A myth is a widely held, but mistaken belief. We are deeply influenced by myths. For example, consider some of the myths that have been investigated and "busted" on the popular show "Mythbusters". Busted means that the myths have been investigated and are not true.
Using a cell phone while pumping gas can cause an explosion. Busted!
A penny dropped from a high rise building can kill a passerby. Busted!
Nuking metal could cause your microwave to explode. Busted!
Regular tanning booth trips will cook your internal organs. Busted!
When you go to get blood drawn at the Red Cross, you are actually secretly having mind-controlling computer chips implanted into your bloodstream that can be detected with a stud finder. I am not sure I ever heard of this myth, but it was on the show! Busted!
Of course, upon investigation, some common myths proved true.
A great white shark can rip a hole through a boat by charging into it. Plausible!
It is possible to fly a lawn chair by means of weather balloons, and descend safely by means of an airgun. Confirmed!
It is better to run than walk in the rain if you want to stay dryer. Confirmed!
You cansubconsciously influence people to yawn by yawning. Confirmed!
The toilet seat is the cleanest place in your house. Confirmed, but I'm still not going to eat off of the toilet seat!
A dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's mouth. Confirmed! But you won't find me sharing a bowl with a dog anytime soon.
As Christians, we have some deeply held beliefs that are myths.
The thing I love about "Mythbusters" is how the show digs into some of our most deepest held myths. As believers, we have dozens of deeply cherished beliefs about the church and about church practices. These beliefs have been passed down generation after generation. In some cases, these beliefs have been passed down by particular denominations or by our culture at large.
All of these myths have had an extraordinary impact on our lives. They really do change the way we think, feel, and live the Christian life. But the real question is, "How many of these beliefs withstand the scrutiny of scripture?" As we dig into the Bible, we discover that our myths often keep us from the life Christ intended for us to live. This sermon series will explore many of these common myths.
Today, we begin this series by considering myths surrounding "holiness." In your outline, you will notice three different myths surrounding holiness.
The holy man myth.
The first myth can be called the holy man myth. The holy man myth is the belief that holiness is only for a select few. For example, holiness is only for the priest, or perhaps for a nun. When I was growing up there was a Catholic church near our school. As we would walk home after school, the priest and nuns would often appear in a window overlooking our path to home. They would look down upon us, sternly it seemed, evaluating our behavior. The were the holy ones in our eyes.
But perhaps you believe holiness is for a select few. It isfor Mother Teresa perhaps, Billy Graham, professional clergy, or the for the Amish community, but certainly not for yourself. A simple test reveals how prevalent this holy man myth has become. Allow me to ask a question. How many of you consider yourself a believer? Raise your hand. A believer is someone who believes God exists and created the world. Many hands are raised.
Now how many of you consider yourself a Christian? You believe in Christ, his death, burial, resurrection, that he reigns at the right hand of God, and that he will one day return to earth. Many hands are raised.
How many of you consider yourself a disciple? A disciple is a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Now look around the room. You will notice that only a few hands are raised.
Now for a final question. How many of you would consider yourself a saint? Very interesting!Even fewerhands are raised. But I can see that several of you have already taken my class on "How Christians Grow." Seriously, a saint means "holy one" in the Bible. How many of you see yourself as a saint?
What would you say if I told you that all of these terms are used interchangeably in the New Testament to describe Christ’s followers? Check out the biblical record.
Acts 2:44-47 (NIV) tells us, "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Acts 11:29 (NIV) says, "The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea."
Acts 11:26 (NIV) tells us, "...The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch,"
Romans 1:7 (NIV) says, "To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 1:1 (NIV) says, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus..."
Philippians 1:1 (NIV) greets, "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons..."
Notice in this last verse, Philippians 1:1, that Paul separates out overseers and deacons from saints! In his view it wasn't just the leadership of the churchwho were saints, but clearly the average believer, disciple, or Christian.
So let me ask, why don’t we see ourselves as saints? We have developed a hierarchy of what it means to be a believer, christian, disciple, and saint. Why have weassumed what scripture has not told us?
Scripture sets higher standards for us than we do for ourselves with regard to holiness.
The truth is that myths are convenient. They can be a way to justify the low standards we have set for ourselves. Or they can be a way to keep other's expectations of us comfortably low. If we were to consider ourselves saints, than people should rightly expect to see something different about us as compared to the average person.
I remember when I first entered ministry. Before I became a paid minister, I just saw myself as an ordinary person. But people developed a seperate classification for me that distinguished me from themselves. People called me "reverend" and "pastor." People held me to a different standard of holiness than what theyheld for their own lives.
