Church of Christ on Kelly Spring Road Podcast

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Tim Smith

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

What I want to talk about this morning is confidence that we have in our relationship with God.

And our salvation If there was anyone In scripture That new His purpose, more so than maybe John, maybe than Jesus who knew his eternal purpose and was involved in the eternal purpose was John the Baptist.

His coming was prophesized 700 years before his, before his birth and the last words that came.

Uh Before the silence of the scriptures for 400 years.

Related to his coming.

He was, uh, his parents were miraculously notified.

Of his coming, of his birth, uh, both through the angel appearing to Zechariah and Mary coming to Elizabeth and, and the, the babe, uh, leaping John the Baptist leaping in her womb.

John knew who he was.

And he knew who he wasn't.

You read John the first chapter, when the scribes and Pharisees came to him, he said, I'm not the Christ, I'm not the prophet.

I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

He witnessed the spirit of God descend on Jesus.

At his baptism, he heard the voice saying, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased.

He told those who followed him that Jesus was the Son of God, that he was the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

He steered his disciples to Jesus, and when his disciples decreased and Jesus' disciples increased, John was, was happy about that.

Yet When John was in prison, He asked his disciples to go to Jesus in, in Matthew the 11th chapter.

He sent his disciples to Jesus to ask, are you the one to come?

Or shall we look for another?

Jesus answered his disciples this way.

Go and tell John what you hear and see.

The blind receive their sight in the lame walk.

Lepers are cleansed in the deaf here, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.

And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

That's Matthew 43 verses 3 to 6.

I want you to understand John, in spite of the prophecies that he knew about, in spite of what he saw in the spirit descending on Jesus, in spite of what he heard from heaven, in spite of his knowledge of, of his purpose and who he was.

Revealing He still had doubts.

He needed reassurance and Jesus supplied it.

And it's interesting that he didn't say John.

You really, you really shouldn't doubt.

It's interesting that he didn't say, John, you know better.

He he told him.

That the same prophet who prophesized about you prophesized about me.

What I'd like to remind us this morning.

Is that the scriptures say we can be confident in our relationship with God.

Both now and eternally.

Confidence or boldness is used to describe the relationship and access that we have to God in a number of passages, and we're gonna look at some of them this morning.

The word translated confidence or boldness in, in some, some versions.

Um In the literally comes from two words meaning all speech.

In other words, being free to speak.

It involves the absence of fear and speaking boldly and therefore it's confidence.

Cheerful courage, boldness, without any connection necessarily with speech.

Free and fearless confidence is how I want to describe it this morning.

Let's look at some passages that discuss our access and relationship with God.

Hebrews 10 tells us that since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh, and since we have a great great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised his faithful.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as the habit of some.

But encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

We have confidence to enter the very presence of God in heaven.

Another passage that's very familiar with us to us is Ephesians 3rd chapter where it talks about the church being in the eternal plan of God.

I'm going to pick up reading in verse 9.

Paul's purpose was to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things so that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

This was according to the eternal purpose that he realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence.

Uh, through faith in him.

Two words uh combined there.

The boldness is, is the word that I talked about meaning all speech being uh free confidence or, or confidence in our access.

The actually the 2, 2nd term, access with confidence is from two words that mean just that to, to access confidently, to, to come into one's presence with confidence.

We have access to God.

Hebrews the 4th chapter.

When The writer there begins his description of, of the high priesthood of Jesus.

He says, since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens.

Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We have confidence to access the throne of God.

Because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

What, what an incredible privilege and, and, and, uh, brother Ralph talked about some of that this morning.

The honor that we have in coming into the presence of God.

And if we can come now into God's presence.

Not only though, can we come into his presence, but we can come into his presence with confidence, we can come into his presence with boldness.

Because of what he's done, he desires for us to approach him with our request.

Imagine That I receive.

A telegram or some Whatever the, uh, I don't think it be Snapchat.

I don't know how they would, how would they, how they would ask me to, to come, but the board of directors for Apple.

Decides to invite me to their board meeting.

I don't own any stocks of that, only only stock in Apple.

I use, I have used in the past an Apple computer.

I have an iPhone.

But imagine me going to the board meeting.

Where would I sit in this August gathering of people?

Would I decide that I'm gonna sit up there right next to the board, chairman of the board, and, and, and basically run the meeting or, or be, be a co-equal with him or, or be even I would be sitting so far off to the, to the side and, and imagining why am I in this meeting here?

Or a presidential cabinet meeting.

I've been, I've been invited to, to sit down on one.

Am I gonna sit next to the president or the vice president and, and, uh, you know, put my arm around him and, and, and say, you know, this is what should be done.

That, that is, that's not the, that's not a picture that, that doesn't even, don't even ring true with us.

But imagine the fact.

That God has invited us into his very presence that we can access the presence of God.

And, and have our request made known.

Not only have them made known, but God wants us to make them known to Him.

We have not only confidence in our access and relationship now.

But we have confidence and boldness in our future.

1 John the 43nd chapter.

As John urges the readers to reject the message that the Antichrist were all that we're presenting already in the world.

He encourages the faithfulness of the brethren there to the teaching they had received.

And says, and now little children abide in him, so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink from him and shame at his coming.

If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are.

The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Loved, if we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared.

And what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we should be like him because we shall see him as he is.

And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

From our scripture reading this morning, And it's been read to you twice, so I'm not gonna do that again, but we, we have confidence in a living hope.

We have confidence in obtaining the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls because of what has been done for us.

In a passage that that we're all familiar with, uh, and I forgotten exactly how many years ago the elders spent an entire year, 12 sermons talking about these verses here.

So I'm not gonna go over this in detail, but some of the things that, that we see in, in 2 Peter the 1st chapter, that his divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and God in us.

They If, if we do these things he describes in the, in the interceding passage, they keep us from being ineffective and unfruitful in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And if we're diligent, verse 10 to confirm our calling an election, if we practice these qualities, we'll never fall, verse 11, for in this way, there will be richly provided for you and entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

If I can summarize these.

Passages that that we've gone through hurriedly.

We see that we can boldly draw near to God and His throne of grace.

We have unlimited access.

First John 5:14 and 15 tell us this, and this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request that we have asked of him.

We have access to God and, and he, he is willing to, to do what we need according to His will.

We can be confident at the coming of Jesus and at, at judgment.

We can be confident That the outcome of our faith will be the salvation of our souls.

And we can be confident that our entrance into heaven will be richly supplied, lavishly supplied.

It is an entrance entrance that is ministered abundantly.

What I've wanted you to see is that these passages are filled with confidence.

What is it, however, that brings about the confidence that, that is thus expressed in these passages?

What's the basis on which we can have this confidence?

And the answer It is in the context of the passages that we've gone through.

So I'm gonna go back through and, and show you some things that point to how we can have confidence or why we can have confidence.

The reason that we have access to God is because he's opened up the way through the blood of Jesus, verse 19, by the new and living way that he opened for us through his curtain, through his flesh.

We can come based on a full assurance of faith verse 163.

The reason because our hearts are sprinkled with his blood and our, and is from an evil conscience and our bodies are washed with pure water, describes how we are converted.

And we are to hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.

Reason being because the one who promised is faithful in verse 23.

What we're going to do or how, how that comes about is, or what we do as a result of that is we stir up one another to love and good works and we can encourage one another.

The reason that we have access as described in Ephesians the 3rd chapter is because of Christ Jesus our Lord and through our faith in Him, though, that's the reason that we can come in confidence, we can come in confidence with that for our access.

In Hebrews, the 4th chapter, we, we see that if we hold fast our confession, if we are faithful to Him, Then we can with confidence draw nearer to the throne of grace.

In 1 John the 2nd chapter, if we abide in Him.

If we practice righteousness, as it says in the end of verse 29.

And If we hope in Him, and if, if we, as we hope in Him, we purify ourselves as it says in chapter 3 and verse 3.

The first page of the first chapter.

Ralph emphasized the fact that we are born again.

How are we born again?

We are, we are, we are born again by the by the The sprinkling of the, of the blood sprinkling of our hearts and the washing of pure water as described in Hebrews 10.

But we are, we are kept.

The reason we can have confidence, we are kept by God's power through our faith.

Uh, through faith.

Verse 93, and that idea of, of being kept is, is a military guard about us.

God is, is God's power is protecting us as we live in faith, and he's he's protecting us for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

By the tested genuineness of our faith verse 7.

And We believe in him and rejoice with joy so that the outcome of our faith will be the salvation of our souls.

And as you see that we are Guarded through faith, verse 5, the tested genuineness of our faith verse 7, and the outcome of our faith.

Faith is, is I Permeates the entire uh passage here and is the basis upon which we can be confident.

And finally, this one has, this is all, all, all red or all yellow and blue.

I'm not that color blind yet.

Um. How is it that we can have confidence?

It's based on our knowledge of the one who's called us to His Excellency and glory.

We have been given great and precious promises.

So that we we as as human beings have partaken of the divine nature.

We have escaped corruption, we have been been washed.

Uh And as we do that, we need to make every effort to supply these things in our faith, to supplement our faith with virtue and knowledge and self-control and steadfastness and godliness and brotherly.

Brotherly affection And, uh, and love, uh, it didn't do anything to me.

I shouldn't shouldn't have beat on it, uh.

And if these qualities not only exist in us, but they're increasing, then we can have confidence.

And if we are diligent, To confirm our calling an election.

Then we can have confidence.

The basis for our confidence.

The one who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 21:22.

We're born again based on our faith in Jesus, or we're born again described in First Peter the first chapter, and it continues on to the end of the chapter there as, as, as Ralph revealed.

It's based on faith in Jesus, Ephesians the 23rd chapter.

It's based on being washed by His blood, Hebrews 24:24 Peter 216.

We hold fast to our confession and faith.

Hebrews the 13th chapter 21 Peter 211.

We continue to abide in God and practice righteousness.

We see that in 21 John the 2nd chapter and also 1 Peter 1, and we give diligence to adding to our faith, supplementing our faith these things that are described in 2 Peter the 1st chapter.

So how is it that confidence is going to cause us to live?

How is it going to affect our lives?

What is, what will be the fruit that it bears?

And what I want to do for you this morning in the, in the remaining minutes is to lay out a sketch of people who are confident in their relationship with God.

In their heavily citizenship.

Paul in Philippians, the 3rd chapter.

States with confidence.

That we have a heavenly citizenship.

And I'm gonna pick up in Ephesians the 113rd chapter.

Begin in verse 20 And, and here, he has, is, is concluding his thoughts on the fact that, that we strain, that he's straining toward the goal of the high prize of God.

And describes those who have turned away.

But in verses, verse 20 he says, but our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

So what Paul is, is describing after this are, are those.

Who have that hope.

The hope that that we wait for a savior and that he will transform and, and Our lowly body to, that we will be resurrected, that we will uh be transformed to be like Him.

He can, he begins the next thought says, therefore, chapter 4 verse 1.

My brothers whom I long and who I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm yet thus in the Lord, my blood.

So if we're going to To live in a way.

That shows that we are confident in our salvation.

We're going to stand firm.

We're going to hold our ground.

Uh, We're not going to back down against sin.

And against the devil.

Not only are we going to stand firm, We're gonna get along with our brethren.

Read with me verses 2 and 3.

I entreat Yodia and I entreat Sintiki to agree in the Lord.

Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life.

We're going to stand firm against sin.

But we're not going to stand against each other.

We're going to get along.

Even people that work side by side with Paul sometimes had difficulty working together.

And what Paul is, is admonishing the brethren there is to help these women to work together to get along.

Uh, We need to back down sometimes when relationship is important.

And when sin is not involved.

We're going to rejoice.

In fact, this is so important that Paul says it two times.

He says, rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I will say, rejoice.

Uh I say things a lot of times, but things that I, that we won't emphasize we repeat.

Paul says that we need to live in joy.

We need to live in rejoicing.

People who are joyful will not live with a sour disposition.

Regardless of circumstances.

The Christian joy is serenity of spirit that over that overcomes circumstances, a state of mind that has resulted from peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, and which confidently trusts in him as the source of life's triumph.

People who live in joy are not going to be like the people that I heard described by a preacher a number of years ago as having the facial expression of someone weaned on a dill pickle.

We need to Understand that if we're going to live in joy.

We can't walk around with a dour disposition.

We need to be people who reflect the joy of God in our lives.

Not only are we going to live lives of joy.

But we're going to be reasonable.

Uh, translated.

Gentleness In other other other translations, uh, forbearance.

Of Hendrickson uses the term big-heartedness to describe this quality.

It's the opposite to the spirit of contention and self-seeking.

is someone who is going to be satisfied.

With less than they do.

Less than what is due them.

Not only must our life be characterized by a spirit of joy.

But a spirit of fairness must must be evident to all men, Christians and non-Christians alike.

The Christian must be known as a person who is willing to forego some of his own rights out of sympathy and consideration for the needs of others.

Christ, who was meek and gentle, demonstrated this quality.

We're going to replace anxiety with trust, which results in peace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We're going to replace anxiety with trust.

Remember the boldness.

that we have in access to the throne of grace.

In Hebrews the 4th chapter.

We need to be cognizant of our need.

For the, for God's help.

The anxiety that's described here is trust not in God.

But it's based on trust in ourselves.

You know, Commentary The Bible speaks for the day.

I, I, I found these, uh, these words, they were quoted in, in truth commentaries, but On Hebrews 4:16.

Some, some man, I'm not certain who he is, used to insist that prayerlessness is the root of all sin.

When we do not give time each day to earnest and believe in prayer.

We are saying that we can cope with life without divine aid.

It is human arrogance at its worst.

Jesus knew that he had to pray and a number of passages recited and did so gladly, necessarily, and effectively.

To be prayerless is the worst form.

of practical atheism.

We are saying that we believe in God, but We can do without him It makes us careless of our former sins and heedless of our immediate needs.

This letter is speaking of Hebrews urges us to come into the presence of a God who welcomes us.

And a Christ who understands us.

To neglect the place of prayer is to rob ourselves of immense and timely resources.

For the Christian The throne of grace is the place of help.

When We place our trust.

In God and and and present our needs and our desires to Him.

This is going to result in the peace of God that passes understanding.

That peace is based on trusting God completely.

It is the deep tranquility of a soul resting wholly upon God.

The opposite of the anxiety caused by the world and worldliness.

We're gonna cleanse our minds.

We're gonna think about good things.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, what if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things.

So we're going to pray.

In trust and we're going to purify our minds.

We're going to think on, on the things that, that will bring about holiness.

Action The things that we do.

Necessarily follow the things that we think.

A man does as he thinks.

And finally in verse 9, We're going to imitate faithful saints.

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Paul encourages the readers there.

You've heard me?

You see me in action.

You, you've seen what I do.

You, you've heard the message that I presented.

Now follow me.

1 Corinthians 11:1 says, imitate me as I imitate, imitate Christ.

And here he expands to include following the teaching as well as the example, the things that we've learned that they had learned and received and heard and seen in him.

We will practice What is preached And lived.

Sometimes the The thing that we will gravitate most to is, is how somebody acts versus what they say.

And here Paul says, follow what I, what I say and how I act.

And we need to be people who can do that and also have people follow us.

The encouragement this morning is that we can We can have confidence in the future.

But to have the confidence that's been described this morning.

You need to be part of God's family.

My question for you is, are, are you ready this morning to submit to God?

If you've never obeyed the gospel, Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?

Are you willing to repent of your sins and confess your faith in Him, be buried with him in baptism?

If you have Been born again, but have not.

Uh, followed through, have not been faithful in, in your life.

Make that commitment this morning to, to, to be faithful, to live in full assurance of faith.

To have the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls be something that, that you can enjoy.

If you need To respond to the invitation this morning, please come as we stand and sing.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun PM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Allen Dvorak

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

Tonight's reading will be from the book of Ephesians, beginning in chapter 4, verse 31 and continuing on through chapter 5, verse 17.

Uh, as a brief context for where, where we'll, uh, begin in verse 31, Paul is urging the, the Christians in, in Ephesus to live in a way that reflects their, uh, new way of life in Christ.

And he does this by contrasting the former way that they lived, the way they behaved with now the godly character that God calls them to display.

Beginning in chapter 4, verse 1, and I'll be reading from the Christian Standard Bible.

Let all bitterness, anger, and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice and be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another just as God also forgave you and Christ.

Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children and walk in love as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints.

Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather give thanks for know and recognize this every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person who is an idolater.

Does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God's wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things.

Therefore, do not become their partners, for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth, testing what is pleasing to the Lord.

Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them, for it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret.

Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light.

Therefore, it is said, Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

Pay careful attention then to how you walk, not as unwise people, but as wise, making the most of the time because the days are evil.

So don't be foolish but understand what the Lord's will is.

We have a good number here this evening.

Appreciate the presence of everyone.

If you're visiting with us, we're particularly gratified that you're here and it's our hope that you'll be encouraged and instructed in the word of the Lord by our study together, by our singing together, by the prayers that we pray together.

I hope I'm not dating myself too much.

But some of you may remember the 2nd Crocodile Dundee movie.

In that movie, an Australian bushman by the name of Mick Dundee.

Uses a wooden paddle that I've learned since then was called a bullroarer.

And he used it to make a phone call.

Well, what it did was when he would swing it around, it made kind of a distinctive sound.

And if there were any of his aborigine uh family in the area, they knew that he was summoning them for help.

That's what one of these phones looks like uh in uh that movie.

That sounds pretty low tech to all of us, but perspective really is everything, isn't it?

How many of you here know what a party line is in terms of phones?

OK. Uh, Caleb started to raise his hand, Caleb Ethridge, and he thought, yeah, I don't know, that's an old thing.

I don't know if I want to raise my hand or not.

When I was growing up, that's what we had out in the country in Central Illinois, we had a party line.

And basically, what that was, was there were several people who apparently, we all shared the same telephone line.

And so when you picked up the phone to make a call, sometimes you didn't get a dial tone, you got conversation.

You were hearing what the neighbors were saying to whoever they had called.

A party line really depends upon courteous people.

We did not share a party line with courteous people.

And so there were times when two of our neighbors were fussing and fighting with each other because one wouldn't get off the phone and the other one wanted to make a call.

I want you to contrast that with the phones that we have nowadays, where you can actually tell your phone who to dial, who to call.

Hey, Siri.

Call Debbie Vorjak mobile.

Calling Debbie De Borjac mobile.

Now, sometimes Debbie Vorjak doesn't answer.

She doesn't take my call, not because she doesn't want to talk to me, but she may be busy or something, but it's amazing what we can do with the electronic uh communication that we have today.

We live in a digital world, a world of electronic devices that do unbelievable things.

This is not just a phone, this is a computer that does so many incredible tasks.

Um, some of you may remember the movie that starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

You've Got Mail.

It was a rom-com back in I think maybe as early as the 1970s or 1980s, I forget.

And in that movie, they're communicating these two major actors, characters in the movie, they're communicating with each other over the internet, dial up internet, AOL.

And so you would try to get on and it would dial and then you'd wait and Would any of you buy a service, a subscription to an internet service today where you had to dial up to the internet?

What happens when the internet falls down now, when for some reason it, it's, it's not, uh, it's not working in your home.

Heart palpitations.

How long is this gonna last?

What would we do with ourselves?

I can't find my email.

And so we've come to, uh, to depend on the connections that we have via the internet and those electronic devices that are attached or connected to it.

Not only our computers and phones are connected, but more and more, some of our appliances are connected.

Uh, we bought a Kia a couple 21 years ago, and I didn't realize it at the time, how far behind I am on the times, but that Kia talks to the dealership and tells the dealership how many miles we have on our odometer, and the dealership will then send me an email saying, hey, you need to bring your car in, it's time for an oil change.

They're on a different schedule than I am, but it gives them the opportunity by that connection to pester me for service on my car.

Well, if you've got complaints about the internet, you will agree with this, and that is that the internet makes social networking fast and easy.

I said it makes it fast and easy.

You can socially network without the internet, but it takes a lot more time.

Debbie and I networked the summer before our 22nd year at college.

She wrote letters, I wrote letters, and they went back and forth through the postal service.

We networked that way.

It's the way old people used to do it, OK, before we had these network connections.

I want to talk to you this evening about social media, and it would be good for us to have some sort of an idea of what we're talking about when we talk about social media.

And so I've given you this definition which came off of social media.

It says social media is made up of websites, apps, and other platforms that allow users to share information and ideas with virtual communities through text, photos, videos, and more.

I think that's a pretty decent uh definition, and there are a number of different Types of social media.

This is likewise from the internet and they give us, uh, I guess 21 different kinds of sites.

They're social networking sites.

Uh, some of those sites are mainly used to connect with people you may or may not know.

Uh, there are image-based sites.

Uh, Pinterest is one of those, for instance, there are others like that.

There are video hosting platforms.

YouTube is one of those.

There are discussion forums.

If you have a problem with one of your appliances, if you know the brand of the appliance, you can get online and you can find a community of people who own that brand of appliance and you can ask your question and you get information from them.

And then, of course, there are blog and community platforms and they come in various uh types as well.

Social media has been credited with connecting users, allowing for community building and sharing important information.

And I think that is a positive benefit of social media.

Now tonight I'm gonna talk to you about the dangers of social media, but this is not a social media all bad sermon.

I'm not gonna suggest to you that there's nothing good about social media, not gonna suggest to you that before you can hardly get home tonight, you need to cancel all your social media accounts for the record.

I have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, Discord, Pinterest, Quora, Zoom, and WhatsApp.

And I kind of think I've probably forgotten maybe 23 or 212.

Because as I was making that list, I kept remembering another account, another platform that I have an account with.

This is the, the, the, the time of multiple connections on various platforms.

I have on Facebook, 213 friends.

And I'm not saying that to brag, I'm saying that because I'm astounded.

There are that many people who would wish to be associated with me in any way.

I think many of them probably thought they were signing up to be friends with another Alan Dvorak, maybe the one that sits with Alex and Raquel.

I'm not sure about that.

But I want to begin by saying I freely acknowledge that social media provide many benefits.

And I'll, I'll just list a few here uh for the sake of, uh, Making a foundation.

There's all kinds of educational information that you can find through social media and online.

You can learn just about anything on social media, everything from how to garden or how to treat your sick child, uh, after hours, after doctor's hours, how to do origami, you name it.

Somebody has probably written something about that subject and posted it online.

How would you like to be an encyclopedia salesman today?

You think you could make any sales if you walked up to people's doors with this little cart, and it's got the uh uh the encyclopedia set, there's 203 volumes of it, and it retails for $220 and something dollars or whatever.

I'm giving you hypothetical uh information here.

And someone looks at you and says, Are you crazy?

I have an encyclopedia set right here.

I can ask Google anything, right?

Siri What was the final score of the Auburn Vanderbilt game yesterday?

Auburn lost in overtime to Vanderbilt yesterday.

The final score was 21 to 219.

Siri, are you sure?

See, she won't answer.

That's the correct score.

Uh, I just thought I'd give the, the, the Alabama fans something to, to, to listen to in the sermon.

I used to tell our sons when they were growing up was we were trying to encourage them to do well in school, to apply themselves, learn to read well.

I used to tell them, if you can read, you can learn anything.

And that's still true, but now you can watch a YouTube video that'll show you how to do almost anything.

You need to do some brain surgery, you get on YouTube and there's probably several people who have written some sort of or made some sort of film, some sort of video that will tell you what you need to know.

Records Information on modern events like the final score of the Auburn Vanderbilt game.

Historical information, you want to know who the 16th president of the United States is?

Google can tell you if you don't know.

And so, uh, these platforms, these apps that are part of social media, they help us with records or information about even those things that are going on currently.

We use uh social media to stay in touch with distant friends or family members uh through social networking sites.

How else would we play computer games, Fortnite, uh with.

People who are in other states uh after hours.

And so, uh, that's the primary reason I stay on Facebook.

I don't really care for Facebook.

I don't post much on Facebook, but I do learn about some of the things that are happening in the lives of people that we've known in the past where we've worked in different places and we've lost touch with them.

I'm gonna come back to that a little bit later on.

Virtual meetings, right?

What would we do without Zoom, especially during COVID-19?

I know Tim Smith is a big fan of Zoom.

Uh, every time we have an elders meeting, Tim wants to know, can we just do this by Zoom?

I'm kidding you.

Tim hates Zoom.

But Zoom was a, was a valuable tool when it was difficult for people to associate closely with one another.

And so we use apps like that uh to meet together and to convey information.

And then, of course, collaboration on projects.

I think some of you who work Uh, on the, uh, arsenal, you do that.

You've got several people who are working together on the same project and you're sharing the information that each one contributes in a common document.

So what's the point?

Well, there are some good things about social media.

I'm not saying that there's nothing positive about it, but I am saying there are some definite dangers.

And I think we need to talk about those things.

I think those dangers have been illustrated in the lives of some Christians.

Probably some Christians, you know, if you follow some of these things on social media.

Now, I'm gonna give you a list here, and this list is from the internet.

These are people who are working on the internet who are telling you about how dangerous the internet can be.

Social media can be.

And so, uh, my intention this evening is not to try to discuss all of these dangers.

We'll discuss some of them.

I'm not gonna try to justify some of these points.

You can look them up on uh Google if you like.

It's easily.

done, but I'm just going to give you a few things that even those who would not share our particular convictions about God and about how we should serve God, they recognize the dangers of social media, mental health.

