Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000056S
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00:01 - Some of the most vocal people in American politics
00:03 also appear to be the most religious. 00:05 I mean, not all of them of course, 00:07 but it is quite a few. 00:09 And of course, it is right for Christians to be involved 00:12 in the public arena. 00:14 But the question I want to ask today is, 00:15 what exactly should that look like? 00:18 [dramatic music] 00:39 You know, I'll have to admit, 00:40 when I first arrived in the United States, 00:43 the world of American Christianity, 00:45 well, it took a little getting used to. 00:48 Right off the bat, I couldn't believe 00:50 how open people were with their faith. 00:52 I mean, I heard people openly discussing Christianity, 00:56 their faith, on the shuttle from the airport, 00:59 and they were doing this with perfect strangers. 01:02 I mean, mot that Canadians or Europeans 01:04 don't discuss their faith in public, 01:06 but by comparison, well, they really don't. 01:10 I was surprised at how open it seemed, 01:12 and how the people doing this just assumed 01:14 that the rest of the bus didn't mind. 01:17 And honestly, I thought it was a good thing. 01:19 I enjoyed moving to a country 01:21 where people were so free with deeply personal things, 01:24 and it made my life, as a Christian speaker, 01:26 a hundred times easier. 01:28 I mean, in the United States, 01:30 I'm pretty much free to say what I want, when I want, 01:34 and that wasn't always true 01:35 in some of the other places I've worked. 01:37 So it's a good thing, 01:39 and I'm particularly thankful for the wisdom of our founders 01:42 when they drafted the First Amendment. 01:45 But at the same time, 01:47 I also noticed that America's broad comfort, 01:50 with religious topics has also created some, 01:53 well, let's say, interesting characteristics. 01:56 Not only are there lots of people 01:58 who are free about sharing their faith, 02:00 as it should be, 02:02 but compared to other places, 02:03 there are plenty of people who are kind of, 02:05 well, in your face about 'em. 02:07 They don't want to just share their faith, 02:09 they want you to accept it. 02:10 In fact, they insist. 02:13 And I'm not talking about just evangelizing people, 02:15 because I'm all for that. 02:17 I mean, if you really believe that the Bible is true, 02:20 how selfish would you have to be 02:22 to just keep it to yourself? 02:24 But what I'm describing is something different. 02:26 It's kind of a militant Christianity. 02:29 Now, of course, we all have stories 02:31 about obnoxious Christians, 02:33 kind of like most of us have stories about obnoxious vegans, 02:36 because everybody's met one. 02:38 I'm just glad that we also have sterling examples 02:41 of the right kind of people. 02:43 I remember a few years ago, 02:44 when the notable skeptic Penn Gillette, 02:46 you know, the famous magician. 02:48 He got on YouTube to talk about a Christian businessman 02:51 who gave him a Bible after one of his shows. 02:54 And instead of being offended or irritated, 02:56 Gillette was touched. 02:57 He said, "It was wonderful. 03:00 "I believe he knew I was an atheist, 03:02 "but he was not defensive. 03:03 "And he looked me right in the eyes, 03:05 "and he was truly complimentary. 03:07 "It wasn't in any way, 03:09 "it didn't seem like empty flattery, 03:11 "he was really kind and nice and sane, 03:14 "and looked me in the eyes and talked to me, 03:17 "and then gave me this Bible. 03:19 "And I've always said, you know, 03:21 "that I don't respect people who don't proselytize. 03:23 "I don't respect that at all. 03:25 "If you believe that there's a heaven and hell, 03:27 "and people could be going to hell, 03:29 "or not getting eternal life or whatever, 03:31 "and you think it's not really worth telling them this, 03:33 "because it would make it socially awkward, 03:36 "and atheists who think people shouldn't proselytize, 03:38 "just leave me alone, 03:40 "keep your religion to yourself, 03:42 "how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? 03:45 "How much do you have to hate somebody 03:47 "to believe that everlasting life is possible, 03:50 "and not tell them that?" 03:51 Now, that gives us a lot to think about. 03:54 For starters, it's kind of nice to hear 03:56 about a Christian sharing his faith and doing it kindly. 