Last week we talked about the hypocritical attitude we can have with our works and our conscience. With our works, we can get to a point where we think we deserve a position in the ministry for the Lord. I have literally had people list the works they have done for 20 or 30 years to justify why they demand a position of leadership in the church. They ask why they were not chosen. They ask why the pastor would disqualify them. They do not understand. If they have taught Sunday school, taught children, helped others, shoveled walks and driveways, witnessed for the Lord and visited many, why are they not qualified to be a deacon, or trustee or in some churches an elder? The answer is that none of those things are requirements to be a deacon. They are things deacons do, services they perform. The chief requirement to serve as a deacon is for the man to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3). Other requirements, articulated in Titus and 1 Timothy, include submissiveness, blamelessness, not being an adulterer, having faithful children, being a steward of God, not quick to anger, not given to wine, not someone who would fight or be greedy. There are more qualifications, but the point is that through their own personal admission and line of argument, the individual listing their accomplishments and demands was neither submissive nor full of the Holy Spirit.

As we studied both works and conscience, we quickly find that our works do not earn us salvation, but our salvation is evinced in our works. We also found that our conscience can both accuse and excuse. We can accuse some by simply having a testimony that convicts them. The Christian testimony convicts because it involves submission. Christian submission to God is a bane to man who seeks only to please himself.[i] Man cannot understand how faith in things unseen motivates the Christian. Through faith, the Christian accuses the unbeliever and excuses the believer.

The believer’s faith in Christ’s vicarious sacrifice forces self-assessment and understanding of personal sin. With true understanding of imperfection, every believer knows he makes mistakes. Therefore, believers are forgiving as God in Christ is forgiving (Eph 4:32).

We will look at three passages today. Our first is the most extensive, but they are all essential to understanding how a unified church body functions. We will consider who moves the body, what our parts are in the body, and how we all submit in the body and the construct of the body. We should personalize this entire discussion. This is not sophistry, but functionality in the Christian life. All the way through this exposition you should be asking yourself, where do I fit in all of this?

Church unity is a very involved subject in many ways. In our construct today, many people believe they have intimate control over the functions in the church. Some congregations want to know every penny that is spent and even approve every penny as a church body. Scripture nowhere approves that intimate control. Other ministries provide for tremendous pastoral authority where the pastor is in control of every cent expended and every function in the church. Though the Pastor is responsible for everything that happens before God (Heb 13:17), real leadership permits others to join of their own volition, especially in a volunteer setting. Once again, totalitarianism does not seem to be supported in scripture.

Many say the pastor is simply the spiritual leader of the ministry. That can be partially true where a good pastor understands his limitations and those limitations include a lack of certain spiritual gifts. Turning over full fiduciary control of a ministry is not supported in scripture either. The pastor is supposed to administrate the ministry as much as he is to lead the people spiritually. He alone is accountable before Christ, being given greater responsibility.

Some churches want to intimately control the messages from the pulpit, the funds, the ministries that are put forward, invited in and in all ways be involved with every decision in any instance in the ministry, functionally and ministerially. One must ask, why have a pastor if this is the case? The pastor becomes a figure head.

A wonderful example of pastor/deacon and congregant is found in Exodus 17:11-12:

“And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands [were] heavy; and they took a stone, and put [it] under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”

We have a picture here where Moses, in effect the pastor, focuses upon God. His desire is toward God. His entire being, spiritual and physical, is oriented toward God. The decision to go against the Amalekites was Moses’ to make, but he needed help. Sometimes where the spirit is strong, the body is still weak to perform. We find Aaron and Hur, in effect deacons, as individuals helping Moses physically such that he is not distracted spiritually or intellectually from God. The congregants were the men and women of Israel. Men fought to protect and execute God’s will in the ministry. Moses had the vision for Israel. The people carried it out.

In a military application, you have a Commanding Officer (CO), an Executive Officer (XO) and a series of department heads. The XO cares for the administrative functions, though this is not exclusive. The CO is more readily involved with operational things and junior officer training, but is still responsible for all aspects of shipboard functionality. Department heads are bi-vocationally operational and administrative in nature. They handle certain parts of the ship’s overall function and normally report directly to the CO. There are divisions in each department with officers in charge of them. Then within each division, there may be sub-divisions. We had communications, maintenance and operations portions in our division. Structures in the division are the division officer, the division chief, leading petty officer (normally the most senior or most competent Non Commissioned Officer) and work center supervisors as well as watch sections and section supervisors. This is quite a hierarchy for 300-400 men. Each element was essential for operations and had to be loyal to the other. The unit had to coalesce or it would not survive. We needed to know what each part would do during any given circumstance and trust that the individual job would get done. The church and the absolute need for unity is not much different.

The CO of the church is Jesus Christ. He is the operational head of the church, but responsible for everything. The XO is the Pastor. Though the Pastor does not run things operationally (think heart change operations), he is cognizant of the needs and desires and spends the most time with the CO. The pastor plans, organizes and executes ministries as given by the Lord for the church body. God gives him a vision for the ministry. This is where this illustration gets a little fuzzy. Unlike a military organization, the church is not beholden to strict authorities. The Pastor has authority as given by the Lord. However, in many ways he is a humbled equal to the others in the local body of Christ and accountable under the Lord to them. Deacons, although a spiritual equal, are the department heads functioning in the operational portion of the ministry in support roles to the Pastor (XO) while directly responsible to the Lord (CO).

Another way the military application is similar to the Christian local church is in doctrine. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines must follow a unique set of standards, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). They willingly submit themselves to this law which restricts normal American citizen rights such as the First Amendment and others in order to serve in a military environment. Unity of a given military organization is based in the individual submission to leadership; and commitment to a mission and needs of the whole. Just as the Captain tells the Private to take out a machine gun nest, therefore endangering his own life for the unit, so too God tells the believer to give himself for the Kingdom of God. One has eternal ramifications where the other does not.

Unity develops much the same way in a local body of believers. First, we unite under a single head, Christ. Second, we submit to the standards prescribed in God’s word, our UCMJ. Third, we recognize each of us has a specific talent just as each sailor on a ship, or each soldier in a unit has unique training and skills. Fourth we consent to being wholly committed to the mission of the commander within our unit. When we bring all these elements together and serve our Lord we can meet the mission objectives. We can further the kingdom of God in Christ and glorify Him in that furtherance.

Today we will consider three things that describe the vast power and strength of our God. Many discount how great our God is when they tell us He cannot work under certain circumstances in an individual church body. We are called to unify under Christ as the head. We do that best when we understand our place in the body and operate there. We help greatly when we focus upon our qualification within the body and do not adopt some false idea about how we might have to earn our place here. Finally, we consider the unity of the body as a whole and what it means before God.

I. Our place in the body (1 Corinthians 12:4-14)

Spiritual gifts are one thing in our relationship with Christ that is both personal and public. They are personal because God gives us ability very unique to our life and testimony. A gift is personal and extremely distinct to each member in the body. It is public because gifts are given to share with one another for use in the local body of Christ. Through spiritual gifts, we grow the local church, and the universal church as a whole.

Gifts do not guarantee anything, nor are they a testimony of grace or Christlikeness. Phillips wrote:

“The Corinthians had all the gifts. They were also the most carnal and worldly of believers. Some great Bible teachers have been known to be veritable tyrants at home. More than one admired pastor has been known to run off with the church organist. Some evangelists who can get tearful responses from audiences have been eaten out with worldliness, pride and greed. ” — John Phillips, Exploring 1 Corinthians, An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series, (Kregel: Grand Rapids, 2002), pg 258.

This is not going to be a discussion on trying to find your individual gift. If you are seeking counsel on that subject, I will invite you to contact your pastor separately. Further, do not take that to say he has the answer for you either. He does not know what your individual spiritual gift is. However, together we may find it with the Lord.

Man always loses focus on the real reason for life and ministry. Even the most attentive of individuals loses concentration. We often lose sight of our gift’s purpose, especially when we have what seems to be an extra dose of a gift. What is that purpose? Regardless of the gift, we are to use it for God’s glory.

The direct concern of this chapter in 1 Corinthians is to discuss the purpose of tongues, interpretation and prophecy. Many see these gifts as some super gift or a gift that brings about supremacy. We are not here to talk about specifics of these gifts today. What we want to consider is each person’s position in the body with respect to their gift. That must be your first consideration. What is each person’s responsibility? Why are we given these gifts?

Verse five tells us, “there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.” There are great varieties of service and uses of gifts. We have mentioned in the past that individual gifts are very distinct. One who has the gift of evangelism may never see the success of Billy Sunday, Bob Jones or John R. Rice. Still, every one of them has a place in God’s eternal kingdom while working for Him. They are all gifted with evangelism even though that may be for one convert in their lifetime.

Verse 8 tells us these are gifts from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, all gifts are given by God’s Spirit for the use of one Lord, the Son of God. Gifts are apportioned as God sees fit. He doles them out. If we were to say we needed more gifts in our church family, we would bring into question God’s decision. Since God brings people to the church, and God apportions the gifts in the church, then the church has what it needs. The appropriate gifts are here to grow and minister to that individual body.

This is further reinforced in verse 14 where each body of believers is made up of many individual members. Each member has a specific focus. Each has a function that supports the whole.

Each one of us must ask and answer three questions.

• First, am I contributing to the ministry that I am in? In a church body this small, every single individual contribution is vital. Every one of us must be operating in and for the ministry in support of this church body and the pastor’s vision to glorify God.
• Second, what is it that I am doing? Am I performing and contributing through my spiritual gift? Each individual has a gift. We have to line up what we are doing against what the gifts in scripture are, and what we are expected to do for and with one another. Now we should be clear, we are talking about spiritual gifts. This is not a discussion concerning your skills in the world. They are different. Those skills can be used by the spiritual gift but they are not a spiritual gift in themselves. We have to look at a list of gifts in scripture.[ii]
• The third thing is evaluation time. I recommend you spend time in prayer this afternoon with the two lists you find in your bulletin (spiritual gifts and one another commands).[iii] Ask yourself what one another commands you are fulfilling with the gift(s) God has given you. Since all ‘one another’ commands are required by every member of the body, and each member of the body is given a gift, this should not be a difficult assessment for each individual to make.

Where you may have the most problem is if you find you are not performing things on the ‘One Another’ list. We can find even bigger troubles when we do things on the One Another list using a gift we think we have but we really do not possess. This can cause great disunity in the body. Attempting to use a spiritual gift you have no business working with removes your use of a God given gift and displaces someone else’s rightful use of their gift. In effect, you are attempting to steal their blessings. This is not a situation where we pick up someone else’s slack. Though God can gift someone for a short period to fill a ministry need, it is His gift to give and administrate, not ours to take. We perform our gift for one another in the local body for God’s glory. That is how we unify.

If you do not know how to do this exercise, be comforted and encouraged. We will review spiritual gifts tonight in the evening service. We need to get everyone in our little church body working for the body. This is certainly a good start to doing so.

We should realize that a very important unifying activity for the body is that we obey God’s commands and use our spiritual gifts in the body for God’s glory. Some think that in order to be spiritually gifted or to gain spiritual infusion for their individual gift they have to go to great lengths to serve, even putting themselves in jeopardy. Folks have already tried this in the past and it didn’t work for them either.

II. Our qualification in the body (Colossians 2:18-19)

I know people who would purposefully do things in the church that caused them great physical pain. They thought that this was part of their spiritual service. They would put themselves out hurting themselves physically in the service of the Lord. Sometimes this physical challenge was so devastating it caused them to forsake the assembly on days of worship. One must ask how jeopardizing yourself physically for God causes you absent yourself from worship can glorify Him. I am not sure whether they thought this made them better Christians, or whether they were a good testimony to others, but neither is true. They were neither better Christians for it, nor was it a good testimony.

In Colossae, cults had begun to arise. They were intellectualists, ritualists, legalists, mystics and ascetics. The intellectualists would eventually fall prey to man’s philosophical thoughts and go the way of Gnosticism. Ritualists and legalists would eventually go the way of Judiazers, Episcopalian and the Roman church with their pomp and circumstance in worship. The ascetics remain in the many monasteries throughout the globe. They deny themselves many human comforts and claim a closer relationship with God in their personal deprecation. In this passage, Paul addresses mysticism more than anything, although ascetics are also discussed.

The mystics and ascetics both believe man can and should have an extrabiblical relationship with and receive revelations from God. We find this in the Mormon descriptions of the angel Moroni. We also see this in the spiritualist claims to speak to the dead and the occult’s association with demonic powers. Charismaticism and speaking in tongues also falls into this area.

The Colossians were in danger of being lead astray by individuals who seemed to have an extra measure of the spirit. They had wonderful experiences, angelic visitations and extra biblical revelations (Joseph Smith and Mormonism) that were very convincing. Their charisma attracted people.

Now, we should make no mistake. Christianity is spiritual in nature, function and focus. We are now spiritual creatures as our souls are quickened, made alive to God. However, we should not be fooled. Every body of believers has a specific set of spiritual functions already underway. The one thing that should guide that spiritual flow is Jesus Christ. Jesus uses the gifts among the body to minister in and grow the body. Jesus uses the Pastor to communicate that vision to the body. We have all the tools we need to do what God gives us to do.

The point Paul makes in this passage is that Christ is revealed between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21. We should seek no extra biblical guidance for God speaks to us through these scriptures using the Holy Spirit to do so. In verse 18, we are warned of a fraud in unscriptural responses to one another. We are supposed to let go of any personal assessment we might possess and seek the direct guidance in scripture. We do not look to angelic beings for guidance either. The only guide is Christ, the scriptures and the body of believers. The last part of verse 18 makes it clear we need to keep our noses out of the spiritual world that we know so little about.[iv] Mysticism dishonors God in that it is not content with His revelation and it worships demons through its function.

Charismatics say that doctrine is so intolerant and divisive. Gnostics say that the Bible is drawn largely from mythology. The Biblicist and true believer in Christ relish their Bible, as it is the true revelation of God to the world. The instruction therein is where Paul is driving the Colossians.

When using our spiritual gifts and seeking to unify the body of Christ in our lives with one another, do we regularly seek the word of God for the answers to questions we have? We certainly should. We can find ourselves lost in a society of yesterday (like a Judiazer) or stuck in the regularity of ritual (like a Pharisee) and get lost in a mystic or legalistic form of worship, function and operation (like the Gnostic) in the body of Christ. None of these honor God. If our body changes, we should be able to change with that dynamic just as much as we expect the individuals in the body to change and become Christians. We have to recognize that each individual in the body responds differently to different forms of our spiritual gift. If we do not focus on Christ as the Head and minister simply in our place within the body, we will never knit together and increase the body for the glory of God.

Our final scripture comes in Romans 12. This is the chapter where we find the believer called to dramatic change in verse two. It is one of my favorite passages to reference when a believer thinks they can stay in and of the world while trying to be Christian. However, we go a little further. After and during the change, we find humility called for in verse three. There is a recognition that faith comes in measures and God gives out those measures. This means we should regularly ask for more faith! In verse four, we find descriptions of the body of Christ again having many members individually functioning as a unit and with great purpose. We realize we may just be a finger joint, but without us, the whole finger would be stuck straight and unable to grasp things for the Lord. Yes, we need to bend to promote the unity of the body.

III. Our Unity in the body (Romans 12:5)

First we must know our place in the church body. Then we learn to submit to the local church in our given positions and function in the body using our spiritual gift. When we discern and achieve this individually, the church body can unify through one God in Christ. This is how God uses our individual abilities for His glory.

There are many here with many talents and diversities of talents. We should never covet another’s position, place or talent. We should in fact understand that from the smallest cell to the largest organ, each part of the body has a huge ministry. The senses have discernment. But their discernment is the best when they work together not against one another.

One finger cannot pick up a glass, but a finger with a thumb can in fact lift that burden and carry it. The shoulder cannot lift a heavy weight alone, but with the wrist and elbow, anything is possible as long as the hand using the fingers grasps the object. The hand and fingers cannot grasp an object they cannot grip. The fingerprints on the very tips of the fingers provide the ability to grip the work for the hand.[v] Every single piece of our body is essential to function. The eyelashes keep large pieces of debris out of our eyes. Everything, large or small is used by our body to function for the glory of God. Your position in the ministry may be as simple as washing the pew pads, or cleaning the church. You may be the tendon that makes a joint bend! Without juice and bread communion will not be possible. Without tendons connected to cartilage and muscle (sinew), arms, legs, fingers, toes and other things would never move.

How often we try so hard to be an arm when all we are is a small piece of tissue. We may be tasked with planning a project and get lost in the details of conducting the project instead of keeping ourselves focused on the simple part of the task at hand. When we try to be a whole arm and lift things, we often ignore the need for our little part somewhere else. If we are a finger joint but we deny what the eyes see, ears hear and senses feel, we step out of our role, try to take another one and deny Christ’s perfect design. We impede the growth and unity of the whole ministry simply because we want to be the eye or ear or sense of smell instead of a fingerprint for gripping.

Ladies and gentlemen, find your gift. Find it and use it to God’s glory. It will implement everything in the ‘one another’ commands in some way. Some how, your gift will accomplish all those things. Take a look at those lists. Do not try to be something you’re not, but be all that which you are. Do not cut yourself short, but never think that you are something far greater than your abilities. It is a fine line but we have to find out how we best serve God in this body and then go about doing those things with all the zeal and exuberance we can muster. Our body will unify when everyone is performing their spiritual gift and exercising their responsibility. Then, God can glorify us. Then God can give us more faith. Then God can use us. And the most important thing is that God is glorified through us. That is our purpose. Find that gift; glorify God.

