A young police cadet was taking his final exam at Hendon Police College in North London
before he was unleashed upon the British public.
One of the questions in the exam paper in his final exam read like this.
You're out on patrol in outer London when an explosion occurs in a gas main in a nearby street.
On investigation you discover that a large hole has been blown in the footpath
and a nearby block of flats is on fire with people trying to escape.
Beside the blast site is an overturned van.
Inside the van there's a strong smell of marijuana.
The occupants of the van, a man and a woman, are half naked and injured.
You notice that the woman in the van is the wife of your divisional inspector
who is at present away in the United States.
A passing motorist stops to offer assistance and you recognise him as the suspect in an armed robbery case.
Then suddenly a man runs out of a nearby house shouting that his wife, who was expecting a baby,
has gone into labour due to the explosion.
Another man who's been blown into the adjacent canal is crying out for help because he can't swim.
By now a crowd of onlookers has formed and there's a risk of a second explosion.
Then comes the question.
Bearing in mind the provision of the Mental Health Act,
describe in a few words what actions you would take.
His answer?
I would take off my uniform and mingle with the crowd.
I imagine that that's a pretty clever answer,
but I imagine that many of us, although we may not know the feeling of being in that exact situation,
know what it is to try and take the uniform off and to mingle with the crowd.
You see, the stakes are high when a police officer takes their uniform off and mingles with the crowd,
but the stakes, I think, are astronomical when the Christian church loses heart for its mission and purpose,
and in fact, loses vision for it, which is why we are doing this series now in Vision Month.
We've seen so far that we exist as a church to know Jesus and to treasure Jesus.
And what flows from that is the next part of our mission statement,
that is that we represent Jesus.
Given the infinite value of knowing and being known by Jesus,
we exist to represent Jesus.
And so I want to look at these few verses in 2 Corinthians 5 and 6,
because I think that they will help us
not to give up hope
and to effectively
keep our uniform on as Christians.
To say that we exist to represent Jesus
is not well received in our modern context in this country.
Religion, and especially Christianity in Australia,
is seen as a source of much of the world's problems.
Sigmund Freud, the Austrian neurologist and the father of psychoanalysis,
believe that all the world's problems come from the repression of deep desires for pleasure.
And so therefore the villains are the repressive moral gatekeepers in society,
like the Christian church.
That's the mood of our country.
At the moment.
We are seen, that is the Christian church,
is seen as the problem
rather than the solution to the world's problems.
And of course, given the church's track record over its history
in areas of things like morality and justice,
there has been quite a lot of trust eroded.
And so representing Jesus in a post-Christian culture
is often faced with skepticism and even hostility.
Unlike Freud, however,
the Christian worldview doesn't locate the problem of the world
in one part of the world or in one group of the world.
Christianity doesn't blame religion,
doesn't blame Muslims,
it doesn't blame terrorists,
it doesn't blame atheists,
it doesn't blame big business,
it doesn't blame immigrants.
It says the problem of the world is sin.
And it locates the solution to the world's problem in God's grace.
And so what the Christian worldview does,
it declares both a universal problem
and a universal solution.
And so thinking about what it means for us to represent Jesus,
I want to look at that universal problem
and the universal solution,
and in doing that,
I'm going to start digging around
in some core Christian beliefs
which are repulsive in our context.
things like sin,
judgment,
hell.
Sin and divine judgment
and the reality is
even God's solution
to our problem
are some of the most offensive elements
of the Christian faith today.
A good number of our society
still believe in God.
However,
the God that they believe in
is formed from an opinion
that is
that I have my own right
to choose my God
the way I want Him to be.
And so we have every right,
every individual
has every right
to arrive at their own religious belief
but independent
of all other religious groups.
And so the God that we form
in our mind
is the God
of love
who supports us
no matter what it is
that we do
or what it is
that we believe.
That's the conclusion
we come to.
Ironically,
no,
if you look out
in the world this week,
circumstances of our world,
you don't have to look much further
than Paris and go,
it's hard to believe
in a God of love.
If you look through history,
history doesn't affirm
a God of love.
If you look to world religions,
the only world religion
that says
that this world
was created
because of the love
and desire
of a merciful God
is Christianity.
It is the only world religion
that comes to the conclusion
that God is love
and is essential being.
And so to come to the conclusion
that God is love,
it has to flow
ultimately from a biblical
Christianity perspective.
But that same Bible
says that God
is also a God of justice.
But in our society,
for Christians to think
that there are people
who are bound for hell,
the conclusion is
that we must perceive
that such people
are unequal
in dignity and worth
as us.
