Pray that I may declare it fearlessly - Phillip Jensen’s sermon at his Commencement Service

Thank you for the opportunity and privilege of proclaiming Christ from this pulpit, a pulpit located in the heart of this great city, and the heart of this great diocese.

I love Sydney - not just as my home, but as a great city. It is a fantastic city, located in such a wonderful part of God’s world. From the beaches to the mountains with its harbour and its rivers and bays, with its bustling streets to its quiet parks, its mild climate and sunny disposition - Sydney is a great city.

But Sydney is more than its beautiful environment. It is a well ordered community, enjoying its wealth, with freedom and fun loving pleasure. It’s a city of migrants opening its arms to people from all over the world who want to raise their families in peace security and prosperity. A city of sport and education, of natural beauty and stunning architecture, of incredible wealth and yet open egalitarianism. I love Sydney.

And I love the Diocese of Sydney. For the Anglican Church in this Diocese has taught and nurtured both me and my family. It has provided the fellowship of God’s people. They love the Lord Jesus. They read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the scriptures. They openly seek to invite all people into a life-giving relationship with the Heavenly Father through the death and resurrection of His son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a well ordered Diocese, both pragmatic and prudential in the affairs of money, property and good government. Yet it has always stood firm for principles - the principles of the Anglican Reformation, that we are justified by grace alone through faith alone by Christ alone.

I love the Diocese of Sydney.

This pulpit - which I have been invited to occupy - stands in the centre of this great city and this great Diocese.

It is a privileged opportunity for me to commence this work with you tonight.

But it is a humbling privilege - for no one is worthy or sufficient for the task. For the task is more than speaking - it is speaking the word of God. The task is not just intellectual, moral or physical - it is profoundly spiritual.

And so my first sermon from this pulpit - this sermon tonight - is a plea for prayer. It is a self centred plea - a plea for prayer for me. But yet it is also a plea for prayer for all of us who would stand in this wonderful city and call upon it to repent.

It is the plea for prayer for boldness - freedom to speak as I ought, fearlessness to speak as we ought.

It is derived from tonight’s second lesson: Paul writing in Ephesians 6.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Let’s first look briefly at the context.

Most people detach the passage about spiritual warfare and armoury from the rest of Ephesians. But it was not written to provide a Sunday School lesson with easy visual aids.  Nor did Paul had a few left over ideas, which he did not know where to attach and so stuck them on the end of this letter.

The passage is a key part of the important argument of Ephesians. The victory of Christ over all the powers and principalities in the spiritual realms is to be declared and put into effect by the preaching of the gospel to the nations.

The secularists in our society do not see this spiritual conflict. They assume that there is nothing else in life than the secular. So they turn the perfectly Christian notion of secular/of this world/of this age, into the atheistic materialism of secularism. They turn secular education into secularist education. They turn the secular Government into the secularist society. They deny even the possibility of the spiritual realm, let alone the conflict in which we and they unconsciously are engaged. But, friends, their blindness does not remove the reality of what they refuse to see.

Some other people make too much of this spiritual warfare/conflict, or rather fail to understand its nature, the sovereignty of God over the spiritual realms and the victory of Christ in his sacrificial death and resurrection.  They see demons and spirits in every action of creation, and under every bed. They fear the world of the demonic, not recognising Christ’s liberating victory. They try to gain control of spiritual forces or to align themselves with such forces by new age mysticism, crystals, tarot cards and magic, not recognising the power of the Devil resides in lies and deception, not recognising the rebellious immorality of the spirit world, not recognising the victory declared in the gospel.

Ephesians 6 talks of our warfare.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God…

This is the supernatural conflict of world evangelism. The armour you notice is all about the gospel (belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation). It is all defensive armoury - except the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. But in this armour the Christian is to stand in the heat of the conflict with spiritual forces in the heavenly realms.

And it is in this context that Paul speaks of praying. Praying at all times in all ways but specifically in the Spirit.  That is to call God Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is through Christ that we have access to the Father by one Spirit. And so we are to pray for all God’s people and, in particular, Paul says in verse 19, and also for me that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

Secondly, let’s notice what Paul is asking for.

