{"id":2584,"date":"2021-04-17T15:36:17","date_gmt":"2021-04-17T15:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/?p=2584"},"modified":"2021-04-17T15:36:17","modified_gmt":"2021-04-17T15:36:17","slug":"justice-in-an-unfair-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/04\/17\/justice-in-an-unfair-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Justice in an Unfair World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Jubilate Sunday Sermon| <em>Rev. Rolf D. Preus<\/em>|\u00a0April 17, 2005| 1 Peter 2:11-20\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Life\u2019s not fair.&nbsp; We might be able to imagine a fair and just world in which perfect justice is meted out to everyone, whether rich or poor.&nbsp; But we can\u2019t find this world.&nbsp; The endless pursuit of justice is just that: endless.&nbsp; It goes on and on because it can\u2019t be found.&nbsp; The reason is really very simple.&nbsp; Justice in this world requires justice in every heart. As long as this world is inhabited by sinners true justice will always elude us.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to understand injustice, don\u2019t look out there.&nbsp; Look inside.&nbsp; Examine your own heart.&nbsp; Examine your own life and conduct.&nbsp; St. Peter tells us to avoid fleshly lusts that war against the soul.&nbsp; Fleshly lusts are those things that we think and want that place our desires above the needs of others.&nbsp; Fleshly lusts war against the soul because the fleshly lusts come from our fallen sinful nature.&nbsp; This nature is rebellious against God.&nbsp; It refuses to submit to God.&nbsp; It lives to serve itself.&nbsp; It won\u2019t humble itself under God or man.&nbsp; It seeks its own.&nbsp; Whether in sexual immorality, defiance of authority, or in holding on to vices of various kinds, the flesh refuses to submit itself to God.&nbsp; Since it won\u2019t submit to God it won\u2019t submit to human authority either.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Only the Christian religion teaches the truth about original sin, but anyone with common sense can see its fruit.&nbsp; You don\u2019t have to be a Christian to recognize sin for what it is.&nbsp; Even the Gentiles \u2013 those who don\u2019t know Christ \u2013 know what is honorable when they see it.&nbsp; Only the insane have no conscience at all.&nbsp; Unbelievers have a conscience and by means of that conscience they can discern right from wrong at least in a general sense.&nbsp; Thy can see if Christians are living lives that agree with their creed.&nbsp; And since unbelievers live under the judgment of their own conscience they live their lives standing in judgment of others.&nbsp; Only Christ can set you free from judgment.&nbsp; Christians, whom Christ has set free from God\u2019s judgment, nevertheless live their lives under the judgment of this world.&nbsp; Every single day of our lives we are being watched, examined, studied, and judged.&nbsp; The gospel of Jesus Christ offends proud and impenitent people.&nbsp; This is why proud and impenitent people love to stand in judgment of Christians.&nbsp; We represent Christ.&nbsp; We see Him very differently than unbelievers see Him.&nbsp; We see Christ as our Redeemer who has freed us from judgment.&nbsp; When we hear the gospel of Christ we hear good news that tells us that our sins are forgiven for Jesus\u2019 sake.&nbsp; But to impenitent sinners Jesus stands as an offense and His cross is a scandal.&nbsp; Those who refuse to repent of their sins despise Christ and His Christians.&nbsp; They look for hypocritical Christians they can judge.&nbsp; When they find Christians who live to satisfy their own flesh they can point out this hypocrisy in an attempt to discredit the Christian religion.&nbsp; They seek to silence Christ Himself.&nbsp; It matters what people see when they see us.&nbsp; Everywhere we go, whatever we say, whatever we do, we go, say, and do as Christians.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you might think this is too big of a burden to bear.&nbsp; But there\u2019s something we must always keep in mind as we face the judgment of this world.&nbsp; The world may be judging us but God is not judging us!&nbsp; That makes all the difference.&nbsp; God isn\u2019t judging us!&nbsp; We are free!&nbsp; There is nothing we need to get from God that He hasn\u2019t already given us.&nbsp; Do you want to be at peace with God?&nbsp; Listen to the words of Jesus that He spoke on the day He rose from the dead: \u201cPeace to you.