Sermon Video: Having grace in disputable matters, part 1 - Romans 14:1-9

Chapter 14 of Romans is Paul's full argument as to why Christians ought to treat each other with grace with respect to "disputable matters."  In this first part, we see two key truths: (1) The need for grace when Christians disagree, and (2) the reality that disputable matters do indeed exist, they are not a flaw but rather evidence of our freedom in Christ.

How can Christians be OK with disagreement?  Simple, it is the will of God.  To further explain, God made us in his image with the ability to discern what is the best path for us in our circumstances when the issues at hand are not questions of morality but rather preference, personality, style, or emphasis.  We absolutely must have agreement on the core beliefs of our faith (i.e. orthodoxy), but outside of these truths the rule of thumb is grace.

The rise in antisemitism around the globe is accelerating, we must not ignore it as our ancestors did 100 years ago.

100 years ago antisemitism was commonplace in Europe, America, and many other parts of the world.  It was also nothing new, having been present and poisoning the heart and soul of Christendom since at least the first mass violence against Jews by Christians during the run-up to the Crusades.  It was a spiritual cancer growing there within the Church that successive generations failed to eradicate.  Spasms of violence, mass confiscations of property, and expulsions from various kingdoms and nations had sporadically occurred, but few could envision that the generation growing up in the gruesome shadow of WWI, who would soon begin enduring the Great Depression, would also be the generation to witness history's greatest effort at ethnic genocide.  When Hitler rose to power in Germany the warning signs began to sound, but they were not heeded, not by enough people and not by people who could have done something about it, until it was far too late.  Jewish refugees were not welcome anywhere, including in America.  {A well documented example: VOYAGE OF THE ST. LOUIS - The Holocaust Encyclopedia} They may have proven themselves to be the Greatest Generation in many ways, but in their response to antisemitism, they soundly and profoundly failed.  As the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed to the world in the rubble of WWII, the rallying cry was, "Never Again!"  Shame at having done too little too late had broken the fever of antisemitism, seemingly, it was hoped.

I fear that we're living in the generation that will begin to answer the question of whether or not "Never Again!" can last more than 100 years before it expires.  

ADL Records Dramatic Increase in U.S. Antisemitic Incidents Following Oct. 7 Hamas Massacre

Russia Airport Mob Hunting Jewish Passengers—What We Know Oct 30, 2023

As I have written and said many times in the past, the failure of the Church to not only protect the Jews of Europe and America from violence and discrimination, but also the failure to fully purge that evil from the hearts and minds of those who claim to follow Jesus (himself purposefully and proudly Jewish), is the greatest failure in Church history.  It is our darkest stain and our greatest shame.

God demands more of us, our generation will have the opportunity to demonstrate through word and deed that we have learned from our ancestors mistakes.

** It is entirely possible, and at times even morally responsible, to be critical of the policies of the nation-state of Israel AND at the same time condemn and oppose antisemitism in all of its forms.  Israel should be no more subject to a "Love it or leave it" mantra than America.  We can love America and be critical of her failure just as we can support Jews wherever they may live without having to agree 100% with what the nation of Israel does.  However, the insidious nature of antisemitism compels us to speak with measured wisdom if we feel we must be critical of the nation of Israel, so that criticism of governmental policies and actions does not give encouragement to the racists who are seeking to harm and kill Jews.

It is also entirely possible to condemn terrorism in all of its forms, even to agree that a government is justified in taking military action against terrorists, and at the same time feel compassion and pity for the innocent civilians that are left homeless, wounded, and killed in the process.**

Pray for the Peace of Israel, pray for the Holy Land, pray for the Jews and pray for the Palestinians. 

Below are links to my previous posts on the subject of antisemitism:

Scripture Abuse: 2 Chronicles 7:14, idolatry, nationalism, and antisemitism

Another Mass Murder inspired by the Evil of the "Great Replacement" theory

QAnon's kidnapping and “adrenochroming of children” is just repackaging the medieval antisemitic Blood Libel, the whole movement must be utterly rejected.

I'm not willing to ignore Antisemitism on Christmas Eve (or ever).

