Intro: A Construction worker revealed how disappointed he was and even hostile towards the church. He could not fathom how Christians could build church buildings all around the world of children and youth suffer and starve. No amount of explanation would deter his story. He ended the discussion by saying, "I like you Jesus but I don't like your churches. Maybe I would like your churches to favor more like Jesus." Today there is a culture of Christianity; Christianity is popular in America, so there is a complete culture built around it.
Culture: Social or intellectual characteristics in a community or population. Rome 321 A.D., Emperor Constantine declared Christianity was a legal religion. He ended the persecution which was a very good thing. But with that came popularity for Christianity and paganism and false doctrines rushed in and watered it down.
Today there is evidence that the message has been watered-down American. Bribing people to church in 2005? Church in Houston Texas gave away $120,000 house, church in Iowa gave away gas to its first-time visitors, and a church in Florida gave away a Hummer.
Christianity today has a distinct “gospel” that bears little resemblance to the biblical version. The good news it promotes is identified by the suppression of anything that feels threatening; the result is an evangel that is pro-family, pro-life, pro-american , pro-military, pro-capitalism, anti-feminist, anti-sex and anti-gay. The whole thing is sealed with a promise of heaven to boot. The fight is to create a culture that is hospitable to people receiving Christ as Lord and Savior. It is a culture war. The result is a culturally triumphant Christianity. But in the N T there is no culture that is hospitable to the gospel. Tyler W. Stevenson, Brand Jesus. P 136, 137
When the Bible says in Romans 12:2, Do not be conformed to this world. What does that mean? The Christian culture says that “the world” is whatever the church believes itself not to be. So a church can blaspheme the gospel with the "prosperity gospel". Prosperity preachers point to their own lavish lifestyles as confirmation of God's blessing. This makes it possible for these preachers and churches to rail against worldliness, despite the fact that they are concerned with nothing so much as flourishing materially and physically in the here and now -- a definition of "worldly" by most any standard. Actually Mammon, in the form of consumerism, has established the pattern for our day. And Jesus said you cannot serve God and mammon (or money). (Matt 6:24). The "pattern of the world" consists of forces like racism/tribalism, classism, and sexism which infect us all. In Galatians 3:28, race, class, and gender are the three attributes to tell us we transcend in Christ. The poor are still poor, the rich are still rich, the disenfranchised are still thus. Now consumerism threatens to become king of all patterns. We can understand all aspects of identity through our consumption habits. Romans 12:1, says to be transformed by the renewal of your minds. This happens from the inside out, the opposite of consumerism. Stephenson p189, 190
American nationalism, nationalism is devotion to the interests of particular nation. Christianity has taken on that role in the slogans "God bless America" to "we support our military" to "we will not forget 9/11". What is wrong with saying, “God bless Iraq?” “God bless Russia?” God loves the whole world, not just America. If other nations were blessed by God wouldn't that be a blessing to all of us?
Torture: Some of you may think this is a political statement, it is not. It is a moral statement. I am opposed to torture... in any of its forms. “September 2008, a Pew survey showed 48% of the general public believes torture sometimes or often is justified in order to obtain information from suspected terrorists. A poll of 600 Southern white evangelicals was released in Atlanta on the subject of torture. The new poll shows 57% of white Southern evangelicals hold this belief.” Can you imagine Jesus torturing someone? I can't.
Conventional-ism: Developed, established or approved by general usage; customary.
Conventional view:
1- Christ is solution to sin, saving us for eternity, only.
But this ignores current needs in the world.
2- The Christian message is focused on the last days and preparing for the second coming.
But there is no motivation to transform the world of here and now which Jesus spent most of his ministry doing.
3- "Removal" from the world is to keep us pure and prepare for heaven.
But Jesus said I must be in the world (John 17:15) to influence it, help it and save it.
4- God prefers his people over everyone else.
But John 3:16, God loved the world... not just his people.
5- God will destroy the world at the end so why take care of it, why care about it?
