F4F | Rick Warren's Five Purposes for Your Life

Rick Warren’s “Five Purposes” and the Law-Gospel Confusion

Welcome to another installment of Fighting for the Faith here on YouTube. If you've ever been told that you need to get busy learning what God's five purposes for your life are, yeah, you've probably been listening to Rick Warren, go ahead and hit the subscribe button down below and don't forget to ring the bell so you can be notified when we update the channel.

You haven't been taught the truth, and you've also heard a confusion of law and gospel as well. Kind of a theme we're running with here on the last couple of episodes of Fighting for the Faith. But let me whirl this up, and we're heading over to Saddleback, and this is from his January 22nd sermon titled God's Five Purposes for Your Life with Rick Warren, and let's see if we can make sense of this and undo the twistings that he's going to be engaging in along the way.

Here we go.

Hello, Saddleback. I want to say hi to all 20 of our campuses, including those of you who are joining us online. If you'll take out your message notes, today we're continuing in our series on the foundations of a life well lived.

There are three...

I just have to ask the question, is Christianity all about a life well lived? You think of like the Christian martyrs, people who lost their lives for confessing Jesus Christ, and those people just don't rise to the top of my list of people who, you know, exemplify a life well lived, you know, maybe a life well suffered, you know, things like that.

But yeah, already we got a problem, because is that really what Christian sanctification is all about?

Hmm. Let's continue. Parts to laying a solid foundation for your life. First, you have to know who God made you to be. That's your identity, and if you're confused about your identity, you're going to waste your life, because what...

Oh no! What if God intended me to be an.

Astrophysicist? I've been wasting all of my time here as a theologian and a pastor. It's not what.

Other people say about you, but what matters is what God says about you, and because He always knows and tells the truth, you want to listen to what He has to say about you, and we've already looked at that.

Now, the second part of the foundation is you got to know what God wants you to do. That's your purpose. First, you need to know your identity, and then you need to know your purpose. What on earth am I here for?

Yeah, by the way, I'm just going to point this out,.

Is that God did not create people with a singular purpose. Ephesians chapter 2 is going to be my text to kind of prove this, and so here's what it says. I'll read Ephesians 2, 8, 9, and 10, so you can see this.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not your own doing. It's the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. And here we go. For we are His. We are God's workmanship.

We are created in Christ Jesus for ergoes agathois, for good works, plural. You're not created in Christ for a purpose. You are created in Christ Jesus for good works, and good works can be done in all of your different vocations.

They can be done by children. They can be done by adults, young adults, by parents, by grandparents, and even people who are bedridden. You can do good works. You're saying, well, what's a good work? Scripture defines what a good work is.

It's according to our different vocations as husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother, employer, employee, in these relationships. And then we're all members of what's called the kingdom of priests, which means we do our good work by praying for others as well, and things like this.

So we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, plural, not a singular purpose. What Rick Warren is teaching here is not true. You've got to know who you are,.

And you've got to know what you were created to do. Then the third part of a life well-lived is you've got to know when to do it, and that's the right timing. Who you are, what you're supposed to do with your life, and when you're supposed to do it.

Now when all three of these line up in your life, your identity, and your purpose, and your timing, you have the ingredients for successful.

Life. Which scripture text says this? I don't know any biblical passage that teaches this, not one. And Ephesians 2 .10 says we're created in Christ Jesus for good works, plural.

Hezekiah, Faith, and the Misuse of 2 Kings 18

Now today, I want you to see God's five purposes for the rest of your life. But to set this up, I first want to ask you a question. Who would you guess was the greatest king in the Bible? I don't know if you've been reading the Bible for a long time or just a little time, but you might guess King David, because he's certainly the most famous king.

He wrote Psalm 23 and so many other great psalms. You might guess Solomon, who was the wisest king. The Bible tells us he was the wisest and wealthiest king. You might guess Saul, who was the first king of Israel.

But God says the greatest king of all in the Bible was a little-known king named Hezekiah. And the Bible tells us Hezekiah, contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, in 2 Kings chapter 18. Let me read this to you.

Chapter 18 of 2 Kings verses 2 to 7. Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned Jerusalem 29 years. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight. Hezekiah trusted the Lord, and there was never another king like him in the land of Judah, either before him or after his time.

He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands of the Lord. Now Hezekiah is going to be like one of the guys.

