DEMAS THE WORLD-LOVER

#061                                                           DEMAS THE WORLD-LOVER                                                                                  

Scripture  Philemon 24; Colossians 4:14; II Timothy 4:10 NIV                                               Orig. Date  12-31-61

                                                                                                                                                                       Rewr. Dates  1-6-88 

Passage:

Philemon 24, NIV

²⁴ And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.

 

Colossians 4:14, NIV

¹⁴ Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.

 

2 Timothy 4:10, NIV

¹⁰ for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

Purpose: Showing that the best way to avoid straying from our faith is to continually re-examine it by the light of the way we are living.

Keywords:          Biography, Demas            Faith                      Worldliness                        Revival                  Faithlessness

Introduction

                I was a proud young man after completing my work at Louisiana College.  A significant time had come in my life.  Ann and I were already married.  We had a baby daughter named Fritha.  Soon I would begin my next level of preparation for the pastorate. 

                In my mind, at least, seminary would offer a different perspective of preparation.  There, so I thought, I would gain through the experiences of others.  My professors were to be graduate theologians.  Most had served pastorates.  Some had even taken advance studies in the finer theological schools of Europe.

                While I had been active in my home church after receiving Christ at age 16, I had reached the ripe age of 24, having left my home, and home town, and fellowship of believers to enter the military.  From there, I had gone to work in industry in Baton Rouge.  So, for six of those years prior to entering seminary, I had not had a close and uplifting experience with a pastoral role model.  Seminary would offer me that, or so I thought. 

                I now know that what I wanted was someone to lean on, someone who would serve as an occasional crutch.  But, as early as my first seminary class I discovered that there would be lots of competition.  There were 2,000 students at Southwestern, needing, more or less, someone to lean on.  And there were only about sixty faculty members.  And most of them felt that it was not in their students’ best interest for them to be leaning posts.

                I wonder if Demas looked at Paul, and Luke, and the others as someone to lean on.  I wonder if he held them in such reverence that he never found time to seek the Lord for the daily needs of his own life.  Paul had addressed this very issue with the Corinthians.  “Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in  the name of Paul?”  Demas may have missed that lecture.  What he needed, we need—a daily walk with our Lord.  Loving the world is the alternative.

I.             When First We Meet Demas, He is Called Co-Laborer.  Philemon 24 “Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow-laborers.”  Clearly, there were prior years of good effect.  We know nothing of his prior years, only that this is the first of three listings.  This is chosen as the first because the object of this letter, Onesimus, is mentioned in Colossians 4:9, “a faithful and beloved brother.”

                Knowing so little, we try to piece together a life.  I watch and read with interest the scenarios of paleontologists and archaeologists who take a bone, a bead, a tool, and attempt to build a culture. Law enforcement uses artists to draw  up likenesses from slender shreds of evidence of witnesses.

                We can conclude a few things.  Philemon, written from Rome, was written first, some suggest during an early imprisonment.  Perhaps Demas was enamored of this man Paul.  Remember, at first Paul “was in his own hired house” (Acts 28:30).

                It is possible that hardships were minimal. Demas was a piece of clay being molded, not yet experiencing the heat of the kiln:  As someone (Lockyer p91) says, “like a piece of soft iron, temporarily magnetized by the presence of a magnet.”

                It would not have been difficult for any of us to revere a man like Paul.  And too many of us have revered those who unlike Paul had “feet of clay.”

                Little can be said, therefore, about Demas’ conversion.  Some would conclude that Demas had not been converted, and would be quick to say so.  They fear, I suppose, that he would thus be an example of one who had “fallen from grace.”

                But we Baptists know the truth.  We know that one cannot fall “from” grace.  Hebrews 6:19, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.”  But we know that the believer can fall “in” grace.  I Timothy 4:1, “Some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits.”

                It remains a sad commentary that some who walked the way of faith lost their zeal for the walk.  But for now, Demas is a coworker, along with Philemon (Philemon v1), Clement (Philippians 4:3), and Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25).

II.            When Next We Find Him, it is with a Cosmopolitan Spirit.  Colossians 4:14 “Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you.”  Imagine, being mentioned in the same breath with a great Christian like Luke.  Interestingly, like Demas, Luke is mentioned by name only three times—the same three passages.  What a remarkably significant difference in these two men. 

                Imagine, as well, having the opportunity to learn scripture from such men of knowledge and spirit.  According to the best information, Luke’s gospel had been written a year or two earlier: Gospel of Luke in 60 A.D., and Colossians in 61 A.D.  Perhaps it was already being circulated. 

                It should not escape our notice that Mark is also mentioned in these three passages.  And his gospel was written first.  Luke enlarged upon it.  I checked a couple of New Testaments: Mark and Luke comprise 80 pages, Paul’s writings 90 pages. The total in the New Testament is 360 pages.

                Demas is with three who wrote half the New Testament.

                No better place than this to digress.  How seriously do we take scripture?  How long has it been since we engaged in regular Bible study?  What will be our response three weeks from now when we study Malachi?  Have you read through the Bible? The New Testament?  Have you resolved to do better in 1988?  Whom do we choose as a role model? Paul? Demas?

                Here was an opportunity to learn scripture from a man likewise skilled in science.  I love science, do you?  I have a grasp of what it means to reconcile science to scripture.  Notice, I said “science to scripture.”  If we have to reconcile scripture to science, then what’s the use?  I owe science no apology for my faith.  If my faith means nothing, then science is nothing more than separate irresistible forces on collision course. 

                We still turn out to hear scientists who are also believers, believers who are scientists: Willie Ley at Louisiana College, George Schweitzer at Southwestern Seminary.

                And this particular scientist was “beloved.”  It was a word used of Jesus in Matthew 3:17.  It is used of believers: Romans 1:7, I Corinthians 4:14.  Will you be thus remembered?  One of the pluses of the pastorate is from people who do not forget. I had a letter from a Riverside church member in New Orleans, Bonnie Williamson, kindly expressing appreciation.  People have that kind of love for family doctors also.

                Brother Doctor Luke was easy to love.  Demas was working on becoming a world lover.

