"Just Two Stars?!"

Reservations: Things That Keep People From Making a Commitment to Christ

JUST TWO STARS?!

Poor Image of Christians:  Just 2 Stars Only?!

 Occasionally God allows us to encounter people who have hesitations or reservations about making a commitment to Jesus Christ. Perhaps some of you here this morning are struggling to fully embrace Jesus because of some doubts in your heart. As we continue our series entitled RESERVATIONS this morning, I want to address another of the issues that hold people back from pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Over the last few weeks, Pastor Jerry has spoken on topics like skepticism and conflict of interest.  This morning we will discuss how a poor image of Christians causes some to have reservations.  To keep it interesting, we have compared the themes of these messages with making a hotel reservation. That's why when you look at the themes for this series, they seem to suggest reasons for not pursuing a hotel reservation.  As Pastor Jerry has already stated it, “in a way, the point is, ‘If something keeps you from Christ, it also keeps you from making a reservation in heaven.’” 

This morning’s play on the idea of hotel reservations is entitled, “Just 2 Stars Only?!”  Today we’ll address this reservation that many have regarding the poor image of Christians.   

While many differing hotel classification systems exist, they are far from standardized from country to country.  The use of 1-5 stars to rate hotel quality is as common as any classification system currently in use.  Most systems rate hotel quality based upon chain name, type of hotel, food and other services, entertainment, view, amenities, spas and fitness centers and location. 

According to Wikipedia, there is only one record of a zero star rating to date.  It is the Null Stern Hotel in Sevelen, Switzerland, a converted nuclear bunker.  Members of the hospitality industry claiming a six star rating include the Crown Macau, Macau, China and The Oriental Bangkok in Thailand.  Only three hotels in the world currently hold an official "seven star" ranking; the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the Grace International, Bankok, Thailand and Town House Galleria in Milan, Italy.  Among other seven star hotels currently under construction are a complex planned for Metro Manila and The Royalties Castle for Davao City in the Philippines. 

Most of us could only ever afford to stay in hotels with quality ratings up to 4 or maybe 5 stars, however, most of us would hesitate to book a reservation in a hotel for which its customers reported as few as one or two stars out of five, unless our options, needs or finances limited our choices.  A typical hotel in the mid-range of the 3-star spectrum is the Atlanta, Airport Westin, in which my recent national missionary meeting with the North American Mission Board was held.  A hotel in this class would often have a recognizable name, be located conveniently near an airport and offer shuttle service, insure relative cleanliness, have wireless internet capability for an additional fee, provide access to in-house fitness facilities, provide a clothes iron and comfortable bed in an updated room, and have a nice restaurant in-house or possibly provide an included continental breakfast.

Now there are certainly times when we would not require amenities quite this extensive, but for business or vacation travelers staying for 4 or more days in one location, many people would prefer or require some of these additional services or inclusions.  Conversely, more than a single night’s stay in a two- or one-star hotel might leave us wondering why there are only stale donuts and bad coffee on the breakfast bar, why the room smells like smoke or doesn’t filter out the noise from a nearby highway, or why the room lacks cleanliness or doesn’t feel quite safe. 

But, if you made a reservation for a hotel that was advertised as a 3- or 4-star, only to be provided with 2-star accommodations, you can certainly understand the sort of reservations some non-Christians might have when observing the quality of life Christianity advertises and yet the character of life Christians so often practice. 

As Mahatma Ghandi is quoted as having said, “I like your Christ.  I do not like your Christians.  They are so unlike your Christ.” and “If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian.” 

This morning, we are going to look at a few verses of the last public message Christ is recorded as having preached in Scripture.  Interestingly, it isn’t a message about salvation, the resurrection or principles for living the Kingdom life.  Rather, Jesus’ final sermon is a sobering message of rebuke against false teachers--namely the Pharisees--, who were self-appointed religious teachers in first-century Israel.  Jesus is so scathing in his rebuke of them that Matthew records 5 accusations in the few verses we will consider this morning, and he goes on to quote Jesus as using the word “hypocrite” six times in the rest of Jesus’ message in Matthew 23. 