Last week we went back to our base, our foundation. We looked specifically at salvation in the morning and at proof of our Lord’s resurrection in the evening service. The week before that we discussed how we can do what is right for and by one another.

We talked last week about Moses and Stephen. Where Moses was worldly in his focus, upbringing and response, Stephen was spiritual when he let the Son of God, through the Holy Spirit, control his life. Where we see Stephen convicting souls and suffering from their rebellion against God, Moses was ostracized for what he thought was helping protect his ethnic brother. Clearly, we all look different on the outside, but we are very much alike on the inside. That is no truer than when we discuss the soul. The lost soul focuses upon things and solutions in the world. The saved soul focuses upon God’s will and deliverance.

Last week seemed quite a denunciation of Moses. We should take a moment to also note that God chose to introduce Himself to Moses at a different time. Moses met God later on a mountaintop and was saved. Moses got it right in the wilderness finally where he asked God to provide and do.

Like Stephen and like Moses eventually would, we too should ask God to provide and trust what He chooses for us. That is living out faith in Him. When we have faith in God’s will, we can love, support, and do what is right for one another.

Please turn to Romans 2. We find Paul’s epistle to the Romans beginning to describe how impartial God is with respect to His judgment. We have to remember, everyone who is guilty will be judged. Believer’s judgments will come. They are judged related to their works (2 Cor 5:10). We are without excuse. Every one who passes judgment upon another is hypocritical the moment those words pass their lips. The reason is plain in scripture; everyone will pass through judgment and there is only one Judge.

We are currently enjoying a presidential primary season in the 2012 election cycle. One of the things we hear in the news about candidates is personal information. News agencies and debate questions are often worded and in such a way by the press to push the pendulum to one side or the other. According to a number of media studies, this ‘leading question’ pendulum swings more normally than not to the tawdry side of the clock. Nasty news sells and no news outlet can pass up a good ‘gotcha’ story. As is true with many individuals pressing an agenda, those in the media are predominantly liberal and over 80% are registered democrats. They are not objective. Therefore, to claim they only want to get the facts out about candidates on the right, while plainly ignoring, even condoning the same activity on the left is the height of hypocrisy.

The real issue in the passage we study today is hypocrisy. There are three schools of thought that are associated with Romans 2:1-16. There are the moralists who believe that being a good human being to mankind and striving to make mankind better is the mark of someone headed for Heaven. A moral testimony speaks of individual salvation. There are the Jews that believe they have the leg-up to get into Heaven, being the selected and chosen people. They believe Jews are already headed there and Gentiles are judged on a different scale because of it. There is a third camp of commentators that says this is a severe criticism and condemnation of all hypocrites regardless of race, creed, color, social status, religion or culture. Let’s look at these a little more closely.

Commentators (Scofield among them) understand this as God’s judgment on the Gentile pagan moralist. Commentators concentrate on this epistle being Paul’s letter to the Romans, a predominantly pagan church. Taking this as the direct focus of the letter, commentators see Romans akin to the epistle to the Hebrews. Where the Hebrew’s epistle was for their edification predominantly to point to the complete perfection and total sufficiency of the Messiah in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, Romans addresses their paganism and tells how it falls far short of messianic salvation. They worshiped any god that came along. The Roman philosophy was very pluralistic. They believed they were best served by a philosophical approach that tolerated the varied and divergent, even eclectic religions in their empire. The Roman emperor in Paul’s day, Marcus Aurelius, was a noted philosopher himself. The highest forms of society held personal morality as a tremendous virtue to be embraced. Romans were much like our Japanese today that hold honor and family dignity in the highest regard. The passage places them into the same category as any other pagan. An unbeliever is an unbeliever whether they are moral or not. Moreover, in God’s eyes, the Romans were not moral.

The second set of commentators understands this passage as a condemnation of the ethnic Jewish attitude as the chosen people of God. The prevailing attitude is that Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee. They would say Paul is trying to warn the prideful Jews in Rome who saw themselves as Jehovah’s favorites. Jewish pride rode high in their being pre-chosen for entrance into Heaven. The Jew would say they know that, although they have to do the right things according to the Law of Moses, they are a shoe-in for Heaven. Their attitude was such that they would denigrate any Gentile with words such as “unclean” and calling Gentiles “dogs.” They thought that the Gentile was unworthy of Heaven. Jews regularly compared man to man instead of looking at themselves compared to God. They forgot that they needed to love God, and love His law though. The Jew’s sin is hypocrisy. They were not extra moral because God chose them.

A better assessment of these passages probably is that all hypocrisy is being condemned, not just that of moralist or the Jew. God is no respecter of persons and He will judge all according to His whole law. The Gentile has the same opportunity as the Jew. Both must accept and believe in the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth for their salvation and as their redeemer/reconciler for entrance into the Father’s Kingdom.

We will read Romans 2, verses 9 through 16. For our message today we will concentrate on verse 15. We find a very specific area of mankind’s hypocrisy highlighted here -attitude. We cover two things with respect to hypocritical attitude and both of those things should be oriented and sensitive to the Savior and not toward man.

God makes no distinction between individuals. There are differing challenges we face as we know more about God. Christians are more accountable because we should know the truth. Consider our accountability. We understand and we say we know God is the creator of all yet we exercise no faith in Him outside of our claim to salvation, we have a works attitude. We actually deny God’s omnipotence regularly when we take it upon ourselves to decide what God might do. May I suggest that first, it is not up to us and second our works come from faith; our faith is not in our works.

I. Works attitude (15a)

The Jews’ works attitude, and that of natural man in all things, is oriented toward keeping the law. For the Jew it is a matter of right worship. These are the very things that Jesus preached against in His ministry. Jesus talked about the hypocrisy of the leadership in their trying to hold the masses in check through ritual after ritual, while they themselves sinned in their hearts all the time. They saw themselves as the chosen of God and unique among all the people of the world. Part of this is true. God did choose them. However, He chose them to preserve them, and as His specific children to bless and glorify Himself through them. They still had to love God and submit to Him. To receive the whole blessing of God was to obey God through a loving relationship,  loving to worship Him, loving to submit to Him.

A perfect example of their sin dealt with good deeds. The plain truth is that Israel was jaundiced against other people, even of their own race. They also saw any trouble as something to avoid. Israelites did not want to get involved for fear that there might be trouble. It could be too much work. They might need those few drachmas for bread themselves. This attitude did not trust God’s protection or provision. They did not trust God’s will.

Paying alms was another problem the Jews had. They gave what they needed to, and that was it. Malachi 1:6 and 3:8 documents their wicked attitude concerning greed and self-preservation. They were keeping the law not out of love, but out of necessity. Further, they were only giving God what they thought they could afford. Again, there was no heart in what they did. The widow’s mite is a wonderful lesson that we should take to heart. God will give us what we need; we need never be distressed. God may also choose to bless us in abundance. Both are His choices though, and we must be prepared for both. This dear little widow gave that last coin out of faith. We too should be willing to stretch ourselves in faith to do and give to God.

The Jews were devoted to their religion. Jesus challenged His disciples to have the devotion of scribes and Pharisees! (Matthew 5:20) Today we might look at Islam in some of the same light. Many of the followers of Muhammad could put the normal Christian to shame with their devotion. Unfortunately, just as it was with the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, devotion to a religion provides no eternal salvation.

In Christian circles, keeping the law takes on other forms. We might ask if we do Bible studies like we’re supposed to or if we do our morning and evening devotions. Do we do our family devotions as we’re supposed to? Are we working for Christ? Is our daily prayer and personal time with our Lord regular and dedicated? Do we do our concentrated studies in God’s word? Do we witness for the Lord?

These are all works folks. These are all works of the law written on their hearts. People know they are supposed to do these things. These are morals that God encourages in His people. However, God wants your attitude to be about Him and His ability in these works, not about you and yours. Barrett wrote the following:

“The reward of eternal life…is promised to those who do not regard their good works as an end in themselves, but see them as marks not of human achievement but of hope in God. Their trust is not in their good works, but in God, the only source of Glory, honour, and incorruption.”[i]

We have to remember that this works attitude born from a drive to obey the law is a failure without faith. Is our attitude one that would claim to deserve to be in Heaven because of these works? Do we claim to have earned a position in the church because of our deeds? Do we claim some special treatment or leniency in the ministry of Christ because of our long Christian history? Polycarp certainly did no such thing as he stood before the Roman emperor and claimed Christ at 90. Polycarp was martyred for his witness of over 80 years of devotion to Christ. If our Lord only operated in faith, and determined to die for it and for us through it, how much more should our attitude not be focused upon our works of righteousness, but the righteous God whom those works serve?

Not only is our Christian attitude of entitlement a problem with our faith, we also have a heart that we all too often want to follow. If we do the right things, it leads us to think we are a “moral” people or that our morals can get us credibility. It certainly does with man, at least the moral life we permit man to see in us. Morals do nothing for our eternal condition. We need to have a proper conscience attitude.

II. Conscience attitude (15b)

Keeping the law through works can develop an attitude of entitlement in individuals. Some men think that they deserve to be a deacon because they served in Sunday schools, their community and the widows of the church. Those are things Deacons are called to do in scripture; however one requirement is paramount above all the works, and that is that they be full of the Holy Spirit of truth. Their conscience, therefore their lives as a whole, must be driven by the indwelling Spirit.

We often think that if we work at something, we deserve something else. This is part of what our heart tells us. If we work at being a good person, we should be okay. We operate on a reciprocation principle when we think this way. If we give, we should get. The law that many Gentiles ascribe to is not one of maxims but morals. Written laws do not define their morality. Instead, their morality is often based upon the things that our social structure sees as “the Greater Good.” Their conscience bears witness of these works. One commentator wrote:

“Conscience is the mental faculty by which man judges his actions and passes sentence thereon.”[ii]

In our country today two ideologies are currently at war. These same two ideologies have been at war since Eve first saw the fruit and decided it was attractive, nutritious and good for enlightenment. She reasoned it was good for her. The fact is that the basic laws of God are written there in our hearts if we would consider them before we look at our ability to reason. These two factions are reason and faith.

Conscience strikes people differently. Some listen to their conscience for a nefarious purpose. Criminals in gangs operate this way. A gang member will do anything needed to in order to support the gang and its members, thievery, murder, assault, revenge against rivals, anything. Others read their conscience speaking of great reformation. A story associated with the reformer John Huss[iii] illustrates this strange dichotomy.

As the wood was laid at his feet to burn him at the stake for heresy, a poor widow came along with a small bundle of wood and placed it as close as possible to Huss’ feet. Being a stranger to him, he asked her what he had ever done to her or hers that she should hate him so much. She is supposed to have told Dr. Huss that she was very poor, she had scrimped and scraped to buy this small bundle of wood. Though he had never personally injured her or her kin, it seemed proper that she would buy the wood for such a purpose as to burn a heretic. John Huss’ conscience would have him give his body for God. The ladies conscience would have her give a bundle of wood to burn him for God.

A point that many make is that conscience, because it can be wrong, may be a goad or enticer and not necessarily a guide. The uninformed conscience can make a multitude of bad decisions and encourage the wrong direction. However, the properly informed conscience fed regularly by the Word of God and influenced by the Holy Spirit can make good regular decisions.

A Christian has a great advantage over the natural man in conscience. The Christian’s conscience is guided by the Holy Spirit and encouraged to push out impure thoughts. These thoughts might stand to accuse. Accusation can be either against self, or against another. It can also be a cause to excuse. A Christian can excuse behavior out of forgiveness that a natural soul might seek vengeance. A Christian can also excuse accusation because of a better-developed sense of spiritual influence. The believer knows that natural man is still controlled by Satan and will do the things of their father, the evil one. Equally, the believer knows another believer has a sin tainted heart that still acts worldly at times. Being unforgiving in our spirit hurts a Christian conscience.

A Christian forces him/herself to do good deeds regardless what they might see or associate from the world’s perspective. This is the issue with the Good Samaritan. The believer in Christ knows that regardless what might happen, their conscience would be seared not having helped when they could.

A Christian encourages others to good deeds through their conscientious efforts. Christians convict others with selflessness in many ways. One of the most impressive ways Christians have an impact is with money. Two or three times while at the store I’ve been given the wrong change – too much. There has never been a cashier yet that was not surprised when you give them back money instead of living with their mistake and taking the money. My children and I have found wallets with hundreds of dollars in them. We have been tested many times and I would like to think we pleased our Lord with our efforts.

A Christian feels the pang of the need to witness. The Christian conscience is always encouraged to witness. A new lease on life coupled with an eternal outlook has an amazing effect on the natural man. Every single individual on our world knows they have done things wrong. Every one of them has lied, even if it was as a child. Every one of them has deceived someone. Most if not all have stolen something. Once again age makes no difference according to God. The change from conviction to freedom from those convictions can have tremendous effect. The Christian wants to tell others of the relief their hearts have, being out from under the crushing weight of sin.

What is the difference between these examples of man’s conviction (minus Huss and the Christian’s convictions) and the convicting power that lives within the believer’s chest? God in the person of the Holy Spirit establishes a home in the chest (per se) of the believer (Joel 2:28; Ezek 36:24; John 7:38). God’s Spirit indwells the believer. He has many functions in this new abode. Chief among them is that He convicts the believer of sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn 16:8-11). He can accuse in this position as the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin. For the Christian, He can excuse where sin is covered by the blood of the lamb. Through these works, He also gives power to believers for boldness, love, and self-discipline (Acts 4:29; 2 Tim 1:7). With conviction and change, the Spirit also produces godly fruit in the believer (Gal 5:22-23). The conscience connected to the Holy Spirit makes the changes from the old man to the new man. The Spirit of God encourages one to leave the world behind and follow a path to eternal life.

To man, conscience is a moral guidepost upon which he judges his personal actions and those performed by others. The unfortunate aspect of this guidepost is that every individual manages their own conscience based upon their life experience, social status and exposure. Because of these senses, an individual’s conscience can be desensitized through exposure to worldliness and sin. Conscience-driven morals therefore are relative and vary greatly on a scale that has no originally determined boundaries. This is why sexual promiscuity is prevalent today; sex sells everything from bath soap to alcoholic beverages. Where there are no standards, there are no real morals. Morality becomes relative; to each his own.

With the Law there are standards, boundaries and requirements established. The laws of God in the Bible are developed, like most laws, for our protection. Just as man rejects many basic societal laws in favor of his own personally developed morality, so too man rejects the basic laws of God in favor of his own existence. The problem is natural man does not place the judgments on the correlated plane. God will judge on a infinite plane, whereas man only controls the temporal. Man’s law is flawed and finite, tied to a temporal jail. God’s law perfect and infinite, tied to an eternal Heaven and Hell.

We see in others both the working attitude and the conscience attitude. What we should do is encourage others in both of these attitudes and understand they have a personal relationship with God for both of these. God will convict every single person on the globe about His moral positions. Man will, more often than not, rebel against these encouraging convictions. I was reading a political blog the other day dealing with the Iowa caucus and how one of the candidates really upset a voter. The voter wrote:

“”Candidate X,” is saying that the pursuit of happiness is harming America. He wants to regulate society, he wants government in the bedroom, he wants government in our religious life.”

This blogger is simply rebelling against the candidate’s moral positions. They feel that if leadership has morals, they will be convicted in their immorality. They’re afraid and they’re right. Another commentator notes that some individuals have high ethical standards and a moral lifestyle. This convicts others especially when there is widespread corruption in their contemporaries. The reason is simple. The immoral see the moral as individuals who would press against their inability to control themselves. The immoral simply want no accountability while the moralist thrives on it.

Everyone views any challenge to their personally chosen morals as a threat. People fear others might find out just how wicked they are. They know just how wicked they are, but they do not want anyone else to know. The individual complaining about candidate ‘X’ above may believe in the right to abortion. They would not believe that an unborn innocent life in the womb has a right to pursue happiness over the decision of the mother. This is relative morality and the problem with the skewed thoughts of man today. We convict others but we should also excuse[iv] others understanding why they are who they are. They cannot help being evil when they have no guidepost.

Last week we introduced some very famous challenges in scripture. Many we would never want to envision for ourselves. I believe, though, that we do undergo the same level of testing. Depending upon our response these tests can be either a great blessing, or a horrid experience that we bemoan. We will discuss more about that when we begin our series titled, “God Tries His Children” in February.

The last ‘one another’ command we studied looked at how we can seek God’s glory and honor with one another. There are many that look at others in the pew and wonder how they can do __________. We all have our frustrations, challenges and idiosyncratic activities. How can we expect to accept all those things that grate on us like sand paper? That is the whole point. Without God’s longsuffering love, we will never get through a single day without running to the end of our rope on some issue.

In John 5:44 we considered the fact that there is no glory in worldly honor. Our whole purpose in life is to glorify God (1 Cor 6:20; 11:7). If we are focused upon His glory, we can easily move to glorifying Him with one another. Instead of seeking the things of self, or the glory of man, we ask Christ to manifest Himself in us.

We talked about the spiritual aspect of God’s glory. God is spirit. We glory in spirit because we worship in spirit and in truth. These facts of faith are the things that we relish most. We will be in Heaven in spirit and in body. If we neglect the spiritual aspect in one another, we absent ourselves from His presence; we do not glorify God.

