Date: 9/27/2022

Questions

What are your thoughts on what is going on in Gen 6:1-4 when the “sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they married”? I’ve read a few explanations but am curious to know what you think. Can you explain the Nephilim? Giants?  Fallen angels? 1/2 angels?

• I thought we’d begin with an underwhelming answer to our listeners’ questions. 
• I have no idea what the Nephilim are. I’ve read similar explanations that the questioner mentions and still don’t have a real opinion on which explanation is best.
• But a mystery like this — or an unanswerable question — shouldn’t cause us to doubt our faith or God’s Word. This is a historical narrative being recorded — not a theological truth that’s essential to our faith. What we can understand is the big picture of what’s happening at this point in history (lots and lots of sin) and God’s judgment of wickedness.

Can you explain the wedding parable that is found in Mathew 22:1-14?  It seems to me that because the man was invited to the banquet, he was chosen. But due to his surprise at the kings’ reaction to him being there, it almost seems as if he believed in Jesus but was being rejected. If this is the case, then how can anyone have confidence in their salvation? If we cannot have confidence, then doesn’t that contradict all the verses that say we can be confident in our faith (such as Philippians 1:6).  Is it possible to genuinely believe you are saved (hungry for a relationship with God) and be blindsided when your time has come and you’re destined for hell?  That seems to contradict John 3:16. I am so confused by this man being turned out from the wedding he was invited to in this parable.

1. First, verse 14 makes it clear that the man was not chosen. “For many are called, but few are chosen” is the punchline of this section of Scripture.
2. Second, the man’s response is that of being speechless. The Hebrew has no leaning towards him being surprised, though. He’s just silent in response to the question. All that to say, be careful not to read into his response our assumptions (like he was surprised by the question).
3. Which leads us to the most important question being asked: How can anyone have confidence in their salvation?
   1. The gospel call goes out as the Good News is proclaimed.
   2. The Spirit of God uses the proclamation of the gospel as the means by which an inward call takes place in the hearts of those who are chosen by God.
   3. This results in their new birth, conversion, justification, sanctification, and so on. What we call their salvation. This is all God’s doing — he’s saving us — we’re not saving ourselves.
   4. Which results in the one saved being part of the people of God — the church. Yet the visible church is a mixture of both believers and unbelievers. The call (gospel preaching) happens to all people in the church, but only the believers are the chosen. 
   5. To press this truth on people’s hearts — that all are called, but few are chosen —  we’re told to work out our faith in fear and trembling. To work out our salvation. We’re given tests throughout Scripture that we’re to use to examine, probe, and investigate our faith — to see if it’s genuine. 
   6. If we’re doing this, then there’s no surprise — no being blindsided — regardless if we’re chosen or not because the difference between believing in Jesus and not believing in him is drastic! We’ve forgotten this in recent history. We’ve confused good, moral behavior as the same as being a Christian. If you vote right, talk right, dress right, watch the right shows, listen to the right music, and so on…then you’re a Christian, right? Not at all! 
   7. But if we turn to Scripture and allow it to test our faith — we’ll find that the heart change expected of those who believe, which always results in God-honoring behavior — can’t be faked. We just don’t have it in ourselves to fake being a biblical Christian for very long.
   8. And the promise to us is that we can know if we believe if we use Scripture to test our hearts. We’ll be looking at this next year as we journey the First John together. With the whole point of John’s letter being, “That you may know that you have eternal life.”

I recently did a Bible study on Galatians. The author said the sex between Abraham and Haggar which resulted in Ishmael was not consensual. So rape was implied. What is your opinion on that encounter between Abraham, Sarah and the maid servant?

1. Without knowing the Bible study material or the author, it’s hard to respond to what they’re saying as I don’t know how they defend their position.
2. Here’s what I do know. The Bible — and the Old Testament — in particular does know how to describe rape. In fact, the same book — where the stories of Abraham and Haggar are found — Genesis — has other stories that include rape (Genesis 19; Genesis 34) and describe what happens as rape. 
3. For example, the Hebrew words describing the abusive sexual acts in these other stories in Genesis is not the same as what we find in Abraham and Haggar’s story. Showing that the author of Genesis could have used the same language to describe Abraham and Hagar if he had wanted to, but he didn’t use rape language in their story.
4. Now — by our standards today — was their relationship consensual or abusive? I’m not sure that’s the right question. The better lesson for us is that the entire narrative of their relationship indicates a moment when Abraham and Sarah did not trust God to fulfill his promise to them — that they’d have a son. They trusted their own means to make the promise happen. That — ultimately — is the most atrocious sin in their story: they fail to trust God. Which also leads to the ultimate ridiculous act of grace in their story. God fulfills his promise to them anyway, forgives them of this momentary lapse of trust, and even has written of Abraham, “Against hope Abraham believed in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations according to the pronouncement, “so will your descendants be.” 19 Without being weak in faith, he considered his own body as dead (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do. 22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” (Romans 4:18-22 NET)
5. That’s a reputation that Abraham didn’t deserve nor did he earn. But God — being gracious like he is — graces Abraham with this reputation.

Psalm 11:5 says the wicked are those who love violence. In verse 7 it says the lord is righteous and he loves justice. Justice can at times include violence. How does God distinguish these two?

1. Not sure if the Bible translation being used is the NIV, NLT or some other translation. But it’s definitely one with a translation philosophy of conveying the idea of the language rather than a more literal word for word translation. Often, Bible translations that are conveying the idea of the original text (and not word for word) don’t like repetition, so they’ll use different English words to translate the Hebrew, which loves repetition. 
2. I say that because the ESV — a more literal translation — doesn’t have the word “justice” but instead has “righteous deeds.” So the word “righteous” — found in verses 5 and 7 — is married to  “righteous deeds” in verse 7.
3. So here’s what the psalmist is saying. “The Lord tests the righteous” (those who are right with God). “The Lord is righteous” (God only does what is right). And “the Lord loves righteous deeds” (God loves actions that are right). 
4. Now the question becomes “can doing the right action” include “violence”? And the answer must be no if we allow the Hebrew to define our terms (and not our modern definitions). The Hebrew word, translated as “violence” means “malicious wrongdoing”. So it’s not necessarily the act itself but the intent of the act that’s wrong. Someone, as the psalmist says, “whose heart loves malicious wrongdoing.” Someone who is righteous has a heart that loves God. Thus — even though an act may be similar, the intent and reason for doing it is not the same. 
5. Thus God can command the Israelites to do things we’d define as violence, but the act is being done for a reason other than “being malicious.” The reason may be to “purge sin from among you” or “to defend yourself” or “to honor God’s name.” 
6. A helpful reminder — and I say this not because I want folks to distrust their English Bibles, but because the translation process from one language to another is never as clean as we’d like it to be — when you find yourself asking a good question like the one this listener has sent in, a good first step is to think, “I wonder how a few other English Bible translations have translated this verse.” Especially if you don’t know the original languages or aren’t familiar with how to use language tools. A few good English Bible translations will usually point you in the right direction.
   1. Bible translations I always look at: ESV, NASB, NET, NIV, NLT, and MSG. 
   2. These cover a few that are word for word all the way across the translation spectrum to paraphrase type translations. 

Currently reading through the book of John and in Chapter 7 verse 5 it says that even Jesus’ brothers didn’t believe in him. Why do you think that might be? Did Mary not tell them Jesus’ birth story to try to protect the family?

1. Belief includes knowledge, but true belief in Christ does not happen solely because of knowing the right things.
2. So Jesus’ brothers may have known everything about his birth — miracles and all. But without their own “new birth” (them first being given a new heart that believes) they could not believe that he was God.
3. But once some of his siblings did experience the new birth, we know that some did in fact believe. And even became authors of Scripture (James and Jude).

SCRIPTURE: Micah 6:1-8 (ESV)

DATE: 4-5-20

I want to welcome all of you who are joining us online this weekend. And I must say that this whole stay at home — figure out how to do church in a different way — well it’s really been blowing my mind in some encouraging ways. My extended family has been joining us online. Old friends and roommates from my college days — who I haven’t spoken to in nearly 20 years — have been joining us — hey Raul and Casey — if you’re watching. Just some amazing things are happening — and — if you’re experiencing similar type stories — please make sure to share your story with us on our website — gatewayepc.org. 

And speaking of worshiping online — the question that’s probably been on your mind — is:  “Josh, how much longer are we doing this whole “online only” deal?” As you know, this past week our governor made some more decisions in our state’s fight against the coronavirus — for example — he extended our school closures through May 1st. So here’s what may be helpful for all of you to know.

Instead of looking for a date — “here’s the weekend we’ll be back physically together” — I want you to be paying attention to the reversal of the decisions that have caused us to go online. What do I mean? Well the two events — in our state — that caused us to make the decision to go online only were 1) the closure of schools and 2) the limitation on the size of groups that can meet. So until those two decisions are reversed — meaning schools are back in session and the size of the groups that can meet has been lifted — we’ll continue to be meeting online only. 

Now — obviously — schools may be closed for the rest of the year. So — if that’s the case — we’ll be watching more closely for the limitation on the size of groups that can meet to be reversed. And — again — the reason why we’re watching for the reversal of these decisions is because the decisions — themselves — were the reason why the elders of Gateway decided we should be meeting online only in order to comply with the recommendations made by our state leadership.

Alright — with all of that out of the way — and hopefully you have a better understanding as to how and why we’ve made the decisions we’ve made — there’s one last thing I want you to know before we get to the sermon — and this is the one thing that I always want you to know — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRODUCTION

Today we’re finishing up our Finding Jesus series. For the past few weeks we’ve been looking at a group of books in the Old Testament known as the Minor Prophets. And we’ve been seeing how the whole Bible is telling one story — the story of Jesus. 

And here’s a quick idea of what this sermon will be like. I’m going to introduce you to a book of the Bible that you may or may not be familiar with. I’ll give you an overview of the book — think of this as a highlight reel and then we’ll focus in on one section of the book. And finally — and this is what I hope will be most beneficial to you — I’ll show you how to find the one story that the whole Bible is telling — the story of Jesus. Because the whole Bible is ultimately pointing us to him — so I’m going to show you how to find Jesus. 

And in this iteration of our Finding Jesus series — we’re looking at the first six of the books known as the Minor Prophets — and today we’ll be looking at the book of Micah. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Micah chapter 6.

In previous weeks we’ve looked at Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and Jonah. And I hope you’ve grown to appreciate these often neglected books of the Bible and are spending time in them — finding Jesus and the joy that’s found only in him.

OVERVIEW OF MICAH

So let’s take some time to get our bearings in this book — and I hope you’ll see that Micah is a book you’ll want to go read for yourself.

First, what do we know about Micah? Well guess what? And this is the last time you’ll hear me say this for a while — Micah was a prophet — which means he spoke on behalf of God. And he lived during the 8th century BC in the nation of Judah along with the prophet Isaiah.

Now to give you an idea of what’s going on in history — the Jewish people are divided into two nations. You may be familiar with the fact that there were twelve tribes of Israel — each tribe descending from a son of Jacob — who was also named Israel. And these tribes eventually ask for a king. The first king is Saul — but he didn’t turn out to be the man for the job. Next came David — you’ve probably heard of him. Then David’s son — Solomon — became king. 

After Solomon, there’s conflict over who should be king and the nation ends up dividing over the matter. Ten tribes join together and keep the name Israel — they’re in the north — and two tribes join together and are named Judah — they’re in the south. 

Now for a while, neither Israel nor Judah experience external conflict — meaning war with other nations — but man do they have some internal junk going on. Evil kings. Moral corruption. The people abandon God. Things are a big mess — which you can read about in the books 1st and 2nd Kings. And during this time — the people of both Israel and Judah falsely assume that the lack of external conflict — the fact they’re not at war with other nations — is because God approves of the way they’re living. But — they were dead wrong. Remember — they’ve abandoned God. Yet somehow they think that God approves of their behavior. 

And eventually — because of their rebellion — the Assyrians will come and conquer the nation of Israel and — later on — the Babylonians will conquer the nation of Judah. But all of that is to come in the future. Which leads us to our prophet. 

