Shoot First… | Sunday, November 5, 2023

Amen. Thank you very much, youth worship team. It is such a blessing to have you leading this morning.

I was thinking this morning before the first service. Earlier this year, back in January, I was in Kentucky, involved in a seminar with a cohort of guys who are all going through this doctoral program together. We were discussing the various issues affecting our culture and the things happening in our nation—issues that weigh heavily on many people's minds and hearts.

As I looked around the room, which had about 14 of us, I noticed that one of the guys was the professor leading the discussion, while the other 13 were mostly pastors. I realized that all of them, except for myself, came from very conservative red states. You probably know that California is not one of those states. They were sharing their concerns, expressing sentiments like, "Well, you know, blue states like California, there's no hope there; all hope is lost."

I have to tell you, when I see our youth worship team up there, I have great hope for the work that God is doing in this generation. My kids are part of that generation, and I am hopeful when I see that. I want to say to the parents and grandparents here at this church: thank you for ensuring that you are doing what the Scriptures say. You can absolutely train up your kids in the way that they should go.

An example of that was having the Coopers up here this morning—the Mini Coopers. I like that, Mark; that was pretty good. I want to express my gratitude to the parents and grandparents, as well as to Mark and Sonia Searle, who oversee and run our children's ministry, and to Pastor Jason, who oversees the family ministries, and Pastor Garrett and Nick, who oversee the youth ministry. This is truly the fruit of all of that, and it is a true blessing.

I want you to know that I defended California when I was talking with those guys. I said, "I want you to know California has almost 40 million people, and there are a lot of Christians here. In fact, there are more Christians in California than there are people in Kentucky." Amen! Even with the great exodus from California over the last few years, as was already mentioned in the announcements, thank you, Jason, for leading the...

Announcements this morning: we do have an event after the service today. We're going to have the first-ever Cross Connection Church chili cook-off. There are some contestants, so you have to stay and try some chili and offer your vote. There will be a first place, second place, and even a third place. I think it'll be a great time.

Now, we are going to get into the Scriptures this morning. If you have your Bible, you can take it out. If you don't, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. If you want to use your mobile device, you can open the U-Version Bible app or some other Bible app to the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament, the sixth book of the Bible.

Also, if you have your bulletin, we actually ran out of bulletins today because we have a lot of people here. In your bulletin is the sermon guide, and you'll notice the title is a couple of words that are the beginning of a phrase that maybe you know. Perhaps you can fill in the blank of what it says after these first two words: the phrase is "shoot first." You know that one—"shoot first and ask questions later."

That is an all-American idiom. In fact, looking at the origination, the etymology of that phrase, I found that it is connected to the American Wild West back in the 19th century. It was during a time of significant lawlessness, where people were kind of a law unto themselves. We are going to be talking a lot about that in the new year when we get into the Book of Judges, because very similar themes run through the Book of Judges. There was inadequate law enforcement, and so people would take the law into their own hands.

That saying, "shoot first and ask questions later," kind of grew out of that. It contains within that phrase the idea of making hasty, perhaps impulsive judgments, even when all of the details of the situation are not fully known and before the consequences of your actions are fully understood. We can kind of impulsively shoot first and ask questions later. I'm certain that there is not a single person in this room this morning who has not, at some point or another, made a hasty, impulsive judgment in a situation where, when everything is all said and done, when the chips hit the floor, if you will, you realize, "Okay, maybe I could have handled that differently."

Has anybody ever been in that situation? Am I the only one? Okay, good, I'm not the only one.

Now, while that is an All-American saying, "shoot first and ask questions later," swift judgment and impulsive, hasty punishment are not only American traits. These are things we see all over the place. Stories of a rush to judgment and impulsive action with limited information are not new; they are not made in America. Unfortunately, because of the rise of technological social media, the expanse of corporate news media, and the speed at which information passes in our cultural moment today in 2023, these instances are increasing.

We are witnessing more situations where it resembles a "shoot first, ask questions later" scenario. The problem with the social media applications we have is that very quickly, we can move into what some authors refer to as "the madness of crowds" and a mob mentality. Information can be disseminated from one person through a picture or a video, reaching millions of people almost instantly. This happens due to liking, sharing, and the algorithmic expansion of information.

