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Open ForumExodus 15:19-21INTRODUCTION One of the primary evidences that something is alive is that it grows. This is not only true in the physical world but in the spiritual world as well. We are to grow up into the fullness of Christ according to Paul. We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and we are to long for the pure milk of the word so that we can grow up in our salvation, according to the apostle Peter. Christians, of all people, are to be inquisitive, learning people because we want to be growing people. We want to know more of Christ and of his ways. We want to know God’s word and understand his world in clearer ways. We are not only interested in knowing things but then in applying what we know to our lives so that we grow to be more like Jesus. One of our ambitions here at River Hills Community Church is to be a place that stimulates and promotes growth in all of us. I am convinced that one of the ways that we grow is by discussing spiritual truth together, by asking each other questions about important things. I can’t recount the numbers of times that I have been in conversation with other believers, either in formal settings, like a weekly Bible Study or informal discussions and have suddenly been struck by a new truth or a new perspective on an old truth that has helped me to know and trust God more. One of the reasons we at RHCC think it is so important for everyone to be in a small group is so that we have regular opportunities for these kinds of discussions. What we are doing this morning is seeking to have a discussion as a large group. As most of you know, our normal practice is to take a passage from the Scripture and to seek to make plain what it says and to apply it to our lives. But this morning, I am going to answer three questions that were given to me over the past couple of weeks. I was given more questions than these but there is not time to deal with more than these three. I’m sure that I will not satisfy everyone with my answers, as each of these questions is worthy of a full sermon. However, I hope that I will at least stimulate your thinking, give you some direction to go for further consideration of these matters and perhaps provoke more questions. What constitutes appropriate worship music? Is there Christian music that is acceptable for listening to at home or in the car but inappropriate for the worship service? Who decides what music we use in worship? A couple of months ago I preached a sermon based upon the first song of praise, the first musical worship, recorded in the Bible in Exodus 15. It is the song that the people of Israel sang right after God destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. The sermon sets forth a theology of corporate worship. If you want to know what worship is then I would encourage you to look up that sermon on our website. You can either read the manuscript of it or listen to it online. The last point I made in that sermon was this: “True worship is a heartfelt response to God and his salvation which is expressed by the whole people of God in a variety of physical and musical actions.” My point is based on what Exodus 15:19-21 says, “When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.’” I think the simplest way to answer this question is to restate what I said in that sermon in regards to this point: worship is expressed by all God’s people through a variety of physical and musical expressions. First, the whole people of God are involved in the worship of God. Moses makes a point of telling us that all the women were involved in this worship. Worship is for all the people of God to do together. All the generations, all the genders, all the races are to worship the Lord for his great salvation. God is most glorified when the great diversity that exists within his people is gathered together in adoration of him. Second, notice that the delight that these people felt in God’s salvation was expressed through the use of their bodies, the women danced. I’m not advocating that we dance in our services. What I am telling you is that it is right for people who are full of joy in God to declare their joy in song and with their bodies. When your daughter dances in her recital you don’t simply sit in your seat and whisper, while sitting on your hands, “yeah”. You shout and you clap because of your delight. True affections for God often produce bodily effects. We raise our hands, we shout, we cry, we stand, we sit, we kneel, we lay prostrate, we bow our heads, and we lift our heads and sometimes, in some cultures, we dance. We express the affections of our hearts through the use of our bodies. We are not all the same in this and there is no ground for judging one another’s sincerity or spirituality based upon either the presence or absence of bodily expressions of your delight in God. I’m simply making the point that it should not surprise us if people express their joy in God or sorrow for their sins or fear of God’s judgment in some physical way. Third, let me point out that worship involves music and the playing of musical instruments. In particular, in this instance, percussive instruments were used. My guess would be that probably few of us would have liked the sound of the music these women played. We probably would not have liked the melody and the harmony of the singing. These were ancient Middle Eastern nomadic people. They were not people trained in music theory or with a history of the great classical music of Europe or of jazz or the blues or rock n’ roll. Yet, God was pleased to receive this musical praise, which none of us would have liked. Let me say that again, I am certain not a person in here would have liked the music these people sang, we may even have been offended by it. I want to explain to you how I and the other elders think about the musical style we are using to express our worship as a congregation. This is what we, as the board of elders, have told Brent and Connie and Steve as they plan our musical worship. These are the principals we have adopted to guide us in our musical worship. First, we believe that there is no