WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.700 1 John is possibly the last or close to the last book of the Bible written. 00:00:07.700 --> 00:00:11.460 It was probably written somewhere between 90 and 95 AD. 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:19.219 And this very well may have been John's final piece of writing to his church before he passed away. 00:00:19.780 --> 00:00:26.900 And what we're going to do is look at the final verses of this book. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:29.480 And what we see is pretty interesting. 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:33.759 John leaves us, he leaves his church with this one simple command. 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:37.240 Little ones, keep yourselves from idols. 00:00:38.060 --> 00:00:40.719 Now an idol is a false god. 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:44.060 It's anything in our lives that takes the place of God. 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:53.960 And last week we spent our entire time talking about all of the ways that idols play a role in who we are and how we live. 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:58.960 We talked about the way that idols shape the culture around us. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:08.819 And we said that all human beings, even non-religious people, have something at the center of their lives that they cannot live without. 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:10.299 Some ultimate thing. 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:12.219 And that's essentially what an idol is. 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:14.460 And the same is true of cultures. 00:01:14.519 --> 00:01:17.359 All cultures have idols at their center. 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.040 But this passage is different. 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:24.219 Because in this passage, John is speaking to Christians. 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:25.939 He's talking to his people. 00:01:26.219 --> 00:01:30.640 And he is warning Christians about the danger of idols. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:42.840 And that's interesting because these are people who, by definition, we would expect should have rejected the worship of idols and who, by definition, were worshipers of God in Jesus Christ. 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:56.620 But the truth is, the biggest threat to the spiritual vitality of the church, the biggest deterrent to non-Christians coming into the church who may be open to the truth of the gospel, 00:01:56.620 --> 00:02:17.580 And the biggest reason why your faith may feel dead or inert or empty, the biggest reason for all of these things is that idols in the surrounding culture are always seeping into the church like water seeps into a basement. 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:25.160 And when that happens, they begin to cause all kinds of rot and mold and spiritual decay. 00:02:25.640 --> 00:02:28.560 Idols are always seeping into the church. 00:02:29.100 --> 00:02:38.280 And so as a part of our series on gospel and cultural renewal, we're going to spend our time this week focusing on idolatry in the church. 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:50.539 Because before Christians have any hope of confronting idols in the culture, we first have to confront the idols in our own house, in the church. 00:02:51.219 --> 00:02:56.219 And so that's why we're looking at 1 John 5, verses 19 through 21. 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:58.479 This passage shows us two things. 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:04.300 It shows us why idols are dangerous, and it shows us how to guard against them, which is John's command. 00:03:04.300 --> 00:03:06.580 So let's pray, and then we'll open God's word together. 00:03:06.580 --> 00:03:09.600 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:13.220 We thank you for your ability to minister to us through your word. 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:18.760 And we pray that you would do that in the power of your Holy Spirit for the glory and the sake of Jesus Christ. 00:03:19.380 --> 00:03:19.700 Amen. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:24.240 So why are idols so dangerous? 00:03:25.340 --> 00:03:28.980 You know, growing up, my family watched a lot of scary movies. 00:03:28.979 --> 00:03:38.620 And in a typical scary movie, even if it's not clear at the beginning of the movie, by the end of the film, evil has been clearly identified. 00:03:38.899 --> 00:03:42.099 Evil is always some other thing. 00:03:42.239 --> 00:03:48.599 It's a monster, or it's an alien, or it's a maniacal killer trying to kill the protagonist. 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:56.060 And the protagonist in some movies is able to overcome that evil, or at least to escape that evil. 00:03:56.379 --> 00:03:59.939 And so I think that most people prefer to think of evil this way. 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:01.379 Evil is something other. 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:03.280 It's something different. 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:18.920 And so when it comes to the greatest acts of evil ever committed in real life, such as the Holocaust, I think most people assume that the people behind an evil such as the Holocaust must be monsters. 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:20.199 They must be other. 00:04:20.379 --> 00:04:22.379 They must be maniacal killers. 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:26.159 And that's precisely what Hannah Arendt thought. 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:38.079 She's the great political philosopher who went to report on the trial of Adolf Eichmann, who's the, or many people referred to him as the architect of the Holocaust. 