Upholding Justice

SERMON: 2014-11-16--ac14145--upholding-justice-part-1 SOURCE DURATION: 00:58:19.000 PROPOSED CUTS: 2 CONFIDENCE: 0.98 APPROVED: false REASON: Candidate 15 is explicitly labeled as upbeat music, marking a clear transition away from the sermon content provided in candidates 0 through 14. ACOUSTIC EVIDENCE: available ACOUSTIC MUSIC INTERVALS: none ACOUSTIC SPEECH OVERLAP: no ACOUSTIC BOUNDARIES APPLIED: none Inline CUT markers identify each proposed audio boundary after the relevant word. --- ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT WITH PROPOSED CUTS MARKED --- [PROPOSED CUT 1 START at 00:00:00.000; remove through 00:00:05.080] [CUT] (air whooshing) [CUT] [PROPOSED CUT 1 END at 00:00:05.080; resume after this marked segment] As you listen to this story of Paul's response to the officers that come with the news that he and Silas are now free to go, what's your gut reaction? Listen again to verse 37, and Paul's response. Paul said to the officers, "They beat us publicly without a trial, "even though we are Roman citizens "and threw us into prison, "and now do they want to get rid of us quietly? "No, let them come themselves and escort us out." Sounds a tad testy, doesn't it? Like you're really messed up. You're humiliated as publicly, you know? We want you to try to make this right just as publicly. It sounds like Paul wants to really drive the point home that he has been wrongfully treated. Would you agree? That's kind of what it sounds like when he says, "No, let them come themselves and escort us out." I want to see you treat me properly. Now, it's perfectly possible, of course, that Paul was peeved, that he was annoyed at how he had been treated later on. When he writes to the Thessalonians, he makes no bones about the fact that he felt that he had been treated shamefully, shamefully in Philippi. I mean, he had been, together with Silas, they were falsely accused, they were brutally beaten, they were wrongfully imprisoned, and now they just want them to quietly disappear. But see, Paul was not the kind of guy who wanted to get even because he had been treated badly. He knew what it was like to suffer for the Lord Jesus. As a matter of fact, in 1 Corinthians chapter four, the verses 12 and 13, he gives us his philosophy on what a Christian should do when he is mistreated. Listen to these words. He says, "When we are cursed, we bless. "When we are persecuted, we endure it. "When we are slandered," falsely accused, if you will, "we answer kindly. "Up to this moment, we have become the scum of the earth "and the refuse of the world." In other words, he knew what it was like to being treated like garbage. That's what he is saying there. And he knew how to take that in the spirit of Jesus. And so while it's possible, yes, he was irritated at being treated unfairly and he wanted his comeuppance, I don't think that's in keeping with the character of the Apostle Paul. So why then make a point of you've beaten us publicly, you have imprisoned us publicly, now you can come and walk us out of jail so the rest of the world can see how wrong you were. Well, I suggest to you this morning that the answer is that Paul is interested in upholding justice. He is keenly committed to the magistrates being held accountable for their lack of justice because you may remember that all the things that he'd experienced were contrary to Roman law. Under Roman law, the protection for Roman citizens was very specific. They could not be wrongfully imprisoned, they could not be beaten with rods, they had access to a fair trial. None of those things were observed by the citizens or the magistrates of Philippi. The opposite had happened. And for Paul and Silas now to just sort of sneak out of the city would leave the impression that somehow or another it didn't matter that the justices had erred in their judgment. And so it's Paul's commitment on the one hand to Roman law and the importance of upholding the law that makes him say, listen, they treated us wrongly, they need to make this right and they need to make it right as publicly as publicly they were wrong. But there's a little further reason that we need to understand because at stake in this was not just Paul's reputation, at stake in this was the reputation of the gospel because if he wasn't cleared publicly in this particular instance and he is representative of the gospel of the Lord Jesus, he's not guilty of the charges that leaves all kinds of uncertainty among the people of the city and it creates uncertainty for the people that have come to faith. And so both from a civic point of view and from a religious point of view, it's extremely important from Paul's perspective that justice would be upheld. So it isn't just because he is peeved because personally he's been treated wrong, he's used to that, he can handle that. No, no, this is all about truth and justice being established both for the sake of the people of the city and certainly for the sake of the Christian community. Does that seem fair to you, fair interpretation of what is happening in this passage? It's not just that he's irritated and he says you hurt my feelings, I want you to take responsibility for that. He's used to hurt feelings, that wasn't the issue. The issue is you were wrong and you need to acknowledge publicly that you were wrong. As we'll see later, the fact that they came running hat in hand to escort him out of the prison is a pretty clear indication that they saw the writing on the wall and they knew that they had treated Paul and Silas with a great deal of injustice. All right, if that's an accurate interpretation of the passage and I submit to you that it is because that isn't just my idea, there are many commentators who agree with that, then what are the practical lessons that you and I could draw from that in terms of our own personal life and the situations where we find ourselves? Three suggestions this morning, let's see if we can get through them in time. Number one, Christians have what I would call a vested interest in upholding law and order. Christians have a vested interest in upholding law and order. Classic passage in this subject, of course, if you know your New Testament, Romans chapter 13, the verses one and two. Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities. This is Paul writing, of course. For there is no authority except that which God has established and the authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. Now, if you look at those verses carefully and continue reading in the chapter, then you will discover that what Paul is saying is two things about governmental authority in the world. First of all, he says all authority derives from God. God is the creator of the universe. He's the one who writes the laws. He's the one who tells us how to live and how not to live. And he is the one who ultimately is responsible for punishing those who break the law and for blessing and rewarding those who keep the law. Problem, of course, is God is in heaven, we are on earth, and so God delegates his governmental authority to earthly authority figures. And those authority figures range from governmental officials, think of legislators and politicians who make laws and judges who are to uphold the law and the police who are to enforce them, to bosses in organizations, teachers and school boards in the educational system, ultimately percolating down to the family where God has created structures of authority where parents are responsible for their children. And in each one of those situations, they are those authority figures carry the sword on behalf of God. That is to say, they legislate what is right or what is wrong and it's their responsibility then to reward those who live properly and to punish those who do not. Because at stake, of course, is the well-being of society. Human nature being what it is, when everybody does what is right in his own eyes, you get into an incredible system of chaos and the powerful end up dominating the weak. And as I've said many times before, if you don't believe the importance of good governmental structure, then look at nations where government has failed. We call them failed states. When the rule of law breaks down, it becomes every man for himself. And then whoever's got the biggest mouth, whoever's got the biggest gun, whoever's got the most resources behind him, they dominate usually at the expense of those who cannot resist. ISIS out of the Middle East, a good example of the horror that breaks loose when the wrong people exercise authority and power. So from God's perspective, the ones to whom he delegates authority are to submit to his authority and God in turn calls you and me to submit to the authority figures in our own lives, even when sometimes that crosses our flesh because nobody really likes to be told what to do. I love the way the Heidelberg Catechism, one of the confessions of our church, puts it in Lord's Day 39, question and answer 104. Listen to this, the question is, what is God's will for you in the fifth commandment? Quick review, what's the fifth commandment? Time we read them. Honor your father and your mother that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God gives you. It's the first commandment, says Paul in the New Testament, with a promise that you may live long. That's the whole subject in and of itself. What is God's will for you in the fifth commandment? The answer is incredibly wise in my judgment that I honor, love, and be loyal to my father and mother and all those in authority over me, that I submit myself with proper obedience to all their good teaching and discipline, and now notice this, and also that I be patient with their failings, for through them, God chooses to rule us. That I be patient with their failings, for through them, God chooses to rule us. See, when it comes to the issue of authority, nobody has any trouble submitting to authority as long as I agree with that authority and as long as they give me what I want. That's how politicians get elected. Just listen to the promises they make prior to an election. But the test of your spirituality, and let's be very clear about that, is not how well you submit to those who are nice and kind and gentle and give you what you want. It is how you submit and respect and honor those who are over you in the Lord, whether or not they're giving you what they want or whether or not you like them. Listen to how Peter puts it in 1 Peter chapter two, the verses 13 and 14. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men, whether to the king as the supreme authority or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. Another translation says to the emperor. Guess who was the emperor when Peter wrote those verses? It was a dude by the name of Nero. Remember Nero? He's the one who fiddled while Rome burned, blamed it on Christians when the best of history seems to indicate that he might have started that fire himself because he was kind of crazy. But Peter says submit to those in authority over you as out of respect for the Lord. Raises all kinds of questions I know and most of those were not in a position to answer but let's begin with a perspective of recognizing that Christians have a vested interest in upholding law and order. It's part of God's provision for how the world is to operate. And we of all people have a vested interest in good government and in submitting to leadership