Almost Gospel - Week 3 "The Gospel of Moralism"

WEEK 3 – "The Gospel of Moralism"                               The Lie: "Being Good, Is Good Enough"Opening Reading: John 8:1-11The Three SayingsCleanliness is next to godliness. Spare the rod, spoil the child. Hate the sin, love the sinner. These three sayings focus on external behavior while missing heart transformation. Big Idea: Jesus did not come to IMPROVE behavior; He came to TRANSFORM hearts. Teaching Movements:"Cleanliness is next to godliness."Point 1: God cares more about inward holiness than outward appearances.Matthew 23:25-28 – Woe to you Pharisees; you clean the outside of the cup, while the inside is full of greed and self-indulgence..Psalm 51:10 – Create in me a clean heart, and renew a steadfast spiritClean HANDS without a clean HEART accomplish nothing.What the Bible actually emphasizes:Purity of heart (Matthew 5:8) Inner holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16) Spiritual cleansing (Psalm 51) God is far more concerned with INWARD TRANSFORMATION than OUTWARD TIDINESS. "Spare the rod, spoil the child."Point 2: Biblical discipline is discipleship.Hebrews 12:5-11 – Endure hardships as disciple, if you are not disciplined you are not legitimate sons and daughters of GodEphesians 6:4 – Fathers do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them, bring them up in instruction and discipline that comes from the LordGod's model is not PUNISHMENT but FORMATION.Many assume this comes directly from Proverbs. The exact phrase originated in a poem by Samuel Butler.It comes from the epic-length 17th-century poem ”Hudibras”, written by Samuel Butler (1612-1680), a cheeky British poet who enjoyed mocking religious extremists and hypocrites.[1]Proverbs does discuss discipline (Proverbs 13:24), but its advice is the OPPOSITE.24The one who will not use the rod hates his son, but the one who loves him disciplines him diligently. "Hate the sin, love the sinner."Point 3: Grace and truth belong together.John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and made His home among us…Luke 5:31-32 – Healthy people don’t need a doctor, the sick do…The phrase "hate the sin, love the sinner" is not Scripture.Jesus did something better. He LOVED SINNERS while CALLING THEM TO REPENTANCE.While many view it as a useful summary of Christian ethics, the phrase itself never appears in Scripture.The concept has historical roots reaching back to thinkers such as Augustine of Hippo.It’s from St. Augustine. His Letter 211 (c. 424) contains the phrase Cum dilectione hominum et odio vitiorum, which translates roughly to “With love for mankind and hatred of sins.” The phrase has become more famous as “love the sinner but hate the sin” or “hate the sin and not the sinner” (the latter form appearing in Mohandas Gandhi’s 1929 autobiography).[2] Gospel InvitationReligion says: "Clean yourself up."Jesus says: "Come to Me and I will make you new." Conclusion:The false gospels of self-reliance, comfort and moralism are all inverted remnants of the truth; in reality…We are WEAKER than we think. God is WISER than we think. Grace is GREATER than we think. [1] https://www.thisdayinquotes.com/2017/11/spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child/[2] https://www.catholic.com/qa/who-said-love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin