WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.660 Father, you know how easy it is for us to be confused about what is right and what is wrong. 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:14.620 You know, Father, how our consciences can be troubled by things that you don't think are wrong. 00:00:15.540 --> 00:00:20.379 And how we can be completely untroubled by things that you think are deeply wrong. 00:00:21.699 --> 00:00:24.859 And, Father, you know how we can be confused about this. 00:00:25.739 --> 00:00:32.619 And, Father, you know how easy it is for us to see faults in other people that we have worse and we don't even see. 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:40.700 And, Father, you know how easy it is for us to give ourselves a pass while we're very hard on other people. 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:42.980 Father, you know. 00:00:43.480 --> 00:00:44.200 You know. 00:00:44.239 --> 00:00:51.859 You know at the same time, Father, how sometimes we do so strive to do that which is right and then we fail. 00:00:51.859 --> 00:01:00.519 Father, we give you thanks and praise that you know us perfectly, you see us perfectly, and that you love us perfectly and unfailingly. 00:01:01.019 --> 00:01:08.259 We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would gently but deeply come into our minds and our hearts and our wills, our very body. 00:01:08.260 --> 00:01:16.480 And, Father, so still us and make us pliable that we might hear your word and receive your word. 00:01:17.240 --> 00:01:24.800 And that we might hear and receive your word to our good health and our good benefit and your great glory. 00:01:25.360 --> 00:01:29.040 And this we ask in Jesus' name, your Son and our Savior. 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:29.640 Amen. 00:01:30.380 --> 00:01:31.280 Please be seated. 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:31.359 Amen. 00:01:32.260 --> 00:01:36.980 So, Andrew, if you could put up the very first scripture text. 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:40.579 The sermon title is called Choose Holiness. 00:01:41.320 --> 00:01:47.960 But in terms of the flow of the text, we're going to, this is sort of the heart of what we're talking about today. 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:49.960 And could you just say it with me? 00:01:50.819 --> 00:01:53.340 Abstain from every form of evil. 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:58.319 Now, we have lots of problems with this text in many, many different ways. 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:07.579 First of all, you could almost see that a hipster would wear a t-shirt saying something like that, making an ironic statement. 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:13.280 In other words, they'd have a t-shirt like that, meaning that, yeah, definitely, like, I'm going to do that, you know. 00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:18.219 On the other hand, here's another problem with this text. 00:02:18.379 --> 00:02:26.299 A problem with this text is that for many people in our culture, when they hear abstain from every form of evil, 00:02:26.300 --> 00:02:31.740 what they hear is that we're asking them to abstain from freedom. 00:02:33.380 --> 00:02:35.740 That we're asking them to abstain from freedom. 00:02:36.740 --> 00:02:40.700 And here's another problem with this text in our culture, 00:02:41.100 --> 00:02:46.220 is that for many people in our culture, and maybe for us at a certain degree, 00:02:46.580 --> 00:02:48.000 those of us who were here this morning, 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:54.599 we're just very conscious of the fact that different people see evil in different places, 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:58.379 and that many, many different people have very different views on evil. 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:02.960 And so, if basically good and evil is fairly relative, 00:03:03.139 --> 00:03:06.920 then how could we even begin to put this verse into practice? 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.699 And for many people, when they hear talk of abstaining from evil, 00:03:11.699 --> 00:03:16.259 they hear it as a type of talk about having power. 00:03:17.119 --> 00:03:21.939 If I can convince you that something is evil, then I'm getting power over you. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:31.939 And that's just the beginning of a whole host of problems that we have with this text in our culture when we hear it. 00:03:31.939 --> 00:03:36.900 And so, you know, we have to try to think about that a little bit, 00:03:37.079 --> 00:03:44.000 and try to be able to hear the scripture as the scripture wants to speak to us. 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:48.079 So, here's the first thing which I'm going to say, okay? 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:52.120 So, here's the first thing that I think I want to say. 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:53.800 If you could put the first point up, Andrew. 00:03:53.800 --> 00:04:13.600 The knowledge of good and evil is present in every culture and confused in every culture. 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:20.900 I mean, even when people say that good and evil is relative, 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:28.279 and I'm not going to try to bash what's sort of called, in some circles, moral relativism, 00:04:28.539 --> 00:04:32.060 and in the majority of Canada would just be understood as common sense. 00:04:33.599 --> 00:04:38.279 It just is the fact of the matter is that people live as if there are certain things which are right and wrong, 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.899 and whether they think that's transferable or how transferable they think it is, 00:04:42.979 --> 00:04:44.679 it's in fact just the case that people, 00:04:45.799 --> 00:04:48.439 if you meet somebody who doesn't believe there's such a thing as right and wrong, 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:52.439 you're meeting a sociopath if they don't act as if there's any type of right and wrong, 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:54.319 and hopefully you'll never run into a sociopath. 00:04:55.240 --> 00:04:58.000 But the fact of the matter is that what the Bible teaches 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:01.439 is that the knowledge of good and evil is present in every culture 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:03.420 and confused in every culture. 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:06.220 And that explains, 00:05:07.740 --> 00:05:10.319 well, actually, you see, one of the problems for atheism 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:12.439 is to explain 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:14.339 why it is 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:18.100 that in every culture there's a strong sense of right and wrong. 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:20.219 Like, why does that even exist 00:05:20.219 --> 00:05:22.100 if there is no God? 00:05:22.259 --> 00:05:24.019 And if we're just created 00:05:24.019 --> 00:05:26.199 that we just happen to exist 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:27.920 by random processes? 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:30.160 Why should there be an understanding of right and wrong? 00:05:30.259 --> 00:05:31.319 That's actually sort of a, 00:05:31.879 --> 00:05:34.779 the fact that people differ over right and wrong 00:05:34.779 --> 00:05:37.120 isn't as big a problem 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:37.819 for Christians 00:05:37.819 --> 00:05:40.019 as the mere existence of right and wrong, 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:42.819 and the persistence of right and wrong 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:43.899 is for atheists. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:46.079 But for Christians, what we would say, 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:47.879 and I'm going to explain it more later on, 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:49.419 is that the knowledge of good and evil 00:05:49.419 --> 00:05:51.060 is present in every culture 00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:53.439 and confused in every culture. 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:55.939 And that means that for Christians, 00:05:56.899 --> 00:05:59.060 there's always going to be a particular dilemma 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:01.519 about how to understand evil, 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:03.459 which is sort of different than some of the things 00:06:03.459 --> 00:06:06.479 which I said at the very, very beginning of the sermon. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:11.020 Could you put up the Venn diagram? 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:13.780 By the way, this caused a lot of laughter in my family. 00:06:14.660 --> 00:06:17.780 Last night when I was sending these notes to Andrew, 00:06:17.939 --> 00:06:19.560 I confessed to my family 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:21.560 that I didn't know how to do that on a computer. 00:06:22.180 --> 00:06:23.640 I'm confessing that to you now. 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:26.759 And that caused some laughter 00:06:26.759 --> 00:06:28.939 amongst the younger members of my family. 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:31.660 And in fact, I was trying to describe it 00:06:31.660 --> 00:06:32.280 and then they said, 00:06:32.340 --> 00:06:33.460 oh, you mean a Venn diagram. 00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:35.319 I've forgotten the name of it. 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:37.219 And then I said, 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:38.079 I don't know how to, 00:06:38.299 --> 00:06:39.680 not only do I know how to draw it, 00:06:39.699 --> 00:06:43.000 I don't know how to send it on an email to Andrew, 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:44.439 which caused other laughter. 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:46.479 And eventually, 00:06:46.719 --> 00:06:49.419 one of my kids just did it for me very quickly. 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:51.979 And so I still actually don't know how to do it. 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:54.439 So maybe one of my summer holiday plans 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:57.019 is to figure out how to do a simple drawing like that 00:06:57.019 --> 00:06:58.199 on the computer. 00:06:58.519 --> 00:06:59.419 But here's the thing. 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:02.759 Remember I said that the first point of the sermon 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:04.060 is that the knowledge of good and evil 00:07:04.060 --> 00:07:05.420 is present in every culture 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:06.980 and confused in every culture. 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:08.659 That in a sense, 00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:09.839 what the Bible would say 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:12.079 is that something like this picture exists. 