Finally, we considered glory in faithlessness and determined there is none. Peter saw only the things of the world after walking with the Messiah throughout His entire earthly ministry. Peter saw great miracles. Peter saw the Father glory in the Son. Peter saw the mount of transfiguration. Peter saw and experienced things we believers will never see in this lifetime. Still, through all this, Peter lacked faith until Christ arose from the dead. He denied Jesus. He denied being a disciple of Jesus. He denied being ‘one of them.’ We can only seek God’s honor and glory with one another if we identify with Him and a specific body of believers that stay steadfast in Him. We have to decide; do we continue to stand alone for our own glory, or do we submit to a body of believers and help them glorify God?

Today we consider doing right by one another. These three messages, having to do with glorifying God with one another, doing right by one another, and litigation between one another, are tied together in many ways. As we study through these messages, we struggle with what God would have us do. As with the other ‘one another’ commands, we are called to give up our personal desires (John 15:13). We are faced once again with a very stark reality that it is not about the individual, though God deals with us individually. It is about the body of Christ. Christianity is about a bride, in the body of Christ, that will be wed to the Groom of Grooms. Timeless truths are not born individually, but through God who is Himself three persons in one.

We often miss the littlest things. One of those little things is given to us in a picture of who God is, and how we should operate in our faith. If God is perfect, if the Trinity is perfect, then God sees a need for three persons to operate as God in His kingdom. How can we run off on a personal individual trail when God Himself says it takes at least three!

Ladies and gentlemen, man is so imperfect, I submit  we need many more than three to help us. Today we look at the testimony of a man that scripture records was “full of faith and of the Holy Ghost.” Scripture also says he was “full of faith and power.” Stephen was a wonderfully gifted and blessed man of God.

Please turn to Acts chapter six. We will look at a verse in chapter seven, but we will review from chapter six to understand what is happening in our target verse. When we consider Stephen’s sermon, many look at it purely as a condemnation to the religious rulers of the day and their ignorance of the Messiah. It certainly is that. However, the sermon is not only about the Messiah and the scripture’s testimony of Him from Abraham through Solomon. Stephen convicts these people of their own personal sin, and pays for it with his life.

There are many people in our nation, and even in our little hamlet in Lander, that would think doing right by someone is a matter of caring for their perceived needs. Though care can take on a variety of forms (visits in rest homes, food, counseling, free medication, paying that outrageous utility bill) it is still a matter of care.

Some folks have taken this to an extreme and turned care back upon itself to make it dependency. We find the developing welfare state in our nation a great example of that. Another example is the permissive attitude in child rearing where parents today are too interested in pacifying the child instead of encouraging them to face adversity and excel.

Some folks naturally care for others and are wonderful in positions that have direct personnel involvement. Retirement homes where nurses and other helpers care for the elderly is one such a circumstance. Professional waiters, waitresses, butlers and nannies are other examples. No one would argue that any of these positions could be properly filled by people just out to get a paycheck. Those caring for the elderly certainly have to have a heart for them. People who provide free counseling and legal assistance should be dedicated to giving the best advice possible. Doctors and nurses in free clinics give what they can with what they have.

Doing right by others may take on a more dour tone though. There is a line in our Declaration of Independence that explains this attitude:

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”

This line in our Declaration sealed the fate of the colonies. They were going to war against England. Doing right by others takes on a very ominous future when faced with this type of absolutism, this intolerance, this non-conformity. This is the foundation of our nation. That people are free; free to do right and determine by law what is right for them. They are not free individually, although individual freedom spawns naturally from a free society. We fought England as a society. We fought England as Americans! We fought, not just for individual freedom, though that is inherent in achieving it. We fought for national freedom from tyranny. In order to do the right thing, establish freedom and throw off totalitarian government, we had to commit treason. The people of America did not do this person to person though. No – that is the mistake in much of our political movements today. They drive too much to the individual. We did the right thing for our nation. We fought for the freedom of America. We fought for the freedom of Charleston, Philadelphia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Yorktown.

Doing the right thing can give great pleasure to the doer. It can also be an extremely dangerous decision. If you look at doing right by others in a broad sense, you will find more frequently than not that those who do make these decisions and participate in these activities are quite natural at it. Doing right is something that they are compelled to do.

In much the same way, Stephen was compelled to preach Christ to the unbelievers who would eventually stone him for these truths. Stephen was doing great things for God among the people. He was selected among seven men to help the destitute, the infirm, the elderly and the sick. The pastors were dedicated to studying, preaching and teaching the word. Their time with God in prayer and in the word was too important for them to break away and “serve tables.” Steven’s heart, among others, was soft, gentle and loving.

This group of believers was in North Africa near Libya because that is where we would find the Libertines in Stephen’s day. Some of the people belonged to the synagogue of the Liberties where Jews and Proselytes from various countries had come to bring offerings and attend the feast of Pentecost. These were foreign Jews who seem to have their own, rather dedicated synagogue where they traditionally worshiped. When we search through history, we find that the Liberties are a people of Libertina, not the synagogue. That is why we find scripture describing this as “Synagogue of the Liberties.”

Like many who treat outsiders with disdain, the Liberties did not appreciate Stephen coming into their town, telling them they were not the chosen of God, that they did not know God. Stephen, passionate and compelled to preach the truth, did so without hesitation. Stephen did the right thing in the face of great adversity. Stephen spoke to them from the Spirit and they could not withstand the wisdom given him. Stephen put their traditions to the test of scripture and they were found wanting.

This passage is Stephen’s sermon to the Cyrenians and Alexandrians, the scribes and elders in the council. This is where we come in. Stephen is speaking truth, and being vilified for it. Yet, the scripture says in Acts 6:15, that Stephen’s face was like that of an angel. The entire council recognized this, and at least one high priest, had the courage to ask Stephen if the things he was saying were true. This was the opening for which Stephen was waiting.

First, Stephen tells them of Abraham and Mesopotamia, where Abraham was faithful to leave there and leave his family and to go into a place heretofore unknown to him. Every believer should recognize this. We are commanded to leave all things and people in the world behind and follow Christ. Stephen goes on to describe the promise given to Abraham and the blessing of Isaac to fulfill the promise.

Stephen talks of Joseph and his plight where he was being faithful among his brethren, yet was sold into slavery. Joseph trusted God through all these trials and saved his family and all of Israel as second in command of Egypt. The next Israelite forefather and leader is the focus of our verse today – Moses. After Joseph died, Egypt became afraid of the number of Israelites therefore they enslaved them and dealt wickedly and viciously with them. After 400 years of captivity, Moses was born. He was taken into the house of Pharaoh and given all the Egyptian’s wisdom. At 40 years old, he learns of his true heritage and determines to meet his own people. This is where we begin.

I. Moses intervenes in the flesh

When Moses struck down the Egyptian, he wanted to do what was right. However, he knew that what he was doing was wrong. In Exodus 2:12 the passage clearly states,

“And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that [there was] no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.”

Moses clearly understood he was doing wrong. Moses murdered this Egyptian. He first looked to see if anyone was looking so he would not get caught. Then he hid the body knowing full well that he had wrongly taken a life. This is a case where Moses thinks that the end justifies the means. That is one of the largest untruths in the world today. The end never justifies the means. You cannot take the position that “anything goes” as long as the end result is a good one. Who is to judge what is good and what is bad?

In doing the right thing though (interceding on behalf of the Jewish slave), he brought upon himself the full force of the world, which sees people by race, skin color, heritage, sex and creed. Moses defended a fellow Jew. An Egyptian was beating the man just because he was a slave. Slave or not, it was wrong for the Egyptian to abuse and oppress someone simply because of his race or social status. This is the same action that our nation took when a conservative republican president Abraham Lincoln fought to free the slaves of the democratically dominated south. The difference was that Moses did it for a race; Lincoln did it because freedom is one of our God-given inalienable rights.

Our focus today rests in verse 26 where Moses confronts his fellow Israelites the day after the altercation. Moses expects them to be excited that someone is sticking up for them. Instead, he receives rebellion, rejection and hatred. Often rebellion leads to more rebellion.  As much as the Israelites hated slavery and being under bondage of Egypt, they hated even more the pain and suffering they saw in their future if anyone made waves; and Moses made waves.

Like Moses, the Israelites were not looking at things with God in mind at all. Neither Moses nor the Israelites looked at Yahweh to deliver them. Moses intervened as a Jew and they saw him only as a Jewish man. As a Jew, Moses had no special power. He had no special position in Egypt. Moses was just a fellow slave. As Israel frequently did (a picture of our daily forgetfulness) they forgot about God’s promise to deliver them. Moses certainly did not see himself as their deliverer.

When Moses intervened the next day, all those around him viewed him as an Egyptian pet Hebrew slave, nothing more. Because of Moses’ action, the Israelites would be punished. They were cared for in their captivity even if the work was hard. They were even given meat once and a while and if they did their work. They were not beaten as severely when they did not stir up any trouble. Life was not so bad after all.

There is also an assumption made by Moses that whatever action he takes will be rewarded in some way. After attacking an Egyptian, Moses seems to think it gains him credibility with his Jewish brethren. Whether he expected to lead them at this point or just gain their appreciation is unknown.

The problem with all of these attitudes is that they focus upon the things of the world. There is nothing of faith in Moses’ attempt to intervene either with the Egyptian or when breaking up the argument with the two Jews. We know from his later encounter at the burning bush that Moses did not even know who Yahweh was, let alone who he might be in God’s plan. In any instance, appealing to a worldly side of things is not normally an effective way to gain followership. If it does work, there is always a requirement for tangible proof of the position. If credibility is earned in a worldly action, it takes worldly actions to maintain the relationship. Using our experiences to say, “I’ve been there” is one thing. Using them to say you want to be a part of their group, or to lead a group is wholly another.

Sharing a testimony of experience and showing how God delivers is refreshing. Sharing in the debauchery and then trying to say we may be above the fray or in some way detached from it will never work. We should never think that sin will justify us even before man. Credibility is earned by being different. Being contemporary just places you among the crowd.

II. Stephen intervenes in spirit

Moses thought that his efforts would be the beginning of freedom for the slaves (Acts 7:25). He thought this because of his position in the house of Pharaoh. Stephen is dependent upon someone else in his intervention. He is part of a spiritual existence alien to Moses, the Israelites and the Libertines.

Moses faced men who were angry over his actions. Stephen faced men angry over his words. Moses tried to reconcile the two men during a quarrel. He did so in the flesh, and was repaid with an answer from worldly Israelites in a worldly setting. They were spiteful in their challenge, “will you strike us down like you did the Egyptian?”

Stephen is trying to reconcile the challenges he faces with the council in Liberties by sharing the truth of the Messiah. He shares scripture with them, tells them of the great God we have, and even tells them what God told them in the wilderness, that they still lack faith. The Libertines were not afraid of Stephen; they did not even challenge him. They were white hot with anger, and in their flesh, sought to kill Stephen.

Moses takes action in the flesh. We noted above that Moses’ actions were based on physical altercation, but primarily they were actions taken with no spiritual desire, result or consideration. God and His desires were absent from Moses’ mind, heart and soul.

Moses argued from a position weakened by sin. Stephen argued from a position of great strength full of the Holy Spirit. Moses grieved at the spectacle of his fellow Israelites arguing about a murdered Egyptian, when Egyptians had killed so many Israelites. Egypt takes legal action against Moses as well as the arguments he receives from the Israelites. Not knowing God or His promises of deliverance, Moses did what unbelievers do.  He took matters into his own hands.

Steven is in the same position in many ways. However, instead of taking matters into his own hands, Stephen makes an appeal to the souls of men through the Holy Spirit and permits men to choose for themselves whether they want a worldly existence or a spiritual existence. The religious leaders resent Stephen’s testimony. They are in the wrong. He is content in God; they are not. They do not know Him. The Libertine’s spirits are scorched with hate and tradition, worldliness and frustration. Stephen knew what God wanted him to do and he spoke of God’s promises to the people of Israel.

Moses appeals to these men as brethren, as Jews, as those devoted to the same religion. Stephen’s action is based on God’s testimony and promises in His word. Where Moses uses his worldly position and physical strength to force an issue, Stephen simply tells the council about God in the scriptures. Stephen has no social status, no physical prowess, nothing special at all to the world. All Stephen has is the things that all unbelievers lack, salvation in Christ, the Holy Spirit of God, and the promise of eternal life with Him.

Stephen takes action in the spirit. Stephen looked up and saw God’s glory in Heaven as the Holy Spirit filled him and he saw Jesus standing next to the Father. Regardless the circumstance, Stephen’s actions were born from a spiritual connection with God in Heaven while Moses’ actions were born purely of anger and hate. Though Moses survived his encounter and Stephen did not, one could easily argue that Steven fared far better.

How can we do right by one another? What does this passage teach us about virtue and character? If we learn anything from our passage, we quickly understand that operating in the flesh has dire consequences. It will do nothing for anyone. It will result in pain and suffering for both yourself, and those you want to help. All the efforts taken in the flesh were detrimental. Someone is going to be hurt. Whether it is the individual taking action or the individuals affected by the action cannot normally be determined. In fact, many times, both are injured in some way. The rightness or wrongness of the action is irrelevant.

Believers live spiritually in a physical world. We are supposed to operate from the spirit but our operations are effectual in a physical existence. To do right by one another we activate our lives spiritually and encourage one another spiritually, but our care and assistance is normally manifest physically. We suffer the effects of this dichotomy in our every day life because of our status as sojourners in a land of sin.

Believers are spiritual beings in a physical world. When we try to live physically, we cut off our life support. To do right, we must concentrate on the spiritual and let the physical actions we take develop from that part of our life. We are sojourners in this land because we do not walk the same paths as the worldly. We are not supposed to anyway. To do right by one another it must come from a spiritual drive, a connection with the Holy Spirit of God. We must seek His face and desire His Son’s influence in all our lives, and the lives of all those we encounter.

Recently, we considered how we maintain peace with one another. When we looked at the verses that command us to do so, we saw them associated with our Christian relationships, in our following the Lord and in our encouraging others in that devotion. Jesus told the disciples that through faith, all things are possible (Mk 9:23). We saw disciples of Christ who worshiped their forefathers at a time when the Father was glorifying the Son (Mk 9:5). Even though they included a “tent” for Jesus, this exhibited more devotion and faith in their heritage than they had in God or the Son of God. They were jealous of others’ spiritual abilities (Mk 9:38). They exhibited faith in their traditions, and not in the Person these traditions should honor. The disciples were presumptive and competitive, overbearing and seeking the advantage in their ambition. They took their position in Christ for granted instead of being humbled by the honor of being chosen by the God of the universe and included in His Kingdom (Mk 9:33-36).

The scriptures tell us we are to have salt. It is not a request, nor is it a conquest. Some think they need to know more about God before they can witness. They have all they need. The Christian’s “saltiness” is commanded and the abilities for it are given. Our testimony for Christ is the salt we sprinkle on our heart’s offerings to God. We sprinkle our salt on other believers when we witness through our testimony. However, our salt is above all supposed to honor and glorify through faith in Him.

If we know Jesus as our Savior, we have salt. We elicit responses in our testimony, in our lives, in encouragement to others for godliness and growth in the Lord. This is the peace we are to have with one another, a peace that prevails even through a salty testimony.

We consider what other believers are doing in His name and should be humbled when they are not just like us, or as we think they should be; yet they have a wonderful testimony and are productive for the Lord. Our humility should say, “What can we learn from that brother or sister?” We should honor God through their works, and seek to encourage them to a more glorifying relationship with Christ.

Please turn to John 5:44. In this passage, Jesus is talking to His faithful about His ministry and authority. In verse 30, He describes the dedication to submission He has toward the Father. He talks about His testimony and how it is not His, but belongs to the one who sent Him. He also receives testimony that is not of man, but from Heaven (Matt 3:17; Mk 9:7). Still, many do not believe even though Heaven bears witness. We celebrate one such heavenly announcement about our Lord on the day chosen to commemorate His birthday. An angel announced His birth, then a heavenly host joined in (Lk 2:8-14). Still, so many did not believe. We have no report in scripture of any men following Jesus’ young life. There is no report of any man interested in the things directly announced by God. Sure, there are those in scripture that awaited Christ’s birth. What a shame that man is so spiritually dead that even after the birth of Christ, he quickly forgets. This is part of Jesus testimony in this passage as He tells His followers, “I know that you do not have the love of God within you.” (Jn 5:42) He came in His Father’s name and was not received. Jesus told us that though God was standing right there, men would ignore Him and follow others that are unworthy. If someone else comes and claims power in themselves, they would follow that person. We so quickly follow those unworthy of leadership, because we think they sound great.

I have explained the salvation wrought through Christ to unbelievers in a variety of ways. One way I use to get people to see how their focus on honoring “God” does not honor the “Son” is when I use the following illustration.

Hypothetically speaking, imagine yourself in the Marines, deployed to Afghanistan on the front lines against the war on terror. You are there with your fellow Marine Private John Smith in the foxhole, on watch. A firefight ensues. You and Private Smith begin returning fire. In the process, Private Smith literally takes a bullet for you. You do not know how the situation exactly transpired. You see a deliberate plan in what he did. You can only go on what you see and hear because you cannot talk to him personally any more. The event was very quick and there was so much chaos around you. Private Smith, though, tells you that he wants to save you, he wants to sacrifice himself for you, he is willing to die so you can live. Somehow, he conveys all this before the bullet hits and kills him. You are saved. The firefight dies down and now you are faced with the raw truth. You are alive because someone else gave himself in your stead.

