A World without Christianity

 

As Christians, we're called to change the world! Believers have been changing the world for 2,000 years and will continue to do so.”

Have you ever put this together? Why is it that refugees usually flee to “Christian” countries? They flee to nations with a Christian heritage, nations whose government and worldview still have some foundation of a Christian worldview that greatly influences them.

  Frequently, Christianity is denounced as being violent, hateful, and hostile to human flourishing. Christ-followers are accused of being part of the religion of the oppressor class. We are told to shut up and “check our privilege” and “do the work” to repudiate Christianity’s toxic legacy. Yet, what would our world be like without Christianity?

  Our world would be crueler. Prior to Christianity care and compassion to the needy was regarded as foolish. At a time when many in the Greco-Roman world suffered misery and brutality, early Christians and churches offered care. Orphans were given refuge and education. Widows found aid. The destitute were given food. By the 4^th century, after Constantine became emperor, the church became the first organized institution of public welfare. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) ordered that a hospital should be built in every town where there was a Christian cathedral. Christians pioneered the establishment of hospitals, orphanages, leprosariums, and hospices for the dying.
  Christ-followers were responsible for a wide range of social advances, including prison reform, care of the mentally ill, factory reform, rescuing women and children from sexual abuse.
  The missionary movement of the 19^th century affected healthcare and philanthropy globally. Missionaries opened the first hospitals, clinics and pioneered medical education in primitive cultures. Those endeavors resulted in longer life expectancies and lower infant mortality rates. In the poorest areas of the world where help is most desperately needed, today you’ll find missionary doctors and church-sponsored volunteers. Many of those missionaries will stay for life.
  If there is a huge famine, natural disaster or reports of genocide, most people in other cultures are unconcerned. As a Chinese proverb says, “the tears of strangers are only water.” Countries with a Christian foundation rush in to help. They do this because of the influence of Christianity.
  Injustice would be even more prevalent. The Bible teaches that God places a conscience in the heart of every human being and His moral law applies to both governors and the governed. These biblical truths have been the foundation for the “rule of law” and the regard for human dignity and freedom. They’ve inspired resistance to tyranny. They’re a defense against the excessive totalitarian claims of an all-powerful state. Throughout history you’ll find that it was Christians who were willing to challenge abuse and do the hard work for reform. Individual freedom and rights are most prevalent where Christianity has had the greatest impact.
  The world would be less free. Those of us in the West often take freedom for granted. The idea that every human is of equal dignity and should be afforded liberty isn’t part of most cultures.
  Greco-Roman society had no concept that every human life has intrinsic value and dignity. The Roman Empire was made up of around seventy million people—ten million of whom were slaves. Most societies through history have been built on slavery. Christianity is the only major religion to mount a comprehensive attack on the institution of slavery.
  The conviction that every human is made in God’s image stood in stark contradiction to the culture of the ancient world. The Bible’s teaching that “in Christ we are all one, whether slave or free” (Galatians 3:28) was revolutionary. For free people and slaves to share the Lord’s Supper as fellow church members was scandalous.
  Chrysostom (c. 347–407), who served as a pastor in Constantinople told the wealthy to buy slaves, teach them a trade, and set them free, telling them that when Christ came, He annulled slavery. Gregory of Nyssa (335–395) wrote the first comprehensive critique of slavery, attacking it for its violation of the free nature of those made in God’s image. The conviction that every human is Imago Dei was antithetical in the ancient world. By the 11^th century slavery in Christendom had, effectively, ended.
  But because of greed the transatlantic slave trade brought back the horror of slavery on a more terrible scale. It was Bible-believing Christians like William Wilberforce and so many others who worked tirelessly for its abolition. Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807 and slavery in 1833.
  Yet as the world loses more and more Christian influence, there are more slaves in the world than ever before. An estimated 27.6 million are victims of sex trafficking and forced labor. Yet, again, it is Christians who lead the way in opposing slavery and human trafficking internationally. The areas of the world where slavery is still condoned by the state also are areas opposed to Christianity. It still exists in some Islamic countries. Nearly two million Uighurs are incarcerated by the Chinese Communist party and subject to slave labor. Ongoing abuses associated with the caste system in India are one of the greatest human rights violations in history.
  Our world would be less educated. From the beginning of Christianity, education has been a priority. Christ-followers believe all human beings should learn of God’s works and ways. That means that they must be literate and should be able to read the Bible in their own languages.
  The earliest colleges and universities were founded by Christians. Harvard, Princeton and Yale all owe their origins to the gospel. It was Christians who pioneered female education in many nations. When you look at the scars of female oppression—whether child-marriage, prostitution, sex trafficking, domestic violence, genital cutting, or so-called honor killing—all are more likely when girls are denied education. Living standards are raised when people are given an education. Across the centuries and across the world, Christ-followers have devoted themselves to their neighbors’ good.
  Christianity’s various endeavors—in healthcare, philanthropy, education, and everyday work—have been driven by the biblical conviction that humans, created in God’s image, should all have opportunity to flourish.
  Does the world really want the vacating of Christianity? The outcome may be a monster that can’t be put back in the box.

