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Let’s talk about bad interpretations for a second. You’ll often see verses like this one ripped out of context and randomly tossed into arguments during election seasons.

“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;” – Daniel 2:21

A divine appointment is a way ancient people understood the concept of monarchy. Those monarchies were cruel and used gods as justification or excuse for their actions. When an evil king fell, people applied the judgment of the gods as the reason and reveled in their freedom until a new king climbed to the throne and became just as cruel, and the pattern continued.

I won’t get into all the details here, but this pattern setup the desire for a good king, a messiah, a true king, one who possessed love, justice, and mercy. (Hint: Jesus).

Verses like this have to be understood within an ancient context and most definitely does not apply to a secular democracy in which people vote. This is why you can’t just grab a verse, but need to peel back and layers and ask good questions.

Bottom line: I encourage you to pray for wisdom, discernment, and common sense as you make decisions that impact our neighbors, society, and world. Avoid ordaining cruelty in the ballot box. And remember, the only real king is Jesus, and we live in his kingdom when we show his love, mercy, and compassion in our world.

The Bible is typically thought of as divided into two halves. The first half, we call the Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures. The second half, from the birth of Jesus onward, we call the New Testament. The New Testament tells the story of the life of Jesus as well as the story of the early followers of Jesus, found in brand new church communities scattered around the Roman Empire.

When we read from the Bible, particularly the New Testament, we are reading correspondence, letters filled with encouragement, instruction and, notes of gratitude, to the people in these churches as they explored the way of Jesus and learned what it meant to be a Jesus follower in the world in which they lived. Over the past few weeks, we’ve read from these letters. And through this series, we’ve entered into the conversation of an author to a recipient. In so doing, we’ve allowed these letters to step out from their moment and time to speak to us in ours.

What we’ve discovered is that they do speak to us as we peel back the layers of context and language, seeking to understand what they meant to the people they were written to and what they can mean to us today. We’ve also discovered common themes that unite so many of these letters to each other, common themes that the authors came back to over and over again as they explore what it means to follow Jesus. One of those themes is the interplay between light and darkness.

Over the past two weeks, in the letters to Colossians and Philemon, we explored the concept of light and darkness. We found that in the book of Colossians, Paul addressed the darkness of sin out there. We are resurrection people, rescued and redeemed to bring the light wherever darkness still finds a hold in our world.

In the letter written to Philemon, a leader within that same church in Colossae, Paul addressed the darkness of sin as an issue to be addressed in believers’ hearts. We all have places where shadows of sin have set up residence within us, and we need people to help us shine a light on it so we can address it. A changed world begins with a change in our own lives.

This interplay between light and darkness, both in our world and in our hearts, is a familiar theme in the scriptures. We found that it is a thread that started back in Genesis, shows up in the words of Jesus, and then in Paul’s words in letters like Colossians and Philemon.

Today, I want to show you where the theme of light and darkness shows up again in another set of letters in the New Testament called the letters of John. These letters, along with the Gospel of John, have some of the most beautiful language in the Bible.

Read the introduction from each of the three letters of John. Listen to the language. I encourage you to close your eyes and imagine being a part of a community hearing this for the first time. Through these words, we are connected to the people who first heard them, and connected to each other as we explore what they mean for us today.

Let’s read together.

1 John 1:1-7
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

2 John 1:1-6
1 The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: 3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. 4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

3 John 1:1-4
1 The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

In those letters, we heard this language of light and darkness. It is language that’s become familiar to us because we’ve explored it over the past several weeks. Then, we heard a movement to new language, as the author connected the idea of light and darkness to walking. He talked about how we have a choice to make where we walk. We either choose to walk in darkness, or we choose to walk in the light. He defined walking in darkness as walking away from God toward something else.

Just like how we found a thread for the language of light and darkness weaving its way through scripture, we find this language of walking also weaving its way like a thread through the stories and writings of the people of the Bible. Let’s look at one of those places and see how John connects these two themes and what that means for us today.

Psalm 1:1-3
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither…

The first word we see when we read this Psalm is this word blessed. The Hebrew word here can be translated with the idea of happiness but not how we think of it. Jesus, when teaching, used the same idea of being blessed when he said to his followers:

“Blessed are those who are meek, who mourn, and who are persecuted.”

Jesus, and the writer of this Psalm, define in a much different way than the way we often think of it. Happiness and being blessed are apparently not about having a nice backyard, a short line at the Starbucks drive-through, or a tag you use on Instagram. Something much more profound is going on when it comes to being blessed, and the writer connects that blessing to walking.