Matthew 23 (NKJV)

 1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’”

In these few short verses, Jesus makes 5 specific accusations against false teachers in His day.  We are going to consider each in light of the reservation a non-believer might have over the “false teaching” of a Christian’s poor witness. I hope that unbelievers here today might feel genuine empathy and be moved to consider Jesus’ claims over a poor Christian witness and that believers might be challenged by the following advice from unbelievers:

I.                 “Don’t look down your nose at me.” (v. 2)

The Pharisees were not appointed to be Israel’s religious authorities, but this is the role that they assumed for themselves.  The New Testament literally derives the phrase “sit in Moses’ seat” from the Greek word cathedra, which is also the origin of our word “cathedral,” meaning “the seat of religious authority.”  You might also recall that, when the Roman Catholic Pope speaks “ex cathedra,” he is speaking from a position of full church authority.  So the Pharisees often spoke and acted as though their teachings carried full religious authority, and those who disobeyed or neglected their teachings were supposedly guilty of sin.

Similarly, unbelievers, you often feel as though you are being judged by holier than thou believers, and you resent this, don’t you?  But even though believers don’t usually intend to condescend to non-believers, too often the “moral majority” comes off sounding like the “moral authority.”

This is so opposite to how Jesus chose to identify with sinful mankind.  And let’s be honest, believer and unbeliever alike, we know that we sin and that we all fail to live up to God’s holy standards.  But the Bible tells us that God, “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Isn’t that incredible?!  Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, and yet He didn’t look down His nose at sinful human beings like you and me.  Instead, He became one of us, taking upon our sin, that we might be made right with God.

Unbeliever, you are right that believers shouldn’t look down our noses at you.  Instead, we all need to be reminded that when Christ died to save sinners.  The Apostle Paul, one of the most faithful Christ-followers of all time once said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Tim 1:15).  We all are sinners saved by God’s grace.

Notice in v.2 that Jesus not only criticizes religious leaders who behaved as the moral authority, however, he also said to the crowd, “practice and obey whatever they tell you.”  The Bible is our true authority in Christian life.  It reveals God to us as a holy judge of sin but also as a loving Father of those who turn from their sin.  While it exposes sin, it also points to Christ as the way of salvation.  Unbeliever, if you want to discover God and really hear Him speak with authority, look first to the Bible to understand God’s desire for your life.

II.               “Lead by Example!” (v. 3)

While Jesus encouraged obedience to the teachings of the Word of God, he also gave this advice: “do not do what they do.”  Later in this chapter, Jesus describes how the Pharisees taught very high standards of tithing and obedience, and they would fulfill the outward gestures of obedience, while they “neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faith” (v. 23).

Do you ever recall your parent saying to you, “Do as I say, not as I do”?  How effective do you think it is when a parent tells this to a child, without heeding their own advice?

The average person today is overloaded, over-committed, over-extended, exhausted, stressed out, living on the run, distracted and imbalanced.  I have to confess to you today that, I am the average person!  Are there any other average persons out there today?  Unfortunately, Christians today are the average person, in many respects, and as a result---even though we truly believe it is important to maintain our relationship with God---many average Christians are not praying much, not following Christ very intentionally and surviving on an inch-deep relationship with God.

Believers in Christ, you and I need to find our center in God and to live with Him as our point of reference for every decision and our shelter from every care of life.  God’s word teaches us to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, with prayer and thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV).”

But unbeliever, I also want to respond to your advice/criticism this morning, by saying Do NOT follow a poor Christian example.  But, do not allow the average Christian to be the basis by which you judge my Jesus.  

You see, not even an extraordinary Christian is going to be the perfect example of Christ-likeness; you will always find a fault in them.  You may look around this sanctuary and see hundreds of average Christians this morning, but please realize that we are NOT the perfect likeness of Christ as individuals.  

When you read about the fruits of Spirit-filled, Jesus-look-alikes in Galatians 6:22-23, you see that such persons should be filled with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.”  But the Bible also teaches that, only in community do believers make up the Body or full likeness of Jesus Christ.  In other words, unbeliever, you may find very few believers here today in whom you could not find some fault as average believers.  However, in many, many of these average believers, you will find any one of these very Christ-like traits of love in Tess or joy in Rachel or peace in Marilou or patience in Norm or kindness in Rey or goodness in Eldie or faithfulness in Ruby or gentleness in Erwin or self-control in Vivian. 

III.            “Practice What You Preach” (v. 3)

Believers, can you understand why the world of unbelievers so often call us “hypocrites,” when this is exactly how Jesus described the same behavior he saw 2000 years ago in the lives of religious leaders?  They knew the Law of God, taught it, and even enforced it, but they didn’t act as though it applied to their own lives.

