Now, the title of my sermon this morning is Giving Christianity a Bad Name.
Giving Christianity a Bad Name.
Now, first of all, I want to clear up some misconceptions about what most people seem
to think gives Christianity a bad name, and then we're going to see what the Bible actually
tells us gives Christians and Christianity a bad name.
A lot of times people will throw around the phrase, you know, you're the reason why people
don't like Christians.
I've had people tell me that probably thousands of times.
You know, people hate Christians because of people like you.
So first of all, let me clear up some of that misconception.
Flip over if you would to John chapter 15.
Because it's very simple why many people in the world hate Christians, and that's simply
because the world hated Jesus.
And if we follow Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that we will be hated of this world.
You go ahead and look at John 15, I'll read for you from 1 John 3.13, where the Bible
reads, Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you.
So the Bible says that we shouldn't be surprised or marvel when the world hates us.
Look at John chapter 15, verse 18.
If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.
If you were of the world, the world would love his own.
But because you're not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you.
Flip over to chapter 17, just a few pages to the right in your Bible.
The Bible says in verse 14 of chapter 17, I have given them thy word, and the world
hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
And then Luke 21, 17 said, you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, for the name
of Jesus Christ.
So let's just clear this up right away, this thing of, well, you're the reason why the
world hates Christians.
No, the reason why the world hates Christians is that they hated Christ.
That's what it really comes down to.
But look if you would at Mark chapter number 6, Mark chapter number 6.
A lot of people will say, what gives Christianity a bad name is all this hard preaching against
sin and all this hard-nosed, uncompromising stance that Christians have, and it's just
so unloving.
And they think that gives Christianity a bad name.
Have you heard that before?
But let me show you in the Bible that it's not hard preaching that gives Christianity
a bad name.
Look at Mark chapter 6, verse 17.
For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for
Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife, for he had married her.
For John had said unto Herod, it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him, but she could not.
For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and holy, and observed him.
And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
Now this shows you right here that even when the world is persecuting you, and even when
the world is speaking evil of you, deep down they respect you when you actually take a
stand for what the Bible teaches.
So here we have John the Baptist, who's a hard-nosed preacher, who's calling out sin
for what it is.
He's telling the King Herod that it's not lawful for him to have his brother Philip's
wife.
His brother Philip was married to a woman, and divorced that woman, and then Herod married
her.
The Bible says right here in this passage that he had married her.
So it's not that he was having this woman out of wedlock, but it was that he took her
away from his brother.
She was divorced of him and became his wife.
And so it's not that John the Baptist, hard preaching against divorce, you know, that's
why people don't like Christians.
No, John the Baptist was doing what was right.
Jesus praised him for the stance that he took when he was sent to prison.
And here, even Herod, look what it says in verse 20, Herod feared John, knowing that
he was a just man and unholy.
So even when he's being persecuted and hated of the world, deep down the world respects
him for standing for what the Bible actually says.
Look at John chapter 3.
Flip over to John chapter 3.
So it's not being strict or living a godly life or taking a hard line against sin or
preaching hard that gives Christianity a bad name.
No, actually the greatest Christian who ever lived, according to the Bible, was a hard
preacher, John the Baptist.
And look what the Bible says in John chapter 3, verse 19, it says, this is the condemnation
that light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their
deeds were evil.
For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light.
So it's not the hard preachers that are the problem.
It's not the Christians that are standing strong in a world that condones all manner
of sin and filth.
They want to live a godly Christian life.
That's not what gives Christianity a bad name, oh no.
Anybody who hates the light because of that, well they just hated the light anyway because
their deeds were evil, the Bible says.
For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds
should be reproved, but he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be
made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
And people will say, well it's the name calling, you know, it's when people get up and call
out false prophets and call out false religions and when you preach hard against Catholicism
and preach hard against orthodoxy and when you call out the whores and whoremongers and
when you call out the murderers, hey that's what gives Christianity a bad name.
No, that's not what gives Christianity a bad name because that's what Jesus did.
Matthew 23 is one of the hardest sermons preached, if you'd flip over there in the Bible, preached
from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself.
Here are just a few highlights of this.
Verse 17, Jesus said, ye fools and blind, for whether is greater, the gold or the temple
that sanctifieth the gold.
Look at verse 19, ye fools and blind, for whether is greater, the gift or the altar
that sanctifieth the gift.
Verse 27, woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you're like unto whited sepulchres,
which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of
all uncleanness.
Verse 33, ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?
You say, well I just don't like the harsh language and the name calling.
You wouldn't have liked Jesus' preaching.
You would have walked out of Jesus' sermon, the Son of God, the Lord of Lords, the King
of Kings.
This isn't what gives Christianity a bad name.
This is what follows in the footsteps of Christ himself.
