One of the things I love about Church of the Advent is that on any given Sunday we have a whole mix of people.
We have a whole mix of people who come from a variety of backgrounds in terms of their faith
and who are in a variety of places with regarding their faith.
So we have some long-time believers.
We have some people who are struggling in their faith trying to figure out what they believe.
And every week, especially taking into account not only those here in person but those joining us online,
we have people who wouldn't consider themselves to be Christians trying to figure out what they believe.
And I love that about Advent.
I'm interested to know what you would think about this.
I just recently read a book called Being the Bad Guys.
And one of the things that the author contends, makes a case for,
is the changing perspective toward Christianity that has happened in recent history.
A few generations ago, Christianity would have largely be seen as the good guy in Western society.
So even if you weren't a Christian personally,
most people on the street would have considered Christianity to be generally a good thing for society.
It's the foundation for our social and moral order.
It's the source of our values around human rights and dignity and justice and freedom.
So most people would consider Christianity to be a good guy, right?
Your grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's grandfather would probably think that way.
Then Christianity started to become kind of one of the guys.
It's one option among many, right?
If Christianity works for you, great.
I kind of think of it like cod liver oil, you know?
Maybe it's like generally a healthy thing, but I don't like the idea of it.
And so it's good for you, great, but I'm just not going to take any, you know?
But since then, things have changed very rapidly.
I think when we planted this church back in 2008,
we were probably in the state of things where Christianity was seen as just one of the options.
Things have changed.
And this author contends that now Christianity is no longer the good guy.
It's no longer one of the guys, but it's very clearly become the bad guy.
The Christianity has sort of become the villain in the story of history.
And part of this can be explained.
Part of it's, I think, been driven by some of the massive public failures
and blind spots of the church in history.
So we think of the complicity of the church in things like slavery or Jim Crow.
We think of the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the church in multiple denominations.
And you think about those big, public, spectacular failures,
and certainly that has driven this to some extent.
But this author says that there's more going on there than those things.
It used to be that when you would go and get a social work degree or a humanities degree,
you would sort of be introduced into a particular strain of thought about Christianity in the church.
But now these ideas that used to be in the academy have really become mainstream.
It's now mainstream to see Christianity as a central source of oppression.
That it's maybe the biggest obstacle to human freedom that there is.
And so in order to liberate people, in order to politically liberate people,
we need to liberate them from the stranglehold of Christianity.
And I bring that up because I know just from conversations
that there are probably people here who would more or less agree with that way of thinking.
And so what I want to do this morning is to explore that.
How and why has Christianity become the bad guy?
And then how should Christians respond?
And we're going to do this by looking at the story of Stephen,
which we just read about in the book of Acts.
Stephen is considered widely to be the first Christian martyr.
And we're going to look at this story and we're going to ask,
how and why has Christianity become the bad guy?
And then how should Christians respond?
Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you for your word.
And every week, I come to your word with my own hopes, fears, anxieties, agendas.
And Lord, yet you always do your work through your word.
And so I pray for that, Lord.
I think that we all need to hear your word.
And we need you to do your work through your word.
And so I pray that my heart, that our hearts would be open to what you have to say
to us this morning.
And that as we delve into your written word and the power of your spirit,
we would come face to face with the living word, Jesus Christ.
It's in the hope and the power of his name that we pray.
In your son's name, amen.
So first of all, why is Christianity the bad guy?
Some of you may agree.
Some of you don't know.
Some of you maybe strongly disagree.
Why is Christianity the bad guy?
It turns out that there have always been, in every age, people who opposed Christianity
in the church.
As we saw two weeks ago, Stephen is one of seven men who are chosen to oversee the care
of widows and to work for justice and mercy in the church in Jerusalem.
So that's his role in the church.
And Stephen's ministry starts to have this profound impact.
Stephen is a man of tremendous power and influence.
So word starts to spread about Stephen's ministry.
And Stephen gets the attention of the Jewish leaders who were already opposed to the Christian
church.
