Herod's Violence to the Church

Wednesday after the First Sunday after Trinity

Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church (Acts 12:1-5).

There are many reports of increased violence against Christians all over the world. Persecution of Christians is not something limited to the pages of Holy Scripture, or the history books. So far in 2019, according to Open Doors USA, a non-profit group focused on serving persecuted Christians in more than 60 countries, 4,136 Christians were killed for their faith (an average of 11 per day); 2,625 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned; 1,266 churches or other Christian buildings were attacked.[1] Open Doors USA says that persecution of Christians is intensifying in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Not surprisingly perhaps, it is Christian women who have the most difficult time, often facing persecution because of both their religion and their sex.

Security personnel inspect the interior of St Sebastian's Church in Negombo.

On Easter Sunday, as Christians in Sri Lanka gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord, Muslim terrorists blew up three churches, killing more than 200 Christians.[2] In March, 120 Christians were killed by Muslim militants in Nigeria.[3] In both of these cases, major news agencies, such as the BBC, and fact-checking websites like Snopes.com said that these incidents were not necessarily due to the religious persecution of Christians. Rather, the church bombings in Sri Lanka were more about terrorism to achieve political goals, and the deaths in Nigeria were because of ongoing regional conflicts. Nevertheless, the Christians in those places are dead at the hands of people who wanted them dead because of their faith in Christ. Moreover, Christians around the world are increasingly marginalized, prohibited by law in many Islamic countries from practicing their faith, and under the threat of imprisonment or death if they are discovered.[4] Hate speech laws in Great Britain and Canada threaten the free exercise of religion, jailing preachers who call homosexuality a sin.[5] Praise be to God that, for the time being, the First Amendment prohibits Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, hurt feelings or offended sensibilities notwithstanding. But the United States is the exception, not the rule. Christians today are in the same situation as Christians during the 1^st Century.

Persecution of Christians, and the rest of the world’s disinterest/participation in it, should not surprise us. Jesus said that these things would happen at the end of the age:

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”[6]

But, even though the love of many grows cold in these last days, we Christians are called to love even more. We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves; we are called to love one another; we are called to love God:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.[7]

Not only ought we to love one another, we want to; we now have the ability to do so. Because we have put on Christ in our baptism, we have died with Him, and will be raised with Him. We are a new creation, with the Holy Spirit living in us. Our New Man desires the things that God desires, including a desire to love our neighbor as ourself.

How do we do this? We care for our neighbor and help him meet his bodily needs; we bless those who curse us; we do good to those who hate us; we pray for those who spitefully use and persecute us.[8] We proclaim to our neighbor the Gospel, the good news of how, while we were still sinners and God’s enemies, Christ died for the ungodly:[9] That Christ was born, God in human flesh; that He died, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; and that He rose again from the dead for our justification. We call sinners to repentance. We boldly and lovingly proclaim this Gospel to those in whose midsts God has put us according to our vocations. When we fall short, we repent; we confess our sins and rejoice in God’s forgiveness in Christ, and continue to struggle to put to death our flesh and it’s sinful desires.

And, when persecution comes, we do not despair. We endure it with patience; we continue to confess our faith. We follow the example of Peter and John who, when commanded by the government not to proclaim the Gospel said,

“We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”[10]

And we do this joyfully, knowing that in the world we have trouble, but Christ has overcome the world.[11] No matter what things may look like to us now, we know that the Church, Christ’s Body, is under His protection and control.

And take they our life,

Goods, fame, child, and wife,

Though these all be gone,

Our victory has been won;

The Kingdom ours remaineth.[12]

Even if we lose everything we have on this earth, including our lives, the gates of Hell shall not prevail against Christ’s Church. On the Last Day Christ will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

Bibliography

Blake, Heidi. "Christian Preacher Arrested for Saying Homosexuality Is a Sin." The Telegraph, May 2, 2010. Accessed June 27, 2019.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/7668448/Christian-preacher-arrested-for-saying-homosexuality-is-a-sin.html. Dale McAlpine was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” after a homosexual police community support officer (PCSO) overheard him reciting a number of “sins” referred to in the Bible, including blasphemy, drunkenness and same sex relationships...Police officers are alleging that he made the remark in a voice loud enough to be overheard by others and have charged him with using abusive or insulting language, contrary to the Public Order Act.

"Christian Persecution Today." Open Doors USA. Accessed June 27, 2019. https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/.

Durrani, Temur. "Pastor Charged with Causing a Disturbance in Toronto's Gay Village." The Star, June 5, 2019. Accessed June 27, 2019. 