Look at 1 Peter chapter 4.
So right now, this is all introduction.
We're going to get into what the Bible says gives Christianity a bad name.
But first, we're just looking at some of the misconceptions where people will point to
these things in our day and say, well this is what's giving Christianity a bad name.
Look at 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 1, for as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in
the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.
For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should
live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles,
when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable
idolatries.
Now watch this last part here.
Verse 4, wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of
riot, speaking evil of you.
So the Bible predicts that when you live a godly Christian life, they're going to speak
evil of you, and they're going to think it's strange that you don't run to the same excess
of riot.
Hey, why aren't you out there drinking?
Why aren't you out there fornicating and partying?
But look at the last verse there in verse 5, who shall give account to him that is ready
to judge the quick thing.
You know, they'll give an account for their wicked lifestyle, and they're going to speak
evil of you.
But does that mean we shouldn't live that strict, godly life that God wants us to live?
Of course, that'd be ridiculous to say that.
Look at chapter 2.
Chapter 2 of 1 Peter, it says in verse 11, dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers
and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.
Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against
you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the
day of visitation.
So even if they speak evil against you, when you're doing what's right, when you're living
a godly life, when you're abstaining from the lusts of the flesh, and when you're walking
in the Spirit, in the end, it's going to cause them to glorify God on your behalf.
So let's get into what the Bible says actually gives Christianity a bad name.
Go to Romans chapter 2, number 1, what gives Christianity a bad name is when you live a
sinful life as a Christian.
That's what actually gives Christianity a bad name.
It's not when you're preaching hard against sin.
It's not when you're taking a strong stand that goes in the face of this wicked world.
It's not when you call out the false teachers and the false prophets for what they are.
No, it's actually living a sinful life that causes the world to get a bad taste of Christianity.
While you're turning to Romans 2, I'll read for you 2 Samuel 12.14.
This is that famous story where David commits adultery with Bathsheba, and then he actually
commits murder to cover it up because he has Uriah killed.
So he commits adultery and murder, and this is what Nathan the prophet tells David.
Howbeit because by this deed, thou has given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord
to blaspheme.
The child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
So according to the Bible, when we commit sin, that's what gives great occasion for
the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.
That's what gives Christianity a bad name.
That's where people could look at David and say, oh, here's a man who worships the Lord.
Look at the life that he lives.
Look at the adultery.
Look at the murder.
And it gave great occasion for people to blaspheme the name of the Lord.
Look at Romans chapter 2 verse 21.
Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?
Thou that preach'st a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Thou that say'st a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?
Thou that abhor'st idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonor'st thou God?
For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you as it is written.
Do you see that?
When you are a hypocrite, when you preach that a man should not steal and then you steal,
when you say, hey, you shouldn't be committing murder, you shouldn't be committing adultery,
you shouldn't be worshipping idols, and then you go out and do those same things, the Bible
says the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you when you do that hypocrisy.
So it's actually living a sinful life that gives Christianity a bad name.
If you want to have a good testimony, if you want to be a good ambassador of Jesus Christ,
then living a clean and godly life is a good place to start.
How about practicing what you preach?
When the world looks at you and they see you practicing what you preach, even if they speak
evil of you, they're going to respect you.
They're still going to know that you're a just and a holy person in the end.
Secondly, go to 1 Timothy chapter 6.
The second thing that will cause Christianity to be given a bad name through our lives is
if we are a bad worker at our job.
This is something that the Bible brings up repeatedly about men.
He says when you're a man and you go to work and you're a poor worker at the job, you will
give Christianity a bad name.
Number one, if you live a sinful life, you're giving Christianity a bad name.
Number two, when you're a bad worker.
Look at 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 1, let as many servants as are under the yoke count
their own masters worthy of all honor that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.
Right there it's saying that if we do not give respect under the boss at work, if we
don't honor those who are at the job telling us what to do, he says that that will cause
the name of God and his doctrine to be blasphemed.
Look at verse 2, it says, and they that have believing masters, this is saying if you work
for a Christian employer, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather
do them service because they are faithful and beloved partakers of the benefit these
things teach and exhort.
See there's a tendency in this world for the workers to despise the owner of the company.
Have you ever been in a job where they talk bad about the boss and talk bad about the
owner of the company and say, oh man, it must be nice, you know, being the owner of the
company and he treats us like dirt.
You know, we shouldn't participate in that as Christians.
If you don't like the owner of the company, if you don't like the boss, then go get another
job, but we should not sit around and talk bad about the boss and bite the hand that
feeds us.
We should have respect for our boss and if he's a Christian boss, we should have even
more respect for him, treat him even better because he's faithful and beloved of God.
That should be even more reason to be respectful, not to look for special treatment or despise
him or think it's not fair.
