Did God design Christianity to be comfortable? Are Christianity and the American Dream complimentary or contradictory? Join us in this study of Scripture.

<p>Did God design Christianity to be comfortable? Are Christianity and the American Dream complimentary or contradictory? Join us in this study of Scripture.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Bay City SDA Church

Taylor Hinkle

Comfortable Christianity

Father in heaven, we thank you so much for the privilege of coming together as your people this morning.

Thank you for the opportunity of setting aside this time where we can draw close to you and our hearts can become more like yours.

And Father, we just ask that as we enter into your word that you would please give us spiritual eyes and spiritual ears that we might see and hear the things that you have for us.

Lord, help us to understand the importance of this message, not just as a person's word, but Lord, may we hear your word speaking to our hearts.

We pray that your spirit would guide us and direct us in all that we do.

This morning we're going to be studying a familiar passage of scripture.

And the thing that I'm realizing more and more is that it's easy to read the Bible and insert into the Bible our own understanding based upon how we live our lives today.

You might say well what do you mean by that?

Well we're gonna turn to Matthew chapter 19 and you're going to see very clearly that there's a familiar story that we're going to be looking at.

But Jesus here calls someone to do something very special and specific.

But too often when we read this, we insert our own cultural understanding of what God calls us to do, and therefore we miss the important purpose of the story that God is trying to deliver to us.

Now, I don't know about you, but I recognize in my own life that there's a tendency in my life and in society today that tends towards self-preservation and towards getting things for myself instead of being overly concerned about the good of others.

Anyone else struggle with that to any degree?

I mean, it's easy to think about getting our lives set up smoothly, that we have enough money for retirement, that we have the best education for ourselves, that our house is the most comfortable possible.

And all of our world today tells us that we should have those priorities.

You've heard of things called the American dream before right?

This where you can have an ideal life and it's a beautiful thing and as Americans we realize that we reap many of those benefits, that we have things that people would never experience in other countries around the world.

But do you think it's possible to be reading things into Scripture that are in line with our culture but out of line with the Word of God.

This morning, Matthew chapter 19, we're going to take a look at what Jesus says to this young man and you can tell me for yourself whether or not you think it might be possible that we too could fall into the trap of not fully hearing the intended words of Jesus because of a misconception due to what we value as important today.

Matthew 19, verse 16 says, Now behold, 1 came and said to him, Good teacher, what good thing should I do that I might have eternal life?

So Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good?

There is no 1 good but 1 and that is God.

But if you want to enter into life keep the commandments.

Now we've read this story together, have we not?

And you've probably read this story before.

This young man is coming to Jesus looking for what is the key to following Jesus?

What is the key for experiencing eternal life?

And Jesus tells him clearly, keep the commandments.

Jesus said, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Now, what commandments is Jesus referring to?

And is it interesting that Jesus only mentions these 5 of the 10 Commandments?

Was Jesus trying to teach this man that the other 5 don't matter?

Or Could it be through the omission of the other 5 that he's actually zooming in on those?

Now notice the response of this young man.

Verse 20, the young man says to him, All these things I have kept from my youth, What do I still lack?

Now my friends, he sounds like a good Jewish young man, or like a good Seventh-day Adventist young man, wouldn't you say?

I mean, all the commandments, I'm walking in those things.

I don't understand what you're teaching, Jesus.

Maybe I'm feeling pretty good about myself.

I've asked you how I can inherit eternal life.

You've laid out some of the commandments and I'm doing pretty well.

But you know, there's an interesting point that this young man says to Jesus.

Back in verse 16, he says, Good teacher, what, what?

What good thing should I do that I might inherit eternal life?

Now, do you find that to be an interesting question?

Why I find that interesting is this young man expects to be going in the same direction he's always gone, but is just looking to add on something good so that he can inherit eternal life.

But you know what Jesus lays out to this young man?

Is it's not the addition of something this young man needs into his life, it's actually the removal of everything that he finds important before encountering Jesus.

Notice how this continues to play out in verse 21 and 22.

Jesus said to him, if you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.

Now how many times have you heard a sermon or you've been in a Bible study group or you've been reading this on your own time or you come into discussion with another Christian about this and you read this passage and what's the next thing we want to do?

Well you know Jesus wasn't really calling him to sell everything.

You ever heard someone describe it that way?

Or what Jesus was doing is just testing his motive.

He wanted to know if he was actually willing to do it but he wasn't necessarily calling him to do it.

Or people will also say, well you know that call to that young man was specific for him.

Jesus doesn't call us to forsake everything in order to...

Have any of you heard these kinds of discussions when you're reading through the rich young rule?

It's so easy that we hear the words of Jesus but we think I don't know hold on a second Jesus wasn't talking about my retirement you know Jesus didn't understand that part you know he wasn't saying everything Jesus doesn't understand you know my home it's it's it's what I need And before we go into all of that debate, I want you to recognize the clear principle that Jesus is laying out here.

In order to follow Jesus, It requires sacrifice.

And in order for this young man to faithfully follow the Lord Jesus Christ, to experience the joys of eternal life, he first had to take those things that he saw as the most prominently important, and lay them down to pick up God's plans for his life.

The problem is, is that we live in a culture today where you can go to churches all around the world, and I'm not just poking the finger out at other people, but you can go to churches today that tell you that 1 of God's primary goals is to bless you.

But did you know, my friends, that God's primary concern is not your bank account?

God's primary concern is not your home mortgage, or even owning a home.

God's primary concern is not your boat or your vacation.

It actually doesn't even have to do whether or not you get lunch today.

Now you might say this is a heretical man, I mean, you understand who I am and what I'm talking to you.

But here's the reality, God is less concerned about your material well-being than your eternal life.

God isn't as interested in how to prosper you with stuff as he is to prosper you in salvation.

And what God is trying to lay out to the rich young ruler is your things are what I'm calling you to surrender for the furthering of my cause." Now notice how Jesus lays this out in verse 22.

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away what?

My friends, I could tell you that Jesus might be the most unpopular pastor that has ever walked on the face of this earth.

Jesus didn't say, Hey, well, okay, I didn't know that that was really a big deal to you.

Why don't you just go ahead and give me that little portion, you know, I'm sorry if that's really offensive to you.

But Jesus recognized that the message he was giving was not a message to be hard for the sake of being hard, but Jesus knew this principle.

In order to be a Christian, you must be willing to surrender everything for the cause of God and to give it whenever God calls for.

I mean, isn't this what it means to be a steward?

We talk about this principle of stewardship.

Well then when the owner of the goods asks for it, you give it without question.

You know you might say, why in the world are we looking at Matthew chapter 19?

This last week I've been wrestling over this passage of Scripture, not because I've never read it before, and not because I didn't think you've never read it before.

But as I was beginning to think of this passage of Scripture, it was in the context of how great the need is in the rest of the world.

Have any of you stopped to see how well off we have it in North America?

I'm not just talking about materially, Yes, that's what we've talked about some.

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Comfortable Christianity

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