The 70’s
I. Introduction
A decade. 10 years. While we are in the middle of it it seems to crawl by but then when it is gone we look back and we are amazed at how quickly time has escaped. Last week we looked at the 60's! Now we move forward a decade and check out the 70's! Again one of the best ways to understand or catch a glimpse of a decade is to listen to it. Play 70’s soundtrack We come out of the 60's in a haze of smoke and free love and we march in to the 70's.
Greece, Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory, Jaws, Happy Days, The Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, The Dukes of Hazzard, Farrah Fawcett, The Muppets, Star Wars, Scarface, The Beatles break up, Elvis dies, Farrah Fawcett, Atari comes out, Michael Jackson goes solo, Sugar Hill Gang release rappers delight, Disco, Jim Jones and Jonestown. 3 Mile Island and Farrah Fawcett!
CNN described the 70’s like this . . . Careening from crisis to crisis. We endured the scandal in the White House (watergate). Political upheaval and Nixon becomes the only president to ever resign his office. The Arab oil embargo led to a recession and interest rates exploded (18% mortgage rates). We watched the Iran hostage crisis drag on and play out on TV. All of these painful moments led President Gerald Ford in the 1975 State of the Union Address to say, "The state of the union is not good". Every one remembers the disco but few remember the devastation that took place in the 70’s. One of the things that took place that shows how painful this decade was is that in the 70's professional counseling exploded onto the scene because people felt like they had lost themselves.
The 60’s preached the sermon . . “if it feels good do it” and it was so embraced that in the 1970's the result is discovered in an unlikely place. It is found in comedy routine about Geraldene. Flip Wilson, makes a statement that reveals the offspring of the 60's and in a nutshell embodies the decade of the 70's. He said, “The Devil made me do it.” So, now that we can do what feels good the next step is we have come to the place where we refuse to take responsibility for our own actions and place the blame on somebody else. Perhaps the most glaring revelation of this idea is that in the 60’s sexual revolution we are taught we can do what we want so in the 70’s if that freedom causes you to get pregnant then you should not have to accept responsibility for this action. So, Roe vs. Wade lands in court and abortion as a right is set into motion. Another example of the 70's mentality is the institution of "the No Fault Divorce Law" which was championed by then CA Gov. Ronald Reagan who would later say it was the worst political decision he ever made. This new law said that a marriage could be dissolved by either party for any reason. No responsibility. No consequences.
So, I would say the 70’s are really nothing more than the story that was started in the garden extrapolated to its full effect. Remember the account in the garden it starts like the 60's - if it is pleasant to the eye eat it. Don't worry about what God said. But it quickly graduates to the 70's because the snake blames God, the woman blames the snake and then the man blames the woman. If you want to sum up the The 70’s I believe you can simply say the 70's was the decade of blame. Blame everyone else for my issue, my problems, my difficulties. Pass the responsibilities to everyone else so I don’t have to accept responsibility. I believe this decade is one of the most devastating in our history because we still feel the result today. To this day everyone is a victim. So now I can sue someone for something i did. When I spill hot coffee on my lap I can hold the restaurant responsible that sold me what I asked them to sell me.
What's worse is that same mentality has not only continued to be pervasive in society but also in the church. So, now you have believers who can do what feels good even though it is condemned in Scripture. And worse than the fact they feel no remorse they can live together, name the name of Jesus but homosexually active, live and act like the world but still say they are saved because it isn’t their fault the devil made them do it. We make excuses because we don’t believe we are responsible. I can cheat because I was raised different, I can be sexually promiscuous because this relationship is different, I can refuse to honor God with finances, deal with my bitterness and my attitude because I am a product of my neighborhood. What sin is acceptable to you? What are you excusing?
So out of the backdrop of the 70's can I remind you of a couple important things that we need to learn or we will bring the baggage of the 70's into our walk with Christ today!
1.Christianity absent of personal responsibility and corporate accountability is not the Christianity of the Bible.
Paul bears this out in Galatians. Look at Galatians 6.
Galatians 6:7, 1
Be not deceived God is not mocked. For whatever
a man sows, that will he also reap.
That is the personal responsibility for our actions that we can not escape. It doesn't say unless you enjoyed it. It doesn't say unless you were raised differently. There is no wiggle room. Our actions are our actions and they bear fruit.
James 4:17
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (It is sin for him not for anyone else but him!
Then the corporate aspect comes into play.
Brothers, if a man is caught in any transgression, you
who are spiritual should restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, watching yourself, lest you also be temped.
So not only are we responsible for our own actions, when we come into this family called the Body of Christ we are also responsible for each other.
I remind you of what I believe is one of the most powerful statements that I have ever made to you from this pulpit . . . Christianity cannot be practiced in isolation.
2. You will struggle to follow Christ in isolation.
Why? Because in isolation we will excuse our sins. In isolation we act and then blame others. We think isolation insulates but what it really does is incubate. I submit to you that our spiritual growth is stunted in large part due to the lack of accountability. Lack of accountability is the breeding ground of aziness in spiritual disciplines. You can play with sin. You can slip in relationship. We will not grow without the intrusion of someone who asks us hard questions.
In fact, the absence of this type of person in our Christianity, according to what we are told in (SLIDE 7) James 5:16 which says to confess our faults one to another and pray for one another so that we can be healed we can conclude that most of us are walking around saved but not healed or whole! In fact, I want to make this statement to you today . . . (SLIDE 8) Without transparency there can be no transformation.
David’s encounter with Bathsheba is the story of the 70’s. He does what feels good. He hides it. But when confronted with truth David shows us the way to respond to our own issues.Remember what he said? He took responsibility. I alone have sinned against God. Notice David accepts responsibility but only after someone challenges him. Prior to the challenge there may have been remorse but there was no repentance. The challenge removed the ability to excuse or escape responsibility.
Who is your Nathan? And don’t you dare say it is me! Although I am here weekly trying to challenge you to greater levels of maturity, authenticity and transparency I am limited to dealing with us corporately in large part, I am not with you daily and I don’t have the level of access needed. Who do you have positioned in your life that can walk into every area - financial, sexual, relational, spiritual - and examine and confront? Without that you are living a 70’s style Christianity. Touch your neighbor and say I need you!
So, today I want to ask you two questions. First, who have you been blaming? What have you been excusing? Second, who is your Nathan?
