WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 How should we vote in the upcoming presidential election? 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:06.560 Should pastors or churches publicly endorse certain candidates? 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:11.960 Should Christians engage in political activism and go to protest marches? 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:16.160 Should we send our kids to public school or private school? 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:19.100 Or should all Christians be homeschooling at this point? 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:25.920 Should Christians watch violent or sexually explicit movies or shows like Game of Thrones? 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:27.940 Or should we avoid those things? 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:34.920 Should churches partner with interfaith coalitions or secular groups in the name of social justice? 00:00:35.620 --> 00:00:39.240 Should something like racial justice be a part of a church's mission? 00:00:40.120 --> 00:00:44.040 Should overturning Roe v. Wade be part of a church's mission? 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:51.820 The way that you answer these questions reflects some of the underlying assumptions that you probably hold 00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:56.439 about how Christians should think about and engage with culture. 00:00:56.439 --> 00:01:01.119 And we can be very different in what our assumptions are. 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:06.420 Last week we started a series looking at the relationship between Christianity and culture. 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:12.979 And this morning we're going to be looking at one of the most important passages to help us understand this topic. 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:16.939 Help us think biblically about how to engage with culture. 00:01:17.039 --> 00:01:20.079 And that passage is 1 Peter 2, 9-12. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:30.799 Because here we find a core concept that shows how we should be thinking about our role in the culture and the society that God has put us in. 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:37.019 Because this is the place where Peter says that all Christians are exiles in the world. 00:01:38.179 --> 00:01:40.159 Christians are exiles. 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:49.359 And so basically what we're going to see is that it is only when we embrace our status as Christian exiles 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:54.539 that we can begin to formulate a vision for how to engage the culture around us. 00:01:54.540 --> 00:01:57.980 And so we're going to see two things this morning about Christian exile. 00:01:58.200 --> 00:01:59.580 First, what does it mean? 00:01:59.880 --> 00:02:01.940 And then second, what does it mean for us? 00:02:02.360 --> 00:02:02.820 Let's pray. 00:02:04.340 --> 00:02:06.460 Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. 00:02:06.580 --> 00:02:11.379 And we pray that as we open your word, that through the power of your Holy Spirit, 00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:18.340 you would illuminate these words for us and speak to us in the ways that we need to hear from you this morning. 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:21.780 It's our desire to meet you face to face in your word, Lord. 00:02:21.900 --> 00:02:24.599 And we pray that you would meet us where we are. 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:26.120 In your Son's name, Amen. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.039 So first of all, what does Christian exile mean? 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:31.780 How do we understand that term? 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:36.080 In 1 Peter, Peter's writing to a very diverse array of people. 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:40.020 We have Jews and Gentiles, and they're part of the diaspora. 00:02:40.180 --> 00:02:42.480 They're spread all around the region. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:48.840 And all of these people have one thing in common, and that is that they have all been converted to Christianity. 00:02:48.979 --> 00:02:51.359 They've all become followers of Jesus. 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:57.919 And because of that, because of their conversion, Peter says that they're now exiles in the world. 00:02:58.019 --> 00:03:00.419 Now, these are not people who have relocated geographically. 00:03:00.519 --> 00:03:01.780 They're still living in their homeland. 00:03:02.139 --> 00:03:07.179 But Peter says that because of their conversion, they're now exiles in the world. 00:03:07.419 --> 00:03:11.319 So he's saying when you become a Christian, you become an exile. 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:13.439 Now, what does he mean by this? 00:03:14.180 --> 00:03:20.939 It's really common these days to hear conservative Christians talk about the secularization of the United States. 00:03:21.079 --> 00:03:27.659 And they will lament how we've gone from being a Christian nation with Judeo-Christian values held by most everybody 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:31.979 to being a secularized society that has abandoned those values. 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:37.840 And in this context, people will say that Christians are now exiles in our own country. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:43.000 Now, that is not what Peter has in mind when he talks about Christian exile. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:50.340 Peter's making a very specific reference to a time in Israel's history right around the 6th century BC, 00:03:50.980 --> 00:03:55.759 a time when the Babylonians conquered God's people and took them into exile. 00:03:56.120 --> 00:03:58.360 And the Babylonians didn't want to do this through violence. 