00:07:13.159 --> 00:07:16.560 That there's our culture's view of evil 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:20.159 and that would be the circle that has A and B in it. 00:07:20.719 --> 00:07:22.899 And then there's the Bible's view of evil, 00:07:23.379 --> 00:07:26.439 which is what is the circle that has B and C in it. 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:30.879 And even the worst imaginable culture, 00:07:31.379 --> 00:07:33.279 there will be some intersection 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:35.920 between the biblical view of evil 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:37.459 and the culture's view of evil. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:40.620 It might be a very, very tiny sliver, 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:41.800 but it will still be there. 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:43.620 And of course, in some cultures, 00:07:43.819 --> 00:07:46.220 the B section might be quite large. 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:49.339 But here's the problem that we have 00:07:49.339 --> 00:07:52.040 when our text is abstain from every form of evil. 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:54.740 The problem we have as Canadian Christians, 00:07:55.540 --> 00:07:56.960 to put it very bluntly, 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:01.040 is that our culture is the primary way 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.120 that we learn what good and evil is. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:06.920 And our culture tries to maintain 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:10.000 a basic view of good and evil. 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:13.240 There's been an interesting thing in the paper 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:15.780 the last few days about sex education 00:08:15.780 --> 00:08:17.759 in Edmonton public schools. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:22.180 And it made a big splash. 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:24.839 At least in the two papers that I read, 00:08:24.899 --> 00:08:26.039 it made a big splash. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:29.759 And if you read some of the op-ed pieces 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:30.939 which were written about it, 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:33.059 it's very obvious that the paper, 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.980 both the reporter and the op-ed pieces, 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:38.419 are trying to maintain a cultural view 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:39.179 of right and wrong. 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:42.819 And they use very highly emotional language 00:08:42.819 --> 00:08:44.439 and shaming type of language 00:08:44.439 --> 00:08:45.740 to try to shame people 00:08:45.740 --> 00:08:47.480 who are going to dissent 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:50.360 or disagree with this cultural view of evil, 00:08:50.560 --> 00:08:51.860 our culture's view of evil. 00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:53.200 In other words, 00:08:53.259 --> 00:08:55.360 they're trying to maintain all of A and B. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:58.279 So here's the problem for us as Christians. 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:03.639 The problem is in many mainline churches 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:08.639 where they see themselves 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:10.440 as the chaplains to the culture, 00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:12.860 they basically, 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:15.060 their understanding of evil 00:09:15.060 --> 00:09:17.640 is the same as the culture's view of evil 00:09:17.640 --> 00:09:19.220 and of good. 00:09:19.680 --> 00:09:20.560 It's A and B. 00:09:20.660 --> 00:09:22.180 That's the constant challenge 00:09:22.180 --> 00:09:23.400 for mainline churches. 00:09:24.260 --> 00:09:25.620 In an interesting way, 00:09:25.860 --> 00:09:26.860 because one of the dynamics 00:09:26.860 --> 00:09:28.020 that's going on in Canada 00:09:28.020 --> 00:09:31.280 is that evangelical and charismatic churches 00:09:31.280 --> 00:09:32.480 in some ways want to become 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.300 the new chaplains to the culture 00:09:34.300 --> 00:09:36.440 as mainline churches die. 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:39.480 But the thing to beware of 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:41.780 is if you become the chaplain 00:09:41.780 --> 00:09:43.040 to the culture, 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:45.220 the culture will demand 00:09:45.220 --> 00:09:47.140 that you teach A and B. 00:09:50.860 --> 00:09:54.800 And the problem for us as Christians 00:09:54.800 --> 00:09:57.580 is that when we're very conscious 00:09:57.580 --> 00:09:59.140 of the cultural pressure 00:09:59.140 --> 00:10:00.380 to teach A and B, 00:10:01.300 --> 00:10:02.380 that before we know it, 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:03.220 what we want to do 00:10:03.220 --> 00:10:04.560 is only talk about B. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:06.539 because, in fact, 00:10:06.599 --> 00:10:07.679 if we're only talking about 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:10.039 that part of the Christian revelation, 00:10:10.199 --> 00:10:11.219 the biblical revelation 00:10:11.219 --> 00:10:12.899 that matches with what the culture 00:10:12.899 --> 00:10:13.779 says is right and wrong, 00:10:14.079 --> 00:10:15.159 we won't get into trouble. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:16.859 So that would mean that 00:10:16.859 --> 00:10:17.500 in our churches, 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:18.179 let's say today, 00:10:18.219 --> 00:10:19.179 it would be very simple 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:20.219 for me to talk about, 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:23.779 probably in many places 00:10:23.779 --> 00:10:24.919 it would be easy for me 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:25.919 to talk about pornography. 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:27.759 It would be easy for me 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:29.179 to talk about sex trafficking. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:30.639 It would be easy for me 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:31.659 to talk about racism. 00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:34.919 And I probably wouldn't be causing 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:36.199 a lot of ruffled feathers. 00:10:38.339 --> 00:10:40.500 And that's always a great pressure 00:10:40.500 --> 00:10:41.259 on churches 00:10:41.259 --> 00:10:43.219 to only talk about 00:10:43.219 --> 00:10:44.679 that which is in B. 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:47.639 But the Bible here, 00:10:47.819 --> 00:10:48.659 when it's telling us 00:10:48.659 --> 00:10:50.600 to abstain from every form of evil, 00:10:51.199 --> 00:10:53.059 it's actually challenging us 00:10:53.059 --> 00:10:54.600 to talk about B and C. 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:56.799 And also to talk about A 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:58.199 in a particular way. 00:10:58.899 --> 00:10:59.120 A? 00:10:59.299 --> 00:11:00.480 Sorry, I had to do that Canadian, 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:01.279 you know, eh? 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:04.360 And so, you see, 00:11:04.460 --> 00:11:05.180 in our culture, 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:07.460 and this is like a very, 00:11:07.580 --> 00:11:08.879 very telling thing for us, 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:09.519 if those of you 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:10.259 who haven't been part 00:11:10.259 --> 00:11:10.940 of the congregation 00:11:10.940 --> 00:11:12.500 for longer than three years, 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:16.940 for this act, 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:17.600 on one level, 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:19.899 our congregation started in 1865, 00:11:20.659 --> 00:11:21.899 and in another way, 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:24.060 our congregation started in 2011 00:11:24.060 --> 00:11:25.360 when we walked away 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:26.039 from our building. 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:29.299 and our congregation 00:11:29.299 --> 00:11:31.319 virtually unanimously 00:11:31.319 --> 00:11:33.099 believed that 00:11:33.099 --> 00:11:34.559 if the Anglican Church of Canada 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:35.299 wanted to bless 00:11:35.299 --> 00:11:36.339 same-sex marriages, 00:11:37.019 --> 00:11:38.519 it was doing something 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:40.719 which the Bible doesn't allow. 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:42.199 And ultimately, 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:42.980 we thought it was 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:44.299 an important enough issue 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:46.179 that we would risk 00:11:46.179 --> 00:11:47.599 losing all of our property 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:50.680 and that the legal leadership 00:11:50.680 --> 00:11:51.460 of the congregation 00:11:51.460 --> 00:11:53.080 would risk being sued, 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:54.920 which is what happened to us. 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:57.320 The legal representatives 00:11:57.320 --> 00:11:58.580 of the congregation 00:11:58.580 --> 00:11:59.360 were sued. 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:01.460 And eventually, 00:12:01.680 --> 00:12:02.940 we settled out of court 00:12:02.940 --> 00:12:03.860 and walked away 00:12:03.860 --> 00:12:05.060 from our property. 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:08.399 But in our culture, 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:10.659 to talk about certain issues 00:12:10.659 --> 00:12:11.800 around sexuality 00:12:11.800 --> 00:12:14.580 is to talk about 00:12:14.580 --> 00:12:15.660 that part of the circle 00:12:15.659 --> 00:12:16.639 which is in C, 00:12:17.620 --> 00:12:19.039 and it gets many people 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:19.659 in our culture 00:12:19.659 --> 00:12:20.659 very, very upset. 00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:22.620 And if you're a guest here 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:23.079 this morning, 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:23.819 I might have made you 00:12:23.819 --> 00:12:24.980 very, very uncomfortable. 