Government
Church & State, 18 April 2021
Church & State
Series—Mark: The Real Jesus
Mark 12:13-17
Series Big Idea: Mark’s gospel is the most concise biography of Jesus.
Big Idea: Ultimately, everything we have belongs to the King of kings.
We’ve been going verse-by-verse through the book of Mark, the shortest of the four gospels or “good news” that tell the story of Jesus.
If you joined us last week, Jesus retold an ancient parable to the religious leaders, making them the bad guys in what Isaiah prophesied about Israel. Put simply, Jesus called them out, adding fuel to the fire of these wicked leaders who wanted to see the Messiah killed. They were successful in getting Christ crucified, but their victory was short-lived.
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Our text today is short…only five verses. Before we look at them, it’s helpful to understand some historical background. As a Jew, Jesus spent most of his life and ministry among Jews living under Roman rule in a culture that had many gods. The people of Israel were somewhat unique in their monotheism, their belief in one God.
The shema—the most essential prayer in Judaism, often prayed each morning and evening—begins
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
One God…who exists in three Person: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ day, some leaders were considered gods. This may seem odd in our culture, but that’s how much power they possessed among the people. Caesar was not an elected official like we have presidents and governors. But he ruled and taxed and was not exactly admired by the Jews!
Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. (Mark 12:13).
We’ve heard about the Pharisees. They were the conservative, legalistic Jewish leaders. Here Mark also mentions the Herodians. They were a political group who supported Herod. The Pharisees and Herodians are strange bedfellows! It’s amazing how people can come together over a common enemy, in this case Jesus. These religious leaders are ruthless! They have already determined to kill Jesus. They are doing everything possible to destroy his credibility, to “catch him in his words.”
Have you ever had someone “out to get you?” Do you walk on eggshells, so to speak, when you’re around certain people? Imagine your greatest critics were literally seeking to kill you!
In our text for today, a question is brought to Jesus, but they were not seeking knowledge. They were trying to trap Jesus.
Why do you do the things you do? I’m a big fan of the “why?” Motives matter. We often do things without even realizing why we’re doing them. Good and bad habits dictate many of our actions. It’s possible to even do good things with bad motives. This is a perfect example. Mark tells us from the beginning the “why.”
They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. (Mark 12:14a)
Notice they begin by buttering him up, praising him for his integrity. Their sarcasm—or anger in a clown suit!—is actually true. Jesus is a man of integrity. He wasn’t swayed by others. He taught the way of God in accordance with the truth. They were masquerading as genuine followers of Jesus and the truth, but they weren’t. Are you ready for the question?
Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” (Mark 12:14b-15a)
You have to admit it’s a good question! After all, the law of Moses written hundreds of years earlier which guided Jewish conduct knew nothing of Rome or Caesar or imperial taxes. It was a different era, much in the same way we face questions today which are not explicitly spelled out in the Bible.
Again, it’s a practical question, but it was asked with impure motives. I’m sure they were excited, placing Jesus in a no-win situation. Or so they thought!
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” (Mark 12:15b)
There are a lot of people who look, act, and sound impressive. They know the Bible. They go to church. They have the perfect family. Everyone knows about their generosity. But some simply know how to put on a show. The word for “hypocrite” is from the same root word as “actor.” Jesus knew their hearts…and he knows ours, too. One of my favorite verses in the Bible involves the selection of the next king of Israel.
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1Samuel 16:7)
As I’ve said, these religious leaders were impressive. Their books were on the bestseller list. They had thousands of followers of social media. Their podcasts were hugely popular. Their tv shows had great ratings. But their hearts were wicked.
By the way, some things never change. Like many of you, I’ve been deeply disappointed seeing various Christian leaders fail over the years. They are impressive, but fail to finish the race well. Their charisma attracts great crowds, but their character is corrupt. The outside of the cup is shiny, but inside it’s filthy.
Jesus asks them for what we would call a penny. He may not have even had one himself. He had no credit cards!
They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied. (Mark 12:16)
If Jesus said give to Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor, that would imply Caesar was greater than Moses, and they would’ve accused him of idolatry. If he said don’t give to Caesar, the Roman authority would have great concern! That would be insurrection. One response would offend the Pharisees, the other the Herodians.
You may know the Jews were not allowed to make carved images, yet the Roman coin had Caesar’s image on it…along with writing that said in Latin, “Augustus Tiberius, son of the divine Augustus.” On the other side, it said, “High Priest.” This coin was more than just a way to buy goods and services. It was a statement of power the Jews found downright offensive.
Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
God is sovereign and in control over all, including Caesar!
And they were amazed at him. (Mark 12:17)
I’m sure they were also very disappointed for their trap failed. They were flooded in divine wisdom regarding stewardship, but found no evidence to support their quest to end his life.
Jesus is amazing! Jesus’ teachings are amazing. His life and death and resurrection are amazing. His prayers and intercession for us now are amazing. His return will be amazing. Best of all, spending eternity with Jesus will be amazing!
So What?
- We have a responsibility to government.
Paul wrote to the church in Rome:
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1)
Obviously there have been times throughout history when a choice must be made between following Jesus and following the government. Our first allegiance must be to God, but He has created three institutions for human flourishing: the family, the Church, and government. As much as we criticize government, we would be far worse without a defense, schools, roads, and other services they provide. I rarely hear people say their taxes are too low, but they are needed to fund the government.
