Lies Men Believe About God
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Introduction
Good afternoon men!
I’d like to take a moment to share a poem from an unknown source it goes like this:
First, somebody told it,
Then the room couldn't hold it,
So the busy tongues rolled it
Till they got it outside.
Then the crowd came across it,
And never once lost it,
But tossed it and tossed it,
Till it grew long and wide.
This lie brought forth others,
Dark sisters and brothers,
And fathers and mothers--
A terrible crew.
And while headlong they hurried,
The people they flurried,
And troubled and worried,
As lies always do.
And so evil-bodied,
This monster lay goaded,
Till at last it exploded
In smoke and in shame.
Then from mud and from mire
The pieces flew higher,
And hit the sad victim
And killed a good name.
Lies, lies are powerful evil bugs that infest and devour their victims. Typically, they grow in size and might until it destroys both the teller of lies and the ones the lies were aimed at.
In our new series, we are covering many different lies men believe. These lies have been around for quite some time as Pastor Jeff explained last week, lies were birthed in the Garden of Eden when the father of lies, satan, deceived Eve to sin against God. Out of a lie, disobedience was planted in the mind of humanity, sin expressed and the world tainted. As a result, men believe lies of all kinds as time continues to progress.
Today, we are looking at lies men believe about God. Whether it be a family member, a neighbor, coworker, or even yourself. My hope today is to make you aware of the lies we have been told and give the the truth from Scripture concerning these lies.
Transition to Point 1: Have you or a loved one fallen into one of the lies?
Lie #1: God is not a whole lot different from me.
Lie #1: God is not a whole lot different from me.
People in life are always comparing themselves to other things. Many of us do it without even realize it. Whether it be the longest drive or the best putt on the golf course, careers, home size, best deal, talent, and the list goes on. For a competitive person, it is incredibly hard to avoid the comparison game. Speaking from personal experience, I want to be the best, the go to expert on topics, I want to be someone others lean on because there is know one who cares more about their well being. These things aren’t necessarily bad. But they can be major weaknesses.
Fact is, I am not the best or the leading expert. There is always going to be someone smarter and more talented than me. If Tom Brady walked into this room and challenged us to a football throwing competition. I high doubt anyone in this room would beat him. The talent discrepancies would be clear.
Why?
We know it because Tom Brady is a professional football QB, one of the all-time greats at the position, and we are all amateurs.
Much like the separation of talent between Tom Brady and myself. There is an infinite divide and separation between God and creation.
Isaiah writes about this separation and infinite difference between the created and the Creator in Isaiah 6:1-3
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
In Hebrew a repetition of a word is a way of expressing a how great something is:
Isaiah 1–39 (1) A Vision of the Holy King (6:1–4)
Thus the seraphs claim that God is completely, totally, absolutely, the holiest of the holy. Holiness is the essence of God’s nature and God himself is the supreme revelation of holiness. God’s absolute holiness reveals how separate, different, or totally other he is in comparison to all other aspects of the created world. Although the word does not mean sinless, God’s holiness means that he is separate from everything that is sinful, utterly removed from the profane world, and glorious in majesty.
God’s greatness is unmatched! He is totally and fully set apart.
One of the dangers we can run into is to think of God in a hierarchy system.
We can think of God as the top dog with the Seraphim and us not far behind, then other creatures in descending order.
The truth is that God is totally infinitely set apart from all of creation and nothing comes close to his greatness and holiness.
AW TOZER says it this way:
Exalting Jesus in Isaiah The Lord’s Holiness Exalted (Isaiah 6:1–4)
We must not think of God as the highest in an ascending order of beings, starting with the single cell, and going on up from the fish to the bird to the animal to man to angel to cherub to God. God is as high above an archangel as above a caterpillar, for the gulf that separates the archangel from the caterpillar is but finite, while the gulf between God and the archangel is infinite. (Knowledge of the Holy, 70)
Men, we must not believe the lie that we are anywhere close to being equal to God.
Truth #1: God is holy and totally indescribable.
Truth #1: God is holy and totally indescribable.