with an attitude of submission and an attitude of respect knowing that this has been ordained by God because when law and order breaks down, all hell breaks loose and there is no end of disaster that results. Now it's very important to understand that and I'll tell you why I belabor that this morning because we live in a day and age that is highly anti-authority. Have you ever noticed that? Increasingly you hear people saying well you know this authority structure of bosses over workers and parents over children and governments telling us what to do, they want to get rid of it and instead they want to talk about egalitarianism particularly in democratic societies, everybody's got an equal voice and increasingly you hear people saying well we don't want people in authority positions, we just want everybody on the same plane. You know where that's coming from? That's coming from two places. One place is the sinfulness of the human heart. I touched on that briefly already. Nobody likes to be told what to do and the more we emphasize the importance of human rights and individual freedoms at the expense of the well-being of society, the more everybody, it's like going back to the days of the judges in the Old Testament when everybody does what is right in his own eyes. You know I thought of this this morning as I was getting ready for this service. It's like think of yourself as having an orchestra. You get all these different instruments and you know the way of course orchestra makes symphony instead of cacophony is they all play off the same, they all have their sheet music and they play off the same music and they have a director that they all listen to. But now think of everybody playing his own instrument, going in his own direction and you wonder why nobody can get anything together. That's the society we live in and increasingly we're proud of that kind of rebellion and that kind of pride and it's gonna grind the world into a place where nation rises against nation and all hell breaks loose and we're well on our way to getting there in our generation. Those of you that are older, you've seen that in a previous generation. Well we're moving in that way today. But the second reason for that and that of course is because authority historically has often been abusive. Remember as Lord Acton said many years ago, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And so children don't wanna submit to parents because their parents are so busy running their own lives that there isn't a kind of bonding, the kind of relationship that would make a child want to obey. Teachers don't know what to do with their pupils oftentimes because they have no means of controlling them and pupils' rights often triumph over the rights of teachers or parents because nobody knows what to do with a little devil sometimes. And I say that sadly but seriously. And of course the same thing happens. I mean who trusts a politician today? I listened to a survey of where people were at in terms of respectability in public and I think doctors were still on the top of the list though they had come down somewhat too. But close to the bottom of the list were political figures because all the news ever tells us is when they're fighting and when they're disagreeing and it makes it sound as if everybody has his own agenda. Well the answer to bad authority, listen to me carefully, the answer to bad rulers is not just to get rid of authority and make everybody equal. That's disastrous. What do you suppose is the solution to bad authority? It's good authority. It's character. It's people who place the interests of their subjects ahead of their own interests. Why do you think Jesus is exalted at the right hand of God and given the name that is above every name, he has absolute authority over everything in the universe. God the Father has entrusted everything to Jesus. You know why? Because he was obedient even unto death. Jesus can be trusted to exercise God's interests over the whole universe because Jesus demonstrated in his life, in his death, in his glorious resurrection that there wasn't an ounce of selfishness in him. He never took advantage of his own position or his own glory. Instead he laid it all down because he was obedient to the Father and he was filled with love for all creation. Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every other name. And if you're gonna be a follower of Jesus, you're gonna share with him in the ruling over the new creation and the position of authority that you attain for all eternity is in direct proportion to your faithfulness in submitting to the will of the Father today. What does Jesus say in the parables of stewards? You've been faithful over little, I will put you over much. Christians have a vested interest in law and order and need to develop an attitude of appreciation for those who are in positions of authority. Can't always agree, can't always even obey, that's a whole other matter. But you can always have an attitude of respect and an attitude of submission because even Jesus submitted himself to the kangaroo trial that ultimately put him on the cross because he knew that his hope was in his Father. You with me? Still wanna follow Jesus? Lesson number two, closely related to this. People in power need to be held accountable. Let's go back to the story that we read a moment ago. Why did the magistrates come running to Paul and Silas the minute they discovered that they were Roman citizens? Hat in hand. Imagine the humiliation that they endured and the resistance that they would have had to coming to the prison, apologizing to Paul and Silas and publicly marching them out to the prison for the whole world to see that they had been