Now, you get back to the States and you feel the need to do something for Private Smith. You go to his house, meet his parents and when you greet his father the exchange goes something like this:

You: “Mr. Smith?”

Mr. Smith: “Yes.”

You: “Please let me thank you for saving my life and admitting me into your home.”

Mr. Smith: “Don’t you mean my son, John saved your life? On his behalf, I welcome you.”

You: “No sir. I came here to honor you today. Thank you for saving my life. Thank you for permitting me entrance into your home. Without you, this home would not have been open to me. I would not have been given the opportunity to meet you. Thank you for the life I now have and the great blessings that have come from the life you gave me.”

Mr. Smith: “I’m a little confused, and a little irritated I guess. Don’t you mean to honor my son? My son, John, was there with you. My son was the brave one. My son communicated to you why he was giving his life for you. My son did all this and you still want to honor me alone? I may deserve honor for the design (rearing my son), but I did not die for you, my son did.”

You: “Yes sir, I’ve considered that and thought about that. I understand what you are saying. However, my honoring Private Smith has met with opposition. Many just saw him as a mere soldier doing what a soldier should do. They are a little miffed about the hero status thing. They were not privy to what he said or did. They just said he was an exceptionally moral man. When I honor him, many seem to say he is just a mirror of you anyway. Many say he is the same as you. You two are interchangeable so I thought I’d just honor, glorify and claim your salvation. It’s the same thing anyway. Your name is Smith too, right?

People don’t like hearing John’s name, but they don’t mind me talking about the family in general. “Smith” is so much more palatable to people than, “John.” I thought I’d just be a little more reasonable and not as contentious. After all, I want people to know what I believe he did. I need them to listen to me. They won’t listen if I say, “John.” They listen if I just say “Smith” and infer you are the subject.

Mr. Smith: “But I am not the one who saved you; my son is. Honor him. If they will not listen to him and his testimony, they have no audience with me.”

You: “Well, regardless what you say, I think I’m better off doing it this way, my way. You have not experienced the things I have in the world out there about your son. I have a lot more people in my life that I have to face every day. It is a lot more comfortable for me to talk about “Smith” rather than mention “John” specifically.”

Mr. Smith: “I cannot welcome you into my house.”

How many approach Christianity in just such a way? They would not let “Jesus” or “Christ” pass between their lips but they claim to believe in “God.” They may talk of Him in private, but would never speak of Jesus in public. Others claim the same faith and seem knowledgeable about “God.” They frequently deceive people with another gospel. We find this type of deception in the distortions of Christianity such as Mormonism, Catholicism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, 7^th Day Adventism, Christian Science and others. Many Protestant denominations that began in Christ have now fallen away to the world such as Lutheranism, Methodism and many Presbyterian organizations. Though some of these churches have stayed conservative, their liberal counterparts fell from grace long ago as man began to take control. Any time man is concerned with pleasing or attracting man in order to witness or give the gospel, the ministry loses its salt and becomes weak.

In instances where man seeks acceptance from and attempts to please man, we are susceptible to antichrists. This is where John takes us today in our scriptures. What we see in these efforts is that they replace Christ with something. Man replaces Christ with ritual. Man replaces Christ with a ceremony, or pomp and circumstance. Man thinks there is a work, a deed, a specific set of rites or liturgy that one must follow. Man does all these things instead of seeking what Christ desires. Man regularly ignores what God’s Word says. We do our best to do things in our own power and in the process we ignore what the Holy Spirit wrote in scripture. Instead of repentance, humility, submission and contrite hearts, looking for scriptural guidance and shunning the world, man seeks acceptance in the world.

I. No glory in worldly honor (5:44a)

Famous movie stars and other sports or entertainment figures are often very eccentric. Some are extremely so. Once stardom strikes, many fall into a pool of self-importance and self-indulgence. They wallow there to the detriment of everyone around them. They demand special food, not for health reasons. They demand special accommodations, not out of necessity. They demand special treatment, not because of infirmity. They demand creative liberty, not because they are competent at anything else. Here is the saddest part of all. The reason these individuals are who they are is partially the fault of those around them. Directors and other actors, coaches and others tell them how “talented,” “great,” “wonderful,” “creative,” or “artistic” they are. We create many monsters and often we do not even know what we’ve done.

I remember reading about an actor, a star of a movie, demanding an entire suite in a hotel be dedicated solely to him throughout the filming. No family was involved, just him. The rest of the cast and crew had to downgrade their accommodations to stay in budget. The film was a total flop. That is irony.

When we give glory to one another in our Christianity, we give one another nothing constructive and everything destructive that feeds our ego. Like both of the illustrations above, we lose sight of the real person or reason. We ignore the One who gave us what we have. We forget that everything accomplished through us is a direct result of His provision. He provides us the power to persevere through hardship along the way.

That is not to say that we should regularly demean one another or be negative toward one another. After an individual is particularly successful with something for the Lord, we should not immediately jump on the negative to keep them humble. That is not our position either. We should rejoice together over what the real Provider of success has wrought through us. Above all, humbled that we might be useful enough that He could even do such a work.

Throughout this section of scripture from verses 30 through 47, we find the Lord really letting the disciples have it; chewing them out so to speak. He begins with Himself as an example in verse 30, saying, “I do nothing on my own.” If God incarnate needs the Father and does nothing on His own, we had better perk up and follow suit. What Jesus says and does is accomplished with authority and justice because it is not Jesus alone, but the Father who works through Him.

We can do the same things to Christians if we are not careful. How can you believe when you receive glory from one another? People should regularly encourage one another. That is a command in scripture (Heb 3:13; 10:25).[i]  We are also supposed to go so far as to stir the spirit of one another.[ii]

The question posed to us in scripture is, Since you believe everyone that pats you on the back and tells you how great you are, why do you need faith? Some might say you get those accolades through operative faith. God sends you those individuals to encourage you. This is true. We have those. I have been blessed with many of them. The problem begins when you start believing you are a great Christian. When you start looking for those pats on the back there is a problem. When you expect you should receive them is also a problem. When you think you are okay because you have been a Christian for 30, 40 or 50 years, there is a problem. Then you begin to act out on that belief like the movie star who believes they are so great others need to bow to them and their idiosyncrasies. When you begin to believe you are so great a Christian that you no longer need a pastor or that you can seek God all on your own, you are looking past what God has put right before you for guidance. You have fallen away. You have fallen to glorying in the world instead of in God’s power and strength. Barnes put it this way:

“Who are studious of praise, and live for pride, ambition, and vainglory. This desire, Jesus says, was the great reason, why they would not believe on him. They were unwilling to renounce their worldly honours, and become the followers of one so humble and unostentatious as he was. They expected a Messiah of pomp and splendour, and would not submit to one so despised and of so lowly a rank. Had the Messiah come, as they expected, with pomp and power, it would have been an honour, in their view, to follow him; as it was, they despised and rejected him.”[iii]

When we begin to seek ambitions of the world and feed from the trough of man’s honor, we fall prey to the sin of pride. We begin to think we are self-determinant in our faith.

There is more though. Others tell about the success of the faithful. Others witness concerning service and that witness is equally valuable. Jesus talks of John the Baptist and his testimony about Christ. The Father, then John the Baptist, tells others of Jesus and who He really is.

When we see things from the Father that show us there is something positive going on, be they happenstances, miracles or even just surprising developments, that is one thing. We might easily misinterpret what we see. We know something is going on, but we do not understand what, and we speculate how the event took place. However, when we see others jump in and speak positively about an individual’s testimony we had better perk up. If an individual or an idea is supported by both the Father and through the testimony of other devout believers, we had better listen.

Jesus is saying all this testifies of Him and the world does not believe. Yet, if someone else stood before the Israelites and claimed to be Christ, they would believe him. What a shame that God’s chosen people of Israel would not listen to the Messiah standing right before them.

We can be both wild with ambition that seeks the glory of man, and also set in our hearts against even godly ambition, seeing ourselves as the answer. We might consider ourselves more knowledgeable, more gifted, or through longevity having earned a right to be respected. We may proudly proclaim we are the one standing out in the crowd. Ladies and gentlemen, it sounds very brave, altruistic, even benevolent to be the one seemingly standing for your rights in the throng, but sometimes we are just plain wrong!

We should seek to give glory where glory is due regardless. Simultaneously, we should humbly accept complementary glory when properly attributed to God. God works through us. Be mindful of Him, His Son and the Holy Spirit as the priority. We have no strength and no position in Heaven or with the things of Heaven without first having faith in Christ. Then God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit give strength as they minister to us.

This lends us to our next item. There is no glory when we try to ignore the spiritual aspect of something. Success or failure is not always our doing, it’s God’s. It can be positive to fail in order to promote other things. We have to be equally accepting. It is God’s will not ours that must be paramount. God is spirit. This is spiritual work.

II. No glory neglecting spiritual honor (5:44b)

This honor and glory comes from God alone. We should seek that glory alone. If it comes in the cacophony of praise from other believers, so be it. If it comes in the form of a humble note from a humble spirit, so be it. The problem here is that the disciples sought none of these things.

True honor comes from God only. This honor stores up treasures in Heaven. It is noted for eternity. This is a lasting honor. When we get to Heaven, honors are noted for all time. God gives on an eternal plane; therefore, they are remembered eternally.

At a basic level, all who believe in Christ have a heavenly honor. They believe on the only begotten Son of God. This is the first honor in everyone’s book. No other honor in Heaven can be recorded until this honor is first received. We should note, the honor is received, not earned or taken. This is an unique element of heavenly honors; they are not as much earned, as they are given. Salvation is freely given to all who believe in Christ. Through Him, receive the honor that comes from God the Father. As our beginning illustration properly points out, we cannot simply choose to honor the Father and not the Son. The scripture says,

“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God had made Him a liar: because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.” (1 Jn 5:10)

He is not partial to man, only to His Son. God gives glory wherever He gives grace. He gives glory and honor after His Son is accepted. Then we can know and believe in the truth.

This type of honor manifests itself as a changed spirit within us. The fruits we produce are only possible through God. Our changed heart is only possible through Him. We can only succeed spiritually because of Him. We search for and direct our lives toward honoring God. We act and accept no less than our best as we operate in faith through glory. We will account for our actions in this faith and our reward is tendered in it, not counted by the praise of men.

Those that will not come to Christ, and those that are ambitious of worldly honor, do not seek the honor that comes from God. It will be their ruin, their destruction.

We seek to serve God through Christ and Him alone. We do not seek our own factions, our own ideals, our own principles but only those principles clearly given us in scripture. We look to honor God in our glory of one another, and we seek His glory in our efforts. We serve Him and seek His great power to accomplish His will. We must be purely dependent upon Him. Nothing else will earn honors in His Kingdom.

Though the spiritual things of God are not seen, they are evinced in the believer’s life as changes occur. We only achieve these things through faith. Faith is the beginning of our glory in God. Faith in God glorifies Him and places Him as preeminent in our lives. We must have faith or we do not have life. There is no glory without faith.

III. No glory in waning faith (5:44c)

This point makes an argument for a decision. We have to determine where it is we will worship and stay there. We have to rest in and exhibit faith in God to take care of things. You are either of this body, of this faith, of this Christ, or of another. One unique aspect of the independent spirit and worship in the west that has very much flabbergasted me is the flitting of spirits from one ministry to another from week to week. So many seem to think you do not have to be settled into one church family. Yes, we are discussing that “membership” thing again.

Interestingly, at the time he betrayed Christ, Peter was asked, “Surely thou also art one of THEM; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.” (Matt 26:73). Peter was, on this third and final betrayal (as prophesied by Christ) asked if he was “one of them” not a disciple of “Jesus the Galilean” (Matt 26:69) or “Jesus of Nazareth” (Matt 26:71). Peter was asked about his association with “them” meaning a specific set of people. Everyone knew Jesus’ disciples. They even had a way of speaking that was unique. Granted, you can say, “Well, we can be Jesus’ disciples and not be a member of a church.” It is rebellious and self-serving to try to escape accountability with a specific body. Those who flit from body to body do not want accountability. They “receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from God.” Instead of looking to glorify the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in submission, they seek only to glorify themselves in their personal choices of worship. They worship where they feel comfortable from week to week. One has to ask how this self-fulfillment serves Christ.

The ambition and affect of worldly honor hinder our faith in Christ. Jesus asks, “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another.” As believers, we must focus upon the foundation of the ministry we choose. We should never choose a ministry because of a specific leader. The decision must be based in the scriptures. Is the pastor preaching and teaching these timeless truths? There are other factors as well, but the truth is very rudimentary.  Is the ministry based in, teaching and focused upon God’s word?

When the praise and applause of men is our idol, we think we no longer need God.  We are our own gods. We ignore God’s glory when we operate outside of faith. We must submit to God in faith. This means wholly and completely. He provides strength. He provides ability. He provides sustenance. He is our all in all. Either we operate in faith, or we do not operate as active Christians. We have to make the decision to submit, or we struggle to wrest control from an all-powerful God. I prefer submission. Fighting with God has always been a losing battle in my experience.

Go, seek God’s honor and glory with one another. Do so for Him and to honor and glory in Him. The rich young ruler said, “I have kept all the commandments, what more shall I do to be in Heaven.” Jesus simply said, “sell all you have and follow me.” Essentially, Jesus said give up the one thing you have faith in for the one thing you should have faith in.

We took a simple trek through history at the time of Christ and discovered many things. The Roman rule they suffered was not unlike our current political climate in many ways. However, we certainly do not suffer the complete intolerance for any proper dissension that Israel did from Rome; we do suffer intolerance concerning our God and Savior. In many ways it seemed the barbarous Romans in the first century were more tolerant of the Jewish faith in Jehovah and their belief systems than our own country, the United States of America, is of its own foundational religion, Christianity. Irony finds our nation founded under the premise of political and religious freedom; while man’s unquenchable thirst for power gradually strips us of our one inalienable right. That right is for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is a sad, but true commentary.

Today we look at a wide variety of scripture, most of which we will not have time enough to read through. We will consider the principles taught in these scriptures and the lessons we should learn from them. We will go to Genesis 6 to begin our discussion.

Control. Man wants control over all that which he deems his. Women exhibit this desire for control in many ways as well. No women like being told what to do any more than any man does with their pride and ego. Many women exhibit control through careful calculation. My wife loves chocolate. When she wants some, she usually gets me a piece too. She calls this pulling others into her collective.

The rebellious sin nature in each of us drives this attitude. There are times that I wonder if God did not create testosterone as part of the curse of thorns and thistles. Regardless, control is the issue and control is what God deals with in all tests.

What is the problem with control? The problem is that it is the most active illusion in man’s life. The more we attempt to exert control, the tighter we close our fist, the more we actually lose control. There is a delicate balance between control we have to exert and control we must relinquish. Some might say it is a balance between perceived control and faith.

God tests us regularly to increase our faith in Him and His sovereignty. The tests we undergo are not set before us to bolster our sense of control, but to tear it down and replace it with something else. However, we exhibit certain characteristics that are positive to God, and we find exemplary examples of these positive characteristics in the leaders of scripture; we find a balance between ability and faith. Where any one in scripture begins leaning too strongly upon their abilities, we find God quickly moving in to test these perceptions and press for a more faith-based life in the believer.

I. Testing Noah (Gen 6-9; Heb 11:7; 1 Pet 3:20; 2 Pet 2:5)

Some might say that God trusted Noah through the trials of building the ark and that it was not a test. We should put things into perspective though. Noah was being told to build something that had never, to our understanding, been described to man before. Whether you want to say man had seen a boat before or not, no man had ever seen an “ark” that would carry two of every creature on earth.

Some note that rain had never fallen on earth. Noah, talking of a great rainfall and flooding that these people had never witnessed, would challenge their reality. These folks saw only life around them and struggled to stretch themselves outside their personal reality.

The truth is that angels were still departing from Heaven to be on the earthly plane. Some were still giving up their perfect place in Heaven and following the ways of sinful man (Gen 6:2). God does not want sycophants or puppets in His kingdom. God wants individuals (whether angelic or human) that choose to serve Him, love Him and be in His kingdom. Peter said it best, if God does not hold back judgment against the heavenly host who have sinned, what makes man think for a minute that He will escape judgment (2 Pet 2:4-6)?

Noah was tested then and tested strongly. Many do not consider the tests that he may have had to endure. It was not simply people who had never seen a boat before. It was not simply people who had never seen an ark before. It is not simply that people had never seen rain at all, let alone a flood. Noah’s testing did not simply involve the testimony and preaching that people must repent and submit to God. Noah was preaching against the fallen angelic beings that lived on the earth in those days (2 Pet 2:5). Noah was not simply preaching to the sinful heart of man, he was preaching to a sinful angelic host that was manifest in the flesh. These beings would never enter the heavenly plane again.

The ramifications of this should be evident. These beings not only tasted the life in Heaven and partook of it, they also determined to leave it and would not return. They knew that. They knew that they were dead spiritually and their eternal death was now determined. There is no evidence that any of them lamented. They knew they were destined for eternal torment and that they had chosen that path specifically for a temporal life on earth.

