The Difficult Truth About God's Good News
-
Greg Waybright
- Acts 19:23-34
- Break Forth
- 45 mins 20 secs
- Views: 1187
Pastor's Letter
The Difficult Truth About God's Good News - Week 6
Our LAC pastors and Ministry Council members have discerned some rather clear guidance from the Lord about this coming fall. This leading has to do with the role the gospel is to play in the life of our church family.
Our LAC pastors and Ministry Council members have discerned some rather clear guidance from the Lord about this coming fall. This leading has to do with the role the gospel is to play in the life of our church family.
One of the beautiful realities God is bringing about is that LAC is becoming a community that has remarkable breadth and diversity. We are composed of people from many cultures, nationalities, ethnicities, generations, and even religious backgrounds. These are things that usually divide people from one another in our world. Yet, as the New Testament said should happen, we are beginning to find true unity "in Christ" (cf. Eph. 2:13–22). What holds us together is God's gospel established by the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But, if it is the gospel that unites us, what is the gospel? We dare not be vague about that. The LAC pastoral and lay leaders have been praying and planning diligently to provide a focus this entire fall that facilitates a fresh understanding and experience of the gospel for all who call this their church. This includes our children through senior adults as well as those new in the faith through those who have walked with Jesus for decades. We are calling the initiative "Shared Faith." Our prayer is that the emphasis will be life transforming for each one of us and church directing for LAC as a whole. And, we are praying that doing this will enable us to fulfill the directive given in the Apostle Paul's last letter, i.e., that we will 1) keep the teaching of the gospel with faith and love in Jesus, 2) guard the truth of the gospel from error with the help of the Holy Spirit, and 3) pass the gospel on faithfully until Jesus returns (see 2 Tim. 1:13–14; 2:2).
In order to help the gospel go deep into our minds and lives, we urge you to participate with us in four ways:
- Faithfully attend worship services: These will seek to focus on how each tenet of the gospel, as it is expressed in our Statement of Faith, speaks to and directs our daily lives. We will worship God in the light of his gospel.
- Be active in a smaller group: In small groups you will be able to personalize and apply each part of the gospel.
- Make the gospel a part of your personal devotional life: LAC pastors have written gospel-centered devotional material to help you in your daily walk with God.
- Participate in a mid-sized group: Join in the youth group or an adult class. A special "Shared Faith" Lake U Seminar will be held Sundays at 9am starting this Fall.
We will begin in September. More information will be updated on our website. Join us as we encounter the gospel anew in our "Shared Faith."
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Study Notes
The Difficult Truth About God's Good News - Week 6 - Study Notes
The Difficult truth about God's good news
Acts 19:23-41
The Difficult Truth about God's Good News
Acts 19:23-34
God's gospel is truly good news: God loves you. He has found a way to forgive your past and promises to remake your future. All this comes to you not by works but by God's grace through faith in Jesus. It's really, really good news! But, there is a difficult truth about the gospel: Jesus always separates you from your idols. "Whew!" You might say. "I don't have any struggle with idols." But I say to you, "Yes you do." And, if you know that you do, there is hope for you. If you don't know it, then you probably are in spiritual trouble already. "The fallen human heart is an idol factory" (John Calvin). You will never be set free from making and following idols without the power of God. And that brings us to Acts 19 and the city of Ephesus.
What happened in Ephesus.
(I'll show a map of Ephesus and then a picture of the city.) Ephesus was one of the most significant cities in the 1st C, including for the church. Why? In part, it had to do with the economic and religious prominence of the city itself. But, more importantly for us, Ephesus became the home of many influential Christian leaders, including Paul, John, and Timothy.
As we come to Acts 19:23, Paul had been in Ephesus for over 2 ½ years and had made huge inroads into the entire society. He had even developed friends in the most influential body of city leaders, people called the Asiarchs in19:31. How did he do this? It's as I said last week: He entered into respect-filled relationships with people in homes and in public places. Paul's method was that day-by-day, he sat down and reasoned with people about eternal things. He never attacked people but always spoke about what is true regarding God. There were many people in the 1st C who questioned the idea of the many gods – but they had not affected the culture. But, under Paul's leadership, this group called "the Way" (19:9,23), those who followed Jesus and insisted that there is one God over all gods, was making a huge headway into the culture of the city. And, this led to a conflict between the gospel and the gods of the city.
