Sunday, December 11, 2016 am
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN
(5)
Hindrances to Growing and Staying Faithful as a Christian
In our last lesson,
we addressed some things to encourage us to grow as Christians.
We began by noting that it is imperative.
We also noted Hebrews 5:12-6:1 where the writer expressed
concerns because they were NOT growing as they ought to.
Because of this, they were in danger of drifting, and possibly
even apostasy (that is one of the reasons the letter was written).
Friends, in many
ways times have changed, but the dangers of drifting have always been
there. IF we are to grow as
Christians, we need to recognize these dangers that can hinder us from
growing as we ought to. In
this lesson we want to notice a few of these hindrances.
a.
In another
letter, where Paul is expressing concerns with brethren headed into
apostasy he writes, “You ran well.
Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians
5:7)
b.
Luke 8:7, 14 – the parable
of the sower – the thorny ground describes the heart that receives the
seed and begins growing, but because of cares, riches and pleasures of
life, it brings no fruit to maturity.
c.
Hebrews 2:1 – give more
earnest heed lest we drift away.
a.
God
is not my priority!
i.
If you
intend to grow as a Christian, it is going to require that you make Him
first in your life. While it
is true that as Christians we have tasks of living to accomplish, and
maybe even some extra time to do some of the things we want to, one
thing we MUST realize that God comes first and has an influence on
everything we do. Because of
that, we are going to consider Him in EVERY decision we make.
ii.
Sadly,
many have divided loyalties.
They want to compartmentalize God.
They will give Him X number of hours in a given timeframe (maybe
a week), but the rest of the time is theirs to do with as they wish.
iii.
Am I
convicted? Matthew 6:24 Jesus
said we cannot serve 2 masters.
Matthew 6:33, seek FIRST the kingdom of God…
Luke 12:16-21 records the parable of the rich fool. God said to him,
“Fool. This night your soul
will be required of you…” In his life, he failed to consider God and was
called into account.
Joshua 24:15-19, we’re familiar with vs 15 as Joshua challenges the
people saying, “Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve…But as
for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
The people said they would serve God, but notice vs. 19, “”
iv.
As a
Christian what kind of changes have you made in your life?
Are there sins you don’t want to give up?
Do you just want to barely get to heaven? (BTW, if we get there
it will be “barely” – 1 Peter 4:8).
Do you regularly let worldly pleasures keep you from choosing
God?
v.
As long as
God is not first in your life, you will not grow as a Christian the way
you should. Don’t
forget who owns the fence.
b.
Materialism –
i.
It is no
secret that we are living in very materialistic times.
We live in a country with great prosperity.
And while that prosperity is not necessarily wrong, our nation
seems to be no different than much of history.
With prosperity often comes arrogance, greed, self-reliance and
lack of contentment. And
with this materialism comes a rejection of God.
As previously noted, men who love darkness hate the light (cf. John
3:18-20) and will do anything they can to remove God from their midst.
They do this through education, entertainment, legislation and
even the judicial system.
Friend, the real issue behind so many of our social problems is a lack
of accountability to a source greater than ourselves.
ii.
The Bible
warns us against materialism in many ways
1.
James 4:4,
1 John 2:15-16 - loving the world
and its things. NOTE:
Materialism is a form of worldliness.
2.
Matthew
6:24 – you cannot serve God and mammon.
3.
Colossians
3:5 – covetousness, which is idolatry.
Notice 1 Cor. 5:11 – when was the last time you heard of someone
withdrawn from because of covetousness?
4.
James
4:13-17 – your life is a vapor that appears for a little while then
vanishes away. Notice vs. 17 in context, “Therefore,
to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
iii.
Proverbs
30:8-9, Solomon wrote, “Remove
falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor
riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny
You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And
profane the name of my God.”
iv.
As Christians, we are living in
this materialistic society and we are not immune from this mindset. The
truth is, many Christians are not growing as they ought to because they
care too much about this world and the things therein.
They have established a certain lifestyle that they worked for
and maybe even sacrificed – and maintaining that level of comfort, and
even luxury is their goal.
And when they are faced with the choice of serving God or this
lifestyle, often God suffers.
Sometimes they don’t realize it.
Because they have compartmentalized God, they think they are
fine. But are they?
1.
Does our
materialism keep us from giving as we ought to?
2.
Have we
allowed our lust for things to drive us into debt so that we are limited
as to what we can do Him and His cause?
Proverbs 22:7, “The rich
rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.”
Are we slaves to our debtors (cf. Romans 13:8)
3.
Does our
materialistic attitude cause us to look down upon or feel uncomfortable
around others who are not like us? (Better notice James 2:2-4)
4.
Does it
cause us to hesitate before giving something up in order to do more for
the Lord and His church? Does our
personal debt limit what the church here can do?
5.
Which do
you trust in more – God or your things?
Be honest!
6.
Would we
honestly give up what we possess to keep following Him?
Think of that rich, young ruler in Matthew 19:21-22.
If being a Christian were outlawed and came with the cost of
losing our possessions, would be still publicly stand up for Jesus?
v.
Notice
again Luke 8:14 where Jesus directly states that – the cares, riches and
pleasures of life choke out the word, and therefore bring no fruit to
maturity.
vi.
To
overcome materialism, we need to:
1.
Learn
contentment - 1 Timothy 6:9-10, 17 – we must learn to be content!
2.
Simplify
our lives – get rid of the clutter! This includes physical, material
clutter! Stuff will get in your way if you are not careful.
vii.
