Jeremiah 5:30-6:21 "The Ancient Paths" Jeremiah's message is as true today as it was 2500 years ago. "Stand at the crossroads and look-- ask for the ancient paths. Ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. . . . But you said, 'we will NOT walk in it.'" A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land. Pastors preach lies, and elders rule by their own authority, and God's people love it this way. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; Pastors and elders alike all practice deceit. They brazenly stand in their pulpits and dress the wounds of my people as though they were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say--when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of what they are saying? No, they proclaim it as if it were the Word of God. God has appointed me a watchman, and the watchman must warn the people of dangers: Let me give you some examples: We may not hear about this much but throughout the evangelical world a new gospel is taking root. Some evangelical pastors and theologians openly teach that a person who is culturally conditioned by another religion may understand and reject the gospel in this life, but be offered salvation after he dies, so that he might have a fair chance. Increasingly, evangelicals are suggesting that while salvation is always through the work of Christ, it is not necessarily connected to the Holy Spirit's working through the preaching of the Word of God. The uniqueness and sufficiency of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, in the Church, and the Scripture are all being called into question--and God's people like it this way. There are people who simply cannot believe that God would send their Mormon friend to hell-- after all, they are so moral, so nice! If we do not understand the doctrine of sin, we will see no need for repentance, and grace is no longer grace. A second issue is the mutilation of the worship of God, where people add to or subtract from what God has commanded. Most of the serious problems here are in the mainline churches, where they sometimes blend the worship of God with the idolatry of Sophia, or other religions. But even in evangelical circles, the biblical feminist movement wants to address God as Mother, the church growth movement wants to turn worship into entertainment, and most Christians have lost their respect for the Lord's Day. There are women who are confused about who God is-- many of whom are struggling with sexual abuse from their own fathers. They find it impossible to address God as "Father" But rather than deal with their broken hearts, some simply tell them to call God "Mother" instead. There are people who think that modernizing worship is the only way to attract new members --but these people don't realize that the main reason why visitors stay is because they see the love of Christ Arguing about worship style is something a church does when it has lost sight of the ancient paths of love and mercy. A third issue is the incredible materialism of our churches. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain! This country used to be a nation of small businessmen and farmers; now it is a nation of multinational corporations and shopping malls. We are seeing what happens when a nation is overrun by greed. There are people who are transferred halfway across the country because their company doesn't give a hoot about the welfare of their family. And yet we are told that since this is good for the economy, we shouldn't worry about what it does to the family. You can find economic systems that are more oppressive than ours-- but it would be hard to find one that is as good at deceiving people into thinking that it is good for them! I don't have all the answers to these problems, --but Jeremiah speaks to a people who are complacent in their sins: "to whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me?" The answers which Jeremiah pointed towards were found in the Law of God --the ancient paths of life and wisdom. That call was offensive in his day, and it is offensive in ours, because he told his people to seek the ancient paths --and the people loved to be modern. Every generation has seen its new paths, its "modern" ways, and in every generation God has raised up his prophets, his apostles, his pastors and teachers, who call his people back to the ancient paths. There are three ways in which Jeremiah calls the people back to the ancient paths: 1) in doctrine 2) in worship 3) in everyday living But these ancient paths, for Jeremiah, are not merely "the way we've always done things" --rather, the ancient path is the way of life--the way of wisdom-- the way which God has commanded his people to follow. Later, in 18:15 Jeremiah contrasts the ancient paths with bypaths-- "Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in the ancient paths. They made them walk in bypaths, not the highway." Imagine, if you will, a crossroads: One road is an ancient highway-- The other a little country byway. One road has been laid down by the king and is maintained and guarded by his decree the other is a haunt of robbers and thieves, winding its way through the deserted hill country. God has set but one path to life--one way to find rest-- and he called the people of Judah to walk in that way-- and they refused. They have chosen to walk in their own ways-- according to their own wisdom-- and so God declares that his judgment is coming upon Judah. The picture of vv2-3 at first sounds like a rather idyllic portrait (read) but then in vv4-5 we learn that they are a marauding army Why had judgment come? In the law--in Deuteronomy 30--God had set two ways--two paths--before the Israelites-- the way of life and the way of death. If they loved the Lord their God, and obeyed his commandments, then they would live long in the land with his blessing. But if they rebelled against him, and neglected his law, then he would drive them out of the land, and reject them. Throughout Israel's history God had shown great patience with his people, and for hundreds of years he put up with their rebellion and idolatry-- and for centuries Judah continued its checkered history-- sometimes repenting of their sins, but always returning to their wicked ways. Finally, in the days of Jeremiah, God declared that Judah had gone too far. Do not think for a moment that Judah had totally abandoned Yahweh. They still worshipped in his temple, their prophets still prophesied in his name, their priests still offered the sacrifices, their scribes still taught from the law, but they were not doing these things as God had commanded. They worshipped in the temple-- but 7:30 says that they worshipped several gods, and not Yahweh only. The prophets prophesied in his name, but 6:13-14 says that they prophesied lies, and did not heed the Word of the Lord. The priests still offered sacrifices, but 7:20-23 says that the sacrifices were empty and hollow, because they had neglected the commandments of God. The scribes still taught from the law, but 8:8 says that "the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely." In short, the people had not abandoned the worship of Yahweh, rather, they had added to it, and subtracted from it. Therefore, as God declared in 6:20, "Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; nor your sacrifices sweet to me." God's people had abandoned the ancient ways-- the Law