Sermon Cloud

Introduction

“God bless America...and no place else.”  I first heard that said by a character running for president in the Chris Rock comedy, Head of State.  I thought it was hilarious then.  I still find it funny now, but less funny, because of the truth that lies behind it.  When we as Americans say, “God bless America” the truth is that we often do want him to bless our nation at the expense of another.  We send our soldiers off to war and pray for their victory -- which by default means the death and destruction of other human beings created in God’s image.  But because they wave a different flag we do not ask for God to bless them, we do not pray for their protection, we hope for their defeat.  We are guilty of blending nationalism and religion.  This is very dangerous but also very prevalent in America right now. The quote I just mentioned is a fictional one taken from a movie.  But the following quotes are from real politicians, real Christian leaders, real political commentators.

A recent president of the United States said, "I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."  Speaking of Muslim nations one Christian commentator said, "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.”  A pastor of one of the largest churches in America said this after the 9/11 attacks,  “You’ve got to kill the terrorists before the killing stops.  And I’m for the president to chase them all over the world.  If it takes ten years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord.”

Many American’s have responded to these quotes with outrage - and understandably so.  But, for the most part, the American Church has  sat quietly by and continued to support these leaders without criticism.  This is also true of statements made by our current president, who has carried this blending of nationalism and religion even further.  He repeatedly quotes ancient hymns and Scriptures that speak of Jesus but removes the name of Christ and instead makes them speak of America.  

“There’s power, power, wonder-working power in the goodness and idealism and faith of the American people.”  “America is the light of the world which the darkness (meaning our national enemies) cannot extinguish.”  

This is nothing short of idolatry: to put our nation, or any nation, in the place of Christ.  Yet this blending of nationalism and religion is so common as to be almost second nature to much of the American Church.  We are born into nationalism like a fish is born into water.  Like a fish is unaware of the water in which they live, we are often unaware of the many ways we allow our religion to be colored by our nationalism.  

Please understand that I am not defending a particular political party or point of view and I am not attacking America or American Christians.  My concern is the marriage of nationalism with religion and the many evils that result.  Much of the American Church is guilty of blending the two -- but the problem did not begin with America.  It has gone on throughout history and was even a problem in the early Christian Church.

We have been studying Paul’s ancient letter to the churches he founded in the Roman province of Galatia.  We have seen that Paul’s primary concern is that the Galatians are abandoning the freedom they have in Jesus Christ and returning to the slavery of their pagan past.  They are turning from God’s Gospel of grace to man’s gospel of merit.  They are taking away the freedom that God gave them through the Cross by adding human requirements  to the Cross.  This is because they have been listening to a group of teachers known as the Judaizers. The Judaizers were Jewish Christians who said that in order to part of the people of God one must convert to Christ and convert to Judaism.  The Judaizers told the Galatians that embracing Christ and the Cross was not enough.  If they wanted to be part of the people of God they would also have to become Jewish by obeying the Law of Moses, keeping Jewish customs including circumcision, and observing Jewish feasts and holy days.  The Jewish Christians known as the Judaizers blended the Gospel of Jesus with Jewish Nationalism.  And they were making the Gentile Christians of Galatia slaves to this nationalism.  

This is why Paul writes this letter - to remind the Galatians that they have been freed by the Gospel of Christ.  They have been granted freedom from the pressure to perform, freedom from external control, and yes, even freedom from nationalism and all other walls of human division.  Paul explains this freedom from all forms of nationalism by continuing to share his autobiography, which we started last week.

Freedom from Nationalistic Conformity

Turn with me to the Book of Galatians, chapter 2.  We are going to begin by reading verses 1-5.  You’ll remember from last week that Paul told us how he had been freed from his past.  He showed that he was chosen by God, sent by God, and given the Gospel by God -- there was no other explanation for how he was transformed from a Jewish Pharisee who persecuted Christians to an Apostle of Jesus who accepted persecution from his own countrymen.  As he continues his story here in chapter 2 he adds further strength to his argument.   The Judaizers wanted the Galatians to believe that the content of Paul’s Gospel came from the Apostles and the church in Jerusalem. Paul wanted to show that the Gospel of grace was divine in origin.  So Paul emphasizes that it was 14 years after his conversion before he discussed the Gospel with the leaders in Jerusalem. Paul had been preaching the Gospel of grace for 14 years before ever discussing the topic with the leaders in Jerusalem.  His Gospel did not come from them, but from Jesus.

Paul was confident that Peter, James, John, and the other Apostles in Jerusalem would not only approve of his Gospel, but that God had revealed the same Gospel to them.  He was so confident of this that he brought along TItus.  Titus was a Gentile who was probably converted by Paul in his ministry.  Titus was now being used by God as a missionary alongside Paul -- but he was not circumcised.  To the Judaizers this was a huge offense.  If he would not be circumcised then he would not be part of the people of God.  But Paul saw Titus as proof of the opposite.  If God had chosen Titus and was using TItus, an uncircumcised Gentile, then certainly circumcision was not required to join the people of God.  The Apostles agreed: Titus did not need to be circumcised -- he did not need to become a Jew.  The grace of God expressed in the Cross of Christ was sufficient to redeem anyone and everyone and required nothing in addition to it.  