Jesus said to give to Caesar—or the government—what belongs to Caesar.
Columbus takes 7% of nearly everything we buy. Lucas County takes ¼% of our purchases. Washington DC takes…too much!
But the message is about more than money. It may include obeying laws, including speed limits! We may have a responsibility to the government to apply for the draft when such a thing is required. We give our time to the government and to one another when we vote. Good citizens can do many things to partner with and serve the government for the sake of the community.
One of the challenges in our culture is hyper individualism. The attitude of many is it’s all about them. We’ve even brought this into the church, saying Christianity is all about me and my personal relationship with Jesus. A personal relationship with Jesus is incredibly important, but we were created for community. Following Christ is a team sport. That’s why we have the Church.
- We have a responsibility to the Church. We are to give. We are to serve. We are to love one another. We are to do life together. When it’s good, it’s really good! I admit when we get it wrong, it’s really ugly. In fact, the gossip, judging, condemnation, hypocrisy, and even hatred of so-called Christians has called many to end their pursuit of God. Few things break my heart more than hearing of people who have walked away from God because of a bad experience with the Church.
If you’ve been hurt by Christians—and we all have—I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Please forgive us. Saying we’re not perfect is no excuse, though it’s true! We all need Jesus. I sometimes wonder why God entrusted His Kingdom to broken ragamuffins like us instead of Jesus spending more than three years of ministry here on earth.
But we have responsibility to one another. I need you. You need me. None of us has all of the spiritual gifts. Give to the church what belongs to the church. Yes, that includes not only time but also talents and treasures. Now that we’re opening up more, I encourage you to get in a Life Group, serve on the Hospitality Team, join the Music or Tech Teams, …and support God’s work here and around the world with your finances.
Some religions have what are essentially dues in order to participate. We don’t sell tickets around here! But one of our newly adopted core values as a church which we’ll reveal in the coming months is generosity. God is generous. He gave us the most precious possible gift…His son Jesus. Jesus gave us his life. What more could he give? The Holy Spirit fills the planet in every follower of Jesus.
Again, the message from today’s text is more than just money, but it certainly includes money. In a few weeks we’ll look at Jesus’ teaching on investing in God’s Kingdom.
I’ve had people over the years ask me if tithing is a command for us today. Tithe literally means ten percent and it was prescribed in Old Testament worship, not only of cash but crops. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth:
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
We are a generous church. We have people that give dozens of volunteer hours each month. We have people generously sharing their talents and expertise. We have people who use their wealth to give extravagantly to bless our community.
I think ten percent is a good starting point for generosity, but it is by no means the max. Honestly, I can’t think of a better investment of finances than First Alliance Church and its work in Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria, and the ends of the earth through our Home Missions, Faith Missions, and Great Commission Fund partners. I love investing here!
By the way, in addition to giving cash online or in person, we can accept other assets and potentially save you substantial money on your taxes. If you have stocks, bonds, real estate, cattle, a business, or most any asset, we have the means of receiving them and using them for God’s glory.
As I said, the government, church, and family are the three institutions God created.
- We have a responsibility to our family. Parents, train your children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3)
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
Spouses,
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)
Ultimately all of our responsibility to government, church, and family can be summarized in one command we’ll look at in two weeks:
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31)
I realize that verse is missing a bit of context…and it relates to our greatest responsibility…our responsibility to God.
Everything is created by God, for God, and for God’s glory.
If we are to properly give to Caesar’s, what do we give to God? When asked which of the commandments is the greatest…
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:29-30)
Did you catch Jesus quoting the shema? The Lord is one. We worship one God. How do we worship Him? With everything! All of our heart. All of our soul. All of our mind. All of our strength.
One hundred percent of our time, talents, and treasures belong to God. They’re on loan. We must be good stewards of what’s He’s entrusted to us.
How do your finances bring God glory?
How does your calendar bring God glory?
How does your physical body bring God glory?
How does your mind bring God glory?
What do I need to submit to God? Where is Jesus not LORD in my life?
Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar…and give to God what belongs to God…which is everything…including Caesar!
One more thing
You might think God is awfully demanding. You mean I have to give up everything to follow Jesus? Yes! You mean I have to die to myself and my desires and passions to serve God? Yes!
“Why would I give up everything for God?” Because He gave up everything for you. He loves you. He knows you. He created you. He knows your name. He wants nothing but the very best for you, even when it doesn’t feel good, even when the storms come, even when it’s not popular or politically-correct. God’s ways are perfect and so much higher than ours. He can be trusted.
We can do life our way. We can hoard our money. We can cheat on our taxes. We can rob God. We can be selfish with our talents and time. But disobeying God harms us more than anyone else. Eventually we’ll discover we don’t have all of the answers. We really need God. We need love.
I want to encourage you…you are loved, you are known, God is here, and He wants everything from you…and He wants to be your everything.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.
Series—Mark: The Real Jesus
Mark 12:13-17
Series Big Idea: Mark’s gospel is the most concise biography of Jesus.
Big Idea: Ultimately, everything we have belongs to the King of kings.
We’ve been going verse-by-verse through the book of Mark, the shortest of the four gospels or “good news” that tell the story of Jesus.
If you joined us last week, Jesus retold an ancient parable to the religious leaders, making them the bad guys in what Isaiah prophesied about Israel. Put simply, Jesus called them out, adding fuel to the fire of these wicked leaders who wanted to see the Messiah killed. They were successful in getting Christ crucified, but their victory was short-lived.
