Running
Fast in the Wrong Direction
©January 30, 2005 Rev. Bruce Goettsche
Imagine
going to Chicago on a business trip.
You have a bunch of meetings and
have plans to fly out right after your last meeting to meet your family
in some great vacation spot. Your
meetings run late and you know it is going to be a challenge to get to the
airport and get checked in so you can make your flight. You grab your bags and hail a taxi. You say to the driver, “I need to go to the
airport and I’m running late, step on it!”.
The
taxi driver takes you at your word and takes off from the curb, weaves in and
out of traffic and keeps his hand firmly on the horn of the car. You are impressed at the drivers’ focus and
determination. He does seem to be
making good time. You aren’t real
familiar with Chicago but you don’t recognize the surroundings.
Finally, you say to the driver, “How are we doing on time?” He responds, “We should be at O’Hare in
about 10 minutes.” You scream, “O’Hare!
I’m flying out of Midway!!” Needless to
say, you miss your flight!
This
is the kind of picture Paul gives us of his fellow Jews at the beginning of
Romans 10.
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. [Romans 10:1-4]
MIS-PLACED
ENTHUSIASM
In talking about
his own countryman Paul says they are zealous or enthusiastic in their pursuit
of God but their zeal is not based on knowledge. In other words, they are pursuing God in the wrong way. Please notice a couple of things.
Zeal in itself
is not bad. If there is one thing that is often true
about the church today it is that we lack zeal or enthusiasm. We have so many things we are involved in
that the things of God often get pushed to the back burner of our lives.
Wouldn’t it be
great if we had some people (doesn’t even have to be all) that were as
enthusiastic about the things of God as they were their hobbies, favorite
television programs, their children’s sports, politics or their exercise and
diet routines? Imagine what would
happen?
Misplaced zeal. The problem
with Israel was not their enthusiasm; it was the focus of that enthusiasm. It is possible to be religiously zealous yet
still be way off course.
This isn’t hard to
illustrate. Are the Islamic extremists
zealous for their God? You bet they
are. They are so zealous that they kill
people and are willing to commit suicide for their beliefs. Are Mormons zealous for their faith? Most are very zealous. Their commitment often puts us to shame.
They work hard at telling others about their beliefs and they work hard to let
their faith permeate every area of their lives. These groups are zealous for God but they are running fast in the
wrong direction.
Think about another
example of zeal without knowledge. Think
about the current dieting craze. Do we
need to diet? Most Americans (including
me) are overweight. However, some
people pursue diet and exercise with a zeal that is distorted. They make themselves sick by their zeal for
dieting or they make everyone else sick because that’s all they talk
about. I know it is better not to have gravy
on my potatoes, I don’t need to be told!
The Jews were
devout. However, they were devoted to
the wrong thing. Paul tells us that they
did not know the righteousness that comes from God but sought to establish
their own. In short, they were not
submitting to God’s mercy and grace, they were devoted to making themselves
righteous.
They are like many
people today. They are religious. They want to develop their relationship with
God. However, they believe it is
something they can do on their own. They
believe they can read the right book, meditate in the right way, go to the
right classes, serve in foreign lands, do enough good things, try to be kind and
maybe even go to church. Then they will reach the right kind of life that God
requires (righteousness).
There are many
churches who preach this same kind of moralism. You will be told to be more socially or politically active; challenged
to be more open-minded and inclusive.
But you will hear nothing about the gospel of God’s grace extended to us
through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
They are promoting a zeal without knowledge, and a righteousness that is
earned rather than received.
The dangers of misplaced
zeal? There are several things that happen when people believe they can
establish their own righteousness.[1]
We become satisfied with our own Righteousness. We start looking around at others and compare ourselves to them rather than to the holy standard of God and His Word. We start to believe that compared to other people, we are doing are pretty good. We rationalize that we must certainly be among those who will be saved. In truth, all we are doing is lowering God’s standard.
I like the illustration that compares us to light bulbs. Some of us are 60 watt, some 75, 150, or even 500 or 1000 watts. When a thousand watt person looks at a 60-watt person he believes he is doing exceedingly well and begins to feel smug and proud. Unfortunately, God calls us to shine like the sun! When you compare a 1000-watt bulb with the brightness of the sun . . .it is as if it were nothing. When we try to earn our own salvation, sometimes we actually think we are doing pretty well. It is a delusion. Apart from the grace of God we all fall far short of what is necessary for salvation.
Second, We tend to look down at others. When we live by a performance mentality we conclude that those who aren’t doing the same things we are doing are deficient, failures, and people to despise. In fact, in order to look better ourselves (and image is everything) we are constantly trying to point out the faults of others.
Third, we may get discouraged and give up. Those who try to achieve the righteousness of God by their own effort often feel frustrated because of their many failures. As a result, some simply give up. They conclude that it is impossible to reach God’s standard and since it is impossible, there is no sense to really try. They are the ones who will tell you that they tried religion, but it didn’t work for them.
Fourth, people who focus on their own righteousness reject Jesus and the Gospel because they see no need for grace. If you feel you are doing fine on your own, you don’t need Christ.
