TheBible

Series Outline• The Big Reveal

• What’s the big deal?

• PROVING the Myth

• DISPROVING the Myth

• Busted?

“A Christian should boycott.”

What is the Big Deal?• “A Christian should boycott.”

• If you’re wrong:– You’re putting out a pretty serious public statement about Christianity and its purpose.

• If you’re right:– You’re starving wickedness from its cash flow, staying true to your morals, and taking a stand for a good cause.

Boycott Pastime• Do ye know what a boycott even be?– Charles C. Boycott (1832-1897)– English land manager in Ireland.– Poor were exploited by rich landowners.– Charles Parnell, a politician, suggested that any landowner who refused to lower rates should be treated as if they didn’t exist.

– Boycott was the test case in 1880.– Faced complete societal isolation.

• So why don’t we “parnell?”

Boycott Pastime• Boy, do we Americans love the sport!– BP– France– KFC– McDonalds– Nike– Coca Cola– Made in China– Anything in Arizona– Israeli Potatoes

The New Challenge• Lately, social media has enabled the mobilization of large-scale boycotts within the Christian community.– Disneyland– Starbucks– Home Depot– Sony– J.C. Penny– Boeing– Microsoft– Google

The Bible tells us not to be polluted by the world, and we should not financially support wickedness.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look

after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from

being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

James 4:4

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1 John 2:15

Initial Warnings• The world can pollute you.– James 1:27

• Love of the world makes for an enemy with God.– James 4:4

• Love of the world conflicts with the love of the Father.– Bi-lateral warnings?– 1 John 2:15

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the

knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

2 Peter 2:20

Self Control• Even after salvation, the world seeks to entangle and overcome you.

• This leaves the possibility of being in a state that is “worse than the first.”

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Ephesians 5:11

Pay Dirt• This warrants some further exploration:

• Read Ephesians 5:1-17– No hint of immorality or impurity.– Do not be partakers with them.– Have nothing to do with deeds of darkness.

– Rather, expose them.

Paul teaches about exercising freedom, not for indulgence but to remain accessible to the lost.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send

out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will

throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and

gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:40-42

Oft Overlooked• Jesus gives us some key facts about our condition while on this Earth:– We share the same plot of land with the wicked.

– It will be so until the end of the age.– Even the angels cannot separate and destroy without risking innocents.

– At the end of the age, Jesus will weed out...• All who do evil.• Everything that causes sin.

“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of

conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising

questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake — the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours.

For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I

thank God for?

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the

glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the

church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

1 Corinthians 10:23-33

Salient Points• Paul does not instruct the Christians to create their own market, or external society. They can buy anything in freedom.

• His example of abstaining is for the sake of his weaker conscience, not that of the other’s.

• Paul puts motive over action:– “Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.”

– “...so that many can be saved.”

Anatomy of a Boycott• It is a display of (economic) power.• The point is to convince the target that its financially worthwhile to discontinue a practice.

• It sends a message that a large number (or majority) disagrees.

• Is this how Jesus went about bringing change to the world?– Depending on economic power or political majorities is a guaranteed losing tactic in the long-run!

What Objective?• What is the intended outcome of the boycott?

• Vindication by culture?• A temporary slowing of the cancerous tumor of sin this world is dying from?

• Do you think we’ve actually changed minds about the core issues?

Slippery Slope• Extreme care needs to be applied to the boundaries of the Christian boycotter.

• Six degrees of separation? Money has more like 2 degrees of separation.

• Ask yourself now if it’s God’s plan for you to effectively exit society.

Conditionally.

True Objectives• If you participate in a boycott, why do you do it? What do you want to see accomplished?

• What are you supposed to desire as the outcome of your labor?

• Does boycotting produce this outcome?

Stern Warning• Jesus had some pretty strong words for those who restricted their practices for public righteousness in disregard to compassion.

• They called themselves Pharisees.

• He called them hypocrites.– Will you boycott Starbucks, yet pay your taxes on a Microsoft phone through Google wallet?

The Good of Many• Important note!– There is a distinction between private choices in consumption (or lack thereof) and public protest.

– To be seen by men?

– Upon conversion and throughout your walk, there is a natural progression of abstinence as God moves you.

Application• Jim’s Starbucks’ Boycott:– Personally Abstaining?

• No– Why?

• Key habitat of 18-35 year olds needing to learn more about Christ.

– Okay with the Church using Starbucks?• No

– Really? Why?• Creates an obvious stumbling block for those who are offended by it and would focus on that rather than the true purpose of Church attendance...Jesus Christ.

Application• Prayerfully plot your own course.– Understand the impact and implications of your purchases and your political statements on a case-by-case basis.

– Avoid making rules for yourselves that trump outcomes in your life. This is the trap of the Pharisee.

– In all things, “seek the greater good” of many so that “they may be saved.”