Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church [too dry; needs better application]
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 16, 1997
Jeremiah 18:1-10
HAVING FAITH IN AMERICA
I. Is America a Christian nation?
A. Our visit to Washington, D.C.
1) Grandiose buildings, lots of statues of famous people.
a) Power, but little religion.
2) Couple on capitol steps protesting treatment of Kurds
in Iraq.
B. Promise Keepers and political statements.
1) Much attention during Washington rally.
2) Statements by leaders: "We need to take back America."
3) As things are now, can a Christian live in America and
have genuine faith?
C. Jeremiah - governments and righteousness.
1) God is in control of all nations, not just Israel.
2) If a nation does evil, God may withhold good from it.
3) Could this happen to America?
II. Going against the tide. #3453
A. A flood of sub-Christian behavior.
1) Drugs, distorted sex, greed, violence, abortion, abuse,
broken families, children without fathers.
2) Key institutions--the media, universities and schools, and
government agencies--sometimes seem less concerned to
change such behavior than to defend it from "Puritanism."
3) This destructive behavior is defended under the guise of
personal freedom and individual rights.
B. Condescension and hostility.
1) ABC News religion commentator Peggy Wehmeyer, herself an
evangelical, observed in an interview in TV Guide:
"The elite in this country--the courts, education, media,
the arts--tend to view people who take their faith very
seriously ...with a smug, arrogant attitude."
2) On National Public Radio, Harvard law professor Alan
Dershowitz noted that no evangelical Christian could be
appointed as a faculty member at Harvard Law School.
He lamented the fact that pluralism is often a code word
for "someone who agrees with us."
C. Extremism.
1) Our worst enemies seem to be inside, not outside.
a) Paul Hill, a former evangelical pastor, assassinated
an abortion doctor in Pensacola, Florida.
b) He justified it as God's punishment.
2) Painting all Christians with the same brush.
a) Does being upset with the moral drift of our nation
make us narrow hate-mongers?
III. How do you bring about real change?
A. The political illusion.
1) Just elect Christians, take dominion over America,
set everything right.
2) Political involvement has limits.
a) It is better to shape the culture.
b) Women seek abortions because our culture has conditioned
them to accept it, not because laws are liberal.
B. The spiritual solution.
1) Two attitudes.
a) Secularist - change people by changing society.
b) Bible - change society by changing people.
2) Moral reform alone won't make America "Christian."
Many Christians focus on changing the country through laws.
When they call for a Christian America, they mean a nation
whose laws and general standards of behavior do not
offend moral principles as Christians understand them.
But by stressing moral behavior, the 'Christian' in
'Christian America' suggests that Christianity is more
about behavior than faith, more about works than grace.
To reduce the adjective 'Christian' to label mere lawfulness
represents a serious compromise of the gospel."
Changing people, not laws, is the key to national renewal.
#3060
C. Where do you stand?
1) Paul and hypocrisy of Jewish establishment. Rom 2:17-24
2) Christians can be just as bad.
3) Is your life consistent with what you believe?
IV. Public opinion and morality can be changed.
A. Prostitution in Britain.
Josephine Butler (1828-1907) fought the prostitution
business based on young girls.
She changed legislation, established homes for the girls,
and sought positive publicity for the cause.
B. Successful temperance in Ireland.
Theobald Mathew (1790-1856) was a Catholic monk who
crusaded for temperance.
He did not push for national prohibition but encouraged
voluntary pledges.
He only claimed that more abstainers would make Ireland
a happier and healthier land.
The result was at least a 45 percent decrease in liquor
consumption.
Similar results were achieved in the revival in Wales
at the turn of the century.
There was less hard drinking because there were more
committed Christians.
C. Social reform in late 1800's in America.
1) Small voluntary societies made a huge impact.
D. What is happening today.
1) Charles Colson's "Prison Fellowship."
2) Insurance salesman Authur DeMoss's positive abortion ads:
"Life ... what a wonderful choice."