Psalm 1:1
1 Blessed is the who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

This picture is painted of someone immersed in a life wholly opposed or away from God. Within the context of this language, the wicked are people who were found guilty (we’ve all been there), the sinners are those who allow their sinful temptation to define their choices, and the mockers are those who think even living for God, and what he desires, is a waste of time.

But, just like how John compared light and darkness, there is another path you can walk.

Psalm 1:2-3
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither…

When we see a phrase like the law of the Lord, it’s important to stop and think about other places where we see phrases like this. Where else do we hear about laws and commands. One of the most important places is a passage in the book of Deuteronomy. The people of God, the motley crew of refugees, slaves, and people without a home, had journeyed across the desert to a land God had promised them. They’re tired from their journey, but Moses gives them a command to guide them before they enter this land.

Deuteronomy 6:1,4-7
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you…4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Now, I want you to see something here. Look at the movement and the language that we find here. Look how similar it is to what we saw in Psalm 1. In Psalm 1, the writer says that

Psalm 1:1
1 Blessed is the who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers…

Here, the people are told to focus on the law of God…when they walk, sit, and lie down.

We see this parallel. On the one hand is stepping, standing, and sitting that leads away from God. On the other hand, is walking, sitting, and lying down meditating on God’s law. Both of these images portray someone who is tired, exhausted, ready to rest. The difference is where they find that rest.

For so many of us, we are at the edge of exhaustion. If we’re not careful, we find ourselves in a slow-moving disaster, too tired and worn out to stop the train wreck aimed directly at our relationships, finances, and our faith. We get in trouble in life when we walk with something we shouldn’t walk with, we stand around with it, and finally, we sit down. When we’re worn out, we often don’t even realize what we’re doing until it’s too late. It’s not a sin to be exhausted. It’s our exhaustion that leads us toward sin. But there is another path toward the rest you need.

Psalm 1:2-3
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither…

Amid our exhaustion, we can put our focus on God and experience life and rest. Jesus said this:

Matthew 11:28
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

The context of these words of Jesus is focused on the idea of his teaching and how it provides the rest we need. And we find that teaching in Matthew 22, and it brings all of this together.

Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “ ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

We don’t have to wonder how we meditate on God’s law. It’s right here in the words of Jesus as he tells us it’s all summed up in loving God and loving others.

Listen again from the first letter of John as we close today.

1 John 2:7-11
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

Now, this seems like this comes out of nowhere, but it makes perfect sense. For many of us, we’re so exhausted we don’t know what to do. We don’t need one more thing on our agenda, one more class, or one more book to read. We stumble around in the darkness toward a path or regret when we allow our hearts to be void of love. The writer of this passage tells us that if our focus on loving others, everything changes.

You’ve heard me say our mission and vision over and over again this year. We are exploring the way of Jesus as we learn to love to God, love others, and bring life to our community. We have found these two things, loving God and loving others are not independent of each other; they are interdependent.

Choose to love others today. Pray for someone. Call someone. Encourage someone. Let someone else’s story move your heart. Let that person love you back. Show unconditional love to each other, the same love that God has shown to all of us.

Jesus’ teaching shows us repeatedly, as we learn to love God; we learn to love others. And, as we learn to love others, we learn to love God. And, in this rhythm of loving God and loving others, we find rest.

The Gates of Hell is a literal place. Now don’t get all freaked out; we’re not talking pitchforks and fire here. This literal place called the Gates of Hell was named that by the ancient people of the Roman Empire in a city initially called Paneas. Paneas was renamed Caesarea Philippi when Herod gave his son this city (that’s a story for another day). This city had a dark and disturbing past because in the city was a cave, and that cave was named The Gates of Hell. It was here, in this cave, where people believed they found a gate to the underworld. It was here they worshipped the Pagan god Pan.

This worship of Pan, at this mysterious cave, was intense and grotesque. It involved ritual sexual experiences with goats and prostitutes. These practices evolved into the sacrifice of goats and even unwilling human participants. When you hear all that, it’s safe to assume this is the last place you would expect Jesus to visit. So, you can imagine the confusion and concern the disciples must have felt when Jesus took them there. We find this story in Matthew 16:13-18.

Matthew 16:13-18
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, & the gates of Hell will not overcome it.

It’s essential to understand the context of a passage like this when studying the Bible because a lack of context leads to wild misinterpretation. I heard this very passage quoted this week in a way that made me cringe because the person who said it completely missed the context and meaning. And this matters because void of that context, we can be led away from the church’s mission and vision, instead of toward it, the mission and vision Jesus gave us.

You see, as Jesus stood near this cave, the physical picture of the gates of Hell, he taught his disciples. Caesarea Philippi represented the worst evils of humanity. Yet Jesus assured his disciples that the “gates of Hell” would not be able to stand against the light shining in the darkness through God’s people, called the church. Jesus reminded them that even the shadows cast by the most egregious violations of human decency would be no match for the light that would come from the followers of Jesus as they lived out the mercy, grace, love, and justice he taught.

One way we shine light in the darkness is through our partnerships with organizations like Purchased. You can find more details in our sermon from Sunday, September 13, which included a message from the director of Purchased on ways to get involved and help them.

We must always work to peel back layers and discover context as we read scripture. That’s such an important task because when we do, as we found here, we have a mission that can get lost in the noise of misunderstanding. When that noise is pulled away from this passage, we see we must always be people partnering with others, joining God where God is at work, who confront evil when we see it. We must never grow weary of shining light in the darkness, but find our source in the name of Jesus, who has rescued and redeemed us.

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Listen to the sermon from September 13 here.

Ephesians 1:1-6
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

About three hundred years after this letter was written, some people began to teach that God predestined, or picked in advance, that certain people go to heaven, while other people are destined for hell. Greek philosophical ideas had become a significant influence around this time. While we often define God as love, these philosophical ideas took precedence, and love became interpreted through those lenses. God’s expansive love was sealed up to a select few.

This kind of teaching, based on interpretations of passages like the one I just read, have influenced certain circles of Christian theology and thought for a long time. It’s not uncommon to hear this teaching in many places today, but I have strong reservations of it, and believe it fails to stand up to criticism for several reasons.

First, it infers a duplicity about God in regards to his love. Second, it negates the choices given to people, as inconsequential. Third, as I say a lot, the good news is for everyone, not a few someones. Lastly, while I can applaud the intellectual heritage of Greek philosophy, its heavy influence adds a layer that doesn’t gel with the context from which people like Paul wrote.

When Jews, like Paul, thought of predestination, they thought primarily of Israel. As a nation, Israel was chosen to be the people who would serve God and serve the world by telling the story of God’s love for all people. But this didn’t mean that every person born in Israel did this. This was their story, a chosen people still choosing to be chosen. Often, they chose not.

Notice that Paul says God chose us to be holy and blameless. That’s the emphasis. Holiness, or wholeness, is about being restored to what we are meant to do, to serve God as part of his family. Blameless was most often used in the context of sacrifice. Paul would later talk about giving our lives as a sacrifice. Throughout the story of scripture, God desired for His people who choose his way. Ultimately his way, the way, was made possible by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Paul taught that God’s people were not only the Jewish people but because of Jesus, included all people. Paul is again leaning on this idea that all people have a role to play in the story God is telling. It’s a story written here and now. This is not about a select few being chosen, but all people being called to a life that follows God.

When we put a hyper-focus on the idea of eternal destiny or damnation, we lose focus on this reality, and on the important part of the Lord’s prayer where Jesus taught for us to pray for God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. As in, if it’s only about where we’re going after we die, we lose sight of what God wants to do in, and through, us, ALL OF US, today.

The argument for predestination fails on two important rules of interpretation. It fails to interpret the Greek of the original letter, and it fails to take into account the Jewish context from which the passage was written.

The writers were writing from a Jewish context in the Greek language of their culture. While utilizing Greek ideas, they adopted and adapted, but they didn’t always apply those ideas with their full force. Paul and others knew Greek philosophy, but they weren’t trying to fit God in the confines of the box of that system. The scriptures reveal a richer understanding of God that shows an interplay of choice, free will, God’s guiding hand, and humans ability for good and evil. Predestination adherents continue to try to push God into a box in which God doesn’t fit.

Making sense of issues like this is a difficult task. We have to work hard at peeling back the layers and understanding what’s going on in the context of scripture and the people who wrote it.

What’s really going on is a God who loves all of us, who has chosen all of us, and has given all of us an invitation to follow the way of Jesus. You have been chosen. We’ve all been chosen. The invitation is available to all people, not just a select few.