Ron Dunn Podcast - The Sufficiency of Christ - Part 4

Episode Date: June 18, 2014

You are listening to the Ron Dunn Podcast. Ron Dunn is a well-known author and was one of the most in-demand preachers during the latter part of the 20th century. He led Bible studies all over the United States, Europe, and South Africa. For more information and resources from Ron Dunn, please visit rondunn.com. I want you to open your Bibles tonight to the book of Colossians chapter 3. The book of Colossians chapter 3. Last night we dealt with verses 1 through 14.

And I think you could say of those verses, especially beginning in verse 12 where he tells us what we're to clothe ourselves with, you could say of those verses through 12 through 17 that that is a picture of the church as it should be. Anybody ever listen to Rush Lombaugh on the radio? What's his last name? Limbaugh. Lombaugh, Limbaugh, Limbaugh.

Anyway, that fellow. Anybody ever listen to him? Yeah, we listen to him. Well, he's got a book out called The Way Things Ought to Be. The Way Things Ought to Be. I haven't read the book, but I do love the title. And I think that if Paul had wanted to entitle this particular section of Scripture, he could have called it The Way Things Ought to Be.

Beginning with verse 12 to the end of the chapter, verse 17, you have a picture of the church as it ought to be. It is a church that has cast off the old works of the former life and has put on the clothes of the new life, the clothes of Christ-like activity, the clothes of Christ-like activity and the clothes of Christ-like reactions. We are to be well-dressed Christians, he says. We ought to be well-dressed in the Lord, wearing what is fashionable for believers to wear. This is a picture of the church as it should be. But it's not just enough to have the clothes.

Sometimes people say clothes make the man. They do not. It's not just enough to have the clothes. Sometimes people say clothes make the man. They do not. It's not just enough to have on the right clothes and to be in the latest fashion. Sometimes you can be all dressed up and don't know how to get to where you're going. And one of the things that I appreciate about the Bible so much

is that it never leaves us empty handed. I mean, it touches every base really and truly. Sometimes you don't see it that way, but that is simply because you have not yet, or I have not yet, seen what is there. But the Bible touches all the bases and browns us out to be a complete person in the Lord Jesus Christ. So I want to read tonight the last three verses of that chapter, verses 15, 16, and 17. After Paul has told us what we're to put off and then what we are to put on and how we are to look, now he tells us, gives us some guidelines for walking and for practicing and for living. I'm calling this tonight Guidelines

for Godly Living. I think one of the most frustrating things that many Christians encounter is, how do I know from day to day to day how to live? Every day I'll face a dozen or a hundred decisions. I'll have opportunities to say this or do this, to turn it down or to accept it. How do I know? How do I know day by day, moment by moment, that I'm walking as Christ would have me to walk? Well, there are some guidelines that the apostle Paul gives us, namely three, verses 15 through 17. Paul says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace and be thankful. Let the word of Now, I want you to God the Father through him.

Now, I want you to notice the three expressions in those verses. The peace of Christ in verse 15, the word of Christ in verse 16, and the name of Christ in verse 17. These three are the guidelines that Paul intends us to use to live a godly life. How do I know how I should behave day by day? Well, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Let the word of Christ dwell in your hearts. And whatever you do, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now, I want you to notice that at the end of each one of those verses,

there is a reference to gratitude and thanksgiving. Have you noticed that? In verse 12, excuse me, in verse 15, he says, and be thankful. In verse 16, we're to do these things with gratitude in your hearts to God. And in verse 17, we're to do this giving thanks to God the Father through him. Now, don't you find that just a little remarkable? That in three successive verses, Paul ends those verses in the same way, talking about thanksgiving and gratitude to the Lord. Actually, what you have in verses 16 and 17 are the responses of a heart grateful to God for what he's done in our life. The motivation for Christian living,

the motivation for pure living, for a pure heart, is gratitude to God for the grace that He's given to us. Now, if you were here last night, and I think that many of you were, most of you were, you'll notice that in the last night we talked about in verse 5 of chapter 3 where Paul tells us we're to put to death things like fornication and impurity and immorality. Now the night before that, I preached from chapter 2 of Colossians. And coming to the end of the message, I made this statement that the Christian life is not a rule book religion. That you don't live by don't do this, don't do this, don't do this. And you'll notice in verse 21 of that second chapter, he says, makes these three statements, do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.

Now note, most Bible scholars will agree that when he uses that expression, do not handle, he's referring there to morality or immorality. And when he says do not touch, he's referring to wine. And when he says, do not taste, he's referring to certain kinds of food. But notice that he says, do not handle. In other words, abstain from immorality. Now, if you only had just that, you might say, well, I mean, you know, you've got all these do's and don'ts. They're not scriptural. They're not scriptural. And if we live by grace and not by rules, if we're not to be walking in rule book religion,

then that leaves me free to do whatever I wanna do. But if you notice, as we came down to chapter three, Paul came around to verse five and said, now I may have told you in chapter two that you're not to live by rules and regulations, but I wanna tell you something, you're still not supposed to have acts of immorality and adultery.

In other words, everything has to do with the motive of why you do things or don't do things. If my religion is simply a matter of being afraid of God in such a way that I have all these do's and don'ts and most of their don'ts, that's the wrong motivation. This doesn't mean that I'm to live with license. This doesn't mean that I'm to just live any way I want to. No, I live a holy life. I am to live a holy and pure life, but not because I'm living by rules and regulations, but because of what Jesus Christ has done in my heart.

My behavior is an expression of what God has done in my heart, you see. And Paul had to fight this constantly, especially you'll find it over in the book of Romans. Paul's message, of course, was that we're justified by faith apart from works alone. And in Romans, he really gets tough. He says, no man is justified by works of the law.

He says, you can keep the law all you want to, but it will not justify you. A person is justified only by faith. God saved Abraham, not because he did these things, but because he believed and that we are justified by faith apart from works. Well, there were people who came to Paul and said, Paul, if you preach that kind of religion, my goodness,

you're gonna give people a license to go out here and do anything they want to, see? No, you've got to keep the law, Paul, to make people behave themselves. You've got to have those rules and regulations to make folks toe the mark. If you just say you're not saved by keeping law and you're just saved by believing, well, then you'll have people who will go around saying, doesn't matter what I do as long as I believe right, you see. I can go out here and live like the devil if I want to, as long as I believe.

But you see, they were misunderstanding the nature of salvation. What Paul is saying is this, listen, when Christ comes into the life of a person, when God saves a man, when the change is wrought by the grace of God, he lives a pure life, not because of rules and regulations, but he lives a pure life

because now the motivation comes within. He has tasted the goodness of the Lord and the Lord has been so good to him in saving him and cleansing him from his sin. His desire is to please the Lord in all things. Motivation is everything, folks. Motivation is everything. When Paul preaches that a person is justified by faith,

he does not mean that you and I have to live less holy lives. It means that we still live a holy life and even a more holy life than ever before, but we do it because it is the response, it is the spontaneous reaction of the grace of God working in our hearts. And so when Paul gives us these three guidelines,

the peace of Christ, the word of Christ, and the name of Christ, he ends each one of these with a reference to gratitude, a reference to thanksgiving. I don't do these things because God makes me do them. I do these things because, oh, I'm just so grateful to God for what he's done in my life. I'm so grateful for how he has saved me from the dominion of darkness and transplanted me in the kingdom of his light. I'm so grateful. I want to do everything I can to please him and So let us look at these three statements. The peace of Christ, the word of Christ, and the name of Christ. First of all, the peace of Christ.

Paul says in verse 15. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Now, there are two ways the word peace is used in the New Testament. Sometimes you'll read the peace of God. Other times you'll read peace with God. For instance, in Romans chapter 5, Paul says, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Other times he talks about the peace of God. Now there's a difference between peace with God and the peace of God. Every believer in this room tonight has peace with God, but every believer in this room tonight has peace with God. But every believer in this room does not necessarily have the peace of God.