Fifth, we misuse the Law. When we try to earn our own salvation by law-keeping, it is natural to try to focus on obeying the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law. It is much easier to say, “I have not ever committed adultery” than it is to say, “I have never lusted after a woman in my heart.” It is easier to say, “I never murdered anyone” than it is to say, “I never nursed hatred in my heart.”
This was what the Pharisees missed. On the surface they were outstanding law keepers. They were very careful to obey the letter of the law. However, over and over Jesus confronted the fact that the Pharisees were missing the point. They were like particle board with a veneer finish. It looked great but it was superficial.
GODLY ZEAL
Having exposed the
problem we need to look for a solution.
How can we keep from being from running fast in the wrong
direction?
First, we must start
with Jesus. We’ll talk more about this next week. Paul wants us to understand that the only
true way to be right before God is through Jesus Christ. We can’t do it on our own. Even the best of us are only 1000 watt
followers. We cannot attain God’s
standard without His help. Jesus died
for our sin. He rose so that new life
might be given to us. We are made right
with God not because of what we do, but because of what He has done for us and in
us, through Christ.
I
challenge you to do a personal inventory of your life. Ask yourself some questions,
1. If God asked you why you should be granted access to
Heaven, (or if someone asked you why you thought you would go to Heaven) would you
start listing your accomplishments and religious acts?
2. When you are asked to describe the Christian faith do
you talk about rules and regulations?
3. If someone asked you how to be a Christian would you
tell that person to go to church, work hard, and try not to sin too much?
4. Do you feel like you are running fast but getting
nowhere?
If
you answered any of these questions yes, it is possible that you are headed in
the wrong direction. Eternal life comes only through trusting Christ. A true believer is not focused on rules and
regulations; they focus on building a strong relationship with their Lord and
Savior. The true believer understands
that they have been granted eternal life in spite of the fact that they often
stumble and fall. If you want to head
in the right direction, don’t bring Jesus your resume, come to Him with open
hands. Bring Him your wounded heart,
your failures, your deep sin and ask Him to forgive you and make you new. Don’t plead your goodness; trust His
sacrifice.
Second, Godly
zeal hurts for those who are lost and in need of a Savior. Did you
notice the first verse of this chapter?
Paul said, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is
that they may be saved. Paul had
not given up on Israel. He ached to see
his family and friends in the Kingdom of God.
Every time Paul entered a town he went first to the Jewish synagogue to
teach. Time after time he was abused
and at least once was left for dead. Paul was not deterred. He continued to look for opportunities to
share his faith with any of his brothers who would listen. It didn’t matter how he was treated. These people needed Jesus and Paul wasn’t going
to rest until he had made every effort to introduce his kinsman to the
Savior.
Paul’s attitude is
different from most people today.
Frankly, it is different from our attitude. A recent survey by Christian
pollster George Barna found that only about half (53 percent) of born again
Christians feel a sense of responsibility to tell others about their faith.
Compare that with these quotes from earlier generations of believers:
“I
cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I
could but gain souls for Christ.”—David Brainerd
“Lord,
give me souls or take my soul.”—George Whitefield
“Here
let me burn out for God.”—Henry Martyn, on the shores of India
“I
am very tired, but must go on … A fire is in my bones … Oh God, what can I say?
Souls! Souls! Souls! My heart hungers for souls!”—General William Booth of
the Salvation Army
“I would rather win souls than be the greatest king or emperor on earth. My one ambition in life is to win as many as possible.”—R. A. Torrey[2]
People are just as
lost as ever. They are looking for
meaning, direction, and some sense of purpose.
When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone? If you are like most, you are embarrassed to
answer. So what has happened to our hunger for the lost?
The person with a
true heart of God sees other people as God does: as lost sheep in need of a Shepherd. A proper zeal is one where we are eager to
tell others about the great Savior we have found.
Godly Zeal
trusts God’s Power Rather Than Our Own. Paul knew that Israel was not going to be
saved because of his rhetoric. He knew
that salvation is something that God brings to pass. So, he prayed. I bet he
prayed fervently and constantly.
Imagine how many
more people would come to the Lord if we prayed? What would happen if every
time we heard someone speak in a vile manner, we prayed for him or her? What would happen if we responded to every
rude person with a prayer? What would
happen if we prayed for those who slander Christians rather than slandering
them in return? What would happen if we
prayed for the salvation of those in Hollywood? What if we prayed for people
who were pious and filled with the sense of their own importance rather than
simply avoiding them? What if we set
aside time every day, even several times a day to pray for those family members
and friends who have not yet responded to God’s invitation to receive His
grace, forgiveness and new life?
You know what would
happen and so do I . . . people would come to Christ! If we asked God to help us be faithful in our witness and we
sought the Lord on behalf of our lost friends, family members, and co-workers,
there could very well be a revival in our land.
The
church. . . .our church desperately needs enthusiastic people. We need those who are willing to step up and
serve the Lord with energy and focus.
We need those who are so grateful for God’s grace that they are willing
to work and sacrifice to reach lost people and to equip those who have been
changed by His grace. We need those who will make discipleship a priority in
their lives.
So, I guess the real question is, “Will you be one of those people?”
©January 30, 2005 Rev. Bruce Goettsche