Vision Series 2023
Series: Jesus. All about Justice
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 26th March 2023
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 On the 28th of August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial
00:00:08 --> 00:00:16 in Washington, D.C. and delivered what is regarded as one of the most famous speeches
00:00:16 --> 00:00:23 of the 20th century. It's familiar to many people, the I Have a Dream speech, which in
00:00:23 --> 00:00:28 part goes like this. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out
00:00:28 --> 00:00:34 the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are
00:00:34 --> 00:00:39 created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former
00:00:39 --> 00:00:43 slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table
00:00:43 --> 00:00:48 of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day, even in the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering
00:00:48 --> 00:00:54 with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed
00:00:54 --> 00:01:00 into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will
00:01:00 --> 00:01:06 one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by
00:01:06 --> 00:01:15 the content of their character. I have a dream today. Is religion, and specifically Christianity,
00:01:15 --> 00:01:23 a force for justice and good in the world, or is it a force for injustice and oppression
00:01:23 --> 00:01:35 in the world? Now, it's possible to compile an enormous number of historical events and movements
00:01:35 --> 00:01:45 to support either the negative or the positive answer to that question. One of the most obvious
00:01:45 --> 00:01:54 cases in point is the African slave trade and the abolition of slavery. The African Christians
00:01:54 --> 00:02:05 led the way in the abolition of the abolishing of the slave trade. And yet the creators and the
00:02:05 --> 00:02:15 defenders of the slave trade were also Christians who had biblical scholars to support the practice
00:02:15 --> 00:02:23 with a bunch of proof texts, even good people with a bunch of proof texts. Even today, we have
00:02:23 --> 00:02:32 plenty of evidence of the abuse of women and children in many countries dominated by religion and within
00:02:32 --> 00:02:43 religious institutions in our own country. In the end, the relationship of religion to justice cannot be
00:02:43 --> 00:02:54 answered simply by adding up religious abuses, injustices on the one side of a sheet, and the list of
00:02:54 --> 00:03:01 religious good and contributions on the other side of the sheet, and working out where does the balance end.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:12 The good may outnumber the abuses, in fact, even by far, but wrongdoings have a tendency to lodge more
00:03:12 --> 00:03:22 deeply in our memory and our conscience, and that the hurts go on and on and on. In the end, I think it's better to
00:03:22 --> 00:03:30 look at the basis and the motivation to pursue justice in the world and compare which worldview supports and
00:03:30 --> 00:03:40 motivates to make the world a more just and equitable place for all people. Now, if you just tuned into us
00:03:40 --> 00:03:51 today, we are in our annual vision series. Every message in this vision series assumes the very first talk.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:55 That's just an encouragement to go back there and listen to the first talk if you haven't already.
00:03:56 --> 00:04:03 We began by seeing that there is no 100% watertight argument for the existence of God. You can't prove
00:04:03 --> 00:04:08 the existence of God philosophically with evidence, so on and so forth, you know, empirical evidence.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:16 But there's also no watertight argument for the non-existence of God. You also cannot prove the
00:04:16 --> 00:04:21 non-existence of God philosophically or by putting it into some sort of a laboratory and proving it.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:30 That means that every single person, the religious person and the atheist, are all viewing the world
00:04:30 --> 00:04:39 through a belief system. That is, atheism is not the absence of belief. It is a different set of beliefs.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:53 And so, the question that we've been looking at, which one gives the person who lives in this world
00:04:53 --> 00:04:58 what they need in order to flourish in life? We've been particularly looking at Western secularism,
00:04:58 --> 00:05:02 because that's the context that we're all currently living in right now.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:09 And it's, the secularism is particularly the dominant theme that's running through much of
00:05:09 --> 00:05:15 our institutions and media and so on today in this society. So, we're looking at that.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:20 It's also the culture that I sit in, and so it's much easier for me to throw stones at my own culture
00:05:20 --> 00:05:25 than it is to throw it at others, but do what you need to do to do that process for your own culture.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:30 There's no such thing as a perfect culture. And so, today, we're looking at the question,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:37 does secularism or Christianity give every human being what they need to flourish in life,
00:05:37 --> 00:05:43 and particularly the issue of justice? So, today, it's Jesus all about justice.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:52 We're going to see that the Christian faith gives us a justice that does not create more oppressors.
