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Overcoming the world I Cor 12: 7 – 13 |
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WHY DO Churches conduct weddings? Is it in the Bible? Does it flow logically from some principle in the Old or New Testament? If not, then why do we do it? There is no Biblical basis for Churches to conduct weddings. It’s a tradition, an ancient one. Like all traditions, it often works well. But I read an article recently by an American Jesuit, who showed that it is not a tradition which works well in a world where, for example, people push for homosexual marriages and the churches push to prevent that change. In France, for example, you always start with what we call a Registry Office wedding, held in the Town Hall. Then you have Christian ceremonies if you like. That also works well. So, where does the tradition of Church weddings come from? It’s not in the Bible, the Devil didn’t do it, nor is it a direct expression of the flesh. So that leaves us with the world as its origin. Had you realised that Church weddings are a thing of this world, an invention of the present fallen age? That reveals how subtle and dangerous the world can be as our enemy. The things of this world seem so normal that we don’t think of questioning them. And, when there is a conflict between God’s Word and the world, we are tempted to follow the world and not even realise it, because that is how we live. The world is one of the powerful topics in modern discussion, yet we still avoid the consequences of what we realise. We submit to the world, even when we know how destructive it is to do that. Whenever you talk about “Peer pressure”, or “What people expect,” whenever you think, “Little people can’t fight back,” that’s conflict with the world that you are talking about. We live in the world because we have no other option, and it is not just Christians who feel uncomfortable with its expectations. You can’t drop out. A couple I know tried. They live almost in the bush. They are largely self–sufficient. The wife home–schooled the children so that they would not be tainted. She wore such unrevealing clothes that, until you saw her face, you could think she was just a pile of washing that needed folding. I thought, “How sad that Christians are so afraid of the world! Don’t they know that faith overcomes the world?” John writes, 1John 5:4 everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Why be defeated by the world? Why run and hide? By faith, we can overcome the world! As I was writing those very words, I realised that the person sitting next to me in the train could read my computer screen, and I suddenly felt embarrassed that I was writing a sermon in such a public way. Fear of the world and its reactions can strike any one of us at any moment. We always need to be alert. Am I afraid of what others think? That is fear of the world. That is allowing the world to win. It is our business to overcome the world. Let’s look at three areas where we might want to overcome the world. We might face conflict and even suffering if we stand up to the world, but we can achieve liberation if we endure to the end. We will look at
Jesus says, JN 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Overcoming Godlessness Our world is bound by Godlessness. It appears in atheism, it appears in secularism, it appears in false cults. Atheism attacks the idea of God and of any reality outside the material, physical world. Secularism sidelines God. It doesn’t care whether God exists or not — that’s viewed as an irrelevant issue. False cults substitute a god of their own fabrication for the God of the Bible. All three are attacks on God, attempts to rule him out of court. We must be ready to resist. Atheism and secularism work together. Secularism is comfortable with atheism as long as it is not too pushy. I am happy that Australia is a secular country. I don't want us to be controlled by any one religion. If one religion were in control, it would be easy for it to be replaced by another. But secularism goes further than just having a secular society. Secularism wants to suppress anything but non-religion. It doesn’t mind if you hold private beliefs, but keep them out of view. Atheism believes in the non–existence of God, so it is really a religious viewpoint, too. It grapples with how to construct a view of reality which leaves God out. And that means that Atheism seeks to expand into the same space as Christianity occupies, and drive it out. We don’t live in a Christian country and never have. There is no such thing. It’s a spurious idea introduced as part of the Constantinian settlement. But our country must be one where it is permissible to hold religious views, to promote them, to live by them. Both atheism and secularism oppose those freedoms. On the other hand, cults — Mormons, Muslims, Christian Scientists, Christadelphians, Jehovahs Witnesses — they do have a religious viewpoint, but their God is not the God of the Bible. Their essential error is to disconnect God from humanity. Theirs is a cut–down God, a God incapable of true interaction with his creation. And that is the kind of God which is more acceptable to a secular mindset. In times of persecution, some of these, particularly Jehovahs Witnesses, may come close to mainstream Christians, but in normal situations, they are poised to capture territory from orthodox Christians. If we stand firmly and openly for the God of the Bible, revealed in Jesus and through the Holy Spirit, we will have trouble in this world. But what does Jesus say? Take heart! I have overcome the world! Jesus overcame the world in a very simple way. He was steadfastly obedient, even to death on a cross. The world can’t do anything against that. While the world arms for battle, Jesus says, I offered my back to those who beat me, He does not overcome evil with evil, but with good. How do we tap into his victory, though? We saw it in Revelation last week: REV 12:11 They overcame [Satan] The death of Jesus on the cross implies both substitution and identification. Substitution says, “He died for me — hallelujah!” Identification says, “He died for me — I must die for him if need be, hallelujah.” As the Bible says, You are not your own, you are bought with a price. When we move from substitution to identification, we overcome by the blood of the Lamb, because we share in his sufferings ourselves. We don’t fight opposition by the world’s means, by suppression and punishment; we fight by suffering with Jesus and keeping on declaring what he has done for us. I spoke to a young man who is reading a book. It’s his first book since school. It is a book of testimony, and he can’t put it down. God is entering his life by a word of testimony. C.S Lewis was an atheist, but Christian friends gently presented Jesus to him, and continued testifying until one day Lewis was inescapably confronted with the need to surrender to Christ. On a bus home from university, he surrendered to the Lord. In time, God transformed this former atheist into one of the modern world’s leading proponents of Christianity, whose books still sell in thousands 44 years after his death. Don’t write anyone off!