Studies have shown that there is a, a link between heavy social media use and a higher risk of anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

I find that extremely interesting.

That using social media.

May not dispel loneliness.

We'll say more about that a little bit later on and I think how we can, how that can be true.

But how is it that we can be lonely if we have hundreds of friends on a social network platform?

You think that maybe speaks to the depth of the connections that we're forming in some of these cases?

Social media sometimes uh creates uh poor self-image and body image, constant exposure.

I'm gonna just read this from the, from the network.

Constant exposure to idealized images, the beautiful people can lead to social comparison, body dissatisfaction, and low self-esteem.

Well, I can't look like that person.

So now I uh feel like I'm not worth as much.

Something that's a big problem is cyber bullying.

I, I'm sure many of you have, as I have, read stories of people who were bullied by others via the internet, via social media, even to the point where they were willing to commit suicide.

Social media can be a platform for harassment, hurtful rumors.

So and so is mad at so and so.

This happens a lot of times with young people, and so they start spreading rumors about that person and that gets on the network, and it just goes everywhere.

And it can have severe emotional consequences for those who are the object of such bullying.

Some of them harm themselves, some of them kill themselves.

Narcissism Narcissism is defined as a personality style that is characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a deep need for excessive admiration and a lack of empathy for others.

Uh, can also involve a sense of entitlement of arrogance, and even a tendency to exploit others.

What does that have to do with social media?

TikTok for a while.

was doing some of these trends where in order to get as many likes as you could, they would suggest that you had to do some things uh publicly.

Some of them were extremely dangerous.

People actually killed themselves trying to get likes on TikTok.

Same thing with other social media platforms where people will do almost anything in order to accumulate as many likes as they can.

Tell me, what is that worth?

If people you don't know, people with whom you have maybe little or no connection to, strangers to you on the other side of the globe are liking something that you do that you post.

What is the worth of that?

But there are people who see those likes, like a uh a dose of dopamine.

It, it, uh.

It motivates them.

Here's another category privacy and security.

Um, as you put out information on the networks, uh, that personal information can be exploited by those who are not necessarily hacking your computer, but hacking some other computer, uh, phishing scams where people are, uh, pretending, uh, for this reason or that reason that they need you to, uh, tap on this or whatever.

And, uh, a lot of times that just leads to identity theft.

The social platform companies have entirely different objectives.

From their average users.

Facebook is not particularly interested in providing you a platform so you can keep in contact with your friends.

Facebook is gathering information about you so they can sell it to companies.

Who then will use that information to manipulate your behavior or to predict what you will buy or sell.

I want to read you a quotation.

By Jaron Lanier.

Uh, you can tell from the title of his book how he feels about this.

He says that the book is entitled 10 Arguments for deleting your Social Media Accounts right now.

Here's what he says.

He says, consider the billions of dollars taken in by Facebook, Google, and the rest of the so-called digital advertising industry every month.

The vast majority of that money comes from parties who are seeking.

To change your behavior and who believe they're getting results.

Obviously wouldn't continue paying if they weren't.

Many of these behavior changes are similar to the ones that television ads try to provoke, like getting you to buy a car or go to a cafe.

Platforms, these social media platforms are collecting information on an incredible scale to sell to third parties who want that information for the purpose of predicting behavior and manipulating users into behavior modification.

And if you think that's not true, you need to do a little research.

Find out how Target collects information on you if you shop there.

They can anticipate whether there's a new baby in your family.

Sometimes before some of the family knows, because of the things that are bought.

Social media platforms are manipulators.

We're users and we're being used.

By the collection of data that is then sold to other companies or parties for the purpose of profit.

Exposure to predators.

Young people, you need to listen to this very carefully.

Online predators, other malicious actors can use social media to target vulnerable individuals, whether you're talking about young people, grade school kids, or even teenagers, high school kids, or whether we're talking about older people.

Young people are sometimes groomed by adults who are pretending to be teenagers.

The problem is, you can assume almost any identity on the net because it's anonymous.

And that anonymity allows people to present themselves.

That is not true.

It's deceptive.

And so sometimes young people are groomed, they're encouraged to form a relationship with somebody who just simply wants to take advantage of them.

Parents If your child has any device that can connect to the internet and you haven't talked to them about online predators, you are behind the game.

And if that scares you, it ought to.

There are too many incidents, too many cases of where young people have had their lives destroyed or even been killed.

Because they accepted.

Somebody's Connection on the, the network on a social media platform.

Only that person was being deceptive, as a user.

Reputation and privacy risks.

If you post on social media, that can be seen by employers or others.

In many cases creating risks to one's reputation.

Data mining and privacy loopholes can also lead to a loss of privacy.

We need to recognize all of us do that virtually nothing on the internet ever disappears.

Once it goes up, you can take it off of a site, but it's out in the ether.

You can't be sure that it's been erased from every server or computer that's storing information that they've downloaded from the internet.

Pictures Graphic lascivious pictures.

Sometimes young people think that's smart.

Gives them a feeling of accomplishment that others want to see how, how attractive they are.

That picture will stay on the net.

You can't take it off.

Social media comments.

Oh, we've got to be sure that we want to say something on social media before we post that.

Because once it's posted, think about that.

You can go into the same social media platform and you can remove your post, but how many people saw that post?

Before you remove the post.

And where are they sending it?

Politicians get in trouble with that because they say things and they hope that years later nobody will remember what was said, but it's there.

It's in the ether.

They can't erase it.

We've got some politicians now who are experiencing.

The consequences of that kind of foolishness.

Another category is addiction and productivity.

I, I want you to know that kind of gives you an idea.

Of the of the emphasis that whoever constructed this is probably constructed by AI is giving to the to the use of social media.

Addiction platforms are designed to be addictive, leading to compulsive use that can negatively impact other areas of life.

Don't raise your hand.

But how many of us have sat in front of our computers and just watched mindless videos for hours at a time.

And then We don't get enough sleep.

Or we don't get to work on time, we don't get our homework done.

We don't get other responsibilities taken care of.

It was just mindless curiosity.

The dopamine releasing feel good aspect of social media can lead to addictive behavior similar to substance abuse.

People's craving for likes causes them to do foolish, even deadly things to attract attention.

Porn addiction Some platforms, some apps, websites will identify themselves as containing pornographic materials.

But even some platforms that do not self-identify as porn sites are saturated with pornographic images.

Somebody said you don't have to look for pornography, it will find you.

And that's true.

That's true.

And unfortunately, If a man or a woman decides they're going to pursue that route, the internet will be glad to supply you with more and more and more.

Their algorithms are calculating what it is that you're watching and how quickly you click, how long you stay, how many pages you, you, you watch or click on.

And it'll provide you with much more.

Please understand that you are being tracked by social media.

Being tracked by your phone.

You know why Siri could tell me the score of the Auburn Vanderbilt game?

It's because Siri was listening to everything that I've said.

Have you ever talked about something you were going to buy for your home?

You got an appliance that looks like it's, you know, about to die or something?

Boy, I wish we're gonna have to do something about that dishwasher and on your computer feed, not on your phone, but on your computer feed, you're going to start seeing ads from Companies that make dishwashers.

Because somebody Took that information that you provided.

And they translated it into an advertising opportunity.

The fact that so much pornography.

Whether you're talking about what people call as hardcore pornography or softcore pornography, and I, I think those are Uh, arbitrary distinctions.

They represent temptation, even to those who are not looking for pornographic images or videos.

And so gentlemen, And ladies We need to be careful where we serve, what platforms we're on.

And I think it's getting worse.

Social media Consumes time that in many cases should be used for other important tasks or responsibilities.

You know, your phone will actually rat on you.

Your phone will think on you.

It'll tell, it'll keep track of how many hours each week you spend on screen time.

But I'm curious, young people, older people alike.

How much time do you spend daily looking at your smartphone?

You got a free moment doing this or that, whatever, and you just pick up your phone and you slide it and All of a sudden, look, there's some shorts, video shorts.

And so I start watching those.

Oh, that's my favorite comedian.

And then I watch something else.

Oh, this is how to garden.

I like that.

I, I follow that person and just go on and if you're not careful, you can spend a lot of time, really ought to be spent on other things.

Just surfing on your phone or on your computer.

And then I find myself saying, well, I didn't have time to do that.

Well, the reason is I was busy doing something that really I didn't need to do.

It wasn't very profitable.

What are some of the tasks for which you use your electronic devices the most?

How much of surfing the web is just the satisfaction of idle curiosity.

Do you really care?

Is it important to your life or to my life, what Britney Spears is doing?

On Monday Or what's happening around the other side of the globe in some ridiculously specific incident that has nothing to do with my life or yours.

But boy, we'll, we'll surf through that stuff.

You find yourself doing that?

Addiction and productivity.

There's a loss of productivity.

That's an interesting way to characterize an addiction.

It's a loss of productivity.

Well, that's certainly true.

Excessive time on social media can be a major distraction, reduces productivity at work or school.

Schools would love to ban phones.

Some of them have, uh, good luck with that.

What's the reason for that?

And some workplaces.

I've had to ban that kind of thing because people are not doing what they're supposed to do.

Disrupted sleep or attention problems.

Social media can lead to difficulties with focus and attention because it's designed to keep you moving from one thing to another quickly.

And so we've lost the ability to focus and concentrate on something.

And the biblical writers talk about meditating on God's word through the night.

How many of us could do that?

Because we've been trained by electronic communication.

Use of social media, especially before bed, can disrupt sleep patterns due to the stimulating nature of the content and screen.

This is a quotation.

A survey of teens found that almost 1/3 admit to sleeping with their cellphones next to them in bed.

You think people aren't wedded to those phones?

Well, I've got to know what's going on.

What if somebody calls me?

I don't want to miss anything.

Social and informational risks.

False or misleading information can spread like wildfire on social media, leads to confusion, spread of harmful content.

People are deceived.

Lies, I'm talking about information that is intended to deceive, but also ignorance.

People post things online that they don't know to be true.

They think they're true and other, other people will listen to it and they'll make decisions based on that.

And I'll tell you, I think we as Christians are more susceptible to this than probably many other dangers.

And here's the reason why.

We know From passages like Ephesians 4, and I really appreciated the, the background that Travis gave because part of that background was putting off the old man and putting on the new man and part of putting on the new man is you don't lie anymore.

And so we understand the necessity of speaking the truth.

And because we speak the truth, hopefully to the best of our ability.

We tend to assume that other people do the same thing.

That's not true.

I have been deceived.

By things that I accepted on the network, on some network or on the internet.

Because I just assumed, kind of in the back of my mind, assume that if somebody's posting that, they must know what they're talking about.

No such. Truth.

And so we need to be careful about what we accept.

Young people, you especially.

When someone says, oh well, I'm a teenage girl and I live over here, you may be talking to a predator.

Because there's nothing that says on the internet that he has to tell you the truth about who he is or what his intentions are.

You have to be careful.

You have to be very careful, understand.

How easy it is for people to deceive.

Now this is interesting.

Isolation You would think that if we are participating in social media on various platforms where we're making connections that we would, we would have lots of Uh connections and relationships.

But one of the dangers that even the experts point out is that It ironically, this use of social media leads to a social isolation.

And superficial connections in the real world.

I want to talk a little bit more about that point.

About personal connections.

You remember these 13 monkeys, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

Well, this was on Pinterest, one of those image-based social platforms.

The 4th monkey has emerged.

He sees no one, hears no one, and speaks to no one.

Ironically, the prevalence of electronic connections has stunted some people's ability to develop and even to nurture actual personal relationships.

I heard someone tell a story that apparently were observe observing a couple in, in a restaurant and they were sitting at a table there.

Both of them were uh looking at their phones and they were texting and texting and all this kind of stuff and one of them finally looked up at the other and said, I know.

You understand the implication.

They're sitting across from each other.

But they're not speaking to each other.

They're texting.

Everything's going through the internet.

Why don't you just look at the person across from you and talk to that person, relate.

In a personal way, face to face.

You'd be astonished at the percentage that communication experts say.

Nonverbal communication plays a part when we speak to one another, communicate with one another.

And I don't mean emojis as nonverbal communication.

When we're on social media platforms, how connected are we actually?

What kind of relationships do we have with 1270 people?

Some of whom are my friends simply because they know somebody that I know.

I don't really know that person.

Do you have any friends like that on your social media platform?

Platforms How connected are we to our friends or our followers?

Or even to the ones that we follow, how connected are we to them?

There's an expression For people like me, they're called lurkers.

You know what that means?

All the young people are going, sure we do.

Do you know what it means.

A lurker is someone who just kind of follows communication with others but doesn't participate in the communication.

It's on Facebook where I find out what's going on in somebody's life over in Texas.

I used to live there.

I know that family, but I don't say anything to them.

I just listen to what's going on or read what's going on in their life, and then there's somebody else and So there's really not any personal relationship here.

I'm just kind of A voyeur of their lives, trying to keep up to date with what's going on in their lives.

But I want to talk to you about a danger that I think is probably a big one for us.

I've seen it Among Christians who are involved in social media to a great extent.

There's just something about computer, computer connections that seems to encourage rudeness and impatience in users.

I think it may be the impersonal nature of social media connections.

I mean, we're not face to face with somebody.

Somebody posts something and boy, I jump on my keyboard and I write back some sort of Rude?

Main comment in response.

It appears that some people feel free to write things that they probably would not say in a personal interaction.

You know, if you're face to face with somebody, would you actually respond that way?

Or does it make it?

Make us feel as though it's OK. Because there's some distance between us and that person can't respond to us in a personal way.

It's almost as though some Christians believe that scriptural exhortations about how we ought to treat one another just do not apply.

To someone on a computer or a phone.

If I attack somebody online, I'm distanced from the response of that person if they decide to respond.

Scripture is pretty specific about how I'm to treat others.

That's part of the reason for the reading here in Ephesians 4.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness and wrath, and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Will our posts, when we get involved in political discussions or discussions of religion, would our posts fit that restriction?

That they don't involve bitterness or clamor or slander or malice.

Be kind.

The other side of that coin, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you, or does that only apply when we're talking to somebody face to face, but not when we're talking on a computer?

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, Peter writes in 1 Peter 2 and verse 1.

Same epistle, he says, finally, all of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

You know, we need to be careful when we're quick to respond to things that upset us.

Because it's so easy for us to violate these kinds of scriptures and write things for which we really need to repent.

Colossians 3:12-13, put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts. Kindness.

Humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another.

And if one has a complaint against another forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Brothers and sisters, I'm telling you, those passages ought to govern the way we post online.

And if we're not following those kinds of instructions, then it would be better for us not to post at all.

Electronic communication allows us to communicate rapidly and there's danger in that because sometimes it allows us to respond quickly to the comments or ideas of others that we disagree with, and we respond before we've taken time.

To think carefully about what we're going to say.

Proverbs 29:20.

Do you see a man who's hasty in his words?

There's more hope for a fool than for him.

James 1:19 says, know this, my beloved brothers.

Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.

Churches are divided sometimes because of social networking.

Because of misbehavior on the part of Christians.

Who seem to think that once you get in front of a keyboard, you can just write whatever.

And that's not true.

And we need to be careful that we're not violating these passages as we communicate with others.

Once again, let me say to you, This is not sermon me, you know, social media all bad.

I'm not suggesting that you can't use social media.

I'm saying, please be aware of the dangers.

I think there's gonna be some Christians who are gonna lose their souls.

Because of the way they used social media.

Don't let it be you.

The fact that some days I'm tickled to death to have a smartphone and other days I hate the thing.

Probably suggest the good and bad of ubiquitous electronic devices.

How many of you carry your phone everywhere?

Virtually everywhere.

Don't be afraid to admit it.

I do it.

How do you feel when you forget your phone someplace?

You leave the house and you forgot to put it in your pocket, and so you're traveling out there and, and you suddenly realized, I don't have my phone.

How do you feel?

Wow, you're lost.

I feel disconnected.

I wonder if somebody's gonna call me.

Well Deb want me to pick up from the grocery store.

Maybe that should tell us something about how wedded we are.

To electronic communication.

So despite some obvious benefits from social media, I hope you listen carefully to that.

There are also many grave dangers and especially to young people who do not recognize those dangers.

I gotta tell you.

I'm just so happy that my sons were adults before this became the problem that it is today, and I sympathize with parents who are struggling with difficult decisions about how much influence digital communication.

Social media should have on your children.

It's a tough, tough call because we live in a in a digital electronic world.

But you know, as parents, you're preparing that child, your children.

For heaven You're trying to teach them how to live in order to glorify God.

And the devil is working against you.

And he has lots of ministers, and I don't mean preachers.

I'm talking about those who serve Satan, and they are working tirelessly.

To take your children away from God.

The lesson is yours.

We need to make connections.

I think it's important that we have relationships with one another as Christians.

But if you're not a Christian, please understand the most important relationship that you need to seek is the relationship that you can have with God.

God won't call you on your smartphone.

You're going to have to respond to his invitation that he offers to you through his word.

He wants to have a relationship with you, a personal relationship.

But of course, he's done so much to prepare for that opportunity.

And now it's up to us.

To take advantage of what God is offering in terms of eternal life, forgiveness of sins, peace and joy.

Internal security.

If you need to respond to the gospel this evening to obey that gospel, to confess your faith in Jesus Christ, having repented of your sins, we'll immerse you in water for the forgiveness of your sins this evening.

You become a child of God, Abba Father.

You have a relationship with the one who created you and wants the best for you.

If we can assist you and Initiating that relationship this evening.

Then we invite you as we stand and sing.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Allen Dvorak

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

Good morning.

The scripture reading today will come from 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 183 through 21.

I'll be reading from the New King James version and the version on the screen will also be the New King James version.

Again, that is 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 13 through 21.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind.

Be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance, but as he who calls you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written, be holy, for I am holy.

And if you call on the Father who without partiality judges according to each one's works, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by the tradition of your from your from your father's.

With the precious blood of Christ as one lamb without blemish and without spot, he indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you who through him believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God.

Why Appreciate very much the comments that were made this morning uh in preparation for the Lord's Supper, for some of the comments that were made in the singing if David had told me earlier what songs he was going to sing that I could have tailored my sermon.

And uh I would be better prepared, but he, he made an effort and we'll try to follow his lead.

I also appreciated the reading that Mason did.

I think that may be his first reading.

I'm not sure if it is, and he did a fine job.

It was December 1994.

I was sitting in my office.

I was working with the West Groves congregation in Groves, Texas at the time.

I received a phone call from a preacher friend of mine who was living in uh Sao Paulo, Brazil.

And uh he called me to ask if I would consider perhaps moving to Brazil to take his place as he was planning to move back to the United States with his family.

And so then in April of 1995, I made a two-week trip to Brazil just to see if I would uh be a good fit for the work there.

Debbie and I ended up deciding after I returned to the states that we would move to Brazil and so we moved to a little place called Mbugusu outside of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

And the rest of 1995 until we made that move in January of 1996, was spent in getting ready to move to another country.

Debbie and I started uh learning Portuguese bongjia.

And all kinds of things that are involved there.

Uh, we sold stuff, including my fishing boat.

And I regretted that almost immediately as I uh saw it leave the yard.

Uh, I repented.

We fixed some things in the house that we had bought and then sold the house.

Uh, I think for the first time, almost the first time in our marriage, we were without debt.

And it was a wonderful feeling.

Didn't last very long, but we loved it.

But I'll tell you one thing we didn't do.

We didn't make any long-term financial commitments because we knew that we weren't going to be here in the states.

We're going to some other place and so we didn't commit ourselves to those kinds of things.

We understand that when you know that you're getting ready to leave a place, you live differently than when you anticipate staying for the long haul.

If you buy a house and you think, well, I'm gonna be buried here, then you might put more money into the house or the property.

But if you think this is just a starter home, and so just in a short period of time, I'm gonna sell this and move to a bigger home or a different place, you live differently depending on what your anticipation of the future is.

And I think in a similar way, you live differently when you know that your place, your stay in a place is only temporary.

The truth of the matter is, that's how the scriptures encourage Christians to live, knowing that we are sojourners and exiles.

Our text for our study this morning and from which the title of the sermon is taken is first.

63:17, part of the reading that Mason did just a few moments ago.

And if you call on the Father who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.

I was doing some study for another study uh recently, and I ran across that passage.

I was reading in the New King James Version, and that phrase, the time of your stay just hit me.

It says that we are not here.

Permanently That we're only here temporarily.

This is just a stay.

We're reminded also that we don't know how long that stay is going to be.

And Peter also encourages us to live like people who will be moving on to a better place.

And so I want to talk about those three ideas this morning, based on 1 Peter 1 and verse 17.

And I want to look at the word stay there.

It's an interesting word.

It literally means vine says, a so journey.

It's when people are just staying for a while in a place.

The ESV uses the word exile to translate that same Greek word.

It's the same word that's used over in Acts chapter 13 and verse 17.

As Paul is talking about Israel's history, and he mentions the fact that Jacob's family, at least for a time, were in Egypt.

Verse 17 says, the God of this people, Israel, chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay.

In the land of Egypt and with uplifted arm, he led them out of it.

They weren't intended to stay there.

It was a stay and then God brought them out of Egypt, delivered them as the text says with uplifted arm.

It's not surprising that we would find this verse, verse 17 and 1 Peter.

Because the theme of First Peter basically is that Christians are in the world, but they're not of the world.

And there are several passages in the book that would suggest that truth.

For instance, if you look at chapter 23, verses 11 and 12, which I think are really theme verses for 1 Peter.

The apostle writes, beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exile.

That's how he describes his readers, Christians to whom he is writing, sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which war against your soul.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Well, it probably doesn't surprise you that the word that's translated sojourner here in this passage in verse 11 is actually related to the word that was translated stay in verse 17 in the New King James Version.

It's an adjective here that's serving as a noun and it literally means someone who's A foreigner or an alien, one who's dwelling near but doesn't really belong.

And that's the idea of an exile as well.

It is one who's so sojourning in a strange place away from one's people, and you can see in the Greek word there demos, which is the Greek word for people.

You're, you're beside your people but from beside your people, it's a compound word.

And so exiles are those who are not with their own people, but they're beside uh other people.

The new King James version translates uh the word exile here as pilgrim.

And in fact, that's the version that was uh that the song that we sang was based upon.

Here we're just straying pilgrims.

When we think of pilgrims, who do you think of?

Well, we think of our own American history, those people who came from Europe to escape uh religious persecution, they wanted freedom here.

So they came here.

They left their homeland to come to a new place.

This is the same word incidentally that's used in the very beginning of First Peter.

In chapter one and verse one, Peter says that he's writing to the exiles of the dispersion, Christians who've been scattered away from their homeland.

It's also the one that's used in Hebrews 11:13.

And what I'd like to do as one of the songs even introduced and David spoke uh a moment about this, is look at Hebrews 11, because in that passage, there are some interesting things said about Abraham, and for that matter, Isaac and Jacob as well, the patriarchs.

Verse 8 of Hebrews 23 says, by faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance, and he went out, not knowing where he was going by faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise, for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations whose designer and designer and builder is God.

What's interesting about this passage is that we might think that the Hebrew author, the Hebrews author, his point is that Abraham left his homeland.

Now he's so journey in the land of promise.

That's where he's an alien.

But the connection that he wants to make is even greater than that.

He wants to talk about Abraham as a sojourner in the land of Canaan because he was looking forward to a homeland.

And as we're told a little bit later, a better, a heavenly country.

And so several things stand out in this passage.

This is a foreign land.

It's not where Abraham came from, came from the Chalde, that was his homeland, and he was living in tents, uh, as would Isaac and Jacob, his descendants.

There's a contrast being made here.

Don't miss this.

Between tents and city.

A tent is clearly a mobile home.

It is a temporary dwelling.

It doesn't have foundations, not like a city or a building where you have a foundation.

It is a permanent dwelling place.

And so these uh patriarchs were looking forward to, he says, the city that has foundations.

And so the Hebrews author suggests that Abraham is sojourning in Canaan, he doesn't even really belong there.

He's living in a tent because he's looking forward to a more permanent home.

It's the city that has foundations whose designer and builder is God.

Skipping down just a few verses, then to verse 13.

The writer continues as he talks about the faith of these patriarchs.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

For people who Speak thus make it clear that they're seeking a homeland.

If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

The Hebrews author makes sure that we understand that we're not talking about the Caldes.

Abraham could have turned around and gone back to his homeland if that's what he was really looking for.

No, he was looking for a better country, that is a heavenly one.

Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them what?

Another tent?

No, a city, a place with foundations, a permanent dwelling, because everything here is temporary.

And so these passages, I think, help give us the idea of how people who are sojourners and exiles think.

These are people who acknowledged that this wasn't where they belonged when they're speaking of Canaan there.

They were dwelling there in tents, but instead, they were looking forward to something better, something that was heavenly.

And that's really should be our attitude that we are looking forward to that city that is our permanent, will be our permanent dwelling.

The tendency of humans, I think, is to assume.

That we have more time here on Earth.

I really think that's natural.

I, I think it's just a matter of day after day we plan our days and then we work our plans.

We don't think, uh, probably most of us, not, maybe none of us think about, well, this Friday, I could be dead or my life could be over tomorrow.

We don't really think that way normally.

We think of how we're going to organize our week if you're that kind of person.

If you're retired, you don't have to worry about that.

But most of us are making plans and we're carrying out those plans.

But the fact of the matter is, We don't always get to carry out those plans.

