Black and White... and Grey all Over

Examples of Extreme: The Westboro Baptist Church
John the Apostle was an extremist.
Jesus called him and his brother “Sons of Thunder”, because of their zeal and passion.
John the Apostle often taught black and white truths. Of all the NT writers, John is the most black and white in his thinking. It’s either or.
• In his Gospel, he sets apart light and darkness.
• You’re fruitful and alive, or you’re fruitless and dead.
• Kingdom of God against Kingdom of the devil.
• You’re a child of God or a child of Satan.
• Resurrect to life, or resurrect to damnation.
John loves to deal with truth in absolutes and opposites. In black and white.
John was extreme. No messing around.
If you are born of God, you do not and cannot sin (1 John 3:9).
EX: John Macarthur says that when he reads heavy doses of John sometimes he has to turn to Paul’s letter just to find some comfort.
But that’s just the way John was. It was a reflection of his personality. He was extreme. His passion was for the truth.
It was one of his strongest characteristics.
But as with some of the other disciples, like Peter and James, your best characteristics can sometimes be their pitfall. Sometimes these Christian virtues, as in John, can be pushed to sinful extremes.
Sometimes our greatest characteristics and greatest strengths will ironically cause our most prominent failures.
John’s zeal and intolerance often became sins of imbalance.

But something happened to the Apostle John… He was with Jesus. And when a person is with Jesus, this weird thing happens, you begin to change.
But John didn’t compromise his zeal for God. He just learned to find a healthy and righteous balance.
He didn’t blend his stance on areas that are black and white, he just learned to be grey where grey was needed.
Being with Jesus transformed this young, self-centered extremist into a mature disciple of balance.
Let’s take a look at some “grey” areas in John’s life.

Balance of Truth and Love
From early on, John was eager for the truth.
There was this other guy, also by the name of John. Not John the Apostle, but John the Baptist.
This guy was the MAN.
People all over are following him and calling themselves his disciples. They’re calling him Rabbi, teacher, which was an honorable title in that day.
I mean, this guy was the popular guy to follow at the time.
And then came Jesus. No one knew much about him. But John the Baptist singles him out, and says that HE is the true Messiah.
And so what does John the disciple do? He leaves his Rabbi John the Baptist, and he goes, and follows Jesus!
Why? Not because this disciple was interested in who was popular, or who was saying cool things necessarily, or who had the best personality, John the disciple was hungry for the truth.
John the follower said “I want him”. I want the truth.
And then we see John’s zeal for the truth as time goes on.
In Luke 9, we see John wanting to protect the truth, and in so doing he forbids a man who cast out demons in Jesus’ name, just because he wasn’t one of them. He was wary of this guy, because he wasn’t part of Jesus’ clique.
But Jesus rebuked him, and said “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against us is for us.”
The very next passage in Luke 9, John’s zealousness is at it again. As Jesus and the disciples are traveling to Jerusalem, they pass by a Samaritan village. And it says that the people did not welcome Jesus because he was going to Jerusalem.
And so John, and his brother James, these guys that Jesus calls “Sons of Thunder” say, “Jesus, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and destroy them all?
But again Jesus rebukes him. “Calm down John”. And they carry on.
John was so zealous for the purity of God’s truth that he was often intolerant.
He was extreme. And sometimes it was sinful.
But even a man this in love with Jesus and the truth needed rebuking. Even John needed some change.
And Jesus began to rebuke him and teach him the right way whenever his passion for the truth became sinful.
Don’t get me wrong. The Kingdom of God needs more men and women who are courageous,, passionate, bold, zealous for the truth.
People like John the Apostle.
But to reach our full potential, Christ wants us to balance those virtues with love.
As committed as John was to Christ and his truth, it wasn’t enough in itself.
Christ needed him to teach him to balance truth with love.
It wasn’t black and white. It was grey. The two needed to come together.

Truth without love is brutal.
Let me illustrate this for you.
I was trying to find for you guys a good example of truth without love.
God gave me something.
See, the WBC is a church that claims to be a church, that claims to preach the Word, that claims to understand the truth of Scripture.
But here they are, totally devoted to making people’s lives miserable. They are committed to showing up at funerals of dead soldiers, while family and friends are mourning, just to let them know that God hates them, and that he’s judging them for America’s wickedness because of the homosexuals in the land.
They have no sense of compassion for those who mourn, praising God for 911 and the great trajedies like Hiroshima and Hurricane Katrina.
And as I’m preparing this sermon, I’m going through videos upon videos of this church on the internet, and I’m telling you, I’m just boiling up inside.
I’m just so angry at how incredibally wrong they are, and how they can defame the name of Christ the way they do.
I’m thinking to myself, “These people think they are proclaiming the truth, but they are going against everything Jesus lived for. Everything Jesus taught and everything he was”.
They have no love in them as they proclaim their “truth”.
And as I’m watching these videos, I’m just wanting to find one where people just get violent on them. I want people to break down their posters and push them to the ground.
Until I found one. “WBC protesters vs. Angry Bikers”
But as I watching all 3 parts of this video, these big biker guys don’t even touch them!
They just peacefully crowd around them waving the American flag!
And I’m thinking! That’s it! You’re not gonna hurt them?
But then the Lord says something to me.
Greg, you are the perfect example of truth without love.
And all of a sudden this example isn’t focused on the WBC anymore. This truth without love is clearly demonstrated in me.
I claim to Love God and want to embrace the truth, but what’s going on in my heart is exactly what’s going on in theirs.
A lack of love. A lack of compassion. A lack of mercy.
Paul even says that you can have prophecy and all knowledge, and a faith that moves mountains, but if you don’t have love, you are nothing. (1 Cor. 13:2)
Church. What is truth without love? It’s brutal. It profits you nothing.