As a result, we are seeing these kinds of situations more frequently in the time that we live. A picture, a video, a headline, and then snap judgments come. We fire off a tweet or we like or share whatever it is that we see, and it can quickly become viral. We have examples of this all around us, and sometimes the consequences of these viral moments can be huge.

For example, there was an incident that happened a couple of weeks ago. I think all of you saw it in some way, whether it was on social media or in the news media. There was an explosion at or near a hospital in Palestine. Within a matter of moments, information about this was being spread on corporate news media and social media. People were weighing in about it, ascribing blame, and all kinds of different things. It very quickly became viral, and the effects of that can be detrimental.

It is very dangerous, and it's very hard for us, in the impulse of the moment, to not also weigh in with our two cents. It is very valuable, of course, to give our thoughts, to give our commentary, our critique, and to share it with our sphere of people. Then it gets liked, and the endorphins of that are actually addictive. Pretty much everybody in this room, myself included, is addicted to it, whether we realize it or not. This is called, at this moment, the age of outrage, and we see it all around us. We find ourselves pulled into it.

I even found that, probably about six or seven years ago, for the space of about a week or ten days, I just had this low-level anger in my heart and mind. It lasted for about ten days, and it came to a point where I was sitting in my office one afternoon. I even prayed to God, asking where this was coming from and why I was upset and angry. Within a few minutes, I was scrolling through one of the social media platforms, and there was this still small voice in my heart that said, "That's where it's coming from."

At that point, I deleted Facebook and Instagram off my phone. I still have the accounts, but I almost never go there. Within about 48 hours, my blood pressure went down, and my level of low-level anger disappeared. It was pretty amazing.

Now, I'll confess, I still find myself far too frequently doom scrolling through Twitter, now known as X. I will try to get rid of it at some point. I've actually put a time limit on myself for it. It pops up at a certain point during the day, telling me I've been on this too long and that I have five minutes left before it shuts off. It's an amazing feature, though, of course, you can bypass those limits.

Recently, information about the explosion at the hospital, outside that hospital, and all in the fog of war, hit the news. The explosion on social media and in the corporate news media was bigger than the actual explosion at the hospital. There was no time for assessment, no time for considering the evidence. It was shoot first, ask questions later, and the consequences can be huge. Another example can be found if you rewind just a few years ago, back to the middle of January.

In 2019, a picture and a very short video with no context hit social media and the corporate news media. It featured a young 17-year-old man at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., wearing a red hat with white writing and smiling, while a Native American man beat a drum in front of him. Instantly, the madness of the crowds on social media took off. The young man's name is Nicholas Sandmann, and it didn't take long for news channels and anchors to weigh in with their opinions. Their consensus was that this young man was an example of hatred and white supremacy in America.

One news host on CNN, Raaza Aaan, tweeted an honest question: "Have you ever seen a more punchable face than this kid's?" The private Catholic school that Nicholas attended quickly issued a public statement on social media condemning him. They stated that after reviewing the situation, they would take appropriate action, including expulsion. This all unfolded before anyone truly understood what was going on, and the story spread around the globe.

When all was said and done, Nicholas Sandmann was exonerated of any wrongdoing as more details emerged. He was awarded multiple major settlements, which are confidential and cannot be disclosed, in defamation lawsuits amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars from outlets like The Washington Post, CNN, and NBC.

We live in a "shoot first, ask questions later" culture. There is a certain aspect of this impulse to rush to judgment that is hardwired into us; it is in our DNA. This response is connected to what is commonly referred to as the fight, flight, or freeze mechanism of our psyche. When triggered by something—a loud sound or someone startling us—there is an impulse that leads us to freeze, run, or fight in that moment.

Social media separates us from the consequences of our actions because it operates at a distance and is anonymous. This anonymity can lead us to behave in ways we would not otherwise consider.

People share what we've said or they like what we've said, and we see that go up and up and up. It causes an endorphin rush in us, and we get addicted to this. This is why it can be so dangerously awesome, but it is somewhat hardwired into us. There is something about this moment, because of the technology of social media, that is amplifying this in a huge way. It gives us the ability to sound off and give our two cents, as I said a moment ago, and then for other people to amplify that.