We've all got peace with God. That happens automatically when you and I become a Christian. Peace with God simply means the war is over between God and myself. Hostilities have been brought to an end. There is no more enmity. I have surrendered. The Lord has conquered me. I've given up in full surrender. And now the war is over. No more shooting, no more hatred, no more hostility.

I now have peace with God. The fighting is over. And when a person comes to Jesus Christ, immediately he has peace with God. But it really means more than just the fighting is over. The richness of that expression, having peace with God, means that not only is the fighting over between us and God, but that now we have been brought into a position where God can bless us. We've been brought under His blessings. And with the peace of God comes all manner of goodness and blessings that God pours out on us. Years ago, there was a movie. First it was a book and then it was a movie starring Peter Sellers called The Mouse That Roared.

I wonder if anybody ever read that book or saw that movie. It's 30 years ago, I guess. The Mouse That Roared. Well, the mouse there is talking about a tiny little country over in Europe, just about the size of a postage stamp. You could probably drive across it and cab fare, something like this. It's a small country. And they're going bankrupt, or they are bankrupt. And so they are trying to see how in the world are we going to get out of this bankruptcy. And they come up with this ploy.

We will declare war against the United States. We will go to war against the United States. And then when the United States defeats us, then they'll pour all this foreign aid into us, you saw. Because that's the way America does it. It goes over there and bombs the daylights out of a city and then gives all that money to build it back better than it was. That's the American way. That's what makes America great. When Japan had peace with America, you know what that did?

Not only did it mean the fighting was over, but it meant we started pouring millions and millions of dollars in there to rebuild their city. Now that's peace with God, you see. When I come to Christ, not only is the war over, but I'm in a position now where God can bless me like He wants to. God can shower upon me all His good things. That's the peace with God. Every believer has that.

But then there is the peace of God. Philippians chapter 4, verse 6 and 7, a couple of my favorite verses. Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And when you do this and the peace of God, the peace of God shall stand guard over your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. There is peace with God. And then there is the peace of God. Peace with God is objective. Everybody has that automatically when they're saved. Peace of God is objective. Everybody has that automatically when they're saved. Peace of God is subjective, and you may not have that. What is the peace of God?

Well, it's God's own peace. It is the tranquility of spirit. It is the heart at rest. It is that calm assurance that everything is right in your life. Can you ever imagine seeing God upset or anxious or touchy? No, God is at peace. I may get uptight about things that are going on. I may be worrying about the presidential election right now, but I assure you folks, God is not losing one minute's sleep over what's going down on this earth.

He knows what's going on. He has it all in control, whether it looks like it to us or not. He's got it all in control and His sovereignty, and He is at perfect peace about it all. Now, the peace of God or the peace of Christ is when God shares that peace with us. And when there is in my heart that inner tranquility, that inner assurance that things are right.

You know what I'm talking about, don't you? The heart at rest. Not anxious, not troubled, but there is a serenity about it. Oh, there may be a battle going on in your life, but right in here, there is that calm assurance that God is in control. That's the peace of Christ. Now, here's what Paul says. Paul says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. The word rule means to act as arbitrator or to act as an umpire. As a matter of fact, I think the Williams translation translates it umpire. The Beck translation says,

let the peace of Christ be in you to make your decisions for you. Let the peace of Christ be the arbitrator, be the umpire in your life. Now, what is an arbitrator? What is an umpire? What's a referee? Well, he's the one that blows the whistle on you

when you step out of bounds. He's the one that throws the flag when you make a foul. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you had a heavenly umpire around with you all the time, and so anytime you stepped out of bounds, he'd blow the whistle on you, and you could know when you'd stepped out of bounds. Wouldn't that be great? Well, the fact of the matter is you and I do have a heavenly umpire going around with us all the time. You know what it is?

It's the peace of Christ in our hearts. Now, Paul says, let the peace of Christ be in your heart to act as the umpire, to make the decisions. In other words, he's saying, don't do anything that disturbs your peace. For instance, I'm pretty much at peace right now. I really do. I really do. You know, I know pretty much at peace right now. I really do. I really do.

