Is Divisiveness Wrong?
THE CAUSES OF TENSION
Religious wars have been blights on humanity. The Crusades, the Protestant/Catholic divisions in Northern Ireland, the ethnic battles in the Balkans have all been described as religious wars. Communism is also a faith system that claims to answer man’s universal needs. Its protagonists claimed that it would bring wealth, peace and harmony to all people. Yet the followers of Stalin, Mao Tse Tung and Pol Pot caused the suffering and death of hundreds of millions of people. These were also religious wars. Militant Islam now claims to be the universal faith for all and like communism it believes in imposing itself on everyone. The tragedies of 9/11 woke the world up to the dangers of such a faith. Even the word ‘Islam’ is aggressive, it means ‘submit’. It is therefore easy to see why many see religion as a major problem of society.
Gene Rodenberry was President of the Humanist Society in the United States in 1960. However he is better known as the writer and producer of ‘Star Trek’. Gene had been brought up in a Southern Baptist church but in his twenties he turned his back on those old beliefs and began to hate everything Christian. He thought the world would be a better place without the narrowness of Christianity.
The bridge of ‘Star Trek Enterprise’ represented what Gene would like the world to evolve into. There was a black woman, Lt. Tahara, the Russian Checkov, the Vulcan Spock who was so rational but had little understanding of emotions and instincts. In command was the all-American white male, Captain James T. Kirk.
Gene Rodenberry thought that religion held man back from true happiness and the advancement of society.
When I was a student in the 1960’s there was a widespread belief that it is religion that holds man back from being free, whether politically or sexually. It was thought that rejection of religious restrictions would give rise to greater happiness. Today this cause is advanced by such men as Richard Dawkins for adults and Philip Pulman for children.
However it is clear that there is much division about the atheistic faith of such people as there has been over other beliefs. Atheism is a faith as much as Islam or Communism and yet the evidence for them is very weak.
The next step has been to reject all belief systems. People consider that any claim for truth is a claim for power, power to control other people. This is the basis of ‘post-modern’ philosophy. Reject the idea that other peoples’ beliefs can be true and you reject their right to control me. It is widely felt that anything that divides, especially religion, must be suppressed and silenced. No-one should have a claim over me.
Such thinking clearly has limitations. A jury in a court case is trying to determine what truly happened - the truth; a doctor is trying to diagnose the true cause of a patient’s symptoms. Honesty, telling the truth, is the basis of all strong families and societies.
This belief in western societies that certain truths are divisive and therefore should not be discussed is widespread. This is why people say that in polite society matters of religion and politics should be avoided as they cause divisions. However it does not take much thought to realise that it is not the teaching that causes anger and resentment but the reaction within individuals to these ideas. Ideas themselves are neutral, division only comes when humans get involved.
This is why it is getting harder to advocate any ideas that could be divisive. Saying that homosexual practices and adultery are condemned in the Bible can produce an angry reaction. This is why speaking for the Lord Jesus is getting harder and more socially unacceptable. What has happened to the right of free speech?
Penn Jillette is an avowed and vocal atheist. He is one half of the famous comic-illusionist act ‘Penn and Teller’. One day Penn got into a discussion with a sincere elderly Christian who tried to share his faith with him. This is what Penn had to say about this experience.
“I’ve always said, you know, that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytise. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe there’s a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell, or not getting eternal life, or whatever, and you think that, well, it is not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward . . . How much do you have to hate someone not to proselytise? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting faith is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe it, and that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”
Societies have always been disrupted by umpopular teachings but we need to ask whether it is wrong to risk causing such divisions and loss of harmony by permitting such teaching? Jesus and his apostles repeatedly taught that Christians must keep teaching God’s message in spite of the reaction against them. Is harmony at the price of suppressing truth admirable? The book of Acts gives important answers. Here Christian proclamation leads to division as it always has since Jesus himself caused deep divisions between people.
THE GOSPEL DOES DIVIDE PEOPLE
“At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel.” Acts 14:1-7
Paul and Barnabas are on their first missionary journey through what is now southern Turkey, They had just been forced to leave Pisidian Antioch. There the teaching about Jesus Christ had divided people. Many had believed and started to share the good news of salvation through Christ throughout the whole district. Religious Jews were deeply opposed to this message and ‘stirred up persecution’ against them. So they travelled to Iconium and shared the message there. Again,
“The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.” Acts 14:4
This was not like the bridge of the fictitious ‘Starship Enterprise’ where everything was peace and smiles. When the gospel went “boldly out where it has never gone before”, deep divisions were caused. As the gospel was taught, people went different ways.