00:05:54 --> 00:06:00 We're going to begin with the question of human rights, then look at secularism's contribution
00:06:00 --> 00:06:04 and then, finally, the Christian contribution. So, first of all, if you've got the St. Paul's app,
00:06:04 --> 00:06:10 it'd be great if you can go there. It will help you enormously to follow through along with this talk
00:06:10 --> 00:06:14 or just take notes as you go along. So, first of all, let's kick off with human rights.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:21 If you go to the website for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 you will read this statement.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:27 Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human beings.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:35 They are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all,
00:06:35 --> 00:06:42 regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:46 or any other status. They range from the most fundamental, the right to life,
00:06:46 --> 00:06:53 to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.
00:06:54 --> 00:07:01 The question is, however, why do people have these rights?
00:07:03 --> 00:07:07 That's the really more fundamental question. Why?
00:07:08 --> 00:07:12 You see, the United Nations Universal Declaration for Human Rights
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 doesn't actually answer that question.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 It just states it.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 It lists human rights without any explanation.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:32 And the quote that just there says that they simply exist because you're a human being.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:42 So is it enough to say that human beings have rights without any reasoning,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 without any explanation whatsoever?
00:07:48 --> 00:07:55 Well, Western secularists insist that their view of human rights is simply self-evident,
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 without giving any grounds for them at all.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:06 Now, Mari Ruti, I think that's her name,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:11 is a distinguished professor of critical theory in gender and sexuality studies
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 at the University of Toronto in Canada.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 In her book, The Call of Character, she writes this,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:24 Although I believe that values are socially constructed rather than God-given,
00:08:24 --> 00:08:34 I do not believe that gender inequality is any more defensible than racial inequality,
00:08:34 --> 00:08:44 despite efforts to pass it off as cultural-specific custom rather than an instance of injustice.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:47 See what she says there?
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 On the same page in the book,
00:08:49 --> 00:08:53 she is suggesting that values are socially constructed.
00:08:55 --> 00:08:58 Every society constructs their own values.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:04 Then she adds that her own Western culture's view of inequality
00:09:04 --> 00:09:08 must be embraced by every culture.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:17 Incoherent on the same page as a secularist.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:22 She gives no reason for it whatsoever, she just asserts it.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:32 If you are proposing a position that some behaviour is wrong and should be stopped,
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 without justifying it,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:43 then there is no way you can even have a conversation about it with someone who disagrees with you.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 There's no basis for a conversation.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:57 All you have left is shouting at the other person until they submit.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:04 And so this leaves the secular human rights activists quite vulnerable,
00:10:05 --> 00:10:09 which is what a number of sociologists are doing nowadays, are realising.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:15 It leaves them quite vulnerable to charges of imperialism.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:22 If human rights exist just because we say so,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:27 then activists can only coerce others.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:33 The atheist Friedrich Nietzsche,
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 no friend of Christianity whatsoever, this guy,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:40 insisted that benevolence and social justice activism
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 in the modern society
00:10:43 --> 00:10:47 is really powered by hatred and a contempt of others.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 It's pretty damning.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:57 Now, some secular thinkers have tried to explain why human rights exist.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 Because they realise we've got a problem
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 if you just have to yell at people and tell them that they do.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 So why do they exist?
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 Three main arguments.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 I'll go through them really quickly,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 except for the last one.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 Less quickly than the other two.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 The first is natural law.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:13 That is,
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 this is just saying that when you look at nature
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 and how nature works,
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 it's obvious that people are worth more than the rest of nature.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 The problem is,
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 you cannot hold to that view
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 that people are worth more than the rest of nature,
00:11:30 --> 00:11:34 while at the same time holding to the very foundation of secularism,
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 and that is evolutionary biology.
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 You can't hold both of those two together.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:44 Evolutionary biology says that the strong eat the weak,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 and so the weak must be conquered and oppressed
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 for the sake of the advancement of society.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:54 It has no quality and no category whatsoever.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:58 Evolutionary biology has no category whatsoever
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 for equality and rights.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 Then there's the argument that society creates rights.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:10 Now, I touched on this one on my sermon a while ago,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 Jesus all about goodness,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 when we're looking at morality and so on.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 As I said there,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 it's not a great idea
00:12:20 --> 00:12:24 to conclude that society comes up with right and wrong,
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 or the cursed society creates rights,
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 because what if the majority of society
00:12:29 --> 00:12:33 choose to kill the minority of society?