III.           Finally, We Find Only a Vapor Trail of Where He Has Been.  II Timothy 4:10, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world and is departed unto Thessalonica.”  Perhaps as many as five years have passed.  At what point he left we do not know.  The spirit of his leaving seems to have been desertion.  Surely Paul would have yielded up this brother in pursuit of the will of God.

                We do know that circumstances have changed for Paul.  Clement of Rome (30 years later) says he was exiled.  Tradition affirms that he was released, but to what is conjecture.  Paul himself gives us a hint.  II Timothy 1:16f, “May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched . . . and found me.” 

                Do you think Demas had become “ashamed” of “chains”?  Aischuno is the Greek word that means “shame,” or a feeling of “fear.”  “Chain,” or halusis, refers to a literal binding.  Are we ashamed of what we perceive as “chains” binding believers today?

                Thus, emerging from this Christian cocoon is a world-lover.  It does not suggest that he became worldly, only that he decided that being an outspoken Christian was dangerous.  He put his church letter in his trunk and took out for home, betraying Paul, but more important, denying  his Lord.

Conclusion

                The point of Demas’ life has nothing to do with falling from grace.  It has little to do with salvation.  It has everything to do with growing in our faith:  With sanctification if you please.  We must take care that Demas’ mistakes do not become our mistakes.  We should, and must, move in those circles that exemplify our Lord, and that ensure spiritual growth, not a kind of religious tedium that is revoltingly commonplace.

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***

IF OUR GOSPEL BE HID

#054                                                              “IF OUR GOSPEL BE HID”                                                                                    

Scripture  II Corinthians 4:1-7                                                                                                 Orig. Date 4/19/64 (8/75)

                                                                                                                                                                     Rewr. Dates 7/22/87

Passage:  Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. ² Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Purpose:  To remind my people of the need to be openly assertive of our faith in Christ as Lord of life.

Keywords:          Christian Life                      Gospel                  Revival                  Special                  Influence

Introduction

                Margaret Sangster, the social worker, writer, and editor, shared an all-too personal experience from one of the tenement areas where she worked.  The point of her life work had always been to reach out to the people around her and help them meet their own needs through private donations when government help was not available.

                She saw a need for a gymnasium for the youth of the district.  A place was secured, and because other help did not materialize, she began to supervise this activity.  A lad of about twelve came to the gym one day on crutches.  The leg was badly twisted, and Mrs. Sangster discovered that the boy had been run over, the leg badly broken, and no medical help was sought.

                She made arrangements to carry the boy to an orthopedic surgeon who had provided his services before.  She was told that the leg could be straightened, but it would take several operations.  A wealthy benefactor was found who would pay the hospital costs.  With parental approval, the transformation was begun.  As Mrs. Sangster tells the story, about eighteen months later she joyously looked up in  the gym one day to see the lad stroll in, pick up a basketball, dribble down the floor, and send it spinning through the hoop.  What a happy moment that was. 

                Years later, she  would tell the story, and ask, “Do you know what that boy is doing today?”  Of course, no one did.  “No, he’s not an attorney, or judge.  No, he didn’t become a preacher or professor.  No, he’s not in social work.”  She would hide the sob trying to surface.  “He is serving three concurrent life terms in the state penitentiary for murder and robbery.” After a pause, she continued, “I was so busy teaching him how to walk, I forgot to teach him where to walk.”

                How careful are we as Christians to teach the really important things about our faith in Christ?  What if “our gospel be hid”?

I.             What If the Gospel Be Hid Socially?  II Corinthians 4:3 “It is hid to them that are lost.”  How hard is it, today, to tell who the Christians around us really are?  Some estimates run as high as 90%. That would be all active church members, and all the 50% of church members who never attend. There are millions of others who happen to believe freedom to worship means freedom not to.

                I have seen too many of them coming out of the quick-order store with a cross around their neck, a six pack in their hand, a foul message on their tee shirt.  The answer is clearly not in one-day-a-week faith.  It is too easy to dress in religious togs and be satisfied we are convincing.  If I work, or work out, I wear something for sweating.  If I am playing golf, it certainly won’t be in my black suit.  I have a friend who occasionally wears overalls to prayer meeting; he has not time to change.

                Paul here reminds us that our faith is a “treasure” bound up “in earthen vessels.”  People take pride in their treasures.  They want their friends to share in their good fortune.  II Corinthians 5:17 “. . . if any be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, all things are become new.”  You see, the Vessel can be spoiled, the spirit within the vessel, never.

                And beyond this, God calls us to share in His vision.  Amy Carmichael was an Irish missionary who served in India for 56 years without furlough, and died there.  II Corinthians 5:18 “. . . He hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”  That means let your light shine socially.

II.            What If the Gospel Be Hid Politically?  II Corinthians 4:3-4 “. . . It is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.”  We are watching the gospel being slowly divested from the arena of politics.  This week USA Today (July 22) reported “Over 50% of those interviewed would take all preachers off television.” 

                In our earlier history, politicians were considered statesmen.  They had an obligation to a higher law, God’s law.  Now, those who are men of faith often hope that it will not be used against them.  What had we really rather have, a character to entertain, or, with character to inspire? 

                It is a good way to judge our TV preachers, and others.  We are not out of line to want to know about the genuineness of a person’s religion.  Oliver North’s wife was presented as a born-again Christian.  Admiral Poindexter’s wife wore the frock of an Episcopal rector.

III.           What If the Gospel Be Hid Intellectually?  II Corinthians 4:3-4 “. . . it is hid to them that are lost: . . . lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, . . . should shine unto them.”  The genius of human intellect is clear.  Evidence of it appears in every age.  It is asserting itself in this 20^th Century as never before, through airplanes, atomic fission, electronic wizardry.  Many learned men and women exemplify a strong Christian witness in Congress, in the Statehouse, as University Presidents, as coaches and artisans and athletes and entertainers.

                What if we fail to make such faith clear?  Youth grow to physical adulthood, enter college, participate, graduate with honors, but face the future unsure about their faith.  With their own souls in jeopardy, their commitment to intellect may also be compromised.