And you know what, you don't really know what it's like sometimes to own a company and then
you'll look down on the boss and think he has it so easy, but in reality, sometimes
the owner of the company is working twice as much as you or sometimes you might look
at the owner of the company and see him taking it easy, but what you don't realize is that
10 or 20 years ago when he started the company, he paid his dues where he worked 100 hours
a week and now he's starting to enjoy it a little bit and starting to relax a little
bit.
You don't know what it was like starting that company and when you're the employee, your
paycheck shows up every Friday like clockwork.
You don't even have to worry about it, whereas the owner of the company, sometimes he doesn't
get paid.
Sometimes the customer stiffs him for the money and sometimes he has to work all types
of hours and things that you don't have to do.
So the Bible's telling us that when we have a bad attitude toward the boss at work, we
actually give the name of Christ and his doctrine a bad name.
Go to Titus chapter 2.
Actually, I'm sorry, go to 1 Thessalonians 4.
1 Thessalonians 4 and then after that we're going to go to Daniel chapter 1, but go for
now to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 11.
The Bible says, and you study that you study to be quiet.
What does it mean to study to be quiet?
Learn how to shut up is what he's saying.
Study to be quiet and to do your own business.
Study to be quiet and to do your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded
you that you may walk honestly toward them that are without and that you may have lack
of nothing.
Those that are without are the people that are outside of the faith.
Those who are outside of Christianity and God's saying you want to walk honestly toward
them.
You want them to see you working hard and being honest and being a good worker.
That's a great testimony under the unsaved.
Now go to Daniel chapter 1.
This is actually where I got the idea for this sermon was I was studying Daniel chapter
1 this week and this is something that just jumped out at me right at the beginning of
this chapter and then something at the end of this chapter that jumped out at me that
just gives such a contrast between giving the word of God and his doctrine a good name
and giving the name of God and his doctrine a bad name.
Being a great testimony and being a terrible testimony.
Let's start out at the beginning of this chapter with somebody who is a terrible testimony
and who drags the name of the Lord through the mud.
It says in chapter 1 verse 1 in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah
came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem and besieged it and the Lord gave Jehoiakim
king of Judah into his hand with part of the vessels of the house of God which he carried
into the land of Shinar to the house of his God and he brought the vessels into the treasure
house of his God.
Now the thing that jumped out at me in this verse is the repetition of the fact that the
vessels are brought into the house of a false god and nothing in the Bible is incidental,
coincidental or accidental and I wondered why did God repeat that and just emphasize
that?
Why did he say at the end of verse 2 that he carried the vessels into the land of Shinar
to the house of his God and then it has this added statement at the end and he brought
the vessels into the treasure house of his God.
Well stop and think about the story and realize what's going through this king's mind Nebuchadnezzar.
And what's going through the people in his nation's mind when they see God's house raided
and all those vessels brought into the treasure house of their God.
You know what they're thinking to themselves?
Our God has more power.
That's why our God just defeated your God.
That's why we're going to take all the vessels out of the house of your God and we're going
to put them into the treasure house of our God.
We're going to give them unto our deity and if you study the Old Testament you'll see
that these nations would say things like that.
They'll say, you know, hey where are the gods of Arpad?
Where are the gods of the cities of C-4-M?
Your God can't deliver you either Hezekiah.
Your God can't deliver you either Jehoiakim or whoever.
Now the question is can God deliver?
Of course.
Was it God's fault that Jehoiakim is given into his hand?
Was it God's fault that the vessels are taken from the house of God and put into the treasure
house of a false god?
No, it's because of the disobedience of Jehoiakim.
So because of Jehoiakim's failure, because of his disobedience, God ends up getting a
bad name amongst the heathen where it looks like he doesn't have the power.
When really God has all the power, it's man that messed it up and limited God and caused
God's name to be blasphemed amongst the heathen.
And then God has to redeem his name throughout the book of Daniel.
I mean it starts out the book of Daniel with his name being dragged in the mud where this
other god is just beating up on him apparently to the heathen.
But yet throughout the book of Daniel God has to show his power through faithful servants
in order to redeem his name among the heathen.
Look how this starts in chapter 17.
It says as for these, I'm sorry verse 17, good night, there aren't 17 chapters in the
book of Daniel unless you're in like a Catholic Bible or something.
So Daniel chapter 1 verse 17, as for these four children, God gave them knowledge and
skill in all learning and wisdom and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince
of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar and the king communed with them and among
them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, therefore stood they
before the king.
And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them
ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.
Now the Bible says even a child is known by his doings whether his work be pure and whether
it be right.
Even a child can have a testimony to the heathen.
The unsaved can even look at a child and either see a good testimony for the Lord or
a bad testimony for the Lord.
