ANNOUNCER:
ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY, AUTHOR AND CORNERSTONE
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT,
JOE STOWELL, ENTERS A LAND RICH IN
BIBLICAL HISTORY, MODERN TURKEY, TO EXPLORE THE ANCIENT
CITY OF SARDIS. HERE, IN THE FIRST CENTURY,
A GROUP OF JESUS FOLLOWERS
CAME TOGETHER AS A CHURCH, ONE OF SEVEN CHURCHES
ADDRESSED IN THE BEGINNING
OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION. REVELATION, RECEIVED IN
A VISION BY THE APOSTLE JOHN. AT THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY
CHRISTIANITY IS FACING MOUNTING
OPPOSITION IN THE EMPIRE. JOHN IS A PRISONER
ON THE ISLAND OF PATMOS
FOR HIS FAITH IN ONE GOD, WHICH GOES AGAINST A ROMAN
EMPIRE THAT EMBRACES MANY GODS, CHIEF AMONG THEM
THE CAESAR OF ROME. IT IS ON PATMOS
THAT JESUS APPEARS TO JOHN
TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD, A MESSAGE THAT IS TODAY WHAT WE
KNOW AS THE BOOK OF REVELATION, BUT TO THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH,
LETTERS OF CHALLENGE AND HOPE, SEVEN LETTERS TO SEVEN
CHURCHES THAT STOOD IN
CONTRAST TO ITS CULTURE. THE FOURTH LETTER WAS SENT
TO THE CHURCH OF SARDIS, A CHURCH GIVEN A STRONG WARNING BY THE RESURRECTED JESUS
IN HIS REVELATION. ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY. "AND TO THE ANGEL OF
THE CHURCH IN SARDIS WRITE, "THESE THINGS SAYS HE
WHO HAS THE SEVEN SPIRITS
OF GOD AND THE SEVEN STARS: 'I KNOW YOUR WORKS,
THAT YOU HAVE A NAME, 'THAT YOU ARE ALIVE,
BUT YOU ARE DEAD. 'BE WATCHFUL, AND STRENGTHEN
THE THINGS WHICH REMAIN,
THAT ARE READY TO DIE, 'FOR I HAVE NOT FOUND
YOUR WORKS PERFECT BEFORE GOD. 'REMEMBER THEREFORE HOW YOU
HAVE RECEIVED AND HEARD.
HOLD FAST AND REPENT. 'THEREFORE, IF YOU
WILL NOT WATCH, I WILL
COME UPON YOU AS A THIEF, 'AND YOU WILL NOT KNOW
WHAT HOUR I WILL COME UPON YOU. 'YOU HAVE A FEW NAMES
EVEN IN SARDIS WHO HAVE
NOT DEFILED THEIR GARMENTS, 'AND THEY SHALL WALK WITH ME
IN WHITE, FOR THEY ARE WORTHY. 'HE WHO OVERCOMES SHALL BE
CLOTHED IN WHITE GARMENTS, 'AND I WILL NOT BLOT OUT
HIS NAME FROM THE BOOK OF LIFE, 'BUT I WILL CONFESS
HIS NAME BEFORE MY FATHER
AND BEFORE HIS ANGELS. 'HE WHO HAS AN EAR,
LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT
SAYS TO THE CHURCHES.'" JOE STOWELL:
ONCE PART OF AN ANCIENT
PERSIAN KINGDOM KNOWN AS LYDIA, SARDIS WAS LIBERATED IN 340 BC BY ALEXANDER THE GREAT, AND IT BECAME AN IMPORTANT
GREEK CITY, CENTRAL TO
THE WORSHIP OF ARTEMIS, GODDESS OF THE HUNT,
THE WILDERNESS AND FERTILITY. ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS
YOU CANNOT MISS... AS YOU WALK AMONG THE RUINS
OF THE ANCIENT ROMAN WORLD, IS HOW SIGNIFICANT
THE WORSHIP OF GODS
AND THE WORSHIP OF CAESAR... WAS TO THE LIFE AND ECONOMIC