\u201d&nbsp; \u201cPeace to you,\u201d He said.&nbsp; He fought the war to end all war on the cross and by bearing the anger of God against all sinners He established peace between God and us.&nbsp; We have peace with God and peace of conscience and peace of mind.&nbsp; We have received mercy.&nbsp; Christ has removed our sins from us.&nbsp; He has led us into a freedom in which no one can judge us because God Himself has judged us to be righteous for the sake of the innocent life and sacrificial death of Jesus.&nbsp; All this St. Peter teaches us in two little words, \u201cAs free.\u201d&nbsp; We live as free Christians.&nbsp; We live under grace.&nbsp; The forgiveness of sins from God to us is not merely a pious hope or an uncertain wish.&nbsp; It is the bedrock reality upon which our souls rest and find their peace with God.&nbsp; Nobody in all creation can enslave us again.&nbsp; We are free!&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it is precisely because we are free before God that we can submit to every human authority.&nbsp; We do it for Christ\u2019s sake.&nbsp; Arbitrary rules, unjust laws, unfair taxes, and incompetent people in positions of power cannot master us or dominate us or drive us.&nbsp; We are Christians.&nbsp; We are free.&nbsp; We can obey stupid rules; honor those in authority even when they ought not to be in authority; put up with unfair criticism and even abuse.&nbsp; We can do it because we have lost nothing when we do it.&nbsp; We have nothing to lose.&nbsp; We\u2019ve already lost it.&nbsp; We lost our lives when we died with Christ and the lives we now live by faith are the life of Christ Himself.&nbsp; He is our life.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why do people fight?&nbsp; They fight because they think there\u2019s something worth fighting for.&nbsp; People fight for bad reasons such as revenge, pride, and money.&nbsp; Or they fight for noble things such as honor and love.&nbsp; St. Peter encourages us not to fight at all.&nbsp; No, he\u2019s not teaching us to embrace pacifism.&nbsp; He\u2019s not telling us to become Mennonites and to swear off every use of force against evil people.&nbsp; After all, he tells us to submit to the human authority that punishes criminals by means of violent force!&nbsp; He tells us that God Himself appoints the government to punish evildoers.&nbsp; If God works through the sword it can hardly be sinful to take up the sword in a just cause.&nbsp; Policemen, soldiers, and even the executioner are all servants of God.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What the apostle is saying is that we can and should submit to authority \u2013 even when it is unfair and unkind \u2013 without complaining about it.&nbsp; Jesus suffered patiently.&nbsp; Jesus was abused and mistreated.&nbsp; And it was in the worst miscarriage of justice in the history of the world that God\u2019s mercy triumphed over justice by meeting its demands.&nbsp; It is because we are joined by faith to the crucifixion of Jesus that we are free.&nbsp; It is because we are joined to the cross of Christ that we always see true justice fulfilled.&nbsp; The boss shows favoritism.&nbsp; The policeman is a bully.&nbsp; The government official is an officious and incompetent bureaucrat who steals our precious time.&nbsp; The parents don\u2019t understand our problems and the teacher is completely unfair.&nbsp; There are so many things to fight, to oppose, and to complain about.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does the apostle say?&nbsp; He says:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Honor all people.&nbsp; Love the brotherhood.&nbsp; Fear God.&nbsp; Honor the king.&nbsp; Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They don\u2019t need to deserve your respect.&nbsp; You honor them because you fear God.&nbsp; You don\u2019t fear them.&nbsp; You fear God.&nbsp; This doesn\u2019t mean you are scared of God and want to run away from Him.&nbsp; It means just the opposite.&nbsp; It means that there is nothing you fear more in life than losing the favor of your God.&nbsp; And this means that you treasure the gospel of the forgiveness of sins that Christ bought for you so dearly and gives to you freely.&nbsp; It defines who you are.&nbsp; It sets you above any human authority as a lord and master.&nbsp; God sees all sin and judges all sinners and does His will as He sees fit without consulting any human authority.&nbsp; He answers to no one in heaven or on earth for His decisions.