00:03:58.500 --> 00:03:59.960 They didn't want to wipe everybody out. 00:03:59.960 --> 00:04:06.780 Their hope was to assimilate Israel, this kind of peaceful conquest where after a generation or two, 00:04:06.900 --> 00:04:13.740 Israel would start to blend in with the Babylonian culture, take on the beliefs and the values and worship the gods of Babylon. 00:04:14.100 --> 00:04:17.360 And in a couple of generations, there would be no more Israel. 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:19.900 They would become fully Babylonian. 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:25.759 And so you have this community of Israelites that are living as exiles in Babylon, 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:30.519 and they're divided over how they should respond to their exile. 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:33.299 They're asking this basic question. 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:36.799 How do we relate to this foreign culture around us? 00:04:36.819 --> 00:04:38.279 How do we engage this culture? 00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:44.239 And some said, well, we need to hunker down and we need to keep ourselves completely separate from the culture, 00:04:44.239 --> 00:04:48.419 and we need to wait for God to deliver us and bring us home again. 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:52.060 And then you had other people that said, I think we just need to give up, 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:57.100 and we need to allow ourselves to be assimilated because there's no hope. 00:04:57.220 --> 00:04:58.939 God has abandoned us. 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:06.439 And then God sends into the midst of this, God sends the prophet Jeremiah with a very clear and striking message, 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:09.460 which you see beginning in Jeremiah chapter 29. 00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:11.600 Here's what Jeremiah says essentially. 00:05:11.780 --> 00:05:14.700 He says, on the one hand, don't remain separate. 00:05:15.379 --> 00:05:17.160 I want you to go into Babylon. 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:18.960 I want you to build houses there. 00:05:19.020 --> 00:05:20.340 I want you to plant gardens there. 00:05:20.420 --> 00:05:23.939 I want you to let your kids get married and let them have kids. 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:27.760 And you need to understand that you're going to be here for a long time. 00:05:27.840 --> 00:05:29.160 So sign a long-term lease. 00:05:29.320 --> 00:05:30.320 Buy a house if you can. 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:31.440 Get a job. 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:33.140 Root down in this society. 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:34.780 On the one hand, don't be separate. 00:05:35.340 --> 00:05:38.980 But then he says, on the other hand, do not allow yourselves to be assimilated. 00:05:40.520 --> 00:05:43.260 Stay faithful to me as my chosen people. 00:05:43.259 --> 00:05:46.279 Don't worship the gods, the idols of Babylon. 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:47.719 Stay distinct. 00:05:48.219 --> 00:05:51.839 Stay faithful to the covenant that we share. 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:54.699 And so this is a much harder path. 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:56.740 It's harder than remaining separate. 00:05:56.860 --> 00:05:58.279 It's harder than being assimilated. 00:05:58.699 --> 00:06:02.339 It's a sort of both and neither nor approach. 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:06.120 He's saying, I want you to be in Babylon, but not of Babylon. 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:09.199 And we ask, well, what's the reason for all of this? 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:16.000 Well, we see in Jeremiah 29 that God actually has a purpose behind sending his people into exile. 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:17.340 This is not just punitive. 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:19.680 It's not just God giving up on his people. 00:06:19.780 --> 00:06:27.759 It says in verse 7 that he wants his people as exiles to seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:30.439 And pray to the Lord on its behalf. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:32.480 Pray to Yahweh on its behalf. 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:35.980 For in its welfare, you will find your welfare. 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:46.199 So God purposefully sends his people into exile because he desires to bless Babylon through their presence there. 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:57.800 His desire is to bless and bring shalom, bring peace and blessing to Babylon through the exiles and their presence in that society. 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:05.680 So this is, I think, what Peter has in mind when he says that every single Christian is living as an exile in the world. 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:12.660 On the one hand, this is saying that as a Christian, you are a citizen of the kingdom of God. 00:07:13.139 --> 00:07:15.420 As Peter says, you're a chosen race. 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:19.139 Now, he's talking to people of different races, but he says now you're a chosen race. 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:20.439 You're all one chosen race. 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:23.120 These are people from different socioeconomic classes. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:25.459 But he says you're all royalty now. 00:07:26.139 --> 00:07:27.120 You're all a royal priesthood. 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.920 And these are people from different nations. 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:32.019 But he says now you're all of one nation. 