Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources
Our Mission
A representative form of governing has its insidious way of distracting us from our mission. We enjoy many freedoms. We take some for granted, embrace others with gusto, and are horrified to see how others misuse some of these freedoms. Because a cornerstone of our culture is the freedom of speech, we feel inclined to lecture others as they so readily set out to lecture us.
Resist!
Scriptural directives center on and emanate from our prime directive: “Preach the Gospel” (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Romans 15:16,19; Philippians 1:14).
The preeminence of this directive is perhaps most clear when the disciples were gathered in Jerusalem, and the controversy arose over the allocation of food to widows (Acts 6:1-4). The disciples (no one of them was identified) said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables” (Acts 6:2).
On the surface, that seems harsh, but consider everything in the section. First, the prime directive was clear – proclaim the Gospel. That is the ministry of the word. It was a command from the Son of God himself.
Second, the fair distribution of food to the widows (both Jewish and Greek) was a question of equity. They were doing it, just not equitably. Note that these were the Hellenistic (Greek) and Jewish widows “among them.” They were believers. At some point, someone brought to them the “ministry of the word,” and conversion took place. So this is a question of equity, and they did not ignore it but rightly delegated it for others to handle.
Third, those charged with handling it was a “whole group” that included Stephen, who was described as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). Faith and Spirit-driven activism immediately brings equity to the table. As benefactors of the Gospel work of Jesus Christ, these men were driven to show Christ-like love to all of the widows.
I mention all this because sometimes we are lulled into thinking our prime directive is “Mission Sunday, ” which is observed once/year or an activity relegated to the “Evangelism Committee.”
I always loved the way the late Rev. Timothy Keller (Presbyterian) described the Gospel: “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
When grasped in its harshest and embracing reality, it colors everything Scripture tells us about how we walk in life, interact with others, and face our greatest challenges.
Living Like the Gospel Is Real
Our culture leans heavily on ideology. Nothing brings out ideology like controversial moral and social issues. I can write an entirely separate missive on how our culture baits us (there is incredible psychology behind it), but know that it quickly distracts us, for we, too, have strong ideologies (i.e., pro-life, pro-binary sex roles, pro-traditional marriage, etc.). Those who have walked away from the word of God often take contrary positions on issues like this. Our culture frames it as a battle. We use terms like “conflict,” “debate,” “battle,” and “culture wars.” In all of those things, you want to win. You want to look credible and be respected but especially make the point that wins the argument.
Again, resist!
As we carry out the prime directive, the two underlying “life principles” are to love God and love others (Matthew 22:34-40). We love God by following his word – all of it (1 John 5:3). Loving God is such a peculiar way of living that you cast light not on yourself but on Him (Matthew 5:16) while doing it. When you do good works, it may make you noticeable and even hated by some, but it points again to Him (1 Peter 2:12).
So, what does this Gospel life look like? The Apostle Paul challenges us in this way:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:3–5)
This is a spirit that was to permeate the lives of God’s people going back to the Old Testament (Leviticus 25:35).
And as if that were not challenging enough, consider this:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38–42)
We are to love our enemies (Luke 6:27). We are to be willing to walk through the darkest of valleys and before our enemies without fear (Psalm 23).
All of this is to display uncommon courage and uncommon love for those who are unlovable.
Don’t Forget Reality
When God destroyed the world in a flood he did it because “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5). What is fascinating to notice is that after the flood, when everyone was wiped out except Noah and his family, God said:
“Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21).
Human beings did not change because of the flood. They have an evil inclination. This inclination was so strong that when the Apostle Paul wrote about it, he said:
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:19–24)
Perhaps the biggest mistake we can make when engaging in the public square with those ideologically opposed to us is to forget that we, too, have an evil inclination that is hostile to God (Romans 8:7). Even in our best of times, this evil inclination is writhing and squirming, looking for a way to infiltrate.
Sadly, this happens to Christians without even being aware. We sing our hymns loudly, pay attention to the sermon, attend Bible class, and say our prayers, and all the while, the evil inclination is at work, pushing us in some direction to draw some conclusion that, in the end, runs us contrary to God’s will (Revelation 3:17).
Recall the story of King David and Bathsheba. When the prophet Nathan confronted the King with this story of a self-serving rich man taking from a poor man, David didn’t see it coming when Nathan said, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12). This is a lesson for us.
Now, this will be hard to consider, but with the reality of our evil inclination, it is at least worth considering that part or some parts of the accusation that you are racist and homophobe might be true. I say this not to accuse but to calibrate your heart away from ideology and in the direction of theology. After all, if the inclination of my heart is also evil, and if internally I am boiling over in anger, perhaps, minimally, I am sending signals with my body language that I am a racist homophobe.
Walls and Bridges
Jesus was the object of substantial abuse. In particular, those who should know better (the religious leadership) constantly stirred up trouble for him. One of my favorite stories from the Gospels was the test on taxation.
Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” He saw through their duplicity and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent. (Luke 20:20–26)
It was a trick question. Endorsing taxes would anger the people who felt the burden of unjust levels of taxation. If he rejected taxation, he would be in the camp of the zealots and deemed an enemy of the Roman Empire. So he says both. He was not about to be sucked into an ideological debate about matters that would distract from his ministry of the word.
All of life involves words, decisions, and actions which essentially do one of two things: They either build a wall or build a bridge in our relationships with others. Everyone standing there watching these spies “pretending to be sincere,” had to be intrigued by the question because they also got to thinking about such things. They knew what would happen if Jesus gave the wrong answer. Instead, he gave an unexpected and astonishing answer. That was bridge-building, even though the Son of God could dazzled with his knowledge of illicit taxation, he didn’t.