Micah’s message was a warning to the nation of Israel that God’s judgment was coming for them. He warns them about their coming destruction. Yet — obviously — the people didn’t listen to him — much like they didn’t listen to the other prophets we’ve looked at — thus they will be conquered by the Assyrians.

Now this book — unlike some of the others that we’ve looked at — isn’t as easy to divide up into sections — as the prophet goes back and forth between accusations and warnings against the nation of Israel to promises of hope. So here are a few examples of the kinds of warnings and promises that are found throughout the book — there are many we could pick from — but we’ll focus on some accusations against the prominent people of Israel — this would be the rich, those in power, and the religious leaders. Here’s what Micah says to them.

WARNINGS AND HOPE

What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so. 2 When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance. 

3 But this is what the Lord says: “I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.” 4 In that day your enemies will make fun of you by singing this song of despair about you: “We are finished, completely ruined! God has confiscated our land, taking it from us. He has given our fields to those who betrayed us.” 5 Others will set your boundaries then, and the Lord’s people will have no say in how the land is divided. (Micah 2:1-5 NLT) 

What a song to sing, right? So those are the accusations against the wealthy and those with power. They’re oppressing those who don’t have power. They’re manipulating things to gain the property of others. And there will be a consequence for their behavior. And this is what they — these people — say to Micah — in response.

“Don’t say such things,” the people respond. “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!” 

So the prophet — speaking for God — replies with…

7 Should you talk that way, O family of Israel? Will the Lord’s Spirit have patience with such behavior? If you would do what is right, you would find my words comforting. 8 Yet to this very hour my people rise against me like an enemy! You steal the shirts right off the backs of those who trusted you, making them as ragged as men returning from battle. 9 You have evicted women from their pleasant homes and forever stripped their children of all that God would give them. 10 Up! Begone! This is no longer your land and home, for you have filled it with sin and ruined it completely. 11 Suppose a prophet full of lies would say to you, “I’ll preach to you the joys of wine and alcohol!” That’s just the kind of prophet you would like! (Micah 2:6-11 NLT) 

The people would rather have religious leaders who told them what they wanted to hear rather than those who would tell them the truth — and that’s something all too common today. And though this seems like a hopeless situation — after all — the people just…aren’t…getting it — the very next verses contain promises of hope.

“Someday, O Israel, I will gather you; I will gather the remnant who are left. I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture. Yes, your land will again be filled with noisy crowds! 13 Your leader will break out and lead you out of exile, out through the gates of the enemy cities, back to your own land. Your king will lead you; the Lord himself will guide you.” (Micah 2:12-13 NLT)

Now — they don’t deserve this promise — but God gives it to them anyway. That’s the grace of God on display. God’s grace is his undeserved mercy and favor and blessing being given to those who don’t deserve it. And here God promises that one day a leader will rise up. A leader who will lead them out of exile, out of the land of their enemies, and back to their own land. And this leader will be their king. And this leader and king — in fact — will be the Lord himself — he will be their God.

But then — after this wonderful promise — in the next chapter we’re back to the wickedness of the people and God’s coming judgment. 

I said, “Listen, you leaders of Israel! You are supposed to know right from wrong, 2 but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh from their bones. 3 Yes, you eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin, and break their bones. You chop them up like meat for the cooking pot. 4 Then you beg the Lord for help in times of trouble! Do you really expect him to answer? After all the evil you have done, he won’t even look at you!” 

5 This is what the Lord says: “You false prophets are leading my people astray! You promise peace for those who give you food, but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you. 6 Now the night will close around you, cutting off all your visions. Darkness will cover you, putting an end to your predictions. The sun will set for you prophets, and your day will come to an end. 7 Then you seers will be put to shame, and you fortune-tellers will be disgraced. And you will cover your faces because there is no answer from God.” 

8 But as for me (Micah says…), I am filled with power — with the Spirit of the Lord. I am filled with justice and strength to boldly declare Israel’s sin and rebellion. 9 Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right. 10 You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption. 11 You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord. “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.” 12 Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands. (Micah 3:1-12 NLT)

So the nation will be conquered — the city of Jerusalem — which is in Judah — by the way — it will be destroyed. So both Israel and Judah are being warned here. And this is all going to happen because of the sin of the people. And — yet again — that’s not the final word. For there’s another promise of hope.

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all — the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. 2 People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem. 3 The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. 4 Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has made this promise! 5 Though the nations around us follow their idols, we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever. 6 “In that coming day,” says the Lord, “I will gather together those who are lame, those who have been exiles, and those whom I have filled with grief. 7 Those who are weak will survive as a remnant; those who were exiles will become a strong nation. Then I, the Lord, will rule from Jerusalem as their king forever.” (Micah 4:1-7 NLT)

So this is a future vision — and not just a future for the people in Micah’s time — but a future vision for us as well. For this is a heavenly vision — a promise of the New Jerusalem — when people of all nations will live in the eternal city of God — worshipping him together. A time when there will be peace on earth — not peace of a temporary nature — eternal peace as we live under the reign and rule of God’s King whose name is Jesus.

And this formula happens one more time before the passage we’re going to look at. In the last half of chapter 4 through chapter 5 we find another warning and accusation against the people — followed by a promise of hope. In fact, in Micah chapter 5 we find the promise that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem — the Christmas story — right here in Micah. 

MAIN PASSAGE

Which leads us to our section of the book so let’s turn to our passage — Micah chapter 6 — and discover a way to find Jesus in the book of Micah — and in all of the Bible. Let’s begin in verse 1.

Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. 3 “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.” 6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:1-8 ESV)

WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF US? 

What does the Lord require of us — what does he require of you? That’s an interesting question that’s been answered in all sorts of ways. And it’s the question Micah forces us to wrestle with.

Now we hear God’s answer — through Micah — in our verses. We’re to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [our] God.” But what does that even mean?

Justice — for instance — what does it mean to do justice? In our culture, doing justice can mean all kinds of things. From writing a really good social media post or liking what someone else has posted. Doing justice can mean giving to a particular cause or signing an online petition. But what’s seemed to have fallen away from our definition of doing justice — is our personal presence — a personal costliness — in order for justice to be done. 

Now certainly the Internet can be used to make justice a reality. Things can be done quickly, efficiently, and globally in ways that weren’t dreamed of 50 years ago — that’s why social media can be a great tool.

But the misfire — in this cultural thinking — is how it’s exchanged what’s called “virtue signaling” — publicly expressing the “correct” opinion on something — we’ve exchanged “virtue signaling” with the act of actually “doing justice.” Because doing justice — ultimately — isn’t simply sharing the correct opinion about something — it’s about being a solution to an injustice in our world. 

Now some go farther than just sharing what they think is the correct opinion — some in our culture get so wrapped up in their opinion being the right one that a whole “call out” culture has been created on social media. And this calling others out has led to online outrage that demands people to take down their posts or delete their tweets regardless if what they’ve stated is more true — or even more justice oriented — than the people calling them out.

Now — what the Christian faith teaches — is that doing justice isn’t just something we can give lip service to, but it’s something that involves all of who we are. Doing justice encompasses all of our life. That’s why — as the prophet Micah points out — what God requires of us is to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God. 

So let’s go back to our text and take a closer look at — first — who this God is that requires something of us — and then second — what is it that he requires of us and how are we to do what he expects of us.

REMEMBER FIRST 

And the first thing we’re told is to remember who God is. In a courtroom like setting, Micah summons God to the witness stand — and in verse 1 — we read.

Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. 

And now God speaks.

3 “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.” (Micah 6:1-5 ESV)

In a previous iteration of our Finding Jesus series we looked at the books written by Moses. And two stories from those books are being referred to here. The story of God rescuing his people from the land of Egypt and the story of God protecting his people when an enemy king hired a man named Balaam to curse them. Now if you’re unfamiliar with these stories, I’d encourage you to go watch the sermons on the book of Exodus and Numbers — you can find them on our website. 

But — here in Micah — God reminds the people of these historic stories of his protection. 

• Stories of his love and care for them. 
• Stories of him doing justice on their behalf. 
• Stories of him being kind to them. 
• And God is telling them to remember who he is. He’s the God who rescues first and then — after he rescues — he tells his people what to do. 

And we must remember this. Remember who God is first — then look at what he expects of us. Because when these two things get out of order, we attempt to do things for God in order to earn his love and grace. But that’s not the Christian faith — the Christian faith says, “God loves you. He cares for you. He’s protecting you. He’s being kind towards you.” And in trusting him — that’s what faith is — believing that God is who he says he is — in remembering who he is you realize that you can’t earn his love, but he loves you anyway. You don’t deserve his kindness — yet he’s been kind to you. 

And in response to God’s love and kindness and mercy and grace — in response to remembering who he is — we come to verse 6 — and what we’re to do.

DO SECOND 

“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:6-8 ESV)

What does God require of us — what does he want? Does he want religious rituals — whether they be animal sacrifices of the Old Testament or the religious rituals of our day — religious sacrifices — things we must do in order to appease God and get him off our backs — like going to church, or serving, or giving money so he won’t be so angry or disappointed with us — is that what God wants from us? Well guess what? That’s not what he wants from us.

So what does God require of us? To do justice. Now there’s an aspect of doing justice that includes establishing laws in our courts in order to make sure justice takes place. Read the prophets and you’ll see that they slam the Jewish people for injustices against the poor and the weak and the vulnerable. It angers God when laws are put on the books that take advantage of those who don’t have a voice to fight for themselves. 

And this brings us to two important points. First, justice — for God — isn’t primarily about punishment — which is what I think we tend to think about when we hear of God being just — I think we tend to hear “God punishing bad people.” And though there’s an aspect to God’s justice that includes punishment — primarily God’s justice is about fairness for all people. It’s about impartiality. His justice is built on his concern and care and love for all people. 

Which leads to the second point — which is — we must acknowledge that our social systems aren’t always equitable. No system — here on earth — is fair to all people. God even understood this when the nation of Israel was created — for when he gave them the 10 Commandments and the rest of the Law that explained how they were to be governed as a nation — think of all the places where God made sure to highlight the rights of the poor, the orphans, and the widows. God knew that these kinds of people could easily be mistreated — that they could easily experience injustice — and so he reminded the Israelites of their responsibility to do justice towards these people. And in the world we live in — a world marked by sin — individuals — and even nations — will use their resources and power to take advantage of others. 

Now the other thing we tend to do — and this is so subtle in our lives because it’s so easy to be focused on what we think needs to be done that — much like the people in the Good Samaritan story — we end up walking right by injustices without even seeing them. Injustices that we could have stepped into and made right. 

Who are the vulnerable among us? How are you doing justice for them? 

God expects us to do justice and to love kindness. Mark Twain said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Now the Hebrew word — translated here as kindness — is a word with so much meaning that it’s nearly impossible to translate it with a single English word. The word has the idea of mercy, and loyalty, and goodness. It has the idea of favor and grace and faithfulness. It’s a word with robust meaning.

And though here the command is to do justice and to love kindness — in other places in the Bible — we’re told to “do kindness” and to “love justice.” And the reason why justice and kindness are spoken of in these ways is because the two cannot be divorced from one another. What we do can’t be separated from why we’re doing it. And this is because you can be right — meaning you can have the correct opinion about something — and yet be unkind — and thus you’re wrong. Or you can really, sincerely love people — and hate an injustice you see them going through — and yet do nothing. And that’s a tragedy. Because our love and kindness is to lead to action — doing justice. And our doing justice is to be built on love and kindness for God and others.

FINDING JESUS

And all of this points us to Jesus — quite easily — because of something he said.

One day, Jesus was in a heated discussion with some religious leaders. And at one point — in the conversation — he says to them, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law — justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.” (Matthew 23:23 NLT)

Here’s what’s happening — and I think it’s pretty obvious. The religious leaders were tithing — which means giving ten percent — not just from their finances — but even from their herb gardens. Yet they did so while not doing justice, mercy, and faith. 

And notice what Jesus says to them. First — and you can’t skip this part — Jesus says, “Tithe, for sure!” So for those of us who have a problem with giving at least ten percent of your income to what Jesus said he came to build — the church — he didn’t come to build all of those other organizations we love to support and give to — he came to build the church — so if you’ve got a problem with tithing to the church — you’ve got to deal with Jesus’ own words because he doesn’t tell them — or us — to stop tithing. We tithe to the church and give above the tithe to everything else.