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:46.379 And if you think about somebody like that, the architect of the Holocaust, you would expect, and this is what she expected, she expected to see a monster. 00:04:46.719 --> 00:04:50.079 She expected to meet a creature of pure evil. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:55.599 And yet Eichmann completely defied her expectations. 00:04:56.099 --> 00:04:58.199 Eichmann, it turns out, was no monster. 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:00.699 He was no maniacal killer. 00:05:01.959 --> 00:05:05.099 Eichmann was, in fact, a boring bureaucrat. 00:05:06.019 --> 00:05:14.779 She was shocked to realize that he was not motivated by some deep-seated extreme anti-Semitism or malevolence. 00:05:14.779 --> 00:05:20.579 He was motivated by the same things that tend to motivate most of us. 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:22.479 He was motivated by careerism. 00:05:22.979 --> 00:05:25.319 He was motivated by conformity. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.259 He was motivated by obedience to his superiors. 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:36.139 He was motivated by the desire to be thought well of and respected by people whom he respected. 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:45.180 And what we see in Eichmann and what Hannah Arendt learned through this encounter is something incredibly important. 00:05:45.860 --> 00:05:50.599 And that is that most of the time, evil doesn't look like a monster. 00:05:50.600 --> 00:06:07.800 Evil can simply be a person living an unexamined life, going about their daily tasks, never really pausing to consider the meaning or the consequences of their actions. 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:13.740 As Hannah Arendt said in her last book before she passed away, 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:21.699 the sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be good or evil. 00:06:23.020 --> 00:06:27.160 Now, this is not to say that there is no such thing as spiritual evil. 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:32.920 John, in verse 19, says the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 00:06:33.080 --> 00:06:35.560 But here's the thing that I want you to notice about this. 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:37.699 According to John, there's no struggle. 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:49.060 There's no epic battle between good versus evil, which is what so many movies depict and what so many human beings assume is true of the world. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:51.780 There is no epic battle between good and evil. 00:06:52.180 --> 00:06:56.900 He says the world lies in the power of the evil one. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:06:58.300 The world is sedate. 00:06:59.660 --> 00:07:01.740 The world is spiritually asleep. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:04.460 The world is inert. 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:10.239 The world is slumbering peacefully in the arms of the evil one. 00:07:10.859 --> 00:07:12.959 And you ask, well, how could this be true? 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:15.620 And the answer is idols. 00:07:16.419 --> 00:07:20.259 The anesthetizing power of idols. 00:07:20.259 --> 00:07:30.879 When we allow something in our lives other than God to become ultimate, whether it's wealth or career or power or something else, 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:32.860 we may not know it. 00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:37.980 But we are actually giving our allegiance to the evil one. 00:07:38.039 --> 00:07:41.879 This is why in other places in Paul's writing, when he writes about idols, he says, 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:43.819 On one level, they're deaf and dumb and mute. 00:07:43.899 --> 00:07:44.319 They're nothing. 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:48.740 But on another level, they have a spiritual evil behind them. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:52.060 When we give our allegiance to idols, we are in league with demons. 00:07:53.379 --> 00:07:56.139 And so there is a true spiritual evil. 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:59.259 This is what John refers to as the evil one. 00:07:59.259 --> 00:08:03.039 But what we need to understand is it operates behind the scenes. 00:08:03.219 --> 00:08:04.920 It's not like horror movies. 00:08:05.099 --> 00:08:07.360 It operates through idols. 00:08:08.459 --> 00:08:12.319 And so you can live your entire life with good intentions. 00:08:12.719 --> 00:08:14.699 You can try to do right. 00:08:14.899 --> 00:08:17.980 You can have worthy goals that you're pursuing. 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:24.339 And yet at the same time, you can be spiritually asleep in the arms of evil. 00:08:25.500 --> 00:08:27.680 And this is the crucial point we need to see. 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:32.820 There is no such thing as neutrality when it comes to idols. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.720 When it comes to idols, we only have two options. 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:40.159 Active resistance or passive surrender. 00:08:40.700 --> 00:08:45.399 If we are not actively resisting, actively fighting against idols, 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:49.799 that means that we have already passively surrendered. 00:08:49.899 --> 00:08:54.399 In other words, idolatry is our default factory setting. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:59.779 And so what John is saying is that Christians are not immune to this danger. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:04.179 When you give your life to Jesus in faith and when you become a follower of Jesus, 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:07.079 it sets you free from sin. 00:09:07.199 --> 00:09:09.139 It sets you free from the penalty of sin. 00:09:09.220 --> 00:09:10.879 It sets you free from death. 