my sermon, and a fundamentalist's sermon

a)

Tomorrow I'm preaching at my Church. Here's an excerpt if you're interested:

Sinner, you are never your own

Genesis 4:5-7
5So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."

God’s warning is for all of us: sin desires us. Not in the sense of a suitor, wishing to take us to the movies, offer us its class ring, and ask us to go steady with him. Sin desires to gain dominion over us. Sin wants us as his slaves.

A common question in evangelistic presentations is to ask the hearer whether they desire that God rule over them, or that they continue to occupy the throne of their life. Although this language of self-dominion is Biblical, Scripture also sheds light onto the real situation. No one is king of their own castle. The Bible says that all are slaves.

“I don’t want someone else in control of my life” is the number one objection to the Gospel I hear from students overseas. The very popular reference to sin’s consequences in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death” shows the foolishness of this thinking if and only if you explain this semi-verse in its context.

When Paul says “wages” he means wages. He is discussing the difference between two masters: sin and God. There are no other options, you will either be ruled by one or loyal to another. Let us consider the text in question:

22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The sinner desires that no one rules over them but is tragically blind to reality. There are two choices: God or sin. Who do you want to be your master?

God is a demanding master. He asks that you give him everything. You’ve got to come on His terms. But He gives all His unworthy slaves the same free gift – sanctification in this life and eternal life in the next. This means gradual freedom from sin in this life, and total freedom in the next.

Sin is the opposite. He is merciless and cruel but initially easy-going. He let’s you have weekends off, gives you tonnes of seemingly good benefits, and is never demanding. You can slack off and joke around all you want. But the payment is death. No retirement fund or bonuses, just death.

Is this not what God is warning Cain about? Cain chose sin. Sin offered quick release from anger and an immediate sense of relief. It felt good. But sin has one desire, to own and destroy.

There are two lives – slavery to Sin and slavery to God. Who is the better master? Who offers the better future?

Sin is not only desirable, but sin has a desire, and that is to enslave you. Hear the warning of God; follow Abel’s example and have faith in the sacrifice of a substitute’s blood given for your sins. Repent and run to the good master who laid down His life for His slaves. Submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

b)
Few people I run into know what a "Fundamentalist" Christian is theologically. It pretty much means this (or just google it):

Paul - "Hey Steve, wanna go to the evening service at Bayside Baptist?"
Steve - "No way, Bayside believes (insert theology Steve doesn't agree with). I can't fellowship with them."

Steve is a fundamentalist. He believes in the doctrine of separation (fundamentalist-style). Now, some of them believe in double separation, which goes like this:

Paul - "What about going to Angel Grove?"
Steve - "No way, they do evangelistic meetings with Bayside."

Of course, it is not surprising if you've associated these things with fundamentalists:
- only hymns
- hate Christian rock
- cessationists
- KJV-only
- suits and ties
- don't drink or chew or go with girls who do

But we should get our terms straight. Click here to see a rather interesting excerpt from a sermon by a fundamentalist, but here's what you should know about this guy:
- Hardcore KJV-Only
- Hardcore Baptist
- Hates Calvinism
- Hates "Lordship Salvation"
- Has very clear and extreme opinions on clothing and gender roles
- There are far more..... normal fundamentalists out there

Enjoy.