Holy Rollers

Text: Matthew 5:13-20

Focus: Being Holy

Function: To help people see that holiness is defined by our good deeds instead of what we stand against.

Form: Storytelling with application

Intro:

I originally titled this sermon "what is holiness?"

Then I thought of Jim posting the sermon title on the sign and I wondered just what a person who is hurting, hoping and looking for spiritual guidance, who just might visit the Church this Sunday, or be thinking of a place to visit would think of a sign that said: "What is holiness?"

I would guess that the title would seem irrelevant to the actual human condition.

Now "Holy Rollers" is different because, frankly, some people might be afraid of coming to Church with the fear that they are going to be judged.

I actually had a lady visit the Church once and she had an extra dress in the car in case the first dress didn't fit in with the clothes the rest of the women were wearing.

And maybe the idea "Is he for or against Holy Rollers" might pique interest as to whether or not this would be a safe place for them to find the restoration that God wants to bring to them.

Of course, we, and any church is against the idea of being labeled as a "Holy Roller."

But the question of what the congregation believes what Holiness actually is defines the nature of the local Church congregation.

Holiness seems to be the theme of this passage.

It is introduced in the beatitudes, the first 12 verses of the Sermon on the mount which is captured in Matthew chapters 5-7, which we will be studying the next few weeks.

And holiness is repeatedly expressed in the recurring phrase during this sermon when Jesus says: "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and Sadducees...."

That may be a hard load to carry. What if we heard "unless your righteousness exceeds Billy Graham, Mother Theresa or the Pope...?" we would be in a funk with a burden to hard to manage.

On the surface, it appears that Jesus gives a very tall order, an order impossible to fulfill.

But a lot of people try to carry that burden. Some carry shame very well and Satan has convinced them that they are failures because they are not yet perfect. Remember, Satan is the accuser of the Brethren.

Others, like the Apostle Peter who bragged that he would never fall away and then failed miserably, carry pride (repeat CARRY PRIDE) and believe that they have the ability to do it all. I suppose they are what we call "holy rollers."

I used to be one of those. Sadly, in a different way, I suppose I still am. God help us.

So what does it mean to be holy?

A big part of what established us as Brethren was our belief that these commands in the sermon on the mount were just as important as the 10 commandments and we, above others, were going to be faithful to even the smallest jot and tittle of Jesus' teaching.

I developed a reputation for being the preacher who wasn't afraid to preach a "hard word."

I was really good at stepping on people's toes and telling it like it is without fear of the consequences. I would say to myself "If they are offended, it is God's Word, not me that offends them."

I remember thinking, I was so good at it, that in the small town where I was a pastor, all the saintly old ladies were coming to hear me preach. In my pride I though that if I was good enough for them, then I must be being faithful.

One Sunday, during that time, I said in a sermon "I am just a sinner saved by grace."

That is what I am.

But the next day I got a call from one of those saints who had been appreciating my "hard word." She spent an hour explaining to me how theologically incorrect my statement "just a sinner..." was because now that I had been saved, and I am saved by grace, I was and am a saint.

I remembered thinking "who cares about fine distinctions of the meaning of words? God didn't call us to be salt and light for the world in order to argue theological principles among ourselves."

That revelation was part of the journey from trying to accomplish the letter of the law by my own effort and realizing that the law was fulfilled in Jesus alone. I, we, cannot prove ourselves to be better Christians. We cannot do it. And the pride comes in, at least for me, when instead of comparing my life and attitude between me and Jesus, I do it with others.

When Jesus alludes to "a righteousness that exceeds..." He isn't asking us, or commanding us, to compare ourselves to other Christians in order to be better, or more faithful to Him. He is showing us that holiness is living by faith through our relationship with Him.

Last week we looked at the beatitudes. BTW, if you miss something in a sermon, or want all the biblical cross references in a sermon, you can go to phil-reynolds-sermons.blogspot.com.

The main emphasis of the beatitudes is the difference between Jesus' disciples and the world around them.

The big difference being that they live by faith and react differently to worldly problems.

The beauty of it is that they are in relationship with God and have His comfort, strength, Spirit and etc. to face life's problems.