A brief aside here. We might consider Hebrews 6 in conjunction with this. Every commentator, including myself, has interpreted this passage to discuss the believer who might fall away. Some have gone so far as to see this as a loss of salvation even with the multitude of scripture that speaks of eternal security in Christ. As we study these passages in Genesis, the truth is that it could be these fallen angelic beings that are discussed in Hebrews 6:4-6. The description of “once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost” certainly applies to an angelic being does it not? More than man, they were “made partakers of the Holy Ghost.” Where our souls are dead in sins and trespasses, angelic beings were made with a spirit that is already connected to God. Adam and Eve began existence in this fashion and chose to leave it through sin. Though there seems to be no inference to the flood in Hebrews 6:7, it is interesting that the metaphor is rain. There are many more reasons that Hebrews 6 might more apply to fallen angels instead of man. Chief among them is man’s propensity to make himself the focus and forsake the true meaning of things in the process. It is our nature, is it not? Therefore, for many years men may have misinterpreted this scripture to be about man when it could very easily be a reference to Genesis 6:2. Hebrews 6:1 beings with a dedicated departure of the doctrines that save man from sin, “leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ…” There is a decided break here from the previous five chapters. The author of Hebrews even lists the things that are not being discussed in these next passages. For instance, these passages are not discussing the foundation for repentance from dead works or faith such as baptism and laying on of hands, even resurrection of the dead. The challenging statement is “and of eternal judgment.” This statement and the chapters that follow warrant far more study than can be completed here.

The fact is that Noah was tested over a period of 120 years in more ways than we can imagine as he and his sons built the ark. He was tested in the plans. He was tested in the world to walk by faith, not by sight. He was tested over a long period. He was tested by his age, being over 500 years old. He was tested in preaching salvation and faith to the faithless. Noah was told to build something that no one else saw the need for, neither saw the future in, nor did they want to be involved with it. Still, he remained steadfast because he knew the flood was coming and he knew God wanted him prepared for it. Everyone around him operated on sight, not faith. Noah simply wanted to follow God and he preached God’s faithfulness to the faithless.

Noah was tested, we know. His family was deeply involved in the testing. We find this same circumstance with our next character in scripture. No man in scripture, save Jesus, was perfect in every way. All of them have their faults and failures. Abraham’s tests best exemplify the balance between God’s tests and loving longsuffering.

II. Testing Abraham (Gen 15-22; Heb 11:8-12)

 Move forward to Genesis 15 please. Throughout Abraham’s life, he had many failures in faith. We could turn to Genesis 20 and find how he deceived Abimelech by giving him Sarah. However, we will consider some other testing and specific responses of Abraham.

In chapter 15 Abraham asks how he can be rewarded greatly with no offspring. He offers only that he has Eliezer, an heir of Damascus. However, Eliezer is the only member of Abraham’s house capable of the inheritance.  God tells him it is not Eliezer. He will not be the heir. Though Abraham will have offspring that number as the stars, Eliezer will not be among them.

Sarai (her name at this time) wants to help with this promise in chapter 16. After such a display of faithfulness and God’s covenant ceremony (chapter 15) Sarai believes as Abraham does, that they will be provided many offspring. Knowing she is barren, she suggests  to Abraham that since the Lord has closed her womb, he should take Hagar, her servant. Abraham commits the adulterous act and Hagar conceives and bears a son, Ishmael.

In chapter 17, we find God telling Abraham his heir will come from him and Sarai, not an adulterous affair. God promises Isaac’s birth in verses 15-17. In verse 18, Abraham says to God, “Oh, you must be mistaken. I am over 100 years old, Sarah is 90 and barren. You must mean Ishmael.” God tells Him no, Sarah will conceive and bear his son.

We have to understand the process Abraham went through. God tells Abraham something will happen. Abraham does not doubt it will happen, but the means of its coming about are what he does not understand. He tries in his own strength and understanding to implement what it is God has promised. He does so through faith. His test was to rest completely in the Lord for the provision. Abraham already believes God will deliver, he just does not see how because he is looking at the things of the world. We find that, after Isaac’s birth, Abraham certainly learned his lesson.  Many years later God asked him to sacrifice Isaac on the altar, and Abraham submitted completely, waiting for God’s deliverance.

We should note that during the entire period before Isaac is born through Sarah, Abraham takes steps to implement God’s promises. Abraham does not doubt God’s promises. Abraham acts on the information he has at the time. God never chastises him for acting in faith. Abraham moves forward even with incomplete information. Even if he did not have the perfect answer and complete picture, Abraham went forward. The fact that God promised was good enough for Abraham.

Abraham’s tests in the conception and birth of Isaac are a growth process whereby he is strengthened to handle a much greater test later. We are not punished for acting on the knowledge God gives us, even if it is in error. Though we can do better and not sin as Abraham did in his failures, we should never shy away from attempting to go forward in God’s will as we have been enlightened to do so.

III. Testing Joseph (Gen 37-45)

Now turn to Genesis 37 please. One of the oft quoted and dealt with tests in scripture is that of Joseph’s life. He moves from favored son, to imprisoned slave. From imprisoned slave, to favored servant. From favored servant to falsely accused. From false accusations, imprisonment occurs again. Salvation comes at the hand of God’s gift of interpreting dreams. Throughout all these instances Joseph is cultivated as a leader first through his father, later through Potiphar, and finally with Pharaoh.

God blessed Jacob with Joseph through Rachel. God chose the line of Rachel to bare Jesus the Savior to show that man’s deception (Laban deceived Jacob by giving him Leah instead of Rachel to wed), would not circumvent the will of God. As Joseph grew, Jacob had chosen him to take the position of leadership and was training him to do so. At 17, he came back to his father with a bad report about the way his brothers were handling the flocks. This made his siblings angry and, like Cain before them, they determined to take the preferred position out of force. They conspired to be rid of Joseph the same way that Cain raised up against his brother in the field. Instead of killing Joseph, they sold him to slave traders.

Now sold into slavery, everything in Joseph’s life seemed to be for naught. Yet, he remained steadfast in God. Potiphar was wise and noticed that everything prospered under Joseph hand. Joseph’s leadership found him in charge of all that was Potiphar’s. Still, Satan was given permission to test Joseph again and he used Potiphar’s wife. He plainly confesses to her that he will not sin against God. Even though she presses her advantage, he remains steadfast. She is jealous that she is not chosen over God and attempts to take her revenge by falsely accusing Joseph of adultery, resulting in his imprisonment.

Even in prison, Joseph remained loyal to God. God also remained loyal to Joseph. In chapter 39, verse 21, God showed Joseph steadfast love. Again, Joseph found favor in the sight of his captors. He is given power to interpret dreams of the cupbearer and the chief baker.

When Joseph is given the opportunity to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, his true test will come. As he prospers Egypt under God’s blessings and guidance, Joseph is set on a course for testing like none other he has ever experienced. Being second in all of Egypt, Joseph has tremendous power to lay waste to any enemy of the state. He can exercise this authority in a godly fashion, or choose to feed only his own desires. The test of Potiphar’s wife and the physical pleasure that can come from an illicit affair were nothing compared to the drunken stupor that complete power can bring about. Joseph was confronted with his brothers.

Though he puts them through a number of tests on their own, they finally relent and admit their complete failure as loving sons to their father. In chapter 45 we do not find him exacting revenge, but welcoming them with open arms and preserving the whole of Israel through his steadfast faith in God. What a wonderful testimony of loving faith.

Joseph’s test was self-control. There appears to be no time when he takes action against anyone who has dealt treacherously with him. Even when he had the power to exact revenge for the wrongs against him, he chose to be silent, or to bless.

There are certainly other tests of faith in scripture. Nehemiah is tested not only in faith to complete a task given by God, but a test in wisdom while carrying out this task. Not everyone welcomed Nehemiah back in Judah, especially the deceivers that relished the destruction of Jerusalem.

 IV. Testing Nehemiah (Neh 6)

Now we go to Nehemiah 6. Nehemiah was wise to wait patiently for the Lord to tell him what to do. In chapter two, we find the chief reason Israel was saved, affection for a child of God. King Artaxerxes loved Nehemiah and was concerned about his sadness. Nehemiah was saddened at Jerusalem’s destruction. Nehemiah pours out his heart to the King and the King grants his petition, and much, much more. He gives Nehemiah a commissioning letter granting him all the materials and assistance Nehemiah required to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

There were a number of challenges while rebuilding the wall. The people did not believe it could be done (chapter 4). The leaders of the tribes that had conspired against Jerusalem and help Artaxerxes conquer Israel, Sanballat and Tobiah (Arab and Ammonite respectively,) were enraged that the walls of this city might be rebuilt. They saw it as in insult to the conqueror. They saw this as a beginning of their nation starting over again with the religious practices of the Jews beginning anew. They plotted against Jerusalem. They attempted to cause confusion among the people. They began to amass armies at the breaches in the walls and create fear among the inhabitants (chapter 4). God frustrated the plan of the Arabs, Ammonites and Ashdodites who saw Jerusalem as a nuisance.

While the physical reparations were underway, Nehemiah also took action against spiritual challenges Israel faced. Apparently, the worldliness of the oppressors had influenced the Jews. Some Jews were ignoring and taking advantage of the poor among them. In chapter 5, we find Nehemiah’s great generosity where he shared all his food allotments with those in need.

Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem set a trap for Nehemiah. They saw he was making great progress despite all this opposition. The wall was being repaired and with the help of the people of Jerusalem. The people were encouraged, inspired and energized. They were highly industrious and with Nehemiah’s leadership, they threatened to accomplish what they set out to do. Those who wanted to retain control of Jerusalem fought to do so. They fought against God, His chosen leadership and the people who supported him. They fought a losing battle to the bitter end.

Through all the conspiracy, both within and without, Nehemiah remained steadfast in the task that was given. He was tested first in faith before a worldly king. He was tested later in leadership to get the faithless Israelites working without fear. Individuals who desired to thwart his efforts tested him in wisdom and steadfastness. They thought they knew better than the ruler himself, King Artaxerxes. Those who fought against Nehemiah did not believe in God, they did not believe in his mission, they did not believe Nehemiah was sent to do God’s will.

Like Nehemiah, we should remain steadfast in our mission to build God’s house regardless of the pressures from outside and the fear and unbelief inside. Like Nehemiah, we should stay steadfast, fearless and faithful to the task given to us by the King of Kings. One final character in scripture was tested in a number of ways. His tests were based upon what man values most, physical life.

 V. Testing Daniel and his companions (Dan 1-4)

When we read the book of Daniel, we should understand that much of what we read is purely historical. In other words, it is simply a literary documenting of events and people in the life of a man of God. This is what Daniel did, what happened during his life and how he reacted to the challenges set before Him. Satan is in control of all the forces that oppose Daniel, just as he is given control of all the ungodly. We are challenged with either giving in to Satan’s attempts at influencing us, or God’s loving care even when it may involve our ultimate demise, or so it might appear.

The Chaldeans take Daniel to Babylon. He is a captive with many from Judah. Nebuchadnezzar took select individuals as part of the spoils of the conquest wrought by his armies. Daniel, regardless of the paganism of Babylon, remains steadfast to Yahweh, worshiping Him and bowing only to Him. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah all remained faithful to Yahweh.

Daniel is the leader and stands out as such. The first test seems innocent – better food. The food was not acceptable to God. They refuse to take the food of the King for it is something they are convicted is unclean. Daniel and his companions challenged their jailor to give them only fruits and vegetables. They stayed healthy and impressed the king with their learning. God preserved them without the king’s food.

Later, Nebuchadnezzar suffers from a dream and God reveals the dream and the interpretation to Daniel. Daniel tells the King about the dream and then he interprets it. Daniel sets conditions for this interpretation; all the wise men of Israel must be spared. God used Daniel under the threat of death to preserve Israel’s wisdom. Daniel’s faith would eventually result in three wise men looking for the star that guided them to Jesus at His birth.

Daniel and his companions are again threatened as the King is convinced that an idol that represents him must be worshiped, and only that idol. Now renamed Shadrach (Hananiah), Meshach (Mishael) and Abed-nego (Azariah), Daniel’s companions refuse to bow and worship the king or his image. Again threatened by death, and subjected to it, they remain steadfast for the Lord admitting that, “If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.”

They believed, if God chose to, He would and could deliver them. They had no certainty that God would deliver them. They rested on the sovereign decision of God to glorify Himself and deliver them. Many have said that Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego believed they would be saved. That is not what scripture says. They believed that if God chose to save them, He could and He would. God chose to honor Himself by saving their lives and being with them in the process in the furnace.

Daniel was tested for faith in God’s sovereign decisions, not on what he believed should be done under those decisions. We too should understand that we bow to the will of God in all things, we are given only to do as He asks, when He asks, and many times how He asks. Noah’s faith was tested for obedience. God tested Noah’s trust in the face of what he saw in the world. God said there would be rain and floods, yet the world had never experienced such things. God tested Noah on his steadfastness in the face of adversity among his own people. In all instances, regardless of the impact on Noah, he stayed faithful.

God tested Abraham’s patience and faith in provision. Where Abraham had faith in God’s promises, he immediately went forward to implement them. He looked at things from a worldly standpoint and not from a supernatural one, but Abraham was faithful. Abraham’s faith grew to a crescendo where he was asked to sacrifice Isaac’s life to the Lord. In Hebrews 11:19, we understand that Abraham believed Isaac would be resurrected to fulfill God’s promises of many nations through his bloodline.

Joseph remained faithful and steadfast in the face of terrible false accusations and imprisonment. He exercised tremendous self-control, meekness and tenderheartedness when confronted with the very brothers who sold him into slavery, in jealousy over his position with their father. In Egypt, he exercised great compassion and humility in not taking out his vengeance on his brothers, but leaving that determination to God. Joseph’s tests are ultimately humility and leadership.

Nehemiah is given tests in a variety of ways. First, before a conquering king, he asks to rebuild a conquered city. This takes great faith in that he risked immediate death at the worst and removal from the king’s court at the least. Second, he acted on the king’s commission with strength and power and received all the materials needed to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Third, his leadership was tested again as he was challenged from within and without concerning the project. Armies amassed in wall breaches and threatened the Jerusalem’s inhabitants. The occupants alternatively guarded and worked to rebuild. Fourth his wisdom was tested and his faith only in God. Nehemiah realized that God, not alliances with others, would rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Daniel (Hananiah), Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were tested regularly in their dedication to life with God. They risked their lives several times to worship God and God alone. Their steadfastness was tested under threat of execution and they rested in God’s grace and mercy. If God so chooses to save us, it is for His glory and His choice and not for us to determine.

In all these tests, God regularly puts man’s faith under the microscope. We should not dismiss these tests as only things in the past. Every ministerial leader who seeks to implement a vision given to him by God faces much the same obstacles. Every believer that works in a godless workplace and remains faithful in Bible study, devotions and separation from the ungodliness is tested. Every believer in an assembly is tested among unbelievers who claim Christ but do not know Him. All these tests happen on a regular basis.

Remain faithful and be saved from judgment. Remain faithful and receive God’s provision. Remain faithful and be saved from what seems sure destruction. Remain faithful and please God.

[This is part of a series of sermons on the topic of "One Another".  To access previous messages, please click here.]

Last week we considered how scripture would have us admonish one another. We found that though we think this is a position of possible encouragement we can have with another believer, we can take it too far and become discouraging. When we looked at the Romans, as Paul saw them, we found a group that exhibited first a great loving kindness for one another. Paul also made mention of their great knowledge in the scriptures. Based upon these two clear indications that the believers in Rome could handle the responsibility; Paul told them they should admonish one another in word and deed.

We also considered the Colossians and their admonishment one to another. Whether they were unusually gifted in music, or they enjoyed music greatly, we do not know. What we do know is that Paul told them to admonish one another not just in word and deed, but also primarily through hymns, psalms and spiritual songs. We are not told why the Colossians have this limitation, only that it exists.

Because there are certain conditions and differing forms of admonishment, we found that as a group of believers, we should seek our leadership concerning whether or not we should admonish others within our fellowship.

Today we gather unto ourselves another piece of this puzzle. We think that being at peace with one another means we should always agree. However, it is during times of contention that peace is tested. These ”one another” lessons tell us what God’s direction is concerning Christian relationships in the church body. They instruct us as to how we are supposed to practice the priesthood of the saints (1 Pet 2:9). When we think of how we must deal with others who might be falling away, or how we might deal with others concerning basic doctrinal issues as they grow in Christ, we should bring these lessons to mind. We are meant to love and help one another. How we are given to admonish one another will be tempered even further, honed to a finer point shall we say, with today’s message.

Though we are turning to Mark 9:50, this encouragement is also found in 1 Thessalonians 5:13. However, these passages differ in focus. We will consider the passage given to Thessalonica in a later message.

This passage has to be interpreted within the writing itself. If we run back in this chapter (please click here to view the entire chapter, as it is referenced extensively in this introductory section) , we find the Mount of Transfiguration where God the Father spoke to Peter, James and John and told them to listen to what Jesus was going to tell them. Jesus tells them to tell no one of the event until after He is resurrected. This statement actually marks the beginning of when they stopped listening. Jesus tells them early on He will be resurrected, and again that He will die (9:31), but they do not listen. Instead, they contend among themselves about who will be at His right hand. Which one of them is going to be equivalent to Joseph in Egypt – second only to the King of Kings? The force of these passages leads one to believe that the disciples were so stuck on their own concerns and desires, that they really did not listen to what was really going to happen, what Jesus was telling them.