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 You're left nowhere else to argue,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 because the majority have voted on it.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 And that has happened on,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 and that continues to happen in our world.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 Thirdly, is the argument
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 that the ground of human rights
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 is based on capacity.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 That is,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 and this one I think is very troublesome,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 human rights have rights,
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 human beings, sorry, have rights
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 because of their capacity
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 for rational thought,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 rational choice,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 and other aptitudes
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 that the animal world doesn't have.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 This is really serious.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 For example,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 newborn infants
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 do not yet have those capacities,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 nor do those in a coma,
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 nor do those mentally impaired in some way,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 nor do many of the very elderly.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:36 This argument just ends up saying
00:13:36 --> 00:13:40 that not all human beings have rights.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 Can you see the trajectory of this
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 in our own society,
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 in Western civilization?
00:13:48 --> 00:13:51 The rise of full-term abortions,
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 euthanasia,
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 and it all comes down to capacity.
00:13:56 --> 00:14:00 This, I think,
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 is where Western secularism
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 really,
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 this particular worldview,
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 struggles to be consistent.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 To have those views
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 and yet also pursue justice in our world,
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 and let me tell you,
00:14:16 --> 00:14:16 I just want to say,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 on top of all this,
00:14:18 --> 00:14:22 I believe that our day and age,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 we tend to probably be
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 more attuned to injustice in the world
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 than what we're used to.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 So I think there's a bunch of good stuff happening
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 in spite of all of this.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:35 But inevitably,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 to have a consistent worldview,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 they must import their values
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 from another worldview.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 That is,
00:14:43 --> 00:14:48 their system of issue of rights and injustice
00:14:48 --> 00:14:53 must be stolen from another system,
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 another worldview.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 And ultimately,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 that system and that worldview
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 is the Christian faith.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 That's because
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 a great,
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 Charles Taylor,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 I think it was,
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 great piece of work,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 looking back centuries and centuries
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 and centuries of history,
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 and said the concept of human rights
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 began with a Christian faith.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 It began with a Christian faith.
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 It didn't develop for the first time
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 in the Enlightenment,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 as many claim,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 but it began with medieval Christianity
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 based on the Bible.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 But the question is,
00:15:37 --> 00:15:37 well, hang on a bit,
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 but doesn't Christianity
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 have its own problems with justice?
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 And the answer to that is,
00:15:41 --> 00:15:41 of course,
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 yes.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 Yes.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 But not so fast as well.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 Without any belief
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 in objective moral facts,
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 there is no way
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 that you can build
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 a program of justice.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 And yet,
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 it is also true
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 that many religions
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 with their absolute claims
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 have abused
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 and have oppressed people
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 throughout the centuries
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 and across cultures.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 So what's the way forward?
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 Well, Richard Baucombe
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 of the University of St. Andrews,
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 now retired,
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 writes in his essay,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 Reading Scripture
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 as a Coherent Story,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 he writes this,
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 we need a story
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 that once again
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 affirms universal values
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 while resisting
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 their co-option
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 by the forces of domination.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 In short,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 what he's saying there is,
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 we need a non-oppressive,
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 absolute truth worldview.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 A non-oppressive,
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 absolute truth worldview.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:59 We cannot work for justice
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 without some acknowledgement
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 of universal moral values,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 but we also need something
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 that undermines
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 the natural,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 powerful,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 human inclination
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 to dominate other people.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 And Baucombe believes
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 that what we need
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 lies right within
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 the Christian faith.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 as described
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 in the biblical storyline.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 The biblical storyline
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 starts with a loving God
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 creating humanity
00:17:34 --> 00:17:34 in his image.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 sought a just society
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 on a much stronger,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 in fact,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 a considerably stronger footing
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 than modern secular people.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 And the way he pursued that
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 was vastly different
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 than the modern secular person.