They're already looking for reasons to get rid of this community.
And so some men from a local synagogue, or it may have been several synagogues, we're
not quite sure, they come down to shut down Stephen's ministry.
They're like, we've got to shut this guy up.
And here's how this happens.
First, they begin to debate with Stephen.
Open theological debate.
We see that in verse 9.
That does not go well.
Stephen is a very fierce debater.
So they realize that's not going to work.
So then they start an active smear campaign against Stephen.
It says they secretly persuaded some men, presumably by bribery, to make false accusations.
We see this in verse 11.
We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.
So in this way, they stir up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law.
We see that in verse 12.
And so then in verses 12 and 13, after they have slandered Stephen, they finally seize
him and they bring him before the Sanhedrin.
And then they produce false witnesses to testify against him.
So here's the progression.
They debate against him.
Then they slander him.
And then they take legal action against him to silence him.
And then finally, when all else fails, they murder him.
So he asked, well, why would they be so opposed to this man who is caring for widows and orphans,
who is doing the work of justice in ministry, who's literally caring for people who had no recourse,
no other people to care for them in the Greco-Roman society?
The church was taking these people in and providing for them.
How could anybody be opposed to that kind of thing?
Why?
Because the Christian community stood in direct opposition to the temple.
The Christian community stood in direct opposition to the temple.
For the Jewish cultural elites, even though they aimed at and claimed to worship God subtly and slowly,
the temple had displaced God as the center of their worshiping life.
So in order to have a relationship with God, you had to go through the temple.
Because that is where, as it was believed, God dwells.
If you want to talk to God, go to God's house.
So, of course, whoever controls the temple has a lot of power.
Because they get to decide who gets access to God and who doesn't.
Right?
So the temple had become more and more and more a source of identity,
a source of influence for the Jewish cultural elites.
But then you look at Stephen and the other Christians.
They're not in the temple.
They're in the temple courtyard, but they're not really depending on the temple.
They're also worshiping God in their homes.
Powerful healings and miracles are happening in people's homes, on the street.
The temple used to be responsible for organizing care for the widows and the orphans.
But now this Christian community has organized their own system of provision.
It doesn't rely on the temple anymore.
And all of this is communicating the same message loudly and clearly.
The temple is no longer necessary.
And as you look at what Stephen is saying in his speech all through chapter 7,
God is not bound to a particular people group.
He is not bound to a particular place, temple.
He's not bound by geography like so many of the other ancient gods.
God is fulfilling His promise, not dwelling in the temple made by human hands,
but dwelling in the midst of His people.
We hear that and we think, what a beautiful idea.
Most of us do.
They heard that as, the temple has been obviated.
It's no longer necessary.
That's a threat, an existential threat to our way of life.
Here's how this connects to us.
We can't probably connect with thinking of a temple that way.
But every culture has something sacred at its center.
Every culture, every society, sacred, religious, or secular,
has some sacred temple at its center.
Something that plays the role of God in people's hearts.
And you say, well, how can I know what that is in my culture, in this society?
How do we know what the sacred temple at the center is?
And here's the easiest way to know.
Ask this question.
What am I not allowed to question or criticize?
Whatever you're not allowed to question,
whatever you're not allowed to criticize,
in any given culture,
chances are that is the sacred temple.
Right?
So Stephen is criticizing the temple
by saying it's no longer necessary.
How do the people respond?
They're enraged.
They cover their ears.
They grind their teeth.
They say, this is blasphemy.
That's the sacred temple.
In some families,
everyone is expected to hold to the same political views.
Right?
Everybody's expected to vote the same way.
You go to Thanksgiving,
you know the conversation
is going to go in a very particular political direction.
Everybody knows who the good guys are.
Everybody knows who the bad guys are.
And you know,
if you were to question that,
if you were to vote the other way,
blasphemy.
It might permanently damage your relationships.
I have relationships in my extended family
that have been permanently damaged
over this past year,
over that very issue.