00:09:10.959 --> 00:09:12.899 It restores your relationship with God. 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:18.220 But it does not make you immune to the anesthetizing power of idols. 00:09:19.939 --> 00:09:24.699 Gerhard Cattel was one of the greatest biblical scholars in his day. 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:27.779 He was an expert in Judaism. 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:31.259 And any serious theological library you go to, 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:35.899 you will find a copy of his theological dictionary of the New Testament. 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:43.019 And yet at the same time, this biblical expert was also an enthusiastic member of the Nazi party. 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:47.279 And at one point, he was finally arrested for war crimes. 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:49.740 And you ask, well, how could this possibly be? 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:56.879 Well, just like Adolf Eichmann, Cattel, along with many other Christians, was seduced. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:09:58.439 He was anesthetized. 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.779 He was sedated by the cultural idols of the day. 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:09.600 And Scott McKnight writes, for Christians, the temptation in 1930s Germany was to become a German Christian, 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:15.839 a form of Lutheranism that was engulfed by race and nation and blood and land. 00:10:16.019 --> 00:10:21.679 And this is the reason that idols are so dangerous, the reason they're so insidious, 00:10:21.860 --> 00:10:23.779 and in particular, cultural idols. 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:26.699 Because we don't even know that they're there. 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:29.759 We don't even know that they're there. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.500 They're simply the water that we swim in. 00:10:33.259 --> 00:10:42.960 In 1930s Germany, the cultural water was saturated with the idols of nationalism and ethnocentrism. 00:10:43.419 --> 00:10:51.620 And that idol-saturated water seeped into the church like water into the basement of a house. 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:58.419 And so many Christians, people like Cattel, were seduced by them without even knowing it was happening. 00:10:58.419 --> 00:11:04.139 And so here we have John's final warning in its context to the church. 00:11:04.539 --> 00:11:07.959 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:14.439 In other words, guard vigilantly against idols seeping in to the church. 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:16.059 Now, how do we do this? 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:20.099 How do we go about guarding against idols in the church? 00:11:20.979 --> 00:11:22.639 Well, it takes a couple of things. 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:29.899 Number one, in order to guard against idols, we have to be able to identify cultural idols. 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:35.860 And the only way to see idols, which are essentially false gods, for what they are, 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:39.720 is by knowing and seeing clearly the true God. 00:11:40.019 --> 00:11:44.100 And when you know the true God, then you have a basis of comparison, 00:11:44.419 --> 00:11:48.039 and you're able to see false gods for what they really are. 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:53.939 And so John says in verse 20, we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding 00:11:53.939 --> 00:11:57.319 so that we may know Him who is true. 00:11:57.459 --> 00:12:00.719 And then a little bit later, he refers to God as the true God. 00:12:01.019 --> 00:12:03.659 So Jesus came to give us understanding. 00:12:03.899 --> 00:12:05.679 Jesus came to free us from idols. 00:12:06.079 --> 00:12:12.860 Jesus came so that we could know the true God and thereby identify the false gods in the world. 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:15.860 And so then the question comes, how do we know Jesus? 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:19.759 And this points us back to the opening of 1 John. 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:22.220 The first thing John says in his letter is this. 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:23.600 He says, starting in verse 3, 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:41.500 So here John is talking about the testimony of the apostles. 00:12:41.740 --> 00:12:43.759 He's talking about the scriptures. 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:48.259 He's talking about that which we have seen and heard we now proclaim. 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:54.059 So in other words, the only way to see false gods is to know the true God. 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:58.259 The only way to know the true God is through Jesus Christ. 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:03.200 And the only way to know Jesus Christ is through the testimony of the apostles, 00:13:03.460 --> 00:13:07.480 the scriptures that were written by John and the other apostles 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:11.059 about what they had seen and heard firsthand. 00:13:11.059 --> 00:13:13.939 So the point is this. 00:13:15.099 --> 00:13:22.299 In order to guard against idols seeping into our spiritual life, seeping into the church, 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:24.679 we have to be able to identify them. 00:13:25.139 --> 00:13:29.579 And that means that our relationship with scripture has to be profound. 00:13:29.819 --> 00:13:36.979 Scripture has to be so deeply in us that it becomes the lens through which we view culture 00:13:36.980 --> 00:13:38.779 and we view it critically. 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:44.740 So scripture becomes the critical lens through which we view the culture around us. 00:13:44.800 --> 00:13:50.039 It's almost as though when you use scripture this way, if you'll forgive the metaphor, 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:55.120 it's almost as though you're putting on a pair of spiritual augmented reality glasses 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:59.860 that allow you to see things that you would otherwise not be able to see, 00:13:59.860 --> 00:14:03.080 but it allows you to see things as they really are. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:10.820 And this is very important because most of the time Christians are tempted to do the exact opposite of this. 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:13.399 Instead of viewing culture through the lens of scripture, 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:18.240 we're very tempted to view scripture through the lens of culture. 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:23.799 And so there are always and have always been churches and denominations 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:30.799 that make the decision to reinterpret or altogether ignore certain parts of scripture. 00:14:31.259 --> 00:14:35.460 And they're tempted to revise their theology to fit better 00:14:35.460 --> 00:14:40.000 with the most popular social and cultural views of the day. 00:14:40.060 --> 00:14:41.220 That's always a temptation. 00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:45.100 But as we said last week, when you do that, 00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:48.820 you open the floodgates of idolatry. 00:14:49.820 --> 00:14:53.860 You open the floodgates and idols pour into the church. 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:56.820 And this is why, as we said a couple of weeks ago, 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:01.460 the churches and denominations and Christian groups 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:08.220 that have revised and diluted their theology are all either dead or dying. 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:11.860 And so we have to resist this temptation. 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:16.399 Scripture must be the lens through which we view culture, 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:17.840 not the other way around. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:21.980 To return to the German illustration for just a moment, 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:27.240 unlike Cattell, there were Christians who did resist the Nazis. 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:30.180 There were people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth. 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:32.539 And you ask, well, what made the difference? 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:34.379 What was the difference between these people? 00:15:34.740 --> 00:15:37.080 All of these men studied scripture 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:39.899 and had a deep theological understanding of scripture. 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:45.419 But for Cattell, his study remained largely academic. 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:48.179 It never penetrated his heart. 00:15:49.059 --> 00:15:52.279 The culture essentially shaped his approach 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:54.519 and interpretation of scripture 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:58.360 rather than the scripture shaping his approach to culture. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:00.720 And so he remained more or less blind 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:04.759 to the way that idols had seeped into his spiritual life. 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:09.240 Contrast that with Bonhoeffer and Barth, 00:16:09.340 --> 00:16:12.159 who were clearly shaped by scripture. 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:16.480 They led in the drafting of the Barman Declaration, 00:16:16.860 --> 00:16:21.000 which used scripture to justify opposition to Nazism. 00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:26.559 It provided the doctrinal foundation for Christians to oppose the Nazis. 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:28.899 And here's what it says in that declaration. 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:33.379 Jesus Christ, as he has attested for us in holy scripture, 00:16:33.379 --> 00:16:36.840 is the one word of God which we have to hear 00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:40.699 and which we have to obey in life and in death. 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:46.279 So they're clearly looking at their culture through the lens of scripture. 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:49.340 Their sense of allegiance is crystal clear. 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:51.860 Our allegiance is to Jesus in the scriptures, 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:54.659 not to the culture around us. 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:57.679 And that's what made it possible for them to identify 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:01.379 the way these idols of nationalism and ethnocentrism 00:17:01.379 --> 00:17:04.279 were creeping into the church and to take a stand against it. 00:17:05.579 --> 00:17:07.799 Right, so the first thing in order to guard against idols 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.659 is we need a way to see idols. 