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

The Injustice of the Impeachment Trial

 

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”     

Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Justice did not take place at the 2^nd impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate of President Trump. Please understand, this is NOT a political position. Injustice overruled because prior to the trial commencing before ever hearing any evidence, most of the Senators had already rendered their verdict. The trial was a sham and a circus to garner political points. Our elected leaders who are elected to enact laws and ensure justice were a horrible example of injustice to our country. It’s no wonder that a large percentage of Americans have so little faith in or respect for Congress. 

  Let me unpack this. Imagine that this was a grand larceny trial of someone accused of that crime in our community and there is a jury panel of 100 citizens. It’s far too large for this kind of crime, but nonetheless, just imagine that you had a jury of 100 persons. What does each of them swear to do? They swear to faithfully understand and evaluate the evidence in order to come to a just conclusion about innocence or guilt. 

  To put the situation into a contemporary context, imagine that the trial is to begin in the middle of this coming week, but when you pick up Sunday’s edition of the newspaper, you discover that of the 100 jurors who are named, something like 30 of the jurors say, “In anticipation of the trial, I don't need the evidence. He’s guilty. I'm going to vote to convict.” There’s another 30 who say, “I don’t care what the evidence might be. He’s innocent. I’ll never vote to convict.” Another 20 say, “You know what? I’m kind of leaning towards conviction, but my mind is open.” And then the last 20 say, “Hey, I’m leaning against conviction, but I’m going to keep an open mind.” There’s no other word for that but Injustice.

 Justice demands that there is impartiality until the evidence has been heard. Political bigotry not demonstrated evidence before the trial determined the outcome. That’s injustice! Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.” God is just, absolutely just! What does it mean that God is just? The Oxford Dictionary explains that someone or something that is “just” is “behaving according to what’s morally right and fair.” Other synonymous words might be “accurate” (as in measurement), “correctness” (as in a judgment), and, of course, “righteous” (as in a description of a person’s condition). That God is just means that He is consistent, virtuous, and right and since His justness is part of His unchanging nature. God is always right and just in whatever He does. 

  Because our God is just, His followers must be committed to justice, even if it means we go against the grain of our preconceptions or political perspective. It’s wrong to come to conclusions without hearing a full accounting. It’s foolish to be emotionally manipulated and failing to be objective before even stating an opinion. Proverbs 18:13 is very pointed, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” 

  Social verdicts and public opinion executions before evidence or trials are commonplace in our divided culture. The media is too frequently an accessory to this evil in that they prey on emotions, manipulate a story and try the accused in the court of public opinion. Rather than accuracy or objectivity, sensationalism is utilized to increase ratings. 

  Far too often the average person and general public are co-conspirators. For example, say a business is accused of some atrocious behavior that may or may not be true. The accusation is posted on social media. Soon comments concurring with the guilty conclusion are piling on, yet the accused has never been allowed to share their side. They’ve been accused, tried, and judged guilty in the court of public opinion. It’s injustice. 

