Drawing a Straight Line in a Crooked World

Introduction:

I don’t know many people who do not like a good story. Jerry Clower could tell some great stories. They were also very funny stories. Other people in history have written wonderful stories thru books. C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien with the Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings series of books come to mind.

There has been a sea change of values in our world over the last generation. There are days where I do not feel at home in my own nation anymore. I know that many of you feel this way as well. The radical changes in morality and decency in our society. The complete lack of decorum and civility in our political debates. Christians behaving in unwise and unhelpful ways in the political debate. I cannot help but think what kind of legacy will our children and grandchildren inherit. I am 44 now. What will I be able to say if the Lord tarries to a young minister 30 years from now if the Lord leaves me here till then. We feel disoriented and out of place. But maybe this is how we should feel. As Christians we have to be reminded that America is not heaven. That this world is not what God intended and that he is making us a new one to live in for all eternity as home forever. I love America, I love my country and where God has placed me, but where he has put me here should never feel “totally right” or “home”.

The power of stories is real. Stories have a way of shaping us and teaching us. They impact the way we look at the world and look at ourselves. So we need to be careful. Hollywood and the media culture of our time is impacting on we view the world and how we identify ourselves. The diversions of our media are shaping the minds of our children and causing havoc in our culture.

Paul gives some encouraging words here in that I think are helpful as we seek to be gospel people in our nation and in this world. We live in a crooked day, but God’s people should be drawing straight lines with their lives. We should be shining as stars in this world. How can we ensure that we are?

Yet the Bible tells a persuasive and powerful story. A story that is also revealed in the plot of the human story. A longing within the human heart for good to overcome evil. Think about the movies we like. They all involve a plot line that tells a story that usually follows a progression, normally ending with the good guy winning.

Before we answer that question, let’s think about what has happened in the last generation. What lies are pushing our culture toward this rejection of God, his word and his church?

However, other plot lines in popular movies and culture today tell other stories. Stories that are not wholesome, but harmful. Harmful because they re-inforce the lies of the human heart and appeal to our depravity as human beings. What are some of the lies that Hollywood and the media world would have us to fall in love with? How does the gospel confront and correct these false view-points.

I. The Death of Cultural Christianity

I. Life is All About Pleasure

I. The Pursuit of Pleasure

In the world that my grandparents knew, to be a Christian was considered a fashionable thing to be. To become a member of a church in the community assured that your social status was intact and that people could look at you as a respectable and accepted member of the community. To shun the church was to ostracize yourself and to lose influence in the community. This is no longer the case.

One of the prominent lies of our time is that life is all about personal satisfaction and pleasure.

Today, to be identified as a Christian brings reproach and disdain from the culture at large. You are seen as an enemy of the modern culture. You may even be viewed as an enemy of freedom due to the viewpoints you have on marriage and the exclusivity of salvation thru Jesus Christ alone. How have we gotten to this point?

II. The Pursuit of the American Dream

How many of you remember “He-Man”. As a child I can remember this cartoon and I even had the figurines; He-Man and Skeletor. Then there was “She-Ra”. He-Man would say, “I have the power” and they were called the Masters of the Universe. Harmless you say, yet what the enemy of our souls would have us all to believe that we are Masters of the Universe and that we have the power. That we are the captains of our souls.

Being a Christian in Public is a Problem

Everything We Have Ultimately

Believe what you want to in the privacy of your home or in your church building. But don’t bring your faith into the public square. You have to leave your beliefs at home or in the church.

Being a Christian in Public Invites Hostility

Perhaps in years past, if you were a Christian, you didn’t experience open hostility. But this is changing. The death of Cultural Christianity has increased the number of people who may think that being a Christian is a bad influence on society. That the bible is bad and dangerous. A regressive force on the world.

Yet again, we need to remember that Christianity historically has invited the scorn of the culture. One only has to read the New Testament to see this truth. The question we should ask ourselves is, “Should I feel at home in this world?”

II. The Danger of Grumbling & Arguing

“do everything without grumbling and arguing.”

In spite of what is happening around us, Christians should be known for conducting themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. We should be “blameless and pure”. Living our lives with honor and integrity. Unfortunately, we sometimes fail to do this.

We can be known for zeal and fiery defenses, but not for truth and love with grace toward all men.

When we are proclaiming truth and seeking to shine like stars, drawing straight lines in a crooked generation, what are some questions we need to be asking ourselves?

Do I offer my point of view with respect to others with whom I may disagree?

Does it look like I am raging against injustice or against people who are made in God’s image?

Do I respond with honor and integrity when I am slandered or strongly opposed?

We will shine like stars and draw straight lines when we behave with honor and holiness.

“so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation...”

III.