00:17:10.740 --> 00:17:12.799 And that means scripture has to become the lens 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:15.680 through which we view the culture around us. 00:17:15.859 --> 00:17:20.279 The second thing we need is a lifestyle of ongoing repentance. 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:23.420 It's not enough to see the idols in our midst 00:17:23.420 --> 00:17:25.080 if we're not willing to repent, 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:27.539 if we're not willing to leave those idols 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:30.800 and go back to our first love, Jesus Christ. 00:17:31.259 --> 00:17:34.480 So even as Christians work to bring renewal, 00:17:34.800 --> 00:17:39.060 we're also always seeking to be renewed ourselves 00:17:39.060 --> 00:17:41.220 again and again and again. 00:17:41.300 --> 00:17:43.440 The church is always needing to repent, 00:17:43.820 --> 00:17:45.740 always needing to come back to Christ 00:17:45.740 --> 00:17:48.220 again and again and again in every age. 00:17:48.220 --> 00:17:50.460 And this means our posture toward culture 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:52.559 is not one of finger-wagging 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:56.720 where we're sanctimoniously speaking down to the secular world. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:59.079 Rather, we are like fellow inmates 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:02.079 who have just had the fortune of being set free 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:05.259 from our idols for this moment. 00:18:05.380 --> 00:18:07.019 And we are desperately trying to set 00:18:07.019 --> 00:18:10.600 as many other people free as we possibly can 00:18:10.600 --> 00:18:12.079 in the time that we have. 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:13.740 So our posture toward culture 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:15.440 is very much one of humility. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:19.600 It's very much one of a shared struggle 00:18:19.600 --> 00:18:21.380 against the true common enemy, 00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:24.259 which is the evil one and the idolatry 00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:27.000 through which he works. 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.200 And it can be very hard to admit 00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:32.700 when we look at the past 00:18:32.700 --> 00:18:34.660 that Christians have been complicit 00:18:34.660 --> 00:18:37.100 in something like Nazi Germany 00:18:37.100 --> 00:18:39.799 or with slavery 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:41.319 or Jim Crow 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:45.399 or any of the other myriad historical examples 00:18:45.399 --> 00:18:46.599 that we could name. 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:48.899 But one of our greatest strengths 00:18:48.899 --> 00:18:49.980 as the church 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:53.359 lies in our capacity for self-correction. 00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:56.519 That is one of our greatest strengths 00:18:56.519 --> 00:18:57.259 throughout history 00:18:57.259 --> 00:18:59.559 is our capacity for self-correction. 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:02.720 And the more often we repent of idols 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:03.460 in the church, 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:05.779 the more we grow in our faith, 00:19:05.919 --> 00:19:07.839 the more effective we become 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:10.079 in the ministry that Jesus calls to. 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:11.299 As one of my friends 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:12.679 who's a pastor likes to say, 00:19:12.980 --> 00:19:14.559 Christians should be trigger happy 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:16.079 when it comes to repentance. 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:18.319 We should be eager to repent 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:19.819 as often as we can. 00:19:20.679 --> 00:19:22.720 And so as we look at the church today 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:23.559 in our society, 00:19:23.639 --> 00:19:24.579 as we look at ourselves, 00:19:24.679 --> 00:19:26.079 the question arises, 00:19:26.299 --> 00:19:27.559 what do we need to repent of? 00:19:27.959 --> 00:19:29.099 What are some of the idols 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:31.099 that we see creeping 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:34.079 into the basement of the church? 00:19:34.679 --> 00:19:35.299 And, you know, 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:36.559 on a national level, 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:37.779 as we look at the church 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:38.559 in the U.S. 00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:40.980 across the last half a century, 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:42.099 I think for many, 00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:43.839 there's a need to repent 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:46.119 of the idols of nationalism and power. 00:19:47.220 --> 00:19:48.039 Now, you know, 00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:49.079 I want to make it clear 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:49.799 that nationalism 00:19:49.799 --> 00:19:51.079 is not the same thing 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:52.000 as patriotism. 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:52.799 And I actually think 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:53.639 that patriotism 00:19:53.639 --> 00:19:54.779 is a very good thing. 