#1: What Is Idolatry?
The main point of our text today has to do with idols. Let's not miss that. Few things are more important to the work of God in our lives and in our world than this matter of idols. We have limited time to deal with it today is limited so I enthusiastically suggest that you read Tim Keller's book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex and Power. It's both instructive and convicting.
Let's begin by noticing v.26: The silversmith Demetrius said, "Paul says that that gods made by human hands are no gods at all." Paul had used this phrase before in places like Philippi in Acts 17. Apparently he used the phrase so often that even someone who opposed the Christian faith like Demetrius, had understood it and used it. In fact, when you read the Book of Acts, you see that whenever Paul proclaimed the gospel, he almost always said that the gospel must be understood in contrast to idolatry." Keep that in mind.
My concern today is that when I talk to you in SoCal about idolatry, you will think only of the kinds of idols that were in these ancient cities like Ephesus or in Athens.
But, I urge you to remember that the first two commandments that God gave both address idolatry. The 2nd says that we should not make anything in this world and say that it is God. And, the first commandment clearly says that we not take anything already in this world and put it in God's place. In Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, we read that God said literally, "You shall not have any gods to my face." That means there is nothing in this world that should rival God for your ultimate allegiance and trust.
What is an idol? An idol is anything so important to you that losing it would devastate you. It's what you spend your thoughts and energy on almost without noticing – it's that important to you. When you potentially lose an idol, the loss of it leads to more than sorrow. It often leads to rage (as we see in our text) and even despair. Alexis De Tocqueville was an agnostic French historian who visited and commented on America in the 1800s. He appreciated what he saw here but noticed something that was a concern. He wrote about seeing an unspoken idol in America and said, "There is a strange melancholy that haunts the inhabitants...in the midst of their abundance." He said that our society seems to believe that "prosperity could quench their yearning for happiness, but such a hope has proved illusory." Why? De Tocqueville added, "The incomplete joys of this world will never satisfy the human heart. This strange melancholy manifests itself in many ways, but always leads to the same despair of not finding what is sought."
I believe our culture is not fundamentally different from ancient ones. We simply talk about and visualize our gods differently. Note this: Idolatry is not always going after bad things. Sometimes, it's taking good things and making them ultimate. Note this: You can believe all the right things about God and the gospel, you can show up every week at church, sing praise songs and even enjoy the preaching. But if anything is functionally more important to your happiness, your identity and your hope than God, you have an idol.
#2: How Prevalent Is Idolatry?
In Ephesus, the main deity they worshipped was Artemis, called Diana by the Romans. (I'll show an Artemis picture.) Artemis was the goddess of health and fertility. Her temple in Ephesus was four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens. A big part of the city culture in Ephesus was the activity and industry surrounding the worship of Artemis. Indeed, Artemis was viewed by her followers as being the founder of the city of Ephesus. Her name and image was found on coins and official documents.
Because of that, we might at first think that the only "god" that the silversmith Demetrius wanted to protect and honor in Ephesus was Artemis. But look at vv. 25-26; cf, 16:19. Demetrius indeed argued that Paul's message about a god made by human hands being no god at all was an affront to the cherished goddess of Ephesus. And, that's true. But, let's face it: The real god Demetrius was concerned about was money. And, that fact brings the story closer to us here in the USA, doesn't it.
Can money be an idol? Let me tell you this: Almost anything can become an idol in your life:
• Success – Think of the many baseball players who sacrificed their integrity, reputation and bodies for success through the use of steroids. Famous statement of Olympic runner Harold Abrahamson in Chariots of Fire: He said, "Contentment; I am 24 and I've never know it. I'm forever in pursuit and I don't even know what I am chasing". Few of us will ever become Olympic or professional athletes but I've seen people whose lives are centered around being the best person in things like fantasy football. I've seen guys who've become obsessed by it and are devastated when they cannot win their league.
• Security – I will never forget a young woman in my first church who admitted to me that she was marrying a wealthy but uncaring man because she feared the poverty she had grown up in so much. She told me, "I believe in Jesus – but I cannot live with all the financial uncertainty that I have now." She could not say that she was trusting God in this decision. She was convinced that she would find life if she didn't have to worry about money. That marriage fell apart in months.
