A GLORY THAT IS FOREVER
#147 A GLORY THAT IS FOREVER
Scripture Romans 11:1-36 NIV Orig. 10/28/62
Rewr. 8/1/85
Passage: I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”[a]? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”[b] 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, 8 as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.”[c]
9 And David says:
“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.”[d]
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in His kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way[e] all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is[f] my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”[g]
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now[h] receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[i] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”[j]
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”[k]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Purpose: Continuing the series from Romans, here showing the wisdom of God in saving His people.
Keywords: Bible Study God’s Omnipotence Salvation
Timeline/Series: Romans
Introduction
It is interesting how prominently the Jews have figured in human history. Time does not permit but a casual telling of the story that, as often as not, their prominence was their undoing.
The presence of the Jews (Hebrews) galled the Egyptians during Moses’ time to the point that it became the practice of state to see them become slaves. This is similar to the intent of the Third Reich in our own century: The presence of wealthy Jews, and a race of people so content in their heritage, angered the German war lords to the point of holocaust.
Individually, the activity directed at them has not been much different. Do you remember Haman, the Agagite, and Mordecai the Jew? Mordecai was just trying to be faithful to his religious beliefs. He was not out to challenge anyone else, or to convert them. But he so galled Haman that he went to his death in a challenge of supremacy.
Every age has had its company of Jews who become prominent in their fields. You have heard about the farmer who was a man who excelled in his work. Well, Jews have a way of rising to the top, as cream over milk. Perhaps that is the characteristic that has labelled them and marked them for hostility and persecution.
Search any area of interest, medicine, government, commerce, industry, and you will note leaders in extraordinarily vaunted positions who are Jews. ***TEXT LOST AT END OF THIS PARAGRAPH***
I. The Glory of Grace. V1 “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not!” The saved remnant appear in prior lessons: Romans 9 is about God’s sovereignty and election, and Romans 10 is about Israel’s failure and Gentile belief. The concept of remnant is not new. According to some accounts, Noah spent 120 years preaching and building. Only his family joined him on the ark. Genesis 6:8 “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
The New Testament accounting shows that even Jesus had many who heard who did not believe. Matthew 7:14 “Straight is the gate, and narrow the way, leading to life, and few there are that find it.”
At Kadesh-Barnea, 12 spies went out. Ten returned, reporting there was no hope of success; only two believed. The obvious illustration of Elijah shows a believing host. Paul considers himself as proof of God’s constancy.
It continues to Paul’s day and ours. Every Jew who believes is of the people of God. “Remnant” refers to true believers.
With a hardened heart, people can be earnestly and sincerely wrong. V7f “Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were hardened. It is not enough to be good. It is totally inadequate to claim sincerity.
The human heart is not dependable. The Hebrews prove it. Paul elsewhere has his own testimony. Acts 26:9 “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.”
II. The Glory of Provocation. V11 “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.” Out of the Jewish failure, faith has come to the Gentiles. Romans 1:16, “For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” The Gentile is given salvation. The Jew is incited to desire.
The nature of their problem is in Romans 10:3. “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.” The source of this deplorable condition is in Romans 11:8. “God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.” Here, Paul reiterates Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10.
Did God want to destroy them? Such is unthinkable. Paul says “God forbid!” Isaiah shows that this stupor is in response to their unbelief.
Take care to note the end result. The Gentiles are saved. The Jews are provoked to believe.
III. The Glory of Ingrafting. V17 “And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree.” The imagery in Paul’s lesson is that Israel is the tame olive tree. Gentiles are the wild olive tree. On the trunk of the olive tree, split by limbs broken off, a piece of non-native material is broken off because of uselessness. In Romans 10:21 Paul recalls the words of Isaiah. “Concerning Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.’”
IV. The Glory of Future Promise. V26 “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written, the deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant with them.” This says, “All of Hebrew stock will be saved,” or, it says that all Jews who come to accept this conditional right, in Christ will be saved.
V. The Glory of Praise. V33 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.” The Jew with his strong position in regard to God finds himself disavowed. This total spiritual energy aimed at God’s people is to reach the unchosen. That energy is then turned from Israel to the Gentiles, which will ultimately be the means by which the Jew is attracted to his prior post.
***THE CONCLUSION TO THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***
A FAILURE THAT IS ADDICTIVE
#141 A FAILURE THAT IS ADDICTIVE
Scripture Romans 10:1-21 NIV Orig. 9/23/62
Rewr. 7/25/85
Passage: Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”[a] 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”[b] (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[f]
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[g]
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”[h] 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.”[i]
19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”[j]
20 And Isaiah boldly says,
“I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”[k]
21 But concerning Israel he says,
“All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people.”[l]
Purpose: Continuing a series from Romans, showing Israel’s failure to understand their relationship to God and faith.
Keywords: Bible Study Law
Series, Romans
Introduction
Quest is a major factor in one’s concept of dedication. Do we envision a great task entrusted to us? Do we apply ourselves to its success?