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Our text today is short…only five verses. Before we look at them, it’s helpful to understand some historical background. As a Jew, Jesus spent most of his life and ministry among Jews living under Roman rule in a culture that had many gods. The people of Israel were somewhat unique in their monotheism, their belief in one God.
The shema—the most essential prayer in Judaism, often prayed each morning and evening—begins
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
One God…who exists in three Person: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ day, some leaders were considered gods. This may seem odd in our culture, but that’s how much power they possessed among the people. Caesar was not an elected official like we have presidents and governors. But he ruled and taxed and was not exactly admired by the Jews!
Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. (Mark 12:13).
We’ve heard about the Pharisees. They were the conservative, legalistic Jewish leaders. Here Mark also mentions the Herodians. They were a political group who supported Herod. The Pharisees and Herodians are strange bedfellows! It’s amazing how people can come together over a common enemy, in this case Jesus. These religious leaders are ruthless! They have already determined to kill Jesus. They are doing everything possible to destroy his credibility, to “catch him in his words.”
Have you ever had someone “out to get you?” Do you walk on eggshells, so to speak, when you’re around certain people? Imagine your greatest critics were literally seeking to kill you!
In our text for today, a question is brought to Jesus, but they were not seeking knowledge. They were trying to trap Jesus.
Why do you do the things you do? I’m a big fan of the “why?” Motives matter. We often do things without even realizing why we’re doing them. Good and bad habits dictate many of our actions. It’s possible to even do good things with bad motives. This is a perfect example. Mark tells us from the beginning the “why.”
They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. (Mark 12:14a)
Notice they begin by buttering him up, praising him for his integrity. Their sarcasm—or anger in a clown suit!—is actually true. Jesus is a man of integrity. He wasn’t swayed by others. He taught the way of God in accordance with the truth. They were masquerading as genuine followers of Jesus and the truth, but they weren’t. Are you ready for the question?
Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” (Mark 12:14b-15a)
You have to admit it’s a good question! After all, the law of Moses written hundreds of years earlier which guided Jewish conduct knew nothing of Rome or Caesar or imperial taxes. It was a different era, much in the same way we face questions today which are not explicitly spelled out in the Bible.
Again, it’s a practical question, but it was asked with impure motives. I’m sure they were excited, placing Jesus in a no-win situation. Or so they thought!
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” (Mark 12:15b)
There are a lot of people who look, act, and sound impressive. They know the Bible. They go to church. They have the perfect family. Everyone knows about their generosity. But some simply know how to put on a show. The word for “hypocrite” is from the same root word as “actor.” Jesus knew their hearts…and he knows ours, too. One of my favorite verses in the Bible involves the selection of the next king of Israel.
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1Samuel 16:7)
As I’ve said, these religious leaders were impressive. Their books were on the bestseller list. They had thousands of followers of social media. Their podcasts were hugely popular. Their tv shows had great ratings. But their hearts were wicked.
By the way, some things never change. Like many of you, I’ve been deeply disappointed seeing various Christian leaders fail over the years. They are impressive, but fail to finish the race well. Their charisma attracts great crowds, but their character is corrupt. The outside of the cup is shiny, but inside it’s filthy.
Jesus asks them for what we would call a penny. He may not have even had one himself. He had no credit cards!
They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied. (Mark 12:16)
If Jesus said give to Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor, that would imply Caesar was greater than Moses, and they would’ve accused him of idolatry. If he said don’t give to Caesar, the Roman authority would have great concern! That would be insurrection. One response would offend the Pharisees, the other the Herodians.
You may know the Jews were not allowed to make carved images, yet the Roman coin had Caesar’s image on it…along with writing that said in Latin, “Augustus Tiberius, son of the divine Augustus.” On the other side, it said, “High Priest.” This coin was more than just a way to buy goods and services. It was a statement of power the Jews found downright offensive.
Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
God is sovereign and in control over all, including Caesar!
And they were amazed at him. (Mark 12:17)
I’m sure they were also very disappointed for their trap failed. They were flooded in divine wisdom regarding stewardship, but found no evidence to support their quest to end his life.
Jesus is amazing! Jesus’ teachings are amazing. His life and death and resurrection are amazing. His prayers and intercession for us now are amazing. His return will be amazing. Best of all, spending eternity with Jesus will be amazing!
So What?
- We have a responsibility to government.
Paul wrote to the church in Rome:
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1)
Obviously there have been times throughout history when a choice must be made between following Jesus and following the government. Our first allegiance must be to God, but He has created three institutions for human flourishing: the family, the Church, and government. As much as we criticize government, we would be far worse without a defense, schools, roads, and other services they provide. I rarely hear people say their taxes are too low, but they are needed to fund the government.
Jesus said to give to Caesar—or the government—what belongs to Caesar.
Columbus takes 7% of nearly everything we buy. Lucas County takes ¼% of our purchases. Washington DC takes…too much!
But the message is about more than money. It may include obeying laws, including speed limits! We may have a responsibility to the government to apply for the draft when such a thing is required. We give our time to the government and to one another when we vote. Good citizens can do many things to partner with and serve the government for the sake of the community.
One of the challenges in our culture is hyper individualism. The attitude of many is it’s all about them. We’ve even brought this into the church, saying Christianity is all about me and my personal relationship with Jesus. A personal relationship with Jesus is incredibly important, but we were created for community. Following Christ is a team sport. That’s why we have the Church.