00:19:54.819 --> 00:19:55.559 And I think that we, 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:58.200 it's right to be patriotic 00:19:58.200 --> 00:19:59.799 and to love our country 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:01.259 and to be for our country. 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:02.899 But when Christians 00:20:02.899 --> 00:20:04.799 begin to merge 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:06.639 their Christian identity 00:20:06.639 --> 00:20:09.259 with their American identity, 00:20:09.259 --> 00:20:10.859 when we begin to forget 00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:12.480 that our primary citizenship 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:14.399 is in the kingdom of God 00:20:14.399 --> 00:20:16.680 and not in the United States 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:17.419 of America, 00:20:17.419 --> 00:20:18.680 when we begin to forget 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:20.059 that we are sojourners 00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:21.259 and exiles 00:20:21.259 --> 00:20:22.200 and that this world 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:23.819 is not ultimately our home 00:20:23.819 --> 00:20:26.079 until Jesus Christ renews it, 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:27.859 that's when it starts 00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:29.700 to become idolatry. 00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:31.900 Likewise, 00:20:32.340 --> 00:20:33.700 when we think about power, 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.600 I think that it's clear 00:20:36.600 --> 00:20:37.759 that evangelicals 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:38.500 in particular 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:40.539 have sacrificed 00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:41.900 a lot of integrity 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:43.059 in the quest 00:20:43.059 --> 00:20:43.799 for political 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:46.000 and cultural power. 00:20:46.539 --> 00:20:47.340 And what you see 00:20:47.340 --> 00:20:48.240 are many Christians 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:49.740 who are seeking power 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:51.460 so that they can exert 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:53.279 greater and greater control 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:54.720 over the culture. 00:20:55.360 --> 00:20:57.299 Instead of using the power 00:20:57.299 --> 00:20:57.960 and the privilege 00:20:57.960 --> 00:20:58.900 that we have 00:20:58.900 --> 00:21:01.660 to build a more just society 00:21:01.660 --> 00:21:03.140 for everyone, 00:21:03.580 --> 00:21:04.800 especially the people 00:21:04.800 --> 00:21:06.540 with whom we may disagree. 00:21:07.860 --> 00:21:09.200 So these are issues 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:10.740 in the church at large 00:21:10.740 --> 00:21:11.400 for sure. 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:13.259 But I also want to say this. 00:21:13.360 --> 00:21:14.960 I don't actually think 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:16.360 that those are the biggest challenges 00:21:16.360 --> 00:21:17.860 in our church. 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:18.640 I think our church 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:20.780 is maybe a little different. 00:21:21.120 --> 00:21:22.259 Most of the people 00:21:22.259 --> 00:21:23.200 in our community 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:24.460 would probably not refer 00:21:24.460 --> 00:21:25.140 to themselves 00:21:25.140 --> 00:21:26.240 as evangelical. 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:27.400 I know for a fact 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:28.240 from talking to people 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:28.759 that some people 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:29.579 come to our church 00:21:29.579 --> 00:21:30.480 because they're trying 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:31.079 to figure out 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:32.299 how to be a Christian 00:21:32.299 --> 00:21:33.339 without having 00:21:33.339 --> 00:21:35.059 that demographic label 00:21:35.059 --> 00:21:37.359 of evangelical on them. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:38.519 Now, regardless 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:39.599 of what you think 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:40.039 about that 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:41.059 or how you feel about it, 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:42.599 it's simply something 00:21:42.599 --> 00:21:43.299 that is true 00:21:43.299 --> 00:21:44.519 of our community. 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:45.680 But what we need 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:46.500 to realize is 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:48.099 that with that separation, 00:21:48.299 --> 00:21:49.220 there can often be 00:21:49.220 --> 00:21:50.460 a sense of smugness, 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:53.920 a smug feeling 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:54.779 of superiority 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:57.900 over those other Christians. 00:21:58.140 --> 00:21:59.160 And I think 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:00.059 that our idols 00:22:00.059 --> 00:22:02.680 probably more fall 00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:03.660 into the categories 00:22:03.660 --> 00:22:05.539 of respectability 00:22:05.539 --> 00:22:07.100 and security. 