Sunday 10/18/20
Series: Do we REALLY believe?
MESSAGE: Lights in the Darkness
Podcast: Download (111.8MB)
***Video is HERE***
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Last week we were looking at Paul’s words to the Philippians church who said that he wanted them to work out their own salvation with deep respect for God so that Christ would be formed in them and he would not have labored over them in vain.
In Paul’s encouragements to them he taught them the nature of our communion with God and each other. That to love God requires that we love our siblings in Christ and to fail to love them was to fail to love God…to actually HATE a sibling in Christ makes it clear that they are in fact NOT your sibling because you clearly do not know God.
All of this is pointing to our communion (koinonia) or shared experience, resources and life with Christ and our brothers and sisters.
So we read in 1 Jn 1-2 about this communion. John said to have communion with each other WAS to commune with God as well.
Chapter 2 we began to see some of the proofs of maturity into Christ’s likeness…or how we progressively have Christ’s character formed in us as we mature in Him. Let’s read that again…
1Jn 2:1-17, “(1) My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ the righteous One. (2) He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. (3) This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands. (4) The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” without keeping His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (5) But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him: (6) the one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked. (7) Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command, but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the message you have heard. (8) Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (9) The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother is in the darkness until now. (10) The one who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. (11) But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (12) I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name. (13) I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have had victory over the evil one. (14) I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have had victory over the evil one.”
So simply put, the maturity goes roughly something like this…
- Children in Christ know God
- Young and maturing adolescents know Him and experience progressive victory over the world in their lives
- The adults have a deep and more mature knowledge of God which has matured and settled them through continued encounters with Him over a longer period of time. It is a settled knowing that comes by repeated experience. The difference is similar to the way a young married couple knows each other in mostly a superficial and academic way, whereas the way married couples who have been together and actively loving each other for 30, 40, 50 or more years stands worlds apart from the young and inexperienced. The older couple has a knowing that matured and developed over time so that they really do have a comprehension of each other. They are settled into the relationship and rely less on words and more on experience.
Then John begins to difference between knowing and loving God and loving the world. Much like he explained light and darkness earlier in the letter.
“ (15) Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. Because everything that belongs to the world– (16) the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle–is not from the Father, but is from the world. (17) And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.”
These three divisions are not difficult to grasp and we have many examples of them offered throughout scripture. I will use Adam and Eve and the parable of the sower and the seed to illustrate these 3 divisions.
Then we will address the things which came up in conversation at the end of last week’s teaching.
Sin is here called the “love of the world”.
Love, in the context of these verses is agapao and means, “To hold in esteem, indicating a direction of the will and finding one’s joy in something.”
So the beginning of this explanation by John says, “Do not hold the world in high esteem. Do not direct your will or derive your joy from it’s actions or ways.”
The reason for this is because ever since the fall of man, satan has been the god of this world – NOT IT’S OWNER – but it’s current lord. Therefore, the ways of the world run contrary to God’s ways.
The word “World” here is the Greek word Kosmos and means the present order or way of things. Paul refers to this earthly life as “this present distress”.
SO this passage is telling us that all that is in the kosmos or all of the “ways” of this fallen age are contrary to God and His ways – it is literally a light versus darkness comparison again which is WHY we are not to set our affections on it. This is why Galatians 5:24 tells us that those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts. Romans 8 tells us to not set our attention on the things of the world. Our attention is often driven by our affections. So all of these passages (and several more) all elucidate the same idea – DON’T set your heart on worldly things and ways.
Those ways are divided into three categories:
- The lust of the flesh – Things our lower nature (including our bodies) crave. They are not things which are wrong in themselves, but which become wrong due to the idolatrous place it takes in our hearts.
- In the temptations of Christ is was “turn these stones into bread”.
- Adam & Eve – “It was good for food”
- In the parable of the seeds and the sower it is the “cares of the world” which grow as weeds which choke the Word of God.
- The lust of the eyes – Things of beauty and desire, be they riches, or certain clothes, or certain cars or houses, of personal beauty or lust after another’s beauty.
- In the temptations of Christ it was, “I will give you all these kingdoms if you will bow down to me”
- Adam & Eve – The fruit was pleasant to the eyes – the appearance was such that they wanted to bite into it.
- In the parable of the seeds and the sower it is the, “deceitfulness of riches”
- The pride of life – The things which lift us up in arrogance or which promise an perceived increase of value in our own and other’s opinions.
- In the temptations of Christ it was, “Cast yourself down and the angels will catch you since you are God’s son”
- Adam & Eve – it was desirous to MAKE ONE WISE
- In the parable of the seeds and the sower it is the, “desire for things other than the word”.
ALL of these things are NOT of God our Father but are from this world with its broken ways and distorted values. As such they are darkness and not light. So to love them IS to love evil and hate God. This is why James 4:4 tells us that “Whoever therefore wants to be the friend of the world, makes themselves God’s enemy.” The word friend here being very similar to the word agapao in 1 John. It means a relationship of knowing and trusting and involves the adopting of the interests of the world as one’s own interests.
Now, last week in closing we mentioned 3 things.