And I know, I know — gross or net income, right? That is the question we love to ask! Well these religious leaders were tithing from their herb garden. And — again — Jesus doesn’t correct their commitment to tithing here — he just tells them that tithing needs to be in its proper place — meaning — not in place of doing justice — because doing justice and tithing — — are to be done together. And I can’t imagine these religious leaders even asking the question gross or net income seeing that they were so committed to tithing that they made sure to give ten percent of what came from their garden.

But let’s keep moving on. Tithe — yes! — AND — don’t ignore the more important aspects of the law — justice, mercy, and faith. Or as Micah says, “To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

And a danger — for all of us — is how easy it is for us to be like these religious leaders. We’re all prone to be legalists. Where we shift the religious system in our favor so we meet the mark of what God requires of us even if we’re not being honest with ourselves. As Charles Spurgeon said to his congregation, “Beloved, the legalist [in us] is a great deal older than the Christian. If I were a legalist today, I would be some fifteen or sixteen years older than I am as a Christian; for we are all born legalists.” We’re all born — so this is natural to us — we’re all born wanting to do the equivalent of tithing from our herb gardens while ignoring the more important matters that God requires of us. And we fool ourselves into believing that God is pleased with us — when we’re bringing to him religious sacrifices — while we’re ignoring what he’s said that he expects of us. 

CONCLUSION

Now as a church — as the people of God — we have an amazing opportunity because we live in a culture — as we’ve seen — that will often fight for justice without kindness — and rarely with humility. So we have an opportunity to do justice and to do so in kindness — all while walking humbly with our God. And — in doing so — we can make a difference as we engage with others — not with a spirit of superiority — but engage with others with a spirit of generosity, and kindness, and humility. And — in doing so — we can change what it means to do justice in our culture as we lead — by example — but more importantly as we follow the just, kind, and humble example of Jesus Christ. For he is the One who came to do justice on our behalf. And he did so acting in loving kindness towards us. All while being a humble servant of his Father. And as we follow his example — remembering who God is and what he requires of us — justice, kindness, and humility will be the characteristics of our lives. Let’s pray. 

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, first we thank you for who you are. So often we forget that you are gracious to us. Kind to us. Loving, patient, tender, merciful, and the One who protects us. So often we forget who you are, doubt who you are, live life oblivious to who you are — and for this — we ask for your forgiveness. Thank you for waking us up — in these uncertain days — to focus on knowing and remembering who you are.

And — in response to remembering who you are — help us to do what you require of us. In response to Jesus doing justice on our behalf, help us to do justice in our world. In response to his kindness towards us, help us to love kindness and to be kind to others. In response to him humbling himself for us, help us to walk humbly with you. And in response to receiving your eternal love for us — receiving your love not earning your love — help us to love others — even those who we think don’t deserve our love.

Father, Son, and Spirit you are so gracious to us. Help us to joyfully respond to your grace by living for you. And we pray all of these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION 

May you go doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with your God. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 1-15-23

It’s an honor to be with you all today. Thank you to Jerome and the board of the Black Heritage Library and Multicultural Center for the invitation. Something I tell the congregation I have the joy of shepherding each time I’m before them are the words “God loves you. And I love you too.” I say these words because no one hears the words I love you enough. And no one hears the words God loves you enough either. So if you forget everything else I say today — I want you to know that God loves you. And that I love you too.

INTRODUCTION

Now I’m a pastor and preacher. I’m called to be a herald of God’s Word — someone who proclaims what God has said and elevates what God has said above all of the other voices who are saying a whole bunch of things about what it takes to be the beloved community that Dr. King envisioned. But King’s vision of the beloved community was birthed out of the same Word of God that I’m here to proclaim today — which makes my job much easier because Dr. King and I look to the same book and to the same God who authored this book as our guide on what it means to become and be a beloved community. And — as I speak of us becoming a more beloved community — please don’t interpret that to mean that I don’t love and appreciate our community of Findlay. In a call we had together, Jerome and I both shared our appreciation for our community. So this idea of becoming a more beloved community comes from someone who loves this community and wants to see her shine with more radiance and beauty than she already does.

Now something that struck me — as I read Why We Can’t Wait by Dr. King — is how we’ve lost the commitment that King envisioned for us — a commitment that he believed — and I believe — would unite us together so we become a more beloved community. What commitment am I referring to?

Every person who volunteered to be part of the non-violent army that King — and others — led in Birmingham, were required to sign a commitment card. And every volunteer had to commit to ten statements that were on the cards. And these ten statements of commitment — I think — if we commit ourselves to — no matter our race or gender or whatever else we’re told is to be a dividing wall of hostility between us — if we commit ourselves to these ten statements — expected of all serving in Birmingham in 1963 — that we’ll be well on our way towards being the beloved community King envisioned here in our community. Which probably makes you wonder: Well — then — what are these ten commitments?

Number one. Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.

Number two. Seek justice and reconciliation — not victory.

Number three. Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.

Number four. Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.

Number five. Sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men might be free.

Number six. Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.

Number seven. Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world.

Number eight. Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.

Number nine. Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.

Number ten. Follow the direction of the movement and the captain on a demonstration.

When Jerome and I talked to discuss this event — I mentioned these ten commitment statements and said, “Jerome, those will preach.” I’m a preacher, after all, not a politician. And — like King — I know whatever changes we hope to see in our community and beyond — that first and foremost a change of heart is what’s needed. For the heart of men and women has — and will always be — the target. Not only when it comes to the issues of racism and reconciliation — but for all of the brokenness we find in our community due to both the sin in each of us and the sin in our world.

So — journey with me — will you? And let’s catch a glimpse of Dr. King’s vision of what we can and must do if we want to be a more beloved community here in Findlay, Ohio.

COMMITMENT #1

Commitment number one. Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus. Jesus taught, said, and did many things that disrupted the lives of those he encountered — especially those who were religious zealots. In fact, the more religious someone was — often — the harder time they had with Jesus’ teaching. 

And this is just as true today as it was two thousand years ago. The most religiously zealous in our time have the most difficulty with the teachings and life of Jesus. “What do you mean, Josh?”

Well Jesus said, “God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Yet we live in a culture dominated — not by mercy — but by judgment and cancellation. Internet and social media mobs only offer judgment — they offer no opportunity for restoration — they have no mercy. Do some people deserve to be judged? Absolutely! But we’re living in a time when students lose college scholarships because of something they tweeted as a 14 year old. Or the employee who shares an unwise joke on Facebook is forced to resign or is fired because of the internet mob. Being unwise isn’t a category we have today because we’d have to be merciful to interpret what they did as unwise and not as intentionally hateful, discriminatory, bigoted, or racist. But Jesus said God blesses those who are merciful. And the religiously zealous of our day have no room for mercy.

Jesus said radical things like, ““You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” Does anyone in our culture today really live as if these words of Jesus are true? That there’s an eternal judgment awaiting those who hate and curse others? I ask — because — hatred and cursing abound on our social media feeds and news outlets.

What else did Jesus teach? He said, ““You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 So if your eye — even your good eye — causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your hand — even your stronger hand — causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Want to upset the religiously dogmatic in our culture? Teach what Jesus said about sexual purity — that’ll upset folks these days. You see, it’s not just Christians who are religious. We live in a religiously zealous culture that the teachings of Jesus will greatly upset.

These are just a few snapshots of things Jesus taught which Dr. King suggests we meditate on daily. But what did Jesus do with his life? I’m sure you’ve heard of the miracles he did — healing the blind, lame, deaf, and mute. But — ultimately — what Jesus did with his life is give it up — on the cross — as a sacrifice for the sins of all who would turn to him in faith. What Dr. King knew — when it comes to us being a beloved community — is something that’s seemingly been forgotten by society. What’s that? It’s the fact that you can’t legislate morality. Oh — we try — and put laws in place that attempt to regulate morality, but ultimately morality — the things we do and say — including our view of people with skin color different than our own — is a heart issue. And we’re all in desperate need of a new heart. A heart we can’t give to ourselves — for it must be given to us. 

Dr. King said something similar when he wrote, “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.” Even the laws we make are birthed out of the condition of the heart of those who make them. And we all — black, white, men, women, Republicans, and Democrats — we all need a new heart.

And the Spirit of God gives us the new heart we need when we turn to Christ in faith. Turning to him as our Savior — our Rescuer — our Liberator from the sin were born enslaved to. We’re to turn to Christ as our Lord — the One who tells us what truth is and what moral laws are. For Jesus is the One whose teaching we’re to submit ourselves to and who’s life we’re to imitate. 

Now maybe you don’t think of yourself as a religious person and you’re wondering how any of this helps us become a more beloved community? Well — the apostle Paul tells us, “For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.”

In Paul’s day, Jews and Gentiles had erected a wall of hostility between each other. Similar to the wall of hostility between different groups in our nation’s history. But the Good News of Jesus Christ is that — in giving his life on the cross — those walls of hostility — that we have a hideous tendency of erecting — have been torn down. And it’s only through the teachings and life of Christ that we find the power to destroy the walls of hostility in our day and age so that we can be the beloved community Dr. King envisioned. Dr. King understood this and this is why it was the first commitment he asked of everyone who volunteered in Birmingham and is what I’m asking of us. For us to be a beloved community — we must commit to meditating daily on the teachings and life of Jesus. 

COMMITMENT #2

Alright. I promise we won’t — because we can’t — spend as much time on the remaining nine commitments as we did on the first one. But the first commitment is the foundation for all of the others so it needs and deserves more time. Let’s move on to commitment number two — we’re to seek justice and reconciliation — not victory. 

As the Old Testament prophet reminds us, “He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God.”

Justice — biblically speaking — is “a concern to act rightly, and to be seen by others to act rightly. Divine justice embraces every aspect of the right ordering of human society according to the will of God, its creator.” This definition reminds us that — if we meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus — we will allow him and his Word define what we mean when we say that we’re seeking justice. And — according to God’s Word — to seek justice means we’re seeking to act rightly — or righteously — as well as seeking to order our community according to the will of God because he is our Creator. 

So be very careful when having conversations about justice. For example, what’s being meant by the word “justice” in your conversation? For if we allow anyone or anything else to define for us what the word justice means and what we’re to be seeking in being just — then we’ll fail to become the beloved community that Dr. King envisioned. King famously wrote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” But the justice he was referring to is biblical justice. Not the poor definitions of justice that are being thrown around left and right in our time. For to be just is to be righteous. And to be righteous means to be right with God. And — though many assume they’re right with God — King’s first commitment reminds us that God defines for us what a right relationship with him is — not us. Not a political party. Not an organization that sells itself as promoting justice in our country. If they don’t align with God’s definition of justice and righteousness — whatever justice they’re fighting for is not the justice that King wants us fighting for. For — as the prophet Amos tells us — a prophet Dr. King loved to quote, “I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.” 

Similarly, the word reconciliation — remember — we’re to seek justice and reconciliation — reconciliation — according to Jesus and his Word — is “the restoration of fellowship between God and humanity and the resulting restoration of human relationships.” 

The apostle Paul writes it this way — and this is lengthy — but a beautiful and moving way to describe how these first two commitments come together. Paul writes, “Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord (that’s Jesus), we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart (there’s the heart again). 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. 16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

For our human relationships to experience reconciliation our relationship with God first needs to be reconciled. For — ultimately — and as I’ve previously said — reconciliation between different groups in our nation is first and foremost a heart issue. And all of our broken relationships with each other are an expression of — and are caused by — our broken relationship with God. Thus our relationship with God is the priority. And as we’re reconciled with him we’ll find the power needed for reconciliation in our relationships with each other and make both justice and reconciliation a priority for our community.

Now — I know I’ve said some potentially irritating statements about reconciliation. Statements you may not agree with if you’re not a follower of Jesus. And I did this intentionally because of this second commitment and what I see in our nation today. Though many claim to be fighting for justice — few are fighting for reconciliation. And most — if they’d only be honest — are fighting for a victory — the very thing Dr. King said we’re not to seek! 

Why shouldn’t we seek victory? Because if you’re seeking justice and reconciliation you can’t have enemies. For the very people that we’d usually categorize as an enemy are the very people that justice and reconciliation force us to step into a relationship with. If you and I agree on everything — there’s no reconciliation needed. It’s only when there are differences — even disagreements — that justice and reconciliation can be sought. 