Then you have the mob rule or the madness of crowds. The year 2020 was like a case study in this, with COVID and the governmental response to it. Then you get into the summer with George Floyd and the response to that. Following that, you have the fall with the campaign season and the presidential election, along with all the fallout from it. Finally, you get into the new year with January 6th. Just the mention of that for some people makes their blood boil. We feel compelled to let our voices be heard in this, and there can be a rush to judgment.

None of this is unique to human beings, our nation, or our time, but we do find that we are drawn in and we jump to conclusions. Sometimes, there is mistaken identity and swift, impulsive judgment that leads to social shaming in our time, which we now call cancel culture. In 2021, none of this is really novel, but it is certainly being amplified. This sort of culture is very dangerous; this push to move quickly, to cast judgment, and to bring punishment is concerning.

Interestingly, as I said, it is not new. The story before us in Joshua chapter 22 is identical in kind to what happened with the hospital situation in Palestine on October 17th or what occurred at the Lincoln Memorial in 2019. This story illustrates a point that I touched on a couple of weeks ago when we were back in Joshua chapter 20. We discussed the Cities of Refuge that the children of Israel were to construct for someone who unintentionally committed murder or manslaughter. They were to flee to the City of Refuge, and the whole process involved a slowing down of judgment, which is really hard for us because we often move by impulse.

Ways in our life are important, and it is crucial that we understand the truths we learn as we come to a story like this in Joshua chapter 22. It has been said that wisdom is learning from mistakes, and true great wisdom is learning from the mistakes of others, avoiding the need to make the same mistakes yourself. We come to passages like this that provide insight and help us learn how to walk with wisdom, which is what the Scriptures call us to do in this world.

Point number one, if you're taking notes this morning on your sermon guide, is that in a rush to judgment, we are in danger of rash and damnable decisions and actions. We see this on display in our culture in 2023, and unfortunately, I think it is going to get worse. The increase of social media and its effects on us and our culture is not a good thing. In a rush to judgment, we are indeed in danger of making rash and damnable actions and decisions.

One of the great nuggets of the New Testament actually happens to be one of the very first things that was written down. It is believed that the first book of the New Testament written was not the first books in order—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—but probably the Book of James. The Apostle James, in James 1:19-20, writes something that I hope you will take five or ten minutes this week to think about and meditate upon, as there is great wisdom in these words.

James 1:19 states, "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." That is something to think about. It has been said that we have two ears and one mouth, and therefore we should consider that we should listen twice as long as we speak. I am sure there is not a single person here this morning who has not wished they had listened more than they spoke. As the words come out of your mouth, you may wish you could grab them and pull them back in.

One of the features that they recently added to Twitter, which I am actually thankful for, is that now when you write a tweet...

Too much information can lead to regret. When you hit send, there is often a pause for about 45 seconds as a little ticker goes by, giving you a few seconds to think: Do you really want to send that? I have so many tweets that I almost sent, and as the seconds tick down, I find myself thinking, "Ah, five seconds left. No, I'll take it back. I won't say it." I wish I had that option in life.

Sometimes, I've said things to people in my life that I wish I could take back, just like the five-second delay that news channels have. If someone says something they shouldn't, they can bleep it out. Man, I wish I had a five-second delay in life to avoid saying those things and to maybe bring them back. It is very difficult to do what is right when you are filled with anger and wrath, and there is an impulse to be angry.

I've said this before, and I am more certain of it than ever: the news on TV or the radio is not a public service offered out of kindness. It is a commercial enterprise, which is why there are commercials. They want you to watch, so they provide more information that makes you angry. Social media operates in the same way. They find that anger keeps you engaged, allowing them to sell you products—whether it's gold, pillows, or pharmaceuticals. If they can keep you engaged, they can profit from your attention.

These platforms are designed to enrage us because rage pulls us in more than good news. The wise King Solomon, 3,000 years ago, observed some important truths and wrote them in the Proverbs. There just happen to be 31 chapters in Proverbs, and in many months, there are 31 days. It would be a very good practice to read a proverb a day for each month throughout the year. A proverb a day will keep the foolishness away.

In Proverbs 14:29, Solomon observed that he who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts foolishness. One chapter later, in Proverbs 15:18, he notes that a wrathful man stirs up strife.

