This Weeks Sermon

Here is my rough raft of the sermon I will be giving this week. I hope to post again tomorrow. Hope you enjoy.

I don’t know how many of you listen to or watch the news, but does anyone know what happened in Cleveland this past week? There was a high school shooting. It seems like they are common place now, doesn’t it. It is just another school, just another lost, evil kid.

Well, if any of you listen to NPR, you may be familiar with a show called “On Point” with Tom Ashbrook. I listen to this show almost daily. Wednesday the show was on this school shooting. They had experts on in child psychology, teaching, violence and the media, as well as interviews from kids around the country. There were a few main points that all these people had, some of them I agree with, and some I disagree with.

One of the common strands that all the experts agreed upon was that the school shooters were typically loners, and usually because they were a little different and therefore ostracized by their peers. Many of the people on the program were ready to blame society, violent video games, bullies, etc. I am not going to debate that here. What I want to call our attention to is that, regardless of the circumstances, these kids all felt alone. These kids were broken and depressed, and they felt helpless and hopeless.

What does any of this have to do with today’s sermon? A lot, actually.

We are taking a break form Exodus this week, and Robert has asked me to speak. FI we remember last weeks sermon, we are out of slavery, but now what. Over the next few weeks Robert is going to be answering that, but I have sort of a segue from there to where we will end up, which of any of you know the Exodus story is Canaan.

Let’s look at the text and see what school shooting and the Jewish Exodus have in common.

19For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Now before I go any further, I want to put these verses in context. If you were to go to 1 Corinthians 9 and read what the rest of the chapter was about, what you would find is a lot of talk about money. I am not going to talk about money, though. Paul is telling the Corinthians that he has every right to claim a salary for himself, but he chooses not too. Why does he choose not to? It is so that he may win more to Christ. This is why we do not pass an offering plate at MERCYhouse. If money is a stumbling block to the Gospel it is better to go without than to drive people away fro God. Paul goes on from here though, and I don’t believe that the whole of the chapter is about money. Paul uses the money issue as a stepping stone, an example per se, of a bigger principle.

And that bigger principle is what we find at the end of the chapter. We read that Paul became like the Jews to the Jews, and like a Gentile to the Gentiles.

Paul does footnote his transitions for us, though, and it is worth digressing to look at these briefly before we move on. We are told that to those under the Law he became as one under the law, though he himself was not under it. This is important. It was important then, and it is important now. In Paul’s day there were Judaizers who were going around telling new Christians that they needed to follow the Old Testament Law, a well as accept Christ as Savior. We know that Paul fought these guys tooth and nail. He even tells us that he wished they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves. This is referring their requirement that new believers be circumcised- a huge road block to the Gospel.

SO when Paul tells us that he became as one under the law, he makes sure to remind us that he is not under it. What he is saying is that when dealing with the Jews, he would adopt their way of thinking, although all the time knowing that it doesn’t affect his salvation. Is this seen clearly is Acts where Paul tells Timothy to get circumcised before going to Jerusalem. Timothy had already been doing ministry with Paul for years, so this outward mark meant nothing to Paul, or those whom he travelled. But Paul new that it was a huge deal to those whom they are going, and that it would be a block to their being able to effectively witness.

But it was not Timothy’s circumcision that saved him, but rather his faith in Jesus.

We must be clear on this point. Paul became “as one under the law”. He didn’t become under the law. He knew that his freedom was in Jesus, his salvation in Jesus, his faith in Jesus, and not in these laws.

In the same way Paul footnote his behavior toward those not under the law. He says

“21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.”

Here we have almost the opposite footnote. We are told that to those outside the law he had his own law. But again Paul is tempering his speech in light of heretical movements in Christendom. We know form other writings that a group called the Gnostics were growing and teaching wrong doctrine. They taught that it didn’t matter what you did in your body, because your spirit is what counted. This was a pass to sin and sensuality that allowed for total debauchery by the Gnostics.

Paul is here telling us that we are still under the law of Christ. There is still an ethic to deal with, a mortality that we are bound to, when dealing with those who are not believers. We must be pure, be light, be holy. Jesus doesn’t give us permission to sin simply to reach those who sin.