It is said that the ship’s log used by Christopher Columbus on his first crossing of the Atlantic repeats, “This day we sailed westward!” day after day. When Cyrus Field was preparing to put in place the very first Atlantic cable, he first made fifty trips across that great ocean to prepare for it. Gibbon, the historian, wrote his autobiography nine times before he was satisfied with it, and spent twenty years on his greatest work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
More recently, this week’s news tells of treasure hunter Mel Fisher. For sixteen years he has searched the waters off of Key West, Florida, for a sunken Spanish galleon, Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank in a hurricane in 1622 with millions in silver and gold. The search cost Mr. Fisher the lives of a son, daughter-in-law, and another diver. He is said to have greeted his divers every day for years with the statement, “Today’s the day!” Last Saturday morning was the day.
But the Jews, instead of seeing their relationship with God as a quest of faith, saw it as an endowment of merit. As long as they were the guardians of the law, they were special. Paul shows them that this is not so. Faith must be the target of Jew and Gentile.
I. The First Consideration Is Their Judicial Failure. V4 “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
We need a right picture about failure. It was not a failure of the law. Romans 4:4f “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes . . ., his faith is accounted for righteousness.” Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
It was certainly not God’s failure. Isaiah 1:9 “Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a . . . remnant, we would have become like Sodom.” Clearly, it was their failure. Three times (Luke 12:56, 19:44, 21:24): “How is it you do not discern this present time?”
They were not without urgency. There was will, determination, even excitement, but all in error. Paul prays for their salvation. He tells us that they are not. He tells us that they can be: II Corinthians 3:16 “When one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away.” He tells us that they will be: Romans 11:26 ”All Israel will be saved.”
Their failure is that they are looking to their Jewishness, not grace, to save. We are not saved by our Baptistness. Others are not saved by their Methodistness, etc. We are not saved by our churchiness.
II. Next, We Look at Their Spiritual Failure. V9 “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It speaks of grace, of God doing what we cannot, of appropriating the sin-covering function of Jesus’ death for our sin. John 1:12 “As many as receive Him, to them God gives the power to become His children.”
Apart from Jesus we are cut off from God. So also were the Jews. It is a terrible risk to assume someone may have attained the spirit of obedience. It speaks too clearly of confession. It localizes that confession in Christ Jesus. It did the Jew no good to confess his Jewishness. It does no good to confess our churchiness. V10 “With the mouth confession is made.”
How long has it been since we talked to someone about Christ? Sunday School teachers need to talk to their pupils.
III. It Speaks of Their Social Failure. V14f “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”
They chose what they could not save. When the law is not passing out punishment for wrong it is failing. One of our social concerns today is that the law is not always fair. We don’t need a law that lets people get by with more; we don’t need a law that, as someone said, “you can get out of if you have money.”
Mercy is a bestowal of grace. V4 “Christ is the end of the law,” the “termination,” the final reckoning. It will never go beyond this. It is God’s last word on the subject.
The Jew still has not learned that law and grace are antagonistic. Romans 4:4 “To him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.” Romans 11:6, “If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace.”
IV. Paul Adds a Concluding Note of Proof of Their Failure. Deuteronomy 32:21, God said to Moses, “I will provoke them to jealousy.” Isaiah 65:1 “I was found by those who did not seek me.” Isaiah 65:2 “I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
Conclusion
The last entry in the diary of David Livingstone was: “Jesus, my Saviour, my king, my God, I rededicate my all to thee to be and to do for thee the best that I can until the day is done.” There is GRACE. There is BELIEF. There is CONFESSION.
A MIND TO WORK
#125 A MIND TO WORK
Scripture Nehemiah 4:1-6, 15 NIV Orig. 3-10-63 (1-79)
Rewr. 4-12-88
Passage: [a] 1When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” 4 Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of[b] the builders. 6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.
Purpose: Using the occasion of the resettlement of Jerusalem to remind my people of the need to resettle our communities with the exercise of faith.
Keywords: Dedication God’s Purpose Work Energy
Introduction
We are watching with interest the proceedings in Panama. We know that for some of our countrymen the stakes are high indeed. Some Americans have invested everything they have in the country that tenuously oversees the great Panama Canal.
Just a few years ago there was a similar circumstance in Iran. Because of our oil interest, there were many Americans, and Louisianans, who had made that Middle East, Muslim country, their home. Almost overnight they had to leave. Some interviewed in the media indicated they were leaving behind everything they owned: homes, cars, furniture, even bank accounts. Those possessions were no longer worth the risk of holding on to them. Most of these same people had taken those jobs years before, precisely because they promised lucrative material return.
The departure of the Hebrews from Babylon was similar. Though it was 2500 years earlier, it was from a site perhaps no more than 300 miles away. They too had to decide about pulling up stakes and departing. They had to walk away from many evidences of material prosperity.
It was in Babylon that the Jews discovered what excellent tradesmen they were. A few had become so wealthy that they refused to leave. Many, most actually, remembered that they were the guardians of faith in the one holy and living God. They must leave all and return to Jerusalem, because to its environs the Messiah would return. Thus, with such a mind they set themselves to the tasks of return. They had “a mind to work.”
I. It Is with a Mind to Work That Hardships Must Be Faced. V2:17 “Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire; come, let us build up the walls of Jerusalem.” 2:19 [their enemies] “laughed . . . to scorn, and despised [them] . . . and said, ‘will ye rebel against the king?’”
4:8 “And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.”