  In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Because He is the truth and committed to truth, Jesus often irritated and antagonized even His followers and He incensed those who opposed Him. 

  As Christ-followers, we must be committed to truth and justice. We can’t let our own preconceptions or feelings contaminate us. We must not allow ourselves to be manipulated by public outrage. Justice demands objectivity. Justice takes time. It means slowing down and stepping back. It requires thinking, reasoning and weighed responses. How can we be committed to justice as our God is? 

  We must be committed to a biblical ethic of justice. Exodus 23:1-9 details God’s laws of justice: No false reports; Don’t follow the crowd; No favoritism in the law; Give true testimony; Show kindness to your enemy; Justice to the poor; No false charges; Don’t take bribes; Fair treatment for foreigners. While others can jump to conclusions, a commitment to justice for a Christ-follower demands not being influenced by the color of the accused’s skin or the color of their uniform. It means a commitment to equal treatment no matter one’s economic situation. Too often the poor suffer injustice because of their economic limitations in that they can’t afford quality lawyers, while the wealthy get off with a plea deal or a lighter sentence. The general attitude toward serving on a jury is very negative. But if Christians and those committed to justice won’t serve, can we count on justice for the poor or disenfranchised? 

  We must be willing to be unpopular by standing for what is right. When emotions are charged, we must not jump on the bandwagon. We must ask questions and refuse to be caught up in a tidal wave of public opinion. It demands wisdom and spiritual courage. It’s easier to go along to get along. Too often we’re cowed by a fear of fallout. 

  In our relationships being committed to justice means refusing to participate in gossip and giving others the benefit of the doubt, particularly if the accusation is out of character with their reputation. It requires objectivity, taking time to think and weigh the evidence. It often means restraining and not contributing because you don’t have enough information to render an opinion. 

  Though justice wasn’t done in D.C., it will be done in the Courts of Heaven. Christ-followers must be committed to pleasing the righteous Judge and increasing His Kingdom here by being committed to justice in this temporary world. While we can’t do everything, we can do something. So, this week, stand up, speak up and when you see something evil going down, don’t just pass by it. Seek to make a difference. Stand up for justice and when you do, the God of perfect justice will be standing with you.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Who shot JFK?

“It is highly convenient to believe in the infinite mercy of God when you feel the need of mercy, but remember also His infinite justice.”

B. R. Haydon

On this day on November 24, 1963 in the basement of the Dallas police station, Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President Kennedy, was shot to death by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner. Oswald had been brought to the basement of the Dallas police headquarters on his way to a more secure county jail. A crowd of police and press with live TV cameras rolling gathered to witness his departure. As Oswald entered the room, Jack Ruby emerged from the crowd and fatally wounded him with a single shot from a concealed .38 revolver. Some called Jack Ruby a hero, but he was still charged with first-degree murder.

  Did Oswald assassinate Kennedy? It appears so. Because Jack Ruby took justice into his own hands, we’ll never know for sure. It’s why there are so many Kennedy-assassination theories. Questions like: Was Oswald guilty? Did he act alone? Was there a conspiracy to assassinate the President? will probably never be fully answered. Jack Ruby impeded justice.  

  God is always just and the ultimate standard of righteousness, “For the LORD is a God of justice” (Is. 30:18). The justice of God is another way of speaking of God’s righteousness. Scripture teaches that God Himself is the ultimate standard of what is right (Ps. 119:137). God then defines what is right and what is wrong. Something is right because God says it is right, and something is wrong because God says it is wrong. God stands as the final measure of righteousness, not personal experiences/feelings, popular opinions, political majorities or any system of this world.