wrong in how they had treated Paul and Silas. Do you think that ground their gears just a little bit? I think maybe it did. Why did they do that? Because they knew they were in trouble. Because as the old hymn says, "There where the judges gather a greater holds a seat." Under Roman law, they had authority, but they had authority on behalf of the state. And if they did not exercise that authority properly, they would get themselves in trouble. That's why every time in Toronto when a policeman draws his gun, he not only has to file a report, but every time he shoots somebody, particularly if he kills somebody, there is a whole hearing that takes place. Why? Because he is accountable for the power that he uses. And does he use it just because he's mad, angry, or had a bad morning? Or is it really warranted in this particular situation? If you follow the news, you hear all the stories of people who say, well, they should or shouldn't be doing what they're doing. The vestige of Christian values in our society is that people in positions of authority and power are still held accountable and you can thank God for that. Because eventually that disappears in a society and then evil reigns. And when evil reigns, it is crazy because you can do what you wanna do and there is nobody that can stop you any longer. Accountability is one of the provisions that God makes so that people in positions of authority are held responsible for the decisions that they make over against those who are under their authority. Now when it comes to accountability, I find it very helpful to recognize that there are two levels or two means of accountability. One is external, the other is internal. Let me talk briefly about each of those. External accountability is the kind of accountability that most of us experience on the job or in our daily lives. The boss has a job description for us. May not be spelled out very clearly but almost always some level of expectation. You and I are expected to abide by those rules. When we break those rules, we get held accountable, the rules are modified or changed and we live in a world of law. And in society, every time something goes wrong, new laws are made and to some degree that's a good thing because we all need to know what is acceptable behavior. The rule of law keeps a lot of people out of a lot of mischief but it has its limitations. You can't make enough laws to cover every contingency and human nature being what it is, clever people, spend an enormous amount of energy trying to figure out how to get around the law and do so in good conscience and Christians are not immune to that. Look at all the people who evade their taxes just for the record, not always honestly. See, the law, Paul says, was given for sinners and the law keeps things in check because the threat of law and punishment creates fear that makes most people think twice before they get into trouble but it's only a thin veneer. I've said this before but I'm always astonished that when law and order breaks out, how people riot and what kind of criminal behavior that they engage in when they think nobody's watching. Have you ever noticed that? Unbelievable, it's like the only thing that keeps people in check is the fear of being caught. If you don't believe that, watch your own speedometer when you know there's no policeman around or how quickly you slow down your vehicle when you see a dude out there with a radar gun. We don't have to point our fingers at anybody else, we're all equally guilty because we all share fallen human nature. So there is the outside law and that's good but it's limited in its effectiveness. So there is a second level of accountability that is even more important than external accountability and that is internal. The new covenant of which the New Testament speaks, new life in Christ, differs from the old one because the old one had a law out there saying do this but the new covenant, how is it different? The law is written on your heart. At the end of the day, what keeps you doing the right thing when nobody is watching and when you could easily get away with something that is wrong and self-survey? It's because the law is written on your heart. There's a little voice on the inside that says don't do that because if you do that, you're doing the wrong thing even when all your friends and all your neighbors and everybody else says, oh everybody does it, no, you're not going to do it, why? Because it's written in your heart. Think back to the Old Testament story of Joseph. Remember Joseph and how Mrs. Potiphar wanted to bed him? What was Joseph's reaction? I will not sin against my God and how could I do this to my master who has entrusted me with everything that I need to exercise responsible stewardship? He had plenty of opportunity to satisfy the flesh and it would have gone a lot better for him very likely if he had accommodated the Mrs. who obviously had it in for him. The Bible says he was handsome and well-built and I think she was probably bored and very lonely but he said I can't do that, not because I don't have the opportunity, not because it wouldn't feel good, not because of, no, no, I'm not going to do it because my commitment to God and my commitment to my master says this is wrong, therefore I will not give in to this temptation. And right there you have the key, you have the key to how internal values are built into us. Phil Hamburg alluded to that last week in his workshops. He says ultimately the voice on the inside that determines what is right and wrong is a function of relationship. First the relationship with God because he's always watching and ultimately we're gonna stand before him on the day of judgment and then relationships