00:07:32.139 --> 00:07:35.000 You are all citizens of the kingdom of God. 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:37.740 So their citizenship is in the kingdom of God. 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:42.120 And that means that this world, if you're a Christian, this world is not your home. 00:07:43.780 --> 00:07:45.000 This is not your home. 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:48.579 You're a citizen of the heavenly kingdom. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:50.959 The world that will one day be. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:08:02.759 On the other hand, though, what Peter is saying about Christians is that God desires to bless this world through his people and their presence here. 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:08.979 So Peter says we are called as exiles to proclaim God's excellence to the world. 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:12.159 We're called to do that in word, but also in deed. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:26.140 We're called to live our lives in such honorable ways that even when people speak evil against us, they're so compelled by what they see that they eventually come to worship and glorify the name of the Lord. 00:08:27.320 --> 00:08:36.639 So for all of us who are Christians living in the U.S., this is the beginning of how we need to think about the culture around us. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:42.259 If we want to go back to what we said a little while ago, certainly things in our culture have changed. 00:08:42.620 --> 00:08:47.840 And certainly the secularization of our culture is pretty clear. 00:08:48.019 --> 00:08:53.399 But what we need to be clear on is how we interpret and make meaning of that. 00:08:54.659 --> 00:08:57.500 The U.S. was never a Christian nation. 00:08:57.500 --> 00:09:07.039 And if what Peter is saying is true, Christians will always be exiles no matter when or where we live. 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:17.720 And so the thing that has changed, the real difference, is that it used to be easy for Christians to live in the United States and to forget that we're exiles. 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:22.620 It used to be easy to live here and to feel right at home in this world. 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:31.940 And what has changed is that now we live in a society that reminds us on an almost daily basis that we're exiles. 00:09:32.340 --> 00:09:36.879 We're reminded on an almost daily basis that this world is not our home, right? 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:41.639 So we used to be able to assume that most people around us shared our worldview. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:49.779 But now we encounter people every single day who have a completely different view of reality itself. 00:09:49.779 --> 00:09:59.699 We used to be able to assume that we could rely on our schools and other institutions for the moral, the character formation of our children. 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:03.720 But now we are solely responsible to form the characters of our children. 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:07.360 That responsibility sits squarely on us and on the church. 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:13.799 We used to be able to call ourselves Christians without having to articulate what we believe or why. 00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:18.360 And so we had lots of Christians really who had no idea why they believe what they believe. 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:20.259 And that used to be possible. 00:10:20.360 --> 00:10:21.300 You could get away with it. 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:28.879 But now we have to be ready, always ready, to give a reason for the faith that we have. 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:32.080 Because we will constantly be challenged in our faith. 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:35.720 And people will even speak evil of us as Christians. 00:10:36.800 --> 00:10:40.580 Another thing that has changed is church involvement used to feel unnecessary. 00:10:40.580 --> 00:10:47.800 Because there was a kind of cultural Christianity, at least where I grew up, that made church involvement sort of optional. 00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:51.900 But now church involvement is not optional. 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:53.800 In fact, it never was. 00:10:53.920 --> 00:11:04.400 But I think that what we're aware of now in a way that we may not have been half a century ago is that our faith will not survive apart from the support of a church community. 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:07.939 You cannot survive in this society as a lone wolf Christian. 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:10.240 You need the church. 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:12.039 You need people in your life. 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:16.659 And so living faithfully as Christians has become much, much harder. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:21.740 Where we're reminded much more frequently that we are, in fact, exiles and that this world is not our home. 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:24.000 But I actually believe that this is good for us. 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:26.039 I think it's really good for us. 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:28.899 And I think that we're actually going to be stronger as a result. 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:35.939 And I believe that God has a similar purpose for us in our society as he did for the exiles that we read about in Jeremiah. 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:37.959 I think our role is very much the same. 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:39.480 It's to pray for our society. 