The Christian’s Work

Title: The Christian’s Work: Prayer & Proclamation

Text: Colossians 4.2-6; Ephesians 4-6

CPT: Paul’s mission and the Colossians’ evangelism efforts begin and are sustained through prayer.

CPS: Attentive Prayer (talking to God) is foundational to Our Mission (preaching to people) and our ministry (conversing with outsiders).

Introduction: We’re in Colossians 4.2-6; We will also stroll through Ephesians 4-6;

I remember as a kid hearing about the Cowboy’s Philosophy. I’m talking about Randy White, Roger Staubach, Walt Garrison, Bob Hayes, Lee Roy Jordan, Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones, Harvey Martin… I believe it was Harvey Martin who said it: The Cowboys never lost a game, we just ran out of time.

I guess most games are like that. I went to Leighton softball game a couple of weeks ago. I thought the game was timed at an hour. I told Lisa I’d be home by this certain time, because the game was sure to be over. If I had been right, Leighton, your team would have won. But, I was wrong and it lasted an hour and a half. That extra 30 minutes was what the other team needed to come back and win. I guess they were thankful for the extra time.

Time is an interesting commodity we possess. And, we have a limited amount of it. Someday, it will be gone. Someday, time will come to an end, just like it had a beginning.

But, in a very real sense, it runs out on us and we miss finishing what we were supposed to be doing. Like in a game, like when dinner was supposed to be ready, like when the teacher says, “ok, time’s up! Put your pencils down and pass your papers forward.” I can almost hear the groans of the students…

I feel that most mornings Sunday mornings when I preach. I’m not really under time constraints, not really. But in some sense, I am. Lisa, John and Robert are, too – with teaching. I’m sure they feel that pressure. Gaynette, I’m sure does with the children and the time she has with them.

You feel it, too, don’t you? When you’re under the pressure of the time clock. It raises your blood pressure. It’s creates that anxious, panicky feeling inside.

Transition: So, what do we do with the time we’ve been given. Let’s not waste it!

Here’s the Big Idea for the Day: The Work of the Christian is attentive prayer and it is foundational to our Mission and our Ministry. Attentive Prayer (talking to God) is foundational to Missions (Great Commission) and Ministry (conversing with outsiders).

But we only have a limited amount of time to get this done. And, with the way our world is today, I’m thinking this time is shorter than most people imagine.

Two commands in our text: Busy yourselves in prayer (2)and Walk in Wisdom(5).

Let’s look at these two commands as we consider the Work of the Christian:

1. The Command to Pray (How to talk to God)

exp.: rd 4.2; actually, the command isn’t prayer, it’s busy yourself.

How: 1^st, busy yourselves in prayer; illustrated: being watchful; this is really an illustration; these words are the words used to describe a watchman on the tower; the idea is to stay awake and alert;

ill.: did you guys know that Hamas has been launching 1,000’s of rockets into Israel? Israel has an army of watchmen who are keeping an eye in all directions for incoming rockets. They have been for years. What would happen if those at the tower fell asleep? People would die.

What would be your thoughts if the Mexican Cartel decided to wage war on the US? Really, I think we’d be in trouble because I’m not sure our current leadership would do anything to protect us! But, you’d hope we would set up defenses and start an offensive against those who would hope to destroy us!

I wonder how many planes the terrorist could fly into the Government buildings in Jerusalem and succeed? I would wager not a single one!

app.: Israel is acting like any normal country would. I’m not sure we’re normal anymore. When you think of this idea of prayer – think of Israel. You’ve got to be awake and alert like your enemy is out there and wants to destroy you. He wants to create division, He wants to create dissension, he wants to create distractions so that you’ll focus on other concerns and not concern yourself with the task ahead.

Transition: How to pray? Busy yourselves in prayer, and you do this like a watchman on the tower – stay awake & alert;

exp.: What to pray? Rd 4.3a; Pray for your preachers; 1^st, that God would open a door for the Word;

This is really good advice! Pray for doors to be open! I think this takes wisdom and insight on the part of the preachers to discern open doors. Add that to your prayers: Lord, open doors for our preachers to preach your Word and grant them the discernment to know when that door is open.

I love this phrase he uses – to declare the mystery of Christ. Paul is still in the relationships mode.

Do you remember last week how I spent some time on how the Trinity is the perfect example of relationships, demonstrating for us how roles and relationships work? Listen to Paul in Ephesians: 5.28-33; Husbands love your wives; there is a mystery to it all – most people don’t get it. But, it has been revealed and that is what we proclaim – the mystery that has been solved, if you will. This is what Paul declares to the People. This is what we declare to the people – the mystery of Christ.

So, 1^st, pray for an open door for the Word to be proclaimed; and 2^nd, rd the last part of v 3 –  on account of which I am in prison. Perfect Voice – a present state because of a past action; If I said, “I am running” – that is present tense. But, if I said, “I am running from the law” you get the idea that it is something I’m doing because of a past action. One more item concerning this phrase: the literal translation is on account of which I am in chains/bonds. Same idea, but you really see his suffering in the literal.

All of that to say, 2^nd, pray for your preachers who are being persecuted. Pray for those guys in Canada who are being imprisoned for allowing their churches to gather. Pray for other pastors/preachers around the world who are persecuted for their preaching. Pray for me. Pray for an open door, pray for the persecuted and 3^rd, pray the preacher would present it in a clear and understandable way. Rd 4.4

app.: consider yourselves sentries or guards who have been situated in the watch tower, keeping watch, staying awake and alert; busy yourselves with prayer for those who preach God’s Word. Think of missionaries, of which Paul was one. Think of pastors and their responsibility to proclaim God’s Word. Pretend that their success is all on you.

Ill.: Lord of the Flies: Jack took his boys hunting and let the fire on the hill go out. A plane came by and they missed being rescued! What’s even sadder is that Jack volunteered his boys!

t.s.: Now, Paul turns the tables and informs the Colossians, that missions isn’t only someone else’s job… which brings us to #2…

2. How to talk to your neighbors about God

exp.: rd 4.5

Paul’s conclusion to his letter to the Ephesians is similar to the letter to the Colossians; read 4.2-6;

I mentioned last week that the Ephesian letter is a twin letter to this one. It’s like Paul wanted to share the same information with both churches. But, here is a major difference: Ephesians is so much more in depth. Let me show you what I mean. Keep your place here in Colossians 4. Ephesians 6.18-20; Look at 5.15f;Turn to Ephesians 4. Walk (παριπατέω) in:

Then, after challenging them to ‘walk’ in these different ways, Paul concludes this challenge with the call to walk in wisdom, redeeming the time (5.15f). The same challenge he has offered to the Colossians. But it is interesting here – Paul has couched his conclusion statement with the Household Code and the Armor of God.

In our text, Paul has been talking to the Colossians about their relationships, too. Now, he tells them why these are all important. This is the message in Ephesians, as well.

Their Mission is the same as his: to reach lost people with the Gospel (and this means using their words which match their walk).

How, you might ask? Rd 4.5b – lit.: by redeeming the time. This word appears 4x’s in the NT. All 4 by Paul. Here, Ephesians and 2x’s in Galatians: 3.13 – ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” and in 4.5, let me begin in v 4: ⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Lit.: In wisdom walk toward those outside, the time redeeming. It is that same feel of the watchman – staying awake and alert – don’t fall asleep and waste the time you’re at your post. Make the best use of your time.

2^nd, rd 5.6a; that is, let your word always be filled with Grace. Let your conversations be grace laced. This sounds like you are gracious in your conversing, but that isn’t it. Grace fills the word you speak. It isn’t your attitude toward your neighbor. Verse 6 doesn’t have a verb – so in English it is an incomplete thought. To make sense, we have to supply the verb. The verb comes from 5.5 – Walk. How do you walk? Redeeming the time, grace fills your word, seasoned with salt; that’s a metaphor – the word you speak is the meat – grace is the salt you spread on it. What a great picture!

And finally, rd 5.6c – so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Just like Paul – it is the same wording here as in v 4; Paul has the same expectations on the Colossians as he does himself, the preacher.

ill.: Do you ever look back and think about a time you wasted? You didn’t do what you were supposed to do?

For me, her name was Michelle. It’s funny that I’ve never forgotten her name. I was traveling each week to Dallas from San Antonio and taking classes all week at Seminary. Each week before I got on the plane to fly to DFW or to return home, I would pray for the person God wanted me to sit by. God never disappointed. I either had presented the Gospel to someone or I was an encouragement to a believer who was down.

Not this particular night: I can’t even remember why I was down or mad or whatever, but I told the Lord in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t talking to anyone. Leave the seat empty! But he didn’t. He put me next to this girl, about my age. Her name was Michele. She was searching. She was hurting. She was inquisitive – all of the components you look for when presenting the Gospel to someone. But no, not me. I would have none of it. I wasn’t mean. We talked for the whole 45 minute flight. But God wasn’t letting me off the hook. I rode the shuttle from the Airport to the Seminary. She lived a couple of blocks from the Seminary. Guess who was on the van and who I ended up sitting next to on the van? That’s right.

She asked me all kinds of questions – leading questions that were underhanded pitches for me to hit. But I wasn’t swinging. I was showing God who was boss. I never told her the one thing she wanted to hear. I never told her about Jesus.

app.: That was almost 30 years ago and I still relive that night in my mind from time to time. And I still have the deepest regret for not redeeming that time. I always end with a prayer that God would send someone who was obedient to Michele – to share the Gospel with her. I pray that she has come to faith in spite of me. And I repent – again, in shame.

t.s.: people, Walk in Wisdom by redeeming the time God gives you with outsiders. And let your word be smothered in the grace of God. And you know that grace, because it is what you’ve experienced it yourself…

Conclusion: So, what are our take-a-ways for the day…

1. Pray – prayer is the foundation for all we do. Will you commit to pray like a watchman on the tower, protecting this body.
2. Pray – like the success of our mission is all on you! Even though you know nothing good will happen without the hand of God at work. Pray like it is all on you!
3. Pray – to walk in wisdom (redeeming the time; conversations that are grace laced; and knowledgeable responses)
4. Pray specifically…

Let’s pray… We’ll have a time of invitation… Come pray, commit, surrender – let the Lord have his way in your life today.

The Christian’s Relationships

Title: Lord, even over the household.

Text: Colossians 3.18-4.1

CPT: Colossians, when you confess Jesus as Lord, that confession must be manifested in and through the relationships with the people closest to you as you are serving the Lord in your marriage, with your children, and in the relationships you share with your master and servants.

CPS: As those who confess belief in Jesus as Lord, that Lordship extends over every aspect of our lives, including the relationships with the people who are closest to us: in ours marriage, with our children, and in the relationships we have with those with whom we work and serve.

Introduction: Let me begin by openly talking about Dysfunctional Families – I shared my story last week, not to summon sympathy, but just to share my experience. I find two areas at work in my life: The Word of God and my experience. When I was younger, I would find these two appeared to clash. As I get older, I find the Word of God validates my experience.

Let me ‘splain… What I preach and proclaim from God’s Word isn’t about how I feel or what I think. As I open God’s Word and share, it comes from faith that what God says is true – even if I don’t understand. And, I find experientially, this has played itself out in my life.

