Sermon 6-28- 15 Pastor Ray Lorthioir Trinity Lutheran Church W. Hempstead, NY Holy Trinity Sunday Righteousness Versus Righteousness Good morning and welcome to a new era in the history of Christ s Church. Since the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, embraced Christianity in 312A.D., the Christian Church in the West has lived in a generally blessed symbiotic relationship with the state. For 1,700 years Christianity has provided a universal worldview, philosophy, morality and cultural foundation to Western cultures, their states and their rulers. In return states and rulers have tolerated and even promoted Christianity. However, on Friday, five lawyers officially dissolved that historic symbiosis. In doing so, the U.S. Supreme Court ended what we might call the Constantinian era of the Christian Church. With the stroke of a pen Christians are no longer officially tolerated by the state in the West. Of course, we will not see this immediately. But don t believe the lies about tolerance coming from the Rose Garden, the Supreme Court majority or anywhere else. Marriage has now been redefined. The family has now been redefined. Public education of children on marriage and the family has now been redefined in all states. Everything regarding marriage and family has been redefined at the federal level. Therefore, the entire federal apparatus will now proceed to enforce all this regardless of the first amendment. The pressure won t necessarily come from Washington. It doesn t have to. But little or no defense will come from there either. Instead, the pressure will come through the courts, starting at the local level and working its way up, just as has been happening. The ACLU has already let it be known in the Washington Post that it can no longer support the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 designed to protect religious minorities. And you know what that means. The pressure also will come through inane laws like those of New Jersey where governor Christie signed a law making it illegal to give counsel to anyone desiring to leave the homosexual lifestyle. On Thursday, a New Jersey court found an Orthodox Jewish counseling center in violation of that law and responsible for the millions of dollars of legal expenses incurred by the plaintiffs. That s an example of how the oppression will come. It will be lawsuit upon lawsuit until all opposition is silenced. Eventually, the courts will even de facto attempt to dictate church doctrine. How has this happened? Why will this all be? The explanation is actually very simple, and it all revolves around one word: righteousness. What is righteousness, and who are the righteous? These are the key questions behind the whole business. So that we might understand the issue, let s return to the three centuries before the Constantinian age began. During that time Christianity burst upon the Roman Empire gaining thousands and thousands of adherents. But the empire had an 1
historic relationship with gentile pagan polytheistic religion. For nearly eight hundred years polytheism had served as Rome s source of worldview, philosophy and culture. Therefore, what was it like? When Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii with a pyroclastic ash flow in 79A.D. it preserved that city exactly as it was in the early Christian era. In the 1700 s Pompeii began to be excavated. What was found was so morally horrifying to Christian Europe that it was hidden away for centuries deep in the archaeological museum of Naples, Italy. But now the truth is out. Indeed, the more archaeologists dig, the more they find a city absolutely and completely devoted to what is still called decadence. Everything in Pompeii from its street lamps to its paving stones to its drinking cups to frescoes inside private homes exalted sexual indulgence, perversions of all kinds including homosexuality and bestiality prostitution and sexual slavery. From what has been found, it s clear that both sexes and all classes of society indulged. Since it was all so public, it s obvious that children grew up there thinking it was normal and therefore righteous. And the question arises: at what age, then, did parents introduce their children to the righteousness of their society and how? There is also evidence that prostitution and sexual slavery were operated by the upper classes of Roman society. This is no surprise. Power and debauchery often work together. Apparently, then, there was a very good reason that the God of heaven and earth allowed Pompeii to be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. To both the Romans of that time and to us, the fate of Pompeii should be a warning. However, the key thing to remember is that in the empire of 79A.D. all this was acceptable and righteous behavior under the old pagan gods. Do you understand, then, why pious first century Jews would have chafed under Roman rule? Christianity burst into this pagan gentile world with an entirely different proclamation of righteousness. And for this reason it was opposed, persecuted and often driven underground. It was pagan