Truly,
a materialistic attitude can hinder our growth as Christians?
c.
Distractions –
i.
Another
hindrance to growth, perhaps even more than materialism is time
management.
ii.
We are
living in such busy times. There is so much to do and so many choices.
In addition to work (which for some consumes their lives), there
is exercise, recreational activities & hobbies, children’s activities,
school, shopping, time searching the internet for whatever interests
you, maintaining our homes and our lives, etc.
Sometimes we are so busy we have to micromanage our time on our
smartphones and all sorts of calendars.
And, of course, we must sleep some time.
Today, time is a more valuable commodity than money (i.e. Do you hire
someone to mow the lawn for you?)
Also notice how we are living in times where we so many “time-saving”
devices, but even these seem to contribute to our busyness as we quickly
find a replacement for the time we supposedly saved.
iii.
The Bible
warns us to use our time wisely
1.
Ephesians
5:15-16 – walk circumspectly, redeeming the time
2.
Luke
10:40-42 – Martha was distracted with much serving, “Martha,
Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things…”
3.
1
Corinthians 7:35, “…and that you
may serve the Lord without distraction.”
It is in a context where Paul is addressing the married and
unmarried. There are some
distractions we need to deal with in life, but sometimes we create far
too many.
iv.
As
Christians, if we are not careful our lives will become so full that we
don’t have time to do anything for God.
This can hinder our growth in many ways:
1.
It can affect my knowledge of
God’s word because I don’t have time to study
2.
It can
affect my closeness to God because I don’t have time to pray – “Seven
days without prayer makes one weak”
3.
It can
affect my relationship with my brethren as I am too busy to be with
them.
4.
It can
affect my ability to teach others – including my family, if I’m not
careful!
5.
For some,
it affects their working with the church- some fail to attend properly,
others fail to participate – i.e. help with teaching classes, work days,
involved in special efforts (such as Gospel meetings), etc.
6.
It can
cause you to not examine yourself as you ought to – because of business,
you don’t have time to stop ask if you are growing as you should.
7.
It can
cause me to give God leftovers, instead of my best.
v.
Dealing
with distractions –
1.
Simplify
your life – 1 Thess. 4:11 – lead a quiet life.
2.
Make time
for God! This NOT an option!
What is the FIRST commandment? Love God – Matthew 22:37! Don’t
neglect “the weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23)
3.
Learn how
to balance your time so that what you do is for good.
4.
Realize
you can’t do everything, even if it is a good work. Learn to say “no”.
vi.
Friends, am I too busy to grow as a Christian?
d.
An
improper mindset –
i.
In our
last lesson, we addressed the importance of a proper mindset.
There are many whose thinking is clouded so that it keeps them
from growing.
ii.
Thinking I’m invincible – that
I can’t fall – see 1 Corinthians 10:12, to him who thinks he stands,
take heed…
iii.
Cheap
grace – grace is such an
important topic for us to understand.
IF it were not for the grace of God we would be without hope (cf.
Ephesians 2:4-10). Grace is
the prime factor in our salvation! We ought to thank God often for His
grace.
However, there are some who are using the grace of God to excuse sinful
behavior. I describe this as
cheap grace. Actually, it is
not a new term. It is attributed
to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a denominational theologian (much of whose
writings I would disagree with), who in 1937 wrote a book called, “The
Cost of Discipleship”.
In describing cheap grace he said, “the
preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without
church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace
without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus
Christ.”[1]
Romans 6:1-2 – we CANNOT continue in sin and be pleasing to God.
1 John 1:7, we must be walking in the light as He is in the light.
This can hinder one’s growth as he fails to see his need to change.
iv.
Fellowshipping error – we have
to stand for the truth – Jude 3 calls for us to contend for the faith; 1
Corinthians 16:13 calls for us to “stand fast in the faith” (NKJV) 2
Thess. 2:15 says, “Therefore,
brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught,
whether by word or our epistle.”
Along with this we are called upon to withstand error – Ephesians 5:11,
2 John 9-11, etc.
When we THINK it is ok to be in fellowship with those in error, this can
hinder growth as:
1.
It
affects your standing with God.
2.
It can
lead you to soften your stand for truth, or maybe your willingness to
investigate the truth.
3.
This can
even lead you, and perhaps others into error.
In Revelation 2:14-15 – the church at Pergamos had those teaching and
holding to error in their midst.
In Revelation 2:20 – the church at Thyatira was rebuked because they
tolerated immorality in their midst.
BOTH were told to repent (2:16, 2:22) or face dire consequences.
4.
Notice 2
Peter 3:17 - You therefore,
beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from
your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
v.
Dealing
with improper mindsets
1.
Change
your way of thinking – FOCUS!
Colossians 3:2!
2.
Be humble!
Romans 11:20, “Do not be haughty, but fear” – spoken of Gentiles
being grafted in.
3.
You HAVE
TO spend time studying God’s word!
4.
Bring
every thought into captivity -
e.
There are many other hindrances we could address: We lose heart,
Indifference, being complacent, weak churches - the church is the pillar
and ground of truth. Can
that be said of this church? (More on this next week); Forgetfulness,
neglect, the stumbling blocks of others.
There are many things to be aware of.
We have seen some
things that can hinder our growth.
Let us resolve that we are not going to let that happen.
We need to be the “good ground” – but to do that we need to
get rid of these “weeds” and “rocks”! Hebrews 2:1-3 – How shall we
escape if we neglect so great a salvation.
How about you? Are
you growing as you ought to?
Think about it!