00:17:52 --> 00:17:55 He was against violence.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 He was against coercion.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 He argued that segregation
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 of society
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 was not simply impractical
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 for the overall good
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 of society.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 He argued that it was,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 in fact,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 a sin.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 He knew that human rights
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 have no power
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 if they are just simply
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 created by the majority
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 or imposed
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 by some judicial system.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 Human rights
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 have power
00:18:25 --> 00:18:25 only
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 if they exist
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 on their own,
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 dependent
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 only on the fact
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 that a person
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 in the front of you
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 is, in fact,
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 a human being
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 equal with you.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:38 And so,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 drawing on the biblical teaching
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 that every human being
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 is created
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 in the image of God,
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 Genesis 1,
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 26, 27,
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 which is just read out to us,
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 he wrote that God's image
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 in us
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 gives every person
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 a uniqueness,
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 it gives him worth,
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 it gives him a dignity,
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 and we must never forget
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 this as a nation.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 There are no gradations
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 in the image of God.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 Every man
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 from a treble white
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 to a bass black
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 is significant
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 on God's keyboard,
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 precisely because
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 every man
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 is made
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 in the image of God.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 That is,
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 the Christian faith
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 gives us
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 the strongest,
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 strongest
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 possible
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 foundation
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 for the idea
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 of human rights.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 every person
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 who comes
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 into your presence
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 has an inherent worth
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 and a sacred dignity,
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 every single one of them,
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 including the ones
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 you disagree with.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 To further build on this,
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 the biblical story
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 is one of reversal.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 It reveals a story
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 of God's
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 repeated choice,
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 repeated choice
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 of the dominated
00:20:00 --> 00:20:00 and the wretched,
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 the powerless
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 and the marginal.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 The Bible begins
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 with the book of Genesis,
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 written in a time
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 when the passing
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 of all the family's
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 wealth and estate
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 went to the eldest son.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 That was the iron law
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 of its time
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 in virtually
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 all of society.
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 Every other child
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 was a spare.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:28 But Genesis
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 is subversive.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 It is subversive
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 in its cultural,
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 in this cultural norm.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 God constantly
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 chooses
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 and works
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 through the sons
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 without the power,
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 without the social
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 collateral.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 He chooses
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 Abel
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 over Cain,
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 Isaac
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 over Ishmael,
00:20:48 --> 00:20:48 Jacob
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 over Esau,
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 Joseph
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 over Reuben.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 And when God
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 works with women,
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 he does not choose
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 the women
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 with the cultural power.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 He does not choose
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 the ones with the beauty
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 and the sexuality.
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 He works through
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 the old
00:21:00 --> 00:21:02 and the infertile Sarah,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 not through
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 the younger Hagar.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 Through the unloved
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 and unattractive Leah,
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 not through Rachel.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 God repeatedly
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 refuses
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 to allow
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 his gracious
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 activity
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 to run
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 along
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 the expected
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 lines
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 of worldly
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 influence
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 and privilege.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 You don't see it
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 anywhere.
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 In his economy,
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 the person
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 on the outer
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 is the person
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 in the center.
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 As the Bible
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 storyline
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 marches on,
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 we see God
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 standing beside
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 Israel in slavery
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 against the oppression
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 of the greatest empire
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 in the world
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 at that time.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 Then there is
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 the story
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 of the judges
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 with the deliverers
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 and leaders
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 who led
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 Israel
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 whenever it
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 fell under
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 the dominion
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 of a powerful
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 nation.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 God mostly
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 in those cases
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 mostly raises
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 up someone
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 from a smaller
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 tribe,
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 from a lower
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 status,
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 a lower family
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 status,
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 or even the
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 class of social
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 outclasses.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 For instance,
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 Jephna,
00:22:06 --> 00:22:06 Gideon,
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 Samson.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 He even uses
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 women,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 which was not
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 the cultural
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 norm at that
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 time.
