Christian Behavior In the Shadow of Exploitation
Hebrews 13:1-8
INTRODUCTION: Since the beginning of the church, Christians have been subject to abuses, prejudices, and negative acts. Here are a couple of examples that occurred recently, …:
June 5, 2006 -- DENTON, TEXAS (ANS) -- Secret Service agents recently showed up at the office of Great News Network in Dallas, Texas and demanded their entire stock of $1 million dollar gospel tracts that are produced by Ray Comfort’s ministry, Living Waters. The tracts are used by Ray Comfort and his co-host Kirk Cameron and have been promoted on their national television program.
Reports were that the Secret Service was also going to pay a visit to Comfort’s national offices in Bellflower, California and confiscate their entire stock. Apparently someone in North Carolina took one of the $1 million dollar tracts to a bank and tried to deposit it into their account, says a report from Christian Worldview Network.
Secret Service agents yesterday threatened evangelist Comfort with arrest for counterfeiting and seized 8,300 gospel tracts designed as "million-dollar bills."
July 31, 2006 -- BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (BosNewsLife) -- Leftist rebels in Colombia’s Meta Province hired a gunman to assassinate a Christian mother of four because she refused to stop proclaiming Christ, Christian rights investigators confirmed Friday, July 28.
Christian rights group Open Doors told BosNewsLife it learned that the woman, who was only identified with her pseudonym Jenifer for security reasons, was murdered because she had been leading insurgents to Christ, many of whom defected "from their illegal armed group."
August 11, 2006 -- MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- On Friday 4 August, India’s Supreme Court ruled that police do not require warrants in order to lodge First Issue Reports (FIRs), arrest and detain anyone accused of involvement in religious conversion activities.
HINDU TALIBAN
Clearly this ruling opens the door for police with Hindutva sympathies to act as Hindu Taliban. It also opens the door for Hindutva forces to employ corrupt and sympathetic police as their agents of persecution.
Nuns, pastors, bishops and evangelists, as well as Christian aid workers, teachers and social workers, are all immediately at risk of arrest and imprisonment because of their Christian witness. In fact every Christian, actively witnessing or not, is at risk from hostile elements that may exploit the opportunity to bring false charges against them, inspired by a variety of motives, in the same manner that the blasphemy law is exploited for personal gain in Pakistan.
So then, how should the believer behave in such a world as this? Well, the book of Hebrews was written to the church. Specifically the church in persecution! The writer of Hebrews says this:
Hebrews 10:34-35 34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
So, here at the end of this epistle the writer gives some behaviors, which are to be exemplified in the believer, EVEN when he faces mistreatment
I BROTHERLY LOVE
A The purpose
1 When we think about brotherly love, we need to think in terms of Jesus
a The love of Christ was sacrificial
b The love of Christ was proactive. Jesus did not just respond to others lovingly, He acted lovingly to them first.
1 God first loved us
2 While we were yet sinners Christ died for us!
3 Jesus even prayed for his crucifiers!
2 Love brings people to Christ
a People are looking for those who genuinely care about them. Biblical love by its nature is focused on the needs of others.
b Biblical love does what is good best and right for the other person.
3 Biblical love keeps believers united
Hebrews 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
a Since this is “brotherly love” it reveals our common heritage in the family of God
b Each believer is part of the family of God
So, we “OUGHT TO” be brotherly loving, but HOW do we love brotherly? The Bible is more than “OUGHT TO” book it is also a “HOW TO” book.
B The process
1 Love has its foundation in relationship
2 One needs to have a relationship with others in order to love them.
a Relationship can be based on family ties
b Relationship can be based on friendship
c These are easy areas to express brotherly love
3 In order to expand our “love” we need to establish additional relationships
a We will not love the lost until we develop a relationship with the lost.
1 Not a relationship based on closeness or familiarity.
2 A relationship based on need, and direction
3 A relationship developed in prayer
4 The process of “loving” is :
a Determine the area where God wants you to be more loving.
b Understand why God wants you to be more loving in this area(s)
c Pray for the development of that relationship
1 May come in the form of a burden
2 May come in the form of an activity
5 Love is an activity
6 Love is a command
7 Love is something assumed by the writer of Hebrews
II HOSPITALITY
A The Purpose
1 The use of what God has given us
2 Believers were expected to be hospitable
a To allow other believers to worship in their homes
b To open their homes to believers who were traveling
3 The importance of hospitality is seen in the biblical record
Genesis 18:1-2 1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
Genesis 19:1-3 1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning." "No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square." 3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.
