|
Much to the consternation and dismay of people
in the world one of the single biggest contributors to conflict in the
world is religion. We could go farther and speak to the issue of ethical
and moral intolerance that is rampant among the religious. I don’t mean
by this that we don’t need to deal with the issues of good and evil, or
right and wrong. What I’m stating is that we need to look to look in the
mirror before we start pointing the finger at someone else’s spiritual
or moral disfigurement or blemish.
The history of religious practice in the
world, including Christianity, will not often be confused with the
precepts Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. It’s easy to talk
about spiritual poverty, grief, and mourning if we’re talking about
someone else. Most practice the religion of the spiritual leader that
thumped his chest saying, "Thank you God for making me who I am, and
not like this IRS agent." We all want to view ourselves as superior
to those that may touch our lives (whether daily or once a year).
It’s easy to speak of the need to hunger and
thirst after the righteousness of God as long as we’re speaking of those
that rarely attend church, never go to Bible study, and don’t
participate in the activities of the church. It’s obvious to us that
those people that want to find God during the C & E (Christmas and
Easter) seasons or during times of world conflict have to want it all
times, just like us. Most of us, however, do not want to look in the
mirror to find out how much of our hungering and thirsting is going to our
spiritual waistline. We forget that God invites us to the banqueting table
to feed us for the work of ministry. We are filled so that we can go into
the world to give away the benefit of what we have received; that is, we
are to give away the wondrous love and grace of Jesus for the salvation of
those that God brings into our lives. We are to exercise faith by being
faithful. How many of us does this apply to?
It’s easy to criticize those that are not
merciful, pure in heart, or peacemakers. Yet, when was the last time we
met someone and truly touched the pain in their lives? When was the last
time we can say that in single-minded service we gave the love of God to
one that was without? When was the last time we really thought through
what it meant to be a peacemaker in this world today? Instead of
approaching it that way, I could ask it differently. When was the last
time you caused pain in someone because they didn’t agree with you? When
was the last time that you compromised yourself for the pleasure of the
moment? When was the last time that you caused, or rationalized your
escalation of a conflict within your home?
My heart is troubled because I find that we
are oblivious as to why religion, including Christianity, is held in such
derision by those in the world. There is a hunger and thirst for spiritual
things in people, yet we find that many want their spirituality without
religion.
Honestly, who can blame them? We are called to
be the salt of the earth and the light of the world and we provide little
more illumination than any philanthropic organization. More, as Christians
we are entrusted with the revelation of God’s love for humanity. We are
commissioned to proclaim through our lives and our words God’s word of
reconciling love. We are to display that love in the manner in which we
love one another and those that are still separated from the love of God.
There is much more to say that is negative
about the way the church has conducted its business. However, there needs
to be a balance that is often neglected. God has called men and women
throughout the generations of the church who have been faithful to His
call. Without the faith of one man standing in the arena of the Roman
Empire there is no telling how long the sport of gladiators and wild
animals mauling unarmed or untrained people would have continued. Without
the faith of men and women throughout the years we would not have seen the
advances of education reaching out to the common people. This is not to
speak of the advances of the health and welfare of humanity through
medicinal advances and care-giving; nor, does it speak of the arts in its
various forms. The church of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy
Spirit, has been used to positively change societies and the world.
Yet, it is not these things that people focus
on. As with so many other things, we focus on the negative finding that it
is the one bad apple that spoils the bunch. It is true that many in the
church have negatively impacted the impression of the people of God.
However deserved, it is necessary for us to choose to make a difference.
Let’s look to the approach that Jesus took in the text we read today.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted
because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of God." This
last blessing brings us back to the beginning. The promise of the kingdom
of heaven is put before us. The sermon title alludes to standing in the
face of adversity. I am not referring to the normal issues of life – the
adversity that we face through the everyday: sickness, family issues,
employment, etc.
The adversity is very much more specific: here
we speak of the adversity of persecution because we choose to honor God
through His Son Jesus. The persecution is due to the proclamation of the
righteousness that is ours through faith and obedience. Tell a person that
they are unacceptable to God because of personal sin and that person will
likely have a comeback that is not fit to repeat. Christians are to lead
people to the righteousness of faith, not of works. Our works are to be
the result of inner faith. It is the faith that makes us righteous before
God – because the righteousness that we have is His righteousness
imparted to us through faith in His Son Jesus.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 – "If
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he
has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s
ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore
you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no
sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of
God."
In Matthew 28, "All authority on
heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
We know that our children have a passion for
disobedience to authority, and in most cases we never outgrow that
rebellious nature. At best, we find that we learn how to act out in
socially acceptable ways. All authority is in the hands of the Lord and
Savior of humanity and people refuse to accept that notion. When
Christians proclaim the truth of peace with God, the world does not want
to hear God’s declaration. Instead, they want the type of peace that is
part of their thinking – peace in Iraq, peace in the streets, or peace
in our homes. The ministry of peacemaking begins with purity of heart.