If you have read the accounts of Paul’s life you could be excused for wondering why Paul would ask for boldness for fearlessness to speak. His life was one full of dangers and difficulties: shipwrecked, imprisoned, beaten, whipped and stoned, but he seemed always to abound in courage and forcefulness. Contending with rulers and soldiers, hostile crowds and troubled individuals, brimful of confidence and authority.

But here he is asking for boldness to speak as he should. You do not ask in prayer for what you already have but rather you ask for what you do not have or are worried that you will not have. What we read in the accounts of Paul’s life are the positive answers to the prayers for boldness. We, looking from the outside, may assume that Paul had boldness in bucketloads, but Paul knew his need for prayerful support: that he would not be ashamed of the gospel; that he would not be silenced by the intellectual snobbishness of the philosophers and debaters of his day; that he would not be brow beaten and afraid of the courts that he had to face; that he would not be censored by the Jewish officials of the synagogues or the Sanhedrin.

He should speak with open, bold confidence the mystery of the gospel. But he wanted the prayerful support necessary. Such speaking is more than a matter of human courage. It is engaging in the spiritual warfare of the heavenly realms. The mystery of the gospel is the truth that the Devil does not want preached and proclaimed.  From his perspective, those who preach it must be silenced or corrupted.

But notice Paul does not ask for fearlessness to preach the gospel as he ought, but to preach the mystery of the gospel as he ought.

Why the mystery of the gospel? What is the mystery of the gospel? Is the gospel mysterious?

No, the gospel is not mysterious. It is open, plain and all too clear. That is why people do not like it and oppose it so frequently and vehemently.

The word ‘mystery’ does not mean mysterious in Ephesians and Paul’s writings, but rather secret. It is the secret of the gospel. And a secret is not a mystery. My father’s middle name is a secret that only the family members here may know, but it is not mysterious. It is a secret that I could share with you and then we would all know.

What is the secret of the gospel - what is the mystery of the gospel - that Paul needs prayerful support to speak freely about?

You can find it back in chapter 3:6.

6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

Here is the mystery that was hidden for centuries, the secret that Paul explained around the Mediterranean world. The great mystery of the gospel: the Jewish Messiah did not come for the Jews only; the Jewish Messianic kingdom was not for the Jews only; the non-Jews, Gentiles, all peoples, all nations are invited into the kingdom of God, invited as full citizens and as full children of God.

When Jesus died on the cross to pay for sins, it was not for Jewish sins only but for the sins of the whole world. When he arose and sent his Spirit out into the world with the regenerating message of salvation, it was not just for the Jews but for the Samaritans and the nations, for the old and the young, for the weak and the healthy, for the rich and the poor, for the idolaters and the philosophers and the prison guards and the demon possessed.

For God’s one and only Son had paid the price for the redemption of all mankind - paid it fully and completely once for all. This is God’s way back to God - the all-inclusive and only way back to God.

So Paul went preaching the gospel message of Jesus. But in particular he had the task of declaring the secret, the mystery, of the gospel - the all-inclusiveness of the gospel. And that made his work so objectionable to others and so fearful to undertake.

For once you see that Jesus is God’s way to bring all mankind back to himself - that the gospel is inclusive of all people - then you start to see that there are no privileged seats. It no longer matters that you are Jewish, or rich, or clever, or Roman, or anything. That becomes fairly offensive to people who take their pride or their security in their position. It became very offensive to the Jew who thought he was right with God because he belonged to God’s chosen people.

But as you listen to the gospel it is more offensive still. You see, today inclusiveness is applauded. The church should be open to all people irrespective of race, religion, class, sex, nationality or personal preferences or lifestyle. But listen to the gospel message of Jesus, the one who died and rose again and who is coming to judge the living and the dead, and you will see the appropriate response is to repent. It is to change. It is to turn back from your lifestyle and your self. It is to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus.

That is the inclusiveness of the gospel and is also the exclusiveness of the gospel.  All may come in, but only come in by Jesus. It is a message (a secret) that, once revealed, causes deep upset to those who wish to come to God their own way. The Jews would not accept that the Gentiles could be fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God. The Romans would not accept that their gods were false and needed to be left behind. The Greek philosophers would not accept that the resurrection of Jesus spelt the coming judgement of the world on their idolatry and stupidity.

