amazing intellect. Here's the
32:49
question I have for you. Have you unconsciously,
32:53
subtly been introduced to a religious system
32:58
but maybe never had a Damascus experience? It's
33:04
possible to intellectually believe in the Bible.
33:07
It's possible to intellectually believe Jesus
33:09
is God. It's possible to feel like you ought
33:13
to and good moral people go to church at least
33:15
once or twice a month. It's possible to actually
33:18
think, you know, it's probably pretty important
33:20
to give some money to help some other people
33:21
and try and be a good person and follow the golden
33:23
rule. And you may even feel a little guilty when
33:26
you do this or do that. Religion is one of the
33:33
most diabolical ways to keep you from a living
33:35
relationship with God. Conversion always leads
33:40
to a calling. If there's a passion in your heart
33:44
to follow, if there's a concern for others you
33:48
didn't have, if there's an appetite for God's
33:50
word because it's not about reading a chapter
33:53
a day or coming to a service or how do I not
33:56
feel guilty or will God be mad at me? It's about
34:01
I am deeply, unconditionally loved and I want
34:05
to get to know him. The apostle Paul would say,
34:09
He wants to know him and the power of his resurrection
34:12
and the fellowship of his suffering. He was passionate
34:15
to know God, not perform, not become a, quote,
34:19
religious person. To summarize, I put the product
34:23
or results of religion at the top. I made a little
34:26
cloud floating above religion. Religion results
34:30
in control, fear, and death. It's what it does.
34:38
Religious people are, man, they're control freaks.
34:42
And they fear everything. And they hate change.
34:45
And it brings death, separation from God, separation
34:49
from themselves. By contrast, living relationship
34:54
results in power and love and life. And here's
34:59
all I want to say. Just ask yourself, are you
35:03
experiencing the power of God? power of God?
35:05
Is there a love of God in your heart? Is there
35:07
a living relationship? Or is it a lot of obligation,
35:11
a lot of duty, a lot of oughts, a lot of shoulds?
35:14
My parents went to church, now I go to church.
35:16
I should be a good moral person. When you know
35:24
the living God, and the living God lives inside
35:26
of you by the Holy Spirit as you've trusted Christ
35:29
as your Savior, there's a 180 that happens. More
35:33
or less dramatic, depending on your background.
35:36
But all I just want to do is shake all of us
35:39
to say, wait a second. Even those of us that
35:42
know Christ personally, religion creeps in. We
35:45
make our own. We have all of our own little groups.
35:48
We make our own little religion. And the enemy
35:50
gets inside our religious thinking. And it's
35:52
not whether what's true is not. It's our way
35:54
and how we see the truth. And everyone ought
35:56
to see it like us. Here's some sort of some takeaways
35:59
that I think are critical and important. What
36:02
must we learn about religion? Number one, religion
36:06
focuses on acceptance from the outside in and
36:10
yet life occurs from the inside out. I just always
36:15
want to remember that. You might jot in there
36:18
Philippians chapter three. The first half of
36:20
Philippians chapter three, the apostle Paul talks
36:23
about his outside in experience of being religious.
36:26
A Pharisee, tribe of Benjamin. according to the
36:31
law, faultless, self -righteous. And then in
36:35
the second half, he talks about the inside out.
36:37
And he said, I consider all those things that
36:39
literally the word is dung or rubbish. I consider
36:44
all of that as rubbish compared to knowing him.
36:49
And then he has this plea. I want to know him
36:51
and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship
36:52
of his suffering. There's this passion. It's
36:56
personal. It's living. It's alive. It's a love
36:59
relationship. Religion is always all these external
37:03
things, patterns and rules. And if you don't
37:07
do it, then you're guilty. And what about this?
37:09
And God loves you when you do these things. He
37:11
doesn't love you when you don't do these things.
37:14
And it's evil. In the church, it becomes legalism.
37:22
People with those heavy weights. It leads to
37:27
this. Religion is rooted in performance. Life
37:30
is rooted in grace. See, when you're a religious
37:33
person, the questions, it's not like you say
37:36
them out loud, but they're built into your psyche.
