Being the Bad Guys

One of the things I love about Church of the Advent is that on any given Sunday we have a whole mix of people.

We have a whole mix of people who come from a variety of backgrounds in terms of their faith

and who are in a variety of places with regarding their faith.

So we have some long-time believers.

We have some people who are struggling in their faith trying to figure out what they believe.

And every week, especially taking into account not only those here in person but those joining us online,

we have people who wouldn't consider themselves to be Christians trying to figure out what they believe.

And I love that about Advent.

I'm interested to know what you would think about this.

I just recently read a book called Being the Bad Guys.

And one of the things that the author contends, makes a case for,

is the changing perspective toward Christianity that has happened in recent history.

A few generations ago, Christianity would have largely be seen as the good guy in Western society.

So even if you weren't a Christian personally,

most people on the street would have considered Christianity to be generally a good thing for society.

It's the foundation for our social and moral order.

It's the source of our values around human rights and dignity and justice and freedom.

So most people would consider Christianity to be a good guy, right?

Your grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's grandfather would probably think that way.

Then Christianity started to become kind of one of the guys.

It's one option among many, right?

If Christianity works for you, great.

I kind of think of it like cod liver oil, you know?

Maybe it's like generally a healthy thing, but I don't like the idea of it.

And so it's good for you, great, but I'm just not going to take any, you know?

But since then, things have changed very rapidly.

I think when we planted this church back in 2008,

we were probably in the state of things where Christianity was seen as just one of the options.

Things have changed.

And this author contends that now Christianity is no longer the good guy.

It's no longer one of the guys, but it's very clearly become the bad guy.

The Christianity has sort of become the villain in the story of history.

And part of this can be explained.

Part of it's, I think, been driven by some of the massive public failures

and blind spots of the church in history.

So we think of the complicity of the church in things like slavery or Jim Crow.

We think of the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the church in multiple denominations.

And you think about those big, public, spectacular failures,

and certainly that has driven this to some extent.

But this author says that there's more going on there than those things.

It used to be that when you would go and get a social work degree or a humanities degree,

you would sort of be introduced into a particular strain of thought about Christianity in the church.

But now these ideas that used to be in the academy have really become mainstream.

It's now mainstream to see Christianity as a central source of oppression.

That it's maybe the biggest obstacle to human freedom that there is.

And so in order to liberate people, in order to politically liberate people,

we need to liberate them from the stranglehold of Christianity.

And I bring that up because I know just from conversations

that there are probably people here who would more or less agree with that way of thinking.

And so what I want to do this morning is to explore that.

How and why has Christianity become the bad guy?

And then how should Christians respond?

And we're going to do this by looking at the story of Stephen,

which we just read about in the book of Acts.

Stephen is considered widely to be the first Christian martyr.

And we're going to look at this story and we're going to ask,

how and why has Christianity become the bad guy?

And then how should Christians respond?

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

And every week, I come to your word with my own hopes, fears, anxieties, agendas.

And Lord, yet you always do your work through your word.

And so I pray for that, Lord.

I think that we all need to hear your word.

And we need you to do your work through your word.

And so I pray that my heart, that our hearts would be open to what you have to say

to us this morning.

And that as we delve into your written word and the power of your spirit,

we would come face to face with the living word, Jesus Christ.

It's in the hope and the power of his name that we pray.

In your son's name, amen.

So first of all, why is Christianity the bad guy?

Some of you may agree.

Some of you don't know.

Some of you maybe strongly disagree.

Why is Christianity the bad guy?

It turns out that there have always been, in every age, people who opposed Christianity

in the church.

As we saw two weeks ago, Stephen is one of seven men who are chosen to oversee the care

of widows and to work for justice and mercy in the church in Jerusalem.

So that's his role in the church.

And Stephen's ministry starts to have this profound impact.

Stephen is a man of tremendous power and influence.

So word starts to spread about Stephen's ministry.

And Stephen gets the attention of the Jewish leaders who were already opposed to the Christian

church.

