Corby Stephens

I find it interesting that every human being on the planet has a sense of right and wrong, and that what makes up that sense of right and wrong is virtually universal. From the deepest, darkest, metropolitan jungle, to the deepest, darkest, meso-american jungle, everyone has a built-in sense that things like murder, stealing, and lying are not good, not right, not appropriate behaviors, and need to be corrected. It isn’t a learned thing, it’s a pre-programmed thing. Obviously people get to a point where they choose to ignore this and do indeed murder, steal, and lie. Yet it’s still considered “wrong.”

Somewhere in all of this, things get a muddied up and we lose clarity. While there are some things that we all agree on and make into the law of the land, there are many other areas that seem to change over time. Not only do things change within a given culture, one culture will have a set of morals that directly conflict with another culture. This is usually where wars begin. In order to give these views more weight and urgency, we come up with a term like “human rights” and use that as the basis for instigating change. Sometime that change is done via swaying popular opinion, sometimes it’s done with tanks, planes, and soldiers.

In all of this, I have not heard this question answered or even discussed; where do human rights come from?

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While out on my walk this morning I was listening to a certain teacher’s podcast. He made an interesting observation that got me thinking. I don’t know if the observation is original to him, but it is an interesting one. It went something like this.

Many of those in the emergent church movement (ECM) have gone back to a style of worship, or have incorporated elements of worship from a time when most people were Biblically illiterate (referring to times when there were no Bibles in the common language, or there was limited access, and people had to rely in the priesthood for the Biblical edumacation). The ECM also has a very low view of scripture (doesn’t hold it in high esteem or authority) and therefore doesn’t rely on it or use it in such a way that where it can meet the need it is supposed to meet. Are the two connected?

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There are many things in life that are either/or kinds of things. For example, either Jesus is the Son of God, or He isn’t. You either have money in the bank, or you don’t. You either like country music, or you are normal. There are also many things in life that are both/and kinds of things. They can be both/and because it can depend on the perspective from which you look at it. Truths that appear to be contradictory really aren’t, unless you take them to an extreme that excludes the possibility of the other.

This can be illustrated by a pendulum. If you aren’t sure what that is, just imagine a grandfather clock. That swingy thing is a pendulum. The pendulum has two extremes; all the way to the left, or all the way to the right. In politics we have the liberal left and the conservative right. People who seem to have a good grip on things are usually in the middle.

This picture works well in areas of theology as well. Some people focus heavily on the sovereignty of God. Others focus heavily on the sovereignty (or free will) of man. Yet the Bible clearly teaches both. Problems occur when one swings all the way to one extreme. When you take God’s sovereignty to the extreme, you have a God who causes people to sin, but that is contrary to scripture. When you take man’s sovereignty to the extreme, you have a God who is out of control and always having to compensate and adjust to what mankind does or chooses. That is also contrary to scripture. The truth of is seems to be in the middle. Some will operate to one side or the other of the middle, and that’s OK so long as it isn’t to the exclusion of Biblical truth. Is God sovereign, or man? Yes.

Sanctification; are we sanctified by what we do or by what Jesus has done? Yes.

The Gospel; is it about what Jesus has done or those who benefit from it? Yes.

The end times; do we need to be on the lookout for what is to come, or do we need to not worry about it and be about the Father’s business? Yes.

Do you need to do a pendulum check? Do you swing too far to one side or the other? Is it an either/or or an both/and issue? If you find yourself fighting a lot with other, or struggling with yourself on something, take a beat and do a pendulum check.

The concept of a bomb shelter is a very simple thing. There is the threat of attack from an enemy who is going to use nukes (or other kinds of bombs) on you. When a warning siren sounds, you proceed in an orderly fashion to a place that has been set apart, specially constructed and equipped to protect you from the bombs your enemy wants to drop on you. If you aren’t equipped with any special kind of protective equipment (such as armor) then bomb shelters are a great thing. They are a place to retreat for safety. The obvious and underlying truth in this situation is that there is fear driving you into the bomb shelter. Fear isn’t a bad thing all by itself. Fear has it’s place, it’s role. But it also often creeps its way into areas in which it does not belong.

While this isn’t anything new or ground breaking, it still needs to be pointed out and addressed every now and again. For far too many, the church of Jesus Christ has become a cultural bomb shelter. It has become a place to retreat from the world out of fear. Sometimes that fear is subtle. Sometimes it is overt. In an effort to obey the Bible’s command to not love the world or the things of the world (see 1 John 2:15-17) the church has retreated unto itself in such a way that we are actually disobeying the command to go and make disciples and teaching them to observe all the things Jesus commanded (see Matthew 28:19+). Why? Out of fear.

It’s true that there is much in the world that is geared and bent on doing the disciple of Jesus harm. But isn’t that why Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6:10+? Think of the armor of God as the gear a firefighter wears when going into a burning building. The act of going into a burning building sounds crazy. (I know, I’ve done it.) But when their are lives at stake it has to be done. The gear is designed to protect the firefighter so that they can go into the structure, save lives, and come out in one piece. That is exactly what Jesus has called us to do, and the Spirit equips us to do; to go into the burning structure that is our world, our culture, save lives, and bring them out to safety. Not only that, but train and equip them to go back into the fire to save more lives.

Paul rebukes the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 5 because he told them to avoid contact with people who claim to be Christians, yet continue to practice a lifestyle that is contrary to God’s word. Why did he rebuke them? Because they actually did the opposite. They maintained relationship with those in the church who were doing such, and cut themselves off from those outside the church. He essentially asks them, “How are you supposed to make a difference in their lives with the gospel of Jesus if you cut yourselves off from the very people who need it the most?” Sadly, this is what many churches and believers have done by retreating into their cultural bomb shelters. We may not be dealing with sexual immorality like they were, but equally ugly things like pride, self righteousness, and various forms of idolatry.

Church, stop hiding. Come out of the bomb shelter. Be the light that is out in the open, up on the hill. Don’t hide under the basket. Put on your armor and engage the world. Follow Jesus’ example of eating with sinners with the intention of transforming their lives with the good new of new life in Jesus Christ. Yes, the sirens are sounding, but our battle is not with flesh and blood, but with the spiritual powers behind the scenes. The flesh and blood with which we are not at war are prisoners, they are slaves of sin and they need to be set free. God has set us apart for that very task. And we can’t do it hiding in our shelters. We are on a search and rescue mission.

Go get ‘em!