• Marriage – I've spoke countless times with people who were sure that getting married would answer all their emptiness. The longing for it made marriage itself an idol. And, of course, anybody who would marry a person who expected the other person to fill up God's place in his/her life is doomed to fail. Marriage is so challenging to us. We know that it's intended to be the relationship in this world that is closest to our relationship to God. But, I tell you: it cannot take the place of God. Marriage is a terrible idol. A bad marriage is like an open wound leading a person to think, "If only I could get out of this, then my life would be good." A good marriage leads to the possibility of that person being an idol. But we know that if that person is the most important thing and that person dies, then life will feel like it's all over.
• Family – If anyone puts a child in the place of God, it creates a false love that will smother the child and strangle the relationship.
• Career –Nate Hatch, president of Wake Forest University, has observed that incoming students are cramming into majors like finance, corporate law, and specialized medicine based not on a sense of calling but only on the expectation of high salaries. He's concerned about people living lives without reference to the larger questions of meaning. He said that students are not asking, "What job might help people and our world to flourish?" but "What job will help me to flourish?" As a result, he finds there are few who express finding fulfillment in their work.
One of the most powerful stories about the idol of career comes from former Lehmann CFO, Erin Callan's, Is There Life After Work? She says, "I didn't know how to value myself apart from work. What I did was who I was. She slowly put work ahead of everything else in her life, until there was no everything else left."
• Money – Demetrius' money idol in Acts 19 is one of the three main gods of our world, the other two being sex and power. As a pastor, I've never had anyone come to me and say, "Pastor, I spend too much money on myself. I think my focus on money is harming my marriage, family and others." A person in the grip of money can rarely see that he is. He thinks, "It's a right to live in a certain neighborhood, to send my kids to certain schools, to participate in a certain kind of entertainment life..." It goes on and on. And we always need more. We're blind to the grip money has on our souls. But, I will just tell you – money is a terrible and disappointing idol. It will take away your soul. The rich young ruler wanted eternal life and gave it up – for money. Beware!
I haven't even talked about gods like sex, power, reputation, and academic achievement. We scoff when we read of these ancient cities Paul visited having work gods, health gods, sex gods, weather gods, money gods, national patriotism gods, physical beauty gods. But, we have them all. We've just taken away the statues of silver and gold and replaced them with stage and screen or with a mirror.
How might you identify your idols? Here's the kind of thinking you need to look out for: "Yes, you believe in Jesus. That's good. But, if only you had that job or that amount of money, if only you could accomplish this or that, and if only you could have that girlfriend or have a child, then you would really be happy. Beware. Looks – achievement – reputation – a social cause – a political ambition – sexual preference -- almost anything can come into the place of God in your heart.
#3: What's the Problem with Idolatry?
The biggest issue, of course, is the one that the Bible always points out, i.e., that God is. To say that anything else is God is wrong. It would be enough of an offense to say about you, "You're not (place your name here). No, that car you drive or that "cell phone that you always are on" – that's really you! To put anything in the place of God or to say anything that is made is God is an offense to the God who is.
But another big problem with idolatry is that it takes you away from the God you were made to have at the center of your life. Let me declare to you that God loves you with an unrelenting and everlasting love. He has made you and me in his image and, at the Bible says, has "put eternity into our hearts." God knows that all the other idols will not last. That's why that when Paul preached the gospel, he always put it in contrast to idols. God alone can fill the deepest longing of your heart. Nothing else is capable of doing that.
The problem with idols is that they promise so much, they grab a hold of your life, and then they deliver nothing that lasts. Idols never give you what they promise – no lasting and unconditional love, no self-esteem, and no lasting satisfaction. One powerful lesson from this passage is that there will be no advance of God's work in in our world unless its gods are called out and rejected. And listen carefully to me now: There will be no growth in your spiritual life, in your walk with God, until you identify your idols and let God smash them. The one God of the universe must be God. That's why this message is so important.
But, it's hard to smash the idols in your own heart. When you do, you will find your mind wandering back to them. You will find the world pushing them back into your heart. You'll think, "But, I just have to have that. I just cannot be happy without my child, without my career..."