GROWTH OF THE COMMUNITY. NEEDLESS TO SAY,
THEIR OVERBEARING
COMMUNITY PRESENCE... IMPACTED EVERY ASPECT
OF DAILY LIFE. SARDIS ALSO HELD THE LARGEST
ANCIENT JEWISH SYNAGOGUE
OUTSIDE OF PALESTINE, WHICH SPOKE TO THE INCLUSIVE
NATURE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. INCLUSIVE, THAT IS, JUST AS LONG
AS YOUR GOD WAS NO GREATER THAN
ANY OTHERS THAT ROME WORSHIPPED. AND INTO THIS WORLD
ENTERED CHRISTIANITY
IN THE FIRST CENTURY. TO GIVE US MORE INSIGHT INTO
SARDIS AND WHAT IT WAS LIKE, WE SPOKE WITH DR. MARK WILSON,
A RESIDING SCHOLAR IN TURKEY... WHO HAS THOROUGHLY STUDIED
THE BIBLICAL HISTORY OF
THIS PART OF THE WORLD. THE AREA OF ASIA MINOR CAME INTO
THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN 133 BC. THE KINGS OF THE PERGAMUM
EMPIRE RULED WHAT IS WESTERN
ASIA MINOR UP UNTIL THIS PERIOD. AND THE FINAL KING,
ATTALUS III, BEQUEATHED HIS
KINGDOM, THEN, TO THE ROMANS. AND SO THE ROMAN... ROMAN SENATE IN 129 BC THEN BROUGHT ASIA, AS THE FIRST OF
ITS PROVINCES IN ASIA MINOR,
INTO THE ROMAN EMPIRE. SO BY THE TIME YOU COME TO
THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY, THE AREA UP TO THE EUPHRATES
IN THE EAST IS BY AND LARGE
A PART OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. AND ASIA WAS
AN EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT
PROVINCE FOR THE EMPIRE. IT WAS ONE OF
THE RICHEST PROVINCES. IT WAS, PERHAPS,
THE PRIZED POLITICAL PLUM... TO BE APPOINTED GOVERNOR
OF THE PROVINCE OF ASIA. AND SO IT'S IN
THIS PROVINCE, THEN,
THAT THESE SEVEN CHURCHES... THAT ARE ADDRESSED IN REVELATION 1 THROUGH 3 ARE FOUND. SO A VERY SIGNIFICANT PLACE
WITHIN THE EMPIRE, IN THE FIRST PROVINCE
OF ASIA THAT WAS FOUND
IN THIS PENINSULA. THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
WOULD BE VERY TYPICAL
OF THE EMPIRE AT LARGE, WITH A PLETHORA
OF GODS AND GODDESSES. AGAIN, A VERY
POLYTHEISTIC ENVIRONMENT. ALL OF THESE CITIES WOULD HAVE
A NUMBER OF PAGAN TEMPLES. YOU CAN STILL SEE THE REMAINS
OF MANY OF THESE AS YOU VISIT
THE SITES TODAY. FOR EXAMPLE,
A CITY LIKE EPHESUS, WE KNOW
THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE... 25 TO 30 TEMPLES AND SANCTUARIES
TO VARIOUS GODS AND GODDESSES. SO AS YOU WALK THROUGH THESE
CITIES, YOU'D BE VERY AWARE OF
THE POLYTHEISTIC WORSHIP... THAT WAS GOING ON HERE
WITH VARIOUS ACTIVITIES, WITH ALTARS, MAKING
DEDICATIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS, VARIOUS CEREMONIAL
PROCESSIONS IN HONOR OF
THE GODS AND GODDESSES GOING ON. SO AS A CHRISTIAN
IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, YOU'D BE VERY AWARE OF THIS
TYPE OF RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENT. THE SITUATION OF
THESE FIRST CHRISTIANS THEN
IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA... WOULD HAVE BEEN COMPRISED