So, three emphasis in the beatitudes: 1). Comfort/help 2). Caring for the right thing, justice and 3). Purity.

Two of the beatitudes deal with God's presence helping us. Blessed are the poor, those who mourn.

Five are about the right thing, hunger for justice, being merciful, being meek, being persecuted for doing the right thing, and persecuted because of Jesus.

And one deals with purity, the pure in heart.

More than anything, the holy person is the one who lives by faith, the one who trusts God even in the midst of trials.

They react in faith.

And their passion, their concerns, their motives are cultivated in a desire for seeing the right thing happen and purity.

Purity. The pure in heart. What is this? First and foremost, it is the change that happens in the heart of the believer when the Holy Spirit transforms their lives.

He makes us meek, gentle, patient, kind, loving, forgiving and he gives us the desire to please God.

It is different from the world's value system that at times mocks virginity.

We are in a broken culture that laughs at impurity because it is so common.

Our culture laughs at impurity and mocks virginity.

But let me make sure you hear a distinction in the Christian attitude.

I am impure. I cannot mock impurity, but I don't want to celebrate it either. And most importantly, I cannot condemn it.

To do so would contradict Jesus. He said: Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

Here is the problem with Holy Rollers.

They have confused purity for holiness to the point of absurdity.

For example, in so doing, some have contradicted Jesus to the point where they condemn all uses of alcohol even though Jesus turned the water into wine.

In order to perfect ourselves, to make ourselves better than the Pharisees and etc. We have submitted to rules that Jesus never intended.

We cannot perfect ourselves.

What does our passage say: "Let you good deeds be seen by men that may glorify God in heaven." (vs 16),

It is the good that we do that demonstrates our holiness. It's when we participate in the good that Jesus did on earth that our righteousness comes into Kingdom proportions.

I love the Church of the Brethren's Mission statement: Continuing the work of Jesus, simply, peaceably and together.

The Pharisees were good at the letter of the law but missed the spirit of the law entirely.

Does that mean purity is a wash? No. Look at this verse in James, James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Pure religion is both, caring for others -justice and mercy- and purity.

There are Christians who excuse their lack of concern for the poor with a loud expression of what they call purity.

We need both.

Purity is not holiness in itself. Justice is not holiness in itself.

Purity keeps us in line with Jesus' death and resurrection. He gave His life to free us from sin, how can we go back to it?

Living pure shows that we are not living merely for our own selfish desires. It means we honor the other person as much as we do ourselves.

Sex comes into this. Somehow, God has tied our spirituality into our sexuality and that is why the marriage bed is so important to God.

But I have met a lot of Christians who prove to themselves that they must be Christian because they proclaim purity in the face of a world that laughs at the idea.

But Jesus words are that the proof is not in the things you stand against, but in the good that you are doing.

It isn't one or the other. It is both and.

And Jesus' emphasis is on the good that we do, not the impurity that we decry.

In Matthew 25, Jesus does not say: "because you took a stand against the actions of others you are to enter into my joy."

Purity is easier than genuine, sacrificial, love for others. Because loving others involves time. And time is probably our most precious possession.

Moral outrage is not an excuse for Christian inaction.

Ephesians 5:18 Do not be drunk with wine, which is the sin of excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Abstinence from something is only half the command. It is meaningless without living a Spirit filled life.

I have seen alcohol destroy lives and I could preach against it.

But to do so would condemn Jesus Himself. No. Holiness is walking in a loving, redeeming, freeing relationship with God who loves to heal sinners. He heals sinners like me.

God was in the world in Christ Jesus. John 3 tells us that He came into the world not to judge the world, but to restore humanity back to Him and to each other.

So, moral outrage has no real place in the NT Church unless we decry the immorality of injustice, self-righteousness and greed.

Many make the case that moral outrage is merely an excuse for selfish living. It shifts blame.

Purity is important. It will flow out of us and if God is convicting you of something that is impure in your lives, then let us pray together, one on one, or find a trusted confidant to hold you accountable.

But understand that the holiness that pleases God flows out of the positive things we are doing for others.

And by faith in Jesus' death and resurrection, we are forgiven. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are transformed.