Many of you could feel what I spoke about last week, because it is your story, too. And, as you’ve watched these same scenarios work themselves out in your lives, the lives of your parents, the lives of your children, the lives of your friends and their families, you concur.

I wish there were more stories like the girl I spoke about who was adopted in her family and I mean truly adopted. Not just on paper, but experientially. Not just by the courts but into the family.

What we’ll look at today is the perfect home – the perfect family. I know ‘that’ family doesn’t exist in real life. I believe there are some families who come close. I know there are some families who try real hard. But, the fact is that we’re all sinners and when sinners get involved, well, things just don’t go perfectly.

———————————————-

Next, let me offer a caveat here, as well? Now listen carefully, because what I have to tell you relates to how you receive this message. I’m going to make a statement that you know to be true and I worry you’ll just gloss over it. Oh, yeah, I know that. You have no control over other people. Let that sink in, because I’m sure most all of you said, “Yeah, I know.” I’m not sure you really do. I say that because the responses I see in people is just the opposite – you want to control other people and their decisions. I’m going to say it again: You have no control over other people. I can only control me. Say it with me: I can only control me. And that’s a hard enough task as it is!

When we look at this text, we see that Paul doesn’t say to anyone here – here is what you make other people do. Can I re-read this with the take some folks get here? Bear with me…

¹⁸ Wives, make your husbands love you, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands, force your wives submit to you, and do not be harsh with them. ²⁰ Fathers, make your children obey you in everything, for this pleases the Lord. ²¹ Try not to provoke them in the process, lest they become discouraged. ²² Masters, make your Bondservants obey you in everything…

You get the idea. Right now, as we begin, do me a favor, do yourself a favor. Don’t think of anyone one else – focus in on you and your role as it applies in your life. Maybe you’re younger, you’re not yet married or don’t have children. Think and apply these to your life as you prepare for those things. Pray and ask God to lead you as you surrender and submit to His Will for your life.

Let me give you a focal point: take your pencil, pen, highlighter and note the following phrases. This actually begins in 3.17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24; 4.1

Jesus is Lord of the House…

We see this in three different relationships within the home:

1. The Marital Relationship of Man and Woman
2. The Parental Relationship of Parents and Children
3. The Working Relationship of Slaves and Masters

A word about these relationships. 1) I find it interesting that one man might be in all three groups. Indeed, that might even be Paul’s thinking here. That man can be husband, father, and master. He has great responsibilities in relations to his wife, his children, his slave. 2) Each of the others, the wife, the child, the slave, are subservient, they are submissive not just to their husband, parents, master, but their actual service and submission is to the Lord Jesus.

This is hard, I know, but note what God is doing in each relationship.

t.s.: This last section will need some work because today, we no longer have slaves and masters. We’ll talk about that when we get there. 1^st, what is God doing in the marital relationship?

I. The Marital Relationship (18f)

exp.: rd 3.18f; Wives and husbands; lit.: men, women; typically there is a pronoun with these words, showing possession. You belong to each other. And, you serve each other.

ill.: The marriage relationship is foundational to our society and as God has designed, it is a picture of the Gospel. Have you heard me say this before? Let me demonstrate with a graph, an image of The Trinity.

exp.: turn with me to Ephesians 5.21; the parallel letter to this one; read through 5.33; The Church is a Picture of the Gospel.

app.: Married Couple – you are a picture of the Gospel to the rest of the world.

t.s.: next, we have the parents…

II. The Parental Relationship (20f)

exp.: rd 3.20f; The trinitarian function is the same in this relationship; That further reflects the church; The Roles of the Elder and Deacons; why there is dysfunction in the church; Example is Saddleback, who ordained 3 women to the pastoral ministry this past week; Society forces its way into the church and wields its power over her – just as the society forces itself into the family and wields its power of it. Then you have dysfunction. And, you no longer present a picture of the Gospel.

ill.: I want to take a moment to address something, I didn’t handle right last week. I mentioned something about Mother’s Day, but I didn’t do anything special. I don’t want to say I never will, because I’m sure I probably will; however, I don’t use the calendar to plan my preaching schedule. I use the Bible and I preach through books. With that being said, after Mother’s Day, I came across a movement by a certain party in our political system to remove the term ‘Mother,’ and instead use the term “birthing person”.

Ben Shapiro sent out a tweet to show how ridiculous this has all become. He tweeted: “Happy Birthing Persons’ Day to all the egg-producing homo sapiens of unspecified gender who made the decision to bring to term a meaningless cluster of cells!”

Had I known about this, I would have said something and expressed my gratitude toward Moms. Whereas, you’re probably going to see “Happy Birthing Persons Day” instead of Happy Mother’s Day, we will recognize Mothers on Mother’s Day!

app.: Moms, you are loved and appreciated. Thank you for your sacrifices to make us who we are. Can I say a word on this to Husbands, Dads, Wives and Mom? Your relationship with each other is a picture of the Gospel, but so is your relationship to your children. Let me demonstrate once again with an image. Your relationships mirror the church and her relationships.

t.s.: Finally, a word about this last grouping…

III. The Working Relationship (3.22-4.1)

exp.: read 3.22-4.1; Two points:

1. This is in no way an affirmation of slavery by Paul, or by the Word of God. When one reads the book of Philemon, it becomes apparent that Paul isn’t for slavery at all. But it didn’t matter how he felt because… and this is my 2^nd point:
2. Christianity was birthed into a world where slavery was the law of the land. Historians estimate that there were some 60,000,000 slaves in the Roman Empire at the time of this letter. This was a situation that existed and the Church had to deal with it.

Slavery was one of the ways the economy functioned. A person had the right to sell themselves into slavery for a period of time. Think of military service. A person could become a slave for a period of time – usually a pretty long time – and money would be then given to the family. I know not all of the slaves were this way, but there were a good many who were.

So, don’t think that Paul is approving of or condoning slavery. His relationship with Philemon and Onesimus (4.9) confirm his distaste for slavery. But, it was the law of the land and many new Christians needed to know how to deal with that situation.

Slavery is no longer the law of the land. In a situation where slavery does exist, it is abhorrent and wicked. That is a topic that should be addressed, but I’m not prepared to deal with it this morning. For time’s sake, let’s focus in on how we might apply this to our situation today.

ill.:

app.: for sure, we can do our work without just giving eye-service or being people pleasers, but instead to perform our tasks with sincerity. We would do well to perform our work as to the Lord. In all of our work, we should work heartily, because it is indeed the Lord we’re serving. And, your life, your response, your actions with your employer and employees will communicate the Gospel to those who are watching.

Conclusion: But the context of the text is household relationships. These relationships have a purpose and a function.

I’m guessing most of us don’t even think one bit about how our family life communicates the Gospel to a lost and dying world. We probably don’t consider how our marriages and our families give credibility to the Gospel story.

For sure, we miss out on how much damage is done when the home doesn’t communicate the gospel.

The following is from Dr. James Dobson, Hide or Seek

He began his life with all the classic handicaps and disadvantages. His mother was a powerfully built, dominating woman who found it difficult to love anyone. She had been married three times, and her second husband divorced her because she beat him up regularly. The father of the child was with her third husband; he died of a heart attack a few months before the child’s birth. As a consequence the mother had to work long hours from his earliest childhood.

She gave him no affection, no love, no discipline, and no training during those early years. She even forbade him to call her at work. Other children had little to do with him, so he was alone most of the time. He was absolutely rejected from his earliest childhood. When he was thirteen years old a school psychologist commented that he probably didn’t even know the meaning of the word love. During adolescence, the girls would have nothing to do with him and he fought with the boys.

Despite a high IQ, he failed academically, and finally dropped out during his third year of high school. He thought he might find acceptance in the Marine Corps; they reportedly built men, and he wanted to be one. But his problems went with him. The other Marines laughed at him and ridiculed him. He fought back, resisted authority, and was court-martialed and thrown out of the Marines with an undesirable discharge. So there he was—a young man in his early twenties, absolutely friendless. He was small and scrawny in stature. He had an adolescent squeak in his voice. He was balding. He had no talent, no skill, no sense of worthiness.

Once again he thought he could run from his problems, so he went to live in a foreign country. But he was rejected there also. While there he married a girl who had been an illegitimate child and brought her back to America with him. Soon she began to develop the same contempt for him that everyone else displayed. She bore him two children, but he never enjoyed the status and respect a father should have. His marriage continued to crumble. His wife demanded more and more things that he could not provide. Instead of being his ally against the bitter world, as he hoped, she became his most vicious opponent. She could outfight him, and she learned to bully him. On one occasion she locked him in the bathroom as punishment. Finally she forced him to leave.

He tried to make it on his own, but he was terribly lonely. After days of solitude, he went home and literally begged her to take him back. He surrendered all pride. Despite his meager salary, he brought her $78 as a gift, asking her to take it and spend it any way she wished. But she belittled his feeble attempts to supply the family’s needs. She ridiculed his failure. At one point he fell on his knees and wept bitterly as the darkness of his private nightmare enveloped him.

Finally, in silence he pleaded no more. No one wanted him. No one had ever wanted him.

The next day he was a strangely different man. He arose, went to the garage, and took down a rifle he had hidden there. He carried it with him to his newly acquired job at a book storage building. And from a window on the third floor of that building, shortly after noon, November 22, 1963, he sent two shells crashing into the head of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Lee Harvey Oswald, the rejected, unlovable failure, killed the man who, more than any other man on earth, embodied all the success, beauty, wealth, and family affection which he lacked. In firing that rifle, he utilized the one skill he had learned in his entire, miserable lifetime. [James Dobson, Hide or Seek (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1974), pp. 9, 11. As told by R. Kent Hughes]

This is why we, as Christians, have been called into relationships – to demonstrate and communicate the Gospel with our lives. It validates what we say when we preach that Christ is the Messiah of the World!

Take-a-ways:

1. You cannot control others. Stop trying!
2. You can only control yourself – so what are you going to do with this information? How will you respond to this?
3. When you ‘control’ you, and apply the teachings and principles of God’s Word to your life, then you are living out the Gospel before others.
4. Finally, It’s not too late for you and me! No matter what has happened in the past, God is gracious in forgiveness and compassionate in your circumstance. What a great opportunity for all of us to surrender every area of our lives to Him. Is there any area you haven’t surrendered? Is there something new you need to learn about? Give that to Him. Do you need to extend forgiveness to someone – a parent, a spouse, a child? Do you need forgiveness – from a parent, a spouse, a child?

I said last week, we are never more like Christ then when we forgive. I’d say that also goes well with the humility we display when we humble ourselves and seek forgiveness where we have failed. Humility – so Christ like. Those actions are the gospel on display before others.

Let’s pray…

10 Statements (every child should hear their parents say):

Title: Ten Statements every child should hear their parents say

Text: Ephesians 5.33-6.4; Colossians 3.21; Deuteronomy 6.4-6

Introduction: Turn to Eph 6.4; and Col 3.21

I first heard a similar message by Dr. David Walker nearly 30 years ago in a revival we were hosting in Cotulla. I didn’t take notes, but some years later, as a pastor myself, wanted to preach a similar sermon. I preached once in Worland, once in Tyler, and now, I’ll preach it here today. I honestly don’t know how close this is to Dr. Walker’s message, but it is my own.