OF JEWISH BELIEVERS IN
JESUS AS MESSIAH. THERE WOULD BE SOME WHO WOULD
BE THIS GROUP OF GOD-FEARERS. THAT WOULD BE GENTILES WHO
WERE DRAWN TO THE SYNAGOGUE, AND THE TEACHING ABOUT
THE GOD OF ISRAEL THERE, AND THEN SOME COMING FROM
AN EXCLUSIVELY PAGAN BACKGROUND. SO YOU'D SEE THIS MIX
OF INDIVIDUALS, THEN,
IN THESE HOUSE CHURCHES, AND IT'S, OF COURSE, IMPORTANT
TO EMPHASIZE WE DON'T HAVE
CHURCH BUILDINGS AT THIS TIME. WE HAVE HOUSE CHURCHES,
AND SO AS THEY'RE MEETING, PERHAPS IN GROUPS OF
30 TO 40 INDIVIDUALS... IN THE HOMES OF MORE WEALTHY
MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION, THESE GROUPS WOULD BE
THEN THE PLACE WHERE
YOU'D COME AND LEARN, AND BE DISCIPLED ABOUT
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND EARLY AT THIS PERIOD,
CHRISTIANS WERE SEEN AS
A SECT OF JUDAISM, WHICH WAS A LEGAL RELIGION IN
THE ROMAN EMPIRE AT THIS TIME. AND IT'S NOT UNTIL
THE PERIOD OF THE EARLY '60S, WHEN THE GREAT FIRE
BREAKS OUT IN ROME UNDER NERO, THAT REALLY NOW THE ROMANS
BEGIN TO SEE A DIFFERENCE... BETWEEN THIS SECT
OF CHRISTIANS AND JUDAISM, AND WE SEE THE FIRST GREAT
PERSECUTION TAKING PLACE
AROUND 64, 65 IN ROME, NOW AS THE CHRISTIANS
ARE SEEN AS A HOSTILE
SECT WITHIN THE EMPIRE. SARDIS TODAY IS ONE OF THE
MOST INTERESTING ARCHAEOLOGICAL
SITES THAT WE HAVE IN TURKEY. AN AMERICAN TEAM
HAS BEEN WORKING AT THE SITE
FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW, AND EXCAVATED SOME OF THESE KEY
SITES THAT WE HAVE AT SARDIS. JOE: YOU'VE GOTTA LOVE THIS
MAGNIFICENT ARCHITECTURE
HERE IN THE CITY OF SARDIS. BUT WHAT FASCINATES ME MORE
THAN THE ARCHITECTURE IS JESUS'
PERSPECTIVE ON THE CHURCH HERE. HE SAID TO THEM, "YOU LOOK
ALIVE, BUT YOU ARE DEAD." WELL, I GUESS THERE IS NO DECEIT
QUITE LIKE SELF-DECEIT... WHEN YOU'VE TALKED YOURSELF
INTO FEELING OKAY, BUT FROM GOD'S POINT
OF VIEW, YOU ARE NOT. AND THEN WHAT JESUS
SAID TO THEM NEXT CATCHES
MY ATTENTION, AS WELL. HE SAYS,
"IF YOU DO NOT REPENT..." JOE: WHEN JESUS SAID, "I WILL
COME LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT, "AND YOU WILL NOT KNOW
THE HOUR I COME AGAINST YOU," THAT'S KIND OF
A HEAD-SCRATCHER FOR US. LIKE,
"WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY THAT?" WELL, I HAVE TO TELL YOU,
FOR THE PEOPLE IN SARDIS,
IT WAS NOT A HEAD-SCRATCHER. THEY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE MEANT. THEY'D ALL READ THEIR HISTORY BOOKS ABOUT KING CROESUS, THE WEALTHIEST KING IN THE
WORLD, WHO RULED THIS REGION. AND KING CROESUS,
TO PROTECT HIS WEALTH
AND KEEP HIMSELF SAFE, BUILT THIS MASSIVE CITY
FORTIFICATION JUST BEYOND
THAT KNOB BACK THERE, AND BUILT IT IN A WAY
THAT WAS IMPREGNABLE.
NO ARMY COULD TAKE IT. AND SURE ENOUGH, HE WAS RIGHT.
