The problem of dual citizenship

Politically Incorrect

I want to thank everyone for the positive response to last Sunday’s introduction to my latest sermon series, “Politically Incorrect.”  I have always wondered why we are so hesitant to talk about politics at church?  If our faith helps us in the major aspects of life (how to worship, how to serve God, how to love our family members) then shouldn’t it also inform our political thought as well?  Whether we realize it or not, our faith plays a huge role in our politics… in how we view the world and in what we consider to be important.  If the church doesn’t speak to the significant moral and ethical issues of our time, who will?  Are we prepared to leave it up the world to decide our nation’s “politics”?  Or do we have a responsibility to the world?  As we discussed last week, we DON'T have a responsibility to be “salt” and “light” to the world around us.  That’s “politics” isn’t it?

 

Another reason why we need to focus on this “intersection of faith & politics” is because of the upcoming election.  Elections are exciting!  They are full of twists and turns (at least this one has been).  They are also an opportunity for a renewed or fresh start every four years.  Regardless of where you are “politically” on this election cycle, we can ALL agree that we need to be in prayer over the election.  We can all agree that we as a nation want God to bless America and for God to guide our nation’s leaders.  Of course, our hope is ultimately not in either this country, its economy or its leaders… but in God and HIS kingdom.  That’s the thought behind next Sunday’s lesson, “The Problem of Dual Citizenship.”  While we, as Christians, are called to be salt and light to the world (cf. Matt. 5:13-16) we must also remember that we are first and foremost citizens of a much greater kingdom!  And OUR king is much greater than any candidate that we’ll consider on November 4^th!  This week read Mark 12:13-17 and ask yourself what Jesus was saying about our relationship to the 'kingdoms' of the world.

Some comments I've gotten...

I can't believe all of the comments I have recieved after announcing that I was going to tackle the subject of "Faith & Politics" for the next four Sundays!  I've never recieved as many comments (good, bad or indifferent) from ANY sermon I've ever preached... especially BEFORE it has even been delivered.  I wonder what people are afraid I will say?  I wonder what people expect me to say?  Below are just a sampling of e-mails I've gotten from my Facebook page as well as e-mail... the names are left off to protect the innocent & the guilty!  Remember, the question was "Can you talk about politics at church?"

"I remember someone who tried to talk about politics in synagogue...I don't think it went very well for him."

 

"I guess it depends if anyone from the IRS attends there."

 

"just remind everyone that we (BOTH sides) need to stop expecting the government to do what Christ designated as the church's responsibility." 

 

"The fact that I've typed and re-typed my reply about six times is a sure sign we shouldn't." 

 

"You do have freedom of speech, but depending on what you would say...  Your family could crash at our place if it ended badly.  Or...  you could just blame Brad!" 

 

"NOT from the pulpit! We have had problems with this at our church recently! I think it is a bad idea!" 

 

"and make everyone happy! sticky one!" 

 

"Can discuss current events and political issues of moral significance--but advocate for a candidate and it will threaten your tax exempt status.  And also half the congregation will disagree with you and get mad. :)"

 

"take a lesson from an old man... Its not a good idea..."

 

   Your lesson topic on "Faith & Politics" is interesting.  You are a brave soul!  Would love to be there to hear them.  I have been "forbidden" by a couple of my elders to even mention it.  I am really struggling with that, in a time when I feel I NEED to be vocal.

   Let's keep praying. 

 

"If you figure that out, let us all know!"

 

"Poor Jim - Everyone expects you to back a candidate!  Show them the true way!  Point to "that one" who died on the cross for us.  Following Christ is politics - it smashes the Republicans and Democrats by reminding them they they are part of a fallen world that offers no true hope to their followers."

 

"You can talk about politics as long as you don't talk about Republicans, Democrats, Politicians, Issues, Mistakes, or Solutions.  Everything else is fair game."

 

 

Can you talk about politics at church?

