Sunday Sermon 07/05/2020

The Call to Hear God's Word

Please remain standing for the reading of God's Word.

Today's Bible reading will be Old Testament reading, Isaiah 40, 15 -24. Behold, nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are counted as dust on the scales. Behold, he takes us up the coastlands like fine dust.

Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor its feasts enough for burnt offering. All the nations are nothing before him. They are counted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. To whom then will you liken him, or what likeness compare with him?

An idol, a craftsman casts it, as a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts it for silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot. He seeks out skillful craftsmen to set up an idol that will not move.

Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and his inhabitants are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out in the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in. He brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth.

When he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

The New Testament reading is Acts 22 through 29. Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live.

As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barrack, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this.

But when they stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, It is not lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned. When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, What are you about to do, for this man is a Roman citizen?

So the tribune came and said to him, Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? And he said, Yes. And the tribune answered, I bought this centurionship for a large sum. Paul said, But I am a citizen by birth. So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately.

And the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him. You may be seated.

The Fourth of July and the Question of Christian Activism

This being the Fourth of July weekend, I thought we'd look into the word, find something relevant for us in this time of celebration. So before we look into God's word, let's pray and ask him to open our hearts.

Father, we come to you now asking that you give us ears that will listen. Lord, I pray for the words that will cross this pulpit, that they are consistent with the word of God, that they give us guidance, that they help us.

Please, dear Lord, help us to listen carefully. We thank you in Jesus name. Amen. It seems to most of us now that tumult, chaos and near anarchy have overtaken our country. We've seen the death of black men at the hands of the police and others right before our eyes.

Looting, riots, statues torn down by mobs occupy the nightly news. If that's not enough, we've witnessed a sexual revolution unfold in the last few years. This revolution just doesn't want to normalize homosexuality and bisexuality.

It wants to overturn the very idea that gender is a biological fact and is instead a social construct. On top of all that, a pandemic tears at the fabric of our communities, our families and congregations.

And that, too, has led to many too much anger and protests. The questions of racial equality, our nation's heritage and history, the right to life or the right to abortion, religious freedom, all these things have polarized us in this country.

So it is that people are moved to activism. The annual Right to Life March happens in January and a few weeks later, there's the Women's March. Protesters march against racial discrimination and for civil rights.

Abortion clinics are bombed and businesses are burned down. Mobs tear down statues and memes claim we're erasing our history. Everyone, no matter where you land on any of those issues, no matter where you land, on one end of the spectrum or the other, seem to think that we must act, that it's time for everybody to do something.

Well, the question is this. Is activism in the public arena right or wrong for Christians? Is it right or is it wrong? Should we get involved in the issues that are tearing apart our country today? If so, how?

When is it right and when is it wrong? Well, this morning I'd like to build a broad framework from the scriptures that gives us and guides us in God-honoring activism in our culture today. I think we need to think about these things biblically.

Idolatrous Activism and Misplaced Trust in Politics

Here's the first thing I think we need to remember. God hates our idolatrous activism. God hates our idolatrous activism. People have responded in a variety of ways to all the issues that I've just spoken about.

There's protest marches. There's marches for civil rights. There's marches for right to life. There's the social media has become one of the major players in how we address these things, how we become active.

There's rioting and looting. There's organizing for the purpose of getting control of political parties and all those sorts of things. Christians' attempts to do that as well. But before we respond to the correctness of these methods, the first and primary issue to address is the motive behind it, the issue of the heart.

We have to talk about the motive behind the activism. That's where we need to start. For many, it's this. We want to save our American way of life or the way of life that we think we remember or the way of life that we thought it was like.

Or we want an America that reaches some free utopian ideal. We're afraid of the disintegration of our beloved Western culture and our heritage. Or on the other hand, we're given to the point of this culture is evil.

We need to overthrow it. We believe that if only the truth would get out, if only people would hear the truth, there'd be a cataclysmic change in people's hearts. More information about discrimination, a better teaching of history would just change everything.

I remember some years ago a very powerful, at that time, Christian leader making the statement that the problem is that the media elites are keeping the truth from getting out. If only the truth would get out, then everything would change.