The matter initially arose because there was a group of people trying to take away our freedom in Christ and make us slaves.  Paul calls this group of people “false brothers” because they preached a false gospel, much like the Judaizers.  They wanted Christians to be slaves to Jewish Nationalism.  But Paul and the Apostles agreed: through the Cross we are freed from nationalism and from nationalistic conformity.

The True Gospel is trans-cultural.  It transcends all cultures and is at home in any culture.  But just like the ancient Judaizers we as Americans often allow the True Gospel to become infected with a false gospel.  We often allow our national culture to become a part of our gospel message.  And so we end up pushing our cultural convictions on people as though they were part of the Gospel.  

American Christians have historically labeled things like smoking, drinking, using profanity, and watching R-rated movies as sin.  But what we overlook is that in many parts of the world these things are commonplace in the local church.  Many spirit-filled Christians of other cultures smoke, and drink, and use profanity without violating their conscience and without hindering their ministry.  This is because they are not Biblical prohibitions.  They are cultural prohibitions that may in fact be prudent in many contexts, but they are not Law.  I wish I had a dollar for every time someone told me that Bono of U2 cannot be a true Christian because he drinks and uses profanity.  It’s really no different than telling the Galatians they cannot be Christians because they have not been circumcised.

Many American Christians have strong feelings about politics.  Most Evangelicals label themselves as social conservatives and believe that Christians should take very particular positions on issues like abortion, gay marriage, and others.  In most cases alternate positions are not even considered -- if you are a Christian you must be a social conservative.  But what we overlook is that in many parts of the world, and at many points during Christian history, the majority of Christians are socially liberal.  This is because the Bible does not endorse a particular political philosophy.  Christians in different cultures apply their Biblical faith to politics in different ways.  Now, I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people question someone’s faith in Christ because that person is politically liberal.  This is no different than telling the Galatians they cannot be Christians because they have not been circumcised.  

We must be very careful to insure that do not make ourselves or anyone else slaves to our national culture.  We do not want to be like the false brothers who wanted to make Titus a slave to their national culture’s view of circumcision.  When the truth of the Gospel is mixed with nationalism it ceases to be the true Gospel.  In verse 5 Paul says, “we did not give into them (the false brothers) for a moment, so that the truth of the Gospel might remain with you.”  Paul recognized that nationalism and religion do not mix.  The Gospel liberates us from all forms of nationalism including nationalistic conformity.  We need not conform to any culture other than the culture of the Gospel -- which is a culture of freedom, grace, peace, and love.

Freedom from Nationalistic Favoritism

Paul continues to tell us about his meeting with the leaders of the Church in verses 6-10.  Read with me.  Here Paul is trying to show the Galatians that while it was Jesus, not the Apostles, who was the source of Paul’s Gospel the Apostles did endorse his Gospel.  They preached the same Gospel.  And that Gospel provides freedom from nationalistic favoritism.  What I mean by that is that the content of the Gospel is the same for all people and that the Gospel is to be preached to all people.  The content of the Gospel Paul preached to the Gentiles is the same as the content of the Gospel Peter preached to the Jews.  And just as God commissioned Paul to take his message of redemption to the Gentiles, he also commissioned Peter to take his message of redemption to the Jews.  There is no nationalistic favoritism with God.  Every nation and every people group on earth needs the grace of God and every nation and every people group on earth is able to receive the grace of God.

We are freed from nationalistic favoritism.  God does not favor any nation over another.  So why do we?  Why do we speak of America as a “Christian” nation?  Why do we speak of our enemies as though they are God’s enemies?  Why do we assume that we are on God’s side and others are not?  Why do we say that we are “one nation under God” as though America is God’s chosen instrument of justice?  Why do we still treat Israel as God’s chosen nation and indiscriminately support them even when they are clearly in the wrong?  Why do we mourn the death of Americans more than Iraqis?  Why do we mourn the death of Israelis more than Palestinians?  So much of this stuff we do without second thought - it comes naturally to us.  That is because we have become slaves to nationalistic favoritism.  But the Cross of Christ frees us from all forms of nationalism.  

“But wait, Cole,” you may be thinking, “the Bible tells us that Israel is God’s chosen people.  Doesn’t that prove that God favors one nation over another.”  That is a good question.  And there are quite a few authors (both fiction and non-) that would say “absolutely.”  But their conclusion is false because it is based on false theology.

First, it is true that the concept of Israel as God’s chosen people is prevalent in the Old Testament.  The nation of Israel experienced a unique covenant relationship with God.

Second, the Israelites were chosen to be God’s treasured possession but their position was contingent upon their obedience and faithfulness to YHWH.

Third, Israel was not chosen at the expense of other nations.  To the contrary, they were chosen in order to be a light to other nations and proclaim the true God to them.

Fourth, the nation of Israel failed to obey and worship the one true God.  As a result they forfeited their covenant blessings and God allowed the nation’s Temple to be destroyed and her people to be scattered.