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:09.100 We like to think 00:22:09.100 --> 00:22:09.700 of ourselves 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:11.420 as the educated Christians, 00:22:11.660 --> 00:22:13.480 the urban Christians, 00:22:13.779 --> 00:22:15.500 the culturally savvy 00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:17.220 and sophisticated Christians, 00:22:17.220 --> 00:22:18.680 the kind of Christians 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:19.440 who might go 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:20.900 to a racial justice rally 00:22:20.900 --> 00:22:22.700 but wouldn't be caught dead 00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:23.759 at a pro-life rally. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:25.539 And what's interesting 00:22:25.539 --> 00:22:26.200 about this 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:27.640 is that theologically 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:28.539 both issues 00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:29.880 matter a great deal 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:30.819 and Christians 00:22:30.819 --> 00:22:31.759 should care about 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:32.380 both issues 00:22:32.380 --> 00:22:33.480 for the same reason 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:34.480 because of our 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:36.100 theology of personhood. 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:38.500 But the truth is 00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:39.640 is that one cause 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:40.539 is far more 00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:41.500 socially acceptable 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:42.079 in a place 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:43.000 like Washington, D.C. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:44.200 than the other cause is. 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:46.240 So for many 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:47.120 in our community 00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:48.220 our worst fear 00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:49.519 is being accused 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:50.620 of being hateful 00:22:50.620 --> 00:22:51.940 or intolerant 00:22:51.940 --> 00:22:53.380 or being called a bigot. 00:22:53.860 --> 00:22:54.420 And so I think 00:22:54.420 --> 00:22:55.019 that for many 00:22:55.019 --> 00:22:55.759 in our community 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:56.740 the biggest temptation 00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:58.019 is to simply fly 00:22:58.019 --> 00:22:58.759 under the radar. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:01.600 It's to blend in 00:23:01.600 --> 00:23:03.059 as much as possible. 00:23:03.600 --> 00:23:04.840 It's to be theological 00:23:04.840 --> 00:23:05.819 conservatives 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:07.360 in liberal clothing. 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:09.340 To remain 00:23:09.340 --> 00:23:10.940 perpetually uncertain 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:12.680 about any doctrine 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:13.700 that might be found 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:15.820 offensive by others. 00:23:16.299 --> 00:23:17.160 And essentially 00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:18.759 to minimize the chances 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:20.019 that we might lose 00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:21.060 people's respect 00:23:21.060 --> 00:23:22.440 because of our faith. 00:23:24.039 --> 00:23:24.480 You know, 00:23:24.560 --> 00:23:25.740 these are certainly 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:27.279 some of my biggest temptations 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:28.340 if I'm totally honest 00:23:28.340 --> 00:23:29.080 about my heart. 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:31.019 And so what we really 00:23:31.019 --> 00:23:31.680 need to see 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:32.360 and I think that 00:23:32.360 --> 00:23:34.640 what John's warning 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:35.980 says to us 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:38.400 is that when we do this 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:39.680 that we're actually 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:40.720 no different 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:41.819 than someone like 00:23:41.819 --> 00:23:42.740 Gerhard Cattel. 00:23:43.500 --> 00:23:43.900 Right? 00:23:43.940 --> 00:23:44.660 We're allowing 00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:45.440 the culture 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:46.339 to dictate 00:23:46.339 --> 00:23:47.319 our faith. 00:23:47.579 --> 00:23:48.480 We're allowing 00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:49.059 the culture 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:49.839 to shape 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:50.960 our relationship 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:51.680 with Jesus 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:53.039 and the scriptures 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:54.200 rather than 00:23:54.200 --> 00:23:55.100 the other way around. 00:23:56.140 --> 00:23:56.880 And so 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:57.819 to the extent 00:23:57.819 --> 00:23:58.400 to which we 00:23:58.400 --> 00:23:59.720 are doing these things 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:01.279 we need to repent. 00:24:02.140 --> 00:24:03.400 We need to return 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:04.480 to our first love. 