DEFINING MOMENTS
Discovering Who We Really Are
Matthew
10:34-39
Aug 19, 2001
Introduction:
1. Most of our expressions of Christianity
are given within fairly safe and ordinary circumstances.
2. The great majority of daily decisions are
settled by employing beliefs commonly held by those in our circle of
associations.
3. Few of the choices we make would raise an
eyebrow, much less attract anger or generate disruption.
4. Due to the uneventful quality much of our
lives possess, we might style much of what we do an “easy” or “common
righteousness.”
5. We must not, however, be seduced by the
ease of the commonplace into thinking that normalcy truly defines us (Matt.
5:43-48).
6. As important as it is for the
preponderance of our lives to be righteous in character (I Jn. 3:7-9), the
accumulation of all the relatively easy decisions of life can create a dangerous
situation (Matt. 19:16-22).
7. The defining moments of our lives come
rarely, always appearing when pleasing God means that we must suffer loss.
8. Consider an illustration from To Kill
a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The excerpt that follows comments on how Atticus
Finch defined himself in a time of great distress:
They're perfectly willing to let him
(Atticus Finch) do what they're too afraid to do themselves- it might lose 'em
a nickel. They're perfectly willing to let him wreck his health doing what they're
afraid to do, they're-"
"Be quiet,
they'll hear you," said Miss Maudie. "Have you ever thought of it
this way, Alexandra? Whether Maycomb knows it or not, we're paying the highest
tribute we can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It's that simple."
(Maudie then
addresses Atticus’ children) "I simply want to tell you that there are
some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your
father's one of them."
"Oh,"
said Jem. "Well."
"Don't you
oh well me, sir," Miss Maudie replied, recognizing Jem's fatalistic
noises, "you are not old enough to appreciate what I said."
"We're the
safest folks in the world," said Miss Maudie. "We're so rarely called
on to be Christians, but when we are, we've got men like Atticus to go for
us."
I. Understanding the Place of Accommodation.
A. Although the times that define us are
experienced in choices about principles that cannot be compromised, there is a
big place in Christianity for accommodation (I Cor. 9:19-23).
B. Proper accommodations are, nevertheless,
easily misunderstood.
C. Acceptable accommodation only involves
matters of mere judgment or opinion.
D. Such accommodation is to be given with
the intent of helping people see that there is truth and that truth is above
compromise.
E. We do not practice acceptable
accommodation simply because we “go with the flow.”
F. Accommodation in matters of opinion must
be part of an aggressive and pointed insurgence into enemy territory so that
light might overcome darkness (Jn. 3:16-21).
G. Accommodation is correct only if we
insure that God’s truth is pursued in a manner totally free of compromise (Gal.
1:10; Rom. 3:1-5; I Thess. 2:4-6).
II. The Seductive Power of “Easy Righteousness.”
A. Even our declining culture retains many
Christian influences.
B. The everyday decisions Christians make
generally cause no significant ripple.
C. We are far removed from the many life and
death decisions faced by our first century brethren.
D. We are blessed with 2000 years of
collective Christian influence on our culture.
E.
This “easy
righteousness” can, however, become a curse—even as was the case when
Constantine made Christianity the “state religion” in the fourth century.
1. Doing right can become more a matter of
tradition than conviction.
2. Going with the flow of common “Christian”
tradition must not be allowed to be substituted for a militant, revolutionary
Christian counterculture.
3. While Christianity must strive to be
polite, a politically correct politeness spells death to the way of the Christ.
4. The many outward signs of “easy righteousness”
can encourage us to put life on an automatic pilot that lands us in Hell rather
than in Heaven.
III. The “Small” Places That Define Us.
A. We become acutely aware of these “small” places
when the way of “easy righteousness” is not sufficient for the challenges of
the moment (Matt. 10:34-39; Matt. 26:69-75; I Cor. 5:9-13; I Pet. 2:18-21).
B. Though small in measure of life’s total
allotment of time, these costly moments of life are gigantic in defining who we
really are.
1. Because they take up so little total
time, we can rationalize that they do no truly define us.
2. The many more hours, days, and years
spent in “easy” or “common righteousness” can be misused into constructing a
case that seemingly exonerates us when we have failed the more critical tests.
3. The difficult times, however, are not
small in quality, it is in fact the behavior we exhibit in these “small”
moments of life that reveal the core of our hearts.
C. The Challenge of a Costly, Defining
Faith—Testing Ourselves (II Cor. 13:1-5).
1. When truth would lead to disruption (Jn.
2:13-17).
2. When people are intent on “looking the
other way” (Matt. 21:12-17).
3. When family and friends will be upset
(Jn. 7:1-5).
4. When traditions replace or otherwise
hinder truth (Matt. 23).
5. When we will be misunderstood or maligned
(Jn. 6:41-42, 52).
6. When popularity will be sacrificed (Jn.
6:66).
7. When we are drained physically and
emotionally (Matt. 26:36-46).
Conclusion:
1. How have we defined ourselves?
2. Has “easy righteousness” been vindicated
by costly stands for truth or has “easy righteousness” been exposed as mere
convenience by our failure in the defining moments of our life?
3. Have we been an Atticus Finch or merely
one of the crowd?
4. Have we stood for convenience or for
Christ?
Edwin
8/19/01
Return to "Sermon
Outlines" Page