                The need intellectually is to assert our faith.  We are creatures of intellect.  Our society would crumble without it.  Caesar came to the Rubicon with his armies.  He had the ships that transported them burned.   Retreat would not be an option open to them.

IV.          What If We Hide the Gospel Culturally?  II Corinthians 4:3,5 “. . . It is hid to them that are lost: . . . For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus our Lord: and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

                America has much to offer a needy world today.  There is intense physical hardship, in the third world and some even here at home.  We have the wherewithal to help.  Nothing lends itself to compassion like religious faith, particularly Christian faith.  It has the potential of worthy example.  Following the Civil War, the world saw a super power emerge.  Inclusion of ethnic groups has proven the worth of our culture.

                But our greatest treasure is our faith.  In the day when many are surrendering theirs, we who look to Christ must continue to share Him with a searching world.  Hosea 4:1 “Hear the word of the Lord, . . . for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.”

                It is incumbent upon us as believers to keep our gospel exposed to the light of day, to share our faith, to share our wealth to expedite missions, and to live obediently so that what we say matches the way we live.

Conclusion

                Albert McClellan tells us of the time when he and other convention personnel were having lunch at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville.  Soup was brought to the table, and one of the group was reminded of a story. 

                It seems that three men were having a meal together in London.  When the soup was served, all three noticed a bug swimming around on the surface of each of their portions.  The Englishman, acting discreetly, fastidiously pushed his bowl aside while claiming not to be hungry.  The American plunged his spoon under the still swimming bug and raked him into his plate, saying aloud, “I’ll take care of you!” 

                The third man was a Scot  He carefully slid the blade of his knife under the bug, balanced him carefully, then picked him off the knife blade with his fingers.  Next, he shook the soup gathered on the knife blade back in the bowl, then squeezed the bug, saying, “Spit it out, little laddie.”

                Dr. McClellan said that his group laughed so loudly at the story that others in the restaurant were attracted to their conversation just in time to hear one of the men say with a  laugh, “bugs in the soup.”  As you might expect, all over the restaurant, soup spoons were placed aside, but the real problem was for all of the people who  had finished theirs.

                We have a message to deliver, and it must be clear, because people are depending on us for the truth.

WISE UNTO SALVATION

#053                                                               WISE UNTO SALVATION                                                                                     

Scripture  II Timothy 3:12-17                                                                                                 Orig. Date 10-22-61 (4-75)

                                                                                                                                                                      Rewr. Dates 1-12-86 

Passage:  ¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God^[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Purpose:  To speak to my people early in the year encouraging them to give stronger consideration to the need to study God’s Word with a renewed intensity.

Keywords:          Bible                      Christian Responsibility                 Baptist Belief

Introduction

                I stood there that day talking with a lady about a need for a music worker.  She shared some reluctance, but I felt that she was almost convinced.  I moved in like a fisherman at his favorite fishing hole.  I reminded her that we simply wanted to see her talent invested in this important “kingdom” cause.  Her response was sincere.  “Brother Skinner, I love to sing, but there’s a lot I don’t know about music.”  I felt like a chess payer moving in to checkmate.  Said I, “I love to preach, but there’s a lot I don’t know about preaching and sermons.”  I was just getting ready to pat myself on the back when she took the wind out of my sails.  She responded, “Yeah, but YOU can fool people, and you can’t when you don’t know music.”

                I never cease to be amazed at the capabilities that many people have.  There are few things in this world that are not within the scope of being mastered if one has the heart and the will, and some intellect thrown in for good measure.

                There are musicians who have dedicated their lives to mastering music.  There are theologians who likewise have mastered the art and craft of sermon and rhetoric.  Believe it or not, there are even people who understand American foreign policy.  They know what is going on in Nicaragua, even Libya, or South Africa.

                Make  no mistake about this then.  If one wants to understand the Bible, it is within our grasp.  We can, and must, see it as vital to the Christian life. We must perceive of God’s Word as the agent of His communication with His people.  Such a voice would not be shoddily handled when so much depends on it.

I.             We Discover that This Book was Written By Men Inspired.  II Peter 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

                There are a lot of different reasons that people write: Some to share knowledge; some to entertain; some to express their prurient thoughts. Others write simply because it is easier than working.  The Bible was written as a storehouse of redemptive knowledge.  Its purpose was not science, not astronomy, not even history. God is at work redemptively.  

                Psalm 110:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?”  Luke 24:32 “Did not our hearts burn within us as he opened to us the Scriptures?”  Romans 15:4 “Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

                Patrick Henry referred to the Bible as “a book worth all other books which were ever printed.”

II.            Written By Inspired Men, It Had God for Its Author, Salvation for Its End.    Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”  God is then  eternally responsible for His Word.  In man’s beginning, he struggled to communicate with other men, and language was born, a language capable of expressing the deepest of thoughts.  In man’s entrapment in the nuclear age, communication has been replaced by détente.  God’s Word is now more than ever man’s only surviving means of brotherhood.

                God’s purpose according to His Word will not and cannot be averted.  The writing of the Bible as we know it today covers about 1600 years of man’s history.  The Old Testament was born and woven in three fragments—Law, Prophets, and Writings.  By 150 A.D. a complete New Testament canon was in circulation.  Many translations preceded the ones we know: Jerome, mid 4^th century; Wycliffe 1380; Tyndale 1611; King James  1611.  The TEXTUS RECEPTUS was the basic King James text.  Though some 5,000 manuscripts have been found since, there is a total alteration of less than one percent.

III.           God’s Word has Truth without Any Mixture of Error for its Matter.  Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every work of God is pure. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee and thou be found a liar.”  There is not to be found any book with the integrity, credibility, and authenticity of the Bible.  Why do people waste time on the trashy books that offer only a fleshly sensation at best?  They may do worse.  This is the  real evil of pornography: What it does to us, and what it keeps from us.

                The truth of man’s gravest need is found and continued in the book we know as the Bible.  We were concerned with Watergate.   We are concerned with Southeast Asia.  We wonder about ecology and energy supplies.  There is an answer to “Why am I here?” and “Where is it all going?”

