“John responded, ‘Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.’ ‘Don’t stop him,’ Jesus told him, ‘because whoever is not against you is for you.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)
We live in a culture that is increasingly turning against the Christian faith. The level of tolerance the church receives as an institution is dropping like a stone in some places. There are still pockets where things haven’t changed very much from where they were 50 years ago (I happen to live in one and love it), but there are others where the people in power seem dead set on railroading the church out of existence. In Finland, there is an ongoing case whose outcome will determine whether or not reading certain verses from the Scriptures is considered hate speech. In the face of such a cultural tide, the internal unity of the church becomes all the more important. Big, public fights within the church stemming from differences of opinion on whether or not something is a first-tier issue on which we must plant our flag or a second- or third-tier matter where a bit more diversity of views can be tolerated do not help us. In the wake of the recent Super Bowl 58, we have seen exactly that kind of a debate unfold. Let’s talk today for a few minutes about the He Gets Us campaign debate.
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