Faith: Private or Public?
Notes
Transcript
Well here we go…I’m just going to say right up front that this one might be a tough one for some of us. Me included. I’m hoping that you all wore your steal toed shoes. :)
If we can go back over the last couple weeks you’ll remember that we talked about where Jesus’ compassion came from when He saw the crowds. He had just gotten out of the boat with His disciples and was coming ashore and the text said that He looked at the crowds and had compassion on them.
We looked at where that compassion came from. And it was from His purpose. And what was His purpose? To save the lost. These people probably needed his care and healing and his concern…but what they really needed was Him. They needed His grace. They needed Him for forgiveness…for new life…for eternal life with the Father. That is where His compassion came from…so He began to teach them many things…and I think if that’s where His compassion came from…we can assume what He taught…how to repent, about the Kingdom…about God’s love for them…about new life.
The next thing we looked at was what Jesus was probably teaching about…through some parables. New life in the Kingdom…and how much we should value that.
We read the passages about treasure…Jesus’ parables on treasure…and how the ones who found the treasure gave up everything to get that treasure. It was worth that much to them. What Jesus is offering us, new life, is worth giving up the old life. It is that valuable.
Now if Jesus came with that kind of compassion…and what He came offering is that valuable…what follows. What would a life changed like that look like? That’s the question we left with last week. What does a changed life look like?
The first thing we’re going to tackle is this. And it is just a concept or a principle that we’re looking at today. We’re not going to look at the specifics…that will be for the weeks to come. But if our life has been changed that much…what would happen.
And so we’re going to look at a historical event that will help us get a picture.
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Opening question to help us begin to think. When was the last time you had a conversation about God? We’ll just start there.
Just a few years ago, Barna (a survey and polling group) joined up with the Lutheran Hour Ministries and re-polled a large group of people and found some very interesting things. They did this in 1993 and 2018.
In 1993 - only 10% of those asked thought that telling other people about Jesus or God was the work of the local church.
In 2018 - that raised to 30% of those asked…thought that telling other people about Jesus or God was the work of the local church.
Here’s a very similar response. The statement was…Every Christian has the responsibility to share their faith.
In 1993 it was 90%. In 2018…that number dropped to just under 65%. Just under 65% of Christians thought that it was their responsibility to help others know about Jesus.
The study went on to say how people started conversations about God…but we’ll look at that specific item down the road. Today…we’re just going to focus on the growing trend that this pole found.
“Mom, are bugs good to eat?” asked the boy. “Let’s not talk about such things at the dinner table, son,” his mother replied. After dinner the mother inquired, “Now, baby, what did you want to ask me?” “Oh, nothing,” the boy said. “There was a bug in your soup, but now it’s gone.”
There’s a question …that has been rolling around for a long time, but it has recently become louder…and especially in our culture. Especially in the West…that would be Europe and America Canada the UK and more.
SLIDE - Faith: Is it private or public? Like that joke…haha…is faith now something not to be talked about? Is it private or public? And for us…specifically, we’re talking about Christianity.
More and more people, with each passing census…and each passing poll or study are classifying themselves as non-religious…not associated with any religion. Many are now counted among the “nones.”
In the US from 2007 to 2021 those who would classify themselves as Christian fell from 78% to 63%. Those who would say they have no religion rose from 15% to 30%. Now…to be clear…that’s not necessarily atheist…they just said they have no belief.
Now just thinking about these numbers....one might think that there’s more immediate need therefore a response from the church would be seen and heard. That with this amount of people giving up on God or not even considering Him…we’d see more people of faith sharing Him…or at least raising questions.
But that’s not really what we’re seeing. Now…please know that I’m not raising this concern to make all of you feel guilty. I’m not trying to do that. Did I feel guilty when writing this…myself? Yes…absolutely. So I would say that was from the spirit…and usually if the spirit lays some guilt on you…He’ll begin a process in you to help you maybe shift your worldview. I hope to simply do that today. Put a little stone in all of our shoes that keeps our attention. Causes us to think a bit.
There are number of reasons I think we’re seeing this shift away from personal evangelism. Whether it be fear, or pressure, or nervousness, or culture…or claims like the question I posed …is faith suppose to be, ought it be, private rather than public?
We’ve heard the phrase…Keep your beliefs and your faith to yourself. Well, think about that statement for a second. The person who says that you shouldn’t share it. Their belief is that people who hold a belief should be silent about it…so really…that statement is self-contradicting.
Their belief is that others should not share their beliefs…so the question is…why are they sharing their belief that others shouldn’t share their belief?
Well, lets look in scripture to find some help. Like I said before we’ll be looking at a historical event …an event in world history.
We’re going to look at one small passage written by Luke…and it’s in the book of Acts…if you want to turn there. We’ll have it on the screen here in a few minutes. But let me give you the context first.
In this part of Acts we’re beginning to see Saul…probably a younger pharisee, of the tribe of Benjamin. It looks as though he is present at a trial that is outlined for us in this book…the trial of Stephen. Stephen had recently been selected to be a deacon, a ministry leader, in the distribution of food to those in need. Acts also says that Stephen was a great teacher and performed miracles as well. Many people were coming to a knowledge of Jesus through Him.
Stephen is then brought before the Sanhedrin…some whom probably…just recently…put Jesus to death. And in much the same way with the same questions and accusations....put Stephen to death. Saul is standing there…holding the coats of many…while they stone Stephen to death.
Luke then writes at the end of chapter 7 and in the beginning of 8, that a great persecution began on that very day against anyone who was a Christian…a believer and follower of Jesus.
