WOKE Part 1 – Ephesians 4:17-32

May 16, 2022May 16, 2022 / Scott Russ / Leave a comment

THEME VERSES: Ephesians 5:13-14

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible. this is why it is said: “Wake up. O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Y’all need to get woke! See, even the apostle Paul says it! Now I know you all are thinking, “Whoa, what exactly do you mean by that?” I get it. So, let’s look at how the term “WOKE” has been used throughout history. Wikipedia tells us that:

“Woke is an English adjective meaning “alert to racial prejudice and discrimination” that originated in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as sexism, and has also been used as shorthand for left-wing ideas involving identity politics and social justice….

The phrase stay woke had emerged in AAVE by the 1930s, in some contexts referring to an awareness of the social and political issues affecting African Americans. The phrase was uttered in a recording by Lead Belly and later by Erykah Badu. Following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, the phrase was popularized by Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists seeking to raise awareness about police shootings of African Americans. After seeing use on Black Twitter, the term woke became an Internet meme and was increasingly used by white people, often to signal their support for BLM, which some commentators have criticized as cultural appropriation. Mainly associated with the millennial generation, the term spread internationally and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2017.

The terms woke capitalism and woke-washing have arisen to describe companies who signal support for progressive causes as a substitute for genuine reform. By 2020, parts of the political center and right-wing in several Western countries were using the term woke, often in an ironic way, as an insult for various progressive or leftist movements and ideologies perceived as overzealous, performative, or insincere. In turn, some commentators came to consider it an offensive term with negative associations to those who promote political ideas involving identity and race. By 2021, woke had become used almost exclusively as a pejorative, with most prominent usages of the word taking place in a disparaging context.

So, as you can see, being WOKE used to be a positive thing in the sense that someone has become aware of the effect and impact of racism. They get it. They had an awakening to better understanding and empathy for those suffering from racism. But now, as we come into our recent culture wars, we see the word “WOKE” being used as a negative, disparaging way of describing people or companies that promote progressive ideas. WOKE is used as a manipulative word to signal opposition to people and corporations who may disagree with the political right.

Now that we understand all of this, in what sense are we supposed to be WOKE? Paul tells us to be woke in the letter to the Ephesians. He says, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” I want us to look at the theological understanding of which Paul wants us to be woke. It is important that we understand this as a theological term rather than a political hammer to smear the opposition. This is a term that Paul uses to shock us out of an old way of life and into a new way of life.

In the letter to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul takes chapters 1-3 to explain all that Jesus has done for us. First, Paul summarizes God’s story. Then in chapters 4-6, Paul explains how God’s story should reshape our story.

We will pick up where we left off last week in chapter 4 of the letter to the Ephesians. Paul begins by stating that to be woke to this new way of life, we need to stop acting like unbelievers. Living in Ephesus had to be tough. Temptation was everywhere. Ephesus was a leading city of commerce and culture in the Roman Empire. It was the home of the pagan temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The worship of Diana involved the worst immorality of pagan religion. This influence made Ephesus a wicked place to live. Temple prostitution, crime, immorality, idolatry, and every conceivable form of sin were practiced. Many of the Christians in Ephesus came out of that kind of background. In contrast to this evil background, Paul states, “Don’t live like that any longer!”

He says in Ephesians 4:17-19
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

In this passage, we see that the unbelievers continue to live in the darkness. This involves futile thinking. They think in the moment and have no concept of the bigger picture of what God is trying to accomplish. They think only of themselves with no regard for others. They are ignorant because of the hardening of their hearts. They have no sensitivity to the Spirit’s leading. Instead, they have given themselves over to anything they want, leading to immorality and greed. It appears that the Ephesian church might have been struggling with this, understanding the old way of life in contrast to the new way of life. This is something that every pastor deals with in leading their congregation. We can see this play out with this video called the Honest Pastor.

HONEST PASTOR

Paul contrasts the way of the Gentile with the way of a Christ-follower. To be a Christ-follower is to be WOKE to a new way of living. Paul states in Ephesians 4:20-24

20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Becoming WOKE is definitely a process in which we learn how to be a Christ-follower. It is a process of unlearning habits of the former way of life and instead, forming habits for a new way of life. We are to put off the old self and put on the new self. We are to be made new by the attitude of our minds. This is a new way of thinking. A new way of being. A new way of looking at life and our purpose in God’s story. As we better understand how we fit into God’s story, we let go of our old way of life and embrace a new way of life, transforming us to be more righteous and holy.