WHEN CYRUS CAME THROUGH,
CYRUS COULDN'T TAKE THE CITY, SO HE PUT THE CITY IN SIEGE AND CAMPED HIS SOLDIERS AROUND IT. WELL, ONE NIGHT ONE OF CYRUS'
SOLDIERS NOTICED A SOLDIER ON
THE WALL LOOKING OVER THE WALL, AND HIS HELMET
DROPPED TO THE GROUND. WELL, HE WENT DOWN
THESE LITTLE SET OF STAIRS,
OPENED A SECRET DOOR, WENT OUT, GOT HIS HELMET, CLOSED
THE DOOR AND WENT BACK IN. AH, NOW CYRUS HAD THE KEY.
HE SENT HIS ARMIES TO THE OTHER
SIDE OF THE CITY, RAISED A FUSS, ALL OF CROESUS' ARMY WENT
TO THAT SIDE OF THE CITY, AND CYRUS' SPECIAL FORCES
WENT THROUGH THE LITTLE
SECRET DOOR AND TOOK THE CITY. JUST WHEN KING CROESUS THOUGHT
HE WAS SAFE, HE WAS NOT. THAT NOT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE,
IT HAPPENED TWICE, WHEN THE PERSIANS INVADED
AFTER THEY HAD REBUILT THIS
IMPREGNABLE FORTIFICATION. AS THE PERSIANS SIEGED THE CITY,
THEY NOTICED VULTURES CAMPING
AROUND THE EDGE OF THE WALL, BUT THEY NEVER FLEW AWAY. AND THEN THEY NOTICED SOLDIERS
THROWING BODIES, DEAD BODIES, PEOPLE WHO HAD DIED,
OVER THE WALL FOR
THE VULTURES TO EAT. AND THEY NOTICED THAT THAT PART
OF THE WALL WAS UNPROTECTED. SO THE PERSIANS TOOK THAT GATE
AND WENT IN AND TOOK THE CITY. JUST WHEN THEY THOUGHT THEY
WERE SAFE, THEY WERE NOT. AND JESUS REACHES BACK
INTO THEIR HISTORY TO
REMIND THEM THAT, "YOU THINK YOU ARE ALIVE,
BUT YOU ARE DEAD. "IN AN HOUR YOU KNOW NOT,
I WILL COME AGAINST YOU." SO WHATEVER IS
GOING ON AT SARDIS WITH
THE LOCAL CHRISTIANS... IS OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS
PROBLEM TO JESUS CHRIST. SO WHAT WAS IT?
WELL, LET'S START WITH
THE MESSAGE OF JESUS CHRIST. AS JOHN RECORDS, HE BOLDLY
CLAIMED, "I AM THE WAY." NOT A WAY BUT, "THE WAY,
THE TRUTH, THE LIFE. "NO MAN COMES TO
THE FATHER BUT BY ME." THE EXCLUSIVITY OF THAT
CLAIM BASICALLY MEANS THAT
THE WAY OF JESUS IS RIGHT... AND ALL THE OTHER WAYS
ARE WRONG. WELL, PUT THAT INTO
THE CONTEXT OF THE HISTORY
OF THE EARLY CHURCH, AND YOU CAN UNDERSTAND
WHY THE PRESSURES BEGAN TO
MOUNT AGAINST THE CHURCH. IN FACT, JESUS, INTERESTINGLY
ENOUGH, IN THE LETTERS, KEEPS REFERRING TO THOSE
OTHER RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS
AS THE SYSTEMS OF SATAN. IN PERGAMUM AND THYATIRA,
WE'VE LEARNED THAT ONE
OF THE WAYS... THAT THE EARLY CHRISTIANS NAVIGATED THROUGH THE ISSUE... WAS TO KIND OF GO BACK
INTO THE TEMPLE WORSHIP,
RELEASE THE PRESSURE, AND EAT MEAT OFFER...
