THE FIRST RESPONDER
INTRODUCTION
America was born out of an idea that came from the teachings of Jesus. That idea is this: Every human has equal value before God. This idea changed the human race, for, historically, it is not a natural idea. Naturally, people see some people more valuable than others. Naturally, a person looks first to his own family as important, and then to his own tribe. Then perhaps to those he sees as having something to offer to his tribe or family. This is natural.
The idea that every human has equal value before God is not natural. Even within the human family, and tribe, that idea is challenged. The son can be seen as more important than the daughter. The broken person less valuable than the healthy. The wealthy are more important than the poor. Such thinking, that different people are of differing value may be declared an evil, by many, but it is natural to all people. Because of this societies of men are built by prioritizing the important ones and diminishing the others. Evolution and progress have not changed this habit. In societies farthest away from the teachings of Jesus, the value of most humans is greatly diminished. Wherever Marxism reigns, for example: China, Viet Nam, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and the like, these places are hell holes because the majority of the people are seen as less valuable than the party members.
But wherever Christianity has impacted a nation in a substantial way, the idea of human rights for all is born. And, in the places that have been heavily impacted by protestant Christianity, this is even more the case. I speak not of bias or preference, but am only pointing out the story of history itself.
Some might object, saying that slavery itself is an American invention, stealing the rights of blacks. Those who say such things are ignorant of history, even if they do win Pulitzer prizes. Slavery was a legal and protected institution in the history all nations up to the time the United States was born. Slavery was mostly abolished in the world by evangelical protestants in the 1800’s. The very “colonizers” that are not condemned were the ones who made the slave trade and slavery itself illegal all over the world. As for the United States, no country paid more to eliminate slavery than America. 600,000 men spilled their blood to end slavery in one fell swoop. In most nations, slavery was phased out over time, most of them after the American civil war.
Why was abolition such a violent affair in America? Perhaps because our people had the most freedom, both to fight it and protect the sovereignty of the states within which it was practiced. Violence was inevitable.
Nevertheless, our nation could not survive with slavery because the contradiction was too much to bear. We stated that all men, because of their Creator, had the right to life, and liberty and property. This idea came from the teachings of Jesus. This idea made the Civil War inevitable. This idea of freedom is why America became the greatest and freest country in the history of the world.
Jesus said the following:
Luke 6:27–31 (ESV)
27“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
By these very words, Jesus commands people to treat every other human they meet as valuable. The rich to the poor, the poor to the rich. The white is to serve the black. And the black is to serve the white. The sister and the brother, each treated as equals. This was not the thinking of the Jewish system of Jesus’ day. This was not the thinking of the Roman empire of the time. This was not the thinking of the nations of the Orient. This was not the thinking of the African Continent’s nations, nor the nations of what we call South and North America. This was not the thinking of the Danes and Vikings, nor the Brits and Germanic tribes. This was not the thinking of the Arab states. No one ran a nation like this, until Christian evangelism began to spread these ideas throughout the world as the centuries went on.
At the end of all things, when Jesus returns and separates all people before Himself, then He will say to the ones who enter into life that they had learned from Him to treat everyone as valuable. For He says this to them:
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ –Matthew 25
But to those who He sends to an eternal hell, He says this:
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”--Matthew 25:41–46 (ESV)
Here, Jesus shows the world and all the people ever born, and every nation, that the value that He is concerned about most is that every single person be treated as important. Everybody matters. This teachings is not normal to mankind. It is not normal to you or I. It is not normal to societies. This teaching, in order to be embraced, requires a radical denial of the self. To love an enemy, to treat people well who can do nothing for us requires a death to our natural tendencies. Nothing can bring this about but a change of heart that comes from God Himelf.
And so, this weekend, we have considered the true heroes of America as its first responders, and so they are. No nation, not a single one, is as generous to the least than America. At times, we send our soldiers to rescue others when they call. When a house is on fire, no one requires the 911 caller to give his income, or the color of his skin, or identify his sex in order to get help. American firefighters respond because they have grown up in a land that takes for granted an idea that Jesus gave the world: Everybody matters.
When violent man attacks and robs, the 911 operators do not ask if they victim is white or black, rich or poor, they send the police. The police, for their part, show up. They hurry to danger, to rescue the victim, to confront the criminal, without asking how the victim votes. Why? Because they were raised in a land that taught them that every life matters, and if we are going to have a nation worth living in, we cannot pick and choose who gets justice and who doesn’t.
One of the most overlooked verses in the Bible is this:
For God shows no partiality. –Romans 2:11
Our nation was founded on this idea. It is a Jesus idea. We, like all nations, have violated our best principles many times. But the strength of the ideas of Jesus are strong enough to sustain us and correct us over the course of a long history.
Now, the wheels are falling off America’s wagon. People are at each other’s throats. People take sides on everything and use that as an excuse to misuse and mistreat others. We left hundreds of Americans in Afghanistan while the whole world watched in dismay. Why is the world shocked? Because they know instinctively that that is not the American way. Those lives, in practice, don’t matter to our government as much as others. (Even so, many Americans are using their own money to fund rescue efforts and are getting Americans out of there, as well as rescuing Christians and other afghans who are targeted for death by the blood thirsty death cult that is the Taliban. Why are these Americans doing this? Because they were raised in a country where the air we breathe says every one matters).
