Rev. David Holwick V
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
July 2, 2017
Micah 7:5-7, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13
REBEL OR BUILD?
I. We live in divisive times.
A. Polarization is rampant.
1) "The Week" headline: "Is America headed for a divorce?"
a) The sharp divide between Democrats and Republicans.
1> More than half view the other party unfavorably.
2> Almost half think the other party is a threat to
our nation's well-being.
3> The majority on both sides are motivated more by
fear of the other guys than agreement with their
own side.
b) Some even believe we will eventually have two
countries, red and blue, that live by their own
standards.
2) The prophet Micah lived in similar times.
He warns in 7:5 --
"Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend."
In the recent atrocity at the congressional softball game,
reporters investigated the background of the shooter,
James Hodgkinson.
One of his neighbors made a comment that speaks volumes.
He said he rarely spoke to Hodgkinson because "he was a
Democrat and I was a Republican, so we didn't have
too much to talk about."
The reporter concluded: this is what America has become
in 2017 - a land where we are partisans first and
neighbors second. [1]
B. It is nothing new.
1) Back in the 1770s, it wasn't just Americans in blue against
English in red.
2) Americans were divided among themselves.
a) The original Holwick family wore blue, or whatever the
Pennsylvania militia wore back then.
1> All four of my ancestor's sons enlisted.
2> Morris County was filled with patriots like the
Wick family.
3> This is why the Revolutionary Army spent a winter
in this area.
b) Others were loyalists and still loved England.
1> Doris Schrum's ancestors did not support the
Revolution and left for Canada when the Americans
won.
2> Benjamin Franklin's son William, who had been
governor of New Jersey in 1776, also sided with
England.
He even supported the execution of patriots who
were captured, in retaliation for loyalists who
had been killed.
After the war William moved to England and never
came back.
It caused quite a strain between him and his father.
3) In time, the divisions healed, sort of.
a) Many Loyalists did not leave the country, but melted
back into normal life and repackaged themselves as
people who had been patriots all along.
b) 80 years later, they were divided all over again,
but this time it was over slavery.
c) The American church itself has divided and fought over
theology and social issues and even personalities.
C. Can our country survive? Can the church?
1) Divisions are sometimes justified.
2) But God is pleased when we come together in harmony.
3) Our goal should never be to tear down, but to build up.
4) How are you doing in that?
II. Some things are worth fighting for.
A. Our current political tensions are founded on genuine issues.
1) Economic and foreign policies can make a big difference.
2) How you handle a rogue nation like North Korea might
avert a nuclear war.
3) But we should make sure we are struggling over the real
issues, and not just the psychological ones.
4) The American Revolution was nasty and violent, but had
worthy ideals at its core.
B. In the New Testament there can be no compromise on gospel truth.
1) Jesus did not compromise on his message even though it
broke up families and communities.
a) He knew this would happen, that some would embrace his
message and others would fight it viciously.
b) He even quoted Micah 7:6 to underscore his point.
In Matthew 10:34-36 Jesus says,
34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to
the earth.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to turn "a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law--
36 a man's enemies will be the members of his own
household."
2) This is why the theological division between liberals and
conservatives makes sense.
a) Standing up for the truth will always cause division.
b) We may use the same words - salvation, grace, and so
on - but what we mean by them is critical.
1> We must try to find the original meaning of those
principles in the Bible alone, not make up
something that seems "nicer" to modern people.
2> The Bible's writers never compromised on the
authority of God's Word, the lordship of Jesus,
and salvation as a gift from God by our
having faith in him alone.
3> Any other teaching should be opposed, even if it
hurts someone's feelings.
A> One some things, there can be no compromise.
B> Just make sure that you know what those things
are supposed to be.
C. Most other things can be patched up.
1) In the New Testament, even heretics were persuaded to turn
around.
2) We are encouraged to love our enemies back to the right way
of thinking.