- We have a responsibility to the Church. We are to give. We are to serve. We are to love one another. We are to do life together. When it’s good, it’s really good! I admit when we get it wrong, it’s really ugly. In fact, the gossip, judging, condemnation, hypocrisy, and even hatred of so-called Christians has called many to end their pursuit of God. Few things break my heart more than hearing of people who have walked away from God because of a bad experience with the Church.
If you’ve been hurt by Christians—and we all have—I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Please forgive us. Saying we’re not perfect is no excuse, though it’s true! We all need Jesus. I sometimes wonder why God entrusted His Kingdom to broken ragamuffins like us instead of Jesus spending more than three years of ministry here on earth.
But we have responsibility to one another. I need you. You need me. None of us has all of the spiritual gifts. Give to the church what belongs to the church. Yes, that includes not only time but also talents and treasures. Now that we’re opening up more, I encourage you to get in a Life Group, serve on the Hospitality Team, join the Music or Tech Teams, …and support God’s work here and around the world with your finances.
Some religions have what are essentially dues in order to participate. We don’t sell tickets around here! But one of our newly adopted core values as a church which we’ll reveal in the coming months is generosity. God is generous. He gave us the most precious possible gift…His son Jesus. Jesus gave us his life. What more could he give? The Holy Spirit fills the planet in every follower of Jesus.
Again, the message from today’s text is more than just money, but it certainly includes money. In a few weeks we’ll look at Jesus’ teaching on investing in God’s Kingdom.
I’ve had people over the years ask me if tithing is a command for us today. Tithe literally means ten percent and it was prescribed in Old Testament worship, not only of cash but crops. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth:
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
We are a generous church. We have people that give dozens of volunteer hours each month. We have people generously sharing their talents and expertise. We have people who use their wealth to give extravagantly to bless our community.
I think ten percent is a good starting point for generosity, but it is by no means the max. Honestly, I can’t think of a better investment of finances than First Alliance Church and its work in Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria, and the ends of the earth through our Home Missions, Faith Missions, and Great Commission Fund partners. I love investing here!
By the way, in addition to giving cash online or in person, we can accept other assets and potentially save you substantial money on your taxes. If you have stocks, bonds, real estate, cattle, a business, or most any asset, we have the means of receiving them and using them for God’s glory.
As I said, the government, church, and family are the three institutions God created.
- We have a responsibility to our family. Parents, train your children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3)
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
Spouses,
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)
Ultimately all of our responsibility to government, church, and family can be summarized in one command we’ll look at in two weeks:
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31)
I realize that verse is missing a bit of context…and it relates to our greatest responsibility…our responsibility to God.
Everything is created by God, for God, and for God’s glory.
If we are to properly give to Caesar’s, what do we give to God? When asked which of the commandments is the greatest…
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:29-30)
Did you catch Jesus quoting the shema? The Lord is one. We worship one God. How do we worship Him? With everything! All of our heart. All of our soul. All of our mind. All of our strength.
One hundred percent of our time, talents, and treasures belong to God. They’re on loan. We must be good stewards of what’s He’s entrusted to us.
How do your finances bring God glory?
How does your calendar bring God glory?
How does your physical body bring God glory?
How does your mind bring God glory?
What do I need to submit to God? Where is Jesus not LORD in my life?
Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar…and give to God what belongs to God…which is everything…including Caesar!
One more thing
You might think God is awfully demanding. You mean I have to give up everything to follow Jesus? Yes! You mean I have to die to myself and my desires and passions to serve God? Yes!
“Why would I give up everything for God?” Because He gave up everything for you. He loves you. He knows you. He created you. He knows your name. He wants nothing but the very best for you, even when it doesn’t feel good, even when the storms come, even when it’s not popular or politically-correct. God’s ways are perfect and so much higher than ours. He can be trusted.
We can do life our way. We can hoard our money. We can cheat on our taxes. We can rob God. We can be selfish with our talents and time. But disobeying God harms us more than anyone else. Eventually we’ll discover we don’t have all of the answers. We really need God. We need love.
I want to encourage you…you are loved, you are known, God is here, and He wants everything from you…and He wants to be your everything.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.
The Political Divide, 11 October 2020
11 10 20 Filed in: Sermons | The Great Divide
The Political Divide (Jesus for President)
Series—The Great Divide
Series Big Idea: Our world is filled with division, yet Jesus prayed that we would be one as we share faith, hope and love.
Big Idea: Every leader has good and bad qualities and our allegiance must never be to a candidate or party, but to Jesus the Messiah.
The Great Divide video by Dan Stevers
You are loved!
In a world of division, controversy, cancel culture, us versus them, perhaps the most important message for our times is “You are loved.”
What did you think of that video? I found parts of it disturbing, others heart-warming. Every person—black, white, blue, citizen, immigrant, conservative, progressive, young, old, gay, straight, rich, and poor is a masterpiece…a broken masterpiece…an imperfect, sinful masterpiece. We exist to proclaim that simple message: you are loved. Period.
Today we begin a series called The Great Divide. 2020 will be remembered for two things: COVID and division. What began as “we’re all in this together” has become a raging war over face masks, political candidates, racism, …and the real battle between Michigan and Ohio State isn’t until December 12!