These four children, and another thing you'll notice when you read Daniel chapter 1 is the
word children over and over again, children, children, children, children.
Make no mistake, these are children.
I don't know the exact age but they were young, they were children and God uses the word children
over and over again for a reason.
They're not young men, they're children.
And the Bible teaches here that God gave them knowledge and skill.
Now in the story, when we read the chapter, it's because of the fact that they were living
a clean and separated life.
They would not eat of the portion of the king's meat nor drink the wine that the king drank.
They were even willing to just eat bland food and just eat pulse and water, basically beans,
lentils, water in order to abstain from the meat sacrificed unto idols and abstain from
the king's wine.
So they separated themselves, they purposed in their heart not to defile themselves with
Daniel leading them and then as a result of their godly separated life, God gave them
knowledge and skill, God gave them learning and wisdom and understanding and then the
world looked at them.
And the world's judgment of them was these guys are ten times better.
These children are ten times better than all of the magicians and astrologers that are
in the whole realm.
All of these supposedly wise men can't even measure up to these four children.
This shows how your testimony in your profession, in your job can either give Christianity a
good name or a bad name.
If it were said of you at your job, he's ten times better than any worker.
Would that give Christianity a good name?
Absolutely.
And they associated it with the god of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as the story
progresses.
Go to Titus chapter 2.
Titus chapter 2, so we've seen several places where this comes up.
First Timothy 6 it's brought out, First Thessalonians chapter 4, we see the same principle in Daniel
chapter 1, you know these guys are servants.
They don't have freedom and their job is to learn the tongue and the learning of the Chaldeans.
They're basically in school and they're supposed to study all this information and God blesses
them and they're ten times smarter than anybody else.
They learn the material better than anyone else through the power of God.
Look at Titus chapter 2 verse 6 it says, Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded in
all things showing thyself a pattern of good works, in doctrines showing uncorruptness,
gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that he that is of the contrary
part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you, exhort servants to be obedient
unto their own masters and to please them well in all things, not answering again.
What does it mean not answering again?
Not talking back.
Don't talk back he's saying.
Do what you're told.
Verse 10 not purloining, purloining is when you steal things from your job, you know maybe
taking a little bit off the top, skimming the till or whatever.
Not purloining but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our
Savior in all things.
So we're to teach and preach the word of God but the Bible says we're to adorn the doctrine
of God with what?
Our good works, our good testimony, a righteous life.
So that we can give Christianity a good name so that when we speak the name of the Lord
and when we speak the doctrines of the Bible and when we speak the word of God, people
want to listen to us because we have a good testimony.
Because we've given the word of God a good name.
Now there's a thing out there, let me just stop at this point and bring up the fact that
there's a thing out there called lifestyle evangelism, have you heard of this?
And this is a term that I would stay away from because of the fact that lifestyle evangelism
is this idea that you don't need to preach the gospel, you just live your life in a godly
way, you just be a good testimony, sort of like I'm talking about here.
You know, you live a clean life, you're the best worker on the job, you're very respectful
and when you do that, people are supposedly just going to kind of fall on their knees
before you and say, what must I do to be saved?
It's called lifestyle evangelism.
Well here's the problem with that.
When you do this, you will have some people that will come to you and ask you how to be
saved.
It's true.
If you live a godly Christian life and you're a really good testimony at your job, you will
have people come to you and say, you know what, I admire your lifestyle, I want to know
about your religion, I want to know about Jesus Christ because you have shown me such
an amazing testimony.
But let me tell you something, that's rare.
It's something that happens every few years or something.
And that's not what God's called us to do.
You know, the early church, the Bible said daily in the temple and in every house they
cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
I mean, they're daily, every house, people are out preaching and knocking doors.
You know, God hasn't called us to win somebody to the Lord every few years when they come
ask us.
So the Bible says we, as Christ was, are here to seek and to save that which was lost.
We're supposed to go seek them.
And we're supposed to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
The Bible says that we should open our mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.
Notice what it says here in verse 10 at the end of this passage telling you how important
it is that you have a good testimony and that you're a pattern of good works and they can
look at you as an example and that you're not purloining and that you're being respectful
and that you're a good worker.
He says, halfway through verse 10, that they may adorn the doctrine of God.
What is adornment?
It's a decoration.
It's the icing on the cake.
What's the main course?
The doctrine.
So what good is the adornment if there's no doctrine?
I mean, think about it.
What if I was just really nice to someone, really helped someone out, I was just such
a great samaritan unto them, and then I never shared with them the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Well then what good is my testimony doing then if I show them a great testimony but
then I never preach them salvation?
I never give them the gospel.
The adornment has to adorn something, it adorns the doctrine.
So having a good testimony is not a replacement for preaching the gospel.
It's just an adornment, okay?
To make people more likely to listen to you and to make people have a better view of Christianity
going into it.