That made their way into Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 says, by faith Noah, by faith Abraham, by faith Abraham obeyed. And so you'll note that what we saw Rick Warren read out from 2 Kings 18 is that Hezekiah trusted.

See, he, by faith, he remained faithful.

To the Lord, and he carefully obeyed. Uh-huh. That he had been given by Moses. So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah, watch this, was successful in everything he did. Now we'll just.

Do a little fact-checking on this one, because I suspect something's off here. So 2 Kings 18, and, um, all right. So Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, the king of Judah, began to reign. He was 25 years old when he began to reign.

He reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. According to all that David, his father, had done, he removed the high places, broke the pillars, cut down the Asherah, broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it.

It was called Nehushtan. He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel. That's kind of an important part right here, because he has faith, he has faith in God, so that there was none like him among, and notice it, he trusted in God so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.

For he held fast to Yahweh. He did not depart from following him, but he kept the commandments that the Lord, that Yahweh commanded Moses, and the Lord was with him. Wherever he went out, he prospered.

He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the fortified city. So you get the point that just like all the people who show up in the Great Hall of Faith passage, and all of the patriarchs that are mentioned in the Great Hall of Faith passage, they did everything they did by faith.

By faith then they obey. Same with Hezekiah. But Rick Warren is making it sound like Hezekiah's obedience is the currency that he was able to traffic in in order to receive God's blessings and a life well lived.

That's not a good thing.

Can you imagine that? How would you like to have God say that about you, that you were successful in everything you do? Are you saying that because God said that about Hezekiah that.

I can set myself up and position myself so that God make it so that everything I do,.

I'll be successful? Really? I'm certainly not that successful. You're not that successful. But the Bible tells us that this guy was. Yeah. What made Hezekiah special? God says Hezekiah was successful in everything that he did.

The text says he trusted the Lord. He was the greatest king in Israel. There was nobody before him or after him who even came close. Why? Because he always did what God wanted him to do. Yeah, no, no, that's not correct.

Yeah, you're putting the.

Emphasis on the wrong syllable. And yeah, he trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him nor before him. He held fast to Yahweh. He trusted in him.

And because of his trust and holding fast to him, he then did not depart from following God, but kept and guarded God's commandments. You see, what Rick did here is take the caboose and try to make it the engine of this train.

You know, the fact that Hezekiah is keeping the commandments, he's doing so because of faith. You see, faith is the engine, and the keeping and guarding God's commandments is the natural outcome of that faith.

So Rick is confusing law and gospel here. Let me back this up just a little bit. Listen.

Again. The greatest king in Israel. There was nobody before him or after him who even came close. Why? Because he always did what God wanted him to do. He knew who he was. He knew his purpose,.

And he knew the right timing. No, no. He knew his purpose, and he knew the right timing. Notice that Rick just like stuck that into the text. I'm going to back this up again. This is called by the way.

This is the Greek preposition, into, and so Jesus, to read. So isogenesis is to read into the biblical text things that are not there. So a little bit of a note. Let's just take a look. Hezekiah, verse 5, trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.

He held fast to Yahweh. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that Yahweh commanded Moses, and Yahweh was with him. Nothing in there about he knew his purpose, you know, and had timing and.

All this kind of stuff. Listen again. Let's, here we go. Made Hezekiah special. God says Hezekiah was successful in everything that he did, that he was the greatest king in Israel. There was nobody before him or after him who even came close.

Why? Because he always did what God wanted him to do. He knew who he was, he knew his purpose, and he knew the right timing. He knew who he was,.

Knew his purpose, knew the right timing. None of those things are mentioned in the text that you quoted. Rick just stuck them in there. In fact, it says that he trusted God, held fast to him, kept his commandments, and yeah, if you want to know what the commandments of God are, see like, you know, ten commandments, things like that.

Doesn't say anything about he knew his purpose, had his identity sorted out, and knew all about the timing. This is nonsense, but we continue.

Hezekiah’s Illness, Prayer, and the False “Purpose” Question

Now, if you'd like to be successful in everything you do, I highly suggest that you study this man's.

Life. Hezekiah said, if I want to be successful in everything I do, yeah, there's no way to save.

This sermon. It's really bad. Now, Hezekiah lived an amazing life, but eventually, of course, Hezekiah grew older, and he starts having health problems. In fact, Hezekiah came down with a terminal illness, and in Isaiah chapter 38, it tells us the rest of the story, and that's what I want us to focus on first today.