Why are people being canceled? Why all the fighting in America? Is it because we have given up the simple idea that every person matters? I don’t think so. I think America is trying to hold onto that idea. Then what is the problem? I think, in her arrogance, American Elites, the University professors, the heads of Silicone Valley, the government workers, are trying to achieve freedom without acknowledging God. They do not realize that when they cut off God from the equation, that freedom is not possible, and valuing human beings is not possible.
Why doesn’t democracy work in devout Islamic nations? Because they are devout in opposition to God. Freedom can only work in a nation where the people accept the Christian God as God, even if they don’t personally follow Him.
Communism, Marxism, will always fail, because it begins with, “There is no God.”
If you think the Taliban is bad, they are a day care parade next to Marxists. Who kills humans with the least about of discrimination? Men with names like Che Guevera, Chavez, Castro, Stalin, Breznev, Putin, Moa, Pol Pot, the Kmer Rouge—marxists. Make no mistake, AOC and Bernie Sanders would do the same if given control. Marxism always devalues humans because it removes Jesus from the equation.
You see, Jesus is the primary first responder. He is the One who gives value to all, not by lip service, but by sacrifice and action.
What do I mean by that? Let me explain.
THE GOSPEL
As I said earlier, by nature, man will not do the right thing. We are sinful. We are not like God. And as I said earlier, on the judgement day, all people who have shown partiality in choosing to hate or be unkind or unhelpful to others, at any time, will go to hell for our sins. That’s all of us folks.
I was in Florida with my friend Tyler, and a man was talking with us as well as a young woman and her friends who were going out in town partying. The man asked the woman if she had lied, or stolen, or done bad things in her life. She admitted to each one, acknowledging that she had sinned against God. Then he said, “Then when you die, are you not destined to be punished for sin and go to hell?”
She looked at him like he was crazy. “No way. I’m a good person.”
Don’t we all thing we are the good guys! But she had declared her own guilt, and she was mistaken that she could escape judgement. God will judge every sin.
Someone might say, “But I thought God valued and loved that woman.” He does. And he loves you too. But He will never overlook sin. He is holy. So what can we do to save ourselves? Be good? No. Because being good does not change the sins we have done. We are helpless to save ourselves.
The only thing to do is get on the phone to God and call 911, and see if He responds. And He has.
6For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Why did Jesus have to die? He didn’t really. He chose to die. His death was payment for our sins. That’s why God sent His Son from heaven to be a man –to die in our place.
Did Jesus die for the good people? No! He died for the “ungodly!” The girl in Florida resisted thinking of herself as ungodly, but that was her error. Jesus did not come to save people who think they are good enough. He came for the people who know that they are not –the ungodly.
7For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
The Bible is pointing out our natural tendency. If you must die or me, I would rather it be you. That is the way we naturally think. But if I love you because you are important to me, perhaps my wife or children or brother or parent or very good friend, then I might well take the bullet for you.
But if you are worthless rascal, and a stranger to me, it’s not likely that I would volunteer to die for you. Why? Because some people just aren’t that valuable to me that I would want to die for them.
8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. --Romans 5:6–8
God shows how great His love is for us all by sending Jesus to die for us, when we were filthy rascals. When we are least valuable, He dies for us.
Now there are two implications that we must not miss. One, is when Jesus died, He destroyed the idea that some people are more valuable than others. If He died for the least, than the least matters as much to Him as the king! This is the idea on which the United States stands as free.
The other implication is that God loves you and you can be saved. Let’s read one more verse:
12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, --John 1:12
Do you want to be saved from your sins? Do you want to escape hell and have joy forever? Then you have to call on Jesus. In an emergency ff you don’t call 911, the police won’t show up. You have to call for help. You have to ask.
If you want to be saved, you can be. You have call God. How do you do that? You receive Jesus as your Savior.
You might still wonder if He will come when you call, He will. No matter how unimportant you might be in your own eyes. If you are ready to make that call, I want to give you a chance to do so in prayer. But first, I want to say one last thing about our nation.
We all, hopefully, love our country, and want to see it rescued. If that is your desire, then the first thing you must do is give up your sins, receive Christ, and live as He told you. If you will not care about babies killed in the wombs, or kids born into cycles of soul-stealing government welfare poverty in urban ghettos and rural America, then you are forgetting to value all human beings. Everybody matters.
And if instead of doing good, you spend your time getting high, getting drunk, getting financial success, getting sexually more and more perverted, then part about America that you like best will cease to exist. There is only one way: a return to Jesus. We Christians must repent of our sins.
God might still rescue America, but I fear the path to get there might be long and fraught with many pains. If we love our nations, we will repent of sin, care for our families, our churches, and our towns, and everyone in them, in the name of Jesus.
Now, let’s pray.