III. A party spirit undercuts us.
A. No one communicates, they just fight; little gets accomplished.
1) This was a big issue in the early church and continues to
this day.
2) The church that Paul founded in Corinth is a classic case.
a) In 1 Cor. 1:11, Paul mentions getting word that there
was fighting going on.
b) Most of it seemed to be personality-driven.
1> Some held up the banner of Apollos, others
championed Cephas (another name for Peter).
2> Paul himself was one of the personalities some
gathered around.
c) Paul firmly squelches it.
1> Focusing on himself, he asks if he was crucified
for them, or if they were baptized into his name.
Of course not!
2> The only result of this kind of partisanship is the
division of the church, which is the body of
Christ himself.
B. Paul advocated intervention.
1) People are asked to step in and heal the rifts. 1:10
2) He also asked believers to change their attitudes.
a) Don't throw support behind personalities.
b) Aim for unity and harmony.
c) Do your best to get along with others.
C. We can learn to listen to one another.
1) Sit down and talk to someone who holds different views than
you do.
a) Ask them why they believe as they do.
2) This is even a sound evangelism method.
Just this week I came across an article by Chuck Lawless,
a Southern Baptist.
He says everybody has a story, and we are richer if we
know those stories.
To get there, though, we have to ask people about
themselves.
He gives these reasons why asking questions makes a
difference:
a) It requires you to take attention off yourself.
1> When you really want to know about others, it's
hard to keep the spotlight on yourself.
b) It affirms others.
1> Few things are as encouraging to us as someone
else genuinely wanting to know about us.
2> You'll make somebody's day better when you show
that kind of interest.
c) It makes you listen.
1> That means you may have to lay down your phone,
close your computer and communicate face-to-face
with undivided attention.
2> That's hard - but you can do it!
d) It can open up to something deeper.
1> It helps to know people to truly engage them.
2> A simple question like "What do you do for a living?"
can lead to "Do you attend church?" and "Do you
have a personal relationship with Jesus?"
#65867
IV. We can be part of something bigger.
A. A general's lament.
James Mattis, a former Marine general who had been recently
appointed Secretary of Defense, was being interviewed by
reporter Dexter Filkins.
The reporter asked Mattis what worried him most in his new
position.
Filkins expected him to say ISIS or Russia or the defense
budget.
Instead, Mattis said, "The lack of political unity in America.
The lack of a fundamental friendliness.
It seems like an awful lot of people in America and around the
world feel spiritually and personally alienated, whether it
be from organized religion or from local community school
districts or from their governments...
If you lose any sense of being part of something bigger, then
why should you care about your fellow-man?"
#65866
B. Each of us is part of something great.
1) We are citizens of a great country.
2) We can be citizens of an even greater Kingdom of God.
a) We gain this not by joining a club, but by submitting
ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ.
b) We must value what he values, and do what he commands
us to do (or not do).
c) Do you have this relationship with him?
3) The Church is one aspect of God's Kingdom.
a) It is far from perfect, but among us we can do God's
will.
b) We can show the world how to do it right.
V. You can be part of the solution.
A. Have you been dividing people or bringing them together?
1) Consider the assessments you have been making about others,
and disparaging remarks you have made.
2) Were they true? Were they justified? Were they helpful?
3) Even when you disagree with someone, there are positive
ways to handle the differences. Have you stayed positive?
B. Point people to a Higher Power.
1) We follow God, not a pastor or celebrity or politician.
2) He offers us hope and joy and wonderful promises that
we can share with everyone else.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
1. “Political Violence: Is America headed for a divorce?” The Week
magazine, June 30, 2017, page 6; also in the same issue,
“Editor’s letter” by William Falk, page 3.
#65866 “Being Part of Something Bigger,” by Dexter Filkins,
The New Yorker magazine; article: The Warrior Monk,
May 29, 2017, page 38.
#65867 “Ask Others About Themselves,” by Chuck Lawless, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, June 26, 2017.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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