Spiritual Warfare, Romans 2, Part V

Paul is now turning up the heat and focusing on his fellow Jews who have, in the history of the world, one of the most sophisticated and humane laws to govern any society.  They have a covenant with the One True God, and have seen His miraculous saving powers over the centuries.  But...

"Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: 'God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.'” (Romans 2:17-24)

May I respectfully modify this?  

"Now you, if you call yourself a true patriotic American; if you rely on the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and your Christian heritage; if you know God's precepts and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the Word of God; if you are convinced that you are a guide for other nations seeking democracy, a light for refugees and the oppressed; an instructor to those who don't know how to run a country well; a teacher of children, with a strong education system that teaches moral character along with knowledge and truth—you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor porn, do you sit in front of your computer and look?  You who boast in America being the best country on Earth, do you dishonor God by breaking His Word? As it is written: 'God’s name is blasphemed among the other nations because of you.'”

In my lifetime, I have watched America turn her back on her Christian heritage.  The Ten Commandments, which "offended" people, were removed from parks and public places.

I have watched how divorce, once a rather infrequent occurrence, become so commonplace that we no longer discuss it in church. It used to be quite an issue.  I knew a pastor whose who was being considered, but because he was divorced, there was some question if he should be hired.  This was in the nineties.  It was only because he had been married to a non-believer that he was able to secure the position.  In the eighties, My sister-in-law labored over marrying her second husband, for she had been married before. 

How many pastors stand in the pulpit each week, teaching about family, God and the need for honoring spouses and yet they themselves are on their second marriage?  How many pastors stood against gay marriage, having failed in their own?  How many churches decried gay marriage, when a large number of the congregation was divorced?  How many worried about the children of gay couples yet had alienated children of their own?

Have their experiences made them more empathetic to others' struggles, or more condemning, to hide their own shame?

How many Christians battle with alcoholism, drug abuse, porn, embezzlement, lying, abuse (of all kinds) of family members or others, and yet when there is some kind of moral offense going on in the society, they are the first to gather at a protest with angry looks and insulting placards?

I have watched the church lose its moral power over the decades.  I never expected my parents to act as Christians should, because once I became born-again, I could see that they had not made a personal profession, so I didn't expect them to act in a certain way. But the little church up the street that I attended as a new Christian were filled with people who were imperfect, to be sure, but they modeled that the Christian life could be led, even if it meant personal sacrifice.  They worried about their witness to others; I, too, was concerned about anything that would compromise my witness. 

Not everyone there was kind, but enough of the people, my pastor included, showed me that living the Christian life was possible, because they were trying hard to do so. This had a profound impact on me as a young Christian. 

"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live," is a powerful quote by Pope John Paul II.  So, given what has happened to the American family, it is no surprise what is now happening in our churches, schools and the country itself. Having lost our moral center, we are chasing every fad, every idea, every whim of a few and applying to the whole, creating division, darkness and deception as a result.

Paul isn't saying, and nor am I, that we have to be perfect--that is not going to happen, but I love how Paul handles a church filled with imperfect sinners who have come to Christ.  The context here is lawsuits amongst believers (another sign that members were judging each other, failing to reconcile and seeing a lawsuit as the only way to settle differences).  He reminds them (and us) what is really wrong and how to fix it: 

"The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:7-11) [emphasis mine]

Bingo:  The church is filled with former sinners (aren't we all?) and yet the church is acting no different from the way they used to act.  Uh-oh.  But if the Body of Christ is filled with sinners who have been washed (baptized in water and by the Word), justified (declared "not guilty" by the cross of Christ) and sanctified (set aside for holy use, to move the Kingdom of God forward) then the church should look and act differently than the world around it.

In other words, our witness (to the saving work of Jesus in our loves) is important, and we need the Spirit of God's strength and fruits in our lives to make that even possible.

Am I saying if you are divorced, have a porn problem, or any other struggle with sin, you should hang your head in church, or worse, not go until you are victorious?  No, of course not.  If that were the case, the church would decline significantly in numbers and the few left might feel so self-righteous that they would be useless. 

"And that is what some of you were":  Whatever our story, (and we all have one) we become walking testimonies to His saving work in us--even when we blow it.  Even when our sin is severe (look at Paul, who had "murderer" on his resume) we are still His works of art:

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Eph. 2:1-10)

The word "handiworks" is the word in Greek for "poem."   We are God's magnum opus, and He gets the glory when we, who were lost, act in love and self-control (both gifts of the Spirit, so we don't try to do this in our own power) and show the world that being in Christ means a new creation, a new work of God, on a planet that is broken, lost and confused.

We speak out about sin in controlled and sagacious words, carefully monitoring our own walk, and emphasizing His saving grace, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of those around us.

He is faithful:  To us and to the world.

I can't be someone else's Holy Spirit.  

But I can be a walking testimony to how He saves, cleanses and sets a person free.