Sermon Tone Analysis

Wednesday, September 30, 2022 Commands of Christ – 27b

A Christian's Character: Heavenly Citizenship and its intersection with Earthly citizenship

Open: What kinds of things would you do differently if you moved to a new community but only expected to stay for a year?

A month? Why?

If you are a short-term resident, you do the minimum to get by:

You don’t:

Get involved with local politics — but you do vote in national politics (absentee, etc.)

Get involved with local clubs

You, generally, don’t develop deep ties with neighbors, etc.

You DO:

(Should) Get involved with the local church (it is a part of the “big C” Church)

Dig: This relates to a command God gave to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29.

Under Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry Judah was divided into 3 groups: those who fled to Egypt (Jeremiah 42-43); those who were taken captive to Babylon (Jeremiah 39); the poorest who were left in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 52:16).

Which of these groups did God bless and why?

The Babylonian captives (they were in the center of God’s will) vs. the Egyptian refugees who were disobedient to God — if they had stayed put in Judah, as God told them to do, they would have been more blessed than the captives in Babylon — but they refused and were consigned to death:

Jeremiah 42:7–16 (NASB95) Now at the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.

8 Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people both small and great, 9 and said to them, “Thus says the LORD the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: 10 ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you.

11 ‘Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand.

12 ‘I will also show you compassion, so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil.

13 ‘But if you are going to say, “We will not stay in this land,” so as not to listen to the voice of the LORD your God, 14 saying, “No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the sound of a trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there”; 15 then in that case listen to the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah.

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “If you really set your mind to enter Egypt and go in to reside there, 16 then the sword, which you are afraid of, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there.

So, now hear what God said to the captives in Babylon, and think about how it might apply to us:

Read: Jeremiah 29:1-7

Jeremiah 29:1–7 (NASB95) Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, 4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.

6 ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.

7 ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’

What emotional reaction would most people have if asked to pray for the prosperity of their captors?

Ain’t doin’ it!

I hate them!

How do you think God would have us pray for our country?

Pray for prosperity:

Spiritual prosperity — the most important

For an increase in the numbers of Christians — not a decrease

Settle to the extent that we model effective Christian living — but not so settled we can’t let go of this world.

For the past few weeks we have been looking at the constant barrage of media reports about the intersection of Christianity and politics.

Let’s consider: Do Christians have a moral or biblical obligation to participate in government?

Is there a distinctively Christian way to engage in the political process?

Do Christians have a duty to vote, and if so, what principles should inform them while casting their ballots?

How should pastors think about politics, and how can they shepherd their congregations well during an election season?

First, do these two realms (Christianity and politics) intersect?

How or how do they not intersect?

David Clossonin BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES FOR POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT says:

… politics, properly understood, is about how groups of humans organize their affairs… In this sense, politics is intimately connected to community—how we relate to other people—and inextricable from the concept of loving one’s neighbor.

The Bible teaches that government is appointed by God.

In Romans 13:1-7, Paul describes the governing authorities as “ministers of God” and says they are responsible for administering civil justice.

Romans 13:1–7 (NASB95) Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.

For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil.

Do you want to have no fear of authority?

Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good.

But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.

6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

God placed His people in government to accomplish His purposes: Joseph, Daniel (and his friends), and Esther.

Conversely, how about Lot and his family’s impact on society?

… one pastor stated, “to not be political is to be political,” thereby rebuking those who avoid political conversations for fear of being perceived as “too political.”

As he rightly notes, avoiding politics altogether is a tacit endorsement of the status quo, which might include social conditions that perpetuate flagrant injustice.

Further, given the United States’ far-reaching influence in the world, how can American Christians love the people of the nations well without having a vested interest in how our government approaches the issue of religious liberty and human rights worldwide—issues which go to the heart of seeing people around the world as created in the image of God?

By voting, Americans determine who will represent the United States abroad as well as the values our country will export around the world.

What do you think is the media’s agenda in “reporting” so much on “Christian nationalism?”

(Why am I using scare quotes?

In a Time Opinion piece written Monday, September 26, 2022 by Andrew Whitehead we read that he believes Christian nationalism is an existential threat to this country.

He says: … there were more tweets including “Christian nationalism” in July of 2022 than in all of 2021 combined.

(Maybe that is because of the incessant “reporting” on it?)

Christian nationalism is more than theological or religious beliefs.

It includes several cultural assumptions including:

Strict moral traditionalism focused on sustaining social hierarchies.

Comfort with authoritarian control—exercised by the “right” people—that includes the threat and use of violence.

A desire for strict ethno-racial boundaries around who is a “true” American, where non-white and non-natural born citizens are viewed as unworthy of full participation in American civic life.

(This is why many label it white Christian nationalism)

This means that Christian nationalism does not want a government for the people by the people.

It wants a government for a particular people, by a particular people.

Namely, politically and religiously conservative white American Christians.

Perhaps now we can sense the danger Christian nationalism poses to the U.S. if it sees our country as primarily for the benefit of a small subset of the overall population.

A burgeoning collection of recent social science research provides evidence of the threats Christian nationalism poses and here I will identify three.

Christian nationalism is anti-democratic

Christian nationalism perpetuates racism

Christian nationalism approves of political violence

The next time we hear anyone confidently declare “true Americans” and “faithful Christians” should embrace Christian nationalism, or that the outcomes of elections are battles of biblical proportions of good versus evil, we can remember how Christian nationalism is anti-democratic, perpetuates racism, and approves of political violence.

So, was that written to inform and give facts!

NO!

I believe they are using the same tactics as were used on the protesters (NOT insurrectionists — if they were they were the stupidest insurrections who ever lived) on January 6, 2021.

Do I advocate crawling through windows to break into the Capitol building — NO!

But now ALL Christians are lumped together with these idiots .

I can easily believe it was a “false flag” operation — because of its outcome.

We are ALL being smeared under one label with lies galore to shut us up and discourage us from being salt and light in our society.

The lies.

That ALL Christians who believe they are called by God to be salt and light in their world:

Are racists

Are violent extremists who constantly espouse taking up guns and shooting anyone who disagrees with us

See have a privileged position in society and refuse to give up that privilege

Christianity and Politics:

Wayne Grudem, in his book: Politics According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture, highlights five predominant views about Christians and government that he argues are misguided:

government should compel religion,

government should exclude religion,

all government is evil and demonic,

“do evangelism, not politics,” and

“do politics, not evangelism.”

He proposes a model he describes as “Significant Christian Influence on Government.”