You know, it reminds me of when my wife makes schnitzel, because my wife cooks a lot of
German food, obviously.
She grew up in Germany and so we have, who knows what schnitzel is?
I'm not talking about the hot dog place, Wiener schnitzel.
But schnitzel is a breaded meat cutlet, it could be like a breaded veal cutlet, it could
be a breaded pork cutlet, which is what we actually eat.
So it's really good, it's one of my favorite meals when she makes schnitzel and potatoes
and cauliflower and she makes this amazing cauliflower sauce that goes over everything.
It's the best meal ever.
When you eat schnitzel, you love that breaded coating on the outside of the meat, you savor
it.
And kind of on the edges of the meat where there's that extra coating is kind of some
of the best bites where you get some of that extra fried breading on the edge of your meat.
But here's the thing, when my wife's done making the schnitzel and she puts this coating
on all the schnitzels, she'll take all that leftover coating, the batter, and the coating
is so good.
Oh, the coating's the best part.
But she'll take that coating all by itself and she'll fry it up as one final, just to
use it up, because she has all this extra flour and bread crumbs and egg.
So she mixes it all together and cooks it up so it's like a decoy because there's no
meat in it.
It's just the adornment, it's just the breading, but there's no meat.
And every once in a while I'll accidentally grab that one, put it on my plate, bite into
it and it's like, ugh, there's nothing there, ugh.
And it's like, well, wait a minute, Pastor Anderson, I thought you loved that adornment.
Yeah, but you want there to be meat inside of it or it's not the same.
I mean, what if somebody just gave you a plate with just a bunch of frosting on it?
No cake.
Now even if the frosting's your favorite part, even if you like a little extra frosting,
you don't want just frosting, do you?
You want cake.
And we need some meat on the bone of our Gospel, not just all fluff, not just all adornment.
Look at what I'm ador- you're adorning nothing.
What good's the adornment if there's nothing inside?
The Gospel was never presented.
And some people, they just use this as an excuse to skip preaching the Gospel.
Oh, I just do lifestyle advantage, I'm just letting my light shine.
No, we need to shine forth the Word of life.
You know, you've got to shine the Word and then adorn it with a godly life, adorn it
with a good testimony, adorn it by being the best worker.
But preach the Word!
Open your mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel.
So number one, how do we give Christianity a bad name by living a sinful life, by being
hypocrites?
Number two, how do we give Christianity a bad name?
By being a bad worker on the job.
Conversely, we give Christianity a good name by practicing what we preach, and by being
a good worker on the job.
What's the third way that God says- and look, this isn't my opinion, I'm showing you verses
where God says, this stuff will cause people to blaspheme my name.
Thirdly this, being a feminist will give Christianity a bad name.
This gives Christianity a bad name all over the world today.
The name of Christ is being dragged through the mud through feminism.
You say, well that's your opinion.
No, look down at your Bible in Titus 2 verse 4.
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their
children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands,
that the Word of God be not blasphemed.
What does the Bible say is going to happen when wives are not obedient to their husbands?
It will cause the Word of God to be blasphemed.
That tells me that feminism gives Christianity a bad name.
And when I say feminism, I'm talking about this worldly movement that started in the
early 20th century that says, well men and women are the same, and they should do all
the same jobs, they should wear all the same clothes, and marriages should be a 50-50 partnership
between a man and a woman.
This is all unbiblical garbage.
And the Bible says that if women are not keepers at home, if they're not keeping the house,
if they're not obedient to their husbands, if they're not discreet and chaste, that's
going to cause God's name to be blasphemed.
You know there are Hindus that look at Christianity and say, well I would never want to become
a Christian because look how feminist they are.
They say at least in Hinduism, you know, we at least respect the man of the house.
At least our women wear clothes and are not going around half naked and promiscuous.
Now look, Hinduism is a wicked false religion.
But isn't it a shame that the name of God would be blasphemed amongst the Hindus through
a feminist lifestyle in the United States?
Or even amongst the Islamic world, and Islam is a wicked, wicked religion.
But the fact that Christians today have bought into feminism causes the name of Christianity
to be blasphemed among the Muslims today.
Bad testimony today.
It's funny, there's someone that I know really well, someone that's very close to us, and
this guy was the biggest feminist ever.
He even said, he said to me recently, he said I was the biggest feminist ever.
He said I've been a feminist my whole life, and he got married, and he practiced feminism
in the sense that, you know, he let his wife have her career and pretty much do whatever
she wanted, and it was 50-50, and I mean this guy was the poster child for feminism.
And recently his marriage completely fell apart, and he literally said to me, he said
you know what, feminism is the biggest fraud, it's garbage, it's a lie, he said I practiced
it and believed in it for over a decade, and he said it's a complete crock, and he said,
you know, and this guy's not saved by the way, not a Christian, not a believer, doesn't
believe in the Bible.
