Are We Too Respectable?

Luke 15:1-32 – “Does Religion make a difference? Air Bases up in Japan and Arabia have their religions. Why bother them with ours?”

I: The Ministry of Jesus Was Marked by Scandal.
1. All his life he lived under the shadow of the Virgin birth.
2. His preaching offended the Church Officials.
3. He kept company with sinners.
4. He never compromised the gospel to gain a following.
5. He was crucified and put to open shame by religious leaders.

II: The Early Christians Were Not Very Respectable.
1. In their first revival they were accused of being drunk.
2. They were ignored because they were a small group.
3. When they turned the world upside down they were put to shame and death.
4. They took the gospel from house to house at the cost of all they possessed.
5. They did more in a hundred years than all the churches combined can now do in a hundred years.

III: Are We too Respectable?
1. Contract our present love of comfort and ease.
2. Would we endanger our respect of the community and friends for the cause of Christ?
3. Would we spend like they did?

IV: Negative Goodness Not Enough.
1. The Pharisees were full of negative goodness. “Thou shall not.”
2. Negative goodness may conceal a proud spirit.
3. Negative goodness may conceal a wicked heart.
4. Negative goodness may conceal a heart without compassion.
5. Negative goodness a heart cold with selfishness. It was respectable religion that refused to seek the lost, suffer the cost, and hear the cross.
6. Negative goodness was what Jesus Condemned in Luke 15.
7. Negative goodness knows about the lost sheep, Pain & Sin.
8. Negative goodness is Content to sing. “I go where you want me to go… onward Christian Soldier.”
9. Negative goodness Kills the Church at Tehatchapi because it has lost its desire to go.

Our Christianity is to Respectable if we have no Compassion.