Rev. Deacon Allen Batchelder
†
Trinity Church
Waltham, Massachusetts
January 29, 2011, Epiphany IV

Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111; I Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28

From the Old Testament:
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

From the First Epistle to the Corinthians:
If any one imagines that he knows something, he does not know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by him.

And from the Gospel of St. Mark:
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

Let us pray:
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O God, our Strength and our Salvation.
Amen!

The presidential election process is well underway. The Republicans are battling it out through debates, campaign ads and the primaries. We might be leaning towards a certain candidate today and then a new revelation or accusation is made and that perhaps changes our mind. We need to ask ourselves: Is the accusation true or false? If I hear it on the television or radio; or read it in the newspaper, does that make it true? Is it the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God? We need to do our homework if we are to really know the candidates.

Around the mid-term elections, I preached a sermon entitled “A Wise Servant.” And we determined that God was our Master and we were His Servant and our politicians were an extension of ourselves because we vote for them and they represent us in government. This is why it is very important for us to know our elected officials and hold them accountable, for WE may be held accountable by God for THEIR actions.

In our Gospel reading this morning, we have Jesus teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The people were astonished at His knowledge and authority. Then there was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit; a demon. The man cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

We wonder how many synagogue services that man had attended without revealing that he was demonized. It took the presence of the Son of God to expose the demon; and Jesus not only exposed him, but He also commanded him to keep quiet about His identity and to depart from the man. The Saviour did not want, nor did He need, the assistance of Satan and his army to tell people who He is.

The demon certainly knew exactly who Jesus was and that he had nothing in common with Him. The demon clearly identified Christ’s humanity by referring to Jesus as ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ as well as His deity, when he called Jesus, ‘the Holy One of God.’ He also confessed great fear that Jesus might judge him and send him to the pit.

The demon tried one last convulsive attack, but then had to submit to the authority of God’s Servant and came out of the man. The people in the synagogue were amazed and afraid. They realized that something new had appeared on the scene – a new doctrine and a new power. Our Lord’s words and works must always go together (John 3:2). The people kept on talking about both, and the fame of Jesus began to spread. Our Lord did not encourage this kind of public excitement lest it create problems with both the Jews and the Romans. The Jews would want to follow Him only because of His power to heal them, and the Romans would think He was a Jewish insurrectionist trying to overthrow the government. People today may know the Holy Scriptures, but we need to live God’s word and follow Jesus’ teachings and examples, otherwise God’s Word means nothing.

The question we all need to ask is: do we know Jesus or do we know of Him? Do we have a personal relationship with Jesus or do we just know about the things he has done? Even the demon knew who Jesus was, do we? We all know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem; that He grew up and went around Galilee and Judea; teaching and healing the sick; rising people from the dead. Then He was crucified, dead and buried; the third day He rose from the dead and for those who believe will have eternal life. That’s the Readers Digest version. What does this mean to you? Is it just a story or does it have meaning? Is Jesus part of your heart and soul? When you think of Jesus, do you have tingling up your spine? When you realize the pain and agony that Jesus suffered for you on the cross, do you break down and cry? Do you know Jesus?

During Moses’ time, the people of Israel were greatly blessed. They had the Lord God for their King, a wonderful land for their home, and a holy law for their guide, yet they faced some of the same problems that society faces today. Sinful human nature being what it is, nations will always have to deal with “man’s inhumanity to man,” because the heart of every problem is still the problem of the heart. Laws are necessary to bring order to society, to restrain evil, and to help control behavior, but laws can never change the human heart. Only the grace of God can do that. God holds human life precious and wants us to treat people fairly, for they are made in the image of God (Gen. 9:1-7). God’s desire for all nations is “Let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24).

And His standard for us individually is found in the book of Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Every system of justice depends on people knowing the truth and speaking the truth. To bear false witness is to break God’s commandment (Ex. 20:16) and to undermine the foundation of the legal system. The person who swears to tell the truth and then tells lies is committing perjury, which itself is a serious crime. The Jewish law required two or three witnesses to establish the guilt of an accused person (Deut. 17:6; Num. 35:30), and both Jesus (Matt. 18:16) and Paul (2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19) applied this principle to local church discipline.

St. Paul had to respond to a controversial subject at the church in Corinth: Can Christians eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols? The immediate question does not interest believers today since we do not face that problem. But the wider issue of “Christian liberty” does apply to us, because we face questions that Paul never faced. Is it right for Christians to attend the theater? Should a believer have a television set in his home? To what extent can a Christian get involved in politics? You may think that these are ridiculous questions, but these situations have the potential of influencing us and turning us away from God.

Paul addressed himself primarily to the strong Christians in the church, believers who had spiritual knowledge and experience and who understood their authority and freedom in Christ. It is the strong who must care for the weak (Rom. 14-15).

There were two sources of meat in the ancient world: the regular market, where the prices were higher, and the local temples, where meat from the sacrifices was always available. The strong members of the church realized that idols could not contaminate food, so they saved money by purchasing the cheaper meat available from the temples.

