6/28/15 D.
Marion Clark
Introduction
As we approach our holiday of independence, along with
celebration it is also a time to take stock of our times. Much has changed in
240 years; much has changed over our life-time.
Text
Now this I say and testify in
the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of
their minds. 18
They are darkened in their
understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is
in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and
have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of
impurity.
It
was the Apostle Paul’s special commission by Christ to take the gospel to the
Gentiles, i.e. to nonJews. He presented a gospel that erased the distinction
between Jew and Gentile. In our text, Paul is taking that term “Gentile” and
using it to depict the old life, the old self that characterized the life of
the believers before they knew Christ.
The
rest of the text is a description of that life, which is depicted negatively,
to say the least. The Gentiles “walk…in
the futility of their minds. They are
darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them.”
These are strong depictions of the Gentile life to attribute to them –
futility, darkened, alienated, ignorance.
And
it gets harsher. They are not in their state because of bad fortune but out of
their own obstinacy and rebellious actions. The Gentiles’ ignorance and
darkened mindset are “due to their
hardness of heart.” It is willful disobedience. This rebellious spirit has
led to furthering callousness and a downward spiral in immorality. They have become callous and have given
themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
That
is a sweeping indictment. These verses are saying that Gentiles – i.e. nonJews
who have not embraced the gospel – because they have hardened themselves against
God have become ignorant of him and callous to moral decency, so much so that
they have given themselves over to indulging in every kind of sexual
immorality.
Does
that mean that Gentiles are as bad as they could be? No. In Romans 2:14-15 Paul
writes: “For when Gentiles, who do not
have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves,
even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of
the law is written on their hearts…” The issue is not that Gentiles are as bad as they can be,
but that their way of thinking leads them along a path of immoral behavior.
There are degrees, of course, for each individual and each society as to how
far down the path they go, but that is the direction where their darkened walk
takes them.
Now,
is that an accurate assessment? Let’s consider the matter in the context of our
own country’s culture. Take that phrase “due to their hardness of heart.” Paul
is referring to persons who have hardened their heart against following God. I
once walked past a parked car with the bumper sticker, “No Gods, No Masters.”
That succinct phrase captures the thinking of the secular mind: to have a god
is to subject oneself to a master, to a higher authority. And that is precisely
what the human spirit recoils against. “I Did It My Way,” is still the theme
song of the human spirit, whether sung by Frank Sinatra or Elvis Pressley.
I
think this is one perspective that secular people will agree on. They do not
want a higher authority up in the sky telling us what is right or wrong for us.
Even those who describe themselves as spiritual make this a line in the sand.
Whatever divine being or force they ascribe to, they ascribe to it because they
feel at peace with whatever it tells them. There are no inconvenient commands
to adhere to. They are free to follow their own path.
Now
our Scripture text’s point is this. If you are going to establish a ground rule
that you don’t take orders from God, you are then going to be ignorant of God.
That is a simple principle. If I don’t listen to you, I can’t know you; I can’t
understand you. If I refuse to follow your directions, I can’t experience what
it is you know.
Coaches
are always harping on this, trying to get their athletes to buy into their
system of training or game plan. The athlete complains, “Why am I doing this?
This is dumb!” The coach replies, “Trust me. Do what I say and it will come
together for you. Then you will understand.” Sometimes the athlete gives up and
leaves without understanding; other times he stays with it and awakens to what
his coach knows. The difference between remaining ignorant and gaining
knowledge is choosing to submit, the very thing that the secular mindset will
not do.
So
what does he do? He follows the course that he himself lays out. He borrows
from what he sees around him that he likes. Anything about freedom is good.
Anything that affirms that he is “good” is good. There needs to be some code to
follow, and so he picks from a number of sources what seems workable and
reasonable enough to get along by. If he has a “do good” bent, then he might
embrace some causes. If that is not his thing, then he focuses on doing
whatever seems pleasurable for the moment. Maybe he is ambitious and wants to
make a name for himself. Maybe he is low key and just wants to take it easy.
Maybe he is religious and so likes to do religious type things. Whatever it is
that he does, he does it because it suits him. And most importantly, whatever
he does, he does “his way.” He determines his own course.
Our
Scripture text contends that following your own course will lead you to a less
moral life. It certainly will cause a society to head in that direction, and
most individuals who think they are living an individual life will nevertheless
follow the course of their society.
For
the Christian, we do not kill our neighbor when we are upset because Scripture
commands us not to do so. We do not commit adultery for the same reason. We
might reason out why it is not good to kill or why it is good to remain
faithful to our spouse. We might point to a natural code that is imbedded in
us, but Scripture – because we believe it reveals God’s will – is the authority
when it comes to our moral code.