03:59 I think most of us could tell a story 04:01 about somebody who embarrassed half of Christendom, 04:03 by the way they represented the faith. 04:06 But finally, here's a guy who gets it right. 04:09 He was kind, he was considerate, 04:12 he didn't say anything wacky or weird. 04:14 And most importantly, he left a good impression. 04:17 I mean, Penn Gillette obviously didn't convert, 04:20 but it's still significant that he came away impressed, 04:23 because let's be honest, 04:25 that doesn't always happen. 04:27 The other thing that intrigues me 04:29 is how open Mr. Gillette was to hearing this guy. 04:32 It's an openness that I can't help but admire. 04:35 And I guess that's what I want to say 04:37 about the United States as a whole. 04:40 There's an openness here to contrary ideas 04:42 that you don't always find in the rest of the world. 04:45 Now, unfortunately, I think that openness 04:47 has been deteriorating, 04:49 and the advent of social media has certainly helped 04:52 that deterioration along. 04:54 People are nowhere near as polite, 04:56 and receptive as they used to be. 04:58 Civility seems to be collapsing, 05:01 but still, what you have in America 05:04 is a pretty wonderful thing, 05:07 until it isn't. 05:08 Sometimes a person's zeal for his or her faith 05:10 goes completely off the rails, 05:12 and the results are disastrous. 05:15 Most of you remember the Reverend Fred Phelps, 05:17 and his Westboro Baptist Church, 05:19 the guy who picketed the funerals of gay people, 05:22 US service members, 05:24 and even the victims of natural disasters 05:26 with huge placards declaring that God hates these people, 05:30 and he's punishing them. 05:32 We also have the example of Terry Jones, 05:34 the pastor from Florida who burned copies of the Quran 05:38 outside his church building. 05:40 He also burned a picture of the prophet Mohamed. 05:43 It started as a protest 05:44 against the imprisonment of a Christian pastor in Iran, 05:48 but grew beyond that, 05:49 when he planned to burn an additional 2,998 copies, 05:54 I think, as a response to the people who died on 9/11. 05:58 Now, to be perfectly clear, in the United States, 06:02 you have the absolute right to burn anything you want, 06:05 even the American flag, 06:07 so long as he wasn't burning something 06:09 that belonged to somebody else, 06:11 so he wasn't technically breaking the law. 06:15 But I do have to say, as a practicing Christian, 06:17 I have to wonder what he thought his actions were saying 06:19 about the nature of Christ. 06:21 John 3:17 says, 06:23 "For God did not send His Son into the world 06:25 "to condemn the world, 06:27 "but that the world through Him might be saved." 06:29 And honestly, it's really hard to picture Jesus 06:33 burning somebody else's religious text 06:35 as a form of public protest. 06:37 Oh, I know, 06:39 he did drive the money changers out of the Temple, 06:41 but if you think about it, that was an internal matter. 06:45 He was driving out people 06:46 who were making a commercial mockery of his own faith, 06:49 which makes me wonder, frankly, 06:51 what he'd say about some of the big commercial ministries 06:54 that claim to represent Christianity today. 06:57 How much would Jesus love the way 06:59 that Christianity has become big business in this country? 07:03 But I digress. 07:05 Would Jesus actually burn a copy of the Quran 07:07 to get attention? 07:09 I doubt it. 07:10 So here's where I'm going with this, 07:13 as I've discussed in another episode, 07:15 our present form of Christianity in the West 07:17 seems to have this deep desire to assert itself, 07:21 to claim its rights. 07:23 And of course, it's true, 07:25 we do have a constitutional right 07:27 to worship as we see fit, 07:29 which was kind of the point of this republic, 07:31 and I value that. 07:33 But sometimes I get the impression that some Christians 07:36 want a whole lot more than freedom. 07:39 They seem to think 07:40 they should be running the country. 07:42 And what's curious about that, 07:44 is the way that this is a relatively new development. 07:47 It used to be that Christians simply fought 07:49 to be left alone, 07:51 to have the government stay out of their hair. 07:53 But in recent decades, 07:54 I've been getting the distinct impression 07:57 that some people want a lot more than that. 08:00 They appear to want a theocracy, 08:02 even though history has no shortage of stories 08:05 about what a horrible idea that is. 08:08 We seem to forget why Thomas Jefferson, 08:10 championed the idea of separating church and state. 