Acts 10:34-43 A Most Dangerous Idea

"Which so-called dangerous idea do you think would have the greatest potential to change the world for the better if it were implemented?"This was a question posed on an Australian TV show a few years back. One panelist said  population control would probably be something that might need to be seriously considered. Another wondered what it would be like if people could be truly free. He thought that humans living without any religious, societal, or governmental constraints, might make the world a better place.Another panelist named Peter Hitchens (the brother of one of the most famous "anti-theists" of the last few decades, Christopher Hitchens) stated,

The most dangerous idea in human history and philosophy remains the belief that Jesus Christ was the son of God and rose from the dead and that is the most dangerous idea you will ever encounter... Because it alters the whole of human behavior and all of our responsibilities. It turns the universe from a meaningless chaos into a designed place in which there is justice and there is hope and, therefore, we all have a duty to discover the nature of that justice and work towards that hope. It alters us all. If we reject It, it alters us all was well. It is incredibly dangerous. It's why so many people turn against it.

I appreciate his answer. Unlike how the resurrection of Jesus is commonly spoken of (winter turning to spring, a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, light overpowering darkness, etc...), Peter's answer brings it home. It makes the reader ask the question, "If there is a God, and he did raise Jesus from the dead, what does that mean for me?"Indeed, that's the question the crowd asked Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). They didn't just think it was a lovely thing that God raised Jesus, but with stunned fear they implored of Peter, “What should we do?”That's actually a sign that one has given serious consideration to the news they've just heard. The "meh" response that domains in American congregations betrays the fact that they haven't given thoughtful consideration to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. For that news demands an action; it can be positive or negative, but it must be active.The appropriate thing to do, according to Peter, is to "repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus." That's bible-speak for, "Change your mind about the way you think life should be lived, and immerse yourself by faith in the life of Jesus."That is how one responds positively to the news of the resurrection. Indeed, it is the only logical response. For in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God is placing his stamp of approval on one life. Out of the over 108,000,000,000 people to have ever lived, God says of the life of Jesus, "Encore! I'd like this one to continue for eternity!"Therefore, one can logically deduce that if a person also wants to experience an eternity with God, the only way to do so is to receive the same life that God finds so pleasing that he would raise it from the dead. As we place our trust in Jesus and allow him to govern our ways of being, our life slowly drains out, and his life takes root. We are then able to say with Paul, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me."This process is not instant or easy, but it happens as we allow the Spirit to do work in us, with us. We can see it happening to Peter in Acts 10. He finds himself in the home of a Gentile named Cornelius. For a Jew like Peter, this was a huge paradigm shift, because to be in a Gentile's house was to become unclean. So what is Peter doing? He is allowing the life and word of Christ determine his movements, and not an interpretation of the law.The same will happen to us as we receive Christ's life. The resurrection life of Christ will breathe life into our dead ways and conform us to his image.Imagine what would become of one who accepts this idea as true, and lives into its implications. It would be dangerous, but dangerous in the way nuclear power is dangerous. When a person with high character utilizes it, it is a force that creates good for the entire world.Listen to the sermon here.