  Injustice is perpetuated in this world. It’s tempting to point fingers, yet even Christ-followers can be complicit in spreading injustice. It’s heinous that someone can be accused, tried and convicted in the media or the lunchroom before entering a courtroom. “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

  In the early 1990’s Steven Cook accused Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of sexually abusing him during the 1970s. Later, Cook withdrew those charges after concluding his memories of the alleged incident which were evoked during hypnosis were “unreliable.” Though innocent with the charges withdrawn, some will no doubt always wonder if perhaps Bernardin was guilty. His name was dragged through the mud for months as he was presumed guilty by the media, the public, and even many of his parishioners. Only after a year of this abuse did the truth come out. His accuser admitted, as he lay dying from Aids, that he’d fabricated the story. Cardinal Bernardin visited Steven Cook and forgave him. A friend though of the late Cardinal shared that “the agony of having to endure those humiliating charges changed him forever.”

  Proverbs 18:13 warns, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” If you’ve ever been a victim of a false accusation, you know how painful it is. Yet, our sinful nature is quick to believe the worst. Often we’ll gossip and spread the rumors. It’s sin! At work or in the neighborhood and even at church, we believe the worst but don’t know all of the facts. We must show others the grace that we’d want shown to us.

  The disadvantaged often are the greatest victims of injustice. The Old Testament ethic consistently defended the “quartet of the vulnerable,” (widows, orphans, immigrants and the poor). Scripture understands that these groups are disproportionately disadvantaged. They’re vulnerable, at least more so and more often than other groups because they often have little social power, influence or financial resources.

  God’s Word repeatedly commands special protection and treatment for these vulnerable groups because of their inherent disadvantages. If anyone must speak up and defend the “quartet of the vulnerable,” it should be us, as Bible-believers. This isn’t political, it’s biblical.

  Injustice is a threat to justice everywhere. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., made that observation in his famed work from a Birmingham Jail. Looking around the world we see those who are oppressed—who lack spiritual and religious freedom, who’ve never heard the gospel or have a knowledge of Jesus. It’s an injustice. We must stand up against injustice, boldly proclaiming that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

  We must share the only hope for justice – God’s mercy. The Bible confronts us with the reality that only God is righteous and we’re not, “there is none righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10). Our condition of sin renders us separated from God, deserving of His justice and punishment.

  Wonderfully, it’s not the last word! God sent His Son, Jesus to pay the penalty for all of our sin. 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.” The good news of the gospel is that God, because the penalty is paid can be just and forgive us if we but repent and commit our lives to the Savior. God can justly forgive sin and restore that person to a right relationship with Him, crediting to that person Christ’s righteousness (Rom 3:21-26; 2 Cor 5:21).

  We who have been forgiven must be committed to justice and righteousness. We’re to “practice righteousness” and not “practice sin” (1 Jn 3:4-10). Amazingly, what God commands us to do He also enables us to do. Moral obedience doesn’t stem from some mustering up of human strength or ability. It’s God’s Spirit who dwells within every believer that empowers us to do what is holy, just and righteous (Rom 8:13). We’re freed from the penalty of sin and freed of its power to live righteously.

  Our God is a God of justice. Those who know Him must be His emissaries of justice in an evil, unjust world. Are you?   

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Justice & Jussie Smollett

"When justice is divorced from morality, when rights of individuals are separated from right and wrong, the only definition you have left for justice is the right for every individual to do as he pleases. And the end of that road is anarchy and barbarism."  John Piper

  One of the most moving books that I’ve ever read was a high school English assignment, To Kill a Mockingbird. As a young man, it opened my eyes to injustice as nothing else had. Very few books have so strongly moved me. There’s a dated film version, yet I’d encourage you instead to read the book. It does have some racial language that was characteristic of the Deep South in the period that it describes, the 1930’s.  

  Sadly, injustice is not new. Worse, it shows no sign of going extinct. The recent case of Jussie Smollett, an actor on a TV show, Empire. Smollett claimed that he was attacked early one morning in Chicago by two people he couldn’t give descriptions of, not even as to their sex.  He claimed that they hurled racial and homophobic insults as they assaulted him and then poured some liquid on him before wrapping a thin rope around his neck. He then told police that he went to a friend’s apartment with the rope still around his neck and continued to wear it until police were dispatched 45 minutes later. Though it was a hoax, charges against Smollett for filing a false police report have been dropped.  