Read Eph 6.4; Col 3.21

10 Phrases:

1.  “I love you, Lord”

exp.: more than anything your children knows about you, they need to know there is nothing, absolutely nothing in your life that is more important to you than your relationship w/ God.; they need to see you from the outside – looking into your time alone w/ God; to know that now is not a good time to bother daddy cause he’s praying. They need to have no doubt that you are saved and that you have a deep abiding relationship with the Father.

ill.: Michael Reagan received many gifts from his father, President Ronald Reagan. But at the 40th President’s sunset funeral, Michael described the greatest gift a child can receive:

I was so proud to have the Reagan name and to be Ronald Reagan’s son. What a great honor. He gave me a lot of gifts as a child—gave me a horse, gave me a car, gave me a lot of things. But there’s a gift he gave me that I think is wonderful for every father to give every son.

Last Saturday, when he opened his eyes for the last time…that’s when I realized the gift that he gave to me: that he was going to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He had—back in 1988 on a flight from Washington, D.C. to Point Mugu—told me about his love of God, his love of Christ as his Savior. I didn’t know then what it all meant. But I certainly, certainly know now.

I can’t think of a better gift for a father to give a son. And I hope to honor my father by giving my son, Cameron, and my daughter, Ashley, that very same gift he gave to me.

Knowing where he is this very moment, this very day, that he is in heaven, I can only promise my father this: Dad, when I go, I will go to heaven, too. And you and I and my sister, Maureen, who went before us, we will dance with the heavenly host of angels before the presence of God. We will do it melanoma and Alzheimer’s free. Thank you for letting me share my father, Ronald Wilson Reagan.

Transition: There is no greater gift to give your child, than for your child to know that you belong to God. At the end of your life, when your body is lying lifeless and the services take place committing your body to the ground and your spirit to God. Nothing will mean more to your child than knowing where you are.

2. “I love you, Sweetheart”

exp.: your kids need to know you love their mom/dad. Let them see your demonstrations of love. Open the door for her. Pull out the seat for her. Grab her when she walks by and pull her down into your lap and give her the biggest sweetest hug and make her laugh as you kiss her neck! Reach out and hold his hand, or slip your hand under his arm

Dad, Teach them to Honor and Respect her. Get angry when they miss treat her. And never, ever mistreat her yourself. Mom, teach them to Honor and Respect him. Don’t ever say a negative remark about him. Always show respect to him. Parents, if you do, then your kids will, too.

Ill.:  Listen to this writer whose article appeared in the Arkansas Democrat: “Women are very touchy about certain gifts, as I discovered years ago after buying my girlfriend a catcher’s mitt for her birthday. It seemed to me to be a particularly thoughtful gift, especially since she claimed not to be getting enough physical exercise. But apparently, she didn’t see it that way. The minute she unwrapped it, she ran sobbing from the room.

“At first, I thought those were tears of joy streaming down her face. I figured she was overwhelmed at being the first in her crowd to have a catcher’s mitt—that sort of thing. Or I figured she was so excited she couldn’t wait to get outside and work on her throws to second base. But when she didn’t return after a few hours, I got the hint.

“Here I’d spent all that time running around from one sporting goods store to the next trying to find the perfect gift. I mean, we’re talking the Johnny Bench model here; top of the line. And she calls me insensitive. I mean, you’d think I’d given her a year’s subscription to Field and Stream or a box of shotgun shells, which everybody knows should be saved for Christmas stocking stuffers. Personally, I think she just had a lot of anger in her and took it out on me. Not that I’m trying to play amateur psychologist or anything.” 

Listen, unless your wife specifically asks for her own set of tools… my wife did. Outside of your relationship with God, there is no greater relationship on earth than that of your spouse. And your kids should know it.

Transition: the 3^rd phrase:

3. “I love you”

exp.: your child needs to know that you love him/her. Hug your kids, everyday. Do things with them. Build things with them. Read to them;

Ill.: I’ve told my children and it is being passed on to my grandchildren: there are three things I want you to know about me. Like, at my funeral someday, you’ll say, “These three things I know about my dad. First, He loved the Lord. 2^nd, he loved my mama. And 3^rd, he loved me.

Transition: Say, I love you with words, but also with your actions. And say I love you everyday. Everyday.

4. “I’m sorry, I was wrong; will you forgive me.”

exp.: read Col 3:21;

Eph 6:4                                                                           Col 3:21

Fathers,                                                                            Fathers,

Do not                                                                                 Do not

Provoke                                                                             provoke

Your children to anger                                             Your children

But, instead                                                                                lest

Nourish them, (not just food),

In the training and the instruction              they become discouraged

Of the Lord

1. It is an incredible moment when your child realizes you’re not perfect. Set the example on how to restore relationships. Show deep humility. Show honesty. Don’t arouse a deep-seated bitterness within them. Go to them and teach them what you did was wrong or how you handled the situation was wrong.

ill.: 15 years ago, The AP reported on a young man named, Jesse Jacobs, who made it possible to apologize without actually talking to the person you’ve wronged.

Jacobs created an apology hotline. People unable or unwilling to unburden their conscience in person call the hot line and leave a message of apology on an answering machine. Each week, 30-50 calls are logged, as people apologize for things from adultery to embezzlement.

“The hot line offers participants a chance to alleviate their guilt and, to some degree, to own up to their misdeeds,” said Jacobs. “I’m just hoping that these people will feel better themselves, just by getting whatever’s been bothering them off their chest.” One caller to the hot line remarked, “I hope this apology will cleanse me and basically purify my soul…God knows, I need it.”

Here’s the thing: you can now download the app! You can go to the app store and find the appropriate app to put on your phone. Then confess to your heart’s content.

app.: don’t confess your wrongs to an app or a hotline!

Here’s why: your marriage is a picture of the Gospel.

Transition: Go to your child and look them in the eyes and say, “I’m sorry.” 5^th:

5. “You’re doing a good job.”

Don’t discourage them; Encourage your kids; For some reason, this one is hard on parents. I don’t know why, but parents: everyday, find something good to say to encourage your child;  

ill.: Scott Larson, in his book, A place for Skeptics, writes:

I remember being approached by a 16-year-old boy named Ricky after I wrapped up my first speaking session at a weekend retreat for high schoolers. “I just hope you’re not heading down a path where at the end of the weekend you’re going to ask us to make some kind of commitment to follow God with our whole lives,” he said. “‘Cause if you are, I want to go home right now.”

Without pausing for breath, Ricky continued: “I’ve been coming here for a long time, and I’ve made these promises year after year, promises I can never keep, and ended up worse off than before I started, with God even more mad at me. ‘Cause now, not only am I sinning, but I’m breaking another promise I made to him. And so I just want to make sure that’s not where you’re headed this weekend. Is it?”

Feeling sad for Ricky and not knowing exactly how to respond to him, I took a shot in the dark and asked: “What can you tell me about your dad, Ricky?”

He proceeded to tell me a story from when he was in fifth grade. “Every day when my dad came home from work, the first thing he would always ask me was, ‘Have you done your homework yet?’ It was a pretty safe bet that I hadn’t. Then one day I decided to surprise him. When he got home, I met him at the door saying, ‘Guess what, Dad. I did all my homework!’ His response was, ‘Then why aren’t you working on tomorrow’s?'”

Suddenly it wasn’t so surprising that Ricky felt the way he did about himself and about God. He had learned that no matter how close he came, the mark of approval would always move a few notches higher. He would always come up short.

• Do you realize how important your approval is to your kid? – that your approval sets them up for how they view their heavenly father? I know you want your child to always be pushed to be better. And you should, but don’t forget to affirm them, too.

ill.: Lisa B.: I love Jesus, but I don’t like God.

Transition: find ways to build up your child’s confidence and know how much they mean to you – how proud you are of them. Every day! They’re going to get beat down in so many ways, be a ray of sunshine for them. #6

6. “Let’s Pray”

1^st, public speaking; at dinner; at bedtime

In situations and circumstance other than at the dinner table. Some guys, not even then. You are the Father, it’s sweet to have your kids pray, too. Like when you get in the car and travel.

They need to hear you speak to the Lord on your knees beside their bed. In “your chair” in the midnight hour. But they should see you living life in relation to your Master.

ill.: a mother came to me once and shared her concern of her little children. They asked her in private: How come daddy won’t pray before dinner. Mama, how come daddy won’t pray out loud?

Transition: I didn’t know what to tell her, except to encourage her kids by respecting her husband. #7

7. “We’re going to church”

Why? – To be with people who love God, too.

Why? – obedience; you can’t tell your kids to obey you and live in disobedience to God. Heb 10.25; It’s not your wife’s responsibility to get to church.

ill.: One Sunday morning, two men are out in a boat, fishing. After several hours on the lake without catching a single fish, one of the men says to his friend, “You know, we probably should have stayed home and gone to church this morning.”

The other man says, “Well, I could have stayed home, but I couldn’t have gone to church.”

“Why’s that?” asks his friend.

“My wife is sick,” the fisherman answers.

App.: Funny the excuses we can come up with to miss church. Consider this: you only get together with all of God’s people once a week. If you miss a Sunday, that’s 14 days since last you got to be together. Miss two Sundays – that’s 21 days!

Transition:

8. “Yes, But God has a plan”

Things may look bad, but God is going to use this to glorify himself and accomplish his plan. My biggest failure as a dad has been not trusting God in the early years when I couldn’t understand why things were going bad.

He can be trusted in every situation Rom 8:18; ¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us; 28 – ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Now, that doesn’t mean you have to understand it. But, even when bad things happen, faith can carry you through.

9. “If you were to die tonight, are you absolutely, positively sure that God would let you into his heaven?”

Daddy, have you ever led someone to the Lord? Do your kids know about it? Maybe they can’t be there, but around the dinner table when your talking, tell them about someone coming to know Christ or a witnessing opportunity where someone said, “No”. “Kids pray for them.”

Your kids need to know that you have a passion for God and a passion to see others come to know him.

Seriously, how much do you have to hate someone to not tell them how they can have the promise of heaven?

Ill.: C.H. Spurgeon. – “If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.

• Can I let you in on a secret? The greatest joy in a person’s spiritual walk is to get on his or her knees and pray with their children to accept Jesus as Lord and savior and teach them that God is worthy of our lives.

Transition: and that is the 10^th phrase:

10. “God is Worthy of your whole life”

It all starts and ends with God. Not only that, but He flows through all the others.

Conclusion:

I was considering this week about my job – as pastor. God has been so good to me to allow me to serve him this way. I don’t deserve it. What an honor! It is the highest calling vocationally. I truly do have the greatest job in the world. But, do you know what is even more satisfying? It’s being a dad.

Now, you all haven’t been called to do what I do – and I’m sure you’ll find great pleasure in doing whatever God has called you to do. But as a parent, that’s a really cool gig. Here’s the problem, it’s really only temporary. You get this short time to get it right. It may not feel like it when you’re in it, but listen to those of us who’ve gone before you: the time is short – so seize the day.