You know,
it's funny to think back
during,
during Trump's presidency
when he was in office,
I would find myself,
at one point,
I would be in a group of people
and I would absolutely know
if I say anything negative
or critical
about President Trump,
that's going to be blasphemy in this group.
And then,
maybe the next week,
I would find myself in another group of people
and I knew,
if I say anything positive
about Trump's presidency,
that's going to be blasphemy.
Right?
That's how polarizing he was
as a president.
And,
this helps us answer the question
from the beginning of the sermon,
how has Christianity become the bad guy
in popular imagination in our society?
The reason is because Christianity
is a form of blasphemy
against the sacred temple in our culture.
Over the last few centuries,
we've seen the rise
of something called
expressive individualism.
It is this idea
at the very center of our culture,
and I say the center of our culture
meaning we are as affected by this as anybody.
There is no us and them here.
This is all of us
who are swimming in this water.
But expressive individualism says,
my true self is who I am on the inside.
It's who I feel I am.
And it says,
my freedom and my happiness
depend on my ability
to express that self to the world.
And anything standing in the way of that,
right,
traditions,
institutions,
religions,
sexual mores,
represent a direct threat to my well-being,
and they must be overthrown.
And so that's the general sense
that we all have in our culture.
And so I would say
one of the main sacred temples
at the center of modern culture
in our society
is the temple of expressive individualism.
So think about the relationship there,
right?
When Christianity says
that your true identity
is not found by looking within,
but by looking outside of yourself
to God and to the community of believers,
that's a form of blasphemy.
When Christianity says
that your inner feelings
are not always to be trusted,
that your desires
can easily enslave you,
and so we need to cultivate virtues
like self-control,
that sounds like blasphemy
to a culture of expressive individualism.
When Christianity says
that the human body is sacred,
when human sexuality
is layered with spiritual meaning,
that's blasphemy.
Right?
So as long as expressive individualism
is the sacred temple
of this culture,
Christianity will be seen
as blasphemy.
It will be the primary obstacle
to that way of being human.
And this is why
Christianity is always going to be
the bad guy in every society.
Here's the point.
Whenever and wherever
Christian communities
are publicly worshiping Jesus,
they are committing blasphemy
against the sacred temples
of that culture.
Whenever and wherever
Christians are publicly
worshiping Jesus,
they are committing blasphemy
against the sacred temples
of that culture.
So that begs the question,
how should Christians respond
if we know this?
We have several options.
Option number one,
retreat.
You know,
Monty Python,
run away.
Keep your faith private.
Move to a place
where everyone around you
thinks exactly the way you do.
Take your kids
out of public school.
I admit this is a very
tempting idea for me
many times.
But then I read this
and I'm like,
that's not what Stephen did.
Stephen is boldly
proclaiming truth
to people who don't
want to hear it.
The believers
are living there
in the city
in a midst of society
that increasingly
doesn't want them there.
The poor want them there.
The widows want them there.
The ex-slaves
want them there.
The orphans
want them there.
But the elites
don't want them there.
They represent
an alternative lifestyle
that's not built
around sex
or money or power.
It's built around Jesus.
And around his grace
and mercy.
So they don't retreat.
Another option?
Rally.
Rally around
a strong political leader
to take back the culture
by force if necessary.
Now listen,
we certainly need
Christians involved
in politics.
Absolutely.
And many of you are.
But I think there are
a lot of Christians
who put all of their hope
in politics.
If we can get
political power
then we'll be okay.
That's not what
Stephen did.
Now don't get me wrong,
the word power
shows up many times
in this passage
but it's not talking
about political power.
Right?
The Christians
found themselves
caught between
two great sources
of political power.
There were the
Jewish cultural elites,
the leaders of the
temple,
the Sanhedrin,
and then there was
Rome.
And both wanted
your ultimate allegiance.
The Christians
had no political power.
They had no influence.
But what they did have
was tremendous
spiritual power.
They were filled
with the Holy Spirit.
When Stephen spoke
the power of his words
was evident.