of God-- where God had set down the true way of worshipping him-- and had turned to their own ways, new ways which seemed good in their own eyes, but were abominable in the eyes of God. Jeremiah outlines at least three ways in which Judah had abandoned the ancient paths: 1) they were proclaiming falsehood in the name of Yahweh 2) they had added to and subtracted from the worship of Yahweh 3) they were oppressing the poor for financial gain These three things haven't changed. They are the same three things which I suggested at the beginning that we face in the church today. The pressures and demands of modernity are not new. They take different forms, but they exist in all ages. There is an incessant desire in the human heart for something new. That's not always bad, because ever since the fall, there is always something wrong with the way things are. And even in Jeremiah there is a promise of something new. In chapter 31, verses 31-32, we read God's promise: (read) A new covenant. A new way. A covenant that "will not be like" the covenant God made with their forefathers? Jeremiah had spent his whole life calling the people back to the ancient paths, and now God says that he is going to Did God abandon the ancient paths? the way of life, to which Jeremiah had called the people? Listen to the next two verses: (read 31:33-34) The old covenant--the one made at Sinai--was broken. Israel had failed to love God with all their hearts and minds, WHY? because God's law had not been put in their minds, or written on their hearts. The problem was not with the ancient paths--the way of life-- the problem was with God's people. So now God promised to provide a new covenant which would succeed where the other had failed. The Law could not provide the righteousness which God required. Therefore God provided a new way in the coming of the Messiah--Jesus Christ. BUT notice what the new way is: Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the law. He walked the ancient paths, in order that all might be fulfilled. In his passive obedience--what was done to him, he suffered, died, and rose again, satisfying the wrath of God against sin, In his active obedience--what he did, he perfectly obeyed the law in our place, providing righteousness and life for all his people. Our sin was placed upon Christ as a result of his passive obedience. But his righteousness has been placed upon us as a result of his active obedience. He was judged in our place--and received the wrath and curse of God. We were judged in his place--and received the grace and blessing of God. The new covenant, then, is actually the result of what happens when Jesus Christ walked the ancient paths. It is impossible for a sinful descendant of Adam to perfectly walk in the ancient paths-- but Jesus Christ walked that good way, and in his resurrection, he found rest for his soul-- as Jeremiah had promised in 6:16. And that is why Jesus declared in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me." By perfectly obeying the Law, he has become the ancient path-- the good way which gives rest to his people. That is why he said in Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Jesus Christ alone is the ancient path which you and I must tread. He is the way of life-- all other ways lead to death. You must place your confidence entirely in the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ-- the trailblazer--the pathfinder-- the one who has gone before his people to make a way. God warned his people 2500 years ago that their offerings and sacrifices would not be acceptable to him unless they followed the ancient paths revealed in his word. God warns you today that your worship will not be acceptable to him unless you follow the ancient paths revealed in his word. Now, you worship well on Sundays, but Jeremiah warns the people in chapter seven that the reason why God is rejecting their public worship is because they have neglected his Word during the rest of their lives. The only way to worship God acceptably on Sunday is if you are seeking to love and obey God during the rest of the week. that is, if you are seeking the ancient paths found only in Jesus Christ. How do you walk on these ancient paths? Chapter 7 of Jeremiah outlines two failings of Judah: They have ignored those who are in need, and they have followed other gods. They have failed to love God, and they have failed to love others. Or to put it positively-- you must love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength, and you must love your neighbor as yourself. Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is to look at the early church. In Acts 2:42 we are told that the early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and to prayer. We do three of those things fairly well-- the preaching of the Word, the sacraments, and prayer. They, however, excelled also in fellowship eating together in each others homes regularly, as we are told in verse 46-- sharing their lives together, encouraging one another, praying with one another. They did not follow the latest trends-- rather they followed Christ in the face of persecution and danger. You and I do not face such persecution as they, yet we are shamed by the love which they had for one another. Our culture is similar in many ways to the one faced by Jeremiah-- it is fascinated by new things, new ideas, new paths. We tend to think that newer is better, without ever asking why newer is better. The cartoon character Shoe once drew attention to this: he was sitting at his computer when a friend came up and told him that for a couple hundred dollars he could get a new upgrade. "Why?" Shoe asked. "To make your computer run faster," was the reply. "Why?" His friend stood there--night came, and his friend could still make no answer. Why does everything have to be newer, and better, and faster? In the age of the Pentium processor and Windows '95, a church which preaches a 2000 year old gospel, and sings psalms from the ancient Hebrews and hymns from all eras of church history may seem out of date. But we stand with thousands-- nay, millions of faithful believers from all times and all places as a testimony to the faithfulness of God --and our preaching, our worship, and our daily living should reflect that. Listen to Hebrews 12:22-24 Every Sunday we walk the ancient paths with those who went before us-- as they drew upon the resources of those who had gone before them in order to be faithful to the Word of God. We must also walk the ancient paths during the week, seeking to love those around us having mercy on those who are suffering giving comfort to the afflicted and speaking boldly of the grace of God in Christ Jesus What is modern will change-- from modernism to post-modernism, from naturalism to the New Age, but the ancient paths remain forever true. Over 100 years have passed since Friedrich Nietzsche declared that God was dead. Since that time, dozens of philosophical paradigms have come and gone, but the gospel of Jesus Christ has endured. (T-SHIRT) The church is not to be a mirror of the culture-- that is what had happened in Jeremiah's day. Rather the church is to stand like Jeremiah as a witness against the modernity of our culture. The church is to stand as a witness to the ancient paths found in Jesus Christ alone. Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it. and you will find rest for your souls.