Paul then gives us 5 things that we must change as we live into being a Christ-follower. The first thing he deals with is what is coming out of our mouths. Are we using our words to lie or be people of truth? He states in Ephesians 4:25

25 Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Truth needs to be a central characteristic of a Christ-follower. Unfortunately, we live in a day where so much falsehood is put out there, and it is so easy to get caught up in things like fake news, alternative facts, and blatant lies. It has become a key characteristic of our culture over the past several years. Many online webpages and news sources have found how to get viewers by keeping their audience in a perpetual state of fear and anger. It is a corrosive and cancerous way of being. Instead, we find our truth in what Christ has done for us. We find our truth in how we are invited into God’s Story instead of the ugly and hateful narratives that permeate our culture. If you are caught up in false narratives and fake news, you’ve gotten off course.

The next thing Paul contrasts is how we deal with anger. Do you have constructive anger or destructive anger? Paul says in Ephesians 4:26-27

26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

We cannot allow anger to seep in and become the main characteristic of who we are. It can have a harsh and destructive effect on us. Based on what I see some people posting on the internet, I can tell you that some are living in a perpetual state of anger: anger at the government, anger at scientists, anger at the church, and anger at the schools. This is not healthy, nor is it Christ-like. Is anger always wrong? No, of course not. When we see the injustice being done to people all around the world, it ought to break our hearts and stir up righteous anger in us. But the difference here is that this should lead us to do what we can to bring God’s love and healing to situations of injustice and hate. First, there is an anger that leads us to do what is right for the sake of others. Then there is an anger that becomes a cancer to our soul, eating us from the inside out, hurting and destroying our relationships with others.

The third thing Paul addresses are the contrast between theft and work. He states in Ephesians 4:28

28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

It is interesting to note why he says we should work. It is so that we can help others who are in need! We are not supposed to figure out how to cheat, lie and steal, but instead, have a solid work ethic where we are taking care of ourselves and others. Honest work is a godly value where you learn how to take care of your needs and help other people in need. When we are blessed through honest work, we can meet our needs and help others.

Fourth, Paul contrasts bad language with good language. He says in Ephesians 4:29

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

What comes out of our mouths ought to benefit others. It should build people up, challenge, inspire and uplift people. This would include what we post online as well as what we speak with our mouths. We live in a new information age where we can put out a lot of words both verbally and online. There have even been examples in recent news of pastors who have created virtual fake online personas in which they can post and say things that would shock their congregation if they knew this was their pastor. What we say, what we type, and what we post reflect our true identity, even if you are hiding behind a false identity online.

And then lastly, Paul shows us that we need to let go of the old way of life and embrace the Holy Spirit’s transformation into a new way of life. He says in Ephesians 4:30-32

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Our actions and attitudes need to reflect the Holy Spirit’s transformation of our life. We let go of what would grieve the Spirit, and we take on things like kindness, compassion, and forgiveness towards others. We are to build each other up and not tear each other down. Paul reminds us in the letter to the Romans that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. Why then would we think anything less would help to attract people to our church? We need to be people of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. When we act like this, people will be drawn to our faith. This will be the evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in your life and transforming you to be more like Jesus.

As I was growing up in the evangelical church, a big question that we always had was, “How do I know for sure that I am saved?” However, the more I have grown in the faith and studied Scripture, I believe that the biggest evidence of salvation is recognizing how the Holy Spirit is changing you and transforming you to be more like Jesus. So, take a good hard look at yourself. Are you still asleep, living out the old way of life? Or are you WOKE to the reality of the Holy Spirit making you more like Jesus each and every day?

Our faith should influence our behavior. We should be transformed through the inner working of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t just behavior modification, though, but a new way of thinking and living. Being WOKE to the reality of the Spirit in our lives.

Are you allowing the Spirit of God to work within you, or are you holding out on the Spirit? We can push him off or invite him in to change us to be more like Jesus.

The OLD way of life produces disunity, disfunction, fracturing, and broken relationships.

The NEW way of life produces unity, love, harmony, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.

Which are you?

No Fear

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 / Scott Russ / Leave a comment

Fear

While I will be the first to admit I kind of lost my mind during and after the 2016 election, I was genuinely upset by what was happening to the Republican party in it’s choice of Trump. You may really like him, or you may really hate him, but this is an important book that you should read. Bob Woodward is a highly respected journalist who became famous for breaking the Watergate story on President Nixon. Since then he has written many books about the presidents and the government. I’ve also read “Bush at War” when it came out.

While I believe that character matters, especially when it comes to our leaders, this book shows exactly the opposite with what is going on in the White House. Democrats dismissed President Bill Clinton’s moral indiscretions back in the ’90’s, while the Republicans seem to be doing the same with Trump.

