Commands of Christ-27b

Wednesday, September 21, 2022 Commands of Christ – 27

A Christian's Character: Dealing With Anger

Handout Anger: Facing the fire within: Explore on your own (or with a partner)

I admit to trying to cover a HUGE lesson:

Civil war

Anger

And yet the two are very closely related.

A possible civil war in the US will occur because of not just anger, but rage and fury are consuming its citizens.

Monday Sandra and I went to Chickamauga National Battlefield.

It was the 159 anniversary of the Confederate Victory.

We watched a film and then started a Ranger-led tour - we didn’t finish it due to the heat.

But it was VERY informative!

Slavery

Incentives for non-slave-owners to fight

It has been said that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

I see that happening in today’s society.

Fear mongering, rage, appeals to vanity — these were all used to fuel the Civil War of 1861.

They are being used to fuel the ongoing civil war of the 2020’s

Next week I hope to study more about the Bible’s teachings on anger.

The Bible has A LOT to say.

None of what it says encourages anger — rather it strongly discourages it.

Next week.

This week, let’s go back to consider OUR behaviors and actions in a time of, at the least, a cultural Civil War:

I will refer to the the article: 3 Steps Churches Can Take To Help Prevent a Second American Civil War:

As you read the original article and theses subsequent articles, do they stir feelings of anger, sadness, other? Why?

What do you think about the 3 Steps pastors can take to prevent the second American civil war?

1. Acknowledge that the church has a discipleship problem.

Do we?

I know that tonight I am “preaching to the choir” about discipleship — but it isn’t what it used to be

There used to be a pretty high percentage of people who attended Sunday school

By the time we ended it (at the start of our building project) it seemed there was little interest in getting up early to attend.

So, we tried using Wednesday nights to primarily disciple adults and Sunday mornings to disciple children.

We still, generally, average less half of what we run on Sunday mornings.

It seems that discipleship is important.

Especially APPLIED discipleship.

Do you have any idea of how we can do a better job?

I am trying to start a digital (zoom, etc.) discipleship class for women in the near future.

Other thoughts?

2. Create space for the middle ground (it’s bigger than you think)

As we discussed the last 2 weeks, it seems there is no middle ground on many of the hotly contested issues of our day:

Is there a Biblical mandate for such an approach?

Barry Webb (2015). Judges and Ruth: God in Chaos (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; p. 178). Crossway.

… while negotiation may be necessary, it has severe limitations. And the reason is very easy to understand.

It is a way of balancing competing self-interests, and relationships conducted on that basis can never be entirely healthy.

There is an inherent distrust and jostling for advantage in such relationships that simply masks differences rather than truly resolving them.

The basic problem is the sinful human heart with its instinct for self-protection and self-promotion rather than love and trust. Negotiation might be essential in a fallen world, but it is far from ideal.

But what are the implications of all this for people who acknowledge God as their rightful ruler and whose life together is meant to reflect his character?

What place can negotiation have in the life of people who are called to love their neighbors as themselves (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:43–45; 22:34–39; Galatians 5:13, 14)?

Does it have a legitimate place in the way they relate to outsiders and with one another?

Leviticus 19:18 (NASB95) ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

Matthew 5:43–45 (NASB95) “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 22:34–39 (NASB95) But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

Galatians 5:13–14 (NASB95) For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

Jephthah: The Negotiator

JUDGES 10:6–12:7

Webb, B. G. (2015). Judges and Ruth: God in Chaos (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; p. 177). Crossway.