08:13 And now I hear more and more voices 08:15 calling for the church to seize the reins of government, 08:19 so they can make everybody tow the line 08:21 that we want to draw in the sand. 08:24 When America was born, 08:26 it was an experiment in religious liberty 08:28 that was going to end what James Madison once called, 08:31 Europe's career of intolerance. 08:35 But compare Madison to some of the attitudes 08:37 we've seen since the 1980s, and honestly, 08:39 it feels like a new form of religious intolerance, 08:42 and people seem to be good with it because after all, 08:45 we'd be the ones in charge. 08:48 Okay, some of you are now wondering 08:49 where I'm going with this, 08:51 if I've lost my mind and you're thinking, 08:52 I no longer believe that America is, 08:54 or was a Christian nation, 08:57 but you're gonna have to wait until after the break 08:59 to find out what I'm driving at. 09:05 - [Narrator] Life can throw a lot at us. 09:07 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 09:10 but that's where the Bible comes in. 09:13 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 09:16 Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 09:17 we've created the Discover Bible guides 09:20 to be your guide to the Bible. 09:21 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 09:24 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions, 09:27 and they're absolutely free. 09:29 So jump online now, or give us a call, 09:31 and start your journey of discovery. 09:35 - To be honest, there aren't a lot of Christian shows 09:37 that are gonna share quotes 09:38 from the famous infidel, Thomas Paine, 09:41 especially in a positive light, 09:42 so let me be the one to do it, 09:44 because at one point he actually said something 09:47 really useful about organized religion. 09:50 This comes from his book, "The Rights of Man," 09:52 a treatise that he published back in 1791, 09:55 and he says, "All religions are in their nature 09:59 "kind and benign and united with principles of morality." 10:03 Now, I know what some of you are thinking, 10:04 he couldn't be more wrong because we have lots of examples 10:07 of religion that isn't mild, and certainly not benign, 10:11 but let's let him continue. 10:13 He says, "They could not have made proselytes at first 10:16 "by professing anything that was vicious, 10:18 "cruel, persecuting, or immoral. 10:21 "Like everything else, they had their beginning, 10:23 "and they proceeded by persuasion, exhortation, 10:26 "and example." 10:27 And of course that's really true, 10:29 Christianity at the very beginning 10:31 was a persuasive religion, not a coercive one. 10:34 But that changed, so Mr. Paine asks this question, 10:38 "How then is it that they lose their native mildness, 10:41 "and become morose and intolerant?" 10:43 Now, you gotta listen to the answer that he gives to that. 10:45 He says, "Persecution is not an original feature 10:49 "in any religion, 10:50 "but it is alway the strongly marked feature 10:52 "of all law religions, or religions established by law. 10:57 "Take away the law establishment, 10:59 "and every religion re-assumes its original benignity." 11:03 Now, I don't always agree with Thomas Paine, 11:06 but in this regard, I think he's right. 11:09 It when religions control the secular reigns of government 11:12 that we start to get a serious problem. 11:15 In the old world, the established state churches 11:17 confiscated the property of heretics, 11:19 and then executed them for the supposed crime of heresy. 11:24 Here in America, it was supposed to be different. 11:27 So in that sense, the United States was born 11:30 as a Christian country. 11:32 It was an attempt to go back 11:33 to the ancient roots of the Christian faith, 11:36 when individuals were able to live by the dictates 11:38 of their own conscience and answer to God directly, 11:42 as individuals, without interference from government. 11:46 It's not that the early church 11:48 didn't have a problem with heresy, 11:49 because obviously they did. 11:51 Even a brief glance through some of Paul's letters 11:54 makes that obvious. 