You know, I know right now at this moment, I'm right where God wants me to be. And as far as I know, everything is right in my life. And there is that inner calm, that inner assurance. There is that tranquility. But let's suppose that you come to me and you say, Brother Dunn, we want you to come over here and pastor this church over here on the other side of town. I say, all right, I'll do it. And the minute

I say that, boy, I begin to feel troubled in my heart. I don't feel good about that decision. Boy, I made that decision kind of quick. Should have prayed about that. Don't feel good about it. I don't feel good about it. You know what that is? That's a piece of Christ saying, hey, you stepped out of bounds on that one. Sometimes people will say, well, you pray about this matter and I'll start to pray about it. And there's a check, there's a restraint on my spirit. I just really, I don't, I don't feel right about it. I just, I just, I don't know. It just doesn't feel right. When that happens, I back off because I believe that's the peace of Christ telling me to back off. Anything that disrupts that peace, anything that disturbs that inner tranquility,

back off from it, you see. You make a decision. You say, I'm going to do this. And you start out making that decision, going down that road. But the minute you go down that road, boy, you just don't have any peace about it. You're kind of upset about it.

I don't know. It's just, hmm, boy, I just don't feel right about this. That's the peace of Christ. Don't do anything to disturb that peace. When you're walking in the will of God, there will be that tranquility. There will be that inner assurance. When you step out of that will,

that peace will be disturbed. And Paul says, let that be the ruler. Let that be the umpire. Let him make the decisions for you. So, I know this much. This is one check. This is one guideline I can live with. I know this, that I am to do nothing, to say nothing,

that disturbs that peace. And when I do, I'm to back off from it, and I'm to make it right. Oh, by the way, actually, Paul here is not speaking just to individual Christians, but he is speaking to the whole church. For you notice he says that you were called, since as members of one body, you were called to peace. He's not talking here primarily just about individual Christians. He's talking about the church as a whole, your church, Sherwood Baptist Church.

What are you to do as a church? You're to let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Each one of you individually, let it rule in your hearts. If the peace of Christ is ruling in your heart, it will rule in the church. And if you want to keep your church in the right spiritual atmosphere and you want to maintain the fellowship

and the spirit that you have, you make certain that each one in his heart does only those things that are complementary to the peace of Christ. And as long as there's peace in your heart, there will be peace in this church. But don't do anything, not as a church, not as an individual, don't do anything that will disturb the peace that God has given in this church. Don't do anything that will disturb that peace. Now, that doesn't mean peace at any price. That doesn't mean that you don't stand up for right and wrong. It doesn't mean that at all.

But it means that in those affairs where I have my own personal opinion, and I have a, maybe I've got a rag I want to chew on or something like this, and what I'm going to do, what I'm going to say is really just going to disrupt the peace of the fellowship. Paul says, don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do anything that will disrupt the God-given peace in this heart. I think that's what Paul means in Ephesians chapter 4, when he says we are to preserve the unity of the Spirit. You see, you and I can't produce the unity of the fellowship. The Holy Spirit produces it, but it's my responsibility to preserve it, make sure it's safe. So he says, let the peace of Christ rule in your heart.

The second guideline is this, verse 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Now the Word of Christ is what I'm holding in my hand, as well as the message of Christ. Now he says, you take this message, you take this word, you let it dwell in your hearts and let it dwell in your hearts richly. The word dwell there means to settle down permanently, to be at rest, to take up permanent residence in your heart.

Paul says, here is a guideline for godly living. These guidelines are eternal in their duration and they're universal in their application. There is no situation in life which these things do not apply and they'll always apply until Jesus comes back again. Universal in their application, eternal in their duration. And here it is, let the word of their application, eternal in their duration. And here it is. Let the word of Christ dwell richly in your heart.

In other words, let the word of Christ take up permanent residence in your heart. Let the word of God be at home in your heart and be home richly. Let it be at home in your heart. Now, the other night we went over to the pastor's house. He told me to make myself at home. I'm told that quite a bit.

It's the polite thing to do when you have guests. You say, Brother Dunn, just make yourself at home. Now, folks, he didn't mean that. Nobody means that. I've often wondered what would happen if I took them up on it. You go into somebody's home maybe, and they're going to be in the kitchen preparing the meal. I said, now, Brother Don, you just make yourself at home.

