1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,520 If you’d open your Bible at Romans and chapter 12 2 00:00:03,520 –> 00:00:07,260 as we’re continuing our series, Overcoming Evil. 3 00:00:07,260 –> 00:00:10,680 And today we’re looking at Overcoming Evil with Humility. 4 00:00:10,680 –> 00:00:13,680 But our focus is on this one verse today. 5 00:00:13,680 –> 00:00:17,559 Romans chapter 12 and verse 16, 6 00:00:18,520 –> 00:00:22,240 where we read live in harmony with one another. 7 00:00:23,219 –> 00:00:28,219 Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. 8 00:00:28,500 –> 00:00:33,500 Never be wise in your own sight. 9 00:00:34,580 –> 00:00:38,259 I don’t think there could be a simpler verse of scripture 10 00:00:38,259 –> 00:00:41,080 than the one that is before us today, 11 00:00:41,080 –> 00:00:44,240 live in harmony with one another. 12 00:00:44,240 –> 00:00:46,500 Harmony, as all the musicians know, 13 00:00:46,500 –> 00:00:49,520 is a pleasing arrangement of different parts. 14 00:00:49,520 –> 00:00:51,880 You get harmony when different notes 15 00:00:51,880 –> 00:00:53,799 are brought together in such a way 16 00:00:53,799 –> 00:00:56,840 that they enrich and complement each other. 17 00:00:56,840 –> 00:00:58,299 That’s what harmony is. 18 00:00:58,299 –> 00:01:00,459 Harmony isn’t unison. 19 00:01:00,459 –> 00:01:03,459 You don’t get harmony by everyone playing the same notes. 20 00:01:03,459 –> 00:01:05,739 So harmony doesn’t mean everyone thinks the same, 21 00:01:05,739 –> 00:01:08,760 everyone does the same, or everyone is the same. 22 00:01:08,760 –> 00:01:11,120 Harmony is not unison. 23 00:01:11,120 –> 00:01:12,980 Harmony is not discord. 24 00:01:12,980 –> 00:01:15,220 Discord is when notes are brought together 25 00:01:15,220 –> 00:01:18,419 in such a way that one note diminishes 26 00:01:18,419 –> 00:01:21,099 or distorts another. 27 00:01:21,099 –> 00:01:24,080 Live in harmony with one another. 28 00:01:24,080 –> 00:01:26,620 What that means is live in such a way 29 00:01:26,660 –> 00:01:30,339 that your togetherness brings a greater richness, 30 00:01:30,339 –> 00:01:32,080 that you complement each other, 31 00:01:32,080 –> 00:01:33,300 that being joined together, 32 00:01:33,300 –> 00:01:36,820 you are more than any of you could be on your own. 33 00:01:36,820 –> 00:01:38,500 That is what God is saying to us 34 00:01:38,500 –> 00:01:42,099 when He says live in harmony with one another. 35 00:01:43,260 –> 00:01:48,120 Now there is a display of great beauty 36 00:01:48,120 –> 00:01:50,599 that takes place that’s I think 37 00:01:50,599 –> 00:01:52,279 the point of this word harmony. 38 00:01:52,300 –> 00:01:54,239 There’s something beautiful, 39 00:01:54,239 –> 00:01:56,940 something wonderfully rich 40 00:01:56,940 –> 00:01:59,900 where you take what is distinct 41 00:01:59,900 –> 00:02:03,699 and distinct notes enriching one another 42 00:02:03,699 –> 00:02:06,540 add a beauty and a resonance to the sound. 43 00:02:06,540 –> 00:02:08,740 The notes are more than they would be on their own 44 00:02:08,740 –> 00:02:11,380 when they are played together in harmony. 45 00:02:11,380 –> 00:02:15,059 And think how beautifully we see this 46 00:02:15,059 –> 00:02:18,419 in the gift of marriage that God has given to us. 47 00:02:18,419 –> 00:02:21,580 For example, what happens there at the heart of marriage? 48 00:02:21,580 –> 00:02:23,639 God makes the man, God makes the woman. 49 00:02:23,639 –> 00:02:24,639 They are different. 50 00:02:24,639 –> 00:02:27,660 God brings these two that are different together 51 00:02:27,660 –> 00:02:30,899 in such a way that making them one, 52 00:02:30,899 –> 00:02:33,580 they enrich each other, they complement each other. 53 00:02:33,580 –> 00:02:37,779 They are more together than either of them would be apart. 54 00:02:38,619 –> 00:02:40,720 Think about this, at least in one sense, 55 00:02:40,720 –> 00:02:44,020 in regards to the very nature of God himself. 56 00:02:44,020 –> 00:02:45,479 There is one God. 57 00:02:45,479 –> 00:02:48,020 He is Father, He is Son, He is Holy Spirit. 58 00:02:48,020 –> 00:02:49,740 He is one in nature. 59 00:02:49,740 –> 00:02:50,860 He is one in purpose. 60 00:02:50,979 –> 00:02:52,940 He is one in love. 61 00:02:52,940 –> 00:02:55,100 There is a beauty, there is a glory, 62 00:02:55,100 –> 00:02:58,300 there is a peace, there is a blessing, 63 00:02:58,300 –> 00:03:02,880 there is a richness that we see in God. 64 00:03:02,880 –> 00:03:05,460 The harmony of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 65 00:03:05,460 –> 00:03:08,059 in this one person and the beauty 66 00:03:08,059 –> 00:03:10,860 that flows therefore from God. 67 00:03:10,860 –> 00:03:14,119 Now, what we have in front of us in this wonderful verse 68 00:03:14,119 –> 00:03:16,240 is that God speaks to us about this 69 00:03:16,240 –> 00:03:18,460 in regards to His church. 70 00:03:18,500 –> 00:03:21,639 He says live in harmony with one another. 71 00:03:21,639 –> 00:03:22,639 With one another. 72 00:03:22,639 –> 00:03:24,580 And clearly the one another here 73 00:03:24,580 –> 00:03:28,600 are Christian brothers and sisters, 74 00:03:28,600 –> 00:03:32,600 redeemed in Christ, brought together in the family of God. 75 00:03:32,600 –> 00:03:34,979 And what God says to us here then is 76 00:03:34,979 –> 00:03:38,520 live together in such a way 77 00:03:38,520 –> 00:03:40,679 that your lives are enriching, 78 00:03:40,679 –> 00:03:42,320 complimenting one another, 79 00:03:42,320 –> 00:03:47,100 being more than any of you could be on your own. 80 00:03:48,479 –> 00:03:51,899 Now is there anything that our country 81 00:03:51,899 –> 00:03:54,020 and indeed our world needs more desperately 82 00:03:54,020 –> 00:03:55,259 than this at this time? 83 00:03:56,899 –> 00:03:59,759 I mean, are we not tired of polarization? 84 00:04:00,979 –> 00:04:02,919 Are we not tired of division? 85 00:04:03,860 –> 00:04:06,220 Are we not tired of endless conflict? 86 00:04:06,220 –> 00:04:07,979 Endless argument? 87 00:04:09,259 –> 00:04:12,779 The world desperately needs to see something different 88 00:04:12,779 –> 00:04:15,919 and God says to his own children in the church, 89 00:04:15,919 –> 00:04:18,459 right here in Romans chapter 12 and verse 16, 90 00:04:18,459 –> 00:04:20,619 this is your calling. 91 00:04:20,619 –> 00:04:23,540 Let something that is different 92 00:04:23,540 –> 00:04:27,260 from what we see in the world, be seen in the church. 93 00:04:27,260 –> 00:04:30,399 Don’t be overcome by that evil that you see all around you, 94 00:04:31,500 –> 00:04:34,980 but instead overcome evil with good. 95 00:04:34,980 –> 00:04:37,140 So this is very simple, what’s before us 96 00:04:37,140 –> 00:04:40,619 and the obvious question then is what stops us. 97 00:04:40,619 –> 00:04:43,799 Here is the command of God, everyone can understand it. 98 00:04:43,799 –> 00:04:45,920 It doesn’t take a minute to explain it. 99 00:04:47,160 –> 00:04:49,600 So when the command is so crystal clear, 100 00:04:49,600 –> 00:04:51,200 live in harmony with one another, 101 00:04:51,200 –> 00:04:52,600 what is it that holds us back? 102 00:04:52,600 –> 00:04:55,640 Why is it that we even in the church of Jesus Christ 103 00:04:55,640 –> 00:04:59,040 find it so difficult to do this very simple 104 00:04:59,040 –> 00:05:00,700 and this very obvious thing? 105 00:05:00,700 –> 00:05:03,200 And there is a one word answer to that question. 