Ancient Relevance

MP3 File: 

20101121 Sermon.mp3

Last week we began to discuss an answer to the question "Why church?" It's certainly a question a lot of people in society are asking today.

Some dismiss the church as merely a benign segment of society—boring but not dangerous.

Others, however, say the church fosters dangerous old-fashioned views like prejudice and intolerance—that it has done more harm in society than good.

Now, where you or I may cut the church some slack and acknowledge its human flaws and weaknesses, a number of critics see deliberate deception, corruption, and scandal—or worse.

The church—often tainted by imperfect human beings—has often fallen short. As a result, many of the criticisms leveled against the church stem from legitimate complaints. People have been hurt and abused and neglected by people who claim to be representatives of Jesus Christ. We have fallen short when it comes to living up to Christ's commission. You can easily find people who are disgruntled or disillusioned with the church—perhaps some of your own friends or family.

See this video as an example:

Why I'm Disillusioned-Short from Andrew Means on Vimeo.

What can we do to show we are different from their stereotypical view of the church?

Jesus wants us to build bridges to the world around us. He wants us to reach out to people who fear the church, to people who despise the church, to people who feel threatened by its message.

One thing we don't have to do is pretend everything is well. We know the church needs improvement. We know God isn't finished with us. We know he's still working on us—that we still have a ways to go. We know we are on a journey and we haven't yet arrived at our destination.

"...being confident of this," the apostle Paul wrote, "that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil 1:6).

God is good and he does good! God's work is a good work! It's not a mediocre work or an inadequate work or a substandard work. God does a good work—but it's a work still in process. It's not finished yet. God is still working on us—and he will keep working on us until we're finally completed on the day of Christ Jesus.

This is true not just of individuals, but also of the church! God is still working on us as a body of believers. We are not yet perfect. Jesus is still building his church (Matt 16:18).

This is not an excuse; it's just the reality. The church is not perfect. It has made mistakes down through the years.

We can't undo the past. We can't rewrite history. We can't deny wrongs that have happened.

We can't fix everyone in the church who needs fixing, but we can work on ourselves! We can commit ourselves so God can work on us and bring revival to the church so it will fulfill God's purpose.

Jesus established the church to carry on his mission of bringing people back to God. And he left the church in our hands so we could show God's love and grace to a hurting world.

Last week we looked at how the church is to be a life-giving community to do bring God's love to the world—how it's to be a place of caring and healing.

This week, though, I want to talk about the "ancient relevance" of the church.

"Back to the Future" was a movie. Maybe we should have another one called "Forward to the Past" to remind us that we can be helped by what has gone before. Just because something is "old" doesn't mean it doesn't have relevance.

Many people accuse the church of being woefully out of touch with modern times. They say the church is irrelevant, out of step—an insignificant, antique institution held over from ancient times.

It's true that we live in different times! PHOTO: a scroll of the book of Isaiah the prophet, just one section—the first 28 chapters—is 2.6 meters (or 8.5 feet).

PHOTO: Today, in my phone on a micro SC card I could put on my fingertip, I have the entire book of Isaiah. In fact I have the complete text of the NASB, the NLT, and TEV PLUS Strong's Greek-Hebrew lexicon, the entire NIV NT in audio, about 16 CDs worth of music, a phone book, etc. ...and the card is only half full.

We live in very different times. So some believe the church is too old-fashioned; they think the Bible is obsolete—a book with trivial ideas about things no one cares about any more, filled with petty rules about issues that no longer matter.

They are wrong. Our message is just as relevant as it ever has been! The church was designed for times like today.

There's no question that the church of Jesus Christ is old. Jesus lived and taught and died on the cross in the early decades of the first century, nearly 2,000 years ago. The story of God's dealing with humankind is even older, going back thousands of years.

Just because something is old doesn't necessarily mean that it's better.

Book: The Good Old Days...They Were Rotten.

On the other hand, just because something is new doesn't necessarily mean it's better either.

When it comes to God's truth, however, we need the bedrock stability of his revealed Word—solid truths that have stood the test of time and have been proven over and over.

Fads come and go; fashions change overnight. What was "in" last week is probably "out" this week.

You can't keep up. For instance, all these words have at one time in the past 40 years meant approximately the same thing as "cool": Bad... Phat... Fab... Gear... legit... stellar... groovy... keen... neat...nifty... peachy... swell... crazy... hip... wicked... rad... far out... tubular... sick... funky... gnarly... boss. But if you use them today, you will not be "cool"—you won't be "with it." You will be out of step. Irrelevant. Just because something is the "latest" doesn't mean it's the "greatest."

Some say the Bible doesn't speak to today's issues. They say you can't find today's issues in the Bible—like fetal stem cell research, Internet pornography, addictive or compulsive behavior, violent video games, medical marijuana, global economics, and so on.

They think the Bible is like a cookbook written before microwave ovens were invented. (But PBS did a documentary on ancient Roman recipes!)