But he was slow to anger, always settling contention. It is a simple truth that will save you a lot of heartache: don't let anger dictate your behavior. It's so hard because the impulse is anger, and sometimes we can even justify our anger. We feel justified in our wrath because whatever happened was wrong, evil, or wicked. The Bible does say, "Be angry." Gosh, I'm good at that! But it also says, "Do not sin."

Be angry, but sin not. It's in Ephesians chapter 4 if you want to fact-check me. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath. I'm really good at the first part of that—be angry—but I don't always respond in the right way, and neither do you. Don't let anger dictate your behavior. One of the ways we can do that is to follow the Apostle Paul's admonition in the New Testament, where he says to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

How do you do that? You bring that impulse towards anger to the Lord in prayer. It's just a simple prayer: "God, am I right to be angry in this, and is my response right?" Let me tell you, I think God will answer that prayer; He certainly has for me.

We have an example of a rush to judgment, a shoot-first-ask-questions-later situation here in Joshua chapter 22. Look at verse one, if you will. Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. A little bit of information here: the nation of Israel was divided into 12 groups, 12 different tribes. Among those tribes were the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. The children of Israel had been in the promised land for a period of time after they had conquered it.

Joshua, the leader, called the heads of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh together to speak with them. He said to them in verse two, "You have kept all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you. You have obeyed my voice."

And all that I have commanded you, you have not left your brethren these many days up to this day, but you have kept the charge of the Commandment of the Lord your God.

What's going on here? If you back up to Numbers chapter 32, the children of Israel, led by Moses, were in the wilderness before they came into the Promised Land. They had recently conquered the land of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan River, in what is today modern-day Jordan. While they were in that land, preparing to cross over into the Promised Land, the heads of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh came to Moses. They said, "Moses, we really like this land. You know, location, location, location! We would like to stay here in this land."

Moses responded, "Listen, you can't do that. You have to help your brothers take possession of their land. It would just be wrong for you to have rest before them." They worked out a deal. Moses said they could have this land if they would come over with their brothers, the men of war, and help them take possession of their inheritance. Once their brothers had rest in the land, then they could take possession of the land back east of the Jordan. They agreed to this arrangement, and Moses cautioned them that they would be cursed if they did not keep up their end of the bargain. He said, "Listen, if you do not do what you've said you're going to do and keep your oath, you have sinned, and be certain your sin will find you out."

Now, about ten years have passed. The children of Israel, the nine and a half tribes, have their land in the Promised Land, and now Joshua is making good on the deal. The heads of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh come to Joshua, and he says, "The Lord has given your brothers rest in the land. Therefore, return and go to your tents in the land that Moses gave to you to possess."

But he adds, "Take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all of your heart and with all of your soul."

So Joshua blessed them and sent them away to their own land. They had made good on their end of the deal, and now, after the nine and a half tribes have rest in the land, Joshua says to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, "You guys, two and a half tribes, you can go back to your land." The context is basically clear in this passage.

Gives them one final admonition: make sure you keep up the Covenant. Make sure you continue to walk with the Lord and follow Him.

In verse 9, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh returned and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh. Shiloh was the place in the Promised Land where the Tabernacle of Israel and the altar to God were located, which is in the land of Canaan. They went to the land of Gilead, which is on the east side of the Jordan River, the land of their possession that they had obtained according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

In verse 10, when they came to the region of the Jordan, which is in the land of Canaan, they were about to cross over the Jordan River to enter their land. They were still on the west side of the Jordan in the land of Canaan. The children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a great and impressive altar.

Now, that seems benign; it doesn't appear to be a big deal. They are getting ready to cross into their land, but before they do, they gather together and build this great and impressive altar. You might wonder why they built it, as there is no explanation, no reason given, and no statement of purpose. Why did they build this altar?

In verse 11, the children of Israel from the nine and a half tribes heard someone say something interesting. It was as if they read a tweet or saw a social media post with the hashtag #altar. They began to discuss it among themselves: "Did you guys hear about this? The two and a half tribes—Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh—went home to their land and built an altar. Did you hear about that?"

When the children of Israel heard it, the whole congregation gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them. This was not so benign after all. What on earth was going on here? The two and a half tribes built this great and impressive altar, and then they went into their land. News spread virally through the nation of Israel among the nine and a half tribes, and they concluded that this was not good. They felt the need to confront their brothers, the very ones who had just spent the last ten years helping them take possession of the land.