And, it's also hard for others when we begin smashing the idols of the world. That's what happened in Philippi and in Ephesus. Take people's god away and they will go crazy. Try telling a person in SoCal that he cannot have sex the way he wants it and see how he reacts. You'll experience his rage. So, when you truly allow the true God to be god, do not be surprised when you get heavy pushback from your friends, your family and those around you. That's why I've called this message, "The Difficult Truth about God's Good News." When you follow Jesus, he always separates you from idols. You surrender control. He alone becomes your Lord.
#4: Is There Any Hope for Freedom from Idols?
For all of us A-type personalities who think, "I can do it myself. I can make this happen!" I have more bitter medicine. You will not destroy idols simply by saying, "I'm going to de-emphasize this thing in my life. I'll stop longing for it and insisting on it." Before Jesus came, people who loved God's laws tried to live according to his laws in their own strength and could not. We don't easily surrender to God. No, our religion usually is one that tries to get God to obey us. Well, he's not an obedient God – he doesn't obey us.
So, you will discover that you cannot smash your own idols. You don't have the strength. You need moral strength that goes deep into your very heart and soul. And that's why Jesus came – to set you free from the idols of self and of everything else you put into God's place.
How does that freedom come about if it is not a matter of you doing it through your normal strategies and procedures? What I want to do is take you back to some of God's gospel. Consider these gospel truths:
1. Salvation is work of God's grace – You and I have failed and we continue to fail. But, God loves us so much that he does something for us that we cannot earn and do not deserve. This is what I mean by grace. Forgiveness of sin is a matter of grace. Jesus died in your place so that you are washed clean by faith in Jesus. And, every part of you being re-made – being set free from idols being among them – is a matter of God's grace. That means that freedom from sin begins when you and I humbly acknowledge, "I cannot do it, Lord. I don't deserve your love but I need you. I need your help. I surrender to you and trust you change me."
2. The main motivation for putting God first in your life is gratitude -- Acts 19 called us people of "the Way". When you are on that way, you do not look at religion the way others do. Religion is not a matter of you doing things to earn God's favor. He already loves you. No, in the Christian faith you respond to what God has done. You look at the cross and see the sinless 2nd Person of the Godhead dying for you. As Paul put it, "In view of God's mercy, you offer yourself to him (Rom 12:1-2). Freedom from our idols must flow out of a response of gratitude to Jesus. To the degree that you grasp the unfathomable grace and mercy of God to you, other gods will lose dominion.
3. The strength to smash idols comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit – This is what the people who wanted to obey God before Jesus did not have. When you receive Jesus by faith, the Spirit of God enters your life. I urge you each day to wake up and acknowledge His presence. As Brother Lawrence talked about, each moment of your life, "practice the presence of God." Each time you feel you just have to have something in order to be happy, practice the presence of God. Ask him to help you find your identity and satisfaction not in money, accomplishments or anything else. Find them in God and in him alone.
4. The church is the community God has created for your remaking – In the church we worship God together each week. Worship means to put God first. In the life of the church, we are to pray for one another, correct one another, encourage one another, teach one another, and restore one another. I pray daily that God will lead us at LAC in such a way that we will be a true family of faith together. My prayer for us is that we will increasingly become a grace-filled people of "the Way", walking together until each one of us in conformed to the image of Christ.
Paul always preached the gospel in contrast to idols because he knew that the #1 problem in our lives is putting other things into the place of God. Usually, our idol is self. We want to run our own lives – not to surrender to God. It takes the power that raised Jesus from the dear to provide the power to smash our idols.
