THE PASTOR’S POINTS
sermon ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
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March 7, 2004
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But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
Isaiah 53:5-6 (NASB)
The Passion of the Christ film has filled a lot of conversations (and fueled more than a few controversies) both among Christians and non-believers alike. When an R-rated film does that, AND stays true to the Bible, it will even be recommended from pulpits.
I agree with Robert K. Johnson who calls motion pictures the “stained glass” of our time and culture. In ancient times stained glass pictures of the crucifixion, nativity and other scenes were the “poor man’s Bible”. The illiterate people of the lower classes were told the Gospel in pictures of stained glass.
Illiteracy in our day is a much smaller problem. Getting literate people to even hear the Gospel is another thing. Perhaps with movies such as “The Passion” literate people of the twenty-first century who won’t read the Scripture will go see the Scripture.
During these several weeks before Easter many of our Christian brothers and sisters are celebrating Lent. Lent is preparation for the drama of The Passion. Our preparation series for Easter has focused on The Passion. The first message was about Emmanuel, God with us. We were led to the conclusion that the passion, or suffering (as the word patho suggests) means that it was God who came to be with us and suffer for us.
Today’s message is “Savior” – which is the logical next step. It was through the valley of suffering, the valley of the shadow of death that Jesus walked in order to save us. Not everyone agrees that we needed a savior. However, I’m so glad God doesn’t do things according to opinion polls!
God did give a message to Isaiah about our need to be saved:
ISAIAH SAID WE NEED SAVING; WE CAN’T SAVE OURSELVES.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
Isaiah 53:5-6 (NASB)
There is none righteous, no, not one:
Romans 3:10 (KJV)
There are a lot of people today, and always have been, who disagree with Isaiah; they don’t think man needs a savior. A USA Today article spotlights multi-billionaire Ted Turner. Turner is the Time Warner Vice Chairman who also happens to be the country’s largest landowner with more than 1.6 million acres, on which he runs his herd of 17,000 buffalo. His successes include ownership of television channels CNN and TBS. He won the America’s Cup in 1977, and his Atlanta Braves won the 1995 World Series. According to the USA Today article, "behind his entrepreneurial spirit lies a much higher, and deeper, social agenda…. To his core, Turner believes in anything that promotes peace, harmony, understanding, and brotherhood."
Toward the end of the article, Turner explains his motives:
You know, I’m not looking for any big rewards. I’m not a religious person. I believe this life is all we have. I’m not doing what I’m doing to be rewarded in heaven or punished in hell. I’m doing it because I feel it’s the right thing to do.
Almost every religion talks about a savior coming. When you look in the mirror in the morning, when you’re putting on your lipstick or shaving, you’re looking at the savior. Nobody else is going to save you but yourself. [1]
With all due respect to Mr. Turner – he will have a rude awakening one day; he will wake up in this life to his own need of a savior, or he will wake up in hell knowing he missed the only savior. No human being can save himself.
In a sermon several weeks ago I referred to a man I couldn’t reach. John was ex-Navy, a heavy drinker and a violent man. He was very personable when you first met him; when he drank enough beer the demons took over. I must confess that, until I met John I always thought people were born with a good nature, and, if they wound-up on the wrong side of things, had just somehow made a wrong turn. John taught me better.
John had married Rosemary only a few months before I met him; it was his fourth time at the marriage license bureau – her second. A few weeks after Rosemary joined our church, John came down the aisle also. We baptized him and it seemed they would escape the divorce statistic hanging over multiple marriages. Rosemary thought she could get John to quit drinking; she was wrong. It seems I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t reach John.
The crisis came less than a month after John’s baptism. The honeymoon had ended and John began drinking again. One night, late, Rosemary showed up at the parsonage door. She was bruised and scared. Elizabeth and I took her in, and I went to see John the next day. When I drove up to their front yard I was greeted by a strange sight. John had stuck empty beer cans on the end of every branch of the small orange tree in front of their trailer. The sign at the bottom of the tree read: This is for you, preacher man.
