Matt Chandler - Making Much of His Name

If you have your Bibles, would you please go ahead and grab them? Matthew Chapter 5 is where we’re going to camp out during our time together today. This is the last week of our «Recovering Redemption» series, a 12-week journey that we began well, 12 weeks ago. I want to take this final session in the series to land the plane. So, let me condense the last 12 weeks into about five minutes.

What we discussed is that we started this series by acknowledging the reality that there are either external issues or internal issues that reveal something’s not quite right with us. Sometimes these issues are external and manifest as relational problems or behaviors detrimental to our emotional, spiritual, or physical health. Other times, those issues are internal; they haven’t truly manifested externally. We might just feel anxious or struggle with a kind of melancholy darkness. We said these feelings are symptomatic—they’re not the actual problem. Too often, we try to address these symptoms as if they are the problem. When we do that, nothing good can come of it because we’re treating the symptom rather than the disease. If you know anything about medicine, treating only the symptoms without addressing the disease leaves you perpetually on new or different medications, trying to manage the issues.

These symptoms point to a greater problem, which is that we have, because of sin, been cut off from our Creator. The whole idea of redemption or reconciliation is to restore us to the way things ought to be. You and I, broken away from our Creator because of sin, are on paths that won’t lead us to a greater, richer, fuller, more pleasurable life. The lies we’ve bought into suggest that we need to be better versions of ourselves. If we had the time, almost everyone would agree to that. The belief that just being a better version of ourselves will solve everything is pervasive. We’ve said repeatedly that if you are the problem, a better version of you simply cannot suffice.

Then there’s the prevalent lie in our culture that we need someone else to complete us. This constant search for someone who can make us feel better or fulfill our dreams can be toxic. We might not even be seeking a romantic partner but rather a group of friends who respect and honor us, hoping to gain entry into that inner circle of «cool kids,» which still exists even at 40. God help us; if God could just mature us past junior high, that would be an epic win. Ultimately, if I could just get into that inner circle or have people validate what I do, we end up trapped in a cycle of needing validation, which often leads to enslavement.

Then there’s the lie that says, «Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.» This pursuit of worldliness leads to everything from selling out for material possessions—all of which will just become the stuff of future garage sales—to pursuing fleeting pleasures that ultimately bring guilt and shame.

And, for many of us, there are attempts to solve our problems through external moral religion. The first part of this series was focused on the fact that this approach won’t work because it doesn’t address the true issue. The problem is our hearts, not just our actions. If the heart doesn’t change, we will never truly be free. Simply trying to resolve to behave differently is not God’s desire for you according to the gospel.

God has reconciled us to Himself, not by demanding strict adherence to a moral code but by sending the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to live a completely perfect life. Jesus was completely obedient to every command God gave him. He was fully man yet perfect and blameless; no accusation could be made against him. In fact, I’ll go on record saying I don’t think he ever misbehaved in the nursery! So, Jesus is fully man but also fully God, blameless, perfect, and entirely obedient. He went to the cross and absorbed God’s wrath towards those who would become children of God. I say this purposefully: He absorbed every bit of God’s wrath for those who would become believers.