Israel as a nation failed but Israel has not.  What we find in Scripture is that Jesus is the true Israel.  He is the fulfillment of all that Israel and the Law pointed toward.  He is the true Temple, the true priesthood, and the truly obedient Son of God.  Jesus is the true Israel and whoever worships him -- whoever is “in Christ” -- is part of the true Israel.  This includes Jews, Gentiles, Americans, Iraqis and anyone else who is in Christ.  We are all Israel.  Israel does not consist of those who live in Jerusalem, it consists of those who live in Christ. We become part of the people of God by grace, not by race.  If God does not favor any nation over another then we ought not favor any nation over another -- even our own.    

This means that we have to honestly examine ourselves.  We must ask ourselves tough questions: Have I in any way allowed my nationalism and religion to mix?  Have I allowed myself to see other human beings as my enemies simply because their nation and my nation disagree?  Have the policies I have supported in my country adversely affected my fellow-believers in other countries?  Have I allowed the Gospel I preach to be infected by my national culture?  Has my patriotism led me to overlook the evils of my own nation and to believe that my God and my country are on the same side?  

I began asking myself these questions about two years ago.  The answers were disturbing.  It became very clear that I  had allowed my nationalism and my religion to mix in a way that compromised the truth of the Gospel.   It is so easy to do.  We are born into patriotism -- it is something we take for granted and something that nearly everyone labels virtuous.  But is it?  One of the greatest intellects in American history was a preacher named Jonathan Edwards.  He wrote a book called, The Nature of True Virtue.  In the book he argued that though everyone thinks patriotism is a virtue, it cannot be a true virtue.  People think it is a virtue because it is good-will extended to millions of people.  But it is not true virtue because, though our good-will extends to the millions in our country, it does not extend to the billions of people outside of it.  To be patriotic often means to wish good to the people of our nation at the expense of millions -- sometimes billions -- of people outside of our nation.  To protect the interests of our nation is often to do harm to the interests of people in other nations.  This is inconsistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Gospel of Christ unites people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation into one Body and under one King.  Most of the world is enslaved in nationalism.  But through the Cross of Christ we are freed from all forms of nationalism, including nationalistic favoritism.  And I speak through experience: it is liberating.  

Freedom from Nationalistic Division

The Gospel also frees us from nationalistic division.  Read with me what Paul writes in verses 11-14.  This is one of the most tense confrontations in all of Scripture.  Paul, who called himself “the least of the Apostles” because of his former persecution of the Church, publicly rebukes Peter the Apostle of apostles.   He rebukes him for not acting in line with the truth of the Gospel.  A very strong accusation to make against one of the pillars of the Church.  But a well-founded accusation.

The language of this passage tells us that Peter had been in Antioch for some time and had repeatedly shared meals with the Gentiles.  We know that Peter, like Paul, preached the Gospel of grace and walked in the freedom Christ provides.  Peter knew that God showed no favor to Israel and that Christ had united both Jew and Gentile through the Cross.  In fact, it was Peter who God used to preach the Gospel to Cornelius, the first Gentile convert.  Peter himself said, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts those from every nation who fear him...”

The Gospel unites but nationalism, by its very nature, divides.  And Peter stopped acting in line with the unity of the Gospel when he began to withdraw from the Gentiles.  He caved into pressure from conservative Jews who were zealous for nationalism.  In Antioch Jewish nationalism and Christian universalism clashed.  Paul maintained Christian universalism.  Peter, Barnabas and others yielded to the  nationalistic influence of the powerful Jews.  These are the last people you would expect to see giving into Jewish nationalism.  Remember, Peter won the first Gentile convert to Christ and Barnabas was a missionary to the Gentiles.  But they gradually yielded to the pressure of nationalism.  This just shows us how powerful and how confusing the bond between nationalism and religion has become.  And when the two mix they always divide.

But the Gospel of Christ unites rather than divides.  The Gospel of Christ eliminates not only nationalism, but all walls of human division.   And for us to allow division to creep into the Body of Christ is to stand condemned before God.  That is what Paul says about Peter.  He had allowed the Christian table -- the table of unity -- to become a table of division.  And Paul says in verse 11 that for this Peter stood condemned.  He was living inconsistently with his own theology and inconsistent with the Gospel itself.  What about us?  The Gospel of Christ frees us from all forms of nationalism, including nationalistic division.  

Conclusion

So, to whom do we pledge our allegiance?  Is it to a nation?  A race?  A party?  A cause?  Or do we pledge allegiance to Christ and to his Body?  We can only choose one.  Let us choose to pledge allegiance to Christ and His Body -- which the Scriptures tell us includes people of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.  Let us choose to pledge allegiance to Christ and His Body -- which the Scriptures tell us has eliminated all distinctions between Jew and Gentile, male and female,  rich and poor, slave and free.  Let us look to the Cross of Christ where Jesus did what no amount of human wisdom and effort can ever accomplish -- he made peace between God and humanity and between Jew and Gentile.  He made us into one people: the People of God.  In Christ and Christ alone we are freed from nationalism and all other forms of human division.