That tendency to think that we have more time, we always have more time, is I think the reason why people are shocked when they sit in a doctor's office and the doctor says, I've got bad news.

The bad news is you have terminal illness.

You don't have a long time to live, maybe hardly any time to live.

And suddenly people are shocked.

Why are they shocked?

We are all terminal.

Do you understand the significance of that?

We don't think of ourselves that way.

We think of ourselves as living and we've got a future.

But the fact of the matter is, every one of us has an appointment with death as long as the earth continues.

Hebrews 9:27 says in justice is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment.

The issue in the text there in verse 27 is once.

But I'm focusing on the fact that it's appointed for men to die.

By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, God told Adam in Genesis 3, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, your dust and to dust, you shall return.

And that wasn't just said for Adam's sake.

The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, there in verses 21 and 22, says that in Adam, all died.

Now, in 23 Corinthians 15, Paul's talking about physical death.

Romans 5 is a different story.

But here in 1 Corinthians 210, we're told that because of what Adam did, the curse was placed upon mankind.

We all die physically, not because of Adam's sin.

We don't inherit the guilt of Adam's sin.

Because of the curse that was placed on mankind, we're going to return to the dust.

I don't know if you've ever seen this, but I've seen this every once in a while.

There'll be some email ad that will say, uh, with lots of excitement, scientists have discovered the secret to aging.

So that you don't ever have to die.

You ever seen an ad like that?

Were you tempted to click on it?

That'd be pretty helpful information, wouldn't it?

To know how you could just keep living forever and ever. Don't.

Because that's not what the Bible says.

The Bible says it's appointed unto us wants to die, and I don't think any number of scientists are gonna manage to thwart.

The intention of God.

James warned us about the arrogance of thinking that we can control the future.

In the 21993th chapter of James in verse 218 passage, I think many of us are familiar with.

James wrote, come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.

Understand James is not condemning making plans, although that seems to be the point of the statement.

I'm planning to go and I'm, this is what I'm going to do.

But James says, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

What is your life?

For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.

As it is, you boast in your arrogance.

All such boasting is evil.

What arrogance that you can know the future.

That you can determine what's going to happen to you tomorrow or even the next day or a year from now.

He says, you don't know what tomorrow will bring.

Your life is just a miss.

You're here for a little time and then you vanish away.

I think it's a fact that the knowledge that we don't know what the moral might bring will lead some people to despair.

But for those who anticipate a better country, a heavenly country after this life, that's just a transition to a better state.

In anticipation of something that is wonderful and better than what we have.

And I would suggest to you, those are the kind of people who are ready to leave.

They know that this stay here is temporary, that it's going to be concluded at some point with that transition event of death.

And so they prepare themselves to be ready to leave.

Again, looking at 26 Peter 22:22.

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, Peter says that conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.

So Peter encourages us to conduct ourselves appropriately during our stay here.

Now, when Peter writes here, and if you call, I don't think he's suggesting some sort of uncertainty here.

That's the truth of the matter.

We are calling upon the Father and what we know about the Father is that he is going to judge without partiality according to each one's work.

And that's why we need to conduct ourselves in such a way as to be ready to leave this sojourn when the time comes.

Peter's comment here in verse 13 is reminiscent of Paul's words in Romans.

He hits some of the same ideas there in chapter 21, verses 21 to 1.

A passage is addressed primarily to Jews who seemed to think that they were going to receive some sort of special treatment from God because they were God's chosen people of the Old Testament.

Paul reminds them that God will render to each one according to his works.

To those who by patience and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek.

But glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek, for God shows no partiality.

And so the fact that we're here this morning, that we are on the church's roll, that we call ourselves Christians, we're going to be judged according to our works just as others will be.

God's not going to be partial.

And excuse us if we are not conducting ourselves properly during our stay.

What Peter says, if I may simply take his verse and drop out a few words, is that we need to conduct ourselves in fear.

The word that's translated fear there is the word that we would use to talk about terror or dread sometimes.

Phobos means fear, terror, but it can also mean a reverential fear.

When Vine defined this word, here's what he says.

He puts 1 Peter 1:17 under this definition and then this comment.

He says that it speaks of God, a fear of God, as a controlling motive of the life in matters spiritual and moral.

Not a mere fear of his power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing him.

In other words, a reverential fear, a fear which banishes the terror that shrinks from his presence.

And which influences the disposition and attitude of one whose circumstances are guided by trust in God.

Vines suggests that conducting ourselves in fear implies that we fear displeasing God, that there ought to be a reverential respect and fear for God that causes us to conduct ourselves according to His commandments.

It's not my purpose this morning really to go through First Peter 1.

And look at other things that Peter talks about as far as how we should behave and conduct ourselves.

But just a quick, uh, running through a review of, of the epistle, we'll suggest several key passages here.

I'll share them with you here this morning.

In 1 Peter 1:13 through 15, Peter says, therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.

That's how we conduct ourselves in fear as God is holy, and we need to conduct ourselves in holy conduct.

Passing on to 1 Peter 2, this is a passage we looked at just a little bit earlier as we talked about these verses being theme verses.

Here's what Peter says.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable.

Abstain from the passions of the flesh, which war against wage war against your soul.

So Peter sprinkles throughout his epistle.

First Peter, admonitions, instructions for how we need to conduct ourselves in light of the fact that we're sojourners and exiles.

Maybe one passage that would summarize it in just a few words.

was the way that the writer of Ecclesiastes closed his letter.

He said, his book, he said the end of the matter, all has been heard.

Fear God and keep His commandments.

That's what this life is about.

Fear God and keep His commandments.

If you're not doing that, then you're not ready to leave.

But the problem is we don't get to choose often when we're going to leave.

We don't know the length of our stay.

But when you live with this mindset of being a sojourner in exile, that this life is only temporary, a lot of things take on a different perspective.

The picture you're looking at is compliments of Ralph Etheridge.

He sent this to me.

I believe this is uh a picture of a team prayer after the uh Alabama Vanderbilt game earlier this year, earlier this fall.

So, the Vandy players have gathered for a prayer.

And what's striking about this photo, and the reason Ralph sent it to me is there's one red jersey in the midst of all those white jerseys.

Now, they just played an intense game.

Vandy's doing well this year.

Alabama always does, nearly always.

And so there's this intense competition in the game, but after the game, Here's an Alabama player who comes and joins the team prayer, uh, the, the Vandy players are involved in.

If you look closely, you'll have to really strain maybe a little bit.

I should have enlarged it.

But there's uh number 10, the Vanity player.

He's there and he's got his hand.

On the shoulder of the Alabama player, probably a matter of dominance.

Now, I'm just kidding.

But, but it shows something about the fact that here people who realize there's something more important.

I know this is gonna offend some Alabama fans.

There's something more important than a football game.

That mindset.

That This is all temporary.

That this is just a sojourn.

That we're leaving this place.

This isn't permanent.

It will affect virtually every decision we make.

When my family moved to Brazil, we didn't intend to stay there.

One of the fellows that I went to school with who moved to Brazil in 1993 is still there.

Dennis Allen and his family, or some of his family kind of scattered.

But he moved there with the intent of staying there for however long it seemed that he could be effective, and he's still there.

But we planned to return to the states after 18 months.

We ended up extending our stay about 6 months, so we stayed there 2 years.

But the fact of the matter is, we approached our lives there in Brazil differently than the Allen family did.

They were prepared to stay there as long as, as they could be effective.

We were very glad to leave after 2 years.

I've told people before that there's no Taco Bell in Brazil.

There's Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's, there's no Taco Bell.

If I hadn't promised the boys that we would come back, they would have swam back.

After 2 years, We didn't settle in.

We, we make decisions and obviously, you have to, you have to take care of uh details about living, but we always in the back of our mind had the idea that this was temporary.

We weren't going to stay here in Brazil.

And I think that's the way that Christians need to consider their lives here.

That we recognize, as the song suggested that we sang, this world is not our home.

We're just passing through.

And if that's the case, if you really believe that.

Then you don't get attached to things.

Cause they're all gonna be, be gone.

You're, you're gonna give them up at some point, no pockets in the shroud.

And you don't get too comfortable.

You don't settle in, and, and Like you're going to stay there forever.

We're sojourners, we're aliens in this world.

Exiles and we're here temporarily.

I want to go back to 1 Peter 1:13.

Peter says, preparing your minds for action, being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

We, we a lot of times do not think of the final judgment as being the reception of grace, but the fact of the matter is, God's gonna show us that favor.

He's going to grant us eternal life, if in fact, we have become His children, his spiritual children, and we've lived faithful to Christ.

But what I want you to see is that Peter is saying you need to set your hope, you need to be looking to the future, just like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and others after them have looked to the future.

They've longed for this better country.

Peter says that's the way you ought to be.

Set your hope.

Hope always deals with the future.

Set your hope on the grace that's going to be uh brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, when Jesus returns again.

My question for you this morning is, do you have hope?

Do you have that hope in the future?

Are you living as though in the future, you anticipate a better place to stay?

If not, then this morning you have the opportunity.

To accept the Lord's invitation.

To become a Christian, to be forgiven of your sins, to have that hope of eternal life because of the blood that was shed on the crosses, Ed reminded us this morning.

If you need to respond to the gospel this morning, to become a Christian, we want to invite you.

We want to encourage you to obey the gospel.

But to the Christians who are here this morning, I say to you, we need to remember we don't belong here.

We're just passing through.

And that's gonna affect the way we live.

If we've gotten too comfortable, if we're settling into this life, into this world, then we're in danger of becoming of the world and not just living in this world.

And we need to be careful.

We need to remember that this is temporary and we need to be ready to leave.

If we can assist you in any way, in either case, this morning we want to stand and sing to invite you to encourage you as we do so.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun PM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Allen Dvorak

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

Romans chapter 3 starting in verse 19 to the end, I'm reading from the New King James and the English Standards on the screen.

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.

Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.

Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through faith to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God has passed over the sins that were previously committed.

To demonstrate at the present time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Where is boasting then?

Is it it is excluded by what law of works?

No, but by the law of faith.

Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Or is he the God of the Jews only?

Is he not also the god of the Gentiles?

Yes, of the Gentiles also.

Since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith, do we then make void the law through faith?

Certainly not.

On the contrary, we establish the law.

Those of us who have had the pleasure of being the parents of small children.

Know that most small children go through the me do it stage.

Where, even though they're not really capable of doing it, They want to do it, and if you try to help them, they'll fight you.

Me do it.

Me, me do it, me do it.

You'll hear from these children.

Of course, we want our children to learn to do things for themselves.

But the fact of the matter is sometimes they just make a mess out of things because they're really not able at that age.

Well, I'm going to suggest to you this evening that in a sense, We're in the same situation, all of us.

We might want to do it ourselves.

We'll just make a mess out of it if we're talking about being justified in the sight of God.

Paul's purpose in the beginning of Romans is to help his readers see that they could not be justified solely by their own efforts.

And he bases that conclusion on the history of mankind, both Gentile and Jew.

In order to be justified by my own efforts, I need to keep the law perfectly.

That would make me just, that would make me righteous because I wouldn't have any sin if I could keep God's law perfectly.

And that's what Paul says in Galatians 153:10 to 12.

He says, those of you who rely on works of the law, do you hear what the law says?

And then he quotes the law.

In which the law says, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things that are written to do them.

All the things.

That's how a person could be justified by law.

Now last Week, and I'm not sure what happened here, but that's not what's supposed to be there.

Um, last time I talked about Romans, we spent some time in the early chapters.

I'm not gonna spend time following Paul's argument, except to summarize it very quickly.

To say that in chapter one, Paul shows that the Gentiles who were living under an unwritten moral law, had descended into shameless moral depravity.

And that's, that's basically chapter one.

In chapter 2, Paul turns then to the Jews.

They may have considered themselves superior to the Gentiles, and that seems to be the indication in the beginning of the chapter and even toward the end of the chapter, they prided themselves on having the law and having more knowledge, more light than the Gentiles.

But Paul says, you're really not in any better shape in terms of justification than the Gentiles are.

You have the law, but you don't keep it.

And if you don't keep it, then essentially you're no better off than the uncircumcised.

What was his conclusion?

Well, his conclusion Those were supposed to exit at this point.

But they didn't, did they?

Hopefully, the rest of it will go the right direction.

I guess if we went to the wrong direction and it started with the invitation song, it'd be the shortest sermon I've preached in a long time, right?

Just to give you some hope.

So Paul concludes his argument of the first three chapters.

In chapter 3 verses 19 and 20, he has in the previous verses, assembled a number of phrases from various sources, books in the Old Testament, all of which proclaim the Jews to be sinners, not keeping the law.

And so then he says in verse 19, now we know that whatever the law says, and he's just got done quoting.

It speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be stopped.

He's already dealt with the Gentiles in chapter one.

Now he's concluding the same about the Jews and the whole world, Jew and Gentile may be held accountable to God, for by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

This evening what I would like to do I would like to look at that 3rd door.

Not justification by works, by personal merit, but all men need to go through that door, which involves justification by grace through faith.

And Paul will proceed to describe in the the scripture reading this evening, Romans 3:63 through really 26 is the end of that argument, although we'll look at the entire passage.

He describes in the most comprehensive way, I think anywhere in the New Testament.

God's plan for man's justification.

Sinners have to become righteous through grace, the grace of God.

You may wish this evening, although I'm going to work on this text, and there'll be pieces of the text that will come up and we'll sort through those pieces, you may wish to get your Bible out and follow along, uh, particularly if you're reading from a different, uh, translation than the ESV.

But what I want to do is look at this text tonight and note the major points of Paul's thesis statement regarding God's plan for man's justification.

I want you to remember We're just like that child.

Who can't do it We don't have any other option.

But God be praised that he has provided for us a way that we can be justified.

And so let's look at Romans 3 and verse, uh, we'll begin in verse 21.

In this lesson on justification by faith, I put the scroll up there for the title slide because one of the very first things that Paul does in this text is to suggest that this plan that he's laying out in verses 21 through 26, it had been witnessed by the law and the prophets.

This was not a new thing.

This was always God's intention.

He begins in verse 21, but saying, by saying, but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it.

When we talk about the righteousness of God, we can mean either the righteousness that God possesses.

Being perfectly righteous, perfectly just, holy in every sense, or we could be talking about the righteousness that God pronounces upon men.

And I think it is that second meaning that Paul is using here.

Now, a little later on in the text, he's gonna talk about God's personal righteousness.

But here, it seems clear from verse 22, that the meaning of righteousness here is the righteousness that men receive or the, the pronouncement of righteousness that they receive from God.

There is a false doctrine.

That is peculiar to Calvinism.

That talks about Christ's righteousness being imputed or bestowed upon us, that what happens in the process of men being made righteous is that God takes the perfect life of Jesus and he essentially imputes or accounts that righteous life, that perfect life to you or to me or to whoever uh are in that body called the elect.

And it comes from this passage and also chapter 4 and verse 6, this idea that God imputes the righteousness of Christ to individuals.

But I want you to notice that that's not what Paul says.

In verse 43, he talks about the righteousness that is through faith in Jesus Christ, whose faith?

Our faith.

I find it interesting The new King James version has a different translation for verse 21, and I think it's a little clearer than the ESV.

He says, but now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, the phrase, apart from the law, Modifies righteousness, not manifested.

Paul is not trying to say that the righteousness that God pronounces on men, that it was manifested.

Without the law or in some other way, he's talking about a righteousness that is apart from the law.

It comes from another source.

It is not the, the conclusion or the consequence, I should say, of perfect obedience.

And he says that it is witnessed by the law and prophets.

As I said before, this matter of being justified by faith, that's not a new thing.

In fact, that was God's plan all along.

And as you look through the Old Testament, you see Passages that give us that information.

Uh, take a look at Galatians 3:8-9 on the screen there.

Paul writes in the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed.

So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Now that's not a detailed description of God's plan, but it talks about those who are blessed because they're of faith just like Abraham.

But probably the most clear indication of this plan is found in Habakku, a passage that is cited uh no less than 3 times in the New Testament.

Habakkuk 2 and verse 4, the righteous shall live by his faith.

That passage is cited by Paul in Romans 1:17.

Paul also cites it in Galatians 13:11 and in Hebrews 10:38.

My point is that that is an indication of what God's plan is all about, and that comes from the Old Testament, although it is quoted as I said, numerous times in the New Testament.

The sacrificial system of the old law, the Mosaic law, I think also gave testimony to man's inability to approach God based on his own human perfection.

I want you to notice something at the very end of verse 21, there's a dash there, and then verse 22 begins the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

And so, as I said before, verse 22 explains what righteousness Paul is talking about in verse 21.

He says the righteousness of God has been, uh, from the apart from the law has been manifested or revealed the New King James Version says, the law and the prophets give witness to it.

What righteousness, Paul?

The righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

And Paul goes on to say that it is available to all who are of faith.

It's available to all who believe and all are absolutely in need of this righteousness.

Why is that?

Because of all, all have sinned and they've fallen short of the glory of God.

The idea that all have sinned, that was Paul's beginning proposition.

Paul establishes that in the beginning of the book in chapters 12, and 3, when he says that everybody stands condemned, the whole world.

Has been condemned by their own behavior and all of them need, uh, grace, need God's help.

Man who was created in the image of God as Genesis tells us, that is without blemish, holy having a spirit falls short of the glory of holiness that is God's character.

God is perfect in His righteousness, but we all fall short of that.

And so because we have, we have to be justified by God's grace.

Now, Paul is going to explain why that is, and we'll say more about that in just a moment.

I want you to notice that in verse 223, he says, and are justified by His grace.

As a gift, or the New King James version says freely.

Salvation, justification is not free.

It came at high cost.

But that salvation has been offered to us.

Freely What would we do?

How could we in any way merit what God is offering us in Jesus Christ?

And the answer is, there's nothing we could do.

We're sinners.

As a gift freely without any cost to us, but at great cost to God.

I really appreciate the good Talks that are given uh each Sunday before the Lord's supper, reminding us of the great love that was shown for us and the grace that is available in that sacrifice of Jesus.

But I want you to notice also that in the latter part of this verse, he says, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

There are a couple of very important words in this text, and one of them is redemption.

In Bible classes, and I think also in sermons, I've talked uh abundantly about the concept of redemption.

That word that's translated redemption was a word that was used in secular Greek to talk about uh a releasing.

Making free by the payment of a price, a ransom price.

And that's the way it's used with respect to us in a spiritual sense.

This is the word that would be used if a man or woman was a slave, and the owner of that slave would decide to put the slave up on the auction block.

And so people could bid and they could pay the price to free that slave.

That's redemption.

There's the freeing from bondage at a price.

And you see there in Thayer's definition, he talks about liberation procured by the payment of a ransom.

The fact of the matter is, we are all slaves of sin as we continue in sin.

Paul makes that argument a little bit later on in Romans in chapter 6 in the latter part of the chapter.

He says the consequence of continuing in sin is that you become a slave.

In chapter 7 in the latter part of the chapter, he describes a man who's living under a law system, who wants to do right, but he can't seem to do it perfectly, and there's no escape from his sin.

He's sold under sin, Paul writes.

Slave But redemption is when somebody pays the price to free the slave.

And the prize that was paid for our redemption.

is discussed over in Ecclesian Ecclesians.

Ephesians verses 7 and 8 of chapter 1.

Paul says in him, Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.

The forgiveness of our trespasses is essentially the concept of how we are redeemed.

The price that was paid.

Removes the guilt of our sin, and that allows us to be free from the slavery of sin that we were in, according to the riches of His grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight.

Now, Paul's gonna talk about that, the fact that we are uh redeemed and that we're released according to the riches of His grace.

But I want you to notice that in verse 25, Uh, the word whom there is clearly a reference back to Christ Jesus, that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood.

That's the ransom price, Paul said in Ephesians 1:7-8.

Here's something interesting about this passage.

Blood is being described, its function, I guess I should say, in two different figures.

One of them is redemption as we've already spoken of, but the other one is the word propitiation.

The problem for us as sinners.

is that we couldn't pay the ransom price.

The ransom price was the shedding of blood, and Paul talks about that, uh, I should say the Hebrews writer also talks about it in chapter 13 and verse 22 as we'll know in just a few moments.

But Paul says, whom God put forward, he put Jesus Christ forward as a propitiation by his blood.

Did you notice that by his blood is attached to propitiation?

But Ephesians 1:7, and 8 says that blood is also the means of our redemption.

So blood serves two different purposes.

It's the ransom price.

It's what's paid for us to be released from the slavery of sin, but it is also involved in propitiation.

Well, what is propitiation?

That's another one of those important words.

It's talking about propitiation is the satisfaction.

Of legal of the legal requirement to avoid judicial wrath.

Some would argue that propitiation is the appeasing of God's wrath.

I suspect that this is the better definition that we just mentioned, God being satisfied, his legal requirement being satisfied.

And Paul says, through his blood or by his blood, how did Jesus satisfy God's legal requirement?

By shedding his blood.

Well, Hebrews 9:22 tells us.

The Hebrews writer says in verse 22, indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood.

And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.

What is required?

What's the legal requirement for cleansing, for forgiveness of sins?

The Hebrews writer says it's shedding of blood.

The taking of life, that's the, the implication there, as we know from Leviticus 17.

In the Old Testament, God says, for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement.

By the light, shedding of blood is the taking of a life.

And Hebrews 9:23 says, without that shedding of blood, without the taking of a life, there is no remission of sins.

That's the legal requirement.

That's how God decided that it would be, uh, that he would forgive individuals of their sins.

Well, you and I couldn't Couldn't perform that function.

We couldn't offer our own lives because we're staying with sin.

That's the problem, isn't it?

What God required was a perfect moral life.

And that's foreshadowed by the fact that in the Old Testament, in the judicial or the sacrificial system there, the animals that were to be sacrificed were to be without blemish.

Now, obviously, in a physical sense, an animal doesn't know the difference between right and wrong.

I don't care what your dog and cat think.

And so what God wanted was a life that was comparable or uh similar to our lives.

People who can understand right and wrong.

And so Jesus lives his life here without sin.

And then offers himself as a sin sacrifice, an unblemished life for the forgiveness of our sins.

And in so doing, he accomplishes two things, really one thing described in two different ways.

He pays the ransom price.

And in so doing, he redeems us.

He frees us from our sins.

But he also in that same act, shedding his life, shedding His blood, giving his life on the cross, he also propitiated or made propitiation.

He satisfied the requirement that God set.

Hebrews 9:22, for the forgiveness of our sins.

Paul says that this propitiation is to be received by faith.

Someone might argue, well, Jesus died on the cross, that benefits should be available to all of us.

Paul says that that benefit, that propitiation and redemption, it's received by faith.

There's a condition for that sacrifice has already been offered.

But the benefit from that sacrifice, faith is required of me.

Well, Paul goes on to say that this was to show God's righteousness.

Well, what does he mean by this?

I think he's referring to the propitiation.

That there needed to be some satisfaction of God's Law his requirement for forgiveness, if God was going to forgive man.

In verse 25 be here, this was to show God's righteousness.

I think now we are talking about God's personal righteousness.

Well, why is that required to show God's righteousness?

Well, Paul goes on to say, because in his divine forbearance, God's divine forbearance, he had passed over former sins.

The word that's translated passed over there.

Means primarily a letting go, a dismissal, or a suspension of judgment, Vine says the withholding of punishment.

Under the old law, here I am, I'm a, I'm a Jew and I've sinned and I do what God says I should do when I sin.

I take an animal and I offer it as a sacrifice and the animal dies and the blood is offered to God.

But Hebrews 215:26 says that the blood of bulls and goats can't take away sin.

So ultimately, that sacrifice is insufficient for the forgiveness of my sins.

And yet God says that he'll forgive me.

Look at the 24st 21 chapters or so of Leviticus, and you'll see over and over again, and he shall make atonement for your soul.

But God didn't punish.

Those who by obedient faith had followed these instructions.

And so in his divine forbearance, even though there wasn't any sacrifice that had been offered that was actually able to forgive sins, God didn't punish those people who followed his law in that regard.

And I'll tell you what, that makes God look unjust.

If this is the requirement of the law that there has to be the shedding of blood of a creature who is comparable to us.

Then if God doesn't punish people who are still guilty of sin, because no sacrifice has been offered that is efficacious for their forgiveness, then God looks like he's not keeping his own law and that's unjust.

And so Paul says that God put forward Jesus as a means of satisfying the righteous requirement of the law, that a life had to be given, blood had to be shed so that there could be forgiveness of sins.

And so Paul continues, it was to show this propitiation that Jesus accomplished.

It was to show His righteousness at the present time.

You know, before Jesus' sacrifice is made, someone could look at what God had done in the Old Testament and say, well, you know, God, you said that there had to be this kind of sacrifice.

And nobody offered that kind of sacrifice.

It wasn't available.

And yet you didn't punish these people for their sins.

God, you look unjust.

Paul says, God in His forbearance passed over or suspended judgment, I think is the language of vine.

suspended judgment in those cases.

And now, when Jesus dies on the cross, he offers his blood.

He satisfies the legal requirement for forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 222:21.

Now we understand that God forgave sins in the Old Testament in anticipation of this sacrifice that would in fact Be effective, adequate for the forgiveness of sins.

When the redemption price was paid by Jesus, the righteousness of God, even though there was a suspension of judgment for a time, His righteousness is demonstrated.