In today's society, we often see a rush to judgment, where people shoot first and ask questions later. This phenomenon, which we now refer to as cancel culture, can be one of the worst forms of judgment. It leads to a mindset of wanting to wipe someone out completely, to destroy them. We must remember that in this rush to judgment, we are in danger of making rash and damnable decisions and actions—decisions and actions that can destroy families and divide nations.

Point number two: Beware of the impulsive push to punish without proper perspective. I know there are a lot of P's in that phrase; it's called alliteration. This impulsive push happens within us very quickly when we see a picture, a video, or a headline. Someone might say, "Did you hear what so-and-so did?" or "Did you see what's going on over there?" Instantly, anger wells up within us.

In my journey of seeking to walk with Christ and being a follower and disciple of Jesus, I have discovered that the vast majority of times when that anger wells up in me—sadly, more frequently than I would like—it is not the spirit of God. Instead, it is what the Bible would call my flesh. This anger wells up very quickly, and the impulse to share, tweet, or post on Instagram is strong.

This point could be incredibly helpful in many areas of our lives. For parents, have any of you ever found yourself impulsively reacting to something your child did? Then, upon reflection an hour or maybe a few days later, you realize that you may have jumped the gun on that one. Anyone? Yes? Husbands and wives, I'm sure there has never been a moment where you impulsively reacted to something and rushed to judgment.

That was said or something that was done, or maybe something that was not done. Employers, managers, and bosses—has there ever been a time when we rushed to judgment? The great wise King Solomon is instructive here. Proverbs 18:13 states, "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is foolishness and shame." I'm sure none of you have ever answered a matter before you really understood all the details of it. Heck no!

Proverbs 18:17, just a few verses later, says, "The first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him." Again, from Proverbs 14:17, "A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of wicked intentions is hated." Proverbs 16:32 tells us, "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city." You see why the Proverbs could be really helpful? They offer little words of wisdom, like fortune cookies from the Bible that are actually helpful.

In Joshua 22:13, the children of Israel sent Phineas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into the land of Gilead. With him were ten rulers from the tribes of the houses of Israel. They came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, "Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord: What treachery is this that you have committed against the Lord God of Israel, to turn away from Him this day and following the Lord? You have built yourselves an altar that you might rebel today against the Lord."

Now, thankfully, they didn't rush in there and start killing people with swords. Instead, they approached them and said, "You have done something rebellious. How dare you commit this treachery and iniquity and turn away from the Lord? Is this not like the iniquity of Peor?" What is the iniquity of Peor? If you go back to the Book of Judges, you can read about it. This was when the children of Israel were seduced into idolatry and adultery while they were in the wilderness, and as a result, thousands of people in Israel died. They said, "This is just like that," although maybe it isn't.

Then they go down to verse 20: "Did not Achan, the son of Zerah, commit trespass? You are doing the exact same thing." What is that? Well, back in Joshua chapter 7, where we were earlier this year, there was a man among...

The children of Israel named Ain committed a sinful and wicked act, and as a result, some of the people among the children of Israel died. They were judged for their actions. When confronted, they were accused of rebellion and treachery. This was wickedness, and how dare they do this?

Remember James 1:19: "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." That is wisdom, and it is not what the ten tribes practiced. They came with assumptions and accusations, presuming guilt without giving the benefit of the doubt.

This isn't to boast in any way or to toot my own horn, but I have worked really hard over the last 20 years to give the benefit of the doubt to people. I will tell you that there have been times when I erred in giving the benefit of the doubt, thinking I shouldn't have done that in retrospect. However, I have found that it is much better to err on the side of giving grace and the benefit of the doubt than to err on the opposite side.

The way of Christ, which could also be called the way of love, is a much better way to respond. It is harder, and I do need the help and enabling power of the Holy Spirit to do so. My impulsive, fleshly response is often anger and rage. It is so easy to rage tweet or rage post and vent online. But the way of Christ is the way of love, and that is what He has called me to, and you to.

This is a harder thing, but Jesus said they will know that you are my followers by the love that you have for one another—not just for those who are lovely or easy to love. How many of you know there are people who are easy to love and those who are hard to love?