In many ways, this is the tone of the entire chapter. Jesus’ servants focused upon what they wanted, what they were interested in doing and their own personal curiosities, not on listening to what was being taught. What Jesus tells them is LISTEN! Your concerns, your attitudes, your desires are not paramount here. What is true, real and standing before you is where your attention should be. In part of the discussion, it is Jesus Himself that they should be attentive to. In other portions, it is other people that should have their focus. In our verses today the concern the disciples are supposed to have is with other young believers in Christ. They are His children and we had better treat them right.

I do not know how many times in my life I have been discussing something with someone only to find we are both frustrated. It does not matter what the subject is, the fact is that we are both passing in the air and neither of us are considering the other’s perspective. If we had tried to hear what one another were saying, we might settle down and get some things done.

In many ways, we can feel the Lord’s frustration in this passage today. Three of His chief disciples have just witnessed the Lord’s transfiguration event. We can understand the disciples that were not at the event missing what was going on. We find these contentions in verses 33 through 35. Still, even the other nine had seen Jesus cast out many demons and heal many infirm. This next contention in verse 38 must frustrate the Lord even further where we find that John, one of those at the Mount of Transfiguration, asks about others casting out demons in Jesus’ name. After all, those people did not follow the disciples and Jesus. The disciples had not heard about having faith the size of a mustard seed (Luke 17:6), nor had they heard about believing as a child (Mk 9:37). They were still not listening. His disciples were trying to get one up on each other.

We can only imagine the frustration our Lord felt for these issues as He dealt with His disciples. How much more do we frustrate the things of God when instead of considering what He says, we wonder about the things that we want. How much frustration do we give the Lord when instead of submitting in faith, we ignore what He says and go about our own ways?

If we are going to understand why we are told to be at peace with one another, we must first attempt to gather a little more context before we dive into verse 50. The paragraph beings at verse 42, but the idea in verse 42 comes from the previous paragraph, so we go back further. Verses 38-41 discuss those who do works in Christ that may not follow exactly the path of those directly taught by God. If there were no other verse in the Bible that said we do not have the monopoly on believers, this verse is all we should need. The disciples thought they were the only ones to believe in the Messiah. They thought they alone were to perform the works of God. Jesus is clear in verse 40 when He tells them if they are not against us, they are for us. Those who do not fight against Christ are clearly fighting for Him whether they are 100% right or not. Then Jesus goes further in verse 42, the very next paragraph, when He warns His disciples that they had also better treat these children of Christ properly!

Many have correlated this passage as referring to little children. Even when Jesus refers to children in verses 36 and 37 above, He is discussing an overall mentality, not a literal physical representation. In effect, the Lord is telling us that there are children in the faith out there that need nurturing. Strong believers (one might easily see Jesus looking straight at Peter when He says these words), must treat these children as such. We should never cause one to sin, for our punishment would be great (v42). Then He begins describing how important it is to understand this need to be sensitive. If we offend even one of these young Christians we are doomed. This is so serious that whatever is in your life that may offend one of these young Christians, cut it off, cut it out, discard it. It is better to go through life denying yourself than to suffer eternal punishment. We find this same verbiage in Matthew 5:29, 30. The only difference between the words there and here is that the Matthew passage refers to impure inclinations (v28). In Mark 9, it seems to indicate an ambitious disposition. The intention is to strike at the root of these attitudes.

I. Believer’s Salt (Mark 9:49-50a)

 Now, after having looked at Mark 9:1-48, we consider verse 49. “Every one” can be understood as “every follower of mine.” We see that every one shall be salted with fire. A fiery trial seasons and matures any believer. This fiery trial also builds faith in a believer that provides for preservation and perseverance. It provides for purification. The reference to salting a sacrifice associates with an old Levitical proverb that every acceptable sacrifice must be sprinkled with salt. It symbolizes the soundness, sweetness, wholesomeness and acceptability of the sacrifice. Therefore, we could almost read this as an idiom that would say “Every follower of mine will have a fiery trial that seasons them into an acceptable offering to God.” Scripture tells us that the sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). We are supposed to salt that sacrifice, add some flavor to our heart’s mourning and humility (Matthew 5:4-5). We are all tried with fire to mature our Christian walk. The Christian’s sacrifices are salted for a variety of reasons.

Many commentators see a change in direction and find verse 50 paralleling Matthew 5:13.[i] Considering the discussions Jesus had been having with His disciples, encouragement toward humility over boldness seems a more likely direction of the passage. The disciples are already being bold. They have offered to build altars for Elias and Moses instead of Jesus or the Father. They exhibited a lacking faith in their inability to cast out the demon from a boy. They apparently tried to do so in their own strength, but they should have rested in God’s strength. Jesus told them “all things are possible to him that believeth” (v23). This is the crux of their challenge – unbelief. With these contentious attitudes prevailing in the passage, there is no reason to see verse 50 for anything different. This is spiritual saltiness and not the metaphoric representation of testimony that clearly dominates Matthew 5:13.

Our sacrifices of the heart are tried by fire and seasoned with salt. They are regularly tried by fire in order to strengthen the believer in faith. They are regularly salted and seasoned to make the heart’s sacrifice palatable to the Lord. We are not normally or naturally pleasant to God. We need some seasoning for God to tolerate us. We have to have some flavor added before God can accept us. Jesus intercedes for us (Rom 8:34; 1 Tim 2:5), the Holy Spirit purifies our prayers before they come to God (Rom 8:26-27). We also have to be tried in order to burn away the dross. The spiritual salt is not salt that we possess to change, but salt we receive for change.

Every Christian receives salt to change them for God. The seasoning we receive comes from listening to God, the very thing the disciples are not doing. If the sacrifices of God are subdued, submitted and humbled hearts, then the salt that seasons us is repentance and confession of sin. We bring the issues in our lives before the Lord and ask His wonderful loving forgiveness, His care, His healing and His preservation. Salt is good and it is vital to the believer’s life.

Do you have the salt of repentance, meekness, humility and a mourning spirit added to your sacrificial broken and contrite heart? When the disciples were contending, we should recognize their prideful mistake. Their attitude was not contrite at all. There was no question to them that they belonged in the kingdom. For the believer this is true. However, their attitude about their position was arrogant. The disciples should be repentant about their lack of faith, not planning their next move. That is salt added to a broken and contrite heart.

When has a salt lost its saltiness? When has a believer lost theirs? Apparently in this passage, it happens when you do not heed the instruction of the Lord and you try to do things in your own strength. In this instance, the disciples walking with Him did not listen to Him. In our case, it could be counsel from others, the word of God, or any form of communication the Lord might determine to use because He has the whole universe at His disposal. Once again, the paragraph we are in is discussing discipleship. We are talking about disciples of Jesus being dealt with by other disciples. Believers have salt. It convicts others. People regularly ask the Christian, “Are you trying to tell me how to live my life?” The Christian should answer, “No, I am just living mine for Christ.”

II. Believers have Salt (Mark 9:50b)

 We believers have principles. Many people of the world today want to live without principle. That is relativism. We have preserving, purifying principles that deny ourselves aspects of life in the world. When we deny ourselves extra marital affairs, alcohol, selfish desires and the many other commonalities of the world, we have an affect on all those around us. We suppress pride, ambition and contentions. We make ourselves an acceptable offering to the Lord. We have salt.

Christians are supposed to have qualities about them that make them different. We are supposed to be meek, quiet, somber and esteem others higher than ourselves. This is what ties this discussion to the paragraph where Jesus talks of the little children in the Lord. Jesus is warning the mature Christian not to be prideful in their knowledge or faith when dealing with a weaker or less mature believer. This passage comes on the heels of the disciples inability to cast out a demon. One sense in the passage where John asks Jesus about the others who are casting out demons in Jesus name is jealousy. They are jealous that where they could not cure this boy, some unknown believers can cure others possessed by demons. They felt this was an insult. Jesus tells them they must be humble like a child. Moreover, dealing with these children, disciples must be loving.

We can lose our salt immediately with pride, arrogance or jealousy. When we see other believers doing things for the Lord and we wonder why we cannot do that, we lose some salt. Long ago, because of my late coming to the Lord, I faced the fact that I would not be a huge ministry guy. I know I am not worthy of such trust. However, God has seen fit to place me in a small ministry with great potential. Therefore, when seeking the Lord we regularly consider what He would have us do on a larger scale while facing simple facts that we are only His humble servants.

With this proper attitude then, we can be at peace with one another. This all centers around humility and submission. It is difficult but we have to humble ourselves to submit to and in faith. If we first humble ourselves to the Lord for salvation then submit in faith to His designs and listen to Him when the talks to us, we can live at peace with one another. He talks to us through His word, through other believers, and through all circumstances which are completely in His control. Even negative events can speak to us. We have to face the fact that God is sovereign and rest our faith in that.

 III. Believers Peace with Salt (Mark 9:50c)

 The Holy Spirit says, “have salt within yourselves.” The word “have” is an imperative. Scripture commands us to be salty with one another. We are supposed to do those things that the disciples were doing in this passage concerning other Christians. We are supposed to question what is happening, look at what is going on and above all encourage others to higher levels of Christianity. Galatians 6:1 tells us that if someone has been overtaken in a fault, the stronger Christians are supposed to take action to “restore” them (another imperative by the way). However, there is clarification that we do this “in the spirit of meekness” because God “resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” (Jam 4:6) In all these things, we are to encourage having peace with one another even with this saltiness.

When we do confront a brother or sister then, we look to Romans and Colossians for guidance on how. We find in both of these that admonishment is by far different than we might find it in the world. In Mark 9:50 we find we are supposed to avoid contention, quarreling, struggle for positions of honor or office. We are supposed to seek to better one another’s welfare. Christ will be honored in these endeavors. If we can have salt and still be meek, kind, gentle, loving and promote peace, we have accomplished the Lord’s will.

While here, we should look briefly at 1 Corinthians 1:10. The church family in Corinth is greatly divided. There are challenges with the wealthy taking advantage of the impoverished. There are legal challenges. There is great impurity and adultery. There are struggles with the simplicity of the gospel. The Corinthian church is struggling but they want to work at getting it fixed. Paul knows many of these things and is, in this chapter through chapter 6, actually addressing things he knows exist. One of the issues is disunity.

Paul opens with a plea, “I beseech you, brethren.” He identifies with Christ and the souls of the Corinthians and says, “We’re all in the same boat here, please listen to me.” This is affectionate, yet direct. It is not a command of any sort, but as one would address members of the family out of love, earnestly contending for their acquiescence.

Then Paul rather lowers the boom when he says “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Not only does Paul identify with them personally and spiritually, he is now correlating a mutual subordination in Christ. While he does this, Paul also connects authority to what is coming and the Lord Himself as the source of that authority. This is not Paul speaking as much as it is the supreme ruler of the universe. God is about to address the Corinthians. Paul says, please listen. Speaking of Christ immediately must identify with speaking in love as God is love and it is through this love that He gave His only Son for our salvation (John 3:16). We are joined, therefore, by the perfect love of God as brothers and sisters in Christ. Please hear what the scripture says.

Next Paul encourages the Corinthians to stay on the same page spiritually. These same things should bear themselves out in our physical world. Speak the same thing. Talk about the one thing unifying our lives. Share Christ and Him crucified. Talk of the changes in your life. Be encouraging to others so they can change for Christ. This stands in direct opposition to speaking different and conflicting things or to controversy and strife. We may not agree on every thing, however we can agree politely and lovingly to disagree. We are to have a good spirit about the things we may disagree about, but we are never to be contentious, covetous, gossipy or create strife. The purpose is stated next that “there be no divisions among you.”

We are a small group of Christians gathering here in Mountain View. In the time of Paul, the Corinthian church was much larger than we are. They survived, grew and thrived with counsel from scripture even with this great strife. There is no way Mountain View, being so small, can succeed if there is strife. Above all things, we must make sure there are no divisions between us. The word translated “divisions” is very applicable to the church in America today. It is where we get our word “schisms” which indicates parties within an organization that contend one with another. This is conspiratorial in nature. These groups, we might call them, “cliques” get together, talk, commiserate, then in mass address the leadership or coordinate their contention where it congeals at church business meetings. The church at Corinth had some major factions that arranged themselves under different leaders. They were unhappy with their leadership and wanted it to change to be like other leaders that were, in their eyes, better. We find further evidence of this in 1 Corinthians 1:12 where there were some saying “I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.”

In today’s world, we have Internet and television pastors. Some wonderful messages are available on the Internet. Great men in huge ministries preach Christ and Him crucified. Many listen to these men.  I listen to their expositions. However, they can never be your pastor. They will never be there when you call. Not that they wouldn’t be if one of them were your pastor, but they simply cannot respond to your needs because they have a flock of their own, and you are not among it. Your pastor is unique, flawed, failed in many ways and simply a man, but he is your pastor.

We put our messages out on the Internet and they are read by a number of folks. I pray no one goes to their pastor and creates contention because of something this ministry does. I pray no one goes to their congregation and says, in effect, “See, why isn’t pastor such and such like this?”

Instead, Paul tells the Corinthians, “be perfectly joined together.’ This can only happen through Christ Jesus our Lord. The word translated here means to restore, mend or repair things torn, or out of order, to amend or correct moral evils and erroneous activities. We find it used in Matthew 4:21, Mark 1:19 and Galatians 6:1, a verse we mentioned earlier. This is an encouragement to be complete, to fit or adapt everything to the proper place.[ii]

If the body of Christ does not think it is properly proportioned, it is in effect ungrateful to God for what it has. If the body of Christ does not think their leadership is doing what others are, the way others are, and the way they think is better, the body exhibits an ungrateful attitude for God’s decision for leadership. This is not discussing doctrinal heresy, but simple personal activities and desires. That is why our next comment is so vital, “in the same mind”

These people were not united perfectly with all their opinions equal and unchallenged. That is impossible. Put any two people in a room and you will have differences of opinion. However, believers are supposed to have minds that are more directed to love and care for one another than to push a personal agenda. Our lives should be primarily harmonious with one another. This is not simply intellectual, but our inner most thoughts, counsels, plans etc. (Rom. 11:34; 14:5; 1 Cor. 2:16)

This encouragement goes further as it says we are to be of the same judgment. Our opinions, sentiments and will are supposed to be in accord. We must love one another even if we do not see things the same. We should not contend out of our feelings, but open our hearts to the whole counsel of God. This promotes unity. This unity develops properly from a heart that wants to love one another. We do try to place everyone on the same intellectual plane, but in the same salvation with Christ. We unify following Christ to our success or to our end.

Believer’s salt on a sacrificial heart is the repentance or desire to change for Christ in us that encourages other believers in growth. Our salt acts through fellowship and manifests itself in our lives by the differences Christ makes in us. With our salt we season other believers, and the world. We challenge them with our testimony. The salt of other believers challenges us as well.

If we lose our saltiness, we have no further witness with the world. We conform to the world. We become contemporary with the world. We should not drop into mediocrity but be in a position to challenge wrong beliefs in Christianity and the things others label as Christianity. We should never lose our saltiness.

Believers have saltiness. Their actions convict the unbeliever; their encouragements help other believers grow. When Christians take stands and positions politically, personally and publicly concerning the wickedness in our world, we have salt. Our salt brings persecution upon us (Matt 5:12). We have to remember that we can be an affront to believers just as much as we can be an affront to unbelievers. Both have to be dealt with in the love of Christ. In Mark 9:50, we should ensure that, above all, we maintain a peaceful exchange and communication between believers especially. We are to be at peace with one another.

Still, with other believers we exercise the utmost love and care. We do all we can to maintain peace with one another. This drives us back to another principle the Christian is supposed to exercise – default to forgiveness. When we read Ephesians 4:32 we know that we are supposed to forgive one another without dissimulation, without prerequisites, without confession just as Jesus forgave us. Christian’s first love one another unconditionally, then forgive one another in that selfless love.

We have knowledge in Christ. He is supposed to speak through us. We are not supposed to be at variance with one another. We are supposed to be of the same mind and in a position of harmony with one another. Our mind’s decisions are within, but our judgmental decisions form action, words and attitudes.

Be at peace with one another.

Last week we talked about thanksgiving; not the day necessarily, but the fact that we should be thankful to God the Father. We also considered some examples in scripture that display thanks approved by God. We opened to Genesis 4 and found that thankfulness is not just following the rules, but having a heart that knows the great majesty of God. We saw David speaking of being thankful to God before even the heathen of the day. We found Paul thanking God for all things as a testimony to the Gentiles. We remember God’s holiness when we give thanks to Him and we worship Him as we thank Him for all He is and all He does. We found that giving thanks is valuable amongst the congregation. Mountain View faces some rather impossible tasks. However, we find God has given us ministries to combat the evil that seems to press all around us.

Finally, we find we should be giving humble thanks that we have salvation through the Son of God. Our salvation is a gift that is everlasting and cannot be supplanted by any act or work either in Heaven or on Earth. Our salvation is not our doing but God’s, and once we are saved, we are in the family of God. Through salvation in Christ, we are accepted into His fold to be in His kingdom. What a wonderful promise. What a wonderful gift of grace. Thank you, God.

Today we return to our study of ”one another” commands. We will consider how or under what circumstances we should admonish one another.

Please turn to Romans 15:14. We will also consider Colossians 3:16. Our relationships with one another are very important to the Lord. How we treat one another is not only a reflection of our relationship with God; it should develop from that relationship. Unfortunately, we often look at our relationships through a worldly prism instead of a biblical or Christlike prism.

