DO RIGHT
TEXT:
James 4:17
INTRODUCTION: (Preached at 1998 NM HonorBound Men’s Retreat)
A. I’VE BEEN ASKED TO TEACH A SESSION ON INTEGRITY
1. To me there are two words which totally sum up integrity.
2. Those two words are the two biggest words in the English language.
3. They are DO RIGHT! (Can I have a good Amen?)
I. JUST DO RIGHT!
A. DON’T COMPROMISE! JUST DO RIGHT!
1. It’s important for men to have integrity.
2. It’s important for men to stand for principle!
3. It’s important for men to DO RIGHT.
4. Too many are laying down for convenience instead of standing up for principle.
5. Instead of asking ourselves, "What’s the right thing to do?"
6. Too many ask, "What’s the most convenient thing to do?"
B. DON’T RATIONALIZE! JUST DO RIGHT!
1. We have a man in the Whitehouse who has lost his integrity. (This was written when Bill Clinton was President)
2. Our President has had a sexual relationship with a young woman.
3. A young woman who was young enough to be his own daughter.
4. A young woman who was young enough to be your daughter.
5. He sexually exploited her and told her that it was not a sin.
6. Later, he told a Grand-Jury that it was NON-SEXUAL CONTACT!
7. What would he call it if someone did to Chelsea Clinton what Bill Clinton did to Monica Lewinsky?
8. I’ll tell you what he would call it! …exactly what he would call it! He would say, "THAT’S WRONG!" …WRONG, WRONG, WRONG…!
9. No corporate executive, no military officer, no counselor, no preacher, no pastor could dare to think that he could get away with our President’s behavior.
10. If it was wrong for Gary Hart, then it’s wrong for Bill Clinton.
11. If it was wrong for Bob Packwood, then it’s wrong for Bill Clinton.
12. If it was wrong for Jim Bakker, then it’s wrong for Bill Clinton.
13. If it was wrong for Jimmy Swaggert, then it’s wrong for Bill Clinton.
14. You don’t redefine it!
15. You don’t rationalize it!
16. It’s just plain WRONG!
II. IT’S HARD TO DO RIGHT
A. IT EVEN COST GOD SOMETHING TO DO RIGHT
1. Ever since Adam fell in the garden, it’s been hard to do right.
2. His disobedience brought spiritual death on all of mankind.
3. Adam’s sin in the garden brough instant fear, guilt, and hiding.
4. Ever since, it’s been easy to do wrong and hard to do right.
5. It wasn’t easy for God to find a way to save lost mankind.
6. It cost God something to pay for our sins.
7. It cost God the death of His only begotten Son!
B. IT COSTS US SOMETHING TO DO RIGHT
1. Jesus made it plain that anyone who follows Him will pay a price!
2. Jesus made it plain that anyone following Him has to carry a cross.
3. Anyone who wants to live a godly life will suffer persecution.
4. We often struggle with ways to get out of being persecuted.
5. We make excuses for not standing up for the right
6. We make excuses for not standing against the wrong.
7. We rationalize that everybody knows when they are doing wrong.
8. Why do I need to take the chance of being persecuted.
9. I’d just rather not cause any trouble!
10. You know, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil!
11. Let’s see what Jesus had to say about it.
12. Jesus said:
John 15:18-20
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you…
13. A famous preacher once said:
The measure of a Christian’s tribulation, persecution, and opposition in this world is exactly equal to the measure of his uncompromising stand AGAINST that which is WRONG and FOR that which is RIGHT!
14. Why should men risk persecution? Because that’s what it takes to take a stand.
15. Why should men take a chance on someone getting upset and labeling them with a "holy roller attitude"? Why take a chance on being called a "Holy Joe"? Because that’s what it takes to make an impact on the world in which we live.
C. NOT MANY ARE TAKING THAT CHANCE TODAY
1. Samuel stood up to King Saul.
2. Nathan stood up to King David.
3. Elijah stood up to King Ahab.
4. Isaiah stood up to King Hezekiah.
5. John the Baptist stood up to King Herod.
6. But, we had a bunch of America’s FOREMOST preachers meeting at a prayer breakfast, the day after Bill Clinton had been CAUGHT (not by a prophet of God) but by a Grand Jury!
7. What did these GREAT preachers DO?
8. Well, they did the same thing they do for every other rich man.
9. They filled the room with words of HOPE, LOVE, and SECURITY!
10. They fell all over each other trying to shake the President’s hand!
11. They told him how HE was forgiven and how THEY were willing to forget!
12. Not one of them mentioned PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION!
13. Not one of them mentioned HOMOSEXUAL APPOINTMENTS to key Whitehouse and government positions!
14. Not one of them mentioned the fact that he wouldn’t be BLAMING Ken Starr if Bill was truly repentant!
15. We had tongue talking PENTECOSTAL PREACHERS there.
16. Our people look up to these men.
17. How many of them called for TRUE REPENTANCE?
18. How many of them called a sin a sin?
19. How many of them stood up for what’s right and against what’s wrong? NOT ONE!
III. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL AND NOT PREACH AGAINST WRONG IS SIN
A. WE HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT POSITIVE PREACHING TODAY
1. We hear about Willow Creek and Saddleback.
2. We hear "SEEKER SENSITIVE" and "PURPOSE DRIVEN."
3. I’m all for being SEEKER SENSITIVE.
4. As long as we’re SENSITIVE to the fact that SEEKERS are lost sinners who have no right to tell us how to conduct GOD’S BUSINESS IN GOD’S CHURCH!