Here's the thing. Ancient truths and ancient customs still influence us today. Our lives are rooted in the past! It established standards and provided structures for the future so we are still impacted by the activities of previous generations.

Some historians question the accuracy of all the facts in what I'm about to tell you, but it's close enough to get the point.

PHOTO: The U.S. standard railroad gauge is four feet, eight-and-one-half inches. How did we wind up with such an odd railway width? Because that was the width of the English railroads, a size brought to America when they came.
Why did the English build them this wide? Because the first British rail lines were modeled after the pre-railroad tramways. That's the gauge they used. Why did they use that gauge? Because the same jigs, tools, and people who built wagons also built the tramways; they used standard wagon-wheel spacing.
Wagon-wheel spacing was standardized due to a very practical, hard-to-change, and easy-to-match reality. In ancient times, when Britain was ruled by Imperial Rome, Roman war chariots, in true bureaucratic fashion, all used a standard spacing between their wheels.
Over time, this spacing left deep ruts along the extensive road network the Romans built. If British wheel spacing didn't match Roman ruts, their wagon wheels would break. And the Roman standard was derived after trial-and-error efforts of early wagon and chariot builders. They determined the best width to accommodate two horse butts was four feet, eight and one-half inches. Thus the United States standard railroad gauge is a hand-me-down standard based upon the original specification for an Imperial Roman war chariot.
This doesn't end at railroads. Two big booster rockets attach to the sides of the main fuel tank that lifts the space shuttle into orbit. Thiokol makes these solid-fuel rocket boosters, SRBs, at its Utah factory. The engineers who design the SRBs ship them from factory to launch site by train. The railroad from the factory runs through a mountain tunnel only slightly wider than the railroad track. Even if Thiokol engineers wanted fatter SRBs, the railway gauge limits their design.
So modern space shuttle design follows the size of horses' butts.

So if it's not newness that makes something relevant, what does?

A hammer is the relevant tool for a nail. A hand hammer is old-school, but it's just as relevant as an air-compression (modern) hammer. A screwdriver, however, isn't relevant for a nail—not even a modern, Black & Decker 6-Volt Alkaline Battery Cordless Screwdriver.

The church offers both relevance and timeless truth at the same time. Just because something is old doesn't automatically mean that it is irrelevant. Nor does "new" automatically mean something is better or more relevant.

The church has a message that is both ancient and relevant! Like a hammer to a nail, the church has a relevant answer for today's problems.

After all, today's problems are really not all that different from ancient problems. Many things have not changed:

1. People haven't changed.

They still are weighed down by burdens and cares. They still go through trials and troubles. Their spirits still can be crushed. Wounded souls and broken hearts still hurt just as much today as they ever have. Fear and anxiety still grip people's lives and are just as real as ever.

People still need an answer for life. They still struggle with the purpose of their existence. They still are searching for significance and meaning in life. People haven't changed.

2. The world's solutions haven't changed.

The world still cannot fix spiritual problems. The world's so-called "solutions" still fall short. Man-made solutions are temporary, short-lived, inadequate.

There is an arrogance about humanity—claiming to have a fix the problems of this world. When will we learn that human effort and even good intentions are not enough? Despite all our medical advances, we still have disease; despite laws and penitentiaries, we still have crime; despite schools and education, we still have ignorance; despite politicians and governments, we still have social problems; despite peace treaties and the UN, we still have war.

And at the core of all the unsolvable problems of the world, is a serious heart condition that remains the same—sin.

3. Sin hasn't changed.

Sin still brings death. The world may try to redefine sin so it doesn't sound so bad, so archaic. People  want to sanitize it, excuse it, dismiss it. But sin hasn't changed; it still traps and destroys and kills.

People are still held hostage by sin. They're still trapped by the devil's addictive powers. Today's problems (contemporary issues, hot-button topics) still address the hopeless human condition.

Maybe the image or face of sin has changed...but not its substance. The Bible doesn't speak of...

• Internet porn—but it does speak about lust;
• Of capitalism—but it does talk about greed;
• Public welfare system—but it does talk about poverty;
• About of fetal stem cell research—but it does teach a respect for life.

It may sound ancient to talk about sin, but it's very relevant. And the only relevant answer to sin is found in a relevant God, who remains the same since the beginning of time.

4. God hasn't changed!

In the Psalms it says,

²⁵ In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. ²⁶ They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. ²⁷ But you remain the same, and your years will never end. (Ps 102:25-27)

David wrote:

God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change—he will hear them... (Ps 55:19)

Hebrews in the NT tells us:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (13:8)

God's truth remains unchanged. His ways are still true; his answers for mankind's dilemma are still the same.

The church must remain true to our unchanging God, to deliver his timeless truths to speak to our society today:

• The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jer 17:9);
• ...there is no one who does good, not even one (Ps 14:3);
• Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12);
• Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest... and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. 11:28-29);
• Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink (John 7:37);
• ...you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free... So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:32,36).