4. Cultivate New Relationships Series

MS112623

HOW TO STOP YOUR CULTURE FROM DYING

4. CULTIVATE NEW RELATIONSHIPS

(SLIDE)

In this series we said culture is in rapid decay and splitting apart at the seams:

- Politically

- Ethnically

- Morally and

- Socially.

(SLIDE) But we said, in the letter to the Ephesians is God’s Renewal Manual. In 3000 words Paul paints a vision of a salty new society subversively placed inside larger society. Being a “salty” subculture of course doesn’t mean a place where they swear a lot! We mean a subculture that, like salt in meat, PRESERVES life and joy and peace and meaning, inside a culture that’s rotting.

To review: We’ve seen God’s dream of radical newness building over 3 weeks. It’s started with:

- (SLIDE) New creations, adopted into God’s family by grace, united in a…

- (SLIDE) New Community, of oneness across racial, ethnic, social lines, living by a…

- (SLIDE) New Standard, pure and different, imitating God…

o And today we get to the end of the Ephesians renewal project seeing these new people…

o (SLIDE) cultivate New Relationships.

(SLIDE) 4 KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Now, when I say we must cultivate New Relationships we’re not saying different relationships. What we mean by “new” is a different posture in the same relationships. Because EVERYONE, past or present, Christian or non-Christian, whether part of the church or not has the SAME key relationships which Paul addresses in this letter.

What are those KEY RELATIONSHIPS? We are…

- (SLIDE) Sexual beings enmeshed in marriage relationships.

- (SLIDE) Generational beings enmeshed in relationships with children and parents.

- (SLIDE) Material beings enmeshed in relationships with work and bosses.

- (BULLET) Spiritual beings enmeshed in relationships with spiritual powers above us.

(We could add a 5th key relationship: we are also political beings – enmeshed in relationship with civil powers and gov’t. But Paul addresses that in a different letter, so we won’t get into that today.)

Now, in our dying society, what is the emphasis in each of these relationships?

If you harken back to last week the words used for our moral ethos were “moral relativism” and “exaltation of the self.” So, the answer to the question, what defines our posture in each of these relationships is:

- (SLIDE) freedom, independence and self-expression.

Now is FREEDOM bad? No. In fact, in one sense, Paul is all aboard the freedom train when it comes to these relationships. We know all too well from history that:

- wives in many cultures have been exploited and considered property.

- children were suppressed and expected to be seen and not heard.

- workers were unjustly treated in lousy conditions, not to mention the abomination of the American slave trade.

- Superstition ruled.

So, this brings us to a critical point for any people investigating the Faith today or anyone who has said the following line:

- “Christianity is uniquely responsible for all the exploitation of women and children and workers and is a pro-slavery religion.”

- Ever heard that? Whenever people say that, the question to ask is this:

o When Christians were perpetuating oppression, who wasn’t? Like how did you figure it out?

o Where the Muslims against slavery? How about the Buddhists or the Hindus? Now, you say, well, Rick no religion got it right because religion poisons everything.

o Ok, how about the post-enlightenment rationalists? Were they uniformly living out equality and freedom in all these relationships? No, they weren’t.

o They did however give us a scientific basis for racism in the 18th century.

Now, it’s certainly true that many Christians to their shame have caused oppression in these key relationships. But we should be the first to cheer the liberation that’s happened in these relationships – you know why? Ask, to whom do women, children and slaves chiefly owe their liberation?

To Jesus!

- Jesus treated women with courtesy and honor in an age when they were despised, and further brought them into his extended band of apprentices!

- Jesus said, “let the little children come to me” in a Roman world where unwanted babies were consigned to the local dump (as they are today to hospital incinerators labeled, “medical waste”.)

- Jesus taught the dignity of manual labor, working as a carpenter and saying, “I am among you as one who serves.”

- Jesus revealed that everyone – regardless of background – could belong to the family of God.

- Jesus affirmed limits to the power of the State.

It’s absolutely critical that we start with this foundation because what comes next in this sermon – for some of you – is going to sound like nails on a chalkboard:

- If you don’t get this underlying foundation that in Christ a radical new kind of freedom has come,

- If you don’t remember that Paul