106 00:05:03,200 –> 00:05:04,660 Why do we find it so hard? 107 00:05:06,200 –> 00:05:09,519 And the answer is the single word pride. 108 00:05:10,519 –> 00:05:12,399 And it is right here in this verse, 109 00:05:12,399 –> 00:05:14,600 do not be haughty. 110 00:05:14,600 –> 00:05:16,040 That’s what holds us back. 111 00:05:17,279 –> 00:05:19,140 But associate with the lowly, 112 00:05:20,200 –> 00:05:24,739 never be wise in your own eyes. 113 00:05:24,739 –> 00:05:26,059 So that’s why the title today 114 00:05:26,059 –> 00:05:29,119 is Overcoming Evil With Humility. 115 00:05:30,480 –> 00:05:33,799 Now I want you to notice from this verse 116 00:05:33,799 –> 00:05:37,679 that pride really has two expressions 117 00:05:37,739 –> 00:05:39,679 and they will be our focus today. 118 00:05:40,619 –> 00:05:42,700 The first I’m calling arrogance 119 00:05:42,700 –> 00:05:45,179 and here we’re focusing on the first of these lines. 120 00:05:45,179 –> 00:05:48,079 Do not be haughty. 121 00:05:48,079 –> 00:05:50,239 And I think arrogance captures that 122 00:05:50,239 –> 00:05:53,619 because to be haughty is simply to think of yourself 123 00:05:53,619 –> 00:05:55,399 as being better than others. 124 00:05:55,399 –> 00:05:57,899 It’s to look down on other people 125 00:05:57,899 –> 00:06:00,220 because you think that you are superior 126 00:06:00,220 –> 00:06:02,859 in your intellect or in your lifestyle 127 00:06:02,859 –> 00:06:05,260 or in your achievements or whatever. 128 00:06:06,220 –> 00:06:08,239 And it is easy, of course, 129 00:06:08,239 –> 00:06:11,660 for us to get the idea that this pride is no big deal. 130 00:06:11,660 –> 00:06:15,920 I mean, hey, what’s wrong with a little bit of swagger. 131 00:06:15,920 –> 00:06:19,119 Well, see here’s the thing. 132 00:06:19,119 –> 00:06:22,480 Pride is the original sin 133 00:06:23,299 –> 00:06:28,299 and it is actually at the root of all other sins. 134 00:06:28,600 –> 00:06:31,179 And so, if you check this out in Proverbs 135 00:06:31,200 –> 00:06:35,179 in chapters six and verse 16, a remarkable verse, 136 00:06:35,179 –> 00:06:37,959 Proverbs six and verse 16, where we’re told 137 00:06:37,959 –> 00:06:41,339 there are six things that God hates 138 00:06:41,339 –> 00:06:45,200 and then seven things that are an abomination to him. 139 00:06:45,200 –> 00:06:47,640 It’s a formula that’s often used in the Proverbs. 140 00:06:48,700 –> 00:06:51,260 And what is number one in the list of things 141 00:06:51,260 –> 00:06:54,920 that God hates and are an abomination to him? 142 00:06:54,920 –> 00:06:59,920 Number one, haughty eyes, exactly what we have here. 143 00:07:00,440 –> 00:07:01,959 Haughty eyes. 144 00:07:01,959 –> 00:07:03,720 And the reason for that, of course, 145 00:07:03,720 –> 00:07:05,760 is that when you read through the rest of the things 146 00:07:05,760 –> 00:07:07,579 that God hates, 147 00:07:07,579 –> 00:07:10,239 it’s actually pride that’s at the root of them. 148 00:07:10,239 –> 00:07:13,279 The next one is a lying tongue. 149 00:07:13,279 –> 00:07:16,380 We see, why do people tell lies? 150 00:07:16,380 –> 00:07:18,160 We tell lies because we want people 151 00:07:18,160 –> 00:07:19,399 to think we’re better than we are. 152 00:07:19,399 –> 00:07:22,040 It’s pride that’s at the root of that. 153 00:07:22,040 –> 00:07:26,260 And then, the next one is the shedding of innocent blood, 154 00:07:26,260 –> 00:07:28,179 murder, the taking of another life. 155 00:07:28,239 –> 00:07:30,880 Why would someone take another human life? 156 00:07:30,880 –> 00:07:33,579 Because they think their own life is of more value. 157 00:07:33,579 –> 00:07:38,579 Or their own interests are of more value than another life. 158 00:07:38,799 –> 00:07:39,640 And what is that? 159 00:07:39,640 –> 00:07:40,420 That is pride. 160 00:07:42,140 –> 00:07:45,679 So, when we come to this do not be haughty, 161 00:07:46,540 –> 00:07:50,779 we are coming to something that is foundational 162 00:07:50,779 –> 00:07:54,899 to the character of a true Christian. 163 00:07:54,899 –> 00:07:57,100 I want to apply this, 164 00:07:57,100 –> 00:07:59,359 not looking down on other people, 165 00:08:00,559 –> 00:08:02,899 not thinking yourself superior, 166 00:08:03,959 –> 00:08:06,260 I want to apply this particularly today, 167 00:08:06,260 –> 00:08:09,140 most of the message today is application, 168 00:08:09,140 –> 00:08:12,779 in regard to the way that we speak to each other 169 00:08:12,779 –> 00:08:15,040 or speak about each other 170 00:08:15,040 –> 00:08:17,480 especially when we disagree. 171 00:08:19,220 –> 00:08:24,100 Now there is a fascinating letter written by John Newton 172 00:08:24,100 –> 00:08:26,600 who is famous of course for having composed 173 00:08:27,260 –> 00:08:32,260 the hymn Amazing Grace and John Newton wrote a letter 174 00:08:33,000 –> 00:08:37,520 to a friend of his who was about to take up his pen 175 00:08:37,520 –> 00:08:41,880 to engage in some public disputation or argument 176 00:08:41,880 –> 00:08:44,159 with another person. 177 00:08:44,159 –> 00:08:49,159 And Newton wrote to this friend to warn him 178 00:08:50,619 –> 00:08:55,619 about the spiritual dangers of engaging in public conflict. 179 00:08:56,760 –> 00:08:57,979 in the absence of controversy. 180 00:08:57,979 –> 00:09:00,419 So here’s a Christian man and he’s gonna get going 181 00:09:00,419 –> 00:09:03,700 on some subject in which he strongly disagrees 182 00:09:03,700 –> 00:09:04,599 with someone else. 183 00:09:04,599 –> 00:09:07,000 And Newton says now, okay there’s a time 184 00:09:07,000 –> 00:09:08,140 and a place for doing this 185 00:09:08,140 –> 00:09:09,640 and he commends him for doing it. 186 00:09:09,640 –> 00:09:12,219 But he says as you go about this I want you 187 00:09:12,219 –> 00:09:14,659 to be very aware of the spiritual dangers 188 00:09:14,659 –> 00:09:17,900 that are on the path that you are about to tread. 189 00:09:19,039 –> 00:09:20,359 Now before I read to you some 190 00:09:20,359 –> 00:09:23,599 of his advice and counsel to this man, 191 00:09:23,599 –> 00:09:27,239 let me just point out that of course in those days 192 00:09:27,239 –> 00:09:29,119 there were only a very few people 193 00:09:29,119 –> 00:09:32,260 who actually had a public platform 194 00:09:32,260 –> 00:09:36,479 on which they could engage in public controversy. 195 00:09:36,479 –> 00:09:40,880 But social media as we all know has completely changed 196 00:09:40,880 –> 00:09:43,159 all of that in our time. 197 00:09:43,159 –> 00:09:45,979 Now we live in an age where every single one 198 00:09:45,979 –> 00:09:50,500 of us has a public platform and an opportunity 199 00:09:50,539 –> 00:09:54,179 to post before the world if they care to look 200 00:09:54,179 –> 00:09:59,059 our particular opinions, our agreements with others 201 00:09:59,059 –> 00:10:03,400 and sometimes our very strong disagreements with others. 202 00:10:04,640 –> 00:10:07,299 And candidly looking at comments 203 00:10:07,299 –> 00:10:11,000 often even on Christian sites is not encouraging 204 00:10:11,000 –> 00:10:13,140 with regards to the grace 205 00:10:13,140 –> 00:10:16,140 of humility even amongst God’s people. 