                Psalm 43:3 “Send out Thy light and Thy truth; let them lead me.”  John 8:32 “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  II Corinthians 13:8 “We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.”

IV.          The Bible Goes on to Reveal the Principles by Which God Will Judge Us.  Romans 2:12 “As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law."  John 12:47-48 “If any man hear my words. . . . the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

                The most significant aspect of that judgment is faith in Jesus.  Whatever good there is, or merit, in any human life comes about as a result of faith.

                Aristotle said of his own writings that they “were given for action and not for discussion.”  Even so, with the Bible, it is easier to get people to talk about the Bible, even to study, than to get us to do what it says.  We marvel that Codex Sinaiticus sold for ½ million dollars.  Vaticanus was so closely guarded that it was  not known until Napoleon conquered Rome.

V.            The Bible Is and Will Remain to the End of the World the True Center of Christian Union.  Philippians 3:16 “Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.”  We have learned some things worthy of keeping:  We are judged by the same standards. We are forgiven alike through Jesus. We are saved for equal purposes. 

                It will do us well to remember that the totalitarian state is enemy to the purpose of sharing this Word from God.  One is reminded of a Hitler quote to youth-oriented groups, “Whether it is the Old Testament or the New Testament, or the sayings of Jesus, it is all the same old swindle. . . .  One is either a German or a Christian. You can not be both.”  A Hitler mouthpiece was head of the German people’s church.  National socialism must not be judged from a biblical or ecclesiastical standpoint.

VI.          The Bible is the Supreme Standard by Which All Human Conduct, Creeds, and Opinions Should be Tried.  I John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out  into the world.”

CLOSING

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door,

and heard the anvil ring the vesper chime.

Then looking in I saw upon the floor

old hammers worn with beating years of time.

“How MANY anvils have you had,” said I,

“to wear and batter all these hammers so?”

“Just one,” said he, and then with twinkling eye,

“The anvil wears the hammers out you know!”

And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s Word,

for ages skeptic blows have beat upon;

Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,

the anvil is unharmed—the hammers gone.

Attributed to John Clifford

MISSIONS: THE TUNE OF OBEDIENCE

#050                                                  MISSIONS: THE TUNE OF OBEDIENCE                                                                        

Scripture  Isaiah 54:1-5; John 4:31-41 NIV                                                                                                Orig. 11-26-61

                                                                                                                                                                                Rewr. 11-28-84 

Passage: 

“Sing, barren woman,
    you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
    you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
    than of her who has a husband,”
says the Lord.
² “Enlarge the place of your tent,
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.
³ For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
    your descendants will dispossess nations
    and settle in their desolate cities.

⁴ “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
    Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.

³¹ Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” ³³ Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” ³⁴ “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵ Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶ Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷ Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” ³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

Purpose: To call attention to the clear teaching of Scripture as it gives us our mandate to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

Keywords:          Christ    Redeemer          Missions              Church                 Obedience

Introduction

                It was an Easter meeting of the Northampton Association in England.  The year was 1791.  The urgency of missions was a new and controversial theme for English Baptists.  For as long as any of them could remember their belief had centered around Calvinism. They were known as Particular Baptists because they believed that God was a “Particular” God, and that only certain “elected” people would be saved.

                At that meeting, men like Andrew Fuller and John Sutcliffe spoke to these assembled believers.  But on this occasion, they spoke on the challenge of missions.

                It was just one month later when many of these same pastors and church leaders assembled again.  They were to induct a young man into the role of pastor of one of these churches.  As a part of the program, this young man was to preach.  He chose a subject which was a part of a study in which he was engaged.  The title of his sermon was “The Inquiry into the Obligation of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen.”

                The young man who was assuming his first pastoral role was William Carey, the man who today is called “The Father of modern missions.”  That day he referred to statistics.  There were 731 million people in the world: 2 of 10 were Muslim, 5 of 10 were pagan, only 3 of 10 were Christian.  Something must be done to point these lost multitudes to Christ. 

                John Ryland, the pastor who baptized [Carey], was present.  He spoke up, “Sit down, young man: When the Lord gets ready to convert the heathen, He will do it without your help or mine.”

                A year later, on May 30, 1792, [Carey] preached again to the Association.  “Expect great things from God . . . Attempt great things for God.”  Within a year, Carey and a Baptist surgeon named [John] Thomas would be on their way to India.

I.             Foreign Missions Fulfills the Tune of World Diplomacy.   V3 “Your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.”  V35 “Look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest.”  The world desperately needs to have an option to be Christian.  It is Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist.  It is Communist.  How [many have] any chance to be Christian?  A group of Christians emerged from a Jewish tour bus at the Dome of the Rock.  The Muslim overseers had closed it for the day.  The guide remarked to her driver, “I could do just as well without any religions.”  Unfortunately, there are many Christians who act as if they agree.

                Do you think Muslims will hesitate?  Would see the world in Communism?  Then we must support a mission program that reaches out in love.

                Yes, missionaries are still making an impact with the Gospel.  There are those who deny it. They say this person from another culture is not a messenger from God, but a harbinger of Western values.  Baptist missionaries in most of the world are supporting national leaders.  The good work for Ethiopian people is being done by the religiously oriented. 

                Here is the One Way that WE can creatively take a world stand.  John Denver said in USA Today: “If one man is hungry, then I am hungry.  If a child is starving, then my child is starving.”  Missions is the one remaining best hope of the world.

II.            It Not Only Fulfills World Diplomacy, but Church Deputation as Well.  V35 “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields.”  Matthew 28:19, 20 “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”     

                There can be no doubt that we are to evangelize.  A young clergyman asked the Duke of Wellington if it wasn’t useless to preach to Hindus.  “Look to your marching orders, ‘Go, preach the Gospel to every creature.’” S3p252. 

                The message of Christ has not found fulfillment until we share it with another.  Each one of use came to believe through the witness of another.  Our faith witness ought to include family, neighbors, others.  Family and neighbors we can reach; missions helps us to extend our hands around the world.