such thing as a “sacred” musical style. God does not prefer one style of music to another. The infinite varieties of combinations of tones that make up music can all be used to express the worth of God from the hearts and lips of those who love him. All musical instruments can be used. The critical event in musical worship is not the style of music but the hearts of those who sing and play. Second, our main criterion in selecting music is the theological substance of the lyrics, not the style of music. There are songs, both old hymns and modern songs we will not permit to be sung in our worship because of erroneous doctrine or because of the absence of truth in the lyrics. (There is another, practical limit on our song selection, the ability of our musicians. All of our musicians are volunteer and therefore have limited time. So we do pick music that they can play without lots of practice and that we can sing as a congregation. If our worship leaders had more time we would do a greater variety of music.) Third, we yearn to be a place where we are together because we all love Jesus, not because we all love the same kind of music. We want our music to reflect our diversity and to require that we accept one another in spite of our differences. Therefore, we believe that if everyone leaves here Sunday morning and can say that they enjoyed at least one of the tunes that we sing and that they didn’t like at least one of the tunes we sang, we will have succeeded. Fourth, we want to remain connected to the history of the church and so we aim to sing at least one hymn each week. Fifth, we want to involve as many people as we possibly can in leading us in worship. We hope, as we grow and develop to be able to add other varieties of music that will express the diversity that is among us. We invite you to use your musical gifts whether in song or on instruments to help lead our congregation in worship. I would also encourage you to thank our brothers and sisters for the amount of time, effort and skill they put into leading us in worship. Did God create evil or does he just “allow” evil to happen? Does it treat God as impotent to use terms such as God “allowing” or “letting” evil happen instead of saying God “causes” evil to happen? Does God cause evil? Human answers to the problem of how their can be a good and just God ruling the world and yet we live in a world that is full of evil tend to fall into three camps. One answer is that there is no God. The logic goes like this, if God were loving he would not want evil to exist and if we were powerful he would stop it. God by definition is loving and powerful, therefore God cannot exist. A second answer comes out of Hinduism and other of the eastern, mystical religions. It is the answer given in the movies Star Wars. The divine force that exists is both evil and good and we as humans, by our decisions, determine which side wins. The third kind of human answer says that God is loving and powerful but he has limited himself by creating humans and demons with a free will. For humans to be truly free he cannot impose his will upon their will. For humans to be accountable for the evil they do, he cannot interfere with their free choices. Evil exists because God wants humans to freely choose to love him. Humans and demons choose to do evil and God cannot do anything about it, since he wants humans to be truly free. The answer the Bible gives is more complex than any of these and challenges our presuppositions about what it means to have the power of choice as humans. God is greater than us and he is able to do things that we cannot do. James 1:13-17 says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Abraham says in Genesis 18, “Will not the God of the whole earth do what is right?” Moses says in Deut. 32:4, “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Wayne Grudem says in his chapter on Providence, “…Scripture nowhere shows God as directly doing anything evil…. (it) never blames God for evil or shows God as taking pleasure in evil…” However, the Bible says in scores of places that God causes evil to happen, yet he is not guilty of doing evil because he does not do it directly but through the willing choices of people or demons. God does not merely permit evil to happen but he wills or decrees that it happens. Here are just a couple of examples out of literally dozens that could be cited. In the story of Joseph in Genesis 35-50, Joseph’s brothers are portrayed as doing all manner of evil to their younger brother. They are jealous of him, they hate him, they want to kill him, they beat him up and throw him into a pit and then they sell him into slavery in Egypt. There is no question that the ten brothers did evil to Joseph, for which they should be punished. Yet, on two different occasions, after his brothers come to Egypt for food and he reveals to them that the prince of Egypt to whom they are bowing down is their brother Joseph; he tells them, “ God sent me before you to preserve life…” and “You meant evil against me but God meant it for good.” The “it” in the clause “God meant “it” for good,” is the evil the brothers did to Joseph. In other words, what the brothers willed with an evil will, God willed with a good will. God did good to Joseph and to the brothers and to the whole world by means of the evil desires and actions of the brothers. The evil brothers did what they wanted to do and they did what God wanted done yet God is not guilty of doing evil, they are. We see the same thing in the story of Pharaoh and the Exodus. Before God sends Moses to talk with Pharaoh he tells Moses that he is going to harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will not listen to him. That is exactly what happened; Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses on10 different occasions, just as the Lord said. Pharaoh was guilty of doing evil in his subjection of the Israelites to slavery and his refusal to obey God and let them go free. He was punished for doing evil. Yet, repeatedly, God tells Moses that the reason Pharaoh is hardening his heart is because God hardened it. God again wills with a good will what Pharaoh wills with an evil