            Let your children hear you say and watch you do the things that are most important. Let them know you love the Lord and that you love their mom or dad. And let them know you love them. Everyday! When you do things wrong, and you will, ask them to forgive you. Encourage them – everyday! And teach them to walk with the Lord as you walk with him.

⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Let’s pray

1 Timothy 1.1-3

*Note: the audio begins late… for the full audio version, you can visit our church’s Facebook page and view the service.

Title: 1 Timothy: An Introduction

Text: 1 Timothy 1.1-3

Introduction: Erin Brockovich is now famous for her legal work against a giant company. She herself was not a lawyer, but rather a legal clerk who worked for a small law firm. Her story inspires most because she represents many of us – at least that is the way we see it.

She didn’t look the part. She wasn’t educated. She had made many mistakes when she was young. She was judged on her appearance and not on her work. The snobs with the money judged her incompetent because she didn’t dress like they did. She didn’t have the law degree they had. It was a modern day David and Goliath story. Pacific Gas and Electric Company had been poisoning the land around Hinkley, California. Their reckless behavior made the people the people of Hinkley and the surrounding area sick – many even died.

Her story inspires because she stood up to the mammoth of a company that had money and lawyers to fight. But she never backed down. She spent countless hours learning the ins and outs of that company. She met and got to know the people of Hinkley. She knew the sick by name. She knew their spouses and what their spouse did for a living; she knew who their kids were and what grades they were in. She knew where they lived. She knew where they shopped; who their doctors were; the most intimate details about their lives. She knew the company was dumping hexavalent chromium and contaminating the water sources the people of Hinkley were drinking.

Her story inspires because she spoke out and defended the ones who could not stand up for themselves and won.

For me, the Pastoral Epistles inspire like that. Paul writes to these young men who are serving as pastors in their local churches and encourages them to speak out against those who are killing the people around them. He writes to Titus in Crete and to Timothy in Ephesus. Our focus this morning is on Ephesus and this letter to Timothy. The Letter is entitled 1 Timothy. If you’re using a pew Bible, you’ll find the letter on page ???

Paul states his purpose quite clearly in 3.14-15; rd 3.14f; you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Sound Doctrine is vital to a church’s existence. Unhealthy doctrine destroys a church. Sound Doctrine teaches a church 1) how to behave, 2) it represents God, and 3) is a pillar and buttress of the Truth!

Over the next 4 months, our church will be looking at 1^st Timothy. I have invited 8 men to walk this journey with me, 6 of whom will preach to you at one time or another. I did not choose the sermons for the guys, nor their texts. It was all very random. The only part to this that I did know were the dates that needed to be filed. In some ways, I feel like Paul – and these men are like Titus, Timothy, Tychicus, Apollos, Zenas, etc.

Our basic goal this morning is to look at the introduction. We find the introduction in 1 Timothy 1.1-3 or on page ??? if you’re using a pew Bible.

Basic Outline: First, we will look at the writer (who the letter is from), then the recipient (who the letter is to), and his purpose, which he alludes to in v 3;

• From: Paul
• To: Timothy (and the church at Ephesus)
• Purpose: you may charge…

Transition: that outline looks short, but the truth is, there is so much here, so let’s get to it.

1. From: Paul

exp.: Paul wrote this letter somewhere around the years 62-66 AD. Consider the following

• Paul was martyred by Nero in Rome. That is the historical tradition and has strong backing.
• Nero died in 68 AD, so, we’ll start with that date.
• Paul was near his death when he wrote 2 Timothy, his last book or letter that we have. If Nero put Paul to death, then Paul died before Nero. Make sense?
• So, let’s put Paul’s death around 67 AD – that means 2 Timothy was written near that time.
• There are at least two winters recorded in the Pastoral Epistles (Titus 3.12 and 2 Timothy 4.21).

Titus 3.12: When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.

2 Tim 4.21: ²¹ Do your best to come before winter. Another winter is fast approaching. Each reference is a different context. So: at least two different winters. They could be one year apart or more; winter of ’67; the winter of ‘65. So, that would put 1 Timothy somewhere around 62-64 AD. These are rough guesses, of course – give or take a few years on each side the largest span would be 62-66. You probably have a good guess at the introduction in your Study Bible at 1 Timothy.

Next, Paul is imprisoned in 2 Timothy, but in 1 Timothy, he appears to be writing after his imprisonment as mentioned in Acts 28. I tried to locate times and places mentioned in 1 Timothy with Acts and I can’t reconcile them. Allow me to show you what I mean:

1 & 2 Timothy place Timothy in Ephesus. I jokingly say that he is the pastor of the 1^st Baptist Church in Ephesus. 1 Timothy has Paul going to Macedonia (1.3). In the book of Acts, Paul does travel to Macedonia from Ephesus (Acts 20.1), but Timothy has not been left behind in Ephesus. Instead, he is sent ahead to Macedonia (Acts 19.22). Added to this, Timothy accompanies Paul on his journey to Jerusalem (Acts 20.4). It is possible that Paul left at Timothy in Miletus when he was meeting with the Ephesian elders; however, Paul’s journey was toward Jerusalem in the opposite direction of Macedonia.

So, I can only conclude that Paul was released from prison after Acts 28. He ministered and wrote his letters (1 Timothy and Titus) between the dates of 62-66 AD. Then, at some point after those letters, he is thrown into prison again. According to 2 Timothy, he must have gone eastward after his Roman Imprisonment and not on to Spain, because he left his cloak and books at Troas. From his prison cell, during this 2^nd Roman Imprisonment, he wrote his last letter, 2 Timothy.

app.: Paul has a sense about him that the end is near. Verse 1 tells us about his calling: apostle. That means he is a missionary, a church planter. His authority is from God, who has called him and commissioned him. But, as the years have gone by, he finds himself unable to keep up with his previous pace of planting churches and discipling new believers. Jail time has put a toll on his body. Long hours, long travel, persecution, stress, these all have aged him.

So, he has strategically placed younger men in places of service. 1.3: Timothy at Ephesus; Titus at Crete (1.5); He sends their replacements. 2 Tim 4.12: Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. Before that, in Titus, Paul sent Tychicus to Crete – evidently to carry that particular letter. Paul mentions that Zenas, the Lawyer, and Apollos have been there with Titus and that Titus should send them on their way to Paul. Crescens is in Galatia; Titus served in Dalmatia, as well as in Crete. Mark is serving somewhere along the way between Ephesus and Rome. It would be a hard, but fun study to locate all of the names of these young men and see where Paul had located them for service – with both locations and dates.

Now, added to their placement as overseers in their respective churches, Paul has given them instructions about how a church should look and act. Now, this is so important! Don’t miss that! That is what these letters, 1 Timothy and Titus, are all about; more on that in a moment.

t.s.: For now, let’s turn our attention to Timothy

2. To: Timothy

exp.: rd v 2; he uses the same language with Titus; my true child in the faith. The Gk word here is legitimate. I think this means that Paul had a hand in their conversion to Christ and their foundation in discipleship. My guess is that Timothy was converted to Christ on Paul’s 1^st MJ. We first meet Timothy in the book of Acts (16.1). Paul and Barnabas had finished their 1^st MJ and had returned to Antioch to report their mission work. After some days and some disagreement about how they should handle things, Paul and Silas take off on Paul’s 2^nd MJ. Their first stop is in Galatia, at Derbe and on to a small town called Lystra. This is where they meet a young Timothy, who has impressed the people of Lystra and Iconium – and Paul, too. Paul immediately recognizes his potential and wants Timothy to accompany them on their journey. And so begins a mentoring relationship between the two men that will last for the next 15 years or more. So great is this relationship, greater even than any other relationship Paul will have with many men, that Timothy appears in all but three of Paul’s letters. Galatians, Ephesians, and Titus. An interesting side note about that: Timothy was from Galatia and he was the pastor at Ephesus.

The rest of v 2 is a typical salutation – if there is such a thing. Paul has worked at refining his introduction through the years to reflect a high Christology. And, built upon that Christology is the authority given to Paul. It is typical in nature to other letters, but of course, reflects the change and growth in his faith. Listen to Gordon Knight:

This form of salutation reflects three factors: first, the teachings of the Christian faith have molded Paul’s adaptation of the standard form. Second, there is a great uniformity in this molding, especially in the grading section, which reflects a certain crystallization of his manner of expression of the essential Christian truths in these salutations. Third, there are certain variations that either reflect the recipients’ situation and need or anticipate and emphasize that which will be presented in the letter proper.

In all of his letters except the letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul refers to the recipients’ relationship to Christ (i.e.: to all the saints in Christ Jesus, as here – my true child in the faith, etc).

ill.: but here is where we can’t see the bond and what has forged it. As you read through acts you see Timothy right there with Silas and others, learning how to stand for Christ, learning that persecution will come. He is watching Paul as he suffers: in Philippi, in Thessalonica, in Berea as he watched Paul sail away alone – alone for his own safety; he is there in Corinth when the city erupted and wanted Paul’s head. Timothy was at Ephesus the first time Paul spoke there. He probably heard Paul’s promise to return if the Lord willed it. And the Lord did and Paul returned and stayed for two years. He watched as the people jumped up and down, screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” He watched as Paul begged to address the thousands of people who wanted him dead. Paul saw a crowd where he could preach Christ. I’m sure Timothy was one of the men who begged him not to do that. The crowd yelled for two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

We have a bunch of material from Acts where Timothy watched and learned from Paul. But what about the “so much more” that we don’t have. What was it like in those prison cells as they had time for some one-on-one discipleship? What was it like for Timothy to listen to this brilliant man who knew the Scriptures and how to apply them? What was it like to watch as the man went from reading the Scriptures to quoting them because his eyes were failing him? What was it like to hear the story of Paul’s conversion and calling – to hear him tell it – the story we read about in Acts Chapter 9 without the inflection, without the emotion of Paul’s voice?

app.: As a pastor, I’m in awe of this relationship. Paul loves the people of Ephesus. He detests false teachers coming and leading people astray. He trusts Timothy to serve those folks – to teach sound doctrine and protect them from the foolishness that others try to bring into a church.

t.s.: which brings us to this last section… it deals with what I touched on at the end of the 1^st section… the purpose of these letters, and this one in particular.

3. Purpose: charge certain men not to teach a different doctrine

exp.: rd v 3; Paul gets straight to the point. This is why I left you there in Ephesus. This is why I’m writing to you! Paul deals with false teaching repeated through his ministry. We see it in just about every letter. We’ll see it in this letter, so you’re going to see it again and again (1.3-11; 13-20; 4.1-7; 6.3-10; 20-21).