All of this offended the weaker Christians. Many of them had been saved out of pagan idolatry and they could not understand why their fellow believers would want to have anything to do with meat sacrificed to idols. There was a potential division in the church over this subject, so the leaders asked Paul for advice.

The Corinthians were enriched in spiritual knowledge and were, in fact, rather proud of their achievements. They knew that an idol was nothing, merely the representation of a false god who existed only in the darkened minds of those who worshiped it. The presence of an idol in a temple was no solid proof that the god existed. Paul would later point out that idolatry was basically the worship of demons. So, the conclusion was logical: A nonexistent god could not contaminate food offered on his altar.

The problem was, you can’t solve every problem with logic. The little child who is afraid of the dark will not be assured, simply by saying “don’t be afraid,” especially if the adult or older brother adopts a superior attitude. Knowledge can be a weapon to fight with or a tool to build with, depending on how it is used. If it “puffs up” then it cannot “build up.”

A know-it-all attitude is only an evidence of ignorance. The person who really knows truth is only too conscious of how much he does not know. Furthermore, it is one thing to know doctrine and quite something else to know God.
It is possible to grow in Bible knowledge and yet not grow in grace or in one’s personal relationship with God. The test is love.

Love and knowledge must go together; “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). It has been said, “Truth without love is brutality, but love without truth is hypocrisy.” Knowledge is power and it must be used in love. But love must always be controlled by knowledge. The strong believers in the church had knowledge, but they were not using their knowledge in love. Instead of building up the weak saints, the strong Christians were only puffing up themselves.

Paul’s great hope was that the strong saints would help the weaker saints to grow and to stop being weak saints. Some people have the false notion that the strong Christians are the ones who live by rules and regulations and who get offended when others exercise their freedom in Christ; but such is not the case. It is the weak Christians who must have the security of law and who are afraid to use their freedom in Christ. It is the weak Christians who are prone to judge and criticize stronger believers and to stumble over what they do. This, of course, makes it difficult for the strong saints to minister to their weaker brothers and sisters. Think about how it is with a parent and child. As a parent, you establish certain rules and guidelines to protect your child. If you break a rule, your child will be very quick to point out that you are guilty.

It is here that love enters the picture, for “love builds up” and puts others first. When spiritual knowledge is used in love, the stronger Christian can take the hand of the weaker Christian and help him to stand and walk so as to enjoy his freedom in Christ. You cannot force-feed immature believers and transform them into giants. Knowledge must be mixed with love; otherwise, the saints will end up with “big heads” instead of enlarged hearts.

Knowledge and love are two important factors, for knowledge must be balanced by love if we are to use our Christian freedom in the right way.

A third factor is having a conscience. Conscience is that internal court where our actions are judged and are either approved or condemned (Rom. 2:14-15). Conscience is not the law; it bears witness to God’s moral law. But the important thing is this: conscience depends on knowledge. The more spiritual knowledge we know and act on, the stronger the conscience will become.

Some Christians have weak consciences because they have been saved only a short time and have not had an opportunity to grow. Like little babies in the home, they must be guarded carefully, nurtured and protected. Other saints have weak consciences because they will not grow; they choose not to grow. They ignore their Bibles and Christian fellowship and remain in a state of infancy (1 Cor. 3:1-4). But some believers remain weak because they are afraid of freedom. They are like a child old enough to go to school, but are afraid to leave home and must be taken to school each day.

The conscience of a weak Christian is easily defiled (1 Cor. 8:7), wounded (1 Cor. 8:12), and offended (1 Cor. 8:13). For this reason, the stronger saints must defer to the weaker saints and do nothing that would harm them. It might not harm the mature saint to share a feast in an idolatrous temple, but it might harm his weaker brother because he might decide to imitate his stronger brother and thus be led into sin.

As Christians, we do have freedom. This freedom was purchased for us by Jesus Christ, so it is very precious. Freedom comes from knowledge: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). One of Bill Bailey’s favorite quotes; the one that adorns our front doors.

The strong Christian not only has knowledge, but he also has experience. He can look back and see how the Lord has dealt with him through the years. But he must be careful, for experience must be balanced with caution. Take heed, lest you fall!

The strong Christian knows that he has this freedom, but he also knows that freedom involves responsibility. I have the freedom, for example, to drive my car on the highway; but I must drive it responsibly. I am not free to drive at any speed or ignore traffic signs.

The way we use our freedom and relate to others indicates whether we are mature in Christ. Strong and weak Christians need to work together in love to edify one another and glorify Jesus Christ. Together, we can grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Together, we can answer the question: Who is Jesus Christ? Satan knows who He is. The demons know who Jesus is. May we all be able to say, “I know who you are!”

He is our Lord and Saviour; the only begotten Son of God. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. May the knowledge and love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ continue to grow in all our hearts, minds and souls.

Let us pray:

Most gracious and redeeming Heavenly Father. We thank you and praise you for giving us your Son, Jesus Christ. May our knowledge of you continue to grow and may we become ever closer to you. Help us to live a life that is pleasing to you; that we may walk in the light of your truth; Help us to be a witness to the unbeliever and to those who have recently come to know you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

AMEN †