Christianity & Politics

After two years of preaching through Mark more than a few people have wondered what’s next.  Personally, I’m ready to jump into another book of the Bible.  Before I do, however, I want to address a few important themes beginning with one of the hardest themes of all, at least for me.

This election cycle has already become a polarizing spectacle and it promises to get worse and dominate the airwaves until November.  Part of me just wants to ignore the politicking, vote my conscience, and talk about the Word of God.  But the thing is, the Word of God has something to say about politics!

“Beyond Debate” is a thematic series that addresses the big picture of government and citizenship and some political issues in light of Christ.  Let’s be honest, some things really are debatable and there’s room for disagreement.  But some things are not up for debate.  That includes attitudes and perspectives we should have as members of Christ’s kingdom as well as moral and social issues facing our country. 

Politics is undoubtedly divisive.  Even among God’s people strongly held opinions strain fellowship.  That’s why I’m probably crazy to bring it up.  Then again, maybe that’s why we need to hear from God at a time like this.  What does God want us to think and feel and do as Christians living in America?  What does the gospel of Christ have to say about it? 

That’s where I’m headed between now and Resurrection Sunday.  Pray for this series.  Respond to God’s Word.    And keep God’s agenda in mind which I spoke of on January 1st:  Pursue the unity of the Spirit, practice the diversity of the gifts, and pursue the maturity of Christ. (Ephesians 4:1-16)

Shalom! I’m so glad you have come tonight.  Do I have a story for you!

Many, many years ago, in a little town outside Jerusalem, a young woman gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.  I should know.  I was there!  By all appearances, he looked like every other Jewish child.  He sounded like one, too.  He cried when he came into the world.  His mother wrapped him in swaddling clothes to keep him warm. 

My only regret that night was not finding a more suitable place for the baby to be born.  A stable is no place for the birth of the King!  You heard me right.  He was no ordinary baby.  He was the King, I tell you!

Long before, when Israel was a sovereign nation and not under the thumb of those infernal Romans, God promised that an heir of King David would rein on the throne forever.  God said He would rule in righteousness and wisdom and bring salvation to all the nations of the earth and His kingdom would never end.

Well, many years passed and Israel had many kings, some good and some bad, but none of them fulfilled God’s promise.  When we refused to follow God’s ways we were defeated by one pagan army after another and ruled by many pagan kings.  Worst of all was Herod the Great, but he was no real king and he wasn’t great either.  He served Rome and himself more than he served Israel. 

That’s about the time my soon-to-be wife came to me and told me the unexpected news.  She was pregnant.  I said, “How can this be?  You were to be my bride.”  But she said she had conceived by the power of God’s Spirit.  She said the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her the baby was David’s heir, the promised King of Israel, God’s own Son.

I didn’t believe her.  How can a virgin conceive a child?  How can this child be the promised King?  How can He be the Son of God?  But then Gabriel appeared to me, too.  I’m telling you the truth.  He appeared to me in a dream and told me the same thing and told me the child’s name was Jesus.  And he said He would save us from our sin – that rebelliousness that resides in every heart and separates from God. 

Indeed, our sin does more than separate us from God, it condemns us!  And there’s nothing we can do to change it.  That’s why we needed a Savior. 

We lived in Nazareth at the time, a small village in Galilee.  But because I myself was a descendant of David, we had to go to Bethlehem, David’s city, for the Roman census.  Of all times!  The baby was soon to be born!  When we finally arrived no one had room for us.  The only thing available was a stable.  And it was there that the King of Israel was born.  What a happy moment that was.

That very night a group of shepherds from the fields found us.  They said an angel had just appeared to them telling them the King of Israel had been born and they could find him here.  They said the angel called Him a Savior and a whole host of angels cried out, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”

The next month, when we took him to Jerusalem for the Jewish custom of purification, an old man and an old woman ran up to us in the temple.  They took Jesus up in their arms and blessed God for allowing their aged eyes to finally see God’s promised King.  And later that year, while we were still in Bethlehem, star-gazers from the east showed up on our door step with extravagant gifts for the child.  They told us they knew the King of Israel had been born and followed His star to worship Him!

Can you believe it?  The King of Israel, the Savior of all men, the Son of God, born to my wife and sitting on my lap, calling me, Abba.  Me!  A carpenter from Galilee! 

But that’s not the best part.  He wasn’t an ordinary king.  He was good through and through and instead of fighting for an earthly throne He lived a life of humble service to God and before the age of thirty-four He was rejected by His own people and put to death on a Roman cross and buried in a borrowed tomb. 