11:56 But here's the difference, 11:58 they weren't condemning heretics to death, 12:01 and they weren't leveraging the power of the state 12:04 to get rid of people they didn't like. 12:07 But then after Constantine, 12:08 things began to change in the West, 12:10 and Christian clergy were suddenly showered with favor, 12:13 and they were given the powers of state, 12:17 and that created a path that led straight 12:19 to the Spanish Inquisition, 12:21 and the other embarrassing chapters of Christian history. 12:24 So Thomas Paine was right, 12:26 religion is seldom a problem, 12:28 unless it becomes established by law. 12:32 What we have in this country, 12:33 and in many other liberal democracy 12:35 since the birth of America, 12:37 is the freedom to exercise our religious beliefs 12:40 without the state deciding for us. 12:43 There is no official state religion, not today. 12:47 And honestly, it's really, really important 12:50 that it stays this way. 12:52 I know a lot of people think, 12:53 but the early founders were profoundly Christian, 12:56 there's a modicum of truth to that, 12:58 because some of them were devout Christians 13:01 in the sense that modern evangelicals 13:03 might understand that word, 13:05 but many of them were deists, 13:06 and some of them were outright infidels. 13:09 And yes, they used the ideas of Protestant reformers, 13:13 and English dissenters to help draft the Bill Of Rights, 13:17 but they were also adamant 13:18 that individuals should be free to follow God, 13:20 however the individual sees fit, 13:23 which would mean not following God, if that's what you want. 13:28 That's why the Constitution is very specific 13:30 when it says that no religious test 13:32 shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, 13:36 or public trust under the United States. 13:41 Compared to the rest of the world, 13:43 America is an openly Christian country, profoundly so, 13:47 and it did use biblical principles 13:49 as one of the foundations for the Constitution, 13:52 combined with good ideas from classical civilization. 13:56 But at the same time you'll notice, 13:58 that it wasn't founded 13:59 on any particular flavor of Christianity, 14:02 perhaps apart from broad Protestant principles. 14:06 And that's a good thing, 14:07 because I mean, let's be honest, 14:09 most of you wouldn't want me 14:10 to organize your religious beliefs, 14:12 and I don't wanna live by your ideas either. 14:15 All of us need to be perfectly free 14:17 to read the scriptures and decide for ourselves 14:21 how we'd like to respond. 14:23 Which brings me back to the matter of Christians 14:26 asserting their rights. 14:28 We do have the right, under the First Amendment, 14:30 to assemble peaceably and speak our minds. 14:33 And the government does not have the right 14:35 to prohibit the free exercise of religion. 14:38 You get to decide what you're going to believe, 14:40 and how you're going to apply it. 14:42 And believe me, 14:43 there are lots of Christians in other parts of the world 14:45 that would love to have a First Amendment, 14:48 because they do not have the freedom that we have. 14:52 I'm thinking about Christians in China, 14:54 or Myanmar or other places where living the Christian faith 14:58 can actually be hazardous to your health. 15:02 But you know, I also find it a little disturbing 15:05 when Christians go beyond enjoying their freedom 15:07 to expressing outrage, 15:09 and demanding that people bow to their wishes. 15:12 I mean, yes, we do have the freedom to worship, 15:16 and it's guaranteed in writing, 15:19 but the tendency for some Christians 15:21 to demand things from everybody else, 15:23 that's a relatively new development here. 15:27 Let me use a rather touchy case, 15:28 one that's still, well, pretty raw in most people's minds. 15:32 In fact, there's almost no way for me to talk about this 15:35 without making somebody mad, but here we go. 15:39 Over the course of the pandemic, 15:41 I went to a lot of virtual church meetings, 15:43 because public gatherings had been banned 15:46 just about everywhere. 15:48 And on a number of occasions, I had church members tell me, 15:51 "We're not gonna stop meeting or practice social distancing 15:54 "because it's our right to gather for worship." 15:57 And of course it really is our right. 