ATTN: One of the struggles I had with the juniors and seniors that I taught at Tacoma Baptist School was with playing word games. For example, I’d say, “No calculator allowed for this test.” One of them will say, “but you didn’t tell us that before.” I’ll say. Yes, I did. I said beginning of the semester that no calculators are allowed unless you are specifically allowed for a particular portion of the test. They would say, “but I don’t see it written on the test that we can’t use it.” I’ll say, “that’s why I’m telling you that you can’t use it.” “Can we use our phone, then?” I’ll say, “Not if you are going to use it as a calculator.” They will say, “Technically, it’s not a calculator. It’s a phone. So, can we use it?” I’d say, “no.” They will say “why not?” You know what they are doing? They are trying to stall and make me talk and cut into their test time so that they can say, “It’s already 10 minutes into the test and we haven’ started it yet. So, can we take it tomorrow?”

When I was younger, I used to think that more guile you have and more loopholes you can find in the system, the better off you would be. You know, beat the system, so to speak. “Look at me everyone! I’m not a victim of the system. I’m so smart I beat the system!” But Jesus’ words, “unless you become like little children, you will certainly not enter into the kingdom of heaven,” hits you between the eye of thinking like that. A child has no guile. A child doesn’t know how to play word games. A child is not looking for loophole in the system to beat it. Jesus was not trying to get out of suffering and death. He was looking for a way to get INTO it! And He tells us to follow Him…

The people who belong to the kingdom are vastly different from the people who belong to the world. It is the people who belong to the world, ironically, who try to beat the system of the world. But those who belong to the kingdom, we don’t care so much about beating the system of the world because we don’t belong to it. Therefore, we don’t play word games and live according to completely different rules.

Let me mention three things: A person who belongs to the kingdom has 1) consistency, 2) continuity, and 3) commitment.

1. Consistency between when no one’s looking and when someone’s looking

Think about why a person needs to swear. “I swear to God that I will pay you back the money that I owe you by this time next year!” He’s swearing to something higher than himself, because it is assumed that his word by itself isn’t good enough. He can’t just say, “I promise that I will pay you back the money,” but rather, “I swear to something higher than me, like God, to make you believe how serious I am about what I’m promising.” But if this person knows that he is always before God whether he is alone or whether he is with others, he will always act consistently. If he has to resort to swearing in order to show people how serious he is, that shows that he is one way when alone and another way when he’s with other people. Jesus calls this, “hypocrisy!” The reason why we need to sign contracts and can’t just shake our hands any more is because there are so many people who will say one thing and will do another. “Oh, yeah, I will pay child support…” And then when the bill is due, it’s not there. So, we have to go to the court to get him to sign a contract that states that if he doesn’t pay, then he goes to jail. Why? Because he says one thing and does another.

A person who belongs to the kingdom is consistent inside out. Whether he is by himself or with others, he is the same. Whether the boss is around or not, he works hard the same way because he is working for his ultimate boss – which is God. Whether the cop is holding the radar gun or not, he drives the same way – the speed limit! Whether the teacher is there or not, this honest student works diligently on his test without cheating. He is consistent whether anyone is watching or not because he knows that God is always watching. That is what Jesus is saying that a person of integrity does. Whether anyone is watching or not, you will do what you promise and so you don’t need to invoke a higher authority to convince others that you are serious.

APP: If you want to know what a man or a woman is made up of, watch how they do little things. Things that don’t seem to matter really to anyone. If they get up for a big event and lots of people and they perform up to their potential, but when there isn’t a big crowd, they do a shoddy job, then that person is a hypocrite. He is really only doing it for himself, his reputation and not for God. Watch how a preacher prepares and preaches when it is just a handful of elderlies or teenagers. If he gets up for a big crowd and thrills them with his passion but when it is small and less influential, he gets sloppy, you know what he’s made of. When the project is worth millions and you will get an opportunity for exposure, you put in your best foot forward, but when it’s just your co-workers and the same old boss, you do just enough to get by, then you know what you are made of. You only do what is on your job description and would never go beyond it unless they pay you for overtime, then you know who you are working for – the almighty dollar!