And so the Hebrews writer says in chapter 1, verse 224, just a few verses prior to 225.

Therefore, he is the mediator, speaking of Christ, he's the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promise in eternal inheritance since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Or in other words, the blood of Jesus Christ doesn't just go forward from the cross so that it covers our sins.

It goes backward and covers the sins of those under the first covenant as well.

And the Hebrews writer is not necessarily concerned at this point about Gentiles, but he is concerned about Jews.

And so he makes the observation that this sacrifice was actually able to go back and those people who God had suspended judgment, hadn't punished them for their sins, even though sacrifice hadn't been offered them.

Now the sacrifice has been made.

The same sacrifice that cleanses you and me would cleanse those folks as well.

God faced the quandary.

He wants to be just.

He needs to be just.

That's his nature.

He is just.

He's righteous.

He also wants to justify us.

And we cannot do.

What is necessary for our own justification, for our own forgiveness.

And so God stepped in.

And did for us what we couldn't do.

For ourselves.

So that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

How did God do that?

He showed us grace and he sent his Son to die on our behalf.

To pay the ransom price, to be a sin sacrifice.

Satisfy the righteous requirement of the law.

So God can do two things.

He stays just because the law has been satisfied.

But he also does what he wants to do, and that is to justify you and me, to make us righteous.

By the blood of Jesus Christ that washes away our sins.

Well, Paul goes on to say that in verse 248, no one can boast.

He, he asked the question, then what becomes of our boasting?

Well, it's excluded.

By what law he asks.

By law works?

No. If our justification is by a law works, if we're justified by perfect obedience, then we can boast.

Or as Frank Sinatra said, I did it my way.

But that's not the law that we're justified by.

Paul says, no, but by the law of faith, the law of faith is a matter of grace.

And we have no reason to boast.

It, it's like Paul says in Romans 4 regarding Abraham.

Here's in verse 22 through 4 in Romans 4.

Paul writes, for if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

For what does the scripture?

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due.

If you and I could live perfectly according to the law, then God pronouncing his righteousness is not a gift.

It's a debt.

We've earned it, and God gives us what we deserve.

But grace is when God gives us what we don't deserve.

In chapter 3 and verse 19, Paul wrote, so that every mouth may be stopped.

None of us can boast of our own efforts in terms of justification.

Well, Paul says, no, by, but by the law of faith, for we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Well, then, Paul asks a question here, or is God the God of Jews only?

I believe that in Romans, sometimes law is a reference to a law system, not necessarily specifically the law of Moses.

But here in this case, I believe he is talking about the law of Moses.

And the reason I say that is because in verse 22, he asked this question, or is God the God of Jews only?

If justification only comes through keeping the law, what about Gentiles?

If justification only comes by keeping the law of Moses, then I guess the Gentiles are just shut out, aren't they?

That would make God just the God of the Jews, right?

He wouldn't care about Gentiles.

Paul says, is he not the God of Gentiles also?

Yes, of Gentiles also.

In verse 30, I think that the New King James version really has the better translation according to the context, although grammatically speaking, the ESV and the New King James version are both adequate translations.

There is no verb there and that's indicated in the New King James version, but the new King James.

says there is one God.

There's not a God of the Jews, there's not a God, a separate God of the Gentiles.

There's one God who will justify the circumcised Jews by faith and the uncircumcised Gentiles through faith as well.

Since justification is not by works of the law, the law of Moses, then God will justify both circumcised and uncircumcised by the same method.

Justification By faith doesn't overthrow the law, it establishes it, Paul says.

The Mosaic law, I believe, was intended to push men toward God's grace.

Toward justification through this plan that Paul has uh elucidated, has described here in Romans.

Now, as soon as you begin talking about justification by faith is apart, apart from works of the law, then you're gonna find some people who are gonna say, well, justification by faith doesn't require anything of us.

Just believe and you can't do anything or you're trying to work your salvation.

I think we need to compare a couple of passages here and then I'll leave the lesson with you.

In James chapter 2.

In a chapter that's really devoted to faith.

He says in verse 21, was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God and it was accounted, it was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God.

And I'll tell you what's interesting about that.

I've highlighted part of the text here.

Because Paul uses that same verse, Genesis 15:6.

To talk about how Abraham was justified by faith.

James says he was justified by works.

His works completed his faith.

Paul says in chapter 4 and verse 1, what then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our father, according to the flesh.

And I think that again, the new King James version puts those phrases in a, in a better order. Abraham.

Our Father, what was gained by Abraham according to the flesh.

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

For what does the scripture say?

Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Now, to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due.

And to the one who does not work but believes in him, he's describing Abraham, is he not?

He just said Abraham believed God.

To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

Martin Luther said that James was a straw, rather straw epistle.

He put it at the end of the, of the canon of the New Testament because he didn't like some of the things that James said.

But I think it's pretty easy to understand the difference between what James is saying and what Paul's saying.

Paul talks about being people being justified by works, meaning perfect obedience to law.

James is talking about the kind of faith that Abraham had that we need to have as well, and it was a faith that was completed by obedience.

He even speaks of uh the occasion in Genesis 22 when Abraham offered his son Isaac in response to God's command, in obedience to his command.

The door of human perfection is closed.

Fortunately, Because you and I wouldn't be passing through it, would we?

We'd have to be an exception to everything that Paul says in Romans 1 and 2, right?

Paul looked at the Gentiles and said they couldn't do it.

He looks at the Jews and said they didn't do it either.

What would be our track record if justification Required perfect obedience.

If that was the only plan.

Our salvation, though, Paul says, is by grace through faith, and grace and faith work together in verses 24 and 25.

This passage is deep.

And it talks about the magnificent grace of God in providing for us.

People who were hopeless otherwise.

What we couldn't provide for ourselves.

So that every one of us here responsible to God can be free from sin.

We can be completely guiltless.

But not through our own efforts, not because we're such good people.

But because God stepped in.

And sent his son, so that his son could be a sin sacrifice.

Do what the law required so that you and I could be forgiven.

How magnificent.

Come to me, Jesus said, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

My yoke is easy and my burden is light.

God extends the invitation to enjoy His grace, to be forgiven of sins, and to have the hope of eternal life.

He extends it to all men and women.

And it may be that this evening you need to take advantage of that invitation.

You need to respond in faith to the command to repent of your sins, and to be forgiven, or to be confess your faith and to be baptized for the remission of sins.

You know, it's interesting.

People talk about baptism as being some sort of a work, but baptism's purpose, clearly in Acts 238 is for the forgiveness of sins.

If you're being baptized for the forgiveness of sins, you're not able to work your way to salvation.

You are in need of God's grace.

And your baptism is the admission of that very fact.

If you need God's grace this evening, if you need to become a Christian.

Think of the things that God has done to prepare for you so that you can be free from sin.

And when this life is over, you've got hope of eternal life.

That's magnificent.

If you need to respond to the gospel this evening, we want to invite you, and we do so as we stand and sing together.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Allen Dvorak

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

Reading this morning is from Galatians chapter 5.

We'll be beginning in verse 16 as we notice the battle between the spirit and the flesh.

But I say walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

But if you're led by the spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are evident sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy.

Fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such things there is no law, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

The book of Exodus tells us about God bringing his chosen people, Israel, out of the land of Egypt.

Part of the Red Sea brought them to Mount Sinai.

And there the Lord gave them the Decalogue, the 10 Commandments.

And it was not long after that that Moses would go up on the mount.

And while he's on the mount receiving the rest of God's law, the people are down at the foot of the mount, and they have made a golden calf.

Aaron fashioned it.

And they're worshiping this golden calf.

Moses is told by the Lord, I've seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

Now, therefore, let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them, and I may consume them in order that I may make a good a great nation of you.

But Moses implored the Lord is God and said, excuse me.

Oh Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

Why should the Egyptians say with evil intent, did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the base of the earth?

Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.

I want you to notice some of the words that are associated with the Lord's wrath.

My wrath may burn hot, your wrath burn hot.

your burning anger.

Of course, Moses wasn't any different when he came down from the mount, having been told by the Lord what was going on below, and he sees the people in the midst of their idolatry and their uh fornication.

And as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

Those two passages are just two examples of what we could multiply many times in the scriptures, passages that talk about anger or wrath and use the word fire or kindle or burn hot.

Not surprising.

Since the physical symptoms of anger include an increased heart rate and sweating and rapid breathing, often people will feel hot or flushed.

And so those words go well with the idea of anger, even the physical symptoms of it.

Not only is there a variation in the intensity of anger that people feel, but there can be great differences in their expression of that anger.

We'll say more about this and a little later on in our study this morning, but anger and its expression are two different things, and we need to look at them as separate things.

We live in an angry society.

Have you noticed that?

How many times have you read perhaps in news reports about road rage where somebody cuts somebody else off and it ends up with somebody being killed, guns are fired, or somebody's run off the road.

News media often carries stories of violence uh over small trivial things.

One neighbor is upset at the dark dog barking of his neighbor, and so he goes over and there's a fight and somebody ends up dying.

There have been protests against ICE agents.

People are angry because alien immigrants are being deported.

They don't agree with the government's policy on that.

And so what they do is they resort to violence or their anger that is expressed in the destruction of government property.

This isn't a new thing.

Humanity has had a problem with uncontrolled anger from the very beginning.

In fact, in the first family, I don't mean the Trump family, I mean in Adam and Eve's family, Cain will kill his brother, uh, Abel because he's angry with him.

Even the devil is said to be motivated by wrath as he comes and temptsmen and tries to get us to work against God.

Now what I'm gonna say next may surprise you.

But there are times when you should be angry.

There are times when anger is appropriate, as we note in our study in just a few moments, godly people in the Bible were sometimes angry.

Sometimes God is angry.

And of course, we know from the scriptures that Jesus, while here on earth, was occasionally angry as well.

And so this morning I want to talk about 3 things.

I want to try to accomplish 43 things.

I want to distinguish between anger and its expression.

As I said, those are two different things and we need to be cautious about both of them.

And then secondly, I want to note the importance of both the cause and the consequence of anger.

When we talk about anger, we need to be aware of the fact that there are causes that are just and there are causes that are sinful, and the same is true of consequence.

And then finally, let me at least suggest a few things about how we can deal with anger.

Anger is a natural God-given emotion.

Never thought about that?

Why would God give us the capacity to be angry if he did not indicate or point out that there are times when that emotion is appropriate.

I'm gonna give you some definitions of anger.

Webster says it is a strong passion or emotion of displeasure, and usually antagonism cited by a sense of injury or insult as to foam with anger.

I thought that was kind of an interesting use of the word.

How many of you think about foaming with anger?

Maybe burning with anger.

That's kind of the idea that's associated usually with anger.

But I found it interesting, the Oxford languages definition online, it's a very concise short definition, but I think pretty good, a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.

And the reason I like that definition is sometimes when people think about anger, they think about somebody who's lost control, but even annoyance and displeasure can be described as A former a degree maybe I should say of anger.

And then finally, for Wikipedia, the uh the authority on all things in life.

Says an intense emotional state is what anger is involving a strong, uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived pro provocation, hurt or threat.

And like the word perceived.

Because we don't have to be injured, we don't have to be slighted.

We only have to perceive that.

And sometimes that's enough in order to excite our anger, to stir up the emotion of anger.

To be or not to be.

That's the confusion.

Because there are passages in the Bible that seem to indicate that it's OK to be angry.

For instance, Paul says in Ephesians 4:26, be angry and do not sin.

Do not let the sun go down on your anger.

But a mere 5 verses later in the same chapter, the apostle Paul says, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

So which are we to do?

Should we get angry and not sin?

Or should we put all anger away?

How do we reconcile these two passages which, at least at first blush seemed to be contradictory.

Well, It appears from scripture that anger is not always sinful.

For instance, as we've already noted, the Lord was angry with Israel at Mount Sinai in Exodus chapter 32.

And there were many other occasions when the Lord expressed his anger or was angry with his people based on the fact that they had sinned or not kept his covenant.

In Joshua the 7th chapter verse 1 after the sacking of Jericho, Aiken, one of the Israelites, had taken some things from the city as spoiled, and that was against the law, uh, the command of the Lord.

And so we're told the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

If we were to move from that period at the beginning of Israel's history in the land of Canaan, all the way to the end of their time in Canaan in 2 Kings chapter 23 and verse 26, we're told, as the writer explains why the southern kingdom would go off into exile at Babylon.

Still, the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath by which his anger was kindled against Judy because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.

And so God was angry with Israel on various occasions, and these are just two examples.

You could find many other examples of God's anger.

And it wasn't just in the Old Testament.

While Jesus was here on earth, we know that he became angry.

In Mark the 103rd chapter, verses 1 through 5, he's in the synagogue.

There's a man there with a withered hand, and uh when Jesus asks the Jews there, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm to save life or to kill, they won't answer the question.

They're silent.

And so the text says he looked around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts.

Of course, he heals this man.

Restoes his hand.

Did Jesus sin because he became angry?

Well, not according to the Hebrews writer, chapter 4 and verse 15, the writer of Hebrews says that Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.

He didn't sin.

Even though on this occasion, and I suspect others as well, when he cleansed the temple, for instance, Jesus became angry.

God's anger is a righteous anger.

I mean that it's the expression of his perfect justice.

God is light in them there there is no darkness.

And so God is prompted by sin to be angry at that sin.

The problem is that often our anger is motivated by selfishness, not by any kind of sense of justice or perfect justice.

Selfishness comes in many different shapes, as you're well aware.

We become angry sometimes when we perceive a slight or injury against us.

Somebody's done something and we didn't like it, or we felt like it was uh a slight against us, or maybe we were even injured either physically or otherwise by what has been done and we become angry about that.

We become angry sometimes when we just don't get our way, or when we're inconvenienced.

You ever had one of those days?

Had one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong, just little things, the mower wouldn't start, uh, then when you try to fix it, you can't find the tool you need or, or just all kinds of little things go, and the frustration builds as you are inconvenienced by things that should have gone the right way.

And sometimes people are angry.

The man who has a bad day at work.

Or the woman who has a bad day at work and comes home.

And then is angry because of what happened at work, but can't express that anger at work for fear of being punished or losing one's job.

And so the anger is then taken out on the family at home.

Anger is often a matter of selfishness.

Consider, if you will, the story of Jonah.

You remember that Jonah was the prophet who God had commanded to go and preach to the people of Nineveh that there was destruction coming their way.

They didn't change.

But Jonah doesn't do that.

In fact, Jonah takes passage on a ship that's going the opposite direction, to Tarshish.

You can't run away from God.

Jonah learns that.

And so eventually through some trials, he ends up at Nineveh and he preaches to the people.

I think Jonah in preaching, yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be destroyed, that was probably one of the most powerful sermons.

I'll bet he put his heart and soul into it, because Jonah knew what kind of people the Assyrians were.

They were some of the coolest people in the Old Testament world.

They bragged about the way they treated those that they conquered and They were barbaric.

And so Jonah is perfectly happy if he thinks the Lord is going to count down 40 days and then Nineveh is going to be destroyed.

But the people repent at the preaching of Jonah.

And the Lord decides not to destroy the city.

And Jonah is upset, he's angry, and the Lord asks him a question.

The new American Standard version says, Do you have good reason to be angry?

What's the cause of your anger, Jonah?

In fact, the Lord will ask him that question twice.

First, with respect to the city of Nineveh and its occupants, and then God teaches Jonah a lesson by causing a plant to grow up and to shade Jonah from the hot sun and then strikes the plant, and Jonah's upset now that the plant is dead.

The Lord asks him a second time, do you have good reason to be angry?

Jonah became angry at the death of the plant, and God asked him about the appropriateness of his anger.

And I think the Lord's questions to Jonah imply that Jonah had a choice about whether he would be angry or not angry.

Otherwise, I don't understand the question.

Think about Jonah's anger in light of Webster's definition.

May I repeat it to you?

A strong passion or emotion of displeasure.

And usually antagonism, excited by a sense of injury or insult.

Jonah's anger was aroused by the salvation of the Assyrians, by God, and the death of the plant.

In other words, he was motivated by self-interest.

He wanted the Assyrians to be killed, destroyed, because he anticipated what might happen to the northern kingdom of Israel and what did happen.

At the hands of the Assyrians.

And he was angry that the plant died because it was shading him, and so he was inconvenienced by its death.

The question of whether we can be angry or should not be angry is really answered.

By the cause of our anger.

Are we angry as God is angry by injustice, by sin?

Or is our anger really more a matter of self-interest or self selfishness?

Righteous anger can motivate us in positive ways.

We should be angry about sin.

I said earlier on, there are times when we ought to be angry.

Sometimes when I read about how some people will treat other people in this world, it's hard not to be angry.

I saw yesterday.

But a little seven year old boy, they found his body in a freezer.

His foster parents had killed him.

They had some other children.

That were then taken away from them.

And I think about it a little seven year old boy.

Hard not to be angry when you see that kind of cruelty and injustice.

We don't even know exactly.

The story did not say exactly what had happened.

But we need to avoid anger that is motivated by selfishness.

And I said, I wanted to talk to you about both the cause and the consequence.

And so we'll do so now because Paul, when he writes in Ephesians 4:26, be angry and do not sin.

He talks about the consequence.

Don't let your anger cause you to sin.

Even legitimate anger can result in sinful behavior.

Did you hear what I just said?

You can be angry for a cause that is legitimate, and then that anger can lead you to sin.

I cite for your consideration the example of Moses.

In Numbers the 20th chapter, Moses hears the people complaining about a lack of water.

Talk about whiners and complainers.

They complained from the time they left Egypt.

Moses becomes angry.

And as a result of his anger, he ends up disobeying the instructions of God.

God said, speak to the rock, and I'll bring water out of the rock.

That's not what Moses did.

Moses struck the rock twice and, and he said, here now, you rebels, must we.

Provide water for you.

Psalm 13 comments on this particular event.

In verse 32, they angered him.

Israel did at the waters of Maraba, and it went ill with Moses on their account, for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips.

Ever said anything when you're angry that you regretted later?

Well, I certainly have.

I suspect most of us have, if not all of us.

That's what Moses did.

Moses in the heat of his anger, did something that cost him the privilege of going into the promised land.

God allowed him to see it, but not to enter into it.

While we are born with the capacity to become angry, it is a God-given natural emotion.

We choose when we become angry and how we express that anger.

We are responsible for both cause and consequence with respect to anger.

You ever heard someone or maybe you've said this.

I, I can't help it.

He just makes me so angry.

I think sometimes the spouse is usually the one who's being spoken of in those kinds of statements.

What's the lie in that statement?

The lie is he didn't make you do anything.

You decided to become angry.

You allowed yourself to become angry.

That's what I meant when we choose when we become angry.

Why is it that some people seem to be able to endure all kinds of things, they don't get angry and others, oh my, all you've got to do is say the wrong word to them and they're up into the clouds with anger.

What's the difference?

Well, somebody decides to become angry and somebody decides not to become angry.

The decision, of course, is ours.

Well, but I can't, he make, Jesus said, love your enemies.

Love your enemies.

Who would be most likely to make you make you angry if people could do it?

It'd be the people who wish ill for you, your enemies.

Jesus said, you can choose to love your enemies.

That's implied by the command.

You know, the way in which we express anger is influenced by several factors.

One of them is just our innate temperament.

I mean to say that we have different personalities.

I'm going to call it personality, not character.

Character, I think is one personality.

Varies from individual to individual.

It's very difficult.

I'm gonna use Debbie as an example.

Hopefully she doesn't mind.

It's very difficult to get Debbie angry.

It's not all that difficult to get me angry.

Our temperaments are very different.

Debbie's ability to just let things go and to not fly off the handle about things is the reason I'm still alive today.

And speaking to you.

The examples of others affect the way that we express anger, especially those who are close to us, our parents, our friends, our peers.

In Proverbs chapter 22 verses 24 and 29, the wise writer said, make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

The writer says, you can learn his ways, the way that he expresses anger.

Maybe even the propensity that he has toward becoming angry.

You can learn that, and we do.

We learn from a very early age how to express our anger.

It's a learned behavior.

We're often greatly influenced by our parents or other adult role models in our youth.

That's why parents need to be very careful about the way that they express their anger.

Are parents gonna get angry?

Well, sure, some anger is legitimate.

But how we express that anger is critical.

If parents manifest uncontrolled anger, it is likely that the children will learn to behave in the same way.

The good news is that behavior that is learned.

can be unlearned.

It can be changed.

Changing the way that we express anger, or even the propensity to become angry, is a difficult thing.

If you've struggled with that in your life, you know this is true.

Anger seems to be rather basic.

To our personalities, to our beings.

And so if we get on the wrong path early on in life, it's difficult to change that later.

And that's why you parents have such an awesome responsibility.

Train your children up in a way that's acceptable to God.

Anger has some bad companions.

If you were to look at Ephesians 24 and verse 226, We noted this passage a little bit earlier.

Paul said that all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

You know, I wonder why did Paul choose those words?

Why did he group these words?

I think because they're related.

I think they tend to feed on one another, anger.

Creates other sins.

In the reading that Troy did for us a little bit earlier, we see the same thing, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions.

Look at the kind of company that anger keeps.

Someone says, well, I get a little angry from time to time.

Be careful.

Because anger has a tendency not to want to dwell by itself.

But to bring along its companions.

Anger can present several grave dangers.

When people become really angry, it usually clouds our thinking.

Causes us to make irrational decisions.

Here's somebody that's driving and somebody else cuts them off.

No damage done, no accident.

They, they don't even have to slow down perhaps.

Somebody cuts them and the road rage starts and they're driving behind somebody.

I've seen videos of the most incredible stupidity.

By people who were irritated, mad because somebody had cut them off and accidents happen.

Sometimes the vehicles pull over and two people get out and somebody gets shot.

Because when you're angry, You don't think about consequences that is legal or physical consequences.

Anger makes it hard for us to listen to others or to understand their point of view.

When I become angry, now I'm concerned about what I'm thinking about what's happening to me.

I'm not listening to you.

You may have a perfectly good argument, but I'm not hearing it.

That's what anger does.

Anger, if it's uncontrolled or harbored, can lead to bitterness, malice, hatred.

And as we've suggested, even violence.

Proverbs 24:24 says, a man of wrath stirs up strife, and when given to anger causes much transgression.

Sinful anger is often the destroyer of relationships.

Well, what can we do to deal with anger?

I want to make a couple of observations about anger.

Anger can vary in its strength.

By that, I just simply mean that sometimes anger is more just a matter of being annoyed, or we're irritated about something.

Something didn't happen just the way we thought it would or should.

And so we're just, we're uncomfortable.

But that can quickly Get worse.

And I'm not suggesting by this little chart here that this is some sort of logical or scientific gradation of the degrees of anger.

I'm just saying that anger isn't always way at the top.

Where people are uncontrolled and they're raging at others.

Sometimes people do that.

Anger can get there.

But there are other people who are angry.

Their anger is just as dangerous to themselves and maybe even to others.

I want you to consider the hothead who's given the quick anger and, and flies off the handle, we sometimes say.

Comes unglued.

You ever thought about those idioms?

If you're glued, but you come unglued.

And so people do things, violent things sometimes, but sometimes that kind of anger also burns out pretty quickly, run out of energy, I guess.

But then consider the other side of the spectrum.

There are some people who they're angry too.

They hold that anger in.

And its expression is not immediate.

But it's building, it's staying there.

They're feeding that anger.

There's rehearsing what has gone wrong in the slide or the injury that they have suffered.

Some people congratulate themselves for not immediately responding to some openly hostile or violent way in some way like that.

But they take their vengeance later.

Because their anger is the slow burn.

That calculates and looks for the opportunity to take Vengeance.

Can you think of a Bible story that would illustrate that point?

How about Amnon and Absalom?

You may recall that Amnon was the oldest son of David.

And he's lusting after his half-sister, Tamar.

The full sister of Absalom, another son of David.

And Amnon eventually sexually assaults his sister Tamar, rapes her, and then sends her away.

Uses her Absalom holds his peace.

It's obvious from what happens.

He's angry.

He waits.

And the text says in 210 Samuel 183, that after 218 full years, that's a long time for anger to burn.

After 22 full years, He engineers the death of Amnon.

Has his servants kill Amnon when the occasion presents itself.

Paul's words to the Ephesians, Don't let the sun go down on your wrath, I think is good counsel for avoiding sinful consequences of anger.

And Absalom is a perfect example of that.

I would note just as kind of a point of interest that David is at fault here.

That if David had performed justice.

Then Absalom wouldn't have been involved with the death of Amnon as he eventually was.

And so Absalom's anger in the beginning is legitimate, don't you think?

There've been a terrible sin committed against his sister and because of the bond of family, he's angry at what Amnon has done.

And David could have taken care of that situation if he had followed through with what the law said, but Amnon's his oldest son, the next one to the throne.

And so Amnon gets away with it.

And Absalom's anger continues, maybe even builds.

And he eventually kills his own brother.

Well, there are other stories in the Old Testament that illustrate the danger of holding anger.

Paul says, don't let the sun go down on your wrath.

Paul's not saying, don't ever let the sun set.

Keep that wrath.

He's saying your anger needs to be short-lived or you end up doing something like what Absalom did.

Those who are concerned primarily about themselves see slights and injuries where there really is none.

But even in those cases where we have been slighted, somebody has said something about us, somebody has treated us in a way that is unjust.

We need to be careful.

About the consequence of anger.

In The sermon on the out in Matthew 25.