37:38
What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed
37:40
to do? How much am I supposed to do? Am I supposed
37:43
to pray five times a day? Do I have to go on
37:45
a pilgrimage or in our circles? Do I have to
37:48
read the Bible every day? And how much of the
37:50
Bible do I have to read? Am I supposed to give
37:51
my money? If I'm supposed to give my money, do
37:53
I have to give 10 %? Is that 10 % off the gross
37:54
or is it off the net? Do I have to read for 15
37:57
minutes or 25 minutes? Is like a mission trip
38:00
like every three years, is that okay? How much
38:03
do I have to do, do, do? That's religion. If
38:06
you're asking those questions, you're missing
38:08
the point. God doesn't need your time. God doesn't
38:13
need your money. He doesn't need your short -term
38:15
trip. See, that's performance. The question that
38:23
those in relationship ask is, who am I becoming?
38:27
Over performance in my notes, I wrote Matthew
38:29
23 and put a circle around it. Over where it
38:33
says grace, I put Romans 12. And I put a circle
38:37
around it. Because see, The test, the litmus
38:41
test is not how much do I do? Do I love people
38:44
more? The issue isn't do I give off this or give
38:48
off that? Am I more generous? Do I care about
38:51
people? Do I love God? Am I open to him? It's
38:54
your money. What do you want to do with it? It's
38:56
your time. I'll go every week, every month, once
38:59
a year. Never go. I just want to do what you
39:01
want me to do. I love you. You love me. I don't
39:04
have to perform. I am saved by grace. I'm sustained
39:07
by grace. I'm the object. I'm his son. God wants
39:11
to put his arm around me. You're his daughter.
39:15
It's completely different. Religion chains people,
39:19
binds people, makes them prisoners. Grace frees
39:23
you. Third observation is that sincerity and
39:28
devotion are no substitute for truth. Paul was
39:31
sincere and devoted. Suicide bombers, sincere
39:37
and devoted. Some of these wacko religious, quote,
39:40
Christian sects, sincere and devoted, right?
39:45
How about... Let's get it from out there to here.
39:48
Some of us in this room, sincere and devoted,
39:53
and we've added things and feel pressure and
39:57
make up extra rules and take our rules and put
40:00
them on other people. And here's the thing is,
40:02
is it true or not? Or has it just been handed
40:06
down as one more layer of stuff, one more layer
40:10
of obligation? Is your relationship with God
40:15
a lot more like duty, obligation, ought to, got
40:21
to, never measure up? Or is it more like joy,
40:25
passion, adventure? One is a relationship. The
40:31
other is religion. Fourth, religion is easy to
40:35
spot in others and nearly invisible to ourselves.
40:39
This is so painful. Because this isn't like,
40:43
do you have a relationship or are you religious?
40:45
That's certainly true. I will tell you that all
40:48
of us that have a personal, vital, living, growing
40:51
relationship with Jesus have parts of religious
40:54
thinking in our brains. And the enemy wants to
40:58
cause it to grow and to grow and to grow and
41:01
give you false guilt, give you struggles with
41:03
things. But where it's happening in your life
41:05
or mine, it's almost invisible. I mean, I can
41:09
look at other people and go, wow, boy, man, that's
41:12
easy to see. It's just hard when I look in the
41:14
mirror. No, I think this is working pretty good.
41:18
I think everyone should do it this way, exactly
41:21
this way. Think about this that way. See, religion
41:25
produces very narrow, controlling people who
41:30
demand others think and act exactly the way they
41:34
do. Religious people turn people off. People
41:38
in love with Jesus draw people like a magnet.
41:42
I've been in missionaries' homes who are sincere
41:44
all around the world, and it's out of, see, they
41:48
have such fear. I've watched them, okay, everybody
41:50
sit down right now, okay. I mean, this is a true
41:53
story. Okay, we're going to, the Bible's really
41:55
important, and I've watched, you know, three
41:57
teenagers rolling their eyes going, you know
41:59
what, their body language is telling me as soon
42:01
as I get out of this house, I'm leaving. Mom,
42:03
dad, God, Bible, they're wacko. And out of all
42:08
their fear, rules, rules, rules. They don't trust
42:10
their kids. And instead of an adventure, instead
42:13
of what does God want to say? How do we discover
42:15
how much he loves us? And what do you think about
42:17
that? It's this top -down, harsh, legalistic.