It really does come down to one question. Who are you working for? Money? Yourself? Or God? Are you consistent whether someone’s watching or not because you know God is watching at all times?

2. Continuity between secular and sacred (or between godly and worldly)

A person who belongs to the kingdom will also have continuity between secular and sacred. What I mean is that this person will not separate between what is secular (godly) and what is sacred (worldly). In other words, in his mind, it’s not that certain things are sacred – like church, worship, Christian music – and certain things are secular – like school, job, or sports. To this person, everything can be sacred if he takes it by faith – acknowledging that it is given for our own good by a loving and gracious God. Romans 14:4 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.

That great preacher from two centuries ago, Spurgeon, says, “To a man who lives unto God nothing is secular, everything is sacred. He puts on his workday garment and it is a vestment to him. He sits down to his meal and it is a sacrament. He goes forth to his labor, and therein exercises the office of the priesthood. His breath is incense and his life a sacrifice. He sleeps on the bosom of God, and lives and moves in the divine presence.”

In today’s vernacular, he’s saying this: It’s not that coming to church is spiritual and watching the Warriors play the Cavaliers is unspiritual. It’s not that talking to God in prayer is spiritual, but talking to our wife about our kids is unspiritual. What make a thing spiritual or unspiritual is not the thing in itself or an act itself, but it’s who we are doing it for. So, you could be taking the communion at church and if you are doing it because you just want to taste the little bread and drink the juice with no god in mind, then it becomes unspiritual. But you are having coffee at Starbucks with your friends, enjoying each other’s company and thanking God for it, then that becomes spiritual. An unbelieving New Testament professor at a university is studying the Bible simply as an ancient text with many myths and archaic teachings, it’s unspiritual. However, a teenager who is studying the bible because he wants to know God is spiritual. Same act – both are studying the bible – but one act is unspiritual and the other act is spiritual. So the act itself does not make the thing sacred or secular but it’s who we are doing it for. 1 Timothy 4:4, “4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,”

Spurgeon puts it this way for Christians, “The sacred has absorbed the secular.” In other words, whatever we are to do, we are to do it to the glory of God. If we cannot do it to the glory of God, then we ought not do it.

From our text today, the way the Israelites thought about spiritual and unspiritual or sacred and secular is that “If I’m invoking the name of God, then it’s sacred and holy and so I better follow through.” But I’m making a promise to my children or to my friends, it doesn’t really matter because it’s secular – it’s optional. But Jesus rejects that. And says when we give our answer, “yes” or “no”, we are always doing it before God, and therefore, we shouldn’t have to resort to “I swear by the God of the Bible…”

APP: So, here are some things that Christians should not say according to this teaching: 1) “You are at church. So behave!” That won’t cut it. If he’s at church, he’s being watched by God and if he’s not, he’s not being watched? Besides, we meet at a school building, so that would definitely not work! Instead, you could be at a ball field and you say, “You are a child of God! Act in a way that would be fitting your status as the child of the king!” 2) Or a pastor chiding his children, “Don’t you know you are a PK (Pastor’s kids). So, you better behave.” It shouldn’t matter whether you are a PK or not. You should be behaving for the sake of God. 3) Oh, by the way, you know that this means that there is no divide between clergy and laymen either. That pastors and missionaries are somehow special type of people with special callings and everyone else just common. No. We are all called into our vocation, and wherever we are, whether in Seattle as a designer, or in Tacoma as a banker or at a public school as a teacher or staying home with the kids, that is our place of ministry. No, by ministry, I don’t mean that you necessarily have to lead everyone around to Christ, and conduct their weddings and funerals… But you ought to do your work as if you are doing it unto the Lord, producing the best design, most conscientious report, swift diaper change, to the best of your abilities for the glory of God. Imbue your life with meaning. It should never be “just” another job. You are working for the Master through your earthly master (boss).