Where there is this intent to serve, limitations do not distract. Success does not rest upon numbers alone. There were some Jews still in the country from before captivity. According to Ezra 2, 49,697 returned, including servants. Only 245 mules returned, but more than 6,000 donkeys. Others of their people would join them from time to time. Ezra was a priest, a religious leader who led in law and building the temple. The Temple was 20 years in building. A half century later Nehemiah would discover it still without unanimity.
There must be distinction between Jew and Samaritan for this unique national character to emerge. There was going to be opposition. They had to know who they were, and how the will of God related to them.
I knew a young man in seminary with a serious physical disability. He wanted to be a pastor. Much stood in the way. Would a church of “whole” people call him as pastor? He became a pastor in Fort Worth of a church of people with disabilities. He knew himself, and how he fit into the will of God.
Today, also, whatever the hardship is, commitment in the Lord is the solution. Nehemiah was given the key to the king’s storehouse. 2:8 “A letter unto Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest that he may give me timber.“ But by hard work this resource was used. 2:18b “So they strengthened their hands for this good work.”
If I could always choose my church hardship, it would be financial every time. People with a love for the Lord will rally around financial need. Big budgets don’t necessarily go with compassionate hearts. We are always better off with people who have little to give besides love, because they have “a mind to work.” People who give of their possessions are not easily led to give of themselves. It would do all of us well to consider how advantaged we are.
How to live on $100 a year: Get rid of all your furniture except one chair and one table. Throw out all TV sets, lamps and radios. Dispose of all of your clothing but your oldest dress or suit; one pair of shoes may be kept for the head of the family. Shut off the water, gas, electricity. Remove all appliances from the kitchen, keep . . . a small bag of flour, some sugar, salt, a few moldy potatoes, a handful of onion, some dried beans. Take away the house and move the family into the toolshed. Your neighborhood will be a shantytown. Move the nearest medical help ten miles away . . .a midwife. Get rid of your car. Forget about newspapers, magazines, books. You won’t miss them because you must also give up literacy. Count your emergency fund at $5. . . . No bank books, pension plans, insurance policies. Cultivate three acres as a tenant farmer. You can expect $100 to $300 a year in good years for cash crops. Pay a third to the landlord, at least a tenth to the money lender. Plan to take off 20 to 30 years in life expectancy. Millions do. . . , in fact, half of the people in our world actually live on $100 a year.” (Pulpit Helps – January 1979)
If you had to get by on less, could you still exercise your faith at your present level?
II. It Is with a Mind to Work That We Accomplish the Purpose of God. 4:6 “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.”
Up to now, theirs had been a work of furious futility. They knew too little of themselves. They discounted God as a viable presence. They were intimidated by the godlessness around them.
But in responding to the vocal challenges around them they were victorious. Ezra 6:14 “And the elders of the Jews builded and prospered, through the prophesy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.” Haggai 2:9 “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of hosts; and in this place will I give peace.”
We also must deal with our extremities in coming to terms with the purpose of God. Our most basic excuse is “I don’t have time!” We find time for what we want. We waste huge segments on things that do not profit: Fill out a timesheet sometime; how much TV you watch might surprise you.
We also claim not to know how as an excuse. Some of the things that we take great pleasure in were first devised by people who didn’t know how. Some of the things that we are singularly competent in now, we once knew nothing about. Edison knew nothing of electricity. Bell knew not about telephones. Wilbur and Orville couldn’t fly no matter how hard they flapped their arms.
When God’s purpose becomes our purpose, we are no longer hindered by human weakness, but instead we are stimulated by divine strength. The best beginning place is in salvation. The Psalmist’s question was asked in 116:12 “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” His answer, 116:13 “I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.
Whatever it is to which we put our hand, if it is of value, we seek to accomplish it in God’s purpose. It was God’s wall. He would see to it. Thou must be of the mind to work.
ON TO JERUSALEM
#121 ON TO JERUSALEM
Scripture Luke 9:51-62 NIV Orig. October 12, 1985
Passage: 51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them[a]?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Purpose: Continuing a series from Luke, declaring the way of discipleship
Keywords: Bible Study Discipleship
Timeline/Series: Luke
Introduction
As Luke opens the door for Jesus to begin His journey to Jerusalem, he opens a whole new segment of the story that he intends to tell. Not only that, he begins accounting what is not otherwise told of the life of Jesus.
Through Luke 9:50, Luke’s account is a parallel account with Matthew and Mark. From here on to chapter 19 he will tell vignettes of the life of Jesus which are told only by Luke. Perhaps as much as 90% of these ten chapters do not otherwise appear.
This phase of Jesus’ life is called the Perean Ministry of Jesus. Up to now, it has been the Galilean ministry. Perea was across the Jordan River from Samaria. Its name comes from the Greek word for “across,” peran. It was the ancient name for what is now called Transjordan
As Jesus started for Jerusalem, He determined to take the shortest route which would have been straight through Samaria. He sent messengers on ahead to arrange lodging for them. However, when the Samaritans with whom they talked discovered that they were Jews on their way to Jerusalem, they refused to accommodate Jesus and His disciples. We have heard much of this bad blood between Jews and Samaritans. Jesus intends a kindness, which they quietly rebuff.