Our world is filled with division—even in the Church—yet Jesus prayed that we would be one as we share faith, hope and love. In fact, the only time I believe Jesus prayed specifically for us in 2020 was in the seventeenth chapter of John:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)
LORD, make us one! That was Jesus’ prayer for us. It’s one of the four prayers I pray for First Alliance Church: direction, protection, passion…and unity. By unity, I don’t mean uniformity. In fact, harmony might be a better word: different notes played together creating a beautiful sound. My favorite metaphor for the Church is a mosaic—broken, diverse pieces assembled together so light can shine through and reveal beauty.
The goal of this series is simple: build bridges. It’s easy to build walls. Staying with your team in the echo chamber of thoughts—and villainizing “those people—is the way of the world. But the way of Jesus is love, grace, invitation, mercy, forgiveness, and hope.
In one of the most popular illustrations of the gospel—or good news—God is on one side of a chasm or canyon that we call sin. God is allergic to sin, we all sin, and therefore this is a space between us and God dating back to the Garden of Eden, the rebellion of Adam and Eve. Religion is the human quest to get to God, to earn God’s favor, to receive His blessing. But nothing we can do can bridge the great divide. It’s as if the best we can do is try to jump across the Grand Canyon. You can practice. You can train. You can get better, but no human could ever jump across safely.
This is called the bridge illustration because Jesus comes along and his death and resurrection create a bridge, a way to God. It’s not forced, though it’s available to everyone. We choose to ignore it or walk across and experience restoration, healing, forgiveness, reconciliation, and a relationship with our Creator. It’s truly amazing!
In a similar—but far less significant—way, we are going to attempt to build bridges throughout this series. These bridges are valuable between the Church and the world, but also within the Church. We may all claim to follow Jesus, but our family of origin, geography, education, ethnicity, culture, and experiences make unity—and harmony—challenging.
We’re going to tackle three softball topics in this series: politics, racism, and generation gaps. Today, we begin with politics.
Once upon a time, God told a man named Abram that he would be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4). His grandson, Jacob, was renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28) and his offspring became known as the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 49:28). Generations later when they were slaves in Egypt, Moses was called by God to lead the people out of Egypt to the Promised Land, what we know today as Israel. God was the faithful leader of the Jewish people, yet as time passed, they wanted a human king like the other nations. Samuel urged them to follow God and God alone, but they said, “No! We want a king over us” (1 Samuel 8:19).
Ever since, virtually every human on earth has been ruled by kings, queens, presidents, and prime ministers. All have been imperfect. All have had agendas. All have had mixed motives. Some have sought wisdom from God. None have been able to provide the perfect leadership of the Almighty…which is why we’re in the political mess we’re in!
Let me set some expectations to either ease or heighten your anxiety!
You will not hear me endorse a candidate today. Many of you wish I would. Others just breathed a sigh of relief.
You will not hear me endorse a political party today. Again, that will make some of you happy, others upset.
I will say I think this is a great yet flawed nation. As individuals and as a society, we’ve done good and evil. I’m grateful for our founding fathers and those who have sacrificed for our freedoms. I pray for God to bless the USA…and every nation on earth. Next month we have the privilege of expressing our voice through voting. If you don’t vote, don’t complain. But while voting is an important choice, we make choices every day which are often far more significant.
As an example, I consider myself pro-life. Like most labels, “pro-life” has multiple meanings. To some, it simply means overturning Roe v. Wade. To others, it is a recognition that all life is precious, from the womb to the tomb, including the disabled, the refugee, the minority, the unborn, the mentally ill, the incarcerated, those with dementia,…and yes, even politicians!
It’s easy to vote once every four years for a person who says they are against abortion, but the decision to adopt, be a foster parent, volunteer with Water for Ishmael, serve at the Pregnancy Center helping new parents, participate in Kairos Prison Ministry, tutor students at the After School Club, give to Cherry Street Mission, …those decisions are pro-life!
Psalm 139 says,
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16)
I believe God is pro-life. He creates life. He should determine when and how it ends. It is our job to love well. Always.
Loving well means respecting those who disagree with you. Jesus went as far as saying, “Love your enemies.” That sounds absurd. In fact, I dare say it’s impossible…without God.
Family, we will have disagreements about politics—and other things. It’s okay to dialog, but let’s be careful about debates. I don’t even want to think about the first presidential debate, but typically in a debate two people talk at one another, refuse to listen, and try to win at the expense of the other. Dialog begins with, “Help me understand.” It involves listening.
In our day, I believe listening is one of the greatest things we can do to show love and respect. It’s so rare in our culture to actually hear someone. Jesus’ half-brother wrote,
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:19-21)
We could spend all morning on these three verses! Most of us are quick to speak, slow to listen, and quick to become angry. We’re easily baited by social media posts or angered by cable news. People are making millions out of keeping us in silos, portraying the “other” as the enemy, and creating doom and gloom scenarios if our team doesn’t win.
Every four years we are told this is the most important election ever! Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but the sun will rise on November 4, regardless of who wins. We’ve survived four and even eight years under Republican presidents and Democrat presidents.
My first sermon here five years ago was simply entitled, “Fear not. Fear God.” The most common command in the Bible is “fear not.” The media feeds on fear. It’s their fuel. Go vote, but realize that’s the extent of your control over this election. You have far greater control over how you live your life every day, how you love, how you give, how you serve.
