July 6, 2008

Being a Christian and Using Your Brain

by Rev. Dr. Jim Carlson

Matthew 11:16-19; 25-30

Opening Illustration

Most religious people struggle with faith vs. reason

Most of us err on one side or the other.

Jesus addresses the question – prepares disciples to preach

Warns them they will be ridiculed.

John called demoniac. Jesus called drunk and glutton.

Jesus hung with wrong crowd. Good things he does show he’s there for the right reasons.

Contrasts those who accept his message and those who don’t.

Those who accept him see him as God’s son.

Jesus’ way of follow the law is not burdensome.

His detractors see him as the devil. Their way of pleasing God is complicated and convoluted.

Faith in Jesus and obedience to his way of righteousness is the way to the kingdom of heaven.

Risk of two extremes. Excessive emphasis on rules designed to ensure righteousness can be confusing and counterproductive.

Grandmother’s ethical requirements
Christian Music
Christian Counseling
Following rules sidesteps use of mind God has given us.

Excessive emphasis on faith runs the risk of trusting things that aren’t required by faith.

Natural Disasters – God’s punishment
Anglican and Catholic struggle over women bishops.

Jesus is saying that God has revealed the way to righteousness through Jesus. It’s not convoluted.

Jesus’ biggest problem was not with unbelievers or civil authority.

His problem was with corrupt, narrow religious leaders who thought they knew more about God than everyone else.

Christianity in this country seems to be oriented in the opposite way.

Enemies of Christianity are: Civil government, media, schools, modern culture, and academia.

Jesus is saying that none of those people are actually against us.

The problem Jesus confronted back then is the same one Jesus confronts now: a religious establishment bent on telling people how to live without asking them to think about what’s being said or experience faith for themselves.

Most of the non-Christian people who hear that I’m a pastor or religion professor don’t really have a problem with that.

They know who I am and what I’m about. I don’t criticize them or tell them what they’re doing wrong. That’s what the religious leaders did to the outcasts of Jesus’ day, and it didn’t bring anyone closer to God.

Jesus, on the other hand, was willing to be seen with them. He had meals with them and shared a drink with them, knowing his reputation would be sullied.

But he also knew that those people were the ones who were most receptive to what he had to say. So it was worth being looked down upon in order to do what was right.

You want to be righteous in God’s eyes? It isn’t a matter of learning the do’s and don’ts. It’s sometimes so hard to tell the difference between God’s rules and the ones we make up that we end up not following either.

But Jesus says, follow me. Live my life. It’s less confusing, les legalistic, and more centered on who God is. You don’t need a Ph.D. in theology to follow Jesus. All you need to do is listen to what he has to say and try to be a good citizen of his kingdom, wherever that may take you.