But that power is exactly what we have in Christ. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone. Behold, in Christ the new has come. All this is from God (2 Cor 5:17-18a) – to His glory.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2014, Lake Avenue Church
Chinese Translation
The Difficult Truth About God's Good News - Week 6 - Study Notes - Chinese Translation
福音的難行之處
使徒行傳19:23-34
神的福音真是好消息：神愛你。祂找到了一條赦免你的過去並且應許重塑你的未來的道路。這些臨到你不是因為你做了什麼，而是因為透過耶穌裡的信心而帶來的神的恩典。這是千真萬確的好消息！然而，福音裡卻有一個很困難的事情：耶穌總是把你與你的偶像分開。“唷！”你可能說。“我內心沒有什麼偶像。” 我要對你說，“你有。”如果你知道你有，你就有希望。如果你不知道，那麼你可能就已經有麻煩了。墮落的人心是偶像的工廠。如果沒有神的力量你就不可能從製造和追隨偶像中被釋放。這把我們帶到使徒行傳19章和以弗所城。
以弗所發生了什麼？
以弗所是一世紀的重要城市之一，對教會來說也是如此。為什麼呢？從某種程度上講，它地處今天的土耳其海岸的中心位置，這使得它在經濟和政治上非常重要。對我們而言，更重要的是，以弗所後來成了很多有影響的基督徒領袖的家，包括保羅、約翰和提摩太。
在使徒行傳19:23的那個時候，保羅已經在以弗所呆了兩年半，他的工作在當地取得了很大進展。他在社會領袖圈子裡有了很多朋友，19:31中稱他們是亞細亞的首領。保羅是如何做到的？就像我上周所講的：他在這些人家裡和社交場所與他們建立關係。保羅的方法就是天天坐下來和人們傳講永恆的道理。他從不攻擊人，只是講述有關神的真理。在一世紀有很多人探討有關神的問題——但他們的思想並沒有對文化產生什麼影響。但在保羅的領導下，這一群追隨耶穌並堅持認為只有一位在諸神之上的神的人們，他們所稱為“道” （ 19:9,23）的東西，正成功地滲入城市文化，並導致福音與城市偶像間的衝突。
#1: 什麼是偶像崇拜？
我們今天經文的要點就是對待偶像的問題，我們不能漏掉這個。但對於神在我們的生活和世界上的工作而言，有幾件事比偶像的問題更重要。我們今天的時間有限，處理偶像問題的時間也有限，所以我建議大家去讀Tim Keller的一本書：Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, sex and Power。這本書既有益又能說明問題。
讓我們從26節開始：銀匠底米丟說，“保羅說人手所做的不是神。”在使徒行傳17章，保羅曾經在腓立比說過類似的話。很明顯，他經常說這個，因此像底米丟這種非基督徒都明白並且利用它。實際上，當你讀使徒行傳的時候，無論保羅何時傳福音，他總是說，福音在與偶像的對比之下才能被理解。
我今天要強調的是，當我和你談論所謂偶像的問題時，你或許只會想到那些像以弗所或者雅典這些古代城市中的偶像。
但是，我希望你記住神在談到偶像問題時的前兩個誡命。第二個誡命是說，我們不能在這個世界上製造偶像，然後說它是神。第一個誡命則清楚地表明，我們也不能把這個世界上的一些東西放在神的位置上。在出埃及記20章和申命記5章，我們看到神說，“除我以外，你不可有別的神。”這意味著，在這個世界上，沒有別的東西可以與神相比，成為我們最終追隨和信靠的。
什麼是偶像？不論什麼東西，如果你失去它就會垮掉，它就是你的偶像。你花了很多心思和精力在它上面，但你卻沒有注意到——它就對你很重要。當你丟掉一個偶像，這不僅會讓你傷心，它會讓你發怒（就像我們在經文中看到的），甚至絕望。Alexis De Tocqueville在美國看到不能說話的偶像時說，“在人們的富足之下，有一種奇怪的悲哀纏繞著他們。”他說我們的社會似乎相信“富足會止息對幸福的渴望，但這種渴望其實是虛幻的。”為什麼？De Tocqueville接著說，“這個世界的有限的喜樂不能滿足人心。這種奇怪的悲哀已經在多方面顯明了，但總是在追逐中導致同樣的絕望。”
相信我們的文化在本質上與古代文化沒有什麼不同。我們不過是以不同的方式來談論和設計我們的神而已。請注意：偶像崇拜並不只是追求不好的東西。有時，它是以美好的東西作為最終目標。請注意：你會相信所有關於神和福音的正確的東西，你會每星期來教會，唱詩讚美神，甚至很享受牧師的講道。但是，如果任何東西對你而言，在感覺上超過了你在神裡面的喜樂、認同和盼望，你就有了一個偶像。
#2: 偶像崇拜如何流行的?