OFFERED TO IDOLS AND PARTICIPATE
IN THE SEXUAL IMMORALITY. SO THAT RELEASED THE PRESSURE. THEY WERE KIND OF LIKE ALL ONE. HERE IN SARDIS, THEY HAD
A DIFFERENT APPROACH. IN SARDIS THEY DECIDED,
"WHY DON'T WE JUST GET ALONG? "WHY DON'T WE KINDA JUST
BAIL ON THAT EXCLUSIVITY
PART OF THE MESSAGE, "AND WHY DON'T WE SAY, 'WE CAN
BELIEVE IN JESUS, AND THE JEWS
CAN BELIEVE IN THEIR GOD, 'AND THE PAGAN IDOLATERS
CAN BELIEVE IN THEIR GODS,' "AND IN A PLURALISTIC,
RELATIVISTIC CULTURE, "WE MAKE PEACE
AND WE ALL GET ALONG." NOW, THAT WAS SIGNIFICANT,
BECAUSE WHEN THEY DID THAT, THEY KILLED THE MESSAGE
AND THEY KILLED THE POWER. JESUS CHRIST
IS DIFFERENT AND DISTINCT. HE CAME NOT TO COLLABORATE
WITH THE RELIGIOUS
SYSTEMS OF THIS WORLD. HE ACTUALLY CAME TO CONQUER
THEM AND TO DELIVER AND RESCUE
LIVES LOST OUT OF THEM... TO HIMSELF AND TO ETERNAL LIFE. SO WHEN JESUS SAID, "YOU LOOK
ALIVE, BUT YOU'RE DEAD," SEEMS TO ME HE'S SAYING,
"YOU'VE KILLED THE MESSAGE
AND THAT'S A PROBLEM." IT'S HARD TO FINALLY SAY THAT
THE PROBLEM AT SARDIS WAS... THAT THE BELIEVERS HERE
HAD COMPROMISED THE
DISTINCTIVENESS OF CHRIST, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF PROOF
THAT THE BELIEVERS HERE LIVED
IN A "GET ALONG" CULTURE. THIS IS THE SYNAGOGUE, AND WHEN
THEY EXCAVATED THE SYNAGOGUE, THEY FOUND THAT ON THE PILLARS
OF THE SYNAGOGUE, THE JEWS HAD
WRITTEN THEIR NAMES, ONLY THEY WROTE
THEIR NAMES IN GREEK. THAT'S A FASCINATING THING
BECAUSE, TO JEWS, THEIR NAMES
ARE VITALLY IMPORTANT. IT'S ALL A PART
OF THEIR IDENTITY. EVEN THINK OF SHADRACH,
MESHACH AND ABEDNEGO
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. WHEN THEY WENT TO BABYLON,
THE BABYLONIANS CHANGED
THEIR NAMES... TO TRY TO BRING THEM
INTO THE CULTURE. IF YOU'LL NOTICE,
AT THE END OF THIS ALTAR
THERE'S A ROMAN EAGLE, AND HERE THERE ARE
ROMAN ANIMALS REPRESENTING
LOYALTY TO THE EMPIRE... RIGHT HERE IN THE SYNAGOGUE. THE EXCAVATIONS HERE IN
THE SYNAGOGUE FOUND RELIEFS
FROM LYDIAN CULTURE, THEIR PAGAN TEMPLES,
AND THEY DECORATED
THE WALLS OF THE SYNAGOGUE. IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THIS WAS
A BIG-TIME "GET ALONG" CULTURE. AND WHY WOULD YOU PLANT
THE SYNAGOGUE RIGHT NEXT
TO THE ROMAN GYMNASIUM? WHICH IN THE OUTER COURTS
OF THE GYMNASIUM, CONTESTS
WERE HELD IN THE NUDE, BECAUSE THE ROMANS VALUED
THE BEAUTY OF THE BODY. AND THEN THROUGH THE DOOR
