II. Areas of Agreement We all agree that

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1 January 6, 2019 Chris Dolson Series: Trending Message: Political Discourse Main Idea: While politics might divide us, the gospel can unite us. Purpose: To help believers engage in political discourse without adding to the polarization; and to explain Blackhawk s philosophy on being non-partisan as a church while at the same time encouraging individual members to be engaged in politics. Text: Luke 10: Selected Proverbs: 11:9; 12; 12:18, 22; 14:29; 15:1, 28; 16:24; 17:27; 18:13 I. Introduction of the Series and the Sermon This 5-part series is a topical series where we start with a topic that is trending today. - In a topical series, we start with life and then go back to the Bible. We are asking the question, How does the Bible speak to this particular situation? - This is probably the way most of us actually come to the Bible. Some sticky or messy situation happens to us in life, and then we ask: How does the Bible address this situation or question? - Most of us come to the Bible for help. We start with life and then go to the Bible; rather than start with the Bible and go to life. We are going to be looking at some controversial subjects that are trending right now. - Since all of these subjects are controversial and complex, we thought that the best start for the series would be to talk about how do we actually have a conversation about these kinds of things. - These subjects often generate more heat than light when we find ourselves engaged in these topics. - At the end of today s talk, I m going to give us some rules of engagement. How should we talk to others who disagree with us? Today s topic: Political Discourse - I m assuming for the sake of my talk that we would all agree that it seems like we are living in a culture that is becoming more and more polarized. Where we line up on the political spectrum has become a core identity marker for many of us. People will marry someone of a different nationality, race, or a different religious background, but rarely will you hear of someone marrying someone who has the opposite political identity. It seems like something has changed, like a polarization is happening in our country and people who disagree with each other are getting further and further apart. + If you need to see some sociological data to demonstrate this, Google polarization and politics: you ll see lots of charts. + Or watch Fox News for a day and then PBS or CNN the next day. You ll see what I mean. - For the sake of this message, I m assuming that all of us agree that polarization is happening in our country, and it is happening along political lines. I hear this all the time at Blackhawk. I recently heard from some local high school students that one of the biggest problems that they face in high school as a follower of Christ is this polarization. + If you are an evangelical Christian, you must also be conservative politically, and that becomes a stigma (their word) that they were dealing with in local high schools. + The atmosphere in our public high schools is charged. - The atmosphere is also charged in our own church. There seems to be more and more polarization over politics. We are talking about something highly polarizing both outside and inside the church. II. Areas of Agreement We all agree that 1

2 - 1. We should love our neighbor as ourselves. It is important to Jesus that we obey this command. Matthew 22:36-40 Who is my neighbor? Luke 10: The one who had mercy on him. + Notice how the expert in the law answered that? He didn t say the word Samaritan. + Conservative Jewish experts in the law couldn t stand Samaritans. + We call this the parable of the Good Samaritan but those two words never occur in the story, because to Jewish people, there was no such thing as a Good Samaritan. To apply this parable to our hot politically polarized world: If you are a conservative Republican, a Samaritan for you is someone who is a progressive Democrat, and vice versa. + The question is this: Are you demonstrating mercy and love to the other person? + Jesus says you should: Go and do likewise. + If we are Christ followers, we should begin with this. Love is the most powerful thing, and it should be the grid through which we filter all of our comments and attitudes. Are we loving people who are on the other side? + When you post on social media, when you make comments about the Samaritan, are you being obedient to Jesus? Are you demonstrating that you love your neighbor as yourself? + The reason it is so difficult to love our neighbor as ourselves leads me to the next point We are all sinful people. (Jeremiah 17:9) The Bible is very clear: All people are messed up. Everyone is sinful. What s wrong with us is not our political affiliations; what is wrong with us goes much deeper than that; it is our hearts. We are all messed up. This is a core belief of Christianity; if we are following Christ, we should all agree to that. + In the institution of government it must be remembered that, although reason ought always to govern individuals, it certainly never did since the Fall, and never will til the Millennium; and human nature must be taken as it is, as it has been, and will be. John Adams, A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America - 3. We don t know how Jesus would vote. These are real life questions that are difficult to answer, and when we go to the Bible, sometimes we don t find the kind of clear help that we are looking for. Recently one of my former professors came out with a book: How Would Jesus Vote? + Even though the book s title is How Would Jesus Vote? I need to make the point that we don t even know if Jesus would vote. His life on this earth did not exactly intersect with politics at all except that he told his disciples to pay taxes I also should make the point that I certainly don t presume to know how Jesus would vote if he did step into a voting booth. But we can know the principles he taught that relate to how we are to interact with others. Darrell L. Bock, How Would Jesus Vote? (Howard Publishing, 2016). + Darrell thinks that Evangelicals are guilty of cherry-picking verses that just support their point of view rather than looking at the whole Bible. There was nothing like the United States of America when the Biblical Authors were writing. + The United States is not the same as ancient Israel. There was only one Israel, and there s no indication in Scripture that earthly governments are to be modeled after Israel. + Even as we seek to apply biblical values to our country, Scripture does not tell us to apply the structures of Ancient Israel to the structures of the US. We d have a monarchy. We should all agree that the Bible doesn t give us the clear and specific help we d like it to when it comes to deciding who to vote for and what particular piece of legislation to support. Larry Hurtado, a Church historian, has noted that the early Christian Church was empowering a very unique (new) social project. 2