Sermon Video: The LORD dwells in Zion - Joel 3

Christian Antisemitism: An utterly absurd oxymoron

Sermon Video: How the impending return of Jesus affects our lives now - Romans 13:11-14

The Apostle Paul's confident assertion in the previous passage that Love is the fulfillment of the Law, is to be integrated into our lives in light of the "present time."  What time is that?  The time between Jesus' establishment of the Church (and its birth at Pentecost) and his promised return to establish his kingdom (the End Times).  We live in an intermediate stage of unknown length.  Jesus could return today, or it could be 10,000 years from now.

So, what do we do with that uncertain certainty?  We live now in a way that way that we wouldn't be ashamed of if Jesus does indeed return in our lifetime.  We walk in the light, not the darkness, and imitate Jesus, while at the same time rejecting the temptation to sin.

Sermon Video: Love is the Fulfillment of the Law - Romans 13:8b-10

Where does the Law of God come from?  How did God decide upon the commandments that he game to humanity?  Love.  God is love, his Law reflects his nature, therefore his Law is built upon Love.

Thus God's commands are not arbitrary, they pursue the cause of Love, when his people portray what God has commanded, and seek to carry it out, they must do so by love.  When God's Law is silent, or we struggle to fit it to the context we live in, the answer is love.  Which is why, when God's people use any other motivation or method, we cannot succeed and must fail for we have failed to connect to the heart of God.

How Franklin moves forward, together: the Law of Love, Romans 13:10

Franklin PA from above, the 13th St. bridge to the right, and the 8th St. to the left.

It was a tumultuous week here in Franklin, things got real nuts online on Tuesday, it rose to a crescendo on Wednesday and then started to calm down, thankfully with things being peaceful on Saturday.  For those of you who missed it, a social media post by St. Patrick Parish regarding yesterday's downtown business fundraiser, the "Witch Walk", set off a furor of liking/hating, sharing, and increasingly nasty comments online.  That was Tuesday.  On Wednesday afternoon I posted this: What the furor over the Witch Walk in Franklin can teach us about Christian cultural engagement, it was well received (thank you all for the civility and kind words), and I followed it up on Friday with this: An observation about social media comment sections in light of the Witch Walk furor, and this: Light vs Darkness and the reason why Christians should be perpetual optimists.

This morning, Sunday, I just finished doing what I always do which is review my sermon one last time and make any necessary corrections or changes (typically they involve fixing my horrible penmanship so at least I can read my scratches).  I thought I'd share with you what I wrote about Romans 13:10, words that feel providentially appropriate to our community moving forward (for those who prefer the video version, the whole sermon on Romans 13:8b-10 will be available on this blog and YouTube on Tuesday):

10 Love does no harm to a neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Here is where the Apostle Paul gives a glimpse, "behind the curtain" if you will, at the principle upon which God built the Law of Moses and all prior and subsequent expressions of his will to mankind, such as this letter from Paul.  That principle is of course love.  Love for God, love for family, neighbors, and as Jesus expanded the idea, even love for our enemies, is the beating heart of the commands we've received from God.

This tells us a few things, among them: (1) God's commands are not arbitrary, purposeless, or pointless.  They have a rhyme and a reason, and it is love.

(2) Therefore, when God's commands are portrayed by his people in ways that are not love-based, or carried out by his people in ways that are not love-infused, we do a grave dis-service to God.

(3) When we come to an issue or topic about which God has made no law, or where our information from God seems to be difficult to apply to the present circumstances, our path forward is to say, "What does love have to say on the subject?"

(4) Which is why some efforts of God's people, individually or collectively, are doomed to fail because they're not built upon love.  Whatever the other motivations and methods used might be, they won't connect to the heart of God if they are not build upon love, and they, of course, will actively oppose the will of God if those motives and methods consist of hate.

Now, some will say, "That's fine on paper, but this is the real world, we need to fight fire with fire!"  No, no, no, a thousand times no.  As cool as Batman may be, we don't need a Dark Knight to advance the cause of Christ.  While it is absolutely true that methods that utilize anger, greed, lust, or pride may make a bigger splash, get more clicks, have higher ratings, draw bigger crowds, or achieve more sales, they will never have lasting impact for good because they cannot.  Why?  Because they go against the nature of God himself!  God is love, the only way to truly advance the Kingdom of God is through love.  It is far better to "lose" in this life through love, than to "win" in this life through anything else.