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:42.319 It's to seek the welfare of our society. 00:11:42.519 --> 00:11:45.759 And it's to do this to glorify God and to proclaim his excellence. 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:54.000 So now I want to ask, what does this mean for us in our church and how we think about the culture and society around us? 00:11:54.000 --> 00:12:00.820 If you look at the history of the engagement that the church has had with the culture in our country, 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:06.779 you see three basic postures that the church has adopted toward culture. 00:12:06.779 --> 00:12:10.639 And this comes from a paper written by a friend of mine, Pastor Greg Thompson, 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:16.720 and his work with James D. Hunter, who's a sociologist at UVA. 00:12:16.940 --> 00:12:23.860 But essentially you see three postures that the church has historically taken in our society toward culture. 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:29.159 And they're the postures of fortification, accommodation, or domination. 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:34.139 Or as I like to think of it, the postures of keep out, blend in, or take over. 00:12:34.419 --> 00:12:36.720 So I just want to say a brief word about each of these. 00:12:37.019 --> 00:12:43.639 Christians that may have grown up in a kind of keep out posture or denomination or church, 00:12:43.740 --> 00:12:46.500 this posture is essentially one of withdrawal. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:51.419 So these churches view the outside culture as being evil. 00:12:51.419 --> 00:12:57.039 And the main concern of the church is to keep the evil from corrupting the church, 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:01.399 to keep the evils of the culture from seeping in to the church community. 00:13:01.539 --> 00:13:05.479 And so the belief is that we need to have our own separate culture, 00:13:05.620 --> 00:13:09.620 our distinctly Christian culture, and our own separate institutions. 00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:15.740 And there's a very strong emphasis on keeping the church pure and undefiled from the outside culture. 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:18.019 So that's the keep out posture. 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:23.960 Then there are the churches that adopt more of a blend in posture toward culture. 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:29.259 This posture says that the thing that really matters and what Jesus really cares about 00:13:29.259 --> 00:13:33.440 is working for social justice and reform in our society. 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:36.600 And there's typically not much emphasis on doctrine 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:40.279 because people in this tradition tend to see doctrine as problematic. 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:44.340 Doctrine is the thing that divides us and keeps us from working together. 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:49.660 And so there's a strong tendency in churches and traditions like this to focus on activism, 00:13:49.920 --> 00:13:52.560 but not a lot of emphasis on personal holiness. 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:58.259 And so what you see with churches like this is that they tend to adopt over time 00:13:58.259 --> 00:14:01.399 the beliefs and the values of the surrounding culture 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:04.519 until they become largely indistinguishable from it. 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:10.100 And then the third posture is the kind of take over the culture posture. 00:14:10.259 --> 00:14:13.220 And this is essentially the culture warrior posture. 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:19.480 These are the churches that focus on extending Christian values into the world. 00:14:19.660 --> 00:14:26.060 There's an emphasis on fighting and overcoming the cultural enemies of Christianity 00:14:26.060 --> 00:14:31.040 and attempting to re-Christianize the United States as best we can. 00:14:31.139 --> 00:14:35.840 And so there's a strong emphasis on gaining political power and cultural influence 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:40.100 and getting as many Christians into public office as we can. 00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:47.720 So these three postures, just to say them again, the keep out, the blend in, and the take over approaches, 00:14:48.120 --> 00:14:56.279 most churches and actually most individuals sort of roughly fit into one or two of these categories, 00:14:56.460 --> 00:15:00.519 depending, I think, largely on disposition, depending on upbringing, 00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:05.160 depending on when and how you came to faith, depending on where you grew up. 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:06.419 Was it rural or urban? 00:15:06.719 --> 00:15:08.799 All of these factors, I think, play a part. 00:15:09.699 --> 00:15:11.419 And the thing that we need to understand is, 00:15:11.699 --> 00:15:15.819 despite the labels and whether or not they sound negative, 00:15:16.079 --> 00:15:19.939 each of these approaches actually has a legitimate theological starting point. 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:22.839 They each have a kind of core of truth to them, 00:15:22.959 --> 00:15:27.500 but they all ultimately fall short in one way or another, 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:33.860 because Christians who want to keep the culture out can become totally disconnected from the needs around them. 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:39.440 Christians who want to blend in with culture can lose their prophetic voice 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.620 and become exactly like the surrounding culture, 00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:46.259 so they really no longer have anything of value to offer. 