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:28.039 Because in our culture today, 00:12:28.219 --> 00:12:29.679 C would be such things 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:30.339 as abortion 00:12:30.339 --> 00:12:34.480 and that the taking 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:35.519 of a human, 00:12:36.199 --> 00:12:37.959 that what is in the womb 00:12:37.959 --> 00:12:39.139 is human, 00:12:39.339 --> 00:12:40.179 it's human life, 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:41.519 and to take that 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:42.860 is to do something wrong. 00:12:42.860 --> 00:12:46.340 And in C 00:12:46.340 --> 00:12:47.840 is a whole range 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:48.399 of teaching 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:49.840 around sexual ethics 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:51.200 which our culture views, 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:53.039 I mean, 00:12:53.159 --> 00:12:53.480 in fact, 00:12:53.539 --> 00:12:54.379 our culture views 00:12:54.379 --> 00:12:55.759 certain things 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:56.539 that the Bible 00:12:56.539 --> 00:12:58.019 views as wrong, 00:12:58.200 --> 00:12:58.980 our culture views 00:12:58.980 --> 00:12:59.680 them as very, 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:00.360 very good. 00:13:01.659 --> 00:13:04.019 And we get shouted down 00:13:04.019 --> 00:13:04.800 by the culture 00:13:04.800 --> 00:13:06.180 if we try to maintain 00:13:06.180 --> 00:13:07.300 the teaching on C. 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:09.120 So it's very, 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:10.139 very common 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:11.639 in Christian circles 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:12.779 for there to be pressure 00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:13.939 for churches 00:13:13.939 --> 00:13:14.799 to never mention 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:16.159 anything which is in C. 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:17.759 But if we're going 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:19.039 to talk about things 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:20.179 to only talk about B. 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:22.340 But the Bible 00:13:22.340 --> 00:13:23.559 also teaches us 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:24.240 that not only 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:25.080 should we be trying 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:26.019 to explain 00:13:26.019 --> 00:13:27.620 what is in B and C, 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:29.220 that we need to also 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:30.039 try to explain 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:30.740 to the world 00:13:30.740 --> 00:13:32.340 why things that are 00:13:32.340 --> 00:13:33.480 in the A part 00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:34.019 of the circle 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:34.819 aren't in fact 00:13:34.819 --> 00:13:36.019 sins at all. 00:13:36.019 --> 00:13:42.819 So for instance, 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:45.980 and it's a bit hard 00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:46.720 in our culture 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:49.259 because we have 00:13:49.259 --> 00:13:49.879 lots of different 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:51.039 moralities in our culture 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:51.539 right now, 00:13:51.980 --> 00:13:53.659 but it could very well 00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:54.319 be the case 00:13:54.319 --> 00:13:55.639 that if I was to be 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:56.699 in a certain type 00:13:56.699 --> 00:13:57.679 of a classroom 00:13:57.679 --> 00:13:58.779 at a university, 00:13:59.340 --> 00:14:01.000 I might have to tell 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:01.500 the room 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:03.100 that it's not a sin 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:03.960 to eat meat. 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:08.040 You shouldn't feel guilty 00:14:08.040 --> 00:14:10.080 if you like eating steak. 00:14:11.860 --> 00:14:12.980 And maybe if I'm 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:13.680 in another part 00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:14.460 of the university, 00:14:15.100 --> 00:14:16.440 maybe the business faculty, 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:18.019 I'd have to say 00:14:18.019 --> 00:14:19.019 it's not a sin 00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:19.759 to be poor. 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:22.980 It's not a sin 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:24.440 to have low income. 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:26.879 It's not a sin 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:28.220 to not want to make 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:28.879 a lot of money. 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:33.779 And maybe 00:14:33.779 --> 00:14:34.740 in another part 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:35.439 of the university, 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:36.379 I would say, 00:14:36.659 --> 00:14:37.200 have to say, 00:14:37.299 --> 00:14:38.439 it's not a sin 00:14:38.439 --> 00:14:40.080 to be overweight. 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:44.659 It's not a sin 00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:46.519 to not be athletic 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:48.159 and slim. 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:51.460 Because the fact 00:14:51.460 --> 00:14:52.279 of the matter is, 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:53.019 is that often 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:53.720 what troubles 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:54.360 many people 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:55.200 in our culture 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:56.820 are things 00:14:56.820 --> 00:14:57.399 that the Bible 00:14:57.399 --> 00:14:57.980 doesn't view 00:14:57.980 --> 00:14:58.980 as sins at all. 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:01.620 Completely 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:02.019 and utterly 00:15:02.019 --> 00:15:02.600 silent. 00:15:04.299 --> 00:15:05.240 And so part 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:06.000 of the challenge 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:07.100 when we hear 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:07.840 a text like 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:08.799 abstain from 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:09.459 every form 00:15:09.459 --> 00:15:10.039 of evil 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:11.860 is, 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:13.519 and many people 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:14.179 in our culture 00:15:14.179 --> 00:15:14.659 will think 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:15.439 that we're instantly 00:15:15.439 --> 00:15:16.059 going to go 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:17.179 to make a whole list 00:15:17.179 --> 00:15:17.699 of rules 00:15:17.699 --> 00:15:18.199 that we have 00:15:18.199 --> 00:15:18.699 to follow, 00:15:19.259 --> 00:15:20.240 but the first thing 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:20.639 that we have 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:21.439 to understand 00:15:21.439 --> 00:15:21.980 is that when 00:15:21.980 --> 00:15:22.379 the Bible 00:15:22.379 --> 00:15:23.120 is calling us 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:24.059 to abstain 00:15:24.059 --> 00:15:25.019 from every form 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:25.819 or every kind 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:26.440 of evil, 00:15:26.940 --> 00:15:27.820 it's opening 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:28.400 a door 00:15:28.400 --> 00:15:30.680 on this basic 00:15:30.680 --> 00:15:32.120 teaching of the Bible 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:32.760 in terms of 00:15:32.760 --> 00:15:33.280 what is right 00:15:33.280 --> 00:15:33.760 and wrong. 00:15:34.760 --> 00:15:35.440 And it means 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:36.120 that sometimes 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:36.580 we're going to 00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:37.280 agree with our 00:15:37.280 --> 00:15:37.760 culture, 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:39.300 and we shouldn't 00:15:39.300 --> 00:15:40.220 fall into the trap 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:40.960 that sometimes 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:41.840 maybe the Christian 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:42.680 right has fallen 00:15:42.680 --> 00:15:43.140 into, 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:44.180 that you don't 00:15:44.180 --> 00:15:44.720 want to talk 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:45.500 about racism 00:15:45.500 --> 00:15:46.000 or something 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:46.420 like that, 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:46.960 because that's 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:47.720 what the culture, 00:15:47.920 --> 00:15:48.860 the secular people 00:15:48.860 --> 00:15:49.379 talk about, 00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:49.860 and you want to 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:50.380 show somehow 00:15:50.380 --> 00:15:50.940 that you're more 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:52.300 Christian by not 00:15:52.300 --> 00:15:53.080 talking about it, 00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:53.960 and that's 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:54.600 nonsense. 00:15:55.740 --> 00:15:56.240 The Bible 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:56.940 is calling us 00:15:56.940 --> 00:15:57.700 to hold 00:15:57.700 --> 00:15:58.300 all of that 00:15:58.300 --> 00:15:58.980 B and C, 00:15:59.100 --> 00:15:59.540 which means 00:15:59.540 --> 00:16:00.100 that sometimes 00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:00.879 we have to 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:01.480 say things 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:02.280 in our culture 00:16:02.280 --> 00:16:03.180 which are going 00:16:03.180 --> 00:16:03.600 to get us 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:04.160 in trouble. 