So when Paul wrote to the Ephesians he was in prison. Imprisoned, he tells us in chapter 3 verse 1, “for the sake of you Gentiles…” The non-Jews, whose place in the kingdom of God was secured by Christ’s death and resurrection, and was announced by Christ’s ambassador in chains.

Thirdly, if that is what Paul was asking, what am I asking for?

Tonight we commence a new chapter in the ministry of proclaiming the mystery of the gospel in the city of Sydney, and I ask for the same thing Paul asked for, because we are still engaged in the same spiritual battle and need the same supernatural courage.

It is the same conflict with the powers and principalities for the souls of this city. For beautiful as this city is, well ordered as this city is, as much as we may love it, this city still has its dark side of immorality and decadence; of rebellion against God issuing in antisocial behaviour, at all levels of society. The spiritual need of the gospel is as great as ever - and the devil’s desire to censor it from public discourse, to discredit its teachers and to pervert its message is as great as ever.

So we are still in spiritual need of prayer - to preach the gospel with boldness, fearlessly. The same fears of shame and persecution, of put down and ridicule, are still there in me and in you as they were in the Apostle in chains. So we need to pray for one another, and I need you to pray for me that we may speak the mystery of the gospel fearlessly as we ought.

But remember, it’s not just the gospel, it’s the mystery of the gospel that causes the offence. It’s the inclusiveness and the consequential exclusiveness of the gospel that causes the offence. If I were to say Jesus died and rose again, people in our tolerant and carefree city would say ‘well, we’re glad you think so and happy that you feel free to say it.’

But when I say Jesus died and rose again as the one and only unique sacrifice for sins and the judge and ruler of all mankind, irrespective of race religion or creed, then the opposition starts. Then the illiberality of liberals commences. Then the censorious persecution opens up. Then political correctness takes over.

For Jesus to be ‘the way the truth and the life’ is mildly offensive, but to be ‘the only way to the father’ is downright rude for all people who want to live without Jesus being their king and their saviour and their God.

Our society does not want this Cathedral to genuinely express the inclusiveness of the gospel.

But Christ is not the Lord of the Anglo-Saxons, nor the Lord of the Anglicans, but the Lord of all people. This Cathedral cannot be Christian and for Anglo-Saxon stock only. It must be for all people - rich, poor, young, old, professors, illiterate, for Greeks and Jews, for Chinese and for Lebanese, for Muslims, Buddhists, New Age and Atheist.

Our society does not want the exclusiveness of the gospel.

But Christ is not one of many options, to placed among all the gods of this world. The message of this Cathedral pulpit must be repentance, must be to give up our other gods, to give up our false ideas, to give up our non-Christian cultural baggage, our non-Christian tribal allegiances. It is easy to point the finger at statues of Buddha or at practices of Sharia law, but Jesus demanded that we deny ourselves - that the rich young ruler give up his wealth. The New Testament calls upon us to turn away from gluttony, lying, materialism and covetousness. Sydney has to give up its addiction to gambling and greed.  We have to renounce our Anglo-pride culture or any other false security in the presence of God.

Christ is either right or wrong. He cannot be relativised as right for some people but wrong for others. The Qur’an denies that Jesus died. The Bible declares he died and his death is central to his whole life and message. The Jews agree that Jesus died but deny that he rose again. All these views cannot be right. They could all be wrong - Jesus may never have lived. But if he did live then either he died or he did not die. And if he died he either is still dead or he rose from the grave. If one view is right, the others must be wrong. We must stop the stupidity of stretching social tolerance into religious or philosophical relativism.

But here is the problem for the preacher: people do not want me to say anything or anybody is wrong. I am supposed to speak the truth without denying the error. But, friends, that is an erroneous view -the erroneous view of liberalism and relativism.

Let me illustrate by an incident that happened last year. I spoke to a Hindu student who loved my teaching from John’s Gospel about Jesus. He believed in Jesus. Jesus was, for him, one of the great spiritual leaders.  But like all good Hindus, that did not mean that he should depart from his Hindu gods, but rather just add Jesus to the list. Therefore he did not like the exclusiveness of Jesus. In fact he tried to argue that all religions were right.