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:50.720 And then Christians who want to take over the culture can end up getting hijacked 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:54.700 by partisan politics and the corrupting influence of power. 00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:58.800 So then we ask, well, what is the answer to all of this? 00:15:58.920 --> 00:16:03.900 What is the answer, and how do we make sense of what 1 Peter 2 calls us to? 00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:07.700 How do we embrace our calling as Christian exiles? 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:13.240 How do we seek the welfare of the society where we are while remaining faithful to God 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:15.440 and proclaiming His excellence? 00:16:15.520 --> 00:16:16.820 How do we walk that line? 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:19.900 And I think that the answer is this. 00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:27.519 I think that each of the three postures that I just described on its own is inadequate and insufficient. 00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:31.139 It's skewed too much in one direction or another. 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:37.279 But what I actually think that we need is all three of these postures working together, 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:41.360 counterbalancing one another, making up for one another's weaknesses, 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:44.000 and maximizing one another's strengths. 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:45.379 And so that means a couple of things. 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:50.879 Number one, it means we need lots of different kinds of churches with different emphases, 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:53.159 with different strengths and weaknesses. 00:16:53.620 --> 00:16:57.580 And one of the great things about being Anglican is that we focus a lot on the Catholicity, 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:00.279 small c, Catholicity of the church. 00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:03.720 And we talk about how no one church can be all things, 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:06.200 that every church has strengths and weaknesses, 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:10.099 but the body of Christ, all of the churches working together, 00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:15.699 that's where we begin to see the kind of holistic ministry that the church is called to in the world. 00:17:16.199 --> 00:17:17.339 So that's the first thing. 00:17:17.379 --> 00:17:21.779 But the second thing is, I think that Church of the Advent is very unique 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:24.579 in the sense that I think when I look at these three postures, 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:30.859 I think that we have all three kinds of people in our church, in our congregation. 00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:37.919 And one of the ways I know this is because often the reason that people get frustrated in our church 00:17:37.919 --> 00:17:42.019 is because more people don't think like they do about culture. 00:17:42.439 --> 00:17:43.979 And that creates dissonance. 00:17:44.159 --> 00:17:45.859 That creates some conflict. 00:17:46.339 --> 00:17:50.479 But I actually think that this is a really good thing if we understand it correctly. 00:17:50.959 --> 00:17:56.139 Instead of getting frustrated and then looking for a church full of people who think exactly like you do, 00:17:56.140 --> 00:18:00.860 I think we need to recognize that we all actually need each other. 00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:03.420 That depending on what kind of church background you have, 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:05.960 depending on when you came to faith, depending on your personality, 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:08.960 you're going to fall into one or another of these categories. 00:18:09.100 --> 00:18:13.340 But you actually need people who think differently about culture than you do, 00:18:13.660 --> 00:18:14.880 speaking into your life. 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:17.000 And they need you to speak into theirs. 00:18:17.300 --> 00:18:22.160 As Paul says, the church is one body, but it's made up of many different parts. 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:26.120 And no one should aspire to have a body made up of all the same body part. 00:18:26.300 --> 00:18:27.040 That wouldn't work. 00:18:27.100 --> 00:18:28.100 It would be a monstrosity. 00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:34.460 And so I want to say a word to each group briefly as we come to a close. 00:18:35.580 --> 00:18:43.980 First, I want to talk to those Christians who might identify as the kind of keep out or fortification Christians, 00:18:44.120 --> 00:18:49.660 people who are concerned about keeping the culture from infecting the church. 00:18:49.660 --> 00:18:52.320 And I want to say this, we really need you. 00:18:52.800 --> 00:18:57.060 If that's your wiring and that's where your heart is, we really need you in our church. 00:18:57.220 --> 00:19:00.759 We need you to be like the Bereans in Acts chapter 17, 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:05.960 who when they hear the teaching, they immediately go to the scripture 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:08.960 and they want to check everything they're hearing against scripture. 00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:11.759 We need people who are doing that in our church. 