Overcoming Power issues. Someone asked on Facebook recently, If you could have any super power, what would it be? I said I would have America, as it is the only Superpower left, but I think the question shows something about our society, its obsession with power. 9/11 was about power — the attackers wanted power over the US, regardless of the reasons for their hatred of that country. The Iraq war is about power, both political control over the Middle East and the ability to obtain stable oil supplies. Road rage is about power — people who want total control over what they do, when and how, on the roads, and they can’t stand anyone who prevents that. They will do anything to get rid of and overpower anyone who gets in their way. Power is always over something or someone. As Christians we do not oppose power. We do not believe that power is intrinsically evil. After all, God created it, and he made everything good, didn’t he? But power is greatly misused. Lord Acton, a radical Catholic Parliamentarian in the 19th Century, said, All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. As Christians, we have to be very alert to how the world uses power, because it will use power to disempower the poor, the outcast, the marginalised. All the kinds of people Jesus specially went to will be robbed by those in power, unless we are constantly vigilant. I don’t know if you have noticed it, but a great proportion of Liberal and National Party politicians over the past 11 years have tried to silence Christians, and the reason has always been that Christians have spoken out against the Government’s misuse of power. The most recent that I have been aware of was when Alexander Downer said that ministers should get back to pastoral care and shut up about political issues. One of the defining moments for me in my training was when I met an elderly aboriginal man one night who asked me what kind of work I did. When I told him I was a student pastor, he said, “Never be ashamed of that. People like us need people like you, because we have no one to speak up for us. God has appointed you to speak for the poor and the powerless.” I took it as a prophetic word. We Christians are under obligation to resist the abuse of power which keeps some people at the bottom of the heap. Right at the moment, as the APEC meetings are planned for Sydney, and a 5km long fence will be put right around the Opera House, welfare agencies are worried about homeless people who camp in that area, who will be cut off from the services they depend on, whose access to the places they stay and the few things they own will be governed by goons with guns and orders. Parliamentarians party while the powerless perish. I don’t exactly know how we can or should address that specific issue, but the basic principle is that we don’t overcome the abuse of power by some greater abuse of power, but we overcome it by the blood of Jesus, our Lamb, and by the word of our testimony. People who abuse power rely on threats, punishments and even on execution. In a power–mad world, those three work. So, when someone refuses to play the game, when someone ignores threats, accepts punishment and faces execution, and does it in the name of Jesus, marvels occur! You have probably read about Mahatma Ghandi and what he did for Indian independence. He was a Hindu, but he based his non–violent principles on the Bible. And his people just refused to give in to violence, even when hundreds were massacred by British troops, these unarmed people kept coming forward to die in the cause of freedom. And they had no word of testimony. Imagine what happens when we declare ourselves as followers of the One who went all the way to the cross for us!
Overcoming violence This builds on power, because violence is a particular way of exercising power. Violence is a way of stealing power from other people. It promises pain, incapacitation and death. Sometimes it is harder to withstand emotional violence than it is to withstand physical violence. When I was a skinny kid, I faced a lot of physical violence, because I got bullied a fair bit. And I generally managed to survive and keep going. Emotional violence is a different matter. Sometimes, when I have been bullied emotionally, I have felt that life was almost not worth living. A thug punches you and you get up and keep going, and he sees he has lost and you have won. How do you win when it is emotional? But I know that some people would be exactly the other way around. Once again, it is through Jesus that we overcome violence, by rejecting retaliation and siding entirely with the one who died for you and me. Only don’t forget your word of testimony. Declare Jesus, suffer with him, and you are on the way to victory.
Conclusion Once again, we see how we overcome the pressures the world puts onto us, not by fighting with the world’s weapons, but by resisting through the sacrifice of Jesus and by keeping our testimony faithful and true. You might ask me where faith comes in, because John writes, This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Faith is what gives me confidence and courage to go ahead, even though it be a cross that raises me. Faith says, “Jesus went all the way, I trust Jesus, therefore I will go all the way, too. I will go through the blood of the Lamb. I wll go with a testimony on my lips. That is all I can do,” Faith is not magic. Faith is the decision to trust and step out, knowing that Jesus has the whole world in his hands, and he will do everything well for those who trust and obey. Let’s choose to follow him, and overcome the world that stands against Jesus and the gospel! AMEN |
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© Peter R. Green 2007. Permission is granted for quotation in full for non-commercial purposes provided that authorship is acknowledged and this copyright notice is displayed with the text. Portions also copyright The Bible, NIV (Zondervan Ltd.) |
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