• Myths (1.4; 4.7)
• Genealogies (1.4)
• A concern with the Jewish Law and its application (1.7)
• Empty sounds and contradictions referred to as ‘knowledge’ (6.20)
• Deception (4.1-3)
• Immorality (1.19-20)
• Financial Gain (6.5)
• Harsh Asceticism (4.1-5) through denying the self what God has blessed us with; rd; 4.1-5

ill.: false teaching is alive and well in the church today. Consider the following for us:

• For the first 1500 years of the Church’s existence – teaching came only through hearing the Word. Very few people could read it and very few people had access to it. The Word of God was spread through copies and often times, those copies were chained to the altar at the church. Regular people did not have their own copies. The only time they got God’s Word was through the preaching.
• Along come Guttenberg and his printing press, making it possible to have a copy of God’s Word. So, for the next few hundred years, the word of God could only be spread reading it and the public preaching of it. As the Word of God became more and more prevalent, it was outlawed in certain countries. The Church didn’t want it in the hands of normal people because they might teach falsely. I think it was more about control.
• The Advent of Radio and Recording makes it much easier to access the preaching part. But today, with the internet and TV, with its 557 channels and nothing on, you can hear multiple preachers in any given hour. False teaching can be pumped into your homes and into your head anytime you want to listen to anyone who tickles your ears.

app.: For me, it is a scary time.

• Consider Mayor Pete Buttigieg: the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, IN. He’s the next big thing for liberals because he is gay and he is married to a man. And, he is a very nice young man. He’s intelligent and articulate. He went to Notre Dame, Harvard, and Oxford. Ok, so far not too very different from most liberals. But, here’s the thing: he spouts his faith and declares his Christianity unashamedly. And this is where I think Sound Doctrine is of great importance to us. Just look at our text, down in v 8-11. Now, there are some, probably more on the internet than here in this room, who would say it is wrong from me to ‘judge’ him and his faith. I think to some degree that would be true. But this is where we need to be very careful. Scripture is clear on this issue. He may be sincere, but he is sincerely wrong according to Scripture. What is scary for me is that there is a group of young, progressive Christians who are pushing and supporting his rise through the Democratic party.
• Al Mohler recently shared an article which came out in the New York Times questioning the foundational doctrines of our faith: the Trinity, The Virgin birth, The Resurrection of Christ. I’m guessing it was Easter and all – and that’s the perfect time to attack Christians. Nicholas Kristoph interviewed a Seminary president: Serene Jones. She is the president of Union Theological Seminary. And the article basically boils down to throwing out the main tenets of our faith. Serene Jones doesn’t believe in a resurrection. She says the empty tomb illustrates that “the ultimate love in our lives cannot be crucified and killed.” She says there isn’t a resurrection in Mark – only an empty tomb. Kristoph challenges her, not really, but just so she can expand on her thoughts: But without a resurrection, aren’t we left with just the crucifixion? She answers: “Crucifixion is not something that God is orchestrating from upstairs. The pervasive idea of an abusive God-father who sends his own kid to the cross so God could forgive people is nuts. For me,” she said, “the cross is an enactment of our human hatred. But what happens on Easter is the triumph of love in the midst of suffering. Isn’t that reason for hope? Well, according to Paul – No! If all we have is the crucifixion, if Christ is not raised, then we are to be pitied above all men. If Christ is not raised, then we are hopeless and our faith is futile.
• Joel Osteen is a motivational speaker who masquerades around as a preacher. I’ve chosen not to slam other preachers, but I don’t think Osteen lands in this category: a preacher. Joel Osteen’s teaching revolves around the self. There is no guilt and shame – those things don’t belong at his church. He will not talk about sin – that is so degrading. What he focuses on is making you feel better about yourself when you walk out those doors.
• The following is from CBSNews.com this morning:

Rachel Held Evans, a popular, progressive Christian writer who challenged the traditional evangelical views, died Saturday, her husband confirmed in a blog post. She was 37.

Evans was hospitalized in April for what she described in a tweet as “a flu + UTI combo and a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotics they gave me.” Her husband, Daniel Evans, had been updating on her blog about her health, writing that she had been placed in a medically-induced coma.

On Saturday, he wrote that she had been weaned from coma medication, but seizures had continued and severe swelling of her brain had been found, which he wrote caused severe damage that “ultimately was not survivable.”

“This entire experience is surreal,” Daniel Evans wrote. “I keep hoping it’s a nightmare from which I’ll awake. I feel like I’m telling someone else’s story.”

Evans was the author of several books, including “Faith Unraveled,” “The Year of Biblical Womanhood,” “Searching for Sunday” and “Inspired.” She spent more than a decade writing about what she described as “faith, doubt, and life in the Bible Belt” on her blog. 

Her popular writing and views on Christianity often enraged traditional evangelicals. In 2015, The Washington Post called her the “most polarizing woman in evangelicalism.” She was an advocate for LGBT membership in the church, urged fellow pro-life Christians to vote for Hillary Clinton and wrestled with the role of the patriarchy in the church. She served on former President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. 

She eventually left the evangelical church, writing in 2016 that “church universal is so much bigger than white American evangelicalism, and that’s going to become ever more apparent in the months and years to come.” 

I’m sad that this young woman died.

But the saddest part of her story is that so much of her ‘ministry’ was much like Hymenaeus and Philetus. She rejected the hard parts of the Bible and followed how she felt. Many have been led astray. She had a great point. I too have been sickened at the organized church; the power plays of individuals; the segregation that is most evident on Sunday mornings.

t.s.: So, how do we handle this? Well, a guilty man should feel guilty. Sin is what separates us from a holy God and we have to deal with our sin. Most people just don’t want to change. But God loves us too much to leave us the way we are.

Conclusion: We must act and respond like Paul, who is being very clear that Sound, Healthy Doctrine is vital. It is what should guide the church. It isn’t enough to just babble on and place your focus on things outside of Scripture, like how you feel. We must be clear about what is in Scripture. And that is the whole purpose behind 1 Timothy.

Application:

1. The Charge: someone has to confront those who are teaching something other than sound doctrine. Someone has to cry out that the water has been poisoned. Don’t drink that water, but rather, come to the life-giving water. Here at Calvary, that is the elders’ responsibility.
2. The Word of God is our Standard: It has to be the standard. Culture changes; laws change; emotions change; The Word of God is unchanging! For Timothy, he had the letter to the Ephesians, and he had this letter. This letter closes with a plural “you” – that is ‘the church’, so it appears that Paul had the intention for this letter to go to the church, too.
3. The goal of this charge is love… v. 5; it isn’t to win arguments, but people. I’ll expound on this next week, but how can we say we love someone, but don’t love them enough to tell them the Truth.

As I think about Ms. Rachel Evans, I’m reminded that her passion was for those who were being rejected by the church. Something has got to change! But what must not change, is the Word of God on which we stand. What must change – is us. Love must drive us to understand God’s Word and use it as the standard for our faith.

Romans 8.29-30

Title: The “Those”

Text: Romans 8.29-30

Introduction: Let me begin with an outline of my process this morning:

• Summary of the passage
• A couple of thoughts to begin
• The Work of the Spirit Step by Step in the Spirit-Filled Believer
• Take-a-ways

Allow me to summarize the text to this point in short fashion: in 8.26-27, those who stand no longer condemned have hope in this life and in the life to come. Their hope extends to points beyond their present suffering. In their suffering, when they don’t even know how to pray or what to say, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them. In 8.28, we see that God combines their life experiences and causes those experiences (good or bad) to work together for good – no matter the circumstance. This is why I encouraged you last week not to tally up your life’s score at the halfway point. God isn’t through with you yet. Where you’ve failed him, own up and fess up! Then, live up to the calling you’ve received. There is more on this calling in our verses today.

The prayers of the Spirit on behalf of the ‘those’ are that they be conformed to the image of God’s son, Jesus Christ [the Spirit intercedes for ‘those’ the saints according to the will of God (27) and all things work together for those who are called “according to his purpose” (28) and that purpose is that they be conformed to the image of his son (29)]. “Those people”, that is the called, they can be confident that God will bring all of this about because he works all things together for good. They can be confident because he has set his covenantal affection up them:

• He has predestined them to be like His Son, Jesus (i.e.: according to God’s will, according to his purpose, to be conformed to the image of his son)
• He has called them to salvation,
• He has justified them in that salvation,
• And He has glorified them (aor. tense, as if it is already done).

A couple of Notes about our text before we look at that work of God:

Relationship

I want you to note that Paul is talking about certain people in this text, not everyone. Romans 8.1: There is therefore now no condemnation for… what does it say? … for those in Christ Jesus. There are those who are in Christ Jesus and there are those who are not in Christ Jesus. The people here are those in Christ Jesus.

He repeats it many times in our text today so that you’ll know this is a specific group of people: for those who or for those whom. 6x’s!

This all presupposes a relationship. What does Paul say about those people? They love God. And what does Paul say about God in relation to them? With God, he has called them. Relationship. Note the two ‘those’ phrases:

• Those who love God. It sounds like they made that choice. And, that is true, they did. This has always been a prerequisite for God’s people – to love him. Have you ever heard of the Shema? Deut. 6.4-6; Love the Lord your God with… Classic Judaism. 2^nd…
• Those who have been called. This sounds like God initiated the contact. This is His Action toward us. That’s why Paul says we cannot boast about our faith because God has acted on our behalf. No one saves himself. Eph. 2.8-9: ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

Mystery

The 2^nd item to note is mystery… This dichotomy is a mystery. The free will of man and the sovereignty of God work simultaneously.

Ill.: I love the picture Brother Ken Brown painted for me when I was at Kirby Baptist Church as a young believer. He said something like:

Imagine you are walking along in life and you come to an entryway to somewhere. You see written over the entryway, “Whosoever shall come, may come.” And you do. You say, “Hey, that invitation is for me.” You make the turn and walk through the entryway in the Kingdom. But, as you make your way through the gates and to the other side, you pause and look back at the opening through which you just came. And on the other side, you read above the entryway, “Chosen before the foundation of the World.”

On the one side of this entryway, you and I, as lost people, we heard God’s call. Something inside us communicated God’s love to us and we responded. The Holy Spirit of God was wooing us. We didn’t know that was what it was, but we were being drawn. So, we entered in through the gate into this glorious salvation. And, it is only on the other side of this decision, this entrance and journey into the light, that we even become aware of God’s activity.

So our context today is that this popular verse isn’t just a slogan for hurting people – although it can be that for sure. It isn’t a mantra to be repeated by people who are going through a tough time – although it can be that, too. It isn’t just used by self-help gurus and sages. This is for a specific people: those who love God and those who are loved by God… aka, the called.

This bit of information is pretty overwhelming. There is nothing we’ve done on our part to deserve this ‘call’. God has initiated the call and we’ve simply answered. But you might be struggling with this concept, with this theology. It is truly mind-boggling. But, Paul knows that. Turn with me a couple of pages over to chapter 11.33:

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

So, if you are having some trouble already – that’s OK. Paul tells us that you can’t wrap your mind around something so grand, so large, so incredibly complex, so God-sized. That’s OK! No one really can. What you know, even if you don’t understand and comprehend is: God is at work in all of these things causing them to work out for good in the lives of his people.

The question for us this morning is “How?” How is he at work? Look at what Paul lists as God’s work in “those” people:

1. He foreknew them
2. He predestined them
3. He called them
4. He justified them
5. He glorified them

Let’s begin with #1…

I.     God Foreknew

Exp.: v. 29… for those whom God foreknew… now, stop right there. I think this verse gets hammered, particularly this word. Some people think that ‘foreknew’ means that God knew beforehand who would get saved. While that statement would be true (that God knew beforehand who would get saved, because he did and he does), it means that God foreordained those people to be saved.