I said, okay, I will. And I get up and I begin to wander around the house. I go into the bedroom, the master bedroom, look under the bed, see what's under there. I go over to the closet and I open up the closet and I go through the shoe boxes up there and see what's in them. I begin to go through the pockets

of the suits and jackets hanging there. And then I go over to the dresser and the bureau and I begin pulling out all those drawers and seeing what's in there. And the lady of the suits and jackets hanging there. And then I go over to the dresser and the bureau and I begin pulling out all those drawers and seeing what's in there. And the lady of the house comes in and she says, what in the world are you doing? I'm making myself at home. I mean, when I'm home,

I can go through the closets if I want to. When I'm home, I can look under the bed if I want to. When I'm home, I can dump out all the drawers. I'm just doing what you said, making myself at home. No, they don't mean that. What they mean is, Brother Dunn, be as comfortable as you can dump out all the drawers. I'm just doing what you said, making myself at home. No, they don't mean that. What they mean is, Brother Dunn, be as comfortable as you can right here in this spot. Oh, you know how it is, don't you?

You're sitting around one night, and you're having your food on a TV tray in front of the television, and the evening newspapers are spread all around, and there's a knock at the door. They say, oh my goodness, let's clean this place up, clean this up. Well, what we'll do is just shut the door so nobody can see how messy it is in here, you know. And so you walk in, they got all the doors shut and they keep you right there in the little foyer.

Now, why don't they open the doors? Well, because they don't want you to see all the trash that's in those rooms, so they shut the door. They're not gonna let you be at home there. Now, the fact of the matter is, folks, most of us treat the Bible like a guest, not in our home, in our hotel, checkout times, 12 noon Sunday.

Oh, we want the Word of God to be in our hearts. Oh, yes, Lord, you're just as welcome as you can be. Come into my life and come into my heart and make yourself at home right there in that corner. I don't want you rummaging around, though, in my heart. There's some doors that I've got shut. I don't want you in there. Oh, we want the Word of God in our hearts all right.

We love good preaching. We love good singing. We love all that. Wouldn't miss coming to church if our life depended on it. And we welcome the Lord into our heart, into the foyer of our heart.ended on it. And we welcomed the Lord into our heart, into the foyer of our heart, but we shut doors. Let me ask you a question. Last night, when we were talking about impurity, immorality, and anger, and wrath, and all those things, did you shut a door or two in your heart?

I'm not going to let the Lord get near me on that. Boom, shut the door. Have you given this week the Word full access to every corner of your heart? Is it at home? Is it at home? Prophet Hosea, God speaking to that prophet, said, you have treated my Word like a stranger.

What did he mean by that? Well, you've treated my word like an alien, like a foreigner. Of course, foreigners, aliens could come and live in the land of Israel. Naturally they could, oh yes they could. They could live there. They could earn their living there. They could pay taxes there.

They could die there. They could have their children there, but they could not vote there. They could earn their living there. They could pay taxes there. They could die there. They could have their children there, but they could not vote there. No matter how much they contributed to the society, no matter how well thought of they were, if they were aliens, if they were strangers, then when any issue came up to be voted upon, they had no say so in it at all. Kay and I were in South Africa earlier this year in March, right a week before the referendum. And it was really interesting. It really was. But you know the thing that struck me most? You know what the referendum was about. They were going to have a referendum whether or not to keep on carrying out the policies of doing away with apartheid and with opening up all things to the blacks and the coloreds.

That's what it was all about. Forty million blacks in South Africa, but not a one of them had the right to vote in that referendum. The referendum was about their future. It was about how they were going to be treated from now on, but not a single one had the right to vote. Now, they live there, they work there, they earn money there, they pay their taxes there, they raise your children there, they die there, but they cannot vote there. That's not right, is it? They can't vote there. No more is it right for me to let the Word of God

come into my heart and let it bless me and speak to me and save me, but when it's time for a vote on some crucial issue, it doesn't have a say-so in my life. No, he says, when you make decisions, when you take votes on the issues of your life, you make certain the Word of God has a vote in your life. Don't you treat my Word, he says, like a stranger. That brings us to the third statement in verse 17.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now, actually, I think probably this one in verse 17 sort of picks up and gathers in the other two also. I have an idea that this one is kind of a covering all the bases that haven't been covered. For he says, and whatever you do, whatever you do, word or deed, look how much it encompasses.

