You may well remember the story of Joshua. Joshua came after Moses and his Job was to lead the Israelites into the promised land. Because the Canaanites were wicked God commanded Joshua to kill every person in Canaan, because God didn’t want the Israelites to adopt the Canaanite lifestyle of wickedness.
There are some Christians who want to take a Joshua approach to dealing with people outside the church - separate from them at all costs. The error in that way of thinking is that We are not Joshua, and this is not cannan. The rules by which Joshua and the Israelites were to take the land of Canaan by force were formed out of the covenant relationship with God true. But they were given shape because God had basically issued an "it’s too late for redemption" decree on the Canannites.
In case we haven’t noticed, God has not issued that decree on our world just yet, there is still time for the unsaved to repent - and until that time is completely closed off, it is our duty as Christians to get out among them and give them that opportunity through our words of witness and our works of witness. One area where God is able to use His people to reach the lost is in our day to day relationships with them.
As much as I agree with the need for a Christian bookstore, because up until recently most secular retailers wouldn’t carry worthy books; I disagree with some of the trends in Christian society. Trends toward "Christian" Restaurants, Christian coffee houses, Christian businesses of all sorts, and in SOME instances even Christian schools. My reason for being against all of these is certainly not because they’re unbiblical; but rather that I see all these distinctly Christian pursuits as preventing as much exposure as possible to a decidedly UNCHRISTIAN world.
As I search the scriptures, God has NEVER advocated a bunker mentality in the church.
Jesus said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." That doesn’t mean that the gates are going to attack us and end up breaking. It means that the Gates are out there in the real world and we have the power and authority in Jesus Christ to more than storm the gates, we have the authority in the name of Jesus to smash them.
There is no secular business, no secular government, no godless group anywhere that has the power to resist the relentless overwhelming power of the gospel. It’s time we stop wringing our hands because the government is godless. And stop whining because of all the sex education in the schools. Let’s not whine about it, let’s get into society and overwhelm it with God. I’m convinced that one of the key reasons for the increasing Godlessness in America is namby-pamby Christians who’d rather pull away from "those nasty sinners" than engage them on the stage of society and overpower them with Jesus love.
In tonight’s text, Genesis 21:22-34 we find Abraham making a deal with godless people, and we also get a hint that Abraham’s involvement in his society benefits not just himself, but those around him as well. < read Genesis 21:22-34 >
In studying the text I think we can learn a few important lessons for dealing with the unsaved.
1: KEEP YOUR WORD.
In this passage, Abraham is making a covenant with some fellow named "Abimelech". Frankly we don’t know is name because Abimelech is really another word for "ruler" or king of the Philistines.
Now, why on earth would Abraham make a deal with this idol worshipping crackpot? Because there’s nothing immoral about it. " God’s people cooperate with different people at different times for different purposes, and the discerning believer knows when any alliance is not in the will of God."1
Central to this passage is the idea of making an oath. The word "oath" in the Hebrew is nearly identical to the Hebrew for Seven both of which are often repeated in this passage. The oath of Abraham and Abimelech is certainly the central core of this passage. But oaths are tricky things. In Matthew 5 Jesus says, "Simply let your ’Yes’ be ’Yes,’ and your ’No,’ ’No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." (Mt 5:37, NIV) That seems clear enough - and in James 5:12 we see: "But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. " (Jas 5:12, NASB95)
So what’s Abraham doing here? He’s supposed to be a godly man- why is he making an oath? There’s nothing wrong with taking an oath. Hebrews 6:13 tells us that even God made an oath, swearing by Himself that he would bless Abraham.
The reason Jesus and James are against taking oaths is the severity of breaking them. When you swear an oath, God’s going to hold you to it. The point is, it’s better not to make an oath at all so that intentionally or unintentionally you don’t break it.
The making of Oaths play major roles in our daily lives. When we marry we make an oath, Usually with the promise that we will "love, honor and cherish" our spouse. When you buy a house or a car you sign a written oath with the bank promising that you’ll pay back what you borrowed, plus a bit more in most cases.
Breaking those oaths, like any oath is a serious affront to God. And I believe it’s key that we remember whom we represent. We don’t represent ourselves, we represent Jesus. That means that our every action needs to be formed by our relationship to Him.
Can you imagine Jesus skimping on a business deal? Than neither should we. Can you imagine Jesus cheating on his taxes? When you sign your 1040, that’s an oath of honesty to the IRS.
I’ve often considered that ideally; if there was a position either in government or business that required honesty and integrity - Christians should be the natural choice- because we are freed of sin and God wants us to be men and women who keep their word. Why it is that Christians aren’t employed in the most sensitive areas of government or business simply because they’re Christians? Sadly it’s because not every Christian lives within that high level of integrity we are called to. In fact I’m hard pressed to find any indication that shows Christians are generally thought of by unbelievers as being more trustworthy than nonchristians.
That’s the environment that Abraham found himself in, and it’s still the world that we live in. If we’re going to work with unbelievers we have to be prepared to take the lions share of the burden.
2. CLEAR THE AIR.
21:23 Abraham’s previous transgression in Gen 20:1-18 wasn’t forgotten by these people who now wanted some assurance that a man now grown powerful wouldn’t turn on them and destroy them.
Even though God forgives and forgets, the people of this world often do not. When we deal with godless people, we might do well to remember that their father the devil is the father of lies. We however must work on a higher plane. Let this serve as a reminder for us that our dealings with the unsaved must be completely devoid of even the appearance of evil. (1 Thes 5:22) This makes us the responsible party to be making sure that we’re living like Christ would want us to.
The world needs to be able to know with certainty that if we name the name of Christ, they can trust us. In fact the only reason that Abraham had to make this oath was because he had once proven himself untrustworthy. We can’t afford to sully the name of Jesus in secular society.
For all that however, don’t fail to notice that it hadn’t escaped Abimilech’s notice that God had blessed Abraham and that God was with Abraham! (v22). The redemptive power of God is evident even to godless people.
3. HANDLE DISPUTES HONORABLY.
Now that the deal had been made, Abraham sought to clear up a misunderstanding. He did not accuse Abimelech - he merely sought for Abimelech to hold to his end of the bargain. There’s not a thing wrong with asking the world to play fair, and even to hold them to the need of it. < read 21:25-31 >
First he complained, offered surety, and then in a show of good faith went above and beyond what was necessary. Sometimes the cost of doing business in a world stained with sin, will unfairly fall to us. But Abraham did what was necessary to keep the peace. (Romans 12:18 "... so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.")
4. LIVE WITH INTEGRITY:
Once all that was settled, you can see Abraham’s reaction. He planted a tree there as a clear indication of his expectation to live in peace in the land now. As he lived in that secular society he called on the name of the Lord. Clearly he was building up his relationship with God in light of this newly established relationship with Abimelech.
5. REMEMBER WHERE YOU BELONG: Look finally at Verse 34.
V34 is a reminder that like Abraham was then; we are strangers here. We don’t belong in this world. We are sojourners here: For those of you without a dictionary, a sojourn is a "temporary stay" We are visitors and aliens in this world. Our true home isn’t here, even as Abraham’s wasn’t here.
As we deal with people who sadly enough belong here, let’s remember that we don’t. Let us not grow too fond of this world, lest it’s deceitfulness rob us of our full reward.