But I’m here to tell you, that wasn’t an accident and that wasn’t the end of Jesus, either.  Remember, He’s the promised King and Savior.  By His blood He ransoms people for God from every tribe and language and nation and makes them a kingdom to God.  On the cross, Jesus took our sin and our condemnation so we could be forgiven and three days later, just as He said, He rose from the dead. 

No, Jesus was no ordinary baby and He is no ordinary King.  Today, this is no lie, He sits at the right hand of God and he reins as king in the hearts of all who believe in Him.  And one day, He promises to return again and everyone will see Him and He will judge all men and those who have their sins forgiven by faith in Him will rein with Him forever.  Glory to God for the birth of the King!

—

Folks, this is the greatest story ever told and it’s not a fairytale.  Jesus is the King of Israel, He is the Son of God born of a virgin, and He is the Savior of everyone who repents of their sin and believes in Him.  Tonight, we invite you to place your hope and trust solely in Jesus.  The Bible says everyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved.  If you’re trusting in Jesus this evening for the first time or want to learn more, complete the card on your table and place it in the box and someone will contact you this week.

Paul Gore
2011 Christmas Concert
copyright 2011

“We esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” Isaiah 53:4b

For many looking on it must have felt so disappointing.  After all, Jesus was increasingly seen as the conquering hero who would run the Romans out of Israel.  Just days before they were shouting, “Hosanna in the highest!” as He rode into Jerusalem. 

But it was not to be.  He was betrayed by a friend, arrested and charged with blasphemy by the religious authorities, and crucified on a cursed, Roman cross.  He was no hero. Or, was He? 

Jesus’ misunderstood life and maltreatment in the end illustrate a truth for us all.  The kingdom which dawned when Jesus arrived in the manger was a hidden kingdom, seen and entered only by those with eyes of faith. 

The man on the cross was the King not a blasphemer!  He never intended to run Romans out of Israel and become a national hero.  He came to die for all who believe in His name, to atone for their sin, to deliver them from God’s wrath, and raise them from the dead.  He is our hero.

“He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.” Isaiah 53:5a

Blood-bought Christians are members of Christ’s hidden kingdom.  The world will trip over our earthliness and mock the claims of the Bible.  People just won’t understand unless, through the preaching of the gospel, God opens their eyes to the glory of the King. 

That mission of the hidden kingdom, our mission, is to make Jesus known.  Hidden doesn’t give us permission to hide, but like Jesus, to openly proclaim what we know to be true; what we’ve seen. 

This holiday season, make Jesus known.  Don’t hide the news.  Explain who He is and what He has done for sinners like us.  Take up your cross and follow Jesus in proclaiming the kingdom of God.

But is that what happened on the cross?  Was Christ’s death the act of an out-of-control, self-centered father taking out his un-appeasable anger on a defenseless, hapless boy?  No, that’s not was going on. 

According to an eternal plan, God the Father, both loving and holy, poured out His righteous wrath upon God the Son who willingly gave His life as a sacrifice for sinners.  Substitutionary atonement was an act of God by God for our good and His glory.  And for His sacrificial death the Father rewarded the Son – a reward that outweighed the suffering of the cross. 

“It was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”
(Isaiah 53:10)

After the crushing, after the grief, after the offering for sin, Christ rose glorious from the grave and He sees with His own eyes the lost sheep for whom He died returning to His beloved Father, redeemed by His blood.

Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday will be here in three weeks.  These are realities we celebrate every Sunday and we walk in these truths every day.  But Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday are special, yearly occasions to honor the Lord in our hearts and proclaim Him in our community.

Take the time this month to read and meditate on the cross and resurrection of Christ.  Talk as a family and with friends about the meaning of His death and resurrection.  Thank God for the atonement made for you by His blood.  And, invite others to know Him and receive new life.

In Joy, Pastor Paul

Easter Sunday is the most important day in the history of the church.  Everything about Christianity hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I Corinthians 15 says if Christ has not been raised from the dead then our preaching is in vain, our faith is in vain, we are misrepresenting God, we are still in our sins, Christians who have died have perished, and we of all people are most to be pitied.  But, Christ has risen and that’s why we celebrate Easter.

