How Do We Deal With The Ripples and Echoes of Collective Sin?
Good Morning Friends,
I have come to the conclusion that if we are citizens of heaven then we need to be under the government of the Holy Spirit. This is not a new concept. Each generation has to face the reality that sometimes governments can do wonderful things and sometimes things of great evil. And since we in a democracy are the government in a way, it really comes down to how we deal with evil wherever and whenever we see it. While sin is primarily a result of an individual’s misconduct sometimes the effects disseminate far beyond the original act and even after the sin has been forgiven. Sin can be viewed fundamentally as a social problem and we do so want someone to blame for it. But sometime there is no one to blame. Sometimes there is a whole culture or complex system at fault. And when we have been once removed from the sin we think that is enough. But it is not. We are addicted and need to be convicted of our reality. So today we ask a tough question. And it could focus on when civil disobedience is allowed for a Christian, but there is more to discover than the first sentence in this devotional. Though it might start there. And maybe I do not have a perfect answer for you in this regard and must find contentment in the more perfect answer for me. But there is always more to discover so still I ask. How Do We Deal With The Ripples and Echoes of Collective Sin?
Scripture: “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
Matthew 18:15-16 (NRSV)
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:1-9 (NRSV)
Moses convened all Israel, and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today; you shall learn them and observe them diligently. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the fire. (At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to declare to you the words of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Deuteronomy 5:1–10 (NRSV)
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
Acts 2:1-11 (NRSV)
Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Matthew 22:20-21 (NRSV)
Message: Some may say it is all good and not to worry and others go out and get their shotgun. But the answer I think is somewhere in the middle which is a place of tension, truth and love manifested in great patience. Certainly Jesus conquers all sin and judgment for those who believe. But those with a smug sense of self-righteous superiority about the world, even ones who call themselves Christians, are I think more than a little misguided. And then we have those who do not believe. So in our little worlds we have to both get right with God and get right with one’s neighbor to deal with the grey areas of sin. We cannot pay a minister to do this for us. So this morning we look at several scripture passages. The first is about confronting sin in others. The second, the story of the Tower of Babel. The third the giving of the Law of Moses. And the fourth is the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Here we learn that man without God is confused and fated to punishment. Man with God has the makings of a good outcome. Friends, we should tremble with joy for the forgiveness of our sins. But we should also be moved by the Holy Spirit to minimize the rebellion of others against God. There are natural calamities that we bring on ourselves if we ignore the wages of sin even when it seems removed from our personal lives. The role of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives should not be minimized as to its role in addressing collective sin. For these changes can take a long time in order to avoid great violence. And even then sometimes it is unavoidable. If our motivation is of the Holy Spirit we will have hope.
Pray we are reconciled to God. Pray we are redeemed from fire by fire. Pray the Holy Spirit affirm Jesus through our lives. Pray the Holy Spirit affirm other believers through us. Pray the Holy Spirit be at work sanctifying us more and more each day, into the image of Christ and less like our sinful selves. Pray we are moved by the Holy Spirit to act in truth with love. Pray we realize that there is more at stake than we can even imagine. Pray the Holy Spirit affirm God’s Word in us. Pray we are careful to examine the thoughts and intentions of our hearts in the light of scripture and God’s promises. Pray the counsel of other believers confirms and affirms us in a way that brings comfort and courage for us to act in unity and in love and the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and sometimes with Fire. Pray we have such a strong relationship with the Holy Spirit that we will never be fooled by other internal voices. Pray we are ready when called to act in the circumstances and with the timing that God has planned. Pray the flame of the Holy Spirit present in the giving of the law and replaced with the laws of love in the fire at Pentecost power the called out assembly to glorify God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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