I can remember one of the first things said to me when I began preaching was, "Just stay out of politics... it'll only get you into trouble."  I laughed about it then, but considered it sound advice.  Yet here I am, some years later, facing one of the biggest "political" decisions I've ever faced... coming Nov. 4th and another Presidential election.  While this decision may not rank up there with the all time greatest decisions ever, it is still rather significant.  Who am I to vote for... if I vote at all?  I have conflicting opinions.  Neither of the candidates fully represent the platform I would wish that they would.  There are things about both of the candidates that I like... and certainly things about both of them that I don't like.  I find myself in a quandary.  I've even been tempted to follow the way of David Lipscomb and abstain from voting at all... but I'm not sure that's the best approach.

This has not only already been one of the longest campaigns in history, it has been one of the most interesting.  I can't think of an election in modern times where religion has played such a dominant role.  Beginning in the primary season when one of the major candidates was an ordained Baptist minister, through the controversies surrounding Barak Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, right up until today as Sarah Palin has faced questions about her roots in a Pentecostal church... the question of faith has been a recurring theme. 

So, I've decided that since this is such a major issue in our nation and community today... I can't ignore it from the pulpit.  Beginning this Sunday I am inviting the congregation to explore with me the intersection of faith and politics.  What is the relationship of our faith to our politics?  What should it be?  I have already recieved more comments than I have ever gotten about a sermon that I haven't even preached yet... so let me hear from you!  What do you think?

on second thought... baptism IS important

As I stated before we ever began this last month's study on baptism, it is important!  In fact, it may be even more important than we ever thought it was.  Having concluded the series now, here is a short list of reasons why I believe baptism is more important than we may have ever thought...

1. Jesus did it


2. Jesus told his disciples to go and do it


3. it boldly proclaims the gospel in the picture of death, burial & resurrection


4. it is an outward sign of our inward repentance proclaiming our own death to sin & resurrection to new life


5. it is a promise to be faithful to God and recognition of his faithfulness to us


6. it is where we are united/ joined to Christ


7. it is a common experience we share with other believers in the church


8. it is where our sins are washed away and forgiven forever!


9. it is where we are promised that we will recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit which empowers us to face the temptations that tomorrow hold

Was your baptism an important event in your life?  Can you remember it?  How does that memory encourage and strengthen you to this day?

Concluding "Of Water & the Spirit"

I hope that our month-long congregational study on New Testament baptism has been as much a blessing to you as it has to me.  If you learned just one tenth as much as I did, then it was a tremendous success!  As I said, and I hope you found it to be true, no matter how much we thought we knew about the subject, there is always more to glean from the Scriptures. Churches of Christ have long emphasized the importance and necessity of baptism, but I think it may be even more important than we have ever thought.  I hope you have been convinced as well.

 

I appreciate Brad filling in for me last weekend and for the excellent lesson he brought.  If there is one thing that we sometimes neglect about baptism, it is how it was meant to draw all Christians together in unity.  As we unite with Christ in baptism, he adds us to his church and that is something we all share in common.  How sad that this unifying act of baptism has been used through the centuries to divide.  It just goes to show you how people can really mess up a good thing.

 

We will be wrapping up the study this Sunday from the pulpit with one final lesson, "the promise of baptism" where we will be looking at another often overlooked aspect of baptism and that is the promise of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:38).  What is the Spirit's role in baptism?  To get ready for the lesson I suggest you go back to Acts 2 and re-read Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost and then look at the crowd's reaction.  Make special note of what Peter told them to do in response to hearing the good news.  Then go back and re-read Luke 3:21-22 and ask yourself, "Why was Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, the sinless Son of God, baptized?  Did he 'have to'?"

  On Sunday evening, we will be having a panel discussion to conclude the series, "Down in the River."  No, we won't be going to the river, but I do hope and pray that we may need to put our baptistry to good use!  A panel of Sunday school teachers, Elders and maybe a deacon or two will be addressing any "loose end" questions which may have come up in our discussion.  I'll be serving as moderator.  It will not be a debate, but rather an open discussion on the meaning and importance for us today.  Come prepared with any questions you may still have!  You can drop me a line anytime this week with questions that you would like to see us address.

the covenant of baptism

This past Sunday I latched on a metaphor I got from F. LaGard Smith's book, Baptism: the believer's wedding ceremony and tried to explore how baptism functions as that event which forever unites the penitent believer to Jesus.  He of course drew the analogy from the numerous texts in the New Testament which liken our relationship with Christ to that of a marriage.  We are "united to Christ" in baptism (cf. Rom 6) and we are called the "bride of Christ." 