I offered to show him that Hinduism is wrong without attacking Hinduism. I asked the question, ‘did Jesus die?’ If he did the the Qur’an, the most sacred and authoritative book of Islam - the supposed perfect revelation of Allah - was wrong. If on the other hand he did not die, then the Bible was wrong, not just about some unimportant peripheral detail but about the very central claim of Christianity. They both cannot be right - both are possibly wrong, either are possibly right - but it is impossible for both to be right. And if they both cannot be right then his Hinduism, which taught him that all religions are right, cannot be right either.

He left me very disturbed by our conversation. But so far has continued in his Hindu religion, not because of what is true or right but because of tribal family pressure. We must not be Christians because of tribal family pressure, but because it is true.

There are many lovely, wonderful Hindus, Muslims, Jews and atheists in our city. Good citizens who have every right to expect to have all the same rights and responsibilities as citizens as anybody else. But their different religions cannot all be right. Some, or all of them, are wrong, and if wrong are the monstrous lies and deceits of Satan, devised to destroy the life of the believers, to capture them into the cosmic rebellion against God and to destroy the freedom they should have in Christ.

Christians in Sydney are being pressured to preach at best a muted message of Christianity. Certainly not one that will ever deny falsehood.

Friends, astrology is a profoundly stupid false religion. The idea that you could publish a guide to life for everybody born in a particular month is just plain dumb. But while we cannot get a Christian comment in mainline Sydney papers but are constantly attacked and pilloried in its columns, they all publish the horoscope daily for all to see. The blatant hypocrisy of the media outlets’ anti-Christian bias means the gospel is not going to be heard by the citizens because of the secularists and the relativists. And whoever cares to stand up and speak boldly about their being only one true religion for all people will inevitably be treated like a leper and an outcast.

So the pressure is to speak quietly and softly, avoid the negatives, avoid raising the issues of God or of judgement, of death or of resurrection in public, in the discourse of the community, in parliament, even eventually in private. Politicians (some even claiming to be Anglicans) argued in parliament that the morality and ethics of killing using embryonic life should be discussed without any reference to God. Maybe we should, maybe we should not, use embryos for scientific research, but how can we discuss life and death without reference to God. And since when in this land of freedom and religious freedom are we forbidden to speak of God?

The film industry is the same. Christianity is constantly censored out. I watched a John Grisham movie The Chamber, and the ending is different to the book. The minister, the Christian repentance and conversion were just left out of the climax - replaced by pseudo psycho-babble or interpersonal relationships.

To its credit yesterday in the SMH there was an article from the NY Times about ‘Liberal America’s contempt for evangelicals…’

“Nearly all of us in the news business are completely out of touch with a group that includes 46 per cent of Americans.”

On the liberal press’s critique of evangelicals, the author speaks of “a sneering tone about conservative Christianity itself. Such mockery of religious faith is inexcusable. And liberals sometimes show more intellectual curiosity about the religion of Afghanistan than that of Alabama, and more interest in reading the Upanishad than the Book of Revelation.”

Friends, we cannot get the message across in the censorious liberal presses or even argue the case with freedom in the house of Parliament. We are hounded in the universities and not really allowed to seriously study Christianity, nor to express and articulate Christian view within the classrooms, which are open to almost any and every view that you wish to express.

The Cathedral pulpit in the centre of the city, the suburban pulpits scattered across the whole metropolitan area, are critical in the free and unfettered proclamation of the gospel. But we must support our preachers with prayer because we do not advance Christianity by force of arms or armies, as the battle is a spiritual battle with supernatural forces of evil in the heavenly realms. So the battle is done by our prayerful preaching of the gospel of the risen Christ Jesus declared to all nations.

Here is one of the few uncensored places left, and you have invited me to use it to preach Christ. Then pray for me that I may speak fearlessly as I ought, as I declare not just the message of the gospel but the mystery of the inclusive, and therefore exclusive, gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all people.

Phillip Jensen
Dean of Sydney