with significant people around us because we don't want to hurt, disappoint or strain the relationship with the significant authority figures in our own lives. If you want to see how that works, just work that out in terms of your relationship with your kids. When you get teenagers, what makes teenagers want to listen to you when everything inside them says you don't know anything, they are the smartest and they can do what they want to do. Why should they listen to the wisdom of the ages? Because you're so powerful, good luck. Because by the time they're 15 or 16 they're at least as big as you are, you can no longer spank them, you can no longer beat them up, in fact they'll take you down if you try. So the terror that a lot of parents use to have authority over their children wears out the older children become and the more independent they become. So why should they listen to you? I'll tell you why. If they love you and have a relationship with you and they value the relationship, then that relationship is more important than satisfying the needs of the flash. It's not enough to have external rules. The rules have to be written on the inside. Still with me? Authority figures need to be held accountable, but that accountability cannot just be external structures, not just the fear of being found out. It has to come from the inside, which is why you and I have a vested interest in a democratic society by the way, of being involved in a political process that challenges people's character and that says are these people trustworthy with a public purse, do they place other people's interests ahead of their own or are they just in it for their own pleasure? One of the things that astonishes me about today's society is that people seem to make no connection between what people do in their private and their personal lives and their public role. And time and time again we said well, what people do in their private lives unless it, you know, unless you're a young Gomeshi and you exceed cultural values of propriety doesn't affect your public, that's a bunch of nonsense because at the end of the day who you are is going to determine what you do and what you value. All right, time for one more point, will you bear with me another 10 minutes? I'll try to be good. So number one, Christians have a vested interest in law and order. Number two, Christians have to be serious about accountability, not just dishing it out but also receiving it. And number three, Christians need to actively support what is known as due process. Now the term due process is a term that has developed through the centuries out of English common law and it goes back really all the way to the Magna Carta of 1215. If you know your history, the Magna Carta was a document ultimately signed into law by King John in England that limited the power of the king and ultimately established in the British Commonwealth and its colonies what we know of as the democratic process today. It took away the divine right of kings and it began that foundational, it began laying the foundations of a society where somebody in a position of authority couldn't just do what he wanted to do because he had the power to do it. And due process under law today, I think today can be summarized in four simple stages. Number one, a person is innocent until proven guilty. That's one of the foundations of Western law as opposed to other societies where you're guilty and it's your job to prove your innocence. You can imagine how different that is and how difficult that can be. Number two, everybody has the right to hear the charges against him and to respond to those charges. And let me take a little side rabbit trail here and say that I am increasingly personally troubled by the use of anonymous complaints in the Western world. I know it stems out of victims who are afraid to come forward and the need for victims to be protected. But anonymity in accusations puts the accused in a situation where you don't know what the charges are and you don't know how to defend yourself. That is a fundamental injustice. You wanna see a good example of that. You know, the Liberal Caucus, remember Justin Trudeau just got rid of suspended two of his Liberal Caucus members a number of weeks ago, why? Because two NDP MPs had made accusation of inappropriate sexual behavior towards these two men. And in the Jeanne Gomez scandal where this is hot topic right on top of the surface of things, of course Trudeau didn't know what else to do but to suspend them. And I can understand those dynamics, but put yourself in the predicament of these two MPs. They don't know what the charges are, their careers are ruined, and where is the due process of law? Because even if at the end of this, let's say that they're not found guilty and I'm not saying that's the case because I don't know any more than anybody else does, the damage has been done. Under due process, you have a right to know who your accusers are and there are better ways, and you know what the accuser, there are better ways than anonymity where you don't know who is saying what about, because you know why? It enables people to come forward with very wrong motivations without ever being held accountable for the accusations that they're making. That's wrong. In the Bible, any accusation against a leader in the church ought to come from two or three witnesses. Even in the trial of Jesus, they had to find, they ended up being false witnesses, but they had to find two witnesses who agreed because that's God's divine protection so that somebody with an ax to grind or an agenda to pursue doesn't make a false accusation. In fact, in the Old Testament, you make a false accusation. The punishment is the