I was thinking about this the other day, and it is funny how we have divided ourselves into colors: the red team and the blue team. I remember when I was growing up, there was a lot of talk about a group that divided themselves into colors—the Crips and the Bloods, the red team and the blue team. It seems we have gang warfare for white people today, with the red team and the blue team.

Fighting with each other constantly, those other people on the other side of the aisle watch their news, and I watch my news. I don't hang out with those people because they're the bad ones.

1 Corinthians 13 describes this way of Christ, this way of love. It says this kind of love suffers long, or is patient. It is kind; it does not envy; it does not parade itself; it is not puffed up; it does not behave rudely; it seeks not its own; it is not provoked; it thinks no evil. It does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Again, Solomon in the Proverbs says love covers all sins. Peter in the New Testament, in 1 Peter 4:8, quotes the very same thing. He says, "Above all things, have fervent love for one another, because love will cover a multitude of sins." Jesus is our example in this, and there's a beautiful example, although I will say it is a contested passage of Scripture. Some people are concerned that it wasn't in the original Gospel of John.

In John chapter 8, there is this beautiful section of Scripture that, even with questions about it, seems to picture Jesus's nature quite well. A woman who is caught in adultery is brought to Jesus by the religious leaders. They come to Him and say, "Jesus, we know that Moses in the law said that such a one should be stoned. What do you say?" They were hoping to catch Him, to trip Him up, that He would say something different than Moses.

What they are revealing in this is very interesting. They knew that Jesus was merciful and gracious, so much so that they thought He would speak against the law of Moses. They said, "Moses in the law says that she should be stoned. What do you say, Teacher?"

It's so strange; Jesus just doesn't answer. He stoops down and begins to write in the dirt on the ground. We are not told what He is writing, but they continue to press Him, asking, "What do you say? Should she be stoned?" He stands up and, in John 8, says to them, "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone." We have even adopted that as an idiom in our culture. You will hear people who have never read the Bible talk about, "Hey, don't cast the first stone." They are taking that right from the Bible.

Says He who is without sin, let Him cast the first stone. Then He stoops back down and goes back to writing in the dust of the earth. People have wondered for a long time what He was writing. We don't know; you can ask Him when you get to heaven.

It is interesting that the scripture says, from the oldest to the youngest, all the people there who were accusing her left. When they were all gone, Jesus looked around and said to the woman who was taken in adultery, "Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one accused you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And He said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."

Do you know that He actually fulfilled the law when He did that? The law required that someone like her be put to death, and there had to be at least two witnesses. Since there were no more witnesses, He said to her, "Go and sin no more." The beautiful grace and mercy of Jesus is on display there. Jesus is slow to anger; He prayed for forgiveness for those who were crucifying Him, as stated in Luke 23:34: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

How does Jesus's example inform my response? Remember to beware of the impulsive push to punish without proper perspective. Be slow to wrath.

Point number three, if you're taking notes: Jesus is slow to anger, and He leads with mercy and grace. Is there anybody grateful today that Jesus leads with mercy and grace? I know I am so thankful for that. That's the example I am to follow. Paul said in 1 Corinthians, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ."

In Joshua 22:21, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the divisions of Israel, "The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, He knows, and let Israel itself know. If it is in rebellion or if in treachery against the Lord that we have done this, do not save us this day." That's awesome! They said if what we've done is because we are rebelling against God or committing treachery, you should kill us if we have built ourselves an altar.

Verse 23 continues, "to turn from following the Lord or to offer on it a burnt offering..."

Grain offerings or peace offerings let the Lord Himself require an account. In fact, verse 24 states that we have done it in fear for a reason. Let's pause there for a moment. They said they actually have a reason for this. It's hard for me to recognize sometimes, but it is very often the case. It has been my observation that many times when people do something or say something that triggers me or upsets me, they often have a reason.

Now, that’s not to say that I like the reason. Maybe I don’t agree with the reason; perhaps it was the wrong reason. But they may have a reason nonetheless. This realization has led me, in a number of cases, to ask a simple question when someone has done something that upset or offended me: "Can you tell me what your thought process was in that?" I have found that many times they do have a reason. Again, I may not like the reason; it may even be a dumb reason, but they probably had a reason.