Its an analogy that works really well, I think, for a number of reasons.  One, it emphasizes the covenental aspect of baptism.  It is the "pledge of a good conscience towards God"... a promise to be faithful to him because of what he has done for us.  Two, it emphasizes that baptism is about relationship over ritual.  While some have viewed baptism simply as a command to be obeyed that God put out there just to see if we would do it.  It is more about being united to God.  Its not some hoop to jump through, a rung to be climbed or a box to be checked.  Its about entering into a joyous union with your best friend!  Third, it reveals baptism as an expression of love... not duty.  The question shouldn't be, "Do I HAVE to be baptized in order to be saved?"  It ought to be, "You mean I GET TO be baptized?"  The Ethiopian eunuch didn't respond to the gospel by asking, "Do I HAVE to?" but rather he saw water and said, "What is keeping me from it?"  Finally, thinking about baptism in these terms emphasizes that it is just the beginning of our Christian walk... not the goal.  Too often we forget that the newly baptized aren't yet "full grown" and they will need help along the way... help from older brothers and sisters in the faith.  Let's not leave them as infants to care for themselves!

Ocassionally I get a response from people to my lessons.  One response that I heard was from a lady who shared that her marriage wasn't a good one at all and so the analogy didn't really work for her.  I think that is so sad, but I think that it does emphasize the importance of being faithful to our baptisms.  Just as unfaithfulness in marriage can destroy those relationships, unfaithfulness to our baptism covenant with God can destroy our relationship with him.  Of course, he is never unfaithful... but sometimes we are.  In so many ways we fail to live up to that promise to always love him, always cherish, and always obey.  That may be the most powerful lesson from this metaphor that I can think of... and something that didn't even occur to me until I heard this response.  Isn't that the very problem that Paul was addressing in Romans 6?  The Roman Christians were continuing in their sin EVEN after their baptism and Paul scolds them by telling them that to continue in sin is contrary to the meaning of their baptism.  Thoughts?  In what ways can we demonstrate faithfulness to the covenant of baptism?

cookies & coke for communion.... and flag-burning?

Okay, I am sure that the word has already gotten out... they're talking about cookies and coca cola for communion over at Washington Street.  AND the preacher's a flag-burner!  Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I just know how rumors get out.  Well, this one actually has some truth to it...

One of the things I hear about baptism from some of our religious friends is that baptism is "just a symbol"... that it is an "outward sign of an inward grace."  I agree with them up to a point.  The outward act of baptism is meaningless unless it includes a genuine penitent heart.  What God cares about is the surrender of our hearts to him, not just our bodies to the water.  And yet... I don't think that negates the importance and even the necessity of that visual, symbolic act of baptism.  The truth is that symbols mean something.  Take for example our nation's flag, as I did this morning.  It isn't particularly creative in design.  the material is like hundreds of other fabrics and it isn't that expensive to purchase one.  it is "just a symbol."  So, what would cause men and women to give their lives to protect it?  What would prompt Francis Scott Key to write his ode to it which would become our national anthem?  What would happen if I lit it on fire before our church this morning?  I got out a match and acted like I might just to get a reaction.  One gentleman told me afterwards that he would have thrown ME in the baptistry if I had done it... and I wouldn't be coming up!  Yikes! 

What about the Lord's Supper?  We know, don't we, that the bread and the fruit of the vine (i.e. Welch's) are "just symbols".  They aren't ACTUALLY the body and blood of Jesus.  They only symbolically represent the body and blood.  So, what if I substituted cookies and coke next week?  Maybe the point is overstated, but I think you get it... I hope everyone did at church this morning.  Symbols mean something!  We wouldn't desecrate the symbol of the flag and we wouldn't substitute the symbols of the Lord's Supper.

Why, then, do some want to do that with baptism?  Replacing the mode of baptism with sprinkling or pouring for convenience sake misses the whole point.  The visual symbol of the water burial is important.  It publicly proclaims the gospel (the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus) AND it publicly proclaims our own death to sin, desire to leave it behind and resurrection to new life.  A powerful symbol, indeed.