equivalent of what the accused would have received if your accusation were true. Now that would make you think twice, wouldn't it? Justice has to cut both ways. So due process means you have the right. You're innocent until proven guilty. You have the right to hear the charges against you. You have the right to defend yourself before a court of law against those charges, and then you have the right to an impartial body that adjudicates the decision for and against. That is the fundamental basis of Western judicial system. It's not always perfect. It's often said we would rather see nine guilty people go free than one innocent people wrongly convicted. We like to err on the side of mercy. That's again, part of our Christian heritage in the Western world. Very different than other parts of the world where nobody cares if you're guilty or not. You're in the way. Let me get you out of the way, and injustice reigns. So due process is very important, and God's people who are committed to the principles of the kingdom of God need to be particularly concerned about due process. Not only when it applies to our own lives because we're always keenly interested in justice when it comes to us. Not always that keenly interested in justice when it applies to somebody else. But you and I, we have a vested interest in making sure that due process is observed, and it was the lack of this due process here in Acts chapter 16 that makes Paul so incensed, as we've already seen. It wasn't that he was just, oh, my feelings are hurt, and you better come and kiss and make it better. He was a bigger man than that. No, it was all about you've done what was wrong, and now you must make it right as publicly as you've done it wrong. Well, very quickly, as we wind up, three practical implications of that for your life and my life. Number one, don't believe everything you hear or read, especially on the internet. Time was when the public dispersion of news would take place through newspapers or through television stations, and they would have a vested interest in making sure that they were accurate because they were always threatened by lawsuits that they didn't do it right. That's good motivation to keep the stories straight. Well, with the advent of the internet, everybody is judge and jury. And I don't know if you ever read the comments section on newspaper articles or to stories that circulate on the internet. There are some very nasty people out there. And you and I need to be very careful not to get caught up in the stories that we hear because the chances are we don't know the full story. There's a verse in Proverbs that we've often quoted around here, Proverbs 18, verse 17. The first to present his case seems right till another comes forward and questions him. Ever notice somebody tells you a story and it seems so plausible. And you get yourself all hot and bothered and in gear because that's the reason they're telling you the story to begin with. Then you hear the other side of the story and then you say to yourself, I don't see how those two stories can exist side by side. And where does the truth lie? Well, I want to tell you that unless you were called and gifted to run interference in a situation like that, don't stick your nose into it because it'll spin you out and you won't have what it takes to sort it out. You may remember that when we first announced the lawsuit here a number of years ago, Steve Twist, who was chairman then as well as now, shared with you the request, if you have questions, ask us who are in leadership, don't talk to each other or to others. Many of you have honored that incredibly and that's why you're still here. Those who decided to stick their nose into places that they were not qualified to handle have on some occasion spun out because it was too much for them to handle. You know, you can take the John Gomeshi story. How in the world are you gonna figure out, and I trust you're familiar with it because it's been in the news headlines, but how are you going to figure out all the ins and the outs of everything that happened unless you have full access to the information and to the facts, isn't that true? Humility becomes the people of God because that's what the Lord calls us to do. So, don't believe everything you hear or read. Number two, do not participate in gossip or slander. The acronym THNK, I have always found to be very helpful. In that regard, T as in, is it truthful? H as in, is it helpful? I as in, is it inspirational? N as in, is it necessary? And K as in, is it kind? If it doesn't fall in that category, unless you're talking to a close confidant who can help you sort through things, shut up. Just button up, don't be part of the problem because there are enough people to make trouble without your help. And as God's people, we're gonna be held accountable for every idle word we speak. Because see, very often, in this whole business of observing due process, it's not what is said that is always wrong. I mean, sometimes it is, but it's often what is not said. The changes, the true meaning of what has transpired. And I've often said to people, I could take a conversation that I have with any one of you, report it to a third party, change the emphasis, leave out certain aspects of the truth, and I can make you sound like anything. And that's what happens in much of the current world where things are judiciously edited to present a particular case. Now just to show you what that looks like, I'm gonna show you a short video clip. I showed it last Sunday night as part of my message on when you're treated unfairly. It's two clips back to back. The first is, and they both have to do with a speech that President Obama gave in Brussels