There are doctors that get very prideful when they are successful in practice. This is especially true of specialty surgeons such as cardiovascular and neuro specialties. They save lives and at times think they have special power to do so. We too can get a little heady when we think we are given responsibilities and the tools to carry them out.

When we accept Christ and are saved from our natural eternal destiny, we think we have all the answers. In a microcosmic view, we do have them. Christians want Christians to be better Christians and they want unbelievers to become Christians. This is a wonderful burden in the life of a believer. Unfortunately, it is not for us to press these answers upon others. It is not our individual responsibility to tell others what they should do.

Admonishment in our language has the sense of rebuke. It can have that same sense in the Greek language, but there are clarifications in scripture that rather limit how we are to respond. Scripture gives us direction and some encouraging guidance. I believe we would all like to be admonished in the fashion described in our scripture. It does not have to be the negative event that we envision it to be.

Admonish. We sometimes like the idea of having some ability to speak out against those things we think are wrong. We often take the opportunity and justify our actions using the verses we find here today. When we are given a duty or responsibility, we sometimes forget through whom we are supposed to be taking action. We are told to give the truth in love. Second only to the commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, is that of loving one another. Our primary concern is to love God. Our secondary concern is to love one another. Admonishing one another must be approached with these two issues squarely in the lead.

I. Conditions of Admonishment (Rom 15:14)

In this chapter, Paul is encouraging the church in Rome to praise and laud God. He reminds them that Christ will return. We find hope, joy and peace in our faith in Christ. Under these circumstances and inside these considerations Paul is “persuaded” that the Romans can admonish one another. Paul identifies three conditions that exist with the Romans which permit them to take authoritative positions with one another. Do we individually meet these conditions and, as Paul did for Rome, is this leadership persuaded you are capable of dealing with others authoritatively?

First the Romans have a displayed a great capacity for goodness. We might think this is simply being good or being good to others. Scripture uses a much stronger word than simply ‘good.’ In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, our word translated ‘goodness’ is used to translate “chesed,” the Hebrew word for mercy, or lovingkindness. This is the word used to communicate God’s loving kindness in the redemption from sin, and keeping the covenants. The people in these churches showed great care among one another and for one another. Paul observed these attributes among the people in the church at Rome. He saw wonderful love, care and forgiveness displayed for one another there.

With the persecution that was rampant during these times, one can only presume that they displayed this care for their brethren in the face of great adversity. Being hunted down by Israelite Pharisees and Roman soldiers alike, especially in Rome itself, we can only imagine what it might be like. We might think of the Jews during the Holocaust and the efforts by so many that hid them at great risk to their own safety. Today we call these discriminatory activities ethnic or social cleansing. Many people during these times display great courage, helping others under threat of imprisonment or execution.

The church in Rome also had great understanding of the scriptures. This is our word ginōskō; a schooled or studied knowledge. The people of Rome were very educated in the scriptures. They knew God’s truths and could clearly communicate them in love as Christ does to us.

Goodness such as God’s lovingkindness and deep knowledge of the scriptures gives these believers the power to admonish one another. However, there was another condition. Paul was “persuaded.”

This word is equally important because it means Paul was convinced in his heart. The people of the church in Rome have exhibited attributes that inspire assurance that they will handle this responsibility well. The word used here speaks of a confidence the authority has in one’s ability to exhibit confidence and assurance in situations, which might cause dismay, or fear in others. This church has shown such goodness and knowledge in the scriptures that Paul is completely confident they will handle these counseling situations well. He knew in his spirit and soul that these believers would deal with one another in goodness and with great scriptural knowledge. Paul, the leader of this church, gives permission to these people to admonish one another because he sees love, care, forgiveness and deep scriptural knowledge in them.

We might ask about the word “admonish” in our scriptures. What does it mean? In this instance especially, this word speaks of communications more than rebuke. In this form of admonishment, it is more of a warning. Instead of accusation or confrontation, this is more informational and teaching or instructional. This admonishment is intended to alert someone of a potential problem or issue.

The Romans have displayed great lovingkindness. This loving kindness edifies, it forgives all things, suffers long and if it possess great knowledge it never fails. They have the ability to forewarn others of potential issues.

When we look at the word admonish here, we should not think immediately that we are given the right to rebuke. Rebuking someone is a far different form of admonishment. The word used here is where we develop “nouthetic” which is the proper terminology for biblical counseling. We should see this as a tremendous responsibility and be humbled that we are even considered worthy of such.

The conditions for our ability to admonish one another are set. Now, we should be concerned whether we have consent to admonish one another.

II. Consent for Admonishment (Rom 15:15-16)

Studying our “one another” commands, we have always sought to exposit our scripture in context. When we consider the conditions we must meet before we can admonish one another, we should consider whether we are supposed to do so.

In verses 15 and 16 we find Paul is giving the church in Rome a few cautions and some additional information about this aspect of the Christian relationship we have with one another. Verse 15 begins with a word we see translated “nevertheless.” Though we may see this as a large word, it simply means, “but…” We should understand that this scripture reads, “…admonish one another. But…” This communicates caution.

We should remember Paul started the church in Rome. When he addresses these churches, he addresses them as a brother in Christ, but also as a leader. ”Brethren” is a word that identifies first with Christ, then with the codependence on Christ. Paul wrote boldly in the past because he was given specific grace from God to do so. He was given to minister the gospel of God to the Roman Gentiles. We might wonder whether there was another epistle to Rome that had the tone of Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians. The epistles to the Corinthian churches are very authoritative and not as informational as the Roman epistle. Paul’s epistle to Rome is full of general doctrinal statements, not necessarily commands directed at the Romans. In other correspondence he would admonish and rebuke them that they “might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” Paul is given special authority to do this.

Clearly our ability to admonish one another falls short of Paul’s authority to admonish. We should take Paul’s advice in verse 18 very seriously. Paul would not dare speak of any of these things except that Christ worked through him. As Paul has done, we too should seek to encourage others to obedient through our words and deeds.

There is also confidence for us in these scriptures. We find this confidence also has some conditions. This also has some great promise.

III. Confidence in Admonishment (Rom 15:14c & Colossians 3:16b)

When we turn to Colossians 3, verse 12 tells us that as believers must have a compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient heart. We are supposed to bear one another’s burdens, forgive one another and above all love one another such that we can bond in our unity around Christ. We are encouraged to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. This peace should drive us to a single body and a thankfulness that drives us together. As Christians, we are all mutually thankful for our salvation. If there is one thing Christians can bond with it is our universal thankfulness for our Lord’s sacrifice.

Primarily, Paul says we must permit the word of Christ to live generously within us. We are to use the word of God within us and let that dominate us. God’s word should be that one thing that drives our lives, our actions and all that we do. This is how we can encourage other believers in word and deed.

With God’s word strong in us, we can exercise wisdom. By putting the Word that lives through us into action, we act out the wisdom in God’s word. When we teach others to do this, we are admonishing them. The interesting thing we find in Colossae is that Paul tells them to admonish in a certain way. In Rome, Paul is convinced the people have both lovingkindness and knowledge to work through word and deed. In Colossae, the situation is apparently different. Paul does not want the Colossians to preach to or counsel one another. He wants them to sing to one another.

We know that music above all other forms of communication makes a direct connection to our hearts. To be able to encourage and instruct other believers through music is a special ability.

We do not only sing to one another, we do so with a right heart attitude. We are told to sing “with thankfulness in our hearts to God.” Share thankfulness for being chosen by God to be in His kingdom. Share thankfulness for the salvation in Christ Jesus that we enjoy. Share thankfulness of one another in Christ that we have one another as encouragement in Christ.

IV. Composition of Admonishment (Col 3:16c-17)

There are some in our church that love encouraging others through songs and hymns and spiritual songs. I have personally been a benefactor of this great love. I am grateful for these encouragements.

In whatever subject we sense a need to admonish one another, we find that there is great emphasis on word and deed. What we speak and what we do are the key elements to success in giving thanks and admonishing one another. We perform our words and our deeds in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We compose our encouragement, admonishment and warnings to other believers in the shape of thanks “through Him to God the Father.”

We pray to the Father through the Son. “No one comes unto the Father but by me.” (Jn 14:6) We owe our salvation to the Son and His dedicated sacrifice on the cross for us. We owe our salvation to the Father for His plan to save us from our sins and place us into His kingdom. We owe our thanks to the Holy Spirit who indwells us, changes us, convicts us, and instructs us. We owe our very life to God who sustains us with His thoughts. We are truly blessed.

When we set out to find an opportunity to admonish one another, we had better ensure we have met these prerequisites. We should seek permission from the ministry to which we submit. That permission should come in the form of an assessment of our loving kindness to the brethren, and our knowledge of the scriptures. Our admonishment should be shaped in word and deed, or it can simply be through hymns, songs or spiritual songs.

Admonishing one another is normally a form of warning. We look for the conditions associated with the admonishment and find listed there a care and concern that is first forgiving in the heart. Second, we find that consent mentioned above. Third, we look for confidence we can have to even do such a thing for a brother or sister. Fourth and finally, we consider how the counseling is supposed to manifest itself. In all these things, we must be cognizant of what a tremendous responsibility this is before the Lord. Sensitivity, love, care and kindness are primary concerns. God loves all of us, and if He has chosen you for this type of task, it is a tremendous responsibility. Let God make these things happen. Not your will, but His will be done.

Casting all our anxiety upon God is an easy thing to say. It is not as easily practiced. We all struggle with everything the world shoves at us every day, from children in school who may not perform as well as we expect, to our jobs that provide for those very family members. Many struggle with the simple answer ‘cast your cares upon God’ and say, “But it is not that easy.” The problem is that they do not trust God to care. It really is that easy. If you do everything in a day that you can do and still things happen that impact you negatively, then you have done all there is and the rest must be set at God’s feet. He may turn you over to Satan. He may not. Whatever God’s decision, if we lay it at His feet we give our anxieties to Him and we rest in His care.

Much of the problem boils down to loss of control and the possibility of loss of life – one’s own life to be exact. On the first part, it is an illusion anyway. We are not in control and never have been. In a recent article I wrote to our local newspaper, I said,

“As far as the end of life is concerned, will the humanist choose to die by undetectable aneurism, death by drunk driver or pancreatic cancer?”[i]

There are many things in this world completely outside our control. Most of those will take your physical life. Some of them can take your spiritual life. We might consider trusting the One who can take both the physical and spiritual and make it alive. We might consider trusting the One who cared enough to send His own Son to die so we could live. We might consider trusting the One who keeps His promises. We might consider trusting the One who cares for us. Whatever His plan for our life, if we rest in Him, trusting His Son’s atonement, our spiritual life is secure for all eternity.

Today we talk of a “one another” command that is very familiar to Mountain View. As we discuss this command though, I pray we can learn that there are a few prerequisites. There are some preliminaries involved when we are going to fellowship with one another.

Turn to 1 John 1:7 please. When we opened to this scripture in September 2008, we were studying John’s first epistle. We did not give this verse deep consideration at the time because we were considering it with the overall tone of the epistle itself. Today when we open to it, we should consider how it fits into our study of “one another” commands.

People gather for any number of reasons. People gather for weddings, family reunions, block parties and conventions. There are New Year’s celebrations, as well as Christmas tree lightings. People gather around memorials at certain times of the year and others attend political rallies. People like gathering with other people. There is often strength and comfort in numbers.

Fellowship to the world can be defined in many ways. It can indicate simply being a fellow human. Fellowship could mean a specific relationship such as a father and a son have with one another. There is a sense to fellowship of community where we have connection with our neighbors. I have seen secular definitions that mention a church fellowship as communion between members. It can simply mean friendliness.

Regardless, none of these approaches the significance of fellowship in the scriptures. Our fellowship is not just special amongst ourselves, but it is special because of where it begins and under what circumstances it exists. It is not some general relationship based upon identification, but built in a Person and through a sanctification of spirit in the individual. Our fellowship is deeper, wider and more permanently connected than we can even fathom. We do not see the “ties that bind” our fellowship; they cannot be described in our terms.

Our fellowship has conditions, prerequisites if you will. Most fellowships do. However, the prerequisites for Christian fellowship are not within man’s grasp. Man cannot achieve them, cannot meet them and cannot in his own power bring them into being.

I. Walk in the Light (7a)

The first requirement for Christian fellowship is to walk in the light. If we walk in the light, we can have fellowship. The obvious question is, what is this light? The light is not from a bulb glowing above our heads in the sanctuary. Light in verse seven is also not the light created in Genesis 1:3. This light is God.

The ‘God light’ is the true light of life. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to appropriate this light. We must accept Jesus Christ for who He is, why He did what He did, and what He did for us. Our first requirement to have fellowship with each other is to be a Christian. You might say, “But pastor, many people have fellowships that are not Christians.” We are not talking about fellowship in worldly terms as we discussed above. We are talking about fellowship that is far more complicated, far more involved and by far more rewarding than anything the world has to offer.

The word for light, “fos,” is used 73 times in the New Testament. In Matthew 4 we find light used to describe the opening of Jesus ministry on Earth where He began shining the light of salvation on the world. In verse 16 we find that Christ’s light dispels the shadow of death in the world. We find in Matthew 5:14 that we can be a light for the world. When we have Christ, we can dispel the darkness with His gospel. In Matthew 17 we find how Christ was transformed before them and His face was turned bright white as the light. Wherever we find “fos” we find a pure light of the Son of God. In John’s gospel, Jesus is the light of men and this light provides life. Christ’s light is described as the true light that lights every man. Man comes from Jesus. Man’s intellect comes from Jesus. Man’s wisdom comes from Jesus. Man’s entire enlightening experience stems from our Savior. Walking with Jesus is walking with the light of life in John 8:12. The Light saves, it shines a path of righteousness, it provides for life, it illuminates and it purifies. Christ’s light keeps you from all that is darkness.

Light in the scriptures is always associated with good, righteousness, purity, announcements from Heaven and God’s blessing. We must first abide in the light of Jesus Christ. We cannot have fellowship without first seeking His salvation, having an intimate relationship with Him and trusting in His pure light. We must first be righteous in the eyes of God as we are purified with the blood of Christ and His light then shines brightly through us as a lamp unto the whole world.

The first question is, do you have this light? Do others around you know that Jesus exists in you? Do you shine the light of Christ wherever you go? Do others see Christ’s light in you? They should not see gray. There should be no shadows. Christ’s pure light dispels all darkness because there is no darkness in Him. If you have the light of Christ, no one should wonder that you are a Christian. You should be known as a Christian. The countenance of Christ should shine from you as His light lives within you. Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Walk in the light.

 II. As He is in the Light (7b)

This section is probably more difficult than the first. We have to not only accept His salvation, we have to be transformed; we have to be Christlike. We do not have to be perfect. However, as Christ is perfect, so are we to be perfect in Him. As we fellowship we should understand that we fellowship through Him with one another in the light. This means we seek to emulate Him as He fellowships with others in the light of God.

The light of Christ submitted to the Father (Matt 26:39). “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Jesus gave Himself over to cruelty and crucifixion for our salvation to complete His Father’s plan. We too must submit to the Father.

We also hear our Lord and hearken unto His call (Jn 10:27). The sheep of Christ “are those who hear, believe in, follow, and obey the Saviour of the world.”[ii] Most commentators see this as a reference to teaching and followership. The Lord’s sheep will hear and follow Him. Shepherds call their sheep and their sheep come to them because the shepherd represents safety, nourishment or shelter. The shepherd is their leader and the one they look to for guidance.

It is also interesting that the next verse that discusses eternal life. Though I have not seen a commentator other than Johnson mention it[iii] there is good possibility that the reference indicates His sheep will hear Him when he calls them at His second coming (1 Thess 4:16). They are His followers. These followers will hear and obey the commandments of Christ even in the grave. These followers walk in His light to dispel the darkness that surrounds them and answer His call to come to His light of life when He returns.

We can say that we are in the light, but we can still exist in darkness (Ananias and Sapphira did this). We can speak words of light, but exist in eternal darkness (Judas did this). Jesus tells us that,

“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”

We cannot do, perform or fellowship in truth if we lie about who we really believe in. We live a lie in front of everyone. We say we want everyone to accept our Christianity when we have never really accepted Christ, do not live with Him at the center of our lives, nor do we seek Him for the things in our life. Do you walk in the light as He walked in the light, completely given over to righteousness and forsaking all else? That is the question.

When we walk in the light as He is in the light, we can have fellowship with one another. Only then can we enjoy the powerful connections that bind Christian to Christian. Only then can we see Heaven on Earth.

III. Fellowshipping with one another in the light (7c)

Our word for fellowship (koinōnia) is rather peculiar. We find it 19 times in the New Testament. It means a gathering of individuals with close mutual relations and involvement. It was also used to discuss communal property fellowship where a sharing of possessions indicated a mutual participation and interest in advancement. It has a very intimate inference. In any case, it indicates sharing. Whether shared interest, shared properties, or both, the intimation is that there is a deep bond that focuses upon fulfilling the needs of others.