Two reasons we have it translated this way:

1. That is the lit.: pro – before; Gnosis – knowledge. My guess is that this is where we get our English word ‘prognosis’ from…
2. That is what the word has always been translated. The problem is that this word doesn’t mean the same thing in its original context as what “knowing beforehand” means today.

To be quite honest, that’s a given that God knows. God is omniscient. So, yeah, he already knew. But this word has a deeper meaning in its original use than what 21st Century Christians water it down to.

The best way I can think to communicate this the idea of foreknowledge is by using the phrase in Genesis 4.1: Adam knew Eve and she conceived and bore him a son. You read that and you know it means more than just he saw her and said, oh, hey, I know her! BTW: you see that again in Genesis 4.25… Adam knowing Eve in this context infers relationship – a deep, intimate relationship. What I’m getting at is that ‘know’ means something different in a different time and language. Know doesn’t mean that God conceptualized in his mind. Knowledge is something deeper.

Amos uses this same wording about God and his people (Amos 3.2): You only have I known of all the families on the earth. Is God saying that he didn’t know anyone else on earth except the Jews? No, he created every single person on earth. He knows them all, but he has a special relationship with His people.

Write that one down: God has a special relationship with his people.

That is what foreknowledge means: Foreordained. #2…

II.    God Predestined

Exp.: Let’s keep reading; Rd 29; Keywords here: image, Son, brothers. God has chosen to put together a people that he will call his own. A family of sorts. He is the Father. He has a Son. The Son has many brothers and sisters who are being conformed to His Image. Knowing the Old Testament and the way he chose Israel – the way he put together a people that he would call his own, does this surprise you? God has blessed us with stories and actions that demonstrate for us his work. One example is that He gave us ‘types’ of Christ so that we would recognize him when he came (David; Jonah; Moses; Zerubabbel). This is similar to that.

I like Ephesians 1 as a parallel passage to Romans 8. Turn there. If you’re using your pew Bible, it’s pg ?? beginning in v 3; Rd v 3-13; [Compare and Contrast these two passages]

While we’re here at predestined, let’s add called.

III.   God Called

Exp.: to be fair, this is a hard doctrine. I’m thinking that those who are believers don’t necessarily have a tough time with the understanding that you were once lost, God called you from your lost state…wherever and whatever that was. You knew, somehow, that God was calling and you responded. You knew because God used someone or something to clearly communicate to you. You knew who you were and you didn’t want to be that way anymore. You sought Christ’s forgiveness and you’ve run to him time and again as you found yourself in need.

Ill.: this hits home for me from an earthly standpoint. Lisa and I were friends before we dated. As a friend, I loved and cared for her – as a friend. Yes, she was the prettiest girl in school. I mean that. I’m not just saying that because she’s my wife now. I would dare say that most of the guys in our school would agree with me. But, she was only my friend.

But Lisa didn’t feel that way toward me. She ‘fell in love’ with me way before I knew she felt that way. Now, for her to say to me, ‘Fred, I loved you before you ever knew me…’ doesn’t make me mad.

App.: Now, that is a weak illustration, I know. Here’s where I’m going:

1. The Doctrine of election and calling is tough when you try to limit it to human understanding. But even then, does it upset you that God loved you before you even knew about him – before you drew your first breath? That’s absurd?
2. This idea of election and calling is here in the Bible, so we don’t just skip it. We do our best to understand it. But the truth is, we just can’t totally grasp it with our small minds.

Let me offer you some guidance here. Paul’s purpose here is an encouragement to the one suffering. So, keep that in mind. Because Paul is simply trying to encourage those who are suffering, here in Romans, let me offer you some encouragement, too. The Father’s higher ways are not shared with us to make us feel elitist. So, do not use this doctrine as a battering ram. Do use this doctrine as a roadblock for fellowship or evangelism. Let this doctrine be a strong tower where you can run to and feel safe.

Caution: Some have said that if God truly predestined “the called,” then we need not evangelize. I would say, ‘You haven’t been reading your Bible.’ They would add that God is going to save those who he is going to save, so we don’t have to do anything. But, I would say, the same God who told you that you were saved from the foundation of the World has also said to you, ‘Go and make disciples…’

There is a phrase, I believe it comes from Spurgeon, that is so helpful to me: The One who determines the ends, also determines the means. God, who foreordains and predestines and calls, he has determined that the Gospel is the tool that will be used by the believer to convince a lost world to come to Christ. So we go because we’ve been commanded. That is the tool that God uses to call others. And then, they too, find that Christ loved them from before the mountains were formed or even the earth was brought forth.

Can I take a moment to ask you if you’ve been praying for someone who is lost? Who is your one? ? UR 1

If you’re not focused in on someone, would you? Set aside one minute every day at one o’clock to pray for your someone.

Paul says the purpose in this is that we be conformed to the image of his Son. There are pictures here of the Garden. We were created in his image. The Fall has marred that image. Christ is the perfect image of the Father – the radiance of his glory. God has purposed in all of this to conform you to the image of Christ. That is what he does through the doctrine of Justification… and that’s #4

IV.    God Justifies

Exp.: ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified… I love that Paul calls all of this a mystery. God foreordains all that is. God predestines believers to salvation, to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. He calls us to believe through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel. And, when we believe, he justifies us by declaring us no longer guilty. Christ has paid our punishment in full and the Wrath of God has been satisfied. We are now in a right standing of God.

Finally…

V.     God Glorifies

exp.: and those whom he justified he also glorified. Aorist tense or past tense; He says it as if it has already happened. It was the first verse we read in Ephesians 1: who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In Ephesians 2 Paul says that God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places. Paul is saying what will be as if it has already happened. Don’t that just push your mind to the point of collapse? Its as if God has already seen it all and knows it will happen. And, by the way, he has and he does.

Closing Thoughts:

1. There is no such person who wants to get saved but can’t because he isn’t predestined to be saved. That’s ludicrous. The very notion that a person desires to be saved is evidence of God’s call upon that person’s life.
2. And, There is no such person who hates Christ and his church, who detests God and wants nothing to do with him, but will be forced into salvation because God will make him because he has been predestined. And he will continue in that vein, hating Christ, hating the church, but go to heaven. That, too, is ludicrous.
3. Sovereignty vs. Free Will – I like to explain it this way: we know that there are times in Scripture when we find two truths which appear to be contradictory. But, we know both to be true. But there have been those in history who have established one to be a doctrine over the other. The deity of Christ. Was Christ God? Yes. And, some have said that because he was fully God he could not be fully man. Because he was not fully man he did not live in the flesh here on earth. Because he was not fully man, he could not fully die for our sins. But, you and I know that Christ was fully man. That he lived on earth and suffered and died on the Cross of Calvary. He got thirsty. He got tired. He got hungry. He was just as we are in human form, yet was without sin. He as 100% God and 100% man. Two truths which appear to be contradictory to Humans. But it isn’t to God. And neither is the sovereignty of God and the free will of man.
4. The Doctrine of Election should set you free to evangelize with greater fervor – really, for two reasons.
   1. You now know that someone else’s reception of the Gospel isn’t up to you.
   2. You now know that someone else’s rejection of the Gospel isn’t because of you. If you are rejected, it isn’t you or your presentation. Your job is obedience to the Great Commission and you leave the results up to God.

Ill.: I tell my CWT class of the time I botched a presentation of the Gospel. I thought there is no way on earth this person is going to accept Christ. No way. My presentation isn’t even understandable to me. And when I offered an invitation, that person got saved. I was like, are you sure?

5. Who is your one? ?UR1

 

 

Romans 7.1-6

Title: Praise for Redemption

Text: Romans 7.1-6

Introduction: a few weeks ago Larry asked me in our Bible Study time on Wednesday night if he understood me correctly when I said that we no longer have to obey the law – which, by the way, I did say. In the same week, Andy Stanley was highly criticized for his comments about Christians today and their need to ‘unhitch’ themselves from the OT.

Ouch. That scared me a little. I would in no way suggest that. So, I listened to Andy’s message and I think I understand what he’s trying to say. He’s trying to say what Paul said: We’ve been set free from the Law. It can’t save us! We don’t have to obey it’s demands any longer because Christ has set us free from it’s bondage.

The writer of Hebrews brings this out in chapter 8: Heb 8.7, 13:

⁷ For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

¹³ In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

And there are more evidence of this:

Eph 2.13-22: ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Col 2.13-14; ¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

He crucified it. I think this is the direction Paul has been headed all along in Romans. Let me show you what I mean. In 1.16-18 he gave us his thesis statement for the book: ¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” ¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

How can he say v. 18 so confidently? How can he say anyone is unrighteous? Because of the Law. The Law shows us we’re sinners.

So, Paul says he loves the Gospel. This wonderful story begins with the wrath of God against sin. Sin is his first topic. You see that in chapters 1, 2 and 3. But, Salvation is revealed within this Good News. And, it comes by faith in Christ.

Look with me at chapter three as he arrives at this stage of the Salvation story: ²¹ But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

Paul says that the law shows us that we’re sinners, but it can’t make us righteous. He continues: ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

Note he says that it is apart from the Law and only through faith in Jesus Christ.

We continue our way through Romans and come to chapter 4. Rd 4.13-16a; ¹³ For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. What he is saying is that if the law could make one righteous, then all you’d have to do is obey it. But you can’t. All the law does is… continue in v 15. ¹⁵ For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. So, all the law really does is show us that we are sinners and that God is Holy.

¹⁶ That is why it depends on faith…

Then Paul makes his way through to Chapter 5 and declares in v 20-21, that through Christ, God has increased His Grace all the more where sin abounded. ²⁰ Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now, to address this issue, Paul presents to the reader a fictitious “Judiaser”. This pretend man debates Paul and asks a very serious question for the Jew in 6.1: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Paul says absolutely not, and then he expounds through chapter six and chapter seven.

We pick up in Chapter 7 this morning. I want you to see that Chapter six and seven, though different, are very similar. Paul constructed it in such a way as to draw attention to the sanctification process.

 

Note how Chapter six is about the Christian and his relationship to sin, and, Chapter seven is about the Christian and his relationship to the law. Let me demonstrate this for you. You’re in Romans 7; now look back to chap. 6.

 

 

6.1: sets the topic as Sin

6.2: We died to sin

6.4: we might walk in newness of life

6.7: he who has died is freed from sin

Compare w/:

7.1: Sets the topic as Law

7.4: You have died to the law

7.6: we might serve in newness of the spirit

7.6: we have died to that which held us captive; we are released

 

So, here’s what we’re seeing: Paul is dealing with the Law in the same manner he dealt with Sin in the previous chapter. He uses the very same words. He uses the same flow. He uses the same thought pattern and the same sort of logic. He’s declaring that we’ve been set free from them both, sin and the law.

 

In the 7^th chapter of Romans we see a type of Dr. Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde presentation about the Law.

I say that because (and I want you to remember), The Law of God is precious to the Jews. It’s precious to Paul. Ps 1.2: Blessed is the man… his delight is in the Law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night.

Ill.: Lisa, Jenn and I watched Fiddler on the Roof Friday night. Tavia said that he wished he could be a rich man.