00:16:05.040 --> 00:16:07.300 In the 1930s 00:16:07.300 --> 00:16:07.860 in Germany, 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:11.000 the confessing 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:11.620 church, 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:13.300 which we now, 00:16:13.400 --> 00:16:14.280 virtually everybody 00:16:14.280 --> 00:16:15.320 views the confessing 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:16.000 church as having 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:16.820 done the right 00:16:16.820 --> 00:16:17.280 thing, 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:18.640 and the very 00:16:18.640 --> 00:16:19.379 early thing 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:20.379 which they upheld 00:16:20.379 --> 00:16:21.140 is that it's 00:16:21.140 --> 00:16:22.320 not a sin 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:23.240 to be Jewish, 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:24.840 and the initial 00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:25.379 thing which 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:25.879 caused the 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:26.640 confessing church 00:16:26.640 --> 00:16:27.140 to exist 00:16:27.140 --> 00:16:27.800 was a question 00:16:27.800 --> 00:16:28.860 over ordination, 00:16:29.340 --> 00:16:31.340 because the state 00:16:31.340 --> 00:16:32.840 said that if you 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:33.840 had Jewish blood 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:34.420 in you, 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:35.680 even if you 00:16:35.680 --> 00:16:36.240 had become 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:36.900 a Christian, 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:37.520 if you had 00:16:37.520 --> 00:16:38.260 Jewish blood 00:16:38.260 --> 00:16:38.600 in you, 00:16:38.640 --> 00:16:39.340 you could not 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:40.140 be a Lutheran 00:16:40.140 --> 00:16:40.700 pastor, 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:42.960 and Bonhoeffer 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:44.420 and the German 00:16:44.420 --> 00:16:45.780 and others 00:16:45.780 --> 00:16:46.600 said, 00:16:46.600 --> 00:16:48.160 that is wrong, 00:16:48.460 --> 00:16:51.120 that is wrong 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:52.000 to say that, 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:53.420 it is not 00:16:53.420 --> 00:16:54.080 a sin, 00:16:54.160 --> 00:16:54.640 it is not 00:16:54.640 --> 00:16:55.160 a barrier 00:16:55.160 --> 00:16:56.000 to ordination 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:56.460 to have 00:16:56.460 --> 00:16:57.280 Jewish blood, 00:16:58.220 --> 00:16:59.860 and that got 00:16:59.860 --> 00:17:00.360 them in lots 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:00.720 of trouble, 00:17:00.820 --> 00:17:01.100 meant they 00:17:01.100 --> 00:17:01.680 eventually had 00:17:01.680 --> 00:17:01.960 to have 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:02.760 underground 00:17:02.760 --> 00:17:05.080 seminaries, 00:17:06.100 --> 00:17:06.360 and so 00:17:06.360 --> 00:17:07.200 sometimes into 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:07.900 our culture, 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:09.740 saying that 00:17:09.740 --> 00:17:10.640 A is not a 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:11.180 sin is going 00:17:11.180 --> 00:17:11.539 to get us 00:17:11.539 --> 00:17:11.860 in a lot 00:17:11.860 --> 00:17:12.240 of trouble, 00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:12.960 and sometimes 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:13.539 in our culture 00:17:13.539 --> 00:17:14.200 talking about 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:15.580 C is going 00:17:15.580 --> 00:17:15.940 to get us 00:17:15.940 --> 00:17:16.400 into lots 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:16.880 of trouble, 00:17:17.340 --> 00:17:17.799 and so we 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:18.700 have to resist 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:20.000 the temptation 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:20.960 to only talk 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:21.539 about B, 00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:22.960 and when we're 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:23.559 trying to hear 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:24.480 the text as a 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:24.920 community, 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:26.019 and as an 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:26.539 individual, 00:17:27.140 --> 00:17:27.900 to understand 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:28.700 that the Bible 00:17:28.700 --> 00:17:29.940 is calling us 00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:32.059 to prayerfully, 00:17:32.619 --> 00:17:33.980 carefully read, 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:34.900 and study the 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:35.339 scriptures, 00:17:35.339 --> 00:17:36.839 so that the 00:17:36.839 --> 00:17:38.000 scriptures can 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:38.839 reform and 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:39.720 change our 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:40.519 consciences, 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:41.140 and our 00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:42.200 understanding of 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:42.980 good and evil, 00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:44.920 and so one of 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:45.680 the benefits of 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:46.960 the gospel is 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:47.960 that for some 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:48.420 of us, 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:49.539 we will realize 00:17:49.539 --> 00:17:50.019 that we are 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:50.700 feeling guilty 00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:51.299 about things 00:17:51.299 --> 00:17:51.759 that we don't 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:52.380 have to feel 00:17:52.380 --> 00:17:53.100 guilty about. 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:54.480 If you were in 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:55.160 India, you don't 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:55.680 have to feel 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:56.600 guilty about being 00:17:56.600 --> 00:17:57.340 an untouchable 00:17:57.340 --> 00:17:58.380 because the Bible 00:17:58.380 --> 00:17:59.380 doesn't recognize 00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:00.180 such a category. 00:18:00.360 --> 00:18:01.240 It's not a sin 00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:02.440 to be born into 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:03.200 a certain type 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:03.840 of family, 00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:07.539 and at the 00:18:07.539 --> 00:18:08.059 same time, 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:08.640 things that we 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:09.340 have maybe taken 00:18:09.340 --> 00:18:09.940 for granted 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:10.700 that the Bible 00:18:10.700 --> 00:18:11.340 will start to 00:18:11.340 --> 00:18:12.220 tell us that 00:18:12.220 --> 00:18:12.819 these things 00:18:12.819 --> 00:18:13.360 are wrong, 00:18:14.360 --> 00:18:15.340 and the church 00:18:15.340 --> 00:18:16.120 is to be the 00:18:16.120 --> 00:18:16.840 place where we 00:18:16.840 --> 00:18:17.500 study the Bible 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:18.140 together and 00:18:18.140 --> 00:18:18.619 pray through 00:18:18.619 --> 00:18:19.019 the Bible 00:18:19.019 --> 00:18:19.640 together and 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:20.319 pray for each 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:21.940 other as God 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:22.859 the Holy Spirit 00:18:22.859 --> 00:18:24.180 begins to move 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:24.819 and work in our 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:25.519 hearts and bring 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:26.160 parts of the 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:27.039 Bible home to 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:27.299 us. 00:18:28.460 --> 00:18:28.960 So if you could 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:29.440 put the Bible 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:30.339 passage up again, 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:32.240 Andrew, say it 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:32.720 with me, 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:34.559 abstain from 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:36.099 every form of 00:18:36.099 --> 00:18:36.480 evil. 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:37.259 Say it again, 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:38.940 abstain from 00:18:38.940 --> 00:18:40.539 every form of 00:18:40.539 --> 00:18:40.900 evil. 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:42.140 Very simple 00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:42.900 but powerful 00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:43.819 text. 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:46.220 Now, some of 00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:46.700 you might say, 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:47.220 George, but 00:18:47.220 --> 00:18:47.940 isn't morality 00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:48.539 relative? 00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:49.759 And isn't 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:50.299 this, in 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:51.700 fact, just a 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:52.960 type of you 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:53.580 maintaining, 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:56.039 like, isn't 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:56.720 just talking 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:57.640 about evil an 00:18:57.640 --> 00:18:58.319 attempt to 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:00.160 get, to 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:00.720 have power 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:01.360 over others? 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:05.880 A couple of 00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:06.640 months ago, I've 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:07.240 been waiting to 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:07.860 use this as a 00:19:07.860 --> 00:19:08.680 sermon illustration. 