Paul is tempering his statements here is response to false doctrine that was around during his life. These restraints still hold truth for us today though. There is still legalism, there is still Gnosticism. We are still called to witness to both groups. We are still told to be like one under the law to those under the law, and like one not under the law to those not under the law. But we still need to know that when we become as one under the law that our salvation is I Jesus, and not these rules we have adopted, and that we are still bound to behave as Christ would have us, holy and blameless, when we enter the houses of decadence.

There are legalists today who pile on rules and regulations that they feel lead to salvation. What Paul is saying here is that when we bring them the Gospel we need to adopt those regulations too, or else how would we be listened to.

Let me give you an example.

There are certain sects of Christianity that don’t allow drinking alcohol. There are certain areas of the country that if one drinks alcohol, one is not a real Christian. Now these thoughts have arisen over generations, and because most people in these areas profess to be Christians, but really aren’t, an one way to tell is if they get drunk or not, etc. There are seemingly good reasons for this legalism, and form a human stand point, it can make sense. But even with in the church, there are people who are not saved.

If we were to go to these areas of the country and drink, even if we did it responsibly, out witness would be ruined. We would be seen as hypocrites and heathen and no better than any one else. How then do we reach those who are lost? Well we become as one under the law. We adopt a no drinking policy, not because having a drink is necessarily wrong, but because we would loose opportunities, reputation, and souls. But at the same time, we know that it is not our abstention from alcohol that saves us, but Jesus.

The same can be said when we go to “sinful” areas. If we hold to the principle that all people who drink are bad and dirty nd not to be associated with we won’t be able to interact with them. If we hold tyhis moral superiority over them we will loose them. So we need to invade their culture, and become as one not under law. But at the same time of we just began doing as they did, getting drunk and sleeping with everyone, we ruin our selves and our witness. So we need to be under the Law of Christ. SO maybe we go to the bars and sing karaoke, but we don’t get drunk. We shine like stars in the darkness.

Paul then goes on in his letter saying to the weak he became weak, that he may win the weak. That he became all things to all men so that he may win some for Christ.

This then is the heart of this chapter. This is why he doesn’t take money, this is why he become under law, this is why he casts the law off. It is to win some. He doesn’t take on laws just to show how holy he is, or cast them off to show off his freedom, he does it to win people to Christ. This should be our attitude. If we do things for any other reason we are betraying our faith.

I believe Paul is footnoting his letter here for another reason. HE is not only combating the heretical teachings going on around this time, he is also trying to stop future heresies from arising in each believer. Martin Luther said that religion was the default mode of th human heart. I would amend tht saying either religion or irreligion is the default mode of the human heart. We have a tendency to add rules onto out faith to appear holy, either to ourselves or others, or, and this is the road I took, abuse or freedom and become slaves again to sin.

Paul is telling us here that if we cast of rules, or add some on, it must be out of love for the Gospel. If we do it for any other reason, we betray our Savior and our faith. We either become religious or irreligious. If, however, we do it to promote the Gospel, we are constantly looking to Jesus, either as our true freedom, or as our true law. We will be able to stay pure and holy, free and sinless.

There is another application that Paul would have us take away. We must become all things to all men so that we may win some for Christ. How do we know that he is calling us to be all things to all men? It seems from this paragraph that he is talking only about himself, and in this paragraph he is, but let’s continue in Paul’s letter. In the very next paragraph he states:

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

The conclusion of the chapter is directed to the readers. This is a clue that the whole of the chapter may really be about us. True Paul uses himself as an example, but that is just to drive home the point. Paul also writes to follow him as he follows Christ. It is a discipleship chain. We learn how to do this by watching others do it.

We are to run the race so that we may receive the prize. In Hebrews we are told:

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

The way we finish this race is to keep our eyes on Jesus. This is what Paul had been telling us in this last paragraph. The way to not get sidetracked in to legalism or sensuality is to look to Jesus.

Notice as well that there are two motivations for becoming all things to all men. First we have Paul telling us that he does it to win some so he may share in the blessings of the Gospel, and second that we may obtain some prize when all said and done. What this second prize is, I don’t intend to speak on, but I will say that it is a real prize. Jesus himself speaks of rewards and treasures in heaven. What these are like, and if we can even verbalize them, I dare not get into here. I refer you to smarter men than myself. I can, however speak but the former.