So what are we to make of this? Is holiness only for a select few? Should a higher standard be held for some (i.e. clergy) but not for all Christians, or for the average churchgoer?
In the Bible, we discover that holiness is for everyone, especially for the average Christian. For example, consider the book of Leviticus. The purpose of this book is to introduce holiness to every aspect of society including civil government,the workplace, neighborhood relationships, worship, marriage, or parenting. Survey Leviticus 17 for examples of this.
In Ephesians 1:4 (NIV) God tells us, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." God chose for us to be holy, so why would we choose anything less for our lives?
In 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV) we read, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.' " In the Bible, this isn't a specific reference to a select few. The Greek literally says "you all be holy." It is addressed to the whole church and not to just a few.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 (NIV) the Bible says, "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit."
Busted! Holiness is for many, not just for the minister. We rightly have high expectations for Christian leaders and clergy. However, the average believer has relatively low expectations of what he himself is required to be or do.Yet the scriptures call every believer to the highest possible standards. In terms of "being", we are called to put on the very holiness of God.
The good enough myth.
A second myth related to holiness is the good enough myth. The good enough myth is the belief that, "I’m good enough already." The good enough myth says, "I go to church. I tithe. I read my Bible. I pray. I'm a good person. I'm as good as I need to be and want to be."
There is a level of resignation with this myth. Sometimes we are like the rich ruler. The rich young ruler set low standards for himself of what it means to be good. Jesus makes it a point to challenge his notion of goodness and challenges him to live a life of greatness. The story is in Luke 18:18-23 (NIV).
"A certain ruler asked him, 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?''Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.' ''All these I have kept since I was a boy,' he said.When Jesus heard this, he said to him, 'You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth."
In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 through Matthew 7 Jesus does this same thing with his audience. They had all set a standard of goodness for themselves in regards to moral issues like murder, adultery, divorce, lying, hate, love, generosity, prayer, and fasting. Yet their concept of goodness did not go far enough! The people patted themselves on the backs for not committing adultery. But Jesus confronted them for committing adultery in the heart, for lusting after others. They patted themselves on the backs for properly divorcing their wives by the legal standards of their culture. But Jesus calls them to a higher standard. They shouldn't get divorced under any circumstances except maritial unfaithfuless.
Busted! Holiness is in everything. As you can see, Christ’s standard for goodness is the very holiness of God himself, and his idea of holiness is total! Remember that1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV) says, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.' "
An important question we should ask is, "How holy doI want to become?" At a certain point, we all become repulsed at the thought of holiness. We say to ourselves, "I will do anything, but I won’t do that ______." You fill in the blank here.What is the limit you have set on your own pursuit of holiness? How far are you willing to go to be holy? What line won't you cross? Holiness in everything should become our deepest pursuit.
The perfection myth.
A last myth relating toholiness is the perfection myth. The perfection myth is the belief that I can become perfectly righteous through my own human effort. The perfection myth goes like this. "If only I could try harder, if onlyI could only muster enough will power and self-discipline, then I would be holy.
Busted! It is certainly true that we can pursue holiness. But true holiness can only come through Jesus Christ and his righteousness.
James 2:10 (NIV) dispels the myth of self-righteousness. It says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." You can think of God's law as a giant chain that keeps you connected to God, and which keepsyou from falling to eternal judgement. The Bible says that if just one link in the chain gets broken, the chain fails, and we fall from fellowship with God. That is the standard of holiness we must live by if we wish to relate to a holy God.
Unfortunately, all of us have sinned and broken the law. We may wish that God would overlook our sins, but he is just, and refuses to overlook our sin. Fortunately, God hasprovided us a righteousess that comes from heaven.
Romans 3:21-26 (NIV) says, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
You can think of it this way. We are in a courtroom with God himself as our holy judge. He details the countless ways that we have offended his holy chararacter. The sentence for our sins or the, "wages of sin" is death. Our fine is millions of dollars, a debt we could never possibly repay by ourselves. As the full weight of our sentence hits us, the judge announces that he has made a way for his justice to be satisfied. Jesus Christ walks into the courtroom and takes upon himself the penalty of death. God's righteous wrath is satisfied and were allowed to walk away forgiven of our sins.
In Hebrews 10:14 (NIV) the Bible says, "because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."
As you survey these myths, which have held you back most in your Christian walk? Is it the myth that holiness is for others, and not for yourself? Is it the myth that you are good enough as you are, and that there is no need to pursue holiness further? Is it the myth that you can attain self-righteousness by human effort, apart from Christ? All of these myths have been busted by a careful survey of scripture. Holiness is for everyone. It is to be our standard in everything. Andholiness only comes through Christ Jesus himself.