This wasn't just
good rhetoric.
There was spiritual force
to his language.
So they didn't rally
around political leader.
They rallied around
the power of the Holy Spirit.
Third option,
revise.
Revise the faith.
Revise the parts
of Christianity
that don't fit
with the current culture.
Make sure that we're
not saying or doing
anything that could
ever be conceived
as blasphemy
against the sacred temple.
You see that in a lot
of the more progressive
churches.
This is not what
Stephen did.
Stephen actually said
the opposite.
Instead of revising
the culture to fit
scripture,
or the scripture
to fit culture,
Stephen said we need
to revise the culture
to fit scripture.
Right?
In chapter 7,
Stephen's extended speech,
and it's worth
reading through this.
It's a great source
of theology.
In his extended speech,
he's going back again
and again and again
to the Old Testament.
He's saying,
you know,
read this right here.
And again and again
and again,
and he's pointing out
ways that they have
misinterpreted and thus
misapplied scripture
in their life.
So he's not saying
throw it out.
He's saying,
you need to read it
more closely.
And this is exactly
what we see in the
Protestant Reformation.
Right?
This is exactly what
we see again and again
and again throughout
the history of the church.
They need to constantly
go back,
look at what we believe,
what we're doing,
open this book,
and say,
are we sure that we are
lining up with this?
And if not,
we need reform.
So if these options
don't fit with Stephen's
example,
you know,
retreat,
rally,
revise,
what does that leave us?
Only other option,
recover a theology of
martyrdom.
Stephen was the first
martyr,
and I believe as
we enter this
era that we are in
as the church
in the 21st century,
there may be no
better example for us
to follow than the
example of Stephen.
And I want to just
give you two aspects
of Stephen's example
that I think are
particularly relevant
for us.
First,
there's the example
of Stephen's
winsome witness.
His winsome
witness.
He's described
in verses 5 through
8 as a man
full of faith.
Now,
they all had faith,
but he had the
kind of faith that
said,
I'm going to risk it
all for Jesus.
Right?
I'm risking
everything
believing that what
Jesus has promised
is true.
He's described
as a man who's
full of the Holy
Spirit.
Full of the Holy
Spirit.
We all receive
the Spirit
when we're baptized,
when we come to
faith.
But the Bible
also talks about
a way of being
filled with the
Spirit,
where God's Word
just pours out
of your mouth,
where all you can
think about is the
kingdom,
where you're passionate
for the lost.
He's full of the
Holy Spirit.
He's described in
verse 8 as being
full of God's grace.
And commentators
say the use of
grace here actually
is more akin to
winsomeness.
It's graciousness.
Now,
that's a point worth
sitting on for a
minute.
There are a lot
of bold Christian
witnesses in the
world who are
anything but winsome.
Right?
They're smug.
They're contemptuous
of the surrounding
culture.
They're cynical.
They're accusatory.
I feel this tendency
in my own heart
sometimes.
Right?
They're bold,
but they are smug
and filled with
contempt.
And that kind
of posture,
that kind of tone
runs completely
against the
gospel.
You know,
it's funny.
The gospel is a lot
like a song,
you know,
a really recognizable
song like
Happy Birthday.
It has words
and it has a melody.
Right?
And there was a long
time where restaurants
weren't allowed to sing
the real Happy Birthday
because of royalties.
And so they would sing
the words Happy Birthday
to another song.
And you would go in
and it's like,
yeah,
it's the words Happy Birthday,
but the way you're singing
it,
this isn't the right song.
You know,
it'd be kind of weird.
That's a piddly little example,
but apply that to the way
we think about the gospel.
The gospel has words.
Right?
There are truths
that are proclaimed,
but the gospel
also has a melody.
There's a melody
to the gospel.
There is a tone
to the gospel.
In other words,
when you,
when you proclaim
the gospel
with a tone
of smugness
or contempt,
you may have
the right words,
but you've got
the wrong melody.
You've got
the wrong melody.