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:09.680 This is the 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:10.259 first time I 00:19:10.259 --> 00:19:10.819 can use it. 00:19:11.600 --> 00:19:12.460 I was in a 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:13.200 Starbucks, no 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:14.460 surprise, and 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:15.220 working on my 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:15.819 sermon, no 00:19:15.819 --> 00:19:16.619 surprise, working 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:17.019 on my sermon 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:17.539 at Starbucks. 00:19:18.179 --> 00:19:18.659 And there was 00:19:18.659 --> 00:19:19.619 this woman, maybe 00:19:19.619 --> 00:19:20.980 around 30, she 00:19:20.980 --> 00:19:21.639 had a really cute 00:19:21.639 --> 00:19:22.519 little girl, who 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:23.240 was probably about 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:25.539 three, and the 00:19:25.539 --> 00:19:26.859 mom had bought 00:19:26.859 --> 00:19:27.960 the girl a 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:28.419 cookie or 00:19:28.419 --> 00:19:28.879 something like 00:19:28.879 --> 00:19:29.500 that, milk or 00:19:29.500 --> 00:19:29.919 something like 00:19:29.919 --> 00:19:30.399 that, the mom 00:19:30.399 --> 00:19:31.740 had a coffee, and 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:32.460 the little girl was 00:19:32.460 --> 00:19:32.919 sitting there at 00:19:32.919 --> 00:19:33.559 the table, and the 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:34.139 mom was spending 00:19:34.139 --> 00:19:34.779 her whole time 00:19:34.779 --> 00:19:37.079 texting, ignoring 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:37.759 the little girl. 00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:39.220 And the little 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:41.859 girl was eating 00:19:41.859 --> 00:19:42.539 her cookie and 00:19:42.539 --> 00:19:43.240 drank her milk, 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:45.180 and she had a 00:19:45.180 --> 00:19:46.339 little tummy, because 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:47.039 she's just a cute 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:48.279 little girl, and 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:49.000 so at some point 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:49.519 in time, she has 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:50.259 no longer any 00:19:50.259 --> 00:19:50.900 interest in eating 00:19:50.900 --> 00:19:51.680 any more of her 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:52.180 cookie or any 00:19:52.180 --> 00:19:52.579 more of her 00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:52.839 milk. 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:54.759 And this particular 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:55.620 Starbucks was 00:19:55.620 --> 00:19:56.500 part of the 00:19:56.500 --> 00:19:56.940 chapters. 00:19:57.700 --> 00:19:58.460 So she's sitting 00:19:58.460 --> 00:19:59.319 at a table like 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:00.700 this, and right 00:20:00.700 --> 00:20:02.319 behind her are 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:04.160 rows and rows of 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:04.620 books. 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:07.339 Mom, looking at 00:20:07.339 --> 00:20:09.279 her phone, not 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:09.680 paying any 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:10.640 attention to her, 00:20:11.299 --> 00:20:11.799 books. 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:11.919 books. 00:20:13.460 --> 00:20:14.460 So what would a 00:20:14.460 --> 00:20:15.299 little three-year-old 00:20:15.299 --> 00:20:15.919 girl do? 00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:17.279 She'd get off the 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:18.559 chair and go to 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:20.599 the books to take 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:22.000 them down, right? 00:20:22.659 --> 00:20:23.639 It's very easy for me 00:20:23.639 --> 00:20:25.480 to say, because I'm 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:26.119 just sitting there by 00:20:26.119 --> 00:20:27.159 myself, not having to 00:20:27.159 --> 00:20:27.980 look with her, and 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:29.059 the moms look very 00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:29.359 frazzled. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:30.339 But here's the 00:20:30.339 --> 00:20:31.279 interesting thing about 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:31.519 this. 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:33.000 The mom and the 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:33.659 little girl had 00:20:33.659 --> 00:20:34.539 about a 20-minute 00:20:34.539 --> 00:20:36.079 battle over the 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:37.579 control of whether 00:20:37.579 --> 00:20:38.680 the mom would text 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:39.299 or whether the 00:20:39.299 --> 00:20:39.899 little girl would 00:20:39.899 --> 00:20:40.460 play with the 00:20:40.460 --> 00:20:40.759 books. 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:41.500 And eventually 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:42.140 the mom, in 00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:43.220 great exasperation, 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:43.779 picked up the 00:20:43.779 --> 00:20:44.660 little girl and 00:20:44.660 --> 00:20:45.119 walked out. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:46.240 But every time the 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:47.339 little girl wandered 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:49.279 away from the 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:50.579 chair, what the 00:20:50.579 --> 00:20:51.740 mom said, she 00:20:51.740 --> 00:20:52.619 didn't say, it's 00:20:52.619 --> 00:20:53.420 wrong to take 00:20:53.420 --> 00:20:54.240 books down. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:55.539 It's wrong to 00:20:55.539 --> 00:20:56.339 damage books. 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:57.920 She said, you're 00:20:57.920 --> 00:20:59.500 making me unhappy. 00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:03.359 You're making me 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:04.099 unhappy. 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:04.159 happy. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:11.559 In a very, very odd 00:21:11.559 --> 00:21:13.919 way, in our 00:21:13.919 --> 00:21:15.879 culture, as we 00:21:15.879 --> 00:21:17.039 believe that all 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:18.039 things are relative, 00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:20.000 and as we believe 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:21.919 that how you 00:21:21.919 --> 00:21:22.899 understand right and 00:21:22.899 --> 00:21:24.379 wrong is really a 00:21:24.379 --> 00:21:25.799 matter of, at the 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:26.500 same time that we 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:27.139 say that things are 00:21:27.139 --> 00:21:28.159 relative, we also say 00:21:28.159 --> 00:21:29.119 that what's wrong is 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:29.839 actually hurting 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:30.379 anybody. 00:21:30.380 --> 00:21:32.780 And so that means 00:21:32.780 --> 00:21:33.380 you sort of have to 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:34.240 balance, if you do 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:34.960 something, how much 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:35.760 you're hurting somebody 00:21:35.760 --> 00:21:36.460 and how much you're 00:21:36.460 --> 00:21:37.260 doing things which are 00:21:37.260 --> 00:21:38.120 neutral and how much 00:21:38.120 --> 00:21:38.680 you're just yourself. 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:40.320 And in that whole 00:21:40.320 --> 00:21:41.580 dynamic, what happens 00:21:41.580 --> 00:21:43.840 is, as the gospel 00:21:43.840 --> 00:21:45.020 text tells us today, 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:46.180 what we don't realize 00:21:46.180 --> 00:21:47.660 is that we always 00:21:47.660 --> 00:21:49.320 weight ourselves more 00:21:49.320 --> 00:21:50.420 than other people. 00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:50.460 people. 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:52.279 And so it's very, very 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:54.100 hard for us to 00:21:54.100 --> 00:21:56.080 actually, we end up 00:21:56.080 --> 00:21:57.120 actually always 00:21:57.120 --> 00:21:57.860 wanting to have 00:21:57.860 --> 00:22:00.060 power and always 00:22:00.060 --> 00:22:00.720 want to be the 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:01.080 center. 00:22:01.340 --> 00:22:02.320 And that mom was 00:22:02.320 --> 00:22:03.400 teaching her kid, not 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:04.060 that there was this 00:22:04.060 --> 00:22:05.080 type of right and 00:22:05.080 --> 00:22:05.759 wrong, which is 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:06.759 outside of both the 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:07.460 little girl and the 00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:08.880 mother, and that both 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:09.779 of them had to listen 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:10.060 to. 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:11.400 The mother was 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:12.120 teaching the little 00:22:12.120 --> 00:22:13.920 girl that she, the 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:14.980 mother, was the 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:15.960 center of what was 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:16.700 right and wrong and 00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:17.420 the center of the 00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:18.259 universe, and the 00:22:18.259 --> 00:22:19.600 little girl shouldn't 00:22:19.600 --> 00:22:20.400 make the mother 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.460 unhappy. 00:22:25.100 --> 00:22:27.120 In an odd way, in a 00:22:27.120 --> 00:22:27.940 culture where you 00:22:27.940 --> 00:22:29.480 talk about relativism, 00:22:30.320 --> 00:22:31.320 what you end up 00:22:31.320 --> 00:22:33.360 doing is actually 00:22:33.360 --> 00:22:35.480 giving power to the 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:36.440 loudest voice. 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:40.900 But what the Bible 00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:42.740 teaches is, if you 00:22:42.740 --> 00:22:43.300 put up the next 00:22:43.300 --> 00:22:44.380 point, is this. 00:22:45.820 --> 00:22:47.580 Evil is not a mere 00:22:47.580 --> 00:22:48.200 opinion. 00:22:49.040 --> 00:22:50.220 It is a power 00:22:50.220 --> 00:22:51.480 power, and it has 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:52.279 dominion. 