在以弗所，他們崇拜的主要是女神亞底米，這個神為他們帶來健康和富足。亞底米是健康和富足之神。在以弗所，她的廟是雅典的帕台農神廟的四倍大。以弗所的城市文化很大一部分是圍繞對亞底米的崇拜。亞底米被她的崇拜者視為以弗所城的源頭。從當地的錢幣和官方檔中可以發現她的名字和圖片。
因此，我們首先就知道，銀匠底米丟想要保護和尊敬的神是亞底米。我們可以看看25-26節，再對照16:19。底米丟認為，保羅資訊裡所講的人手所造的不是神是在褻瀆以弗所城所熱愛的女神。然而，我們來看：底米丟所關心的真正的神是錢。這個事實讓這個故事很接近我們現在的美國，不是嗎？
金錢會成為偶像嗎？請讓我告訴你：你生命中幾乎所有的東西都有可能成為偶像：
·成功——比如有很多棒球運動員放棄了他們的正義感、名聲甚至身體來使用興奮劑而獲得成功。電影烈火戰車中的奧林匹克跑步運動員哈樂德·亞伯拉罕遜有一句著名臺詞，他說，“滿足，我24歲了，但我從來不認識它。我總是在追求，我甚至都不知道自己在追求什麼。”我們中很少有人會成為奧林匹克或專業運動員，但是我見過很多人，他們的生命以如何能成為像虛擬足球賽中最佳賽手這樣的人物為中心。我見過一些人執著於此，當他們不能贏得聯賽的時候，就被徹底擊垮了。
·安全感——我永遠不會忘記，在我任職的第一個教會中，有一位年輕的女士曾經向我坦言，她準備嫁給一位富有但缺少愛心的男士，因為她害怕那些在她成長過程中所經歷的貧困。她告訴我，“我相信耶穌）——但是我無法忍受目前生活中的經濟上的不穩定。”她無法承認在這個決定上她信任神。她確定只要她不擔心金錢，她就能找到生命。但那個婚姻幾個月後就潰敗了。
·婚姻——我曾經無數次與那些很確定進入婚姻就能填滿他們空虛的人交談。渴望婚姻使得婚姻本身變成一個偶像。當然，任何一位試圖通過結婚而期待對方能夠填滿生命中神的位置的人註定會失敗。婚姻對我們來說是如此有挑戰性。我們知道在這個世界上與我們和神的關係最接近的就是婚姻的關係。但是，我告訴你：它並不能代替神。婚姻是一個可怕的偶像。一個糟糕的婚姻就像一個裂開的傷口，它會使人認為，“只要我能沖出這個婚姻，那麼我的生活會變得很好。”一個好的婚姻就可能導致那個人成為偶像。但是我們知道如果那個人是最重要的，一旦那個人死了，生命似乎就全部結束了。
·家庭——如果任何人將孩子放在神的位置，就會製造出一種虛假的愛，讓孩子透不過氣來，從而扼殺這種關係。
·事業——（北卡羅萊納州的）維克森林大學校長耐特·哈奇觀察到新來的學生惡補各種專業知識，比如金融、企業法、專業醫學等，但他們選擇專業並不取決於神的呼召，而是期待高薪。他擔心人們的現實生活並沒有去考慮更有意義的問題。他說學生們並沒有問，“哪種工作能夠幫助人們和我們的世界去繁榮？”而是問“哪種工作將會幫助我自己繁榮？”結果，他發現很少有人表示從工作中獲得滿足。
關於將事業作為偶像，雷曼公司前任總裁艾林·卡蘭，就是一個很有說服力的故事。在她寫的“有工作後的生活嗎？”一書中，她說，“我不知道除了工作外如何定位我自己。我過去所做的都是我自己造成的。她逐漸將工作放在生命中的首位，直到沒有任何其它的東西留下。”