In verse 24, it states that we have done it for fear, saying, "In a time to come, your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, 'What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel?'" There is this river between you and us. We are on the east side of the river, and you are on the west side. Even though we are family and part of the tribes of Israel, there may come a day, a generation or two or three from now, where your kids and grandkids say to our kids and grandkids, "Who do you think you are? You're not a part of us; you're on the other side of the river. You're on the blue team."

Therefore, we said in verse 26, "Let us now prepare an altar for ourselves that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us." In verse 27, we want to ensure that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, "You have no part in the Lord." Far be it from us, as stated in verse 29, that we should rebel against the Lord and turn from following the Lord this day to build an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices besides the altar of the Lord which is there before His Tabernacle.

We built this as a memorial, not as idolatry. We built this because we are fearful that we might be cut off from you. The first one to plead his cause seems right until he is examined by his peers.

Neighbor, shoot first, ask questions later. That's the impulse, and it is the impulse of my flesh. It is the impulse that gets me into trouble. Wisdom says to follow the way of Christ: be slow to anger, slow to speak, and lead with mercy and grace. Who is grateful today that Jesus leads us with mercy and grace? How much better would your life be, and the lives of those around you, if you followed Jesus in this manner?

Point number four, and I'll try to close: the call to discipleship is a call to be Christlike. God, help me. In Phineas, verse 30, the priests and the rulers of the congregation, the heads of the divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh spoke. It pleased them. Phineas said, "This day we perceive," in verse 31, "that the Lord is among us because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord." We were about to do something wrong, and Phineas brought back word to the children of Israel.

In verse 33, the things pleased the children of Israel, and they blessed God. They spoke no more of going against them in battle to destroy them. In verse 34, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar "Witness," for it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.

I think this is an appropriate and helpful passage. The principles here are important for us to consider because we are living in the age of rage. We are in a culture and society where we are bombarded with things that are intended to outrage us and draw us in to respond. Those responses, more often than not, are my flesh and not the Spirit. My concern is that I am watching this, and in fact, when I go to this cohort that I will be with in the seminar in January, we are actually talking about this. One of the concerns I am observing, and maybe you have seen this as well, is there is a shift in our culture among Christians right now. The triggering event for this was 2020, COVID, and the political engagement.

All that stuff that is pushing a new move of what is being labeled as Christian nationalism is concerning. I am seeing Christians who I used to follow online and really liked what they had to say. They are setting aside certain doctrinal principles and laying hold of new doctrinal principles that align with the behavior they want to engage in.

Listen, if you are changing what you believe about what the Bible says because you want to justify your behavior, that is dangerous. What we are constantly encouraged to do in the Scriptures is to bring our inclinations—how we want to behave or think we should behave in a situation—and measure those against the character of Christ. We need to ask ourselves, "Is this actually right?"

We don't throw aside one view of doctrine because it doesn't justify or support our behavior. We shouldn't grab a new view of doctrine simply because it allows us to do what we want to do. There should be a bright, shining warning light saying, "Man, this is stupid. Don't do it. It doesn't end well." I've studied church history, and it doesn't end well. Show me a place where that nationalistic bent and Christian rule in that manner has resulted positively. It will not result well until Jesus, the King of Kings, rules and reigns Himself. He is a little bit better at ruling than we are—like, a lot better.

We are living in a time where people shoot first and ask questions later. It is abnormal to give the benefit of the doubt and to assume the best. We are living in a time where people are desperate for redemption and forgiveness. The modern secular religion of the Western world doesn't have any mode or method for redemption or forgiveness, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ does. People are begging for redemption, grace, and mercy. Where will they find it? From Christ and, hopefully, from Christians. His throne is called a throne of grace. He offers mercy and grace in abundance from His throne and says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden."

And I will give you rest. He is good, He is merciful, He is gracious, and slow to anger. He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. That is the message that we have received, and that is the message that Christians are to be ambassadors of. It shines brightly against the backdrop of the culture we are increasingly living in. So may it be that people see in you and me the mercy and grace of Christ.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father God, I need Your help because it is not in me, or of me, or by me that I have the ability to do these things. Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. God, work these things into my life and be glorified by the fruit of the Spirit in my life. Pour out upon us, Your church, we pray. We ask this today in Jesus' name, and all those that agree said, "Amen."

Let's sing to the Lord.