This morning, in celebration of Christ’s resurrection, I want to reconstruct the events that unfolded on the first Easter Sunday 2,000 years ago.  What happened that first Sunday?  The four gospels are not identical but by combining them we can piece the day together.  Here’s what we find:

1. The Stone was Rolled Back. (Matthew 28:1-4)
The first thing that happened on Easter morning was that the stone was rolled away – revealing that Christ was not there!  Jesus had risen from the grave.  “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Matthew 28:2-3 explains that it was an angel who moved the stone.  The sight of the lightening-like angel and the accompanying earthquake scared the guards to death.  Matthew 28:4 says they fainted, “like dead men.” 

2. The Women Discover the Empty Tomb. (John 20:1-2; Luke 24:1-9; Mark 16:1-8)
The second thing to happen was that Jesus’ female followers arrived and discovered the empty tomb.  At least four women went to the tomb at sunrise to finish anointing Jesus’ body: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome the mother of James and John, and Joanna the steward of Herod.  They were dumbfounded by what they saw and heard.

Two angels (Matthew and Mark only record the angel that spoke) met the women at the tomb.  They told them six things: 1) We know you are looking for the crucified savior, Jesus of Nazareth, 2) He is not here, 3) He has risen, 4) Come see for yourself, 5) This is what Jesus told you would happen, 6) Go tell the disciples.  You can imagine the emotions and thoughts racing through their minds – remember, everyone thought Jesus was gone forever.

3. Peter and John See for Themselves. (Luke 24:10-12; John 3-10)
When the women told the remaining eleven disciples what had happened, Luke 24:11 says, “But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.”  However, Peter and John decided to check it out for themselves and ran to the tomb.  When they saw the stone, the empty tomb, and the linen grave clothes lying there they believed the women.  The linen clothes mean no one had stolen the body.  Jesus had left them behind.

4. The Guards Report the News. (Matthew 28:11-15)
Meanwhile, the guards who had fainted at the sight of the angel reported what had happened to the chief priests.  The chief priests are the ones who had Jesus arrested, they are the ones who paid Judas to betray Him, they are the first ones to interrogate Jesus and strike Him and vote for His crucifixion.  Rather than argue with the guards about the disappearance of Jesus’ body they pay the guards hush-money and create an unbelievable lie about the disciples stealing the body while they were asleep. (Matthew 28:12-13).  Ever since then skeptics have tried to explain away the resurrection.  Like the chief priests, they cannot have a risen Christ. 

5. Jesus Appears to the Women. (John 20:11-18; Matthew 28:9-10)
Next, Jesus begins appearing.  First He appears to Mary Magdalene who remained at the tomb after Peter and John left.  She doesn’t understand.  She can’t make sense of it.  An angel appears and asks her: “Woman, why are you weeping?”  Then Jesus appears asking the same thing, “Why are you weeping?”  Then Jesus reveals Himself to her and she clings to His physical body before Jesus sends her to tell the disciples.  Afterwards (or maybe before) Jesus appears to the other women and they cling to His feet and worship Him. This is no spirit or ghost.  This is no walking dead man.  This is the resurrected Lord!  He sends them to the disciples, too.

6.  Jesus Appears on the Road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-35)
The sixth thing that happens on the first Easter is Jesus appears to two men as they are walking and talking on the way to a nearby village.  These two were not part of the original twelve but they were followers of Jesus and were discussing everything they had heard that day so far.  Jesus appears to them and He explains the Scriptures to them without them even recognizing Him.  At dinner that evening their eyes are opened to His identity, but just as they recognize Him He disappears.  They race back to Jerusalem and before they can tell the disciples what they saw, the disciples report, “The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Peter!”  So sometime that day Jesus appeared to Peter in an unrecorded event.

 7. Jesus Appears in the Upper Room. (Luke 24:36-49)
So far, Jesus has appeared to the women, the two disciples on the road, and to Peter but there are more disciples who haven’t seen Jesus or even the empty tomb.  As they are discussing these things, it is now evening on Sunday, Jesus appears in their midst.  John says the door was even locked.  Knowing their fear and confusion and disbelief (just imagine!) Jesus proceeds to proove that it is really Him and that He is really risen from the dead.  He shows them His hands, His feet, He lets them touch Him, and even eats a fish before their eyes.  This is really Him.  He is really alive.  Everyone there now knows for sure.  What a day!

Folks, Jesus really is alive.  We don’t get to see Him like they did - not yet.  We don’t get to touch Him like they did – not yet.  But we can trust their testimony.  Nothing else can explain the transformation they experienced.  After this Easter Sunday the disciples became courageous men for Christ and turned the world upside down preaching, “Jesus has risen from the dead!”  If it weren’t true, we wouldn’t be here today worshiping a risen Savior.