  Like most of the world I’d never heard of Jussie Smollett or seen Empire before this hoax unraveled. I have no feelings about the show, positive or negative. Yet, like most people with a moral compass, I despise injustice, falsehood, and duplicity. This case illustrates the true state of injustice.

  Injustice is often perpetuated by economics. That doesn’t fit the media rhetoric, yet the Smollett case in which he’s been given a free pass demonstrates that justice is often based more on economics than ethnicity. The O.J. Simpson, Kobe Bryant, Brock Turner or Robert H. Richards IV cases demonstrate that wealthy is the best Get out of jail free card. Spend a few days in criminal court in an urban area and you’ll discover that those given reduced charges, plea bargains or have charges completely dropped have one thing in common – a good lawyer. But it takes money to afford a good lawyer. The working poor, those in poverty and lower middle class can’t afford a high priced one. Please understand that I’m not denigrating lawyers or judges. They’re attempting to work within a broken system that often fails to protect the most vulnerable.

  Injustice is perpetuated by our preconceptions and prejudices. Lady Justice is to be blind. Our legal system is built on a critical foundation – innocent until proven guilty. We’re in a sad state of affairs when someone can be convicted in the court of public opinion before the case ever goes to trial. That was the injustice of To Kill a Mockingbird. Injustice prevailed because bigotry was crammed into the jury box.

  It’s noteworthy that the Smollett story came shortly after the Covington students news cycle. Journalists too frequently no longer report the news but editorialize. They’ve moved from objectivity to activism in an attempt to make stories fit their worldview. A naïve public hasn’t learned the media is driven by ratings, not truth-seeking.

  With Smollett reporters lack of questioning his claims with the skepticism that they deserved shows that they swallowed his fabrication because it fit their preconceptions. Shoddy journalism has become the norm and it’s not just a liberal media problem. Conservative media pundits are often as guilty of re-shaping stories to fit their bias. That’s because it’s hard to wait and withhold judgment, especially if the competition may scoop you.

  So, how can Christians encourage justice?

  Remember that God is a God of justice. Isaiah 30:18 says, “For the LORD is a God of justice.” Justice is one of God’s attributes. It flows out of His holiness. Justice and righteousness are often used synonymously in the Bible. Righteousness is the quality of being right or just and is another attribute of God. It incorporates both His justice and holiness.

  Justice requires objectively hearing both sides. Proverbs 18:17 says, “The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.” The pursuit of justice means hearing both sides of a story. If we pass judgment after only hearing one, we’re acting like fools and making a mockery of justice. It’s wrong to jump to conclusions. We’re often too quick to judge and then mock the process of justice. To be committed to justice, we must be more patient before we pass judgment.

  Justice requires blindness to who the individual is. Scripture warns us that it’s unjust to consider who someone is when deciding what’s true, right and just (Ex. 23:3; Lev. 19:15). Justice is perverted when judgment is pronounced based on someone being rich or poor; lowly or exalted; weak or powerful. Justice is about truth and righting wrongs, not about identity politics. Why? It’s central to the very character of God Who shows no partiality (Rom. 12:11). It’s wrong to favor any ethnic group or political persuasion when it comes to justice. That means that social justice isn’t justice. It’s evil to argue that justice can only be achieved by being partial to those who are “oppressed.” That’s opposed to the very character of God.

  Human justice will always be limited because it’s only human. We can’t right every wrong. Justice is impossible apart from moral absolutes. God laid out checks and balances in human justice because mankind apart from God can never practice justice fully. We’re contaminated by sin.

  God as Judge will ultimately bring about justice. No one gets away with anything. No evil will go unpunished. While we want the courts and governments to get it right, we know that sometimes they won’t. It’s why we need a perfect judge who executes perfect justice. This is only found in the God who is perfectly just. Before God all the world stands condemned. It’s only in the atoning sacrifice of Christ that we can be found just by the one who is the Justifier (Rom. 3:26). Ultimate justice will come in the end through God. Until then, we must rightly seek justice today, yet always keep an eye on the final coming judgment in the courts of heaven.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.