The greatest joys I have had in my life, besides my salvation, my wife, and child, have been while witnessing to friends and foes alike. I have spoken of this before, but it begs repetition here. My freshman year of college I had a kid come up to my room at about 8 pm and tell me that he could prove that God didn’t exist. He was very hostile towards both me and the Gospel. His purpose in coming was to put me in my place. Well at 4 am that night he became a Christian. I was so filled with Joy it is beyond description. I was able that night to share in the Gospel’s blessings.

Over the past few years Sarah and I have opened our house and hosted house churches, birthday parties, and everything in between. Through all of this we have had many non-Christians come through our doors. We had three at house church. And all three have come to know Christ, and we have been able to share in that Joy with them. We have been able to reap the rewards of their conversion. We have been blessed.

I don’t tell you all this to make you think I am so great. I tell you all this because there has been no greater day that when we see someone’s life transformed by the Gospel.

Becoming all things to all men is a hard thing to do. We all have people we like better. Places we feel more comfortable, sinners we can identify more with, but our call is to get out of our comfort zone.

SO often we think that someone else will reach them. How many of us pray that a Christian would come in to so and so’s life. We pray that someone of their own kind would stroll in and be able to share the Gospel with them, and then they could become like us and come to church. I know I have. So often I let others culture get ion the way. I use the fact that I don’t share their identity as a excuse not to tell them about Jesus. And that is all it is, en excuse.

We are told to become all things to all men. We, as Christians, are the ones who are called to transcend cultural barriers and bring the Gospel with us. To use the new cool church slang, we are called to make Jesus relevant.

Before I get attacked later, let me footnote that comment and say that we are not to change Jesus or the Gospel. That is not what I mean by make Jesus relevant. What I mean is that it is up to us as Christians to enter the world of the religious and the irreligious, bring the Gospel, and show the people of said culture how it pertains to them. I simply mean we need to meet people where they are, instead of telling them to come over to our side, and then giving them the secret of life.

We are the ones who are called to witness to our classmates, our house mates, our co-workers. We are to bring this Gospel to the people, where they are. We are to become as one under law, and at the same time under no law at all.

We need to cross significant cultural barriers with the Gospel, and in doing redeem that segment of society. And we need to do everything we can to win some for Christ.

As I say all this, I want us to here Paul’s words again. We are to do all this to win some for Christ. I repeat this because I don’t want you to get discouraged. Not everyone we witness to is going to accept the Gospel. In fact, it seems that most people wont. That is not an excuse to stop. We don’t cease laboring because it gets tough. Paul was repeatedly stoned, mocked, and eventually martyred. But look at the seeds he sowed. He was able to save so many because he was continually entering the culture he went to, bringing the Gospel with him, and he saw people transformed. He was able to share in their blessings.

How though are we to do this without becoming religious or corrupted ourselves? The answer is Jesus. We need to remember the Gospel as we go, a well as look to Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.

We need to remember what Jesus did for us. What Paul is calling us to do is exactly what God did for us. Jesus became all things to all men so that some may be saved, did he not?

First, Jesus left the splendor and majesty of heaven to be born a peasant in 1^st century Palestine. We are told to become poor to the poor, and weak to the weak, because that is exactly what Jesus did. We are told that he took the form of a servant after leaving his thrown.

Jesus also taught to both the religious and the sinners. The New Testament is full of interactions with tax collectors, prostitutes and Pharisees alike. We read of Nicodemus asking Jesus how to get to heaven. To reach those under the law he became as one under the law. Jesus lived as a Jew, and as such obeyed all the Laws of the Old Testament. He is fact fulfilled the Law so that we may be saved.

We know that Jesus hung out with those with out the law as well. We are told of him partying with tax collectors like Matthew. Now Matthew was Jewish, but he certainly didn’t obey the law. And what happens when Jesus interacts with these “sinners”. He is invited to more parties, and some get saved. Matthew even becomes an Apostle.

