Dave spoke this morning from Phil 2:5-11, asking us ‘what is the most important statement the church makes?’ From this passage, the answer would be ‘Jesus Christ is Lord.’

Over the years, there have been many disputes and arguments in church circles on matters of doctrine and practice, but this central statement remains the unifying factor in all church life. Jesus, who was Himself God, laid aside His power to become fully man. Born as a baby in Bethlehem, brought up in Nazareth (a village about which it was said that nothing good ever came from there!), living an ordinary life with his family and learning the family trade of being a carpenter, Jesus began to teach and preach and heal people at the age of thirty, having an enormous impact on multitudes. From humble obscurity, his life ended in public shame as He was crucified, but in sacrificing His life for our sins, having lived a sinless life, He demonstrated that He is Lord of all.

Being Lord, He is able to forgive us for all our sins against God and was both the priest and the offering. He made atonement for our sin and is therefore far more than merely a ‘good moral teacher.‘ He is all-powerful, overcoming death, and His resurrection changed the lives not only of his immediate disciples but of millions of people since then. The fact that He is Lord means He is the boss, the chief, the One who is uniquely in chage of lives and to whom we owe absolute love and loyalty.

Jesus is coming back to earth, and one day, every knee will bow to Him. Right will preval; justice will be done; sin will no longer have dominion over anyone and there will be no more tears, sorrow, suffering or pain. We look forward to this ‘arrival’ and anticipate this future, but all of this arises because God has exalted Jesus to the highest place and given Him the name above every other name. Let’s proclaim that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as Handel did so superbly in the ‘Hallelujah Chorus‘ of his ‘Messiah.’

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
¹³ planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They will still bear fruit in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
¹⁵ proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” (Ps 92:12-15)

Palm trees (arecaceae, to give them their Latin name) grow in mainly tropical and subtropical climates and are distinguished by their large evergreen leaves (known as fronds) arranged at the top of an unbranched stem and look very different to many trees native to England. Because of their importance as food in many cultures, palms were symbols for ideas such as victory, peace and fertility, and the coconut palm remains a symbol of the tropical island paradise many of us think of as an ideal holiday destination!

Cedars of Lebanon are a species of tree in the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. This kind of tree is a large evergreen conifer, reaching up to 40 metres in height and 2.5 metres in diameter.

When Ps 92 talks of the righteous flourishing like these two trees, we see, therefore, the thought of spreading growth, longevity and an ability to flourish, no matter what the circumstgances. Ps 92:12-15 promises the righteous an ability to stay ‘fresh and green’ and to be fruitful even in old age. Trees grow more magnificent with age, and this is to be the normal expectation and experience of God’s people. We often see old age as a time of decay and withering, but Paul distinguishes between what may happen in the physical realm and what happens in the spiritual realm: ‘Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.’ (2 Cor 4:16) We have a promise of purpose, fruitfulness and growth as we grow old if we remain in Christ and abide in the vine. Notice too that this still involves proclaiming the truth of what we know about God, even as we talked about the need to speak the truth in love as a way of growing spiritually!

To paraphrase Shakespeare, to obey or not to obey is a very tricky question! There is much ambiguity in the Christian message (there are times when the kingdom of heaven will definitely clash with the kingdom of this world!), and it can be difficult to know when to obey and when not to obey. The general principle in the Bible is that obedience is highly valued by God and we are called to obey parents, leaders and those in authority over us and to submit to them (see Romans 13, Eph 6:1-9), but Peter and John also remind us that our response to God supersedes our response to others at times: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!’ (Acts 5:29) John Stott says, ‘On the one hand, as Christian people, we are called to be conscientious and law-abiding citizens, not revolutionaries. On the other hand, the kingship of Jesus has unavoidable political implications since, as his loyal subjects, we must refuse to give to any ruler or ideology the supreme homage and social obedience which are due to him alone.’

Paul and his companions frequently clashed with the authorities over their message. We may claim that the authorities misunderstood their message, seeing political overtones which they took as treason when the message was spiritual, not political; as John Stott puts it, ‘Just as Jesus had been accused before Pilate of sedition, of “subverting” the nation by claiming himself to be “Christ, a king”, so Paul’s teachings about the kingdom of God and about His return (Parousia often referred to an official imperial visit) were misinterpreted.’ Nonetheless, there will inevitably be times when we have to choose between the ways of the world (including its laws and rules) and God’s ways.

We rightly hail the courage of heroes who have stood up against oppression and injustice in the past (including William Wilberforce, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others). The hindsight of history is a wonderful thing! But in truth, choosing to disobey is a difficult decision, often leading to misunderstanding, dissension, persecution and imprisonment. I am concerned about many of the things happening in our world nowadays and about many laws being passed in our own country. I find this dilemma to be ever more pertinent to Christians and believe that we must be prepared for our own ‘day of reckoning’, when our consciences may lead us to defiance rather than compliance. Our journey through the book of Acts surely prepares us for this clash and gives us the assurance that if we honour God above all, He will guide us and help us, though there’s definitely no guarantee of an easy life!

