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DirtBags 8/6/2010
Ó 2010. John Creamer. All rights reserved.
Questions:
· When you were a kid, did you ever do anything that made your Mother say, “I’m ashamed of you!”
· What does it mean to be ‘ashamed’?
During the time I was preparing this lesson, MSN [http://my.msn.com/] had a section on its homepage entitled ‘A-list searches’ a list of “Shamed CEOs” whose “bribery & fraud to just plain botching the job” brought them personal shame. Apparently, MSN believes people enjoy reading about guys…once at the top…who are now ashamed of themselves. Their list:
Ø BP CEO Tony Hayward is resigning after his controversial handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ø Lee Kun-hee, chairman and CEO of Samsung resigned in 2008 amid a tax and bribery scandal.
Ø Leland Brendsel, the former Freddie Mac CEO agreed to pay $16.4 million in penalties for his role in an accounting scandal.
Ø Former Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski was convicted of looting more than $600 million from Tyco to fund his extravagant lifestyle.
Ø Jeffrey Skilling The former Enron CEO was taken down by one of the biggest accounting scandals in the U.S.
Ø David Edmondson was caught plumping his résumé while CEO at Radio Shack.
Ø Richard Fuld stayed at the helm of Lehman Brothers until the company filed for bankruptcy during the 2008 financial crisis.
Ø Bernard Ebbers, CEO of WorldCom was eventually convicted on conspiracy and fraud charges.
Ø John Rigas, a founder of Adelphia Communications Corporation one of the largest cable companies in the United States, also the majority owner of the Buffalo Sabres franchise of the National Hockey League was convicted on multiple charges of fraud and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2005.
Ø Bernard Madoff was the perpetrator of what has been called perhaps the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, when the former financial adviser stole billions from investors before he was caught and convicted.
· What are some types of things that make people ashamed?
· Are there any things in your life for which you are ashamed?
· Have you ever been ashamed of your faith in God?
Scripture:
(Romans 1:14-16 NIV) I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. {15} That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. {16} I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
· In verse 16, Paul gives two more categories for whom the gospel is intended; ‘first for the Jew, then for the Gentile’. Who is excluded from these two categories? (No one.)
· Paul says he is not ashamed of the gospel. Given the passage we looked at in the previous lesson that Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth…
(1 Corinthians 1:18-23 NIV) For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. {19} For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." {20} Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? {21} For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. {22} Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, {23} but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
why could he [or we] have been ashamed of the gospel? (Appears foolish to the ‘wise of this world’.)
· What are the ramifications of being ashamed of the gospel of God?
(Luke 9:26 NIV) If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
· What did Jesus say the ramification of being ashamed of Him is?
(2 Timothy 1:7-8 NIV) For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. {8} So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
· Why did Paul tell Timothy he should not be ashamed to testify about the Lord?
(2 Timothy 1:11-12 NIV) And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. {12} That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
· Why was Paul not ashamed?
(2 Timothy 2:11-13 NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; {12} if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; {13} if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
· If we are ashamed of Jesus Christ [and disown Him], what does verse 12 say to us?
· Notice verses 12 and 13 differentiate between disowning Jesus Christ and having doubts. What happens if we disown Him? What happens if we are ‘faithless’ [O, ye of little faith]?
(2 Timothy 2:15 NIV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
· What is a practical piece of advice to help us overcome being ashamed? (Learn how to correctly handle the word of truth…the Bible.)
· Conversely, what is one of the reasons people are ashamed?
(Matthew 10:32-33 NIV) "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. {33} But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
· If we disown Jesus Christ before men, what will He do?
(1 John 2:23 NIV) No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
(1 John 4:15 NIV) If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
· What does denying Jesus Christ reveal about a man? (He doesn’t know God the Father, either.)
· What does acknowledging Jesus Christ reveal about a man? (God lives in him.)
Questions:
· What kind of expectations do people have for brain surgeons?
· …for politicians?
· …for bankers?
· …for investment counselors?
· …for real estate agents?
· …for people who attend this Bible study?
· What kind of expectations do people have for those who claim to be Christians?
· Is it the same level of expectation as someone who claims to be an atheist?
· Are Christians expected to be righteous?
Back to Romans 1, verse 17…
(Romans 1:17 NIV) For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
· What is revealed in the gospel?
· What is ‘righteousness from God’?
(Romans 2:13 NIV) For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
· According to the Jewish law, what did Paul say was the level of expectation for the righteous?
· Is this any different from the level of expectation people have for those who profess faith in God and Jesus Christ, or someone who attends church or a Bible study?
(Romans 3:10-11 NIV) As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; {11} there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
· How many were able to live up to the level of expectation in the Jewish laws in order to be declared righteous?
· Likewise, how many are able to live up to the standards people have for those who profess faith in God and Jesus Christ, or attend church or a Bible study?
· That’s bad news…or so it appears. What’s the good news?
(Matthew 9:10-13 NIV) While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. {11} When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” {12} On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. {13} But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
· Jesus said He didn’t come to call the righteous—those who lived up to the standards of perfection—but sinners—those who miserably failed…good news for those of us who cannot measure up to righteous standards.
So, where did we get so off-target on these unreal expectations placed on the religious people…is it the fault of the unreligious being too tough on the religious? Not really…
(Matthew 23:1-7, 13-15, 23-28 NIV) Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: {2} "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. {3} So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. {4} They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
· According to verse 3, who is setting up the level of expectation? (The religious legalists.)
· What inconsistency do the Pharisees have in their lives?
· Have you ever heard, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say do.”?
{5} "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; {6} they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; {7} they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'
· What does verse 5 tell us is their motivation for their lifestyle? Have you ever watched a particularly ‘religious’ person make a big deal in public about his/her piety and wondered if the motivation was as Jesus said in verse 5, “Everything they do is done for men to see…”?
{13} "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. {14} {15} "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
· According to verse 15, when they find a new convert to their religion of perfect living, what does their level of expectation do to the poor guy?
{23} "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. {24} You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. {25} "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. {26} Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. {27} "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. {28} In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
· In verse 28, what did Jesus say about these religious guys? Does this sound like what some say about religious people today, who “…on the outside appear to people as righteous but on the inside are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”?
So, where is the right answer to the question ‘How can a person be righteous’?
(Romans 3:20-24 NIV) Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. {21} But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. {22} This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, {23} for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, {24} and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
· God took away the requirements of keeping all the laws to be declared righteous and replaced it with what? (Faith in Jesus Christ, believing He died for our sins—our inability to keep the law.)
Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4 NIV)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 NIV)
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:21 NIV)
How does a person believe in Jesus Christ and become righteous?
(Romans 10:5-10, 13-15, 17 NIV) Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." {6} But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down) {7} "or 'Who will descend into the deep?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). {8} But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: {9} That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. {10} For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.