Introduction
Those
of you who live on campus know that it's not an entirely safe place. Unfortunately,
there are a lot of people down here who prey on unsuspecting people. You can get
robbed, raped, etc. That doesn't mean you shouldn't live down here--there are
many wonderful benefits--it just means that you need to be careful.
It's
the same way when it comes to spiritual things. Spirituality is in today, but
unfortunately many people think that anything spiritual must be good or safe.
But according to the Bible, we do not live in a spiritually safe (or even neutral)
environment. The main danger is not demon possession, but rather spiritual deception.
That's why Jesus ends this teaching with a warning about spiritual deception.
He mentions three forms of spiritual deception that can ruin your life unless
you discern and avoid them.
1: "I can trust the opinion of the majority
on spiritual matters."
Read 7:13-14. The first form of spiritual deception
against which Jesus warns us is sheepism--the tendency to uncritically follow
the herd we're a part of. People tend to arrive at their spiritual beliefs not
so much by careful examination and deliberate choice as by osmosis from those
around them. There is a subtle, but very strong pressure to conform to the majority
ethos. While this is no big deal in some area (musical tastes, etc.), Jesus says
there is great danger in doing this with spiritual beliefs--because at any given
time in any given society, the majority is usually wrong about the nature of spiritual
truth. Therefore, those who are truly on the right path are usually in the minority
and moving against the herd.
The "narrow way" refers to the message
of biblical revelation, fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
You can see this very
clearly in Jesus' public ministry. The majority opinion on how to attain salvation
centered around two beliefs: being Jewish and performing good works. Most rabbis
taught that being born Jewish gave you the inside track to heaven, unless you
committed some terrible sin (ABRAHAM AT GATES OF HELL). As long as you observed
the rituals and rabbinic traditions and kept out of big trouble, you were in.
See
Jesus' and John's warning against trusting the Jewish exemption clause (Matt. 3:9;
Lk. 13:28-30). See Jesus' critique of works-righteousness (Matt. 5:20-48)
and his amazing conclusion about the Pharisee and tax-gatherer (Lk. 18:14).
It isn't your ethnic origin or your relative moral performance that determine
where you spend eternity--it's your response to God's offer of grace: whether
you humble yourself before the God of the Bible, admit that you need his forgiveness,
and put your trust in his Son to pay for your sins and give you God's acceptance.
For this message, Jesus and his followers were ostracized and marginalized and
persecuted--but they were right!
When
I was in college (25-30 years ago), the majority opinion was philosophical materialism
(EXPLAIN) . . .
What about today? What about your herd?
The majority opinion in most American universities is religious relativism--the
view that spiritual truth is relative to the individual, that all spiritual beliefs
are valid ways to God, and that the notion that there is only one correct way
to God is arrogant, intolerant, and bigoted. In a social group that supposedly
prizes freedom of thought, there is remarkable conformity on this point (STREET
INTERVIEWS). No matter that it is internally contradictory, no matter that it
provides a convenient excuse not to investigate spiritual truth claims-- this
is the new dogma, and you will feel the pressure if you dare to disagree with
it.
Over against this, Jesus says that
he is the narrow way (Jn. 14:6)--because he alone has lived the perfect life
that we owe to God, he alone has died a substitutionary death that pays for our
sins against God, he alone has fulfilled the many Old Testament prophecies concerning
God's Savior/Messiah.
What are you going
to do? Are you going to investigate his claims and the evidence for them--or are
you going to stay in the herd?
What if you have decided that Jesus is the
correct way to God/salvation? There are still two very dangerous forms of spiritual
deception with which you must contend. Jesus informs us of the first of these
in the next paragraph . . .
2: "Whoever claims
to be Jesus' spokesperson is probably trustworthy."
Read 7:15. "False
prophets" refer to counterfeit Christian leaders. These are people who, like
wolves disguised as sheep, pose as followers of/spokespersons for Jesus--but are
actually deceivers who lead people astray. In fact, they are usually self-deceived
(read 7:21-23). They call Jesus "Lord," they preach in his name and
from his Word, some of them even perform miraculous deeds by what they claim is
his power. Yet they do not belong to Jesus, and destroy his work.