We talked of John recently and his change from “son of thunder” to “disciple whom Jesus loved.” We see evidence here of what he was originally. He and James wanted to call down “fire” from heaven on these wretched Samaritans for daring such a discourtesy.
This detour is not the way convention dictates but the way conscience demands.
I. A Brief Look at Old Prejudice and New Anger. V 53 “But they did not receive Him because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.” We should not read into this any sentiment against Christ. They probably knew little. They opposed these Jews expecting lodging. All of us need to learn to be careful in what we shut out of our lives.
Jesus used the opportunity to teach. First note that the believers were as misguided as the unbelievers. The Samaritans concluded that Jesus was a typical Jew. The disciples concluded that Jesus shared their anger at such intemperance. Perhaps they were recalling II Kings 1:10-12, when Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume messengers of King Ahaziah.
Jesus’ advice to them is to examine their spirit. V55 “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.” This is not contained in the Greek. Could it express their strongly negative approach to the Samaritans? He rebuked their discipleship. Lincoln said, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
II. Here Jesus Begins a Segment of Teaching About the “Way.” These are Three Tests of Discipleship.
First is the test of consecration. V57 Lord, I will follow you wherever you go.” He has already addressed this in 9:23 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The word “follow” is the verb form of “attendant.” Now one spontaneously responds. Wherever you go, I will go. Have you ever thought about your response to Jesus? Jesus reminds him of the variables. He has observed popularity. He has seen the crowds, hoopla. What happens when the fun is gone? John 19:30, “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.”
Second is the test of obedience. V 59 “Follow me.” “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” We need to examine the picture that forms. Is it of a man whose father is in a coffin, a man who wants to attend the funeral? Look again! The oldest son had the responsibility of funeral arrangements. He wanted to postpone Jesus’ invitation until a more convenient time.
William Barclay tells of a brilliant young Arab who was offered a scholarship at Oxford/Cambridge, whose response was “I will take it after I have buried my father.” His father was forty, and in excellent health. The heart of the question to all of us is “What are we doing that is more important than the Kingdom?” Discipleship demands obedience. Soldiers are called to make sacrifices.
Third is the test of authenticity. V62 “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Following Jesus is for “keeps,” as someone says. It calls for sincerity of purpose. But one must give up his family? No, but his priority must be the Kingdom. The ancient Oriental “farewell” might last for weeks. In Genesis 24:55, after Abraham’s servant identified Rebekah as God’s chosen for Isaac, her mother and brother asked for her to stay 10 days. But the servant said, “do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way.” And Rebekah went with him.
Too many people say “I will follow…
…but…”
…when…”
…if…”
Too many Southern Baptists say “You can’t be my friend unless…
…you believe in inerrancy.” The inerrancy card is inflammatory.
…you deny ordination of women.”
…you went to an unconventional seminary.”
Conclusion
Jesus advised His disciples to understand of what spirit they were. When the sermon is five minutes over; or the special message didn’t gel; or someone you don’t care for shares your pew; or you are reminded of some little deed done, or big deed not done. “What spirit are you of?”
When the Scottish Presbyterians first came to Northern Ireland, their faith was unacceptable. Their ministers were considered dissenters and were not allowed. These people of faith chose to row the miles back to Scotland on each Lord’s Day to take Communion and to worship. What spirit are we of?
THE COMPONENTS OF GROWTH
#115 THE COMPONENTS OF GROWTH
Scripture Mark 4:1-20 NIV Orig. 12/11/83
Rewr. 8/19/86
Passage: Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Purpose: Continuing a Prayer Meeting series form Mark, sharing with my people the need to commit oneself to the task of learning the Kingdom of God.
Introduction
Helen Keller once responded to a student’s question about the difficulty of blindness by responding that it was worse to “have eyes and not be able to see.” She merely wanted to shock the shortsighted into the realization that one must pursue for understanding, even of the Kingdom of God. The hearer must not only be aware of the words spoken, he must heed them with the intent to understand and believe.
There is a great host of people, to whom the gospel has been revealed, yet who choose not to believe. Opportunity may be extended. Obligation is clearly demanded. Open heartedness is the need of the hour. But all too often, opinion is allowed to cloud the mind and close the door of faith.
The issue addressed by Jesus in this parable is simply in determination of whether we hear Him or another. Matthew 13:15 (context) “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should turn again, and I should heal them.”
Isaiah 6:9-10 “9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
Mark 4:24 “And He said unto them, ‘Take heed what ye hear.’”
Luke 8:18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear.”
I. The First Component Is the Seed as the Hearing of Faith. V4 “. . . as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside . . . v5 other fell on the rocky ground . . . v7 and other fell among the thorns . . . and others fell into the good ground.”
Recall the occasion of this teaching, somewhere in Galilee with a large crowd, curious, concerned, confused, contentious. He was positioned to teach effectively (Mark 3:9). They saw also the fields, paths, sower, and birds.
As the parable revolves around seed, we must briefly examine it. No distinction is made in the quality of the seed. Farmers go to great length to compare seed types and their yields, using computer records and magazine recommendations. Here, the seed stands for “the word of the Kingdom.” Luke 8:12 “The seed is the word of God.” Mark 4:14 “The sower soweth the word.”
What we know is that in every instance the right seed is used. I Peter 1:23 “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever.”