&nbsp; He establishes and overthrows all kingdoms and nations of this world and sets the boundaries for every human exercise of authority.&nbsp; He answers prayers and He loves and protects and sends His angels to defend the smallest and weakest among us.&nbsp; This is the God who has chosen to love us with an undying love.&nbsp; This is the God who has chosen to send His dear Son to take upon Himself all of our sin and guilt and to take it away on the cross.&nbsp; This is the God who, for Christ\u2019s sake, sees no sin in us and neither judges us nor condemns us.&nbsp; He is our God.&nbsp; We are His and He is ours.&nbsp; As St. Peter writes immediately before our text:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This, then, is the context for St. Peter\u2019s encouragement in our text to put up with what is unfair and unkind, taking it patiently.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes we suffer specifically because we are Christians.&nbsp; Christians get a bad grade or lose a deserved promotion simply because they confessed the truth when the truth needed to be confessed.&nbsp; Think of the Christians who have really paid a price.&nbsp; Persecution and murder from the pagan Romans, the Muslim Turks, and the atheistic Communists remain unavenged to this day.&nbsp; Meanwhile, Christians are blamed for every crime in history while the great contributions to charitable institutions from Christians are ignored.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what we do as Christians is never ignored.&nbsp; Just as God treasures us as His holy nation He also treasures what we do as Christians.&nbsp; We don\u2019t need to fight and beat an unfair system.&nbsp; There is nothing to be gained in fighting for our sinful and foolish pride.&nbsp; We died to sin.&nbsp; We were crucified with Christ when we were baptized.&nbsp; We rose again from the dead and spiritually ascended into heaven there to commune with Christ Himself.&nbsp; That\u2019s our identity, our goal, and our purpose in living.&nbsp; What do we have here?&nbsp; As St. Peter reminds us, we are pilgrims here.&nbsp; We are only traveling through.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as we travel through, we put to silence the ignorance of foolish men by submitting to human authority.&nbsp; The ignorance that is silenced is the attacks against the gospel that Christians confess.&nbsp; When we honor as God\u2019s servants those who are in authority over us we silence critics of our Christian faith.&nbsp; The apostle says to fear God, but to honor the king.&nbsp; We don\u2019t fear the king.&nbsp; We honor him.&nbsp; He has no power over our lives.&nbsp; Our lives belong to the One who set us free.&nbsp; When we submit to human authority we do it as free Christians.&nbsp; No human power can hurt us or control us.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s amazing how much status means to people.&nbsp; Children learn at a pathetically early age to judge each other by the kind of clothes they wear or the social status of their friends.&nbsp; Rank, status, and human approval are so very precious to the flesh.&nbsp; But, in the end, they are utterly worthless.&nbsp; We live here as sojourners and pilgrims.&nbsp; Our citizenship is in heaven where perfect justice and perfect mercy combine to bring us perfect love and perfect joy forever and ever.&nbsp; It was for heaven that Jesus bought us and it is to heaven that He leads us.&nbsp; We are free!&nbsp; No earthly power can bring us this freedom and no power on earth can ever take it away.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jubilate Sunday Sermon| Rev. Rolf D. Preus|\u00a0April 17, 2005| 1 Peter 2:11-20\u00a0 Life\u2019s not fair.&nbsp; We might be able to imagine a fair and just world in which perfect justice is meted out to everyone, whether rich or poor.&nbsp; But we can\u2019t find this world.&nbsp; The endless pursuit of justice is just that: endless.&nbsp;&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/04\/17\/justice-in-an-unfair-world\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,8,17,4],"tags":[464,196,238],"class_list":["post-2584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-easter-4","category-latest-sermons","category-sermons-by-historical-lectionary","category-sermons-by-rolf-preus","tag-1-peter-2","tag-easter-4","tag-rolf-preus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2584"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2585,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584\/revisions\/2585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}