The persecution was so great that people, families, began to quickly leave Jerusalem. They were escaping Saul and his persecution. There was a lot of fear in the air. Families were watching other families being taken out of their homes and carted off to prison and beaten. You can imagine…that’s enough fear to have you get up and move that fast.
But what does Acts 8:4 say?
4 So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the word.
You might think, well this was the leaders who were doing this. Actually, the apostles stayed in the city. It was all those who were going who were sharing their faith everywhere they went.
Now think about that. You’d think that if they’re escaping this persecution…for being a believer and follower of Jesus…they’d be quieter on their way. That they may go into hiding. But that is not what happened.
One scholar put it this way…and my hope is this…that when you hear this you might begin to see yourself, as a believer and follower of Christ…that you might begin to see yourself differently.
“The people went as missionaries more than as refugees.” He points out that “Luke could have used the general term for scattering but chose instead to use a word [ diaspeiro ] that means to scatter as seed is scattered on the ground.” 16 This word is connected dispersion. Perhaps Luke is conscious of a new dispersion coming into being. With the benefit of hindsight, Luke sees great significance in these events. In fact, when he describes the preaching of the gospel to Gentiles for the first time outside Palestine, he says that the ones who did this were “those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen” (11:19). Luke deliberately associates Stephen and the persecution with this important development in the church, which Barclay, another scholar... calls “one of the greatest events in history.”
This is maybe not the birth of the church…but how the church began to spread far and wide. Both to Jewish people and to gentiles…those outside of the group of Israelites. It’s going to all people now.
A devout old shepherd lost his favorite Bible while he was out looking for a wayward lamb. Three weeks later, a sheep walked up to him carrying the Bible in its mouth. The shepherd couldn’t believe his eyes. He took the precious book out of the sheep’s mouth, raised his eyes heavenward and exclaimed, “It’s a miracle!”
“Not really,” said the sheep. “Your name is written inside the cover.”
I think for sure God’s spirit was with all of these people…with those being beaten, those being put in jail, and those running. Would I call this a miracle....maybe not per se. But I would definitely say these are bold moves…bold decisions based on facts and true beliefs. What we see here are people who are not shying away from what they’ve experienced from God and the risen Jesus. They are not giving up. They are going to jail because they are admitting they are Christians…they are telling other people as they are on the run because they now know what is true about life…about God…about Jesus…about themselves.
Jesus had told his disciples, before he went back to His father in heaven, that they would be His witnesses (that doesn’t sound like a description of a “private” faith does it?) …that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth (Acts 1:8).
Great Commission.... Matthew 28:18-20
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Now I ask the same question…is our faith private or public? Which was the intention of Jesus our Lord and Savior? For you to be private about what is true about God, Jesus…life itself? …or to be public about it?
Yes…there’s no doubt.
Now lets just look for a second at the reason these people, running from persecution are sharing the very reason for which they being persecuted.
Is it out of an “ought”? Like we’ll be punished if we don’t follow the rule of sharing Jesus? I don’t think we get that idea from scripture. It wasn’t like these people were checking off boxes as they went…”Yep, I shared Jesus with 5 people today!” That gets very close to getting “into heaven” by doing works…or said more simply…we do things to get into heaven. In the last few years we’ve made the argument over and over that we can’t do anything of ourselves to make it on our own. That’s the whole reason for Jesus. It is through Him that we can have a new life…It is only through Him that we can be close to God again.
But back to this idea about sharing preaching…the translation I read said “they preached” …the Greek word used there can definitely mean preach…but foundation-ally the word means to proclaim, to bring news, to share information....
So remember we’re asking why would they share and proclaim? Was it out of a rule…? Was it through fear that Jesus would “get them” if they didn’t? No…they were sharing because they knew it was the truth. Nobody was going to tell them that Jesus wasn’t real and didn’t raise from the dead…Nobody was going to tell them that He wasn’t the one that many were waiting for…the Messiah. No one was going to tell them that He was beginning the process of making all of life new. No one was going to tell them that He changed their life.
What’s true is true. And they were sharing it out of love for other people who needed Jesus like they did. That’s why they…and we…call this message, this news…the Gospel…Good News.
That’s what we hold in our hands and in our hearts. The Good News. God loves us…loved us enough to send His son for us. To die for us. To live for us. To share His spirit with us.
And now…maybe we’re not being persecuted like that…be sure that is happening very much in other countries even today. People are in hiding....the underground church is a very real thing. Places such as the middle east, China, India…large amounts of intense persecution against the church. You know where Christianity is growing leaps and bounds? In these places. There are some organizations that track things such as this.
So again…is our faith private or public? It is very public …why? Because it is based on truth…truth that needs to be shared with others.
I’m going to pray, and I hope that maybe you’ll say your own prayer as I’m praying for God to help you…help us as a church family…to share with others. To follow His spirit if we’re prompted. We’ll keep going down this road in weeks to come. How do we do this?
If today is a day that you want to make a decision in your own life because of the truth about Jesus…I encourage you to do that. If you need prayer today we’ll have some people up here who can pray with you. I’ll be right up here as well.
Let’s pray.
Dear Lord…this is…in our culture, well it sometimes feels like this is a touchy subject. Lord help us to get past that feeling. We’re not activist trying to prove points…we just want to be people who live your love and share the truth about you and your son. Lord help us this week as a church family to share you…to watch and listen for your spirit as He will probably prompt us to start a conversation here or there with someone. Lord we have information that needs to be shared. It is information about life and death. True life with you. Keep us safe until we meet again. In your son’s name we pray…amen.