II. The Next Component Is the Soil: The Heart Seeking Fulfillment. V4f “. . . wayside . . . stony ground . . . among thorns . . . good ground.”
The wayside hearer has a hard, beaten, worn pathway. There is good seed, but no soil. Seeds roll before the wind, and are scavenged by birds. The seed does not even germinate.
The stony ground hearer has good seed, but the soil is poor. The seed did germinate, but no depth of earth existed to offer moisture. Without roots it wilted under a hot sun. This is the hearer who listens but does nothing with what he hears.
The thorny ground hearer has good seed and good soil, but competition for soil moisture and nourishment is acute. For instance, at an athletic contest there are ability and desire; victory often belongs not to ability but to desire. Player and coach communication are the key. How preoccupied are we at Bible study or worship or witness opportunities?
The good ground hearer has good seed and good soil. Growth begins quickly with singlemindedness.
III. The Final Component Is that the Sower Is God. V3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.” Jesus, in Matthew 13:18, calls this the “Parable of the Sower.” Note that there were no distinctions in the quality of the seed, nor in the intent of the sower. The singular difference is the soil. The sower, however, is not incidental. We perceive that he stands in the place of God. Little else is known. Mark says, “Listen! Behold!”
Other scriptural references to sowing are:
Ezekiel 28:25, “I gathered Israel from the people among whom they were scattered.”
Amos 9:15, “I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be pulled up.”
Matthew 13:37, “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man.”
IV. Lessons
No farmer plants his seed minimally. Farmer Buddy Fairchild replanted with 80% growth. God will not do less than we. II Corinthians 9:6 “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he that sows bountifully will reap also bountifully.”
The responsibility for receptivity is our own. Keep the components clear, encourage children, influence others. The end result is judgment on what we do with what we have. I Corinthians 2:14, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.” Galatians 6:8, “He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Conclusion
I remind you that the land we eagerly wait to plow and to plant in the spring owes us no bountiful crop; it owes us only the right to get out of it what we can and will. The schools of the parish owe no student an education; but he is owed the right to pursue the fullest of which he is capable. God’s creative genius does not owe the nations peace; He owes us the right to pursue peace and to show that we are worthy of it.
BE STILL AND KNOW (Psalms series)
#048a(s) BE STILL AND KNOW
Scripture Psalm 46:1-11 NIV Orig. 10-9-83 (Psalms series)
Passage: God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Timeline/Series: Psalms
Introduction
In North Carolina once, we were hiking and became confused about our location. It was noon, with no help from the sun. Planes were flying and making a lot of noise. Not only were we lost. But I became aware that we were walking in a circle.
As we took a rest to try to figure out the best course of action to follow, the planes suddenly flew off to some other place. After a moment, the sound of trucks on the highway some miles off were heard, and we had our bearings.
I. Consider the Pace. V2 “Though the earth be removed.”
What terrible things we do to ourselves when we continue without recourse in the never-ending cataclysm of activity. The Psalmist moves from dismay to disillusion, through despair to discovery. As the Psalmist views his troubled mountain, we need to view our troubled world.
II. Consider the Pause. V10 “Be still and know.” The word “be still” means “to relax.” It is not surrender, giving up. It reminds us of the sabbath rest. Worship is the best place and sphere for this to take place. Vance Havner, preacher from the Blue Ridge Mountains, wrote that “the trouble with the church today is that we have too much ‘supper room’ and not enough ‘upper room.’”
III. Consider the Peace. V11 “The Lord God of Hosts is with us.”
- Mark 4:36, still of storm, “Peach be still. . . . Have ye not yet faith?”
- Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”
- Luke 19:37f Dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees. They wanted Him to rebuke the disciples for believing that peace followed Jesus.
- Paul “I have learned in whatever state I am therein to be content.”
IV. Concluding Thought.
- Verses 1-3 Picture God holding the reigns in a struggle through creation’s cataclysm. Selah
- Verses 4-7 Picture man struggling in social relationship, and vainly, apart from God, living happily. Selah
- Verses 8-11 Picture the perfect peace to come that clearly is the accomplishment of God alone, for His people alone.
Closing
St. Francis of Assisi, “Christ and the City,” p 104.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in the giving that we receive,
It is in the pardoning that we are pardoned,
It is in the dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Ephesians 6:20, ”[The gospel], for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
SHUT UP AND SHOUT OUT
#086 SHUT UP AND SHOUT OUT
Scripture Jeremiah 33:1-7 NIV Orig. 1-7-62
Rewr. 9-12-89
Passage: 1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: 2 “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ 4 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword 5 in the fight with the Babylonians : ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. 6 ‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. 7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.’”
Purpose: Continuing a study emphasis from the prophets, here concluding a brief synopsis of some of the teaching of this book.
Keywords: Bible Study Series, Jeremiah
Series, Old Testament Prophets
Timeline: Sequential
Introduction
The Biblical text writers are not strangers to persecution. The path woven through the Old Testament prophets reveals to us again and again the hatred of those who protested against what the prophet had to say. Not only did Jeremiah, as almost the last of the line, know about the others, he experienced it himself under the most adverse of circumstances.
Jeremiah has been accused of capitulation to the enemy (Jeremiah 37:13), and summarily taken away to prison. The immediate event seems to have taken place at about the time Jehoiakim was relieved of the throne and taken to Babylon. According to 37:1, Zedekiah has come to the throne, the third son of Josiah.
