Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien
August 27, 2023
INTRO
William Wilberforce was born in 1759 in Yorkshire, England, during an era of moral decline in England and the American colonies when most churches were preaching a vague sort of Deism where God isn’t personally involved in the world, and it didn’t matter how you lived.
You see, many of us assume that the 1700s were the good old days of Christianity. We picture everyone as an aristocrat, waltzing in suit-coats and fancy dresses with powdered wigs and English accents. We imagine all of them were pious Christians, living a life of virtue and standing up for what is right.
But this picture of 18th century western culture is more shaped by Hollywood than by reality. The facts are that the 1700s was a dark time in the history of the Christianity. It wasn’t until the revivals of Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, and George Whitfield that personal salvation and a radical change in morality took root in England and America.
William Wilberforce was raised by his mother and grandfather who were cultural Christians. They didn’t have a living faith in Christ. But young William remembered spending time with his aunt and uncle who had come to faith in Jesus through the ministry of John Wesley. This aunt and uncle were part of a group of evangelistically-minded believers that came to be known by others as “Enthusiasts” because of their zeal for the gospel. But this kind of public enthusiasm for Christ was viewed in the 1700s as improper for polite society. “Keep it to yourself” was the way of thinking in those days.
Many years later after he had begun a political career in Parliament, the Lord grabbed William Wilberforce’s heart while on a weeks-long trip with a friend and Cambridge professor named Isaac Milner. During the long carriage rides across Europe, Milner shared about Christ and described what faith in Jesus is all about.
This was the turning point for Wilberforce. When he returned to England, he had a sudden conviction of his sin and understood his deep need for forgiveness and to surrender his life to Jesus.
He had been serving in Parliament for years and participating in the largely corrupt political machine of English high society. Should he leave his position? Should he stay? How can he live with integrity and a commitment to Jesus in the midst of a morally bankrupt culture? Wilberforce genuinely considered becoming a priest at this time. He was confused and needed counsel.
So he went to visit another friend: John Newton. Newton was a former slave ship captain who had a radical conversion to Christianity and was now an old man and had become the rector of St. Mary Woolnoth Church in London. You probably know Newton from his famous hymn: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound; that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind, but now I see.”
Newton knew the depths of sin and the darkness of this world, and yet he also knew the glorious light of the gospel of Jesus Christ that offers full forgiveness and new birth to people who are a wretch like himself.
This was his advice to Wilberforce: Submit to the authority of the state, stay in your position of influence, trust fully in Christ, and work as hard as you can to bring the values of the Kingdom of God to bear in whatever opportunities God puts in front of you.
Wilberforce began to realize that he is now a foreigner and exile, his allegiance has switched, he is now a citizen of heaven who has the opportunity to be an ambassador for Christ, being a representative of the Kingdom of God in the midst of the kingdom of this world.
He spent the next 20 years of his life fighting to abolish the slave trade, and he worked everyday to bring reform to the laws and moral character of England for the glory of God.
He went from being at home in the world and a man who used his wealth and power to indulge his selfish desires, to a man who used his place in life for God’s purposes and for the good of others as he continued serving within government while still holding unswervingly to his Christian convictions.
Wilberforce was like the prophet Daniel, a man who entered Babylon and gained a reputation as a man of integrity and wisdom, who also had boundaries he wouldn’t cross, even if it cost him his life. And God was faithful to work through Daniel, just as he was faithful to work through William Wilberforce.
You see, our topic this morning is a Biblical Perspective on Civic Engagement. (SLIDE 3)
We’ve been working our way through our Foundations of Faith and addressing important issues in the Christian life today. This is our last week, and we’ll be picking up the Gospel of John, chapter 13, next Sunday.
This topic of Civic Engagement is important to understand biblically because if we’re not careful, our perspective on nations and politics can be easily defined by worldly priorities and ways of thinking. We need a distinctly Kingdom-minded and gospel-centered approach.
That’s why we are addressing this now, after we have defined important questions earlier in this series like “What is the Gospel?” and “What is the Bible?” and “What is Spiritual Growth?” We will never understand how we can engage in the public square as God’s holy people, his special possession, until we know the gospel and trust in Jesus Christ, the only true Savior and King.
ORG SENT — We are going to look at three scripture texts this morning that help us understand a Biblical Perspective on Civic Engagement (Your bulletin says two, but I’m throwing in an extra one for free!). These texts frame how we approach the nuances and challenges of participating in the public square. (SLIDE 4) We are going to talk about our posture toward government from 1 Peter 2, then we will talk about the purpose of government from Romans 13, and we will conclude with an illustration from the early church to describe our perspective on government from Acts 4.
MAIN 1 — Posture Toward Government (1 Peter 2:11-17). (SLIDE 5a)
Peter is writing to Christians who are scattered across the Roman provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. (SLIDE 5b) He calls them “elect exiles” or “chosen exiles”. They aren’t literally exiles; they are still living at home in their own neighborhoods and cities. But because they belong to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, they are now like foreigners in this world.
Listen to what Peter writes to these believers who lived in the hostile environment of the Roman Empire and yet belonged to a Heavenly Kingdom. READ 1 Peter 2:11-17.
This passage is a turning point in Peter’s letter. This begins his pastoral application after he explains the living hope we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ in chapter 1, and the fact that redeemed believers in the church are God’s chosen people in chapter 2.
He uses a play-on-words here. Look at verse 11. (SLIDE 5c) He calls them “foreigners and exiles” and then gives them this command: “abstain from sinful desires”
“Abstain” = avoid contact, stay a long way away from something
He is saying, “If you are distant from the world, then keep your distance from the desires of the world!” We are set apart, refugees, awaiting the Kingdom of Heaven where our citizenship really belongs.
KEY: We need to recognize that there’s a battle going on. (SLIDE 5d) Peter finishes his sentence by saying, “Abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.”
Make no mistake, the pursuit of your fleshly desires will destroy you. We cannot play around with loving the world, as James says in James 4:4, “Don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?” Or as Jesus himself said in John 12:25, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
Peter is writing to Christians in the Roman Empire who were faced with the same questions we are faced with today: (SLIDE 5e) Who is your Lord? What do you look to for salvation? Whose side are you on?
ILLUST — Christian apologist and writer Os Guinness posed this same question in his book Impossible People, (SLIDE 6 and 7) “Is Jesus Lord, or are the forces of advanced modernity lord? The church that cannot say no to all that contradicts the Lord Jesus is a church that is well down the road to cultural defeat and captivity. But the courage to say no has to be followed by an equally clear, courageous, and constructive yes—to the Lord himself, to his gospel and his vision of life, humanity and the future, so that Christians can be seen to live differently and to live better in the world of today.”
So, who is your Lord? When we consider politics and civic engagement, who really is your Savior? The battle for your soul is waged even at this most fundamental question: Is Jesus really the King and do you find your most fundamental allegiance to Him and His Kingdom?
So, what is our posture? (v. 12-17) (SLIDE 8a)
In verse 12 and following, Peter gives a practical application: (SLIDE 8b) Live good lives that align with Christ and his Kingdom, even if people accuse you of being backwards and bigoted and narrow-minded.
He says that one of the key ways to do that is to submit yourself to the authorities that God has instituted, living among the nations of this world with exemplary witness to who our Lord and Savior truly is.
In other words, according to Peter, our posture is: Prophetic Presence (SLIDE 8c)
When we choose to live under the Lordship of Jesus in our homes, workplaces, cities, and nation, people may accuse us of doing wrong because we belong to a Kingdom that is not of this world. But don’t grow weary in this dear friends, don’t compromise and play by the world’s rules and use the world’s tactics. Our posture is to remain steadfast, to live as a contrast to the world, to point ahead to the coming Kingdom of God, and to persevere in doing what is right in order to prophetically silence the ignorant talk of foolish people, as Peter says.
MAIN 2 — Purpose of Government (Romans 13:1-7). (SLIDE 9a)
I want to simply read this passage and then show you how the Apostle Paul describes the role of government and the role of the governed. READ Romans 13:1-7.
In this passage, Paul provides an insight into the Godly purpose of human government by putting in parallel the role of the government with the role of the governed. Look at this slide that shows the parallel structure of this passage: (SLIDE 9b and 9c, same time)
Govern Well
Recognize that your authority comes from God (v. 1b)
Commend those who do right (v. 3)
Punish those who do wrong (v. 4)
Collect necessary taxes (v. 6)
Be Governed Well
Recognize that governmental authority comes from God (v. 2)
Do what is right (v. 3)
Don’t do what is wrong (v. 4)
Pay necessary taxes (v. 7)
Do you see how in God’s design for human government, the role of the government and the role of the governed should work in tandem in order to function properly and to bring about stability and peace so that human society can exist.
Now, these are very basic ideals and do not describe other features of exactly how a government is supposed to carry out its task. That’s not Paul’s point.
Rather, Paul’s point is this: God has established human authorities for our good. Just because you are a Christian and belong to the Kingdom of Heaven doesn’t mean you can shun your civic duty. Instead, be exemplary citizens of your earthly nation, even as you await your heavenly home.
These are pretty stark words to these believers in the city of Rome because the ruler of the Roman Empire at this time was Emperor Nero, a notoriously brutal, corrupt, and paranoid dictator. Yet Paul says: Be subject to the governing authorities? Really?
Some commentators point out that Paul doesn’t call these believers to blind obedience to the Romans, but rather to willing submission to live within the governing structures of their nation, even if they are imperfect. Yet, we find ourselves sometimes confronted with laws and with ways of thinking in our governments that don’t align with God’s Kingdom.
This is where we need to move on to our final passage that helps us understand our perspective on government, especially when it comes to discerning when and how to stand up against things that governing rulers require that go against our faith in Christ.
MAIN 3 — Perspective on Government (Acts 4:1-22). (SLIDE 10a)
This passage in Acts 4 is an illustration of how the early church handled opposition from their governing authorities. (SLIDE 10b) Peter had just healed a man who had been paralyzed since birth and he was publicly preaching the gospel, and now Peter and John were confronted by the governing authorities of Jerusalem. Listen to this story unfold: READ Acts 4:1-22.
Friends, what happened to Peter and John is exactly what Jesus told them would happen in Matthew 10:17-20, “Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
This account in Acts 4 is an illustration of what it looks like when Christians continue to do good in the face of opposition in the public square. We will often find ourselves at odds with the world. That should be no shock! Jesus said in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
Our perspective is this: We will do what is right in God’s eyes. (SLIDE 10c)
No matter the cost, in whatever station God has placed us, in whatever opportunities he gives us, we will do what is right in His eyes.
What we see illustrated in this story from Acts 4, and what we know Jesus has promised, is that He will never leave us nor forsake us, He will give us the words to say, and when we stick to our exclusive allegiance to Jesus, we will have opportunities to speak his name in the public square.
And when we do so, let me leave you with these two encouragements (SLIDE 11a) that will ensure we are prophetic witnesses who follow in Jesus’ footsteps:
Be full of grace and truth (John 1:14) — Show the world through your words and actions what Jesus is like. Be gracious and loving, but also never compromising on the truth.
Do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15) — “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” But be certain that you don’t get down in the gutter with everyone else. Help others see, hear, and know what Jesus is like through your gentleness and respect.
In these ways, you will be a prophetic presence in civic life. Let’s pray.
Questions:
How are we to understand our allegiance as Christians? Why does it matter that we get our priorities in the proper order?
How does the Bible describe our posture toward governing authorities? How does this reflect our view of God and his authority? (side note: Are there limits to how we submit to governing authorities? How do we defend this biblically?)
In what ways can Christians engage in the public square in our culture today? Why is this so important to have a missional presence?
Bonus: Study the example of Daniel as an example of faithful government service. He was a man of integrity who set boundaries he would not cross, even if it cost him his life.
Resources:
Ethics For a Brave New World – John S. Feinberg and Paul D. Feinberg
Impossible People: Christian Courage and the Struggle for the Soul of Civilization – Os Guinness
Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel– Russell Moore
A Compassionate Call to Counter-Culture – David Platt
Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel in Western Culture – Lesslie Newbigin
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society – Lesslie Newbigin
Christ and Culture Revisited – D.A. Carson