They're already looking for reasons to get rid of this community.

And so some men from a local synagogue, or it may have been several synagogues, we're

not quite sure, they come down to shut down Stephen's ministry.

They're like, we've got to shut this guy up.

And here's how this happens.

First, they begin to debate with Stephen.

Open theological debate.

We see that in verse 9.

That does not go well.

Stephen is a very fierce debater.

So they realize that's not going to work.

So then they start an active smear campaign against Stephen.

It says they secretly persuaded some men, presumably by bribery, to make false accusations.

We see this in verse 11.

We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.

So in this way, they stir up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law.

We see that in verse 12.

And so then in verses 12 and 13, after they have slandered Stephen, they finally seize

him and they bring him before the Sanhedrin.

And then they produce false witnesses to testify against him.

So here's the progression.

They debate against him.

Then they slander him.

And then they take legal action against him to silence him.

And then finally, when all else fails, they murder him.

So he asked, well, why would they be so opposed to this man who is caring for widows and orphans,

who is doing the work of justice in ministry, who's literally caring for people who had no recourse,

no other people to care for them in the Greco-Roman society?

The church was taking these people in and providing for them.

How could anybody be opposed to that kind of thing?

Why?

Why?

Because the Christian community stood in direct opposition to the temple.

The Christian community stood in direct opposition to the temple.

For the Jewish cultural elites, even though they aimed at and claimed to worship God subtly and slowly,

the temple had displaced God as the center of their worshiping life.

So in order to have a relationship with God, you had to go through the temple.

Because that is where, as it was believed, God dwells.

If you want to talk to God, go to God's house.

So, of course, whoever controls the temple has a lot of power.

Because they get to decide who gets access to God and who doesn't.

Right?

So the temple had become more and more and more a source of identity,

a source of influence for the Jewish cultural elites.

But then you look at Stephen and the other Christians.

They're not in the temple.

They're in the temple courtyard, but they're not really depending on the temple.

They're also worshiping God in their homes.

Powerful healings and miracles are happening in people's homes, on the street.

The temple used to be responsible for organizing care for the widows and the orphans.

But now this Christian community has organized their own system of provision.

It doesn't rely on the temple anymore.

And all of this is communicating the same message loudly and clearly.

The temple is no longer necessary.

And as you look at what Stephen is saying in his speech all through chapter 7,

God is not bound to a particular people group.

He is not bound to a particular place, temple.

He's not bound by geography like so many of the other ancient gods.

God is fulfilling His promise, not dwelling in the temple made by human hands,

but dwelling in the midst of His people.

We hear that and we think, what a beautiful idea.

Most of us do.

They heard that as, the temple has been obviated.

It's no longer necessary.

That's a threat, an existential threat to our way of life.

Here's how this connects to us.

We can't probably connect with thinking of a temple that way.

But every culture has something sacred at its center.

Every culture, every society, sacred, religious, or secular,

has some sacred temple at its center.

Something that plays the role of God in people's hearts.

And you say, well, how can I know what that is in my culture, in this society?

How do we know what the sacred temple at the center is?

And here's the easiest way to know.

Ask this question.

What am I not allowed to question or criticize?

Whatever you're not allowed to question,

whatever you're not allowed to criticize,

in any given culture,

chances are that is the sacred temple.

Right?

So Stephen is criticizing the temple

by saying it's no longer necessary.

How do the people respond?

They're enraged.

They cover their ears.

They grind their teeth.

They say, this is blasphemy.

That's the sacred temple.

In some families,

everyone is expected to hold to the same political views.

Right?

Everybody's expected to vote the same way.

You go to Thanksgiving,

you know the conversation

is going to go in a very particular political direction.

Everybody knows who the good guys are.

Everybody knows who the bad guys are.

And you know,

if you were to question that,

if you were to vote the other way,

blasphemy.

It might permanently damage your relationships.

I have relationships in my extended family

that have been permanently damaged

over this past year,

over that very issue.