4 It is better to offer hospitality generously than to miss the opportunity
B The Process
1 Forget how big or small your house is
2 Forget whether it is all “Red-Up” or not
3 Hospitality is making others feel comfortable and at home
a Spending time with others
b Sharing a meal with a visitor
c An evening with a single person
d A Traveling Missionary
1 Sometimes our mission home can be more of a detriment than a blessing.
2 It has the potential of releasing us from our responsibility as believers to be hospitable to each other.
4 Act now
a Figure out who you do not know very well, and ask them to join you for an evening.
b When you hear me request lodging for missionaries, or meals for guest speakers, don’t think it is someone else’s duty. Until Jesus comes it is your duty.
III HELPING THE MISTREATED
A The Purpose
1 To not forget those in prison, and those mistreated.
2 Will happen to all of us at one time or another
3 Mistreatment brings fear and alienation
4 We are to represent Christ to them at times like these
Matthew 25:36 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
B The Process
1 Become aware of the plight of other believers
a Read some of our missionary letters.
b Some of our missionaries minister in difficult situations.
2 Awareness breeds empathy
3 Awareness breeds connection
a Not just others in distress
b Not just other believers in distress
c Part of my body is in distress
IV HONORING MARRIAGE
A The Purpose
1 Believers honor marriage because our world no longer does
2 Believers honor marriage because it was established by divine institution, not human decree
B The Process
1 If you are unmarried, avoid those situations that may put you in the middle of a marital relationship
2 If you are married, give honor to your marriage
a Remain faithful
b Love continually
c Faithfulness extends to thought, attitude, and action
Rick Warren established these “commandments” for his staff and church when dealing with members of the opposite sex:
Saddleback staff standards for maintaining moral integrity:
• Thou shalt not go to lunch alone with the opposite sex.*
• Thou shalt not have the opposite sex pick you up or drive you places when it is just the two of you.*
• Thou shalt not kiss any attender of the opposite sex or show affection that could be questioned.*
• Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at home.
• Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone at the office, and thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex more than once without that person’s mate. Refer them.
• Thou shalt not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling. Refer them.
• Thou shalt not discuss your marriage problems with an attender of the opposite sex.
• Thou shalt be careful in answering emails, instant messages, chatrooms, cards, or letters from the opposite sex.
• Thou shalt make your secretary your protective ally.
• Thou shalt pray for the integrity of other staff members.
* The first three do not apply to unmarried staff
"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” (Eph. 5:3 NIV)
V EXERCISING CONTENTMENT
A The Purpose
1 To free my life from temporal pursuits
2 To understand that things make us comfortable, but they do not satisfy our inner needs
B The Process
1 Pray for contentment over desire
2 Give from your abundance, rather than augment your accumulation
a There will always be someone with more than you
b There will always be someone with less than you
c Where you give what you give determines the impact of the gift
3 Relish what you have rather than resent what you are missing
1 John 2:17 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
CONTENTMENT COMES FROM REALIZING GOD’S SUFFICIENCY FOR OUR NEEDS
VI REMEMBERING OUR LEADERS
A The Purpose
1 The purpose of memory here is to imitate
2 We remember them because they taught us the Word of God
3 We remember them because they modeled biblical living for us
B The Process
1 Respect what they do or did as from God
2 Identify one trait and seek to imitate that trait
3 Master one trait at a time
VII REMEMBERING CHRIST
A The Purpose
1 Regardless of what the world does what Christ has done will never change
2 Only Jesus is the source of our light and power
3 Keeping our eyes on Christ keeps them away from other things
B The Process
1 Pray
2 Read your Bibles
3 Be sensitive to his involvement in the world
4 Expect His coming
Well, there we go – Christian behavior in a Crisis world.
We can each seek to behave more as a believer should. Only in the Christian can the world really see Christ before it is too late!
In the words of “Larry Boy” – “I am that hero!” Be the hero for Christ!
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