Avoiding Spiritual Complacency

I. Introduction
   A. We all know many people who think too highly of themselves
      1. women have met men who think they are "God's gift to women" but is 
         far from it
      2. we have worked with people who believe that without them the place 
         could not function
   B. This is arrogance in our opinion, but how does this attitude originate?
   C. A complacent attitude is almost always the origin of such things!
   D. Complacency: "self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of actual 
      dangers or deficiencies." 
   E. A good example is our country-we became complacent because we were a 
      "superpower," and had to then watch thousands die at the hands of a few 
      terrorists
   F. Why does complacency cause problems? 
      1. It is known in self-esteem and many other places that you can only go 
         in one of two directions: forward or backward
      2. complacency will often make one feel as if he has attained something 
         that must be continually striven for, and will thus begin to lose the 
         ground he has won
   G. We see this very clearly in spiritual things!
      1. many will become Christians, and begin to grow
      2. some may reach maturity; at some point, this complacency sets in, and 
         they feel as if they no longer need to strive
      3. Satan begins to tempt them sorely, and they lose what they have 
         gained spiritually and fall away
   H. Even though the term is never used, complacency is the primary cause of 
      the apostasy from God throughout time.  Let us examine now how 
      complacency led to apostasy

II. Complacency in the Old Testament
   A. The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:3-7)
      1. God had given Adam and Eve anything they would wish save the fruit of 
         the two trees
      2. life could have very easily gone on without the fruit
      3. complacency set in, and they were prone to temptation
      4. Satan wins, and we are all under sin because of it
   B. Israel (1): The Judges (Judges 1:27-35; 2:10-23)
      1. Israel had conquered many portions of Canaan, and they had become 
         content with what they had, and did not finish off the conquerization
      2. Complacency set in, and the hearts of the people drifted from God-- 
         He delivered them into bondage, and they repent; God restores them; 
         the complacency returns, and the people get worse
      3. God finally says that He will not remove the remaining Canaanites 
         from the land, which would become the greatest stumbling block for 
         the Jews for the next 700 years
   C. Israel (2): Kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 18:36-46)
      1. Israel had become very prosperous, both politically and economically
      2. Complacency set in, and Baal worship was acceptable
      3. Elijah cries out for righteousness, demonstrating mighty works in 
         God's name
      4. people "repent," return to their previous deeds
      5. 2 Kings 17: Israel delivered into the hands of Assyria for their 
         iniquity
   D. Israel (3): Kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 21)
      1. Judah followed after Israel 
         a. example: after Assyria kept at bay by Hezekiah, Manasseh reigns in 
            peace, commits great acts of blasphemy 
         b. God then condemns Judah to its fate
      2. Judah taken into captivity by the Babylonians
   E. The Pharisees
      1. Post-Exilic Jews more faithful
      2. ...but still complacent, as seen in the Pharisees
      3. Luke 18:10-12: the Pharisee's pride, stemming from his complacent 
         attitude, incurs God's judgment
      4. Does he recognize his error?  By no means, for he is so blinded by 
         self-satisfaction that his faults are overlooked by him!

III. Complacency in the Church
   A. Complacency does not end with Christ's death
   B. Corinth- 1 Corinthians 5
      1. one has his father's wife (i.e. mother; verse 1)
      2. the church does not rebuke him, but "became arrogant" about it 
         (verse 2)! 
      3. complacency about their salvation and their position with God had set 
         in
   C. Ephesus- Revelation 2:1-7
      1. Ephesus is commended for not tolerating error (vv. 2-4)
      2. yet condemned for "leaving their first love," verse 4
      3. easy to see: they strove to defeat error, took comfort in doing so, 
         and felt that they had done their job as Christians by refuting error
      4. a prevalent problem in the church today-we most certainly combat 
         error, but must not "leave our first love" as the Ephesians did
         a. resist the complacency!
   D. Laodicea- Revelation 3:14-22
      1. The last and clearest example of complacency
      2. verse 17: they say that they need nothing!
         a. how can any Christian say such things?
         b. yet many do, not recognizing the ever-existing need for support
      3. Christ has nothing good to say about Laodicea
         a. how could He when they are in this condition?
         b. any group so blind as to say that they need nothing must repent!
      4. Let us strive to buy from Christ gold refined by fire and to wear 
         His white garments (v. 18)

IV. Avoiding Complacency
   A. We have seen the prevalence of complacent attitudes and their 
      consequences in the Scriptures; what must we do to avoid this fate for 
      ourselves?
   B. Know thine enemy!
      1. Satan is our enemy, and he wishes to destroy us
      2. 1 Peter 5:8
      3. Satan loves nothing more than complacency in a Christian, for then he 
         can tempt with great success
   C. Examine yourself!
      1. 2 Corinthians 13:5
      2. You must be honest with yourself!
         a. examination without honesty is deceptive and delusional
         b. you can deceive yourself, but you cannot deceive Satan nor God
         c. the former will tempt you in your deception, and the latter will 
            judge you for it
         d. Do you want to be in that situation?
      3. honest examination will lead to understanding of weakness and a 
         continual desire to strive higher
   D. Be diligent
      1. 2 Timothy 2:15
      2. KJV renders it "study," certainly a part of diligence
      3. Diligence is still greater-a diligent worker works hard and is focused
         a. "work keeps you out of trouble"
         b. if one always is working, studying, preaching, etc., one will 
            never have time to become complacent!
      4. only through diligence will we be able to stand approved in the eyes 
         of God
   E. The Race- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
      1. Paul uses the perfect metaphor for the Christian's life: a race
      2. we must "run so we may win," verse 24
      3. self-control exerted; no room for complacency here
      4. Fable of Tortoise and the Hare
         a. why did the hare lose?  Complacency!
      5. How much of a harder loss is it to lose the race of Heaven?  

V. Conclusion
   A. It would take a hard rejection for "God's gift to women" to see his fault
   B. A pink slip is needed for the one who believes that the office would not 
      function without him to be humbled
   C. It took the United States the loss of thousands of people to see that we 
      are not impregnable
   D. It took the suffering and pain of sin and death for Eve to recognize her 
      complacent attitude
   E. Israel needed to be taken into captivity in order to see their 
      complacency, and even then many of them rejected the Messiah
   F. Corinth needed a strong rebuke from Paul; we know not what, if anything, 
      it took for Ephesus and Laodicea to repent
   G. What will it take for you to be shaken out of your complacency?
   H. Our desire that it is the Word of God, "sharper than any two-edged 
      sword," Hebrews 4:12
   I. Let us conclude with that passage- Hebrews 4:1-11
      1. many times, people become complacent because they feel the need to 
         relax from their Christian labor
      2. let us continue to run the race until we have reached our Sabbath 
         rest in the place that God has prepared for us
      3. if you have not begun that race by becoming a child of God, there is 
         no better time to begin it than now, for who knows when we shall all 
         be forced to give account to God?
      4. if you at some point began the race, and possibly became complacent 
         in your attitude as a Christian, let us help you to again strive for 
         greater things and be whole again
      5. if we can do anything for you, let us help you as we stand and sing