You know,

it's funny to think back

during,

during Trump's presidency

when he was in office,

I would find myself,

at one point,

I would be in a group of people

and I would absolutely know

if I say anything negative

or critical

about President Trump,

that's going to be blasphemy in this group.

And then,

maybe the next week,

I would find myself in another group of people

and I knew,

if I say anything positive

about Trump's presidency,

that's going to be blasphemy.

Right?

That's how polarizing he was

as a president.

And,

this helps us answer the question

from the beginning of the sermon,

how has Christianity become the bad guy

in popular imagination in our society?

The reason is because Christianity

is a form of blasphemy

against the sacred temple in our culture.

Over the last few centuries,

we've seen the rise

of something called

expressive individualism.

It is this idea

at the very center of our culture,

and I say the center of our culture

meaning we are as affected by this as anybody.

There is no us and them here.

This is all of us

who are swimming in this water.

But expressive individualism says,

my true self is who I am on the inside.

It's who I feel I am.

And it says,

my freedom and my happiness

depend on my ability

to express that self to the world.

And anything standing in the way of that,

right,

traditions,

institutions,

religions,

sexual mores,

represent a direct threat to my well-being,

and they must be overthrown.

And so that's the general sense

that we all have in our culture.

And so I would say

one of the main sacred temples

at the center of modern culture

in our society

is the temple of expressive individualism.

So think about the relationship there,

right?

When Christianity says

that your true identity

is not found by looking within,

but by looking outside of yourself

to God and to the community of believers,

that's a form of blasphemy.

When Christianity says

that your inner feelings

are not always to be trusted,

that your desires

can easily enslave you,

and so we need to cultivate virtues

like self-control,

that sounds like blasphemy

to a culture of expressive individualism.

When Christianity says

that the human body is sacred,

when human sexuality

is layered with spiritual meaning,

that's blasphemy.

Right?

So as long as expressive individualism

is the sacred temple

of this culture,

Christianity will be seen

as blasphemy.

It will be the primary obstacle

to that way of being human.

And this is why

Christianity is always going to be

the bad guy in every society.

Here's the point.

Whenever and wherever

Christian communities

are publicly worshiping Jesus,

they are committing blasphemy

against the sacred temples

of that culture.

Whenever and wherever

Christians are publicly

worshiping Jesus,

they are committing blasphemy

against the sacred temples

of that culture.

So that begs the question,

how should Christians respond

if we know this?

We have several options.

Option number one,

retreat.

retreat.

You know,

Monty Python,

run away.

Keep your faith private.

Move to a place

where everyone around you

thinks exactly the way you do.

Take your kids

out of public school.

I admit this is a very

tempting idea for me

many times.

But then I read this

and I'm like,

that's not what Stephen did.

Stephen is boldly

proclaiming truth

to people who don't

want to hear it.

The believers

are living there

in the city

in a midst of society

that increasingly

doesn't want them there.

The poor want them there.

The widows want them there.

The ex-slaves

want them there.

The orphans

want them there.

But the elites

don't want them there.

They represent

an alternative lifestyle

that's not built

around sex

or money or power.

It's built around Jesus.

And around his grace

and mercy.

So they don't retreat.

Another option?

Rally.

Rally around

a strong political leader

to take back the culture

by force if necessary.

Now listen,

we certainly need

Christians involved

in politics.

Absolutely.

And many of you are.

But I think there are

a lot of Christians

who put all of their hope

in politics.

If we can get

political power

then we'll be okay.

That's not what

Stephen did.

Now don't get me wrong,

the word power

shows up many times

in this passage

but it's not talking

about political power.

Right?

The Christians

found themselves

caught between

two great sources

of political power.

There were the

Jewish cultural elites,

the leaders of the

temple,

the Sanhedrin,

and then there was

Rome.

And both wanted

your ultimate allegiance.

The Christians

had no political power.

They had no influence.

But what they did have

was tremendous

spiritual power.

They were filled

with the Holy Spirit.

When Stephen spoke

the power of his words

was evident.