Doesn’t this frustrate you when you see similar behavior in policemen, in government officials or in pastors and priests today?  In sports, we used to say the same thing--only not very nicely—when we would say to an arrogant teammate or opponent, “put up or shut up!”

Scripture describes this as “having a form of godliness but denying its power,” and encourages us, “from such people turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5).

Many believers would do less damage to the Kingdom of God if we were secret saints, right?  But that doesn’t work very well when God calls us to “go…and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all things I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).  Since God does not save us to live our faith in secrecy, we must heed the criticism of unbelievers and the advice of Jesus and practice what we preach.

But unbeliever, if your criticism is that a certain believer does not practice what he/she preaches, you are not off the hook.  You should not listen to any believer or pastor who lacks integrity---who has not made themselves accountable to other believers to practice what they preach.  However, you, as an unbeliever, should also be willing to have the integrity to find someone who lives the Christian life with credibility and to be willing to consider what they will tell you about Jesus.

IV.            “Give us a break!” (v. 4)

The picture Jesus illustrates in v.4 is of an overloaded pack mule, whose burden of expectation and responsibility is so overwhelmingly large that the animal can scarcely move.  Jesus implied that the Pharisees were like the master of this beast, whom, having overloaded it, carry nothing themselves and instead stand beside it barking orders and whipping it.

I fear that this is sometimes like the picture our unbelieving friends and family members have of us, as believers, when we are so quick to quote a Scripture or to shame them for ungodly behavior.  To expect an unbeliever or a new believer to think, act or speak like a mature believer is unreasonable and unkind.  Instead, Jesus always places the burden of responsibility upon the more spiritually mature believer to model humility, compassion and deference. 

Paul teaches,“Don’t just pretend to love others.  Really love them.  Hate what is wrong.  Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  14 Bless those who persecute you.  Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other.  Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people.  And don’t think you know it all!” (Romans 12:9-10, 14-16 NLT)

Unbelievers, please don’t mistake a believer’s love for our Lord and our church as an intentionally judgmental attitude towards you.  Give us the opportunity to know you and be known by you, so that we better understand one another as individuals with unique histories, personalities and challenges.  What we really want more than anything is to be obedient to what Jesus says to believers in Matthew 5:16 (MSG):  “Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!  Keep open house; be generous with your lives.  By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God…”

V.              “Get real.” (v. 5-7)

Jesus emphasized here that the Pharisees were all about appearances.  They took great care to look like God-followers, but their lives were full of hypocrisy, deceit, pretension and inferior motives. 

As already noted earlier, too often believers either get too busy or too accustomed to going through the motions.  When we do this, unbelievers see us at our weakest and question whether there really could be a genuine Jesus behind our phony-looking faith.

What Jesus is saying in vv.5-7 is that true believers should practice real, genuine spirituality that demonstrates a real, personal relationship with God.  This means that each of us needs to be challenged to stop living off of someone else’s overflow, to stop trying to live near genuine spiritual faith---thinking that it will rub off on us---and to start really living as though we have our own intimate relationship with God in Christ.

An article in Decision Magazine during the Fall of 2000 gave Rev. TW Wilson's account of a 1950’s Los Angeles reporter quoting a local pastor as saying that Billy Graham had “set the church back 100 years.”  The reporter pressed, “What do you have to say for yourself?”  Graham replied after brief pause, “I’d have to ask God to forgive me.  When I accepted this ministry, I always prayed that He would use me to set the church back 2,000 years.”

When the unbelieving community in first-century Antioch saw unexplainably real, passionate faith being lived out by believers, they used the word “Christian” to describe them for the very first time.  Acts 11 goes on to say that, because of what they saw, many unbelievers turned to Christ in faith and became believers.  So unbeliever, what would you do, if you saw real Christianity in a real believer?  Would you be willing to consider that what you’ve been hearing about this “Jesus” might just be the real truth? 

CONCLUSION:   Unbeliever, I want you to know that the Christians here this morning have heard your advice to: don’t look down our noses at you, lead by example, practice what we preach, give you a break, and get real.  We have heard the criticisms of Jesus to the Pharisees, and we are praying even now that God would give us the strength to be changed to be more like our Lord.  We want to honor Jesus in the ways that we live, and we want to point you to Him.  We know our God is real and that He really loves you and desires a real relationship with you this morning.  Will you consider entrusting your life to Him as your Lord and your Savior?