But we’re living in a hyper-dogmatic culture these days. You’re either on the right side of history or you’re canceled. If the Twitter mob comes after you — you’ll lose the scholarship, lose your job, or whatever victory the mob is demanding. For that’s what is being sought — victory — not justice — and definitely not reconciliation. But for us to be the beloved community that King envisioned — we must seek justice and reconciliation — not victory. One of my life resolutions is “to not have to win every argument or conversation.” I’m quick witted, read a lot, and my brain tends to fire a bit faster with responses than others — so I can win and be victorious. And it wins no one over. I get a victory — but not justice. I can score victory after victory and never experience reconciliation. I can so easily lead us away from being a beloved community — and so can you — if we’re focused on victories instead of seeking justice and reconciliation. 

COMMITMENT #3

Let’s keep going — looking very briefly at the remaining commitments. Number three. Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.

“God is love” isn’t too controversial these days. Everyone loves love. But the apostle John — who originally wrote the words “God is love” — wrote them in this context. “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love — not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

Once again it’s God’s love for us — as displayed in the life and death of Jesus — that defines for us what love is and what it means for us to walk and talk in a manner of love. For the manner we’re to imitate is that of Jesus. And how did he first love us — how did Jesus first love you? He gave his life for you — in love — so that you might find freedom from sin and now live for him. 

COMMITMENT #4

Which leads us to commitment number four. Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free. Do you pray? If you do pray — how often do you pray for people to be free? To experience not only the freedoms promised in our country’s founding documents — but that they might experience the freedom Christ accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection?

COMMITMENT #5

Then — as commitment number five — reminds us: sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men might be free. Pray — and then be the answer to your prayer. Don’t allow prayer to be something like liking or retweeting something on social media. Liking that post on social media about justice isn’t really a sacrifice. I guess it’s better than nothing, but we’ve been duped into believing that we’ve done something when all we’ve done is appease our conscience with a click instead of actually making a sacrifice. 

The apostle Paul reminds us, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Don’t be selfish — we’re told. Take an interest in what’s best for others. Why? Because this is what Jesus did for you. In reading Why We Can’t Wait, one of King’s statements that struck me was this. “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride towards freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tenstion to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action’; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’ Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” Earlier in the book he writes, “The ultimate tragedy of Birmingham was not the brutality of the bad people, but the silence of the good people.”

He’s basically saying, “I’d rather you be a blatant racist than to display apathy when it comes to reconciliation.” And how many of us are apathetic when it comes to justice, to reconciliation, to being a more beloved community? I know the temptation of apathy — it’s so alluring. But lukewarmness is not looked fondly of in Scripture. In fact — returning to the teachings of Jesus — he said lukewarmness makes him want to throw up. 

COMMITMENT #6

Number six. Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy. Being courteous — another artform lost in our modern day — but oh if we practiced these commitments. If we did, we’d dedicate ourselves to, “See[ing] that no one pays back evil for evil, [instead we’ll] always try to do good to each other and to all people.” We’d “get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Even as we debate and discuss the state of our country, racism, CRT, systemic racism, Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or whatever the topic that usually causes us to lose our minds and forget all about being courteous. Imagine with me — the beloved community we’d be if we practiced the ordinary rules of courtesy.

COMMITMENT #7

Number seven. Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world. Much has already been said about praying, being the answer to our prayers, being courteous, and so on — these all fit into regularly serving others. The only thing to add to this commitment are two reminders from Dr. King. He writes, “The fact that different organizations place varying degrees of emphasis on certain tactical approaches is not indicative of disunity. Unity has never meant uniformity.” There are many different ways to serve our community and to seek justice and reconciliation. We all tend to have a way or two that fits our personality, experiences, or life situation better than others. Instead of allowing diversity of approaches to be divisive, can we celebrate the many ways in which others are helping us be a more beloved community even though it may not be “our way”? As King writes, “Unity has never meant uniformity.”

Additionally, he writes, “If our drive was to be successful, we must involve the students of the community.” Parents, church leaders, organizational directors and boards, government leaders — we must involve the next generation if we want to experience King’s vision of a beloved community in our city. What are some ways the next generation might have a voice and real influence in the work you’re doing to help us be a more beloved community?

COMMITMENT #8

Number eight. Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart. This commitment — once again — takes us back to the first — meditating on the teachings and life of Jesus and the new heart we’re all in desperate need of. Refrain from the violence of the fist — this includes both those protesting and those in authority called to protect all citizens of our community. But that’s the obvious violence, isn’t it? Social media and the news love to grab our attention with this kind of violence — whether it be looters or police brutality. Peaceful protesters and honest cops don’t get as many clicks like the headlines pointing us to violence do. 

But what about violence of the tongue and heart? We’ve already talked about being courteous — and this definitely involves the use of our tongues. Those pesky parts of our body that James — the younger brother of Jesus says, “If we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. 3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. 7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.”

James tells us that we humans are pretty incredible. We’ve learned how to steer large ships with a tiny rudder. We can make horses go wherever we want by putting a small bit in their mouth. We’ve tamed all kinds of animals, put them on display in zoos for us to marvel at — we’re talking about lions and tigers, bears and sharks, and the most deadly animals on the planet — we’ve put them behind glass.

Yet we can’t control this tiny little part of our body — and there’s nothing like it in all of creation. For tigers do what tigers do. Sharks do what sharks do. Fires do what fires do. Fresh water springs produce fresh water — not salt water. Orange trees produce oranges and apple trees produce apples. But this part of our body produces both blessings and curses. With our tongues we praise God and with it we spew venom at men and women who God created in his image. And this is not good! This is evil and it shows us that we have a heart problem.

How so? Well Jesus connects what we say to our hearts, when he said, “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.””

When it comes to the violence of our words — that display a violence of our hearts — especially when it comes to racial reconciliation in our country — man have we produced some bad fruit. And we’d all be wise to pause and consider whether or not the words we speak — and post on social media — reveal a violence of our heart that needs to be submitted to Christ. 

COMMITMENT #9

Commitment number nine. Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health. The apostle Paul writes, ““Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. 10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.”

This struggle in our nation — to be a more beloved community — has been ongoing for hundreds of years. We’re pushing 60 years since Dr. King led the protests in Birmingham, Alabama. And that means we must have endurance — physical endurance and spiritual endurance — physical health and spiritual health. Are you taking care of your physical health so you’re available and able to help us be a more beloved community? Are you taking care of your spiritual health so you’re available and able to help us be a more beloved community? 

COMMITMENT #10

And — finally — number ten. Follow the direction of the movement and the captain on a demonstration. There’s a fight going on in our nation for who will be the movement that leads our nation towards being a more beloved community. And not all of these individuals and organizations are committed to the statements we’ve been looking at. Many blatantly oppose the commitments we’ve been remembering today. So — the question for us is — who will we follow the direction of when it comes to reconciliation, justice, and us being a more beloved community? 

This decision is not new to our generation. Dr. King saw the same decision in the 1960s as many were seeking others to follow as they had grown impatient with King’s nonviolent and Christian-based philosophy of leadership. He writes, “Nourished by the Negro’s frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible ‘devil.’”

There’s quite a bit of that going around in our day. Frustration growing into people losing faith in America, finding delight in being critical of nearly everything about our country — and critical of Christianity. And the white man — me — and men like me — well we’re the devil these days. And know that these views are not godly, nor are they God-honoring and — in fact — they’re straight from the pit of Hell. 

I say this not to excuse or be untruthful about America’s history — or specifically — racism in our nation — racism by people who look like me. I say this to remind those of us who follow Christ that he’s the Director of the movement of reconciliation — he’s the Captain of his people — the Church — and we’re to follow him in being reconcilers and peace-makers in our community.

Again — nearly 60 years ago — Dr. King wrote these words that are as true today as they were then. He writes, “So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent — and often even vocal — sanction of things as they are.”

CONCLUSION

If you consider yourself to be a Christian — then you’re part of the church. And my question to you — to me — to us — is will we lead the way in reconciliation in our community? Church leaders, will we lead our congregations to be reconcilers and peace-makers in our community? 

How do we lead the way? I think Dr. King has shown us the way. The church can lead our community towards becoming a more beloved community as we meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus. As we lead our congregations to seek justice and reconciliation — not victory. As we lead our congregations to walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love. And to pray daily to be used by God as we sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men might be free. The church can lead our community towards becoming a more beloved community if we demonstrate what it means to observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy and seek to perform regular service for others and for the world. As we lead our congregations towards refraining from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart — and what we post on social media. As we strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health. And as we follow the direction of the One who is the Head of the movement of justice and reconciliation — the One who is the Captain whose lead we’re to follow — Jesus Christ.

Fellow citizens of this beloved community — will we commit ourselves to being the vision Dr. King had for us? I hope we will. For it will be for all of our good and for the glory of God. Let’s pray. 

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, for your glory and our good give us the hearts we need to be a beloved community. Spirit of God, empower us with your love for all people and unite us together as a beloved community. And, Jesus, we thank you for tearing down the walls of hostility by your sacrifice on the cross. May we follow your lead — for you are our Captain of reconciliation and our Savior. In your name we pray. Amen.

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 146 (ESV)

DATE: 1-10-21

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I always want you to know — no matter if you’re worshiping with me in person or joining us online — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too. 

SERIES INTRODUCTION

About every other year, we begin the new year with a series that focuses on who God is and the implications for what this means in different areas of life. And as we begin 2021, we’re returning to some of these familiar topics and reminding ourselves that God is for justice. That he’s for life. And he’s for the family. But — as we saw last week when we began this series — God is first and foremost for himself. So the foundation for the rest of this series — what the rest of these sermons are built on — what we can’t forget as we talk about being for justice, and for life, and for the family — is the biblical truth that God is for God. 

ANNOUNCE THE TEXT

So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Psalm 146. We’ll be looking at the entire psalm — verses 1-10. 

SERMON INTRODUCTION

And while you’re finding Psalm 146, we’re talking about justice — today — and for the next few weeks we’ll look at some specific areas of justice. And — it wouldn’t surprise me — if the word “justice” makes some of us cringe a bit. Mainly because justice issues have become so politicized. For some, using the words “social justice” in the church is simply giving ground to the political left. For some, “biblical justice” is a phrase being hijacked by the political right. 

Now the danger — for Christians — is that instead of allowing the Bible to define for us what are injustices — we allow our political party to define them for us. Too many Christians are spending more time listening to the news source of their choice — or to politicians — than they are spending time in Scripture. 

Thus — depending on your political party — some things are justice issues to fight for and other justice issues are seen as anti-Christian — regardless of what the Bible actually says or implies about the issue at hand. 

But we — God’s people — and I think we know this — we must allow God’s Word to define for us what are issues of injustice that his people — having been transformed by the grace of God as revealed in Jesus Christ — God’s people — in having been saved by Christ — must turn to his Word and rely on his Spirit for our marching orders as to what it means to be doers of justice in our world.

Because — as we’ll see — the God of the Bible is a God of justice. And just as his people are to be loving — because our God is love — and just as we’re to be gracious and patient and kind — because our God is gracious and patient and kind — we’re also to be people who do justice because our God is a just God — he is a God that is for justice. 

Now, if you’re not a Christian, you may have no issue with this expectation to do justice. My hope — though — is to show you that to do the justice you desire to see done requires supernatural help from God as we humans have failed — and continue to fail — in being just with each other. And — if you’re a Christian — my hope is to show you that — though we’re to leave eternal justice up to God — I hope to show you that we’ve been commanded to participate in being doers of justice in our world — we’re commanded to be doers of justice. 

And just as we’re commanded to share the good news of salvation with others we’re called to do acts of justice towards them as well. And we’ll see that this should not be news to us for Jesus — God in the flesh — the One we believe in — the One we’re following in all of life — did acts of justice when he walked here on earth. And — to follow Jesus — means that we also do acts of justice. 

THE GOD WHO IS JUST

But let’s turn to our psalm and allow God’s Word to guide us towards being people who are for justice. Here are the words found in Psalm 146. Beginning in verse 1. 