God comes to Hezekiah and says, Hezekiah, you're gonna die. Your time's up. I'm pulling your number. I'm pulling the plug. I want you to come home to heaven, but interestingly enough, Hezekiah wasn't ready to die, so he gives God a 32-word argument on why God should let him live and serve God longer on earth.

Now, that part of the story, as I said, is recorded in Isaiah. In Isaiah 38, verses 1 to 5, it says this. Later, this is much.

Toward the end of it. Now, a little bit of a note here. Rick Warren has now switched. He, I think, started off with the New Living translation, and now he's reading from the message, which is, you should never be preaching from the message.

It's just the mess, and you lose the last three.

Letters. It's the mess. You should never be preaching from this thing. Hezekiah got sick, and he was about to die, and the prophet Isaiah comes and says, Hezekiah, prepare your affairs and your family.

This is it. You're going to die. You're not gonna get well from this illness. The Bible says, Hezekiah turned away from Isaiah, and facing the wall, he prayed to God, and here's what he prays. God, please, I beg you, remember how I've lived my life.

Remember that I've lived faithfully in your presence, that I've lived out of a heart that was totally yours. You've seen how I've lived and the good that I have done. It says, then God said, Hezekiah, I've heard your prayer, and I've seen your tears, and here's what I'll do.

I'll add 15 years to your life. I really want to see what that says.

Isaiah 38 .1. Okay, so in those days, Hezekiah became sick, was at the point of death. Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos, came to him, said to him, thus says Yahweh, set your house in order for you shall die.

You shall not recover. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh and said, please, oh Yahweh, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart and have done what is good in your sight.

Hezekiah wept bitterly. Mm-hmm. Yeah, he conducted his life before God in faith. Yeah, that's his point. Hmm, okay.

That is one of the most amazing stories in the Bible to me. Can you imagine you doing this with God, that you're near death, and God's told you you're going to die, you're going to go to heaven, and you ask God to extend your life and ministry because you've done everything he asked you to do?

God, I'd like to live on earth longer, and here's my reason. I've served you faithfully. Now, first, God, he says, I want you to look at my life. Yeah, again, the,.

Oh, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness. A little bit different emphasis. Rick keeps, you know, hammering things and running it into the law rather than properly.

Understanding law and gospel. And God, I want you to notice that I faithfully obeyed you, and I did everything that you told me to do. And second, I want you to look at all the good that I've done for other people and look at the impact my life has had for your glory and for the good.

Of others. He's adding to the text again. It's not what Hezekiah said. Well, that's what Hezekiah.

Does, and evidently God agreed with him. He agreed with Hezekiah's assessment of his own life because he says to Hezekiah, when Hezekiah says, Lord, I'd like to serve you on earth just a little while longer, and I'll make it count.

God says, you know, Hezekiah, I believe you. Please, oh,.

Yahweh, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart and have done what is good in your sight. Yeah, and here's God's response. I just, I am dumbfounded by what Rick Warren is doing here.

He's just adding to the text, and he's making no proper distinction between law and gospel at all, making it sound like Hezekiah was totally blessed by his works. So the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, go and say to Hezekiah, thus says Yahweh, the God of David, your father, I have heard your prayer.

I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add 15 years to your life. I will deliver you and the city out of the hands of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city. Yeah, there's some weird dialogue going on here that doesn't appear in the text that Rick Warren has found mysteriously.

Maybe it was hovering in the ether right above his Bible. We don't know where.

It came from. I know you will. So I'm going to extend your life for 15 more years. Not just the donation of his life, but the duration of his life is going to be increased. Now friends, this is one of the most hopeful stories in the Bible, and it makes me want to ask you, not the way you're telling it, as well as to ask myself three very personal questions.

Here's the first question. If God asked you to give him reasons why he should let you live 15 years longer from today, what would you say?

What? What? Okay, you know, totally confusing law and gospel here, and I'm about ready to explode.

This is no way to teach a text. What would be your argument? God, you should let me live 15 years.

Longer. Lord, let me live 15 years longer and outlive Rick Warren so that I can warn everybody.

About his false teaching. Some more. Second question. If God reviewed the last 15 years of your life, and he looked to see how well you had served him, and how you had served his purposes, and how you'd been a good steward of what he gave you, and that was the basis of God deciding on whether he was going to give you...

That's all law! Galatians 3.