3 + Commitments of the Early Church: multiethnicity and equality between the races, strong concern for the poor, forgiveness and non-retaliation, prohibition of abortion and infanticide, prohibition against sex outside the marriage of a man and woman. + Some have pointed out that the first two sound Democrat, the last two sound Republican, but the middle trait doesn t sound like either party We should help our communities flourish. No matter where or when we live, God wants his people to contribute to the flourishing of their communities. God wants his people to serve: to stand for justice, love, and mercy. Jeremiah 29:7 + This is Jeremiah s letter to the leaders of Jerusalem after they had been carried into exile by the Babylonians. The Babylonians had just destroyed Jerusalem, but God wanted his people to seek the peace and prosperity of the city. No matter if it is the Jewish Believers in Babylon, the Early Church in Rome, the medieval church in Europe, or the believers in Mainland China today; no matter where we live and at what time, no matter who the king or emperor is, God wants us to work for the flourishing of the place where we live. + For some people that means that you may want to get involved in the political process. That s awesome. God wants some to be cooks, others mechanics, others school teachers, others to work in a social services setting, and others he wants to be excellent politicians. + There is nothing wrong with desiring to serve our community by being involved in politics. Some people might be confused because you thought that Blackhawk is not political. - To say that we are not political is not completely accurate. We are not partisan. - We want people in our church to be actively involved in the political process. - The Bible shows believers as holding important posts in pagan governments think of Joseph and Daniel in the Old Testament. - Christians should be involved politically as a way of loving our neighbors, whether they believe as we do or not. To work for better public schools, for a justice system not weighted against the poor, or to end racial segregation requires political engagement. Christians have done these things in the past and should continue to do so. - Nevertheless, while individual believers can register under a party affiliation and be active in politics, Blackhawk as a church is not going to be identified with a particular political party. III. Why Blackhawk is Non-Partisan Here is what I mean by non-partisan : - As a church we will not endorse a particular candidate or a particular piece of legislation. - This does not mean that we will not speak as a church on topics where we feel we have a clear word from God in the Bible. The elders of Blackhawk wrote a policy paper on this in You are welcome to that document. - In part it says this: Our refusal to take positions on political issues and candidates is not because we are trying to avoid moral issues about which the Bible speaks. Our goal will always be to teach what the Bible says about principles of morality and justice. However, applying those principles in a fallen world often involves compromises and political trade-offs about which reasonable Christ-followers can differ. Elder Board of Blackhawk Church, Summer 2008 Here are some reasons why we are non-partisan as a church We are trying to reach everyone. We are not just trying to reach Democrats or Republicans, we are trying to reach Independents, Green, Socialists, Communists. We are trying to reach everyone, no matter how they vote. 3

