Not Having A Filter

The Need for a Filter in What We Hear and Say

How many of you know what a filter is? Not an oil filter or an air filter. I mean, you know what that is for your car. Well, some of you don't, I guess. You know what the other filter is. You might have a thought in your mind, but it doesn't necessarily come out of your mouth.

That's a really good thing that God has given us a filter. I'm sure there's a technical term for it, but we call it a filter. There are some people who say, I have no filter. You've heard these people who say, admittedly, it does seem like some people don't have much of a filter.

But everybody, trust me, everybody has a filter. Here's my point. Not only do we have a filter of what goes out, we also have a filter on what comes in. What do I mean by that? People will have an idea fixed in their mind, or they think a certain way, and no matter what is said, no matter what is preached from the Bible, you can show them chapter and verse, it goes through that filter, and it comes out the other side different from what was said.

You know, sometimes people only hear what they want to hear. Or again, if something is so fixed in their mind that they just won't hear biblical truth. Let's turn to Romans chapter three. And people have this filter, right?

Everyone has the filter on what comes out. People definitely have a filter on what comes in. There's one thing I've learned as a preacher, people, they kind of hear what they want to hear. I love it when, you know, I stand out the door and somebody says, oh, I really appreciated what you said about this and this.

I'm like, I didn't even say that. I don't know what you're talking about. Here's an example, Exodus 20. Here's the thing that people have a filter about. Exodus 20, verse 11 says, "'For in six days, the Lord created the heavens and the earth.

On the sixth day, God created Adam.'". Amen, and they believe that. And then you ask them, well, how old is the earth? Oh, the earth is four to six billion years old. Wait, wait, where's the disconnect here?

There's a filter. The truth of the Bible is coming in, but something happens. Another example, salvation is by faith alone in Christ. Amen, that's what the Bible says. Salvation is in Christ. Oh, but I still think there might be other paths to God.

What? Like what's wrong here? Where's the disconnect? Look at Romans 3, verse 21. "'But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe.

For there is no difference.'". That is Jew, Gentile, doesn't matter. There is no difference. "'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.'".

So righteousness, the righteousness that comes from God is by what? Faith. Right, it's by faith. The only way a person can be declared righteous and become righteous is by faith. And a believer, he says, is justified freely.

I want you to say that word along with me, freely. Say it, freely. Justified freely by his grace. Now what some people heard and what Paul's critics heard was him saying, as long as you make a profession of faith, that's all that matters.

You make a profession of faith, you can live however you want. That's how some people hear this. And that's what Paul's critics were saying that he taught. Now, usually no Christian preacher will ever say this.

Hey, just believe in Jesus and then go out and do whatever you want. Typically, I've never heard a Christian preacher say that, but in a roundabout way, oftentimes that is what is believed and preached.