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 146:1-10 ESV)

So this psalm is a song of praise celebrating the faithfulness and justice of God. So the people of God — gathered together — would sing these words that acknowledge and praise that their God is for justice. Even the opening words of our psalm command us to praise the God who is just. That’s the first command in our psalm — “praise the Lord!” 

And the only other command — in the psalm — is to “put not your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no salvation.” So only two commands. Praise God for his justice and don’t put your trust in worldly leaders to bring about the kind of justice we read of in this psalm.

But the positive command — the first command — is that we’re to praise God because of his justice. Until our last dying breath exits from our lungs — we’re to praise God because he is just and he is for justice. And — my hunch — is that praising God for his justice sounds a bit weird, right? We praise God for his grace. His love. His mercy. His blessings. We praise him for sending Jesus. But praise him for his justice?

Here’s one reason why this may seem a bit odd. Justice has two aspects to it, but we tend to think of only one of them. For example, if I ask you “What does it mean for someone to receive justice?” Many of you will think of something like, “It means that they get what they deserve.” And you’re probably thinking of a negative situation. 

A person’s done something wrong — so them receiving justice — is them being punished because of what they’ve done. Because if people aren’t punished — for doing wrong things — then they’ll just keep on doing wrong things, right? Punishing the wrongdoer is an act of justice. 

So it seems really odd to praise God for punishing wrongdoers. It would be weird for the worship team to lead us in a song where we celebrate that God punishes people for their wrongdoing. Or that people will be punished in Hell for all eternity — even though we believe that to be true — it’s not something we sing about. And yet — here — we have a psalm — a song to be sung by the people of God — that highlights that God is for justice. 

Now — though punishing a wrongdoer is an aspect of justice — the biblical idea of justice also has a positive side to it. It’s where the oppressed — the weak or the vulnerable — are given their due. 

So — doing justice, biblically speaking — isn’t just punishing the wrongdoer — doing justice also means to care for and protect the oppressed and vulnerable of society. Justice has both a negative and positive side to it. And this positive side of justice is what is to be sung about in our psalm.

So here’s what I hope you’ll understand. Doing justice — is the result of believing good, accurate, biblical theology. What do I mean? Well before we turn to doing acts of justice ourselves — our justice — and this what separates Christian justice from secular justice — our justice begins where our psalm begins. With praise. 

We can’t just believe that God is just. Or that he wants us to do justice. Our hearts must be stirred to praise him because he is just. As we saw last week — we must first be for God — before we’re for doing justice. That’s why last week’s sermon is the foundation for the rest of this series. We’re for God first. Why? Because — once we’re for God first — we’ll be the doers of justice that he expects us to be. 

JUSTICE FOR THE OPPRESSED

So let’s turn — now — to who the focus is of God’s justice in our psalm. And this isn’t unique to this psalm for throughout the Bible we find that God has a heart of justice towards a particular people — and these people are mentioned in our psalm. Let’s begin in verse 7 where we read that God is the One…

Who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless. (Psalm 146:7-9a ESV)

Now — as I just said — this psalm isn’t the only place where we see these groups of people mentioned as being a priority for God’s justice. The widow, the orphan, the sojourner or immigrant, and the poor — the hungry in our psalm — are continually shown to be a concern for the heart of God because these are the people who are easily stepped all over by society. Throughout Scripture, we see God wanting to be known for caring for the oppressed and vulnerable. 

Have you ever spoken at an event where the host asks you, “How should I introduce you?” I have before. Now there are a lot of things that I could have them say. “Husband to Emily. Father to Wesley, Caleb, and Alice. Son of Ken and Betsy Hanson. The pastor of Gateway Church. An Army veteran. A graduate of the University of South Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Saxophone Performance.” 

Similarly, there are many ways we can introduce God. But one way that he likes to be introduced — as seen throughout the Bible — is, “Tell them that I’m the God who protects the vulnerable. Tell them that I provide for the hungry. I set prisoners free. I care for the widow and orphan. Introduce me as the God who is for justice.” 

Like last week, the tenderness and kindness of God is on display in his care and concern for the vulnerable in society. Like a parent watching over their children to make sure they have what they need to flourish in life — God watches over the widow and the orphan. Like a parent who picks up their child who’s fallen off their bike — God lifts up those who are oppressed by society. 

Again, God does many other things — and is known for many other things — but his care for the vulnerable in society comes up so much in Scripture that he doesn’t want us to miss that he wants to be known for his justice towards them.

So what does it mean for us to do justice for these people? If God cares for them — then we’re to care for them too. Not caring for the vulnerable — but loving God — is basically telling God “I love you, but not the people who you love and have made in your image.” And — if I’m honest — if you say, “Josh, I love you, but I don’t love your wife and kids.” Well — I’m gonna question how genuine your love for me is. 

So what does it mean to love and care for the vulnerable? It means at least two things. First, it means that we must not do things that harm those who are vulnerable. 

And — second — and this is where the rubber meets the road — to care for the vulnerable means that we can’t ignore them. It is unjust of us to ignore the vulnerable.

Another Old Testament book is helpful here — the book of Job. In two places we see Job highlight what it means to do justice for the vulnerable. Here’s the first example. In Job chapter twenty-nine we read, “When I was in my prime, God’s friendship was felt in my home. 5 The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me…“Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders. 8 The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming. 9 The princes stood in silence and put their hands over their mouths. 10 The highest officials of the city stood quietly, holding their tongues in respect. 11 “All who heard me praised me. All who saw me spoke well of me. (Why? Job says…) 12 For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help. 13 I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy. 14 Everything I did was honest. Righteousness covered me like a robe, and I wore justice like a turban. 15 I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help.” (Job 29:4-5, 7-16 NLT)

Did you see the overlap between those — mentioned in our psalm — and the people who Job did justice for? The lists are nearly identical.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” We see something similar — here in Job — where the same groups of people — as in our psalm that God does acts of justice for — are the groups whom Job did acts of justice for — he cared for them.

A few chapters later Job says, “Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity…Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows? 17 Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans? 18 No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows. 19 Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear, 20 did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm? 21 “If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side, 22 then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place! Let my arm be torn from its socket! 

23 That would be better than facing God’s judgment. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?” (Job 31:6, 16-23 NLT)

It’s not just the acts of justice that he did for the vulnerable, Job says, “Put me on the scales of God’s justice and see if I’ve ignored the vulnerable?” And — then he says — “God, if I’ve done anything against — or to ignore the vulnerable — rip my arm out of its socket. For that would be better than facing your just judgment that’s sure to come my way.” Why? Because God opposes those who do injustice. I wonder how many of us would dare to pray Job’s words?

FOR JUSTICE

Now — in case anyone is concerned about all of this justice talk — let me be clear as to what I am and what I’m not saying. Let’s start with what I’m not saying.

I’m not saying that doing justice is the gospel — I’m not promoting a social gospel here. Doing justice is fruit of the gospel; but it’s not the gospel. 

The social gospel is a lie that says we’re saved by our good works of justice. The social gospel doesn’t care about evangelism, living a holy life, or believing in Christ for salvation. The social gospel is not what I’m promoting. 

• Doing justice is the result of having believed in Christ alone for your salvation. We become a people who are for justice because we’ve believed in a God who is for justice.
• Justice is directly linked to living a holy life, believing in Christ for salvation, and evangelism — or sharing the good news of what Christ has accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection. 
• So doing justice and being righteous are inseparable. Why? Because being righteous — being made right with God and living rightly — leads to living justly — or being for justice. 
• As a pastor has said, “A robust commitment to the gospel and the Great Commission will inevitably lead to encounters with the impoverished, the orphaned, and so forth.”

So I’m not saying that doing justice is the gospel. 

Then what am I saying? Be careful of being callous — or hardened — towards the brokenness in our world. 

• Can it be overwhelming? Yes. 
• Can it be hard to know where to begin? Absolutely. 
• Will it feel like you’re not even making a dent in the suffering of the vulnerable? It may.
• Will some confuse the gospel with a social gospel? It’s been done.

But believing the gospel and following Christ requires that we not harden our hearts and instead empathize with those who are vulnerable and do justice for them.

What am I saying? I’m also saying that we can’t compromise the conviction of our faith in the name of justice. We must be diligent in not justifying unbiblical shortcuts in the name of justice being done. 

We must refuse to justify the decisions we make with “Well, this choice was the lesser of two evils.” The lesser of two evils is still evil. And if evil is all the world has to offer us maybe we’re putting our trust in the princes of this world instead of putting our trust in God alone.

What am I saying? We must not allow issues of justice to divide us. What do I mean? As I said earlier, there’s so much suffering — so many who are vulnerable — that it can be easy to make our justice issue THE justice issue that every Christian must be sold out for. There are issues of justice that no Christian is to compromise on — which we’ll see later in this series — but — for example — someone can be pro-life and spend their blood, sweat, and tears as foster parents, while someone else volunteers at Women’s Resource Center, while someone else volunteers at a nursing home and so on. 

And I’m thankful that we have all three of the examples I just described here at Gateway — among you. 

• We’ve got numerous foster families among us. 
• Many of you are on the board, or you work at, or serve at Women’s Resource Center here in Findlay. 
• Some of you — pre-COVID — and I’m sure post-COVID you’ll be right back at it — some of you visit folks in our local nursing homes on a regular basis. 
• We’ve got folks who have a heart for serving those with special needs and you helped us create a space so you can serve them here at Gateway. 
• We have folks who are working with those in prison. 
• I so appreciate the care that all of you have for the vulnerable and outcasts in our community. Thank you for what you are doing. Thank you for being for justice.

JESUS THE JUST

But — as we talk about doing justice — it’s hard not to think of Jesus when we remember what he did while here on earth. He showed us what it means to be for justice. 

But what should stun us — about the justice we see Jesus display — especially when we keep in mind those two aspects of justice — often we see Jesus display the positive side of justice rather than the negative side. In fact, the scale would lean far in one direction if we were to weigh the acts of justice that we find Jesus doing on the pages of the Bible. For as it’s been said, “Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.” And Jesus displayed for us what God’s justice and love look like in human flesh. 

Jesus came and intentionally sought out those who were ignored by society. The lepers. The blind. The lame. Women and children. Prostitutes and tax collectors. Even the demonized. In fact, Jesus coming to earth as a man is the ultimate example of not ignoring those who are poor — for he was born into a poor family. Thus when Mary and Joseph presented the sacrifice for the birth of their son — they offered the sacrifice for those who were poor. And Paul says this about Jesus. “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT)

Jesus gave up his heavenly riches — coming to earth to be poor and abandoned and betrayed by all of us — so that — through his obedience and suffering we might be given his heavenly reward.

After he had grown up and had been tempted in the wilderness, Luke records one of the first times Jesus made it clear why he had come to earth — what he had come to do the first time he was here. This is from Luke chapter 4.

“Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” 

20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”” (Luke 4:14-21 NLT) 

Jesus makes it clear that he came to bring about the justice of God for the poor, oppressed, and vulnerable. But if we were to go to the prophet Isaiah — and read what he wrote — we’ll notice that Jesus stopped quoting Isaiah at a very interesting point. Here’s the original quote from Isaiah.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.” (Isaiah 61:1-2 NLT)

Back in Luke’s gospel — while telling the audience in Nazareth why he had come — Jesus talks about bringing God’s justice. But he stops his quotation of Isaiah just before saying “and I have brought the day of God’s anger.” Jesus will bring God’s anger when he returns — bringing to completion God’s justice against those who oppose him. But until that day — we’re to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. Being doers of justice because of our love for God and for those he’s made in his image.

CONCLUSION

Now I know that we haven’t talked about specific justice issues yet. My intent — today — wasn’t to get into specific issues of justice as that quickly turns into a political conversation and what’s the best way for our nation to legislate justice. That’s not my goal in preaching on what it means to be a people who are for justice. Why? Because we are to be a people who are for justice — not because it’s legislated — but because we are first and foremost for our just God. 

And as we continue in this series, if you’re not already involved in doing justice for the vulnerable in our society, allow these next few weeks to be a time when you ask God, “God, where do you want me to be involved in doing justice for the vulnerable?” If you need ideas of — maybe where to begin or ways to get involved — know that we have a list of ministry partners on our website — under the Go tab — that you can get involved with. Let us help you get involved in doing the acts of justice that God wants all of his people to be doing. For he is a God who is for justice. And — to be for him — is to be a people who are for justice. Let’s pray. 

