March 2, 2008

Sins that Deceive

Luke 11:37-44

Opening Words: Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.” Many will admit they are sinners but few ever repent. Instead, they have become experts at making excuses. As disciples of Jesus Christ we must remember three things. First, God sees through our excuses for sinning. Second, God is more interested in forgiving us than hearing our excuses. Third, God expects us to repent and become more like Jesus everyday. Lent is a time to stop making excuses. It is a time to identify and eliminate your sinful ways. It is a time to start practicing what you will do in heaven for eternity. This morning we look at three sins that deceive us. We find ourselves in the eleventh chapter of Luke.

Luke 11:37-44 ³⁷When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.

³⁹Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

⁴²"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

⁴³"Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴"Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it."

I love the story of the man who walked from New York City to San Francisco. Can you imagine the obstacles a person might have to overcome? One man who accomplished this feat was asked, “What was your greatest challenge during your 3000 mile journey?” He said that the toughest part of the trip wasn't traversing the steep slopes of the mountains or crossing hot, dry, barren stretches of desert. Instead, he said, "The thing that came the closest to defeating me was the sand in my shoes."

As you live out your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ what is the greatest challenge you have faced to date? Has anyone here ever been tempted to commit a murder? Has anyone here ever been tempted to make a golden image to worship? NBC reported this week that many people are leaving the faith. Has anyone here been tempted to turn your back on Jesus and follow the teaching of Mohammed or Buddha? Or is the greatest challenge in the faith the sand in your shoes? Those little annoying sins that seem like nothing but in time they drain you to the point of immobility. They weaken your relationship with Jesus to the point that you have no real relationship with the Master. It is the sand in your shoes that Jesus speaks of this morning. Let us look at the text together.

We find ourselves in the eleventh chapter of Luke. According to the story a Pharisee invited Jesus to his house for supper. Everything seems normal. Jesus positions himself to eat the meal. Then Jesus does (or doesn’t) do something quite shocking! He doesn’t wash his hands. Your mother wanted you to wash your hands to teach you good hygiene. The Pharisee wanted Jesus to wash his hands because it was part of the ceremonial law. The story is a confrontation between the Pharisee and Jesus. It is a confrontation between dead traditions and a living relationship with God. The Pharisee confronts Jesus for his sinful ways; Jesus confronts the Pharisee with verse thirty-nine. “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.” What is Jesus saying? The Master is saying it is what is on the inside that really counts. Who really cares if the outside of the cup is pure, if the inside of the cup is diseased? Who really cares if you are carrying out the traditions, if the heart is filled with sin? It is what is on the inside of a person that really counts.

Several years ago, a noted evangelist came to the conclusion there are 577 different sins. He announced that over national television. The requests poured in. People wanted to see the list. (Maybe they wanted to see if he missed one?) I have never seen the list but I assume some of the sins on the list would be considered major, let us say felony sins. On that list is murder, adultery and idol worship. Some of the 577 sins could be considered as minor sins, let us call them misdemeanor sins. It is those sins that I want to talk about this morning. From our perspective they are not too serious but they deceive us. They are like sand in your shoe. Over time they do damage and draw you away from Jesus. Lent is a time to identify and eliminate all the sins in your life. Lent is a time to start practicing what you will do in heaven for eternity. So if you are ready to start identifying and eliminating the sins in your life say, “Amen!” I am going to move quickly.

Ingratitude

The first sin that deceives is the sin of ingratitude. Gratitude is important because it reminds us of who we are and whose we are. We have a need for other people and a need for God. An ingrate has no need for other people and no need for God. They believe they can exist alone. Ingratitude is debilitating to our souls. Ingratitude is a deceptive sin.

Andrew Carnegie, the multimillionaire, left $1 million for one of his relatives, who in return cursed Carnegie thoroughly because he had left $365 million to public charities and had cut him off with just one measly million.

Samuel Leibowitz, criminal lawyer and judge, saved 78 men from the electric chair. Not one ever did bother to thank him.

It is only in the spirit of gratitude that we begin to discover again who we are and whose we are. It is only in the spirit of gratitude that we become like Jesus. The Master was thankful for everything! When was the last time you said, “Thank-you” and really meant it! A disciple is grateful for everything! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Pride

The second sin that deceives is the sin of pride. We were created as God’s child and God must be the center of your lives. When pride becomes part of your life, you have replaced God as the center of your life with yourself. Pride leads this rebellion within your heart. We want to run the show, not God. When was the last time you heard someone say?

Nobody is going to tell me what to do!

I will do as I please!

What is in it for me?

You need to look out for number one!

I know what I want and no one is going to stop me.

These are all ways of saying you are in charge, no one else, not even God.

Robert Raines in his book Reshaping the Christian Life says:

Hell is the total preoccupation of self. Hell is the condition of being totally deaf to grace, blind to the presence of God, unable to discern His image in the presence of others. Hell is the state in which we no longer caught the fragrance of life. Hell is when we make ourselves a god.

I believe he is right! Hell is not just a location. It is also a state of mind. If hell is selfish pride then heaven must be openness to God and other people. How many people do you know who try to make themselves the center of their lives? Pride is a deceptive sin. A disciple understands that God must be the center of life, itself! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Resentment

The third and final sin that deceives is the sin of resentment. Webster defines resentment as, “aggrieved feelings about something or somebody.” Eliminating the resentment in your life is important because your resentment will tint every attitude that you hold. Our resentments poison our souls. Resentment is a deceptive sin. Releasing your resentments is a blessing.

Norman Cousins tells of being hospitalized with a rare, crippling disease. When he was diagnosed as incurable, Cousins checked out of the hospital. Aware of the harmful effects that negative emotions can have on the body, Cousins reasoned the reverse was true. So he borrowed a movie projector and prescribed his own treatment, consisting of Marx Brothers films and old "Candid Camera" reruns. It didn't take long for him to discover that 10 minutes of laughter provided two hours of pain free sleep. Amazingly, his debilitating disease was eventually reversed. After the account of his victory appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Cousins received more than 3000 letters from appreciative physicians throughout the world.

What resentments in your life are poisoning your soul? The only one you are really hurting is yourself. Our resentments are deceptive sins. Disciples only learn from the past. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Several years ago, a barber supply company decided to demonstrate the effectiveness of their products. They went to the poorest area of town and found the dirtiest drunkest homeless man they could find. They marched him out on the stage and the crowd was shock by his appearance. He was a mess! However, they said their product was so great it would turn him into a stud. When they got him off stage they sobered him up. They gave him a shower. They washed and cut his hair. They put sweet smelling cologne on him and gave him expensive clothing. When they marched him back on the stage the crowd couldn’t believe their eyes. This guy who had been a mess looked great! The crowd roared their approval. It wasn’t until the following day one that one of the lawyers discovered the drunk hadn’t signed all the releases. They went back to the poorest part of town and found him. Guess what condition he was in? He was once again the dirtiest drunkest man in town.

Jesus said, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.” Jesus doesn’t care what you look like on the outside. Jesus only cares about what you look like on the inside. What sand are you carrying around in your shoe? According to a noted evangelist there are 577 different kinds of sin. I would advice you to eliminate them from your life one at a time. Get rid of the pride in your life. Get rid of your ungrateful spirit. Get rid of the resentment in your life. Lent is a time to stop making excuses. It is a time to identify and eliminate your sinful ways. It is a time to start practicing what you will do in heaven for eternity. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”