- [Maybe put this made-up passage up on the screen or in the sermon outline.]
- Imagine that there is a Romans 17. (I’m not going heretical here - this is just a thought experiment with a point.) Imagine that at the end of Paul’s letter he shared some additional advice.
- Let’s say that Romans 17 begins: “Finally, to my brothers and sisters of the church at Rome, I wish you to understand the battle in which you are engulfed. It is imperative that you face squarely the warfare that is before you. I urge you to do all you can to further the pride and glory of the Roman Empire by working diligently for the continued rule of Julius Caesar. The ascendancy of Marcus Estonius to the throne will have catastrophic implications that will lead to the end of pax Romana. Those who support Estonius must be opposed and destroyed. Long live Rome! Timothy sends his greetings. Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus.”
- What would our response be today to reading that in Paul’s writing from 2,000 years ago?
- First, I think it would be something like this: why in the world is Paul, in the eternal Word of God, focusing his attention on the success of a nation that from our perspective 2,000 years later doesn’t even exist anymore? Isn’t that focusing on things that are temporary?
- Second, I think we would wonder why he is emphasizing a worldly country over the Kingdom of God. Isn’t the focus supposed to be on the Kingdom?
- Third, is it really Kingdom work to be advocating for particular candidates for secular political positions? Wouldn’t that indicate he’s off-track?
- This is obvious from the perspective of 2,000 years later (after all, Rome doesn’t even exist anymore and its language (Latin) is extinct) and yet much of the American church does the same thing today. We act like the battles to be fought involve electing certain politicians. We act like our goal is saving America. We act like our work is supposed to win battles that are temporal.
- I want to discuss that reality in the sermon today.
- We are starting with an interesting verse in Ezekiel 18 that points in the right direction regarding our contemporary cultural battles.
WHEN DO WE REJOICE IN THE DEATH OF THE WICKED? This has become a feature of the culture war.
- Ezekiel 18:23.
- Ezekiel has a lot of judgment in it. Rightfully so: the people of God have drifted from Him and the surrounding nations are regularly doing horrible things.
- And yet here in the midst of all that we have God clarifying His heart regarding that judgment. “Do you think I enjoy bringing judgment in these situations?” God essentially asks. “Do you think I like this?” This answer is clear: no. “I want people to turn and live.”
- This is key: He does not rejoice in the death of the wicked.
- Do we? To put in sharper terms: do we as “good church people” rejoice in the destruction of our cultural enemies? - Unquestionably, yes.
- The rhetoric has grown increasingly hostile and bitter in recent years.
- We act like our job is to fight and to hate our enemies. We say, “We’re battling for our country!”
- Essentially our approach is that we are hoping to win America back by hating our enemies. Our righteousness is proven in how much we hate.
- All of this calls for some clarification of some basic matters: what is our highest aspiration for our “enemy”?; what are they?; what team am I on?; what’s the win?
- These are fundamental questions that we are off-track concerning. I want to review each one and then at the end come back to the larger problem with our mistake here.
FOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR CULTURAL WAR ENEMIES:
1. WHAT IS OUR HIGHEST ASPIRATION FOR THEM? That they be destroyed or that they be redeemed?
- It is clear from the way we often talk that it is that they be destroyed. “They’re ruining America!” “They’re the problem!” “They need to leave!”
- The talk of many in the church (or, at least, many who claim to be Christians) is a language of destruction and warfare.
- “But, wait,” some of you might say. “I do want them to be redeemed so they’ll change their behavior.” I grant that many would be happy with that.
- But note the question. I didn’t ask if you’d be ok if they were redeemed. I asked what your highest aspiration for them is and that’s shown in your language. How many of your social media posts (either that you read or that you post) are about loving your enemies and earnestly praying for them and how many are about hating them and wanting to see them destroyed? How much of your thought about them is focused on hoping for them to be changed and how much is on desiring they be wiped out?
- When you put it like that, it’s not even close is it?
- We are living in a time when many, many who are Christians are focused almost exclusively on wanting to see our cultural war enemies destroyed and defeated.
- When we see bad news about them, we rejoice.
- Do we have any concern for their heart and their soul? Essentially none.
- Do we pray faithfully for their heart and their soul? Almost never, although we frequently pray for God to destroy them so we can have our country back.
2. WHAT ARE THEY? Enemies to be defeated or POWs to be rescued?
- So we just established that our highest aspiration for our cultural war enemies is their destruction, not their redemption.
- A core part of our mistake there is that we do not understand who they are.
- We see them as enemies to be defeated. And so we rejoice when that happens and we hate them in the meantime.
- But what if that’s the wrong way to see them?
- A simple question: how many people does Jesus want to see saved? The correct answer is “all of them.”
- Follow-up question: how many people does God the Father want to see saved? The correct answer is “all of them.”
- Final question: how many people does the Holy Spirit want to see saved? The correct answer is “all of them.”
- Now, we know that there is a spiritual battle going on all around us. Our ultimate goal is not to defeat them; our ultimate goal is to see them rescued.
- You see, they are POWs in need of rescue, not enemies to be defeated.