3. Committed to one thing rather than straddling in between.

A person who belongs to the kingdom is a committed person. v. 37, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” Simply put, commit to either “yes” or “no.” Not “maybe.” There is a fascinating passage later on in the book of Matthew where Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and say, “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his both.” (Matthew 23:16). What Jesus is pointing out is this: A Pharisee would say, “I swear by the temple of God that I will pay you back the money I owe you by this time next year.” And the next year comes around and he doesn’t have the money. And money is demanded, he says, “Oh, did I swear by the temple of God? Well, that wasn’t valid then. Because I was supposed to swear by the gold of the temple if it is to be valid. So, I don’t have to keep my word and pay you this year…”

How the Israelites must’ve abused this system of swearing is that they would make a promise and then they would break it but they would give an excuse that they didn’t have to keep their promise because it wasn’t really done to the Lord. I didn’t swear to the gold of the temple and so that wasn’t valid. It’s a like a child who says, “Well, I don’t have to do what I promised because I had my fingers crossed when I promised…” Getting away on technicality…

What essentially this allowed the people to be is noncommittal. They can say something now, but change their mind later because they can give any excuse to do so. But Jesus is saying, let your yes be yes and no be no. In other words, make up your mind and stick with it. Commit to one thing and not straddle between two choices!

ILL: I can’t tell you how relevant this is to us living in the 21^st century. We love our “god of options” as one pastor said. We are sort of half-in just in case something better comes along for us. We are never fully, all-in. We always keep our options open because we don’t want to get stuck with one thing when something better comes along. For example, you send out an Evite for a Superbowl party.  If you invite 30 people, 3 people will say “yes.” (the old people) 5 “peole will say no” (usually the young moms) and you get 22 maybes (mostly young adults) Why? Because what if something better comes along? I don’t want to get stuck with going to the party if my friends do decide to do something more fun. So, I’m going to say “maybe” now, and then wait till the last moment and if nothing better comes along, then I will come. We love our god of options!

We think we are being free when we do that. We are keeping our options open, and being free, so that we can go this way or that if we so change our mind. What we don’t realize is that we are becoming enslaved to our own whims. What determines what we do is not what we ought to do but what we feel like doing at the moment. We become slaves to our own feelings and whims that are constantly changing. Free like the wind? More like, empty and meaningless like the wind…

This is ubiquitous – it’s everywhere. When we are dating, we keep one eye open in case “The the one comes along.” Even after we are married, we keep our eyes open in case there is one who is better. When it comes to church, we do the same. Going from place to place, treating it more like a shopping mall than family. To be fair, pastors do the same too. Average tenure of a pastor at a church is 3 years – always looking for a better pay, bigger facility, warmer climate.  It really is selfish. Everything revolves around you. Everyone and everything is there to serve you! But no one gets inspired by people like that! What are we most inspired by? When a mom sacrifices herself to care for the baby even though she would die. When a firefighter rescues a little child at the peril of his own life. When soldiers go to war to defend their country and in the process giving up their lives. When a missionary sacrifices his life and his family in order to save people from hell…. No one has ever inspired anyone who kept his options open and never committed to anyone in case something better came along. And God is not impressed either.

Why are we inspired by the gospel story? What Jesus has done. Because He was committed. He was committed to his disciples and his father’s mission. He never detracted one bit from it. With ever last drop of his blood shed in keeping committed to his cause, he gave his all. And He is committed to us. And it’s not even “until death do us apart”. It’s even through death, He will not be apart from us.

CONC: Would you pray with me that we will be the kind of people who will be fitting for the kingdom of God? That, we will be consistent whether anyone is watching or no because ultimately we are accountable to God who sees everything. That we will keep the continuity between sacred and secular and absorb the secular with the sacred. That we will commit to one another, putting to death the god of options.