INTO THE BATHS... YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT
WOULD GO ON THERE. ALL OF THAT, NORMALLY, WOULD
BE A DEEP OFFENSE TO DEEPLY
COMMITTED JEWISH PERSONS. THEN IF YOU GO OUT INTO
THE MARKETPLACE, WHAT REALLY
FASCINATES ME IS THAT, IN THE STALLS OF
THE MARKETPLACE, THERE IS
ONE WITH THE CHRISTIAN CROSS, WHICH MEANT A CHRISTIAN
WAS THE SHOPKEEPER, AND ONE WITH A JEWISH
SYMBOL NEXT TO IT, WHICH MEANT THAT A JEWISH
PERSON WAS THE SHOPKEEPER. NOW, ANYWHERE WHERE
JESUS CHRIST WAS MADE DISTINCT
AND HIS CLAIMS WERE PROCLAIMED, THE CHRISTIANS WOULD
NOT BE IN THE PUBLIC
MARKETPLACE LIKE THAT. SO, THERE'S A LOT OF
CLUES THAT THESE CHRISTIANS
LIVED IN A CULTURE... THAT WANTED TO MAKE PEACE
AMONG ALL RELIGIONS... SO THAT WE COULD
JUST ALL GET ALONG. BUT WHAT CONVINCES ME THAT
THE PROBLEM AT SARDIS MAY JUST
HAVE BEEN THAT THE CHRISTIANS... HAD REMOVED THE DISTINCTIVENESS
OF CHRIST FOR PERSONAL PEACE
AND COMFORT AND PROSPERITY... AND TO REMOVE THE THREAT
OF DEATH IS NOT SO MUCH
WHAT WE HAVE IN REMAINS, BUT WHAT JESUS SAID
TO THEM IN HIS LETTER. HE SAID TO THEM, "STRENGTHEN
WHAT LITTLE YOU HAVE LEFT." THEY HAD REDUCED JESUS CHRIST
TO A VERY SMALL COMMODITY,
AND HE'S KIND OF LIKE SAYING, "TAKE THE PADDLES AND PUT
JESUS CHRIST BACK INTO POWER, "AND MAKE HIM ALL THAT
HE WAS INTENDED TO BE." HE ALSO SAYS IN THE TEXT,
"REMEMBER WHAT YOU
LEARNED AT FIRST." COULD THAT BE THAT THEY HAD
LEARNED THAT JESUS WAS THE WAY,
THE TRUTH, THE LIFE, AND THAT NO MAN COMES
TO THE FATHER BUT BY HIM? BUT THE IMAGE THAT
I FIND VERY COMPELLING... IS THAT HE ACCUSES THEM OF HAVING SOILED THEIR GARMENTS. NOW, I'M A CLASSIC GUY FOR
SPILLING SOMETHING ON A BRAND
NEW TIE, AND SO I GET THIS. BUT IT SEEMS TO ME
THE IMAGE MEANS THAT THEY
HAD BRUSHED UP AGAINST... SOMETHING THAT WOULD
STAIN THEM AND SOIL THEM, THAT THEIR COLLABORATION
WITH THE FALSE RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS
HAD STAINED THEIR GARMENTS. AND SO JESUS CHRIST
SAYS TO REPENT. MAKE JESUS LARGE AGAIN.
REMEMBER HIS WORD AND
KEEP YOUR GARMENTS CLEAN. THE PRESSURES THAT THESE EARLY
CHRISTIANS FACED IN SARDIS IN
THEIR "GET ALONG" CULTURE... ARE VERY MUCH LIKE
THE PRESSURES THAT WE FACE
TODAY IN OUR CULTURE, WHICH CLEARLY IS
A "GET ALONG" CULTURE. YOU KNOW, TODAY PEOPLE DON'T
MIND IF I TELL THEM THAT I'M
A FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST... AND THAT HE IS
MY LORD AND MY SAVIOR.