                It is no little job.  World population is presently approaching 5 billion.  By the year 2000 it is expected to be close to 6 billion. 

                WORLD AREA                                     POPULATION                                     % CHRISTIAN  [1984]

                Western Europe                               516 million                                          30%

                Eastern Europe                                 425 million                                          5%

                [South] America                               384 million                                          3%

                Africa                                                    700 million                                          2%

                Asia                                                        2.9 billion                                             0.1%

                North America                                   280 million                                          40%

                To walk with Christ is to identify with His message.  Matthew 24:14 “This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.”  Revelation 14:6 “I saw another angel . . . , having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”  Southern Baptist men gave 100,000 Bibles in Russia, and then they gave 100,000 Bibles again!

                In preparing for Jonah last week, I read again why Jonah hated the Assyrians so. Do we want a Gaddafi or Khomeini or Khrushchev clone in control?  God left the Jews because they became nation-centered.

                90% of Protestant preaching is to English-speaking people.  90% or more of Christian wealth is in the hand of English-speaking people. English speakers make up 9% of the world’s population.

III.           Missions Also is Necessary to Fulfill the Credibility of the Saviour. V34 “Jesus saith unto them, ‘My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”  I John 4:14 “The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”  He continues to seek that accomplishment through men and women of faith and good will.

                There are things that we can and must do.  Be sensitive to the searchings of faith in the lives of people around us.  Acknowledge that the means to winning the world is through the support of evangelically oriented missionaries.  Take a prayerful look at what the Lottie Moon Christmas offering means in that purpose.

                Remember that the way we live and talk, and the way we support our church and kingdom causes, tells people what we think about the credibility of the Saviour.

Conclusion

                Do you know who Albert Einstein was? Perhaps the greatest brain in scientific revolution.

                Do you know about Karl Marx?  Probably the greatest mind behind 20^th Century economics.

                Do you recognize Sigmund Freud?  The prime mover of psychology.

                All were Jews!!!!  But the need 

***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.

SEEKING BETTER THINGS

#045                                                             SEEKING BETTER THINGS                                                                                    

Scripture  Colossians 3:1-4 NIV                                                                                                                        Orig. 4-14-63

                                                                                                                                                                      Rewr. 1-6-74/4-8-79 

Passage:  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your^[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 

Purpose: To speak to my people on the occasion of Easter celebration to call to their minds the need to lift our horizons in the Lord Jesus, and commitment to Him.

Keywords:          New Birth            Easter                   Resurrection                      Christian Living

Introduction

A BAG OF TOOLS

Isn’t it strange that princes and kings,

And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,

And common people like you and me

Are builders for eternity?

Each is given a bag of tools,

A shapeless mass, a book of rules:

And each must make—before life is gone—

A stumbling block or a steppingstone.

                                                                                --R.L. Sharpe--

                We do  not have to look very far to discover people who have committed themselves absolutely to their life priorities.  Jane Goodall is an English primatologist and anthropologist, considered the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees.  Mary Leakey, paleontologist and contributor to National Geographic, was committed to the task of discovering man’s beginnings.  Ralph Nader was a consumer who made news about the dangers of the Corvair and Pinto; a young college student had died.  Nuclear scientists are convinced that one of man’s energy sources is in their field, and they are committed to efficient and safe nuclear power plants; it is too late to turn back because there are already 500 of these plants in the world, either in operation, or in some stage of planning or construction.

                We Christians must come to terms with the need for commitment to our Lord, and to His church, in order that we might be known as people whose energy resources and  reserves are given over unconditionally to our Lord to bring glory to His name.

                Seeking better things is as immanent in the spiritual world as in the material world.

I.             The Natural Beginning Place for Any Improvement is to Accept the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Colossians 3:1 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.“

                Apparently, most of us are looking for some good out of life.  For Adam, it was a rather arrogant goal, to be like God, all wise and eternal.  For Job, it was for an answer to a philosophical question, albeit a very important one (Job 14:14) “If a man die, shall he live again?”

                Thomas, who walked part of life’s trail with Jesus, was one who could not settle for faith, He had to have fact.  “I will believe that He is alive, only under the circumstances of touching the nail holes, and feeling the torn flesh on His side.”

                But regrettably, the goal for most of us is not changed from that day long ago in Babel (Genesis 11:4), “Let us build us a city and a tower. . . , whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name.”

                We are compelled here as Christians to remember that life has a higher, nobler goal.  It begins with the certitude that Christ is alive. Luke 24:3 “And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.”  Acts 4:33 “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great grace was upon them all.”

                It takes on its deepest meaning when we discover through faith that we are alive with Christ.    A.A. Ketchum wrote the hymn on p. 429 in our hymnal, Why Do I Sing About Jesus?

Deep in my heart there’s a gladness; Jesus has saved me from sin!

Praise to His name, what a Saviour! Cleansing without and within!

Why do I sing about Jesus? Why is He precious to me?

He is my Lord and my Saviour; Dying, He set me free!

                Paul is not here appealing for a sham other worldliness where we only contemplate eternity.  He is clearly acknowledging that for the Christian, his new standard of value will be God’s standard of value: Giving more than getting; serving more than ruling; forgiving more than avenging.

                Vance Havner, the contemporary Baptist evangelist, gives practical advice to all of us:  “I would say to today’s young minister, ‘Be not afraid to give much time to solitary walks and meditation.  You can well afford to dispense with many other activities some may think indispensable.  You will be returning to a way of life almost forgotten now, and you may be eyed askance by all runners in the Great Rat Race.  But your chance may come one day to speak your piece on some strategic occasion, when weary humanity has reached saturation and boredom listening to everything else.  On that day,  your quiet walks and lonely vigils will pay off.  If that chance never comes, they will have paid off anyway.’”

II.            Then, Let this Seeking Continue in the Positive Thrust of Christ-Like Living.  V3:2-3 “Set  your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.”  The Gnostics believed in hidden wisdom.  The meaning here is obvious.  The believer does not automatically lose worldly desire.  One never loses the potential to sin. 