·金錢——在使徒行傳19章中底米丟的金錢偶像是我們這個世界的三大偶像之一，另外兩個是性與權力。作為牧師，我從來沒有遇到任何人跑過來對我說，“牧師，我在自己身上花了太多的錢。我想我對金錢的關注正在破壞我的婚姻、家人及其它。”一個緊緊抓住金錢的人很少會發現他自己正這麼做。他想，“這都是應有的權利，比如：住在一個合適的社區，將我的孩子送到某些學校，參與某一種娛樂生活……”這樣的想法會一個接著一個。並且我們總是需要更多。我們不會看到，金錢緊緊地抓住了我們的靈魂。但是，我將要告訴你——金錢是一個可怕的讓人失望的偶像。它會奪走你的靈魂。那個年輕的富人想要永生，卻願意放棄它——為了金錢。要小心！
我甚至還沒有談論像性、權力、名聲和學術成就這樣的偶像。當我們讀到保羅訪問的一些古代城市，我們會嘲笑，這些城市有工作偶像、健康偶像、性偶像、天氣偶像、金錢偶像、民族主義偶像、使人外表的美麗偶像。其實，我們有所有這些偶像——我們只是拿走了一些銀像、金像，而代之以舞臺、螢幕甚或是一面鏡子。
那麼你該如何辨別自己的偶像呢？這裡提供一種你需要努力尋找的思維方式：“是的，你相信耶穌。這很好。但是，如果你認為只要有那份工作或那筆錢，只要你能夠成就這個或那個，或者只要你能夠有那個女朋友或者一個孩子，那麼你就會真的很開心。要小心。外表——成就——名聲——社會事業——政治抱負——性取向——幾乎任何事物都會進入你的內心代替神。
# 3: 拜偶像有什麼問題嗎？
當然，最大的問題是聖經裡一直指出的，也就是，那成了神。說別的任何事物是神都是錯的。假如對你說，“你不是（把你的名字放在這）。不，你開的那輛車或你一直用的手機——那才是你！”你一定覺得這嚴重冒犯了你。把任何事物放在神的位置上，或是說任何一個受造物是神都是對神自身的冒犯。
但拜偶像的另一個嚴重問題是，那會使你遠離那位造你要你以祂為生活中心的真神。讓我再次向你聲明，神以恒久的、不離不棄的愛愛著你。神以祂的形象造了你我，且聖經上說，“把永恆放在了我們心裡。”神知道其他一切的偶像都不能持久。這就是為什麼保羅在傳講福音時總是拿福音和偶像作對比。只有神能填滿你心中最深的渴望。任何其他事物都無法做到。
偶像們的問題是，他們承諾了很多，他們攫取你的生命卻不能給你任何持久的東西。這篇講道要我們得到的一個有力的教訓是，除非你找出並拒絕你生命中的那些假神，否則真神在我們的世界裡就無法繼續做工。現在請仔細聽我說：除非你找出你的偶像並讓神粉碎他們，否則在與神同行中你的靈命不會有任何長進。宇宙間唯一的神必須是那位真神。這就是為什麼這篇講道如此重要。
偶像永遠不會給你那些他們向你承諾的東西——沒有永恆無條件的愛，沒有自尊，沒有持久的滿足。
但是，粉碎你心中的偶像是很難的。當你這樣做時，你會發現你的思緒又會回轉向他們。你發現這個世界也在把他們推回你的心中。你會想，“但我就是一定要得到那個。要是沒有我的孩子，沒有我的事業，我就是沒法開心……。”
而且，別人也很難讓我們去粉碎這個世界的偶像。這就是在腓立比和以弗所所發生的。你把別人的偶像拿走，他們會發瘋。在南加州你告訴一個人他不可以用他喜歡的那種方式去做愛，看看他會是什麼反應。你會遭遇到他的大怒。所以，當你真正讓那位真神來做神時，千萬別為你的朋友、家人還有你的周遭給你的沉重打擊而感到驚訝。這就是為什麼我被呼召來講這篇道——“福音的難行之處。”當你願意讓耶穌帶你遠離偶像。你願降服於祂的掌管。祂就真正成為了你的主。