God has created three institutions: family, government, and church. They are all important. Each has the capability of promoting human flourishing…and each can be dysfunction and destructive. Simply put, families, government, and churches are filled with people who have the potential to do great good and great evil. That includes you and me. How are you living your life? How are you using your influence?
A few years ago, I was at a church function talking with an international worker with the Alliance. I mentioned how passionate many at First Alliance are about politics. As if on cue, someone came up to us and asked, “Pastor, how could a Christian ever be a Democrat?” Allow me to take a quick stab at that!
In Larry Hertado’s book Destroyer of the Gods, he writes about the early church social project. In the first century, the Church was a minority. It didn’t have power. It was looked upon with disdain. Hertado describes five traits of the early church:
1. Multi-ethnic (first multi-ethnic religion) 2. Oriented to the poor (economic justice) 3. Conciliatory (forgiveness, bridge-building) 4. Pro-life (against infanticide and abortion) 5. Believed sex was only between a man and woman in marriage
1 and 2 sound Democratic.
4 and 5 sound Republican.
3 is found in neither!
There is no perfect party or politician, not matter what you’ve been told. We simply live in a fallen, broken world with a real enemy who is out to destroy our unity, our joy, our love, our witness, and our peace. He loves to divide and conquer…and we can’t let him win!
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. (Mark 3:24-25)
My great concern is not the binary, polarizing, cancel culture in our world. That’s the world. The kingdom of darkness is always filled with wars and conflict. When I see it in the Church, that’s when I become alarmed. There has never been a better time for us to extend grace, to seek to understand the other, the show kindness and gentleness.
We are not to act like the world! Jesus set forth a different agenda, a different path, a different way.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Unless Jesus returns and runs for president, we will probably have differing opinions on election day…and that’s ok. What’s not ok is attacking, condemning, judging, disrespecting, hating, or arrogantly seeking to overpower one another.
Fortunately, I haven’t witnessed much of that around here lately…and I hope I don’t! I like a healthy, robust discussion as much as anyone, but it must always be done with love, humility, and a commitment to the relationship. I’ve witnessed this with our staff. I’ve experienced it with our elders. We are different. We think differently, vote differently, and even behave differently, …and that’s a good thing so long as we love well.
Jesus said,
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)
Life. A full, abundant life. No politician can deliver that, but Jesus can.
A Vision for Kingdom Living
We live in the United States of America. But we are citizens of heaven. We’ve been sent here on a mission, not to win an election or gain power, but to serve, to restore God’s masterpieces. We’ve been given authority from God almighty to go and make disciples, to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourself.
It’s fine to have political preferences, but our focus must be on the Lion and the Lamb, not an elephant or donkey.
The answer to the problems in our world is not a politician, but the only One who is a prophet, priest, and king. His name is Jesus. He is Lord of lords, King of kings, and President of presidents. He will rule and reign for four years? No! For eight year? No! Forever!
If we spent as much time reading the Bible as they do political news, our world would be a different place.
If we spent as much time talking about Jesus as we do the presidential candidates, our world would be a different place.
If we spent as much time listening as we did talking, posting, and arguing, our world would be a different place…and we would be different people!
Some of you are going to be happy on November 4—or whenever they tally the votes—and others will be disappointed. But we need to come together. We need to love and respect one another. We need to show the world there’s a better way to live than on opposite sides of the great divide of politics.
After RBG’s death, the stories of her and Judge Scalia were widespread. Two very different human beings with opposing political and ideological views were able to maintain a close friendship. They didn’t tolerate one another, they had genuine love and respect for each other.
First Alliance, I want us to model that kind of humanity, decency, and dignity. We need to honor one another, serve one another, and get beyond our external differences to see each other as brother and sister, related by blood, the blood of Jesus. We have far more in common than we will ever have different.
Let’s take the next month or so to pray, to listen, to learn, to love. Let’s remember Romans 13 which begins,
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1)
God will not be surprised on November 4. He’s already been there! He is in control. Not you. Not even the president. God is in control!
I’m glad my eternal destiny is not in the hands of any candidate. Truthfully, I think every president in history has made some good decisions and some bad ones. Whoever gets elected, we need to pray for them. My prayer for past, present, and future leaders is simple: LORD, may they humbly seek Your will, Your Kingdom.
Family, don’t buy into the lies that the election will save or ruin your life. We’re only here for eighty or so years, but what awaits us is eternity with God.
A president before I was born said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” You can vote, which is important, but it’s far more important to share faith, hope, and love every day. We can never put our faith in politicians. We can never put our hope in political parties.
Our faith, our hope, our future, our life is in Jesus Christ, the Lion and the Lamb!
PRAY for the election
PRAY for our current leaders
PRAY for our future leaders
Remember, you are loved! You are a masterpiece…and so is everyone you encounter this week. Let’s build bridges and love well…in Jesus’ Name.
Recommended Resources
NAE For the Health statement
Not in It to Win It by Andy Stanley
The Church of Us vs. Them by David Fitch
BuckeyeBallot.com
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.
Series—The Great Divide
Series Big Idea: Our world is filled with division, yet Jesus prayed that we would be one as we share faith, hope and love.
Big Idea: Every leader has good and bad qualities and our allegiance must never be to a candidate or party, but to Jesus the Messiah.
The Great Divide video by Dan Stevers
You are loved!