Then everything would change. Listen, God hates many methods because they are motivated by idolatrous and unbiblical desires.

Okay?

In other words, we place our trust more in a righteous Washington, D .C. and in a more godly America than in the living God. We put our trust in what's going to happen politically than we do in the living God.

Or we put our trust in a more diverse police force. Or we put our trust in more anti-discrimination legislation. The point is that's where we put our trust. We say if only we got this legislation passed, then our problems would be solved.

Or what's really popular now in some cities, if only we defund the police, then our problems would be solved. Of course, there's the other side. Boy, no, if only we'd really ramp up the police, then our problems would be solved.

Right?

But we put our trust in some kind of action. We put our trust in the legislation. We put our trust in the government. We don't put our trust in the living God. It's idolatrous, you see? One thing we have to remember is that we are subjects of Christ's kingdom first and American citizens next.

And too often, in our country, we get the two reversed. And in fact, what we often do is we, quote, we equate our political views with the Bible. My political views are biblical.

All right?

So let me illustrate it this way. Now, I'm not for mobs tearing down statues, okay? I think that's wrong. But let's say it's all done legally and all these Confederate statues come down. What's your reaction going to be to that?

What's your reaction going to be to that? That's going to say a lot about your loyalty. So let's say you go through the process and the statues don't come down. You've got a segment of the population that says to us, you know, when I see those statues, you know what I think of?

The enslavement, the beating, and the rape of my people. That's what I see. On the other hand, someone says, no, no, no, you're erasing our history. You're erasing everything that makes America, well, you know, the things that make America great.

Here's the point. Whether they come down or whether they stay up,.

How much emotion do you have about that, right?

Listen, if they stay up or they come down, can you still serve Christ and his kingdom? Can you still advance the kingdom of Christ? Right, but you know what we've done? We've invested so heavily in those things that that becomes the most important thing.

We're Americans first, not subjects of the king first.

You know what?

I would think that if we were truly subjects of Christ and his kingdom, whether they came up or whether they came down, whether they stayed up or whether they came down, it would register some, but not as deeply as many as it registers with many.

It's not, it's not that big of a deal for the kingdom of Christ, all right? Now, I can lean one way or the other. We can talk about that. We can say, well, maybe one's more consistent with the Bible, but let's face it.

The emotion that's generated by that says something about your heart and your loyalty. You know, I don't know, many of you, as I'm looking at this congregation today, I would say that nearly all of you were not here when I came here 35 years ago.

I can pick out about 10 people, all right? Some of them too young to even know. So you probably don't notice this, when you go to most churches, what do you see on the platform typically? What do you see?

You see the Christian flag, whatever that is, and the American flag, don't you? You don't see that here, and that's on purpose.

You know why?

And it's not because we hate our country. It's not that we hate our country. That's not the reason at all. The reason it's not up here like in most churches is this. This is an outpost of the kingdom of Christ.

Christ is our king. We are here as his representatives of his kingdom, not representatives of America. And too often, we equate the American way of life with the Bible. And many times, it is not the case.

And so, we have to remember that we are citizens of Christ's kingdom first, American citizens second. That may seem radical to some people. That may seem entirely, unbelievably radical, but it's true.

By thinking that the problem is a lack of information, that we haven't taught our history well enough, or we've neglected parts of history, where there's just not enough information out there, is to forget that man is inherently rebellious and depraved, and it doesn't matter how much information he gets, he still hates what God says.

He's still going to be evil. You can get all the education you want. You may be able to change some outward behavior, but you never change the human heart.

And you know what?

In all this activism, instead of loving our enemies, we are indistinguishable from them because the same fear, mistrust, and even hatred motivate us. We're not known as a people of love. We're known as what we're against.

We're known for our hate. We hate the Derek Chauvins, right? The policeman who killed George Floyd. And we also hate the looters and the rioters. We're motivated by hate. That ought not to be the case with Christians.

We're not motivated by hate. We're motivated by love. The kind of activism that's so characteristic of Christians today is idolatrous and unbiblical and cannot hope to have the help of God. So we have to look at our motives.

We have to look at what's going on in our hearts, okay? Before we get active, let's see what's going on in our hearts. Well, someone says that, amen. I've always said that the church should just keep quiet about all these issues that are going on in the culture.