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:16.680 We need people who are very concerned about making sure that we are forming ourselves 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:21.100 and our children in countercultural kingdom centered ways. 00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:23.380 We need people who are doing that. 00:19:23.620 --> 00:19:28.480 And so at your best, if you're this kind of person, you serve the church by being a guardian 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:33.220 and ensuring that our life and doctrine align with the gospel 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:36.019 and align with what God has revealed in scripture. 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:38.620 So we need guardians in the church. 00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:41.639 But there are some things that you're going to need to realize 00:19:41.639 --> 00:19:44.079 and some ways that you're going to need to flex. 00:19:44.639 --> 00:19:48.459 You're going to need to realize that Christians cannot simply disengage 00:19:48.459 --> 00:19:51.919 completely from the needs of the world around us. 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:54.739 We are called to seek the welfare of the city. 00:19:54.819 --> 00:20:00.359 And that includes doing the work of justice and mercy whenever and wherever we can. 00:20:01.019 --> 00:20:06.339 And you're going to need to resist your need for doctrinal certainty on every issue. 00:20:06.339 --> 00:20:10.919 Because there are some doctrines that are very clear in scripture 00:20:10.919 --> 00:20:13.759 and they are essential for Christian faith. 00:20:14.179 --> 00:20:22.299 There are doctrines like the fallen nature that humans have 00:20:22.299 --> 00:20:27.639 and the sinfulness that we have and our need for salvation by Jesus Christ 00:20:27.639 --> 00:20:30.240 and his grace that we receive through faith. 00:20:30.879 --> 00:20:35.379 The belief in the authority and the inspiration of the holy scriptures. 00:20:35.380 --> 00:20:38.840 The belief in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:41.340 These are the things that we need to agree on. 00:20:41.420 --> 00:20:43.220 They're salvific issues. 00:20:43.520 --> 00:20:47.260 But there are many other issues where the scripture is less clear. 00:20:47.780 --> 00:20:48.940 And as the saying goes, 00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:51.700 in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, 00:20:52.040 --> 00:20:53.780 and in all things, and this is the key, 00:20:54.340 --> 00:20:54.780 charity. 00:20:55.520 --> 00:20:56.540 Charity of spirit. 00:20:57.100 --> 00:21:00.360 And so I urge you to be a guardian in our church, 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:07.119 but I urge you to balance your convictions with a posture of charity toward those with whom you disagree. 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:09.279 So that's the first group. 00:21:09.959 --> 00:21:17.079 If you're the kind of person who identifies more with the kind of blend in or accommodationist approach to culture, 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:18.639 we need you as well. 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:27.199 We need you to help build bridges and find common ground with other institutions and organizations. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.160 We need you to help us find opportunities for collaboration. 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:37.680 We need you to lead the way in caring for the poor and the marginalized in our midst. 00:21:38.059 --> 00:21:41.620 And at your best, you serve the church as activists. 00:21:42.200 --> 00:21:45.819 You inspire us to do justice and to love mercy, 00:21:45.940 --> 00:21:47.799 to not only preach the gospel in word, 00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:52.720 but to also demonstrate the gospel in how we love and care for our neighbors. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:55.900 But there are some things that you're going to need to work on as well. 00:21:56.339 --> 00:22:02.799 I strongly encourage you to realize that we cannot separate our actions from our beliefs. 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:05.539 And our mission is not just to do justice. 00:22:05.940 --> 00:22:08.539 It's actually to share the gospel. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.980 It's to evangelize and to see people come into the kingdom. 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:17.759 And the truth is, God doesn't need us to solve the problems of the world. 00:22:17.860 --> 00:22:19.839 Only Jesus can do that. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:25.519 And any approach to justice that does not have Jesus at the center of it will not last. 00:22:26.459 --> 00:22:27.659 It will not last. 00:22:28.359 --> 00:22:31.419 And so our job is to proclaim God's excellence. 00:22:31.659 --> 00:22:35.339 And that's only possible if our lives are distinct 00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:38.659 and not conformed to the patterns of the world, 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:40.459 but to the person of Jesus Christ. 00:22:40.460 --> 00:22:49.360 And then lastly, the third group I'll talk to is some of you may have come from a more culture warrior tradition. 00:22:49.360 --> 00:22:55.720 And it's very important for you, for Christians, to take a strong public stand for their faith. 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:57.240 And I'll tell you this. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:58.140 We need you. 00:22:58.319 --> 00:22:59.940 We need you in our church. 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:06.039 We need you to set an example in showing us what it looks like to have a bold public faith. 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:12.680 We need you to help us see the value in Christians serving in every sector of society 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:18.200 and gaining cultural influence wherever we can, that there's a tremendous value in that. 00:23:18.579 --> 00:23:28.079 And at your best, you serve the church as champions who set an example of courage and boldness and public faith. 