This wasn't just

good rhetoric.

There was spiritual force

to his language.

So they didn't rally

around political leader.

They rallied around

the power of the Holy Spirit.

Third option,

revise.

Revise the faith.

Revise the faith.

Revise the parts

of Christianity

that don't fit

with the current culture.

Make sure that we're

not saying or doing

anything that could

ever be conceived

as blasphemy

against the sacred temple.

You see that in a lot

of the more progressive

churches.

This is not what

Stephen did.

Stephen actually said

the opposite.

Instead of revising

the culture to fit

scripture,

or the scripture

to fit culture,

Stephen said we need

to revise the culture

to fit scripture.

Right?

In chapter 7,

Stephen's extended speech,

and it's worth

reading through this.

It's a great source

of theology.

In his extended speech,

he's going back again

and again and again

to the Old Testament.

He's saying,

you know,

read this right here.

And again and again

and again,

and he's pointing out

ways that they have

misinterpreted and thus

misapplied scripture

in their life.

So he's not saying

throw it out.

He's saying,

you need to read it

more closely.

And this is exactly

what we see in the

Protestant Reformation.

Right?

This is exactly what

we see again and again

and again throughout

the history of the church.

They need to constantly

go back,

look at what we believe,

what we're doing,

open this book,

and say,

are we sure that we are

lining up with this?

And if not,

we need reform.

So if these options

don't fit with Stephen's

example,

you know,

retreat,

rally,

revise,

what does that leave us?

Only other option,

recover a theology of

martyrdom.

Stephen was the first

martyr,

and I believe as

we enter this

era that we are in

as the church

in the 21st century,

there may be no

better example for us

to follow than the

example of Stephen.

And I want to just

give you two aspects

of Stephen's example

that I think are

particularly relevant

for us.

First,

there's the example

of Stephen's

winsome witness.

His winsome

witness.

He's described

in verses 5 through

8 as a man

full of faith.

Now,

they all had faith,

but he had the

kind of faith that

said,

I'm going to risk it

all for Jesus.

Right?

I'm risking

everything

believing that what

Jesus has promised

is true.

He's described

as a man who's

full of the Holy

Spirit.

Full of the Holy

Spirit.

We all receive

the Spirit

when we're baptized,

when we come to

faith.

faith.

But the Bible

also talks about

a way of being

filled with the

Spirit,

where God's Word

just pours out

of your mouth,

where all you can

think about is the

kingdom,

where you're passionate

for the lost.

He's full of the

Holy Spirit.

He's described in

verse 8 as being

full of God's grace.

And commentators

say the use of

grace here actually

is more akin to

winsomeness.

It's graciousness.

Now,

that's a point worth

sitting on for a

minute.

There are a lot

of bold Christian

witnesses in the

world who are

anything but winsome.

Right?

They're smug.

They're contemptuous

of the surrounding

culture.

They're cynical.

They're accusatory.

I feel this tendency

in my own heart

sometimes.

Right?

They're bold,

but they are smug

and filled with

contempt.

And that kind

of posture,

that kind of tone

runs completely

against the

gospel.

You know,

it's funny.

The gospel is a lot

like a song,

you know,

a really recognizable

song like

Happy Birthday.

It has words

and it has a melody.

Right?

And there was a long

time where restaurants

weren't allowed to sing

the real Happy Birthday

because of royalties.

And so they would sing

the words Happy Birthday

to another song.

And you would go in

and it's like,

yeah,

it's the words Happy Birthday,

but the way you're singing

it,

this isn't the right song.

You know,

it'd be kind of weird.

That's a piddly little example,

but apply that to the way

we think about the gospel.

The gospel has words.

Right?

There are truths

that are proclaimed,

but the gospel

also has a melody.

There's a melody

to the gospel.

There is a tone

to the gospel.

In other words,

when you,

when you,

when you proclaim

the gospel

with a tone

of smugness

or contempt,

you may have

the right words,

but you've got

the wrong melody.

You've got

the wrong melody.