But Revelation 11:18, He will destroy those who destroy the earth. Isaiah 45:18, He created the world to be inhabited. Where is the responsibility to all life and our world?
6- Because salvation is for the afterlife and God will destroy the earth, the world will keep getting worse and worse; in fact this is God's plan. This view leads some to celebrate when things get really bad and even hope for bad things like the Sunday laws. A death wish?
But it also ignores the needs of real people today, the gospel of the good news, and the joy of serving Christ.
**A triumphant Church rather than a hurting church makes it difficult for hurting people to be apart.
Given as a talk by pastor Gary Tolbert for a Week of Prayer at University City Adventist church, January 20, 2010.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Can one be called a Christian and not follow Christ?
Intro: Here is a funny story: A cowboy walks into a bar in Texas, orders three mugs of beer and sits in the back room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn. The bartender approaches and tells the cowboy, "You know, I'm a mug goes flat after I draw it. It would taste better if you bought one at a time." To cowboy replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in Australia, the other is in Dublin, and I'm in Texas. When we all left home, we promised that we'd drink this way too remember the days we drank together. So I drink one for each of my brothers and one for myself." The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there. The cowboy becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way. He orders three mugs and drinks them in turn. One day though, he comes in and orders only two mugs. All the regulars take notice and fall silent. When he comes back to the bar, the bartender says, "I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your loss." The cowboy looks quite puzzled for a moment, then a light dawns and he laughs. "Oh, no, everybody's just fine," he explains. "It's just that my wife and I joined the Baptist Church and I had to quit drinking. Hasn't affected my brothers though."
It is so easy to justify and rationalize what we want to do and still consider ourselves a follower of Christ.
Hypocrisy: Barna, the Christian research organization says in virtually every study they conduct representing thousands of interviews every year, born-again Christians fail to display much behavioral difference from regular people. Activities over the last 30 days, born again believers were just as likely to bet or gamble, to visit a pornographic website, to take something that did not belong to them, to consult a medium or psychic, to physically fight or abuse someone, to have consumed enough alcohol to be considered legally drunk, to have used an illegal, nonprescription drug, to have said something to someone that was not true, to have gotten back at someone for something he or she did, and to have said mean things behind another person's back.
In all, they found that 30% of born-again Christians admitted to at least one sexually inappropriate behavior in the past 30 days, compared with 35% of other Americans.
We say: Adventists are different. In some ways we are different. In my 30 some years as a pastor I have found many very sincere, committed, saintly Adventist people. But they are in the minority. The majority is no different than what Barna found.
This is terrible... but true.
Denominations: One thing man created. God may have been helping. The dictionary: denomination is an organization that gives a name to a class or group of people. In the Bible: Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles then Pharisees, Sadducees. Later more, then finally today... thousands of denominations.
Our pioneers were against them. Why were they formed?
Our church grew out of the Reformation. We accept the best biblical teachings of the reformers and put them together into one system of belief. That is why we are called the remnant church because we are most like the original. Revelation 14:12, No mention of a denomination... just the people.
Traditions and practices:
Worship Order, Luther who revised the Catholic order.
Communion table, Zwingli, also carried the bread and cup to the people in the pews, taken quarterly.
Centrality of preaching, Luther and Zwingli.
Dressing up for worship, 18th century.
Distinction between Laymen and clergy, medieval church (1Pet 2:9).
Pews? Pulpit? Rostrum holy? Quiet in church? 11 o'clock hour?
A study can teach us something. Start with the cage containing apes. In the cage hang a banana on a string and put stairs under it. Before long an ape will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the banana, spray all of the apes with cold water. After a while, another ape makes an attempt with the same result -- all of the apes are sprayed with water. Now turn off the cold water. If later, another ape tries to climb the stairs, the other apes will try to prevent it even though no water sprays on them. Next, remove an ape from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new ape sees the banana and wants it. To his horror, all the other apes attacked him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb stairs, he will be assaulted. Next remove another of the original apes and replace it with a new one. The new one goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm. Again, remove one of the original apes and replace it with a new one. The new one makes for the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four apes that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in beating the new ape. After replacing the fourth and fifth original apes, all the apes which had been sprayed with cold water are no longer a part of this primate committee. Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs. Why not? Because that's the way it's always been around here.