16:00 But here's what I want you to think about, 16:02 at what point do Christians consider 16:03 whether it's more important to preach the gospel, 16:07 or assert our rights? 16:09 Now, if the government had specifically targeted churches 16:11 and said only Christians may not meet, 16:14 that'd be one thing, 16:15 then I probably would defy the government, 16:17 just like Daniel did. 16:19 If they had said, 16:20 "You may not teach your message anywhere, 16:22 "including on the internet," that would be a problem. 16:26 But the closures over the last few years 16:28 affected just about everybody, 16:29 restaurants, bars, theaters, barbershops, you name it. 16:33 It wasn't exactly singling out Christians, 16:36 but a lot of Christians felt like it was, 16:38 and they behaved like it was. 16:42 Now, whether or not you believe 16:44 that public health measures were effective, 16:46 is completely beside the point. 16:48 The closures were by and large a public health measure 16:51 that wasn't targeting any group specifically 16:54 because of its religious beliefs. 16:56 Now, it's true that sometimes the measures 16:59 were unevenly applied, 17:01 so that bars had fewer restrictions than churches, 17:04 and well, that would be a problem. 17:06 And in hindsight, there were probably a lot of things 17:08 that could have been done better, 17:11 but one thinks for sure this wasn't really 17:13 about targeting Christians. 17:15 Now, I know some people strongly feel that it was, 17:17 as if the public health orders were somehow 17:20 the mark of the beast, 17:21 but let's be honest, up till now, 17:23 nobody was specifically targeting Christians by law. 17:29 And yet a lot of believers spent a lot of time 17:30 getting worked up and demanding their rights. 17:33 And yes, again, we absolutely have the right to worship. 17:36 And yes, I'm also concerned about the possibility 17:39 of government overreach, I really am. 17:42 And there are some things going on 17:44 that make me really, really uncomfortable, 17:47 but that's not the point I'm getting at. 17:50 What I want to talk about is the optics 17:51 of how Christians behave. 17:53 I remember getting a phone call from a police officer, 17:56 who was not a practicing Christian, 17:58 and he asked me just one thing, 18:00 "What in the world is wrong with you people?" 18:03 "What do you mean?" I said. 18:04 "Well," he said, 18:05 "it always seems like it's the religious people 18:07 "who are the most difficult to deal with." 18:09 He'd been dealing with churches that refused to cooperate 18:12 with public health measures, 18:13 and well, he found it bewildering. 18:16 "Why is it," he said, "that you Christians just don't care." 18:21 Now again, maybe you believe that you have the right 18:23 to worship in large groups, 18:25 no matter what the health department says, 18:26 I'm not gonna argue about that, maybe you're right. 18:30 But I am going to plead with Christians 18:32 to think about what's most important 18:34 in our devotion to Christ. 18:36 What are we actually doing in this world, 18:38 and how are we representing the attitude and faith of Christ 18:41 in front of everybody else? 18:43 And I get it, 18:45 the pandemic is a super sensitive topic, 18:47 and some of you are absolutely appalled 18:49 that I'm talking about it. 18:51 And I'm sure some of you are tempted to change the station 18:53 or write me a letter, 18:55 but I guess I can live with that, 18:56 because what I really want is for Christians 18:58 to think about why we do the things we do. 19:02 So here's what I'm gonna do. 19:04 It looks like it's time for another quick break, 19:06 and when I come back, 19:07 we're going to take a look at ancient Christian history 19:09 to see what kinds of issues they were worried about, 19:12 and how they handled the almost daily violation 19:16 of their personal rights. 19:17 So hang tight, because in a minute 19:20 I'll be back with a whole lot more. 19:25 - [Narrator] Here at the Voice of Prophecy, 19:26 we're committed to creating top quality programming 19:28 for the whole family. 19:30 Like our audio adventure series, Discovery Mountain. 19:33 Discovery Mountain is a bible-based program 19:36 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 19:38 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 19:41 from this small mountain summer camp and town. 19:43 With 24 seasonal episodes every year, 19:46 and fresh content every week, 19:48 there's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 19:55 - Christian apologetics is the art of defending the faith, 19:58 explaining to non-Christians who we are, 20:00 and what we believe. 