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 And then in
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 Samuel,
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 David,
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 the king,
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 is the youngest
00:22:17 --> 00:22:19 and the smallest
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 of Jesse's
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 sons.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 Then there's
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 the New Testament
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 where Jesus Christ
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 encounters a
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 respected male
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 and a socially
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 marginalized woman
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 in John 3
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 and 4,
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 or a religious
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 leader and tax
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 collector in Luke
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 18,
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 or a religious
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 teacher and a
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 fallen woman in
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 Luke 7.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 It is always
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 the outsider,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 the socially
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 marginalized
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 person who
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 connects more
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 readily with
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 Jesus.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:49 Always.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 And along
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 with this
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 narrative of
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 the reversal
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 of the weak
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 and the strong,
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 the rich and
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 the poor,
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 there is a
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 wide and deep
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 river of
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 ethical teaching
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 and appeal to
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 all Christians
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 to pursue
00:23:06 --> 00:23:06 justice in the
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 world.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 The Old
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 Testament prophets
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 insist that a
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 lack of care
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 for the poor
00:23:13 --> 00:23:15 and needy is a
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 sign of a lack
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 of genuine
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 faith in God.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 Isaiah 1,
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 17,
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 58,
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 6 and 7.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 The New
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 Testament
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 likewise teaches
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 that a practical
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 love for the
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 poor is a
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 mark of a
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 heart changed
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 by grace.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:34 We just had
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 that read out
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 to us in
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 James chapter
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 2.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:40 But crucially
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 though,
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 crucially,
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 the reason
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 for this
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 persistent
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 storyline in
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 the Bible is
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 because the
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 ultimate example
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 of God's
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 work in the
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 world was
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 Jesus Christ
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 himself.
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 Jesus Christ
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 is the only
00:23:55 --> 00:23:57 founder of
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 a world
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 religion,
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 of one of
00:24:00 --> 00:24:00 the major
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 world religions,
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 who died in
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 disgrace,
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 died abandoned
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 by everybody
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 whom he
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 cared about,
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 including his
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 heavenly father.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 My God,
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 my God,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 why have you
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 forsaken me?
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 He was the
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 victim of a
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 miscarriage of
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 justice,
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 he died oppressed
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 and helpless.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 And salvation
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 comes to us
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 through his
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 poverty,
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25 through his
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 rejection,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 through his
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 weakness.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 Christians are
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 not saved
00:24:30 --> 00:24:32 in any way
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 by summoning up
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 their strength
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 and accomplishing
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 great deeds,
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 but in fact
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 by admitting
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 their weakness
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 and their need
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 for a saviour.
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 Essentially
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 what the
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 Christian gospel
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 is,
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 is Jesus
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 calling out to
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 us and
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 saying,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 you can't
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 do it.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 You must
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 rely upon me.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 A salvation
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 earned by
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58 works and
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 moral effort
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 always,
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 always,
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 always favours
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 the more
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 able,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 the competent,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 the accomplished
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 and the privileged.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 Always does.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 Salvation by
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 sheer grace
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 favours the
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 failed,
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 the outsider,
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 the weak,
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 because it
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 goes only to
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 those who know
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 salvation must
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 be by sheer
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 grace.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:30 you see,
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 what the
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 Bible doesn't
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 do for us,
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 it does not
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 show us
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 a story
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 after story
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 after story
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 of heroes
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 of the faith
00:25:39 --> 00:25:41 who go from
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 strength to
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 strength to
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 strength.
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 Instead,
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 we get a
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 series of
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 stories containing
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 figures who
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52 are usually
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 not the
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 people that
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 the world
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 would expect
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 to be
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 spiritual
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 leaders and
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 rescuers of
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 others.
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 Even some
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 of the most
00:26:02 --> 00:26:04 ableist human
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 beings who
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 have ever
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 lived,
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 let's say
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 Abraham and
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 David in
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 the Bible,
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 they themselves
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 could not
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 rise above the
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 brutality of
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 their own
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 cultures,
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 nor the
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 self-centeredness
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 of their own
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 hearts.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 But by
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 clinging to
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 the wondrous
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 promise that
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 God's grace is
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 given to moral
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 failures,
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 ultimately they
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 triumphed in
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 humility.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 The Bible is a
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 record of God's
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 intervening grace
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 in the lives of
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 people who don't
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 seek it,
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 who don't
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 deserve it,
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 who consistently
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 resist it,
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 and who don't
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 appreciate it once
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 they've been
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 saved by it.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:54 So let me say
00:26:54 --> 00:26:57 gently, if this
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 surprises you at
00:26:58 --> 00:27:01 all, it may
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 mean that you
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 have bought into
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 a completely
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 mistaken idea
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 what the
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 Christian faith
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 is.
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 Namely, that
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 Christianity is
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 about how those
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 who live morally
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 and good lives
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 are consistently
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 taken to
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 heaven.