Look, whatever you do, whether you say it, whether you do it in word or in deed, look how much it encompasses. Look, whatever you do, whether you say it, whether you do it, in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto the Father through Him. The word, the peace, and the name of Jesus. Well, what does it mean to do something in the name of Jesus?

That phrase, in the name of Jesus, is one of the important phrases of the New Testament. You remember over in John chapter 14, 15, and 16, what we call the upper room discourse, that Jesus is giving to his disciples before he goes to the cross. He makes this statement. He says, hitherto have you asked nothing in my name. Now ask, and my Father shall give it to you. What Jesus was saying there is this, we're entering in onto a new dimension of our relationship.

You've not asked anything in my name so far, but now I want you to start asking in my name and whatever you ask in my name, the Father in my name will give you what you ask for. What does it mean to ask for something in the name of Jesus? What does it mean for me to do something in the name of Jesus? Well, basically it means this. It is that what I do, if I do it in the name of Jesus, that means that what I do has His approval, is consistent with His character. It's sort of like power of attorney. To do something in the

name of Jesus means that you do something that he would approve of and permit. And also it is something that is consistent with his nature and his character. Now, I suppose that I stand up here tonight and I say, Danny wants me to make an announcement to this church. We're all going over to his church tonight after the service, and he's got beer and wine and set-ups over there, and we're all going to just get pie drunk. You know, they don't seem to be too surprised about that, huh?

Normally, people kind of gasp at that, but y'all don't. Maybe there's something, I don't know, maybe I'll start preaching something else all of a sudden. Well, if I were to make that announcement, we're going to give Danny the benefit of the doubt, won't we? I think what you'd say is, wait just a minute, preacher. I know him. And I know that that's inconsistent with his character and I know that he would never approve of your saying that in his name. What I've said does not have his approval

and is not consistent with his character. To do something in the name of Jesus means that what I say, what I do is something that I know he would approve of. You say, what if you don't know he won't approve of it? Then don't do it until you know. And it's consistent with his character of being righteous and holy and loving and compassionate,

you see. It covers everything, folks. Over in Zechariah chapter 12, there is a strange sounding little prophecy. The prophet is prophesying concerning not the second coming of Jesus, but the first coming of the Messiah. And he says that when the Messiah comes,

the phrase, the words, holiness unto the Lord will appear on the bridles of the horses and on every pot and pan in Jerusalem. Isn't that kind of a strange little prophecy? Those words, holiness unto the Lord, you'll find them on the bridle, find it in the pots and pans in the kitchen. Well, if you know your Old Testament,

you'll know that there was only one place where those words were found, holiness unto the Lord. You know where they were? They were worn by the high priest on his forehead. And before he ever went into the Holy of Holies, there to make atonement for sin, he went through a purification ritual, a long involved ceremony whereby he purified himself

and he wore that little billboard over there on his forehead. It said, holiness unto the Lord. And everybody knew that that man had to be holy unto the Lord. And that when he went in to do that work in the holy of holies, he had better go in with holiness unto the Lord. God killed him. Everybody expected the high priest to be holy unto the Lord. You know what Zechariah is saying? Zechariah is saying when Jesus Christ comes, He will so transform everyday life. He'll take the secular and turn it into the

sacred. And when a man plows his field or when a woman prepares her meal, she is to do it with the same degree of holiness that the high priest has when he goes in to offer a sacrifice. That's a pretty high standard. God expects just as much holiness from you, going to school, selling insurance, pumping gas,

whatever you do, as he expects from your pastor standing behind this pulpit. That's the truth, folks. Now, you all expect him to be holy. You all expect him to be holy. But God does not demand any more holiness from him than he demands from you. Now, he'll be judged more severely for the lack of it