John was very drunk but still somewhat coherent…and very loud. He greeted me at the front door and invited me in. I only asked, John, how can I help? John talked angrily for the next twenty minutes. Finally, he looked at me with a hatred that wasn’t his own and said, I’m going to make a minister out of you.
Later that day Rosemary asked if we would accompany her to the trailer to get her clothes. We drove up and I went in first. He was calm and seemed reasonably sobered. He agreed to let Rosemary come in and get her belongings. When she came in he immediately began to threaten her. At one point he went to get his pistol. I urged Rosemary to forget her clothes and leave; it was a bad idea to come back. She was determined to get her clothing. When she went to the closet, John re-entered the room waving a pistol – a very BIG pistol! (I must say it looked a lot bigger from the wrong end of the barrel). After several tense moments John allowed us to return to the car where Elizabeth was waiting.
Several months later we got a letter from Rosemary thanking us for our help, and saying that she had settled in another state. Not long after that we heard about John – on the evening news. He had threatened people outside a K-Mart store with his pistol, and when the police showed up he committed suicide. A painfully tortured mind and life came to a wasted end.
Was John saved? I don’t know; I am not equipped to judge that. He made a profession of faith and was baptized, but his behavior never changed. That leads me to an opinion he never really believed – never really trusted Christ. It is only an opinion – God knows the real truth. Beyond opinion, however, it is true beyond any doubt that saved people have a Savior; John’s savior, what he really seemed to trust-in was Budweiser.
Now the point of John’s story, a painful reminder of my own failure, is that we cannot save ourselves – and, without Jesus, I’m just the same as John. Many people would say that the only difference is that alcohol made John do the things he did; John’s problem was alcohol, not sin. The alcohol only loosened-up John’s inhibitions to do those things which were already on the inside. The reality is we all have those things on the inside; the doctrine of total depravity teaches us that! Every human being on the face of this planet who has ever lived was/is capable of doing whatever horrific deed you can dream up. This is why we need a Savior.
14We have seen and testify that the Father
has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
1 John 4:14
Mel Gibson believes that, and that is why he is trying to reach people with this shocking message of The Passion. In the interview with Diane Sawyer the week before The Passion opened, Gibson stated that he did not want to appear in the movie. But he did. When the nails are being driven through Jesus’ hands, it is Mel Gibson’s left arm and hand you see. He appeared in this way because, as Gibson stated, “it was my hands that nailed Jesus to the cross.” So it was, Mel, with us all.
ISAIAH SAID SAVING EVERYBODY WOULD BE COSTLY
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. Isaiah 53:5-6
The words in those sentences may be more real now to those of you who have seen the passion movie. For many decades there has been a tendency to dwell solely on the emotional and spiritual costs Jesus bore on the cross. However, we should not lose the perspective of his physical suffering. Perhaps one of the de-sensitizing effects of our medical advances in recent years is the disconnect many of us have with pain. We have pills and injections to take away or numb-down just about every kind of pain. Jesus had no relief from the pain. In fact the Scripture indicates he was willing to drink the cup of suffering to the bitter dregs.
There is a picture of the suffering Savior in Psalms 22
My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me? Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them.
You heard their cries for help and saved them. They put their trust in you and were never disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all! Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying, “Is this the one who relies on the LORD?
Then let the LORD save him! If the LORD loves him so much, let the LORD rescue him!”
My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
They divide my clothes among themselves and throw dice for my garments.
This is costly; the just dying for the unjust.
THE SAVIOR SAID THERE IS NO OTHER WAY.
6Jesus saith unto him,
I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6 (KJV)
There are those today who will say, “I know the way”, or “Come, I’ll show you the way”. Jesus simply said, “I AM the way
There are some myths that get in the way of that. I would like to deal with three basic ones: [2]
Myth #1 – All religions are basically the same.