If I were rich, I’d have the time that I lack
To sit in the synagogue and pray.
And maybe have a seat by the Eastern wall.
And I’d discuss the holy books with the learned men, several hours every day.
That would be the sweetest thing of all.

In the OT you find time and again, the love for God’s Word that his people had.

Psalm 19.7ff: it is perfect, reviving the soul; rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes, clean, righteous, sweeter than honey and drippings from the honeycomb. Think about that for a moment. The Jews felt the Law of God was sweeter than honey and drippings from the honeycomb.

Psalm 119 is replete with statements of the beauty and wonder of God’s Law and just how precious, how dear the Law is to the Psalmist and to the Jews. 4x’s in Psalm 119 the Psalmist says: Oh, how I love your law!

But, the Law was also cruel. The Law not only magnified the sin, the debt, the trespass, but it also increased the trespass. For all of it’s good, it brought shame. No one could ever live it out. Paul will press this point later on in 7 – that the Law is precious and cruel at the same time.

Read 7.1 with me. Well, what happens when a person is no longer living? They’re dead. In 6, he said we must die to sin. Just as Christ died, so we too die. That’s the picture of baptism. Back up in 6.³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

He is saying the same thing to us in 7.1: you are bound by this law, that is, until you die to the law.

My first goal today is to point out this principle.

Transition: If you’re taking notes, that would be point #1, for it is Paul’s first point. The Principle.

I.     The Principle (1)

exp.: And the Principle is this: You must die to the law, just as you die to sin. You have to fight this instinctive drive to set up standards as a way to earn your salvation.

t.s.: But just as he does in chapter 6, Paul then gives us an illustration to make his point in the next 2 verses.

II.    The Illustration (2-3)

exp.: In Chapter 6, he used an illustration and it was “Slaves and Masters”. In chapter 7, he’ll do the same, but this time it is “the husband and the wife.” Rd v 2-3;

Excurses: This passage isn’t about divorce. I know some folks like to use this passage to say people who get divorced and remarried are committing adultery. First, I want to caution you against establishing a doctrine on one verse. 2^nd, I don’t think that is what this passage is teaching. Paul is teaching us about the Law and our need to die to the law. Let’s understand what he says within the context of the whole passage.

ill.: Remember the principle: you are bound to the Law until you die to the Law. Read v 2a: For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives… any problem so far? A woman makes a vow to her husband and she is bound to him while he is living. Pretty simple. Rd 2b; 2^nd, if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So, if a woman is married to a man and he dies, she is no longer bound to the oath she made to him because he has died. Still pretty straight forward, correct. Let’s continue. Rd 2c; so, if she marries another man in this new situation she finds herself with her husband gone, she is NOT considered an adulteress. Verse 3: ³ Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. So, without adding anything to Paul’s illustration, let’s look at the facts of his story. If a woman is married to a man, and she leaves him and lives with another man while he is still alive, then she is called an adulteress. That’s pretty straightforward. There is nothing in here about divorce. Paul doesn’t even mention divorce. Paul simply says, if this woman is married to this man and she goes and lives with another man, then she is an adulteress. She’s committing adultery. I’m pretty sure we would all agree with that. But, on the other hand, if her husband dies and then she marries another man, she is free to do so, because, she is no longer bound by the original contract. The bond between them has been severed because he died, freeing her up to marry another.

t.s.: For the application we must look at verse 4-6…

III.   The Application (4-6)

exp.: rd v 4; likewise. So, just as a woman is free from her marriage vows when her husband dies, likewise the believer… rd 4; we have been set free from that and are able to be bound to another – Christ. That isn’t the Body of Christ – the church, but rather the Body of Christ, physically speaking. rd v 5: ⁵ For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. We were married to the Law, so we lived that way. But now, our circumstances have changed, as Paul says in Galatians 2: ¹⁹ For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. His summary is found in v 6: ⁶ But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Paul mentions now, really for a 2^nd time, the purpose and the reason behind this new marriage to Christ. First he says in v 4, in order that we may bear fruit to God. What kind of fruit is this? Well, in keeping with the teaching in Galatians, it would be the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Doesn’t that sound just like Jesus? We die to the law to bear fruit in our lives in such a way that others see Jesus in us. In Galatians 4.19, Paul says he is in anguish of childbirth to see Christ formed in them.

He says down in v 6 that we’ve died to the law and are united to Christ so that we serve (slave) in the newness (same word as in Chapter 6 for walk in newness of life) we serve in the newness of the Spirit. Without even knowing it, we served the devil. Now we serve God in the newness of the Spirit.

ill.: I have an old pastor friend who used to say that when he became a believer his “want to” changed. He didn’t want to do the things he used to do and he now, wanted to do what Christ desired of him. He wanted to serve in a pleasing manner. He wanted to be faithful. He wanted to walk in newness of life.

Conclusion: I think that kind of sums up how a believer moves from one realm into another. No longer bound by a set of rules to be obeyed externally, God writes his law upon our hearts. Now, what manifests itself in the life of a believer is what comes from within. Our ‘want to’ changes.

A young lady was so moved at her salvation she wrote a song about it. The Title of this song (a hymn you would call it): Praise for Redemption. You don’t know it by that title. You almost didn’t know it all, because when it was written, no one really liked it and it faded into obscurity for some 80 years.

In 1954, Billy Graham was hosting a crusade in London. It is truly amazing the anguish he endured there in London. He wanted to preach, but many of the religious leaders were so hard on him. Robert Morgan writes: The British Press was critical of the young evangelist and an Anglican bishop predicted Graham would return to America with ‘his tail between his legs.’ Funds were short, forcing the Graham team to take pay cuts. A member of Parliament threatened a challenge in the House of Commons, accusing Graham of interfering in British politics under the guise of religion. Friends in high places were advising Graham to cancel or postpone the meetings. Graham, shaken, dropped to his knees repeatedly, beseeching help from Heaven.

As a part of these struggles and financial cutbacks, Cliff Barrows began compiling hymns for the Great London Crusade Song Book. Barrows received many hymns from different folks. One such person was Reverend Frank Colquhoun, a well-known British preacher and lover of hymns. There was this unknown hymn by this lady named Fanny Crosby, who had published that hymn some 79 years before. That hymn was Praise for Redemption, and it goes like this:

To God be the glory, great things He has done; 
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Refrain:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

Jesus had redeemed Ms. Crosby and she wanted to shout praises of Glory to God for the great salvation she had experienced. So she composed that song. Of course, the song was sung for 3 months there in London in 1954 and exploded onto the Christian Scene.

Fanny Crosby wrote many songs about her faith. If this one had never been found, we’d still know about her faith. But aren’t you glad it was found.

Praise for Redemption. Fanny Crosby had found a new life in Christ. She had been taken from life to death. Do you hear her plea in the chorus: O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son.

If you’ve never accepted Christ, I offer him to you today. If you’ve been living by the law – trying to be good and never haven been changed by the Spirit. Would you come today?

Here’s how we do things at Calvary. I want to invite you to come talk to me (or any one of the elders) this morning about anything on your mind. There will be other church members there, too, of whom I’m sure would love to visit with you. We’ll have some coffee and cookies back there, and maybe some doughnuts.

Maybe you want to talk about church membership or feeling a call to missions or ministry. Come visit with us.

Let’s have a moment of silence and reflect upon the day’s activity.

Romans 6.14

Title: No longer under law, but under grace!

Text: Romans 6.15-23

Introduction: Galatians 3-5; Ephesians 2.11-12; Romans 6;

This life is filled with extreme differences. They are wonderful lessons for us:

• Hot v. Cold
• Darkness v. Light
• North Pole v. South Pole
• Marianas Trench v. Mt. Everest
• Rich v. Poor
• Republican v. Democrat

The list could go on.

What I love about our lives on this earth, is that God gives us so many physical ‘things’ to demonstrate his reality. The heavens do really declare the glory of God.

We’re in Romans 6 this morning. Verse 14.

Last week we looked at two verses v12-13: ¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ¹³ Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

We looked at the two Don’ts and the two Do’s.

1. Don’t let sin reign in your body.
2. Don’t present the members of your body as weapons for unrighteousness.
3. (Do) Present yourself to God as those who were dead, but now are alive!
4. (Do) Present your members (the parts of your body) as weapons for righteousness.

And this is where we left off last week: rd v 14… For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. I began my study this week with a question. I wanted to move on and cover verse 15-22, but in explaining how v 15 is set up, I realized I hadn’t addressed v 14. : For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. So, what was my question? What does it mean to be ‘under grace’? Well, from our verse we can surmise that the answer is as simple as: Sin has no dominion over you. So there is freedom. Here we see two extremes again: bondage v. freedom. If Sin has dominion in your life, then you are enslaved. I went outside of Romans to find the answer. Paul tells us in Galatians, that if sin has dominion over you, then you will find your life characterized by three results:

1. You are separated from Christ.
2. You are enemies with God.
3. You are hopeless.
4. You are separated from Christ. You would still be under law. So, therefore, you would be severed from Christ.
5. You are enemies with God. Therefore you would incur his wrath.
6. You are hopeless. I can’t add a therefore to that. I can’t think of anything to add to that.

Transition: Let’s begin with this 1^st characteristic that we see of someone who is under the dominion of sin and under law:

1. You are separated from Christ. (Gal 5)

exp.: If the law justifies you, then you are severed from Christ. I think there must be some innate motive we have built within us to earn the grace of God through good works. It just seems intuitive. There is something built in us that makes us think that way. I say that because every religion except Christianity is built upon a set of rules to keep. And even we Christians build a set of do’s and don’ts to live by. We sometimes even make up stuff that isn’t in Scripture and we measure ourselves against others who do or don’t do those same rules.

But Paul issues a stark warning here: Don’t let sin reign because you’re not under law, but under grace. Turn with me to Galatians 5.1-6; rd v 1-3

• If you choose even one part of the law to justify you, say like circumcision, then you’re bound by the whole of it (5.3). You are obligated to keep the whole law. But, you already know, you can’t do that, right? So, if you choose to be justified by the whole law… well, keep reading; rd v 4;
• If you choose even one part of the law to justify you, then you are cut off from Christ. The relationship is declared null and void.

Some would ask about going to church. If you’re a Christian, don’t you have to go to church? Well, no. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. And, some people make church attendance a marker for salvation. That’s is wrong. If you’re a Christian, you’re already a part of the Universal Church. We simply erect these facilities to give us a place to meet. But we can meet anywhere! This has become such a turn off to many in the world that they’ve opted to simply create house churches. Who can blame them?

• Look at the wording here, you have fallen away from grace. This doesn’t mean you lose your salvation.
  • Too many other Scriptures teach us that we can never do that.
  • The wording doesn’t mean you’ve lost your salvation.

Ill.: Let me ask you: have you ever heard of a young man who is lost dating a Christian girl? She won’t go out with him unless he’s a Christian? He says he is. And she takes him at his word. If he hasn’t been baptized, he gets baptized. So, he becomes a member of the church through baptism and begins dating this beautiful girl that he’s been pursing. They get married. He then stops going to church. Listen, young lady, guys are jerks and they’ll make up any lie you want to hear to go out with you. Guys have this innate drive to purse girls. The problem is that men haven’t taught boys how to treat girls. But that isn’t the lesson here. The lesson here is that many people enter into the church for many different reasons. However, they never truly surrender their lives to Christ. And as 1 John 2.19 says: they left us because they never really were one of us.

