“I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Voltaire
Tomorrow is the Independence Day 4th of July holiday here in America. I have a bit of a rant coming. If you want to skip the bloviations and move straight to my thoughts on Sunday’s sermon, skip to the heading “End of Rant” and begin reading there. For everyone else, my thoughts on the Constitution, the 4th of July, and freedom begin now.
"Corner Stones at Jaffa Street" by zeevveez is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
BEGIN RANT
Before we get into the sermon from yesterday and my thoughts, I need to point out something. Last week, my home church hosted a gathering in response to some antisemitic idiots protesting a Jewish synagogue. The gathering came together in roughly 48 hours’ time. I could not attend, but our sanctuary, which holds about 330, was overflowing. Local dignitaries showed up, Jewish leaders showed up, Islamic leaders showed up, and secular political leaders showed up. Everyone came together to stand up for the freedom to worship as each individual and faith community chooses.
Tomorrow is the American holiday that celebrates our independence from tyranny. I served in the United States Marine Corps to fulfill my self-imposed responsibility to do my part for the force that defends the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, who want to destroy, marginalize, or otherwise do away with the freedoms guaranteed to all American citizens under the Constitution of the United States of America. You are free to disagree, but be advised I hold that document as sacred and divinely blessed, just a step below the Bible. In the pages I write here, I often urge people to study their Bible to better understand how God wants His people to live. If you want to better understand the system the Framers of the Constitution of the United States of America devised to govern the many states, I urge you to read and study the Federalist papers. They can be found HERE. These essays are the public debate by the authors of the various portions of the Constitution and explains exactly what their intentions were with those oh-so-carefully crafted words.
God’s Word is paramount. The United States Constitution and the Federalist Papers explain how the American system of government works. Woe betides ye who violates either.
Am I saying the Constitution is Holy? No, I am not. I am saying that it is the single best form of government on the planet, and if it were written without human bias or frailty, we would have a much better land. As it is, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, but unfortunately, human beings are fallen prone to making mistakes, and we have been entrusted with the perfect and asked to do our best. We fail, but some of us strive to change and do better. I hope you will walk with me for a time and let God help you where you need help. I find comfort in His presence, and I think you will too.
Now, enough pontificating. Let’s get into Sunday’s sermon. I’ll put a disclaimer above so those who want to avoid the rant can.
END RANT
My Sunday school lesson for week 24 used a scripture that should appear familiar to anyone reading these pages recently. Pastor Kristen Lee preached on that same passage during Week 22. I mention it because I found it interesting.
Her sermon Sunday continued the A Fresh Wind series with the word Build. During the Children’s Moment, she used blocks to explain how Jesus is our “foundation” for the building that is our lives. The word “cornerstone” kept coming to mind, and a specific scripture. The passage was not used in Pastor Lee’s discussions, but I present it here because I think it was at the heart of what she was saying. This passage is in Matthew, Mark, and Luke but not John. I guess John started with, “This guy is God,” so he doesn’t need it. Regardless, they are all quoting Old Testament scripture from Psalms.
17But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone’?
18“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
19The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them.
Luke 20:17–19 (NASB95) “
Psalm 118:22
The Pharisees clearly saw this calling them out. Luke, Mark, and Matthew point this out. How can simply claiming to be the foundation of an organization to be built be speaking against someone else? Before I answer that, remember the Pharisees were the Jewish government and ruling body, or part of it. Jesus was absolutely speaking out against the powers of the theocracy governing the Jewish people of the time, but this is also pertinent for us today. This passage also condemns the Worldly governments that operate without God’s Word in their hearts.
The Pharisees wanted to shut Jesus up from saying these things because Jesus was telling the people how to live according to God’s Ways, following God’s Word. The Pharisees had perverted God’s Word to provide them with power and luxury at the expense of the governed. The Pharisees were hypocrites saying one thing and doing another; they held the people to one standard, claiming it to be God’s Word but for themselves did something else. They did so, claiming an exception because they were the righteous ones toiling away to do what was right for everyone else, so they didn’t have to if they’d only listen to them and do what they said.
Yes, I read all that into the Children’s Moment yesterday. Pastor Lee’s simple point to the children was this. If we pull Jesus out of our foundation, everything we’ve built upon it falls apart. She said we must keep Jesus in everything we do, or it won’t be built upright. We need to build together as one people, church, and congregation, or risk things collapsing. That, I think, was a veiled statement about the split between the Traditionalists and Progressives in the United Methodist Church and the founding of a new church, the Global Methodist Church. Those of you who know me know where I stand on that. I won’t belabor the point. I will say this; it is now in God’s hands, and He will prosper those who are doing His work and His will in His Word. Time will tell.
We read the scripture passage for the day at this point. She jumped a few verses for her message, but I’m not fond of that. I’ll include them all. The skip came from verses 11 to 16. Let’s read that passage now.
10According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.
11For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
14If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
15If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
16Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
18Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.
19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”;
20and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”
21So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you,
22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you,
23and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
1 Corinthians 3:10–23 (NASB95)
Job 5:13 and Psalm 94:11
I’m not sure why the section from 11 to 16 was left out. It’s germane to the topic of building and what to build. I think it is critical. What does that section teach us about what we should build? We should only build that which is pleasing to God. But there’s something else to learn here too. I say frequently our works do not earn us a way into Heaven, and that’s scriptural.
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (NASB95)
We do the things we do to say thank you to God for what He has done for us through His Son’s sacrifice to wash away our sins. We also do what we do to reflect God’s love as the light of His salvation through Jesus to the world around us, showing them a better way. But, our works are also the fruit of our labor by which we can rightly discern followers of Jesus Christ with whom we can work to the glory of God, brothers and sisters whom we need to correct in love who have erred, and followers of worldly lusts to be avoided unless and until the Holy Spirit works a change in their hearts. Why is that pertinent to the missing passages from Sunday’s sermon?