The political leaders were among the arch enemies of the prophet and his message from God. Jehoiakim, you remember, after the second Temple sermon had cut the segments from the scroll and burned them.
The message of Jeremiah (36:32) seems, however, to have been written before the time spent in prison. Jeremiah’s emotional warfare had been going on all the time in his own spirit.
Paul, we know, wrote some of his letters from prison. Consider Ephesians 6:12:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
John Bunyan, also, in Pilgrim’s Progress:
“If you will go with us, you must go against wind and tide; you must own religion in his rags as well as in his silver slippers; and stand by him, too, when bound in irons; as well as when he walketh the streets with applause.”
Interestingly, Jeremiah came to write perhaps the single most significant statement of hope to Judah from this prison cell. Chapter 33 is headed, “Prosperity will return to Jerusalem.”
V14f “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up into David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, the Lord our righteousness.”
I. This chapter gives us a glorious view of what the prophet perceived of God. He saw one who was absolute. V2, “maker,” suggests first cause; “formed it” is utilitarian; “to establish it” may mean to keep it on target.
He saw unlimited intercession. V3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.”
He saw the extent of their blessing. V6-9: v6 Health and cure; v6 peace and truth; v7 restoration.
V8 is about forgiveness—“cleanse,” “pardon;” it means to purify for ritual participation, the nearest Old Testament concept to forgiveness. This last is the same used Jeremiah 31:34, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.
V9 is about blessing, the opposite of what they were. Others will know. Jeremiah would be appointed prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 (“I have appointed you a prophet to the nations”); 10: “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms.”
In vs 10-11 he saw future joy, praise, and mercy. V11 “The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, For the Lord is good, For his lovingkindness is everlasting.’”
He saw the promised Messiah in v14-16. “I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth.”
***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***
A LIBERTY THAT IS CHARITABLE
#066 A LIBERTY THAT IS CHARITABLE
Scripture Romans 14:1-23, NIV Orig. Date 11/25/62
Rewr. Dates 8/31/85
Passage: Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.[c]
Purpose: Continuing the series from Romans, showing that true liberty is that that is based in love.
Keywords: Bible Study Law Liberty
Timeline/Series: Romans
Introduction
We today assume so much liberty from the dictates of others that we fail to realize what an issue this has been historically. Huldrych Zwingli, pre-reformation theologian of central Europe, left a thirty-page treatise (2 hours) on choice and free use of foods. He concluded with sixteen points of concern.
- The general gathering of Christians may accept for themselves fasts and abstinence from foods, but not set these up as a common and everlasting law.
- For God says, Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish aught from it.”
V. This is shown by the sanctification of both Testaments. The Old is sprinkled and sanctified by the blood of animals, but the New with the blood of the Everlasting God, for Christ thus spake: This is the cup of my blood of a new and everlasting [covenant]
VII. How dare a man add to the testament, to the covenant of God as though he would better it?
IX. Paul says, Romans 8:8: “Owe no man anything but to love one another.”
X. Again, Galatians 5:1: “Stand fast therefore in the freedom wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
XI. If he is to be cursed who preaches beyond what Paul preached and if Paul nowhere preached the choice of food, then he who dares command this is worthy of a curse.
XII. If we are not bound by any law but the law of love, and if freedom as to food injures not the love of one’s neighbor, in case this freedom is rightly taught and understood, then we are not subject to this commandment or law.
These points have forced me to think that the church officers have not only no power to command such things, but if they command them, they sin greatly; for whoever is in office and does more than he is commanded, is liable to punishment (20 Cen. IIp123).
Sadly, five years later Zwingli helped to find Felix Manz guilty, under penalty of death by drowning, for preaching against infant baptism and rebaptizing.
I. The Law of Liberty. V10 “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” The Law of Liberty addresses various themes.
Substance—about food and drink. V2 “For one believes that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.” It is wrong to judge those who do more than we, or to hold contempt for those who do less. Matthew 15:17, “What goes in at the mouth defileth not the man.” I Corinthians 6:12, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient.”
Servants—To what degree do we deride other believers for being different?—the Amish for their clothing and buggies; Adventists for their understanding of the 7th day. Such considerations are extended to believers only. We don’t compromise belief.
Seasons—On what basis do we decide what days are special? Holidays, we sanctify. Special family days, we honor. Many disdain religious days. Colossians 2:16, “Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or in regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths.” Don’t worship a day, but don’t fail to exercise its worth.
The Law of Liberty reminds us that our first consideration is in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:6, “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” Eat out of regard for the Lord. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Use every day, Sabbath and otherwise, as an obedient servant. V8, “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.”
If preaching, do so with the Lord in view. If helping to rear a family; if cutting grass; if presiding over a Senate committee; or if canning a jar of preserves: Do all these things with the Lord in view.
The Law of Liberty reminds us that we will not be judged on the basis of substance, servants, and seasons. V10, “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, for it is written, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’” I45.
II. The Law of Love. V15, “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.”
It testifies of relationship to those who behave differently. But from a Christian perspective, their difference is not a moral defect. In Paul’s day the issue centered around food (offered to idols). Today it is more around alcohol. The real issue is concern. The object of relationship issues more from love than belief. Paul advocates liberty, but only love can interpret it with meaning.
