John Piper from a sermon in 1991:
My son Benjamin got his driver's license Thursday. Now I have two under-21 sons on my auto insurance policy. So I called the agent to ask how much more this is going to cost me. The secretary said it would cost $782 dollars more per year. Or if he has the good student discount, $456 more. So if you can get the school counselor to sign the form, you can save $326 dollars next year, she said. The catch is: the small print on the form says that the good student discount only applies to 11th graders and above, and Ben is in the 10th grade. She suggested that they probably would not read the small print.
I wonder if you see now what that has to do with authentic worship and this new sanctuary? Jesus said, "Take heed of every form of covetousness, for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15). And: do not bear false witness (Matthew 19:18). And: "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5).
Now, knowing all that, what if I had taken the suggestion of that secretary and rationalized: the school doesn't care; the agent doesn't care; there would be $326 more to use to pay for this building; and so I filled it out and sent it in, saying Benjamin is in the 11th grade? And then I had walked into this new sanctuary this morning and lifted my voice in worship and said, "I love you, Jesus; I stand in awe of you; I trust in you; you mean more to me than anything; I love your ways; I love your words; I love your promises and provisions; I love everything about you; I worship you"?
I think Jesus would shake his head in heaven and say: no, John Piper, that is not real. That is not acceptable. It's a sham. It's inauthentic. If I were your everything, you would not rationalize a lie to save $326. You are making your new sanctuary into a place of empty religious noise. The test of authenticity in a new sanctuary on Sunday is obedience on Monday—joyful, free, radical, Christlike obedience.
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