And to that I would say, no, it's not what I'm saying either, and that's not what the Bible says. Turn to Proverbs 24 for a moment. Proverbs 24. Proverbs 24, let's look at 10 through 12. If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

Rescue those who are being taken away to death. Hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, Behold, we did not know this, does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it?

And will he not repay man according to his works? Notice what God says. Here's a command from God. We have no choice in the matter. When there is injustice, when people are dying, you must be involved.

You must get involved. We must be the people who get involved. Ignorance will not be allowed as an excuse either. Doesn't the Lord know it? Doesn't he weigh the heart? He knows you're not ignorant. He knows that you know what's going on, so you must do something.

In the face, for example, of wholesale slaughter of unborn babies, we need to say something. In the face of people dying unjustly, we need to say something. We need to be involved. We cannot just stand back and not be involved.

For too long now, Christians have said, you know, those nasty social issues, well, we are going to do what God says we ought to do, and so we keep our Bible studies, we keep planning our religious activities, but we don't say anything about what's going on in our culture.

Now, listen, we are great about saying things about abortion and things like that, but what about these other things?

What about the loss of life?

What about a policeman unjustly killing somebody? Is that right or is that wrong? Should we say something about it? Yes, we should, okay? We should be horrified and involved when we see someone die by the abuse of power.

That should horrify us, and we should say something. So God causes people to engage their sinful culture. He doesn't tell us just retreat and don't be involved at all. Now, if God hates unbiblical and idolatrous activism yet demands that we be engaged, then what does that look like?

What form does it take?

All right?

The Weapons of Christian Engagement

So we have, God expects us to be involved in a biblical activism. God expects a biblical activism from his people. What does that look like?

Okay?

What does it look like?

I think the first place we need to go is 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. I think this is absolutely foundational bedrock truth we need to understand. If Christians are going to engage our culture, if we're going to be involved in any kind of activism, then this is a bedrock principle for us to get a hold of and to pay careful attention, okay?

I'm just going to read verses 10 through 6, and the emphasis is in verses 3 through 5. 10, 1 through 6. I palm myself and treat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold towards you when I am away.

I beg of you that when I am present, I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. Some people say we just operate like everybody else does.

Then he says this. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.

Notice, what does he say? He says the philosophy that ought to underlie our activism is this. We don't use the same weapons that the world does. We do not use the same weapons. We ought to fight differently.

Our temptation is we live in this world, we're in contact with this world, and we have the horrible propensity to adopt the weapons of the world, okay? So, you know, we say only if we had equal time on media outlets, so that would be it.

So we fight about that. We break the law with tactics of passive resistance. We use violence to make the point. We think that political power is the way to address the issues, and we fight and we work hard to gain the levers of power, right?

He says we must fight. We're involved in a war, but we have to fight with the right weapons. We have to fight with the right weapons. So we shouldn't be asking, should we be involved in these battles, but rather, am I using the right weapons in these battles?

Well, what are the weapons that we have to use? All right, let's talk about that. So what are the weapons that we can use if we believe that there are sinful things going on in our culture and we need to address them?

What are some of the weapons that we have to use? Turn to 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. Now, of course, you know, some of these things fade in your memory. When you study and preach through a book,.

You remember a lot.

It sticks. And I remember preaching through 1 Peter 93 to 95. Those years. They really stick out in my mind. And I remember... So as we look at this, 1 Peter is a book about how do Christians act when they suffer?

What are Christians supposed to do when they're persecuted?

Okay?

And the book can be divided from chapter 1 through chapter 2, verse 10. This is who we are. This is what God thinks, okay? And then from chapter 2, 11, all the way to the end of the book, this is how Christians act.

Now, chapter 2, verses 11 and 12 is the hinge from this is what God is, this is how you need to think, and this is how you need to identify yourselves, to this is what you do. Chapter 2, verses 11 and 12 is the hinge that gives us the strategy for the rest of the book.

Here's what it says. Chapter 2, verses 11 and 12. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

What's he saying here? First, notice, you've got to look at yourself as sojourners and exiles.

Right?

We are not American citizens first. We are sojourners and exiles. We are exile citizens.