Wherever Paul went, he taught people from the Scriptures, and in Thessalonica and Berea, we see the importance of both his own attitude to these holy writings and the responses of the Bereans. (Acts 17:1-15) In Thessalonica, Paul ‘reasoned’, ‘explained’, ‘proved,’ ‘proclaimed’ and ‘persuaded.’ In Berea the Jews eagerly ‘received’ the message and diligently ‘examined’ the Scriptures. They were proclaimed to be ‘of more noble character’ than the Thessalonians precisely because of this attitude to the Scriptures. (Acts 17:11)

It was inevitable in Jewish evangelism that the Old Testament Scriptures should be ‘both the textbook and the court of appeal’. (John Stott, ‘Acts’, P 274-5) What is impressive in this passage in Acts 17 is that neither speaker nor hearers used Scripture in a superficial, unintelligent or proof-texting way. On the contrary, Paul ‘argued’ out of the Scriptures and the Bereans ‘examined’ them to see that Paul welcomed and encouraged this thoughtful response. As John Stott says, ‘He believed in doctrine (his message had theological content), but not in indoctrination (tyrannical instruction demanding uncritical acceptance.)’ (John Stott, ‘Acts’, P 274-5)

For us today, we need both a careful exposition of what the Scriptures mean (which is why we place such importance on preaching and Bible study in our services), but we also need the same kind of response as the Bereans as we absorb this teaching. God wants us to think critically and to examine His word. There is no place for uncritical acceptance of teaching. Paul wrote to Timothy, ‘Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.’ (2 Tim 4:2-4) It’s always easy to like certain preaching and preachers because we hear what we want to hear, but there are times when we need the correction of God’s word as well as its encouragement (see 2 Tim 3:16-17). We need to ensure that what is taught lines up with the whole of Scripture; we also need to take seriously our responsibility for responding to God’s word. James talks about the dangers of hearing the word and failing to do what it says (James 1:22-25) When we have examined the truth of what we hear and agree with it, we then need to take action. When we do this, our attitude to the Scriptures is borne out by our actions and our lives have integrity and wholeness. As Paul says, ‘If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong.’ (Rom 14:23, The Message)

We like to talk about the gospel as a unifying force, and this is certainly true in many respects. The gospel message unites Jew and Gentile, insiders and outsiders, showing us that all humanity can only be saved as we believe in the Lord Jesus, understanding our need for salvation because of our sin and rebellion against God, and accepting that His sacrificial death on the cross is the only way we can be reconciled to God. It’s the great leveller and the great unifier: ‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’ (Gal 3:28)

Before the gospel can unite and unify, however, it divides. Jesus Himself said, ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.’ (Matt 10:34) He spoke about even family loyalties being divided because of Him (Matt 10:35-39), reminding us that love for Him has to be our first priority, a love that comes before all others.

The gospel, when clearly proclaimed, draws a line in the sand; it demands a response. People cannot truly be neutral when they realise what is at stake. Everywhere Paul went, he stirred up controversy and divided people. Some believed and followed him (Acts 17:4, 12); others rejected the message and out of jealousy stirred up opposition. (Acts 17:5, 13) In fact, those in Thessalonica who opposed him were so vehement in their opposition that they followed him the 46 miles to Berea to stir up that city against him too!

Ultimately, Jesus said that ‘anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.’ (Matt 10:37-39) The gospel message forces us to decide where our allegiance lies and promises that there are great benefits and rewards to those who will believe and put God first. (Matt 6:33-34) Paul and his companions were greatly blessed as they saw churches founded in new places; they were also greatly persecuted as a result of their preaching! We can’t have the one without the other.

On our missionary journeys with Paul (we’ve now reached Thessalonica and Berea as we look at Acts 17:1-15), we have seen how this great apostle preached the gospel wherever he went. Now we see that this gospel message involved ‘proclaiming Jesus.’ (Acts 17:3) We need that same focus on Jesus if we want to be effective evangelists. John Stott says we must ‘tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth: his birth, life and ministry, his death and resurrection, his exaltation and the gift of the Holy Spirit, his present reign and future return, his offer of salvation and warning of judgment.’ (P 271)

So here goes!

Jesus of Nazareth is ‘totally God, totally man’, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He’s God’s Son, come to earth to rescue humanity from our sin and rebellion against God which means we face His judgment and eternal separation from Him. Throughout the 33 years he lived on earth, Jesus demonstrated what it looked like to live in perfect obedience to God and went about doing good, healing people and seeing the kingdom of God come to earth. In order to reconcile us to God, however, he had to die, offering himself as a sacrifice for sin. The Jews and Romans thought they were getting rid of a rebel and a political problem when he was condemned to die by crucifixion, but this was actually all part of God’s great salvation plan, for Jesus was a willing sacrifice for sin. God vindicated him by raising Jesus from the dead on the third day. By defeating death and the grave, Jesus was able to bridge the gap between God and humanity and now rules and reigns from on high, giving the Holy Spirit to be with us until his return. If we want to become part of God’s family, we have to accept his offer of salvation and acknowledge that without him we face God’s judgment and separation from Him in hell. We are freely forgiven and welcomed into that family with open arms, saved through faith by God’s marvellous grace and facing a glorious future with Him!

As always, the response of the people in Thessalonica was split. Many people believed the message; others were jealous and tried to stir up trouble. We must always remember that the gospel message requires a response. What is yours?