Stephen is so immersed
in God's grace
that it makes him
a gracious person.
If you're immersed
in God's grace,
it means that you live
your life fully aware
of the fact that
God owes you
absolutely nothing.
Right?
The only reason
that you're a Christian
at all is because
God chose to pour
his grace and love
into your life
even though you
didn't earn it,
don't deserve it,
could never repay it.
And that changes
the way you think
about yourself
and God
and other people.
It humbles you.
Right?
It makes you
more charitable.
Meaning,
you assume the best
about other people's
motives,
other people's
intentions.
You don't impute
bad motives,
you assume the best.
You assume that most
people are doing
the best they can.
You're very slow
to criticize,
very slow
to make assumptions.
It makes you
more compassionate
toward people
who disagree with you
because you think,
man, I used to be
right where you are
and sometimes,
you know,
I still am.
It's only because
of God's grace
that we don't see
completely eye to eye
on everything.
God.
So this is the example
of Stephen's
winsome witness.
He is so immersed
in God's grace
that he has become
a gracious person.
But then there is
the equally important
example,
and this is,
I think,
where we can often
miss it,
the example
of his dying love.
His dying love.
In Stephen's day,
there were,
by the way,
plenty of examples
of people dying
for their faith.
During the Maccabean
Revolt back in 167 B.C.,
so this would have been
almost 200 years
before Jesus.
During the Maccabean
Revolt,
there was a well-known
story of a family
who, because of their
faith,
refused to eat pork.
And so they were
tortured and killed
by Antiochus.
And as they died,
and this story was
kind of legendary,
I'm sure everybody
knew about it in
Jesus' day,
in Stephen's day,
as his family was
killed for their faith,
they cried out
to Antiochus,
you accursed fiend,
just wait and see
how God's great power
will torment you
and your descendants.
You wretch,
you vilest of men.
If somebody was
torturing me
and killing me
for not eating pork,
I would probably
respond in a similar way.
But look at what
Stephen does.
Right?
As the stones
are slamming into
and breaking
Stephen's body,
he cries out
in a loud voice,
Lord,
do not hold this
sin against them.
And you say,
well,
how is that possible?
How is it possible
to love the very people
who are,
at that very moment,
putting you to death?
love?
It's only possible
because Stephen
had encountered
this kind of love
before.
Jesus Christ,
as he hung dying
on the cross,
as the soldiers
were literally
dividing up
his possessions
in front of him,
he cries out,
Father,
forgive them
for they do not
know what they're
doing.
And unlike Stephen,
Jesus was truly
innocent.
Stephen had the
face of an angel,
he was as blameless
probably as a human
being could be,
but he wasn't
innocent.
He wasn't free
from sin,
Jesus was.
And yet,
even in his death,
Jesus is only
thinking of those
whom he loves.
The very same
people who had
hung in there
to die.
And on the cross,
we need to understand,
we see a new
kind of love
entering the world.
Not a sentimental
love,
not a virtuous
love,
a dying love.
And it is that
love that is now
transforming
this world.
It's the love
that sits at the
very heart
of what it means
to be a follower
of Jesus.
So I just want to
bring all this
together.
Christians are
always going to
be the bad guys
because our
worship of Jesus
will always be
seen as blasphemy
against the sacred
temples of the
culture.
It's always going
to be that way.
Sometimes it'll be
better,
sometimes it'll be
worse.
The times that it
gets better
are the times
when we are
probably not
as clear
on what those
sacred temples
are.
And we're
happily worshiping
them,
maybe without
knowing it.
That's always
going to be
true.
And the second
thing is that
knowing this,
I believe that
we're called to
follow Stephen's
example and
recover a
theology of
martyrdom,
to have a
winsome witness
and when
necessary,
a dying love
for the world
and for the
very people
who oppose
our way of
life.
And what this
means,
friends,
is that we
need to
drastically
redefine
our view
of success.
Right?
We need to
completely rethink
how we're
defining success.
Stephen speaks
with unparalleled
winsome wisdom
and power.
