(Ideas for this sermon come from the book: The Reason for God, Belief in an Age of Skepticism, by Timothy Keller)
Introduction
This week- complete- 2nd part of a two week series.
Last week we looked at The Problem of Sin, this week we are going to look at The Problem of Religion.
Review
According to Christianity, our biggest problem is sin.
Yet part of-Good News (the Gospel) is-we are sinners.
Why is that fact that we are sinners good news?
If we understand that we are sinners, then we are not helpless victims of our passions/culture.
There is a reason for our problem and a solution.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NASU
Here we see- problem- sin,
result of our sin- death, and
solution to our problem- Jesus Christ.
The only way we can get free from sin is through- life/death/resurrection of- Jesus Christ.
Last week we took some time to define sin …
Sin is the refusal to find our deepest level of significance in our relationship/service to God.
Sin-trying to find-identity for our self apart from God.
Many times we understand sin as breaking rules.
Sin is not just doing bad things, it is making good things into the most important things in our life.
It is making something other than God as central to our sense of significance, purpose, and happiness.
The Problem of Religion
There is a big difference between the way other religions present a solution to man’s problems and
the way the Gospel of Jesus Christ does.
All other major faiths have founders who are teachers that came to show the way to/point to- salvation.
Only the founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, makes the claim to BE the way of salvation HIMSELF.
Jn 14:1-6
Jesus does not point to the way, He says He is the way
Jn 10:7-11
Jesus is clear- He is the only way to salvation.
Most other faiths speak of salvation through some type of moral effort on the part of man.
Christian Gospel- speaks of salvation through grace.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson- presents Dr. Jekyll as a man who realizes he is full of both good and evil.
Dr. Jekyll concludes that his bad nature is holding his good nature captive.
No matter how much he aspires to do good things, he cannot follow through on them.
Rom 7:14-25 NLT
We see the same batter between two natures that Dr. Jekyll found himself wrestling with.
To solve his problem, Dr. Jekyll comes up with a potion that can separate his two natures.
His hope is that …
his good nature will come out during the day,
will be free from the influence of evil, and
he can realize his goals to do good.
One night, after taking- potion- bad side comes out- he realizes he is far more evil than he expected.
I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold a slave to my original evil; and the thought in that moment, braced and delighted me like wine … (Edward Hyde’s)
every act and thought centered on self.
Mr. Hyde thinks only of his own desires and does not care who he hurts to gratify himself.
Dr. Jekyll, wants to hide, his dark side, Mr. Hyde.
If we are honest w/ourselves, we also underestimate our potential for wickedness.
We try to hide from ourselves and others our …
enormous capacity for selfishness and
lack of regard for the interests of others.
We try to keep this dark side, the old nature, hidden.
However …
as we are going through life,
from time to time,
something happens,
a potion of the right circumstances, and
out our bad side comes.
Dr. Jekyll’s approach to fix- problem- clamp down on his evil side.
In essence he gets religious-resolves to devote himself to doing good works to make up for his evil side.
One day, after many months of doing good works, he is thinking about how wonderful he has been.
He is rehearsing in his mind all the good things he has done to make up for- bad things Mr. Hyde did.
He is enamored by the moral life he has been living.
As Dr. Jekyll- thinking about how good he has been-suddenly turns into Mr. Hyde w/o drinking- potion
Now is unable to control his bad side from coming out, so Dr. Jekyll kills himself.
Why would Dr. Jekyll become Mr. Hyde without taking the potion?
Like many of us, Dr. Jekyll realized he is was sinner and tried to cover his sin by doing good works.
Yet his success in doing good works leads to further self-centeredness-He becomes self-righteous/proud
The point is this …
Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde, not in spite of his goodness, but because of his goodness.
There are two sides to sin and evil …
1. Being very bad and breaking all the rules
I am going to live my life the way I want to live.
I am going to be selfish, do what I want, please myself, not care about how it affects others.
I determine how I am going to live and what is right and wrong- I become my own god/savior.
2. Being very good and keeping all the rules
In this case I allow my goodness to become self-righteousness and judgment towards others.
Because I am living a good/moral life, avoiding sin …
I begin to feel that God has to bless/save me
because of the good life I am living.
When we approach God moralistically we begin to feel God owes us
something.
We are trusting in our own goodness to get us into heaven rather than trusting in Jesus as our Savior.
So again, I have become my own god/savior.
Both of these- rejection of- Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We can avoid allowing Jesus to be our Savior by …
breaking all the Biblical commandments or
by keeping all the Biblical commandments.
In both cases we are building your identity on our own moral achievements.
In both cases Jesus is not our Savior, we are trying to save ourselves- in both cases we are going to hell.
The Difference is Grace
There is- big difference between- understanding that-
God accepts us because of our efforts and
God accepts us because of what Jesus has done.
Religion operates on this principle …
I obey- therefore I am accepted by God.
The Gospel message of grace is …
I am accepted by God, through what Christ has done- therefore I obey.
Both groups of people pray, give money, outwardly live good, moral lives.
Primary difference is- motivation of their hearts …
in religion we driven out of fear to obey a certain set of rules,
in the Gospel, our motivation is gratitude for the blessing we have received through Christ
The hope of the Gospel is this …
I am accepted by God, with my flaws, as I am willing to admit my flaws and my need of help.
No longer can I feel superior to others …
I have nothing to prove to anyone,
I do not think more or less of myself, in fact
I think of myself less.
Since I am not saved by my correct doctrine/practice, I cannot despise those who believe/live differently.
The Wonderful Grace of God
Some people say …
if my relationship with God is a result of grace, then I can receive the Lord and continue to live the way I want to live.
This type of thought is proof that the person has not had a true encountered with God.
Anyone who has experienced the grace of God will feel gratitude/desire to live a life that pleases God.
Quote by a woman who first understood grace …
If I was saved by my good works then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through. I would be like a taxpayer with “rights”- I would have done my duty and now I would deserve a certain quality of life. But if I am a sinner saved by sheer grace- then there’s nothing He cannot ask of me. Timothy Keller
One who realizes they are a sinner saved by God’s grace, willingly subjects themselves to God’s rule.
They serve Him out of gratitude/joy, not compulsion.
Yet it is this very grace that demands we give up full control of our lives to God.
In this- find freedom to be who God created us to be.
Conclusion
Founders of other religions came as teachers, not as the Savior.
They tell us how we should live to find God.
Jesus, who is God, came as a Savior and not a teacher.
He came to do for us what we could not do ourselves.
We are saved- not by our record- but by His record.
Therefore Christianity is not neither religion or irreligion, it is something far greater.