206 00:10:17,099 –> 00:10:18,340 Always remember that though 207 00:10:18,340 –> 00:10:20,479 you can post something behind a screen name 208 00:10:21,479 –> 00:10:24,440 every face that is behind every screen name. 209 00:10:25,719 –> 00:10:27,919 So, social media has become a platform 210 00:10:27,919 –> 00:10:29,640 on which not only our opinions 211 00:10:29,640 –> 00:10:34,640 but also our pride is very often displayed and exposed 212 00:10:34,640 –> 00:10:37,419 and therefore I want us to hear Newton’s words 213 00:10:37,419 –> 00:10:38,719 in that regard. 214 00:10:38,719 –> 00:10:41,559 Keep this in mind before you stick anything out in public, 215 00:10:41,559 –> 00:10:43,059 before you speak anything 216 00:10:43,059 –> 00:10:46,520 in regards to controversy in public. 217 00:10:46,520 –> 00:10:48,559 Here’s what Newton says to his friend. 218 00:10:48,599 –> 00:10:50,359 Dear sir, certain formality 219 00:10:50,359 –> 00:10:52,119 when you’re writing to your friend. 220 00:10:53,059 –> 00:10:56,119 As you are likely to be engaged in controversy 221 00:10:57,080 –> 00:11:00,859 and your love of truth is joined 222 00:11:00,859 –> 00:11:03,919 to a natural warmth of temper. 223 00:11:03,919 –> 00:11:05,700 I love that, ya know. 224 00:11:05,700 –> 00:11:07,979 Hey my friend, I know you. 225 00:11:07,979 –> 00:11:09,500 You love the truth 226 00:11:09,500 –> 00:11:12,359 but you can also get pretty steamed up sometimes 227 00:11:12,359 –> 00:11:14,320 when you’re speaking and you’re writing about it. 228 00:11:14,320 –> 00:11:18,039 Your love of truth is joined to a certain warmth, 229 00:11:18,039 –> 00:11:20,359 natural warmth of temper. 230 00:11:20,359 –> 00:11:23,840 My friendship, he says, makes me solicitous on your behalf. 231 00:11:23,840 –> 00:11:25,859 You are of the strongest side. 232 00:11:25,859 –> 00:11:28,559 In other words, Newton is saying that I absolutely agree, 233 00:11:28,559 –> 00:11:30,400 you’re on the right side of this argument. 234 00:11:30,400 –> 00:11:31,919 You’re on the strongest side, 235 00:11:31,919 –> 00:11:34,219 for truth is great and truth must prevail. 236 00:11:34,219 –> 00:11:38,940 But I would have you more than a conqueror 237 00:11:40,359 –> 00:11:43,520 and to triumph don’t only over your adversary 238 00:11:43,520 –> 00:11:45,080 but also over yourself. 239 00:11:46,080 –> 00:11:48,280 Then he has a number of points 240 00:11:48,280 –> 00:11:49,760 of which I’ll pick up just two. 241 00:11:49,760 –> 00:11:52,260 The first is consider your opponent. 242 00:11:52,260 –> 00:11:57,299 I wish that before you set pen to paper against him 243 00:11:57,299 –> 00:12:01,280 and during the whole time that you are preparing your answer 244 00:12:01,280 –> 00:12:03,400 you may commend him by earnest prayer 245 00:12:03,400 –> 00:12:05,880 to the Lord’s teaching and to the Lord’s blessing. 246 00:12:06,840 –> 00:12:09,859 This practice will have a direct tendency 247 00:12:09,859 –> 00:12:13,239 to conciliate your heart to love and to pity him 248 00:12:13,440 –> 00:12:16,280 and such disposition will have a good influence 249 00:12:16,280 –> 00:12:18,280 on every page you write. 250 00:12:20,280 –> 00:12:22,280 If you count him a believer 251 00:12:22,280 –> 00:12:23,880 even though greatly mistaken 252 00:12:23,880 –> 00:12:25,840 in the subject of debate between you 253 00:12:25,840 –> 00:12:28,880 remember the Lord loves him 254 00:12:28,880 –> 00:12:31,400 and you must therefore not despise him 255 00:12:31,400 –> 00:12:32,960 or treat him harshly. 256 00:12:34,380 –> 00:12:36,900 But, if you look upon him as unconverted 257 00:12:36,900 –> 00:12:38,880 you say I’m arguing against someone 258 00:12:38,880 –> 00:12:40,840 who’s not the Lord’s at all. 259 00:12:40,859 –> 00:12:43,719 If you look upon him as an unconverted person 260 00:12:43,719 –> 00:12:47,940 he is more properly the object of your compassion 261 00:12:47,940 –> 00:12:49,520 than of your anger. 262 00:12:49,520 –> 00:12:51,900 Alas, he does not know what he does. 263 00:12:53,640 –> 00:12:54,840 I think we should send this 264 00:12:54,840 –> 00:12:56,719 to the folks who run network news. 265 00:12:56,719 –> 00:12:59,320 Say, read John Newton before every guest appears 266 00:12:59,320 –> 00:13:00,520 on one of your shows. 267 00:13:03,719 –> 00:13:05,820 Later, he says, consider yourself. 268 00:13:07,000 –> 00:13:09,179 For this reason, he says, we, that’s Newton, 269 00:13:09,179 –> 00:13:12,219 find very few writers of controversy 270 00:13:12,219 –> 00:13:16,320 who have not manifestly or obviously been hurt by it. 271 00:13:17,500 –> 00:13:20,659 And here’s how Newton says writers of controversy 272 00:13:20,659 –> 00:13:22,739 hurt themselves by their own practice. 273 00:13:22,739 –> 00:13:26,539 He says, either a, they grow in a sense 274 00:13:26,539 –> 00:13:28,080 of their own importance, 275 00:13:29,219 –> 00:13:33,580 or b, they imbibe an angry and contentious spirit, 276 00:13:34,679 –> 00:13:37,119 or c, without realizing it, 277 00:13:37,119 –> 00:13:38,539 they withdraw their attention 278 00:13:38,619 –> 00:13:41,400 from those things that are the food of a life of faith 279 00:13:41,400 –> 00:13:43,140 and spend their time and their strength 280 00:13:43,140 –> 00:13:46,200 upon matters which are at most of secondary value. 281 00:13:47,359 –> 00:13:48,919 So Newton says, these are the three things 282 00:13:48,919 –> 00:13:51,039 that I see of folks who give themselves 283 00:13:51,039 –> 00:13:53,739 to controversy and engage in it. 284 00:13:55,559 –> 00:13:59,559 And then he has this, what will it profit a man 285 00:14:00,479 –> 00:14:04,299 if he gains his cause and silences his adversary 286 00:14:04,559 –> 00:14:08,380 if at the same time, he loses that humble tender 287 00:14:08,380 –> 00:14:11,440 frame of spirit in which the Lord delights 288 00:14:11,440 –> 00:14:14,440 and to which the promise of His presence is made. 289 00:14:16,039 –> 00:14:17,500 And he’s thinking there, surely, 290 00:14:17,500 –> 00:14:20,640 of Isaiah chapter 57 and verse 15, 291 00:14:20,640 –> 00:14:23,020 where we’re told this, that God dwells. 292 00:14:23,020 –> 00:14:24,460 God dwells in two places, 293 00:14:24,460 –> 00:14:26,520 I, the Lord dwell in a high and a holy place 294 00:14:26,520 –> 00:14:27,900 and where else does God dwell? 295 00:14:27,900 –> 00:14:31,520 He dwells with the contrite and the humble spirit. 296 00:14:31,520 –> 00:14:33,700 Now again, Newton is not saying to his friend, 297 00:14:33,700 –> 00:14:35,059 don’t engage in controversy, 298 00:14:35,059 –> 00:14:37,859 he’s saying there’s a place where this has to be done. 299 00:14:37,859 –> 00:14:39,799 But where you are doing this, 300 00:14:39,799 –> 00:14:42,380 you need to be aware of the spiritual dangers 301 00:14:42,380 –> 00:14:44,659 that beset the path that you are on 302 00:14:44,659 –> 00:14:46,059 and here’s where they are 303 00:14:46,059 –> 00:14:47,640 and here’s how you address them. 304 00:14:48,820 –> 00:14:51,760 Do not be haughty. 305 00:14:53,179 –> 00:14:56,640 Remember, when you’re tempted to look down on others 306 00:14:56,640 –> 00:14:59,140 with this sense of superiority, 307 00:14:59,140 –> 00:15:03,119 God hates pride and He will destroy it. 308 00:15:03,119 –> 00:15:07,359 Pride goes before destruction, the proverb says 309 00:15:07,359 –> 00:15:11,539 and a haughty spirit, what’s after a haughty spirit? 310 00:15:11,539 –> 00:15:14,020 What comes next is a fall. 311 00:15:15,000 –> 00:15:18,080 For God opposes the proud as we read, 312 00:15:18,080 –> 00:15:19,599 heard read a few moments ago 313 00:15:19,599 –> 00:15:22,799 but He gives grace to the humble. 