A Sermon On:
Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 20,21
PREPARED BY
KEN GEHRELS
PASTOR
CALVIN CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
NEPEAN, ONTARIO
UNITY OF THE HUMAN RACE
Quite some years ago an influential university professor observed the fact that as our ability to communicate was beginning to increase, the size of the world was beginning to decrease. We were, he said, losing the sense of being isolated clusters of people, and slowly becoming members of one global village. No longer can we ignore what is happening to other people, even thousands of kilometres away.
It's true, isn't it? Each evening we watch events happen here in Ottawa, and events in Johannesburg on the same news programme - live. Even wars are now broadcast live. As this happens many of us begin to realize that what happens to those people so geographically, culturally and historically distant from ourselves is perhaps not so distant. We begin to sense that we are a part of the same family - the human family. And we begin to identify with the sufferings of Cambodians, and our heart bleeds at chaos in West Africa. We watch with hope and uncertainty at floods in Europe just as much as we do the floods in our own nation.
We are part of the same human family.
That, too, is why there is so much hue and cry -- properly, by and large -- against discrimination in our land. When blacks or Asians or women or the disabled are pulled out and labelled and treated as lesser partners something begins to taste foul in our mouth. We say, "Hey, you simply CAN'T do that! We are all one, we are equal, and we must treat each other accordingly."
DIVISION IN THE HUMAN RACE
Now, it is into that kind of world experience that we as Christians march with a teaching from the Bible which goes right against the stream; a teaching which many find offensive.
We wade into the world scene with a teaching which loudly proclaims that the human race is not one - it is two.
We proclaim unequivocally that there is a great divide in the human race; one which separates man from father, daughter from mother, daughter-in-law from mother-in-law.
We proclaim the division of faith which says that as far as an eternal relationship with your Creator God goes, you are either in or out, with Him or against Him. It is not so, we declare, that either ALL people are in or ALL people are out.
No.
Some are in, and some are out.
The standard we use for declaring the "inness" or "outness" of a person is faith - faith in Jesus Christ.
If you have it you are "in."
If you don't, you are "out."
What we mean by "in" or "out" is, of course, a place in God's eternal and divine family. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we teach, you are adopted by God into his family. You become one of his very own and very precious children. You gain for yourself a share of the eternal inheritance which God has in store for those who are his. You inherit the precious, wise and ever-constant care of a heavenly Father even now.
Without faith in Jesus you are left to an earthly life devoid of any right of access to the presence of God - you are on the "out" with God. More than that, you face the chilling prospect of an eternity in that place which the Bible calls "the outer darkness" (Mt 8.12; 22.13), an eternity of living away from the care of God and fully exposed to any and every wicked whim of the Evil One.
Of all Christian teachings, this is by far and away the most critical.
Remove it and you remove the heart of the faith.
You are left with a corpse, an empty shell.
This morning, my friends, whether we like it or not, whether it seems politically correct or not, we are faced with very stark words from the lips of Jesus:
Acknowledge me or disown me: those are the two choices you face.
And on the basis of your choice I will either acknowledge or disown you.
Straight forward and blunt - a statement that declares the division of humanity. It's like a sword cleaving a piece of meat - so he says himself!
AN OBJECTION RAISED
So often when we begin to discuss this whole subject people jump up and ask - "what about those in places of the globe who live and die without ever having so much as a chance of hearing the gospel. Are they are summarily condemned?"
Most of the time that question is are herring. I say that not because I want to be flippant about the fate of such people, but because by and large the issue is raised to take the pressure off one's self; to avoid having to be personally confronted wit h the issue of accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ.
That's not always the case, but mostly.
Now when talking with people I've found myself saying, "John [or Mary or whoever], that specific point is something the Bible isn't 100% clear on. What it is clear about is that those who are made aware of Jesus must make a choice. I have had to do that. It's been the best thing that ever happened to me. And I would like to share this tremendous thing with you."
If there is indeed a real moral problem in the person's mind with the issue, then I point them to Matthew 10, a few verses before those we read. Jesus speaks there about those who are confronted with the message of salvation through him and reject it:
I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town. (Mt 10.15)
To understand that we need to remember that Sodom and Gomorrah were towns which had become proverbs for hotbeds of immorality and selfish, lawless living. Most people who lived and died in those places were never confronted with the message of the living God. And in the Lord's eyes, they will be better off than the most civil of persons who rejects Jesus.
Which throws the matter right back to us.
One bible writer asked, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" (Heb 2.3). And that's the bottom line.
It's the axis around which everything revolves here in the Church.
And it's the very basic theme of our activity this morning as we prepare to celebrate Holy Communion.
In this ancient ceremony, as old as the Church itself, given to us by Jesus, we make a very public statement. Everyone who picks up a piece of bread and grasps one of the little cups is saying, "Count me IN with Jesus." They identify with Him. They submit their life, fully and completely, to Him.
By taking part in communion we will say that we take Jesus at His Word, His full and complete, humanity dividing word.
So, before I ask those who serve to come forward, I'd like to ask you to consider a few things.
First thing I'd like you to consider is if you have accepted the words of Jesus, the words about Him being THE way to God, THE truth, and THE life --
-- that He is IT --
Have you done that, publicly and without shame?
That happens in different ways in different church communions. Here in the Christian Reformed Church that happens through what we call Public Profession Of Faith. In other circles it may be known as confirmation or adult baptism.
If you have made that public step, in this congregation or in another Christian church, then on behalf of the elders of Calvin church, I'd like to invite you to join in this celebration.
If you haven't made that step then I'd like to invite you to use the next little while as a time for reflection, for some careful thinking. As you watch the other partake, is that perhaps a step that you ought to be taking. Is today the day to make up your mind and make that commitment to Jesus Christ as your Master, the captain of your life - your Lord and your Saviour of new life, eternal life, full life. Is today the day to cross the divide and join Him?
Consider that taking that step, and coming to His side means coming into the community of other men & women who have also taken that step, and of children who are being raised in that way. It means you are fully one with them. In a sense far deeper than sharing the pains and joys of those we see on the evening news, you come into a community that shares life and eternity as ONE.
Taking the step of saying, "Yes, I accept the full, discerning Word of Jesus - I'm on His side" means that you can look forward as you take part in this celebration. You can look forward to the day when Jesus will return; to the day when He will gather all who have surrendered their life to Him and draw them into His eternal presence on a re-created earth.
And taking that step, acknowledging that there is this basic divide in the human race and crossing the line also means committing to a different way of marching tomorrow morning. Our drum beat is different. Our standard is another. His norms become ours. His life controls ours. We view society and all creation from His vantage point.
It's a very basic item we're dealing with today. No rocket science.
But sometimes we have to get back to brass tacks. And today we do.
So consider as we prepare to partake.