God is set apart and his holiness causes us to to recognize our own short-comings leading to repentance and worship.
Transition: not only do men believe the lie that we aren’t that different from God....
Lie #2: God isn’t involved in or concerned with the details of my life.
Lie #2: God isn’t involved in or concerned with the details of my life.
In all of God’s greatness and holiness, he cares intimately about us. Listen to what Jesus says about our value,
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Another passage that explains God’s great concern and care for us is found in Matthew 6:28-34.
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
What is clear is that God’s power and ability is so great that he cares for even the most minute concerns. He is intimately involved and concerned for his creation.
We are no exception! God is invested in everything we do.
God’s omnipresence, meaning always present, adds great weight to how we live each moment. How we think, because he hears our thoughts, every idle or crude word, joke, expression that we say, every action we take and what we do in secret, is not secret or hidden from God.
Robert Wolgemuth explains it this way:
Lies Men Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free 2. God isn’t actually involved in or concerned with the details of my life.
Coram Deo is a Latin phrase meaning “in the presence of God” or “before the face of God.” This is how we are called to live our lives. Every moment, every word, every decision, every act, every thought counts. No matter how insignificant they may seem, they are done before the face and in the presence of the living God.
How many of our deeds, actions, thoughts, words, would change if we saw Jesus before us every moment of every day. Would we lax off and allow our language to be crude, would we tell the jokes that fill our speech, would we be impatient and unruly because our schedule is delayed.
Unfortunately, I believe most, if not all of us, would conduct ourselves differently with Jesus physically before us. Yet, Scripture is clear God is with us always because he is intimately involved in our lives and is omnipresent. We must live our lives in that regard.
The only way for us to live that way is to abide in Christ. John 15:4 tells us,
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
God is invested in us. Thus, the truth #2 is that:
Truth #2: God is not too big or too small to be intimately involved in our life.
Truth #2: God is not too big or too small to be intimately involved in our life.
We have seen the truth that God is holy and set apart from and and how he is intimately involved in our lives. But. there is a third lie men believe,
Lie #3: I can earn God’s favor.
Lie #3: I can earn God’s favor.
In life, men are natural fixers. We want to make things better. If I can solve this work issue, then I will earn my bosses favor and I will get that bonus this year. If I can finish all my honey-dos then, I will win my wife’s affection and she will look at me with those loving eyes that get my heart pumping. Or, if I buy this car for my grandson, then he will want to spend time with me.
Look none of those things are bad, it is good to solve work problems, it is good to help your wife around the house, it is good to give gifts to loved ones. The motives are the issue.
We have been taught for so long that favor must be earned. It is a works based system that people are most attracted to in life. Every religion in the world, except for Biblical Christianity, is centered on a works based system.
Did I...
Pray enough
give up enough
follow every teaching
do all that is required of me
give good sacrifices
do more good than bad
It all centers on one’s self. The Bible points out the issue with a works based system for earning favor. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 5:20
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
First, the scribes and pharisees were considered the most religious and faithful leaders in the jewish community.
Second, Jesus tells them that unless their righteousness EXCEEDS their religious leaders righteousness they are eternally condemned.
So, Jesus has told them that their religious leaders aren’t getting favor with God nor are they. Talk about a gut punch. Everything they thought they knew about getting favor with God is immediately thrown out with this one verse.
Another example given in Scripture of the insignificance of the efforts of men to earn favor is found in John 3.
This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Nicodemus and Jesus continue their dialog and Nicodemus hasn’t grasped the teaching of Jesus. Jesus responds saying in verse 10.
Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
Religious rites, traditions, and works were in the way of the truth found within the very Scriptures Nicodemus and his fellow religious leaders read, memorized, and proclaimed. Jesus explains in verse 14-15 that:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Jesus foreshadows his death on the cross and testifies believing in him is the only way to salvation. We can never earn favor with God.
Which brings us to our third truth statement:
Truth #3: God’s approval is not earned. God’s approval is a free gift received in faith.
