Rev. David Holwick F [adapted from May 23, 2010, sermon]
Congregational Church of Bristol
Bristol, Maine
September 17, 2023
Ephesians 5:15-17
SAVED FROM STUPID
I. Stupid people are everywhere.
A. Actual crimes committed by actual criminals:
Two Kentucky men tried to pull off the front of a cash machine
by running a chain from the machine to the bumper of their
pickup truck.
The front panel of the ATM was so secure that instead they
pulled off the bumper of their truck.
Scared, they fled the scene and drove home, leaving the chain
attached to the ATM
... with their bumper still attached to the chain
... with their vehicle's license plate still attached to the
bumper.
A man walked into a convenience store, put a $20 bill on the
counter, and asked for change.
When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun
and demanded all the cash in the register, which the clerk
promptly provided.
The man grabbed the cash from the clerk and fled - leaving the
$20 bill on the counter.
The total amount of cash he got from the drawer?
Fifteen dollars.
In San Francisco a man walked into a downtown Bank of America
and wrote, "This is a stickup. Put all your many in this bag."
While standing in line waiting to give his note to the teller,
he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and
might call the police before he reached the teller window.
So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to Wells
Fargo.
After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the
Wells Fargo teller.
She read it and guessed from his spelling errors that he was
not the brightest bank robber in the world.
So she told him that she could not accept his stickup note
because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip.
He would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or
go back to the Bank of America.
Looking somewhat defeated, the man said okay and left the Wells
Fargo Bank.
The Wells Fargo teller then called the police, who arrested him
a few minutes later as he was waiting in line back at the
Bank of America.
#18672
B. Stupidity isn't limited to criminals.
1) A foolish world rejected Jesus.
The preacher Harry Emerson Fosdick once said that Jesus was
"Crucified by Stupidity."
He said the leaders of the people had small, closed minds.
The people themselves made stupid choices.
And the whole Passion story of the gospels breathes with the
stupidity of taking the short view of life. #17068
2) Christians can be pretty stupid, too.
a) We sometimes believe stupid things about our faith.
b) We have a reputation for being ignorant about science,
philosophy, and even our own beliefs. [Reddit thread]
c) As a matter of fact, surveys show that atheists tend
to know more about the Bible and Christian doctrine
than evangelical Christians do!
d) That's why we need to follow Paul's advice and be wise
about how we live, and not foolish.
II. Christians started out with a reputation for being dumb.
A. Paul gets somewhat defensive about it. 1 Cor 1:26-27
1) Not many of them were wise by the standards of the world.
2) Few were influential or from the upper classes; most were
slaves.
3) Paul sees this as part of God's plan - the lowly people
find God and the high ones don't.
a) Therefore we cannot attain salvation by our own efforts.
b) And so we cannot brag about something we can't do, but
can only give all the glory to God.
B. Early Christians were not necessarily stupid, but uneducated.
All the way back in AD 177, anti-Christian philosopher Celsus
mockingly wrote this:
"The following are the rules laid down by [Christians]:
'Let no one come to us who has been educated, or who
is wise or prudent (for such qualifications are
deemed evil by us);
but if there be any ignorant, or unintelligent, or
uneducated, or foolish persons, let them come
with confidence.'
They...are able to gain over only the silly, and
the mean, and the stupid, with women & children."
C. Plenty of Christians are very smart.
1) Many geniuses and highly accomplished people have believed
in Jesus.
2) The gospel is very smart and explains human nature best.
3) But sometimes Christians take this smartness and use it in
a dumb way.
III. Don't believe stupid things.
A. In world's way of thinking, most of what we believe is stupid.
1) Resurrection, life after death, angels, miracles.
2) Hard-to-believe stories in the Bible.
B. We do not help matters when we seek truth in a dumb way.
1) Some areas where Christians can fall short.
IV. Five mistakes every Christian should avoid.
A. Uncritical acceptance of "proof."
1) Contemporary examples: Noah's Ark and the Shroud of Turin.
a) Many Christians think both exist as physical objects
and are genuine.
b) Noah's Ark would prove the Bible is true.
c) The Shroud of Turin would prove Jesus was really
resurrected.
1> 1.5 million people made reservations to see the
shroud when it was shown in Italy.
2) There are problems with both of them.
a) The problem with the Ark is that it gets discovered -
every few years or so.
1> In 2009, a group of Chinese and Turkish
explorers claimed to have found it and filmed
the wooden interior.