5. I’m all for a PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCHES, as long as part of that purpose is to remain holy and to preach against sin!
6. I’m all for a purpose driven church as long as the men in that church are not afraid to "…REBUKE, REPROVE, and EXHORT with all longsuffering and doctrine."
7. I’m all for basing our church mission on the Great Commandment!
8. I believe we ought to LOVE THE LORD with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
9. But, we also need to remember what Jesus said we will do if we love Him.
10. Loving the Lord has more to do with keeping His commandments.
11. Loving the Lord has more to do with living a Godly life than it does with simply having the newest contemporary Christian music in our worship services.
12. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to trash "purpose driven" churches.
13. There are many good pastors who are building "purpose driven churches."
14. But there are also abuses and excuses coming out of this movement, and they need to be addresssed.
B. IT’S HARD TO FIND A CHURCH THAT WILL ALLOW A
PREACHER TO PREACH AGAINST SIN
1. One of the most rare things in America is a FULL church where someone is plainly preaching against sin.
2. People don’t come out to hear that.
3. They want to be ENTERTAINED.
4. You have to sneak up on them with the truth, if they hear it at all.
5. They want to hear messages about love, hope, spiritual gifts, compassion, how to handle money, how to have self esteem…
6. It’s no wonder the President’s popularity climbed in the polls the day after the scandal broke. Right now it is 70% in some polls.
7. America’s not interested in RIGHTEOUSNESS and INTEGRITY…
8. America wants MONEY over MORALITY!
9. America wants CASH over CHARACTER!
10. Bill Clinton told George Bush in 1992, "It’s the economy, Stupid!"
11. Some day, God’s gonna tell America, "NO! IT’S CHARACTER!"
12. One day we’ll wake up to the fact that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
13. One day we’ll wake up to the fact that BILL CLINTON is NOT in charge of the ECONOMY!
14. My Bible tells me:
"IT IS GOD WHO GIVES US THE POWER TO GET WEALTH!"
15. GOD IS IN CHARGE of the ECONOMY!
(Can I have a good Amen!)
IV. WE NEED TO DO MORE!
A. SOME SAY, JUST PREACH THE GOSPEL
1. Some say, "We’ll just preach the Gospel and let that do the work."
2. Well, the Gospel "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."
3. And, all Christians are supposed to know the Gospel.
4. And, all Christians are supposed to give the Gospel to others.
5. But that is not all we are told to do in the Word of God.
6. We are told to stand for something.
7. We are told that we are either FOR the Lord or AGAINST Him.
8. The Bible says that the friend-ship of the world is enmity with God.
9. The trouble with America today is that those who call themselves Christians are not interested in standing for what’s right!
10. They are not interested in integrity!
11. They are not interested in being Honor Bound!
12. They are not interested in doing right no matter what the cost.
B. I LEARNED THIS LESSON THE HARD WAY
1. About 20 years ago, I got suspicious of my wife!
2. I’m ashamed to admit this, but perhaps this will help somebody.
3. She worked at a hospital and I would show up at odd hours.
4. I just wanted to make sure that she was where she said she’d be.
5. Well, the devil saw his opportunity.
6. He filled my mind with vain imaginations.
7. One day I was suspicious enough to ask her about it.
8. She said something to me that stopped me dead in my tracks!
9. She said, "I’ve been suspicious of you too, but I decided that even if you were doing something wrong, I made a vow not just to you but to God and I’m going to keep it!"
10. She said, "I’m going to do the right thing whether you do or not!"
11. Some of you men may be facing the same vanities that I faced.
12. Let me tell you how to settle it.
13. JUST DO RIGHT!
14. LOVE HER and HONOR HER!
15. Honor your vows to her and your vows to God!
(Can I have a good Amen!)
C. IT’S NEVER RIGHT TO DO WRONG!
1. No sinner could ever be blessed of God in doing wrong.
2. No born-again child of God can ever be blessed to do wrong
3. You hurt your testimony, you do harm to your friends, to your family, and to yourself when you do wrong.
4. You might say, "But you don’t know what she did to me…"
5. That doesn’t make it right for you to do wrong!
6. You might say, "But you don’t know what my boss has done to me…"
7. That doesn’t make it right to steal his tools!
8. You might say, "But you don’t know what this church has done to me…"
9. That doesn’t make it right to do wrong!
CONCLUSION:
A. WE FAIL TO DO RIGHT BECAUSE WE REFUSE ACCOUNTABILITY
1. I once asked a couple of older pastors (both in their 70’s) how they had maintained their Christian character and stayed so sweet for all these years.
2. They both said the same thing, "It’s the Brethren!"
3. We need the Brethren.
4. We need them to keep us accountable.
5. We need them to encourage us to DO RIGHT!
6. We need them to encourage us to stand against the wrong.
B. WE FAIL TO DO RIGHT BECAUSE WE REFUSE TO ADMIT WRONG
1. Someone once said, "So goes the father, so goes the family. So goes the family, so goes the church. So goes the church, so goes the neighborhood. So goes the neighborhood so goes the city. So goes the city, so goes the nation."
2. ARE YOU WILLING TO ADMIT DOING ANY WRONG CONCERNING:
...your private life (personal devotions and time with the Lord)
...your homes (how you treat your wife and kids)
...your church (how you support the work of church and the pastor)
...your neighborhood (the gossip you listen to about your neighbor or your lack of witness)
...your city (what are you doing to reach your city for Jesus)
...your nation (if you failed in any of the rest, you failed here too)
3. We can learn to do right if we will admit our failure and be willing to go on.