All right?

We are citizens of a country but we come from, our citizenship originates in another country,.

The kingdom.

So we're sojourners, we're exiles, to abstain from the passions of the flesh. Right away when you read that, what do you think of? Sex, drinking, and all kinds of horrible things. And they are. But when you read the rest of the book, he hardly talks about those things.

What does he talk about? He talks about, I want to be treated fairly. I want to be treated fairly. Those are the passions of the flesh. I'm going to fight you unless you treat me well. Unless you treat me with a certain respect.

That's what he's talking about. So anyway, be careful of those things. They wage war against your soul. And then what? Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so they can never lay an accusation against you.

And in that way they may join us when Jesus returns and glorify God. Now that's the strategy. Live such lives that no charge can be laid against you. What's the first thing then that he picks up in the strategy?

You know what he does? He talks about three areas of life. He talks about the government, your work, and your family. And all of them are unbelieving, harsh authorities. Government, harsh slave owners, harsh husbands.

What's the first thing he says to do in all three situations? Submit. Now folks, can I tell you something? That just cuts across our American way of thinking. Doesn't it? What are you going to do when your government treats you badly?

Submit. What are you going to do when your boss treats you not well? Submit. What do you do when your husband is harsh? Submit. All of them are unbelieving authorities in our lives.

Okay?

And that's hard to take. That's what he says. So let's go on. Verse 13. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

For this is the will of God, that by doing good, meaning what? Submitting to this government, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Or you might put in there, honor Nero.

Right?

One of the worst emperors there was.

Okay? Now,.

Rebellion is not acceptable to God. God's people should not be known as lawbreakers. That should not be our reputation. Well, of course, right away. I already know a question you have in your mind. I already know what it is.

So when is it okay to break the law? That's always the first thing that jumps. It's part of our American way. It just is. Yep, the Bible says over and over, submit to the government. When do we not? That's the first question that pops up.

Our question is never, oh my, how should I do that? Our first question is, okay, when do we not do that then?

Right?

That's almost always the way it is. Well, I'm going to answer the question. When then do we break the law? Not when the law allows evil. Not when it allows evil. Presently, our government says, or it's been interpreted that our constitution says, abortion on demand is legal, and it allows it.

It allows evil. But we cannot break the law because the government allows evil. Seems to me the government says, you break the law when it requires us to disobey God. As soon as the government says you can only have one child or two at the most, and then after that you must get an abortion, that's another story.

Now I must. If it says Jewish people, black people, right, we want to get rid of them, turn them over. I'm going to break the law because now they're requiring me to break God's law.

Right?

That's the difference. You remember in Acts chapter 5, you remember in Acts chapter 5 that the apostles were preaching, the Sanhedrin says to them, what? Stop preaching in the name of Jesus. Do you remember what their response was?

We must obey God rather than men. They were told to not do what Jesus had specifically commanded them to do. So that's when we break the law.

All right?

So we got that out of the way. The point is, rebels make poor witnesses for the gospel. We should not be known as rabble-rousers, rioters, and rebels. That should not be our reputation as Christians.

Well, someone says, as citizens, can we use the government to achieve some good ends? Is there a time when we use the government? And the answer is absolutely. Look at Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16.

Here's the story of Paul and Silas and Philippi. They've cast out a demon from a girl, a woman, who was telling fortunes, and her masters were exploiting her and making tons of money. And when Paul and Silas came along, they cast out the demon.

These guys lost their source of income. They were pretty ticked about it. And so Paul and Silas were thrown in jail. You remember what happened. This is when they're singing in prison. They're singing in prison.

And all of a sudden there's an earthquake and everybody's let free, right? All the doors are open. The jailer comes down. He's ready to kill himself because he knows his life is on the line. And they say, no, no, no!

We're all here! And through that, the jailer is converted. Now watch what happens in the morning. Verse 35. But when it was day, the magistrates sent to the police, sent the police saying, let those men go.

And the jailer reported these words to Paul saying, the magistrates are sent to let you go. Therefore, come out now and go in peace. It's like, wow. Hey, you can go. Isn't that great news? Watch what happens.