There are several contrasts given there between what the old law said and also the interpretation of the Jewish rabbis about that law.

And what Jesus says is the spirit of the law.

In verses 38 and 39 up on the screen, you have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

That was said in the old law in the context of formal justice.

If a man commits a crime, then the punishment ought to be commensurate with the crime.

That was the point of the law.

But some had taken that statement.

and used it as justification for vengeance.

You take my eye, I'll take your eye.

You knock out my tooth, I'll knock out your tooth.

And so Jesus says, but I say, you do not resist the one who's evil, but if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

I believe Jesus is making the point here that we need to be willing to accept slights and injuries without responding in vengeance.

And that's an attitude.

That if you'll cultivate that attitude of it's, I don't have to protect everything that someone, you know, all of my rights, if somebody does anything against me, immediately, I'm gonna respond because we gotta have everything just and equal.

When we Adopt the attitude that Jesus is talking about here.

Then small things.

The things that would make us angry, they won't make us angry.

We'll understand that it's inconsequential.

I can bear this, just like somebody slapping on the jeep.

I can bear that.

The answer to selfishness, of course, is to crucify self.

And so Paul would write in Colossians 3:5, put to death.

Therefore, what is earthly in you?

You need to put away some things, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth, he says in verse 8.

Behavior that is learned can be unlearned.

It's difficult.

If you're in the habit and we do.

Develop habits in terms of how we respond to other people's provocations.

If you're in the habit of getting angry and expressing that anger in uncontrolled fashion, it'll be difficult to change that, but it can be done.

Because that was a learned behavior in the first place.

Sermon trailer.

Later this month, there'll be a lesson on habits and changing habits.

Because I think that's something that all of us have to do from time to time.

The behavior that is learned can be unlearned, and one of the ways that we do that is we pay attention to triggers.

We pay attention to those things that tend to prompt anger in us, and as much as possible, we try to change those things or circumvent those circumstances.

We need to remind ourselves of the seriousness of acting out because of anger.

And then a couple of admonitions that you find over and over in Scripture.

Be slow to anger.

The Proverbs writer says in chapter 16 verse 23, whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty.

And he who rules his spirit than he who takes the city, we worship physical strength in this country.

We worship the people who have power.

The proverb writer says, the one who can control himself.

He's the one that's really strong.

He's better than the mighty.

One who rules the spirit, he's better than the one that can take a city.

Keep going in Proverbs in chapter 19 verse 11.

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

That's what I was talking about when I said turn the other cheek.

Develop the attitude of overlooking an offense that hasn't really hurt me in any significant way.

In Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 9, be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the hearts, in the heart of fools.

And a lot of things, foolish things are done in the heat of anger.

In the New Testament and the one that I would uh suggest kind of umbrellas these others, know this, my beloved brothers James Wright, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. Why?

Because the anger of men doesn't produce the righteousness of God, as we've noted in this sermon.

And then finally, Think before acting.

No, that's the difficult thing.

Because when we get angry, what happens?

A lot of times our thinking is clouded.

We're not paying attention to things.

We're not thinking the way we would normally think, which is why we need to develop the proper attitude beforehand.

Be angry and do not sin.

Now that should look familiar.

That's from Ephesians 4 and 26.

Paul was quoting from Psalm 4 and verse 4.

He didn't quote the entire verse.

Listen to the rest of it.

Pondering your hearts, your own hearts on your beds and be silent.

Think before you act when you're angry.

What's that old adage?

Count to 10 before you do or say anything.

That's the point.

Take your time.

Don't do anything foolish while you're angry.

Well, let me conclude this morning.

The question that the Lord asked Jonah is a good question for us to ask ourselves about our anger.

Do you have a good reason to be angry?

And hopefully the study this morning has reminded us that we need to be careful about the cause of our anger.

Is it because of injustice that's been done to us or to somebody else, or is it just selfishness?

A lot of anger is selfish.

But even if it is legitimate anger, be angry and do not sin, Paul says, we need to also be careful about the expression of our anger.

That's the consequence.

What do you do when you're angry?

What do you say when you're angry?

What do you think?

About somebody else when you're angry.

We can control our anger.

I've told this story before.

But it bears repeating in this context.

I was preaching at a congregation up north, and we didn't have elders and so decisions, matters of the congregation were handled by a group of men who met together in the men's meeting.

There was an older gentleman there, member of the congregation there.

And he had a habit of flying off the handle in these kinds of meetings.

He would say some of the most uncharitable things if he got irritated about some comment that somebody had made or a decision that had been arrived at and, and he would just blow off.

And in one meeting like that, he said his piece.

And then just left the meeting.

And afterwards, I commented to one of the other brothers.

I said, Does he do this all the time?

Oh, that's just old so and so.

You just have to understand that's just the way he is.

No. I don't And the Lord doesn't.

The Lord expects us to be transformed, not conformed to the world, not to act like the people around us, but to be like.

Jesus Christ to be conformed to the image of God's Son.

And so here's somebody who is being, his anger was just being excused.

Well, you, that's just the way he is.

He's not gonna change.

He needs to change and we can.

We can control our anger.

Well, there's a day coming.

When the righteous wrath of God is going to be revealed against all unrighteousness.

That's what Paul says in Romans 1:18 and in Romans 2 and verse 5, as you see on the screen.

But there's a way that we can avoid the wrath of God.

And that's through the forgiveness of our sins, justification that God provides us in Jesus Christ.

In the blood of Jesus Christ, we find forgiveness.

and escape from divine wrath and Spiritual life, the promise of an eternal life in heaven.

If you need to obey the gospel this this morning because you're outside of Christ.

May I tell you there's wrath coming.

That's what the Bible says.

There's wrath coming, and you and I do not want to be in its path.

But God in His love, as was already stated this morning in previous comments, God in His love has given us a way to escape that wrath and encourages us to take the escape, and I'm encouraging you to obey the gospel as well.

If you need to obey the gospel this morning following the plan that's on the screen, come to the front, we'll assist you.

We encourage you now as we stand and sing.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun PM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Ian Boike

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

A reading this evening is taken from 2117 Samuel chapter 215, but it likes to begin, uh, chapter 2147, chapter 2146, 2147 through 211, but it likes to begin, uh, going back to chapter 214, where basically we see their Saul's last straw when he failed to utterly destroy the Amlekites.

And that chapter ends with verse 2111.

Verse 2112 saying, And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul, and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

And then chapter 12.

The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?

Fill your horn with oil and go.

I will send you to Jesse, the Bethlemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.

And Samuel said, How can I go?

If Saul hears it, he will kill me.

And the Lord said, Take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord and invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me Him whom I declare to you.

Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem.

The elders of the city came to meet him, trembling and said, Do you come peaceably?

And he said, peaceably, I've come to sacrifice to the Lord.

Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.

And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eli and thought, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.

But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him.

For the Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

Good evening.

It's wonderful to see everyone out, including our visitors.

We're excited to have you and I hope you'll stay a little bit after so that we can get to know you better.

And for those of you who have heard me preach in the past, you'll know that I use a lot of examples from my previous work in South Huntsville at the motorcycle shop.

And while they can become redundant after a while, you know, I, I tend to think that life experience is life experience, so why not use it.

But within my first week of being a sales professional on the parts counter, We were taught a key principle, and that was don't judge a book by its cover.

Pretty simple, pretty simple saying, I think everybody's heard it before, but I was told this in with an example, I was told the story of two different customers that I might meet on the sales floor.

And the two types that my bosses referred to them as was you had the flashy customer.

And you had the man in ripped overalls or the poor customer.

Now, we were taught, you know, you treat everybody with respect regardless of how they look, but just for the pure example of this story, that's how they phrased it.

But the flashy customer, well, as my bosses would tell me, they would walk in and tailored suits or, you know, very expensive clothing with a Rolex on their wrist, they'll drive a BMW M4 coupe.

And they wear all the high branded name branded clothing.

But they'll actually have no money to spend in the store because, well, for one, the Rolex is fake, and two, the payments on the BMW are so high they couldn't finance the steam off a hot dog.

I mean, and there are people like that.

Because this whole, this man's whole idea is he's gonna spend his whole paycheck trying to look as rich as possible whenever he really has no money to begin with.

And then you have the other customer, you have the men in ribbed overalls.

And these men, they'll walk in with an old fossil watch that was passed down to them by their grandfather, and I, and I mean, I have one as well.

And they'll drive a beat up rust-covered '98 Chevy truck, which I would actually prefer over the BMW, but He will be wearing the muddy clothing with the ripped boots that are about to fall apart.

And he will have more money than anybody else in that store, because Why would he need to try and tell everybody he that it sees him that he's rich, whenever he, he already is rich?

So, and I say this is true because after this fact, this story was told to me within my first week of sales training.

And then I actually got to experience this for myself.

We had an older gentleman and his wife come into the store, and they didn't look flashy.

They didn't have on expensive clothing, they didn't drive the newest of cars.

But they came in and they pointed out that they wanted two of the most top end jet skis, brand new 2023 models sitting on the floor.

And on top of that, they also wanted to purchase a Can Am pontoon boat on top of that.

So we were, you know, sales people, we, we were excited.

This is a great day for us.

And so the finance manager, he comes out and he says, OK, so do we want to finance?

And as nonchalantly as he could, the customer looks at both of us, and he says, well, can I just pay cash?

For the full amount, and we were uh like high manager said, you wanna pay $85,000 in cash?

Never seen that much money in my life in one place.

And of course he proceeded to say that cash is king.

That's how he's lived his life.

And he proceed to lay out over 850 $473 bills on the table.

And that story, while it's entertaining, It just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover.

You truly can't.

Now, I say that even with the story, I say that, you know, I'm not saying that our appearance doesn't have any effect and it and that it's insignificant, as our clothing can often say a lot about our attitude to what we are attending.

But there was one young man in the Old Testament that I want to focus our study on this evening, who seemed to get judged constantly for his youth and his stature.

And this young man, Was David And today, I want to take a look at the life of young David, so that we can get a better understanding of why judging by appearances, can be grossly deceiving and misleading.

In this evening, I wanna start by setting the scene of young David's life, and we're gonna start in the latter half of chapter 15.

where we will find that the prophet Samuel has just gotten done rebuking King Saul for his sin.

Cas Saul not only disobeys the commands of the Lord to destroy the Anglicites, But he also makes pitiful excuses to Samuel to justify what the people had done.

In First Samuel chapter 15 verses 17 to 21, we find that Samuel said to Saul, though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel?

The Lord anointed you king over Israel, and the Lord sent you on a mission and said, Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Anglicites.

And fight against them until they are consumed.

Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?

Why did you pounce on the soil and do what is evil, do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?

And Saul said Saul, Saul said to Samuel, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord.

I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me.

I've brought Adag, king of Emelech.

And I have devoted the Amlikites to destruction, but the people took the spoil.

Sheepen took the took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord, your God in Gilgal.

Man, he laid it on thick at the end to give justification for those sins.

But after hearing these pitiful excuses, Samuel informs Saul of God's displeasure with his decisions and informs him, Well, God's kicked you out of the kingdom.

He no longer recognizes you as king.

And right after this, we do find that the Lord decides to find a new king and he finds one.

And the Lord had foretold of this new king, and Saul was aware of this fact, even as early as chapter chapter 15 in verse 25 to 29.

Saul was aware of this fact.

In 1 Samuel chapter 15 verses 483 to 29, we're told.

Now, therefore, please pardon my sin, and this is Saul speaking for reference.

Now, therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.

And Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.

And as Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe and tore it.

And Samuel said to him, the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you, and also the glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man that he should regret.

And after God is rejecting Saul through the word through the mouth of Samuel, He now tells Samuel where to go to find this new king.

And in 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 1, we're told that the Lord said to Samuel, how long will you grieve over Saul?

Since I have rejected him from being king over Israel, fill your horn with oil and go.

I will send you to Jesse, the Bethlemite, for I have provided myself a king among his sons.

It has We were told in the scripture reading, Samuel does just that.

He fills his horn with oil, he does as the Lord asks, and he travels to the tribe of Judah.

And where he meets Father Jesse, who has 8 sons.

Now, keep in mind at this point in time of 1 Samuel 16, Samuel has no idea.

Which side is gonna be the chosen one?

As we see that Samuel sees Jesse's first son, his name is Eliab.

And even though he was tall and good looking, he wasn't the Lord's choice, which kind of begs the question, why wouldn't God choose someone who looks like a natural born leader or the first of the many sons?

Well, Israel had already been burned by someone who was tall and handsome, and that was Saul.

We actually find that out in 1 Samuel chapter 9 in verse 173.

Where we're told and he Being the father of Saul, had a son whose name was Saul, and a, a handsome young man.

There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he.

From his shoulders upward, he was taller than any of the people.

And Samuel is told by the Lord, don't look at the outward appearance only, because the Lord looks at the heart.

In 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 7, the Lord said to Samuel, do not look on his appearance or the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for the Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

So after getting a no from the Lord on Jesse's 1st 7 sons, Samuel asked Jesse if all of his sons were present.

And 1 Samuel 16:11 to 12 is where we find that, and he says, are all your sons here?

And he said, yeah, there remains yet the youngest.

But behold, he is keeping the sheep.

And Samuel said to Jesse, send and get him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.

And he sent and brought him in.

Now, he was ready and had beautiful eyes and was handsome.

And the Lord said, arise, anoint him, for this is he.

And after Samuel locates young David and anoints him by the command of the Lord, God then allows the Holy Spirit to descend upon David.

And leave King Saul.

So we see this transfer of the Holy Spirit from King Saul now to King David after he is anointed by Samuel.

And at the beginning of David's story, within these first few verses, we see that God's wisdom is emphasized when he chooses someone who is in the eyes of human beings, the most least likely candidate for the job.

Based on his age and stature, most people in the human eye and based off the human eye would not have chosen David.

This just goes to show.

That Proving that true worth is not just based on the things of the human standard, but rather the Lord's.

And whenever thinking about age discrimination and words of wisdom coming out of the mouths of youth, I couldn't help but think of Genesis chapter 53.

In Jesus chapter 37, we see where God had chosen Joseph's son of Jacob, to be the savior of the family, and not the oldest son.

In Genesis chapter 37 and verses 5 through 8, we're told now Joseph had a dream.

And he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more.

And he said to them, here this dream that I have dreamed.

Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field.

And behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright.

And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down before my sheaf.

And his brother said to him, are you indeed to reign over us?

Or are you indeed to rule over us?

And so they hated him even more for his dream.

And for his words.

So, like David, Joseph also struggled with being judged because of his age and stature.

And this dream was a prophecy from the Lord.

We actually see it being fulfilled a few chapters later, in chapter 43 of Genesis.

Where the famine has a has a has a has afflicted Joseph's family.

They go to Egypt to claim food.

And at this point in chapter 43, the brothers still don't have any idea who Joseph is.

But in Genesis chapter 43 and verses 24 to 26, we're told, and when he went, and when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when they had given their donkeys fodder, they prepared the present for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.

When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to the ground before them, before him.

So we see that this was not just the meaningless rambles of a child.

This was prophecy.

Given to young Joseph by the Lord.

And moving on into chapter 473 around around verse 22, we find that young David Finds favor with King Saul.

Cause in the latter half of chapter 16, David has been in the service of King Saul for a while as his harp player.

And during this time, David it was able to alleviate the mind of Saul whenever whenever the harmful spirit plagued him.

In 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verses 22 through 23, we're told, and Saul sent to Jesse saying, let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.

And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand.

So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

In this favor that David had acquired with King Saul, Well, it allowed him to have a special relationship with Saul that maybe others didn't have.

And now that we've kind of set the scene for young David.

I now want to move into chapter 17, where we're gonna continue to see young David is constantly judged for his youthfulness.

And in chapter 17, were introduced to the Philistines and their champion, Goliath.

And at the beginning of chapter 17, we read that the nations of Israel and Felicity are at war with one another, and then out of the camp of the of the Philistines, we meet the man named Goliath, who is from the city of Ga. And his measurements, thankfully are given to us so that we can understand just a little bit of what these men had to witness as he comes out of this camp.

His height, we're told in um in 463 Samuel 17 verses 4 through 7, we're told that his height was 6 cubits in the span, coming out to about 9 ft and 9 inches.

The weight of his armor was 5000 shekels of bronze, or in other words, roughly 78 pounds.

And the weight of the tip of his spear was about 15 pounds.

I know 473 pounds may not sound like a lot.

But my son, Hudson is, I mean, he's around that 15 pound mark, and after a while, he gets to be a little heavy.

I can't imagine having 15 pounds on the end of a spear that spears are one-handed, are typically one hand.

You have a shield in one hand and then you have the spear to fight with the other, and you don't keep the head of it pointed up the whole time.

When you're in battle, you have to be able to pull it in, uh, push it forward, pull it back, and be able to wield that weapon with precision.

That's a lot of weight to have on that, including the weight of the of the um of the shaft.

But in, uh, and that's what we're told in 1 Samuel 17 and verses 4 through 7.

And so, putting all this together, we can see that that that Goliath, well he was big, he was tall, he was strong, and to the human eye, this man was an elite warrior.

He was the go guy.

You didn't put anybody else before him.

You put him out in front of everybody else, so that you're intimidating.

And he was the perfect choice.

To present this challenge that he would present to Israel's armies.

And for 40 days, uh, Goliath would issue this challenge.

Goliath would shout at the ranks of Saul's army.

Challenging anyone to take him on in one on one combat.

In 1 Samuel chapter 17 verses 13 to 11, we're told, he stood and shouted at the ranks of Israel, Why have you come out to draw up for battle?

Am I not a Philistine?

And are you not servants of Saul?

Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.

If he's able to fight with me and kill me.

Then we will be your servants, but if I prevail against him, And kill him Then you shall be our servants and serve us.

And the Philistines said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day.

Give me a man that we may fight together.

And when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

And just to kind of put this in perspective, I think everybody understands and realizes that today's wars are fought with armies versus armies, many men versus many men, but in this situation, One man was able to make an entire army tremble with fear.

And as I said earlier, over the next 40 days, Goliath would continue to issue this challenge daily.

So as to intimidate the army of Saul.

And Saul's army included David's 3 older brothers.

And they were a Benidab, Eli, and Shima, as they are listed in the scriptures.

And they had been, uh, including, uh, sorry, excuse me, including Saul's army.

They had been at a standoff with the Philistines in the valley between the two mountains, and at this time, David has been asked by his father, Jesse to bring supplies to his brothers at the camp.

And when David arrived at the camp, he overheard the daily taunt that Goliath would come out and say to the Israelite army.

In 1 Samuel 17:23, that's where we're told this.

And David responds with this taunt by saying, in essence, are you guys really gonna take this from an uncircumcised foreigner?

Are you serious?

We have an entire army here and we're going to sit, we're going to take this lying down.

Now, of course, I'm quoting from the New Living's translation.

But we are told that David does respond in this manner, and this time I'll read from the ESV.

But in 1 Samuel chapter 17 in verse 26 through 43, We're told, and David said to the men who stood by him, what shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?

For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

And the people answered him in the same way.

So shall it be done to the man who kills him.

Now, Eli, who we've already met, his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliabb's anger was kindled against David.

And he said, why have you come down?

And when, and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?

I know your I know your presumption and the evil in your heart.

For you have come down to see the battle.

Now, I want you to imagine for a moment, a teenage boy or a young man, we're not sure of of David's exact age at this point.

He's looking at the ranks of fully grown men.

And essentially saying, are you really gonna take this lying down?

Are you gonna let this man defy our God?

And even his older brother, Eliab, hears the words and he becomes angry with him, as we find out in the last half of that verse.

And alive even goes as far to say is, I know that there's evil in your heart.

Why are you even here?

He couldn't He couldn't see the wisdom in the words of his younger brother because of his age.

And again, after the berament from his older brother, He speaks the words again.

But this time they were brought before the king.

And upon hearing them, Saul summoned young David to his tent.

In 1 Samuel chapter 17 and verse 32, we're we're told this where David says to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him.

Your servant will go out and fight with this Philistine.

And in verse 217, Saul responds by saying, you can't go fight with this man.

You're just a child.

Goliath has been in this, has been trained for this since his youth.

You haven't.

You're a shepherd boy.

And it seems that David is taking these taunts a little bit more seriously than everybody else.

While everybody else is in fear, David is the only one who's recorded as actually being angry.

With these charges, and with these insults.

And he even goes as far as to personally guarantee.

Saul, that he is going to win by the hand of God.

In 25 Samuel chapter 247 and verses 246 to 247, we're told, but David said to Saul, your servant used to keep sheep for his father.

And when there came a lion or a bear and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him.

And struck him and delivered it out of his mouth.

And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and I struck him and killed him.

Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.

And David said, the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion.

In the paw of the bear.

Will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.

And Saul said to David, go.

And the Lord be with you.

And right after this, we see in verse 21, where Saul insists that David wear his armor out of concern for David's safety.

As he had been his young servant for for a while now.

But because of his size and his stature, they don't fit.

In 113 Samuel 211 verses 212 to 23, we're given this, uh, we're given this uh scene.

And David strapped his sword over his armor, and he tries in vain to go, for he had not tested them.

And David said to Saul, I can't go with these, for I have not tested them.

So David put them off.

Then he took his staff in his hand and chose 5 smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch.

His sling was in his hand, and he approached, approached the Philistine.

So, just as we read in verse 40, we see that David and Goliath finally meet on the battlefield, as David has been the only one to volunteer to fight Goliath.

And yet again, we see where David is insulted because of his youthfulness, as Goliath is personally insulted by the fact that he believes David in his youthful form is, well, he poses no threat.

To Goliath and his pending victory.

First Samuel chapter 17 and verses 42 to 44, and we're told, and when the Philistine That being Goliath looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.

And the Philistines said to David, Am I a dog that you've come to me with sticks?

And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

And the Philistines said to David, come to me.

And I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

And I've watched a lot of action movies in my life where, you know, the villain gives a pretty stern and scary, threatening charge.

I've never heard a response.

Like this before in a movie.

In 1 Samuel chapter 123:45 to 47, and David responds to the Philistine, and he says, then David said to the Philistine, you come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin.

But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.

This day, the Lord will deliver you into my hand.

And I will strike you down and cut off your head.

And I will give the dead bodies of the hosts of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field of the earth, excuse me, and that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves, not with the sword.

And spear.

For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.

That is a great response to a charge like that.

Of course, if you start in verse 48, you read through the end of chapter 17, you will find that David does exactly what he said he would do.

David kills Goliath with one of those 5 stones that he picked up from the brook, and with his slingshots.

He strikes him in the head.

And after David removes Goliath's head from his body, the army of the Philistines run in fear.

And just as we gave the illustration that today's battles are fought with armies versus armies.

One man, one giant man made an entire army fear for their lives, but in this instance, We're told that one young boy made an army flee in fear.

That is the true power of God.

As we're told in the latter half of verse 47, and actually verses 46 and 47, I'll read them again.

Of David's response, this day, the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head, and I will give the dead bodies of the hosts of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, and that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with the sword and with the spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.

David, young David had tremendous faith in the ability of the Lord, even when the odds seemed against him.

And just some observations as we close out for this evening.

From the story of the rise of young of young David.

And I think the first one is pretty self-explanatory, is that appearances can be deceiving.

And David was constantly judged for his youthfulness and for his honestly and just his appearance in general.

Goliath, he said, bring forth to me a man that I may fight.

He wasn't given a man.

He was given somebody smaller than him.

So David was constantly judged.

His father didn't think to include him in the lineup.

Because he was the youngest, so he couldn't possibly be chosen by Samuel.

His older brother, Eliab.

Well, he ignored the courage of David's words and even somewhat the and even the wisdom of his younger brother's words, because he couldn't get over the fact that they came out of the mouth of someone young and youthful.

And he couldn't even as he couldn't get respect from his family.

Can't expect it from his enemy either.

His enemy didn't even show the respect to David on the battlefield because, well, David didn't present himself as much of a threat.

His appearance wasn't threatening like Goliath's was.

In all these instances, just go to show that, like I said in the beginning, you can't judge a book by its cover.

David had more wisdom and more courage than anyone else on that battlefield or on either side.

Of that battlefield, even though he was young.

And thinking in the New Testament whenever Paul tells young Timothy.

In 1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 11 and 12.

Paul tells young Timothy, command and teach these things.

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, and conduct, in love, in faith, and purity.

Paul told Timothy that he needed to say what needed to be said to these New Testament churches.

And that's exactly what David did.

When he looked at the army of Israel, including his, his 3 older brothers, and said, are you really gonna take this from them?

Are you gonna let these men defy our God?

And this took an insane amount of courage from such a young man.

And I appreciate your kind attention to me this afternoon, and I hope that this lesson was just as encouraging to you as it was for me.

And if you're not a Christian this evening, If you take nothing else away from this lesson.

I want you to understand.

That the Lord is more interested in your heart.

In your in your appearance.

Cause the Lord looks inward because he wants you to have a deep connection with Him.

And that's why he sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on a Roman cross so that you in this very moment, would have the opportunity to make your life right with God and to secure your relationship with Him.

And we have everything here ready this evening to assist you in making your life right with God and to become a Christian.

And maybe you're already a Christian.

Maybe you've already followed these steps to salvation.

And if this is the case, the Lord wants you to strengthen.

Your relationship with him by removing the spiritual burdens that you have brought on yourself.

And I have a question for those of us who are Christians.