Roman righteousness versus Christian righteousness; pagan morality versus Christian morality. Human beings cannot live without morality. The only question is whose morality will we have. Christianity challenged pagan morality to the core. We get a glimpse of this in a snippet from the book of Acts. Toward the end of his ministry, the Apostle Paul was imprisoned for his own safety and for the sake of peace with the Jewish leadership in the Roman fortress at Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. There the Roman governor, Felix, examined his case. We read in Acts 24:24-26, 24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self- control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you. 26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him. What caused Felix to become anxious and afraid? In verse 24 it says that Paul spoke about faith in Jesus Christ. But then in verse 25 Paul talked about all the implications of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Paul taught on righteousness, 2
self- control and the judgment to come. In other words, Paul laid out the virtue of the Christian life and the part that virtue will play in the last judgment. There are various aspects to self- control, but in particular the biblical term means sexual self- control. As Pompeii shows us, sexual self- control was hardly a virtue in pagan Rome. And as we have seen, people in the upper classes like Felix were often at the root of the debauchery. Therefore, Paul made it clear that the appearance of the Son of God on earth had changed everything. Jesus is Lord of this earth and of all humanity. He is coming again to formally claim His Kingdom. The old age has ended and a new age has begun. In the meantime, therefore, even gentiles are to repent and be saved in Jesus Name. Even gentiles are to live a new life of obedience to God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Even gentile social morality is to change. For Jesus is Lord. This is the message that conquered a pagan empire after three hundred years. So do you see Felix s struggle? He had no king except Caesar. And the accepted pagan worldview of the empire considered sexual debauchery and depravity to be a great social good. He was invested in it. Therefore, to believe that the Son of the Creator God had come to earth to save him would overthrow everything. That s why he was afraid. But, to reject the Son of God is to be rejected by the Creator God at the last judgment. That s why he was even more afraid. Felix had to accept one king or the other. He had to accept the morality of one king or the other. We don t know what became of him. We do know what became of Rome. Eventually Christianity won the struggle. Even though sexual purity was and is difficult to attain and maintain for many people, it nevertheless became a great public virtue in medieval Europe. It was held in high esteem even into the Victorian era that ended just a hundred years ago. But then the start of World War I in 1914 was the earthquake that shifted the spiritual ground. After 20 million deaths and much suffering, the war collapsed trust in the Christian worldview for many people. A new so- called scientific worldview earnestly began to take Christianity s place. However, as we have seen this was only the atheist religion of Philosophical Naturalism disguised as science. For a couple more generations good girls continued not to do those kinds of things out of social convention. But men were out of the sexual purity constraint. Boys will be boys it was said. Then the generation born in the 1950 s and 1960 s put an end to sexual virtue for women as well. For my generation the ground of public sexual righteousness shifted from sexual purity to freedom from the perceived hypocrisy of sexual purity. For without a relationship with the living God, who cares about sexual purity? Then sometime in the period 1980 to 2000 the following generations flipped public sexual righteousness entirely back into the unapologetic debauchery of the ancient pagan worldview. Thus, the good girl of 2015 is the unapologetic hot girl. The homosexual is the champion of civil rights. Who cares if Jesus comes or not? He s certainly not Lord of anything. We are our own lords. In an 1892 decision, the Supreme Court stated that the U.S. is a Christian nation, meaning it stands or falls under the lordship of the Son of God. However, by 2008 president Obama could declare that the U.S. was no longer a Christian nation. Five lawyers have now formally declared us a pagan nation with entirely manmade 3