And therefore,
they conclude
that that belief
leads to exclusion
and abuse
and division
and even violence.
And unfortunately,
throughout the history
of the Christian church,
it has.
And so let's unpack
some of this stuff
from
2 Corinthians 5
and see why
it is so essential
for Christians
to keep their uniform on
and to keep representing
Jesus against that climate.
2 Corinthians 5 verse 10,
For we must all appear
before the judgment seat
of Christ,
and each one must receive
what is due him
for the things done
while in the body,
whether good or bad.
What that's saying there
is that God will hold us
all accountable
for how we live.
Notice that the judgment seat
of Christ is universal.
We must all appear.
That's everyone,
no exceptions.
Notice too that while
it is for everyone,
we'll all be judged
individually.
Each one must give
an account.
Now Romans chapter 2
gives a vivid account
of what that day
will look like
and there are only
two outcomes
for the final reckoning
with the Lord Jesus.
Romans 2 verse 7,
To those who by persistence
in doing good
seek glory,
honour and immortality,
they will give eternal life.
But for those
who are self-seeking
and who reject the truth
and follow evil,
there will be wrath
and anger.
There will be trouble
and distress
for every human being
who does evil,
first for the Jew,
then for the Gentile,
but glory,
honour and peace
for everyone
who does good.
Now Sigmund Freud
suggests that self-seeking
is the solution
to the world's problem.
These verses suggest
that self-seeking
is the problem.
The Bible calls it sin
and sin is the universal problem.
Sin is not just doing bad things,
this is what we saw last week.
Sin is making good things
into ultimate things.
Sin is building your life
and meaning on anything,
even a very good thing
instead of God.
And so if you love
your reputation
more than truth,
you're likely to lie.
If you love money
more than family,
then you are most likely
going to neglect
your spouse and your children
for your career.
Sin is where we look
to good things
like money and career
and family
and to give us
that sense of significance
and acceptance.
and security
instead of God.
It's idolatry.
It's an idolatry
that leads to drivenness,
addictions,
severe anxiety,
obsessiveness,
envy of others,
resentment.
That is,
idolatry ruins.
Sin has the effect
of putting us
in,
like all addictions,
putting us into denial
about our hostility
towards God.
We become trapped
and enslaved
to our spiritual idols
in a way
that a person
might be addicted
to drugs
or gambling
or alcohol.
We live in denial
about how much
we are trampling
all over God
in a way that
an addict
is in denial
about how they're
trampling all over
their family
and their loved ones.
sin.
And the terrible
consequences
of a life of sin
is what Romans 2 verse 8
calls wrath and anger
from God.
I don't know
of anyone
who has
ever overstated
the terrors
of this wrath
and anger.
A God
who is both
a God of love
and a God
of justice
seems like
a contradiction.
But is it not true
that all
loving people
are sometimes
filled with anger
and seek justice?
when they do it
it's not because
of their love
sorry
when they do it
it is because
of their love
rather than
in spite of it.
Think of how
we feel
when someone
we love
is ravaged
by the wrong
actions
or
by a bad
relationship.
Do we respond
with a benign
intolerance?
Far from it.
You see
anger and justice
is not
the opposite
of love.
Hate
is the opposite
of love.
And the final
form of hate
is indifference.
God's justice
is not a cranky
explosion
but his
subtle
opposition
to the
cancer
that is
eating out
of the
insides
of the
human race
that he
loves
that he's
created
God's
justice
flows
from his
love
and his
delight
in the
creation
that he
loves
with all
of his
heart.
He is
angry
at evil
and injustice
because it
is destroying
its peace
and its
integrity.
