A Man Fell
in a Hole
Family Worship Center
Pastor Mark Schwarzbauer, Ph.D. January 24, 2016
Our 2016 theme is Building Your Foundation. The foundation of Christianity is very
different from the other religions of the world. Today we will consider one of the
important ways in which it differs and how that makes a difference for you.
Text: Romans 7:21-24 Video: A Man Fell in a Hole
Part One: A Man Fell in a Hole
I.
II.
III.
A parable about …
A. The man represents humanity… us… you.
B. What is the hole?
Romans 7:21-24.
A. I want to do good but…
B. The law of sin and death.
Who will deliver me?
Part Two: Religion and the Hole
I.
II.
III.
Are all religions the same?
A. Only those very unknowledgeable think all religions are the same.
B. Some erroneously think they all lead to the “same God.”
C. In the bankrupt concepts of post-modernistic relativism they see no absolute
truth except the absolute truth that there is no absolute truth!
So what about religion?
A. Many terrorists are “religious.”
B. Much of the world’s persecution is from religious either theistic or atheistic.
1. Islamic terrorism is becoming common today.
2. As Nietzsche predicted~ Atheistic Regimes of Hitler, Stalin & Mao kill
140 million – more in 1 century than all religions in all of history combined.
C. Most religions can help people become better people to an extent.
D. But, the man remained in the hole.
Religion still leaves the man in the hole.
A. Religions fail but does that mean everything they say is wrong?
B. Is meditation bad? Is it wrong to purify your mind? Is it a mistake to do good
deeds or pray five times a day? (No, of course not)
C. Then why didn’t they work?
D. According to the passage we read in Romans 7, they failed on account of
human nature.
E. All those religions attempt to improve the human condition by discipline, will
power, concentration, or perspective.
F. But the problem of sin is within us. Yes, we are in the hole, but the hole is
also within us.
IV. Buddhism- Nirvana (meaning “blown out”) snuff out the candle of self - reaching
Nirvana all suffering would cease- but the man remained in the hole.
V. More Buddhism- the hole doesn’t exist and neither does the man- but the man
who did not exist was still stuck in the hole that was not there.
VI. Hinduism- Karma leaves you to die stuck in the hole.
VII. Islam- keeps people in the hole requiring both faith and good works (next week).
VIII.
Religious forms of Christianity without the power of God do the same (2
Timothy 3:5).
IX. Even good religion still leaves the man in the hole.
Part Three: Another Man Climbed in the Hole
I.
II.
III.
Jesus climbing into the pit—became one of us—to lift us out.
Romans 7:25-8:4.
This is a key difference in Christianity.
A. God sent His one and only Son for us.
B. Instead of man searching for God Christianity is God searching for man.
C. It’s all about love anchored in the cross.
Closing: The God shaped hole… Blaise Pascal… What else does this craving, and
this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that
now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around
him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none
can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object—in
other words, by God Himself.
Discussion items and questions for home and small group
1. In your own words, explain why only those who are very unknowledgeable think all
religions are the same.
2. How is Christianity different?
3. Why is it essential to be anchored to the cross?
4. Pray for each other.