will in such a way that God is not guilty of doing evil, but Pharaoh is. In Exodus 9:16 God tells Pharaoh the reason he is doing this to him, “I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” This indicates why God decrees that evil exist and that evil be done by evil men and demons in his world. The presence of evil reveals the greatness of God’s justice, his holiness, his power and his grace. His glory is more clearly revealed in and through a world in which evil exists. This is just two out of scores of examples in the Bible showing that God causes evil while never doing evil himself. I would highly recommend that you read the chapter on Providence in Dr. Grudem’s “Systematic Theology” for an excellent treatment of this subject and a very large list of biblical passages where this is taught. Also, Jerry Bridges book, “Trusting God” is another very helpful discussion of God’s providential purposes in decreeing evil exist in the world. You can also find a series I preached on suffering on our website in either document form or to listen to. Dr. Grudem uses an illustration in this chapter that I think is very helpful. “In the Shakespearean play “Macbeth,” the character Macbeth murders King Duncan. The question may be asked, “Who killed King Duncan?” On one level, the correct answer is, “Macbeth”. Within the context of the play, he is the one who carried out the murder and is rightly blamed for it.. But on another level, a correct answer to the question, “Who killed King Duncan?” would be “William Shakespeare”: he wrote the play, he created all the characters in it, and he wrote the part where Macbeth killed King Duncan. It would not be correct to say that because Macbeth killed King Duncan, William Shakespeare did not kill him. Nor would it be correct to say that because William Shakespeare killed King Duncan, Macbeth did not kill him… In similar fashion, we can understand that God fully causes things in one way (as Creator) and we fully cause things in another way (as creatures).” Does it matter what you think about this question? There was a time in my life when I thought this question and others like it were not important. All that mattered was to understand that Christ had died and we need to trust him for our salvation. However, as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to see that how you think about this question is going to determine how you respond to the evil that others do to you and that happens to you and to God when evil happens to you. One of the most popular verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28 which says, “God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Because I know that God decrees all that happens in the world, then I know that the “all things” that God is causing to work for my good includes the evil that is done to me by others. While those who do evil will be punished and are to be resisted, yet I know that my loving, good, powerful heavenly Father has ordained this evil be done to me for my eternal good and his glory. I cannot be harmed by anyone or anything because even the evil that is done to me is an instrument of good in the hands of my Redeemer. I am able to respond to evil without fear and without despair because evil does not have the last word. Evil is not beyond the control of my heavenly Father but is being used by him to accomplish his good purposes. How do we decide which current issues fall under the category of “disputable matters” as used in Romans 14? The apostle Paul labeled certain positions as the result of weak faith, but who decides what positions in our day are the result of “weak” faith? If I discover that I hold a position that Scripture would identify as a result of “weak” faith does that mean I am an inferior Christian? Several people asked me these questions after I preached a sermon based on Romans 15:1-7 a few weeks ago. My main point in the sermon, because it is the main point of the passage is that the church is to be a place of unity where differences do not divide. The point of Romans 14:1 through 15:7 is that the church is made up of people who disagree about a large number of important things, yet, in spite of these differences we are united by our common faith in Christ. Paul’s instructions are given to help us not destroy that unity of the Holy Spirit that is centered in Christ. Paul, in this passage describes two classes of people in the church. He says there are those who are strong in faith and those who are weak in faith. The strong in faith are those who know that they are free in Christ to enjoy many creation pleasures. The weak in faith are those who believe that God forbids certain things to all Christians. Paul uses three specific examples in Romans 14 to show what he means by a person who is strong in faith and one who is weak in faith. The strong in faith know God does not care what you eat (14:2), God does not consider one day more “sacred” than another (14:5) and God does not forbid the drinking of wine (14:21). However, the weak are convinced that God forbids eating meat or other “unclean” food, that some days are more sacred than others and that God forbids drinking alcohol. Paul makes two points. First, those who are weak in faith should not judge those who are strong in faith for participating in things they consider sinful. Second, those who are strong in faith should not look down upon those who think that eating meat is sinful. In fact, most of the commands are addressed to the strong. They are to make sure they don’t say or do anything that will put pressure on their weaker brothers and sisters to violate their conscience by doing what they believe to be sin. His concern is that those who are free to participate in these various activities do not by the practice of their freedom tempt their brothers who believe it is sin to do these things. The point of the chapter is that we are going to disagree about important things and some of our disagreements are going to be over what God permits a Christian to do and what he does not permit a Christian to do. Paul wants us to live with each other in such a way that these disagreements do not rupture our unity. He wants