314 00:15:24,119 –> 00:15:28,440 Isaiah 2, the haughtiness of man shall be humbled 315 00:15:28,440 –> 00:15:31,460 and the lofty pride of man shall be brought low 316 00:15:31,460 –> 00:15:34,599 for the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. 317 00:15:35,700 –> 00:15:36,700 Do not be haughty. 318 00:15:37,820 –> 00:15:42,080 What might make you feel superior to others? 319 00:15:43,659 –> 00:15:45,479 You got a great mind, 320 00:15:47,359 –> 00:15:49,219 you’ve earned a lot of money, 321 00:15:51,159 –> 00:15:53,380 you have great business success, 322 00:15:53,380 –> 00:15:56,539 you have a believing wonderful extended family. 323 00:15:58,020 –> 00:15:59,359 Do not be haughty. 324 00:16:00,080 –> 00:16:03,320 What do you have that you did not receive? 325 00:16:05,039 –> 00:16:10,039 Give to the Lord the glory that is due to His name. 326 00:16:11,559 –> 00:16:13,900 Now that’s the first thing, here’s the second. 327 00:16:13,900 –> 00:16:17,119 Pride has two expressions. 328 00:16:17,119 –> 00:16:20,919 The first is arrogance, haughtiness in which 329 00:16:20,919 –> 00:16:25,219 we think more highly of ourselves than others, 330 00:16:25,219 –> 00:16:27,640 think yourself better than others. 331 00:16:27,640 –> 00:16:29,780 The second, and I’ve thought very carefully about this, 332 00:16:29,780 –> 00:16:33,679 I’m going to call independence, independence, 333 00:16:33,679 –> 00:16:36,460 and I’m looking here, especially at the last line 334 00:16:36,460 –> 00:16:41,460 in verse 16, never be wise in your own sight. 335 00:16:42,539 –> 00:16:44,599 Now, I thought very carefully about using 336 00:16:44,599 –> 00:16:46,239 the word independence because candidates, 337 00:16:46,239 –> 00:16:47,380 it’s is a word that I like. 338 00:16:49,239 –> 00:16:51,760 And many of us, our first instinct 339 00:16:51,760 –> 00:16:54,599 will be to want to defend that word. 340 00:16:55,500 –> 00:16:59,679 We don’t want to be dependent on others. 341 00:16:59,679 –> 00:17:03,760 We want to be those who stand on our own two feet 342 00:17:03,760 –> 00:17:08,160 and that sense of individual responsibility 343 00:17:08,160 –> 00:17:13,160 is surely right and is surely honoring to God. 344 00:17:14,359 –> 00:17:18,140 But having recognized that, let’s not listen 345 00:17:18,140 –> 00:17:20,439 to what the scripture is saying to us here. 346 00:17:20,500 –> 00:17:24,640 Never be wise in your own sight. 347 00:17:26,439 –> 00:17:28,839 Now, you see, the man or the woman who is wise 348 00:17:28,839 –> 00:17:32,719 in his or her own sight is the person who feels 349 00:17:32,719 –> 00:17:37,380 that they have all that they need in him or herself. 350 00:17:39,079 –> 00:17:41,160 Here’s the person who doesn’t feel any need 351 00:17:41,160 –> 00:17:43,359 to listen to others. 352 00:17:43,359 –> 00:17:44,180 Why? 353 00:17:44,180 –> 00:17:46,780 Because the way he sees it is that he already 354 00:17:46,780 –> 00:17:50,040 has all the wisdom that he needs for everything in life 355 00:17:50,079 –> 00:17:52,040 in and of himself. 356 00:17:53,540 –> 00:17:57,079 So I’m saying to you today that there are two manifestations 357 00:17:57,079 –> 00:17:59,319 from pride and that these are pride, 358 00:17:59,319 –> 00:18:00,540 and these are the things 359 00:18:00,540 –> 00:18:03,160 that keep us from living in harmony, 360 00:18:04,119 –> 00:18:07,199 which is our great calling in this verse. 361 00:18:07,199 –> 00:18:09,579 One manifestation of pride is to think 362 00:18:09,579 –> 00:18:11,119 that we are better than others. 363 00:18:11,119 –> 00:18:12,660 The other manifestation of pride 364 00:18:12,660 –> 00:18:14,699 is to think that we don’t need others. 365 00:18:16,239 –> 00:18:17,619 And of course, Paul talks about this 366 00:18:17,619 –> 00:18:19,359 in First Corinthians, doesn’t he, 367 00:18:19,459 –> 00:18:22,180 where he has that wonderful analogy 368 00:18:22,180 –> 00:18:25,619 of the church being like a body 369 00:18:25,619 –> 00:18:27,520 in which each of the parts of the body 370 00:18:27,520 –> 00:18:29,060 are brought together to function. 371 00:18:29,060 –> 00:18:30,780 You see how that is very similar 372 00:18:30,780 –> 00:18:33,280 to what’s said in regards to different notes 373 00:18:33,280 –> 00:18:36,699 on the musical scale being played together in harmony. 374 00:18:36,699 –> 00:18:38,780 It’s the same point that’s being made 375 00:18:38,780 –> 00:18:40,939 in these different illustrations. 376 00:18:40,939 –> 00:18:42,780 But you remember, when Paul speaks 377 00:18:42,780 –> 00:18:45,619 about the body of Christ, 378 00:18:45,619 –> 00:18:46,439 he says, 379 00:18:46,439 –> 00:18:50,680 the eye cannot say to the hand 380 00:18:50,680 –> 00:18:53,119 I have no need of you. 381 00:18:54,500 –> 00:18:59,420 And the head cannot say to the feet 382 00:18:59,420 –> 00:19:00,880 I have no need of you. 383 00:19:00,880 –> 00:19:03,180 I suspect that why he chose the head 384 00:19:03,180 –> 00:19:06,920 is that the head has such a critical function 385 00:19:06,920 –> 00:19:08,000 in regards to the body. 386 00:19:08,000 –> 00:19:11,339 I mean, think of the importance of the head! 387 00:19:13,040 –> 00:19:14,920 But how foolish it would be for the head 388 00:19:14,920 –> 00:19:16,839 to say, I don’t need the feet. 389 00:19:18,260 –> 00:19:21,020 What is the head apart from the rest of the body? 390 00:19:21,020 –> 00:19:21,959 It cannot function. 391 00:19:24,180 –> 00:19:26,500 But you see, the proud person 392 00:19:26,500 –> 00:19:29,000 is the one who thinks in his or her heart, 393 00:19:29,000 –> 00:19:31,800 now I have all that I need in myself. 394 00:19:32,839 –> 00:19:35,219 I make my own decisions. 395 00:19:35,219 –> 00:19:37,339 I run my own life. 396 00:19:37,339 –> 00:19:38,699 I’m a Christian. 397 00:19:38,699 –> 00:19:41,319 Why do I need to be a member of the church? 398 00:19:42,420 –> 00:19:43,979 Well, you see, there’s a lot of that about 399 00:19:44,040 –> 00:19:45,680 the Christian world, isn’t there? 400 00:19:46,959 –> 00:19:48,319 God guides me, I pray. 401 00:19:49,319 –> 00:19:50,180 I believe. 402 00:19:52,160 –> 00:19:55,719 Never be wise in your own eyes. 403 00:19:55,719 –> 00:19:58,040 Never get the idea that you have everything 404 00:19:58,040 –> 00:19:59,859 you need in yourself, 405 00:20:01,479 –> 00:20:03,439 apart from both the provision and the calling 406 00:20:03,439 –> 00:20:05,500 that God has made to you 407 00:20:06,800 –> 00:20:10,359 in regards to your brothers and sisters. 408 00:20:10,359 –> 00:20:12,540 In Christ, live in harmony with one another, 409 00:20:12,540 –> 00:20:13,680 hasn’t He? 410 00:20:13,680 –> 00:20:14,880 That’s what He’s saying. 411 00:20:16,359 –> 00:20:20,359 Now, because this scripture speaks about 412 00:20:20,359 –> 00:20:23,920 the words wisdom or wise, 413 00:20:23,920 –> 00:20:25,260 I want particularly here, 414 00:20:25,260 –> 00:20:27,079 I said most of this is application today 415 00:20:27,079 –> 00:20:29,640 because the meaning, I think, is very clear. 416 00:20:29,640 –> 00:20:32,760 I want particularly to press home 417 00:20:32,760 –> 00:20:36,119 the application of this truth 418 00:20:36,119 –> 00:20:40,599 in regards to the Scriptures themselves, 419 00:20:40,619 –> 00:20:44,160 the words wise in your own sight. 