(adapted from a message by Allistair Begg)
Loved ones, only God’s power can take an indifferent and rebellious heart and transform it. Man can take religious ideas and communicate them in such a way as to show the practical value of them to men and women. Men and women can understand the practical notions of faith, can decide that they like that, can commit themselves to a religious journey, and remain completely unchanged by the power of God.
That describes some of you. You decided that church ought to have a place in your life, for whatever reason. The Spirit of God is at work within your heart and says, “Come on. Let’s get serious.” So you began to get serious. You’ve come along somewhat, and you’ve decided that there is a measure of practicality in what’s being said: “After all, it gives a peace of mind, and I like peace of mind. After all, it gives me a sense of equilibrium in my week, and I like that. After all, it kind of reinforces family and I think family is important. And it also says to me, ‘You know, there’s purpose out there.’” So, embracing the validity of all of that, you have decided to commit yourself to a religious journey, and you’re on it.
But here’s the problem: when you started the journey, you were a dreadful swearer, and you swear just as much as you ever did. When you started the journey, you were a liar, and you lie as much as you ever did. When you began the journey, your life was full of bitterness or envy or hate or rebellion or guilt…maybe a few, many, or all of these…and you’re still very much the same as you ever were. You know it! You’re troubled by it, by the lack of transformation.
Any change in your life can be described as bad math. There’s been addition without subtraction. You’ve added some religious things to your life without subtracting selfish, sinful things from your life. A real authentic and dynamic Christian faith is characterized by a change in belief and a change in behavior. So what’s the problem?
I’ll tell you what the answer is…the why: You have recognized the wisdom that is contained in a way of life, but you have never come to learn in Jesus that way to life. So your faith this morning is weak and limited and incomplete. It is resting on man’s wisdom and not God’s power. It is not faith that saves. Beware of preaching and teaching and books full of wise words and eloquent delivery sounds good and feels good. It may help you to walk a walk part of the time and talk a talk part of the time and it may still lead you into the very pit of hell. Any message, regardless of the form, absent God’s power will never bring you to transformation into a new creature whose behavior matches his or her beliefs.