back in March of this year. The first clip is a clip that is circulating on the internet by right wingers and was sent to me by a very respectable Christian, just for the record, as gospel truth. The second clip follows right after it what he really said. Now just take a moment and watch this. Let's roll back. And for the international order that we have worked for generations to build, ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs. That order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign. We meet here at a moment of testing. For Europe and the United States. And for the international order that we have worked for generations to build. But those ideals have also been tested here in Europe and around the world. Those ideals have often been threatened by an older, more traditional view of power. This alternative vision argues that ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs. That order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign. - Did you catch it? Let me give you the exact words on screen and you will catch it very quickly. Here is what the clip said. He said. For the international order and for the international order that we have worked for generations to build, ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs. That order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign. You got that? It makes it sound as if he is dissing democracy and arguing for an all-powerful sovereign who alone can be entrusted with the responsibilities of the new world order. Okay, it's good Christian folks who are circulating that plane. Now let me put those sentences in their context because now you'll catch it real fast. The yellow is the context. The white is what that first clip said. So here's what he really said. We meet here at a moment of testing for Europe and the United States and for the international order that we have worked for generations to build. Catch that? Then he goes on and there's a break in between there, but here is the very important sentence that changes everything. This alternative vision argues that ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs. That order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign. The defining words there are this alternative vision. That argues. And so what the editors of that clip have done is they have turned what he said around 180 degrees. He's not saying this new world order is what we want. No, he is saying there are people who are arguing that democracy is not the way to go. Now, I'm not particularly enamored with Mr. Obama's policies and I probably wouldn't vote for him, but as a Christian, I am indignant that other Christians would so blatantly misrepresent his position for political gain. And that's what I want you to note whenever you listen to the news or whenever you read articles, getting a balanced presentation is incredibly important. And if you don't know if a story is true, there are two websites that I come into here. One is called truthorfiction.com. Virtually every story sent around on the internet is found on there and they will tell you whether it is truth or fiction or unverified. Don't pass anything on to anybody unless you've gone there because three quarters of the stuff that a lot of Christians pass on to each other is a distortion and that is bearing false witness. The other site is snopes.com does the same kind of thing. And I'm so reminded of the way the catechism puts it in its discussion of the ninth commandment. Good review. Who can tell me what the ninth? Don't bear false witness. And again, the catechism does such a superb job in explicating that that I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one's word, not gossip or slander nor join in condemning anyone rashly or without a hearing, rather in court and everywhere else. I should avoid lying in deceit of every kind. These are the very devices the devil uses and they would call down on me God's intense wrath. I should love the truth, speak it candidly and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor's good name. And who of us here can even begin to profess innocence with regard to those injunctions because we all have the danger of running off at the mouth at the wrong time. God says in Christ, don't do it. Well, there's more that we could talk about. My final point would be the importance of being in prayer. Scripture says, I urge you then, first of all, that request prayers, intercession and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceable and quiet lives and all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our savior who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. And then Proverbs 29 to when the righteous thrive the people rejoice, when the wicked rule the people groan. It's easy to be an armchair critic. I wouldn't want to be a politician for all the tea in China because the more society fragments and the more people go in their own direction, the harder it is to pull everything together, you're always stepping on somebody's toes. And you and I, we have a vested interest in praying for those who are in positions of leadership as I know so many of you do and have because at the end of the day, the whole nation prospers when we have good government. And that is why Paul sounds so cranky. When he says to them, they did all of this publicly, publicly, they need to come and they need to make it right. Not because his or her feelings were hurt or because he was upset, but because he was committed to the truth of law and order, accountability and due process. [PROPOSED CUT 2 START at 00:58:13.580; remove through 00:58:19.000] (upbeat music [CUT]) [CUT] [PROPOSED CUT 2 END at 00:58:19.000; resume after this marked segment]