If you listen to the phrases that get tossed around in our world, one you will hear commonly is “culture war.” And more and more frequently, you will hear Christians using this phrase negatively, as a summary of their disenchantment with their fellow Christians. So and so, he’s a “culture warrior.” And of course there are Christians who are fools and Christians that stir up fleshly strife. So there’s certainly room to critique the culture war. But as Christians, we do not have the option of opting out of culture war. Paul says that our citizenship is in heaven from where we await our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are here on planet earth, in Moscow, Idaho in the year 2015 as an outpost of the heavenly kingdom that is invading this world. We are colonists, bringing with us the culture and norms of our King Jesus. And because this world is infested with the norms and culture of another way of life, the way of death, the way of darkness, to join the Kingdom of Jesus is to join this war. And at the center of this war is this table. It has been spread for us in the presence of our enemies. But this meal also pictures for us the way we carry out the fight. Our weapons are not carnal, but they are mighty for casting down strongholds. Our weapons are love and mercy; our weapons are truth and grace; our weapons are bread and wine and laughter and song. What we celebrate here is what we are called to bring to our enemies. We fight them with the truth of their sin and the truth of God’s mercy in Christ. And we invite them to lay down their arms, and to come and join in the feast. But we cannot invite them unless we have tasted for ourselves. So remember, you were once enemies of God, and when you were enemies, Christ died for you. And by His death, He has conquered you.
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