00:27:18 --> 00:27:22 there is one
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 final chapter in
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 the Christian
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 worldview, the
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 story that
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 marches through
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 the Bible, and
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 that is the
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 chapter where God
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 winds up all of
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 history.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 And all of
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 humanity who
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 have ever lived
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 will stand before
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 Jesus Christ and
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 give account of
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 their lives and
00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 the final day of
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 justice.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:44 all those who
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 have suppressed
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 God and
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 oppressed others
00:27:46 --> 00:27:48 will be eternally
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 condemned.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 But all those who
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 have responded to
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 the grace of
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 Jesus Christ in
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 weakness and
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 humility will be
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 brought into his
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 presence forever.
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 forever.
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 It will be an
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 eternity of pure
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 joy in a
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 perfect world of
00:28:04 --> 00:28:08 bliss where
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 every wrong
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 will be made
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 right, every
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 tear wiped
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 away.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 There will be no
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 more poverty and
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 oppression, no
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 more inequality,
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 all, every single
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 one who will be
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 there, joint
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 heirs with
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 Christ the Son.
00:28:28 --> 00:28:32 So what does
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 all this mean for
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 the Christian
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 pursuing justice
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 in the world?
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 It first of all
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 means that we
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 entrust God with
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 the final outcome.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 That's the great
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 story of the
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 Christian hope of
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 final justice.
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 Secularism cannot
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 give you that.
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 It's got this
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 world now as its
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 final hope.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:52 That's it.
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 And so we work
00:28:56 --> 00:28:58 patiently knowing
00:28:58 --> 00:29:00 that this God
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 will eventually
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 make everything
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 right in the
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 end.
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 That is
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 ultimately hope
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 for the weary
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 justice warrior in
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 our world.
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 Also, belief in
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 the story of
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 salvation by grace
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 through faith in
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 Jesus Christ,
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 what it does for
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 the Christian, it
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 breaks the cycle
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 of which the
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 oppressed become
00:29:21 --> 00:29:24 oppressors in
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 their turn.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 in the Old
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 Testament, the
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 Israelites are
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 constantly warned,
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 constantly warned,
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 not to oppress
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 immigrants and
00:29:35 --> 00:29:37 racial outsiders
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 amongst them and
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 around them.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 Why?
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 Because remember,
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 you too were
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 foreigners in
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 Egypt.
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 In other words,
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 remember your
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 salvation.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 So Leviticus 19,
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 33, 34 makes
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 that really clear.
00:29:53 --> 00:29:55 the memory of
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 their salvation
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 from slavery
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59 by God's grace
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01 was to radically
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 undermine their
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 natural human
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 inclination for
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 domination over
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 others.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:12 But it's at the
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 cross where Jesus
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 Christ is crucified
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 that the cycle of
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 the oppressing
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 becoming oppressors
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 is totally broken.
00:30:20 --> 00:30:26 in Jesus, God
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 radically identified
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 with the poor
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 and the oppressed.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 He was born into
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 a poor family.
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 He lived among
00:30:35 --> 00:30:37 the marginalized
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 and the outcast.
00:30:39 --> 00:30:41 His trial was a
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 miscarriage of
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 justice.
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 He died
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 violently,
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 naked,
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 and penniless.
00:30:47 --> 00:30:50 that is,
00:30:50 --> 00:30:50 the Son of God
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 himself
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 knew,
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 experienced
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 what it was
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 like to be
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56 the victim
00:30:56 --> 00:30:58 of injustice,
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 to stand up
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 to a corrupt
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 system
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 and to be
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 killed by it.
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 And the
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 Christian faith,
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 central in the
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 Christian faith,
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 is that we know
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 that he did
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 that to make
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 an atonement
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 for our sins
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 to set us
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 free
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 from the
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 just penalty
00:31:17 --> 00:31:19 for us
00:31:19 --> 00:31:21 living our
00:31:21 --> 00:31:21 lives,
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 suppressing
00:31:24 --> 00:31:24 the allegiance
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 and love
00:31:25 --> 00:31:25 that we owe
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 God.
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 Christians know
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 that in the
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 eyes of God,
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 we are
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 spiritually poor,
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 that we are
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 spiritually powerless.