that sits
I think
with our
hearts
that sits
with us
with our
inner
beings
the human
impulse
to make
perpetrators
of violence
pay for their
crimes
is almost
overwhelming
when you
look at
that
and you
see the
scenes
on television
about what's
happened in
Paris
do you have
a benign
intolerance
or benign
tolerance
or is it
we pray for
perpetrators
of such evil
to be brought
to justice
and the
best resource
to satisfy
that innate
desire
for justice
is belief
in a God
who will
finally put
all things
right and
settle all
accounts
and so in
view of this
verse 11
since then we
know what it
is to fear
the Lord
we try to
persuade men
you see the
judgment of
God
leads Christians
to pursue
reconciliation
not vengeance
you see anyone
who thinks
that the
Christian response
to injustice
is to pick
up a gun
and to fight
for the
honour of
God
or to
exercise
God's
justice
is a
lunatic
now the
fear of
God is a
right motivation
but it
isn't our
only motivation
to represent
Jesus
and persuade
people of
this truth
the fear
of hell
and of
God
is no
proof
that you
actually
treasure
Jesus
we are
told in
verse 14
that fear
of judgment
is not
Paul's
only motive
he says
for Christ's
love
compels
us
and these
verses
are rich
in the
wonder
of Christ's
love
verse 18
God who
reconciled us
to himself
through Christ
and again
in verse 19
God
was
reconciling
the world
to himself
in Christ
to reconcile
is to render
two parties
to be no
longer opposed
to each
other
it is to
win over
from hostility
to friendliness
and these
verses say
that it is
God who
took the
initiative
to reconcile
us to
himself
see it there
in verse 18
all this is
from God
verse 19
God was
reconciling the
world to
himself
verse 21
God made
him who had
no sin
to be sin
for us
the initiative
the momentum
and the purpose
of reconciliation
all come
from God
and God
does something
about sin
that has
caused this
enmity
between us
and him
verse 19
is the
preliminary
explanation
of how the
reconciliation
is brought
about
it says
God
was
reconciled
the world
to himself
in Christ
not counting
men's sins
against them
and verse 21
describes
how it is
possible
that God
doesn't count
sins
against us
God made
him
who had
no sin
to be
sin
for us
so that
in him
we might
become the
righteousness
of God
the end of
verse 19
says that God
doesn't want
to count
our sins
against us
and frankly
we don't want
God to count
our sins
against us
but the
picture here
is of
an account
book
the account
book
has written
in it
all that
we've said
all that
we've done
all that
we've thought
all that
we've treasured
verse 21
says
that my
sin
is not
put to
my account
my debt
is not
put to
my account
but it's
put to
Jesus'
account
instead
my account
of sin
has been
put
by God
to the
account
of the
sinless
son
and Jesus
has taken
my place
and borne
my sins
in his
body
on the
cross
it means
that he's
been judged
in my
place
he was
made
sin
he became
my
substitute
not only
is my
sin put
to his
account
but his
perfect
unblemished
righteousness
is
put to
my
account
I
cannot
be
condemned
because
my
record
reads
perfect
it's
the
ultimate
exchange
in a
trivial
kind of
way
it's
kind of
like
the
day
nearly
18
years
ago
quick
calculation
that
I
married
Nat
and
on that
day
I
said
to
Nat
with
all
that
I
am
and
all
that
I
have
I
give
you
and
honor
you
and
other
stuff
like
that
basically
you know
it's a bit
vague
after all
these
years
now
which was
a massive
promise
everything
that I
have
all that
I
am
I
give
to
you
and
now
after
five
years
of
doing
ministry
training
and being
a student
that
meant
that I
had a
hex
debt
I
had a
small
car
loan
and I
even
had to
borrow
two
thousand
dollars
from
my
father-in-law
in order
to marry
Nat
and so
when I
said
with
all
that
I
have
it's
like
there
we
go
it's
all
yours
Nat
she
didn't
have
any
debts
but
she
did
the
moment
that
she
married
me
that's
a trivial
kind
of
thing
it's
a trivial
kind
of
exchange
understanding
now
while
some
of us
think
that
it's
unjust
of
God
for
Jesus
to
die
in
our
place
this
substitutionary
sacrifice
is not
a foreign
concept
it is
in our
blood
literally
in our
blood
you see
when you
have an
infection
you have
white
blood
cells
to attack
the
infection
and if
you have
a wound
you will
notice
this
stuff
coming
out
it's
called
technical
term
pus
I mean
I'm
assuming
there's
a more
technical
term
than
pus
for it
the
pus
is
just
the
corpses
of
white
cells
which
have
died
so
that
you
might
live
it's
in
your
blood
you know
if a
mother
bird