42:24
And they run. Let me give you some symptoms of,
42:29
since it's invisible, here's some symptoms, and
42:31
I'd like to say I did extensive research to figure
42:34
out these symptoms, but actually I looked in
42:35
the mirror for about 33 seconds, and these are
42:37
symptoms. Religious people are controlling. Religious
42:44
people are resistant to change. Religious people
42:49
are critical of others. Find yourself having
42:53
little conversations in the car, even in your
42:54
mind, you know, someone says doing that, you're
42:56
just critical. Religious people have feelings
42:59
of superiority. You're better than, smarter than,
43:04
more holy than. Religious people, by and large,
43:07
can be very unloving. What's right in their view,
43:12
not necessarily scripture, but what's right in
43:14
their view is more important than the person.
43:17
Religious people are fearful of the future. Religious
43:22
people are anxious. And religious people are
43:26
involved in political relational agendas in churches.
43:29
Because see, when they start feeling they're
43:31
going to lose control like Paul, man, you've
43:33
got to clamp down on some people. And you've
43:35
got to find some people that are on your side
43:37
that will look like you and have these little
43:38
conversations about what they are doing, whoever
43:40
they are. I know way too much about this. I came
43:49
up around a group, and it wasn't their fault.
43:51
It was me, but it took sort of like the dynamite
43:55
and night to glisten of my warped personality,
43:57
deep insecurities and arrogance. And so I was
44:01
around a group that when I started to grow, I
44:03
memorized a verse every day for about three years.
44:05
I had a prayer list that got very long. I never
44:08
went to bed. I never missed. I prayed all the
44:10
time. I was the biggest religious jerk you've
44:13
ever seen on the face of the earth. And after
44:15
about four years of that, I remember a conversation
44:17
with a gal that I dated earlier in college. And
44:21
out of the blue, she said to me, you know, when
44:24
I first met you and you were a new Christian,
44:25
I was really open. It seemed like there was such
44:29
joy in life. I was really open to maybe exploring
44:32
what it was all about. But if being a Christian
44:36
and being committed is like you, the last thing
44:39
I'd ever want to do in my life is be a Christian.
44:43
I actually had to stop memorizing Scripture,
44:46
realize that God loved me when I didn't pray,
44:49
or get it all through my list. And I remember
44:52
even as I was in seminary, I remember my wife
44:54
and I deciding, you know what, I mean, I just,
44:56
if I didn't give more percentage every year,
44:58
higher percentage, man, I got three kids, I'm
45:00
in seminary with no money, giving more and more
45:02
and more money away. And behind it was this religious,
45:06
I'm going to prove myself to God. And I had to
45:09
learn about grace. I spent months in Galatians
45:14
just saying, God, would you help me to grasp
45:17
you love me plus nothing. You love me when I
45:20
blow it. You love me when I'm obedient. Now,
45:23
grace is what teaches us to grow. So it's not
45:26
that we just say, you know, forget everything.
45:28
But it's relationship. Notice the final point
45:32
that's been very helpful is it is God's mercy
45:34
that rocks our world to reveal our religion and
45:38
births a fresh new life. I want you to think
45:41
mercy. God is so merciful. Because see, religion
45:45
will eventually cause you to do one of two things,
45:47
either hit the wall or become a hypocrite. I
45:51
mean, once you have rules, you make up the rules.
45:53
Make them up today, then try and keep them perfectly.
45:56
No one can keep any rules. And so what happens
45:59
is if you try and try and try and try like I
46:01
did, I just burn out. I got so depressed. I got
46:04
so depressed. It's like, man, this whole other
46:06
job of being a Christian, I was just ready to
46:07
can the whole thing. Or what you do is you realize
46:11
you can't keep them, but you want people to think
46:13
you can. So you become a hypocrite. So you act
46:15
like you're keeping them, but you really don't.
46:19
And God in his mercy, you know what he does?