                Something else did happen, and still does.  Their lives are wrapped up in Christ. The Greeks commonly spoke of a dead relative as being hidden in the earth.  The believer dies a spiritual death in baptism, and is hidden in Christ.  Baptism literally engulfed the early believers in the Lord.  It should be so with us.

                There is another reason why the believer should be so wrapped up in the Lord.  Satan rarely, if ever, gives up on bringing disruptive influences to bear in our lives. 

                Paganini, the great violinist, was in the middle of an important concert when one of the strings on  his violin snapped.  He continued to play as if nothing had happened.  Then, a second broke!  He played yet on without hesitation.  Then,  unbelievably, a third gave way with a sharp crack!  For a brief moment, he paused.  The audience assumed he would quit.  But he calmly raised his famous Stradivarius with one hand and announced, “One string . . . and Paganini!”

                With a tremendous, furious skill and matchless discipline, he finished the selection on a single string.  The audience arose and gave him a thunderous ovation.

                There are times in our lives when things go wrong.  Strings one after the other seem to snap.  It becomes increasingly easier to quit.  But when we are wrapped up in Jesus, going on is the thing to do.  Nothing pleases the prince of darkness more than for the children of the Father to forget who we are and WHOSE we are.  Nothing robs him of power and pleasure in our lives like trusting the Lord the more in difficult times than in good times.

                You see, the Christian life has a final goal of Christlikeness.  The Christian’s life is never more than when it is in the process of becoming.

                There is the new consumer advocacy.  There is genetic engineering.  For the believer, there is that priority that establishes the Lordship of Christ, and my only solution to the sin problem in my life is through Him.

CLOSING

                The three Hebrew children, young men actually, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were threatened with death if they did not accede to the demands of the Babylonians.  They were to worship like Babylonians and act like Babylonians.  “If it be so that our God is able to deliver us, well; but if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve thy gods or worship them”  (Daniel 3).

                When Paul arrived at Miletus, he sent for the elders of the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17).  He reminded them of the two essentials of the kingdom:  repentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus.  He, Paul, was not going to be around to help them, but this was the essential message that they were to bear to the people of their city.

                Repentance and faith.  They still are the elemental functions of belief:  Repentance—clearly, we are sinners, and only repentance toward God will ever change that; and Faith—faith that Christ died on a cross as the enabler of repentance and forgiveness, and the better, fuller life that is in Him.

JUSTIFIED FREELY

#044                                                                     JUSTIFIED FREELY                                                                                             

Scripture  Romans 3:19-31 NIV                                                                                                     Orig. 11-12-61 (11-85)

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 10-5-88 

Passage   ¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[b] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Purpose:              Continuing the series from Romans, here defining the message of justification for all mankind.

Keywords:          Bible Study         God, Grace         Man, Lost            Justification        Law

Timeline/Series:               Romans

Introduction

                Although it has been a number of years, many of us will still remember news reports out of the city of Philadelphia, and the Bellevue Stratford Hotel.  It was the summer of 1976.  By some fateful choice, the American Legion was holding its annual meeting in Philadelphia.  Many of the legionnaires were staying at the Bellevue Stratford.

                After the convention was over, and many of the conventioneers had returned home, a strange pall of illness invaded the lives of many of them.  Although they were in hospitals in several parts of the country, their doctors read the symptoms the very same way.  These people had an unknown illness.   For that reason, it became known as “legionnaires” disease.  In the weeks following at least 29 people died as a result of complications from the disease.  These people had either stayed at The Bellevue Stratford Hotel, or had taken meals there.

                Public censure of the hotel began immediately.  Before the end of that year, a period of no more  than six months, the hotel was closed.  What had at one time been one of the proudest of the Philadelphia hotels,   slowly sank into an undeserved oblivion.  The hotel did not cause those deaths.  But its association with them was such that a cautious public would no longer avail itself of these accommodations.

                We have an aversion to that which seems to be a threat to our physical well-being.  We are insisting on more and more safety in every mode of transportation.  We spend huge amounts of money encouraging medical science to protract life.

                We have no aversion,  however, to sin.  We seem willing to take our chances with it even when we know what a threat it is.  Thus, Paul reminds his readers, “All have sinned and fall short of  the glory of God, and are justified by his grace through . . . Christ Jesus.”

I.             First, then, Is the Need for Justification.  V23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Thomas Hobbes wrote, “whatsoever a man does against his conscience, is sin.”  The first three chapters are an extension of this premise.  God has revealed Himself to the gentiles through nature (Romans 1:19-20).  He revealed Himself to the Jews through Law (Romans 2:14-15).  All have rebelled against this revelation (Romans 1:29-32 and 2:1-5).  All will be judged on the basis of truth rejected (Romans 2:9-11).  All are equally guilty (Romans 3:21-23).

                Here will begin (through chapter 8) the supreme workings of faith.  Romans 8:38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, or angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things past, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

                Man, whatever his cultural bias, is the fallen creation of God.  We were created in, and for, holiness.  Acts 17:26f “From one man made He every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth: and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek Him. . . reach out for Him and find Him, though . . . not far from any of us.”

                The first man was created in holiness but voluntarily fallen.  So, each one of us, though touched by that same life force of God, is fallen.  Holiness implanted but not yielded to in our lives, is thus lost.

                We were created to remain  under the just law of God.  The article was somber and sobering.  “Last night while you slept: 15,000 arrests were made, more than 3,000 were committed to mental institutions, there were nearly 100 suicides and 30 murders.”

II.            There is Purpose in This Justification.  V22 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”  Man had the choice of positive obedience, and of belief about trust in community, too.  It was no impossible alternative.  The only available example is Jesus.  While we have the seed of sin, the choice is our own.

                God chose man to dwell in fellowship.  That purpose has never changed.  It was witnessed by law and prophets.  Isaiah’s “suffering servant” passage (Isaiah 52:13f) confirms.  Isaiah 54:7 “For a brief moment I abandoned  you, but with deep compassion I will bring thee back.”

                The same truth pertains to Jew and Gentile, v22.  “There is no difference.”  V23 “Both have sinned,” or “miss the mark.” Hebrew v. Greek suggest bad aim or powerlessness.