We find this used in 2 Corinthians 6:14 concerning equally yoked fellowships. Paul asks how righteousness can have fellowship with lawlessness. We find this in 2 Corinthians 8:4 where the Macedonians, though slaves themselves, gave sacrificially to support Paul’s cause. Paul told them it was too much, that what they had given was recognized as something they could not themselves afford without great discomfort. They begged Paul to take the offering so that they could take part in the relief of the saints in Jerusalem. Again describing their sacrifice in 2 Corinthians 9:13 we find the word translated “distribution.” In 13:13, we find the word translated “communion” or a oneness, togetherness. This koinōnia is with the Holy Spirit, therefore it is a far deeper fellowship than one might simply understand as “camaraderie” or some “get together.” This is not just closeness then; it is a sacrificial communion with the Spirit and Son of God that is shared with others.

Look at the first two words in this phrase in 1 John 1:7, “we have.” A more basic and literal translation of the word that this represents is “we are having.” If we walk in the light of Christ, if we walk in a likeness of Christ’s light, we are actively fellowshipping with one another through the Holy Spirit. Being spiritually quickened by Christ, we commune in that eternal life with one another. We have noted this before, there is no place closer to Heaven on Earth than when you fellowship on a deep spiritual plane with another believer.

What joy we can have as we discuss our Lord, praise His power, His majesty, His sacrifice and His sovereignty with one another. What righteousness we can enjoy as we tell of scripture that has recently grabbed our hearts. What purity we can enjoy as we share the pure love of Christ with one another. What excitement we can have as we tell one another about witnessing opportunities, ask for prayer for others and encourage one another. What joy we can experience as we bear one another’s spiritual burdens, pray for and over one another, lay hands upon one another and love one another.

If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we do not the truth. We make all our testimony, all our care, all our concern, all our fellowshipping with one another a lie. We call God a liar as He says we cannot be in the light without His Son in our hearts. What should we do then? Accept the Lord as your Savior and truly step into the light of Christ. His light will dispel all the darkness. His blood has washed away all the sins of the world; it will cleanse you too. He will be the focal point of fellowship as we fellowship.

Fellowship with other Christians is sweet. It involves a deep mutually shared submission to God and His Son for salvation. This is only possible when we walk in the light as Christ walks in the light. Christ’s light illuminates our path and dispels the darkness of the world. When we enjoy this light, we enjoy koinōnia.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is either darkness or light. There is either saved or not. Either you have eternal life or you do not. There is no in-between where you are just trying to get used to being a Christian, or you will begin being a Christian in the near future. Either you do the things a Christian does or you do not. Either you live worldly or you live as a Christian. What is the difference you might ask?

Christians love reading the scriptures. Christians love teaching their children the scriptures. Christians love telling others about Christ and what He has done to change their lives. Christians love time in deep prayer with God. Christians love fellowshipping with other Christians. Christians would love to help those who are not Christians be Christians. Christians let Christ live through them. Christians exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. Christians embody the beatitudes increasingly in their lives. Christians are Christians. They are not Christians here and just people out there. Christians are Christians that live through Christ.

They have fellowship through Christ with one another because the Holy Spirit of God lives within them. They received the cleansing of the blood of the Son of God and they rejoice over it. Christians will answer the call of Christ and go to Heaven. Christians know they have eternal life. Do you know you’re going to Heaven? Are you a Christian? Will you answer Christ when He returns? If you do not, are not, or will not, please contact our ministry on how you can be a Christian and have eternal life in Christ. The fellowship is sweet. We want you to join us in it.

[This is part of a series of sermons on the topic of "One Another".  To access previous messages, please click here.]

Last week we discussed 1 Peter 4:10 and considered how we can minister to one another with the spiritual gifts each one of us has been given. What a glory it is to know we can serve one another spiritually.

We learned, above all, that our spiritual gift is special, unique and given to us to glorify God in the body of Christ. We learned we can contribute to the ministry at our church. When we get to the point in our relationships with one another that we can serve one another with gifts, we are already practicing the “one another” commands we have studied together.

• We are affectionate and honorable toward one another.
• We do not judge one another’s motives.
• We focus upon edifying one another and are like-minded in that edification, faith and service.
• We receive and accept one another.
• We should not be prideful against one another but patient for one another. Members of the body should (and here at Mountain View certainly do) care for one another.
• We should serve one another in love.
• We should never snip, backbite, speak hatefully of one another. The chief destroying sins in a ministry are conceit, and disunity through evil speaking of one another.
• We should instead bear one another’s burdens. In knowing and bearing one another’s burdens, we certainly must learn to tolerate one another.
• We should be strong enough to be truthful to one another; kind and tender hearted when we are truthful. In these ways, we should concentrate on forgiving one another and submit to one another in that forgiveness.
• We should not deceive one another about our relationship with Christ, but teach one another and comfort one another in that relationship.
• We should never prefer one over another, but exhort each other equally in the Lord to stimulate one another to love and good works.
• We should never speak evil of one another or grudge against one another especially since we will be confessing our faults to one another. In all these ways, we should be praying for one another in a humble spirit.
• When we work on all these things in our relationship, we can finally get to how we can be hospitable toward one another and minister to one another. Unless we are actually working on our relationship with one another in these other ways, we will find it difficult to be hospitable and especially to minister to one another.

The relationship in Christ, one to another, is based in love. This love is born from a spirit that is first poor because it knows it is beggarly. If we are not first humbled to one another, we will never be able to admonish one another because admonishment is not a peaceful endeavor; yet we are commanded to be at peace with one another. It is a conundrum, but one which makes sense when logically followed. If we do not love one another, it will be extremely difficult to accomplish any of the one another commands.

Today we turn to consider others in our nation. Though most pulpits may have presented their Veterans Day message last week, I chose to postpone ours until this week because of the burning in my heart to talk of service amongst our people.

Turn with me to 1 Peter 5 please. You can read verse 5 and take note of it as our next “one another” command. We will be concentrating on verses 6 and 7 today, though. This text is set amid a time of horrid persecution. The people of God were wondering how to handle this vast, wicked and hateful persecution of Christians. At the time of Peter the thoughts may have included such things as, “Jews hate us, but we love their God.” There were other complications for Christians as well, they may have thought, “The Romans hate us because people lie about us, misrepresent us and falsely accuse us.” They would all presume the whole world was set against them. John tells us that in his gospel and his first epistle (Jn 15:18; 1 Jn 3:13). Many were asking “What are we to do?” Here in Peter’s first epistle we see part of his answer today.

What is perfect peace to you? What is real contentment to you? I did a search for “perfect peace” and found a few pictures. Some were of the Holy Spirit as a dove descending upon Jesus. Another was of Jesus Himself, His head shadowed by a rainbow as a partial halo. Yet another was of a little girl holding a doll. A bird nesting in the cleft of a rock while the storm raged outside its little hamlet. Pictures of cascading cataracts dotted the search and more serene rainbows on wispy cloudy days. I could ask each of you what real peace or contentment is and you would all have your own perspective.

What moves us from a life that we might consider normal, to one that gives us great stress? Once again, this can be very subjective. Many times stresses are caused by things that are very base: food, bedding and clothing. I have seen great depravity in some of the places I have visited, and even in industrialized places. I remember Jamaica, for the 12 hours I was able to visit there. When you were on the resorts, there was beauty, cleanliness and opulence. However, when you stepped into the true local areas, it was like stepping into a jungle that was sparsely populated and wild. Your stress level can go up quickly when you leap from civility to what appears to be complete chaos.

Stress can create great physical pain and discomfort. People get headaches, backaches and ulcers from stress. Stress can cause any number of other physiological abnormalities such as blindness or numbness in the extremities, even death.

Today we will open a discussion on how to handle the stresses in our lives. Different stresses affect different people differently. Some might find it stressful to be underwater at 30 feet in the dark. Stress for others does not peak until they are hanging on a line 1000 feet from the bottom of a canyon. Some stress over mismatched socks. Others stress over whether or not they should have beef or chicken. Regardless, where do we lay our anxieties and worries? Who can help us relieve our stresses?

I. Our cares, anxieties or worries

Turn to Matthew 6:25 please. When we get to this passage, we may remember when we studied the Sermon on the Mount together (sermon hereand here). Though we considered simply the life of the first century Jew with respect to Matthew’s gospel. We should consider this attitude with respect to Peter’s epistle and the challenges with which he is dealing. When Peter writes, “take no thought for all our cares,” the reference in Matthew becomes very important. Where Matthew talks about your life, food, drink or clothing in general with respect to the every day slave of the first century having to scrape out an existence; Paul discusses the added stress of persecution. In his time, there was an outright effort to hunt down believers. The word “thought,” which we find in Matthew is the same word we found in 1 Peter, translated “care.” The inference in both is that one could easily become a slave to survival for a variety of things. Most of the time it is for the base needs of life, for the things of your flesh. At other times it is for our very life when threatened with violence, victimization or abuse.

In our lives today these base needs are slightly different. Yes, we have a need for food on the table, water in our glasses and a heat source to keep us warm. We also have mortgages, and financial needs to support health care. We are challenged living in a free country that has politics that seem to regularly confound that freedom. We have car payments and need fuel to keep them going. We have family stresses that also impact us with spouses, children, grandchildren, parents and siblings. All of these stresses should be set aside for the Lord. At times it is extremely difficult, but setting aside our “lives” for the Lord is the kernel of the discussion.

Turn to 1 Corinthians 7:32 where we’ll receive a more expansive picture of our needs. First Corinthians 7 is probably quite familiar to everyone. It is the most involved discussion in the New Testament on marriage.

Our loyalties toward the Lord or toward the things of the world (out of necessity) are recognized here. Paul discusses another loyalty, more due to our responsibility to a wife. We have to rear our children. Nurturing relationships with people is probably the most valuable thing we can do. Nurturing special relationships with our children is probably one of the greatest things we can do. It also creates great anxiety as we develop these little lives. Developing a young heart for the Lord is a great responsibility.

Turning to 2 Corinthians 11:28 we find our word “cares” in the verse. We should note that only Christians have these cares and concerns. Only Christians have the wide variety of external pressures that we do. In this chapter, Paul is discussing the pressures that come to bear upon him with the number of ministries for which he has been given responsibility. Churches in Ephesus, Colossae, Corinth and many others are on his mind. Your pastor could not imagine having those pressures weigh upon him. We have the Aitkens Bible Project and the other normal ministries connected with a church. Having other whole church ministries that you regularly encourage is another issue all together.

Internal pressures in the believer’s spirit bring about external pressures. Besides the external things and the daily stress, there are added stresses as we press for purity. We are further pressured to separate from the world. We have concerns that come with service in the body. The more churches we attend, the more challenges we can encounter, the more ministry pressures are brought to bear. For this reason, and many others, we believe an individual should attend one church regularly and commit to that body of believers for accountability. People may visit other churches, but everyone should have a specific body of believers that they submit to under the Lord. This very much limits the spiritual stress in our life as we obey God in this submission, and can obey the “one another” commands in scripture. Remember, when you obey these commands, others around you do as well. You benefit from the list of “one another” commands just as much as anyone who obeys them does. As we give our lives more to the Lord, He can relieve the pressure being applied that encourages conformity to His kingdom.

Our cares are wide, varied, deep and abiding. Many times our cares and anxieties can even press right into our bones. The weight of sin is extra hard. David describes the weight of his sin with Bathsheba as bone crushing (Ps 51:8). Cares and concerns can feel crushing as well. However, God gives us a promise. He gives us hope. God provides us with great comfort and peace if we can cast our cares upon Him.

II. God’s promise

Please turn to Philippians 4:6 now. We find another instance of our word “care.” In this case, we see “careful.” One pastor I know said that this verse is a stair step to peace with God. Try to think now about the most strenuous things in your life. What if I were to ask you what the three greatest anxieties in your life were? What would you say they might be? Would you say finances? Would you say your children? Would you say your mother, father, husband or wife? What are your three greatest stresses?

“Be anxious about nothing” is our command here. We need to give our daughters, sons and grandchildren to the Lord. We know the very end of this life, and the end of the world as we know it. We ask, “What can we do about these things?” What action can we take? The answers are here in this verse.

First, become prayerful in your soul. Set everything to a serious matter of prayer and trust God to make the changes necessary. What we must do is just sit down and become prayerful. If you are faced with great anxiety, just stop and refocus yourself on God in prayer. Do what you have to do. Sit down, kneel, stop and close your eyes or whatever you have to do; but get into focused prayer. Some can pray on the fly, but if these are serious stresses that are affecting you physically and mentally, you have to stop, calm yourself and apply your self to prayer.

Second, supplicate or humble yourself to the level of pleading. You must beg for relief with the poor spirit you know you possess (Matt 5:3). God has emotions just as we do. It is one of the things that He created in us as part of His image. He knows about stress through His Son who in all ways subjected Himself to this world (Phil 2:1-8). He sent His Son here to endure torture and murder. God knew what would happen. Do not forget to whom Jesus prayed in the garden at Gethsemane as He sweat great drops of blood because of the stress He was subjected to (Lk 22:44). He begged that there be another way. Yet, in the end, He submitted.

Finally, you must be thankful. You must appreciate what God determines to do for your circumstance regardless if it is your ideal answer. We have to remember that just as our children pressed, insisted, pushed and demanded an answer, we could not give them their desire until they submitted. We must realize that we are children to God, and as we demand that our children are grateful, we must equally be grateful to God. If we train our children to be grateful for bread and water, we too must be grateful for meager pickings. We must count our blessings and name them one by one.

Now that we have come to him prayerfully, humbly and thankfully, we can make our requests known. We bare our soul before God and lay our petitions at His feet. We know that every flock is full of sheep. All sheep suffer. All sheep have trials. All sheep have challenges. All the things of the world are evident in every sheepfold. Pride, envy, strife and every other sin is in every flock no matter the size. Every sheep has its own personality, attitude and desires.

There is a wonderful promise in 1 Peter 5:7. He cares for you. God’s care is perfect and it has everything that we need and much, much more. His grace is sufficient and His provision is perfect. He has no health issues. He has no money issues. The peace of God surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7). God guards your heart. God guards your mind. His grace must be sufficient for all of us. When we bring things before Him in prayer, we must then give them over and rest.

First Peter 5:8 tells us how we are expected to react when we place all our cares upon the Lord. We are to be sober, vigilant. We know who our adversary is and how ferocious he can be. Satan walks about, prowling for his next victim.

One final note: Satan will never stop. He wants to kill every single human being spiritually. Satan will always destroy. Satan will always hate. We are encouraged to remain steadfast in the faith and regardless of persecution; we cast all our cares upon the Lord. We are finally free from Satan’s fangs and talons when we go to be with the Lord. Until then, we must understand that Satan is an extremely powerful being who travels “to and fro upon the earth and walking up and down upon it.” (Job 1:7; 2:2). Satan wanted to convince Job that it is the non-essentials (food, clothing, raiment, health) that are important. Instead of trusting in God for life, Job needed to think more about himself. Satan tried desperately to get Job to mourn over the things of the world and redirect his focus, trust, worship and prayer from God to the possessions and physical existence. Satan never once tried to get Job to worship him; he only wanted Job’s attention off God. This lesson alone in Job is vital to our understanding of this passage today. When we have cares and concerns, trials and tribulation, chaos and tumult in our lives, those things are engineered and brought about by Satan to pull us away from God. Do not fall prey to them. In churches all across the country, this is happening with such things as Bible translations. Your pastor believes the “KJV only” movement is just such an effort. Other things detract from these as well. Economic apprehension, scant funding in a church’s coffers and any other worldly element that pulls our attention from God and our faith in Him, to the world.

The spiritual world is not the corrupted physical world. We are supposed to be spiritual beings offering up spiritual blessings (1 Pet 2:5). We are not supposed to look at the physical world to determine our success in this world (1 Cor 9:11). When we look at physical things to determine our spiritual success or failure, we fail God. Cast your cares upon Him and He will care for you.

Job knew the reality that if we only consider the physical worldly things to determine our life and relationship with God, we fail God. He is in control of all things. Job put his life, his possessions, and his whole physical world into the hands of God for safe keeping. God decided to turn it over to Satan. Job would have been fine with that, had he known. Think about this though. Job was fine with his circumstances even though he did not know. He simply did not know why, and he rather expected he deserved an answer. That was sin.

Veterans who care and take their oaths seriously see our nation today and weep. We look around us and ask what is happening, what did we fight for, what effect did we have? Lay these cares at God’s feet. Trust Him and His plan. It will not be easy, but we must.

We should not ask, why as Job did. We should, though, accept our circumstance and trust God to care for us. Have you cast your cares upon Him? Have you really trusted He will care for you? Alternatively, have you attempted to think your way through, or out of, the things that stress you? One is sin focused upon you, your ability, your strengths and what you believe must be done. One is spiritual focused upon a dependent love for God and His Son Jesus Christ. It’s your choice. I recommend the spiritual one.

I was once angry, but now I am at peace.

My life was once full of tumult; now there is strength, order and solemnity.

I was once abhorrent to God, but now I am made righteous.

I was once condemned to torment, but now I am destined for heaven.

My eternity was once full of pain and suffering; now there is treasure, mansions, family and God’s Son.

I was once rightly judged, now I am forgiven.

I was once bound by sin, now I am free.

My existence on earth was full of sin’s struggle; now there is peace and comfort.

I was once blinded by darkness, now I see by His light.

I was once dead to God, now I am alive in Him.

My spiritual life was empty, purposeless; now I am full in Christ for God’s glory.

I was once hateful, now I can love.

I was once hated, now I am loved.

My attitude was vile; now through God’s grace I am cordial.

God lives within me by the Son in the person of the Holy Spirit.

I was once cursed, now I am saved.

~Pastor Tim Senter