In a world of division, controversy, cancel culture, us versus them, perhaps the most important message for our times is “You are loved.”
What did you think of that video? I found parts of it disturbing, others heart-warming. Every person—black, white, blue, citizen, immigrant, conservative, progressive, young, old, gay, straight, rich, and poor is a masterpiece…a broken masterpiece…an imperfect, sinful masterpiece. We exist to proclaim that simple message: you are loved. Period.
Today we begin a series called The Great Divide. 2020 will be remembered for two things: COVID and division. What began as “we’re all in this together” has become a raging war over face masks, political candidates, racism, …and the real battle between Michigan and Ohio State isn’t until December 12!
Our world is filled with division—even in the Church—yet Jesus prayed that we would be one as we share faith, hope and love. In fact, the only time I believe Jesus prayed specifically for us in 2020 was in the seventeenth chapter of John:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)
LORD, make us one! That was Jesus’ prayer for us. It’s one of the four prayers I pray for First Alliance Church: direction, protection, passion…and unity. By unity, I don’t mean uniformity. In fact, harmony might be a better word: different notes played together creating a beautiful sound. My favorite metaphor for the Church is a mosaic—broken, diverse pieces assembled together so light can shine through and reveal beauty.
The goal of this series is simple: build bridges. It’s easy to build walls. Staying with your team in the echo chamber of thoughts—and villainizing “those people—is the way of the world. But the way of Jesus is love, grace, invitation, mercy, forgiveness, and hope.
In one of the most popular illustrations of the gospel—or good news—God is on one side of a chasm or canyon that we call sin. God is allergic to sin, we all sin, and therefore this is a space between us and God dating back to the Garden of Eden, the rebellion of Adam and Eve. Religion is the human quest to get to God, to earn God’s favor, to receive His blessing. But nothing we can do can bridge the great divide. It’s as if the best we can do is try to jump across the Grand Canyon. You can practice. You can train. You can get better, but no human could ever jump across safely.
This is called the bridge illustration because Jesus comes along and his death and resurrection create a bridge, a way to God. It’s not forced, though it’s available to everyone. We choose to ignore it or walk across and experience restoration, healing, forgiveness, reconciliation, and a relationship with our Creator. It’s truly amazing!
In a similar—but far less significant—way, we are going to attempt to build bridges throughout this series. These bridges are valuable between the Church and the world, but also within the Church. We may all claim to follow Jesus, but our family of origin, geography, education, ethnicity, culture, and experiences make unity—and harmony—challenging.
We’re going to tackle three softball topics in this series: politics, racism, and generation gaps. Today, we begin with politics.
Once upon a time, God told a man named Abram that he would be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4). His grandson, Jacob, was renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28) and his offspring became known as the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 49:28). Generations later when they were slaves in Egypt, Moses was called by God to lead the people out of Egypt to the Promised Land, what we know today as Israel. God was the faithful leader of the Jewish people, yet as time passed, they wanted a human king like the other nations. Samuel urged them to follow God and God alone, but they said, “No! We want a king over us” (1 Samuel 8:19).
Ever since, virtually every human on earth has been ruled by kings, queens, presidents, and prime ministers. All have been imperfect. All have had agendas. All have had mixed motives. Some have sought wisdom from God. None have been able to provide the perfect leadership of the Almighty…which is why we’re in the political mess we’re in!
Let me set some expectations to either ease or heighten your anxiety!
You will not hear me endorse a candidate today. Many of you wish I would. Others just breathed a sigh of relief.
You will not hear me endorse a political party today. Again, that will make some of you happy, others upset.
I will say I think this is a great yet flawed nation. As individuals and as a society, we’ve done good and evil. I’m grateful for our founding fathers and those who have sacrificed for our freedoms. I pray for God to bless the USA…and every nation on earth. Next month we have the privilege of expressing our voice through voting. If you don’t vote, don’t complain. But while voting is an important choice, we make choices every day which are often far more significant.
As an example, I consider myself pro-life. Like most labels, “pro-life” has multiple meanings. To some, it simply means overturning Roe v. Wade. To others, it is a recognition that all life is precious, from the womb to the tomb, including the disabled, the refugee, the minority, the unborn, the mentally ill, the incarcerated, those with dementia,…and yes, even politicians!
It’s easy to vote once every four years for a person who says they are against abortion, but the decision to adopt, be a foster parent, volunteer with Water for Ishmael, serve at the Pregnancy Center helping new parents, participate in Kairos Prison Ministry, tutor students at the After School Club, give to Cherry Street Mission, …those decisions are pro-life!
Psalm 139 says,
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16)
I believe God is pro-life. He creates life. He should determine when and how it ends. It is our job to love well. Always.
Loving well means respecting those who disagree with you. Jesus went as far as saying, “Love your enemies.” That sounds absurd. In fact, I dare say it’s impossible…without God.
Family, we will have disagreements about politics—and other things. It’s okay to dialog, but let’s be careful about debates. I don’t even want to think about the first presidential debate, but typically in a debate two people talk at one another, refuse to listen, and try to win at the expense of the other. Dialog begins with, “Help me understand.” It involves listening.
In our day, I believe listening is one of the greatest things we can do to show love and respect. It’s so rare in our culture to actually hear someone. Jesus’ half-brother wrote,
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:19-21)
We could spend all morning on these three verses! Most of us are quick to speak, slow to listen, and quick to become angry. We’re easily baited by social media posts or angered by cable news. People are making millions out of keeping us in silos, portraying the “other” as the enemy, and creating doom and gloom scenarios if our team doesn’t win.