Finally, what does the Jephthah story as a whole teach us about negotiation? Jephthah is skillful with words. He knows that the elders of Gilead have no genuine regard for him, but Jephthah uses negotiation to arrive at a deal with them that is good for himself and ultimately for Israel as a whole. He knows that the king of Ammon is set on war, but Jephthah uses negotiation to buy time, claim the moral high ground, enhance his credentials as a national leader, and present his case to Yahweh, the divine Judge. His great mistake at the climax of the story, though, is to “open his mouth to Yahweh” (11:35) in the same way that he has opened his mouth to men. That is, he tries to negotiate with God as he has negotiated with human beings, and in so doing overreaches his hand and brings disaster on himself and his daughter. He makes the fundamental error of thinking that God, the divine Judge, can be bribed, that salvation is an arrangement that can be negotiated by offering God incentives instead of casting ourselves utterly on his mercy. He fails to see that salvation is a gift. That is his fatal mistake, and from there he begins to lose his integrity, not just as a man of faith, but as a father and as a judge of Israel. At the end of the story he gives up negotiation altogether and uses words only as a pretext for slaughtering his fellow Israelites. In short, the story of Jephthah shows us two things about negotiation. It has a legitimate place in human affairs in a fallen world but has severe limitations; and in the hands of an insecure man like Jephthah it can end up doing more harm than good. More importantly, it shows us that negotiation is the antithesis of faith and has no place at all in our relationship with God.

Webb, B. G. (2015). Judges and Ruth: God in Chaos (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; p. 189). Crossway.

Abortion - special allowance for rape, incest, health of the mother?

Marriage

What about other issues?

Critical Race Theory - if not that could we at least teach history? What if tried to see both sides of the racial history

The perspective of slaves from Africa (including that their own race captured them and sold them)

The perspective of Native Americans (same as above) plus needless killing of others (including other tribes), whites, etc.

Others:

Crime?

Inflation?

Energy (no gasoline cars?)

3. Equip your congregation to be Peacemakers, not just Peacekeepers.

Matthew 5:9 (NASB95) “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

What about these approaches to politics from 1 Peter 2:11-17?

1 Peter 2:11–17 (NASB95) Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

1 Peter 2:11–17 (The Message) Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. 12 Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives. 13 Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; 14 they are God’s emissaries for keeping order. 15 It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society. 16 Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. 17 Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.

[4 Principles for Political Engagement as a Christian by: Jared C. Wilson]

1. Remember Your True Citizenship

First, Peter reminds the brethren that their citizenship is in heaven (“sojourners and exiles”). This world is not our home, so we should not live like our ultimate treasure is anything temporary, whether it be good or bad or neutral.

And yet Peter is not necessarily advocating a withdrawal from the system. He is advocating honorable citizenship, a participation that commends the gospel of the kingdom. The level of political participation will vary from Christian to Christian, culture to culture, as conscience and conviction demands. Certainly there is no biblical legality for voting or not voting, politicking or not politicking. Let us be ruled by the Spirit in the matters on which the Scriptures are silent.

Philippians 3:20–21 (NASB95) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Hebrews 11:13–16 (NASB95) All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

In a minute we will talk about what heavenly citizenship means as we live on this earth. As Jesus prayed to the Father in:

John 17:13–21 (NASB95)“But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

2. Pay Your Taxes

Second, Peter encourages the brethren to be subject to the human governmental and civic institutions “for the Lord’s sake.” (See also Paul’s words in Rom. 13:1–7.) We obey the laws that do not violate God’s laws, and we do so with the commendation of Christ in mind. So when we have to pay our taxes, we pay our taxes with Christ in mind. And if we vote, we vote with Christ in mind.

John Piper: Christians should deal with the world. … There is no avoiding it. But as we deal with it, we don’t give it our fullest attention. We don’t ascribe to the world the greatest status. There are unseen things that are vastly more precious than the world. We use the world without offering it our whole soul. We may work with all our might when dealing with the world, but the full passions of our heart will be attached to something higher—Godward purposes. We use the world, but not as an end in itself. It is a means. We deal with the world in order to make much of Christ.

So it is with voting. We deal with the system. We deal with the news. We deal with the candidates. We deal with the issues. But we deal with it all as if not dealing with it. It does not have our fullest attention. It is not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And Christ will be ruling over his people with perfect supremacy no matter who is elected and no matter what government stands or falls. So we vote as though not voting.

“Live as people who are free,” Peter says. We will not be tied to any particular political or legislative outcomes as if our ultimate hope or devastation is tied to them. We will not let our affections be owned by who is in the statehouse or the White House.

