A Time for Sober Reflection: Gospel of Luke #50
A Time for Sober Reflection is an exposition of Luke 12:49-53. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, March 12, 2017.
Intro:
There is a disturbing trend within the evangelical church over the last 20 plus years. It is an increasing desire to be user-friendly. Schools, books, seminars now offer insight into how to make the church and the Gospel palatable to an increasingly secular world. On the surface that doesn’t sound like such a bad deal. After all, didn’t the apostle Paul say that he becomes all things to all people so that by all means he might save some? The problem is the lengths to which some would take this user-friendly approach. One wonders if soon you may drive past the “Lite Church” home of the 7% tithe. Only 8 commandments – your choice. It’s everything you could want in a church and less! In an honest desire to reach as many folks as possible with the Gospel some have been willing to give away the store. The result is a cheapened Gospel and a weakened church. Years ago a friend told me about a pastor who boasted of a “powerful and moving service” in which he and others dressed in clown outfits and served the Lord’s Supper to children! That is not moving it’s blasphemous! To take something as holy and sacred as the memorial to the cross of our Lord and make it a part of a clown act is contemptible. In a mad dash to be innovative and cutting edge we have sold our soul.
Now that does not mean that I believe that the biblical thing to do is to make things as obscure as possible. Make the Gospel as unappealing as you possibly can. I am all for explaining the Gospel in terms contemporary folks can understand. We must communicate as effectively as possible. Our methods need to adapt to the age but we must guard the message. We must not allow the method to become the message or to obscure the message. We must never loose sight of the fact that the Gospel is the call of God for folks to come out from the world and be separate. I must admit I am disturbed by the attitudes that say, “Do your best to make sure your building doesn’t look like a church. Change your worship service so that it is more like a concert or an evening at the theatre. Don’t be to churchy in what you do.” That bothers me. I was told to come out and be separate. The church is to be distinct from the world. It ought to be a clear choice. That is not just buildings but attitudes, perspectives and methods. To be sure we must guard against extremes on both ends of the spectrum. I’m not at all suggesting that anything beyond the 16th century is too modern. I am not advocating we return to the Puritanism of the American Colonies or the Fundamentalism of the 1920’s. What I am suggesting is that we must be diligent to ensure that we are biblical in our message and our methods. That we make sure our focus is on the Gospel and its requirements. That demands some honest evaluation. That requires serious reflection on our part. That requires that we periodically stop for a reality check. Not unlike what our Lord did in Luke 12:49-53.
Text: Luke 12:49-53
Context
Growing animosity/hostility.
Discussion about the foolish and the wise.
Talk of End Times
All of this with his disciples.
Now it is reality check. You need to know what you are in for.
Thesis: Faithful preaching and teaching the Gospel requires an honest evaluation of the Lord Jesus and his mission.
The Gospel is about Him! The Kingdom of God is about Him. We must learn to evaluate our methods and ministry in light of who He is and what He came to do. We find two things in our text that are crucial when we come to such an evaluation.
- An honest evaluation acknowledges His zeal in accomplishing His mission. (12:49-50)
- An honest evaluation recognizes the inherent division caused by the Gospel. (12:51-53)
Conclusion:
The Gospel is offensive. The Gospel says you are a hell bound sinner and unless you repent and trust in Christ and Christ alone for salvation you will be eternally condemned. How do you make that palatable? If you can do it without it being offensive it ceases to be the Gospel!
Faithful preaching and teaching of the Gospel requires an honest evaluation of the Lord Jesus and his mission.
Such an evaluation acknowledges his zeal to accomplish his mission and recognizes the inherent division caused by the Gospel.