Purity of heart begins with exercising mercy. Exercising mercy comes as
the result of being hungry and thirsty for the righteousness of God. This
is the direct result of understanding our position before God and with
grief humbling ourselves before Him and receiving His comfort.
Paul wrote that Abraham believed and it was
reckoned to him as righteousness. This righteousness is not something that
he generated. It was a righteousness conferred to him from God. It is this
righteousness that empowers us to be able to stand in the presence of God,
nothing else is good enough. When this message is declared, people will
respond – either with repentance, patronizing tolerance, or animosity.
Verse 11 takes us into the explanation of what
Jesus means. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute
you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice
and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way
they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Peter taught a principle that we would do well
to follow. Speaking to those that were slaves, Peter encouraged them to be
obedient to their masters and do all that they were commanded to do. He
asked what credit it was to them if they were punished and persecuted for
behavior that deserved it. However, if they were persecuted for doing what
was right then this was to their benefit.
When the current issues of immorality among
clergy first made the headlines many in the church were devastated (and
still are). There was a great deal of concern about the preponderance of
the media coverage on these issues. I was also upset. However, my dismay
was not over the coverage; rather, my dismay and anger was that the church
(Roman Catholic and Protestant) effectively promoted this behavior by
blind tolerance of aberrant behavior and disregard of God’s clear
instruction in Scripture. Should we have expected any less from the
general public than what has been received?
Please understand this: Christians are held to
a higher standard because of the message we proclaim. People outside the
Church of Jesus Christ don’t want to hear that "Christians are
perfect, just forgiven" – that is only so many words. There is a
spiritual hunger in the people of the world and in many ways I think
people want the Church to provide them with One (our Lord and Savior) that
they can trust.
However, there are many in the world refusing
the gospel message. They don’t want to hear the truth. It is when we
live like Jesus and suffer persecution that we are to stand. Paul wrote of
the suffering for the sake of the gospel that he experienced (read 2
Corinthians 12). The writer of Hebrews reminded these Christians that they
suffered, yet not to the point of shedding blood. These people in the
first century were being persecuted because they chose to live in a
godless society as godly men and women. This is the example before us.
Recently, I was at a meeting in which the
presenter effectively told us that the notion of Jesus dying on the cross
to pay the penalty for the sins of humanity was an archaic notion. Instead
of focusing on Jesus taking our place (substitution), we should focus on
the life of Jesus and celebrate it. Instead of remembering that Jesus paid
the penalty of our sin, we should live the life of Jesus with one another.
Instead of seeing the blood of Jesus offered for our purification, we
should realize that this type of thinking was part of an old order of
sacrifice and really not relevant for our thinking today. Instead of
seeing the wrath of God poured out against sin, we should know that God is
love and embraces all people of all lands in the variety of ways that they
come to God.
In other words, this presenter effectively
claimed that:
- The Bible is irrelevant to the world today.
- The Bible as the unique revelation of God to declare Himself to
the world is not relevant.
- The reality of the human condition as separated from God because
of sin is an outmoded way of thinking.
- The need for salvation through the sacrificial atonement of Jesus
on the cross is preposterous and barbarous.
- Biblical Christianity is a lie and is harmful for one’s health.
To say that I was quite taken back in this
setting is an understatement. I wanted to ask him on whose authority he
spoke. I wanted to express to him how clueless/ignorant he had shown
himself to be. I wanted to stand as the "champion" of
Christianity and be the instrument of God’s wrath upon this heretic.
Instead, I chose a different approach. I
realized in that setting I would have alienated those that were present
from possibly hearing the gospel. I would have only affirmed their notion
that people that truly believe the Bible is the word of God are inflexible
and intolerable bigots. Instead of a knee-jerk reaction – I prayed. If
the opportunity presented itself and the Lord moved me, then I would
speak.
Thankfully this did happen. I listened to a
couple of questions and responses. I then picked up on the themes these
others had broached. I brought it around (very gently) to the gospel of
God’s love. I then suggested a potential problem with his approach to
the Scripture we were looking at and he immediately became defensive. I
further explained my thoughts on the subject and found that those that
were present were not offended. Only this presenter seemed to be put off.
As thankful as I was that others seemed to
listen to what I had said, I knew that their approach to Scripture was not
unlike this presenter’s approach. One of the pastors was tremendously
excited about the fact that the Greater Lowell clergy were going to meet
at the mosque in Chelmsford. She saw this as a tremendous opportunity for
Christian clergy and the Muslim imam. As with many clergy from a
mainstream perspective, the belief being proffered is more universalism
than Christianity.
This, of course, presents a problem. When a
Christian stands for the truth of God’s word, the typical response from
other religious people is that we are intolerant and unloving. However,
there is nothing more loving (if presented in the right way) than to tell
people about their need to know the savior of the world.
Brothers and sisters, we need to be willing to
pay the cost of discipleship. We need to stand on the truth that God
revealed in his Son Jesus. We know that we will face hardship and scorn in
this life, but the word we hear from our Father in heaven: "Well
done, my good and faithful servant." The blessing of God is on those
that live the truth of the love revealed from heaven. Let us pray.
Back
to Sermons |