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:59.000 You see, here's the 00:22:59.000 --> 00:22:59.680 problem with 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:00.400 relativism. 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:02.759 On one hand, it 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:03.759 ends up giving power 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:04.579 to whoever has the 00:23:04.579 --> 00:23:05.880 loudest voice, which 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:07.339 is the mom in this 00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:08.339 particular story. 00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:10.500 But on the other 00:23:10.500 --> 00:23:12.759 hand, what relativism 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:14.059 ends up just doing is 00:23:14.059 --> 00:23:14.740 it just ends up 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:15.620 thinking that right and 00:23:15.620 --> 00:23:16.480 wrong is just my 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:17.059 opinion. 00:23:17.059 --> 00:23:17.159 opinion. 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:18.899 And if I'm able to 00:23:18.899 --> 00:23:19.740 sort of, you know, 00:23:19.740 --> 00:23:20.440 certain things I don't 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:21.259 care about, I have no 00:23:21.259 --> 00:23:21.759 opinion on. 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:22.859 But when I have a really 00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:24.119 strong opinion on it, I try 00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:26.059 to convince you of it. 00:23:26.399 --> 00:23:28.399 But this whole thing of 00:23:28.399 --> 00:23:29.599 right and wrong just being 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:30.599 an opinion, it doesn't 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:32.679 actually match up with our 00:23:32.679 --> 00:23:34.179 real experience of right and 00:23:34.179 --> 00:23:34.419 wrong. 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:34.460 wrong. 00:23:35.580 --> 00:23:37.460 Those of you, those of us, 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:39.340 who have a problem telling 00:23:39.340 --> 00:23:41.840 the truth, we understand 00:23:41.840 --> 00:23:43.860 that when we try to tell the 00:23:43.860 --> 00:23:45.500 truth, but lies look so 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:47.840 attractive that telling lies 00:23:47.840 --> 00:23:50.220 has a power over us. 00:23:51.800 --> 00:23:53.519 Those of us who have problems 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:56.060 with anger know that it's not 00:23:56.060 --> 00:23:57.500 just having an opinion about 00:23:57.500 --> 00:23:59.120 anger being wrong that matters, 00:23:59.420 --> 00:24:01.440 but that anger has a type of 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:02.960 power over us. 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:04.799 It has a hold in us. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:06.960 It has dominion in us. 00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:09.980 Those of us who struggle with 00:24:09.980 --> 00:24:13.400 feelings of jealousy know that 00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:14.680 it's not just us saying that 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:15.900 jealousy is wrong, but that 00:24:15.900 --> 00:24:18.039 jealousy has a type of power and 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:19.440 dominion over us. 00:24:20.279 --> 00:24:22.079 And so in our culture, when we 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:23.980 tell people that right and 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:26.279 wrong is just an opinion, that 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:27.160 it's just, you know, whether 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:28.539 it's relative, that, you know, 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:29.480 whether we use the language of 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:30.900 it's a social construct or 00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:32.700 whatever, it's doing two types 00:24:32.700 --> 00:24:34.120 of things, it's actually giving 00:24:34.120 --> 00:24:36.080 power to human beings and 00:24:36.080 --> 00:24:37.840 saying that really it is just a 00:24:37.840 --> 00:24:38.940 matter of a power struggle, 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:39.960 whether it's between a mother 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:41.720 and a daughter, but ironically, 00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:44.360 it's ignoring the real power of 00:24:44.360 --> 00:24:44.680 evil. 00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:48.480 That evil is not just having an 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:50.160 opinion about something, but that 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:52.140 there's an actual power of evil 00:24:52.140 --> 00:24:54.720 and that that power of evil has a 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:57.059 hold, has dominion over us. 00:24:57.059 --> 00:25:00.200 And so the language of relativism 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:03.139 ends up making it hard for us to 00:25:03.139 --> 00:25:05.359 understand our own experience of 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:08.019 right and wrong, our own experience 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:09.819 of trying to change when we can't 00:25:09.819 --> 00:25:10.379 change. 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:12.460 It makes it hard for us to 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:13.940 understand even things in the 00:25:13.940 --> 00:25:15.980 culture where certain things in the 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:17.980 culture seem to be intractable in 00:25:17.980 --> 00:25:19.500 terms of something which is wrong, 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:21.359 having a powerful hold in our 00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:21.819 culture. 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:23.539 And if it's just a matter of 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:25.839 opinion, then why is that that it 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:27.839 has such a hold in our culture? 00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:30.159 But the Bible doesn't understand 00:25:30.159 --> 00:25:31.980 right and wrong as just being a 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:33.059 matter of opinions. 00:25:34.019 --> 00:25:35.460 The Bible, one of the ways that the 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:37.720 Bible understands evil is that evil 00:25:37.720 --> 00:25:41.980 has a power and it has dominion. 00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:46.180 And that's one of the ways, that's a 00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:48.240 fundamental way for us to understand 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:51.379 what evil is, what sin is. 00:25:51.380 --> 00:25:55.940 And so the question is, let's put up 00:25:55.940 --> 00:25:57.380 the Bible text again for us, let's 00:25:57.380 --> 00:25:57.880 say it together. 00:25:59.460 --> 00:26:01.720 Abstain from every form of evil. 00:26:01.800 --> 00:26:02.760 Let's say it together again. 00:26:03.300 --> 00:26:05.780 Abstain from every form of evil. 00:26:06.420 --> 00:26:08.960 On one hand, it sounds as if the 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:10.800 Bible is just telling us that we have 00:26:10.800 --> 00:26:12.480 to have certain opinions about right 00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:14.080 and wrong and we have to make sure we 00:26:14.080 --> 00:26:15.580 have the right opinions about right 00:26:15.580 --> 00:26:17.580 and wrong and we have to understand 00:26:17.580 --> 00:26:19.180 that there's the B and C in that 00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:20.400 circle and that those are the right 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:22.019 opinions to have about right and 00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:23.980 wrong and then we just have to do 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:25.600 that which is right and stop doing 00:26:25.600 --> 00:26:26.519 that which is wrong. 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:28.420 But the Bible, and I'm going to show 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:30.759 you from this text, talks about evil 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:33.080 not just as having an opinion, not 00:26:33.080 --> 00:26:34.780 just about knowing a matter of rules, 00:26:35.380 --> 00:26:37.759 but there's in fact a type of power of 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:40.400 evil and that evil then not only has 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:42.500 power but it has a type of dominion 00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:44.259 so that those who start to come 00:26:44.259 --> 00:26:46.860 underneath the spell or the sphere or 00:26:46.859 --> 00:26:49.919 the realm of that which is wrong 00:26:49.919 --> 00:26:54.859 understand it has a power and a hold 00:26:54.859 --> 00:26:55.479 within us. 00:26:58.099 --> 00:27:03.059 So the question might be then, and the 00:27:03.059 --> 00:27:04.779 question might be then is, well, how does 00:27:04.779 --> 00:27:06.740 the Bible going to deal with this or how 00:27:06.740 --> 00:27:08.019 do we start to deal with it? 00:27:08.979 --> 00:27:10.159 Here's the third point. 00:27:11.099 --> 00:27:12.219 If you put it up, Andrew. 00:27:12.220 --> 00:27:16.779 God is good and his very nature is the 00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:19.519 source of all goodness in the physical, 00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:23.539 spiritual, intellectual, emotional and 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:24.620 moral realms. 00:27:25.620 --> 00:27:29.839 God is good and his very nature is the 00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:32.559 source of all goodness in the physical, 00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:36.220 spiritual, intellectual, emotional and 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:37.220 moral realms. 00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:48.319 realms. From the Bible, evil is a negation or an emptiness. Where there should be the good, 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:54.519 evil is trying to get rid of it altogether to create an emptiness where there should be this 00:27:54.519 --> 00:28:04.559 positive presence of God. Where evil is a bending of that positive presence of the good and bending 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:11.139 it so that it's no longer the way that God intended. And there's often an interplay behind that. 00:28:11.259 --> 00:28:21.639 And you see, that's why evil, there's a type of power to evil. Because it's an attempt to remove 00:28:21.639 --> 00:28:28.519 that which is the good and which really exists, or bend that which is good and the good really 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:37.339 exists. And so evil, by either, you know, it's like, you know, since water really exists, 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:44.559 and if you try to have, like, I don't know, like a ball that has air in it, and you push 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:49.660 it down into the water, that if you, you're having to push it down in the water and you're 00:28:49.660 --> 00:28:54.700 having to hold the ball in, and if you let the ball go, it jumps out. There's this, there's 00:28:54.700 --> 00:29:02.960 this real existence and reality of God. And the God who really does exist is good. He is the good. 00:29:03.620 --> 00:29:10.100 And he is good in his very nature. And he's created all things, and he sustains all things. 