Stephen is so immersed

in God's grace

that it makes him

a gracious person.

If you're immersed

in God's grace,

it means that you live

your life fully aware

of the fact that

God owes you

absolutely nothing.

Right?

The only reason

that you're a Christian

at all is because

God chose to pour

his grace and love

into your life

even though you

didn't earn it,

don't deserve it,

could never repay it.

And that changes

the way you think

about yourself

and God

and other people.

It humbles you.

Right?

It makes you

more charitable.

Meaning,

you assume the best

about other people's

motives,

other people's

intentions.

You don't impute

bad motives,

you assume the best.

You assume that most

people are doing

the best they can.

You're very slow

to criticize,

very slow

to make assumptions.

It makes you

more compassionate

toward people

who disagree with you

because you think,

man, I used to be

right where you are

and sometimes,

you know,

I still am.

It's only because

of God's grace

that we don't see

completely eye to eye

on everything.

God.

So this is the example

of Stephen's

winsome witness.

He is so immersed

in God's grace

that he has become

a gracious person.

But then there is

the equally important

example,

and this is,

I think,

where we can often

miss it,

the example

of his dying love.

His dying love.

In Stephen's day,

there were,

by the way,

plenty of examples

of people dying

for their faith.

During the Maccabean

Revolt back in 167 B.C.,

so this would have been

almost 200 years

before Jesus.

During the Maccabean

Revolt,

there was a well-known

story of a family

who, because of their

faith,

refused to eat pork.

And so they were

tortured and killed

by Antiochus.

And as they died,

and this story was

kind of legendary,

I'm sure everybody

knew about it in

Jesus' day,

in Stephen's day,

as his family was

killed for their faith,

they cried out

to Antiochus,

you accursed fiend,

just wait and see

how God's great power

will torment you

and your descendants.

You wretch,

you vilest of men.

If somebody was

torturing me

and killing me

for not eating pork,

I would probably

respond in a similar way.

But look at what

Stephen does.

Right?

As the stones

are slamming into

and breaking

Stephen's body,

he cries out

in a loud voice,

Lord,

do not hold this

sin against them.

And you say,

well,

how is that possible?

How is it possible

to love the very people

who are,

at that very moment,

putting you to death?

love?

It's only possible

because Stephen

had encountered

this kind of love

before.

Jesus Christ,

as he hung dying

on the cross,

as the soldiers

were literally

dividing up

his possessions

in front of him,

he cries out,

Father,

forgive them

for they do not

know what they're

doing.

And unlike Stephen,

Jesus was truly

innocent.

Stephen had the

face of an angel,

he was as blameless

probably as a human

being could be,

but he wasn't

innocent.

He wasn't free

from sin,

Jesus was.

And yet,

even in his death,

Jesus is only

thinking of those

whom he loves.

The very same

people who had

hung in there

to die.

And on the cross,

we need to understand,

we see a new

kind of love

entering the world.

Not a sentimental

love,

not a virtuous

love,

a dying love.

And it is that

love that is now

transforming

this world.

It's the love

that sits at the

very heart

of what it means

to be a follower

of Jesus.

So I just want to

bring all this

together.

Christians are

always going to

be the bad guys

because our

worship of Jesus

will always be

seen as blasphemy

against the sacred

temples of the

culture.

It's always going

to be that way.

Sometimes it'll be

better,

sometimes it'll be

worse.

The times that it

gets better

are the times

when we are

probably not

as clear

on what those

sacred temples

are.

And we're

happily worshiping

them,

maybe without

knowing it.

That's always

going to be

true.

And the second

thing is that

knowing this,

I believe that

we're called to

follow Stephen's

example and

recover a

theology of

martyrdom,

to have a

winsome witness

and when

necessary,

a dying love

for the world

and for the

very people

who oppose

our way of

life.

And what this

means,

friends,

is that we

need to

drastically

redefine

our view

of success.

Right?

We need to

completely rethink

how we're

defining success.

Stephen speaks

with unparalleled

winsome wisdom

and power.