420 00:20:44,160 –> 00:20:48,479 Wise clearly relates to the life of the mind. 421 00:20:49,319 –> 00:20:52,119 And always remember that there is 422 00:20:52,119 –> 00:20:55,839 an intellectual dimension to repentance 423 00:20:55,839 –> 00:20:58,079 as well as a moral one. 424 00:20:59,160 –> 00:21:02,979 You have that in Isaiah chapter 55 and verse seven. 425 00:21:03,959 –> 00:21:08,400 Let the wicked forsake his way 426 00:21:08,400 –> 00:21:12,219 and the unrighteous man his thoughts. 427 00:21:12,219 –> 00:21:14,000 His thoughts. 428 00:21:14,000 –> 00:21:16,260 So you see the two dimensions of repentance 429 00:21:16,260 –> 00:21:18,880 right there in that verse. 430 00:21:18,880 –> 00:21:21,680 Repentance involves a change of our way. 431 00:21:21,680 –> 00:21:24,040 That is our actions, our behavior, 432 00:21:24,040 –> 00:21:26,880 but it also involves a change in our thoughts. 433 00:21:26,880 –> 00:21:28,959 There are certain ways of thinking 434 00:21:28,959 –> 00:21:32,920 that a person must abandon when we come to Jesus Christ. 435 00:21:32,920 –> 00:21:34,040 And one of the ways of thinking 436 00:21:34,040 –> 00:21:36,699 that we must abandon in coming to Christ 437 00:21:36,699 –> 00:21:40,780 is the idea that the self sufficiency that says 438 00:21:40,780 –> 00:21:43,040 I have all the wisdom that I need in myself. 439 00:21:43,040 –> 00:21:44,599 That’s wise in your own eyes. 440 00:21:46,780 –> 00:21:47,619 I want to give you, 441 00:21:47,619 –> 00:21:50,060 and I’m going to take some time here on this. 442 00:21:50,060 –> 00:21:52,619 I want to give you the testimony of a man 443 00:21:52,619 –> 00:21:57,300 who for many years was wise in his own sight 444 00:21:57,300 –> 00:22:02,300 and then experienced a remarkable change of heart. 445 00:22:02,739 –> 00:22:05,300 The man’s name is Thomas Oden, 446 00:22:05,300 –> 00:22:07,219 a remarkable Christian leader. 447 00:22:07,219 –> 00:22:10,660 Now 85 years old, 448 00:22:10,660 –> 00:22:14,479 and in his book just written a couple of years ago, 449 00:22:14,479 –> 00:22:16,540 A Change of Heart, 450 00:22:16,540 –> 00:22:20,160 he gives the very honest confession 451 00:22:20,160 –> 00:22:22,939 of a brilliant man 452 00:22:24,380 –> 00:22:28,079 who changed direction very significantly 453 00:22:28,079 –> 00:22:30,780 at the mid-point of his life. 454 00:22:30,959 –> 00:22:34,760 has written over 50 books and articles, 455 00:22:34,760 –> 00:22:36,920 has had massive influence, 456 00:22:36,920 –> 00:22:38,839 but all of it in one direction 457 00:22:38,839 –> 00:22:40,339 in the first half of his life, 458 00:22:40,339 –> 00:22:42,520 and all of it in a completely opposite direction 459 00:22:42,520 –> 00:22:44,319 in the second half of his life. 460 00:22:44,319 –> 00:22:45,979 So that he regrets what he has written 461 00:22:45,979 –> 00:22:48,219 for the first 40 years. 462 00:22:49,040 –> 00:22:51,060 I’m telling his story today 463 00:22:51,060 –> 00:22:55,579 because I want you to see the effects 464 00:22:55,579 –> 00:22:58,859 of being wise in your own eyes. 465 00:22:59,599 –> 00:23:01,579 If you are wise in your own sight, 466 00:23:01,579 –> 00:23:02,880 here’s what will happen. 467 00:23:02,880 –> 00:23:04,479 When you come to The Bible, 468 00:23:04,479 –> 00:23:06,079 you will evaluate The Bible 469 00:23:06,079 –> 00:23:08,640 in the light of your own wisdom. 470 00:23:08,640 –> 00:23:10,199 If you’re wise in your own eyes 471 00:23:10,199 –> 00:23:11,060 and you come to The Bible, 472 00:23:11,060 –> 00:23:13,359 what you’ll do is you’ll simply take 473 00:23:13,359 –> 00:23:16,040 what fits with what you already believe 474 00:23:16,040 –> 00:23:19,219 and you’ll then discard everything else. 475 00:23:19,219 –> 00:23:20,680 And therefore, instead of listening 476 00:23:20,680 –> 00:23:22,079 to the voice of God, 477 00:23:22,079 –> 00:23:23,199 what you’re actually doing 478 00:23:23,199 –> 00:23:25,780 is merely listening to an echo of your own voice. 479 00:23:25,780 –> 00:23:26,760 You’re merely picking up 480 00:23:26,760 –> 00:23:28,160 what you already agree with 481 00:23:28,199 –> 00:23:30,219 and shutting out anything 482 00:23:30,219 –> 00:23:31,280 that’s beyond the range 483 00:23:31,280 –> 00:23:33,079 of what you’re already convinced of. 484 00:23:34,800 –> 00:23:37,439 It’s a formula for complete stagnation 485 00:23:38,560 –> 00:23:40,180 and ultimately alienation from God 486 00:23:40,180 –> 00:23:42,380 because you’re not listening to Him at all. 487 00:23:43,640 –> 00:23:45,119 So let me tell you the story. 488 00:23:46,199 –> 00:23:49,800 Thomas Odin was born in 1931, 489 00:23:49,800 –> 00:23:51,800 has had great influence, 490 00:23:51,800 –> 00:23:55,800 especially during the massive cultural changes 491 00:23:55,920 –> 00:23:58,160 that took place in the 1960s. 492 00:23:59,079 –> 00:24:01,020 Raised in rural Oklahoma, 493 00:24:01,020 –> 00:24:03,920 he grew up in a Methodist church 494 00:24:03,920 –> 00:24:06,140 and from early on in his life 495 00:24:06,140 –> 00:24:07,880 professed Christian faith. 496 00:24:08,880 –> 00:24:10,939 He says, and I’m quoting him here, 497 00:24:10,939 –> 00:24:14,219 that he had a passion for social justice. 498 00:24:14,219 –> 00:24:15,060 He said, 499 00:24:15,060 –> 00:24:17,699 I was a Marxist Utopian Dreamer. 500 00:24:18,599 –> 00:24:22,500 I began to see the vision of a world 501 00:24:22,500 –> 00:24:24,160 where all weapons would be banned, 502 00:24:24,180 –> 00:24:26,439 opening the way for a world government 503 00:24:26,439 –> 00:24:28,359 that would seek social justice 504 00:24:28,359 –> 00:24:31,180 and where peace and sanity would prevail. 505 00:24:32,079 –> 00:24:34,660 He describes his relationship with the Scripture 506 00:24:34,660 –> 00:24:36,359 in this way. 507 00:24:36,359 –> 00:24:38,079 That it was, I quote, 508 00:24:38,079 –> 00:24:41,260 a filtering process, 509 00:24:41,260 –> 00:24:42,939 a filtering process, 510 00:24:43,920 –> 00:24:46,260 which permitted the Bible to speak to me 511 00:24:46,260 –> 00:24:49,160 in so far as it could meet my conditions, 512 00:24:49,160 –> 00:24:52,739 my world view, and my assumptions as a modern person. 513 00:24:52,739 –> 00:24:53,579 You see what he’s saying? 514 00:24:53,719 –> 00:24:57,300 Filtered out everything that I didn’t already think. 515 00:24:59,000 –> 00:25:01,540 Then with regard to prayer, he says this, 516 00:25:01,540 –> 00:25:04,380 he’s referring to his college years, age 19, 517 00:25:04,380 –> 00:25:09,380 in college, I lost the capacity for heartfelt prayer. 518 00:25:11,219 –> 00:25:12,180 So, 19 years old. 519 00:25:12,180 –> 00:25:14,800 Brought up in the church, gets to college, 520 00:25:14,800 –> 00:25:17,900 starts filtering the Bible 521 00:25:17,900 –> 00:25:21,800 through his Marxist, utopian view 522 00:25:22,739 –> 00:25:24,459 so that he won’t receive anything 523 00:25:24,459 –> 00:25:26,479 that doesn’t fit in some way with that, 524 00:25:26,479 –> 00:25:28,520 and what he finds at the same time 525 00:25:28,520 –> 00:25:31,239 is he loses all capacity for heartfelt prayer. 526 00:25:33,180 –> 00:25:35,359 Moving beyond his college years, he says this. 527 00:25:35,359 –> 00:25:36,939 I went into the ministries. 528 00:25:36,939 –> 00:25:39,040 He’s ordained as a Christian minister. 529 00:25:39,040 –> 00:25:42,300 I went into the ministry to use the church 530 00:25:42,300 –> 00:25:44,920 to elicit political change. 