3. Obey God First and Foremost

“Live as servants of God,” Peter says, and here we get another perspective on what it means to live as people who are free in a politicized world. It means participating respectfully and respectably, but it also means living as those whose ultimate allegiance is to God and not men.

In Acts 5:27–29 (NASB95) When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

when the apostles are brought before the authorities to be reminded of the law restricting their freedom to preach the gospel, the answer the apostles provide is not mute submission. They say, “We must obey God rather than men.” We are beholden ultimately to God, not our political party or the American government, so when we are called to violate God’s commands, we cannot obey. Indeed, when we see systemic sins and injustices promoted and protected by the powers that be, as servants of God we are required to be bold prophets.

Augustine wrote City of God to address the issue of the fall of Rome (it has parallels to the U.S.).

A masterpiece of Western culture, The City of God was written in response to pagan claims that the sack of Rome by barbarians in 410 AD was one of the consequences of the abolition of pagan worship by Christian emperors.

[He] wrote The City of God to argue against this accusation. Christians are not at all to blame, he asserts, for the pagan gods are not gods at all and cannot punish or protect anyone. On the contrary, Rome fell due to the corruption and immorality of its citizens.

He addresses the social and political climate of Rome and events of the time (410 BCE). Augustine proposes that Christianity actually helped Rome survive.

He outlined his vision of two societies, that of the elect (“The City of God”) and that of the damned (“The City of Man”). These “cities” are symbolic embodiments of the two spiritual powers—faith and unbelief—that have contended with each other since the fall of the angels. They are inextricably intermingled on this earth and will remain so until time’s end.

Augustine said:

What, then, did the Christians suffer in the great devastation of Rome which, if taken in a spirit of faith, would not have served for their greater good? For one thing, if they humbly called to mind the sins for which God in His anger filled the world with calamities, they will not judge themselves to be so little responsible for these sins as not to have deserved some measure of temporal affliction—even though they were far from being criminals and godless men.

Nevertheless, because they wink at their worse sins and fear to frown even on their minor transgressions, the good must in justice suffer temporal afflictions in common with the rest—even though they will escape the eternal.

Martin Luther wrote: The Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms.

On the one hand (the so-called “Right Hand”) there is the Kingdom of Grace: this is the church, the gospel, the free-and-clear gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here there is no social status, no taxation, “no slave or free, Jew or Greek, male and female” (Gal. 3:28), no law or condemnation for those who are in Christ (Rom. 8:1). It is not, never has been, and never will be a democracy by the people. It is a divine Monarchy, and God the Father is our King. We live and die by his grace and providence. Nothing you can do will earn his favor, and no offense is too great to be forgiven. You are his citizen, set free to be free (Gal. 5:1) and to serve others as Christ served you.

The other Kingdom (the so-called “Left Hand”) is the Kingdom of Law: this is the world in which you live. So you have relationships: you are a father, a mother, a son or daughter; you have a job with a title, a salary, and a tax bracket. You have papers in your fire-proof safe that legally declare your citizenship of a particular land at a particular time. You are under the law, and there is no grace here. There are only consequences if you break those laws.

This abominable (Dis)Respect of Marriage Act is the left hand invading the right.

What do we do?

I wrote the 2 GA senators:

What I wrote to Warnock & Osoff:

As a local (Georgia) Bible-believing, Bible-preaching/teaching pastor I completely disagree with your statements and stance concerning the sexually confused (LGBTQI+) and their demands of our society. I believe that ALL people should be treated with respect as a fellow human being. As a pastor it is my calling to help everyone discover the love that God has for everyone — no matter what sin or failure. Therefore, I respectfully, but adamantly request that, as my representative to the US Senate, you vote AGAINST the (Dis)Respect for Marriage Act. It is a deeply flawed bill that will destroy first amendment rights as well as destroy marriage and the families that depend on one man-one woman, for-life marriages.

Dealing with Anger:

God’s Wisdom for Your Life: 1,000 Key Scriptures (look up anger)