forms of righteousness and justice. Who cares what Jesus of Nazareth or the Creator of the universe thinks? Therefore, for the Church of Jesus Christ, the Constantinian age of government tolerance and support has formally come to an end. When the 1950 s and 60 s courts proclaimed unconstitutional the reading of Scripture and prayer in the public schools the die was cast. This day had to come. Indeed, a careful study of Romans chapter 1 will reveal the inevitability of the things we re seeing and the things we re going to see. It all begins with the denial of a Creator God. It all begins with the exaltation of humanity as humanity s own best hope. It all begins when we call ourselves gods and live like our own gods. It continues when we call our moral corruption righteousness, when we call our personal moral corruption good. From this point forward in the U.S. it will be the righteousness of Christ against all the other conceptions of human righteousness that the government chooses to support. In the long run, who will win, do you suppose? But in the short run it will not be easy for orthodox Christians. Therefore, in a way that has not been necessary in 1700 years, we will have to understand who we are, whose we are and what s going on. When Jesus said in Mark 13:13, All men will hate you because of me the reason for the hate was and is quite simple. The Creator of heaven and earth has announced that His Son, Jesus Christ is righteousness incarnate. The righteousness of Yahweh s Christ cannot be surpassed by any human righteousness. That s why unrighteous human beings bent on their own righteousness hate Jesus with the kind of hatred that results in crucifixion. Now consider Colossians 1:27, God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. If Christ is in us, then the righteousness of Christ is in us. This is the same righteousness that the unrighteous hate and desire to crucify. Of course, any unrighteous person can have this very same righteousness of Christ. Repentance and the forgiveness of sins are the free gifts of God. Paul the persecutor of Christians found that out. But, many are determined to live as their own gods under their own laws and their own righteousness. To do so they have no choice but to oppose and even eradicate those claiming that ultimate righteousness has appeared in the person of Jesus Christ. This is what sin forces on all unbelievers. Hate Jesus. Hate those in Jesus Christ. So, we ve come back to the first century situation in the West. Constantinianism has fallen. The pagan empire has risen from its ashes. Culture and state will persecute you on account of Jesus and His righteous definition of marriage. Therefore, is Jesus so precious to you that you would rather be crucified rather than part with Him and the righteousness He gives? What will you have, the righteousness of this world in whatever depraved form it may take, or Jesus the righteousness of God? It s time to make that decision. To answer that question we ve got to know if Jesus is the Son of God. We ve got to know if He is the righteousness of God. Only the Word of God can reveal this to us. Only Lord Holy Spirit can shine His revealing light into the darkness of our hearts. 4
Therefore, let us conclude by contemplating the gospel lesson for today. In Mark 5:21-43 we re told of a twelve- year- old girl Jesus resuscitated from death and we re told of a woman who was healed of a long- term internal hemorrhage. In the case of the woman, she managed to press her way through a crowd that Jesus was also passing through. She pressed her way right up behind Jesus so that she could touch His robe, believing she would be healed if she could do so. When she achieved her goal she knew immediately that she had been healed. Jesus also knew it and demanded that the person who had touched Him reveal herself. She finally came forward and Jesus spoke this to her in Mark 5:34, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. What was her faith? In the case of the girl, we read in Mark 5:35-36, 35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. Your daughter is dead, they said. Why bother the teacher any more? 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, Don't be afraid; just believe. Believe what? The woman didn t have faith in her faith, whatever faith is. No. Her faith had an object just like desire has an object. And the object of her faith was Jesus. Apparently, she understood Him to be Messiah. She knew and believed that Yahweh was with Jesus. She knew and believed that Yahweh s grace was being revealed in Jesus. She knew and believed that such grace was for her in her situation. Therefore, what Jesus really said to her was, Your faith in me has healed you. Likewise, with Jairus, the synagogue ruler, when Jesus said to him, just believe, He meant, just believe in me. Apparently Jairus did, for he didn t object and obediently followed Jesus into that room where his daughter lay dead. And there it became plain to see that Jesus had authority to return spirits to dead bodies. Jesus could be trusted to do those kinds of things. Just believe in me. Who is this, then, that even the wind and waves obey Him? Who is this who can resuscitate the dead? As John put it at the end of his gospel in John 20:31, these [things] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The appearance of the Son of God on earth has indeed changed everything. Jesus is Lord. Those who oppose Him will eventually find this out. In the meantime God s grace, healing, favor and righteousness goes out through Him, through us, through His Word. Amen. All Bible quotes are from the NIV. 5