I mean,

probably nobody

could do a

better job

than Stephen

at being

winsome.

and they

stone him

to death.

So how do

we define

success?

Here's how

God defines

success.

They lay

the garments

at the feet

of a man

named Saul.

We see a

little reference

at the end

of our passage.

It's only

later in the

book of Acts

that we

realize the

impact of

Stephen's

death on

Saul.

And we

realize that

this event

is probably

a massive

part of

what ultimately

led Saul

to give

his life

to Jesus,

a man

who was

viciously

persecuting

the church.

It was

the combination

of Stephen's

winsome witness

but also

his dying

love,

praying for

his murderers.

You know,

later Paul

talks about

his conversion.

He says at

one point

Jesus says

to him,

Paul,

Paul,

it's hard

for you

to kick

against the

goads.

You know

what a

goad is?

It's like

a cattle

prod.

So don't

think that

his conversion

happened all

at once

on that road

to Damascus.

something had

been goading

him toward

Jesus.

I have a

hard time

imagining it

wasn't this

moment right

here.

That's how

God defines

success.

you know,

in the

series

Band of

Brothers,

which I've

always loved,

it's about

a company

of soldiers

in World

War II

and there's

a soldier

named

Blythe

and Blythe

is filled

with fear

and there's

a firefight

that breaks

out and

Blythe hides

in a foxhole

or in a trench

the entire time.

He can't stick

his head up,

he just

completely locks

up with fear.

And there's

this other

soldier,

a guy named

Sergeant Spears

and Spears

is this

renowned

fearless

warrior.

There's

one point

where they

need to

send a

messenger

across enemy

lines and

Spears

runs across

and people

are so

shocked

that he's

running in

the open

field that

none of the

enemies

open fire

on him.

They're like

this guy's

insane.

He runs

across,

he delivers

the message

and then he

runs all

the way

back and

the enemies

look around

like we

gotta kill

this guy

and they

all start

shooting and

he makes

it back

alive.

And so

he's just

legendary

as this

fearless

warrior.

And so

Blythe

tearfully

confesses

his

cowardice

to Spears

and he

says,

what's

the secret?

How are

you not

afraid?

And here's

what Spears

says,

the only

hope you

have is

to accept

the fact

that you're

already

dead.

The sooner

you accept

that,

the sooner

you'll be

able to

function

as a

soldier is

supposed to

function.

accept the

fact that

you're

already

dead.

I often

think about

this scene

as I

consider

what it

means to

be a

Christian

in the

world right

now.

Later today

we're going to

have some

baptisms and

we often

think of

baptism as

a symbol

of washing

people clean,

which it

is.

But even

more than

that,

baptism is

a symbol

of death

and hope

of resurrection.

Baptism is

a way of

us saying,

like Paul

says in

places like

Galatians 2,

when I

go into

the water

I'm

dying.

When I

come out

of that

water it's

no longer

I who

live but

Christ who

lives in

me.

To be

baptized is

to die

to this

world.

How do you

have the

kind of

courage to

face

martyrdom?

Realize that

you're already

dead.

God

and put

your hope

in the

promise that

one day

you're going

to be

resurrected

just like

Jesus.

The most

dangerous

person on

earth is

the one who

has reckoned

with their

own death.

The most

dangerous

person on

earth is

the person

who has

reckoned

with their

own death.

Let's pray.

Lord, we

thank you for

your word

and we

thank you for

the power of

your Holy

Spirit.

We thank

you for

your son.

We thank

you that

you're present

with us.

Let these

be not mere

ideas.

Whatever is

of you, we

pray that you

would impress

these things

into our

hearts.

We pray that

we would be

people of

tremendous

faith,

filled with

the Holy

Spirit,

gracious

winsomeness,

who are

willing to

lay down

our lives,

if necessary,

for the sake

of those

whom you

love.

That they

might one

day come to

know and

love you,

to find their

home and

their wholeness

in your arms.

We pray this

in your son's

name.

Amen.