But Jesus example doesn’t end there. He goes to Gentile areas like in the Decapolis in Mark 5and heals a demon possessed man there. He returns other times and teaches to the Gentiles. He goes to Samaria and confronts an adulterous woman at a well in John 4. And because of his interaction many come to believe and are saved.

Jesus hangs out with the poor, feeding 5 thousand men on one occasion, and he hangs out with the rich, a disciple of his, named Joseph of Arimathea, giving Jesus his families tomb, worshipping him even in his death.

Jesus comes to Peter in a dream in the book of Acts and Peter finally realizes that “there is no partiality with God.” He desires to save all men, both Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, religious and irreligious.

If we keep our eyes on Jesus, how can we do anything but invade all the prevailing cultures of the day, and preach to them the good news. Jesus did all this and more. He hung out with with the religious and irreligious. And as he did, he was able to not be corrupted, but take into their culture Grace, Truth, and Light.

Jesus can to earth, God, and lived a perfect life, so that all these people may have life through Him. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light. Whoever comes to me will never walk in darkness again, but have the light of life.”

He didn’t say the religious who come to me, or the poor who come to me, but all who come to me. Jesus came to earth and lived as a man so that we would have a model of how we are to go into cultures we would rather not. He was able to stay holy, though he came to this evil and sinful place, and if we keep our eyes on him, so will we.

How does all of this relate to my introduction though? What does anything I have talked about have to do with school shootings or Israel’s Exodus?

It in fact has everything to do with both. Last week we were told that we are out of Egypt. That we are no longer slaves. That Jesus, the ultimate Moses, has come and is leading us to the Promised Land. What are we to do with our freedom? Here is the answer. With your freedom become all things to all men so that some may be saved.

The one common strand in all the school shootings, is that, rightly or wrongly, the shooter felt alone and hopeless. I bet the people shot felt the same as they lay dying. We have hope, however. What would have happened if Christians had come along side these outcasts and loved them where they were? If they became geeks to save the geeks? If they became as an outcast to save the outcast? If they became jocks to save the jocks? What if these people were not reached out to once, but loved where they were for weeks, and months, and years. What if they were offered hope through the Gospel that agrees that we are in darkness, but offers a way out. Maybe there would not be so many high school shootings. Maybe the ones who were shot would feel the peace of God come upon them, and wouldn’t have had to die alone.

If you are sitting here today, hopeless, hapless, and alone, I tell you Jesus knows where you are. He was betrayed by his closest follower, abandoned by his friends, died naked and alone, hanging by his hands and feet on a cross made for us. He was rejected by men and forsaken by His Father. He knows your pain. He was there. But there is hope. He was raised from death, and through that resurrection reconciles us with God. This world is dark, but God is light. I invite you to ask Jesus into your life now. In Him we have Hope, and Joy, and Peace.

In this room are many of us who need to repent. Some of us need to repent of being with out law. We have become corrupt, preferring our sinful passions to His perfect passions. We desire to live in sin. To have sex with people who we aren’t married to, to drink a little to much with our non-Christian friends, to hold on to resentments and anger. We need to repent of looking too much like the culture we live in. We need to repent of using Jesus blood as an excuse to live in all sensuality and Gnosticism. We need to remember that although we are not under law, we are still under the Law of Christ, and we need to come back to right living. We need to stop worshipping gods like food, and money, and sex, and men, and women, and come back to the worship of the one true God.

Others of us need to repent of our legalism. We hold our religion higher than Jesus sacrifice. We need to repent of thinking others dirty, while we are clean. We need to repent of the Laws that we have imposed on ourselves and others. We need to stop worshipping our holiness, our religion. We need to top being our own Saviors, and come crawling back to the Savior of the World. We need to repent of the artificial barriers we have put up to the Gospel.

Some of us need to repent and get out of the world, becoming holy. Others of us need to repent and get into the world, being salt and light.

We are called to make disciples of the nations, to become all things to all men, while being holy and set apart. Let’s invade the community we live in, loving them where they are, and bringing with us the Gospel and the hope it offers.

Let us run back to Jesus as we walk into the world. Let us be Christ to this dark Valley, to this dark town, to this dark city. Let us pray.