I believe pretty strongly that we are living in a time where we have a lack of leadership in the government as well as the church. Morality and character seem to have been replaced by power and control by any means. I personally miss the days when the two parties, while having their differences, seemed to have enough respect for each other that they worked together for the common good of the country. My belief in where we have failed was in the creation of the 24 hour news cycle. News transformed to be more commentary than factual reporting, thus creating news that tailors to your specific politics. If you are conservative, you have Fox News. If you are liberal, you have MSNBC. Truth has been hijacked to become truth AS I SEE IT. Facts don’t matter anymore. I just interpret things as I want them to be. We are truly living in post-modern times where truth is relative. Truth is what I make it to be, regardless of actual facts. And this is one aspect of Trump that deeply concerns me. He defines his own truth regardless of facts. And the scary thing is, his base (not saying all Republicans) eats it up. This concerns me. Again and again in the book, people in his own cabinet claim that Trump is incapable of the truth. Instead, he creates the narrative he wants.

The interesting thing here is that I grew up in the evangelical church that warned me about post-modernism and truth becoming relative. What is shocking to me is how 80% of the evangelicals embraced Trump. So what were Christians to do? Vote for Clinton? I don’t know what the answer was but I can say when it came to character, both parties picked candidates with glaring character flaws which made this election difficult for a lot of people. I have a relative that made the decision to not vote at all, and I have to say, now that time has passed, I have more respect for that decision. In every election I have been a part of, I always hear the phrase, “I am voting for the lesser of two evils.” Well, this election might have been the epitome of that more than any other election.

While there is a lack of character, integrity and truth from those in government, this presents an opportunity for the church to rise up and lead in these areas. Instead, you have a large percentage of evangelicals identifying themselves with Trump, and there are incredible moral failing playing out in the evangelical and Catholic churches, and many denominations are not leading in the way of Christ because they are too enamored by the “way of Caesar” with power and control.

My hope is that we as a church, the Bride of Christ, wake up to the history of when the church tried to identify itself with political power. Every time it failed. The church lost in a big way, again and again. It is time we find our main identity with Jesus and the kingdom of God more than any other system. It is that which should unify us above the mess that our country finds itself in. Truth matters. Character matters. Jesus matters.

If we want to have any hope in reaching younger generations we need to show them the way of Christ lived out through the Sermon on the Mount and the teachings of Jesus. We need to be able to talk about what is true and false in both political parties allowing the Bible to be our standard. We need to model what it means to serve the least and the lost. We need to lead through servant leadership, empowering others to live lives of community, love and respect. The church needs to be counter-cultural in this respect. So my encouragement to you is to tread lightly when it comes to politics. It would be nice to have moral leaders who live out character that you would want your kids to look up to. Unfortunately that is not the case. So instead of finding our main identity in political parties or leaders, let’s get serious about finding our main identity in Christ, and Christ alone. And let’s be honest, Jesus would not easily fit into either political party. My fear is that we would not recognize him if he were to appear and we would crucify him all over again. Let’s get back to the business of the church being the bride of Christ and live such counter-cultural lives that actually ATTRACT people to Him instead of repelling people away from Him because of our political affiliations. We must rise above this.

It’s Time to Repent

August 25, 2018 / Scott Russ / 1 Comment

Crisis-Ahead-r If anybody is paying attention to the news in politics and faith it is quite certain that we are in a crisis right now. I wasn’t old enough to remember the Nixon administration but I believe that we are in a much more critical point in our history right now. Our government is caught up in one scandal after another. And this is not just typical politics. This is a crisis of integrity, leadership and ethics on a scale I have never seen before. But then we look at the church and in several pockets we see the same type of crisis playing out. Willow Creek, a very influential church to the global church community, is in one of their own scandals as well as the Catholic church having yet again another pedophile ring that was covered up. This is not about being a republican versus a democrat or a protestant versus a Catholic. Instead, what I am seeing is a massive failure of leadership on a national scale. Our government is a mess, (and if you don’t believe that your ignoring facts and labeling it as fake news), and I would say the church in America is a mess also.

So what are we to do?

Take sin seriously. The first thing we need to do is to understand how our sin can be a major factor in not only harming ourselves but in harming others. Our culture is rampant in creating a culture of fear. We see this in immigration, we see this in our idolatry of the gun, we see this in politics, and on and on. We must be afraid of “the other”. If they infringe on our rights we demonize those who disagree with us. Jesus states in Matthew 18:6-9 that:

If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! ⁸If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

This passage is not necessarily endorsing killing perpetrators or self-mutilation. Instead Jesus is making the case that we need to take sin very seriously. What we do will have ripple-effects and consequences. I am reminded of the incident in which King David took it upon himself to rape Bathsheba then cover it up by murdering her husband. He suffered the consequences for those action when the prophet Nathan confronted him, but little did he realize his children were watching all this play out. The very sins of David impacted his children as they too became complicit in rape and murder. We need to take sin seriously by realizing the importance for us to be examples for the next generations. And if all we do is harm others through hate, fear, violence and division then it would be better to have a large millstone tied around your neck and drowned in the sea.

