JOE the PLUMBER v JESUS the CARPENTER

1. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER TODAY’S EXEGETICAL FRAMEWORK 1. Matthew 22:15-22 – The Reality of Caesar’s Kingdom 2. Matthew 22:34-40 – The Believer’s Responsibility to their Neighbor 3. Matthew 23:1-12 – Exhibiting Calvary-Quality Servanthood

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3. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “Over the last twenty years, evangelical Christians have been politically mobilized in an outpouring of moral concern and political engagement unprecedented since the crusade against slavery in the nineteenth century. Is this a good development? Given the issues now confronting our nation, the issue of political involvement emerges anew with urgency. To what extent should Christians be involved in the political process?” (R. Albert Mohler Jr.)

4. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “Secularism is not a positive construct. By its very nature, something is secular only when it denies the existence of God. One cannot be genuinely secular and be indifferent to the existence of God, because if God did exist, that would bring immediate demands upon society—obligations and prohibitions that society would not be able simply to ignore without admitting that it is only tacitly or operationally secular. A truly secular state must altogether deny the existence of God.” (R. Albert Mohler Jr.)

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6. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER Matthew 22:15-22 “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or nor?” (v. 17b) “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” (v. 21b)

7. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “the fiery furnace of democracy” Harrison Gray Otis (1765-1848)

8. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER Matthew 22:34-40 I. To love God with all your heart, soul and mind. II. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves.

9. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “We love our neighbor because we first love God. In His sovereignty, our Creator has put us within this cultural context in order that we may display His glory by preaching the gospel, confronting persons with God’s truth, and serving as agents of salt and light in a dark and fallen world. In other words, love of God leads us to love our neighbor, and love of neighbor requires our participation in the culture and the political process.” (R. Albert Mohler Jr.)

10. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) “speak the truth with his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25)

11. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER The City of God Versus The City of Man

12. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “Even as we know that our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, and even as we set our sights on the glory of the City of God, we must work for good, justice, and righteousness in the City of Man. We do so, not merely because we are commanded to love its citizens, but because we know that they are loved by the very God we serve….we are concerned for the culture, not because we believe the culture is ultimate, but because we know that our neighbors must hear the gospel, even as we hope and strive for their good, peace, security, and well-being.” (R. Albert Mohler Jr.)

13. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER I. Christians have a right to speak in the public square. II. Christians have a responsibility to speak in the public square. III. How should Christians speak when they address people in the public square?

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15. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

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17. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “The words and acts of the founding fathers, especially the first few presidents, shaped the form and tone of the civil religion as it has been maintained ever since. Though much is selectively derived from Christianity, this religion is clearly not itself Christianity.” (Robert Bellah)

18. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER A Moral Majority?

19. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER If I have the right to speak Christian values in the public square, if I have the responsibility to speak Christian values in the public square, how should I speak?

20. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.” (Romans 9:6)

21. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “Is there such a thing as a Christian country? Does the fact that you are born and brought up in a country that is called Christian mean that you are a Christian; whereas people born and brought up in what are called pagan countries are not? Do we believe that? The answer is, No.” (D. Martyn Lloyd –Jones)

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23. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER Are you more concerned about winning an argument for yourself or winning a soul for Christ?

24. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “My kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36) “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves” (Luke 22:25-26)

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26. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “Gay people were fully integrated into Roman life and culture at every level.” (John Boswell)

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28. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER Are you more concerned about winning an argument for yourself or winning a soul for Christ?

29. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference—so wide, that to receive one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt and wicked….I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one for calling the religion of this land Christianity.” (Frederick Douglass)

30. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

31. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “What would happen if the ultimate criteria we used to assess how ‘successful’ or ‘unsuccessful our churches were was the question, are we loving as Jesus loved?” (Gregory Boyd)

32. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” (I John 3:14)

33. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER “This kingdom love that Jesus speaks of always has a Calvary quality to it. While people in the kingdom of the world find it easy to love those who they think deserve it—that’s part of the tit-for-tat nature of the world’s kingdom—kingdom-of-God participants are called to love all people unconditionally, even their enemies, just as Christ did.” (Gregory Boyd)

34. JOE the PLUMBERvJESUS the CARPENTER Matthew Versus Simon