But Paul said to them, they have beaten us publicly, uncondemned men who are Roman citizens and have thrown us into prison. And do they now throw us out secretly? Okay, in that day, everybody born in the empire were not citizens.

Hardly anybody was citizens. That was a really high position to have. Paul had it. Now, if you weren't a citizen, the police could take you and beat you and get you to confess to something. But if you were a citizen, the law forbade the authorities from beating you to get information.

In fact, if you were a Roman citizen, a very rare thing, most of the people in the empire were not citizens. If you were a citizen, you couldn't be thrown in jail without a trial. Yeah, if you weren't a citizen, who cares?

Throw them in jail. No big deal. So Paul says, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, you have them. Well, let's keep reading. No, let them come themselves and take us out. The police reported these words to the magistrates and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens.

So they came and apologized to them and they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia and when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

All right, what do you see Paul doing here? He's using every bit of the law that he could use.

He said, you can't do this to us. We're citizens.

And the magistrates, I mean, they are trembling in their boots. They're going to get in big trouble for that, right? Now, I don't know why Paul did it, okay? Maybe it was to put those guys on alert. You can't break the law.

Maybe it was to offer a sense of protection to the church in Philippi. Those folks belong to that guy. We don't want to make trouble for them. Who knows? The point is, he used the law, didn't he? Look over, you heard today in Acts 22, right?

Same thing happened. Paul's talking in Jerusalem and a riot erupts. The tribune in charge of the garrison there in Jerusalem does not want a riot. They figure out Paul's the cause of it. They haul him into the barracks.

They're tying him up. They're going to beat him. And this is how I see it. He's kind of looking over his shoulder at the centurion, right? And he goes, hey, you in the habit of beating Roman citizens?

All right, the centurion is like, oh, man. Oh, and he runs to the tribune, probably leaves him tied up. Goes to the tribune and says, this guy's a Roman citizen. The tribune comes back and he says, man, I paid for mine.

I bought mine. And Paul says, I was born with it, right? So he uses it. And then he's shipped off, right? The tribune doesn't know what to do with him, so he ships him off to the governor.

All right?

So we come to Acts 25. He's shipped off to Caesarea. He's in the governor's court, and the Jews come, and they're leveling all kinds of accusations against him. They want the Roman government to deal with him, to kill him, essentially.

And in chapter 25, verse 10, here's what we read. But Paul said, Festus is saying, look at verse 9. But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?

Now he's trying to do the Jews a favor, because they know if they get him to Jerusalem, they can probably kill him. But Paul's wily. So what does he do? But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's tribunal where I ought to be tried.

To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourselves know very well. He's making his defense. You know that the charges they're making are wrong. He's standing in court, and he's making his point, right?

Nothing passive about that. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything to which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them.

I appeal to Caesar. Then Festus, when he had conferred with his counsel, answered, To Caesar you have appealed, to Caesar you shall go. Okay, so he's got a right as a Roman citizen. He says, I don't think I'm getting a fair shake here.

I appeal to the Caesar himself. Well, he's got that right. And so that's how he ends up in Rome. What's the point? The point is here, yeah, use the government. And we ought to say, that's wrong by our laws, don't do that anymore.

Right?

We do have that opportunity. If the opportunity is there, take it. But here's the point. Here's another thing. Note as well that what the government can and what the government cannot do. The government, according to 1 Peter 2, can punish evildoers and praise those who do good.

That's it. The government cannot change one human heart. It can only restrain evil. It can only praise those who do good. Now, it doesn't do very well on the last part either. I mean, frankly, how many times have you gotten a letter from the governor saying, good job, you didn't break the speed limit at all this year.

Right?

That doesn't happen. But if you do break the speed limit, they're really good at getting you for that.

All right?

So the point is, the government can restrain evil, but it cannot change a human heart. Since I was a kid.

Okay?

So I grew up in the 60s. I remember cities burning in 1968. I can remember that. The city just 30 miles down the road, Milwaukee, was up in flames in 1968 after Martin Luther King was assassinated, after Robert Kennedy was killed.

I was in eighth grade when all that was coming down. I remember those days. I remember Supreme Court decisions. I remember legislative victories. I can tell you about integration. I've seen it all in my lifetime.