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for being for justice. We even thank you for being for both aspects of justice — that those who refuse to repent of their injustices will not escape your punishment. But we pray this recognizing our own need to repent of the injustices we’ve caused. Thank you for your forgiveness. And we thank you for being for those who society has ignored, walked over, and oppressed. It reveals to us what it means when we say that you are compassionate, kind, generous, and a protector.

Spirit of God, help us to neither do things that harm the vulnerable nor to ignore them. Soften our hard hearts that may be overwhelmed by the injustices in our world or not know where to begin or wonder what we can do to bring about your justice. May we remember that our job isn’t to reverse every injustice we see, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something. Spirit, give each of us clarity as to what acts of justice you are calling us to and may we obey your call.

Finally, Jesus, we thank you for showing us what it means to be for justice. You showed us in how you treated the vulnerable you encountered while here on earth. But ultimately you showed us your commitment to being for justice when you gave up your life in our place on the cross. As the old hymn — Beneath the Cross of Jesus — reminds us, your cross is our “Safe and happy shelter! A refuge tried and sweet! [For your cross is the] place where heaven’s love and justice meet.” We pray all of these things in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION

May you go being for justice — why — because you are for God who is for justice. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 19:16-30; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (ESV)

DATE: 1-6-19

It’s good to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And one thing I want you to know — and it doesn’t matter if it’s your first time with us or if you’re worshipping at our North Main campus — is that God loves you and I love you too. 

SERIES INTRODUCTION

Just about a year ago, we took some time to look at topics that are divisive in our country. It turned out to be a pretty popular series and so we thought we’d return to a similar kind of series this year. 

And we’re calling this series “Evil” because there’s a dangerous tendency to call things good that God has said are evil. Where we blur the lines between good and evil, acquire a taste for evil, and even allow evil practices to become acceptable. And this is just as true for the church as it is anywhere else — so we want to look at the ways we’re exhausting God by calling good — what He’s said is evil. And what it means to experience the justice of God as we do these things.

That’s the imagery in the opening video. Evil things that were called good by some. Some of those evil things were done by the church. Evil things people did while thinking they were pleasing God.

And the idea behind this series is found in the Old Testament book of Malachi who wrote these words. 

“You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” (And then the prophet gives some examples of the evil going on in his day.) “Then I (that’s God speaking…then I) will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 2:17; 3:5 ESV)

And these two verses are guiding us in this series. Last week, we looked at God’s justice and we saw how it has both a retributive and a liberating side. There’s the side of justice we usually think of — judgment — punishment — getting what you deserve — and then there’s the unexpected freeing — liberating — side of God’s justice. And we’re taking these two sides of God’s justice and seeing how they apply to the different groups that Malachi mentions.

Next week, we’ll look at how God’s justice applies to the foreigners among us — that’s what the word sojourner means. Pastor Ben is going to help us see how God’s justice applies in this area of life. Then in two weeks, Ben will help us explore how God’s justice and sanctity of life come together. 

Then I’ll help us connect God’s justice to lying — or swearing falsely. And we’ll wrap up this series, by looking at God’s justice for the adulterer. And odds are this will either be the least or highest attended weekend in a long time because — this topic — is a wee bit prickly. But I’m praying especially for this week as I want us all to see how God offers freedom for the adulterer — we won’t ignore God’s judgment for the unrepentant — but my hope is that many who walk in shame because of this sin will find the freedom that Christ offers.

And today we’re going to look at God’s justice and how it applies to the different religions in the world. So let’s turn to our passages for today.

ANNOUNCE THE TEXT

If you have your Bible, please turn with me to Matthew 19. We’ll be looking at verses 16-30. And then you’ll want to find 1 Corinthians 15 — as we’ll be looking at some verses there as well.

And, if you’re a guest with us, something we like to do at Gateway is let you ask questions. So if you have a question during the sermon, you can text it in to the number printed on the bottom of the sermon notes sheet or you can submit it on the Gateway app.

RE-ANNOUNCE AND READ THE TEXT

Here are the words found in Matthew 19. Beginning in verse 16. 

“And behold, a man came up to him (him being Jesus), saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:16-30 ESV)

And now turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We’ll begin in verse 1. First Corinthians chapter 15 — verse 1.

The apostle Paul writes. “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-11 ESV)

SERMON INTRODUCTION

There’s a quote — by a Christian theologian — that says, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” The theologian was Augustine who was born in North Africa in 354 AD. His mother was a Christian and his father a pagan. Augustine was a notoriously rebellious teenager who lived with his girlfriend, joined what was basically a cult, and ran away from his mother and her faith.

He went on to become a brilliant teacher of public speaking and was living the life he always wanted. No sin was to great for him as he tried to find pleasure in all that the world could offer. But in the words of U2, he “still [hadn’t] found what [he was] looking for.” 

After spending some time listening to the preaching of a man named Ambrose — Augustine turned away from his secular career and became a monk. And his quote shows us that he came to realize that all of the stuff that he thought would make him happy — from all the sex a man could want, to having a prestigious job, to “trying out” a new and exciting spirituality — he realized — after becoming a Christian — that those things wouldn’t satisfy him. He realized that the only way for his longing heart to be put at ease was to find satisfaction, joy, love, and peace in God. 

And like Augustine, many of us have recognized this same kind of longing. We feel it with each waking moment, but our temptation is to try and appease this longing with things that don’t last — money, material possessions, relationships, sex, even spiritual experiences that we think offer a way to God, but ultimately fall short and end in disappointment. 

And it’s in this longing to find fulfillment that many have turned to any number of religions. Now there are a few ways you may view religion. I’ve heard these views from non-Christians and from people who claim to be a Christian. And what we find in these views is a blurring of the lines between what God has said is good and evil — these two views are a way that we exhaust God by ignoring what He’s said is good and evil — when it comes to spiritual faith.

First, you may view all religions as being basically the same. You see all religions as trying to grasp at the same divine truth and — so instead of dividing over religion — you wish that people would embrace all religions for the uniqueness each brings as a way of experiencing spiritual things. 

An example that’s been used, is that all religions are like blind men touching an elephant. The first blind man put out his hand and touched the side of the elephant. “How smooth! An elephant is like a wall,” he said. The second blind man touched the elephant’s trunk. “How round! An elephant is like a snake.” The third blind man touched the elephant’s tusk. “How sharp! An elephant is like a spear.” The fourth blind man touched the leg. “How tall! An elephant is like a tree.” The fifth blind man touched the ear. “How wide! An elephant is like a fan.” The sixth blind man put out his hand and touched the elephant’s tail. “How thin! An elephant is like a rope.”

All of the blind men are touching the same elephant — but they’re all limited in their understanding of what the elephant actually is. And that’s religions — for you — all grasping a part of spiritual truth but none of them understanding all of it. And if they’d listen to one another they’d have a better understanding of the spiritual truth they’re all trying to grab hold of. Maybe that’s your view of religion.

A second view of religion is the opposite — you view all religions as damaging and destructive. You think we’d be better off if all religions were rejected. Maybe you believe that there’s no ultimate spiritual truth — and so — you think religions are comprised of superstitious — maybe even irrational people — and things would be better off if these people would get a clue. 

Now there are things that I appreciate about both of these views. First — for those who say that “all religions are the same” — I can appreciate how this idea often comes out of a deep longing for people to get along. You long for peace and you see how religion can be divisive and so — in an effort to find peace — you want to show how religions are more alike than dislike one another.

And — as hard as this may be for you to believe — I even have appreciation for folks who hold the second view — where religions are damaging. For many who hold this view — their skepticism is based on religious movements that have used people — brainwashed them — controlled unsuspecting folks. And that’s evil. I’m thankful that there are people — even unbelievers — who hold religious leaders and organizations accountable for how they treat people.

But both of these views have some things I disagree with. For example, to say that “all religions are the same” actually denies the uniqueness of the various religious traditions. And often people who make these claims do so without listening to the people who practice the religions. You see, most devotees of the major religions would not say that all religions are the same. People who practice the major religions in the world know that many of their central claims are quite exclusive and contradict the claims of other religions. 

For example, the heart of Islam isn’t the prophet Muhammad — which is what most people think — the heart of Islam are the revelations he said he received. The first words spoken in the ear of a Muslim infant are: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” That shows us the significance of Muhammad’s revelations — his messages. To deny his messages would mean that you have a significant disagreement with the Muslim faith. 

And guess what? Other religions deny Muhammad’s revelations. Muhammad believed he was receiving words from the creator of all things — yet Buddhism doesn’t believe in a creator god. In fact — this may surprise you — Buddhists don’t worship Buddha — Buddha isn’t even a god. Buddhism is a religion focused on wisdom, enlightenment, and compassion. It has some gods, but they’re not nearly as important as in other religions.

Like — say — Hinduism — a religion that has 33 million gods. Islam has one god, Buddhism doesn’t make a big deal about gods, and then Hinduism has 33 million gods. And Hinduism teaches that the “ultimate cause of suffering is people’s ignorance of the Self,” which Hinduism teaches is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, perfect, and eternal.” The self — not God — is all knowing, all powerful, present everywhere, perfect, and eternal. 

Then there’s the Jewish faith. They have much in common with Christianity up until we get to Jesus — He kind of drew a line in the sand — a line that many Jews have refused to step over. Jews are waiting for the Messiah to come — Christianity claims the Messiah has come — His name is Jesus.

And then there’s the Christian faith. Central to it is Jesus Christ. His life, His death, His resurrection, His divinity and humanity. To Muslims, Jesus was a great prophet, but not God. To Jews, Jesus wasn’t the Messiah. Even among the religions that believe in one god — there’s no agreement about Jesus.

So with all of these differences — all of these very distinct beliefs and teachings — including their different views on Jesus — how can you say that all religions are essentially the same?

And to the person who’s skeptical of religion — or believes that the world would be better off without religion — well — if this is you — I think you may have overlooked the significance that religion has done for good — especially Christianity. The ways in which the Christian faith has helped to shape the world we live in for the better. For example, how many hospitals have a name that comes from the Christian faith? So whether or not you agree with the truth about Jesus, it’s hard to avoid the fact that much good has been — and continues to be done — in His name. 

THE RELIGIONS OF OUR WORKS

But something that all religions — but one — do have in common is this:  Ultimately, getting into Heaven, eternity, nirvana, eternal bliss — call it whatever you like — all but one religion believes that you have to work to get there. That’s what the story from the gospel of Matthew is about. 

A rich young man comes to Jesus asking what he must do to be sure that he has eternal life. He wants to know how to get to Heaven. And Jesus asks him about his obedience to the commandments. This is the standard for a lot of people when it comes to getting into Heaven. “I’m a good person. Here are the good things I’ve done and here’s a list of the bad things I haven’t done. For instance, I haven’t murdered anyone.”

I was meeting with some staff and we were talking about this and I said to them, “When someone says — ‘I’m a good person; I haven’t murdered anyone’ — I want to say, ‘Well welcome to the club, buddy. In the history of mankind the majority of people have never murdered anyone. Not murdering doesn’t make you all that particularly special.’” 

But this rich young man doesn’t realize that it’s easy to deceive oneself about your true inner desires. That’s what Jesus shows him when He basically tells the guy, “Well you’ve almost got this whole eternal life thing figured out. Just two things left for you to do and Heaven is yours. Sell everything you own and follow Me.” What a test. “You say you’re a good person — well let’s see — because surely a good person would be willing to give up all the treasures of the world in order to show how good, and noble, and God centered they are.”

But the guy doesn’t do it. His heart loves money more than it loves God. And that shows us that the young man — though he may never have murdered anyone — had broken the first commandment — to have no other gods in his life but the one true God. Money was his god.

That’s the thing about working your way to Heaven. You can’t slip up once or you’re done for. James said, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” (James 2:10-11 ESV)

James says, “You want to talk about works and earning your way to Heaven? OK. If you break one commandment — you’ve broken them all. Game over.” Now this is so obvious that it hardly needs mentioning, but do you know the ninth commandment? It’s about not lying. Game over for all of us.