That was no insignificant matter. The tax money was used to pay the salaries of those who fixed the food for the party where Herodias danced so seductively as to trick Herod into delivering the head of John the Baptist on a platter (Matthew 14:6-12). That tax money also paid the guards who were watching John and the executioner who did the dirty deed.
That same tax money would fund the spectacle of Holy Week, starting with the betrayal, trial, abuse, and execution of Jesus. Ideologically, there was every reason to criticize the Roman use of tax money, but in the end, it would have been a distraction – a wall keeping Jesus from those he needed to reach and from doing the work he had yet to do.
Why would the Apostle say,
For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:17)
We think it is the right thing to do good rather than evil. But why did Peter flavor this verse with the words “to suffer?” Could not the simple intent of the verse stand by saying, “It is better to do good than evil”? Bridge-building often occurs with much suffering (Acts 14:22). Turning the cheek, giving more than was asked, walking the extra mile, and even being willing to die for someone (John 15:13) are bridge-building measures. They establish relationships and open lines of communication.
Pain and Impatience
There are two enemies to bridge building: pain and impatience.
We often want to stand for what is right but not to suffer consequences for doing so. Sometimes, our faith prevents us from taking a job that requires us to sin or help others to sin. Sometimes, our faith is a deep offense to an employer through no fault of our own. A sad axiom of life is that we are often identified by our lowest denominator. Perhaps a past Christian lived his faith offensively or divisively, so an employer is especially hard on other Christians.
Pain comes with being a follower of Christ in a world opposed to God. The world hated Jesus (John 15:18), so is it realistic to think we can walk and talk like Jesus and get a different result? This does not mean we walk around poking the bear. Trouble found Jesus – he did not go looking for it. In the same way, as we set out to build a bridge, there may be unexpected and undesired consequences. That does not mean we were wrong or should stop living like Christ. Instead, it comes with the territory.
Another problem is our impatience. Many of us were raised by wonderful, God-fearing parents who truly loved us more than they loved themselves. They sacrificed to send us to the right schools and modeled incredible loving and Christ-centered behavior daily.
As a result, we matured physically, academically, and spiritually.
Not everyone we encounter has had that experience. Some lacked good parenting. Some lacked good friends. Some lacked good spiritual leaders. Some had no spiritual training at all.
Preachers face this challenge weekly when delivering sermons. Not everyone shares the same upbringing and holds the same values. That is why steeped-in students of Scripture are frustrated when a sermon sounds basic or simple. Conversely, new worshippers might be upset when a sermon shoots over their heads with meatier issues (Hebrews 5:11-14).
My point is that we must be prepared to start with people where they are at. We are tempted to demand immediate results on par with where we are spiritually. That is not how it works. Some of us think like children, making mistakes characteristic of immaturity (1 Corinthians 13:11).
The Apostle Paul recognized this when he wrote,
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:19–23)
Sometimes we must suffer for our convictions, as Christ suffered. And almost all the time, we must work with great patience to see change. Quick change, brought about by laws, rulings, and decrees, does not mean changed hearts.
Putting This Together
Turning the other cheek, suffering for your faith, and practicing enormous amounts of patience seem like a lot to ask. More than a few times one is tempted to throw in the towel. Nevertheless, we must persevere (Galatians 6:9; 1 Timothy 4:16; Hebrews 12:1; James 1:4; 2 Peter 1:5-9) because we know what we have in Christ.
I have spent a lot of words explaining the value of doing things for others and even suffering for it. Now, to answer the question, why?
The prime directive for every Christian is to share the Gospel. That thought terrifies some. First, they think it involves public speaking, like a preacher. Second, they think it involves memorizing a massive amount of Bible passages. Both are great if you have those resources or skills, but they are unnecessary.
Evangelizing the world is everyone’s job. It is not something we choose, like a career. It is something we do while having a career and living life. I want you to consider how your demeanor on these issues can work incredibly well for doing outreach.
Remember that the inclination of all people (you and me included) is towards evil (Genesis 8:21). Evil in the world has disastrous effects on how we relate to each other. Jesus said:
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, (Matthew 24:12)
But you may say, “There is a lot of good stuff going on today. We have Toys for Tots, soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless, turkeys for the poor at Thanksgiving, and we support a food bank in our community.” Those are all wonderful things, and I hope we all keep at it. But the frigid love Jesus spoke of is not only single-shot efforts of kindness. Instead, the word used for love (AGAPE) carries the idea of commitment with it. It is the antithesis of one-shot efforts. It is more than dropping a few bucks into the red kettle at Christmas or getting toys under the Christmas tree at the children’s center. This love is the kind that is characterized by commitment. It does not look for a reward or recognition.
When the world sees you doing things unexpectedly, it gets attention. People start to get curious when you persevere at some thankless act of kindness. That is why Peter wrote,
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)
Sometimes, the world comes to you because of how you act. They want to know why you do it and how you do it is what you do. They want to know what keeps you going when others would have long given up. It is then you can talk about Jesus.
We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
Once you realize you are God’s most fantastic charity story, you can write new ones. You know what it means to have been dead in sin and made alive through Christ (Colossians 2:13). Your sacrificial love for others, especially those who hate you, opens doors.
It is not our job to soften a hardened heart and to convert the lost to Christ. Instead, we are the messengers. Our goal is to have such a genuine relationship with a person so that when we speak about the things of God, we do so with credibility. We have built a bridge.
As you consider opportunities your situation now has, do so with eyes of faith and a heart of gratitude for what God did for you in Christ. Measure your words carefully so that winning an argument is not your goal, but building a relationship for further dialog is the goal.
What I am suggesting is much easier to write about than to do. You must purge your mind of resentment, prejudice, and anger and replace it with sacrificial love for those you find most unlovable. Remember that God did that for you in Christ, and now you are merely paying it forward.