Are you gonna have the courage, have a courage like young David's?

Are you gonna have a have the courage to admit That you send So that you can begin the process of coming back to Christ.

Because the Lord wants you to be courageous.

He wants that for you.

If you are subject to the invitation this evening and you're ready to begin your journey as a Christian or you need to make your life right with God, please come to the front as we stand and as we sing.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Allen Dvorak

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

Scripture reading this morning will be Luke 17:53 through 19.

On the way to Jerusalem, he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee, and as he entered the village, he was met by 10 lepers who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

When he saw them, he said to them.

Go and show yourselves to the priest, and as they went, they were cleansed.

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God.

And with a loud voice, he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks.

Now he was a Samaritan.

Then Jesus answered, Were not 10 cleansed?

Where are the none?

Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?

And he said to him, Rise and go your way.

Your faith has made you well.

Toward the end of Moses' life, he wrote the Book of Deuteronomy.

It's been called his farewell address.

The people of Israel were encamped on the very edge of Canaan, prepared to go in and conquer the land.

Moses would not be allowed to go in with them, as we studied recently in a sermon.

But in the book of Deuteronomy, he reminds them of the law that their fathers had received a generation earlier.

He reminds them of the way that God had taken care of them in the wilderness in chapter 8.

He described for them in verses 7 through 9 of chapter 8.

The richness of the land that they were preparing to enter shortly after his death.

In Deuteronomy, the 8th chapter, and in verse 10, He says, and you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God.

For the good land he has given you, for all of you Job's students, the word blessed there is the same word that's translated curse in chapter 183, when Job's wife says, curse God and die.

But here it's used to mean praise, blessed.

You'll praise God for the land that you're about to receive.

But there was a possibility that Israel would forget God, that they would forget that it was God who was giving them this land.

And so in chapter 8, which is basically a chapter uh whose theme is don't forget.

Moses goes on to warn the people, saying, take care lest you forget the Lord, your God, by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver and gold is multiply.

and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

And following verse 14, Moses continues by reminding them of what God has done for them in the past.

And his warning is, don't forget the Lord.

Beware lest you say in your heart, verse 17, my power and the might of my hand, have gotten me this wealth.

You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers as it is this day.

In Deuteronomy 8, this is a warning, but what Moses warns about is exactly what happens in Israel.

They enter the land and they're blessed with all of the things that they receive from that land, but they forgot God.

By forgetting or not keeping his commandments, not keeping his statutes.

Tertullian was an early Christian writer.

He lived about the middle of the 2nd century into uh the 1st 5th of the 3rd century.

And he identified what he called the seven deadly sins.

And he listed them as pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and slaw.

Now, over the centuries, that list has been adjusted and, and, and changed a little bit here and there, but basically, that's known as the seven deadly sins, that list of sins.

But there's another sin that I want to talk to you about this morning that I think is at the root of many other sins.

A fellow by the name of Jim Manny said Ignatius, who had lived prior to Kilcullion, thought that a particular type of ignorance was at the root of sin.

The deadliest sin, he said, is ingratitude.

It is quote the cause beginning and origin of all evils and sins.

If you asked 100 people to name the sin, that's the origin of all evils, I'll bet none of them would say in gratitude.

They would say pride or disobedience or greed or anger.

The idea that we sin because we are not sufficiently aware of God's goodness probably wouldn't occur to too many people.

And I suspect that Mr. Manny is correct that ingratitude is at the base of many sins, as he is quoting Ignatius here.

And that ingratitude is often considered to be one of those lesser sins, like uh the sin that uh Mike talked about last or sins that Mike talked about last Sunday morning when he talked about the lesser sins, like lying and and those kinds of things.

But ingratitude is a serious thing.

And it is common among the world and even sometimes among God's people.

So this morning I want to talk to you about Ingratitude.

We're going to use Luke the 103th chapter verses 11 through 19, the passage that Lucas read for just a few moments ago.

We're going to use that passage.

To talk about ingratitude.

Psalm 100 is one of my favorite Psalms.

It's a very brief palm.

But in the 4th and 5th verses, at the end of that Psalm, enter his gates with thanksgiving, the psalmist writes, and his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him, bless his name, for the Lord is good.

Here's why we ought to do that.

His steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations.

So this morning, I want to use the story of the 10 lepers to affirm that God expects gratitude in response to the goodness that he shows us, the blessings that he bestows upon us.

I want to emphasize the seriousness of ingratitude.

And I want to cause each of us to reflect on our blessings.

Hopefully with the motivation then to have an attitude of thankgiveness, thanksgiveness in our lives.

Jesus healed 10 lepers, as the text says, but only 1 leper came back to thank him.

If you notice in the passage there in verse 12, it says, as he entered a village, there were these 103 men who are standing at a distance, verse 12 says.

Well, that was required of lepers.

It would have been insisted upon by those who lived in that village.

You didn't want to associate with leprosy.

Leprosy was feared in the Old Testament world.

Even Leviticus 13 says in verses 45 and 46, that the leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, unclean, unclean.

He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease.

He is unclean.

He shall live alone.

His dwellings shall be outside the camp.

So a leper became an outcast.

And not only that, but he was required by the law to announce his uncleanness, his disease.

And so here Jesus is coming into this village between Galilee and Jerusalem.

He's on his way to Jerusalem.

And these 10 men, they're outside the village, standing at a distance, as the law required.

And when Jesus comes, they cry out to him for mercy.

They know who he is.

In fact, if you paid attention closely to the text, they said in verse 13, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

They knew who Jesus was.

And Jesus commanded them to show themselves to the priest in verse 14.

You know, if you're a leper and someone said, well, go show yourself to the priest.

You look at your leprosy and say, well, that won't do any good, because the point of going to the priest was for the priest to examine you and determine if you were still lepros.

It was only through going to the priest and the priest saying, proclaiming you free of leprosy that you could be clean and then be reintegrated into The people into the social.

Environment So that's what lepers did when they were hoping to be pronounced clean.

You went to the priest and Jesus tells men who are still lepers to go and show themselves to the priest.

But the Bible says that they were cleansed as they went.

And so all 10 of these men go ahead and follow the instructions, even though it may not have made a whole lot of sense to them at the time, I'm still a leper.

Why should I go show myself to the priest?

But Jesus said go, so they go.

And as they go.

They're cleansed.

Have you ever thought about how that might have happened?

The text doesn't really tell us.

Whether they're walking along and all of a sudden, they are free from leprosy, or whether it was a gradual thing, and as they progressed as they walked along toward where the priests would be found, that they gradually saw changes in their skin to where they realized, I'm being healed.

We're not cold.

We don't know.

But at some point, as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them Returned and praised God, glorified God, the text says, and thanked Jesus.

They must have all recognized that they were healed from the leprosy.

I don't think the one that returned was any different in that regard.

And I think the other 9 lepers who go on their way to the priest, I'm sure they were very happy to be cleansed.

Not fun to be an outcast.

Uh, fun to be avoided by everyone because you have this dreaded disease.

Nobody wants to be around you.

Nobody wants to touch you.

I'm sure they were overjoyed to be cleansed.

And I think they most certainly took advantage of their restored status in the community.

Now we can be part of the village and not just outside the village.

How is it that we come to know this feeling of gratitude that motivated the one leper to come back to Jesus and to kneel before him with his face to the ground.

And give thanks to God.

Well, I think maybe sometimes it starts with our parents.

Parents are often seen reminding their children now say thank you.

Someone's giving them a gift or giving them some candy or something that they really wanted a toy perhaps.

And and what what's the first inclination of children?

You give them a toy.

I wanna go play with this.

This is, I got something really neat now and so they're ready to run off and and enjoy their gift.

And so parents say, say thank you.

Don't forget to say thank you.

Parents are teaching their children.

To recognize the connection between the gift.

And the giver of the gift.

And then to verbally, most of the time, acknowledge that connection.

One writer said ingratitude is forgetfulness of the heart.

It's not that we've forgotten the gift, we have the gift.

But we've forgotten where it comes from.

The source.

Sometimes children are not taught that very well.

To understand that connection.

And then as teenagers who are in their quest for privilege and independence, they are sometimes very ungrateful to their parents.

There are very few things that are uglier than someone who has lived.

At the expense of their parents for years, parents who basically sacrificed for a child to have all the things that are necessary and more for life, only to have that child from.

Well, you just and showing gratitude for what's been done for them.

What was the difference between the one former leper who returned to thank Jesus and the other 83 who were also healed of leprosy?

Perhaps the 9 lepers who didn't return to thank Jesus were simply wrapped up in the gift.

Wrapped up in their good fortune that so that they forgot the giver of their gift, the restored health.

The Samaritan, on the other hand, Luke, as he commonly does, notes that the one who returns is a Samaritan.

He, uh, Jesus notes that, and Luke records it.

Luke is the one who seems to pay attention to people of other nations in his gospel.

The Samaritan was keenly aware of the connection between the Giver and the gift.

And so he glorified God as the New King James Version said, praising God, ESB says.

With a loud voice.

He was not ashamed to acknowledge what had been done for him.

So he proclaims his Thanksgiving with a loud voice.

Well, Jesus asked some questions.

When this man comes back, Jesus says, we're not 10 cleansed.

Well, where are the 9?

Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner, person of another nation is literally the idea.

Jesus questions, I believe, imply that the other 9 lepers should have shown gratitude as well.

Where are the 9?

Jesus expected that all 10 of them should have been showing their gratitude.

And that is a thought I want to take into our studies now that God expects us to be grateful for the blessings that we have.

He expects his spiritual children to be grateful for their blessings, and I'm not just talking about giving thanks for our food before we eat.

That's obviously a good practice.

You see that in the scriptures as well.

I'm not talking about Thanksgiving Day, which is just around the corner where people seem to think that on this one day, we really are thankful for the things that we have.

But my impression from the scriptures that I'm going to show you is that Thanksgiving ought to be characteristic of us as Christians.

For instance, consider Colossians 3:15 to 17.

You know, this is a passage.

That we frequently go to, particularly verse 33, to talk about music and worship.

Sometimes it's used more as a defense against instrumental music, but you need to notice, as, as we all do, that all three verses here, 1516, and 17, they all mention thankfulness.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another and all wisdom, singing praises and hymns and spiritual songs with thanksgiving in your hearts to God.

And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Ephesians 5:18 to 20 are essentially a parallel to Colossians 3:15 or 17.

But I, I wanna use, see the, the language, review the language there in Ephesians 5.

He writes, Paul does, and do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit.

Addressing one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, that doesn't leave much out, does it?

Giving thanks always and for everything.

Just a couple more passages, we could multiply these passages, uh, several times, but I think the point is true, is evident that God expects us to be thankful that it ought to be something that is characteristic of us.

If people were to say, well, what are Christians like?

Well, they're thankful people.

There are people who abound in thanksgiving in Colossians 153 and 7.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:25, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I suspect that last phrase applies to more than just verse 218, but it certainly applies to verse 210, doesn't it?

That God intends for us to give thanks in all circumstances.

I started searching through Paul's writings for some of the key words like thanksgiving and thankful or thank.

And I was surprised myself at how many times Paul writes or uses the phrase, thanks be to God.

I lost count how many times he says that.

Paul was frequently often.

Giving thanks for one thing or another, and certainly for his brethren.

He begins a lot of his epistles by simply saying, I give thanks for you, Romans 210:28.

23st, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

He begins to Ephesians 1003, the same way.

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

Colossians 2100 and verse 22, we always thank God constantly when we pray for you.

In 24 Thessalonians 1 and 2, we give thanks to God always for all of you.

And in 1 Timothy 2 in verse 1, he says, first of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.

I see a theme here.

Do we give thanks for our brethren?

Are you thankful for other Christians, particularly of this congregation, but Christians in other places as well.

Paul's writing in these letters to people that he's not with.

There are people in some cases that he's been with in the past.

But he gives thanks for those to whom he is writing consistently.

I believe that true thankfulness begins with a consideration of our blessings.

But also a recognition of the source of those blessings.

There are a few better illustrations of how important perspective is in the matter of thankfulness than the prayers of young children.

Uh, sometimes I, I've heard some of the teachers here who, who have the smallest children in the classes and uh those children are sometimes encouraged to, to lead a prayer and kids pray for everything.

I thank you God for the clouds.

I thank you for my cat.

I thank you for Anything, everything.

And sometimes those requests are almost amusing because they seem to be focusing on such small things, but those prayers are also instructive.

They focus on some of the most unusual things.

They're still enthralled with the wonder, the goodness of things that we have long since taken for granted.

I wonder if it's true that we must lose blessings, have things taken away from us before we can recognize what great blessings we actually have.

I do believe that is a principle.

That sometimes we don't, don't appreciate what we have until we no longer have it until we lose it.

But my question is, must that be the case?

Do we have to lose it before we can really appreciate it?

Or are we counting our blessings?

Even the way small children do.

You may have seen the small bumper sticker that I have seen which says life is terrific.

Life is terrific.

Do the drivers of cars that have a bumper sticker that says life is terrific?

Do, do they not have any kind of problems?

Everything in life is 100% good.

Well, of course not.

They have challenges, they have problems, but they have chosen to emphasize what is good in their lives.

Life is terrific as far as they're concerned.

Don't you think it would be a little ironic if somebody was driving a car with the bumper sticker, life is terrific.

And then because of some traffic mishap or inconvenience, you hear them yelling at all their people, you know, why you're driving like that get out of the way.

You cut me. Really?

Life is terrific.

These are people who are emphasizing the good things which have entered their lives.

Being thankful for our blessings.

is not a denial of our needs or our difficulties.

It is a matter of perspective.

Now, that's, that's a cliche, uh, the half empty glass or the half full glass, which are you?

How do you?

But you know, it's a cliche because of the truthfulness of it.

That your perspective on life determines your attitude.

Whether you see yourself as blessed, my glass is half full, maybe overflowing, or I always see myself as not getting enough.

I'm the half empty guy.

What's your perspective?

Are you blessed or are you lacking?

And that will determine how thankful we are.

Being thankful for our blessings, as I said, is not a denial of our needs or our difficulties.

In fact, it's the foundation for seeking help with those things that are difficulties.

Is that not what Paul is saying and uh Philippians the 23th chapter?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

Have you thought about the relationship between the first half of that verse and the second half?

The first half says, don't be anxious, but in everything, let your request be made known.

So I'm going to pray to God about the things that are problems for me, the things that I'm struggling with.

But Paul says, with thanksgiving.

In other words, as you're thinking about what you're struggling with, you're also focusing on what God has done for you.

And I think that's a reminder, intended to be a reminder that God is the one who blesses us and will take care of us.

I don't think it's an accident that Paul puts with Thanksgiving in there.

I think there's a connection there that is important.

The Challenges that others face.

I think help us to be aware of the great blessings that we have received.

As one-sided as the news media can be, as television can be.

Television has performed at least one good function for us.

It has made us aware.

When we see about things that are happening in other parts of the world, it's made us aware of how fortunate Americans are.

If you've had the opportunity to travel widely, to go to third world countries or developing countries, you know that hunger and violence, and oppression.

Our daily problems with much of the world's population.

And yet here we are.

In one of the most prosperous nations.

Most of us have so much more than what we need.

We live in luxury.

And we're reminded when we see others who are struggling of just how much we have been blessed.

Even some of our problems.

are the trappings of our blessings.

I've noticed on Nextdoor online, Nextdoor, many of you are familiar with people post things uh in the communities, various communities, things that they're concerned about, their complaints or, or in some cases, uh, their accolades for someone or some business.

And I've noticed recently that there's been a number of posts about the high cost of utilities.

Huntsville Utilities needs to be audited.

Well, not sure I'm against auditing Huntsville Utilities.

That's not my point.

My point is that you have electricity.

And when Debbie and I go to Zimbabwe and we stay with professor's family.

It's not uncommon for them to go without electricity for a day or sometimes 2 days.

And water.

Oh, the cost of water has gone up.

Zimbabwe, uh, in the big city of Bulawayo, which is one of the major cities of the country, water is available to certain parts of the city, maybe 2 days a week.

And the rest of the week there's no water coming to you.

So you use water carefully.

Because it's a precious commodity.

And yet for us, How often do we go over and turn the water on, our faucet on?

Never think about the fact that water comes out.

Essentially without any kind of cessation, it's rare that we don't have water.

I'm just saying that we, we complain about the cost of things that other people would love to have.

What is our perspective?

About blessings.

Well, I wish I was here instead of saying I'm so glad I'm here.

I think of people over the years that I've known.

Who would ask questions like, well, are you saying I have to come to worship services?

But why do I have to come to Bible classes?

Why all this focus on worshiping God?

We enjoy tremendous liberty in the pursuit of our religion.

There are places today, in other countries where you can die for coming together and worshiping God as a church.

Or where if you're at church, you have to hide from the authorities in order to avoid being arrested and punished, sent off to a re-education camp or something of that nature.

Or having someone come into the assembly and massacre everybody who's here.

We take for granted this freedom, this blessing of peace that we have.

I say we take for granted.

I'm, I'm not intending to, to criticize anyone.

I'm just saying I wonder if we think about that.

And anybody who says, well, do I have to?

No, you don't have to come here, but you have the ability to come here.

You have the freedom to come here without being afraid that you're gonna be harmed by the government because you did.

Would you be here this morning if that was the case?

If you are afraid that the government might come in through the doors and arrest everybody here.

Haul us off?

Would you still come?

We take advantage of this blessing, and sometimes I think That we really don't think about it.

Well, we could go on and on, I guess, counting our blessings.

We sing about it.

Uh, hopefully, that's something we do.

But I think Paul summarizes this whole idea in 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

He says, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Give thanks in all circumstances.

Someone says, well, but I don't have what so and so has.

What do you have?

How has God blessed you?

Is there anybody here this morning that hasn't been blessed by God, Richly?

In all circumstances.

I appreciated what Will had to say this morning about the collection.

Macedonian churches were glad to participate in helping needy saints in Jerusalem, and they had very little apparently they were impoverished as Will pointed out from the text.

We are nowhere near that, at least at this time.

So let me conclude this morning by saying the story of the 10 lepers, I think, emphasizes how self-centered and careless we can be about our blessings, even as we are being blessed.

I think the 10 lepers were happy that they were cleansed.

They were so wrapped up in their blessings, enjoying their blessings that they forgot to thank the one who had blessed them.

And we have much for which to be thankful.

The one leper returned and glorifying God.

That's part of the reason we're here this morning, is it not?

Because God has been good to us, because God has blessed us, and we are here to show our thankfulness.

I want you to remember that in Deuteronomy the 8th chapter, Moses says, do not forget the Lord by not keeping his commandments.

As far as Moses was concerned, obviously, guided by the Holy Spirit, when people didn't keep the commandments that God had given them, they had essentially forgotten God.

And we need to be careful that we don't do that.

In Colossians 3:15, again, we've looked at it before and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.

I mentioned Tertullian earlier.

Tertullian wrote that repentance was the result in part of an attitude of thankfulness.

I think he's right.

I think he borrowed from Paul.

100 years earlier or so, Paul said to Romans in chapter 2 and verse 4, or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Paul saying, don't you understand God's goodness is an excellent motivation for your repentance.

When people realize the good things that God has done to prepare for their salvation, They are often moved to change their lives and response.

How have you responded to God's goodness?

If you're not a Christian, your opportunity to obey the gospel is this morning.

In just a few moments we're going to stand and sing a song to invite you to do that very thing.

To follow the path that's elaborated on the screen.

To confess your faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, having repented of your sins, made the decision.

To change your life.

To be baptized into Christ for the remission of your sins.

But I'm speaking largely to Christians this morning.

Most of us, many of us are Christians.

I wonder if we're thankful, if that's characteristic of our life.

I'll tell you something else about thankfulness.

This is free.

Thankfulness will result in joy.

And when you read about Christianity, what you're gonna read about is joy.

Christians ought to be joyful because we are the most blessed people.

Oh, maybe not physically.

There are others who've received much more perhaps in material things, but in terms of our spiritual inheritance.

There's no comparison.

With anybody else.

If you're not a Christian this morning, we want to encourage you to obey the gospel.

If you're a Christian, think about your blessings.

And we need to think about whether we're truly thankful for the things, the good things that God has given us.

We invite you as we stand and sing.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun PM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Allen Dvorak

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

I would repeat what was said a little bit earlier, and that is that if you're visiting with us this evening, we are certainly grateful for your presence and would encourage you now to join us as you've joined us in worship thus far in a study of God's word.

You may wish to turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans if you haven't already.

That's where we'll be spending most of our time this evening.

When the scriptures talk about the Lord's church, there are a number of metaphors that are used, each metaphor emphasizing some aspect of the relationship that we have with God our Father and of course, our elder brother Jesus Christ.

Some of those metaphors are easier for us to relate to than others.

For instance, God's people are referred to as sheep.

Any sheep herders here this evening?

I thought not.

That's something that we don't relate to as much because we're removed from that kind of culture or lifestyle.

But some of the other metaphors are likewise a little more difficult for us to understand or at least appreciate because we don't relate to them a temple.

Christians are described as the building blocks of a house of worship to the Lord.

You can see that in Ephesians 583 in other places.

The church is sometimes compared to a kingdom, although sometimes kingdom is used with a little different emphasis.

But again, we don't we don't live in a kingdom and so we're unfamiliar with kings.

But we relate maybe a little bit more to the idea of the church being the bride of Christ because we are familiar with weddings and we've heard sermon after sermon about the roles of husbands and wives as husbands and their brides set up their own families, and that's another metaphor of the church, and that is God's spiritual family.

In fact, as we refer to ourselves, we don't talk about, uh, hey there, brother worker in the vineyard, we call each other brother or sister in Christ.

So that's that's a metaphor that we relate to, I think, rather well.

But maybe another metaphor that we identify with rather readily is that of the metaphor of a body.

That the church is the Lord's spiritual body.

Jesus is the head.

He is the one who directs the body, and we are as a group members of that body, and you see that in numerous passages in the writings of Paul and others, and there are some on the screen there that will not take time to read, but you can see that that's a metaphor that is commonly used.

I want to follow that metaphor this evening, particularly as it is used in the text for our study this evening.

We're going to be looking at Romans 573th chapter, and particularly I want to look at verses 563 through 553 as we talk about the metaphor of the body and pointing out some truths that we can draw from that metaphor.

And ultimately what I would like to do this evening is encourage each of us.

To be workers, to be involved in the Lord's body, to use the gifts that God has given us, you and me together in the Lord's work.

I want to back up just a little bit in the book of Romans.

Well, actually all the way to chapter one, because you can divide the book of Romans into two basic parts.

The 543st 533 chapters are Paul's argument for justification by faith.

He begins in Chapter 523 by talking about the Gentiles and their failure to be justified by their own efforts, and he will then through chapters 513 through 503 discuss also the Jews in chapters 212 and 2110, and there will be some other information in chapters 2145 through 215 about the Jewish nation.

But he's basically going to conclude that the Jews have likewise failed in their efforts to be justified according to the flesh or according to their own efforts.

In fact, in chapter 215 in verses 215 and 212, Paul will say that the whole world, that be Jew and Gentile, have all been Placed under sin.

In other words, he has noted that they have all failed to be justified by their own efforts.

But the second part of the book, chapters 212 through 215, there's 5 chapters, but the 16th chapter is largely personal, so I'm going to say 12 to 15 constitute the second major section of the book of Romans, and I believe that in those chapters Paul gets down to the lick log.

He talks.

About some rather specific ways in which those of us who are justified by faith in Christ are to live, and the pivot point in Paul's argument is Chapter 12, verses 1 and 2.

Chapter 53 begins this second section.

And Paul prefaces a number of comments about how we ought to behave toward others, including our fellow Christians, by saying in chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.

Holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship or logical service.

Some translations would say, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Now I believe that we are pretty familiar with that passage.

It's a focal point in many sermons.

I want you to pay attention to specifically the word therefore.

Paul is now going to make some comments about the way the way we should live.

Those comments are based on the argument that he is presenting in the first part of the book.

And so Paul has labored in the first part of Romans to show that men must seek justification before God by faith as we.

Said both Jew and Gentile failed to be righteous by their own works.

I like to picture this as though it is a corral, an enclosure for cattle usually or horses, and often those corrals would have multiple entrances or exits.

Let's just suppose here that we have only One of them represents justification by our own merit or by our own works, as Paul says in Galatians 3:10 to 12, the curse of the law is upon everyone who does not do all the things in the law.

The way that people could be justified by their own efforts is don't sin.

Obey the law perfectly.

And when you do that, which no one did, but if you did that, then God would pronounce you righteous or just on the basis of your own merit.

That's one exit.

From the corral.

But the problem is, as Paul demonstrates in chapters 1 and 2, and Concludes that in the first part of chapter 3 is that neither Jew nor Gentile did that.

So for all practical purposes, that gate is closed.

The other gate is the gate that Paul is going to describe in Romans 23:21 to 26.

It's the gate of justification by faith in Jesus Christ.

And essentially what's happening is if we're going to pursue.

leave the row.

You have to use that other gate.

It's the only option left to those who have failed to justify themselves by their own works.

And so we need to seek the righteousness of God, the righteousness that he pronounces upon individuals who have been forgiven of their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ.

We have to seek that by faith in Jesus Christ.

In Romans 3, as Paul kind of reaches the climax here in his discussion of how men are justified, he says the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God here is the righteousness that he bestows upon men.

