What Does Opposition to Chris Broussard Tell Us?
00:00:00.000 | [MUSIC]
00:00:04.920 | In episode 92, we talked about a recent event in the news.
00:00:07.680 | NBA star Jason Collins came out and announced that he's gay,
00:00:10.840 | becoming the first openly gay professional athlete in American team sports,
00:00:14.240 | at least in male sports.
00:00:15.880 | And he also claims to be a Christian.
00:00:17.800 | That same day, ESPN analyst Chris Broussard responded by saying, quote,
00:00:22.520 | if you're openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be,
00:00:26.000 | not just homosexuality, I believe that's walking in open rebellion to God and
00:00:30.800 | to Jesus Christ, end quote.
00:00:33.200 | For this statement, Broussard got called things like unkind, hateful, abusive,
00:00:37.720 | a bigot, and intolerant.
00:00:39.200 | So here's the follow up question, Pastor John.
00:00:41.320 | Is this hostile response to Broussard for calling homosexuality a sin and
00:00:45.480 | an offense to God a sign of things to come in the United States?
00:00:49.880 | >> It is a sign of things to come, though I want to be very careful not
00:00:55.760 | to presume that I know the final outcome in this century or the next.
00:01:05.760 | Meaning, I do think there is biblical warrant and
00:01:10.640 | cultural warrant to expect things to get worse.
00:01:14.440 | In other words, expect more sin to be flaunted more openly and
00:01:20.480 | more biblical truth to be criticized more severely.
00:01:24.960 | I think that's very, very likely.
00:01:28.760 | But that doesn't say anything about whether God might step in
00:01:33.920 | at the very darkest hour and pour out his Holy Spirit upon his church and
00:01:40.040 | then upon the world through his church and call people to repentance such that
00:01:44.880 | a stunning awakening and turning happens.
00:01:48.520 | So when I say yes, I think things are going to get worse.
00:01:53.320 | I don't hold that long term with any great conviction because I don't know what
00:01:58.200 | God's plan is in this age short of the second coming.
00:02:02.280 | But it might be helpful for me to give the biblical reason why I think
00:02:07.360 | things are going to get worse.
00:02:08.440 | It says in Jude 1, you must remember, beloved,
00:02:12.960 | the predictions of the apostles of the Lord when they said,
00:02:18.040 | in the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions.
00:02:24.520 | Now, I know that we live in the last times already, but
00:02:27.720 | they're picturing a significant, it seems,
00:02:33.080 | outcropping of scoffing kind of ungodly
00:02:38.680 | giving over of yourself to passions near the end of time.
00:02:42.680 | Or 2 Timothy, the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching,
00:02:48.400 | but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit
00:02:52.280 | their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and
00:02:56.080 | wander off into myths.
00:02:58.560 | So Paul saw a time coming when that would be worse than it was in his
00:03:03.480 | own time, even though it was bad then.
00:03:06.160 | Same thing in 2 Thessalonians, that there's a man of lawlessness coming
00:03:10.400 | by the activity of Satan with power and false signs and wonders and
00:03:14.560 | wicked deception.
00:03:16.120 | So I think that the picture in the Bible is that toward the end of this age,
00:03:21.720 | things get really bleak.
00:03:24.040 | The implication of that is that we shouldn't be surprised.
00:03:29.720 | Jesus said, a disciple is not above his teacher,
00:03:33.240 | a servant is not above his master.
00:03:34.960 | If they have called the master of the house, namely me, Beelzebul,
00:03:38.800 | how much more will they malign those of his household?
00:03:41.120 | And so Jesus is saying, "Look, don't expect to be treated better than I
00:03:45.920 | was treated, and I'm going to be crucified."
00:03:48.520 | And that's what Peter says in his epistle is, "Don't think of strange brothers
00:03:52.520 | when a fiery ordeal should come upon you."
00:03:55.600 | So the upshot of this for the church, I think, is that we not become embittered
00:04:02.240 | or cranky, but that we return good for evil, that we love our enemies,
00:04:08.120 | that we boldly proclaim the gospel and make the main thing the main thing,
00:04:13.520 | that we expose the darkness.
00:04:15.840 | In fact, I'm not sure many people know that Ephesians 5.11 is in the Bible
00:04:20.240 | because it says, "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness,
00:04:25.760 | but instead expose them."
00:04:28.560 | And I think the exposure happens not mainly by having a website that is totally
00:04:35.200 | negative and just points out problem, problem, problem.
00:04:37.800 | Mainly, darkness is exposed by light, by contrast.
00:04:43.840 | And so making the gospel the main thing and heralding the good news of kingdom
00:04:49.640 | truth and the work of Christ on behalf of sinners and the power of the gospel and the
00:04:54.160 | power of the Holy Spirit to change people so that we love the world.
00:04:59.920 | And that word "love" just brings one more thing to my mind.
00:05:02.840 | I preached a sermon, what, several weeks ago in which I saw this passage in 2 John
00:05:12.720 | where he says, "Many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess the
00:05:19.960 | coming of Christ."
00:05:21.120 | And he said that was the ground for why the church should love each other more,
00:05:28.640 | each other more.
00:05:30.280 | So he said it like this, "This is love that we walk according to His commandments.
00:05:38.240 | This is the commandment, just as you heard from the beginning,
00:05:41.120 | that you should walk in it, love one another, for," that's the ground,
00:05:46.880 | "many deceivers have gone out into the world."
00:05:49.320 | And I said to the church, "Isn't it remarkable that the more pessimistic you
00:05:55.440 | feel about the world, the more you should love your brother,
00:06:00.600 | the more you should love Christians because there's something about a loving,
00:06:04.000 | caring, happy body of people that protects them from the infection of the world and
00:06:11.320 | the bitterness of the world and the anger and immorality of the world?"
00:06:16.480 | So I think the upshot, Tony, of all this is that we should pray for the coming
00:06:21.920 | of the Lord in two senses.
00:06:24.480 | The ultimate coming, maranatha, come Lord Jesus.
00:06:27.400 | Oh, how we would like this world to be transformed into a beautiful portrayal
00:06:31.080 | of Christ.
00:06:32.080 | But we also mean pray for His powerful in-breaking now.
00:06:38.440 | Don't give up on your church or your denomination or the city you live in,
00:06:44.040 | thinking, "Well, no revival could happen here.
00:06:46.400 | No reformation could happen here."
00:06:48.800 | How do you know God is sovereign?
00:06:50.480 | All things are possible with the Lord.
00:06:52.880 | - Thank you, Pastor John.
00:06:55.040 | The sermon mentioned earlier is titled, "Life Together at the End of the Age,"
00:06:59.480 | and it was preached on February 25th, 2013, and you can find it at
00:07:03.040 | desiringgod.org.
00:07:04.880 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke.
00:07:05.760 | Thanks for listening.
00:07:06.520 | ♪ [music] ♪
00:07:09.520 | ♪ [music] ♪
00:07:12.520 | [BLANK_AUDIO]