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:06.220 We need to let go 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:07.360 of our idols 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:08.359 whether they be 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:09.319 nationalism 00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:10.459 or power 00:24:10.459 --> 00:24:11.819 or respectability 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:12.639 or security 00:24:12.639 --> 00:24:14.439 or any of the other things 00:24:14.439 --> 00:24:15.719 that they might be. 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:17.399 And the good news is 00:24:17.399 --> 00:24:18.439 we can repent 00:24:18.439 --> 00:24:19.419 as often 00:24:19.419 --> 00:24:20.579 as it takes 00:24:20.579 --> 00:24:21.839 because our identity 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:22.959 in Christ 00:24:22.959 --> 00:24:24.059 is secure. 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:25.479 Jesus is not waiting 00:24:25.479 --> 00:24:26.819 for us to get it right 00:24:26.819 --> 00:24:28.839 before he embraces us. 00:24:28.939 --> 00:24:30.579 He has embraced us 00:24:30.579 --> 00:24:32.839 and it is in his arms 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:33.859 that we learn 00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:34.619 how to live 00:24:34.619 --> 00:24:35.879 set free 00:24:35.879 --> 00:24:37.119 from the arms 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:38.559 of the evil one. 00:24:38.659 --> 00:24:40.759 He has awakened us 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:41.559 spiritually 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:42.679 and the call now 00:24:42.679 --> 00:24:43.919 is to stay awake 00:24:43.919 --> 00:24:45.319 to stay vigilant 00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:46.819 to stay watchful 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:49.059 until Jesus comes again. 00:24:49.299 --> 00:24:50.279 As John says 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:51.159 in verse 19 00:24:51.159 --> 00:24:52.199 we know 00:24:52.199 --> 00:24:53.119 that we're from God. 00:24:54.339 --> 00:24:55.639 We know that. 00:24:56.019 --> 00:24:57.359 That is the one thing 00:24:57.359 --> 00:24:58.619 that is true 00:24:58.619 --> 00:25:00.459 and unshakably true. 00:25:01.099 --> 00:25:01.239 Right? 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:03.000 So even when we try 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:04.279 to let go of God 00:25:04.279 --> 00:25:05.440 and even when we're tempted 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:06.099 to run 00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:06.940 and to take hold 00:25:06.940 --> 00:25:07.440 of idols 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:08.920 the good news 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:09.460 of the gospel 00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:10.000 is this 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.099 is that God 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:12.039 is the kind of God 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:13.180 who will never 00:25:13.180 --> 00:25:14.480 let us go. 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:16.759 Let's pray. 00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:19.720 Lord we thank you 00:25:19.720 --> 00:25:20.799 and we know 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:22.519 that the core of this 00:25:22.519 --> 00:25:23.480 the core message 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:24.779 is that we have 00:25:24.779 --> 00:25:25.900 no hope apart from you. 00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:27.539 And not only 00:25:27.539 --> 00:25:28.099 do we need you 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:29.099 to set us free 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:29.819 from idols 00:25:29.819 --> 00:25:30.680 and to restore us 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:31.259 to relationship 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:31.859 with you 00:25:31.859 --> 00:25:32.759 in Jesus Christ. 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:33.700 But we need 00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:35.059 the spiritual power 00:25:35.059 --> 00:25:36.160 of the Holy Spirit 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:37.940 to keep us free 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:38.779 from idols 00:25:38.779 --> 00:25:40.379 to help us 00:25:40.379 --> 00:25:41.339 be vigilant 00:25:41.339 --> 00:25:43.019 in our struggle 00:25:43.019 --> 00:25:44.359 against the evil one 00:25:44.359 --> 00:25:46.579 and the anesthetizing power 00:25:46.579 --> 00:25:47.599 of the idols 00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:48.500 that surround us 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:49.099 in our culture. 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:51.099 That we might be salt 00:25:51.099 --> 00:25:52.180 and light 00:25:52.180 --> 00:25:53.019 in the ways 00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:54.019 that you have called us 00:25:54.019 --> 00:25:54.960 to be Lord 00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:55.500 and ultimately 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:57.019 that we might speak 00:25:57.019 --> 00:25:57.920 and live in ways 00:25:57.920 --> 00:25:58.359 that point 00:25:58.359 --> 00:25:59.220 not to ourselves 00:25:59.220 --> 00:26:00.819 but to your glory 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:01.819 Lord. 00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:03.259 And it's in the name 00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:03.940 of that glory 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:04.519 and of your son 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:05.079 Jesus Christ 00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:05.660 that we pray. 00:26:06.120 --> 00:26:06.420 Amen.