Roots

Good morning and welcome to another week of church here at the bridge. I am so glad that we could be together and join together in worship this morning.

Tree roots

Trees are one of the most amazing things to watch grow. On the surface we can easily see the natural growth of the tree. The trunk grows larger and larger with the passing of time, and the branches expand and grow new off shoots with each passing season. Branches need to be trimmed and pruned to control the growth and help shape the tree but we easily see the natural growth of the tree over the years. If it is a fruit or nut tree we see the blossoms come and the growth of its fruit each spring and enjoy the produce that comes from those things. However, these are not the only ways that a tree is growing. All the time we focus on the visible growth of a tree, the trunk, the leaves, the branches, the fruit. That we forget that there is growth going on that we don’t see. The roots of the tree are expanding at the same time. Going deeper and spreading out wider to proivde the nutrients and support the tree needs from the earth.

It is in the roots that the tree finds it foundation and is one of the most essential elements of the life of the tree even when we don’t see the growth. I couldn’t help but think about these roots and it took me back to our time in New York last summer. One of the trails that we hiked went along one of the rivers and lead to some water falls that were a lot of fun to see. One of the features of the path was the walk through the tree system that lived a long the river. Unlike a lot of tree these roots were very visible. They covered a lot of the ground and you were constantly stepping over roots. It was hard to even know sometimes what tree the roots belonged to because there was so many on the path. It made it challenging because you had to be constantly aware of where you were stepping and lifting your foot higher than a normal walk because you didn’t want to trip. If i remember right there were several points that all of us tripped or stumbled as we did that hike because of the roots.

The roots though were amazing. To see them all spread out and realize that these trees had roots that ran all over the ground. They had strong roots and it was amazing. Honestly we often celebrate strong roots. Strong roots are signs of a good tree. They make it immovable, they make it strong and ridged. Is being ridged always a good thing though? Or are we rooted in the right places in life?

If we look to another one of the stories of the Early church we can gain some interesting insight into where we are to be rooted. Turn with me to

Acts 11:1–18 NIV

1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ 8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. 11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’ 15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Peter’s Vision

Peter shares his vision with some of the Jewish believers who were circumcised. He does this because the Jewish believers had a problem. They were rooted in their Jewish faith and views that did not allow them to see the truth of the message of the Gospel. They were still rooted in the biases that they were the chosen people and that Gentiles did not hold the same status or belong in the same position as they did. This is a problem for Peter because he now knows that God showed him that this can’t be their attitude. That all who come to God and have been made clean can not be viewed as impure.

Today’s Christian

One of the sad truths today is that after almost 2000 years this is still a problem in the church. We still have the sad truth that there are belivers who think that they are better or more deserving than others because of either how long they have believed, some deep pious attitude that they have earned more, or whatever other silly reason you can think of that prevents new or struggling people to be a part of the church. This has been a problem that has never really gone away.

To help provide an example of this that I have seen and experienced in the church is the purity culture of the church over the last several decades.

Purity Culture

For those who aren’t familiar this idea is one built around the premise that we are called to be sexually pure. Now while this is true and we do believe that we are called to not allow our sexual desires to control us. This is strongly built out of Ephesians chapter 5 and verses like this

Ephesians 5:3 NIV

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

This chapter goes on to describe a lot of other sins and things that we should avoid. However there is one important part that we forget in our zeal for commiting to a life of purity. Just three verses earlier.

Ephesians 4:32 NIV

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

One of the inherent problems with purity culture is that it it created a sense among young believers that if they fell short they were horrible failures. That if they messed up or had a moment of weakness they had rejected their faith and turned from God.

Compassion and grace felt very distant for these young believers. It has pushed many away from the faith.

I can say that I resonate with this because I remember going through similar feelings about purity culture.

But wait....

Now before anyone thinks i am just saying we should dismiss the idea of purity let me be clear on a couple things. We are called to

Ephesians 5:3 NIV

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

Or any other sins that that scriptures clearly instruct us to avoid.

But Wait...

There is a big difference between the person who makes a mistake and is repentant and the person who lives in known sin and continuously pursues that sin. However, we must be careful here. The danger comes that just because someone is choosing a lifestyle that we do not agree with does not mean we reject them.

Ephesians 5:6–7 NIV

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

Many take this passage to mean that we do not associate at all with those struggling in sin. The truth is that in order for a Christian to not associate with anyone in sin we will have to leave the planet and than we still might not be enough. We will be around, work, associate, and engage with people who do not believe the same as us. This is distinctly different than partnering with these people. Partnering is a deeper relationship.

The best way i could think of to help us gain an insight for this is. Would you go to your mechanic to get medical advice?

No, because they aren’t a doctor. Similarly we can’t look to our relationships outside the church as a source of knowledge about God or accountability of our faith. We can’t be partnered with them on spiritual things because they aren’t pursuing spiritual things. There will be a barrier there. However, we can not forget that all of us at one point in our lives may have been that friend who wasn’t ready to commit themselves to walking in faith before God.

Peter’s Roots

Peter was rooted in a tradition like many of us are that taught him to pursue God in all of who we are. This is a good thing. However, we must be reminded that good roots can be planted in the wrong place.

Have you ever been walking in the woods and you come across a tree that has been knocked over and its roots are exposed?

If you start looking around you may notice some interesting things. Often when i have seen this the soil has rocks, or is incredibly loose. The soil isn’t as strong as it needed to be to support the trees roots. The roots may be strong but the foundation was weak. The foundation couldn’t hold the tree.

Similarly we must realize that Peter is pointing to the fact that our foundation is not in earthly understandings but in heavenly ones that is what makes passages like this one so powerful.

Acts 11:16–18 NIV

16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

John came with Water but God came with fire and the Holy spirit

We have to build our foundation and our roots in the right way. Remembering that God came for all not just the “chosen” Ones. God wanted all to come to faith in him. We have to build our foundation on the Word of God and what he has revealed to us, we must also use our ability to reason to think clearly and to open ourselves to what God has to say. We must never forget that there are those that came before us and bore witness to the works of God and have insight into how we can see the world. That there is tradition to lean upon and to guide us as we walk in faith. Of course we can’t discount our own experiences and how we have encountered God. All of these things in harmony working together to point us to the truth that God has for us.

Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience all pointing us to a strong foundation of what God has for us.

I keep going back to Ephesians 4:32

Ephesians 4:32 NIV

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Peter saw in his vision the truth. He was called to realize his own challenges with those who weren’t exactly like him. He was challenged to see that he needed to have compassion for the Gentile just has he does for the Jewish believer. We can’t ever forget that we are to be rooted in forgiveness and compassion and see that God can make anyone clean who wants to be.

Let’s Pray.