Sound familiar? Hopefully we are more intelligent than apes. But when it comes to traditions and practices that are not taught in the Bible and we take for granted, we are just dumb apes.
Understand: I am not saying what we do is wrong or bad, but it is not biblical, it is cultural and traditional, so it is not as important as following Jesus.
We can be so caught up in the tradition that we lose the spiritual meaning... worshiping God, encouraging one another, teaching the gospel and righteousness to the world.
Given as a Week of Prayer talk at University City SDA Church, Jan 19, 2010.
It is so easy to justify and rationalize what we want to do and still consider ourselves a follower of Christ.
Hypocrisy: Barna, the Christian research organization says in virtually every study they conduct representing thousands of interviews every year, born-again Christians fail to display much behavioral difference from regular people. Activities over the last 30 days, born again believers were just as likely to bet or gamble, to visit a pornographic website, to take something that did not belong to them, to consult a medium or psychic, to physically fight or abuse someone, to have consumed enough alcohol to be considered legally drunk, to have used an illegal, nonprescription drug, to have said something to someone that was not true, to have gotten back at someone for something he or she did, and to have said mean things behind another person's back.
In all, they found that 30% of born-again Christians admitted to at least one sexually inappropriate behavior in the past 30 days, compared with 35% of other Americans.
We say: Adventists are different. In some ways we are different. In my 30 some years as a pastor I have found many very sincere, committed, saintly Adventist people. But they are in the minority. The majority is no different than what Barna found.
This is terrible... but true.
Denominations: One thing man created. God may have been helping. The dictionary: denomination is an organization that gives a name to a class or group of people. In the Bible: Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles then Pharisees, Sadducees. Later more, then finally today... thousands of denominations.
Our pioneers were against them. Why were they formed?
Our church grew out of the Reformation. We accept the best biblical teachings of the reformers and put them together into one system of belief. That is why we are called the remnant church because we are most like the original. Revelation 14:12, No mention of a denomination... just the people.
Traditions and practices:
Worship Order, Luther who revised the Catholic order.
Communion table, Zwingli, also carried the bread and cup to the people in the pews, taken quarterly.
Centrality of preaching, Luther and Zwingli.
Dressing up for worship, 18th century.
Distinction between Laymen and clergy, medieval church (1Pet 2:9).
Pews? Pulpit? Rostrum holy? Quiet in church? 11 o'clock hour?
A study can teach us something. Start with the cage containing apes. In the cage hang a banana on a string and put stairs under it. Before long an ape will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the banana, spray all of the apes with cold water. After a while, another ape makes an attempt with the same result -- all of the apes are sprayed with water. Now turn off the cold water. If later, another ape tries to climb the stairs, the other apes will try to prevent it even though no water sprays on them. Next, remove an ape from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new ape sees the banana and wants it. To his horror, all the other apes attacked him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb stairs, he will be assaulted. Next remove another of the original apes and replace it with a new one. The new one goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm. Again, remove one of the original apes and replace it with a new one. The new one makes for the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four apes that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in beating the new ape. After replacing the fourth and fifth original apes, all the apes which had been sprayed with cold water are no longer a part of this primate committee. Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs. Why not? Because that's the way it's always been around here.
Sound familiar? Hopefully we are more intelligent than apes. But when it comes to traditions and practices that are not taught in the Bible and we take for granted, we are just dumb apes.
Understand: I am not saying what we do is wrong or bad, but it is not biblical, it is cultural and traditional, so it is not as important as following Jesus.
We can be so caught up in the tradition that we lose the spiritual meaning... worshiping God, encouraging one another, teaching the gospel and righteousness to the world.
Given as a Week of Prayer talk at University City SDA Church, Jan 19, 2010.
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