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:38.019 But you need to recognize that power, political power or other kinds of power, is extremely dangerous. 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:44.220 And if you look at the history of the church, power has led the church astray again and again and again. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:49.679 And if we're being honest, the culture war is all about power and control. 00:23:51.099 --> 00:23:54.919 And Christians are not always meant to have power in society. 00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:58.820 In 1 Peter, in the verses that follow the passage that we're looking at, 00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:04.060 there's an extended section where Peter talks all about the Christian witness 00:24:04.060 --> 00:24:09.360 and how it is displayed through our submission to authorities that are over us. 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:16.560 And that sounds counterintuitive, but this is the primary way that Peter intends for his original hearers to have a witness. 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:24.120 Through the way that they submit to their Lord by submitting to the authorities and institutions in their life. 00:24:24.119 --> 00:24:29.199 And he's saying this because his hearers had almost no cultural power at all. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:37.259 And yet, this is the generation that brought about one of the greatest religious transformations in any society in history, 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:39.459 the Christianization of the Roman Empire. 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:49.600 And when Christians do find ourselves with power, our goal should not be to control or dominate the culture around us. 00:24:49.860 --> 00:24:56.860 Rather, I think the distinctly Christian way of utilizing power is that we look at the agency 00:24:56.860 --> 00:24:59.759 and we look at the power that God has given us, and we ask, 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:04.079 how can I use this to create a more just society for everybody? 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:12.960 So this is how I believe Church of the Advent can embrace this call to be Christian exiles. 00:25:13.399 --> 00:25:14.359 We do it together. 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:21.220 Number one, we recognize that we are one of many churches throughout this city, 00:25:21.439 --> 00:25:24.699 all of whom have different strengths and weaknesses. 00:25:25.019 --> 00:25:27.099 And we ask, what are our strengths? 00:25:27.419 --> 00:25:28.939 How has God blessed us? 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:30.439 How is God working through us? 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:32.259 And we give thanks for that. 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:38.759 And we don't try to drop everything and to become all things in our church. 00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:43.120 We rest in the ways that God uses our church, and we give thanks to that. 00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:46.400 And then we look to other churches to do things better than we can. 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:53.220 And then together, the small-c Catholic Church embodies this Christian exile witness that we're called to have. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:54.100 So that's the first thing. 00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:59.339 And then the second thing is, I think that we look within our own community and recognize that we have different people 00:25:59.339 --> 00:26:03.879 with different sets of assumptions about culture, and we all need each other. 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:09.099 And of course, at the very center of all of this is Jesus Christ himself. 00:26:10.299 --> 00:26:15.379 As we think about exiles, there's no one who knows what it means to be in exile more than Jesus Christ. 00:26:15.380 --> 00:26:24.760 Jesus is the one who left his father's side, gave up his place of honor in the kingdom, and he became the ultimate exile. 00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:33.040 He was cast out of heaven and allowed himself to be tortured and executed like a common criminal and rebel. 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:42.760 And he did this so that we who were the exiles cast out of Eden might be welcomed in and become citizens of the kingdom of God. 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:46.799 And so we need to remember at all times, this is his mission. 00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:50.579 This is his mission and not ours. 00:26:50.920 --> 00:26:55.240 And so we play our part, but we trust in Jesus Christ for the victory. 00:26:56.440 --> 00:26:57.140 Let's pray. 00:26:58.099 --> 00:27:10.579 Lord, we thank you for your word, and we pray that you would speak to us this morning by illuminating for us the ways that you have gifted and wired us to serve your church. 00:27:10.579 --> 00:27:19.339 And we pray that you would inspire us by reminding us that we are a small part of a very great body that is in the world. 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:27.980 And through this body, through your church, you are accomplishing all that you've set out to accomplish in this world, even if it doesn't feel like it, even if it doesn't look like it. 00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:30.359 Lord, it is in your hope and in your name that we pray. 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:30.799 Amen. 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:30.899 Amen. 00:27:30.899 --> 00:27:30.960 Amen. 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:30.980 Amen. 00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:31.039 Amen.