The missing passages are what is going to happen to our works on the day of judgment. God is going to burn away everything we have done that does not glorify Him leaving only those things He said to do remaining. What remains is what God bases His reward in Heaven upon, but there is an important note in verse fifteen.
15If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
1 Corinthians 3:15 (NASB95)
“…but he himself will be saved….” What does that mean? To me, it means as followers of Jesus, as long as our faith in Christ is heartfelt and real, even if we get it wrong, we are still going to Heaven. Our reward will be diminished by our incorrectness as our wrong works are destroyed, but we remain in Heaven. Why is that important?
No stumbling blocks.
No stumbling blocks mean you and I, as professed followers of Jesus, should believe other brothers and sisters in Christ when they tell us they are brothers and sisters in Christ doing what they feel they are called to do, even when we think they are walking away from God.
That last bit is important.
If we see someone saying, professing, or teaching something we disagree with, and they say this is what God has for them to do, then we must leave them alone. We don’t have to help them if our path and understanding differ from theirs, but we must not hinder them because they are servants of God, just like us. If they proclaim instructions from God to do a certain thing, it is not in our authority to stop them.
4Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Romans 14:4 (NASB95)
I don’t stand before God for your sins, and you won’t stand before God for mine. That’s a good thing for you, trust me. The point is if they believe they are doing what they are supposed to do, let them. If they’re wrong, it is for God to deal with, not you or me.
Does that mean I shut up about what I think is being taught in error? I will leave that to each individual. Speaking out could put a stumbling block against them, but so could keeping silent. We could also be called to set ourselves apart in a clear distinction, one from the other, to facilitate identification by the lost who agree with one or the other message. I believe both parties in that scenario could be walking God’s path and redeeming lost souls even though they believe the other is walking away from God. God’s power is without limit, and I believe He could accomplish that task if He chose to do it. I won’t get in His way there.
That’s all about the missing passages from the sermon on Sunday. What about the passages Pastor Lee preached on? Her message was simple. Build together as one. Do not follow after those dividing us but follow after those uniting us.
Pastor Lee went into the individual aspect, sighting that our personal faith is what God uses to build up others through Jesus. We are not meant to walk God’s path alone. We are meant to do it in concert with other believers, but there’s more to that.
Pastor Lee related her annual hesitance when preaching the Sunday before the Independence Day holiday. She struggles with how much of America’s freedoms and fight for independence to include verses the Kingdom of God. Some might say they are synonymous, but I completely understand her struggle here. God’s ways are not Man’s ways. His ways are so much more righteous and clean than ours; even in something as good as securing freedom for other people, we can mess that up.
As an example of messing that up, we as Christians believe Jesus Christ is the only way to get to God and Heaven. Scripture teaches us this.
5Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
7“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
John 14:5–7 (NASB95)
These are Jesus’ words. He has proclaimed Himself the only true path. If we say we follow Him, we must hold to this belief. That means we think other religions have it wrong. However, in America, under our Constitution, they still have the freedom to worship as they see fit. We cannot and should not stop them. There is a conflict between Man’s ways and God’s ways but in America, we allow everyone the freedom to make their own decisions because each person will stand on their own merits before a judge, either a secular judge on earth or a heavenly judge after death. Your decisions are your responsibility, and I should neither want nor be allowed to take that responsibility away from you.
That singular point of Pastor Lee’s ties everything together. I may disagree with someone else, but they still have the right to that opinion, action, statement, etc., and I should be willing to stand up and fight for the right of other people to disagree with me. That really was at the core of why I joined the Marine Corps. I sum it up in a quote from Voltaire that leads off this essay. I am willing to fight and die for your right to tell me I’m wrong or espouse an opinion that offends me. I’ll do that so long as I then have that same right to say what I believe, even though that might offend you. If we can’t both speak, I won’t support your position to say what you want. It’s as simple as that, and the converse is true too. We should have a free and robust debate, not a one-sided authoritarian fascist system. People who silence others are the worst kind of people, and I want nothing to do with them.
Pastor Lee went on to show a picture of a cathedral built in Spain by a monk with tuberculosis, Justo Gallego Martinez. He ignored everyone who called him crazy and did what God had for him to do. In the end, he built a magnificent cathedral from whatever he could find that has since been taken over by a non-profit of the Catholic church. She laid out this cathedral of the discarded to prompt a question she did not ask but which I think is implied.
What are you building for God through Jesus?
Our hope is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. That hope fuels our life so that we can attain a better reward. We need to read the Bible to try and conform our personal way of living so that it won’t be burned away by God’s fiery judgment in the end.
How do we do that? I think it is at once a simple and hard answer. Jesus. We live life doing. We do so much. Always going, rushing, hurrying about because we are so “busy.” What if we stepped back and, instead of rushing about our lives doing our things, we instead wrapped ourselves in Jesus? My actions, at the end of days, aren’t going to withstand God’s scrutiny. Nothing I can do will. However, someone already did what is needed to withstand God’s inspection, and He holds out that pristine white garment for me to wrap myself in it at the end. My redemption is already wrought through the sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb of God. I must stop trying to be Him and let Him be Him for me. Everything else flows out from there.
So, I repeat Pastor Lee’s implied question as a close. What are you building up for God? Are you building that to show people you are as good as Him or to show them Him? The distinction is important, but we’ll only have the true answer when we see Him. I hope we get it right. God bless and Godspeed.