Through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe there's no distinction for all that sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Calvinism teaches that what God actually does is he takes the perfect righteousness of Christ and he just basically credits it to the account.

Of each and every person who's among the elect, Bible doesn't teach that.

The Bible doesn't teach it in Romans, doesn't teach it in Galatians, or any other passage for that matter.

The Bible teaches that we are pronounced as righteous or we're made righteous by faith in Jesus Christ, and what that involves.

Is our forgiveness by the grace of God through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross.

You know, somebody might say, well, if it doesn't, if I'm not going to be justified by my own efforts, if it's gonna be the grace of God, then I really don't have to worry too much about the way that I live.

I can sin as much as I want because after all, it's God's grace that's going to save me and God's grace abounds even more than the sins that men commit.

That's the point that Paul makes at the end of chapter 5.

But Peter, Peter, Paul contacted Peter to find out what he should write.

Paul writes in chapter 6, answering that very question.

Can I just not worry about my sins?

Can I just go ahead and and live in sin because God's gonna forgive me by His grace.

And so Paul's going to answer basically that same question twice in the chapter.

of Romans.

He'll answer it the first time by suggesting that living, continuing to live in sin is incongruous with what happened to us when we were converted.

We became dead to sin.

How can we live any longer in it?

he asks.

But then the second time he answers that question beginning in verse 15.

He has just stated in verse 14 that we're not under law but under grace, and then somebody might say, well, then we don't have to worry about obedience.

We don't have to worry about law.

God's gonna save us by His grace.

Paul says, are we to sin because we're not under law but under grace?

By no means.

And this time he answers the question by saying, If you continue in sin, you become the slave of sin.

Let me tell you where that's leading.

Paul says, it leads to death.

That's the consequence.

That's the fruit that a life of sin brings.

So in chapters 1 through 11, Paul sets up this, this argument that men have to be justified by faith in Jesus Christ, that all men, Jew and Gentile, have failed to do it on their own.

And we can't just say, I, it doesn't make any difference how I live.

What he's going to do now beginning in chapter 23 is saying, listen, this is how men and women who are justified by faith, this is how they live.

And so then in chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, he says there are two things that you need to do.

First of all, you need to present your bodies as a living sacrifice wholly and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

And then in verse two, he says the second thing he says don't be conformed to this world.

That's what living in sin would involve, right?

We would just keep doing what the world's doing, what we did before we were converted.

Paul says, no, no, don't be conformed to the world, but be transformed and the way that happens, he says, is by the renewal of your minds.

Now, part of being living sacrifices involves our relationship to other people, including our brethren.

And so that brings us To verses 3 and following and specifically our text in verses 4 through 8.

But I want you to understand that verse 4 is actually an explanation of verse 3.

Here's what verse 3 says, for by the grace given to me, Paul writes, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment.

Each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Paul says, don't think of yourselves more highly than you ought to think.

In the New King James version, that same passage, it says that we should think soberly.

But I want you to see that verse 103 begins with a word that is often a word introducing explanation.

He says, for as in one body, we have many members in our physical bodies, and the members do not all have the same function.

So we, though many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

Why is it that we should not think more highly of ourselves because we are a collective, we are a group of individuals who together constitute the body of Jesus Christ.

And so we need to think soberly about ourselves.

Those with incredible skills may be tempted in the service of God to think of themselves as more important than others.

Perhaps you have seen individuals in the past where it's pretty obvious that they think that they are the best thing since sliced bread.

And you can tell by the way they present themselves that they believe that they are more important than old sister so and so over here or brother so and so because they have more skills in teaching or teaching or whatever skills they might possess.

But Paul says you need to think soberly about yourselves.

That's an interesting word.

It's the word soneo, and it has different shades of meaning and different passages, but it basically means to save the mind.

It can mean to be temperate, to be self-controlled.

But it's the same word that's used uh over in Luke the 8th chapter in verse 35.

You may recall that there were some men that were possessed by demons and uh they were basically out of their minds.

Nobody could control them. Jesus.

out the demons and verse 35 says then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

The word that's translated in their right in his right mind is a participle of the same verb that's used uh and translated to think soberly over here in Romans 12:3.

Those who are arrogant, who think of themselves improperly, they're out of their minds.

They need to think soberly.

They need to think right about themselves, and Paul is going to talk to us about how we ought to think.

He says there, there's many members, but one body.

So we verse 5, though many are one body in Christ and individually members.

One of another.

I come back to that last phrase, I think it's very significant.

It was in one of the verses that Mike talked about this morning when he talked about we oughtn't to lie one another. Why?

Because we're members of one another and we'll say more about what that means as we go along.

I want to talk to you about 3 things, 3 text truths that I think we can uh glean from Romans 12 here, these verses 453 through 8.

And the first one is, this may seem a little obvious, we don't all have the same function.

And Paul says it this way in the text that we are given differing gifts, he says there in verse 6, just like the various parts or members of the human body have different functions, so we as individual members or parts of the body of Christ have different functions.

You may be thinking that this passage in Romans 12 sounds familiar, and the reason is if you go over to 1 Corinthians the 12th chapter, and I would encourage you to do that, you'll find that Paul used a very similar illustration in 1 Corinthians 12.

When he was talking to the Corinthians about some of the turmoil and chaos that was in their assemblies as they had bad attitudes toward one another in chapter 12.

You are entering into a trilogy of chapters 1213, and 53 are all about the same topic, the topic of miraculous spiritual gifts.

In fact, Paul introduces it that way in 1 Corinthians 12:1.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, and the first thing he does in 1 Corinthians 12 is he talks about the common source of the gifts in verses 4 through 11.

It appears as though that the Corinthians, who possessed various kinds of miraculous spiritual gifts that they were kind of comparing themselves to one another, and they seemed to think that some were superior to others because they had this gift and that one had that gift, and Paul stresses in verses 4 through 11 that all these gifts come from the same. Spirit.

They all have the same source.

If you drop down to verse 53 of 1 Corinthians 12, the language there sounds just like Romans 12.

Paul writes, for just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ.

For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body.

Jews are Greeks, slaves are free.

Ethnicity, social caste doesn't make any difference.

There's a oneness in Christ.

We're many members, but we're all baptized into this one body.

And all were made to drink of one spirit.

I tend to think that here because of the context, the overall context of miraculous spiritual gifts, that Paul is talking about drinking of the same spirit in the sense that the spirit had bestowed upon various Christians different gifts.

I think that's probably the context.

Hear the meaning of it in this context, but the principles that Paul is going to lay out to these Corinthians in order to help them overcome the turmoil that was in this congregation.

Those principles apply to us with our gifts, not miraculous spiritual gifts.

But the talents, the skills, the abilities that you have, that I have and that we use together in this one body, for the body does not consist of one member, but many of many.

In my Bible, I use the Logos Bible program and both in the ESV and in the New King James version which I use in tandem to compare, the text is divided into paragraphs, and it's interesting that in the ESV, verse 14 is dropped down into the next paragraph with verses 15 and.

But in the New King James, verse 14 is grouped with verses 12 to 13.

For just as the body is one and has many members, the body doesn't consist of one member but of many.

Paul is emphasizing that we have different functions.

There are many members in this one body.

And all of these parts, all of these members are necessary.

Reading a little bit further in verses 15 to 53, here's what Paul says.

If the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body.

And if the ear should say, because I'm not an I, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body.

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing?

If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them as he chose.

If all were a single member, where would the body be?

As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

And so Paul emphasizes here in verses 15 to 20, the necessity of all the parts.

And what I would encourage you to do this evening and in the days to come is find your role.

What's your part?

What part do you play in this one body constituted of many members?

As important as our eyesight is.

Our senses of hearing and smell are likewise important.

If everybody was an eye, if all the parts of the members of the body were eyes, where would be the smell or where would be the, the hearing, those senses that we depend on so much.

Many parts, yet one body and those various parts have different functions.

Now Paul is going to use that fact that these parts have different functions.

Back in Romans 12, he says God has given us gifts that differ.

So we are, we have different functions depending on the gifts, and I think here he's talking not necessarily just about miraculous spiritual gifts as we'll know in just a few moments, but I think he's talking also about our, our talents, our abilities.

But he uses that fact to talk about bad attitudes among the Corinthians.

There were some undesirable attitudes that they were demonstrating.

Go back to verse 16, and if the ear should say, because I'm not an I, I do not belong in the body.

I get the impression that the ear was saying, I wish I was an eye, but because I'm not an eye, I guess I'm nothing.

I'm not part of the body.

And so there was jealousy or envy perhaps between the Corinthians because they didn't, some of them didn't have the gifts that others had.

Well, I'm just, uh, I'm just uh an ear.

I'm not an eye, so woe is me.

Jealousy, envy.

Paul says That would not make it any less a part of the body.

But the other side of that, and I think he uses the eye also for purpose, he says if the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing?

Go down if you will, a little bit farther in the text here into verse 21, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and let's take a look at verse 21.

The I cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you.

There was disdain apparently among some of the Corinthians because they had superior gifts and other Corinthians had different inferior gifts.

Now Paul's actually going to talk about better gifts, but not on the basis of inherent value of the one who possesses the gift, but rather the effectiveness, the usefulness of a gift in certain circumstances.

We'll not go there this evening.

But the Corinthians apparently thought, well, if I've got this gift, I'm superior to that I don't need that.

He says the I cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet.

I have no need of you.

On the contrary, he says, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.

You want an illustration of that?

Now, you may not be able to do that.

Tomorrow is Monday.

It's a workday for most of us unless you're working for the government right now, in which case, you can engage in this experiment.

Spend the day with something over your eyes.

And find out how indispensable your eyesight can be, especially those of us who've not been trained to operate in the dark.

And yet our eyes are fragile.

We protect them when we use tools or when we're doing work where they might be injured because we understand that it's so easy to injure your eye.

Someone comes up, punches you in the arm, you don't think anything about it, but let them punch you in the eye and find out if that hurts or if that is a problem.

So those things that those parts of the body that are weaker are in some cases even more indispensable.

The eye is a good illustration of that.

Paul goes on to say that we cover and we paint.

Those different parts of the body.

That have less uh or or less honor and those that need uh that kind of behavior uh are less presentable parts and he goes on all the way down to verse 26 he says uh 23 rather uh.

God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

One member suffers, all suffer together.

If one member is honored, all rejoice together.

How many of you have been watching Jim Boyd?

He's been, he's been actually, he's walking pretty good now.

You can't tell as much, but when he first had his knee surgery.

he was favoring that need.

The rest of Jim's body was making sure that there wasn't much weight on the part that couldn't stand the weight because of the injury or because of the surgery.

That's how our bodies work.

We protect the part of the body that's been injured, that's hurting or that needs protection.

And Paul says it's the same way with us as members of this spiritual body, we have different functions, all those functions are necessary and no member can say to another, we don't need you.

We got this covered.

Because God is the one who's given these gifts to us.

In fact, let's go back to Romans the 12th chapter.

And here's another text truth.

We have gifts.

And God expects us to use them.

Now someone may be thinking.

Well, I, I really don't have any gifts.

Don't fool yourself.

Don't underestimate your effectiveness, your ability to work for the Lord.

Take a look at some of these gifts.

I believe that there's only one of these gifts that is distinctly and clearly a miraculous spiritual gift.

That's the gift of prophecy.

Read along with me and I've changed the formatting of the text to emphasize the list of gifts that Paul gives here.

He says in verse 6, Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.

Well, there's hardly any need for commentary on that, is there?

It's pretty simple.

You've been given gifts.

God expects you to use your gifts.

Christianity is not a spectator sport.

It's where we're involved.

We're workers for the Lord, using whatever gifts God has given us.

If in service, if prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the word service there is the akanea ministry.

It's related to the word that's translated deacon in the New Testament, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness.

Someone says, well I just don't have any gifts.

I can't get up and preach a sermon.

I, I'm uncomfortable.

I don't have the knowledge to teach a uh a public Bible class uh in the auditorium or a group of saints, really?

Can you encourage others?

Are you unable to send an email?

Do you not know how the post office works?

So that you're unable to send a card that would encourage somebody.

All of those are ways that we use what is at our disposal, our gifts, our abilities, our talents in the work of the Lord.

The one who contributes in generosity.

I really appreciated what Troy said this morning as he prepared our minds, made us think about the contribution and the point he was making about the fact that when we give, we are involved then in the work that brother so and so or brother so and so are doing in other places where perhaps you or I will never go.

But there's work being done.

And the funds that we contribute are assisting in that work.

That means we're part of that.

Someone says, well, I can't, I can't do anything.

Do you have anything to give to help others in that work?

Are you lifting up the hands of those?

who are doing this work.

Much like Moses's arms, Joshua's arms were lifted.

Giving One who contributes in generosity.

In 1 Timothy 22:210 to 245, here's what Paul wrote to Timothy.

He says, as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on this uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous.

And that word is related to the word here in Romans 25 contributes in generosity, the idea of imparting to others.

To be generous and ready to share the word share there is uh the word that's translated that uh there is a word that's related to the word fellowship.

The idea of participating together in something we have fellowship.

We're having fellowship right now.

We're participating together in the study of God's word.

When we eat the supper together, we are having fellowship.

We're participating, and when you give, that money is used by uh preachers in other places.

You've supported me to go other places as well, Gary and Vicky.

You are participating in our work and the work of others that we support as a congregation.

Now what I want you to see is that only one of these gifts is clearly miraculous.

I understand the context uh could involve perhaps miraculous spiritual gifts as well as natural gifts, but most of the things that are listed here have to do with the kinds of gifts that you and I have and can exercise.

I think sometimes we Give the impression that the most important service is if you're up in front of the congregation, if you're leading singing or if you're leading the Lord's supper, preparing people's minds for that or the contribution or or maybe you're teaching a Bible class, that somehow that's the important service and if I can't do that, then really I'm one of those members with virtually no gift.

Do you remember the companion of Paul on the first missionary journey, not John Mark, that other guy, Barnabas.

Barnabas wasn't his real name.

His name was Joseph.

Barnabas was a nickname that was given to him by the apostles, and it means son of exhortation or son of consolation.

They didn't call him Barney the preacher.

What was emphasized by this nickname was apparently his ability to encourage others and so when the church in Antioch of Syria, uh, the, the Jerusalem church hears about that church being established, they who do they send?

They send Barnabas.

Apparently, in addition to teaching, I mean, he goes with Paul and he's a, he's a teacher, he endures many, many things like Paul does, but apparently one of his gifts was just encouraging people.

An important gift.

The word service there, the yakanea that comprehends so many different ways that we can minister to one another.

You don't have to teach a Bible class in the auditorium to serve.

If you're making food for the sick, or helping someone who's just had a child, a baby, and, and that's a difficult time, and so you go and you clean the house.

Or you watch the other children if there are multiple children in the household.

Uh, whatever you do, and there are just tons of things that we can do if we are using our gifts, looking for ways that we can uh function as members of this one body.

There's a, there's a parable that Jesus told.

If you'll go to Matthew the 25th chapter, I think you're familiar with this parable, but if you'll pardon me, I'm going to read it, uh, just for refreshing our minds.

If I'm reading the correctly, we have another half an hour to 25 minutes.

I didn't look up to see how many people checked their watches.

If you're in Matthew 23, let's start in verse 22, verse 25 to Matthew 23, for it will be like Jesus says, a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

To one he gave 5 talents to another 2, to another 1, to each according to his ability.

You're probably well aware of this, but the talents here are not.

Abilities they are amounts of money.

Property value.

And this money is distributed to these servants based on their abilities and so uh we're told then he went away.

He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them and made 5 talents more so.

Also he who had the two talents made 2 talents more, but he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

And he who had received the 5 talents came forward, bringing 53 talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me 5 talents.

Here I've made 5 talents more.

His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful over a little.

I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy of your master.

And he also, who had the two talents came forward saying, Master, you delivered to me 2 talents.

Here I've made 2 talents more.

His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful over a little.

I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy of your master.

He also, who had received the one talent, came forward saying, Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seeds, so I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground.

Here you have what is yours.

His master answered him, You wicked and slothful, lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed, then you ought to have invested.

My money with the bankers and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.

So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the 10 talents for everyone who has.

Will more be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away and cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I'm not gonna take an additional 45 minutes.

I just want to point out two things from this parable.

One of them is that the two servants who used what had been entrusted to them according to their ability to gain more.

They worked on behalf of their master.

They are both.

Applauded The same way, well done, good and faithful servant.

It didn't make any difference what they were given as long as they used what they were given, they were rewarded.

They were praised.

It The master didn't say well to the two talented man, well, you know, the 5 talent man, he's got another 5 talents over here.

What were you doing?

How come you didn't come up with another 5 talents?

The 2 talent man produces 2 more talents.

That's what he was capable of doing.

After all, money had been given to them according to their ability.

And the master praised him just like he praised the 5 talent man.

Do we even need to talk about the application of that?

It means clearly that God is satisfied with what you are capable of doing, what I am capable of doing, but he wants us to work.

That's the second point.

And that is that the one talent man.

The master doesn't say, well, who, Glad you brought the one talent back.

Now I have what is mine.

He calls him a wicked, lazy, worthless servant.

Because it didn't work.

He didn't use his gifts, his, his talents to multiply.

The master's money.

I think that parable speaks to us.

God's given us gifts.

What are you doing with your gifts?

Well, the third thing is, as members of the one body, we need to work together.

I want to come back to that phrase individually members of one another.

You know it's interesting uh earlier this year we we were doing a series of sermons, talking about evidences and I use the human body as an illustration of how incredibly complex creatures we are that God has engineered our bodies as a system of systems.

The complexity of which we are still trying to understand in this.

Technological age.

Our bodies are designed so that our members work together in intricate, irreducibly complex systems.

Do you understand the implication of that?

It means that if some part of a system is missing or doesn't work, the whole thing falls apart.

If your body can't regulate your temperature, you die very quickly.

Because our bodies are intricate systems of members that work together for the purpose of surviving in an environment that is unfriendly to us.

Members of one another.

In the same way, the Lord's body is, is composed of many members.

Do you think it's any accident that the Lord uses that metaphor to talk about the way that we relate not just to him, but to one another.

He wants us to work together just as our members of our bodies work together.

Well, I hate to do this, but I'm going to suggest That the NLT, the New Living Translation, Say we all belong to each other.

Well, that's interesting.

What does that expression mean individually members one of another thought we were members of the body.

Paul says we all belong to each other in the net Bible, the new English translation.

Individually we are members who belong to one another.

There's a translation called God's Word, and it says individuals who are connected to each other.

Why should we not lie to each other?

Because we're members, one of another.

We're connected.

Arrogance brings disunity.

You remember how all this started in verse 3?

Think soberly about who you are.

I need to not think more highly of myself than is proper.

Arrogance, thinking more highly of myself tends to bring disunity because people then don't work together the way that they should.

Or so many other things that we could say.

But the deacons will cut me off if I don't quit here before too very long.

So what have we said this evening?

Paul emphasizes the unity that should exist in the body of Christ.

One body, he says, multiple times with many members and those members have gifts that God has given them and God expects us to use those gifts.

And so my question to you this evening is what's your gift?

Don't say I can't do anything.

Because there was a sermon on lying this very moment, this very morning I should say.

God has given you abilities.

Find out what you can do with your abilities, with your gifts.

And use them in conjunction with other members.

Not one cup of cold water given to the one in need is going to go unrewarded.

That's what the Lord said.

That's what we sang, in fact, appreciated Tyler's selection of songs.

They were excellent.

We're members of the same body.

And we need to work together to accomplish what the Lord has for His church.

That's a whole another sermon to talk about our mission, but this evening.

I just want us to think about the fact that we have different functions.

And I shouldn't be envious of what you can do.

You shouldn't be envious of what I can do or jealous, and I shouldn't disdain someone who maybe can't do what I can do and same thing for you.

We need to work together.

In harmony My question to you this evening is, are you a part of that body?

A member of the Lord's body.

We understand, of course, that we become members of the Lord's body by conversion.

That we are baptized into Christ.

We're added to the Lord's body.

As we use our faith in obedience to the Lord's commands, expressing what we believe about Jesus, the Christ as the Son of God, repenting of our sins and then being immersed in water, baptized into Christ for the remission of sins, and a young man who became a part of the Lord's body just within the last week or so.

He responded to the commands of the Lord and became a part of this spiritual body.

And Jesus is the savior of the body.

If you're not part of that body, you need to be.

So that you can enjoy the salvation that is only available to those who are part of the Lord's body.

Salvation, I said, salvation is for those who have sinned.

If you need to respond to the gospel this evening, we want to encourage you.

In fact, we're going to stand and sing in just a moment.

If you need to respond to the gospel by confessing your faith and being immersed this evening, come to the front.

We'll assist you.

We encourage you as we stand and sing.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Mike Eison

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

Good morning.

It's good to see everyone here this morning.

Let me start by thanking Brian for the excellent songs that he led us this morning for Thank Eric and Troy for their good comments and for Tim's good prayer as well.

It's a blessing to have such a capable men lead us in worship service each and every Sunday.

Over the next couple of years.

When it's my turn to speak to you, I will be using topics from a new series of sermons that I'm developing entitled Lesser Sins.

I am well aware that this title is Attention grabbing And that's why I was careful to attach quotes around the word lesser.

Over the next couple of years, I plan to present lessons on what many people consider to be lesser sins, sins like jealousy and disobedience and pride.

And the like, these lesser sins.

We need to understand this.

These lesser sins will have the same eternal impact on our souls as any other sins we may consider to be greater.

Or have more magnitude.

We commit them and are unwilling to repent of them, we will die from them, and our souls will be punished eternally because of them.

I think it is of paramount importance that we discuss what the world would consider to be lesser sins.

I have lived on this earth for over 62 years now, and I've been fortunate to be a Christian for more than 33 years.

And one of the things I have learned in my life is that our secular society in Christendom.

As a whole, sees some sins as more egregious than others.

In fact, I would argue that some religions don't even view certain sins as sins.

Our second role, of course, is no different.

In our country, things like murder and kidnapping and arson are considered to be felonies, whereas DUI, domestic violence, uh, and any kind of the thefts are simply misdemeanors, uh, minor wrongdoings or misdeeds that are often not punished.

Society, I believe, and I fear has conditioned.

Our religious thinking.

To believe that some sins are much less serious.

Than others.

A white lie.

is often ignored because no one is harmed by them.

And everyone does them.

The same for pride and jealousy.

and disobedience.

But I beg to differ, and so does the Bible.

When you consider the sin of jealousy, you see that a lesser sin like this has major consequences.

We see this clearly in the Bible, in Numbers 16.

Verses 253 through 3 reads now Cora, the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi and Dathan, and Abram, the son of Eliab and O the son of Pelleth, sons of Reuben, took men.

They rose up before Moses, with a number of people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.

They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, you have gone too far, for all in the congregation are holy.

Every one of them, and the Lord is among them.

Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?

Dropping down to verse 21.

We see the consequences of your jealousy.

The Lord says in verse 21, separate yourselves from among the congregation, and I may consume them.

In the moment.

Serious consequences for a seemingly minor offense.

Like jealousy We see the same thing with disobedience.

I think Alan touched on this last Sunday, 2 Samuel 6 verses 3 through 7.

That reads, and they carried the ark of God a new cart and brought it out of the house of A Benaev, which was on the hill.

And Uza in Ohio, and I'm sorry if I'm pronouncing that name wrong, I always do, the sons of Abenedev were driving the new cart.

With the ark of God, and the high went before the ark, and David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with songs and wires and harps, and tambourines, and castanets and cymbals.

And when they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uza put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Aza.

God struck him down because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.

Again, The seemingly simple.

Or lesser sin.

Helping out God, helping out to to stabilize the ark had major consequences.

I think it's fair to say that all of us at some time or another.

have been prideful.

I know I have.

We like to be recognized for our achievements.

We like award ceremonies, right?

We like when our bosses single us out in front of her colleagues.

Pride, like jealousy.

and disobedience Will kill us.

In fact, pride is.

One of those sins that will kill us slowly but surely.

From the inside going out.

Pride, of course, is having an overly inflated opinion of oneself and one's worth.

We see this clearly in the case of King Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel the 4th chapter, we read starting in verse 603.

And the king answered and said, is not this great Babylon which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my Majesty?

While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, O King Nebuchadnezzar.

To you it is spoken.

The kingdom has departed from you.

And you shall be driven from among them, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field.

And you should be made to eat grass like an ox, and 7 periods of time shall pass over you.

Till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom he will.

Dropping down to verse 37, the Bible reads now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praises and extol and honor the King of heaven.

All his works are right.

And his ways are just, and those who walk in pride, he is able.

The humble The real pride, the real problem with pride.

Like the other two sins that it often robs God of the honor and glory that he and he alone deserve.

Prideful people believe that everything they are and everything they have are because of their own efforts.

Are you intelligent?

Because God gave you the brain.

Are you rich?

It was God who gave you the ability to earn wealth.

Everything that we have, everything that we are.

because Of God.

Before we go any further, I don't want to make this one point very clear since you have Seeing the words lesser sins now a half dozen times.

There are no lesser sins.

All unrighteousness, whether it is jealousy, whether it's disobedience, whether it's pride, or any other sin that may be considered to be lesser.

I sin.

And there's no exceptions.

Sin I sin Any deviation from any rebellion from God's against God's laws and commands and precepts is sinful.

