What Do We Stand For?

  Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13

 

I often have Christian radio on when I drive.  Sometimes I am aware of it and sometimes I am in my own world or paying too close attention to traffic to really hear it.  Yesterday I was looking for a parking space in a busy lot and heard a singer introducing his own song.  I apologize that I was not paying enough attention to know who the singer was or what the song was.  

In his intro he said something like this, “The church of Jesus Christ has clearly communicated to the world what we stand against.  They have heard us say what movies and TV shows we won’t watch.  But we have not been good at communicating who and what we stand for.”  This is not an exact quote but it definitely conveys the message he was trying to get across. 

I did not come to know the Lord until I was in my late thirties.  Because of this I missed a lot of the traditions that have been passed along by people in the church that are rules “against” something.  They are man-made rules that have been added to the scriptures.   We joke about the “big 5” no-nos — smoking, drinking, card playing, dancing, and movies.  There are certainly ways to abuse anything good and people have been doing that since Adam and Eve fell in the garden.  Sometimes I think that God convicts one person of doing something that may be a slippery slope for them that someone else would not be hindered by.  

One woman may consider dancing with her husband a wonderful way to spend a Saturday night.  Another, whose husband doesn’t like to dance, may go to the extreme of leaving hubby home and going out with the girls for a few dances with strangers.  That woman may be on a slippery slope.   

I remember talking with a lady who had just come to know the Lord.  Another Christian had told her that she needed to throw out all of the secular music she had in the house.  This new “rule” scared this young follower of Jesus.  She enjoyed the music and had invested a lot of money in it.  I asked her to pray and see what God wanted her to do.  I thought if it was something God thought was a problem that He would convict her far more effectively than any person could.  As far as I know she still listens to that music – but she also listens to Christian music.   

In the world there have been many conversations lately about what the Bible says.  Abortion was the topic of January at the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  Homosexuality in the Bible has been the topic of lots of letters to the editor in our local newspaper.  Today the editorial was approving the apology for burning the Qurans in Afghanistan.  And, as the primary election positioning is going on, we hear more and more about the place of faith in politics.  All of these have come down clearly about what we are ‘against”.  

The singer I heard yesterday caused me to stop and think about all the talk about religion and faith without ever really referencing the One we have faith in.  I am always amazed at how much God loves and cares for people in the laws He has given us.  He does not dole out harsh punishments to try to take our fun or ruin our lives.  Every single truth in the Bible is given to us for our good.   

Abortion and homosexuality have been hard for people.  Many have suffered emotionally because of both.  The burning of the Quran is difficult for many in our “tolerant” culture.  Today I heard that “The Organization of Islamic Cooperation” walked out of United Nations talks about the protection of gay rights.  There are people who denounce the burning of the Quran who would be appalled to know that it is a book that teaches total intolerance of  homosexuals– and Christians.   (http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/03/08/kelly-mcparland-un-members-take-a-firm-stand-against-tolerance-for-gays/) 

We let all of this come and go without pointing out that with Jesus there is forgiveness of these things God calls sin.  In Him we can find rest from the battles that go on inside of us as we try to live a life according to His word – because that is what is good for us!  He promises blessing for obedience and He loves to bless us.  We rarely say that in public.   

God has given us His law so that we will see how much we need Him.  There is no person – Christian or otherwise , who is without sin (Romans 3:23).  In God’s grace He convicts His children of sin so that we will repent and be restored to a right relationship with Him.  Paul said this to the Roman Christians, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”  Romans 2:4 

We serve a gracious and merciful God and I think that the singer was right – we have been reticent to talk about His many positive attributes publicly.  They are much more attractive than His laws so I am not sure why we shy away from them except for the fear of what others will think if we talk about our love for Jesus. 

There is also the truth that we need to balance and that is that people who have rejected God also need to hear that He is a God of justice.  We cannot turn our backs on Him – individually or as a nation – and expect that there will be no repercussions from Him.  A principle I taught this morning from 1 Kings 16 is that “Blatant disregard for God’s Word brings judgment.”  Contrary to what many believe, God warns us of this.  He sent prophets and raised up servants to give Israel warning after warning what would happen to them if they rejected His word and worshipped other gods.  Because of hard hearts toward God, they did not listen. 

Some people today have the same hard hearts.  God is warning us (individually and as a nation) through His word and many of His people who are speaking out about His love for us as well as His justice.  Rather than digging into the scriptures or asking someone who knows the Bible, we are hearing from many people, who have not cracked a Bible, what they believe to be true.   

So, if we want to let people know what we stand for – rather than what we stand against – we need more of God’s people to study their Bibles and learn the Truth of what God says about His love for us.  Personally, I stand on the inerrancy of scripture, the holiness and mercy of a loving God, and my own desire not to be the object of His judgment because I knowingly break His law.