3) Promise Keepers.
a) Little political emphasis.
b) Key theme is racial reconciliation.
V. Stand up and be counted.
A. Christians cannot "take back America."
1) We never really had it.
2) But we don't have to sit in the shadows.
B. Be a Christian where you are.
1) Do people at work know you are a believer in Jesus?
2) Start prayer meetings, Bible studies.
a) Catholics to go back to meatless Fridays?
C. Think like a Christian.
1) Do you know what the Bible says on key issues?
2) Do you even care?
3) Political rhetoric is reduced to sound bites and cynicism.
a) Christians should do better.
D. Speak out on the hard issues.
1) We want to be "liked" too much.
2) America needs prophets today.
a) Martin Luther King, Jr., and appeal to Christian ideals.
E. Do it in love.
VI. One can make a difference.
The Roman Empire was socially corrupt, and it took a long
time for Christians to have a positive influence.
Romans liked "spice of life" theater, with ample nudity, live
sexual acts, and the actual torturing of criminals on stage.
Chariot racing was an obsession, and (as with modern-day soccer
matches) fans of rival factions often rioted.
In one riot in A.D. 532, 30,000 people were killed.
Note the date: 532 was more than 200 years after the Roman
empire had become (in theory, at least) Christian.
Worse than drama and racing were gladiatorial games.
Their blood and brutality make 20th century hockey and boxing
matches seem like parlor games.
Gladiators, most of whom were criminals or prisoners of war,
fought to the death.
The loser in each contest was usually stabbed through the
throat, with the crowds roaring.
Such bloodbaths were not just for the dregs of society but for
everyone, including the emperors.
Blood flowed, bodies fell in droves, and the Roman elite cheered.
From the time of Nero on, Christians were part of the spectacle.
The famous cry "Christians to the lions!" is truth, not legend.
When Christianity became legal in the year 312 under Constantine,
Christian persecution ceased, but the games did not.
Did the supposedly Christian emperors find the games disgusting
and immoral?
If they did, they never let on.
Politically speaking, it wouldn't have been prudent.
The gory games were a cherished Roman tradition.
Both before and after Constantine's conversion, some Christians
lamented the evil of Roman public amusements.
One Christian author called the games "cannibal banquets for
the soul."
Other Christian leaders claimed that the public shedding of blood
for sport encouraged crime and a general disdain for human
life.
Many churches refused baptism to a gladiator unless he changed
professions.
Some congregations refused holy communion to Christians who
attended the games.
In the year A.D. 391, something dramatic happened.
A monk in Turkey named Telemachus was tending his garden when he
thought he heard God's voice, telling him to go to Rome.
He obeyed, setting out on foot.
Weary weeks later, he arrived in the city at the time of a great
festival.
The little monk followed the crowd surging down the streets into
the Coliseum.
He saw the gladiators stand before the emperor and say, "We who
are about to die salute you."
Then he realized these men were going to fight to the death for
the entertainment of the crowd.
He jumped down to the arena, rushed over to the gladiators, and
yelled, "In the name of Christ, stop!"
When the crowd saw this small man rushing to the gladiators
they thought it was part of the show and began laughing.
When they realized it wasn't a joke, the laughter turned to anger.
They ended up stoning him to death.
Then a strange thing happened.
The gladiators stood looking at the tiny figure lying there.
A hush fell over the Coliseum.
Way up in the upper rows, a man stood and made his way to the
exit.
Other began to follow.
In dead silence, everyone left the Coliseum.
The year was A.D. 391, and that was the last battle to the death
between gladiators in the Roman Coliseum.
Never again in the great stadium did men kill each other for the
entertainment of the crowd, all because of one tiny voice -
one life - that spoke the truth in God's name.
The slaughter did not end solely became of Telemachus's
martyrdom.
It was because enough Christians, and people influenced by
Christians, saw the games as vulgar and inhumane.
We can be such an influence today.
#3078