Paul takes it one step further when he writes, “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 ESV)

Even if you somehow deceive yourself into thinking you’re doing a pretty swell job at obeying the law — that your works are out of this world — well guess what? No one will be justified by the works they do. Justified means to be declared not guilty — to be justified means that you’re declared to be — by God — worthy of Heaven and His presence for all eternity. And no one will receive that news based on what they do.

But this is what most people think of when they think of religion. And this is what most people think will get them into Heaven — even many who claim to be a Christian. They think of religion as a bunch of rules — things to do and not do. And usually you have to do a bunch of stuff you don’t want to do and you’re not supposed to do all of the fun stuff you want to do. That’s religion — that’s how you work your way to Heaven — no fun — whatsoever.

But then — in the name of being irreligious — some people make up all kinds of new rules that sway the “I’m going to Heaven when I die” scale in their favor. 

• You know, where the command to not lie isn’t really that big of a deal. I mean, “Who doesn’t lie?” 
• So we’ll scratch that one off the list — but keep don’t murder on the list — because most of us pass that one. 
• Scratch off anything about not being greedy — because we love our money and stuff — but put on the list something about not being a University of Michigan fan — that’ll earn some points with God for sure. 
• Doesn’t it all sound ridiculous? But why do so many of us believe that what we do is what will get us into Heaven? 
• And I know that your list may or may not include the things I just said — but don’t be deceived — your list is just as ridiculous. 

And if Jesus came to you today — like He did to that rich young man — He’d ask you to give up the very thing that’s keeping you from really following Him. And — listen — I say this because I love you and your eternity is too important for me to not say the hard things in love — the very thing Jesus is asking you to give up is the very thing that He knows will lead you straight to Hell. 

• For the young man, it was his money. For some of us, it’s money. 
• For others, it’s shacking up with your boyfriend or girlfriend. 
• For others it’s what we watch on our screens. 
• For others, it’s how we use our time. 
• If you asked Jesus, “What do I need to do to get to Heaven?” — what would He tell you to give up? 

THE RELIGION OF JESUS’ WORK

But only those who know it’s not what they do that gives them eternal life — are the ones who are willing to give up all things for Jesus. Because there is another option — a truly different kind of religion — one not based on our works — but based on Someone else’s work. A religion that’s utterly unique when compared to all of the other religions of the world. And that’s the religion of true Christianity — true faith in Jesus. It’s what Paul writes about to the Corinthians.

What Paul says was of first importance is the work that Jesus accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection. 

• A work where He obeyed all of God’s commandments during His life — not breaking even one of them. 
• A work of paying the debt for the sins of those whose works always come up short. 
• A work of substituting His death on a cross for the eternal death we deserve for breaking God’s commands. 
• Jesus’ work is a perfect work. A complete work. An “it is finished” work. 

And Jesus says to us, “If you believe in the work I’ve done for you — the work that I’ve accomplished on your behalf — a work of rescuing people who realize that their works will never earn them Heaven because the admission price is too high for them to pay and their works earn to little compared to the price of admission. But I’ve paid the price for their admission into Heaven. And the ticket — that I earned with my blood — I now give to them as a gift.”

“But,” Jesus says, “know that the ticket is costly in two ways. First, it cost me My life — My life was the cost of your admission into Heaven — that’s the first cost. And second, it’ll cost you your life too. For when I pay for your sins, you are now mine. And this shouldn’t frighten you — for I am good — I’m your friend — I’m the one who willing died for you because I love you. This shouldn’t frighten you — this should free you — release you — liberate you — so that you’re willing to give up all things for Me because I gave up all things for you.” 

JUSTICE FOR ALL

And here’s the good news for people of all religions. Here’s good news for the person who thinks that all religions are the same and for the person who’s skeptical of religion. Here’s good news for all of us. 

Jesus doesn’t discriminate who He receives into His family. Anyone — no matter what their religious upbringing, their race, their gender, their nationality — anyone — through faith in Jesus — can be made right with God.

That — as we’ve been seeing — God’s liberating justice is possible for all kinds of people — even for people of all religions — if they turn to Christ in faith. Because God’s liberating justice sets captives free from working their way to Heaven. 

• From trying to earn their way into Heaven. 
• From thinking that some day they’ll measure up to a standard that they gave up on when they broke their first commandment. 
• That God delights in pouring out His liberating — freeing — justice on those who believe in His Son who appeased His retributive justice on their behalf.

And know — dear friends — if Jesus did not appease God’s retributive justice on your behalf — then God will pour it out on you for all eternity. Your sin debt must be paid in full. And I’m pleading with you — Jesus is pleading with you — to receive His gift of paying your debt in full. 

• Turn to Him in faith. 
• Give your life to Him. 
• He is good. 
• He can be trusted. 
• He will do you no harm.

CONCLUSION

Are all religions the same? Not even close. Only one offers the eternal hope that Jesus has made possible. That’s what Augustine discovered after searching for years to fill the void in his life that only Jesus could fill. And filling that void is what so many are still searching for in religions, in stuff, in sex, in all kinds of things that are sure to disappoint — maybe that’s you. But know that what you’re searching for isn’t hidden — it’s right before you — you can find what you’re looking for. His name is Jesus. And He’s eager for you to receive the gift of eternal life — and hope and peace and joy and purpose — that He’s offering you through faith in the work that He’s done on your behalf. Let’s pray. 

PRAYER

God of justice, help those who are here to receive the gift of eternal life that Jesus has made possible through His perfect work on their behalf. Help us all to give up the notion that we can work our way to Heaven. The price of admission is to high for our works to pay the cost. 

But the amazing — wonderful — awe inspiring — news of the Christian faith is that You have done for us what we can’t do for ourselves. You sent Your Son — Jesus — to come and live the life of perfect works that we’ve failed to live. To suffer the punishment of Your retributive justice on the cross — so that we might experience Your liberating justice. For Jesus came to set us captives free. Free from Satan, sin, death, and Hell. Free from trying to work our way to Heaven. Freedom from trying to fill the longings of our heart with things that are sure to disappoint.

Spirit, help us to be honest with ourselves — even those of us who claim to be a Christian. Help us to see if we’re believing solely in the work of Christ for our eternal hope — or if we’re trying to earn our eternity by our works. For only through faith in Christ alone will anyone experience everlasting joy with You forever. We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION

May you go trusting in the perfect work that Jesus has done for you. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

SCRIPTURE: Malachi 2:17-3:5 (ESV)

DATE: 12-30-18

It’s good to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And one thing I want you to know — and it doesn’t matter if it’s your first time with us or if you’re worshiping at our North Main campus — is that God loves you and I love you too. 

SERIES INTRODUCTION

And we’re starting a new series this week. Just about a year ago, we took a few weeks to look at some topics that were — and still are — dividing our country. It turned out to be a series more popular than I anticipated and so we thought it’d be a good idea to revisit some similar themes as we’re about to begin a new year together. 

And we’re calling this series “Evil” — as there’s a dangerous tendency to call things good that God has said are evil. Where we blur the lines between good and evil, acquire a taste for evil, and even allow evil practices to become acceptable. And this can be just as true for the church as it is anywhere else — so we want to look at some ways that we’re exhausting God by calling good — things He’s said are evil — and what it means to experience the justice of God for doing so.

That’s what the imagery in the video you just saw was showing. Evil things — that some called good. Evil things — even done under the umbrella of the church. Evil things — that people did for God thinking their actions pleased Him.

And the idea behind this series is found in our text for today — which is Malachi chapter 2 — verse 17 — through chapter 3 — verse 5.

ANNOUNCE THE TEXT

So if you have your Bible please turn with me to the Old Testament book of Malachi — chapter 2. We’ll begin in verse 17.  

And, if you’re a guest with us, something we like to do at Gateway is let you ask questions. So if you have a question during the sermon, you can text it in to the number printed on the bottom of the sermon notes sheet or you can submit it on the Gateway app.

RE-ANNOUNCE AND READ THE TEXT

Hopefully you’ve had enough time to find the book of Malachi. Here are the words found in Malachi chapter 2. Beginning in verse 17. 

“You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” 1 Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. 5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 2:17-3:5 ESV)

SERMON INTRODUCTION

“Where is the God of justice?” I wonder how many of us have asked this question or something like it? Maybe you’re not so sure about the whole “God part” so you’ve just asked, “Where’s justice?” 

We wake up each morning — check the news on our phones — some of us still unfold an actual paper — but regardless of how we get the news — I don’t know about you — but most days I feel like I’m better off avoiding the news altogether as it just seems to be one story after another after another about evil and injustice happening in our world.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” And that sounds great and all — but sometimes it’s hard to see any kind of arc bending towards justice when you take a look around us. I mean — forget the trajectory of the world for a moment and just look at the trajectory of our country — what is going on? 

• Doesn’t it make you sick that we’ve got more and more women sharing stories of abuse? Abuse in Hollywood and in the church! 
• We’ve got racists spewing out words of hate in our country. 
• We’ve got unborn children being murdered in the womb. 
• We’ve got families sleeping on the streets. 
• There’s hopelessness all around us — physical hopelessness, emotional hopelessness, relational hopelessness, spiritual hopelessness — it’s all around us. So much for this being a Happy New Year’s message!

And in seeing all of these injustices — it makes a lot of sense — that out of fear or despair — that we’d cry out “Where is justice?” Or even, “God, where are you in the midst of all of this?” But we’ve got to be careful. 

A few months ago, Robert Bowers opened fire in a synagogue in Pittsburgh — killing 11 people. Found later, were multiple social media posts by Bowers showing his hate for Jewish people. He was taken to a hospital to be treated for his injuries during his exchange with the police. And working in the hospital was a Jewish trauma nurse who saw Bowers being wheeled into the emergency room. 

As a child, this nurse was often singled out because of his Jewish faith. Students would write, “Die Jew. Love, Hitler,” on paper and stuff the notes in his locker in high school. So this nurse sees Bowers being brought into his ER while yelling, “Death to all Jews!” 

OK — so — timeout. What’s the “just” thing to do in this scenario? Imagine that this guy’s being wheeled into the ER that you work in. Yeah he’s injured, but he’s being escorted by police because he just murdered 11 people of your faith — pure evil that this sick man has said was good. So what’s the just thing for this nurse to do? What’s justice look like here? What would you do?

Now some of us — if we’re honest — if you were the nurse — you’d go take a smoke break — I don’t even smoke, but suddenly I’ve got the urge to start a bad habit just so I don’t have to take care of this guy — justice. Some of us would be more honest and be like, “Let him die” and walk away. I mean — that’s justice, right — eye for an eye and all? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate of him “getting what he deserves?” 

But the nurse didn’t do that. The nurse said, “I chose to show him empathy.” And the nurse took care of a man who had just murdered people of his own faith.

OK — question. What is it about the way we think of justice — especially here in the US — that makes it so hard for us to think about justice in any way other than “getting what you deserve”? Because the nurse showing this guy empathy doesn’t sit well with us does it? It doesn’t feel like justice does it — the murderer getting treated for his wounds? Is justice always vengeful — is that all that it is? 

Now — if it is — it’s easy to blame God for not doing something to right all of the wrongs we see. But if justice is always “getting what you deserve” then we may be setting ourselves up for a very unhappy ever after — because most of us — dare I say all of us — ignore the ways in which we contribute to the injustices in our world — we’ve justified the reasons why we call things good that God has called evil. And — in doing so — we have no idea how we’ve set the scales of justice against us — if justice is only about getting what you deserve.

And — as bad as that scenario is for us — do you want to know an even worse place to be? The place where you’ve exhausted God’s patience — where — after all of this blame shifting and accusing God — and saying “Why haven’t you done something about all of these bad things that are going on” — after all of that — you find yourself at the end of God’s patience and at the beginning of His just — “I’m going to give you what you deserve” — judgment.

EXHAUSTING GOD (2:17)

That’s how our passage begins. “You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”” (Malachi 2:17 ESV)

Now let’s get an idea of what’s going on in this Old Testament book. The book of Malachi is set up like a courtroom. In the beginning, the nation of Israel is the prosecutor and do you know who’s the defendant? God is. The nation of Israel is putting God on trial and — just so you know — that never goes well. 

So what are their accusations against God? 