00:31:36 --> 00:31:40 like the
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 oppressed of
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 this world,
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 we are
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 spiritually
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 outcasts,
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 we are
00:31:46 --> 00:31:46 slaves,
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 but God
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 saved us
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 by becoming
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 oppressed
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 for us.
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 Now,
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 it is
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 true,
00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 it is
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 true that
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 claiming
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 universal
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 moral truths
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 like the
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 Christian faith,
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 Jesus says,
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 I am the
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 only way,
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 the truth
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 and the
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 life,
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 that claims
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 like that
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 historically
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 have led
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 to oppression
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 of others.
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 That is
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 true.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 But what
00:32:18 --> 00:32:18 if the
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 universal
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 truth
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 is a
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 man who
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 died for
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 his enemies,
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 who did
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 not respond
00:32:26 --> 00:32:28 in violence,
00:32:29 --> 00:32:29 respond to
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 violence with
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 violence,
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 but in
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 fact forgave
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 his enemies,
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 what if
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 that's the
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 ultimate,
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 moral,
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 absolute,
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 universal
00:32:40 --> 00:32:40 truth?
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 At the
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 very least,
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 what that
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 means is
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 that if you
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 call yourself
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 a Christian,
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 you profess
00:32:49 --> 00:32:49 to be
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 Christian and
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 aligned to
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 Jesus,
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 if you
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 are not
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 committed to
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 a life of
00:32:55 --> 00:32:55 radical
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 generosity,
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 if you're
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 not committed
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 to a life
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 of justice
00:33:00 --> 00:33:00 towards the
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 poor and
00:33:01 --> 00:33:01 the
00:33:01 --> 00:33:01 marginalized,
00:33:01 --> 00:33:04 at the
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 very least,
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 it means
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 you're living
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 contradiction
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 to the
00:33:07 --> 00:33:07 good news
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 of Jesus
00:33:08 --> 00:33:08 Christ.
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 It means
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 at least
00:33:11 --> 00:33:11 that.
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 You're a
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 living
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 contradiction.
00:33:16 --> 00:33:16 You see,
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 the cross
00:33:17 --> 00:33:17 of Jesus
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 Christ
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 breaks the
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 cycle of
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 oppression
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 in every
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 single
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 way.
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 In every
00:33:24 --> 00:33:24 single
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 way.
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 life.
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 As I
00:33:28 --> 00:33:30 mentioned
00:33:30 --> 00:33:30 earlier,
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 people who
00:33:32 --> 00:33:32 are passionate
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 for justice
00:33:33 --> 00:33:35 are in
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 danger of
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 becoming
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 self-righteous
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 and cruel
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 in their
00:33:39 --> 00:33:39 pursuit of
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 justice,
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 particularly
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 when they're
00:33:43 --> 00:33:43 confronted
00:33:43 --> 00:33:45 with other
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 people who
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 they perceive
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 to be
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 oppressors of
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 others.
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 On the
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 other hand,
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 the Christian
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 life stands
00:33:55 --> 00:33:55 with the
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 understanding
00:33:56 --> 00:34:00 and hear
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 me say
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 this,
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 this is not
00:34:02 --> 00:34:02 meant for
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 shock factor,
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 the Christian
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 life starts
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 with the
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 understanding
00:34:07 --> 00:34:09 that you
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 are an
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 oppressor.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 You are
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 an oppressor.
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 The Christian
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 life begins
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 by confessing
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 that you
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 have in
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 fact
00:34:21 --> 00:34:23 suppressed
00:34:23 --> 00:34:23 God.
00:34:23 --> 00:34:23 God.
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 You've
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 wronged
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 him.
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 In every
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 possible way
00:34:29 --> 00:34:29 in your
00:34:29 --> 00:34:29 life,
00:34:29 --> 00:34:29 you've
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 wronged
00:34:30 --> 00:34:30 him.
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 And you
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 have wronged
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 others who
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 are made
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 in his
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 image.
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 church.
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 We have
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 not loved
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 and honoured
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 our
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 neighbours
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 as we
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 wish to
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 be treated
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 ourselves.
00:34:45 --> 00:34:45 In other
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 words,
00:34:46 --> 00:34:46 every
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 Christian
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 who
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 understands
00:34:48 --> 00:34:48 the
00:34:48 --> 00:34:48 gospel
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 admits
00:34:49 --> 00:34:51 that he
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 or she
00:34:52 --> 00:34:54 has been
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 an oppressor
00:34:54 --> 00:34:56 of God
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 and neighbour.
