Creekside Church Sermon of June 13, 2004 "A Church Full of Do-Nothings" Galatians 2:15-21	Rev. David Bibbee
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Christianity is not a one-size-fits-all faith. No one understood this fact better than the Apostle Paul. He was uncompromising about the Gospel message, but flexible in its presentation. "I am all things to all people," he said. To the Jews, I am a Jew. To the weak, I am weak." He adapted his style however necessary to proclaim the gospel.

On his second missionary journey, Paul went to Athens, Greece, the hub of Greco-Roman culture. Athens had more idols per capita than any city on earth. There were idols on every street corner and every public square. There were so many idols there weren't enough pigeons to perch on them.

The Athenians were addicted to the worship of the gods. They had an insatiable curiosity for the next best thing to come along. Acts 17: 21 says, "The Athenians spent their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new." As they listened to Paul, they were already sketching an idol to Paul's god. Paul said: "People of Athens, I perceive that in every way, you are very religious. As I walked your streets, I saw all of the objects you worship. Then I noticed an altar with an inscription: 'To an Unknown god.' The god you call unknown is the one I proclaim to you…. Don't think that the Deity is like gold, silver, or stone-a product of art and imagination. The age of idols is past."

Well, the members of local 2338 of the Idol Workers Union were not happy with Paul's message. He continued, "The time has come to worship the Living God in whom we live and move and have our being. Put your idols to rest. Turn them into garden decorations. Make fountains and bird baths out of them." It was the beginning of the end of idols and the religions built around them… sort of.

After two thousand years of Christianity, there are still a lot of religions, even among those who claim not to be religious. The fact is that we can make a religion out of anything.

Today, a person can't be just "interested" in something, or just "have a hobby." You are supposed to be intense about your pursuits. This has led to television networks built around our interests. Have you watched those home remodeling shows? I don't know-- maybe it's just me, but it seems like people are trying to achieve transcendence through gutting houses and remodeling them. There is the Sports Channel, the Golf Network, the Food Network, and The History Channel.

Jenny Joseph penned a poem called, "Warning," that begins, "When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me." From this poem has sprung a phenomenon called, "The Red Hat Society." I tread cautiously because there are members in our presence. Almost overnight, 20,000 chapters have been formed. Thousands of spunky, devil-may-care women over fifty wearing red hats and purple dresses take over restaurants for what they innocently call, "teas." But I'm not fooled. Their real goal is world domination.

The Red Green Show is a Canadian television series about the exploits of Red and Harold Green. Two backwards, backwoods, Canadian guys who run the Possum Lodge. The lodge hosts meetings of "The International Possum Brotherhood." It's the closest thing the members have to a church. Every Possum Brotherhood meeting begins with, The Man's Prayer, which says: "I am a man…. But I can change…. If I have to…. I guess."

Dare I say anything diets? People go to considerable lengths to disassociate themselves from what they call, conservative, narrow-minded, self-righteous, right-wing judgmental evangelical extremists who ram religion down everyone's throat. The irony is that these people behave the same way when it comes to diet and exercise. "Don't eat sugar. Cut the carbs. No red meat. Go, 'vegan.' Eat steak three meals a day. Sprinkle oat bran over everything. Sweat like a racehorse four times a week."

These "non-religious" folks give moving TV testimonies: "I was a 400 lb. fast food-a-holic who stole money from my children to feed my French fry habit. I worked all the programs. Jared even got me into Subway therapy, but after I was released I passed a Burger King and fell off the wagon. But thank goodness I'm not the same person today. I've changed. Our family is much closer, and I'm down to 325 lbs. after just six short months. I've been saved, and I owe it all to wheat germ."

Sure, I exaggerate, but not much. Non-religious people spread their gospel without realizing that their religion tries to do what all religion does-it promises to better your life, transform you, even save you by giving a set of beliefs and practices to follow.

It has been said that all religions are "musty." To be acceptable to God, you must do this. You must practice that. Follow the program and you're all set. This was a problem in the Galatian church. Jewish Christians were "amending" the gospel by telling the Gentile Christians they were required to follow Jewish practices, even though the Jewish Christians themselves no longer followed them. They were negating the cornerstone Christian belief-- that we are justified, or made right with God, not by following the works of the law, or, for that matter, by doing anything on our part.

Listen to Paul's argument as translated in The Message:

We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it-and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen!

Is it not clear that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule keeping, the Christ died unnecessarily.

This may be old hat to you, but Christianity is not a religion-- not if by "religion" you mean anything we think, do, or say that will move God to accept us. When I catch myself trying to be AOK to God, I recite these words from the theologian Paul Tillich that I learned in college:

"You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!"

I have a friend who, by outward appearances, has it made. But most of his life has been a mess because of an addiction. I loaned him a book in which this quote appeared, and when he returned it, I found a stick-it-note over the quote. On it he wrote, "I wonder what my life would have been if I had understood this forty years ago? Oh my!"

I have wondered the same. Too much of my life was spent trying to be "acceptable." I wanted my friends to like me. I especially wanted God to like me, and I never felt as though either had been accomplished. Looking back, I think that I accomplished far more for myself than I ever dreamed possible. I never thought I would succeed in the ways I did. I never thought I would be surrounded by the kinds of people I am today. At times, I catch myself feeling good about it all.

Then I realize that my accomplishments, successes, and advantages, have done nothing to bring me closer to God. Nothing I can do will accomplish that. Like Phillip Yancy says in his definition of God's grace–"There is noting you can do to make God love you more. There is nothing you can do to make God love you less."

Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism- all are religions. Christianity is not. We do not work our way to God through the ranks. This is the work of religion. God came down to us in a manger. God came down to us from the cross. This is the work of grace. So what do we do to be made right with God? Nothing. That's right. Nothing. Christians are sometimes called, "do-gooders." Wrong! We are do-nothings. When it comes to being in a loving relationship with Jesus, we do nothing. Jesus already does it for us.

It's too bad this message has been lost on people in the church who think it's about religion. I have an article written by a young woman named Rebecca. It's called, "Losing My Religion." Describing her years in the church she said:

"I didn't learn a thing about God. My parents decided to attend church regularly, in the hopes that we would learn more about religion and eventually make our own choices about spirituality and our connection to God. Neither had ever attended for long periods of time, but they wanted to give their children the option.

Over the years I didn't feel any closer to God, as I stood up, and sat down, and read from my prayer book over and over. Was I getting the Spirit of the Lord through some bizarre osmosis?

It wasn't for the lack of trying that we weren't feeling the Lord or embracing religion. We went through all the motions of a good religious family. We attended services every Sunday, showed up at the events and even did the Advent wreath one Christmas in our home… Then one day I realized that church, or organized religion for that matter, wasn't for me. I have lots of friends and family who go because they believe they're supposed to go. Half the time, they doze, space out, or people-watch during the service.

Since my religion days, I've formed a relationship with God on my own.

[Pastor David's sermon text ends here without his conclusion.]

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