He said, you know what, it makes me want to just marry a Christian girl and do it the
Bible way, even though I don't believe the Bible.
But you know what, that shows that the testimony of Christians who have a marriage that's patterned
after the Word of God can even reach the most hardcore feminists.
He doesn't even believe the Bible, and he says, man, I want that lifestyle.
I want that marriage, I want that family life that Christianity has to offer when it's biblical
Christianity.
But the sad thing is, the vast majority of so-called evangelical Christians in America
today are pretty much living the feminist lifestyle in America.
It's very few Christians that actually follow the biblical roles of husband and wife, and
it's sad because we could have such a better testimony amongst the heathen, because the
Bible clearly says that when wives are not obedient to their husbands, that'll cause
the Word of God to be blasphemed.
And it's a reality today.
The Hindus are blaspheming it, the Muslims are blaspheming it, and then you see even
an agnostic say, wow, I want your marriage lifestyle.
I like that, because mine failed.
Because I bought into a lie, I was deceived, I bought into this fraud of feminism.
You would go to 1 Peter chapter 3, and we'll see this reiterated, 1 Peter chapter 3.
And see, I didn't sit down and write this sermon and say, you know, I'm going to think
of all the stuff I don't like, and I'm going to say that that stuff gives Christianity
a bad name.
No, I actually just looked up in the Bible and I said, you know, what does God say causes
his name to be blasphemed among the heathen?
What does God say gives a bad testimony and a bad report amongst the unsaved?
And this is what I came up with.
Number one, living a sinful life, being a hypocrite.
Number two, being a poor worker at your job.
You know, we as men, what's the main thing we do with our lives?
We work.
That's our main thing.
That's what we do.
We are defined by our work more than anything else.
That's how we are either a good or a bad testimony through our work.
And then ladies, what's the main thing that you do?
It's keeping the home, it's being a mother, it's being a wife.
Well, that's your main testimony to the heathen, how you do that job.
First Peter three, verse one, likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands,
that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation
of the wives.
Now look at this.
In verse one here, get the order of events here.
They hear the word and they don't obey the word, right?
They hear God's word, they don't obey it, but then they're won over after that.
They're won over by the conversation of the wives.
That shows how the wife's conversation or lifestyle or testimony can be that powerful
where somebody rejects the word but then they're won over by the conversation of the wives.
What is it that won them over?
Verse two, while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear, who's adorning, isn't that
a word that we just dealt with?
Let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold or putting
on of apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the heart and that which is not corruptible,
even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price.
For after this manner, in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorned
themselves, adorned themselves being in subjection under their own husbands.
Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters ye are as long as you
do well and are not afraid with any amazement.
Men, how do you adorn the doctrine?
By being a great worker at your job.
Ladies, how do you adorn the doctrine?
How do you adorn the testimony of the word of God?
It's through subjection to your husband.
And if you don't do these things, you're giving Christianity a bad name, according to the
Bible.
Lastly this, I got to hurry up, I'm running out of time.
But lastly, the fourth thing that I found in the Bible coming up a lot that causes God's
word and his name to be blasphemed among the heat, and go back to Numbers chapter 14, is
when we fail in our service for God.
When we fail in our service for God, it makes God seem like a failure, even though God never
fails.
But when we fail in our service to God, then that gives God a bad name.
This kind of goes back to that Jehoiakim example, where he's a loser.
He doesn't follow God's word.
He doesn't listen to God's advice.
He messes up his life, messes up his whole city, messes up his whole nation.
And then the heathen is like, yeah, we're putting that stuff in the treasure house of
our God.
Gave God a bad name.
Well, in Numbers 14 we see something similar, where Moses is trying to bring the children
of Israel into the promised land.
Now, this is all symbolic, according to 1 Corinthians 10.
Of course it all literally happened, don't get me wrong.
These stories did literally happen, but they also have a symbolic meaning, according to
1 Corinthians 10 and many other scriptures.
See when the children of Israel are in Egypt, that represents being in bondage to sin.
Then when they apply the blood to the doorpost on the Passover, that represents salvation,
right?
Through the blood of Jesus.
The forgiveness of sins through the blood.
Then when they cross the Red Sea to leave Egypt, that represents baptism, okay?
And then when they enter the promised land, that represents the victorious Christian life.
You know, where they're where God wants them to be.
They're in the will of God.
They're in a place where God is prepared for them, doing the work that God has for them.
Now along the way, there were some times when the children of Israel grumbled, complained,
murmured against the Lord, or got into lust and sin and messed up.
And there were some times where it seemed like they're not going to make it to the destination.
They're not going to make it to the promised land.