It testifies of resolution. V17, “The Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The kingdom is spiritual, such pronouncements issued should be also. Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” It is a defined kingdom. Of righteousness, it is a kingdom with not just moral direction but with deliverance from sin, overt and covert. Of peace, it is a kingdom of peace with God; Romans 5:1, “. . . having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Carlyle Marney, in his book, Peace! Peace!, says: “The claims of our Lord set a man against himself, I discover. They split him down the middle. They make him schizoid. Once he faces up to the claims of Christ he is divided, he is at war, until surrender. He can never be justified by what he does: his new gadgets, his nursery rhyme creeds, his one-eyed philosophies, his mudpie civilization, his kindergarten councils. He can be justified only in himself, and his justification begins only when he is a man of peace, and his peace comes only when he surrenders to the Source of peace against which he fights.”
It testifies of responsibility. V19, “. . . let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” The “things” were already mentioned in verse 17. The Christian life is to be conditioned on such assertions. Those who are strong in faith are to give ground, in spite of their liberty.
V22, “Do you have faith?” Is your faith in Christ sufficient for this kind of ordering? The word “damned” is misleading. The Greek word kekritai means “condemned” and implies faith was not a factor in decision. Thus, liberty will limit itself by love.
Conclusion
The simplest way to define sin is to explain it as any act that is contrary to the will of God. God said to Adam, “Thou shalt not eat of it.” The moment he did, he sinned. It was an act in direct contradiction to God’s revealed will. Jesus taught of sins of the heart: hate, adultery, etc. He taught that intention to sin is the same as the sin itself. Anything that hurts other people is sin. James wrote of it this way, “. . . to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” As a Christian, all we do is before the face of God. To act without consideration of his presence is sin. If the Lord would not give His approval to my conduct, then my action or my attitude is wrong.
THE TONGUE OF LOVE
#060 THE TONGUE OF LOVE
Scripture I Corinthians 13:1-13, NIV Orig. Date 12-10-61
Rewr. Dates 1-22-89
Passage: If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Purpose: Continuing a series for Prayer Meeting emphasizing the Book of First Corinthians.
Keywords: Bible Study Great Texts Love
Series: I Corinthians
Introduction
At a family gathering in Transylvania on a Sunday afternoon, the unmarried son and his steady were present. He was in no hurry to get married, but wanted the security of a regular girlfriend. His main interests were hunting, fishing, etc.
As the family sat in the yard, Mark stood and said, “Let’s go!” The girl, assuming he was talking to her, stood. But at the same time she arose, the old family dog got up. She, recognizing how ridiculous this was, said, “Are you talking to me or the dog?”
The people we love ought to be able to tell by the way we talk, and by what we say, what are our feelings for them. Paul admonished us to love in word and deed.
I. First, We Need an Overview of Biblical Love. V1 “Though I speak with tongues of men and angels, and have not love, I am as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.”
English has only one word to express love. A Cajun may use it in reference to the nutria he has taken from his trap. An addict may use it in in regard to drugs. A faithful grandfather uses it about a Christmas necktie. It may be used by a man arrested for abusing his spouse.
But Greek has four interesting words. The noun eros/verb ethan is used for sensual or spousal love, for ambition, or for patriotism; it is not used in the New Testament. The noun storge/verb stergein means family affection or group interaction or devotion; Romans 12:10 uses the word: “Be ye kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love.” The noun philia/verb philien is the most-used in Classical Greek; it applies to close family (parent/child, husband/wife). The noun agapa/verb agapan is used over 250 times in the New Testament; classical scholars saw this as meaning “benefactor,” thus is its Victorian use as “charity.”
II. Now a Brief Grasp of the Passage. V2 “Though I have the gift of prophecy, understand mysteries, have knowledge, have faith sufficient to move mountains, but do not do so out of love, it means nothing.” Love is greater than understanding, be it natural or acquired: Love is greater than a college education. Knowledge did not set Paul’s heart on fire. Nor did it inspire such men as Luther and Wesley. Love is greater than prophecy—Hosea became a parable to Israel. Love is greater than works—than self-sacrifice, for instance; “Though I give my body to be burned” v3. Morality is not morality without love.
Love is greater than all other gifts. I Corinthians 12:28 calls attention to the gifts. Not all have every gift. It doesn’t matter. But all should covet what is best, and better than all is love.
***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***
A RADICAL CHANGE
#049 A RADICAL CHANGE
Scripture Romans 6:1-23 NIV Orig. 5-20-62 (6-77)
Rewr. 11-9-88 (1-85)
Passage: What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Purpose: Continuing a series from the Book of Romans, here drawing the contrast between sin’s death and Christ’s life.
Keywords: Death God Grace Life Sin
Series Romans Revival
Introduction
Finally, the truth has been revealed relative to the “Shroud of Turin.” For hundreds of years there has been speculation about this simple linen shroud. It was claimed to be the burial shroud in which Jesus was buried, and was for centuries, Christendom’s most baffling relic.
The relic is controlled by the Catholic bishop of Turin, and thus its name, although it is owned by Umberto II, a deposed king of Italy who, at last report, lived in Portugal.