531 00:25:44,920 –> 00:25:46,160 It’s such an honest confession. 532 00:25:46,160 –> 00:25:49,719 He then speaks about how he came under the influence 533 00:25:49,900 –> 00:25:51,479 of Saul Alinsky, 534 00:25:51,479 –> 00:25:54,640 and what he describes as the Chicago school 535 00:25:54,640 –> 00:25:57,260 of push and shove politics. 536 00:25:58,140 –> 00:26:00,640 He says Alinsky taught me that radicals 537 00:26:00,640 –> 00:26:05,119 precipitate social crises by strategic deception, 538 00:26:05,119 –> 00:26:07,640 surprise attacks on vulnerabilities, 539 00:26:07,640 –> 00:26:11,339 direct action, and rhetorical cover-up. 540 00:26:11,339 –> 00:26:12,939 It’s what he learned in Chicago. 541 00:26:14,060 –> 00:26:17,439 Odin then describes himself in these early years 542 00:26:17,459 –> 00:26:20,680 as quote, a movement theologian. 543 00:26:20,680 –> 00:26:22,479 He says, I was continuously shifting 544 00:26:22,479 –> 00:26:24,680 from movement to movement towards 545 00:26:24,680 –> 00:26:29,680 whatever new idea I thought might seem to be 546 00:26:29,819 –> 00:26:32,359 an acceptable modernization of Christianity. 547 00:26:32,359 –> 00:26:37,359 I was, he says, floating on the wave of secularization. 548 00:26:40,260 –> 00:26:44,880 The trick was to learn to sound Christian 549 00:26:44,920 –> 00:26:47,439 while undermining traditional Christianity. 550 00:26:47,439 –> 00:26:48,920 This is remarkably candid. 551 00:26:50,560 –> 00:26:54,400 With regards to his relationship with God, 552 00:26:54,400 –> 00:26:57,800 he says this, and remember the word theoloy 553 00:26:57,800 –> 00:26:59,760 has the word theos at the front, 554 00:26:59,760 –> 00:27:01,920 which is Greek for God, so theology, 555 00:27:01,920 –> 00:27:05,719 the study of God, that word theo or theos there. 556 00:27:05,719 –> 00:27:10,459 He says this, for me, the theo in theology 557 00:27:10,459 –> 00:27:12,760 had become little more than a question mark. 558 00:27:13,739 –> 00:27:16,780 I could confidently discuss philosophy, 559 00:27:16,780 –> 00:27:21,459 psychology, and social change, but God made me uneasy. 560 00:27:23,260 –> 00:27:25,719 He continues, resurrection and atonement 561 00:27:25,719 –> 00:27:28,000 were words I choked on. 562 00:27:29,300 –> 00:27:31,660 The gospel was therefore not about an event 563 00:27:31,660 –> 00:27:33,780 of divine salvation, but about a human 564 00:27:33,780 –> 00:27:36,420 psychological experience of trust and freedom 565 00:27:36,420 –> 00:27:38,500 from anxiety and guilt and boredom. 566 00:27:38,500 –> 00:27:41,579 He was at the forefront of a vast number 567 00:27:41,579 –> 00:27:44,380 of popular psychological innovations 568 00:27:44,380 –> 00:27:48,660 throughout the late 60s in that period. 569 00:27:50,219 –> 00:27:54,579 He says the resurrection was to him at this time 570 00:27:54,579 –> 00:27:56,739 not about something that actually happened, 571 00:27:56,739 –> 00:28:01,739 but was quote, a community’s memory of an unexplained event, 572 00:28:03,520 –> 00:28:04,699 and though he does add, 573 00:28:04,699 –> 00:28:07,099 and this is a fascinating concession 574 00:28:07,099 –> 00:28:08,859 looking back from his later life, he says, 575 00:28:08,859 –> 00:28:13,339 but even then I could not explain to myself or to others 576 00:28:13,339 –> 00:28:16,339 how Christianity could have been founded 577 00:28:16,339 –> 00:28:19,020 on an event that never happened. 578 00:28:19,020 –> 00:28:20,680 I couldn’t explain it even then. 579 00:28:21,819 –> 00:28:22,880 That I could not do. 580 00:28:24,260 –> 00:28:25,780 Then he makes this confession. 581 00:28:27,239 –> 00:28:29,619 I did not examine my own motives. 582 00:28:31,140 –> 00:28:33,680 And he says well boy I was scrutinizing 583 00:28:33,680 –> 00:28:35,160 everyone else’s motives. 584 00:28:35,160 –> 00:28:39,260 But I did not examine my own motives. 585 00:28:40,760 –> 00:28:43,560 The biblical words for this are arrogance 586 00:28:44,719 –> 00:28:46,300 and moral blindness. 587 00:28:48,060 –> 00:28:51,540 I confess now that I became entrapped 588 00:28:52,739 –> 00:28:56,300 with the desire for upward mobility 589 00:28:56,300 –> 00:28:58,079 in an academic environment. 590 00:29:00,219 –> 00:29:03,300 Gotta say something new to move up in that world. 591 00:29:05,699 –> 00:29:08,880 Now, everything that he wrote in those early years 592 00:29:08,880 –> 00:29:11,579 had significant consequences and he says 593 00:29:11,579 –> 00:29:14,239 reflecting on it these words. 594 00:29:15,560 –> 00:29:19,660 My past visions of vast plans for social change 595 00:29:19,660 –> 00:29:23,260 had irreparably harmed many innocents 596 00:29:23,260 –> 00:29:25,119 especially the unborn. 597 00:29:26,339 –> 00:29:27,739 Here was someone who had provided 598 00:29:27,739 –> 00:29:29,939 in effect a theological justification 599 00:29:29,939 –> 00:29:31,300 for all of these movements. 600 00:29:32,300 –> 00:29:36,359 The sexually permissive lifestyle which I had not joined 601 00:29:36,359 –> 00:29:38,479 but which I had failed to critique 602 00:29:38,479 –> 00:29:40,920 led to a generation of fatherless children. 603 00:29:42,819 –> 00:29:44,939 The political policies I had promoted 604 00:29:44,939 –> 00:29:47,640 were intended to increase justice by political means 605 00:29:47,640 –> 00:29:50,619 but ended in diminishing personal responsibility 606 00:29:50,619 –> 00:29:51,660 and freedom. 607 00:29:51,660 –> 00:29:56,000 Many of the seemingly humane psychological therapies 608 00:29:56,000 –> 00:30:00,560 I had supported may have made people more miserable, 609 00:30:00,599 –> 00:30:03,439 less able to choose wisely or to seek the virtues 610 00:30:03,439 –> 00:30:06,479 that are required for happiness. 611 00:30:06,479 –> 00:30:10,959 So he says I had to learn to repent 612 00:30:12,219 –> 00:30:14,319 and to see my own arrogance 613 00:30:15,260 –> 00:30:17,380 and to acknowledge my limitations. 614 00:30:18,839 –> 00:30:21,939 Now what caused such a remarkable turn in this man’s life? 615 00:30:24,359 –> 00:30:29,040 The turn in Thomas Oden’s life began in 1970 616 00:30:29,040 –> 00:30:31,640 when at the age of 39 he was appointed 617 00:30:31,640 –> 00:30:36,280 as a tenured professor at Drew University in New Jersey. 618 00:30:37,219 –> 00:30:40,660 And there he met a Jewish scholar 619 00:30:40,660 –> 00:30:42,739 by the name of Will Herberg. 620 00:30:42,739 –> 00:30:45,380 And the two of them became very, very close friends. 621 00:30:45,380 –> 00:30:47,119 They must have been very close friends 622 00:30:47,119 –> 00:30:50,459 from the directness with which Will Herberg spoke to him. 623 00:30:51,459 –> 00:30:54,599 How’s this for the directness of a friend? 624 00:30:55,560 –> 00:31:00,560 My irascible, endearing Jewish friend 625 00:31:00,880 –> 00:31:04,060 leaned into my face and told me 626 00:31:04,060 –> 00:31:08,380 that I was densely ignorant of Christianity 627 00:31:08,380 –> 00:31:11,520 and that he simply couldn’t permit me to throw my life away. 628 00:31:11,520 –> 00:31:13,040 Now, this is a Jewish scholar. 629 00:31:13,040 –> 00:31:15,079 Herberg is not a Christian. 630 00:31:15,079 –> 00:31:18,680 But he’s saying, you don’t even know what Christianity is. 631 00:31:19,959 –> 00:31:21,180 I continue to quote. 