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:20.400 And he's always present. He's never absent. And so if by evil we try to make where God is not there, 00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:28.840 it's like trying to push this balloon or this ball with air into water, and there's a power which is 00:29:28.840 --> 00:29:35.040 there, because it keeps wanting to be pushed away. And you have to, you can only maintain that ball 00:29:35.040 --> 00:29:41.120 there by force, by power. And if you're trying to bend it, different analogy from water, there's, 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:47.500 you're bending something which is real. So to understand evil as just merely an opinion, 00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:53.700 will never understand our moral experience, because God exists, and he's real, and he's created 00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:58.680 all things. And he's created the physical things, and the intellectual matters, and he's created 00:29:58.680 --> 00:30:03.880 moral, the moral universe, and he's created a spiritual universe, and he's created the entire 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:09.519 inside of human beings, which is imagination, and emotion, and will, and heart, and everything 00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:14.799 which is inside a human being that God creates and God sustains. And when any part of his creation, 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:21.619 we try to push him away and make it like it's a vacuum, or bend it or break it, there's going 00:30:21.619 --> 00:30:30.480 to be a type of a power there, not a power that comes from God. And so to try to abstain 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:36.019 from evil, merely thinking it means that we just do something by our will, or by our rules, 00:30:36.259 --> 00:30:44.000 or by our knowledge, is always going to be insufficient. Because evil is a power that has dominion. 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:52.380 And it comes because of the very, very nature of God, which, let's say the, let's say the, 00:30:52.380 --> 00:30:58.180 the scripture text, well actually we're going to switch to another one. Here's what I'm going 00:30:58.180 --> 00:31:03.000 to show you how the whole text helps us to understand how abstain from every form of evil. 00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:09.200 We have to hear it in the scripture which surrounds it to understand what it is that the Bible is 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:12.900 asking us to do when it says to abstain from evil. So if you could say this with me, that would 00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:20.800 be very helpful. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything. Hold fast what is good. 00:31:21.460 --> 00:31:28.600 Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. 00:31:29.300 --> 00:31:35.720 Here's what the Bible is teaching us. The Bible is not teaching us that we should just have more 00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:43.600 rules. In fact, the hard part consistently for Christians is that on one hand, people want to say, 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:48.380 you know, all, if we, they understand that there's this power of evil and that there's evil in the 00:31:48.380 --> 00:31:53.240 world. And so the, the very, very first thing that pops into their mind is that we need to have more 00:31:53.240 --> 00:32:01.720 rules. That's how we're going to deal with evil. Have more rules. Have, you know, if, if the Bible only 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:07.740 gives you a couple of things on a page, let's, let's turn that into a massive book filled with rules 00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:13.819 and we'll teach everybody all of the rules. And if they learn all of the rules, then they'll be able 00:32:13.819 --> 00:32:19.620 to abstain from every form of evil. And many people reacting against that says, let's get rid of the 00:32:19.620 --> 00:32:23.640 rules. Not only get rid of all of these other rules that people have added, but even get rid of the 00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:27.620 biblical rules. And that's the place of freedom. And the Bible is doing something completely and utterly 00:32:27.619 --> 00:32:33.739 different. It's going to tell us this, if you could put up point number four, Andrew, only God can break 00:32:33.739 --> 00:32:42.000 the power and dominion of evil. He did this in the death of Jesus Messiah for us. Only God can break 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:50.339 the power and dominion of evil. He did this in the death of Jesus Messiah for us. If you have your 00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:55.599 Bibles, the way this whole text, the reading which I began with this morning, it begins in verses nine 00:32:55.599 --> 00:33:03.619 and 10. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:12.599 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him. This whole language 00:33:12.599 --> 00:33:21.159 of being destined to be separate from God is the language of power. That we are under the power and 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:29.019 dominion of a type of evil, which will continue by the force of the current to keep us going far away from God. 00:33:29.180 --> 00:33:36.640 But in the face of this powerful current of rejection against God that will keep us completely and utterly 00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:47.180 going away from God, God says, I am going to come in such a way so that that power is broken in such a way that 00:33:47.180 --> 00:33:54.340 people can be redeemed, they can be rescued, they can be saved, they can be delivered from this power which 00:33:54.340 --> 00:34:01.380 will continue to keep them away from God. Excuse me. And he does it by the sending of his son into the 00:34:01.380 --> 00:34:08.480 current, so to speak, into the very power of the river. And he does it to, in a sense, take upon himself 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:16.780 in the person of his son, the full power of the river, the full power of that which separates us from God. 00:34:17.380 --> 00:34:23.940 And he takes it upon himself in his very person, and in his death upon the cross, he, in a sense, 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:31.639 allows all of that to come and fall upon him. And he takes all that there is to taste of it, 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:39.059 and then on the third day he rises triumphant over that river, over sin, over death, over hostile 00:34:39.059 --> 00:34:47.440 spiritual powers, over anything which has a power which pushes us away from God. Jesus enters it, 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:56.480 tastes it fully, and triumphs it over it in his death and in his resurrection. And then offers to share it 00:34:56.480 --> 00:35:05.039 to a person who merely calls out for him, that he would be, that he would share that great triumph 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:11.179 and victory which he has won on the cross, that he would share it with him. And that's why in the text, 00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:17.519 can you put the scripture text back up, Andrew? It's a very, very, like last week we talked about, 00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:24.119 do not despise prophecies. That means continue to listen to God. God's calling you all the time. 00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:29.000 He calls you to become his own through the person of Jesus when you put your faith and trust in him, 00:35:29.239 --> 00:35:35.019 and he's always calling you. He knows that even after you've come to Jesus, that there's still 00:35:35.019 --> 00:35:39.799 going to be parts of you which are very, very prone to different types of evil, and Jesus is always 00:35:39.799 --> 00:35:45.440 calling us and speaking to us. And so the text says, don't stop listening for Jesus. Don't stop 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:52.799 listening for God. But when you hear what he says, test it. And test it means, one of the best examples 00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:57.539 is in the book of Malachi, where God says to the people of Israel, listen, I want you to tithe. 00:35:58.620 --> 00:36:05.140 Test my word. Tithe for a while and see if your needs will be met or if you will be completely 00:36:05.140 --> 00:36:15.100 and utterly impoverished. Test me. The Bible speaks countercultural things about sexuality. Test it. 00:36:15.099 --> 00:36:22.920 Will it make you repressed, anxious, lonely? Far more repressed and anxious and lonely than those 00:36:22.920 --> 00:36:31.679 around us? Test my word. To reject the lie and believe in the truth? To reject death and believe 00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:40.019 in life? Test my word. Listen to God. Test it. And in the original language, it's not grammatical, 00:36:40.019 --> 00:36:44.960 but there should be the word the before good. It says, hold fast. What is the good? So as you learn 00:36:44.960 --> 00:36:51.199 and hear from God, what is the good? Hold fast to it. And as you're holding fast to the good, 00:36:51.400 --> 00:36:58.639 it's in that context that you abstain from evil because you're holding fast to that which is good. 00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:05.079 You're desiring to come under the dominion and the power of Jesus. It's not just a matter of running 00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:13.980 from bad things, but of running to Jesus. And then the text reminds us that you're not just doing 00:37:13.980 --> 00:37:26.059 this by yourself. Why? The God of peace himself sanctifies you. God is in it. That's why it's, 00:37:26.239 --> 00:37:31.340 if you could put up the next point, Andrew, that would be great. When I become Christ's own, 00:37:31.340 --> 00:37:40.039 I come under the power and dominion of the good. So I seek to draw closer to Jesus and abstain from evil. 00:37:40.240 --> 00:37:48.900 When I become Christ's own, I come under the power and dominion of the good. So I seek to draw closer 00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:59.180 to Jesus and abstain from evil. So abstaining from evil isn't just to be understood in a religious sense 00:37:59.179 --> 00:38:08.480 as an invitation to write