"The
Obligations of Christians"
a condensed version of the
short sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 at the Federated Church of Sandwich (part of the community lenten breakfast
series "A Call to Holiness").
PODCAST of "The Obligations of Christians."
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Holiness – set apart . . . connected yet unaffected by. As followers of Jesus – we are called to holiness.
So what do we do? What are our obligations as one’s set apart . . . connected to yet unaffected by?
This week’s lesson from 1 Peter 2:11-25 runs through a list. Some things seem easy or at least appropriate. Others are a whole lot more difficult to understand at all.
Here’s some hard stuff: Verse 18: Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.
I’m not going to go deep here. But let me simply say: The culture then – and anytime slavery has been allowed – got it wrong.
Here’s another difficult one from verses 13 and 14: For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right
You can find similar words in the book of Romans chapter 13 verses 1-7. Yet I don’t think those words indicate a blind and unconditional acceptance of governmental status quo. When we look at Jesus ministry we see that he challenged authority and angered those in power. When we read about the early church in Acts 17:6-7, we find the early believers turning the world upside-down serving another king named Jesus. In Revelation we see continued disdain for the government)
Are we obligated accept slavery and to accept oppressive governments? No.
Here’s some great stuff:
{15} For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. {16} As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. {17} Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God.
Those are obligations that may not make business or even fair play sense, but they do make sense in God’s neighborhood.
(Here’s something really similar from Romans 12:20-21, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
I think we are obligated to – are we wise enough to seek justice?
I think we are obligated to – are we wise enough to care for those in need?
I think we are obligated to – are we wise enough to wage peace instead of war?
When do we get on our high horse? When do we leave the area of "kind?" I think it is when we see something that is oppressive to others or it excludes others – or when we see exploitation, abuse or degradation of another. I think we are obligated to act.
Yet through all of this – I think as Christians we are ultimately obligated to follow the two HUGE rules. All the other rules and obligations we have must be seen through – and measured by – these two:
The obligations of Christians
Closing prayer
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