jumps
in
the
way
of
a
snake
and
dies
to
protect
their
lives
of
their
young
birdies
and
you
see
it
on
YouTube
you
go
oh
that's
oh
I'm
moved
by
that
and
we
consider
in
our
culture
heroes
of
those
soldiers
and
others
who
given
their
lives
to
protect
their
mates
and
their
family
and
their
country
that
is
sacrifice
is
of the
highest
principle
of
virtue
in
our
culture
and
we
admire
it
no
end
and
so
this
must
surely
be
something
that
God
does
as
well
otherwise
the
creature
us
would
be
more
moral
than
God
and
I
can't
imagine
how
that
would
be
and
God
has
done
this
he
came
to
earth
in
Jesus
Christ
suffered
and
died
why
because
Jesus
takes
our
shame
and
our
guilt
he
does
not
merely
die
he
dies
on
a
cross
the
most
shameful
of
deaths
he
is
cast
out
of
the
community
crucified
outside
of
the
city
absolutely
humiliated
though
he
obeyed
and
treasured
his
father
and
was
faithful
to
his
friends
and
deserved
all
honour
he
got
shame
and
rejection
why
he
took
the
shame
and
rejection
we
deserve
for
our
failings
to
love
God
to
treasure
him
ultimately
so
that
we
could
be
forgiven
and
set
free
in
order
to
treasure
him
ultimately
and
it's
absolutely
essential
for our
confidence
in this
work of
reconciliation
that we
see the
centrality
of
Jesus
in it
all
verse
18
it was
through
Jesus
verse
19
it was
in
Jesus
the
reconciliation
of the
world
to
God
happens
through
the
death
and
resurrection
of
Jesus
it is
something
that has
happened
in
history
it is
something
it is
finished
and the
word
world
in
verse
19
is
staggering
it says
that what
God
did
in the
death
of
Jesus
in
history
on a
hill
outside
of
Jerusalem
in
AD
33
concerns
the
reconciliation
of the
whole
world
to
its
maker
that's
the
Christian
world
view
and
that is
the
claim
of
verses
14
and
15
we are
convinced
that
one
died
for
all
and
therefore
all
died
and
he
died
for
all
and
so
Jesus
death
has
universal
significance
there is
no
reconciliation
with
God
outside
of
Jesus
you
don't
need
anything
more
than
Jesus
but
you
cannot
have
anything
less
than
Jesus
and
if
you
are
sitting
here
right
now
someone
who
is
not
trusting
in
the
Lord
Jesus
then
I
want
to
suggest
to
you
the
stakes
could
not
be
any
higher
for
you
right
now
chapter
6
verse
2
says
now
is
the
time
of
God's
favour
now
is
the
day
of
salvation
and
so
I
would
implore
you
on
Christ's
behalf
be
reconciled
to
God
today
through
Jesus
the
message
of
reconciliation
is
what
God
has
done
and
can
only
do
through
Christ
the
ministry
of
reconciliation
on the
other
hand
is
what
God
can
only
do
through
us
this
is
what
God
is
calling
us
to
do
if
you
are
reconciled
with
God
through
Jesus
verse
20
says
we
are
therefore
Christ's
ambassadors
as
though
God
were
making
his
appeal
through
us
and the
main
thrust
of
verses
20
onwards
is
what
Christians
that is
the ones
who have
been
reconciled
to
God
through
Jesus
those
who
treasure
Jesus
above
everything
else
must
do
if
the
message
of
reconciliation
is
to be
heard
that
is
the
message
of
reconciliation
is
our
ministry
of
reconciliation
to
Chatswood
and
beyond
this is
what God
does
through
us
verse
18
all
this
is
from
God
who
reconciled
us
to
himself
through
Christ
and
gave
us
the
ministry
of
reconciliation
this
ministry
is
given
to
us
it's
not
given
to
Christ
it's
not
given
to
the
angels
verse
19
and he
committed
to
us
the
message
of
reconciliation
again
given
to
us
not
to
Christ
not
to
the
angels
verse
20
we
are
therefore
Christ's
ambassadors
as
though
God
were
making
his
not
the
angels
verse
20
makes
our
ministry
very
clear
we
are
Christ's
ambassadors
and
as
an
ambassador
you
have
a
very
distinguished
job
as
an
ambassador
the
honor
of
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
is
at
stake
if
you
have
received
the
message
of
reconciliation
then
you
have
the
responsibility
of
the
ministry
of
reconciliation
see
the
connection
in
verse
15
he
that's
Christ
died
for
all
that
those
who
live
that
is
through
Christ
should
no
longer
live
for
themselves
but
for
him
who
died
for
them
and
was
raised
again
as
a
recipient
of
the
message
of
reconciliation
your
whole
life
is
now
deployed
to
the
diplomatic
service
I
am
to
speak
and
to
live
in
such
a
way
that
Jesus
looks
magnificent
that
he
is
the
treasure
that
we
declare
him
to
be
as
our
society
is
moving
deeper
and
deeper
into
a
post
Christian
culture
that
wants
to
jettison
all
vestiges
of
its
Christian
heritage
I
think
there's
a
temptation
for
us
to
be
feeling
a
little
overwhelmed
as
ambassadors
and
wanting
to
get
that