I mean,
probably nobody
could do a
better job
than Stephen
at being
winsome.
and they
stone him
to death.
So how do
we define
success?
Here's how
God defines
success.
They lay
the garments
at the feet
of a man
named Saul.
We see a
little reference
at the end
of our passage.
It's only
later in the
book of Acts
that we
realize the
impact of
Stephen's
death on
Saul.
And we
realize that
this event
is probably
a massive
part of
what ultimately
led Saul
to give
his life
to Jesus,
a man
who was
viciously
persecuting
the church.
It was
the combination
of Stephen's
winsome witness
but also
his dying
love,
praying for
his murderers.
You know,
later Paul
talks about
his conversion.
He says at
one point
Jesus says
to him,
Paul,
it's hard
for you
to kick
against the
goads.
You know
what a
goad is?
It's like
a cattle
prod.
So don't
think that
his conversion
happened all
at once
on that road
to Damascus.
something had
been goading
him toward
Jesus.
I have a
hard time
imagining it
wasn't this
moment right
here.
That's how
God defines
success.
you know,
in the
series
Band of
Brothers,
which I've
always loved,
it's about
a company
of soldiers
in World
War II
and there's
a soldier
named
Blythe
and Blythe
is filled
with fear
and there's
a firefight
that breaks
out and
Blythe hides
in a foxhole
or in a trench
the entire time.
He can't stick
his head up,
he just
completely locks
up with fear.
And there's
this other
soldier,
a guy named
Sergeant Spears
and Spears
is this
renowned
fearless
warrior.
There's
one point
where they
need to
send a
messenger
across enemy
lines and
Spears
runs across
and people
are so
shocked
that he's
running in
the open
field that
none of the
enemies
open fire
on him.
They're like
this guy's
insane.
He runs
across,
he delivers
the message
and then he
runs all
the way
back and
the enemies
look around
like we
gotta kill
this guy
and they
all start
shooting and
he makes
it back
alive.
And so
he's just
legendary
as this
fearless
warrior.
And so
Blythe
tearfully
confesses
his
cowardice
to Spears
and he
says,
what's
the secret?
How are
you not
afraid?
And here's
what Spears
says,
the only
hope you
have is
to accept
the fact
that you're
already
dead.
The sooner
you accept
that,
the sooner
you'll be
able to
function
as a
soldier is
supposed to
function.
accept the
fact that
you're
already
dead.
I often
think about
this scene
as I
consider
what it
means to
be a
Christian
in the
world right
now.
Later today
we're going to
have some
baptisms and
we often
think of
baptism as
a symbol
of washing
people clean,
which it
is.
But even
more than
that,
baptism is
a symbol
of death
and hope
of resurrection.
Baptism is
a way of
us saying,
like Paul
says in
places like
Galatians 2,
when I
go into
the water
I'm
dying.
When I
come out
of that
water it's
no longer
I who
live but
Christ who
lives in
me.
To be
baptized is
to die
to this
world.
How do you
have the
kind of
courage to
face
martyrdom?
Realize that
you're already
dead.
God
and put
your hope
in the
promise that
one day
you're going
to be
resurrected
just like
Jesus.
The most
dangerous
person on
earth is
the one who
has reckoned
with their
own death.
The most
dangerous
person on
earth is
the person
who has
reckoned
with their
own death.
Let's pray.
Lord, we
thank you for
your word
and we
thank you for
the power of
your Holy
Spirit.
We thank
you for
your son.
We thank
you that
you're present
with us.
Let these
be not mere
ideas.
Whatever is
of you, we
pray that you
would impress
these things
into our
hearts.
We pray that
we would be
people of
tremendous
faith,
filled with
the Holy
Spirit,
gracious
winsomeness,
who are
willing to
lay down
our lives,
if necessary,
for the sake
of those
whom you
love.
That they
might one
day come to
know and
love you,
to find their
home and
their wholeness
in your arms.
We pray this
in your son's
name.
Amen.