Holy smokes, this is bad. Galatians 3. Oh foolish Galatians, who's bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. So let me ask you this. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

It's hearing with faith. Are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit? Are you now trying to be perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

It's hearing with faith, just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Okay, now I'm going to back this up because I want you to hear if God reviewed the past 15 years of your life, and I'm going to point out that if God wanted to do an audit like that, he's gonna have a problem if the thing he's looking for is my sin.

Let me explain. So let me back this up to where this disappears, and listen again to what Rick.

Warren is saying. What would you say? What would be your argument? God, you should let me live 15 years longer. Second question. If God reviewed the last 15 years of your life, and he looked to see how well you had served him and how you had served his purposes and how you'd been a good steward of what he gave you, and that was the basis of God deciding on whether he was going to give you 15 more years, would God have a reason to extend your life?

Well, here's the thing. God's extending my.

Life into eternity. I mean, I don't know if you know this or not, but Christians like never die. You know, their bodies might give out and you have to stick them in the ground, but they go and be with Christ and when he returns, he's bringing us back with them and we're going to live eternally in a new earth.

Okay. I don't know. That seems like a pretty long life to me. Eternal life. And so another biblical text, Colossians chapter two here. So note that the question was, if God reviewed the past 15 years of your life, would he be, and this is the basis, would he be eager to give you 15 more?

He's given me eternal life, Rick. Colossians chapter two, and we're going to note here, God's going to be at a loss if he wants to do an audit on the last 15 years of my life, you know, and here's the reason why.

Colossians two, I'll start at verse eight so that we can hear the gospel clearly. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

For in him, the whole fullness of the deity dwells bodily. And you have been filled in him who is the head and the rule of all authority. In him you also were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the uncircumcision of Christ, and having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead.

So those of us who have been baptized, we've had our hearts circumcised by Christ, we were buried with him in his death and raised with him in his resurrection, and so you who were dead in your trespasses and uncircumcision of your flesh, God has made you alive together with Christ, having, watch this, forgiven us all, every one of them, all our trespasses.

And here's how he did it, ready? By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside. And where did he set it aside? He nailed it to the cross. So think of it this way, if God were to do an audit on the last, you know, 15 years of your life, so he's got to open up the book, right?

Because that's how we're going to do an audit, we're going to check the book. And so you've got, on the one hand, you got the side with all your good works. Mm-hmm. On the other hand, you have the record of debt that stands against you, of every infraction that you've committed by breaking God's commandments and his laws, and that's called the record of debt.

Well, here's the thing, Christ has taken the record of debt, ripped it out of your book, and he's canceled the whole thing by nailing it to the cross. I like to always kind of add that you might as well have him, you know, just with a little bit of a flourish, taking his blood and writing on that record of debt, debt paid in full.

So God doesn't remember our sins, the whole record of debt's been bled for, died for, God takes our sins and casts them into the sea of his forgetfulness. And he puts up a no fishing sign. So if God's going to do an audit of your life, would he give you 15 more years?

God wanted to do an audit of my life for the last 15 years. All he'd see are my good works, because all my sins have been ripped out of the book. They're not there. You see what I'm saying here? Ay yi yi.

Let's continue. I may blow up, but if I do, just call the, you know,.

Call an ambulance or something. Or would he say, no, I don't think you're serious about using your life to serve others. I don't think you're serious about fulfilling the purpose.

That I made you for. So God didn't make me for a purpose. I'm created in Christ Jesus for good.

Works, plural. I don't think I'm going to give you any more time. Here's the third question. Regardless of the time you have left in your life, and you don't know how much that is, neither do I. Are you serious about using the rest of your time on earth and your energy and resources to serve the God who created you and loves you and saves you and helps you?

I'm created in Christ Jesus for good works. There's no such thing as a Christian who doesn't do good works. Read the scriptures as to what those good works are. You know, be a good wife, a good husband, a good father, a good mother, a good employer, a good employee.

We do our works and our vocations. So yeah, I don't know what you're talking about. This whole, I've got to find my unique purpose in my identity and learn the timing when to apply that and get busy on that.

No text says that. And so you'll note this whole theology of his, not only is a jumbling and a confusing of the biblical categories of law and gospel, but it's like a total denial of the good works that we do, that scripture says are good works.

If you're not sure, consult the Ten Commandments. Anyway, I think you get the point. If I go any further, I could potentially blow up, and I don't want to do that while on YouTube. That would be embarrassing.

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So until next time, may God richly bless you in the grace and mercy won by Jesus Christ, this vicarious death on the cross for all of your sins. Amen.