The Problem Behind The Problem

{INTRO}-Many of you will remember the Los Angeles Riots in the aftermath of the Rodney King trial... Wrong verdict...people took law into their own hands...

They were justifiably angry, but their actions were unjustifiable...rioting & killing...What we saw was a perfect example of a much deeper problem behind the problem.

{TEXTUAL paragraph} - Open your Bibles to 1 Chronicles 13:6-13 Here the Ark of the covenant was being returned to Israel after it had been captured by the Philistines. David, having established Jerusalem... national capital, assembled all Israel to bring the Ark to Jerusalem...grand procession... everything is great...until UZZAH TRIED TO STEADY THE ARK & WAS PUNISHED WITH DEATH FOR DISOBEYING GOD’S COMMAND NOT TO TOUCH IT. Let’s look more

carefully at this startling story...

////////////////{Scripture Reading}\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

{RELATIONAL paragraph}-My mother once told me words that I’ll never forget...

"Son, it’s not right to do wrong to do right"

That stuck with me...I hear them over & over as I observe moral issues of our day...and I hear them as I read this text in 1 Chronicles...

Why on earth did God strike Uzzah dead? He was just trying to keep the Ark from falling! Now, I know God commanded back in Num. 4:15 that...Ark is holy...not to be touched, but gee whiz, isn’t it OK to disobey God to do something good? God’s answer = "NO!"

IT IS NEVER RIGHT TO DO WRONG TO DO RIGHT!

Where do we need to apply this principle today?

2 REALMS: National & Church .

I.) NATIONAL REALM.

It is not right to do wrong to do right in...

A.)...CIVIL RIGHTS.

Now folks, I believe in equal rights...gospel = for each & every race...God help this church if a black family came and did not feel

welcome...Jesus didn’t discriminate...neither should we ...However,

so-called affirmative action is immoral!

It is ..."reverse discrimination" It is not right to do wrong to do

right! It increases racial tension, it does not get rid of it.

Nor did the riot in L.A.

Lady on TV - "I’m ashamed of my own people".

This lady understood that rioting, looting & killing was not the right

way of protesting the acquittal of the police in the Rodney King trial. But her contemporaries responded with violence-exchanging multiple wrongs for one wrong...death toll was over 38...needless deaths just to "prove a point" "NO" God says, Its not right to do wrong to do right.

[TR]This is a principle we need to apply in the area of...

B.)...HUMAN LIFE.

More & more...killing justified today in the name of convenience

to the living. - Abortion = classic example:

“I didn’t plan this pregnancy. I’m poor & cannot afford

another child.” = a tragic dilemma. But it is not right to do

wrong{i.e. kill the baby in the womb} in order to do right{i.e.

relieve this woman’s dilemma.}

Look at what is going on around us!...

12 year olds dropping 5 yr. olds from 4th story buildings,

twice in the last week I’ve heard of parents who left their

children in cars out in the hot sun...hours later...dead.

A young lady goes to a prom...leaves to give birth, strangles

the baby, throws her in a trash dumpster & returns to the

dance floor “Doctor-assisted suicide"...treat people like

animals & put them out of their misery!

What has caused this cavalier attitude toward human life, 24

years of Abortion on demand. Kill 30 million babies & what do you

expect?

Now we have “partial-birth abortion” which lawmakers on

both sides of the isle have seen for what it is - INFANTICIDE.

3 times they sent bills banning the gruesome procedure to

President Clinton. He vetoed them anyway.

Listen, if you’ve been fooled by the pro-choice arguments, & remain

pro-choice after being confronted with the truth, you are

diametrically opposed to Almighty God!

Because God is against abortion, I’m against it too. But, that does

not give me the license to bomb a clinic...wrong way of going about it!

It is “doing wrong to do right” & that is always wrong!

[TR]But there are other areas to which we must apply this principle.

C.) HUMAN SEXUALITY.

God’s word says that sex outside marriage is wrong...we’ve

forgotten that...accepted as normal...what 50 years ago was

shameful = no big deal.

Homosexuality = same...Ellen’s "coming out"...desensitized..numb

to it......so much so that when the AIDS crisis came upon us, we

started compromising God’s law.

Safe sex illus. teach fornication.

Our national life is inundated with the philosophy that it is O.K. to do

wrong to do right.

[TR]But this has invaded the Church.

II.) CHURCH REALM

A.) PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL.

It’s not right to do wrong to do right to preach a watered-down

gospel to keep from offending people...God knows I don’t like

that aspect of ministry. But it has to be done...