• They say He doesn’t love them. 
• That He’s not being a just God — He’s being unjust. 
• They accuse Him of not fulfilling His covenantal responsibilities — they say He’s broken His promises to them. 

And then — and the people really don’t have any say in the matter — God flips the scenario and puts Israel on trial. God’s like — “I’m done with your accusations against me. So let’s do this — it’s my turn.” And — FYI — that’s not a good spot to be in either — where God’s like — “I’m done. Let’s do this.” — that’s not gonna end well for you. 

And with the roles reversed — God is found innocent and guess who’s guilty? Israel is. The verdict is read. And though they’re guilty — we learn something about God’s justice that should surprise us. But we’ll get to that surprise in a moment. 

And so our verse — verse 17 — is right at the end of Israel’s accusations — this is the moment when God turns everything against them. This is what none of us want to experience — where God is done — where He’s exhausted with us — where He’s ready to serve us justice.

So how did they exhaust God — or even better — how do we exhaust God? First, we say that evil is good and that He approves of the evil. 

Now it’s easy to do what we constantly see the Israelites in the Old Testament do — and that’s this:  Evil is always out there. It’s in those people — it’s never in here — evil’s never among us — it’s always among them. Evil is somebody else’s problem — not ours — definitely not mine.

You see, God had given the Israelites clear instructions as to what was good and what was evil. He’s told them plainly that evil isn’t to be tolerated — it’s not to be welcomed — and it’s definitely not to be celebrated. Yet God’s people — let me say that again — God’s people are being found guilty of calling things that God has said are evil — good. And then they go even farther and say that God delights in those who do evil.

So let’s pause and talk about us — and by us — I mean us Jesus followers. So if that’s not you — you’re off the hook here — I want to talk to us Christians — like Malachi was talking to God’s people in his day. So if you’re not a Christian, sit back, get some popcorn, and enjoy the show.

Christian — what has God called evil that you’re calling good? Now stop. Because you’re already thinking about what someone else approves of — so stop that. Don’t let this be some abstract — “let me point the finger at someone else and not wrestle with how I do this” — kind of thing. Ask yourself, “What am I calling good that God has said is evil?” 

Doesn’t the question itself make you sick? If you have any sensitivity at all to God’s Spirit — I don’t know how it can’t make you sick because you know there’s evil junk that you both approve of and hate — you’re attracted to it and you despise it — all at the same time. 

I remember a pastor saying — and this shook me to my core — I heard him say, “How dare we find entertaining something Christ had to die for.” And — at first I was all like, “Legalism.” And then the more I thought about it, I was like, “That’s not legalism; that’s brutally convicting.” 

I don’t even have to get all that specific, do I? I don’t have to say this book is good and this one’s bad. This show’s good and this one’s bad. I don’t have to do any of that because if you have God’s Spirit in you He’s already bringing to mind some things you find entertaining that’s wicked and evil. 

What do you find entertaining that Christ had to die for? 

Sexual immorality? Murder? Hate? Taking the Lord’s name in vain? Racism? Abuse? Poverty? What evil has scratched your “I need to be entertained” itch? 

And then we say that God’s delighted in all of this — delighted in us. How sick are we? 

• We have this way about us where we’re so desperate to justify our evil behavior that we lie to ourselves and say that God’s shifted His moral compass to match ours. 
• Where we don’t have to change — what we do, what we value, what we approve of, what we call good and evil — “you don’t worry about any of that stuff because God loves you just the way that you are. I bet He’ll even change His standards for you — that’s how much He’s in love with you. So don’t worry about a thing — God loves you.” Doesn’t it all sound crazy stupid?
• Now God does love you, but don’t confuse His love for you as agreement with your definition of what’s right and wrong — of what’s good and evil. Our definitions are to align with His — not His with ours.

The second way we exhaust God is by questioning His character — by asking “where is the God of justice?” So we entertain ourselves with injustice and evil and then ask God why He’s not doing something about this whole mess. We don’t even connect our behavior with the evil and injustices happening in our country. Something else is to blame — not us — so why not blame God for not doing anything about it, right? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Now questioning God — itself — isn’t that unusual. For example, we find it in the Old Testament. In the book of psalms questions are asked like, “Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?” (Psalm 89:49 ESV)

“God, where’s Your love — cause I don’t feel it. I’m not experiencing it. I’m not sure where it’s gone, but it’s MIA right now.” That’s a pretty bold question to ask.

We also find, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1a ESV)

“God why have you left me? Abandoned me? Rejected me? I thought You were supposed to be faithful?” 

Let’s be honest — those are some pretty radical accusations against God.

But what’s so disturbing about our question — where is the God of justice — is that now we’re questioning God’s moral character. There’s an accusation — in this question — about whether or not God is morally corrupt. “Maybe You’re not so pure — so holy — so good — after all?” That’s hinted at in our question.

And after approving people who do things that He’s clearly said are evil — after we blur the lines between good and evil — we then question His character! Some of us even question His existence — “well if this is what’s going on in the world the only conclusion I can come up with is that God must not exist.” That’s what some people think.

But as CS Lewis said, “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing the universe with when I called it unjust?”

But most don’t think as deeply as Lewis did. Most of us just say “this is good and this is evil” without any standard to compare to. And because of evil in the world — many people throw out the idea of God all together. But here’s the thing:  If God doesn’t exist — calling evil things good and good things evil — doesn’t even matter. Who cares? Why get so angry over things you think are wrong? Everyone should do whatever they want — if there’s no God — there’s no judgment — so why should we care about justice? 

That was the state of people in Malachi’s day — and I think you can see how we’re not much different. Which leaves us with a question. Not “where is the God of justice” but “what is justice?” And if we keep reading, we find some clues about justice — we see that it’s coming — God isn’t idle or aloof — justice is coming — but it’s coming with a surprise.

THE COMING JUST ONE (3:1-4)

Let’s read in chapter 3. “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.” (Malachi 3:1-4 ESV)

Now it’s easy to miss — here — but the coming of justice — the coming of the just one — shows us something surprising about justice. When we think of justice we usually think of someone who’s done wrong and deserves a consequence — some kind of penalty — they deserve to be judged — we say “they deserve justice.” But that’s only one part of what justice is — the retributive side of justice. 

The other side of justice is the liberative side. An example would be justice for the person in slavery when they’re set free. Justice for the orphan when they’re adopted into a family. Justice for the victim when their story is finally heard and believed. 

One author has said this about God’s justice. “It is not uncommon to find God acting in the Old Testament to liberate those who have been held captive irrespective of whether they actually deserve that liberation, in which case the criteria for so acting are not found in the merit or demerit of that [person] but in the character — the gracious “rightness” — of God himself. In these settings, God is effecting the release of his people from imprisonment by an act of ‘judgment…’”

Here’s what’s being said. 

• Though — as we saw earlier — we put God on trial. 
• Though we say that evil is good and that God’s delighted with the evil things we call good. 

What we see — in these verses — is that though we deserve justice in the way we usually think of it — we should be “getting what we deserve” — you’d think we’d find everyone being promised death in these verses — or the mention of destruction — or even hell — but what we find — to our surprise — is that God sends someone who refines the people. He makes them clean. He purifies the offerings the priests bring so they’re acceptable before God — and not only acceptable — but pleasing to Him. The people get — not retributive justice — they experience liberating justice. And here’s the real shocker — they don’t deserve it!

But there’s another question asked here — but this time the question is for us — not for God — and it’s this:  “Who can endure the day of his coming” — the day of the coming just one? 

• What’s being asked is:  How do you know if you’re going to experience the retributive justice of God or His liberating justice? 
• How do you know if you’ll experience justice that leads to judgment or justice that leads to freedom?
• When you stand before God, what kind of justice is coming your way?
• Which side of the justice coin will you receive? Is there even any way to know with certainty which justice is coming your way? 

And the answer is yes. The way of experiencing God’s liberating justice is through the liberating work of Jesus.

CHRIST CONNECTION

For it’s through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that we find freedom from our enslavement to sin — freedom from our enslavement to calling evil things good — even freedom from our enslavement of questioning God’s moral character. Jesus came to set captives free from Satan, sin, death, and Hell. He came to cleanse His people of their sin — to make them sparkle like a bride on her wedding day in a spotless white gown. 

In the gospels, you find Jesus telling people to be watchful — to be prepared — for His return. He tells them it will be unexpected that — like in the days of Noah — people will be going about life with their plans as usual on the day of His return. But on that day, there will be a refining. A refining — not just of God’s people — but of all creation. A day of justice — both of the retributive and liberating kind. Those who haven’t put their faith in Christ will experience the retributive justice of God and those who have put their faith in Christ will experience the freedom of God’s liberating justice as the chains of sin and sorrow and death and mortality all release their hold on them — forever.

And this coming day will be the ultimate act of God’s justice. While Jesus was here on earth, He showed us that God is a just God. He showed compassion and mercy to those society had excluded — the lepers, women, the poor, and children. Jesus challenged unjust social practices in His day. He rejected the idea of ethnic superiority when He talked with a woman in Samaria. He gave dignity to those considered as second class citizens. He befriended those with addictions and those who sold their bodies for money. 

Jesus advocated for the oppressed. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, cast out demons, and even showed compassion towards those who said things like, “I believe you can do this, but help me to really believe.” Jesus showed many the liberating justice of God.

But know that Jesus confronted the powerful — whose power was money, or spiritual authority, or political — Jesus didn’t care. He confronted those who used their power to call evil good. He opposed those who thought God was on their side when they were ignoring God altogether. He confronted injustice wherever He found it. Jesus showed many the retributive justice of God.

So what does this tell us? It tells us that to speak of justice and yet — reject Jesus — is to dismiss the just one. And when it comes to God’s justice — and the Day of God’s justice that’s before every one of us — what makes for a “healthy” view of that day is to look to it with an assurance because of God’s grace as revealed to us in Jesus — who died for us while we were still sinners. When you look to the Day of God’s judgment with confidence in knowing that — through faith in Jesus — that day is bringing to you the fulfillment of God’s liberating justice because Jesus took God’s retributive justice for you on the cross.

Where We’re Headed (3:5)

Which is the justice we see in our last verse.

“”Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:5 ESV)

Not all will experience the liberating justice of God. Some will experience the swift judgment of God on the day of Christ’s return.

And what we’re going to do — in the rest of this series — is look at these different groups that are mentioned in this last verse and show how the gospel is the only answer that ends in freedom for someone on the Day of Judgment. 

We’re going to look at sorcerers — well kind of — we’re going to look at other religions. How does God’s justice relate to all of the religions in our world? How do people of other religions discover the liberating justice we’ve been talking about? We’ll look at that next week. 

In two weeks — we’ll look at God’s justice for the foreigners among us — that’s what the word sojourner means. Pastor Ben is going to help us see how God’s justice applies in this area of life. Then Pastor Ben will help us explore how God’s justice applies to the area of life. 

I’ll help us connect what the Bible has to say about God’s justice with lying — swearing falsely. Then we’ll wrap up this series, by looking at God’s justice for the adulterer. 

And listen — I know some of you are already marking your calendars so you miss that weekend — but I am praying especially for this week in the series as I want us all to see how God’s justice applies here — because there is freedom for the adulterer — we won’t ignore God’s judgment for the unrepentant — but my hope is that many who walk in shame because of this sin will find the freedom that Christ offers.

So that’s where we’re headed over the next few weeks.

CONCLUSION

God is just. We may question His justice. We may question His existence. We may question His ways. But what I hope we’ll see in this series, is that there’s much more to God’s justice than what we may first think. He is a just judge — but He’s also a liberating rescuer. God sent His Son to set captives free and I hope that freedom is what many of us will find as we explore God’s justice together. Let’s pray. 

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your justice. It is more rich and complex than we give it credit. Your justice isn’t just about You giving people what they deserve — there’s a sweetness to Your justice as well — a freedom offered through it — a liberating power that sets captives free. Thank you for the freedom You offer to all of us through the life, death, and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus. Help us to walk in the freedom He’s made possible. Calling good what You have called good. Calling evil what You have called evil. And not confusing the two. Help us to be people concerned with justice in our world because we worship a God who is just. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

BENEDICTION

May you go, walking in the liberating justice that Jesus offers. Amen.

God loves you. And I love you too. You are sent.