Sunday Sermons
The Good Fight - Part 1
“I have sought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”
(2 Timothy 4:7)
Bad to worse?
In light of all the bad news we have been hearing some may feel like Joel Belz who recently wrote, “When is it that things get so bad that it doesn’t work anymore just to be an optimist? When all in the same week things get unspeakably bad in Iraq and then get even worse. When gay marriage is not just predicted but finally legalized and practiced in Massachusetts. When the average price of a gallon of gas tops $2.00, and $3.00 prices are seriously predicted for the end of the summer. When the mainstream media wear their biases blatantly on their sleeves, and nobody seems to care. And perhaps especially when the pollsters begin to say that a growing majority of Americans don’t see much point anymore in resisting or opposing all this”(World Magazine, May 29,2004, p. 8). A reporter once asked a passerby, “Do you know what the two greatest problems in America are?” “I don’t know, and I don’t care!” The man responded. “Then you’ve got both of them!” Was the abrupt reply. Often our greatest problems are simply nothing more than ignorance (Hosea 4:6), and apathy (Revelation 3:16). Such attitudes destroy nations, congregations, and families.
Forgetting where we are
Christians can get really discouraged by hearing about all the bad news happening in our community, nation and world, yet such news should not catch us by surprise. In the above verse Paul said, “I have fought the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7). Do to our tremendous prosperity and security Christians in America can easily forget that this life is supposed to be a struggle and that there is a battle between good and evil being waged in this country as well as in the rest of the world. The term foughtmeans to contend, or struggle and is found in many other passages (1 Corinthians 9:25; Colossians 1:29; 4:12; 1 Timothy 6:12). Serving God and sharing the gospel with others is the “good fight” that is, the fight worth fighting. “His entire life as an apostle has been a ceaseless, strenuous conflict with Satan and his minions, with evil men and with forces of spiritual wickedness. In contrast to the struggles in the games, this has indeed been a ‘good’, a noble, grand contest, the grandest contest in which man can engage” (Hiebert pp. 110-111). Yet even Christians can get tried to fighting. Francis Schaeffer noted that the “dry rot” that had invaded the United States and many churches is a mindset fixated on personal peace and affluence. Is this our attitude, “As long as I am comfortable I could really care less what is happening around me?” Long ago Solomon warned, “Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter, oh hold them back. If you say, ‘See, we did not know this’, does not He consider it who weighs the hearts?” (Proverbs 24:11-12). “Exceptional strain (10) and avoidable responsibility (11-12) are fair tests, not unfair, of a man’s metal. It is the hireling, not the true shepherd, who will plead bad conditions (10), hopeless tasks (11) and pardonable ignorance (12); love is not so lightly quieted—nor is the God of love” (Kidner p. 154). Verse 12 seems to be the Old Testament equivalent of the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Everyone is my neighbor regardless of how well I know him. The people in verse 11 who are being taken to slaughter, apparently are victims of unjust oppression rather than guilty people being condemned. In addition, those who are staggering to their deaths could include people stumbling toward death because of their moral and spiritual blindness (Ezekiel 3:18ff). Are we greatly concerned about rescuing the perishing? Do we view people around us as walking ignorantly into the jaws of eternal ruin and are we saying anything to them?
The myth of moral neutrality
“Secular leaders would like us to believe that they are broad-minded, pluralistic, and neutral in moral matters. They are opposed to censorship (of evil but not of good), sectarianism, and intolerance. The news media have done a successful job in convincing Americans that the so-called ‘right wing’ religious fanatics are seeking to ‘impose their morality on society’. The majority of Americans believe that it is acceptable for religious leaders to speak out on matters of morality, but that they have no right to impose their values on society. The implication, of course, is that secular leaders would never dream of imposing their morality on society—only religious types do! Moral neutrality is a myth. Every group has a moral code governing their conduct, even if that code denies common morality. And as secularists gain power they become more insistent that only their morality will prevail. Despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, it is the humanists who are increasingly intolerant of opposing moral views. No education curriculum is ‘value free’. No teacher, politician, or news reporter is ‘morally neutral’” (Twelve Myths Americans Believe, Erwin W. Lutzer, p. 75). Jesus and the apostles stressed the same truth often when they would point out that the ‘world’ is not neutral, but rather the ‘world’ is in darkness and will be opposed to God’s truth (John 15:18; 1 John 5:19). “Among the many lessons in the passage, one is primary: the impossibility of neutrality in relationship with God. Our English word ‘neutral’ comes from two roots, meaning ‘not either’. In many realms of life neutrality has been exalted as a virtue. Judicious calmness, open-mindedness, and suspended judgment, are often honored as sophisticated” (Dilday p. 214). Yet one is not to be neutral in reference to God and His truth (1 Kings 18:21; Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters”). Unless one is a Christian one is presently working at cross-purposes with God.