# 4:有希望擺脫偶像的捆綁嗎?
對我們所有人來說，一部分人會想，“我自己能行。我可以做到這一點！”良藥苦口，但我還是要告訴你。單憑口說，“我決定在生活中不再看重這件事了。我會停止不再渴望它，不再堅持了。”你是做不到的。在耶穌到來之前，喜愛神的律法的人們試圖憑藉己力去過遵循律法的生活，但他們失敗了。為神而活永遠要從第一條誡命開始，自從亞當把自己擺在了神的位置起，人類就一直在重複亞當所做的。我們不願意降服於神。我們的宗教是一個試圖讓神服從我們的宗教。顯然，祂不是一個順服的神——因為祂不需要順服我們。
你不可能粉碎你自己的偶像，你沒有這種力量。你需要一種能深入到你內心和靈魂的道德力量。那就是為什麼耶穌來了——從那些被你擺在神的位置上的自我的偶像和其他萬物的偶像中把你釋放出來。這些東西奴役著你然後讓你失望。
耶穌來了要叫你得自由。假如不是按照通常的策略和程式的話，這種自由該如何得到呢？我想要做的是把你帶回到神的福音中來。以下是我想要你思考的：
- 救贖是神的恩典 ——你和我都失敗了，而且還在繼續失敗。但是神如此愛我們以至於祂為我們所做的，是我們靠自己無法爭取也不配得到的。這就是恩典的含義。赦罪就是一種恩典。耶穌為你而死，因此因著信耶穌你就被洗淨。而且，你的每一個部分都被重造——從偶像中得釋放——這是神的恩典。意思是，從罪裡的釋放始於你我謙卑地承認，“主啊，我做不到。我不配得到你的愛，但是我需要。我需要你的説明。我願降服於你，我相信你能改變我。”
- 把神放首位的主要動機是你的生活態度 ——使徒行傳19中把我們的人叫做“那道”。當你行在那道上時，你和別人看待宗教的方式就會不一樣。宗教不是你可以通過做什麼來贏得神的青睞。祂已經愛著你了。而是在信仰裡你回應神的作為。你看著十字架，看見那無罪的神性的第二位格正在為你而死。正如保羅所說，“我以神的慈悲勸你們，將身體獻上，當作活祭”（羅馬書12:1-2）。遠離偶像一定是源於我們對耶穌的感恩。假如你緊抓住神所賜的不可測度的恩典和憐憫達到一定的程度，其他假神將會失去對你的掌控。
- 粉碎偶像的力量來自內在的聖靈 ——這是那些在耶穌以前想要順服神的人所沒有的。 當你因著信接受耶穌時，神的靈就進入到你生命當中。我敦促你每天醒來都承認祂的存在。正如勞倫斯弟兄所談到的，在你生命的每一個時刻“操練神的同在。”每當你感到一定要得到某種東西才能快樂時，操練神的同在。請祂來幫助你不要在金錢、成就或任何一件事物上尋找你的身份和滿足。要在神裡面，單單在祂裡面尋找他們。
- 教會是神創造的用來重造你的集體 ——在教會裡我們每週一起敬拜神。敬拜的意思是把神放在第一位。在教會生活中，我們要互相代禱，彼此糾正錯誤，互相鼓勵，彼此教導，彼此重塑。我每天都禱告希望神能引導我們LAC成為一個真信仰的大家庭。我為大家的禱告是我們要不斷地成長為一群被恩典充滿的“那道”，一路同行直到我們所有人都與符合了基督的形象。
保羅總是拿福音和偶像做對比來傳講，因為他知道我們生命中的頭號問題就是把其他東西放在了神的位置上。通常，我們的偶像就是自己。我們想要掌管我們自己的生活 ——而不願降服於神。粉碎偶像需要的是耶穌從死裡復活帶來的力量。
而那力量正是我們在基督裡所擁有的。如有人在基督裡，他就是新造的人。舊事已過，都變成新的了。一切都是出於神（哥林多後書5:17-18a）——祂的榮耀。
榮耀歸於神，
葛列格博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2014, Lake Avenue Church
Study Guide
The Difficult Truth About God's Good News - Week 6 - Study Guide
The difficult truth about god's good news
Acts 19:23-34
- Read through Acts 19:23–34. How would you describe to a friend what was happening? If you had been there, would you have felt like God had lost control? How would you have prayed?
- Look at 19:24-25 and compare it to Acts 16:19. What do you think was the greater concern for the businessmen—money or "gods" like Artemis? Does that have any relevance to people today?
- If a "god" is anything that has ultimate allegiance in a person's life, what are the main gods that compete with the true God in our world? In your own life?
- The Bible is consistent in saying that having any "gods" in the place of God will eventually rob us of true life. (See Dt 4:39–40; 5:7, 29.) Thinking practically, how is that true? In what ways does putting other things first harm our lives?
- Read vv. 30–31. Paul had spent years ministering in this area (see 19:8–10). How did that affect his witness? What should we learn from this?
- Ephesus eventually became the leading church in Asia Minor and the church of John, Paul, and Timothy. If we had been in Ephesus on the day described in our text, we may have thought this would be impossible. What should we learn about trusting God in the midst of turmoil?
2014 Study Series • Copyright © 2014, Lake Avenue Church