Christian Citizenship - Text of sermon preached in advance of EU Referendum (Sunday 19th June)

According to David Cameron this coming Thursday voters across the United Kingdom face what is possibly the biggest national decision of many of our lifetimes.

According to Boris Johnston this Thursday voters across the United Kingdom face what is possibly the biggest national decision of many of our lifetimes.

One thing that political rivals and opponents agree on is that the EU in/out referendum scheduled for this Thursday is a moment of real significance for this and for future generations.

It’s worth pausing to note that the Bible takes a very positive view of what is sometimes referred to as Christian citizenship. So for example in Romans chapter 13 Christians are instructed to be good citizens taking an active part in civic life through the paying of taxes,  and submission to the rule of law. In 1 Peter 2 Christians are encouraged to show respect for all in positions of authority, whilst in 1 Timothy 2 Christians are specifically told to pray for those who hold positions of political prominence and power.

The Bible takes a positive view of Christian citizenship. It is a privilege to be able to vote and the terrible murder of Jo Cox earlier this week serves as a reminder as to how precious democracy is and how terrible a thing hatred and violence are. But having this opportunity raises the question - how as Christian people should we think about and approach what is happening this Thursday?

Let me make a couple of further comments by way of introduction.

There are issues on which the Bible is clear and there are other issues where Christians who sincerely desire to live under the authority of God’s word will find themselves debating and disagreeing with each other.   

If you were to pick up a Bible this morning and search for words such as Europe, Britain, Brexit or Brussels you would quickly realise that these specific issues are not addressed in the Bible. In the latest edition of the Presbyterian Herald there is an article entitled ‘Leave or Remain?’ It makes that point, that Bible believing Christians, will find themselves coming to different conclusions and ultimately voting in different ways on this issue.

So what are we seeking to do here this morning? Let me begin negatively. This is not about trying to give a steer in a particular direction. It’s not about telling you how to vote, it’s not about hinting at how you should vote.

That same piece in The Presbyterian Herald adds this comment from Dr Norman Hamilton who takes the lead on these issues of public policy within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Norman writes: For those of us with a Christian conscience, we must try to hear what the Scriptures might be saying to us, if we are to vote wisely on 23^rd June.

So in opening the Bible on an issue like this we go looking not for a simple answer ‘Should I vote Leave or Remain?’ but we go looking for biblical principles that enable us to think and act in a God honouring way. I want us to think about this morning under four headings. The first word I want to put on the screen is the word:

Wisdom

My sister and her family were round with us last Sunday for lunch and we were chatting about the referendum. She said (she’ll not mind me quoting her) ‘I just don’t understand the whole thing.’

The issues surrounding the EU referendum are many and complex. Here is a decision that touches on issues ranging from farming to fishing, from national security to immigration, from employment rights to interest rates, with possible implications for house prices, the health service, business practices, our place in the world and so the list goes on. Like my sister I certainly don’t understand the whole thing. So where do we turn? Let me encourage you to go the book of James. James chapter 1 verse 5 (page 1213):

‘If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.’

When you face decisions, complex decisions – how do you weigh things up? How do you make up your mind? If you are a Christian this verse from the book James encourages you to realise that God is real and relevant when it comes to making decisions – be they big or small. So here’s a picture of Christian decision making – not simply going with what somebody else says. Not simply going on gut instinct but rather taking time to pray and to ask God to give you wisdom.

Second word I want us to think about is the word:

Identity

Different people express their identity in different ways. I know people here who would describe themselves as British. I know other people who would describe themselves as being Irish or Northern Irish. I’ve spoken to others in Ballyhenry who have a strong sense of being European, others who have no sense of being European at all. Different people express their identity in different ways. When we read the New Testament we realise that it was the same within the early Christian church. The church that we meet in the pages of the New Testament contained people from a whole variety of backgrounds. You had people who were Romans, you had people who were Greeks, you had people who were Jews.