But
the worldly mindset has no such outside, objective code. He has his mind to
reason with, but more influential is his heart, which indeed our society
upholds above all other guides for what is right. “Follow your own heart.” “You
alone can judge what is right for you.” “You must do what feels right for you.”
And so, he puts together himself his own code, making each decision according
to what feels right.
Culture
We
can follow this line of thought in many aspects of the moral code, but our text
takes us into the area of sexual morality. Probably there is no area in which
the Christian and the “Gentile” mindsets so clearly differ as in what is
sexually acceptable. Most of our neighbors agree with us that one should not be
mean or cheat others. But our views on this subject are at best laughable to
them. Indeed they regard our code – that sexual intimacy is reserved for a
husband and wife – as immoral and psychologically harmful to anyone who
possesses it.
Someone
outside the church I was pastoring visited me with her mother, wanting to have
a wedding there. She explained that she and family were lifelong Presbyterians.
She was marrying someone she had dated a long time. They thought it was time
for marriage and so had moved in together and were now planning the wedding.
Society’s morals have so changed that those outside a church adhering to
scriptural authority are unaware that there is even a difference of opinion.
And so the young woman, sitting beside her mother, could speak to me a minister
about living together with her boyfriend, both daughter and mother being
oblivious that I would see anything wrong with the situation.
When
it comes to sexual morality, Gentiles have moved away even from appealing to
the heart. It is human instinct – natural desire (no, natural need) to have
physical pleasure. Indeed, human sensuality is moved out of the moral realm
almost altogether. The only thing that really distinguishes individuals in the
area of sex is their appetite and taste, much the same as differing in what
foods people eat. Some want a connection with love; others do not. Some prefer
heterosexual; some do not. Some want one partner; some do not. Chastity is
considered something practiced by some who struggle with inhibition and is not
healthy for a normal, good person.
That’s
the way our culture is. That’s the direction sexual mores must always take if
there is no divine authority, no revelation as to what constitutes moral right.
The boundaries of what is right and wrong in sexual matters grow wider and
wider so that those who would hold to restrictions become the ones who are
pushed out of being accepted.
That
is being born out in our country. In our lifetime, we have seen a progression
(or rather, regression) in sexual attitudes. Before the 1960s, the
Judeo-Christian ethic of reserving physical relations until marriage was the
accepted code. There, of course, were those who flaunted a less restricted
ethic, but, still, the official stance was that traditional moral ethic. The
‘60s ushered in the so-called sexual revolution, a revolution that gained
ground throughout the ‘70s. Somewhere in the ‘80s the revolution turned into
complete victory. The result is the example given of the daughter and mother.
Good, normal people have sex before marriage. It is the natural conduct for
healthy persons, and it is the reasonable conduct for anyone preparing for
marriage. Not to engage in physical relations indicates a mental or emotional
problem, or else adhering to a rigid and prudish belief system.
Before
the ‘50s, being a practicing Christian was respected, even if we were
considered odd and a bit old-fashioned. After the ‘70s, a practicing Christian
might have some respect (for someone who is into asceticism), but our moral
code was hopelessly unrealistic. Now, as we pass through the teens of the 2001
millennium, we find the Gentile moral code pushing back more boundaries as it
embraces the homosexual lifestyle. Indeed, as of this past Friday, the gay
lifestyle finds complete endorsement through acceptance of gay marriage
throughout the United States.
This
last step (finalized by the Supreme Court’s decision to require all states to
accept same-sex marriage) takes Gentiles and Christians into a new state of
relations that hitherto has not existed. As the sexual revolution advanced and
settled into the accepted code of the land, Christians who kept their moral
stance lost their standing of respect. Before, we might have been ignored or ridiculed.
With the advent of gay marriage, we face outright hostility so that our moral
stance is being attacked.
For
example, Gordon College had signed a letter requesting that Christian schools
be exempt from the federal government’s mandate that all institutions accept
homosexual lifestyles of employees. In response, the city of Salem, which had
been leasing facilities for the college to use for classes, rescinded its
contract. In states that have approved same-sex marriage, business owners, such
as florists, bakers, photographers, and wedding venue owners have been fined,
sued, and forced into bankruptcy for refusing to provide their services for
such weddings.
