Contrasting Commitment

Matthew Chapter 5 is a famous sermon recording the words of Jesus; the first section of that sermon? We call that section “The Beatitudes.” That word — BEATITUDE — comes from a Latin word that means “BLESSED”… because there are a series of verses that start with the phrase: BLESSED ARE THE…

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and 
 thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

THE MESSAGE: …count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

Over in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, in the first few chapters, there are letters to a group of struggling, discouraged churches. We are not going to go into a lot of detail about them today, but we can look at one that seems so relevant to what is going on in Hawaii right now.

In Revelation Chapter 2:8–11 God is speaking to the church at Smyrna. Some of you remember when we studied Jonah, and I pointed out that the cities in that story were not just Veggie-Tale places: they were, and ARE, real places that exist on a map today, and SMYRNA is also a real place that exists on a map today. It is now called IZMIR, and it is on the coast of Turkey.

Back when it was Smyrna it was a completely pagan city — a pagan city that was proud of its strong opposition to “the new religion” (Christianity). One of the laws at the time was EMPEROR worship! From the time of Nero, Roman law branded professing Christianity as a capital offense; but most of the emperors did not enforce the ordinance. This changed under the Emperor Domitian’s rule. If accused, a Christian could very simply free himself by just offering incense to a statue of the emperor, praying to that emperor and declaring him as Lord. After making the appropriate sacrifice, the Christian would be given a certificate that verified they had done their civic duty and they would be allowed to resume the quiet practice of their faith.

But the hostility toward Christianity didn’t really come from state: it came from Smyrna’s citizens. The political leaders were often men of culture and tolerance; but the mass of the pagan population resented the certainty of the Christians. These pagan citizens called upon the authorities to punish these unbelievers (the true believers) for insulting their civic gods.

Revelation 2:10—
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

Deciding what to do in that situation was probably pretty difficult. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? All you’d have to do is go burn some incense in front of a statue, and repeat some kind of ritual prayer… it’s not like you’d have to REALLY believe it or anything… just do whatever they said to shut them up, and they would leave you alone! That’s what happens in a pluralistic society? Right? You just say what they want you to say, and try to blend in… don’t make waves… don’t cause trouble… if you speak out it will just draw attention to you and make get you in trouble!

Just keep your mouth shut, say what they expect you to say. Do what they require you to do. (Sound familiar?)

Making hard choices is just as tough thing for those in our culture, too. We like to “go along to get along” and we tend to choose the “path of least resistance.”
When things get too demanding, too difficult, or too “anything” etc. we just tuck our core beliefs away — quietly — and try to blend in.

But, as we have said each week this month, we can’t. We are a contrast society.

John 15:19 (NIV)
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

We are a contrast society in terms of commitment. We are not just committed to some abstract concept of truth; we are committed to the PERSON of Jesus Christ, who declared himself to be the embodiment of truth! We are committed to being the contrast society God intends the church to be, and to give evidence to that truth by standing apart from the society around us.

Society takes the easy way out
The church speaks truth, even if…

Society tries to intimidate and bully
The church resists and takes a stand, 
 even if…

Society seeks compromise
The church seeks righteousness

Society celebrates unrighteousness
The church submits to the Righteous One

I’ll wrap up this series on the church as a contrast society with these reminders:
what you are facing now is NOT persecution. Not yet, anyway. It is pressure. It is inconvenience. It is verbal intimidation. It is nowhere near what the people of the church at Smyrna dealt with… and yet, God told them: Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

…and I will remind you of the last part of the Beatitudes

…count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

~ PRAYER ~