A. Due to their carnal minds, men of the world and sometimes even professing Christians respond to the precepts of God's word with a question: "Are you serious?"
B. For a Christian, any answer about God's word should be emphatic: "Yes, I am serious."
1. This is because the precepts of God's word are more serious than just life and death. They show the path to eternal life, or else we are left with eternal death.
2. Let us consider a few matters that are jokes to the world, but they should be serious for Christians.
II. YES, I AM SERIOUS!
A. I am serious when I say that Christians must believe in the Bible's account of creation.
1. The first verse of the Bible says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1), and Christians must believe this.
a. If that is true, then everything that follows in the Bible is of the utmost importance. Because God is Creator of all, He is also Lord of all, and His word governs all.
b. If that is not true, then nothing else in the Bible matters. It is pointless for anyone to attempt to believe or abide by any part of Scripture if he does not believe in Genesis 1:1.
2. The biblical account of creation is a specific, historical record that is not to be interpreted figuratively or allegorically. Therefore, Christians must believe in the literal six days of creation.
a. The days of creation are plainly defined in Genesis 1 as evening and morning. These are ordinary twenty-four hour days by any standard.
b. The events of the six days of creation are plainly described in Genesis 1. God literally created the whole universe in six days.
c. Jesus Himself believed in the Bible's account of creation, for He testified of it and was the means by which all was created (Matt. 19:4; John 1:1-3).
3. Belief in the biblical account of creation is no more optional for Christians than belief in Jesus, for we understand both by faith, and we obtain that faith from the word of God (Rom. 10:17).
a. We were not present to witness creation, but "by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible" (Heb. 11:3).
b. Likewise, we were not present to witness the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1Cor. 15:1-4), but Peter says "though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory" (1Pet. 1:8).
c. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11:6), so to please God we must believe in all that God's word says about creation, Jesus, or anything or anyone else.
4. The Bible account of creation is no fairy tale or myth. It is God's honest and serious truth.
B. I am serious when I say that Christians must make Christ their highest priority.
1. Jesus set this mandate plainly when He showed that nothing and no one should come before Him.
a. For those who place their families above the Lord Jesus, He says, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:37).
b. For those who place their acquisition of life's necessities above the Lord's kingdom, He says, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matt. 6:33).
c. For those who place their own lives about the Lord Jesus, He says in Matthew 16:24-26:
24"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
d. All of these are important and can be correctly overseen and managed in the service of Christ, but Christ Himself must come before them all.
2. It is easy to think that Christ has preeminence in your life until there is a conflict between the demands of Christ and the demands of family, occupation, or self. When the conflicts arise, then your true priority will be made evident.
3. Putting Christ first is not just for a few, elite believers. It is a serious necessity for all Christians.
C. I am serious when I say that Christians must manage their households by God's word.
1. Marriage is the narrowly defined institution of a God-sanctioned union between one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6). "Let marriage be held in honor among all" (Heb. 13:4).
2. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church, and wives are to submit to their husbands as the church submits to Christ (Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18-19; Tit. 2:4-5).
3. Divorce is the dissolution of the marriage union which God hates (Mal. 2:16). Furthermore, God tolerates the marriage of divorced persons only when the cause of divorce was adultery (Matt. 5:32; 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18; Rom. 7:1-3).
4. Children are gifts from God, and they are to be loved by their mothers and raised by their fathers in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ps. 127:3-5; Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:20; Tit. 2:4). Moreover, they are to submit to their parents in obedience (Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20).
5. Men are to provide for their own families (even their elderly parents) and work for their own support (Eph. 4:28; 2Thess. 3:6-12; 1Tim. 5:4, 8). Wives are to be workers at home (Tit. 2:5).
6. Who could have imagined that we would see the day when the world laughs at these "old-fashioned" notions? The world may laugh, but their accountability before God is deadly serious.
D. I am serious when I say that Christians must separate from the world.
1. Many passages demand that Christians be separated from the world (John 13:18-20; 18:36; Phil. 2:15; 1Pet. 2:11-12; 1John 3:1). One passage that stands out among these is 2Corinthians 6:14-18:
14Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord. "And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. 18And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me," says the Lord Almighty.
2. Our associations with people matter because they affect who we are and influence what we do.
a. The commandment is simple: "Do not be bound together with unbelievers."
b. We do not have to cut off all contact with unbelievers, for 1Corinthians 5:9-10 explains:
9I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
c. Instead, we cannot have partnership, fellowship, or harmony with persons of the world.
d. In fact, the fellowship we have with other Christians who are given to worldly behavior must be severed as 1Corinthians 5:11 demands:
But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler -- not even to eat with such a one.
e. Whether dealing with unbelievers or apostate Christians, fellowship with them is destructive to our souls. Remember 1Corinthians 15:33 -- Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."
3. Separating from the world is not the idea of a fanatical cult. It is the serious requirement of God.
E. I am serious when I say that what Christians watch, hear, and read matters.
1. In Colossians 2:8, we are told, "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ."
2. One way to see to this is to avoid taking into our minds the world's philosophy, empty deception, traditions, and elementary principles that contradict Christ.
3. Another way is to fill our minds with godly, heavenly thoughts.
a. Philippians 4:8 -- Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
b. Colossians 3:2 -- Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
4. In practical terms, this means abstaining from godless TV programs, movies, websites, books, etc., and partaking in godly messages and means of building up your faith in Christ.
5. Rejecting worldly media is not an overreaction. It is a serious prescription for spiritual safety.