632 00:31:21,180 –> 00:31:23,839 Herberg says, if you are ever going 633 00:31:23,880 –> 00:31:26,079 to become a credible theologian 634 00:31:26,079 –> 00:31:28,680 instead of a know-it-all pundit, 635 00:31:29,880 –> 00:31:33,719 you had better restart your life on firmer ground. 636 00:31:33,719 –> 00:31:36,119 You are not a theologian except in name only 637 00:31:36,119 –> 00:31:38,599 even if you are paid to be one. 638 00:31:38,599 –> 00:31:41,060 Wow, faithful are the wounds of a friend. 639 00:31:42,800 –> 00:31:45,000 So, Thomas Odin gave himself 640 00:31:45,000 –> 00:31:47,479 to reading the church fathers. 641 00:31:48,339 –> 00:31:50,280 And here’s what he discovered, 642 00:31:51,280 –> 00:31:56,280 that instead of always attempting to say something new 643 00:31:59,020 –> 00:32:01,500 the church fathers were committed to one thing 644 00:32:01,500 –> 00:32:03,680 and that was to be faithful to scripture. 645 00:32:05,560 –> 00:32:07,339 So, look what is happening here 646 00:32:07,339 –> 00:32:08,900 if I can encapsulate this story 647 00:32:08,900 –> 00:32:10,599 so that we’re seeing it in our world. 648 00:32:10,599 –> 00:32:13,739 Here is a man with a brilliant mind. 649 00:32:15,780 –> 00:32:18,520 He feels that he has what he needs, 650 00:32:18,520 –> 00:32:23,140 the wisdom that he needs in himself, so he doesn’t pray, 651 00:32:24,079 –> 00:32:27,319 when he reads the Bible he filters what it says 652 00:32:27,319 –> 00:32:30,319 through his already decided view of the world 653 00:32:30,319 –> 00:32:32,459 and he filters out everything else. 654 00:32:32,459 –> 00:32:36,319 He is a professor of theology, but by his own confession 655 00:32:36,319 –> 00:32:40,000 God is little more than a question mark to him. 656 00:32:41,719 –> 00:32:43,819 The resurrection is a community memory 657 00:32:43,819 –> 00:32:45,040 of an unexplained event, 658 00:32:45,040 –> 00:32:47,560 the atonement is a word that he chokes on. 659 00:32:48,939 –> 00:32:51,459 Everything that he writes is cutting edge, 660 00:32:51,459 –> 00:32:54,819 it is new, it is innovative, it is on the frontiers 661 00:32:54,819 –> 00:32:58,000 of cultural change and theological development. 662 00:32:58,000 –> 00:33:00,280 His initials are stamped on it 663 00:33:00,280 –> 00:33:02,699 because nobody has ever said it before. 664 00:33:03,780 –> 00:33:05,920 And why is he doing this, by his own confession, 665 00:33:05,920 –> 00:33:08,819 because this is the way to upward mobility 666 00:33:08,819 –> 00:33:10,680 in an academic environment. 667 00:33:12,500 –> 00:33:17,500 And then he discovers that the church fathers 668 00:33:19,099 –> 00:33:20,979 were not the least bit interested 669 00:33:20,979 –> 00:33:23,579 in being new, innovative and cutting edge. 670 00:33:24,479 –> 00:33:26,199 They were not the least bit interested 671 00:33:26,199 –> 00:33:28,380 in saying things that people had never said before. 672 00:33:28,380 –> 00:33:30,119 They were interested in one thing. 673 00:33:32,439 –> 00:33:35,520 That was to be faithful to scripture. 674 00:33:37,300 –> 00:33:38,680 So to complete the story, 675 00:33:38,680 –> 00:33:42,300 Odin’s change of heart was sealed 676 00:33:43,400 –> 00:33:46,979 in 1971 when he had a dream. 677 00:33:47,560 –> 00:33:50,579 Now picture this, in this dream 678 00:33:51,660 –> 00:33:56,140 he sees himself in a cemetery 679 00:33:56,140 –> 00:33:58,680 and comes across his own tombstone. 680 00:33:58,680 –> 00:34:00,319 Now this is a remarkable dream. 681 00:34:01,500 –> 00:34:03,819 Imagine in a dream seeing your own tombstone 682 00:34:03,819 –> 00:34:06,260 and saying wonder what’s written on my tombstone. 683 00:34:07,540 –> 00:34:10,639 And he looks in the dream at this tombstone 684 00:34:10,639 –> 00:34:13,199 that has his name on it, Thomas Odin, 685 00:34:14,060 –> 00:34:16,459 and here’s the epitaph that he saw in the dream. 686 00:34:16,679 –> 00:34:21,479 He made no new contribution to theology, 687 00:34:22,780 –> 00:34:24,219 and he says I woke up relieved, 688 00:34:24,219 –> 00:34:25,659 and I woke up refreshed. 689 00:34:25,659 –> 00:34:27,939 In other words, he’s saying I thought 690 00:34:27,939 –> 00:34:29,500 that’s the life I want to live. 691 00:34:30,580 –> 00:34:33,080 I spent half of my life trying to be so cutting edge 692 00:34:33,080 –> 00:34:35,459 saying things that nobody has ever said before 693 00:34:35,459 –> 00:34:37,659 in order to justify endless innovations 694 00:34:37,659 –> 00:34:38,979 in a changing culture. 695 00:34:38,979 –> 00:34:40,959 I want to go completely the other way. 696 00:34:40,959 –> 00:34:42,379 I wanna be like the fathers. 697 00:34:42,379 –> 00:34:43,860 I want to say not a single thing 698 00:34:43,860 –> 00:34:45,419 that is not found in scripture. 699 00:34:47,459 –> 00:34:50,580 So after that he says, I set about trying scrupulously 700 00:34:50,580 –> 00:34:52,820 to abstain from creating any new doctrine, 701 00:34:52,820 –> 00:34:55,120 and it was the best decision that I ever made. 702 00:34:56,060 –> 00:34:57,300 It took no small effort 703 00:34:57,300 –> 00:34:59,719 to resist the temptation to novelty. 704 00:35:00,919 –> 00:35:04,340 Nothing at Yale was drummed into my head more steadily 705 00:35:04,340 –> 00:35:06,939 than the aspiration that the theology I would seek 706 00:35:06,939 –> 00:35:09,360 would be my own, and would have my uniqueness 707 00:35:09,360 –> 00:35:14,360 imprinted on it, but by 1972, I was pledged 708 00:35:14,439 –> 00:35:17,419 to present nothing new or original 709 00:35:17,419 –> 00:35:18,780 in basic Christian teaching 710 00:35:18,780 –> 00:35:20,459 that would have my initials stamped on it 711 00:35:20,459 –> 00:35:22,719 as if it were mine, I have honored that pledge 712 00:35:22,719 –> 00:35:25,399 and it has been deeply gratifying to me. 713 00:35:27,100 –> 00:35:31,100 And to summarize his life, now 85, he says this, 714 00:35:31,100 –> 00:35:33,479 if the first 40 years were spent hungering 715 00:35:33,479 –> 00:35:37,540 for meaning in life, the last 40 years 716 00:35:37,540 –> 00:35:42,540 have been spent in being fed, isn’t that beautiful? 717 00:35:42,879 –> 00:35:46,379 I spent 40 years on the cutting edge 718 00:35:46,379 –> 00:35:48,139 trying to find the meaning of life 719 00:35:48,139 –> 00:35:50,620 and at the end of it all I was hungry. 720 00:35:52,020 –> 00:35:54,860 I spent the last 40 years drawing from the word of God 721 00:35:54,860 –> 00:35:57,320 since I’ve seen it as authority over my life 722 00:35:57,320 –> 00:35:59,179 and I’m not the one who filters it, 723 00:35:59,179 –> 00:36:01,840 it’s the one that actually filters me. 724 00:36:03,459 –> 00:36:05,780 And what I found for 40 years is that my life, 725 00:36:05,780 –> 00:36:10,139 my soul has been wonderfully nourished and fed. 726 00:36:10,840 –> 00:36:12,699 Now, here’s the application, 727 00:36:14,179 –> 00:36:17,439 if you are wise in your own eyes, 728 00:36:17,439 –> 00:36:21,459 God will be little more than a question mark to you. 729 00:36:22,800 –> 00:36:24,600 You won’t have much desire to pray 730 00:36:24,600 –> 00:36:27,080 because you’ll feel hey I got what I need already. 731 00:36:28,459 –> 00:36:29,639 When you study the Bible, 732 00:36:29,639 –> 00:36:31,439 you will filter what God says 733 00:36:31,439 –> 00:36:33,260 through what you already believe. 734 00:36:33,260 –> 00:36:37,340 This is what the pharisees did friends. 735 00:36:37,340 –> 00:36:40,100 Do you remember what Jesus said to them? 736 00:36:40,100 –> 00:36:41,739 You study the Scriptures. 