And in fact, the older generation, none of them made it.
Except Caleb and Joshua.
They all died in the wilderness.
And it was the younger generation that had to rise up and have the faith to enter the
promised land.
But look at verse 11 of chapter 14 in Numbers.
And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me?
And how long will it be ere they believe Me, for all the signs which I have showed among
them?
I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater
nation and mightier than they.
You know what's so funny about this?
Is that people think, even today, that the Jews just get a free pass.
Oh, they're God's chosen people no matter what they do.
No matter what they say, right?
Even if they reject Jesus.
But even in the Old Testament, God's already ready to disinherit them.
I mean, look what it says.
He says, I'm going to disinherit them, I'll make of thee a greater nation and mightier
than they.
He doesn't end up disinheriting them, because Moses talks him down.
But in the New Testament, he does say, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and
given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof.
And then he had that new chosen nation.
I just, you know, that has nothing to do with the sermon, but I just had to point that out.
He said, I'll disinherit them, and make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it.
Now notice what Moses is saying here.
Well if you do that, then the Egyptians shall hear it.
For thou broughtst up this people and thy might from among them, and they will tell
it to the inhabitants of this land.
For they have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people, that thou, Lord, art seen face
to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and thou goest before them by daytime
in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard
the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people
into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
And now I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou has spoken.
And on and on he goes, and he begs forgiveness, and God says, Okay, I will forgive them.
He says in verse 20, The Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word, but as truly
as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
So Moses says, Wait a minute, God.
We don't want the Egyptians to hear this and to think that you weren't able.
Because then they're going to blame you.
Even though it was these people's fault, they're going to blame you.
Show your power, God.
Bring these people.
He says, You know what?
The earth will be filled with my glory, but this generation is not going to do it.
So that's when he said, you know, the older generation is going to die in the wilderness.
He's going to bring in the younger generation as he goes on.
But think about this.
What a good testimony it is.
When we set out to do great work for God, let's say someone goes out to start a church
and they start out that church using biblical principles.
They preach hard on sin.
They preach the whole Bible.
They go out door to door soul winning.
They knock doors and they do great work for God.
That's a great testimony for the Lord when they reach that promised land.
And then when other people go out and they do the soul winning and they preach hard on
sin and they fail and quit, you know what that says to the heathen?
Doesn't work.
Can't preach like that.
Doesn't work.
Soul winning doesn't work.
God didn't have the power to build.
Our failure can sometimes give God's work a bad name and our success can give God's
work a good name.
What does that tell us in our Christian lives?
That we all need to be giving it our best to make it to the promised land.
We all need to be striving and working hard and rolling up our sleeves and seeing God
do something great.
Look it's not that God doesn't have the ability.
God has unlimited ability.
But when we don't get the work done, it makes it seem like God doesn't have the ability
to them, the outsider.
We know it's because of our own failing.
But the world looks at it and says, oh yeah, those independent Baptists, they're soul winning.
What a joke.
King James preaching, you know, it's antiquated.
Put that thing in a museum where it belongs.
You know, that's the things that they're going to say if we fail.
What if Faithful Word Baptist Church fails?
It's a bad testimony to everything that's been preached.
Whereas if Faithful Word Baptist succeeds, it's a great testimony that hey, you can preach
the Word of God, you can do soul winning, you can be fundamental, you can be old fashioned
and you can still make it through the power of God.
It's a great testimony.
Now look, if Faithful Word Baptist Church does fail, it'll be our fault.
It's not going to be God's fault.
We know that.
It's not because there's a problem with the Bible.
It's not because there's a problem with soul winning.
It'll be a problem with us.
But to the world though, our testimony matters.
And so we want to succeed in our work for God and not be like a Jehoiakim where everything
falls apart on our watch.
And then it all goes to the treasure house of their God.
You know, where they take all the materials from Faithful Word Baptist Church, you know
they take the piano and it goes down to the United Methodists.
You know, it goes into the treasure house of their false God.
And look, don't tell me the United Methodists aren't worshiping another God when the pastor's
a lesbian at the United Methodist Church in Tempe.
That's not the God that I worship.
He doesn't condone that filth.
They have a pitchfork on the sign of some of these liberal churches.
It blows my mind.
Have you seen it?
The pitchfork on the sign.
I saw a sign.
It was some queer friendly church and they had a pitchfork.
And they had a rainbow saying, we want all the homos to come.
Why do you have a Hindu pitchfork?
The devil carries around a pitchfork.
Why do you have his pitchforks?
You get all these weird symbols, all these satanic symbols, because it's not the God
of the Bible.
But I'd hate to see the piano of Faithful Word Baptist Church end up in one of these
wicked churches.