                “Justified freely” (v24) means a judicial decree.  “Redemption” (v24) refers to a slave market, where a price had to be paid.

                I Peter 1:18f “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, . . . but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish.”  This brings us to the very heart of the gospel.  It speaks of the measure of redemption—“freely” (v24).  It speaks of the manner of redemption—"by His grace” (v24).  It speaks of the means of redemption—“through . . . Christ Jesus” (v24). 

                It behooves us to recognize the choice that we are left to make.  Human reason tells us to avoid the implication of guilt.  Matthew Arnold, poet and author of Victorian England, pictured sin “not as a monster but as an infirmity.”  Elsewhere: “an infirmity to get rid of.”  He says not “How”!

                The likely choice is the (word), not human reasoning.  Romans 3:2 “First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.”  Guilt is a factor, and restitution is inevitable.  The workable alternative is faith in Christ as redeemer and sin bearer.

III.           Finally, We See the Example of Justification.  V28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”  Paul’s argument here is not simply justification by faith.  He has already settled that:  V24 “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ.”

                His argument is one for the exclusiveness of that faith justification.  His point is clear.  God does not opt to save some by faith and others by work.  Such inconsistency is the spawn of infidelity.  It is a human trait, not a sovereign one.  If God’s mood allowed such swings, how would we know what is His contemporary exercise?

                So the point is thoroughly made: He is God of both Jew and Gentile.  Jeremiah 10:7 “Who would not fear you, O  you king of the nations?”  “Nations” is reference to non-Jews.  Greek translates ethnos as “nations.”

                Mark 12:29f “Hear O Israel, the Lord is one . . . .  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  For the Jew, the law is the source through which faith flows. (Galatians 3:24, in the King James calls law a “schoolmaster.”)  For the Gentile, grace is the instrument of faith.  But for both, it is the act of believing faith that saves.

                So, Paul reminds  us that sin is the problem.  We are without defense or excuse.  Repentance is the key that activates this faith.  Thomas Fuller, English churchman and historian, said, “You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it will be too late.”

Closing

                On our one trip abroad, we stopped briefly in Venice.  On a ride through the canals, we saw the bridge called The Bridge of Sighs.  It is said to lead from a courtroom to a dismal prison.  “Abandon hope all ye who enter here.”

THE THREE-FOLD GRACE OF GOD

#042                                                     THE THREE-FOLD GRACE OF GOD                                                                            

Scripture Matthew 5:5-13; 26:39 NIV                                                                                Orig. 7-5-64 (10-75) (4-85)

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 4/22/84 

Passage:  V5-13 ⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,^[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.^[b]’

V26:39³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Purpose:              Using Jesus’ teaching and example in prayer to remind us of the parameters of God’s grace in our lives today

Keywords:          Commitment                     Grace of God                     Prayer                   Christ Mediator                 Communication

Introduction

Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian leader of peaceful resolution, gained many of his most significant insights from Christ.  He is quoted as having said that he would have given more serious consideration to having become an avowed follower of Christ had it not been for some of the Christians that he had known.  It is still so, that the greatest hindrance to the Kingdom of God is usually found in the discordant events in the lives of those who are presumably members of the kingdom.

Dr. R.G. Lee entitled one of his favorite sermons, “The Menace of Mediocrity.”  In it he writes “Mediocrity is somebody with diamond and ruby talents, worth as little to God’s cause through the church as a punctured Japanese nickel is worth at a Chinese bazaar.”  In that message, he mentions another sermon entitled “Bantam Baptists.”  Dr. Lee said he could have preached the same message to any gathering.  He would only have had to change the name: “Midget Methodists, Peewee Presbyterians, Lilliputian Lutherans, Puny Pentecostals, Miniature Mennonites, or Diminutive Disciples.”

Too many of us as Christians seem content to go through life with some such spiritual mediocrity as that mentioned in the child’s verse that many of us read to our children.

                “Solomon Grundy

Born on Monday,

Christened on Tuesday,

Married on Wednesday,

Taken ill on Thursday,

Worse on Friday,

Died on Saturday,

Buried on Sunday.

And that was the end of Solomon Grundy.”

I.             Grace is First Considered in Communication with the Father.  V6 “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place.”

It acknowledges the practiced humility.  It means to practice prayer.  It means that we are to do so even though we are not advantaged in the world’s eyes.

Charles Schultz has cartoon books for teens. Girl to Sunday School classmates: “I had to give up my secret closet of prayer.  Every time I went in there, all those cashmere sweaters made me feel guilty.”  Think how many of the world’s problems could be resolved if more of us were willing to be disadvantaged.  Ireland could become a land of religious harmony.  Central America could offer struggling third world nations a chance to be free and economically secure.  South Africa could resolve racial hostility.

It acknowledges practical meditation.  Clearly, we are to search for answers.  We are to do so with resolve in what the Father already knows. V8 “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask.” 

Jesus not only taught us so to pray, he exercised this option to the fullest.  Recourse to this grace is extended to each of us.  Job 13:15 “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”  II Chronicles 32:8 “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us.”  We seem to want Him removed out of our politics and government, out of our schools and homes. All that will be left is churches.  All that will be left is some social stigma, or worse, against believers.

Mediocrity is but a step away when we fail to be in touch with God’s grace through prayer.  It is to claim other resources than God.  It is to claim dependence on our own wit and charm. Luke 18:11 In Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, [I thank Thee that I am me.]”

II.            Grace Extends to Companionship in the Father.  V8 “Be ye not therefore like unto them; for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”  It pertains to a day-by-day awareness of God, and His help.  Norman Vincent Peale: “Millions of men and women are creeping through life on their hands and knees merely because they refuse to rely on any power but self.”  Too many of us are too distracted by the myriads of things in our lives.  V7 Admonishes us “not us use vain repetition as the heathen do.”  It is to put the Lord first, and to know where we stand with Him. 

Remember the old radio ad of the dog sitting before an old timey speaker.  The caption says it all: “His master’s voice.”  It is to be obedient to Him.  “Too many Christians spend six days sowing wild oats, and the seventh praying for a crop failure.” 

