Rarely do I teach a class or deliver a message that hasn’t already penetrated my soul and taught me first. I think that the only way a message is really exceptional is if the Holy Spirit has brought the hammer down first in the teacher/preacher’s life so that the passion can come from a place of real, deep conviction.
Last night, however, as I taught on really believing the Gospel (*see below for explanation of “Gospel”), the real weight of that came at that point and later as I reflected on it more and more.
I taught about how we say we believe the Gospel and and we do a lot of things that would be considered right for a disciple to do and yet it seems we tend to battle with the same surface sins over and over. Why is that? I say surface sins because those are the ones that we can see. However, usually the surface sins indicate something much deeper: what Bob Thune and Will Walker, authors of The Gospel-Centered Life, call “Idols of the heart”.
Here’s the example we looked at last night – gossip. Everybody knows when they gossip, right?…usually. Anyway, so we realize we’re gossiping and so we feel convicted by it and repent. Then we run along and gossip somewhere else. Doh! Why can’t we break that?! What’s going on that I keep gossiping when I know it’s wrong and don’t really want to (or do I?)
The question we explored last night was, “Why do we gossip?” Here are some reasons suggested by the above-mentioned authors listed as “heart idols”:
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» The idol of approval (I want the approval of the people I’m talking to)
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» The idol of control (Using gossip as a way to manipulate/control others)
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» The idol of reputation (I want to feel important, so I cut some-one else down verbally)
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» The idol of success (Someone is succeeding—and I’m not—so I gossip about him)
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» The idol of security (Talking about others masks my own in- security)
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» The idol of pleasure (Someone else is enjoying life—and I’m not—so I attack her)
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» The idol of knowledge (Talking about people is a way of show- ing I know more)
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» The idol of recognition (Talking about others gets people to notice me)
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» The idol of respect (That person disrespected me, so I’m going to disrespect him)
What’s the problem? I haven’t really believed the Gospel to the point that I don’t need these idols to make me feel successful, validated, accepted, respected, etc. I haven’t realized that IN CHRIST, I am complete so that my validation, acceptance, respect and on and on are found in and completed in HIM. I don’t need to serve and/or be held captive by these idols IF I TRULY BELIEVE THE GOSPEL and so I am freed from fear, anxiety, low self-image and all the other deep-seeded problems that are MANIFESTED through actions like gossip, lying, etc. Make sense?
So, I’m left with the question of whether or not I truly BELIEVE the Gospel. If so, it should have an absolutely RADICAL affect on my entire life. As we said last night, my whole life and everything in it should be leveraged for the sake of the Kingdom of God. That includes my family, my stuff, my money…everything.
Are you content to give lip-service to your “belief” in the Gospel of Christ? Do you feel the same level of conviction I’ve felt? If so, it’s time to do some spelunking of the soul and figure out what idols are living why down deep in caves and crevices of your heart. Ask God to shine the helmet light on them and start breaking them down. Clear them out! Be free from fear, depression, anxiety, anger and all the other manifestations that come with failing to believe in the deliverance and power of the Gospel.
Am I minimizing or over-simplifying deliverance from things like depression, anger, etc? Absolutely not! Many, if not most of these things require some help both in identifying and removing them. Seek Godly, qualified help and accountability if you are wrapped up in these things, but I encourage you to follow my example on this and start addressing it today. Stop saying you believe the Gospel but living as if you’ve never even heard it.
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* In this post, I am referring to the Gospel (which literally means “Good News”) as the revealed message of the work of Jesus Christ to bear the wrath of a just God towards sin and, thus, serve as a substitute for sinners in order that they can then be at peace with God, having been cleansed and adopted by God Himself. The only proper response to hearing the Gospel is to believe it and repent of the sins that evoked the wrath of God and precipitated the sacrificial death of Christ. For more information on the Gospel, feel free to email me.