EVERYBODY'S GOOD WITH THAT. BUT IF I GET TO THE POINT WHERE
HE SAID THAT HE IS THE ONLY WAY, THAT'S WHERE
THE FRICTION STARTS TO COME,
BECAUSE WHEN JESUS SAYS THAT, HE SAYS THAT HIS WAY
IS RIGHT AND ALL THE
OTHER SYSTEMS ARE WRONG. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO
SAY IN OUR "GET ALONG" CULTURE. I RECALL A FAMOUS
TV INTERVIEWER WHOSE EVENING
PROGRAM WAS WATCHED... BY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. EVERY TIME HE WOULD
INTERVIEW A CHRISTIAN,
HE WOULD ASK THIS QUESTION: "ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE
WHO BELIEVES THAT JESUS
IS THE ONLY WAY?" TALK ABOUT STANDING UP FOR
CHRIST WITH EVERYBODY WATCHING. WELL, I HAVE TO SAY THAT
I WAS SHOCKED ONE NIGHT TO
HEAR A CHRISTIAN LEADER SAY, "WELL, HE IS THE ONLY WAY
FOR ME, BUT I CAN'T SAY THAT
FOR EVERYONE ELSE." HE FOLDED. THANKFULLY, ABOUT A MONTH LATER,
HE RETRACTED HIS STATEMENT... AND MADE THE CLAIM THAT INDEED HE DID BELIEVE THAT JESUS
WAS THE ONLY WAY. RIGHT AFTER 9/11, I WENT TO
THE CHICAGO PRAYER BREAKFAST. I'D GONE EVERY YEAR FOR YEARS. AT THE OUTSET, YOU KNOW,
THE NAME OF JESUS WAS HELD HIGH. PEOPLE PRAYED IN JESUS' NAME. BUT I'D NOTICED OVER THE YEARS THAT THAT SLOWLY WENT AWAY, AND IT BECAME MORE
OF A MULTIPLE, INTERFAITH
KIND OF PRAYER BREAKFAST. WELL, THIS YEAR, I WAS VERY
EXCITED BECAUSE A PASTOR FROM
WALL STREET IN NEW YORK CITY... WAS SPEAKING, AND HE WAS GONNA
TALK ABOUT THE DEVASTATION
THAT HAD HAPPENED... IN NEW YORK JUST MONTHS BEFORE. I'LL TELL YOU, HE WAS GOOD.
HE HAD THE RIGHT PACE. HIS ILLUSTRATIONS WERE GRIPPING. HIS WORDS WERE, LIKE, SPOT ON. I LOVED IT UNTIL
HE GOT TOWARD THE END, AND HE MADE THIS STATEMENT,
THAT NOW IN THE FUTURE... WE ARE GOING TO HAVE
TO DROP THE TRADITIONS
THAT DIVIDE US... SO THAT WE, IN MY WORDS,
CAN ALL GET ALONG. I KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS
TALKING ABOUT, THE DIVISIVE
REALITY OF JESUS CHRIST. CALLING JESUS A TRADITION THAT
DIVIDES US UNDERSELLS JESUS FOR
SURE, BUT THAT'S WHAT HE MEANT. WHEN HE WAS DONE
WITH HIS TALK, THE ENTIRE ROOM
EXPLODED IN APPLAUSE
WITH A STANDING OVATION. I KNEW THAT I COULDN'T STAND, THAT TO STAND
IN RESPONSE TO THAT WOULD
BE TO DENY JESUS CHRIST. I LOOKED AT MY FRIENDS
SITTING AROUND THE TABLE. THEY COULDN'T STAND,
EITHER. IT WAS THAT CLEAR,
THIS CALL TO GET ALONG. SO WHAT ARE WE TO DO TO FACE
THIS KIND OF PRESSURE? WELL, JESUS TELLS
THE CHURCH AT SARDIS TO, "HOLD FAST WHAT YOU HAVE
SO YOU DON'T LOSE YOUR CROWN." AND HE SAYS, "GUARD THE TRUTH." THAT WORD, "GUARD",
IS A MILITARY WORD, AS THOUGH
THIS TRUTH WILL BE ATTACKED. INDEED, IT IS, AND THAT WE ARE
CALLED TO GUARD THIS TRUTH. IT IS THE VERY HEART
OF OUR MESSAGE. AND THEN HE SAYS, "TO THOSE
WHO DO THIS, YOU WILL WALK
WITH ME IN WHITE ROBES." THAT WAS A GREAT PICTURE FOR
THESE PEOPLE AT SARDIS BECAUSE
IN ANCIENT VICTORY PROCESSIONS, THE CONQUEROR,
THE CHAMPION, WOULD