46:22
He'll break you. God in his mercy will allow
46:25
a tragedy. God in his mercy will allow a car
46:28
wreck, a divorce, a bankruptcy, a mate to walk
46:32
out on you, a kid that says, you know, forget
46:34
you mom and dad. And all of a sudden, all your
46:37
rules and all your religion when you're hurting
46:39
mean nothing and you find yourself, oh God, please
46:43
help me. God, please. Please, I don't know what
46:46
to do. I don't have a job. I lost my home. I'll
46:48
tell you what, religion doesn't do anything when
46:50
you're in desperate need, right? And when you
46:52
cry out in the midst of pain, He'll always answer.
46:57
Because what you're looking for is someone to
46:59
love you, forgive you, sustain you, and help
47:02
you. And Jesus said, I'm near to the brokenhearted
47:05
and I save those who are crushed in spirit. And
47:08
I'm for you. And I did not come to create a religion
47:11
for new hoops for you to jump through. I came
47:15
that you might have life. And you might have
47:18
it abundantly. Have you been converted? Have
47:24
you done a 180? Have you embraced Jesus, not
47:27
religion? And if so, do you have a calling? Do
47:31
you realize that you, in your hands and hearts
47:34
and lives, are recipients to take the message
47:38
of life? And you're a steward of the manifold
47:42
mysteries of God. He loves people. That's Chip
47:48
Ingram on Living on the Edge with a message titled,
47:51
Death by Lethal Religion. from his series, The
47:54
Jesus Revolution. We'll hear more from Chip in
47:57
just a moment, so don't go anywhere. The full
48:00
Jesus Revolution series is available message
48:03
by message on the Living on the Edge podcast.
48:06
Subscribe and never miss a lesson. Full -length
48:09
sermons are also available through the Chip Ingram
48:11
Sermon Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.
48:15
The religious person asks, how much do I have
48:18
to do? The person in a living relationship asks,
48:21
who am I becoming? That single shift, Chip said,
48:24
is the difference between a life of obligation
48:26
and a life of grace. He also turned the mirror
48:30
on all of us, because even those who know Christ
48:32
personally can drift into religious thinking,
48:35
controlling, critical, fearful, resistant to
48:38
change. Chip's been there himself, and he said
48:41
the only thing that broke it was months in Galatians,
48:44
learning that God loves you plus nothing. Well,
48:48
here's Chip with a word about what a community
48:50
looks like when it finally trades religion for
48:52
relationship. Have you ever felt like a bit player
48:55
in someone else's story? Like your faith is real,
48:59
but I mean, your role is small. Like you're not
49:02
really making much of a difference. Well, in
49:05
Acts chapter 8, there's a man named Philip. He's
49:07
not an apostle. He's not a famous preacher, just
49:09
a... faithful believer who went where God sent
49:12
him and said what God told him to say. And because
49:15
he did, the gospel entered an entire continent.
49:18
You're not a footnote in the Jesus movement.
49:21
There are no little people in the body of Christ.
49:25
You are a... participant. You are a part of a
49:28
puzzle that God has started and is putting together
49:32
until he returns. And every piece of the puzzle
49:35
matters. I'm teaching right now through the Jesus
49:38
Revolution. And one of the most liberating themes
49:41
in the series is that God uses ordinary, available,
49:45
willing people to do things that echo into eternity.
49:49
No one in the book of Acts knew they were writing
49:52
history. They were just showing up. That's all
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God is asking of you today. Show up. Give what
49:58
you have. Your gift to the mid -year match is
50:01
double the moment it arrives. Show up. Who knows?
50:05
You might be someone's Philip that God will use
50:09
to change the course of their life today and
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for all eternity. Imagine that. You don't have
50:17
to be significant. You just have to show up.
50:19
And right now, you can show up by joining the
50:22
mid -year match where every dollar is doubled
50:24
the moment it arrives. To give right now, just
50:27
go online to livingontheedge .org or call us
50:30
at 888 -333 -6003. You can also send your donation
50:35
through the mail by writing to us at Living on
50:38
the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia 30024.
50:44
Every piece of the puzzle matters. Give today.
50:47
Again, just go online to livingontheedge .org.
50:51
Well, I'm Dave Drewy. Coming up, the early church
50:54
is thriving. And then two things quietly begin
50:57
to drain the life right out of it. Chip Ingram
50:59
names both of them next time on Living on the
51:02
Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored
51:08
by Living on the Edge.