uniform
off
it's
a whole
lot
more
comfortable
being
ambassador
for
Australia
in
New
Zealand
than
it
would
be
in
Baghdad
right
now
slightly
different
perspective
there's
a couple
of
questions
that we
want to
be
thinking
about
as we
move
forward
one
is
because
the
culture
shifted
so
much
that
we
exist
in
the
way
we
go
about
our
ambassador
job
is
going
to
be
very
different
than
the
way
things
were
done
30
years
ago
number
one
you've
got
to
understand
that
I
can
nearly
guarantee
any
program
that
worked
20
to
30
years
ago
is
guaranteed
not
to
work
now
it
shifted
that
quickly
and
this
is
this
for
me
over
the
last
six
years
or so
has
been
a
very
rapid
relearning
of
ministry
I
got
trained
I
got
trained
who
thought
in
terms
of
Christendom
that
is
where
the
Christian
church
Christian
faith
influences
the
morality
and
the
thinking
of
society
that's
gone
and I
had to
relearn
retrain
it's
a scary
thing
it's
kind
of
daunting
how
to
engage
as a
Christian
church
in
a
new
society
two
things
are
really
important
for
us
as
we
look
ahead
as
a
church
number
one
broadly
speaking
these
are
two
very
broad
categories
number
one
how
do
we
as
a
Christian
church
in
Chatswood
lead
with
love
in
Chatswood
that's
absolute
paramount
for us
to be
thinking
about
lead
with
love
so
that
everything
that
we
do
we
don't
just
have
evangelistic
programs
over
here
but
everything
that
we
do
is
on
mission
the
whole
thing
everything
we
do
is
thinking
mission
that's
number
one
number
two
is
the
absolute
importance
for us
as a
church
to be
equipping
all of
our
members
for their
front
line
ministry
of
reconciliation
which
for
virtually
all of
us
happens
outside
the
walls
of
this
building
how
do
we
equip
our
people
to
engage
with
love
and
winsomeness
with
the
underlying
thinking
of
our
culture
that's
number
two
that's
the
second
thing
the
third
thing
I
want
to
say
is
let
us
not
be
discouraged
keep
our
uniforms
on
I
believe
the
more
deeply
we
feel
how
undeserved
and
free
the
grace
of
the
Lord
Jesus
is
and
how
he's
plucked
us
from
eternal
misery
into
eternal
joy
the
more
we
will
treasure
Jesus
and
the
more
we
treasure
Jesus
the
freer
our
love
will
be
in
representing
the
Lord
Jesus
to
those
who
need
to
experience
his
mercy
they're
not
three
different
concepts
to
know
and be
known
by
Jesus
is
to
treasure
Jesus
and
to
treasure
Jesus
above
everything
means
that
you
represent
him
well
they're
all
connected
I
also
think
that
this
is
a
time
of
unprecedented
opportunity
it's
a
time
for us
as a
Christian
church
to see
that it's
actually
good
for
Christendom
to be
over
unprecedented
opportunity
the history
of the
church
tells
me
that a
culture
that wants
to get
rid
of
Christianity
is
never
a
hindrance
for the
Christian
church
to represent
Jesus
never
a
hindrance
did
you
know
that
early
Christianity
grew
explosively
40%
a
decade
for
nearly
300
years
it
grew
by
40%
a
decade
for
nearly
300
years
which
is
the
era
prior
to
Christendom
and
during
that
time
early
Christians
did
not
engage
in
public
preaching
because
it was
too
dangerous
there
were
practically
no
evangelists
no
missionaries
there
were
no
mission
boards
there
was
no
mission
organisations
they
did
not
write
evangelism
courses
or
write
books
and
after
Nero's
persecution
in the
mid
first
century
church
services
were
in
fact
closed
to
visitors
deacons
stood
at the
doors
of
churches
like
bouncers
excluding
people
who
were
not
baptised
or
who
they
thought
were
informers
prominent
people
in
society
scorned
the
Christian
church
Christians
were
discriminated
against
in
broader
society
in
petty
little
ways
it
was
extremely
hard
to
be
Christian
and
yet
the
church
grew
why
because
Christians
were
attractive
what
attracted
people
to the
Christian
faith
was the
lives
of
Christians
their
concern
first of
all
for the
weak
and the
poor
in
society
their
integrity
in the
face
of
persecution
their
financial
generosity
their
sacrificial
love
even
for
their
enemies
and the
high
quality
of their
common
life
together
non-believers
were
first of
all
attracted
to the
community
and the
lives
of
Christians
before
they were
open to
hear the
gospel
truths
that was
the source
of this
kind
of
life
they
were
impressed
by the
way
Christians
died
for their
faith
and the
church
grew
so I'm
convinced
that when
we know
Jesus
and we
treasure
Jesus
with all
of our
lives
we will
be
effective
in
representing
Jesus
for his
glory
and the
joy
of all
people
Esc distinct
próxima
so
bye
to
sure
sing
one
tree
come arc
and the
olla