COME IN A GREAT PROCESSION, AND ALL OF HIS FOLLOWERS
WOULD BE IN WHITE ROBES
CELEBRATING THE VICTORY. JESUS IS INDICATING THAT SOMEDAY
HE WILL PROVE TO BE THE VICTOR, AND WE WILL WALK
IN THAT VICTORY PROCESSION. YOU KNOW, OUR "GET ALONG"
CULTURE MAY BE HAVING A REALLY
BIG INNING RIGHT NOW. JESUS SAYS THEY'RE GONNA LOSE
THE GAME, AND AT THE END OF IT,
I CAN'T WAIT TO BE ON HIS SIDE. HE ALSO SAYS, "AND I WILL
NOT TAKE YOUR NAME OUT OF
THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE." YOU KNOW, OUR WORLD MIGHT WRITE
US OFF BECAUSE WE DON'T LOOK
LIKE "GET ALONG" PEOPLE, BUT HE GUARANTEES
HE WILL NEVER WRITE US OFF, THAT HE WILL KEEP OUR NAME
FIRM BEFORE HIM, AND WELCOME US, FINALLY,
TO HEAVEN AND WITH HIM. MAY OUR CHURCHES HEAR
WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO
THE CHURCH AT SARDIS. YOU KNOW, I REALIZE THAT THIS IS
KIND OF A HARD NUT TO SWALLOW. I MEAN, WHO DOESN'T
WANT TO GET ALONG? I DO. WHO DOESN'T WANT TO
BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY'S
RIGHT AND NOBODY'S WRONG? OF COURSE, WE ALL DO.
IT'S SO ATTRACTIVE. BUT THERE'S SOMETHING
DEEPER GOING ON HERE... THAT REALLY TELLS US A LOT ABOUT THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST FOR US. YOU SEE, WE ARE SEPARATED
FROM GOD BY OUR GUILT, AND I GUESS NONE OF US WOULD
EVER SAY THAT WE'RE PERFECT
AND HAVE NEVER OFFENDED GOD. SO HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THAT,
UNLESS SOMEONE WOULD COME
AND PAY THE PRICE FOR US, AND IN PAYING THE PRICE FOR US,
WELCOME US TO HIMSELF AND TO
HIS FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN, NOT ONLY FOR AN ABUNDANT
LIFE HERE, BUT FOR AN ETERNAL,
ABUNDANT EXISTENCE WITH HIM? I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK
ABOUT THE OTHER RELIGIOUS
SYSTEMS OF THIS WORLD. WHO OFFERS THAT ASSURANCE
SECURELY, FIRMLY? NONE OF THEM DO.
ONLY JESUS OFFERS THAT. HE DIED FOR YOU
BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU,
BECAUSE HE KNEW HE WAS THE WAY. SO HE CAME TO
TAKE YOU ON THE WAY. I GUESS IF YOU CAME TO ME
AND YOU WERE IN AN EMERGENCY RUN
AND YOU ASKED FOR DIRECTIONS, AND I SAID, "WELL, ANY WAY IS
FINE. JUST... ANY WAY IS FINE," AND YOU ENDED UP
IN DEAD ENDS, AND... YOU WOULD BE KIND OF PUT OUT,
WOULDN'T YOU, THAT I JUST
TOLD YOU ANY WAY WAS FINE? AND I THINK WE'D BE PUT OUT
WITH GOD AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND CERTAINLY AT
THE END OF OUR LIVES IF
WE FINALLY BELIEVED THAT. I'M... AND I KNOW THAT
SOME OF US MAY BE THINKING, "WELL, WHAT OF THOSE
PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD?
HOW CAN THEY KNOW THE WAY?" WELL, GOD IS A GOD OF GREAT
MERCY AND BROAD GRACE. WHATEVER HE DOES WITH THOSE
PEOPLE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT,
AND WE'LL CELEBRATE THAT. THE ISSUE IS THAT YOU'VE HEARD,
AND I'VE HEARD, SO WHAT WILL WE DO
WITH THIS JESUS WHO IS
WONDERFULLY THE WAY?