20:03 Now traditionally, a lot of Christian apologists 20:06 have dedicated themselves 20:07 to trying to prove that God exists. 20:10 Some people like Augustine were rationalists, 20:13 and they tried to reason their way to the existence of God. 20:16 Other people like Thomas Aquinas were empiricists, 20:20 they tried to demonstrate the reality of God 20:22 by just appealing to the evidence of our senses. 20:26 But at the very beginning of the church, 20:28 in the earliest years, 20:29 a lot of the most important apologists 20:31 were doing something else. 20:33 They were trying to explain to the Roman Empire 20:35 that they were wrong in their perception of Christians. 20:39 For the most part, 20:41 and this is probably gonna surprise you, 20:42 the Romans thought the Christians were atheists, 20:45 because they didn't have have statues, 20:47 and they refused to acknowledge the pagan gods. 20:51 And that made Christians seem like a threat 20:53 to the stability of the Empire. 20:56 In addition to that, because Christians were different, 20:59 nasty rumors started to circulate. 21:02 Christians, for example, 21:03 symbolically ingest the blood of Christ 21:05 when they drink the wine of the communion service, 21:07 so the Romans said they must be cannibals. 21:11 Christians called each other brother and sister, 21:14 and participated in love feasts, 21:16 another term for the communion service, 21:18 so the Romans accused them of incest. 21:22 So what we find in the writings 21:24 of the early Christian Apologists 21:26 is an attempt to clear the air. 21:29 Take for example, the work of Justin Martyr, 21:31 who was killed for his Christian faith 21:33 in the second century. 21:35 Before his execution, 21:37 he was very influential with the Roman Emperor, 21:40 and from what we can tell, 21:42 he managed to dial back the persecution of Christians. 21:45 And the way he did that was important, 21:48 he did not make demands, 21:50 even though one of the subtitles in his first apology is, 21:54 'Demand for Justice.' 21:56 But when you read it, you find this well read, 21:59 knowledgeable Christian, 22:00 who makes a rational appeal to the Emperor 22:03 to treat Christians like everybody else. 22:06 Here's what he wrote. 22:08 "For we have come not to flatter you by this writing, 22:11 "nor to please you by our address, but to beg." 22:14 Notice that word. 22:16 "To beg that you pass judgment 22:18 "after an accurate and searching investigation, 22:21 "not flattered by prejudice, 22:23 "or by a desire of pleasing superstitious men, 22:27 "nor induced by irrational impulse, 22:29 "or evil rumors which have long been prevalent, 22:32 "to give a decision which will prove 22:34 "to be against yourselves. 22:36 "For as for us, we reckon that no evil can be done us, 22:39 "unless we be convicted as evil doers, 22:42 "or prove to be wicked men. 22:44 "And you, you can kill but not hurt us." 22:48 He was partially quoting the words of Jesus who said, 22:51 "Do not fear those who kill the body, 22:53 "but cannot kill the soul." 22:57 Because you see, 22:58 no matter what laws are passed, 23:00 no matter who comes to power, 23:02 no matter how much the rights of Christians get trampled, 23:06 nobody has the power to take you away from Christ. 23:10 "For I am persuaded," Paul wrote, 23:11 "that neither death nor life, 23:13 "nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, 23:16 "nor things present, nor things to come, 23:18 "nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing 23:22 "shall be able to separate us from the love of God, 23:25 "which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 23:29 Justin Martyr didn't demand that the Emperor 23:31 become a Christian. 23:33 He didn't demand that the Roman Empire 23:35 adopt a Christian worldview, 23:38 but he did appeal to the Emperor 23:40 to consider Christianity, 23:42 and investigate its claims 23:44 without any hint of establishing some kind of theocracy. 23:49 And that's how it was with most of the early apologists, 23:52 they simply appealed to the pagans 23:54 to reconsider the untrue rumors, 23:57 and stop putting Christians to death. 