Message: “Growing in Jesus vs. Religious Moralism (Isaiah 1:10-18)” from Dr. David Carey Dixon

A message from the series "Sunday Service." As we start off this new fall season, we want to avoid falling into our same old patterns and ruts from last year! We don’t want to be stuck in our old carnal mentality, but learn how to GROW in Christ. The invitation to follow Jesus is not about following a set of rules and practicing religious rituals (“moralism”). Moralism focuses on keeping moral rules geared toward producing a set of “proper behaviors.” But our first problem in life is not about following rules and staying within legal parameters; our first problem is relational, and this is why the solution had to be relational. God’s law was introduced through Moses precisely in order to guide His people toward right-relatedness – to God Himself and to one another. But our sin nature (our inclincation toward idolatry = our rejection of His authority) was too deeply rooted in humanity’s heart to be undone by our attempts at rule-keeping.

Dr. David Carey Dixon - October 15, 2023

If the Foundations Are Destroyed, What Can the Righteous Do? (Luke 11:-14-28)

If the Foundations Are Destroyed, What Can the Righteous Do? (Luke 11:-14-28)

How do we carry the burden of other people’s tragedies, empathize without being overwhelmed, persevere in caring for the weary and wounded (even when your own wounds may be festering)? What do we do when the attempt to empathize and help others carry their burdens wears us down? What comeback do we have when the enemy confronts us with the claim that the foundations are being destroyed – and the world situation seems to bear it out – and the conclusion seems logical that there’s nothing to be done but shrug our shoulders and fall into mere “survival mode”? How does a Christian respond to a world that seems determined to destroy us all? How do we keep our sanity in the midst of so much chaos going on all around us? Compassion fatigue is a term that describes the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of helping others (often through experiences of stress or trauma), without adequate breaks or support. Our world’s many hotspots of violence, terrorism, war, starvation, and other human tragedies can quickly bring us to the border of compassion collapse. One prominent psychologist tells us that trauma victims will be the new missions frontier of the 21 st century (Diane Langberg). How do we keep our sanity in the midst of so much chaos going on in our world right now? There has to be a reference point for it that’s much bigger than we are. In Ps. 11, the answer to the question about what can the righteous do seems to be that there’s nothing to be done; the cause is hopeless; we may as well give up and just focus on self. But the psalmist’s answer is about affirming the truth of God’s sovereignty: He’s on His throne, in His holy temple; no matter how disastrous the outlook, He sees, He tests the children of Adam, He examines the righteous, but He despises the wicked and their violence; they will not ultimately triumph.

Scripture References: Luke 11:14-28

Related Topics: Burden, Luke 11:14-28, Suffering, Tragedies | More Messages from Dr. David Carey Dixon | Download Audio

From Series: "Sunday Service"

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