There is one vital point we must understand. The disciples believed in free speech but not in forced acceptance of their message. The division occurred within the hearers hearts. Other belief systems, such as Islam and Communism have been forced on people but this should never be said of the Christian message. The response to Christian teaching should be personal. Some will surrender to Christ, others will reject him.
A hundred years ago a Baptist minister wrote an article called, ‘The Candle and the Bird’. In this he said that the gospel was more like the bird than a candle. When the wind is against the candle the light goes out. When the bird is driven away, it just goes to sing a song on another branch.
Paul and Barnabas demonstrated this.
“The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jews stirred incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.” Acts 13:49-50
The two went to Iconium where they immediately preached in the synagogue to a new group of listeners.
“There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.” Acts 14:1-2
More trouble, yet the result was the same.
“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there speaking boldly for the Lord . . . “ Acts 14:3
They had a message from God that everyone needed to hear.
THE GOSPEL IS ABOUT JESUS
What was this message from God that they felt constrained to pass on? This message has been given in more detail in the account of Paul’s teaching in Pisidian Antioch where he had taught earlier.
“Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him, everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39
The word ‘Christian’ means ‘Christ’s man’. Christians recognise who Christ is and are committed to following him. Unfortunately it is all too easy to think that because we are involved in a church or follow good ethical practices then we are Christian. We do need to remind people today what Jesus and his apostles taught. There is no salvation without a personal submission to the person of Jesus.
Note in the above passage that the word ‘through’ comes twice. ‘Through Jesus’ we can receive,
Forgiveness of our Sins
Justification
These two are essential parts of the gospel. Paul adds the warning that there is a judgment to come and supports his message by giving evidence that the message of Jesus is truly true.
1. Forgiveness
In 1505 a German monk, Martin Luther, was studying the book of Romans when he came to realise the immensity of the gospel. Up to that point he had been trying to achieve an impossible level of righteousness by his behaviour. Then he realised that through Jesus he could receive forgiveness of all he had done wrong as a free gift. It is as if a video of all my life, my thoughts, all the things that you and I are ashamed of, has been wiped out with a magnet. The price for our wrongdoing has been paid for by another.
Archaeologists have dug up many old invoices and across many are written the Greek word, ‘Telelestai’ – ‘It is finished’. The account has been paid. Whatever bad things you have done, Jesus has paid the penalty. Think of the centurion who was in charge of Jesus’ execution party. He was responsible for crucifying the innocent Son of God. Yet even this evil could be forgiven him. Nothing is too bad. One thief on the cross recognised the authority of Jesus and was forgiven. The Centurion also recognised that Jesus is the Son of God. He could also be forgiven because of Jesus death on his behalf. He could never earn this forgiveness – it was a gift.
Marghanita Lasky was an avowed atheist from a Jewish background. In a television debate with a Christian she said,
“Do you know what I envy most about you Christians. It is your forgiveness. There is no-one to forgive me.”
No wonder she felt imprisoned by her sin. Even sincere attempts to keep religious laws, such as the Jewish Mosaic law, cannot bring relief. The law cannot write, ‘Tetelestai’ – it is finished.
2. Justification
“Through him everyone who believes is justified.” Acts 13:39
I am not just forgiven, I have also been given perfect righteousness, the righteousness of Christ. I am considered clean through and through.
Gresham Machen was a great theologian in the United States. The last words he spoke as he lay dying were,
“I thank God for the obedience of Jesus.”
He knew that Jesus’ obedience in going to that cross had won for him both forgiveness and righteousness.
3. Judgement
The third point in Paul’s sermon at Pisidian Antioch was a warning. If you fail to listen and take God’s message to heart, if you scoff at Jesus now, then you will have to carry your own sin into that judgment. Paul said to them,
“Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: ‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.” Acts 13:40-41
God says, “I sent my son to die for you and yet you have said, Forget it, I don’t want Jesus.’ “
A non-Christian friend asked me over the supper table,
“Why should God condemn me just because I don’t keep his rules?”
Clearly I had not made the message of Jesus clear to him. No-one is good enough for God, we all selfish rebels against him. The only hope we have is to throw ourselves on the mercy of God. The great news is that he is a very merciful God. He described his character to Moses on Mount Sinai,
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” Exodus 34:6
This is the gospel about a God of love. However the Lord followed this description with a warning.
“Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished . . .” Exodus 34:7
If we reject the one hope given to us by this loving God who sent his own Son to take on himself the consequences for my sin then there is no salvation. If the Lord Jesus has not taken my sin then I will have to bear the full weight of God’s judgment myself. The sort of questions we should all ask are,
Does God see me as a rebel who goes my own way?
Is Jesus God’s chosen king, God’s Messiah? Did he fulfil the prophecies in the Old Jewish Scriptures? Did he rise from the dead and perform other extraordinary miracles that broke the laws of nature? Were the disciples really convinced about him? Why did the early church expand so rapidly?
Is the character and teaching of Jesus the same as the God of the Old Testament? Am I instinctively drawn to him?
So the Christian message, and it is a message from God, is two sided like a coin. It speaks of the wonder and joy of forgiveness and the empowerment to live a life that pleases my Lord and Saviour. If we understand this we will be overwhelmed with the love of God. It also speaks of a judgment to come. If we understand this we will be overwhelmed with the fear of God.
An Australian Christian minister, John Chapman, was explaining the gospel to a large crowd and he mentioned judgment and hell. A girl stood up,
“Are you trying to scare us into becoming Christians by talking about hell?”
John Chapman replied,
“You are asking the wrong question. You should be asking, “Is there a hell to be scared of?”
No-one warned people more about the prospect of judgment and hell than the Lord Jesus. So the question reverts to the authority of Jesus. Does he have the authority to warn us about these things?
4. Evidence is given
The apostles constantly returned to the validity of their message.
“But God raised him (Jesus) from the dead and for many days he was seen by those who travelled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.” Acts 13:30-31
Paul is assuring his hearers that the facts can still be checked by talking to first hand witnesses of these things. Elsewhere Paul tells of over five hundred people who saw the risen Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). When Paul was later on trial for his life before Festus and Agrippa, he talks about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Festus shouts out,
“You are out of your mind, Paul.”
But Paul robustly stood his ground concerning the trustworthiness of this message.
“I am not insane. What I am saying is true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these things . . . I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.” Acts 26:23-26
THE GOSPEL DEMANDS A DECISION
People usually fail to become Christians because they refuse to surrender to God. The effect of the gospel is to divide people. Too often the arguments used against Jesus Christ are pretentious smokescreens. The real reason for rejection is that they do not want God to be sovereign in them. Consequently they will look for and distribute excuses. This has always happened.
Are we not beginning to see this today? A Christian loses her job for wearing a necklace with a cross on it. An employee in a registry office is dismissed because she cannot in good conscience officiate at civil partnerships between homosexuals. Christian adoption agencies have to close because they will not place children in homosexual homes. Why has our society changed so quickly? Could it be that our culture has been poisoned by those who have rejected God? It is striking that so many of the movements for euthanasia, abortion, liberal sexual practices and the like have atheistic secularists driving them. Such people are poisoning the minds of our society into thinking that ‘objective truth claims’ are dangerous. They say that such claims should never be made. They would insist on one exception to this, they want the right to insist forcefully,
“There is no God.”
When Paul and Barnabas preached the message there was always a division of opinion.
“ . . . almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” Acts 13:44
“The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.” Acts 13:49
Then the religious and civil leaders reacted,
“They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.” Acts 13:50
So the birds fly to sing elsewhere - they travel to Iconium.
‘Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.” Acts 14:1
Again the gospel caused conflict.
“ . . . unbelievers poisoned the minds of others.” Acts 14:2
Soon this poison became murderous,
“There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them (Paul and Barnabas) and stone them.” Acts 14:5
So again the birds fly, this time to the cities of Lystra and Derbe,
“. . . where they continued to preach the good news.” Acts 14:7
Passing on the message of the gospel mattered more than anything else to these early Christians. Later Paul said to the leaders of the church at Ephesus,
“However I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 24:24
Today many people’s minds have been poisoned. They consider that faith is ‘personal and private’ and certainly ‘not to be talked about with others’. In contrast Paul considers it vital that all people hear the message, the Word of God. It is only because others risked much to pass on the message of forgiveness that Christianity has survived. The missionary bishop, Stephen Neil, wrote,
“Throughout the centuries the Church of Christ has survived because there has been within it a sufficient number of men and women cheerfully to die for him.”
We have eternal life because others suffered and died to pass on the message. So the question we must all ask ourselves is whether our minds have been poisoned by current thinking. Jesus said to all his followers,
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23
This radical discipleship is the one that Jesus has called us to follow. Jesus continues to warn us not to be coy about our commitment to him and what he taught, if we are the Son of Man will be ashamed of us when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the Holy angels or messengers.
So the gospel does demand a decision from each one of us.
BVP