because of who he is. But God doesn't demand any more from him than he does from you. You know what I think a good test is? I think a good test is this. Can I take the name of Jesus and write it across what I'm about to say and know the Lord be pleased

to have his name identified with it? When my son was in seminary, he first started in seminary, I asked who his professors were and he had, I think he had two professors that I'd had 25 years before. They're still around. I said, well, have you told them,

you know, who you are? Well, they said, no, Dad hadn't told them. I said, why not? He said, well, I'm going to wait and see how I do in their class. He said, if I do good, I'll tell them who I am. If I don't do good, I

won't tell them who I am. I appreciated that. As far as I know, he never said a'm in. I appreciated that. As far as I know, he never said a word to any of his professors. Can you write holiness unto the Lord across it? And have it, oh, that'd be out of place. That'd be out of place, preacher. I couldn't write holiness unto the Lord across that.

Well, then maybe you just sort of think a little bit about it. Whatever you do, you do it. What you think would be the approval of Jesus and consistent with his character. Can you write his name across it and know that Jesus would be honored to have his name identified with it? About, oh, was it 25 years ago, maybe more now.

While I was pastor of the MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church in Irving. Our church was on 2616 MacArthur Boulevard. At that time, all the bills came to me at the office. And all the checks had our office address on it. Ronald Dunn, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Dunn, 2616 MacArthur Boulevard, Irving, Texas. Well, right next to our church, there was a bunch of apartments. They were also in the 2600 block of MacArthur Boulevard. There was also a Ronald Dunn living in those apartments. And he had on his checks, Dunn, 26-something, MacArthur Boulevard, Irving, Texas. Now, you say, what do checks have to do with this story?

Everything. That's how I discovered somebody else in town had my name. Because this Ronald Dunn was what the police called a paper hanger. I mean, he wrote hot checks. He wrote hot checks. All of a sudden, everywhere we would go, we'd run into that. I got a call one afternoon from the big state liquor store in Dallas, wanting me to come over and pick up my check for $6.47 that had bounced. I tried to tell

him it wasn't me. Even when I told him I was a Baptist preacher, it wasn't convincing to him. It got so bad that when Kay would go to the grocery store before she'd ever write a check out, she would say to the clerk, now, before I give you this check, I want you to know we're not the ones you're looking for. Folks, that can become terribly embarrassing. One day about noon, Kay was having a prayer meeting in her house

for some of the ladies and got a long distance phone call from Miami, Florida. And it was some collection agency from Miami trying to collect for a check that I'd written at some department store down there. And Kay said, he's not the one you're looking for. He's never been in that store, blah, blah, blah. He said, he doesn't believe that. He said, I'm tracking this guy down. We got to have our money and all that sort of stuff. And she said, we're not the ones. And so he began to detail what had been bought with that check. It was women's lingerie.

And Kay said, he never bought me that lingerie. He said, he bought it for somebody. Now, boy, now that'll break up a prayer meeting and a marriage. I tell you, it got terrible. It got terrible. It really did. I mean, folks, can you imagine how that ruined you? Well, having heard from him in a number of years,

I'm trusting he's moved on to his reward. I think maybe I ought to copyright my name so nobody else can have it. You know, there's another Ron Dunn in Irving now. Oh, by the way, don't ever try to call me. My phone number is unlisted. And if you ask for a Ron Dunn, they'll give you a Ron Dunn. And if you dial that number,

an answering machine will answer that, will say this. If you're looking for Ron Dunn, the preacher, I'm not him. But if you want to talk to me, leave your number and I'll call you back. I know that man hates me because he must get so many. Don't do that. There's another, I really feel like I need to check him out, see what kind of life he's living. You know what was the problem? People in my town were judging me by what somebody else with my name was doing. I wonder if the reason the world doesn't think too much of Jesus today

is because they keep on judging him by what people with his name say and do. Whatever you do, whether you say it, whether you do it, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Something that he would approve of, consistent with his character, and he would web, or resold without prior written consent. It is managed and operated by Sherwood Baptist Church. For more Ron Dunn materials, sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from his study Bible, please visit rondunn.com.