Every four years we are told this is the most important election ever! Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but the sun will rise on November 4, regardless of who wins. We’ve survived four and even eight years under Republican presidents and Democrat presidents.
My first sermon here five years ago was simply entitled, “Fear not. Fear God.” The most common command in the Bible is “fear not.” The media feeds on fear. It’s their fuel. Go vote, but realize that’s the extent of your control over this election. You have far greater control over how you live your life every day, how you love, how you give, how you serve.
God has created three institutions: family, government, and church. They are all important. Each has the capability of promoting human flourishing…and each can be dysfunction and destructive. Simply put, families, government, and churches are filled with people who have the potential to do great good and great evil. That includes you and me. How are you living your life? How are you using your influence?
A few years ago, I was at a church function talking with an international worker with the Alliance. I mentioned how passionate many at First Alliance are about politics. As if on cue, someone came up to us and asked, “Pastor, how could a Christian ever be a Democrat?” Allow me to take a quick stab at that!
In Larry Hertado’s book Destroyer of the Gods, he writes about the early church social project. In the first century, the Church was a minority. It didn’t have power. It was looked upon with disdain. Hertado describes five traits of the early church:
1 and 2 sound Democratic.
4 and 5 sound Republican.
3 is found in neither!
There is no perfect party or politician, not matter what you’ve been told. We simply live in a fallen, broken world with a real enemy who is out to destroy our unity, our joy, our love, our witness, and our peace. He loves to divide and conquer…and we can’t let him win!
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. (Mark 3:24-25)
My great concern is not the binary, polarizing, cancel culture in our world. That’s the world. The kingdom of darkness is always filled with wars and conflict. When I see it in the Church, that’s when I become alarmed. There has never been a better time for us to extend grace, to seek to understand the other, the show kindness and gentleness.
We are not to act like the world! Jesus set forth a different agenda, a different path, a different way.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Unless Jesus returns and runs for president, we will probably have differing opinions on election day…and that’s ok. What’s not ok is attacking, condemning, judging, disrespecting, hating, or arrogantly seeking to overpower one another.
Fortunately, I haven’t witnessed much of that around here lately…and I hope I don’t! I like a healthy, robust discussion as much as anyone, but it must always be done with love, humility, and a commitment to the relationship. I’ve witnessed this with our staff. I’ve experienced it with our elders. We are different. We think differently, vote differently, and even behave differently, …and that’s a good thing so long as we love well.
Jesus said,
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)
Life. A full, abundant life. No politician can deliver that, but Jesus can.
A Vision for Kingdom Living
We live in the United States of America. But we are citizens of heaven. We’ve been sent here on a mission, not to win an election or gain power, but to serve, to restore God’s masterpieces. We’ve been given authority from God almighty to go and make disciples, to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourself.
It’s fine to have political preferences, but our focus must be on the Lion and the Lamb, not an elephant or donkey.
The answer to the problems in our world is not a politician, but the only One who is a prophet, priest, and king. His name is Jesus. He is Lord of lords, King of kings, and President of presidents. He will rule and reign for four years? No! For eight year? No! Forever!
If we spent as much time reading the Bible as they do political news, our world would be a different place.
If we spent as much time talking about Jesus as we do the presidential candidates, our world would be a different place.
If we spent as much time listening as we did talking, posting, and arguing, our world would be a different place…and we would be different people!
Some of you are going to be happy on November 4—or whenever they tally the votes—and others will be disappointed. But we need to come together. We need to love and respect one another. We need to show the world there’s a better way to live than on opposite sides of the great divide of politics.
After RBG’s death, the stories of her and Judge Scalia were widespread. Two very different human beings with opposing political and ideological views were able to maintain a close friendship. They didn’t tolerate one another, they had genuine love and respect for each other.
First Alliance, I want us to model that kind of humanity, decency, and dignity. We need to honor one another, serve one another, and get beyond our external differences to see each other as brother and sister, related by blood, the blood of Jesus. We have far more in common than we will ever have different.
Let’s take the next month or so to pray, to listen, to learn, to love. Let’s remember Romans 13 which begins,
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1)
God will not be surprised on November 4. He’s already been there! He is in control. Not you. Not even the president. God is in control!
I’m glad my eternal destiny is not in the hands of any candidate. Truthfully, I think every president in history has made some good decisions and some bad ones. Whoever gets elected, we need to pray for them. My prayer for past, present, and future leaders is simple: LORD, may they humbly seek Your will, Your Kingdom.
Family, don’t buy into the lies that the election will save or ruin your life. We’re only here for eighty or so years, but what awaits us is eternity with God.
A president before I was born said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” You can vote, which is important, but it’s far more important to share faith, hope, and love every day. We can never put our faith in politicians. We can never put our hope in political parties.
Our faith, our hope, our future, our life is in Jesus Christ, the Lion and the Lamb!
PRAY for the election
PRAY for our current leaders
PRAY for our future leaders
Remember, you are loved! You are a masterpiece…and so is everyone you encounter this week. Let’s build bridges and love well…in Jesus’ Name.
Recommended Resources
NAE For the Health statement
Not in It to Win It by Andy Stanley
The Church of Us vs. Them by David Fitch
BuckeyeBallot.com
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.