2> Every expedition to find the ark claims to
successfully find it.
b) The Shroud of Turin has been shown to be no older
than the Middle Ages, according to carbon 14 dating.
1> Evidence of paint has been found in the fibers.
2> The image is unrealistic - the hands conveniently
cover his private parts, which wouldn't happen
in real life.
3> And the Bible itself describes a separate cloth
for his head rather than a single long sheet.
3) Evidence to support our faith is fine, but don't grasp at
every claim that pops up.
a) Our confidence is in the Bible as the Word of God,
not in gopher wood or a piece of cloth.
#36212
B. Seeing too much good.
1) Christians want to be positive, and nice, so we often make
overly optimistic assessments.
a) But truth sometimes is not positive and nice.
b) The prophet Jeremiah preached hard truth, while the
false prophets (wrongly) preached easy peace. Jer 6:14
"They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
'Peace, peace,' they say,
when there is no peace."
c) Sometimes God fulfills promises, and other times he
fulfills judgment.
2) You don't always get what you want.
a) Genuine faith is more than positive thinking.
b) It is realistic thinking.
3) At the same time, beware of realism becoming fatalism.
The United States has more tornadoes than anywhere
else on earth.
Hundreds are killed by them each year.
But researchers have found an interesting anomaly.
Death rates from tornadoes vary by region.
Southerners are most likely to be killed, whereas
Midwesterners are less likely.
Why?
Researchers believe it is because the Bible Belt is more
fatalistic.
Billy Bob the Baptist sees a funnel cloud and calls out,
"Mary Lou, get the kids! We're going to meet Jesus!"
In the Midwest, Connie the Congregationalist sees a funnel
cloud and calls out, "Robert, get the kids!
Get them in the basement before it hits!"
After the storm, the Congregationalists come out and bury
all the Baptists.
Joking aside, I think there is some truth to this.
Because their lives are in God's hands, evangelicals
pay less attention to consequences than they should.
#33860
C. Seeing too many coincidences.
1) I was visited by a mentally ill guy a few years ago.
He was pleasant, but definitely a little "off."
He knew there was a God, because he was paid $7.00
to do a job, and the serial number on one of
the bills contained the numbers 7-0-0.
Pretty amazing, huh?
2) Christians can also read more into circumstances than
God intended.
a) Any and every event is given meaning by God, but
that doesn't mean it will be obvious to you.
b) Judas got 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus.
He probably told himself, "This money is great!
God must approve of what I have done!"
c) Don't guide your life by positive or negative
coincidences, but by the clear teaching of the Bible.
D. Seeing too many enemies.
1) Many Christians are suckers for conspiracy theories.
a) FCC taking Christ off the airwaves, etc.
b) COVID was a ploy for government to insert microchips
in your body so they could track you, just like 666.
(conveyed to me by a member of my first church)
2) The world as we know it is filled with misinformation.
a) There are a lot of ideas that are floating around out
there that just aren't true.
b) But because they have been spoken and repeated so many
times we just assume that they are true.
3) Just because something negative seems to be in line with
what we believe, don't automatically accept it.
E. Magical thinking.
1) The temptation to convert religion into superstition.
a) If I pray a certain way, or cross myself, or never miss
communion, I will get what I want from God.
b) Conversely, if I miss communion, everything will go
wrong for me that week.
(The reaction I got after proposing we skip communion
due to special circumstances that month.)
2) God does not give us a magic wand.
a) There will always be mystery in how he operates.
V. Don't believe the right things in a stupid way.
A. Be careful of speaking above your level of knowledge.
1) Christians have a tendency to want to sound spiritual and
informed.
a) So, we will launch into some subject that we don't
really know what we are talking about.
b) One of my favorite illustrations is the guy who has
never read the book of Revelation but he has read
all of the "Left Behind" novels.
So now believes he is an expert on the Second Coming.
He will give everybody his opinions and tell everyone
what is what.
c) Sure, he has read Lahaye and Jenkins but he hasn't read
Jesus Christ.
2) You are not an expert on everything.
a) Christians tend to spout off on any topic.
3) Recognize your area of expertise.
a) As Proverbs 18:2 warns,
"Fools find no pleasure in understanding,
but delight in airing their own opinions."
