MYTH BUSTING

TheBible

Series Outline• The Big Reveal

• What’s the big deal?

• PROVING the Myth

• DISPROVING the Myth

• Busted?

“The Lord helps those who help themselves.”

What’s the Big Deal?• “The Lord helps those who help themselves.”

• How is this phrase applied in our lives today? What are its implications?

• What’s the danger of misapplication?

Special Note...• No, this phrase is not found in the Bible.

• Rooted in ancient Greece, Aesop’s fables (+/- 600 BC).

– Moral to a story about Hercules, of all things.

• Used by Ben Franklin

George Barna• 75% of Americans believe this phrase comes from the Bible.

• 81% of non-evangelical Christians believe it’s from the Bible.

• 68% of evangelical Christians believe it’s from the Bible.

• 75% of American teenagers identify this phrase is the central message of the Bible.– Most quoted “commandment” on Jay Leno skit.

Although not found in the Bible, the phrase is supported by scripture and is a relevant teaching.

Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

PROVERBS 10:4

Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.

PROVERBS 12:24

The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are

fully satisfied.

PROVERBS 13:4

Proverbs• Clear messages about the consequences of laziness.

• Being a sluggard is an undeniably unfavorable trait from a Biblical perspective.

• Where does wealth, blessing, and success come from?

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away

from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the

teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to

follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were

with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” We hear that some among you are idle.

They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and

urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never

tire of doing what is right.

If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take

special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:6-15

Idle Warning• Summary of Paul’s instructions about idle brothers:– Keep away from him.– Paul set the example of paying for what he ate.

– Paul set the example of tireless work and not being a burden on anyone.

– A man should work for (earn) the bread he eats.

– Such a man should be noted and warned and is subject to shame.

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-

minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the

Lord, and he will lift you up.

JAMES 4:8-10

Working to Salvation• “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

• “Wash your hands.”• “Purify your hearts.”• “Grieve.”• “Mourn.”• “Wail.”• “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

The phrase is not only not found in the Bible, but it’s contrary to the Christian message of grace!

Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who

does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is

credited as righteousness.

ROMANS 4:4-5

This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his

strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

JEREMIAH 17:5

Wages of Flesh• Work = Wages, Wages ≠ Gift

• Credit of righteousness?– “Does not work but trusts in God.”

• We are cursed if we “trust in man” or “depend on the flesh” for our strength.

• Such turns our hearts away from God.

You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving

against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the

ruthless is stilled.

ISAIAH 25:4-5

Unmerited Help• The Bible is full of examples of God taking mercy on (helping!) those who are in need and/or unable to help themselves.

• Refuge for the “poor, needy, in distress.”

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on

everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the

temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself:

‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers,

adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and

give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

LUKE 18:9-14

Unjustified• The antagonist in this parable was “confident in his own righteousness.” – (His work before God.)

• He compared himself to everyone else who was falling well below is own personal standard.

• Went home “unjustified.”

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died

for the ungodly.

ROMANS 5:6

Helpless Themselves• Jesus favors the heart and mind of a child vs. our “grown up” ways.

• Jesus, though exhausted, took pity on the crowd because they appeared as lost sheep without a shepherd.

• Jesus seemed to spend most of His time and energy helping those who were looking for help, rather than getting a good start at it on their own...

YUP.

In Context...• We are warned against idleness and laziness.

• We are encouraged by Scripture to make the most of the talents we have been given.

• We are told, however, to be humble and not to trust in our own strength, works, or accomplishments.

The Breaking Straw• The phrase is often a shield we hide behind to shirk giving aid to those who are in need.

• We reassure ourselves that it’s God’s deal to help the needy, and we just need to make sure we’re not a burden to anyone.

• That mindset is a sandbag tied to a spiritual helium balloon.

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are

cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me

nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed

clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not

look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth,

whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to

eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

MATTHEW 25:41-45

Application• Don’t encourage the idle. Yet...

• The sun will never set on a day where you have eliminated need within your arm’s reach.

• “The Lord delights in those who help others.”