Jesus
predicted that the entire time between his two comings would be characterized
by a steady stream of false prophets (Matt. 24:11)--and this prediction has
been fulfilled in spades!
The first-century
church saw an immediate outbreak of all kinds of false teachers. Virtually every
New Testament letter warns against specific false teachings.
The study of
church history is a study of one outbreak after another--from the Gnostics, to
ritualistic legalism (2nd century, peaking in Middle Ages, still around
today), to mainline denominational liberalism (JESUS SEMINAR), to wacky cult-leaders
(RASPUTIN, JIM JONES, WACO GROUP), to healer-dealers, etc. They all claim to be
spokesmen for Jesus, they all use the Bible--and they're all counterfeits who
chew up people's spiritual lives.
In
such a polluted environment, how can anyone avoid this? Jesus says it's not that
difficult--just become a fruit-inspector (read 7:16-20). If you know what fruit
to look for, and if you look carefully for it, you can avoid being taken in by
false prophets. What fruit should we be inspecting? Jesus doesn't say specifically
here, but the rest of the New Testament tells us about two main things to inspect:
Does
the content of their teaching conform to biblical doctrine (7:13,14)? Read Titus 1:9-10.
Do they affirm Jesus' full deity--or do they lower him to a wandering sage, one
of many avatars, etc.? Do they affirm salvation is only through Jesus--or that
he is one of many ways? Do they affirm that salvation is only by grace through
faith alone--or do they add ritual-observance, good works, etc.? Do they hold
a high view of scripture--or are they introducing other books or teachings as
the ultimate standard?
Does the moral quality of their
lifestyle conform to biblical requirements (7:23--"lawlessness")? Read
Titus 1:6-8. Do they affirm and practice sexual purity--or are they cheating?
Are they free from the love of money--or are they making tons of money and living
high off the hog? Do they treat people with respect and gentleness (and are they
accountable)--or are they tyrants? Are they fair and just in their decisions--or
do they play favorites?
By the way, they need to pass
both tests . . .
You
should be suspicious of any leader/teacher who resists accountability in these
areas. I/we value your trust, but we don't want it because you have exempted us
from this kind of fruit-inspection!
3: "Understanding and agreeing
with Jesus' teaching is sufficient."
Let's hear Jesus out on one more
form of spiritual deception. Read 7:24-27. This warning is for people who have
avoided the first two deceptions. He says you can choose the narrow way of the
Bible and Jesus, you can discern and reject the false prophets--and still wind
up in complete spiritual ruin. How? By thinking that understanding and agreeing
with his words is sufficient.
In other
words, you can have the truth but be deceived about how you need to respond to
that truth.
Most people know that the
Bible says faith in Christ is required--but what kind of faith?
There
is a kind of faith that stops at understanding and agreeing with what he teaches.
Don't get me wrong--they are both important and necessary--they're just not enough.
Jesus says that kind of response will not survive the storms of life or the judgment
of God. James says that the demons have this kind of faith in God (Jas. 2:19)--but
that kind of faith obviously doesn't save them. In the same way that understanding
and agreeing that a medicine will cure you--but not actually swallowing it. In
the same way that understanding and agreeing that food will rescue you from starving--yet
not actually eating it.
For some of you here tonight, this is where you
are with Jesus. You have been hearing the message of Christ over the past few/several
weeks, and you now understand his offer. You have come to the point that you think
this may be/probably is actually true. That's great! But there's one more step
you need to take--the step of acting on his words--and if you don't take it, none
of this truth will really profit you. You need to actually call out to him and
ask him to forgive you through his death, to come into your heart and begin to
lead your life, etc. When you do this, your life will become anchored to the bedrock
of Christ himself, and no storm (no matter how terrible) will ever be able to
separate you from him and the eternal life that he gives you. Why not take this
action tonight?