lots of rules and lots of regulations. And to have a grim-faced person 00:38:08.480 --> 00:38:15.659 standing there over the congregation making a note of all of the ways that you break and don't keep 00:38:15.659 --> 00:38:21.699 all of the different tiny little rules ever more tiny. It's not like that at all. There is an abstaining, 00:38:21.839 --> 00:38:27.619 a fleeing, a running from evil, but it's never a mere running from evil. I mean, for many of us in our 00:38:27.619 --> 00:38:32.739 culture, all they know is that there's certain things that they have to flee. When I was in 00:38:32.739 --> 00:38:38.400 university, one day I was saying to this friend of mine, and I said to her, I love the dusk. 00:38:38.980 --> 00:38:44.900 I love the dusk. I love that time when the shadows are lengthening and you can tell the evening is 00:38:44.900 --> 00:38:51.279 about to come. And I love the quiet and the stillness of it. And she gave a shudder and said, 00:38:51.280 --> 00:38:56.519 I hate the dusk. That's when the scary things come out. I discovered that she'd been deeply involved 00:38:56.519 --> 00:39:02.740 in witchcraft. She'd had a very powerful experience of something that so deeply frightened her that she 00:39:02.740 --> 00:39:09.180 stopped doing it. She ran from that, but she didn't know that the Bible doesn't call us just merely to 00:39:09.180 --> 00:39:18.000 run from something, but to run to someone. Not a new set of rules, but to a person, a person who is 00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:23.840 conquered, a person who's ultimately the one who wrote the scriptures. And so that even when we 00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:28.579 read the Bible and we come face to face upon things that the Bible says are wrong that we did, 00:39:29.079 --> 00:39:35.699 the Bible's not saying that to us to silence us, to hurt us, to condemn us, to belittle us, 00:39:35.699 --> 00:39:45.099 to shut us up forever. It's saying that so that we can understand that we can turn to Jesus 00:39:45.099 --> 00:39:51.420 and receive forgiveness and receive forgiveness and freedom because Jesus dies for us to break 00:39:51.420 --> 00:39:59.460 the oppressive power of the flow of evil so that we might live with him. 00:40:01.099 --> 00:40:09.420 That in fact, evil brings bondage to us because it has a power and a dominion. And that when we give 00:40:09.420 --> 00:40:16.639 our lives to the person of Jesus, we're giving our lives to the one who died for us out of love for us, 00:40:16.639 --> 00:40:26.980 who desires that we will live in freedom and in wholeness, that we will live in keeping with how God 00:40:26.980 --> 00:40:35.680 created us as human beings to be, that we will be in a covenant with the living God who loves us, 00:40:35.679 --> 00:40:40.559 to be in a covenant with the living God who loves us, changes everything. 00:40:42.339 --> 00:40:46.859 And so it is that the mission of this church is to make disciples of Jesus 00:40:46.859 --> 00:40:51.480 gripped by the gospel, living for his glory, and we could add in freedom. 00:40:52.980 --> 00:40:53.599 In freedom. 00:40:56.059 --> 00:41:00.719 I just want to say two things in closing. The first thing is this, what is faith in Jesus? 00:41:00.719 --> 00:41:03.959 If you could put that up, Andrew, please. 00:41:05.359 --> 00:41:06.279 Very simple. 00:41:07.219 --> 00:41:10.379 Sometimes you might want to remember it as TIP, T-I-P. 00:41:11.799 --> 00:41:20.139 Faith in Jesus is turning to him, the T, inviting him into your life as the Savior and Lord, 00:41:21.679 --> 00:41:23.679 and then giving him permission. 00:41:24.159 --> 00:41:27.339 That would be the P, not the G, giving, but the P, permission. 00:41:27.340 --> 00:41:32.539 Giving him permission to be the Savior and Lord of every nook and cranny of who you are. 00:41:33.340 --> 00:41:37.620 That's what faith is. It's not an emotion, although often emotion comes with such a turning. 00:41:38.680 --> 00:41:40.220 Comes with such an invitation. 00:41:41.579 --> 00:41:43.220 And it's not just an opinion. 00:41:44.340 --> 00:41:45.320 Faith in Jesus. 00:41:46.280 --> 00:41:50.039 God does everything that has to be done for us in the person with his son. 00:41:50.039 --> 00:41:56.960 And God, on one hand, of course, delights when we turn and we flee from evil and we abstain from evil, 00:41:57.139 --> 00:42:04.539 but it brings him no pleasure if we merely abstain from maybe a greater evil by giving ourselves to a lesser evil. 00:42:04.759 --> 00:42:07.980 He wants us to turn from evil and turn to his son. 00:42:08.320 --> 00:42:11.039 And so faith in Jesus is first turning to Jesus. 00:42:11.500 --> 00:42:16.300 And then as we turn to Jesus, we invite him into our life as the Savior and as the Lord. 00:42:16.300 --> 00:42:20.600 Not in any other role, but just Jesus come in and do what only you can do. 00:42:21.539 --> 00:42:26.060 And it's involved permission, giving him permission to come into every nook and cranny of our lives. 00:42:26.580 --> 00:42:27.920 I'll just close with an analogy. 00:42:28.080 --> 00:42:30.920 Maybe it's a bit of a guy-centered analogy, but just bear with me. 00:42:32.060 --> 00:42:33.900 Some of you have heard a form of it before. 00:42:35.160 --> 00:42:43.920 You know, you see those movies of those old medieval castles with a fortress and a moat and a drawbridge. 00:42:43.920 --> 00:42:50.700 And in some ways, the human condition is I stand on the ramparts of my fortress. 00:42:51.039 --> 00:42:53.440 And I have the armor on with which I trust. 00:42:53.539 --> 00:42:55.099 And I have my sword and my shield. 00:42:56.079 --> 00:42:58.500 And the drawbridge is up and the gate is closed. 00:42:59.840 --> 00:43:03.039 And originally I thought I was just the lord of my own fortress. 00:43:03.180 --> 00:43:06.200 But over time, evil has come into my life. 00:43:06.199 --> 00:43:09.859 And at some times, evil is my master. 00:43:09.939 --> 00:43:13.179 I master over evil and I seem to have some type of power over it. 00:43:13.179 --> 00:43:17.179 But over time, there's evil which is there in my fortress with me. 00:43:17.239 --> 00:43:20.099 And sometimes I can only do its bidding. 00:43:20.259 --> 00:43:22.960 I don't want to say that unkind word to my friend. 00:43:23.239 --> 00:43:25.879 I don't want to lie needlessly to my boss. 00:43:25.880 --> 00:43:30.840 I don't want to take that thing in the store which doesn't belong to me. 00:43:31.059 --> 00:43:32.740 I don't want to do these types of things. 00:43:32.820 --> 00:43:33.980 But I can't stop doing it. 00:43:34.019 --> 00:43:35.460 But I stand in my fortress. 00:43:35.920 --> 00:43:39.000 And in my fortress are now other fell things. 00:43:39.180 --> 00:43:42.099 And I still have my armor and my sword and my shield. 00:43:42.400 --> 00:43:43.559 And the gate is up. 00:43:43.740 --> 00:43:45.039 And the drawbridge is up. 00:43:45.200 --> 00:43:47.680 And across the moat, I see Jesus. 00:43:49.079 --> 00:43:53.380 And sometimes when I look at Jesus, I just see a man standing there. 00:43:53.380 --> 00:43:56.160 Sometimes I see a lamb that looks as if it was slain. 00:43:56.320 --> 00:43:58.760 Sometimes I see a man who was upon the cross. 00:43:59.180 --> 00:44:01.880 Sometimes I see a humble man merely on a donkey. 00:44:02.000 --> 00:44:03.320 But I know that it's Jesus. 00:44:04.320 --> 00:44:08.039 And sometimes I call to him from my ramparts, wearing my armor, 00:44:08.440 --> 00:44:11.460 having my sword and my shield, and I talk to him. 00:44:12.760 --> 00:44:15.539 But Jesus keeps saying to me in his humility, 00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:17.420 let me in. 00:44:18.740 --> 00:44:20.480 And the Christian life begins 00:44:20.480 --> 00:44:26.420 when despite the fact that all sorts of things within my fortress say, 00:44:26.740 --> 00:44:28.460 don't put down your armor. 00:44:28.639 --> 00:44:30.440 Don't put down your sword and shield. 00:44:30.659 --> 00:44:31.780 Don't open the gate. 00:44:31.980 --> 00:44:33.519 Don't let down the drawbridge. 00:44:33.740 --> 00:44:35.519 He's only going to hurt you. 00:44:37.019 --> 00:44:40.099 And with those voices in your ear, you silence them. 00:44:40.320 --> 00:44:42.300 And you walk down from the rampart. 00:44:43.360 --> 00:44:45.240 And you let down the drawbridge. 00:44:45.239 --> 00:44:47.139 And you open the gates. 00:44:47.799 --> 00:44:50.099 And you lay down your sword and shield. 00:44:50.579 --> 00:44:52.259 And you take off your armor. 00:44:52.959 --> 00:44:54.959 And you kneel and look at Jesus and say, 00:44:55.059 --> 00:44:58.799 Jesus, please come into my fortress. 00:44:59.379 --> 00:45:01.719 And be my savior and be my lord. 00:45:02.179 --> 00:45:04.139 Be my sword and be my shield. 00:45:04.639 --> 00:45:05.719 Be my armor. 00:45:06.339 --> 00:45:07.539 Be my deliverance. 00:45:07.979 --> 00:45:10.039 And not only come into my fortress, 00:45:10.039 --> 00:45:14.699 but it's all yours with nothing held back. 00:45:15.519 --> 00:45:17.380 And the Christian life begins 00:45:17.380 --> 00:45:19.800 when we lay down our sword and shield 00:45:19.800 --> 00:45:23.179 and take off the armor and open that gate 00:45:23.179 --> 00:45:26.940 and ask the Savior and the Lord to come in. 00:45:29.440 --> 00:45:33.039 The whole Christian life is never just 00:45:33.039 --> 00:45:35.239 about abstaining from evil, 00:45:35.360 --> 00:45:36.539 but turning to Jesus 00:45:36.539 --> 00:45:39.300 and allowing his power and dominion 00:45:39.300 --> 00:45:40.300 to come into your life. 00:45:41.039 --> 00:45:41.699 Please stand. 00:45:51.579 --> 00:45:53.639 I don't have them printed up on the screen, 00:45:55.300 --> 00:45:58.779 but if to maybe recommit your life to Jesus 00:45:58.779 --> 00:46:00.179 or maybe for the first time 00:46:00.179 --> 00:46:02.139 you would like to ask Jesus 00:46:02.139 --> 00:46:04.179 to come into the fortress that is you, 00:46:04.179 --> 00:46:06.199 I will say a prayer short, 00:46:06.599 --> 00:46:08.299 a prayer with pauses. 00:46:08.940 --> 00:46:10.639 And if that speaks to your heart, 00:46:10.719 --> 00:46:13.179 the Holy Spirit is putting pressure on you, 00:46:13.239 --> 00:46:15.619 not just to merely run from evil, 00:46:15.719 --> 00:46:16.859 but to turn to Jesus, 00:46:17.339 --> 00:46:18.599 then in the silence, 00:46:18.919 --> 00:46:20.199 please make the prayer your own. 00:46:20.519 --> 00:46:21.419 And do it silently. 00:46:21.819 --> 00:46:24.919 There's no way not to impress people 00:46:24.919 --> 00:46:25.699 who are around you. 00:46:26.699 --> 00:46:27.859 And I'm just going to use the words 00:46:27.859 --> 00:46:29.399 of that image which I just shared. 00:46:29.400 --> 00:46:33.280 Jesus, 00:46:33.280 --> 00:46:36.760 I turn to you. 00:46:38.660 --> 00:46:40.599 I lay down my sword 00:46:40.599 --> 00:46:43.720 and my shield. 00:46:45.660 --> 00:46:47.680 I take off my armor. 00:46:50.680 --> 00:46:52.840 I open the door to my life. 00:46:52.840 --> 00:46:57.320 I kneel before you. 00:46:59.960 --> 00:47:01.820 Please come into my life 00:47:01.820 --> 00:47:05.440 as the Savior and the Lord. 00:47:05.440 --> 00:47:31.179 I hold nothing back. 00:47:31.179 --> 00:47:35.420 Thank you. 00:47:35.440 --> 00:47:36.200 Thank you for entering. 00:47:38.440 --> 00:47:40.320 Thank you that you will never leave me 00:47:40.320 --> 00:47:42.940 or forsake me. 00:47:45.059 --> 00:47:45.460 Amen.