Psalm 139:13-16“13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men. 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Deuteronomy 24:14“Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.”

Zechariah 7:10“Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor.  Do not plot evil against one another.”

Leviticus 19:33-34 “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”

Nehemiah 4:23“Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.”

1 Timothy 2:1-4“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Now that I have your attention and maybe even a bit riled up, what is causing you your agitation? A: Anger—at who?, Offended? Disagreement?  Entitlement? Justification?

 What is lost when you read such scriptures without their context?  A: The heart and spirit of God behind the truth.

How do we know God’s heart on what is moral and what is not?  A: The Word (Bible).

How can we make sense and live out God’s heart without the help of the Holy Spirit? A: You can’t, for it is impossible on your own.

How does one receive even receive the Holy Spirit? A: Must become a child of God through the lifesaving work of Jesus.

So what becomes the most important starting point for a follower of Christ speaking into our culture?  A: The gospel message about how Jesus can change your life.

Our message of good news is lost in the sound bites of political dialogue, so the term “evangelical” has come to mean “bigotry, hatred, and intolerant.”  What is lost is that we see all of us as sinners in need of a savior.  We come to Jesus to get clean, not get clean before coming to Jesus. 

^{The exclusivity of Jesus.}

John 14:6“I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

• The way- no other path to finding lasting peace with God.
• The truth- all other paths in time will be revealed as imperfect and fraudulent, offering at best fleeting peace with themselves but not with God.
• The life- life that is fulfilling, free from bondage, and without fear is found in Christ alone.

The Word is vital to the cause of Jesus.1 Timothy 4:11-16

• We know the way to live in how to speak, how to conduct ourselves in various situations, and how to love more purely by the study of the Word. (12b)
• Our faith is strengthened by the consistent validation of the wisdom of God’s Word. (13)
  • As a result, we are to be devoted to the public reading of Scripture and to preaching and teaching.

• Our human tendency is to re-form truth situationally, so we are to watch our doctrine closely. (16a)
• If our doctrine fails, our message fails, if our message fails, then both we and others lose out on the salvation that comes in the gospel. (16b)

Jesus is our message of hope. 

Hebrews 6:19-20a“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.”

Take aways.

1. Be experts of the Word, and less so on political posturing.
2. Be focused on saving the soul rather than winning the argument.
3. Let your words provide hope in the good news that Jesus offers.