737 00:36:43,139 –> 00:36:46,020 You think that by them you have eternal life, 738 00:36:46,020 –> 00:36:49,260 but it is they that bear witness about me 739 00:36:49,260 –> 00:36:50,959 yet you refuse to come to me. 740 00:36:51,860 –> 00:36:54,620 Here you are, you’re studying the Bible everyday, 741 00:36:54,620 –> 00:36:57,659 but you’re filtering it through your own view of the world 742 00:36:57,659 –> 00:36:59,459 and therefore you cannot see the very thing 743 00:36:59,459 –> 00:37:00,419 about which it speaks, 744 00:37:00,419 –> 00:37:02,360 these scriptures are all about me. 745 00:37:04,580 –> 00:37:06,479 What a tragedy for a man or a woman 746 00:37:06,479 –> 00:37:08,620 to sit in a life group with an open Bible 747 00:37:08,739 –> 00:37:10,879 and conversation around it and come to jerk 748 00:37:10,879 –> 00:37:13,260 and filter everything so that at the end of the day 749 00:37:13,260 –> 00:37:16,699 you merely end up reinforcing the particular prejudices 750 00:37:16,699 –> 00:37:18,199 that you had at the beginning. 751 00:37:20,139 –> 00:37:25,139 But if you will come to God with a humble heart, 752 00:37:28,820 –> 00:37:30,020 God will teach you. 753 00:37:31,699 –> 00:37:34,639 Jesus said it is written in the prophets 754 00:37:34,639 –> 00:37:39,239 and they will all be taught by God. 755 00:37:40,739 –> 00:37:42,520 And everyone who has heard 756 00:37:42,520 –> 00:37:45,560 and learned from the Father comes to me. 757 00:37:45,560 –> 00:37:48,000 See, if you will open the scriptures 758 00:37:49,239 –> 00:37:51,899 with a truly humble heart, 759 00:37:53,560 –> 00:37:56,260 you will hear God’s voice 760 00:37:57,360 –> 00:37:59,479 and you will learn from him. 761 00:37:59,479 –> 00:38:02,139 And Jesus says, everyone, everyone who does this, 762 00:38:02,139 –> 00:38:03,780 everyone who is taught by God, 763 00:38:03,780 –> 00:38:04,800 here’s the outcome. 764 00:38:04,800 –> 00:38:05,780 They come to me. 765 00:38:07,860 –> 00:38:08,719 Why? 766 00:38:08,719 –> 00:38:11,459 Because you come to the conclusion 767 00:38:11,459 –> 00:38:13,040 that all wisdom does not lie in me 768 00:38:13,040 –> 00:38:15,060 and that I’m desperately need the wisdom 769 00:38:15,060 –> 00:38:18,179 that I can only find in God through his son, Jesus Christ 770 00:38:18,179 –> 00:38:19,939 who has become for us not only wisdom 771 00:38:19,939 –> 00:38:21,540 but righteousness and redemption 772 00:38:21,540 –> 00:38:24,620 and in him, not in me, is everything that we need. 773 00:38:26,300 –> 00:38:28,719 So friends, thoughtful Christians 774 00:38:28,719 –> 00:38:31,540 surely find ourselves wondering 775 00:38:31,560 –> 00:38:35,560 in these days, what in the world is God doing 776 00:38:35,560 –> 00:38:37,780 in this troubling season of national life? 777 00:38:37,780 –> 00:38:40,479 And I for sure don’t have the answer to that question. 778 00:38:42,580 –> 00:38:44,439 But one thing is surely clear. 779 00:38:46,080 –> 00:38:51,080 When pride, haughty eyes, and being wise in your own sight 780 00:38:51,199 –> 00:38:55,100 are paraded before us on television day after day after day 781 00:38:57,040 –> 00:38:59,899 to the point where vast numbers of people 782 00:39:00,280 –> 00:39:02,280 find themselves saying, stick that television off, 783 00:39:02,280 –> 00:39:04,179 I cannot stand one minute more of it, 784 00:39:05,639 –> 00:39:08,320 perhaps we are in a moment where God is actually 785 00:39:08,320 –> 00:39:10,520 holding up, as in a mirror, 786 00:39:12,120 –> 00:39:15,459 our own worst sins so that we truly will become sick of them 787 00:39:16,879 –> 00:39:20,100 and repent and humble ourselves. 788 00:39:22,360 –> 00:39:24,860 Perhaps God will use these circumstances 789 00:39:24,860 –> 00:39:28,879 and His own Word today to very deeply in our lives say, 790 00:39:30,260 –> 00:39:34,000 Lord, deliver me from ever having haughty eyes. 791 00:39:35,800 –> 00:39:40,439 Lord, may I never be wise in my own sight. 792 00:39:42,320 –> 00:39:45,360 The gospel cuts all pride to shred, doesn’t it, 793 00:39:45,360 –> 00:39:49,080 because it casts us upon the mercy of God. 794 00:39:49,080 –> 00:39:52,399 That’s why Romans 12, in the light of God’s mercy, 795 00:39:54,000 –> 00:39:55,959 in the light of the fact that you’re no better than others 796 00:39:55,959 –> 00:39:58,879 because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 797 00:40:00,600 –> 00:40:02,979 In the light of the fact that what do you have 798 00:40:02,979 –> 00:40:04,500 that you did not receive? 799 00:40:04,500 –> 00:40:08,360 Your salvation has come to you by grace as a free gift. 800 00:40:08,360 –> 00:40:09,699 In the light of that, 801 00:40:11,340 –> 00:40:12,679 well, what have you got to be haughty about? 802 00:40:12,679 –> 00:40:14,739 And why would you be wise in your own eyes 803 00:40:14,739 –> 00:40:16,540 when everything that you have has been received? 804 00:40:16,540 –> 00:40:21,080 See, the gospel brought the apostle Paul. 805 00:40:21,080 –> 00:40:22,360 It’s all of Tarsus, 806 00:40:23,280 –> 00:40:25,300 from thinking he was the cream of the crop 807 00:40:25,300 –> 00:40:27,320 to confessing he was the chief of sinners. 808 00:40:27,320 –> 00:40:29,820 Isn’t that a remarkable change? 809 00:40:29,840 –> 00:40:31,500 I used to think I was the cream of the crop, 810 00:40:31,500 –> 00:40:33,260 the school of Gamaliel, 811 00:40:33,260 –> 00:40:36,159 and live in this most moral life. 812 00:40:36,159 –> 00:40:39,919 Then the gospel came and what was my conclusion? 813 00:40:39,919 –> 00:40:41,800 Jesus Christ came into the world 814 00:40:41,800 –> 00:40:45,780 to save sinners of whom I am the chief. 815 00:40:45,780 –> 00:40:47,840 That’s how the gospel humbles us. 816 00:40:47,840 –> 00:40:49,820 And it brings us to a place 817 00:40:51,120 –> 00:40:53,520 where if we’re really living in the light of God’s mercy 818 00:40:53,520 –> 00:40:57,439 becomes possible for us to live in harmony 819 00:40:58,679 –> 00:40:59,679 with one another. 820 00:41:00,739 –> 00:41:04,419 So friends do not be overtaken 821 00:41:05,699 –> 00:41:09,320 by the pride and by the arrogance around us. 822 00:41:10,379 –> 00:41:11,399 Do not be haughty. 823 00:41:12,340 –> 00:41:15,959 Never be wise in your own eyes, 824 00:41:15,959 –> 00:41:18,159 don’t be overcome by that evil. 825 00:41:19,419 –> 00:41:21,860 But rather overcome that evil with good 826 00:41:22,780 –> 00:41:24,600 in the light of God’s mercy. 827 00:41:25,739 –> 00:41:28,459 Live in harmony with one another. 828 00:41:28,459 –> 00:41:29,459 Let’s pray together. 829 00:41:30,699 –> 00:41:34,820 When I survey the wondrous cross 830 00:41:34,820 –> 00:41:37,500 on which the Prince of Glory died, 831 00:41:38,580 –> 00:41:41,419 my richest gain I count but loss 832 00:41:41,419 –> 00:41:43,800 and poor contempt. 833 00:41:45,080 –> 00:41:47,320 On all my pride, 834 00:41:49,320 –> 00:41:52,419 may I never boast, 835 00:41:53,580 –> 00:41:57,399 expect in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ 836 00:41:57,419 –> 00:42:01,080 by which the world has been crucified to me 837 00:42:01,080 –> 00:42:04,040 and I to the world. 838 00:42:06,600 –> 00:42:09,840 Lord, teach us the humility that will enable us 839 00:42:09,840 –> 00:42:12,000 to live together in harmony 840 00:42:13,919 –> 00:42:18,639 for these things we ask in Jesus’ name, amen.