4 If we were partisan, that would give non-believers who hear the gospel at Blackhawk the strong impression that, to become a Christian, they not only have to believe in Jesus, but they also need to be in agreement with one political party. + That would confirm what many skeptics already believe: that Christianity is not about a genuine spiritual truth, but it is just one more example of people gaining power over others All political parties are made up of sinful people. In our particular culture, each side of the political spectrum has the tendency to argue that the evil that we are going through is because of those people on the other side having their way and pushing their agenda. + The perception is that people on our side are good and those other people are bad. + At Blackhawk, we believe that the evil ruining this planet resides in every human heart; all people in all parties are prone to sin. If we were partisan, we would give non-believers that we are trying to reach with the gospel the mistaken idea that we don t believe that all people are sinful. But we do. Human beings on both sides are intrinsically self-centered, and people on both sides will find their way to accrue power and privilege themselves. At Blackhawk, we think it is great if you get involved in politics, and we will speak to issues that have political ramifications, but as a church we will not be partisan. - In general, then, the church should produce individual Christians the church scattered who engage in political action, but the institutional gathered church and its leaders should not be aligned with particular political parties and leaders. Daniel Strange - In practical terms, this is very difficult to do, and the spiritual dangers are great. - Political parties will offer Christian churches, organizations, and leaders heady access to power, support, favors, and protections. All this can be theirs if they support the whole political agenda and look the other way on matters to which Christians ought to object. The spiritual danger here is very great. Tim Keller What can we do to get on the solution side of all the polarization that is happening in our culture? IV. Rules of Engagement How to Have a Civil Argument 1. Show respect. - Why? Everyone is created in the image of God. Everyone, no matter what they believe, is important to God. Everyone has been made by God. - Respect is like air: if you take it away, it is all people can think about. - Others will not engage you if they don t feel respected by you. 2. Be Humble. - Why? Because you are a Christ-follower. Christ humbled himself (incarnation). That s what we just celebrated at Christmas. The Creator of the Universe becomes a tiny embryo and is implanted in the womb of a teenage Hebrew young woman. Wow! That s humiliation. Humility is the signature move. - What does humility look like in a civil argument? Humility means you show respect to the other person and are willing to listen to them. Humility means I ve decided that loving the other person is more important than winning the argument. Maybe the whole goal of the engagement is to win another hearing at another time. Humility might mean that you simply defer to another topic. - If you decide to talk about politics, then decide what you really want. If you really want to build the relationship and to love your relative or friend then 3. Listen, Listen, Listen. - Seek first to understand, then to be understood. (Steven Covey) 4

5 - Help me understand why you feel that way. (Gregg Bergman) - When the veins of someone s neck are showing, there is a story behind that. They have a reason why they feel as strongly as they do. - You persuade best with your ears not your mouth. Ask people why they believe the way they do. - Proverbs 15:28; Proverbs 18:13 4. Choose your words carefully. - Words are powerful, and they can do real damage when spoken, put in a text, or posted on a site. - If you are like me; one or two of the following Proverbs will directly hit you hard. Look for that. Don t think about how these proverbs might apply to someone else. Look at how they might apply to you: Proverbs 11:9; Proverbs 11:12; Proverbs 12:18; Proverbs 12:22; Proverbs 14:29; Proverbs 15:1; Proverbs 15:18; Proverbs 17:27. V. Conclusion. Most of us would agree that we are living in a culture that seems to be drifting apart; there is a lot of polarization in our community, and much of it surrounds politics. One thing we can do is we can make the decision to follow Christ, to believe that showing our love for our neighbor is more important than accruing power or winning an argument. One way towards becoming a more loving community comes through prayer. This is what I would like us to do as we close: - Pray for someone that makes you mad, that you completely disagree with. Pray for that person. Pray for their salvation. Pray that they might come to know God. Pray that they would draw closer to God. Pray that God would show them mercy and loving kindness. - Pray for yourself. Which one of those proverbs convicted you the most? Do you have a sin to confess? Do you have a note of apology that you need to send? Do you have a text you need to send? Do you have something that you need to do as a result of one of those proverbs? 5

6 Eight Proverbs Proverbs 11:9 (NIV) 9 With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape. Proverbs 11:12 (NIV) 12 Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue. Proverbs 12:18 (NIV) 18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:22 (NIV) 22 The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. Proverbs 14:29 (NIV) 29 Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. Proverbs 15:1 (NIV) A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:18 (NIV) 18 A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel. Proverbs 17:27 (NIV) 27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. 6