24:00 Here's another example, 24:02 this time from the writings of Athenagoras, 24:04 a second century Christian apologist 24:06 who wrote a letter to the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. 24:09 First he mentions how kind and great the Emperor is, 24:13 and then after mentioning how the Emperor 24:15 has a benevolent disposition toward everybody, 24:19 he points out that Christians appear to be an exception. 24:22 Here's what he wrote. 24:23 "But for us who are called Christians, 24:25 "you have not in like manner cared, 24:28 "but although we commit no wrong, 24:29 "nay, as will appear in the sequel of this discourse, 24:32 "are of all men most piously and righteously disposed 24:36 "toward the Deity and towards your government." 24:39 In other words, he was pointing out 24:41 that Christians model citizens. 24:43 "You allow us to be harassed, plundered, and persecuted, 24:46 "the multitude making war upon us 24:48 "for our name alone. 24:50 "We venture therefore to lay a statement 24:52 "of our case before you, 24:53 "and you will learn from this discourse 24:55 "that we suffer unjustly, 24:57 "and contrary to all law and reason, 25:00 "and we beseech you to bestow 25:02 "some consideration upon us also, 25:05 "that we may cease at length to be slaughtered 25:07 "at the instigation of false accusers." 25:11 Now, compare that to the way 25:13 that some modern Christians behave, 25:14 and it really does give you pause to think. 25:17 I'll be right back after this. 25:24 - [Announcer] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues, 25:28 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid, and confusing. 25:32 If you've ever read Daniel, or Revelation, 25:35 and come away scratching your head, you're not alone. 25:38 Our free focus on prophecy guides 25:40 are designed to help you unlock the mysteries of the Bible 25:43 and deepen your understanding of God's plan for you 25:46 and our world. 25:47 Study online or request them by mail, 25:49 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 25:54 - Well, again, it looks like I've been long-winded as usual, 25:57 so maybe I'll just wrap up with this, 25:59 a statement from a man who clearly understood 26:01 what it was like to have his rights trampled. 26:04 Paul was once a member of the Sanhedrin, 26:07 and a Roman citizen, 26:08 and he studied at the feet of the great Gamaliel, 26:11 one of the most revered teachers of the ancient world, 26:14 and yet he was treated abysmally 26:16 just about everywhere he went. 26:18 So what's his advice 26:20 when it comes to relating to people that don't like us? 26:23 Well, here it is. 26:24 In his letter to the Colossians, he writes, 26:26 "Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, 26:29 "redeeming the time. 26:31 "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, 26:34 "that you may know how you ought to answer each one." 26:38 This is why burning a Quran in the parking lot is wrong. 26:42 This is why picketing funerals is wrong. 26:46 This is why asserting ourselves in the marketplace 26:49 under the assumption that we 26:50 are the most important segment of society is wrong. 26:54 Some of us want our speech to be salty, 26:57 but the Bible's counsel is to season our speech with grace. 27:03 What we need to ask ourselves is this, 27:04 what's more important, 27:06 the kingdoms of this world, 27:08 or the kingdom of Christ? 27:10 What have we been asked to do as a church? 27:12 Seize the reins of government, and force people to listen. 27:16 Or have we been asked to persuade people, 27:18 and make disciples. 27:20 And how can we possibly make disciples 27:23 unless we ourselves are disciples of Christ? 27:27 Maybe there's a reason we're losing 27:28 our audience here in the West. 27:30 Maybe we just don't look and sound like Jesus anymore. 27:35 Maybe it's time to get back to the basics of faith, 27:37 and quit complicating it with political pursuits, 27:40 and maybe it's time to recapture 27:42 the humble spirit of Christ 27:44 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," 27:47 Paul wrote, "that though he was rich, 27:48 "yet for your sakes he became poor, 27:51 "that you through his poverty might become rich." 27:56 Thanks for listening. 27:57 Until next time, I'm Shawn Boonstra, 28:00 and this has been, Authentic. 28:02 [dramatic music] |
Revised 2022-11-15