The first was communion and how it illustrated these truths of fellowship with God being exclusive to those who know and walk in the light of life.
The second was how an American Christian should vote – meaning, should our Christian views of things such as homosexuality and abortion, dictate how we cast of our votes. Since we are light and we are living in a world of darkness, How can we expect children of darkness to live as children of light. Is it right to attempt to legislate righteous behavior through man made and enforced laws?
The third was, on the other hand, should we do what we can to hold back the advancement of evil so that it does not engulf us and take us over? The example being offered was that of Scientology and how it has largely taken over the Clearwater area.
So let’s dive in!
We will begin with the second and third since they are so much alike and we will end with communion and possibly the taking of it here together.
It is NOT as straight forward as we would like. You see you cannot compare the Old Testament laws over a nation of Jews who all aspired to Judaism as an example for a nation like America who by definition is diversified and accepting of all religions. I think that’s pretty obvious. There is NO point of comparison to be made.
Also, the only other real examples we have are when Israel was in captivity what did they do? Which would include the position Jesus and the Apostles took regarding politics under Roman rule since Roman rule was in fact a “captivity” for the Jewish nation.
Well, as I said, America cannot be run like the Jewish nation under the Old Covenant when it was a sovereign nation – since that has ZERO comparison with a nation where all expressions of religion or the absence of it is fully endorsed, accepted and celebrated in our national and statutory constitutions. In that environment, the only way to argue for morality, is on other grounds other than what is moral. It has to be something that everyone, or mostly everyone, would agree to, because in their earthly point of view there is a mutual benefit to be gained by it – but it cannot be done on religious grounds. For example – Most people will not oppose laws which respect people’s property. As humans we do not like being stolen from – so we are willing to agree that theft is wrong and is therefore punishable. As humans we do not like being killed – so we are willing to agree that murder is wrong and is therefore punishable. But quite literally, that is where MOST of our agreement begins to dissipate, because after these things, we begin to lose common ground with the world.
We might believe murder is wrong, BUT disagree on what is to be considered murder.
For the Christian this matter is actually decided FOR us. I know that there is no specific commandment which clarifies “thou shalt not kill” as including the unborn, but it is mentioned in other ways throughout both scripture AND in early church writings.
In scripture it is both stated and implied. In Exodus 21 it clearly states that if a pregnant woman is hit and it causes premature labor but the baby is unharmed – the one who struck her must pay whatever the husband demands for the danger their child was placed in. IF however, the unborn child dies, the offender was to be put to death. The law further clarifies itself with all possibilities between no harm and death by saying – “and eye for an eye, a hand for a hand, and foot for a foot”. So if a child is born with an eye which was damaged due as a result of the mother being hit – the offender must sustain the same injury to their eye…etc. Seems pretty clear to me how God feels about this! Not to mention that passages like Job 10:18, Ps. 139:13; Heb. 7:10 and others reveal the personhood of unborn children even to the point of when they were still in the loins of their father before being placed in the womb of the mother!
The evidence is overwhelming!
But, if that were not enough, the Lord reminded me of another place where the actual word abortion IS used from early church fathers. As I was out working this past week I’d listened to last Sunday’s message and when I was done I didn’t feel like listening to music so I looked through my audiobook collection on my phone (which is substantial) and came across a reading of the Didache. I’ve taught you about this book written by very early church fathers along with several other extra biblical texts of significance like the Damascus scroll, the Dead Sea scrolls and the Diatessaron. All of which are tremendous helps in the validation of scripture and its teachings.
[Places I mentioned these are here, here, here & here]
To remind you though, since I know you have slept since then, the Didache is a composite of the teachings of the Apostles written very likely before the Apostle John died before the end of the first century, though it could have been compiled as late as 125AD. NOW I wish to stress that I did NOT do this on purpose – it was because I did not recall all that was written in it that I wanted to refamiliarize myself with the book that I listened to it. Ironically, it starts with a comparison between light and darkness, good and evil, the way of what is right and the way of that which is wrong – JUST like last week’s message did in 1 Jn. This immediately intrigued me! Then, when it got to the second chapter – the very first example offered of murder was abortion. It reads like this, “you are not to murder a child by abortion nor kill them once they are born.” – Well, it doesn’t get any clearer than that does it!
So, how does that clear knowledge affect the way we are to vote? Is it to play a pivotal role, a secondary role, a minor role or no role at all?
Well that is where we have difficulty – given that all of our examples in scripture do not in any way approximate a system of government where the people have a vote.
When it comes to WHO is in office, I don’t believe there is any room for question. God is very clear that WHOEVER is ruling ANYWHERE at ANY TIME – they were placed in that position BY HIM and for HIS PURPOSES.
We have Romans 13 as a clear statement regarding that.
Rom. 13:1-7, “(1) Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God.”
Now lest we take these words too lightly as if Paul were merely talking about the “position” of ruler, rather than the specific person currently in the position of ruler let’s look at the Weymouth translation which says, “no one is a ruler except by God’s permission, and our present rulers have had their rank and power assigned to them by Him.”