I'd hate to see this pulpit end up in the hands of some liberal preacher who's not preaching
out of a King James Bible and he's preaching salvation by works and he's preaching all
kinds of lies and errors.
I mean wouldn't it be a shame if lies and heresy were preached by such a cool pulpit
but they wouldn't even want this pulpit.
This pulpit is too rough for their kind of smooth preaching.
But they might take this organ, you know.
They might take this tree, the chairs.
God forbid these chairs would be occupied by people who don't believe in soul winning
and brought into the treasure house of their God.
When we fail in our service for God, it gives God and His Word a bad name.
Look at Matthew chapter 5, Matthew chapter 5.
Let me just kind of conclude with some closing thoughts here.
We started out the sermon just talking about some of the misconceptions.
It's not being too godly that gives Christianity a bad name.
It's when we're not godly enough.
That's what gives Christianity a bad name.
It's not preaching too hard on sin or a ripping face.
No, that doesn't give it a bad name.
It's number one when we're hypocrites and sinners and obviously we all sin but I'm talking
about when people go into major sin such as adultery, murder, drunkenness, revelings and
such like.
That gives Christianity a bad name when they look at us and say, wow, you're a total hypocrite.
I mean, how many times have I criticized other religions and said, they don't even follow
their own scripture.
Have you ever heard that criticism?
I've used that on other religions.
And these Muslims, they don't even follow their own scripture.
God forbid that would be said of us.
All these Christians don't even follow their own scripture.
Number two, it gives God and His Word and His doctor a bad name when we're a bad worker.
Number three, when you're a feminist, it's a bad testimony.
And number four, when you fail to do your best for God and fail to get to the promised
land spiritually, it makes Him look bad even though it's your failing and my failing.
But the conclusion of the matter is this, the testimony is important.
It's important that we have a good testimony but it's not going to do you any good unless
you're preaching the gospel because it's just an adornment is all it is.
And by the way, if you say to me, Pastor Anderson, my testimony is just kind of in the toilet
right now.
My testimony is trashed.
Well, you know what?
You can still go door-to-door soul-winding because nobody knows you, seriously.
That's not a joke.
No, there's no excuse because I've heard some people try to use this as an excuse.
All my testimony is not right.
So I can't preach the gospel.
Well then, you know what?
Go soul-winding and nobody will know you from Adam.
Go knock on doors and just preach the gospel and you'll see people saved even with a bad
testimony.
But you ought to clean up your testimony because I don't know about you, but I like winning
people to the Lord out there in the highways and hedges, strangers, but you know what's
even sweeter is when you can win one of your friends to the Lord, isn't it?
What about when you can win one of your relatives to the Lord?
Isn't that special?
What about when you can win your coworker to the Lord?
Those are some of the best opportunities because once that person gets saved, usually it's
a great opportunity for discipleship.
If you continue to work with that person, you continue to live on their street, you
continue to have a friendship or continue to be at family gatherings, it's a great follow-up
with that person.
That's where your testimony is going to come into play.
If you want those people to listen to you, you need to show them a good testimony.
Matthew chapter 5 says this in verse 13, you're the salt of the earth, but if the salt have
lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?
It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of
men.
A testimony that tastes exactly like the world is a worthless testimony.
So don't give me this, we have to be like the world to win the world.
Because if you taste like them anyway, you're good for nothing, God says.
You need to have the saltiness and distinct flavor of being of God's people.
He says, you're the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick and give it
light unto all that are in the house, let your light so shine before men that they may
see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
That has to do with your testimony.
Where they see your good works, they see the good deeds, they see the lifestyle.
The Bible says we are ambassadors for Christ.
And so if we are ambassadors for Christ, we need to ask ourselves, are we a good testimony
of Jesus?
Are we a good example?
Are we representing Christ well or are we representing Christ poorly in this world?
Because if we had an ambassador come from some country that we'd never heard of, our
whole view of that country would just be based on that one guy.
I mean think about it, what if you didn't know anything about Nigeria for example?
And then you met the girls from our church that are from Nigeria, that's what you think
a Nigerian is like.
You know, whether you have a good view of Nigeria or bad is based on the one Nigerians
that you met.
Well here's the thing, we're ambassadors for Christ and people are forming opinions about
Christianity based on our life.
We need to let our light shine and we need to have the salt that has not lost its savor.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father we thank you so much Lord for your word and for your unspeakable gift of salvation
Lord and we thank you so much for this ministry of reconciliation that you've given us.
What a privilege it is to be an ambassador for Christ.
What a treasure we have of the gospel.
And Lord, none of us is perfect.
We all make mistakes in all of the four areas that have been mentioned and we all soil our
testimony from time to time but Lord help us because of our love for you to strive to
have the best possible testimony that we can and to really try to adorn the doctrine
of God and our savior in all things and in Jesus' name we pray, amen.