Such companionship offers not only daily help, but also delivering help.  V13 “Deliver us from the evil one.”  People who are insensitive to Satan’s zeal, tend to discount his power.  It is amazing how many people respond to exercise, diet programs.  They eat the right foods.  They work out strenuously.  But these same people give no consideration to spiritual needs.  James 1:4 “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed.”

The promise of God’s help is in accord with the practice of faith.  I Corinthians 10:13 “God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able.”

Daily help, delivering help, becomes determined help.  V10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  We don’t come into the kingdom grown.  We grow in the pursuit of God’s will as we nourish our interest in it.  Our Daily Bread told of a tribal chief where missionaries were working.  “If you become better men and women by being Christians, you may remain so; if not, I forbid you to be Christians at all.”

III.           Beyond Communication and Companionship, there is Commitment.  Matthew 26:39: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

No person ever wanted to live, or had reason to live, like Jesus did.  “Let this cup pass.”  He thought of needs: hunger, disease, injustice. He thought of meaningless religion: unbelief, cynicism, error. He thought of misguided zealots: Jewish and pagan.  He thought of the disciples and their wavering faith: Judas’ rejection, Peter’s denial.

Jesus wanted to live.  “Let this cup pass from me.”  But greater than His desire to live was His determination to do God’s will.  Thus, grace is given: Grace opening to us the door to communing with the Father; Grace enabling us to experience companionship in the Father; Grace motivating us for commitment in the Father.

Conclusion

                The French painter, Emile Ranouf, has depicted on canvas what he calls, “The Helping Hand.”  It is of an elderly man in fishing gear, rowing a boat with a small girl at his side.  Obviously, there is great love between them.  Her small hands are also on oars.  He looks at her fondly.  The child has desire, but the strength is the grandfather’s.  Thus is a renewable parable of our relation to God.

FAITH MADE PERFECT

#036                                                                FAITH MADE PERFECT                                                                                       

Scripture  James 2:19-26 NIV                                                                                                                         Orig. 10-14-62

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 10-8-87 

Passage:  ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.  ²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^[a]? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”^[b] and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.  ²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Purpose:   Beginning the new church year with an emphasis on faith and church organization in conjunction with the Lord’s Supper

Keywords:          Church                  Activity                 Faith                      Ordinance                           Lord’s Supper

Introduction

                Tomorrow is a special milestone in our great Baptist Heritage.  It represents a very special anniversary for Louisiana Baptists.

                On October 12^th, in 1812, the first Baptist work was begun in our state.  That was the date, in Washington Parish, on the Bogue Chitto River, that the Half Moon Bluff Church was organized.

                For 175 years, the gospel has been proudly proclaimed by Baptists of Louisiana.  Those earliest believers, because of their location in extreme southeastern Louisiana, were for some years affiliated with Mississippi Baptists, but they were, nonetheless, the forebears of Louisiana work.

                It was the same year, by the way, that Adoniram Judson left to go to Burma as a missionary.  If you recall the story, you recall that he changed to his life-long Baptist faith on the ship that took him to a land that knew nothing of Christianity.  He went, then, without support.  His former denomination withdrew support.  And it was before we Baptists were known for our missionary vision.  These struggling churches, not unlike Half Moon Bluff, in the early Nineteenth Century, supported what missionaries that there were, on butter and egg money, by the women of the Ladies Aid Society, the forerunner of our Women’s Missionary Union.

                It has been people of vision, working together organizationally, who have reared up this great Baptist heritage. It seems that some of us are satisfied to let some parts of it die.  In the name of our Lord, and in His covenant with us in his own blood, I challenge you to be a strong arm of influence in our town and Parish, for our Lord, and for His church.

I.             Faith Demands an Effort Put Forth.  V22 “…by works was faith made perfect.”  Make no mistake, they were not saved by works.  Abraham faithed God. God imputed (deposited to his account). Those with children away at school have to impute solvency so that these young people will appear secure. That depositing of worth expects a response of concern.  In other words, the works don’t save, but they prove the faith.

                Our faith calls us to organize our concern.  We organize a Bible teaching program called Sunday School for the teaching of the Word of God.   A Church Training emphasis was organized years ago to personalize youth involvement and growth.  Today it provides opportunity for growth in Christ, in Bible study, in ability, for all.  Missions organization is just that, a means to share with all the prospect of service to the needs of humankind.

                The 2^nd Sunday in October represents World Hunger Day.  Are you aware that 730 million people remain hungry every day?  The wafer and juice we consume is more than many will have all day.  In Ethiopia, 5-10 million may starve this year.  In America, there may be as many as 3 million homeless.  People working full-time at minimum wage are $1800 below the poverty line for a family of three.

                Thus, faith is an instrument in our lives for good.  Faith is belief.  But it is belief to train, to work, to serve.  And we begin where we are.  Too many Christians assume that they are excused from such service.  No person in this room is little qualified to serve Christ, none too old, or too feeble.

                Rahab (v25) served, simply by becoming a relocation agent for God’s people passing through.

II.            Faith Made Perfect is a Process Through Which We Grow in Our Understanding of God’s Will and Way.  V26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”  As a believer, I have a responsibility: To stay as close to the Lord as I can through Bible study, service activities, and mission involvement (Camp Harris), and to walk by faith—to  live by faith—to work by faith.

                As a believer, I have a responsibility to share.  We share readily with those we love.  When will our hearts be open to love those less fortunates for whom Christ died?  We have been successful in the Georgia Barnette State Mission Offering. We will soon endeavor to opportunize the Lottie Moon Foreign Missions Offering.  What can we do for hungry people?

Conclusion

                Let me remind you as we turn our attention to the Lord’s Supper, that stewardship is a faith venture also. In the great text of II Samuel 24:24 about David and Araunah the Jebusite, Araunah was prepared to give whatever it might take in the King’s name.  David’s reply is a classic.  “Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price; neither will I offer . . .  offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing.”

                What better time, than now, can we offer to our Lord, that which comes of dedication and even sacrifice?