Now this is significant, because Paul was living under the tender-loving governance of Nero – perhaps the most brutal ruler against Christians EVER in the history of the world! Jesus essentially said the same thing to Pilate , “You would have no authority over me at all, except it had been given to you from above.” Notice the word YOU mentioned twice. Not, “Rome would have no authority over Me” or “You position as governor would not include power over Me” but You would have no power if it had not been given to YOU by God!
Now both Paul and Jesus knew how people came into power in Rome was by three basic methods and voting was NOT one of them.
Either they were placed there as a matter of succession by birth or by civil war or by appointment of the previous ruler. Pilate was born to it, Nero was appointed by Claudius and Julius Caesar was placed there by civil war!
Evidently Paul and Jesus understood all three and governed and directed by God’s hand of sovereign providence.
So would it really be that hard for God to do the same in a nation that votes it’s rulers into office? NO! In fact, as I have told you many times in the past and we have witnessed throughout scripture – God MOST OFTEN brings us into the very captivity we wanted and uses either our own righteous hearts to appoint righteous leaders or our own misguided desires to bring us under misguided leadership.
I was a little surprised and delighted to see that Guzik said the same thing regarding this passage.
He said, regarding the phrase “No authority except from God”
God appoints a nation’s leaders, but not always to bless the people. Sometimes it is to judge the people or to ripen the nation for judgment.
Let’s pick back up in verses 5-7…
“(5) Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience. (6) And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks. (7) Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.”
Now, in verses 2-4 it mentions that these rulers are given to us for our good. This does NOT necessarily mean for our praise, but perhaps for our judgment, correction and instruction – but regardless of which it is – it is ALWAYS for our good!
Now, what implications does that make upon our voting?
In MY OPINION…very little. Since in our nation, the parties have become SO polarized as to make which side best represents light and which best represents darkness pretty clear. So the result of either a good leader or a bad leader in terms of morality is largely connected to the party and the party is represented by it’s incumbent. So if GOd is the One Who unilaterally places the leader in office – then all of the issues regarding the specifics of moral leanings of that administration wind up being determined by God, since He is the One responsible for placing them in that position in the first place.
So knowing that, does it matter how we vote? Well, yes and no.
No in that our vote has no influence nor vote power over God’s choice.
Yes, in that it is a way we are giving in this government to express our own allegiances – it is a type of testimony.
So how should a Christian vote in regard to issues like LDBT+ issues or on matters of abortion.
As regards lifestyles – I do not believe we have the right to limit their freedom of expression. HOWEVER, we need to express our opinions regarding THEIR right to force our participation in their sin.
Let me clarify. I do not believe a Christian should deny a social service just because someone is gay. If they want to buy a cake – let them. You are not sanctioning their sin – it’s a cake!
On the other hand, to lead them in matrimony is a different issue. I don’t believe we have the moral right or obligation to deny them the right to marry, but for a minister to play party to their presumed union would be a misstep since it is the Christian view that God alone joins two together in marriage and so to conduct that wedding would be to lie against the truth – since God does NOT recognize that agreement nor does He ratify it by joining them.
So voting AGAINST any law which would seek to force someone to officiate a wedding against their conscience is all together different than voting against the right to have a wedding at all. You see it is not so much about THEM as it is about your participation.
For me – I don’t, won’t and have never married anyone and never will – so it is a non-issue. I am not discriminating since I wont conduct ANY marriage for anyone. I’ve had friends ask me to officiate and I told them NO – I don’t do weddings. For me, it is a matter of conscience. I do not know with perfect knowledge WHO God wants with whom. So how am I in good conscience to lead them in a ceremony where two become one if I do not know God’s will regarding these two people’s lives? Besides that, I see no biblical basis for ministers being officiators over weddings at all! There isn’t a single example of it in the whole of scripture. But that is a secondary issue.
How does all of this effect the issue of abortion in regards to a Christian’s vote?
Well, people are going to murder their children for any manner of justifications one way or the other and denying them the ability to do it by government sanction wont stop them. However, as I said regarding averant sexual lifestyles – our vote is not so much about them as it is about us. It is inconsistent for a Christian to claim that murder is only murder if it is after birth and so as a matter of testimony and conscience, I would vote against it.
You need to keep in mind – your vote will not take their freewill away, and I doubt very seriously in our land abortion will ever be treated as the murder of an innocent life as it is – so all you vote stands to do is express your conscience and perhaps make it more difficult for someone to murder…and I’m pretty sure I can live with that!
True Christians will NEVER see eye to eye with non-believers and even in areas where we might appear to agree – like regarding stealing, the agreement is barely skin deep. Our is due to submission to the character and ways of God. For them it is largely a matter of practicality.
I hope this message will bless you richly…not because I taught it, but because it reveals Christ. He alone is our blessing and if in any way – whether big or small, 100% accurate or even just partially so – I have revealed our great God and Savior to you in a relationally knowable way, then this was time well spent on both our parts.
We at Living Grace Fellowship encourage you to place your trust in Jesus Christ, deliberately choosing Him and bowing the knee to Him as your Master and Lord, so as to come to realize Him as your Savior.
You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. The fact that you exist… that you are His creation, says you were in His heart, you are His delight!
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Blessings!