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/06/05/pastor-charged-with-causing-a-disturbance-in-torontos-gay-village.html. A 39-year-old pastor was charged with causing a disturbance in the city’s Gay Village, Toronto police said Wednesday, after he took to the streets to preach pro-Christian messages to passersby a day before.

Luther, Martin. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” stz. 4. Lutheran Worship. St. Louis: Concordia, 1986. Hymn #298.

Smith, Samuel. "120 People Killed, 140 Homes Destroyed by Nigeria Fulani since February." The Christian Post, March 15, 2019. Accessed June 27, 2019.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/120-people-killed-140-homes-destroyed-by-nigeria-fulani-since-february.html.

"Sri Lanka Attacks: More than 200 Killed as Churches and Hotels Targeted." BBC News. April 21, 2019. Accessed June 27, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48001720.

Winsor, Morgan, and Dragana Jovanovic. "ISIS Claims Responsibility for Sri Lanka Easter Bombings That Killed over 350." ABC News. April 23, 2019. Accessed June 27, 2019. https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-claims-responsibility-sri-lanka-easter-bombings-killed/story?id=62570339.

Wintour, Patrick. "Persecution of Christians 'coming Close to Genocide' in Middle East - Report." The Guardian, May 2, 2019. Accessed June 27, 2019. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/02/persecution-driving-christians-out-of-middle-east-report.

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[1] Open Doors USA, “Christian Persecution Today,” Open Doors USA, 2019, https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/.

[2] BBC, “Sri Lanka Attacks: More than 200 Killed as Churches and Hotels Targeted,” BBC News, April 21, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48001720.

Morgan Winsor, and Dragana Jovanovic. "ISIS Claims Responsibility for Sri Lanka Easter Bombings That Killed over 350." ABC News. April 23, 2019. https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-claims-responsibility-sri-lanka-easter-bombings-killed/story?id=62570339.

[3] Samuel Smith. "120 People Killed, 140 Homes Destroyed by Nigeria Fulani since February." The Christian Post, March 15, 2019. https://www.christianpost.com/news/120-people-killed-140-homes-destroyed-by-nigeria-fulani-since-february.html.

[4] Patrick Wintour, "Persecution of Christians 'coming Close to Genocide' in Middle East - Report," The Guardian, May 2, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/02/persecution-driving-christians-out-of-middle-east-report.

[5] Heidi Blake, "Christian Preacher Arrested for Saying Homosexuality Is a Sin." The Telegraph, May 2, 2010. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/7668448/Christian-preacher-arrested-for-saying-homosexuality-is-a-sin.html.

Durrani, Temur Durrani, "Pastor Charged with Causing a Disturbance in Toronto's Gay Village." The Star, June 5, 2019. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/06/05/pastor-charged-with-causing-a-disturbance-in-torontos-gay-village.html.

[6] Matthew 24:9-13

[7] 1 John 4:7-11

[8] Matthew 5:43-48; 6:1-4

[9] Romans 5:6-11

[10] Acts 5:29-32

[11] John 16:33

[12] Martin Luther, “A Mighty Fortress,” stz. 4.

God Made Them Male and Female

Human Sexuality and Sin, 

Part 1

And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment [regarding divorce]. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:5-9).

My parish is hosting a presentation by a speaker from the Christian, pro-family organization Focus on the Family tomorrow (March 28, 2018). There has been a bit of controversy within the community over this. It manifested when the Chamber of Commerce removed from its Facebook page an advertisement promoting the presentation, after receiving some complaints from local community activists. Focus on the Family has an “anti-LGBTQ agenda” and activists are outraged that a member of the community would give voice to such a bigoted organization. In light of this, I thought it would be good to talk a little bit about how Christianity understands human sexuality and sin.

Fellow Christians, I hate to admit it, but Jesus never said the word, “Homosexual.” He never explicitly said anywhere in the New Testament, “Don’t go around having sexual intercourse with other people who are the same sex as you.” Before we go all #LoveWins, painting our LCMS church buildings in rainbow colors, and ordaining transgender pastors, however, perhaps we should give this some more thought. Just because the word “homosexual” wasn’t uttered by Jesus, doesn’t mean that he condones homosexuality. If that were the proper method for interpreting the Scriptures, we could do away with the doctrine of the Trinity, as that word is also nowhere to be found in the pages of the Bible.[1]

When asked by the Pharisees about divorce, Jesus appeals to the beginning of creation. He points out to them that, “God made them male and female,” a fact which was obvious to his audience. It is the natural created order. Or, if you are a Darwinian Naturalist, it is the natural law produced through millions of years of evolution. In this passage, Jesus defines what marriage is, and his definition makes it clear that gender is essential to it. He doesn’t have to continue on and say, “But God did not make them male and male; neither did He make them female and female, nor male and female and female, or…” All other combinations are excluded by the example which Jesus gives.

But Jesus can’t mean that marriage is supposed to be exclusively between one man and one woman, because the Bible is full of polygamy, adultery, and all other manner of what up-tight confessional Lutheran types call “sin.” Yes, the Bible does record many instances of polygamy. The Bible also records many murders, thefts, and other felonies, but this does not mean that God is giving mankind Carte Blanche to commit these acts. The Bible records that Cain murdered Abel, yet we don’t call for the legalization of murder because it’s “in the Bible”. The Bible records David’s adultery with Bathsheba, yet we do not claim that it is sanctioning such behavior by us in the present day. The Bible isn’t even sanctioning such behavior by the people about whom it reports. God specifically judges the actions of David, Solomon, and many others by commanding, “You shall not murder,” and “You shall not commit adultery.”

Likewise, the Bible records at least one instance of homosexual behavior in the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 18 and 19 recounts the destruction of Sodom because of its wickedness: Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”[2] What was the sin of Sodom? Homosexual desire.[3]

Those passages about Sodom and Gomorrah are from the Old Testament though! They don’t apply. This isn’t exactly true. Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God, with us; He is God incarnate. He is the image of the invisible God, by whom all things were created.[4] Jesus is the very God who created and sustains the world.[5] He told the Jews this and, when they heard him assert that he was the great I AM who told Moses his name through the burning bush, the God who spoke to Abraham, they were ready to stone him for blasphemy.[6] The Jesus speaking to the Pharisees in Mark 10:7 is the same person speaking the words recorded in Genesis two. That also makes him the God who commanded what is recorded in Leviticus 20: If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.[7]

While Jesus in the Gospels does not use the word homosexual, the Apostle Paul does. St. Paul explicitly states that men who practice homosexuality with not inherit the kingdom of God.[8] Here St. Paul records a list of sinful behaviors, including homosexuality. His list is comprehensive; it includes every person. It’s like a buffet of sinfulness; everyone can find something that they like. St. Paul continues, however, reminding the Corinthians that, despite having once been sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, etc., they have been redeemed by Christ. St. Paul also takes Jesus’ thread from Mark 10:7 regarding the one-flesh union and explains it further, calling the Corinthians – and us today – to repent of our sins, flee from sexual immorality of all kinds, and glorify God in our bodies.[9]

It is clear, even to someone who is not a Christian, that the male body was not designed (either by God, or Nature, if you please) to mate with another male body; likewise with two female bodies. The fact that people crave such relationships proves that something has gone terribly wrong with creation.[10] That thing is sin, and no human being since The Fall has been immune to it.[11] We have all been utterly corrupted by sin from the time of our conception.[12] We are, by virtue of our utterly corrupt nature, objects of God’s wrath.[13] Man’s natural mind will not, and cannot, accept the things of God.[14] That corruption may not manifest itself as a desire to have sex with people of the same gender in some, but it does in many. Furthermore, those who do not struggle with homosexual desire most certainly struggle with something else. We are all in the same boat when it comes to sin, and our complete inability to overcome it.

The problem is that liberal Bible scholars and progressive social activists don’t believe that Jesus is God. They don’t believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant Word of God. They don’t believe that St. Paul is an Apostle. They believe in moral relativism because that gratifies the desires of their flesh. They believe in the idea that every person has their own individual truth. Rather than freedom of religion and freedom of speech, they believe in the freedom of being protected from speech they find offensive. Nothing, short of God changing their hearts through the message of Christ, will change their darkened minds.[15] As Christians, we are called to abhor sin, and to flee from it. This also includes the sin of homosexuality. We must also remember that Christ shed his blood and died for all men. Christ took the sin of the homosexual, the idolater, the adulterer, the thief, the hypocrite, the murderer, the liar, onto himself, and atoned for that sin with His own blood, shed on the cross. A homosexual, like any other sinner, needs to hear God’s word of Law and Gospel applied to their life with the goal of repentance and faith.[16]

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[1] If only progressive social activists would apply the same standard of interpretation to the US Constitution. That, however, is an article for another day.

[2] Genesis 18:20-21

[3] Genesis 19:4-5

[4] Colossians 1:15-20

[5] Hebrews 1:1-3

[6] John 8:48:59

[7] Leviticus 20:13

[8] 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

[9] 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

[10] Engelbrecht, Rev. Edward A., ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.

[11] Genesis 3

[12] Psalm 51:5

[13] Ephesians 2:3-5

[14] 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14

[15] Romans 10:17

[16] Engelbrecht, Rev. Edward A., ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.