This is most decidedly the goofiest myth of all. Look at the differences.
Hinduism says God is everything, and everything is God; you are God, I am God, the Lord’s Supper table is God.
Islam says Jesus was not God, and that He did not die for our sins.
New Age, Universalists, Scientologists say, of course there is a god; I’ve got mine and you’ve got yours…make him what you will, or make him the branch on that tree. Doesn’t matter what you think as long as it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Buddha questions if there even is or was a god.
Christianity says there is one eternal God who created everything, and we have seen Him here on earth. We know His name is Jesus.
Now, would you say that all of those are the same? If you can – with a straight face – mail me a postcard from the edge of reality please.
Myth #2 – All religions are equally true…Christianity might be unique, but it’s still just one philosophy among many…they all have equal claims on the truth.
(For this, let me quote Lee Strobel directly):
This myth has a certain amount of appeal because, on the surface, it seems to reflect our pluralistic attitudes in this country. And we do want to be tolerant of other views, don’t we? The Bible tells us we should be loving and accepting and respectful toward all people, regardless of their faith.
But here’s the thing: under our Constitution, all religious viewpoints are equally protected. People can believe whatever they want. But some people jump to the erroneous conclusion that because different philosophies are equally protected, they must be equally valid. And that’s just not the case.
The concept behind what the Supreme Court has called our “marketplace of ideas” is that truth and falsehood will grapple in unhindered debate so that, in the end, truth will prevail. So even though all religious are equally protected under our Constitution, that has nothing to do with whether they’re based on truth. Let me give you an example in honor of the late Mike Royko. A few years ago Royko wrote a tongue-in-cheek column in which he said he was a member of the Church of Asylumism. He said this church believes that there was an advanced civilization in a distant galaxy millions of years ago, but a few hundred of these aliens ate some tainted veggie dip and a virus scrambled their brains.
When treatment failed, they were taken to an uninhabited planet that would serve as an asylum and where they could roam free and act goofy. That planet, he said, was earth, and we’re all descendants of these aliens. Royko said to doubters: “You want proof? Read history books. Look at the newspaper and TV news. Then tell me this isn’t one big loony bin!”
Now, Royko was kidding about the Church of Asylumism, but in this country people have the right to believe whatever they want. The Church of Asylumism would be protected under the Constitution as much as any other religious institution. But that doesn’t mean that its teachings are true. And, of course, that means everybody is free to make the claim, as Jesus did, that they are the way, the truth, and the life, and that nobody can come to God except through them. I could say it or you could say it, but that wouldn’t make it true.[3]
Let me say this without stuttering – not everything can be true just because you believe it. I can sit in a corner believing I am a grape. No matter how long I sit there I will never be fine wine!
Your beliefs, those as important as what you live by and die with, are too important to just be based on feelings, or someone else’s unsubstantiated ideas. Christianity is not just an ancient book – it is following the highly documented Christ. Jesus backed up His claims with miracles, fulfilled prophecies and a spiritual revolution that is still going on after 2000 years. Like Muhamed Ali once said, “It ain’t braggin’ if you got the deeds to back it up.”
Myth #3 – Christians are narrow-minded or snobbish when they say Jesus is the only way to heaven.
Here I would have to sometimes agree – we can be snobbish, and there are some narrow-minded, offensive people who call themselves Christians. But the basic claim that Jesus is the one, true path to salvation is not snobbery or narrow-mindedness…it is just the narrow pathway of truth.
Consider this analogy.
Elizabeth watches HGTV…a lot!
Elizabeth enters the HGTV house giveaway sweepstakes…several times a day!
Elizabeth is going to win that $1.2 million house…so she says!
Now, suppose she does (I will never hear the end of it). What if those folks down at HGTV headquarters notified my dear wife the house was hers, and sent her the deed, a letter of congratulations, AND the key that will open the front door.
