Scripture for July 22nd: Romans 1:18-25

Sermon: Myth# 7, Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

“Your conscience helps you make the right choices.” This statement is often made to suggest that everyone knows right from wrong, and our “conscience” should guide us in the process. This sounds right, and in fact, the Apostle Paul said in the above Scripture that “the creation of the world” declares “God’s invisible qualities.” Because of this, everyone is “without excuse” and should know right from wrong. However, the Scripture goes on to say that because of sin, our hearts “were darkened” and God gave us over to “the sinful desires” of our hearts. Therefore, our conscience alone is not adequate to help us make moral decisions.

Dr. D. Briscoe refers to humanity’s ability to know God through the power of creation when he wrote the following: “When Paul spoke of God having shown the truth about Himself to mankind he was not referring solely to an inner subjective experience in which man had an intuitive sense of God. God has revealed Himself in the created world in such a way that “His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (v. 20). From this statement it is apparent that man’s intelligence and observational powers, as well as his moral insight and spiritual intuition, are all involved in God’s self-revelation to man.

I remember on one particularly stormy night flying with two friends in a light aircraft from Tennessee to Wisconsin. A massive storm stretched across our path and our pilot elected to press on regardless. First we looked for a break in the storm but found none. Then we tried to fly over the storm but found it went higher than we could! So we attempted to fly under the problem, but this was not possible, so we took a deep breath and flew straight through! Air currents of unbelievable force picked up our small plane and literally hurled it around the sky. The crash of thunder was so loud at times it drowned the noise of the engine, and the lightning was so intense that we were blinded by its persistent flashes crackling all around us. I have never been so glad to put my two big feet on terra firma as when we finally arrived at our destination. But I came out of the experience enriched. As never before I had seen the sheer immensity of the power of nature, but I had also been able to interpret this power as a demonstration of God’s “invisible attributes … even His eternal power and Godhead.”

This ability to translate what theologians call “general revelation” into the knowledge of God’s invisible attributes is a gift of God without which man would see, feel, hear, and experience only inanimate, impersonal forces and respond to them as such. Fortunately, human experience shows that man in all types of civilizations has looked at such forces with much greater insight and has been able to see behind them (however imperfectly) that which points to God Himself.”

Though we can know about God through creation, our sin does not allow us to know how to please Him or how to make the right moral decisions through creation. How then do we do this? This coming Sunday we will talk about how to make proper moral decision through the authority of Scripture, the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the aid of the Church as we continue our sermon series, “Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.” Hope to see you then!

Scripture for July 15th: Matthew 7:1-5; 7:15-20

Sermon: Myth #6, Christians Should Not Judge

Matthew 7:1-5
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:15-20
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

“Christians should never judge others.” This is a common belief among Christians and non-Christians, and is often used to justify a person’s behavior. The thought goes, “hey, don’t judge me for what I do or don’t do, it’s not your job.” Any behavior should be acceptable and no one has the right to say anything to the contrary.

Because this idea is so popular, many people are shocked to learn that the Bible teaches us that there are things that we should judge. For instance, Matthew 7:15-20 (see above) tells us Jesus encouraged us to judge whether or not Bible teachers are teaching the truth. In fact, He said that there would be some who would come and teach lies. He encouraged us to judge what they said and determine whether it was true. The Bible also teaches that we should judge ourselves. II Cor. 13:5 says: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” We need to judge whether we are “in the faith,” i.e., whether we are truly Christians. And we should examine our actions, to ensure that we are living lives pleasing to God.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee interprets Matthew 7:1-5 in this manner: “These verses have really been misunderstood. To judge can mean “to decide, to distinguish, to condemn, to avenge,” and it actually can mean “to damn.” These verses do not mean that a child of God is forbidden to judge others, but it does mean that we are not to judge the inward motives of others in the sense of condemning them. We do not know or understand why a brother in Christ does a certain thing. We see only outward acts. God doesn’t forbid our judging wrong and evil actions, as we will see. The point is that if you are harsh in your judgments of others, you will be known as the type of person who is severe in his considerations of others. I know this type of person, and I am sure you do, also. Perhaps somebody has said to you, “Don’t pay any attention to what he says; he never has a good word to say.” You see, he is being judged by the way he judges. This is what our Lord is saying in these verses.”

Are there times when we should not judge? And how can we truly help a person in need? These are the questions we will be answering as we continue our sermon series, “Dumb Things that Smart Christians Believe” on Sunday. Hope to see you then!

Scripture for July 8th: Hebrews 12:1, John 1:12, Acts 1:8

Sermon Title: Power on Our Journey

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.


John 1:12
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

Acts 1:8
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

“Why do Christians live like the devil?” Someone once asked me this question and what she was referring to is the fact many people call themselves Christians but don’t act like it. The passages listed above speak of God’s salvation and the power that comes from a relationship with Him. It does not speak of mere religion, but a mere, pure and powerful Christ following life. It is by establishing and maintaining this type of relationship with God that we are not given religion, but a life transforming heart that will allow us to live like Christians should.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes the following concerning Acts 1:8: “There is…this most extraordinary addition that our Lord himself made: “Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This is truly staggering. Here was a Jew, born in poverty, one who worked as a carpenter, who began to preach at the age of thirty and after some three years was crucified on a cross, dying in utter weakness, and was laid in a tomb. But here he was, telling these men they would be witnesses to Him “unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Here is a message for the whole world.

I emphasize that because there are people who say that the Christian faith is all right if you happen to be interested in religion, but if you do not happen to have a religious mentality and outlook, then it does not matter, you can just take up what you like. But that is shown to be a lie by our Lord’s words. Here is a message that is to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth. Why? Because something happened in this person, Jesus, that affects every single individual who ever has been or ever shall be in this world of time.

Now if Christianity were merely a philosophy or a political idea, no one would be bound to believe it. There are rival schools of philosophy; there are rival teachings and theories, and one person believes this and another that. But what we are facing here is not what you and I believe, but facts, and the facts are about this person called Jesus—what He did and what He said and the meaning of His person. So there is nothing more tragic than when men and women say, “Shut your Bibles; the facts don’t matter at all. What does it matter whether Jesus was a man, or God as well as man?” They have got it all wrong. It is the person who matters most of all.”

This coming Sunday we will hear more about how God can powerfully impact our lives as Rev. Randol Mercer will bring the message. I encourage you to prepare your heart to receive a message of hope and renewal. Hope to see you then!



A picture of a Christian trying to live the
Christian life without the power of God: