I love how the gospel floods all of life. There is truly not a corner of our worldview and experience that the reality of Christ and his victory do not encroach upon.
This past Sunday I preached a sermon on Titus 3.1-8, specifically the need to be a gospel centered citizen. I serve in a context with a large military context so it was fitting to be reminded of the fact that no matter who the commander in chief is, there is still someone above him who is giving the Christian his/her marching orders. Paul uses the gospel to model and motivate faithful Christian living not only to people in the church but also in the public square.
Here is a portion of where we went:
Today we as Americans have the privilege of voting in the local and national elections. The various races this year seem to be hard wired with a lot of passion, excitement, and uncertainty. This translates into a lot of chatter which sometimes translates into anxiety and even hostility.
As Christians we often times need to be reminded of our purpose and place in this world.
There is a dangerous tendency to think of ourselves as good and moral because of who are or who we are not. As a result we divide the world up into those who are “good” and those who are “bad”. And based upon these conclusions we may justify all sorts of otherwise sinful actions.
For example, we hear a lot from Christian leaders about the immorality or sinful lives of those who are not Christians. We hear a lot of character assignation, argumentation, along with judgmental and aggressive rants. However, we hear very little about the solution to such problems.
If we are listening very closely we might conclude that sum and substance of the Christian life is being heterosexual, pro-life, Creationists, that vote republican. And any deviation from these things is potential trigger for anarchy.
This is not biblical Christianity.
There are scores of folks who are heterosexual, pro-life, Creationists, and republican who don’t love Christ.
As Christians our platform is not a politician, a party or an issue, it is the gospel.
On the other hand there is sometimes the tendency to completely withdraw from the world around us, becoming almost isolationists. Some folks may become rebellious to the government because it is “un-Christian”. They become harshly critical of everyone who is not like them, and even, on occasion sound like they are given to anarchy.
This is not biblical Christianity.
We live as citizens of the kingdom of Christ but at the same time exist in the kingdoms of this world. And the gospel of our King makes demands on the way we live now.
In other words, we are to live here as citizens of the United States with a mindset that is modeled in and motivated by the gospel. The gospel has requirements for believers. We are to be gospel-centered citizens.
In the letter of Paul to Titus we find some fitting help in this pursuit of living here as gospel-centered citizens.
Specifically we’ll see 4 reminders that are intended to provoke gospel-centered citizenship.
Be a Radical (Titus 3.1-2)
Look in the Mirror (Titus 3.3)
Dwell upon the gospel (Titus 3.4-7)
Value Good Works (Titus 3.8)
Here is the audio for the rest of the audio: Being A Gospel-Centered Citizen