What if the next day my dear bride convinces me to drive her all the way to the coast of Georgia to her new house, and when she tries to go in the door won’t open? Well, you would say, put the key in and unlock the thing. Of course you would!
But, my bride says, "No, I don’t like blue keys...and it’s too big to fit in my purse, and besides, I have my own keys that I really like. I’ll use my own." Is my bride ever going to enter her new home that way? Of course not! Now...would it be narrow-minded or snobbish to encourage her to use that key?
This is the nature of the claim to Jesus being the one, true way to God. He is either the key or He isn’t. Jesus was either liar, lunatic or Lord. 84% of Americans indicate a belief that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
You ask the questions…If 84% of Americans believe in Jesus,
why isn’t there more faith;
why is life so dangerous in America;
why isn’t the Kingdom flourishing;
why aren’t the churches full;
why are the kids on drugs, murder rates rising;
why is it so bad if 8 of 10 are believers?
The problem, friends, is that believing with your head is not the same as entrusting your life. He is THE Savior, but many people cannot say He is MY Savior. The offer of salvation is truly there for everyone. But for your belief to become reality you must act on it.
Lee Strobel tells of when he was a young boy:
When I was 14 years old, I was home alone and painting with oil paints in the finished basement of our house in Arlington Heights. Now, if you’ve ever painted with oils then you know they take forever to dry. I was impatient, so I did something stupid — I plugged in some heat lamps to try to dry the paintings faster. Before long, a fire broke out among the rags soaked with turpentine and the table and entire corner of the basement were immediately engulfed in flames.
I ran to the phone and called the fire department. When I returned I saw that the fire was out of control, with orange and yellow flames climbing the paneled walls and lapping the ceiling, which was directly beneath the living room. I knew that if the fire burned through, the whole house would be destroyed — and then I’d really be in trouble!
So I grabbed a bucket of water from the laundry room and dashed over to throw it on the fire, but that didn’t help very much. The basement was rapidly filling with black, sooty smoke. I started choking on the fumes and was becoming disoriented. And I couldn’t see the stairs anymore -- the lights went out and the smoke was too thick.
That’s when a horrible realization hit — I couldn’t save myself. I wouldn’t be able to find the route out of the basement before I would be overcome.
Fortunately, not long after that, a police officer arrived and opened the door to the basement. He stepped onto the stairs and began shining around a big flashlight. “Police officer!” he called out. “Anyone down there?”
Now, intellectually, I could have analyzed the situation. Things were serious in the basement; if I stayed down there much longer, I’d die from the smoke and fire. But the police officer knew the one and only escape route. He was a trained professional and fully capable of leading me to safety. What’s more, he held a big flashlight to illuminate the way for me.
But it wasn’t enough just to analyze the situation. I had to take a step of action. I had to put my faith in that police officer — a faith based on facts — by letting him reach out and rescue me. So I followed the light, and he put his arm around me and led me to safety, away from the inferno.[4]
John, my friend with the .44 caliber pistol contributed to my understanding of ministry by allowing me a peek into the spiritual smoke and fire of his soul.
My friend, the police officer that helped Lee Strobel out of his inferno is a grand picture of what Christ offers. The problem with us human children is that we get used to the smoke, used to the trap of thinking we will be alright. Beloved, we cannot save ourselves – but there is a Savior – He is the suffering Savior – His passion was for you, and is now for you. He is the way.
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ENDNOTES
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1. Jill Lieber, He Wants to Save the World, USA Today (2-17-00), pp.1-2C© 2000 PreachingToday.com / Christianity Today, Inc.
2. Lee Strobel, Jesus is the Only Way to God – True or False? (Lee Strobel is a modern-day crystal clear apologist after the likes of C.S. Lewis.) Much of this section comes from a sermon on SermonCentral.com)
3. Lee Strobel, Jesus is the Only Way to God – True or False?, on SermonCentral.com
4. Ibid.