B. Don't say stupid things.
1) Pat Robertson used to get into trouble repeatedly in this
area, attributing a disaster to homosexuals, and so on.
a) He objected that his words were taken out of context.
b) Perhaps so, but Christians should be aware that people
will always focus on our missteps.
1> Don't give them that opportunity.
2) Speak, and live, as if people are watching closely.
1 Peter 3:15 - we must say the truth, in a wise and gentle
way.
Ephesians 5:15 - we must live wisely, giving careful
thought to what God's will really is.
a) Our own reputation is secondary, but the reputation of
Jesus matters a lot.
VI. We are all stupid sometimes.
A. We should admit it when we are wrong.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 - "There is no one on earth who is righteous,
no one who does what is right and never sins."
1) The Millerites.
In the 1840s, a New York farmer by the name of William
Miller began predicting that the world was coming to an
end on April 3, 1843, from his calculations from the
Bible.
He wasn't a professional preacher, but he was a Baptist, so
he gave sermons filled with hellfire and the coming
destruction, to overflowing crowds.
On April 3rd, thousands of Miller's followers prepared for
the worst.
Some committed suicide, or murdered family members, in the
belief that the dead would not have to pass through any
suffering in the last days.
But God didn't return that day.
So Miller changed the date. A couple of times.
But each time, nothing happened.
Eventually he himself died, and his tombstone simply reads,
"At the time appointed, the end shall be."
I have no problem with this statement.
But some Christians wouldn't settle for that.
So they argued that Miller was correct and Jesus had come
when Miller said, but he came spiritually instead of
physically and set up a special judgment for believers.
(The Seventh Day Adventists grew out of this.)
Instead of admitting they were wrong, they reinterpreted
the event.
2) In our time, Harold Camping did the same thing.
a) First he predicted Jesus would return in 1994.
1> His book that promoted that fudged somewhat by
putting a question mark in the title.
2> Nine years later he predicted Jesus would return
on May 21, 2011.
A> I knew an engineer in New Jersey who painted
messages on his van to promote this.
B> He also liquated much of his retirement savings.
3> When Jesus didn't return on May 21, Camping revised
it to say Jesus had returned spiritually on that
date, and his physical return would be
October 21.
b) In March 2012, Camping said his attempt to predict a
date was sinful, and his critics had been right.
B. Learn to be wise instead of stupid.
1) Use your mind, as the Bible tells us to.
a) Ignorance is not spiritual.
2) Use the Bible, correctly.
a) Proof-texting - believing something is true because
of a single verse - is dangerous.
b) Study how the whole Bible works together.
3) Be open to seeing the truth all around you.
In 1979, Lee Strobel's wife became a Christian and she
invited her husband to church with her.
Lee was a journalist with legal training.
He claimed to be an atheist.
He observed great positive changes in his wife once she
gave her life to Christ.
Once shy, her faith had brought her out of her shell.
So Lee agreed to attend a service with his wife.
He was astonished by the way the service "seemed to hit me
where I was at."
That morning the sermon spoke to him.
The pastor even used illustrations about motorcycling which
Lee liked and could identify with.
Lee made an important discovery, "The church could be
relevant, that it could have implications for my life
today."
The people in the church were wonderful to him.
They took his questions seriously, they responded
non-defensively and more importantly non-judgmentally.
They didn't claim to have all the answers.
They didn't pressure him.
They gave him time to reflect at his own pace.
He discovered the genuine faith of the people in that church.
"They believe this stuff!" he later wrote.
Lee's wife helped him come to a faith that he could claim
as his own.
"That's when I committed my life to Christ," Lee said.
#2785
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 2785 "This Is Your Next Step," Dynamic Preaching (www.sermons.com) Disk,
second Sunday of March, 1993; original source: George G. Hunter,
"How to Reach Secular People." Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992,
pp. 164-165.
#17068 "Jesus Was Crucified By Stupidity," by Wayne Brouwer, (original
source unknown); April 7, 2002.
#18672 "Sin Is Stupid," Nick Lica Illustration Collection, quoting from
Wayne Rice, STILL MORE HOT ILLUSTRATION FOR YOUTH TALKS
(Zondervan), pages 51-52.
#36212 "Real Enough? — Relics, Gopher Wood, and the Sufficiency of
Scripture," by Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., President of Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, <http://www.albertmohler.com>,
May 13, 2010.
#36236 "Reinterpreting Reality," by David Holwick. Some of the details
of this illustration are derived from the article "Great
Disappointment" in Wikipedia.org.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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