those who believe they can do certain things to not try to force those who disagree to participate and those who don’t believe they can participate to not judge those who do and to not violate their conscience by participating. In short his goal is to get us to “accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” However, the questions that the sermon provoked have to do with defining which modern issues are issues over which true Christians can disagree but which ought not to rupture our fellowship. Are the only examples of “strong faith and weak faith” the three examples Paul uses or are there other issues beyond those? Who decides what are the issues and which position is a weak position and which is a strong position? Let me suggest a way for us to evaluate this question. Recently I heard of a Christian teenage boy who was hanging out with some of his Christian friends. His friends wanted to get on the computer and go to a pornographic website. He told his friends that was wrong and that they should not do it. They told him he was just “weak in faith” and that there was nothing wrong with going to a pornographic website. Is that true? Is this young man simply “weak” in his faith? Or is he standing for what Christ would want? Does God care if Christian teenage boys look at pornographic pictures online? There is no command in the Bible, “Thou shall not go to pornographic websites.” So is there any way to know whether this is a disputable matter or not? Yes there is. In Matthew 5:27-29 Jesus says this: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Therefore if your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Jesus says that looking at a woman for the purpose of inciting sexual desire and promoting sexual fantasy is a hell deserving sin. It deserves the same punishment as committing adultery. There is no other purpose for pornographic websites than the stimulation of illicit sexual desire or lust, as Jesus calls it. Therefore, men or women who visit pornographic websites will go to hell if they do not repent of their sin, trust in Christ for forgiveness of that sin and then by the power of the Holy Spirit and with the help of trusted friends, fight with all their power to escape the slavery of lust fueled by pornography. Issues fall into the category of “disputable matters” when we cannot say with absolute certainty that a person who practices a certain behavior will go to hell if they do not repent and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of that practice. It’s like this; the Bible will not permit you to say that a person who claims to be a Christian and who is committing adultery will without question go to heaven. Ephesians 5:3-6 says, “But among you (the church) there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity or of greed, for these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking but rather thanksgiving; because of this you can be sure: no immoral, impure or greedy person, such a man is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Christ. Let no one deceive you with empty words for because of such things God’s wrath comes on the disobedient. Therefore, do not be partners with them.” What Paul is saying is that those who have been made alive by the Spirit of Christ and thus trust Christ to save them from their sins, are seeking to live lives free from sin. He is not saying we are sinless but that we are seeking to sin less. He makes it clear that there are behaviors and attitudes which are not a matter of personal preference but are always and at all times labeled sin and which Christians will fight with all their might to avoid. Therefore, it seems to me that issues fall into the area of being “disputable” when I cannot say that my Christian brother who is doing something that I think is sinful will definitely go to hell if he does not repent, trust in Christ to forgive his practice of this behavior and then fight with all his might to do the right thing which would be to live like me. If I go to my brother who is committing adultery or going to pornographic websites and he says to me that he will not stop and yet he plans on going to heaven, I will have no other option but to tell him he is mistaken and will go to hell if he does not repent and then take steps to excommunicate him from the church. However, to use one of Paul’s examples, you cannot go to your brother who is eating meat and say to him, “If you do not repent of your sin of eating meat you will go to hell.” An issue is “disputable” if I am not willing to say that a professing Christian who practices this behavior and who refuses to repent will go to hell. If I am not willing to go through the process of confrontation, leading to eventual church discipline as outlined in Matthew 18 and Galatians 6:1 and 1 Corinthians 5 then it probably is a “disputable” matter. If I discover that a position I hold is a “weak in faith” position does that mean I am an inferior Christian? Absolutely not. That’s one of the main points of Romans 14. To be a Christian is such an overwhelming reality that these questions that seem so important to us are of no consequence when compared to the magnitude of what God has done to save us from our sins. Paul is arguing that we not permit our disagreement over these disputable matters to disrupt our fellowship. What is supposed to be occupying our attention is this enormous fact, I, a sinner who deserves hell, have been rescued from hell and promised eternal pleasures at the right hand of God, not because of anything I have done but solely because of what Christ has done for me. It is this gospel that is supposed to be the focus of our attention and the thing that forms us as individuals and as a church. I am convinced that all of us hold positions that Paul would label “weak in faith” and positions that he would label “strong in faith”. What matters is not which label we bear but that we bear the name Christian and so we are to work to live with each other in light of this great reality and not permit these “disputable matters” to disrupt our fellowship. © Copyright
2005 John Swanson.
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