How Does the Church Respond to Evil?

(This is an outline from our pastor's sermon yesterday. He sent it to everyone in a newsletter today.) Great sermon. I encourage you to read the outline and accept the challenge. (SFNchurch)

At some point in our lives each of us will face the reality of evil and suffering, whether through the heinous actions of another individual, an accident, or an attack on our physical bodies from a disease. As I mentioned on Sunday morning – none of us are exempt – we live on a fallen planet filled with sickness, death, and decay and we are all subject to its effects. The important things for us to remember are:

1. God is not the source of our suffering. When Adam & Eve sinned they rebelled against God’s authority and stepped outside of His protective boundaries and subjected themselves to the authority of another, one hell-bent on their destruction. That enemy, Satan, is the source of the evil and suffering in this world.

2. One glorious day God is going to liberate this world from its bondage to decay. Paul tells us that one day God is going to set the world to rights and rid this earth of pain and suffering (Romans 8:18-24). One day this world will be set free!

3. Because of this glorious hope, we will continue to fight the good fight. Paul reminds us that “Our present suffering does not compare to the glory that awaits the Sons of God” (Romans 8:18). No matter what hardship we are facing, we know that we can endure it just a little while longer. Why? Because we know that it pales in comparison to the glory that awaits those who place their faith in Christ.

Having this hope of future glory, how do we respond to the evil and suffering in the here and now? First of all, we pray as Jesus did, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Second, I believe that prayer is also a call to action as the Church responds to circumstances in the world around us that are in conflict with the will of God. We seek to advance the Kingdom of God on earth by fighting against the evil and suffering in our world.

This reminds me of the passage of Scripture in Micah 6:8 which says, “And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” I recently heard this passage of Scripture shortened to a three word motto for the church, “DO – LOVE – WALK”. These three words are all verbs, they are actions, and I believe that God has called the Church to action in responding to evil and suffering in the world around us. How will you respond?

I want to encourage you this week to look for ways that you can respond to evil and suffering in the world around us. You don’t have to travel half way around the world; it may just be next door. There is evil and suffering all around us, just open your eyes and ask God how He would have you respond. It may be in the form of comforting a hurting friend, neighbor, or co-worker. It may be through volunteering at the hospital or the local shelter. Whatever it is, know that when you do so you are the hands and feet of Christ to a hurting and broken world.

The Five Scariest Things You Can Do This Halloween

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. (Proverbs 8:13)

By Doug Phillips

Our country is in the grip of a fear crisis. The tension because of this fear is almost palpable. There is fear over elections, fear over the economy, and fear over hundreds of other issues ranging from the environment to terrorism.

The one fear that America is missing is a fear of the Lord. As a people, we no longer fear God. Because we do not fear God, we no longer hate evil (Proverbs 8:13).

Instead of hating evil, Americans toy with it. We toy with holidays like Halloween that were conceived in evil and that promote the “cute-ification” of evil, whether that evil takes the form of witchcraft, sorcery, ghoulishness, or some other form of malevolent imagery paraded before our children. We laugh at the very things that the Lord describes as “abominations,” and we find ourselves obsessively fascinated by, and attracted to, all things dark.

Yet we do not fear the Lord.

Those who “hate evil” are very scary to a secular society that fears man more than God. They are scary because they dare to declare that there are absolute standards by which society must be governed. They are scary because, if they are successful, industries like Hollywood that make billions of dollars by promoting ungodly fear will lose their influence. They are scary because such people will not be swayed by political candidates who use fear as a tool for manipulation.

With this in mind, I offer you the five “scariest” things you can do this Halloween:

1. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to not make light of evil. Halloween was conceived in evil and has remained a celebration that uses children to promote a fascination with darkness and superstitious fear. Simultaneously, it makes light of things that the Bible describes as evil. Stand against such things, and the world will find you very scary indeed. The fear of the Lord makes men turn from evil (Proverbs 16:6).
2. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to not be fearful. The media wants you to be afraid of everything from overpopulation to global warming. The politicians want you to be afraid of the economy and political instability. God wants you to do what is morally right, trust Him completely, and never be gripped by an ungodly spirit of fear. You can place your trust and hope for this nation in the King of Kings. Jesus said: “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him” (Luke 12:4-5). Believe this, and you will be light to the world.
3. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to completely skip Halloween and remember Reformation Day. It was 493 years ago that Martin Luther nailed his world-changing 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church. These theses included rebukes to ungodly fear and superstition. 501 years ago, sometime near October 31, a baby named John Calvin was conceived who would dedicate his life to eradicating an ungodly fear of superstitious beliefs and proclaiming the gospel of grace. His emphasis on reformation, revival, and the sufficiency of Scripture had such far-reaching implications for nations like the United States that he has been described by Christian and secular scholars alike as the true founding father of America. The Reformers did something that was very scary to the world of their day. They stood against all forms of dark superstitions which grip the minds and souls of men. It was their emphasis on the fear of the Lord and the wisdom of Holy Scripture that was used by God to liberate untold numbers of men and women. But to remember the Reformers instead of Halloween is very scary to the world. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
4. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to refuse to watch or allow your children to watch any of the toxic Halloween and horror films emerging from Hollywood. America’s fascination with ungodly fear has made horror the most popular and fastest-growing film genre among youth. When parents allow their children to toy with this genre, they promote ungodly fear, and they contribute to the fear-factories in Hollywood that prey upon the youth of our culture. Say “no” to Hollywood horror and you will be dangerously scary to the media elite. “Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence....?” (Jeremiah 5:22).
5. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to get on your knees as a mother and father and pray that the Lord will send you many, children who will fear God, not man — children who will especially shun the glorification of witchcraft, the bondage of ungodly fear, and the “cute-ification” of evil that is promoted through holidays like Halloween. Cultures that toy with evil end up being cultures of death. The Christian response is to be a people of life. That means babies. It means fearing God by honoring His command to “be fruitful and multiply.” It means remembering that the Scripture describes children as a “blessing” and a “reward.” Raise children that fear God more than man, and that will be answer enough to our Halloween- and darkness-obsessed culture; for if you trust God over your womb and commit your children to a holy education, you will be very scary to the modern world. “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Psalm 34:11).

The Essence of Evil

by John Piper, from his book "When I Don't Desire God", page 33-34




"God defines evil this way when he says, “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). God pictures himself as a mountain spring of clean, cool, life-giving water. The way to glorify a fountain like this is to enjoy the water, and praise the water, and keep coming back to the water, and point other people to the water, and get strength for love from the water, and never, never, never prefer any drink in the world over this water. That makes the spring look valuable. That is how we glorify God, the fountain of living water.

But in Jeremiah’s day people tasted the fountain of God’s grace and did not like it. So they gave their energies to finding better water, more satisfying water. Not only did God call this effort futile (“broken cisterns that can hold no water”), but he called it evil: “My people have committed two evils.” They put God’s perfections to the tongue of their souls and disliked what they tasted; then they turned and craved the suicidal cisterns of the world. That double insult to God is the essence of what evil is.

So preferring the pleasures of money or power or fame or sex over the “pleasures . . . at [God’s] right hand” (Ps. 16:11) is not like preferring caramel to hot fudge. It is a great evil. Indeed it is the ultimate meaning of evil. Esteeming God less than anything is the essence of evil."

Joshua Harris is Eaten By a Bean Bag

I found this excellent video at Your Sacred Calling.