How do you think in a Christian way about your own identity in such a diverse context? Turn this time to Philippians. Philippians chapter 3 (p. 1180).

Paul is writing to a church made up of all kinds of people in the city of Philippi. Here’s what he says (vs 20):

‘Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there.’

When you become a Christian it doesn’t take away your identity. If you’re British it doesn’t change you into something else. If you’re Irish it doesn’t suddenly remove that. If you love all things European that isn’t suddenly zapped away by becoming a Christian. But what does change is how you understand those identities. Those identities become second place identities to a new identity in Christ. Our salvation, our hope does not come from London or from Brussels. So neither Britain nor Europe commands our ultimate loyalty. Our citizenship is in heaven, and while we live and actively engage with life here and now, we eagerly await a Saviour from there.

Wisdom. Identity. Third word I want to put on the screen is the word:

Values

Values are important when it comes to making decisions. What values should be important to those of us who are Christian people when it comes to making important decisions? Want to stay in Philippians for this. In Phlippians 2 Paul is speaking how Jesus set aside the privileges of heaven to come down this earth where he would die upon the cross for us. In verse 4 Paul invites Christians to apply this model to their own lives.

Here’s what he says:

‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but to the interests of the others.’

If you watch TV debates surrounding this referendum, if you read much of the literature posted through your doors or circulated on social media there’s a common argument that runs through both the Remain and Leave campaigns.

The remain campaign says ‘you will be better off if you stay in the EU’.

The leave campaign says ‘you will be better off if you leave the EU’.

Look again at Philippians 2. ‘In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but to the interests of others.’

The Bible encourages those of us who are Christians to ask not ‘how will this affect me’, but ‘how will this affect other people’ – when it comes to making decisions. In both Old and New Testaments the Bible teaches that we are by nature self-centred people, self-interested people. But the Bible also teaches that when we are saved Jesus begins to turn us inside out. In to people who in the words of Leviticus ‘love our neighbours’.

That word ‘neighbour’ in the Bible is a big word. It extends beyond my tribe, it extends beyond my socio-economic group, it extends beyond my religious community, it extends beyond my borders. And again the issues are complex and sincere Christian people argue different ways as to whether an outward looking agenda can best be served in or out of the EU. But do you see the principle? Jesus calls us to be thinking carefully about what is best for other people when we have choices to make.

Wisdom. Identity. Values.

In closing I want us to see how the Bible contrasts:

Fear and faith

There’s been a lot of talk about ‘fear’ in the context of the referendum debate with each side accusing the other of seeking to play on the fears of voters. People talk about their fears about the economy, about jobs, about healthcare and education, fears about immigration, fears about becoming isolated, fears about terrorism and security. Then of course for Christian people there is an often expressed added fear that in or out Christian values are being eroded across Europe and across Britain.

Two Bible references to finish. Isaiah chapter 40 vs 15 (p. 725):

‘Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales, He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.’

Friends the Bible tells us that we are very small and the nations of this world are very small. And God is very big. And God is Sovereign and His plans in history and in salvation stand secure. He is very big. Final reference comes from the book of Acts.  Acts tells the story of the spread of the gospel across the first century world. It was a complex world, a changing world, a world of Empires and nations. Secular histories of the time name all the big players, chart all the big debates, cite all the key decisions and choices that appeared to shape the world.

But in the midst of it all something else was happening. It’s described in Acts 19 verse 20 (p. 1116):

‘… the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.’

So do you see that Christians look forward in faith and not in fear. We believe that God is doing something and whatever happens, and whatever decisions are made, God is still capable of causing the gospel of Jesus to spread and to grow in power. His purposes and His plans are unshakeable and they are secure.

What will it mean this week for us to think and act as Christian citizens? We have thought this morning from the Bible about wisdom, identity, principles and the contrast between faith and fear. Jesus is Lord, and for that we give Him much praise and much thanks. Amen.