Love without truth is fatal.
You could be the greatest lover of all, but if you don’t have the truth, you’re dead. Spiritually dead, and you’ll be taking others with you.
EX: My apologetics professor is incredible. He has authored many books and speaks at many places. He can argue the faith and out debate anyone.
One of the members at his church and called him up with an emergency. He said I need you to come over. We’re thinking about leaving the church, the faith even, in order to join the Mormons.
My professor was shocked. He was an expert in refuting Mormonism. He knew everything wrong with them and why you SHOULD NOT join the Mormon Church.
They sat and he refuted the religion over hours. At the end of the talk, he said. “Thank you for all those reasons. I can’t argue against a single one of them. But we’re going to leave the church”
The couple had gone through a miscarriage, the most difficult time in their marriage. And yet the Mormon church showed them incredible love. There were Mormons who knew how to show them incredible love, a love they didn’t experience in the Christian church.
You can show love all you want, and win people over. But if you don’t have the truth, people will die spiritually in your arms of love.
Love without truth is fatal.

But here, Jesus wasn’t afraid to correct or even rebuke the young disciple John.
And Jesus wasn’t afraid to speak to John truth? Why? Because Jesus loved him.
Jesus rebukes John and teaches him him how to seek the truth… in love. How does Jesus do it?
By not being afraid to speak the truth!... in LOVE.
So should we embrace truth? Or Love?
Jesus teaches that this particular issue isn’t really a black and white issue. It’s a grey issue, in that the two need to come together and work together.
It’s not either/or… it’s both/and. Not Truth or Love, but truth and love.
Chruch, I pray that we will long to embrace the truth, and to teach it and speak out of sincere love.

Balance of Ambition and Humility
Not only was the apostle John zealous in his youth, but he was ambitious.
It’s not inherently wrong to be ambitious, or to desire success, or even to want to be great.
But ambition and greatness without humility is sinful.
EX: Last time I spoke here, I shared a story when I used to pray, “God, I want to be used greatly by you. I want to be great in your Kingdom. Let me bring thousands into your kingdom.”
That was a really prayer that I prayed quite consistently. And to be honest, I had pictures in my head of what greatness meant. Greatness to me was to be a renowned preacher. One who would be able to preach to multitudes and see people by the dozens, hundreds, come to Christ. I prayed that God would make me great.”
Last year, I was quite high off of a lot of the opportunities that I was getting to speak all over, at retreats, college campuses, other churches.
And I have to tell you. It felt really good. It was incredible feeling.
But sometime last year (Oct.) I started to experience something that I could not escape.
I would go to sleep at night, or wake up in the morning with the words of Jesus resonating in my soul, pound in my heart.
I would wake up mornings with the same reoccurring words on my lips, “Stay low. Stay low.”
I’d be brushing my teeth and the words of Jesus would be impressed on my heart, teachings of “the first WILL be last, and the last will be first.” And “Those who want to be the greatest in Heaven must be the lowest on earth.”
I didn’t know what to do with. It scared me because it told me that something needed to change in my life.
I had heard this teaching time and time again, but now it was speaking louder than ever. STAY LOW.

You know, some of us learn quicker than others.
But others of us are a little more dense. We’re a little thicker in the head, and have to be taught over and over again.
John the Apostle was one of those.
In Mark 9, we see a glimpse of John’s ambition, along with some of the other disciples.
Some of the disciples were walking together with Jesus and debating amont themselves.
Jesus asks them, “What were you guys arguing about on the road?” Not like Jesus needed to know to gain information. He already knew, and was looking for a confession.
The Scripture (Mk. 9:34) says that no answered because they were arguing who would be greatest. They were ashamed of such a lame argument.
Without needing an explanation, Jesus goes straight into his teaching.
“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mk 9:35)
Jesus says if you want to be GREAT, you gotta be humble. If you want to be high and exalted, well you better get down low and serve people other than yourself.
James and John ask for Seats of honor
But THICK-headed John doesn’t get it. See, cause in the very next chapter, (Mk 10), we read of the infamous story of the apostle John and the other Brother of Thunder, James.
This time we see John’s ambition when they approach Jesus and ask of a rather bold request.
They ask “Lord, let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
They had no idea what they were asking, for Jesus replied to them “You don’t know what you are asking.”
To sit at the right hand of Christ was to request the greatest place and honor any human being in the history of the earth can receive.
To sit at the right hand is to be in a place of highest authority and honor.
The only one higher than you is the one on the throne, in this case, the King of the Universe.
John knew that. In fact, he specifically asked if they could sit there when Christ is sitting in all his glory, his most unrestricted, unveiled state of brilliant glory.
EX: Wedding Crasher?
I heard this lady was asking my mom to be able to come to our Wedding reception.
I said, “She asked?” and my mom emphasized that she was pleading to come.
I have to admit. That’s kind of flattering! Part of me was flattered, but the other part of me thought that it was kind of strange that someone would have the boldness and the ambition to ask for a place in our wedding without having been invited.
But what if she had asked to sit with us at the Sweetheart table? What if she asked for a chair on the stage with us?
I would think… “Who is this lady?” Who does she think she is that she would be so privileged?
Christ replies, “You have no idea what you are asking”. Who are you to insist a seat at the right and left of Christ in his Glory?
John knew what he was asking, but he had no idea what he was asking.
He was quite ambitious.

