Us & Them

Us and Them

The country and indeed the world have been very divided for a while now…  Thank God the elections are over!  But a little less than half the country is pretty ticked off right now. 

The world is still divided over the U.S. decision to do some global butt kicking of dictators and terrorists.

There is still this feeling of hate towards Christians and Jews by radical Muslims.

All this division…what does it mean, where is it going, and how does it relate to you?

I am sure most of you just choose to ignore the global stuff for now, but what about the idea of being divided?  Is it always bad to be divided?  Is it always good to be united? 

What about Satan and God?

What about the Buckeyes and the Wolverines?

What about the Jews and Palestinians?

What about this?  Let’s say you just met a new friend of the opposite sex in class…you talk get to know each other and find out you have a lot of the same interests…they are really cool, they are cute and so you start hanging out a little bit…you later find out that this person and their family are dedicated muslims.  Does this affect your relationship?

Mentality of Us and Them

1 Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV) "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."

KJV – “peculiar people”

The kind of change referred to there is one that is life changing.  It isn’t about what church you go to, like it is some club affiliation.  It is talking about a life-change that has happened because you have met and embraced Jesus Christ. 

All of a sudden we become different on the inside and different from the people around us.  It is a change so drastic that Jesus calls it being “born again” in John 3. 

This change, this difference lasts the rest of your life, and literally forever. 

It can cause friction in relationships, whether at home or at school.   We begin to feel God drawing us closer to Him, calling us to be more like Him.  We notice things that dishonor the Lord and are turned off by them.  When someone replaces the f-word with His name it makes us mad, because they are talking bad about someone we love…and the changes go on. 

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 (NKJV) "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

There is truth to that way of thinking, because God does call us to be separate from “the world”

How do we reconcile this sense of doing things differently?

Think about what some teens think upon coming in here for the first time…especially if they have never really been in church before. 

Culture shock.

Little girl being interviewed on CNN the other night before the election.  They were doing a story on Evangelical Christians (us) though this family attended a large southern Baptist church.  She was asked about her faith, and she very eloquently explained what she believed.  Showed her worshipping with her family.

What I pictured was people everywhere who are unfamiliar with a life of faith just cringing…using words like cult, and brainwashing, etc.

Anything that we do will look radically different from the world, and most likely people will not be kind about it.

John 15:18-19 (NKJV) "“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

What to do…

Should we be apologetic? No, but understanding.

Should we totally cut off those who don’t follow Christ?  No, we should be “in the world, but not of it,” while reaching out to them.

How do we respond to questions and even criticism when it comes? 

What do people think when they see raising of hands, etc.

Romans 1:16 (NKJV) "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."

1 Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV) "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

Can’t we all just get along and hold hands, sway, and sing I’d like to buy the world a coke…?

Unfortunately no

Things to get across:

Citizenship in Heaven comes before U.S.

A life following Christ will make you different from the world…always.  “a peculiar people” “aliens, strangers” “not of this world” “will seem like foolishness to the world”