It is just over 4-1/2 meters long, and just under one meter wide. It has been submitted to extensive scientific analysis, including carbon 14 dating, and computer technology. Even pollen samples were evaluated.
The shawl had blood in all the right places. Even the imprint of a human face. But the computers could not confirm its validity, and said absolutely nothing about life after death. It was determined that should this be proved to be the right cloth, then Jesus was 5’10-1/2”, and weighed 175 pounds.
Well, in fact now we know that it was not the burial shroud of Jesus. Even the Catholic Church admits that the early history of the cloth cannot be ascertained.
What if? What if it were the cloth? Suppose that these tests authenticated the shroud. We Christians would have a miracle to flaunt. One of the scientific team members said,
“If Christ was resurrected from the dead, then the gospels are truth, and eternal life—immortality—is offered.” (Ray Rogers—Omni p.95)
But the possibility of a miracle no longer exists. We are not yet without hope, however. The Bible has much to say on the subject, and the apostle here affirms that death, for the believer, will be swallowed up in life. He speaks of a most “radical change,” and it is that death “hath no more dominion.”
I. So Radical a Change Acknowledges Death to Sin. V2 “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” V6 “…Our old man is crucified with him.”
To begin with, Paul has much to say on the subject of death. Beside this note of being “crucified” with Christ, death is alluded to fourteen times in these first eleven verses. It is a subject not given wide circulation in our sophisticated culture. Tabloids on display at check-out lines sensationalize it: “Five Psychics Tell Why They Believe in Life after Death.” The scientific community offers us the name of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross as the most knowledgeable: “Although I do not consider myself a particularly religious woman, I find no conflict between the Christian concept of an after-life, and my own careful studies on death.”
But the death here is not just the cessation of bodily function. Remember the legal ramifications invoked in the Karen Ann Quinlan case. Who could throw the switch? Someone finally did, and she survived on a tube feeding for nine years.
Biblically, death is the soulmate of sin, and is viewed judgmentally. But is God death’s source? The answer is a resounding “No!” We are emphatically told that the “wages of sin is death.” Thus, sin, and its corollary, resulted from acts of will.
So, as death is more than cessation, life is more than breathing and bodily function. A war correspondent in Vietnam told of interviewing a crusty Marine sergeant. He was eating cold beans with his bayonet. “If I could grant one request right now for you what would it be?” “Give me tomorrow!”
A TV special on “Violence in America” concluded with this evaluation, “Biological life alone is not enough for a rational being. He, or she, wants participation in the social process.”
For the believer, death dispels the power of sin to rule and distort lives. Chapter five dealt with sin and grace. Sin and death are personified in Adam. Grace and life are personified in Christ.
The present chapter moves more to the drum beat of faith (sanctification). V14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Having received Christ as Saviour is being perceived of God as following a new leader. Satan has lost the battle for your soul. But he has not lost your address. Depending totally on the carnality of our faith, he exercises influence.
II. So Radical a Change Acknowledges that a New Life is Given. V11. “Likewise, you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is not mentality that separates man from the beasts of the field. Within limits they have intellect. Consider pets, zoo animals.
Nor is it our ability to communicate. The great whales are said to communicate over hundreds, thousands of miles of ocean. Diane Fosse studied the great apes. Her death may be attributed to her affinity. Brahmans, Hindus, see animals as “brothers with them before God.” (National Geographic, November 1988)
What separates man from beast is his potential to faith-relationship with God. Scriptures declare this uniqueness. Genesis 2:7 “God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” It is that “breath of God” that we know as faith. It is here that “baptism” enters into Paul’s discussion. Baptism is the “sign” of that faith. Not salvation by legalist “rite,” but that baptism is expressive of that faith. Faith shows itself in many ways. Baptism is one.
We also have a fairly complete criteria of what that faith-relationship consists of. First it is dependable. In V11 we read “reckon”—to us often meaning no more than “suppose.” Then, it was an accounting term reflecting absolute accuracy. Secondly, it is free. V20 Enslaved to sin, we are set free to righteousness. V18, 23. Such faith knows no class distinction. Lastly, it is eternal. The word aionios means “eternal,” “endless.”
III. So Radical a Change Comes Through Jesus Christ. V23 “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The place of Christ in the equation of salvation is without equal. We were “baptized” (v3) into Christ Jesus. Our fleshly being was “crucified”(v6) with Jesus. “Death” in Christ Jesus is what frees us from sin (v7). Thus, we come to “live” (v11) through Jesus. And ultimately, eternal life (v23) comes through Him.
Lay to rest any thought that religion is nothing more than a person’s sincerity. There are waves of people who are sincerely wrong. At the abortion clinic, the young pregnant woman advises opponents to keep their “morals off of her body.” People around Louisiana think that devil worship by teenagers is idle (sic) curiosity. Sincere people say “God wouldn’t send anyone to hell.” Satan would, and he would gladly use our being “sincerely wrong” to accomplish it.
Conclusion
An unknown author left a couplet on death.
Some men die by shrapnel, some go down in flames.
But most men perish inch by inch, in play at little games.
Death comes to all alike. The method, manner may change, but only Christ makes a difference in dying. As there is more to life than blood flow, breath, body function, there is more to death than dying.