Yet once again, Jesus has to go back to his teaching.
Once again he taught, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first, must be slave of all.”
For even I, says Jesus, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus says whoever has the ambition in him to be great, let him be ambitious for humility. Whoever is ambitious to be exalted in His Kingdom, let him be ambitious to be a humble servant on earth.
What simple teaching.
Jesus directly, multiple times even, gives us the keys to greatness.
We got books on how to live your best life now. We got seminars on how to be successful.
He gives us the answer. No hidden message.
If we want to be successful, if we are ambitious to achieve greatness, we must put ourselves in last place, letting God and others come before us.
How simple is that.
Yet how thick headed can we be sometimes? Could it be that we are like John?
How often have we heard this teaching, yet when we look at our lives, we find ourselves constantly living for ourselves.
Considering my needs and my gain first, before others.
Sure, maybe we don’t ONLY consider ourselves, but we’re definitely far in first place, aren’t we?
It was a simple truth, but a hard lesson, something that Christ had to continually teach his disciple, over and over and over again.
And once again, not only did Jesus teach it, but he himself was the example of it.
Out of all the gospel writers, the apostle John writes it most vividly in detail, the night that the Master washed their feet and demonstrated true humility when he served them.
No doubt the service of his Master left a deep impression on the dense disciple.
And by the end of his life, this follower of Christ had learned to balance his ambition for greatness with an attitude of humility.
The Master taught him so.
As reflected in his writing, John the Apostle learned to place Christ and others far above himself, giving glory to Jesus whenever he could.
Here is a disciple who wouldn’t even mention his own name in his writings, but only addressed himself as the disciple who Jesus loved. The focus was on Jesus.
So should we seek greatness? Or should we seek humility?
Well, it’s not a black or white issue. It’s not either or.
It’s grey, in that it’s both and.
It’s not greatness or humility. It’s greatness through humility.

Closing
So what do we learn from John the Apostle, this beloved disciple of Christ?
Well we learn that not all things are always so black and white, either/or.
That in the Christian life, some things are actually grey issues, both/and.
We learn that you can’t just pound people with the truth, but we must speak the truth in Love.
We learn that it’s not necessarily wrong to be ambitious for greatness, but that we must seek to be humble servants of God in order to attain greatness.
But these are only a few of many grey areas in the Christian life.
How can we learn more?
I want to point out to one passage that strikes me. Acts 4:13
The apostle John, next to his buddy Peter, were arrested and stood trial before the Rulers and the elders. They were punished for healing a crippled man, and then preaching in the name of Jesus.
But John and Peter stand and testify to their faith in Christ.
But what strikes me is what was made apparent to those around them, even their accusers.
It says “When they saw the courage of Peter and John, and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
They were with JESUS!!!! And it made them who they were. From ordinary to extraordinary.
How did John learn to balance his zeal for truth with Love? By being with Jesus.
How did he learn to be humble as a means to greatness? By being with Jesus.
He heard Jesus teach these things. He was rebuked by Jesus.
But not only did he hear it taught, he watched it being lived out.
Brothers and sisters, when people see your life, what do they see?
Do they see once ordinary people, but now made extraordinary because you have been with Jesus?
IT’s too easy for us to call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ, but showing no evidence of people who actually follow Christ. Of people who have been with Christ.
I want to encourage you, as I’m sure you’ve grown up learning in church. Spend time with Christ. Spend time with Master. Learn from him.
And I’m not saying just do your QT’s. I’m not saying just spend some time in prayer.
I’m also saying, SPEND TIME WITH JESUS. Get to know what he says. Watch what de does. Examine the Master’s life.
John not only listened to Jesus’ teachings, he watched him in action.
Brothers and sisters, how often to listen to the direct words of Jesus. How often do you inspect his life?
We have been left with four gospels that detail the life and ministry of our Lord.
I often encourage our Church to constantly come back to the gospels. Read a gospel, and then switch off with another book. But keep examining the life and teachings of Christ.
And the more we begin to imitate our Lord, the more I’m convinced that people will see something more than ordinary about us.
Like John the Apostle, they’ll see that we Christ followers, have actually been with Jesus.