ForMartin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Protest Never Meant Wait and See<\/a>,”\nhistory.com]\n B. But toward the end of his life, while he still advocated non-violence, he claimed\nthere were reasons for riots.\n 1. “…it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots.\nIt would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same\ntime, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our\nsociety. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that\nthey have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get\nattention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard.\nAnd what is it America has failed to hear?…It has failed to hear that the\npromises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to\nhear that large segments of white society are more concerned about\ntranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.” (“The\nOther America,” 1968).\n 2. I believe Dr. King got off track with this. He still maintained his\nnonviolence stance but he caused rioters to feel justified, which I doubt\nwas his intentions.\n C. King’s methods worked within the system that allowed for peaceful protests. They\ngot people’s attention and change resulted.\n D. It needs to be remembered the King was a Baptist minister. He saw himself as a\nChristian and wanted to promote what he saw as the cause of Christ.\nIV. Protests and Riots<\/p>\n A. I mentioned both the American Revolution and Martin Luther King because the\ncurrent riots and violent protests are being portrayed as being similar to these past\nevents. Clearly they are not.\n 1. These past events operated in light of what the participants saw in the\nScriptures\n
B. Nor can support for violence be found in the Scriptures<\/p>\n 1. David talked about a time that sounds hauntingly like our modern\nproblems – Psalms 55:9-11\n
2. God is against violent people – Psalms 11:5-7<\/p>\n
3. He teaches men to stay away from violence – Psalms 17:3-5<\/p>\n
4. Psalms 140 is a call for God to stop the violent<\/p>\n
5. Paul warned about times like this – II Timothy 3:1-5<\/p>\n C. Often it is claimed that “others” are subverting their peaceful protests, but I can’t\nthink of one recent protest that actually remained non-violent and non-destructive.\n D. It has been well published that the leaders of Black Lives Matter have taken stands\nthat are against Christianity\n 1. “Black Lives Matter is incompatible with Judeo-Christian beliefs and\nteachings. They don’t include God in their platform and have made\nanti-Semitic statements. There’s a hyper-focus on race which is the\nantithesis of Christian teaching. Black Lives Matter only sees people\nthrough racial and group identity lenses, not as individuals and unique\ncreations of God. Their message is one of division and hate towards\nWestern society.” [“Should Christians Support Black Lives Matter,”\nMedium.com]\n 2. “We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement”\n[“What We Believe,” Black Lives Matter]\n 3. “We foster a queer affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the\nintention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative\nthinking” [“What We Believe,” Black Lives Matter]\n
V. There are times when governments need to change<\/p>\n A. But any change will not do. Only changes that bring people closer to the ideals of\nChristianity.\n B. We pray that government allows us to live quiet and peaceful lives – I Timothy\n2:1-6\n
C. Affect change as righteous men and not as the wicked behave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 2:13-17 I. Peter talked about our relationship to the government – I Peter 2:13-17 A. Submission to the government is an involuntary action. Most of us do not have opportunities to chose which government we wish to live under. Even with choice, we will always be under some government.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[310,1224,417,1225,416],"class_list":["post-24269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-government","tag-protests","tag-rebellion","tag-riots","tag-submission"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50978,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-live-as-people-who-are-free-fit-with-submission\/","url_meta":{"origin":24269,"position":0},"title":"How does “live as people who are free” fit with submission?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I wanted some clarification on what Peter says in I Peter 2:16.\u00a0What does Peter mean when he says \"Live as people who are free\"? The context throws me off a bit because he's talking about being submissive to authority. Answer: \"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16491,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/submission\/","url_meta":{"origin":24269,"position":1},"title":"Submission","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How you perceive something often depends on your approach. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Let me illustrate: A business man was interviewing applicants for the position of divisional manager. He asked each applicant the simple question, \u201cWhat is two and two?\u201d The first interviewee was a journalist. His answer was \u201ctwenty-two.\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93169,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-christians-putting-too-much-hope-in-government\/","url_meta":{"origin":24269,"position":2},"title":"Are Christians Putting Too Much Hope in Government?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer via InLight Media How should Christians respond to government and political authority? In a world where elections, leaders, and policies dominate the conversation, it's easy for Christians to place too much hope-or too much fear-in government. But the Bible reminds us of a deeper truth: earthly rulers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Video"","block_context":{"text":"Video","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/video\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61341,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-civil-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":24269,"position":3},"title":"Notes on Civil Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 11, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Must be Obeyed Exodus 22:28 Ecclesiastes 8:2-5 Ecclesiastes 10:4 Ecclesiastes 10:20 Matthew 22:17-21 Romans 13:1-8 I Timothy 2:1-2 Titus 3:1 I Peter 2:10-17 II Peter 2:9-11 Inferior to God Acts 5:29 Will Prosper Under Morality Proverbs 11:11 Proverbs 14:34","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24756,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-women-less-than-men\/","url_meta":{"origin":24269,"position":4},"title":"Are women less than men?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are women less than men? Because the Bible says it's disgraceful for a woman to talk in the church. Seems like she's something dirty. Answer: I wonder about the question because I don't believe you think your mother or any other woman is inferior. It leaves me with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25606,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-government-that-taxes-its-citizens-at-99-be-followed\/","url_meta":{"origin":24269,"position":5},"title":"Should a government that taxes its citizens at 99% be followed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you think that Christians should obey the tax law, even if the rules required that taxpayers must donate 99% of their income in taxes? Answer: This is a facetious hypothetical argument. The implication is that if the answer will object in the extreme, then it is justified to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}