Also when we see sin taking root in our own lives Jesus doesn’t mince words in that we need to CUT IT OUT. By all means take it very seriously and get help to stop it in it’s tracks so that it doesn’t lead to destruction.

Now this may seem contradictory, but the second thing we need to do is humble ourselves and realize we are sinners in need of the mercy of God. In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus tells a parable about two people in the temple. Here is what happened:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

All to often we want to look at ourselves as better than others. With social media it is even easier now to compare and contrast everything about you in relation to others, hoping that you will get more likes than you last post. Many of us portray the perfect image of ourselves. We like to think that we are basically a good person. But when we look at this parable we see the Pharisee gloating in his own self-righteousness while the tax collector begged for God’s mercy because he understood the heart of his problem, he was a sinner. Imagine if the church made it a practice, just like many say the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday, if we also said the tax collector’s prayer, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” First of all this prayer does not shy away from the root issue: we are sinners. But also, it is a merciful God that takes care of us. We need more humility and more mercy. We also need to be people who show mercy to those affected by sin, especially victims of sin.

And finally, we need to be people of unity and peace. Paul says in Ephesians 2:14-18

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.¹⁸For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Jesus has brought peace and unity creating within us a new humanity. We need to stop giving into generational categories or political categories or any categories that separate us and cause us to judge others. Jesus came to unite the Jews with the Gentiles thus creating a new humanity that demonstrates peace. We are called to be people of peace. The church of all places needs to be a place that people know they can receive mercy and grace. Yet too many feel that the church today is too judgmental, and too political, and too self-righteous. This should not be who we are. Those who are struggling with sin and those who are victims of sin need to find a safe place for confession, repentance and restoration. We must get back to the roots of who we are as the people of God, people of grace, mercy and peace where there is no more division but unity among one another.

May God have mercy on me, a sinner.

Reflections on The Prophets

August 3, 2018 / Scott Russ / Leave a comment

prophets1 I just finished reading through the prophets in the Old Testament. What made an impression on me was the way in which God held whole nations accountable for their actions. He held them accountable for their violence, their greed, and how they treated their own people as well as other nations. Special care was directed at the people on the fringe: the alien, the stranger, the poor.

Reflecting on this, it scares me how God must view America right now. What we have done at the border separating families and abusing kids is reprehensible. Nationalism has risen it’s ugly head and become it’s own religion. The idea of “America First” flies in the face of Jesus’ teaching that the first will be last and the last will be first. The idea that we are a “Christian Nation” is really laughable. America needs prophetic voices to call out injustice and hypocrisy right now. Unfortunately over 70% of evangelical Christians approve of where we are politically. Then there are churches who do not connect the dots from Scripture to our modern day problems as a nation. Instead they preach a Gospel devoid of justice. To show any type of criticism toward our nation could alienate you from a percentage of your audience. But we need prophetic voices that call out the injustices that are happening right under our noses. A church that just preaches a feel-good message without ever calling for justice is the very thing that some of the false prophets throughout the Old Testament were called out for and were held accountable.

I worry about the American Church. It has become seduced with political power and has mixed religion with nationalism. This is just out-right idolatry. We are guilty of some of the very same sins that Israel was guilty of and were held accountable for throughout Scripture. And to think that there are those who believe that our religious freedoms are under attack. Once again, we need to look at all the examples throughout Scripture and history of those who were really persecuted and executed for their faith. That was real persecution. Yet story after story you see how God brings beauty out of the ugliness of Christian persecution. They were willing to suffer and be executed for their faith. Yet in our country we are told we can now say “Merry Christmas”. Really? Was that really a thing?

It is time for an Awakening. For a new generation of Christ-followers who love God and love people, but are also willing to call out injustice and seek ways to mobilize the church to be more prophetic. These are dark times we are living in yet either we are oblivious to it or we are complicit as we praise our national leaders, demand our rights, and demand that we are first. I honestly wrestle with what I am seeing with our nation as well as the contemporary church. It is ironic that we live in the information age yet the church is becoming more and more biblically illiterate. We want our own personal Jesus that makes us feel good about ourselves but we ignore the God who holds nations accountable for their sins. It time for the church to revisit the Prophets and realize that we have a responsibility to care for the alien, stranger, poor, outcast, the people on the fringes. We need to get back to reaching out instead of protecting the base. The church ought to be the consciousness of the nation, not a complicit partner with the nation.

There is a reason why so many people are walking away from the American Church and I believe that one of those reasons is that we have become irrelevant. We are not seeking justice, we are not offering mercy and we certainly are not acting humble. We have drifted a long way from what Scripture teaches us. May God have mercy on us and may his Spirit awaken us to the truth.