God still reigns
When we act upon the above conviction, then no single court decision, or elected official, nor government policy, nor cultural trend will make us despair or give up. “That the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes” (Daniel 5:21). “Sometimes God gives a leader to a nation who is better than that nation deserves. Ancient Israel had a godly king, Josiah, at a time when they deserved someone who was less righteous. He was able to institute some reforms but eventually the nation reverted to its idolatry and sin. Then there are times when God gives a nation a leader who is far more evil than the nation deserves. We would all agree that the German people did not deserve Hitler. Sometimes God gives a nation a leader that it actually deserves, as in the cause of King Saul” (Lutzer p. 182).
God’s definition of winning
With all our efforts, if abortion on the demand still remains legal, drugs, alcohol, pornography and crime remain rampant, and homosexuality is viewed as normal, does this mean that all our efforts have been in vain or that we lose? The answer is no. In the short-term our culture will lose and this nation may not survive, but we as Christians do not lose. The “world” will always exist. It is our task to save as many people as we can between now and judgment (Mark 16:15). The culture might be past a point of no return, but individuals can still be saved.
Remember your purpose
God was willing to spare the wicked and immoral cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if He could find in them ten righteous people(Genesis 18:32). Yet the world thinks just the opposite. “It views Christianity as an obstacle to moral progress. The Bible is seen as an outdated collection of opinions that deserve derision rather than respect. Yet Christ’s words are best translated, ‘Ye and ye alone are the salt of the earth’. The world’s peoples have a debt to Christianity that they do not realize” (pp. 184-185). That is, Christians are the restraining influence in society from total moral collapse (Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth”). Notice that this was spoken to a group of peasants, unlettered fishermen, and small town folk, without reputation or standing. “He was trying to get them to see in themselves the ability to transform the moral tone of their age” (Fowler p. 231). Salt preserves from decay. Christians will act has a preserving element in society (Proverbs 14:34 “righteousness exalts a nation”). God often describes the world as being corrupted (Romans 1:18-32; Acts 2:40; Philippians 2:15). Salt will sting. When Christians come into contact with the world, people will be bothered in their consciences (Acts 2:37), for how we live and what we say will expose their rebellion and need for salvation (Ephesians 5:11). “Salting has to bite. The real salt is the true exposition of Scripture, which denounces the whole world and lets nothing stand but the simple faith in Christ” (Martin Luther). “To look at some Christians one would think that their ambition is to be the honey pot of the world. They sweeten and sugar the bitterness of life with an all too easy conception of a loving God…But Jesus, of course, did not say, ‘You are the honey of the world’. He said, ‘You are the salt of the earth’. Salt bites, and the unadulterated message of the judgment and grace of God has always been a biting thing” (Stott p. 66). “If I could pinpoint the reason for our lack of influence in the world, it might be simply this: We as individuals are unwilling to be salt right where we are. Many of us are intimidated by the world” (Lutzer p. 185).
The light of the earth
“Never in history has so much advice been available on marriage, guilt, child rearing, and personal relationships in general. Yet along with this explosion of knowledge we have more family breakups, child abuse, and neuroses than at any other time in history. In reality the world does not have any idea how to avoid evil, how to live in clean and wholesome ways. No one can bring light to the world except the Christian” (p. 186). Why do we need to let our light shine (Matthew 5:16)? Because people in the world are in moral darkness. In order to understand our neighbors or co-workers we need simply to read the following passages (Romans 1:18ff; Ephesians 4:17-19). As Christians it is easy to forget the moral darkness, clouded thinking, and deceptive nature of sin that exists outside of Christ. In fact, one of the things that should scare us about sin and lead to motivation to faithfulness and Bible study is precisely the muddled and irrational thinking processes of unbelievers! The decisions handed down by unbelieving judges, the movies and televisions programs produced by unbelieving directors and actors or the views of non-Christian candidates, editors, columnists or reporters should not shock us. We are certainly not the first generation to encounter futile speculations and great-professed wisdom that is nothing more than foolishness (Romans 1:21-22). We stand amazed that people in ancient times actually believed in idols such as Baal or Zeus, yet believing that homosexuality is natural is just as false.
Convictions verses preferences
In order to be taken seriously, and to be genuine salt and light we must have convictions rather than simply a set of religious preferences. If we really believe that adultery is wrong, then neither would we put up with movies, books or television programs that glorify it. There are lots of preferences in our society and too few convictions. Lutzer notes that one of the most dangerous myths among Christians today is that we can win the war against evil without sacrifice. If we really believed that Jesus is the only way (John 14:6), if we really believed that eternal life can only be gained by putting God first (Luke 10:25-27), and if we really believed that an eternity of suffering awaits everyone who does not comply with these requirements—what choices would we be making if we really believed?
