Saturday, September 22, 2012

When Christians Disagree Part 1


           
Philippians 2:1-2

            If I had to pick one word to describe the state of our world today, it would be division. I know that this is an election year, and that goes with the territory, with each side seeking to show how they are the better choice, but the divisions that I see go way beyond politics. Coke or Pepsi, omnivore or vegetarian, big car or small car, football or soccer, Apple or IBM??. Growing up in Chicago, we had two baseball teams, now there is only one and a half, but because I lived on the south side and liked the White Sox, I couldn’t say anything nice about the Cubs. (This has come in handy since moving to St. Louis.) It extends to many areas of life. It seems as if people make up their minds about what is right and if someone disagree’s, that is grounds for rejecting them.


            Dr. Eugene Brice tells a delightful but disturbing story about a minister who returned to visit a church he had once served. He ran into Bill, who had been an elder and leader in the church, but who wasn't around anymore. The pastor asked, "Bill, what happened? You used to be there every time the doors opened." "Well, Pastor," said Bill, "a difference of opinion arose in the church. Some of us couldn't accept the final decision and we established a church of our own." "Is that where you worship now?" asked the pastor. "No," answered Bill, "we found that there, too, the people were not faithful and a small group of us began meeting in a rented hall at night." "Has that proven satisfactory?" asked the minister. "No, I can't say that it has," Bill responded. "Satan was active even in that fellowship, so my wife and I withdrew and began to worship on Sunday at home by ourselves." "Then at last you have found inner peace?" asked the pastor.  "No, I'm afraid we haven't," said Bill. "Even my wife began to develop ideas I was not comfortable with, so now she worships in the northeast corner of the living room, and I am in the southwest." (King Duncan, quoting Eugene Brice, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)
            This is much of what Paul is addressing in his letter to the Philippians. This church had a very special place in Paul’s heart. If you will remember, Paul came to Philippi on his second missionary journey. His first converts to Christianity were from the household of a woman named Lydia, who was part of the upperclass. She was a wealthy merchant. While he was in Philippi he became the target of a false accusation and he and his traveling partner, Silas, were beaten and put in stocks in the jail. As they sang and prayed, out loud, in the jail that night, an earthquake hit , throwing the doors to the jail open and causing the stocks where Paul and Silas had been locked to come open, giving them the chance to escape. Not only do they not escape, but they convinced all of the other prisoners to stay put as well. The jailer, who was most likely a member of the Roman military, would have been required to forfeit his life for failure to keep his prisoners locked up, came ready to kill himself, but Paul stopped him, by informing him that all of the prisoners were still in there. Paul, never missing an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus, invited him to become a Christian. Acts 16 tells us that he believed and he and his whole family were baptized that night.
            So, the church at Philippi had both believing Jews and gentiles, citizens of the town and members of the invading army, rich and poor, people with authority, and probably slaves, all worshiping Christ together and united in their love for Him. They were, at least in the beginning, a wonderful picture of what Jesus wants the church to be. And Paul loved them deeply and they loved him. So much so, that they had sent two of their own people to go to Paul, who at the time of the letter, was being held under house arrest in Rome, to care for him.
            As is the case in all places that human beings gather, conflicts arose. Of course when you look at the wide diversity of people and stations in life brought together in this church, it is amazing that there was not a great deal more. This conflict revolved around two people, Euodia and Syntyche, who were at odds with each other and wanting the rest of the church to choose sides. Paul sets out to remind, not only the two women, but the whole church why they need to set aside those differences by looking at what should unite them.
            Paul does this by first reminding them of what they have received through their relationship with Christ. There are four things that he highlights. First, he says I want you to think about the encouragement that you have received through your relationship with Christ. Through your relationship with Him, you have ultimate peace, knowing that He has removed everything that could possibly keep us away from God. The penalty for our sin has been paid. As we accept that forgiveness, we can let the guilt go and not feel like we have to come groveling to God. We can now walk boldly into God’s presence. That means that no matter what I face in this life I do not need to fear anything because, as my favorite bumper sticker says, “I’ve seen the future. God wins.” and if God wins, I have nothing to fear. Now that is encouragement, all because of Christ.
            Second, he tells them to remember the motive behind what Christ did. It was because of love for them. Eric was had been a member of the youth group I led during my years in Seminary. Now he was in his freshman year at Colorado University. He called me and asked if we could meet. We sat down in a Mc Donald’s on a snowy November afternoon and he proceeded to tell me he was afraid I was going to hell. He had been roped in by a group that had convinced him that when it came to Jesus and the forgiveness he offered, that every one else had gotten it wrong. The only way to receive that forgiveness and get into heaven was if he were to be baptized by one of their pastors into their church. Anyone who was not, was going to hell. I looked at him and quoted John 3:16 to him and then asked why did Jesus say he had come to Earth? He answered because God so loved the world. So why then I asked would God reject people because of a technicality, that they were not baptized by the right person? You see, God is not limited by our rules around love. God is love and God loves us. There is nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us. Isn’t that great. We know that because of our relationship with Christ.
            Third, Paul tells them to remember that because of their relationship with Christ, they have Fellowship with the Spirit. If you remember, on the night that He was betrayed, after the supper was done, Jesus opened his heart to his disciples. One of the things that he told them was that he would not leave them alone. After he returned to heaven, he would send them the Holy Spirit to walk with them and guide them through the this life. It is this same Spirit that connects us with other Christians. You have heard me talk about the mission trips to Mexico that I had the privilege of leading. I still remember the first trip as if it were yesterday. I was in this strange land with hardly any workable Spanish available to me, the work was hard, the days were hot, I wasn’t a big fan of Mexican food, yet on that trip I met a group of Christians in a Presbyterian church in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, that I feel a connection to, to this day. Dr. Jorge Pasos, Marta, Jenny, Evon, Jorge Jr., and that wonderful congregation that we worshiped with and sang with and prayed with and ate with, we had very little in common, except our connection through Jesus. That is the Fellowship that the Spirit gives us. It is that same Spirit that connects us.
            That leads to the fourth thing that Paul invites them to remember, the affection and compassion that comes as a result of what Christ has done for us. Truly understanding all that Christ has done for us makes us more willing to show that same affection and compassion for others. What is it we just prayed, “Forgive us our debts, our sins, as we forgive our debtors, those that sin against us.” It is so much easier to ask for forgiveness from God than to offer it to another human being, but if we understand the price that was paid for our sin, how can we not feel affection and compassion on those that need Christ’s forgiveness and ours as well.

 Here we see how brilliant Paul is in approaching the divisions that were hurting their church. You see, as I recognize all that I receive in my relationship with Christ, I am forced to acknowledge that if all of this is true for me, it is true for that person in the church that I disagree with as well. They have the same encouragement in Christ, consolation of love, fellowship of the Spirit, and the same affection and compassion available to them that I have in my relationship with God. That even though we disagree with each other on some issues, there is so many more ways and more important ways that we are united.
         So, when we find ourselves at odds with a brother or sister in Christ, the first thing we need to do is remember all that we have because of Christ Jesus. But how then do we get past these divisions? We will look at that next week.


This sermon was from Sept. 15, 16 at St. Mark Presbyterian Church.


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