What
same-sex marriage has done that previous changes in sexual behavior did not do
is to recast the subject into civil rights. Thus, it is no longer a matter of
live and let live but endorse or lose your job or your business. And so
Atlanta’s fire chief is fired for writing a self-published book for Christian
men that includes two paragraphs of his view of homosexuality. The head of
Mozilla was fired for making a donation to the bill to ban same-sex marriage.
Sports announcer James Craig was fired from Fox Sports for expressing opposition
to the gay lifestyle before he had been hired.
These
stories will exponentially grow with the Supreme Court’s decision. Though the
stated decision is that same-sex marriage cannot be banned by states, what has
already been demonstrated in states that legalized the practice is that all
businesses and individuals who service weddings in some manner must service
same-sex marriages or be fined and even closed down. How one views the subject
has already cost jobs and will increasingly become the litmus test for hiring,
promotion, and keeping one’s job, especially in management positions.
The
times are a-changin’ and not only in the area of sexual mores. The mere
expression of religious beliefs is under scrutiny. Cases of suppression appear
in the news regularly, whether it be in government, business, schools, or
military. One must be careful in expressing religious views, displaying
religious symbols and Bibles, and especially in witnessing for the gospel.
There is a growing effort to shut up religious expression and keep it from
public display and public discussion.
There
is nothing new to having people who are cold and indifferent to the Christian
faith, but in recent years we are witnessing a zealous campaign of disdain
against any religious belief. Authors have written bestsellers attaching
religious belief with the vigor of the most religious zealot.
Again,
all of these changes in mores and values are the logical proceedings of a
society that no longer adheres to the Judeo-Christian belief system. The ties
have been cut. The ship of the United States is drifting from its Christian
foundations just as European countries have done before us.
And
then, there is the actual war declared by ISIS. Here we have an Islamic
movement that has picked up the mantle dropped in medieval times when Islam
spread through literal warfare. Its intent is no less than seeing that its form
of pure Islam is established throughout the globe, and its zeal for its cause
is unmatched by any terrorist group before it.
The
times are a-changin’. The times have always been changing, but the real change
for Christianity in America is more than the erosion of belief and values. It
is the very real change in the popular attitude and increasingly official
attitude that views the Christian belief system as itself dangerous and
immoral.
What
then to do? Next Sunday I will address at greater length how individual
Christians and churches can practically respond. But before that, I will follow
the lead of the New Testament writers as they addressed the cultural pressures
of their day. And that is to start with reminding us of the great doctrines of
our faith.
Doctrine
What God has done for us in
Christ.
Psalm
78 chronicles the downfall of the first generation of Hebrews who were led out
of Egypt. Many gave in to the pagan cultures around them, adopting those
cultures’ religious practices and way of life. Many wilted in the face of
hardship. We know that fear of their neighboring nations caused them to falter
just as they were about to enter Canaan. The psalm points to the cause for the
people’s failure – they forgot the salvation of God, how he had delivered them
by mighty works.
We
must be careful to remember what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. We
must recall again and again the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches
of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and
insight 9 making known to us the
mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to
unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:7-10).
Do
not forget the mighty work of Christ on the cross to deliver us from our sins. Do
not forget that what matters most – the eternal destiny of our souls – is that
which is most secure. It is such knowledge that has sustained Christians in
hostile countries through the centuries up to this day.
For
t moment the future is unsure for us as our own country turns our own values against
us and views us as t wicked & t immoral. Even so, we belong to God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, and he has guaranteed that no one can snatch us out of
his hands (John 10:28-29).
Who God is and what that
means for us
God
is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is the sovereign
God whose word does not return to him empty, but rather, as he says, “It shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). And so,
when we are told that he elected us before the foundation of the world and that
he purposed our salvation and sanctification; when we are told that he has
purposed “to unite all things in him, things in heaven
and things on earth,” then know this – God’s will will be done.
I hear periodically how concerned we must
be for the church’s survival and that of the gospel. Survival is always just a
generation away. If we mean by that that the survival of any single church or
how widely the gospel is accepted, then there is truth to the statement. But
understand clearly that it is God’s will for the gospel to spread to all
nations and for the church to be established in all nations. And so it will. No
Supreme Court decision, no terrorist organization, no culture, no nation can
thwart the will of God.
And
so our more urgent question is not how do we respond to our culture but how do
we respond to our God? Will the fear of man lead us to compromise our beliefs?
If not our beliefs, will fear lead us to adopt the ways of the culture to
defend ourselves or to combat our culture?
Proverbs
29:25 says, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever
trusts in the Lord is safe.” When the fear of man takes hold of us, it is then that we
are in the greatest danger. Remember, remember that whoever trusts in the Lord
is safe in him.
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