Illegal immigration is a huge issue in our world. Not a week goes by without another story about chaos and even violence on our southern border. There are two extremes - the open borders set and the “ship ‘em all back where they came from” crowd. And both are absolutely convinced they are on the side of the angels. Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.” [Rom 13:1] On the other hand, Deuteronomy 10:19 says “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
Between the two extremes you can find any number of middle-of-the-road positions. And wherever you stand, the issue arouses really strong feelings. And I’m not going to tell you which side of the fence I’m on, because that’s not the point. The point is that sometimes it is really hard to know what God wants. The key question is, when does obedience to God require disobedience to the civil authorities?
Some people think that disobedience is only warranted when the government is requiring you to do something that is clearly against God’s will. Others think that we must also disobey when asked to ignore bad behavior. Still others draw the line when our taxes are used for what we believe are unethical purposes. These are not easy choices. And yet as Christians we are required to struggle with these issues, asking the Holy Spirit and Scripture to illuminate our consciences and strengthen our wills to be God’s people in the midst of what is, let’s face it, a very immoral world.
What kinds of decisions have you had to struggle with? Have you ever faced a choice that involved real risk, whether of being fired or jailed or ostracized? Even small consequences can cause us to hesitate before doing what we know is right. In fact, sometimes I think that it’s easier to obey in large things than in small ones, for two reasons. First, the big decisions don’t come along as often. And second, if we take a really big risk or stand up for a really important issue, there may be an element of pride involved, or the thrill of having faced up to a real challenge. That’s one of the reasons why Christianity flourishes most under persecution, because it’s clear that the decisions you make really matter.
Sometimes obedience is simple, but not easy - that is, it’s very clear what we are supposed to do, but the obstacles seem insurmountable. At other times, they’re easy, but not simple. That’s when you could go either way, but can’t figure out which road is really the right one.
For Peter and the others, the choice was simple. They had gotten really clear instructions - from an angel, no less - that their call was to preach the Gospel, to tell people about Jesus: who he was, and what he had done. But it wasn’t easy. It may look easy to us, gazing back over 2000 years’ distance. But if you remember, these were the same guys who had fled the scene the minute Jesus was arrested and who skulked in their rooms until Jesus proved to them that he had, indeed, risen from the dead. Even then, they needed the Holy Spirit to follow through on his commandment to be his witnesses and to make disciples. It took courage, and commitment, and confidence.
Actually, this was the second time the Apostles had been through this. Peter and John had already been told by the Jewish leaders to keep quiet. The rulers, elders and scribes “called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard. After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people... “ [Acts 4:18-21] But then things went from bad to worse for the religious leaders, for “A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured. Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.” [Acts 5:16-18] This is where we came in, with the angel opening the prison door and sending the apostles out to continue preaching.
It really was simple for Peter, but sometimes it is not quite so simple for Christians living today. Peter just said, matter-of-factly. “We ought to obey God rather than men.” [v. 29]
For Peter, talking about Jesus was not an option. When someone discovers how much Jesus loves them they can’t help but tell everybody they know. C. S. Lewis compares this kind of behavior to sweethearts who talk about their beloved until everyone around them is totally fed up with the topic.
Talking about Jesus was something Peter would have had to do, whether he was commanded to or not. But the commandment made it clear, and it’s easier for us to obey when God makes his intentions absolutely unmistakable. Nothing could be clearer than, “Go therefore 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 every-thing that I have commanded you.” [Mt 28:29-20]
Shouldn’t we all be witnesses?
Shouldn’t we all know what is right, and how to do it? The Great Commission isn’t the only crystal clear commandment God has given us.
But many - if not most - of us struggle when challenged to do what we know we ought to do. Listen again to what Peter told the Jewish leaders: “We ought to obey God rather than man.” The same thing applies to us today.
Unfortunately, many who claim to be Christians prefer to be guided by what politicians or celebrities, co-workers or advertisements, and especially our own appetites and opinions tell us. Some even rely on the daily horoscope in the newspaper. Incidentally, just looking at your horoscope for a giggle is not, in my opinion, particularly dangerous. It’s when you are tempted to rely on it that it becomes a problem.
Stop listening to what the world is saying, and start being serious about what Jesus wants you to do. And take the long view. One of the problems of American Christianity is what is called the health-and-wealth gospel. They take the promises in Scripture, from Jesus’ offer of abundant life to Jeremiah 7:23: “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.” Obeying God will make things go well for us, but not necessarily tomorrow, or even the day after, and not necessarily in the way that the world measures profit and loss.
There has always been a conflict between what the world tells us and what God tells us. This was true even during the height of what historians call Christendom, where practically everyone believed in Jesus and the Church’s voice often outshouted even the kings and emperors. Because the church also spoke with human voices, and even godly men and women can be wrong. We are responsible, each one before God, to submit our consciences and our convictions to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
We have to decide who we will listen to.
Another thing that Peter’s world has in common with our world is that many people do not want to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Many people - whether on the other side of the world or right next door - are telling Christians to keep their mouths shut. Some people don’t believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is really good news. Others are afraid that we might offend people who believe differently. Others think that religion is a purely private matter and shouldn’t be brought up in public at all. But, as Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” [v. 29]
Sometimes obedience means speaking; sometimes obedience means acting. Sometimes it means both.