Paul isn’t teaching here that you can lose your salvation. He’s teaching here in Galatians and in Romans that those who choose to gain their salvation through their works will fail. Salvation doesn’t come through any one or thing, but through faith in Christ. It isn’t Christ plus something equals salvation. Salvation is in Christ alone.

So, if you choose to obey the law for your salvation, Christ is of no value to you. And, if you choose the law over Christ, you’re severed from him. And 3^rd,

• If you choose even one part of the law to justify you, then you are excluded from righteousness. Rd v 5; ⁵ For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. If you are trying to gain this righteousness through the law, you won’t. You can’t! Righteousness only comes through faith.

v6: ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. Only faith working through love.

t.s.: If you are under law and not under grace, then the law is your lord, you are separated from Christ and excluded from righteousness. 2^nd,

3. You are enemies with God. (3.10)

exp.: If you are under law, you are under a curse. Remember first, if you choose to justify yourself by obeying even one of the laws, then you are obligated to the whole law. And, if you are under the law, then you are under a curse. You are an enemy of God. The curse remains because you are unrighteous. All of your work, that is, your obedience to the law, will culminate in your own righteousness. And our righteousness is as filthy rags before the Lord. The sum of our very best stinks to the high heavens. Look with me at Galatians 3.10f; ¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

Technically, that would be everyone! Who can keep the whole law? No one. No one that is, but Christ. Consider if someone kept the entire law perfectly and failed only at one law. Let’s say it was possible for discussion sake. Consider if someone kept the entire law perfectly and failed only at one law. Then that person would be guilty before God. He or she would forfeit their salvation – with just one infraction and be guilty of violating the whole law! That would make you an enemy of God and under the curse.

Paul explains: ¹¹ now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” Since no one is justified before God by the law, then the one who chooses to keep the law and not put his faith in Christ is cursed. He is separated from Christ and He is cursed as an enemy of God.

t.s.: third,

• If you are under law, then you are hopeless (Eph 2.11-12)

exp.: ¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

In this life, your life would be relegated to a bunch of do’s and don’ts. What a hopeless existence to wake up to a list to keep and then go throughout your day checking off all of the requirements demanded of you. And, no matter how good you were at the do’s, you would never be good enough to save yourself. Ever. Your life would be a constant list of do’s and don’ts. And, not only would your life on earth be hopeless, but you wouldn’t have the hope of heaven, either. You would be enslaved to the demands of the law, only to find failure and no way to redeem yourself.

t.s.: But what if someone chose not to be enslaved to sin and under the curse of the law?

Question: What if someone realized their hopeless situation and cast off the restraints of the law and found freedom in Christ?

The positive twist is just what Paul said: You are not under law, but under grace. So, you would be free!

1. Instead of being separated from Christ, you would be united with Christ.
2. Instead of providing your own stinking rags of righteousness, you would be provided with the Righteousness of Christ. You would no longer be an enmity with Christ – you would no longer be an enemy! You could sing: I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, He calls me Fred.
3. And, instead of a hopeless existence here on earth and a hopeless future, you would be filled with hope. Hope that each day you could walk with God. There would be no need to worry. Do you grasp that? There would be no need to worry. What would you need to worry about? Tell me, what in your life would you have to worry about with this newfound hope. You would have hope each and every day that you woke up. You would know that God was there to walk with you through that day. Nothing in that day coming before you would be unknown to God. Nothing in that day could take you out of his care. Nothing in that day could separate you from Him. Nothing.

Romans 8.31-39: this is where Paul is headed in his lesson on Sanctification: ³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

                        “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Conclusion:

1. Free From Wander
2. Free From Wrath
3. Free From Worry

So, what would I like to take home with you today?

Application:

1. Life without Christ is so … negative!
   1. No Hope
   2. No Peace
   3. No Certainty about anything.
2. Life with Christ is so … positive! It really is.
3. This doesn’t mean that life isn’t hard at times. The old nature still has to be crucified…everyday!
4. This doesn’t mean that you won’t have troubles. Jesus said that you would. Jn 16.33
5. You, as a believer, through faith, walk with God. You are no longer separated from Christ, but instead walk with him each day. (Remember 5 where Paul said that God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us?).

I want to share with you the life of someone who has found this new life in Christ. The difference in who he isSomeone who has been learning to walk with him in faith. I want you to meet Mr. Shawn Cook.

Faith Path: An Overview

Title: Faith Path: An Overview

Text: Ephesians 5.1-17

CIT: A call to imitate God in love and life.

CIS: I will attempt to give an adequate overview of the Faith Path initiative.

Introduction: Faith Overview: to 2:12

We asked Wendy and Phil to coordinate our Family Life ministries 4 years ago. Since that time we watched as the ministry in their area has flourished. Their goal when they came was to help us build strong families. We’ve had marriage conferences, schools begun; Speech and Debate tournaments and what I’ve been most excited about is a focused initiative that we call Calvary Cornerstone. Cornerstone is located at the back of the worship center and is an attractive center designed with you in mind. We’ve attempted to provide resources to equip you for just about every major struggle we face: for those with a concern for aging parents to becoming new parents.

Today, I’m excited to tell you about new initiative to equip our families for life: Faith Path.

Play video: from 2:12 to 6:18

Open your Bibles to Ephesians 5.

I had a professor in Seminary who told us as students a story about walking with his daughter Amy. They were out in the woods, walking along when he turned and didn’t see Amy anywhere. He called out and heard her nearby. He went to her and brought her back to the path. He scolded her sharply because his heart skipped a beat at the thought of losing his daughter out there in the woods.

Amy, stay on the path.

Yes, Daddy.

They walked along a little further when he realized he had lost her again. It only took a second to find her, and bring her back to the path. He gave her a good swat and told her to stay on the path.

Do you understand?

Yes, Daddy.

Daddy, what’s a path?

App.: I think it’s one thing for us to encourage you with our sermons and programs to keep your children on the path, but it’s another thing for you to teach them to stay on the path. Deut 5.32-33 says: ³² You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ³³ You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

Imperfect parents often make mistakes like that: assuming our children know and understand when they don’t. I guess that’s why Paul told the Ephesians to: rd 5.1; rd 5.1a; be imitators of God; He’s the perfect parent – the exact opposite of: 4.17-32; and concludes with 5.1 – as beloved children; then he gives a list. A simple list really. I’ve identified them in this way:

1. Walk in Love
2. Teach in Love
3. Redeem the Time

Transition: let’s begin with

1.     Walk in Love (1-2)

exp.: rd v 2a; I think it’s interesting that Paul says to imitate God, mimic God as beloved Children. God has given us a paradigm, a pattern to be followed: Him. How many times does he call us to be like him? Be Holy as I am holy; God made man in his image, in the image of God he created him. He is our Father. We are his children and he loves us perfectly. BTW: the words be imitators of God is an imperative – it’s a command. So then, we are commanded to be like Him when we love, when we parent, when we teach. Then, Paul gives us an example: Christ. Rd the rest of v2;

• As Christ
  • Loved
  • Gave
    • A fragrant offering
    • A Sacrifice

app.: I was thinking that sometimes it feels like a sacrifice; however, when it’s all said and done – we don’t really feel like we’ve sacrificed at all. We’ve only loved.

t.s.: So be the example to your kids: walk in love – as God is an example to us, 2^nd,

2.     Teach in Love (6)

exp.: rd v 6; Let no one deceive you; you could leave this task to someone else, but do you really want to? I’m not saying you have to homeschool your kids. That’s not the message. But you still have the responsibility to protect them from those that would deceive them.

I saw this in the news on Friday and it pertains to the Public School System (Thank God for Christian Teachers who work with our children in the Public and Private Schools):

From: Todd Starnes, Fox News: The Fairfax County Public Schools School Board voted Thursday night to add “gender identity” to its nondiscrimination policy in spite of massive opposition from parents and the area’s religious community.

Police were summoned to control a standing-room-only crowd as board members approved the controversial measure.

Critics argued it would allow boys who identify as girls to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice — and vice versa. Parents also had concerns about the possibility of transgender teachers.

School Board Chair Tamara Derenak Kaufax issued a statement calling the measure a way to “provide an environment which promotes equality where every student and employee is treated with dignity and respect.”

“The School Board has taken this proactive step to protect our students and staff from discrimination,” she wrote.

The district said they were mandated by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to add “gender identity” to the policy — or else risk losing federal funding.

Here’s the point: If you choose to let someone else chart their path, your kids might be deceived; you teach your children, first by example in love and 2ndly, with words;

Here’s how we’re committed to help you accomplish this: There are 13 steps on this Faith Path…

Parent Dedication (Birth-2)

Blessing (3+)

Family Time (4+)

Prepare to Lead your Child to Christ (5+)

Prayer (6+)

Bible (7+)

Worship (8+)

Giving & Serving (9+)

Preparing for Adolescence (11+)

Purity (13+)

Rite of Passage (16+)

Launch (18+)

There is one more: Salvation and Baptism. This decision isn’t really attached to a certain age. It happens when it happens. So there is no age assigned to this stepping-stone.

ill.: here’s more of an explanation: play the video from 6.18 – 8.57;

t.s.: In the video you saw a dvd and audio cd in the packet? Well, we’ve posted them on line, so that you can access them through our website. So, model the model of love you’ve learned from Christ and teach Biblical principles that come from Christ. And 3^rd,

3.     Redeem the Time (15-17)

exp.: rd v 15-17; As a parent of three adult children I can say with authority: you don’t have much time. It feels like it when you’re in it, that you’ve got plenty of time. But, you don’t. You will be amazed at how the time passes so quickly.

CALL: I’m wondering this morning if you’re willing to surrender that to the Lord this morning. Would you pray a simple prayer: Lord, help me live the life you’ve called me to live – a life that demonstrates your love, that teaches your love, that doesn’t waste today. Lord, help me live a life that calls for followers – that I would live my life in such a way that I can say – follow me, do as I do.

Pause… Lord, bless our prayers with your structure for our lives. Give us a passion to know you more and to be more like you in every way. Conform us to the image of your son, carving and chiseling away the parts that you don’t want, until all that is left is a beautiful reflection of you. In Jesus name, Amen.

ill.: play the video from 12:08 and stop at 14:07

t.s.: Regrets you’ll never have.

Conclusion: Paul says elsewhere:

1 Corinthians 4.16: ¹⁴ I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. ¹⁵ For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶ I urge you, then, be imitators of me. ¹⁷ That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

He repeats it in 11.1: Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

And in Philippians 3.12 and following he writes:

¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. ¹⁶ Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

¹⁷ Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. ¹⁸ For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

4 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Application: Parent, Grandparent, Disciple-maker, teacher, Uncle, Aunt, Christian Leader

We have an overview packet for you today – with that overview packet, we have a video accessible on our website.

Wendy, KK, Phil, Tracy, will you guys come forward and be available to hand these out?

Play video as these people get in place from 14.07 to the end.

So, here’s the call: Mimic God, for the benefit of those who follow you – mimic God.