- This is, I know, a radical departure from the way we normally think of those we consider our cultural enemies.
- As we shared a moment ago, we think regularly about destroying them. We plot and plan for that.
- We don’t think nearly as much about them being saved - about setting them free.
- But you say: “But they’re enemies of God and all that He stands for!”
- Yes, but so were you.
- Did God’s work in your direction move toward your destruction or your redemption? Thank God, your redemption.
- God is working in the same way toward others in our culture who are touting and promoting things that are wrong. He wants to see them saved.
- As Christians, we believe that Satan is beyond redemption. His fate is sealed.
- But none of the people around us are beyond redemption.
- We aren’t commanded, “Go to those who are of your political party!” No, we are to go to the whole world.
- We aren’t commanded, “Go to those who act like you!” No, we are to go to the whole world.
- We aren’t commanded, “Go to those who vote the way you vote!” No, we are to go to the whole world.
- Why do we go to everyone? Because no one is beyond redemption. God hasn’t written anyone off yet. So we shouldn’t either.
- It is our aspiration that Satan be destroyed and defeated. It is our aspiration that every person be redeemed.
- Satan is the enemy. People are POWs that we are to work to set free.
- Does that mean we wink at the wrong things they promote? No.
- But it also doesn’t mean that we are allowed to give up on people!
- We don’t get to hope for the destruction of anyone but we do get to hope for the salvation of everyone.
3. WHAT TEAM AM I ON? Team Good America or Team Kingdom of God?
- If you had not read the Bible and listened to many of the sermons being preached today, you would think that it was God’s main desire that we all be good Americans. You would think that the cultural turnaround of America was the main thing that God was interested in.
- It’s not.
- The main thing God is interested in is the expansion of the Kingdom of God.
- God’s Kingdom is not America. God’s Kingdom is the Kingdom of God.
- This is another crucial thing that we need to understand.
- Do we want America to see God move in a powerful way? Of course.
- Do we want to see many people saved in America? Of course.
- But what many Christians in America are praying today is for an expansion of America. Even more to the point: for an expansion of the power of their group and party within America.
- These phrases get used all the time: “We need to win America back!” “We need to stop those who are taking over our country!” “We need the Christians to be in charge again!”
- None of those are primary concerns for Christians. Our focus is not to be on the redemption or expansion of America. It’s certainly not to be on the success of a certain political party within America. Rather we are to focus on the expansion of the Kingdom of God, both here in America and around the world.
- America is a temporary nation, even though there is much to love about it.
- The Kingdom of God is eternal.
- Our loyalty to the Kingdom of God is much stronger than our loyalty to America.
- Why would we spend our time and energy to gain power in America when our primary concern is the Kingdom of God?
- Aren’t we strangers and pilgrims here on earth?
- Aren’t we to be largely unconcerned with the things of this world?
4. WHAT'S THE WIN? My party wins or souls are redeemed?
- We’ve been near this issue but I want to state it directly.
- What’s the win for us?
- If we are crude and un-Christlike and in acting like that we drive the lost away from Jesus but our party wins an election, is that a win?
- If we love our enemies and guide them to Jesus and souls are redeemed, is that a win?
- This is crucial. It’s crucial because we are largely missing this point in huge swaths of the church in America today.
- Many act like it doesn’t matter how much we damage the reputation of the name of Christ in the pursuit of political gain, it’s all worth it.
- Many act like we are allowed to disregard the teaching of Christ in the pursuit of political power because “winning America back” is so important.
- Many act like won elections are more important than lost souls. It’s not true. It’s not Biblical.
- It’s worth pondering for a moment: what brings us joy in this area?
- Is it seeing our candidate win? Or is it seeing redemption happen?
WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT: If Satan can get us to fight the wrong battle, he’s won before it starts.
- The larger implication of all that we’ve talked about is this: if we get distracted, no matter how noble we think we are being, we are in trouble. We are handing the victory over to Satan without a real fight.
- Imagine a group of soldiers tasked with defending a town. But they get divided over the right way to dig their foxhole. They spend their time showing the right way to do it and complaining about those who don’t do it the right way. While they debate and argue and fuss at each other, the enemy makes numerous quick strikes in the town abducting citizens. It really doesn’t matter which way you dig your foxhole when you aren’t using it to protect those who are relying on you. You can win that argument and still lose the real battle.
- So much of what the church in America today is focusing on is the wrong battle. And in doing that, we’ve already lost.
- We need to get refocused back on what God wants us to be doing.
- We need to get back to loving everyone, even our enemies.
- We need to get back to wanting to see the Kingdom grow.
- We need to get back to wanting to see everyone redeemed.
- I’ll close with this.
- Imagine we win a bunch of political victories. We stand before God someday so proud of what we’ve accomplished. “Look at what we did for You!” Then Jesus looks at all that and woefully says, “None of that is anything I was ever interested in. You pushed away those I prized in order to win victories I cared nothing for. You exalted America while diminishing the Kingdom of God. I am very displeased with you.” What a horrible moment.
- Let’s focus on what Jesus said to focus on.