Truth #3: God’s approval is not earned. God’s approval is a free gift received in faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9 presents this truth to us:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Men, long to fix things, are incapable of fixing the great divide in our lives between us and God. We must humbly submit ourselves to Jesus and place our faith totally in him for our salvation.
We’ve talked about the lie of how God isn’t much different from us, isn’t concerned with our smallest of concerns and actions, and how we can earn God’s favor, now lets look at:
Lie #4: There are many ways to God.
Lie #4: There are many ways to God.
Oftentimes, I wonder how many believe this statement. Not necessarily verbally, I know there are people who would verbally say they believe there are many ways to God. But inside churches, much like our own, where the Bible is preached, the exclusivity of through Christ alone is preached and taught, how many testify they believe this lie with their actions?
Think about it, if we truly believe what Jesus says in John 14:6:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Then why are we not sharing the good news of Jesus Christ crucified for our sins and risen from the grave defeating sin and death for our sake to every person in our lives? Do we think that they will magically hear of the gospel from someone else?
The phrase: Actions speak louder than words comes to mind. We might say we believe Jesus is the exclusive way but our actions say one of two things, either:
I don’t love people enough to tell them about the good news.
or, I don’t believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
Men, I’ve been there. Struggling to share my faith with the person next door, or the person God places before me. It is hard. It is awkward. Fear of rejection, confutation, and simply messing it up. In my experience, as soon as the conversation gets going, God takes over and all that fear and anxiety of sharing the good news goes away.
Men take courage and take the step to be evangelism warriors. Share the good news ever where you go.
A quote on the exclusivity of Jesus as the only way that has impacted many believers over the years including my own life is from C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity:
Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis (pg 55-56)
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.
Either Jesus is God in the flesh or he is a lunatic. Either he is the only way or he is a liar. Either Jesus died for our sins or he died insane.
Truth #4: Jesus Christ is our only path to God.
Truth #4: Jesus Christ is our only path to God.
There is no way around it men. Jesus is alone is our path to God. It is time for us to live and share the truth. It is the greatest honor we have to testify of the loving exclusivity of Jesus the bridge to God for all who believe and place their faith in Christ for salvation!
We have seen four lies we believe about God, the lie of him not being much different from us, the lie he is to big for the details of our life, the lie of how good works earn God’s favor, and the lie of many ways to God. Our final lie is one that deals with our relationship with God and others:
Lie #5: Church? I can take it or leave it.
Lie #5: Church? I can take it or leave it.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
The truth of the matter is that every one of us need to be in Christian community. If we are children of God, we need others. Of course, Genesis 2:18 deals with Adam’s need for someone like him, which is why God created Eve. It is not good for us to apart from deep personal relationships with others.
The lone ranger approach to life is not admirable. It’s a shame and prevents us from being all we can be for God’s glory. And men, not everyone is an outgoing big event type person. Those things can weigh heavy and wear out someone who prefers to remain to themselves. Yet, that is the beauty of the church. It is a place where you should:
experience the awe of God in worshipping him,
conviction, encouragement, healing with the preaching of God’s Word
community and deep personal relationships through Bible Study and Christian friendships.
equipping to serve God faithfully
Being part of the local church isn’t an optional time we can pass off as an optional exercise, which brings us to truth #5:
Truth #5: Attending church is not optional for Christians; it is vital.
Truth #5: Attending church is not optional for Christians; it is vital.
Are you invested in, serving in, regularly worshipping in your church? If it is optional for you, then you need to ask why. Because without being involved in a local church, you are missing out on so many blessings of worshipping God, growing in Christ likeness, learning about the Lord, and deep meaningful relationships with other believers that God has designed us to have in life.
Questions:
1. Who is your greatest living hero? How would you act in his presence? What are some things that set God apart from everything and everyone else?
2. The word “love” is sometimes thrown around like cheap candy. What does GOd’s kind of love look like?
3. What does the expression “with strings attached” mean? What are the strings attached to God’s love for you? Are there any?
4. When is the word exclusive an ugly word? Why is Jesus being the “exclusive” way good news here?
5. Why is it important for us to experience intentional Christian community in the context of the local church?