Some of you may have seen the movie, “Amazing Grace,” that came out a few years ago. It’s about the great British parliamentarian reformer Wilberforce, who among other things eventually achieved his life goal of abolishing slavery. What many of you don’t know is that he also founded the SPCA - the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - and labored tirelessly to improve working conditions for laborers. Wilberforce was never in danger of prison or death, so far as I know, but the road he chose certainly wasn’t an easy one. Abolitionists in the United States actually risked much more than Wilberforce did, because they were actively breaking the law as well as trying to change it. And the war that followed killed more Americans than World Wars I and II combined.
Other groups who fought and suffered - and disobeyed the law - include the women’s suffrage movement and the temperance movement. All brought their members into danger. All received their energy and convictions from Christian principles. All were convinced that they “ought to obey God rather than men.” [v. 29] And all of these controversial causes eventually resulted in constitutional amendments.
But, believe it or not, at the time the country was in the midst of these divisive and passionate controversies, people used Scripture to argue both for and against each one of these causes. Even slavery had its Biblical proponents, arguing feebly from the story of Noah and his disrespectful son Ham. Even for those who knew that slavery was an abomination worthy of the harshest condemnation were divided over what to do about it. Actions ranged from speaking up to participating in the underground railroad to paramilitary movements like John Brown’s. He was eventually hanged at Harper’s Ferry. One of the most powerful voices against slavery was Harriet Beecher Stowe’s, with the astonishing success of her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Sometimes we must speak, and sometimes we must act. And sometimes it is dangerous.
There are many different kinds of courage, many different kinds of obedience, and many different kinds of martyrs. One of the early martyrs was a man named Polycarp, who, we think, was a disciple of the apostle John. When ordered to denounce Christ, he said: “For 86 years I have been a servant and he has never done me wrong; how can I blaspheme my Jesus who saved me? I am a Christian.”
More recently, we remember and honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said: “If any earthly institution or custom conflicts with God’s will, it is your Christian duty to oppose it.” It’s odd that he is not regularly identified as a martyr on the order of the early saints, but he was one nonetheless.
Do you remember the story in John 21 when Jesus met the disciples by the sea of Galilee? “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” After getting Peter to repeat himself three times, Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” [John 21:15]
What does loving Jesus mean? First of all, it means talking about him. Second, it means caring for his flock. And third, it means obeying his commandments. “If you love me,” said Jesus, “you will keep my commandments.” [John 14:15]
Remember that sometimes obeying Jesus is simple, but not easy. Sometimes it is easy, but not simple. And sometimes it is neither easy nor simple.
Abolition, women’s suffrage, the temperance movement. It’s easy to look back on these and believe we know who was in the right. That is partly because our opinions about justice have been formed by those movements. We take them for granted. But there are issues of equal importance that face us today that are less clear. Again, I sam not going to tell you what solutions God favors. What I will tell you is that God is watching to see what we will do in face of the great issues of our day.
What are these issues? I started out with immigration. Some Christian groups put stores of food and water in strategic locations on our southern border because many illegals die of thirst in the desert. Others oppose this, because it encourages people to put their lives at risk. Still other groups lobby for changing the laws, while others do mission work in Mexico, trying to change things there so that they can prosper in their own country. What would Jesus do?
What about genocide? Places like Darfur and Rwanda, people like Tibetans, Yazidi, Rohingya and Uighurs have all had their moments on the front pages. Do we lobby for sanctions or send financial support to relief organizations or advocate military intervention? What would Jesus do?
Abortion, of course is one of the most controversial and divisive issues in our country today. Should we lobby for changes in the law? Should we support adoption or crisis pregnancy centers? Should we picket abortion clinics? We know we shouldn't bomb them, but what would Jesus do?
Almost every political issue that faces us has moral and Scriptural implications. Christians have a long, long history of providing health care and public education. We invented just war theory and fair labor laws. But the Bible does not give us clear-cut solutions to the new problems we face, even though a hundred years from now it may seem obvious. What is clear is that while these issues of justice and mercy cannot be ignored, sincere outrage does not necessarily lead us to godly solutions. Wisdom and discernment are also needed.
Some of these issues, like immigration and abortion, may seem to require civil disobedience. Others simply require action which may carry other kinds of costs. Our obligation as Christians is, as I said earlier, to submit our consciences and our convictions to Scripture and to the Holy Spirit to determine what God is calling us to do about these situations.
I called this sermon Civil Disobedience, but perhaps I should have called it Civil Obedience instead. Because obeying God does not always mean disobeying the civil authorities. It does, however, require civility. “Keep your conscience clear,” says Peter, “so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.” [1 Peter 3:16] And Paul wrote to Timothy that “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone . . . correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth.” [2 Tim 2:24 ]
Sometimes we are called to act, and sometimes we are called to speak. We are always called to mercy and justice, although what forms they take isn't always clear. What does obedience look like? Where is God calling you?