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 are.
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 When we
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 lie,
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 we deprive
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 people of
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 the truth
00:35:05 --> 00:35:06 that they
00:35:06 --> 00:35:06 have a
00:35:06 --> 00:35:06 right to.
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 When we
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 break our
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 promises,
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 we derive
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 people of
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 the goods
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 that they
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 have a
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 right to.
00:35:16 --> 00:35:16 If we
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 are not
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 poor and
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 we choose
00:35:19 --> 00:35:19 to close
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 our hearts
00:35:20 --> 00:35:20 to those
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 who are,
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 we deprive
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 them of
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 the sustenance
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 they have a
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 right to.
00:35:25 --> 00:35:27 I could
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 just go on
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 and on
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 and on
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 and on
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 and on.
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 Christians
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 know that
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 they have
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 hearts of
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 oppressors
00:35:36 --> 00:35:40 and yet
00:35:40 --> 00:35:40 they have
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 been saved
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 by grace
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 nonetheless.
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 Saved
00:35:44 --> 00:35:44 by grace.
00:35:48 --> 00:35:48 And so
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 when they
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 confront an
00:35:50 --> 00:35:50 oppressor,
00:35:51 --> 00:35:53 it is
00:35:53 --> 00:35:53 possible to
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 do it
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 with a
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 steely
00:35:56 --> 00:35:58 and a
00:35:58 --> 00:35:58 courageous
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 determination.
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 But the
00:36:04 --> 00:36:04 gospel also
00:36:04 --> 00:36:06 teaches them
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 to do it
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 without
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 self-righteousness
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 and without
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 anger,
00:36:11 --> 00:36:11 without
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 sarcasm,
00:36:14 --> 00:36:14 without
00:36:14 --> 00:36:18 passive
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 aggressiveness.
00:36:19 --> 00:36:23 that is,
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 the Christian
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 because of
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 the gospel
00:36:26 --> 00:36:28 cannot
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 possibly
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 hate the
00:36:30 --> 00:36:30 haters.
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 They cannot
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 possibly
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 oppress
00:36:33 --> 00:36:35 the oppressors.
00:36:37 --> 00:36:37 And I
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 think Dr.
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 King
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 really
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 embraced that
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 in the
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 1960s.
00:36:43 --> 00:36:48 and as a
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 multi-ethnic
00:36:49 --> 00:36:49 church,
00:36:50 --> 00:36:51 to the
00:36:51 --> 00:36:51 degree that
00:36:51 --> 00:36:52 we see
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 Jesus
00:36:53 --> 00:36:53 oppressed
00:36:53 --> 00:36:54 for us,
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 the
00:36:55 --> 00:36:56 oppressors,
00:36:57 --> 00:36:58 so that
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 God embraces
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 us in
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 him forever
00:37:00 --> 00:37:02 and we
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 serve each
00:37:03 --> 00:37:03 other,
00:37:04 --> 00:37:05 we will
00:37:05 --> 00:37:06 serve each
00:37:06 --> 00:37:06 other and
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 we will seek
00:37:07 --> 00:37:07 the welfare
00:37:07 --> 00:37:08 of each
00:37:08 --> 00:37:08 other.
00:37:08 --> 00:37:12 I'm
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 convinced
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 the more
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 we see
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 Jesus
00:37:15 --> 00:37:18 oppressed
00:37:18 --> 00:37:20 for the
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 oppressors,
00:37:22 --> 00:37:24 to enable
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 to set
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 us free
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26 by his
00:37:26 --> 00:37:27 grace,
00:37:27 --> 00:37:29 the more
00:37:29 --> 00:37:29 that we
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 live out
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 that relationship
00:37:31 --> 00:37:31 amongst us
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 as ourselves
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 as a church,
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 our society
00:37:34 --> 00:37:35 will in fact
00:37:35 --> 00:37:36 see that
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 the gospel
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 of the Lord
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 Jesus Christ
00:37:38 --> 00:37:40 is plausible,
00:37:41 --> 00:37:41 is relevant,
00:37:42 --> 00:37:42 and it is
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 good.
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 Amen.