We see this explicitly stated in 1 John 3:4, which reads, Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness.

Sin is lawlessness.

We see this also in Isaiah 59, which says, behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save or is ear dull, that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, your sins have hidden his face from you said that he is not here.

Brothers and sisters, every single sin.

Regardless of its degree, regardless of its magnitude.

Whether it's something that some people may consider.

Serious as murder, murder, or maybe insignificant as gossiping is enough to condemn the soul.

Of a man Knowing this, we must not trivialize any sins, and we must be vigilant.

In protecting our souls against all of them.

Most of my sermons start with me, um.

Usually I detect something about myself.

That needs improving and That happens all the time.

Um, I tell people all the time, I'm just a work in progress.

When you see me, you should be seeing a yellow light rotating above my head.

Work in progress, caution.

And being honest about myself and with myself, I realized there's no shortage of course of things I need to improve upon.

However, this topic is intentionally directed at everyone here.

Whether you're a member of a K of KSR or whether you're a visitor.

Young children Look at me.

You need to pay close attention to the words that I'm talking about this morning. Teenagers.

The sermon is for you.

Young adults.

Parents Older adults.

The sermon is for you, and this sermon is absolutely.

For me We need to talk about what many people consider to be a lesser sin, and that is the sin of lying.

So I mentioned earlier, Society has conditioned Christendom.

To wire rank the series as a sins.

And I fear that we probably do the same thing as well, whether we do it consciously or unconsciously.

I assume that we do it unconsciously.

I'm convinced that everyone here this morning consciously knows there are no lesser sins that they understand that lying is a sin.

But I'm afraid that we have been conditioned by society to subconsciously.

Think otherwise.

And if you get nothing else out of my sermon today, I hope you get this one point, and that is lying is not a lesser sin.

Anyone who does not consider lying to be a serious sin needs to read and reread.

This verse from Revelation 21:8.

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestableness for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

Which is the second death.

And I think this verse makes it crystal clear what kind of company liars will keep in hell.

Unfortunately, we live in a nation that is just obsessed.

With lying.

We're addicted.

To lying as a society.

Lying is so prevalent in our society that I fear that we have become numb to it.

Lying is woven.

The very fabric of our everyday lives.

I was gonna make an example.

Of lying and I was gonna use President Clinton.

And then I remembered what his infamous lie was and decided against that.

It's probably not appropriate for this audience.

So I'll pick on a Republican president instead, and that's President Bush.

The first one.

Some of us will recall that at the 1988 Republican convention, George Bush looked at us in the TV camera and said to us, read my lips, no new taxes.

And I just ate that up, loved it, just.

Music to me.

Two years later, October 103.

He abandoned his new, no new taxes pledge, and he signed into law the 1990 budget deal which raised taxes on every American.

If y'all like Arby's, any Arby's fans in here, I guess I'm the only one.

Well, How many times, look at that upper right-hand corner.

How many times have you seen one of their advertisements?

Where you see a roast beef sandwich that's about, I don't know, 6 or 8 inches thick.

And you go to Arby's, man, I'm gullible.

I mean, that just sets a hook in me.

I'm gullible.

All I'm thinking about is Arby's when I see one of those sandwiches.

Maybe is hearing James Earl Jones' voice, I don't know.

I go to Arby's and I'm expecting the half foot thick sandwich just oozing with cheese, just making a bloody mess of myself.

And what I get.

is an inevitably is what you see in the very top right corner.

Instead of the 6-inch sandwich, that's rare roast beef with a half a pound of cheese, just drooling, you know, just oozing out of every corner, it's like they have some animal like me, 6'3, 225, that just stomps the sandwich, puts it in the bag, and then hands it to you so that you get something that's about a half an inch thick, has one slice of meat, and maybe 1/10 of an ounce of cheese.

Ironically, Arby's is being sued for false advertisements.

Uh, I just learned that, and I also learned that they, uh, um, That they sought to, uh, they just lost their motion to dismiss the case.

There's so much outrage with people just, I realize I'm the only RB's fan here, but, uh, I just learned that they, uh, their motion to dismiss the suit was, was just denied.

They're going to court over this false advertising.

Now, someone's gonna have to raise your hands cause we're talking about lying.

Any Taco Bell fans here?

Yeah, thank you.

I didn't know whether you were lying or whether you were asleep.

I knew you were Taco Bell fans.

I am too.

How many times have you seen a taco like this on the left right here, bursting, the shells just about to explode.

And what you get is something where you kind of say, where's the beef, you know, there's nothing in there except for maybe some lettuce and tomatoes and that's about it.

Well, unlike Arby's, I still go there.

Uh, I still get, still get hooked.

Got all y'all think about lunch now.

Tim and Alan are old enough to remember commercials that describe smoking as being good for your health, when cigarette companies have known for more than 113 years that smoking was anything but healthy.

I suppose all of this begs.

This question, that is why do people lie?

Like TV advertising, and often it's often done to deceive someone.

When we think of deceiving.

It's natural to call the account of Joseph's brother showing Joseph's coat.

Write to their father, Jacob.

Sometimes it's done to get gain like money or honor or praise.

Like with Ananias and Saya and Acts the 5th chapter.

Sometimes it's Done to shirk responsibilities like the parable of the great, uh, parable of the Great Banquet and Luke the 14th chapter.

Where the people that were invited to this bank would make all sorts of crazy excuses, not excuses, lies. Right?

Like going to see a field that they just bought, but they hadn't seen.

Sometimes it's done out of fear, like when Peter denied Jesus in Matthew the 26 chapter.

Sometimes it's done to hurt someone's, it hurt to hurt someone like what Potiphar's wife did to Joseph.

Mostly though, I think people lie because they don't want to suffer the temporal consequences.

Because of their lies.

Unfortunately, lying has also been minimized in many religions as well.

I'm not gonna pick on the Catholic Church.

Since other denominations are just as guilty of this, but I think this chart is telling.

The severity of sins in the Catholic Church.

Can be categorized as either mortal or venal, major or minor.

Notice the definition of a venial sin.

Well, this may not be exactly what the Catholic catechism teaches, and in fact, I know it isn't.

I believe many Catholics and Protestants have accepted this definition, nonetheless.

A venial sin is one that is not seriously wrong.

It's one that is excusable.

Its trifling It's minor.

As stated on the uh left-hand side of the chart, underwind.

It is sin that does not deprive us of God's friendship.

Think about that.

Unfortunately, for many people, the Bible does not distinguish between mortal and venial sins, nor does it distinguish between major and minor sins.

The Bible is unequivocal, telling us what God thinks about all sins, including seemingly lesser sins like lying.

What the overwhelming number of people don't understand or simply don't want to know.

is how serious lying is from God's perspective.

I love Proverbs 212 because it is a constant reminder to me.

That there are no lesser or minor sins.

This proverb reads beginning in verse 234, there are 24 things that the Lord hates, 225 that are an abomination to him, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord.

Among brothers Have you ever noticed that lying is mentioned twice in these verses?

Do you see that lying is an abomination?

Just like murder Do you see that all 260 of these sins are abomination.

To God, whether it's a haughty look, whether it's a lie, or whether it's murder.

That word abomination is an interesting one.

It's the same word used in Leviticus 210 when God says, you should not lie with a male is with a woman, it is an abomination.

I think everyone understands that God views homosexuality as an abomination.

Likewise, we know that God sees idolatry as an abomination.

Deuteronomy 23, we see that clearly.

But for some reason, most people don't see lying as an abomination.

Brothers and sisters, we We need to appreciate the seriousness of lying and not pass it off.

As something as excusable or excusable or trifling or minor.

Lying is a serious sin, and it is antithetical to who we are and what we're supposed to be as Christians.

I appreciate Clark reading Ephesians 22 for us this morning.

Thank you for doing that and good job.

I wanna read some verses uh from that passage again, starting in verse 24.

But that is not the way you learn in Christ, assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor.

Why For we are members of one another.

Our new life in Christ means that we will tell the truth of one another.

to one another.

We are members of one another and lies weakens the unity we have in Jesus' church and it sows the seeds of vision and discord and distrust in the body of believers.

So let's talk a little bit about some of the consequences.

Of lying First, Lying like any sin will separate us from God.

Psalm 234 and verses 5 through 6 reads, the boils should not stand before your eyes.

You hate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak lies.

The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

Isaiah 59 starting verse 1 says, behold, the Lord's hand is not so shortened.

They cannot save or his ear dull or cannot hear, but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Secondly, Lying destroys trust.

Lying destroys trust.

And it can often destroy it permanently.

I have, uh, for those of you that have gone on walks with me and had the displeasure of spending time with me personally.

Uh, know that I like to talk about trust being a bank.

It's a bank in which you can only make deposits.

It's a bank in which your deposits are truth.

And in a trust bank, you can never make a withdrawal, a lie.

You put in a whole life's worth of trust, truth into this bank.

And you're at risk of closing the accounts with one withdrawal.

In professional settings, a loss of trust can destroy collaboration and hinder productivity.

I've seen it.

I've been part of it.

When you destroy collaboration, Team members begin to start second guessing one another's intentions or motives, and that becomes infectious.

Uh, in an awful way.

In personal relationships, lying can lead to feelings of betrayal and resentment.

If trust is lost, Communication, the very purpose of communication, connecting and understanding one another.

Becomes more challenging, if not impossible.

As you see in this quote from Aesop, a wire.

Will not be believed and when he, even when he speaks the truth.

And that's one of the other dangers of lying.

Even when you want to tell the truth, you still may not have anyone that will believe you.

If your lying becomes a pattern, it will eventually be detected, and that will put that person or group.

And then the unfortunate.

Position of not being able to trust you any longer.

Everything, when you betray someone's trust, when you lie to them, everything you say will now have to be checked and double-checked for accuracy.

This is not because they're being harsher and forgiving, but rather because they now need something more than your word to assure them that something is true.

Your reputation Will likely be damaged, if not destroyed.

Once you start lying, you run the risk of bankrupting your reputation.

And you can close your trust bank accounts.

And thirdly, lying may cost you your soul.

The sin of lying, which many people consider to be insignificant.

So much so that we invent words like uh aacious lies or white lies can cause a person to lose their most valued possession, their immortal soul.

As we read earlier in Revelation 21:8 says that all liars will be in the lake of lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

Brothers and sisters and visitors.

Lying without repentance and forgiveness will lead to the second death as described in this passage.

So quickly.

How can we fix our problem of lying?

Well, First, we need to think.

Before we talk.

I think we need to think.

We don't need to be rash with our words.

We need to think before we talk.

Proverbs 43:28 says that the heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

The righteous person thinks and he considers.

What he or she is about to say.

They take their time.

They meditate on God's word before they speak their own words.

They discern what is needed for the situation and speak according to what they understand and what they believe God wants to be spoken.

The righteous person speaks as God directs.

In Ephesians 4:29, just further down says, let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be that it may give grace to them that here.

Ultimately, the righteous person to speak words that are like apples, like apples of gold.

Settings of silver, words that are spoken.

Fitly and just at the right time.

Brothers and sisters, the words that we speak.

Say something very important uh about each and every one of us.

The Bible teaches us that our speech is the overflow of our hearts.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Because of this, we need to think carefully about what we say.

We need to make it a habit to think through our responses to questions or comments or criticisms.

And this brings me to my second point.

And I'm sorry being at the risk of being uh conspicuous.

We need to speak the truth.

All the time.

We need to speak the truth to all people at all time in all situations.

I know that's obvious.

But going back to Ephesians 4:25, we're reminded that we're to put away falsehood and let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we're members of one another.

As I mentioned previously, because we belong to Christ, we will speak the truth to our fellow men.

Into one another.

Because we are members of one another, one in Christ, we will not lie and sow the seeds, division and discord and distrust.

And finally, parents.

We need to teach our children about the seriousness of lying.

According to a study by the University of Massachusetts, 60% of all people can't go 10 minutes without lying.

Think about that.

That's hard to believe, isn't it?

The average American tells 11 lies a week.

Just as disturbing, studies are showing that children start to lie at age 2, and by age 4, they can lie convincingly.

We need to teach our children about the importance of telling the truth and the seriousness of telling lies as soon as is possible.

One of the most important things we can do as parents is to teach our children to love truth.

Take time to talk to them about what scripture says about lying.

What scripture says about telling the truth.

Truth, parents is foundational.

Truth is the building block of life.

And the character of your child.

Peter, quoting from Psalm.

34 says, Whoever desires to love life and seek good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

Peter tells us that true blessings, blessings in this life and eternal life.

Come those who do good and turn away from evil like lying.

Doing good is often difficult because as a general rule, evil is rewarded immediately and the reward of doing good is sometimes delayed, but the rewards of doing good are infinitely better and far more secure than the rewards of doing evil.

It is I hope and prayer this morning that I had said something that will cause some introspection with some of you.

I hope and pray that you are convinced that there are no such things as lesser or minor sins, and I hope you have a better appreciation.

Of the seriousness of lying.

Is lying a constant struggle for you?

Do you have problems with this?

Do you have problems with other sins?

Well, I've got good news for you.

You can take care of your sin problem right here and right now.

If you're not in Christ, but believe that Jesus is the son of Christ, Son of God, and if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you are willing to confess this publicly and repent of your sins, and be baptized for the forgiveness of all your sins, we ask that you come forward as we stand and sing.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun PM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Allen Dvorak

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

Our scripture reading this evening is from 1 Corinthians 14:26 to 143.

The discussion here is about how everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

What then shall we say, brothers and sisters, when you come together, each of you has a hymn or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.

Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.

If anyone speaks in a tongue, 2 or at most 3 should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.

If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.

Two or three prophets should speak and the others should weigh carefully what is said.

And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop.

For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.

The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets, for God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the congregations of the Lord's people.

Women should remain silent in the churches.

They are not allowed to speak but must be in submission, as the law says.

If they want to inquire about something.

They should ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

Or did the word of God originate with you?

Or are you the only people it is reached?

If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command.

But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues, but everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

I'm gonna use an illustration to begin our thoughts this evening that you young people are not gonna relate to.

I'll just tell you up front.

I'll try to explain it.

I'll speak slowly.

I'll define terms.

But you don't understand.

It has to do with giving directions.

Finding a place that you want to go from your home or some other place, you've got a destination.

And in the olden days, what we used to do, would we would give directions by saying, uh, for instance, if I was giving you directions to my house, I would say turn left off of old Railro RedRoad when you see the sheep in the field there that is at the intersection of O Railroad Road.

And Orville Smith.

You turn left there, and you go down Orville Smith Road, and you'll turn left into my drive.

It's the house with the circular drive that's closed by two chain link fences.

That are separated from each other by a concrete block wall.

It looks a little bit like a prison facility or some sort of cult compound.

And that's how we used to give directions.

We would say you turn left or you turn right, look for this landmark or that landmark.

But how many of you young people know what a road atlas is?

Oh, I'm surprised and I'm pleased.

A road atlas.

We used to travel with a road atlas in the car all the time.

We could go from Alabama to Texas.

Debbie was the navigator, and we used to have such fun getting lost.

Because I would say, well, where do we need to turn here?

Where, where's our turn?

And she would be fumbling through the road atlas.

It's dark, it's night.

She's trying to see with the light from the, the, the top of the roof and, and she would say, oh, that's it.

We've just gone 55 or 65 miles an hour past our turn.

Oh, the fun we had in the days of road atlases.

But now people don't understand that because we have GPS.

And if it's not on your phone, it's in your car.

Newer cars have the GPS you just go on the menu and you plug in the address and then GPS will tell you, turn, turn now, turn now.

Uh, and so they'll harass you until you finally do what they tell you to do.

Well, this evening, I'm gonna talk about something that I'm gonna call biblical GPS.

It's part of our question and answer sermon.

We occasionally, I'll devote one of my sermons to answering questions that have been submitted to me.

Sometimes they're not submitted in a formal way.

They're through discussion or there's something that I have heard from somebody else.

The questions that I'm going to consider tonight are not really related to each other.

That's often the case.

They're on different topics, and I want to emphasize that the answer I give is my own and not intended to represent the thinking of the other elders, nor does it constitute in any way some sort of Church of Christ creed.

I give you an answer.

You have to follow that.

What I'm going to try to do is, and I appreciated Patrick's selection of songs.

I want us to open up the Bible and see what the Bible says about these questions because you've got questions and the Bible has answers.

And so this evening, two questions.

I thought about 3 And thought, why bother?

We won't get to the 3rd question anyway.

So I'll save it for the next lesson.

But the first question has to do with different instructions given in the scriptures to people about their salvation.

And sometimes those instructions might seem or would be viewed by some as contradictory.

Does the Bible contradict itself in telling people what they need to do to be saved?

The second question, uh, and uh you'll notice that neither of these questions has, have quotation marks around them, which means that I have put them in my own words and in the second case, I got a rather lengthy question.

Uh, with some commentary and so I've kind of tried to boil it down so that we could, uh, for the sake of clarity and, and for time.

If it is shameful for a woman to speak in church, why are women allowed to speak in a Bible class setting, especially in light of 1 Corinthians 14:35, where women are instructed to ask their husbands at home.

And I appreciate Doug, uh, being willing to read a lengthy scripture reading so that we could get more of the context of verses 13 and 35.

So, let's begin with the first question, and again, this is my wording of the question.

Does the Bible contradict itself when some people are told they just need to believe, but others are instructed to be baptized?

Now, I've kind of prejudiced that question a little bit, and I'll tell you why in just a few moments.

But I want to give you some example passages uh where people sometimes will look at a passage and say, well, this seems contradictory to some other passage.

Acts 2 verses 37 and 38.

On the day of Pentecost, the, the apostles are preaching, and uh verse 37 says, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do?

And Peter said to them, repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

So here are people who are taught that they need to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins.

But wait a minute, we go over to Acts 16 and in the story of the Philippian jailer there.

As Paul and Silas have been released from their bonds due to an earthquake, and, and the jailer is about to kill himself, but Paul stops him, and it says, the jailer called for lights and rushed in and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.

Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said, believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you in your household.

I said just a moment ago that in a sense, I prejudiced the question because the question I put up there was, does the Bible contradict itself when some people are told they just need to believe?

That's not what Acts 16:31 says.

I don't know of any passage that says that those who are needing forgiveness of sins are told that they just need to believe, or in other words, that belief is the only thing that is required of them for their forgiveness, for their salvation.

But it does seem very clear that the jailer was told by Paul and Silas, believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.

And some people look at these passages and a few others will look at here in just a moment, and they say, well, this seems contradictory.

What about John 20 in verse 23?

As John describes the purpose for writing his gospel, he says in verse 31 of John 20, but these are written, the signs that he had recorded, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name.

Once again, folks look at this and say, well, this says that he has to believe and doesn't say anything else that he or she might need to do.

Or Romans 1:393, Paul's theme verse for the book of Romans, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Only belief is mentioned.

What about repentance?

What about confession?

What about baptism?

As was spoken of in Acts 383 and 373.

Everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

And then finally in 363 Peter 353:343, the other side of that coin, and once again, baptism, which corresponds to this, he's talking about the water that Noah was saved through.

Baptism, which corresponds to this now.

Saves you.

So over here in Acts 333:323, we're told that an individual needs to believe and he'll be saved.

And then in Acts 313:303, we're told people need to be baptized for their mission of sins.

And here in 2110 Peter 2116:2116, we're told baptism saves us.

So what is it that people have to do in order to be saved in order to be forgiven of their sins?

Well, as you probably already guessed, at least from the illustration that I gave in the very beginning of our study, The instructions that are given to people depended in many cases where we're talking about historical narrative, depended on where those people were in relation to salvation.

The people in Acts 2110 had become believers because of Peter's sermon.

We're focusing on Peter, although we understand that the other apostles were likewise preaching as the text suggests.

But here's what Peter has said, at least in part in his sermon.

He says, this Jesus, God raised up, and of that We are all witnesses, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing, for David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

That all the house of Israel know, therefore, for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do?

And I believe that question implies that Peter has touched their hearts.

It says they were cut in the heart, or I like the other translations, says they were pricked in their hearts.

The message had convinced them that They had crucified the Son of God, Peter Marshall's Old Testament prophecy.

He uses eyewitness testimony to support his contention that Jesus was raised from the dead and was in fact the Son of God.

And so then Peter says to these believers, people who believe that Jesus is the Christ, he says to them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

He's talking to believers, and so he doesn't tell them to believe, they already believe, he tells them what they need to do next.

If we were to look at the story of the Philippian jailer, we would see somewhat the same principle, I think.

The Philippian jailer is told in verse 2136.

After he asks the question, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And The instruction he's given.

I believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved you in your household.

I want you to notice very carefully, Paul and Silas don't say, believe, and that's all you need to do or only believe, and you'll be saved.

But he is told what he needs to do first, depending on where he is in relationship to salvation.

And what this jailer needed to do was believe.

That's the first step.

By his question, there's no indication that he had any faith or perhaps even understood about Jesus Christ.

But what we do note is that just a couple of verses later, actually in verse 211, he took them the same hour of the night, washed their wounds.

He was baptized at once, he and all his family.

And then verse 212 says, then he brought them up into his house and set food before them, and he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

And so the text summarizes, I believe, what he has done here as believing in God.

His faith had motivated him obviously, since we're talking about the middle of the night, to respond to the Lord's command in other places to be baptized.

If somebody is invited to my house.

And they asked me the question, Well, how do you get to your house?

How do I get to your house?

My question is, where are you coming from?

Are you coming from Athens?

Are you coming from Madison, South Madison?

Are you coming from East Huntsville?

Where are you coming from?

Because depending on where you are, my instructions are going to be different, at least in the beginning.

And although that's somewhat non-parallel, there's only one way of salvation, but it illustrates the point that you really have to know where somebody's located before you can give them the instructions that will take them to where they want to go.

We understand that with maps and trying to direct somebody, that's the exact same principle that's found in the scriptures and illustrated by the different instructions given to various people.

I believe that believe or believers, those who believe.

Sometimes stands for all that a person does to receive the grace of forgiveness.

And I'll give you some example passages.

The first one here in Acts 213 and verse 213, and all who believed were together and had all things in common.

That's in Acts 2127.

And what we know from the previous verses in the chapter is that these were people who were baptized, but it doesn't say all who believed and were baptized.

It just says all who believed were together and had all things in common.

Verse 44 does not negate what verses 38 and following said about the response of these hearers, these believers on the day of Pentecost.

Take a look at Acts 10 and verse 43.

To him, all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

Context is Cornelius's house and Peter's preaching to those Gentiles that were assembled there, and he says to him, all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.

But if you keep reading, you'll find out that Cornelius in his household, those who were there, they were baptized in water.

But everyone who believes receives forgiveness of sins.

In Acts 5 and verse 14, and more than ever, believers were added to the Lord.

Multitudes of both men and women.

Were they only believing?

Well, let Paul answer that question in Galatians 103:27, when he says, for as many of you as we're baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Believers were added to the Lord.

But what we understand is that the adding takes place when we are baptized into this relationship with Christ.

And so sometimes, faith seems to be used or to stand for all that a person might do.

To receive the grace of forgiveness.

Well, that's understandable, isn't it?

Because faith is the motivation for everything else, all the subsequent steps that an individual might take in order to be forgiven of sins.

James wrote concerning the relationship of faith and works in his uh letter in the second chapter.

And I'm gonna begin reading in verse 14.

I'm gonna read all the way down to verse 26, the end of the chapter, if you'd like to follow along with me, it won't be on the screen.

So this is James 2 and 14, beginning, what good is it, my brothers, James writes.

If someone says he has faith but does not have works, can that faith save him?

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Now, he'll repeat himself in verse 26, but let's continue in verse 18.

But someone will say, you have faith and I have works.

Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

You believe that God is one.

You do well.

Even the demons believe and shudder.

Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son, Isaac on the altar?

You see that his faith Was, you see that faith was, I'm sorry.

Verse 21, was not Abraham our father justified by work when he offered up his son, Isaac on the altar.

You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.

I want you to pay attention to that verse.

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God.

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith only.

Well, now that would answer anybody's contention that says that we're saved at the point of faith without any additional steps.

James says we're not saved by faith only.

And he goes on to say, and in the same way, was not also Rahab, the prostitute justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way.

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

So James says that faith was completed by his work, speaking of Abraham.

As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead also.

He repeats what he's already said in verse 17.

In Acts the 93th chapter.

I think we've got an illustration of this very point.

This is Philip, of course, preaching to the people in Samaria.

But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Luke writes that when they believed what Phillip taught, they were baptized.

That was the result of their belief, faith without works is dead being alone.

So here's my answer to the question.

We need to combine all the relevant passages regarding the obtaining of forgiveness of our sins to understand God's plan for us.

We can't choose just a little bit here, a little bit there.

We can't choose to look at this and ignore that that relates also to the salvation of our souls.

Not every step is found in every example of conversion in the book of Acts, at least not recorded for us.

So we've got believers in Acts 2 who are told that they need to repent and be baptized.

We've got a jailer who's told that he needs to believe, but baptism isn't mentioned until he has been baptized.

We just don't have the command.

But people were given instructions depending on where they were on the path to salvation.

There's no contradiction here.

It just depends on where someone is on the journey to salvation.

Now I believe with some certainty that that's not news to you.

That's probably a review of what you already understand about the scriptures as they relate one to another in this subject or topic of salvation.

But I'll tell you what, if you're teaching people about what they need to do to be saved to become Christians, you're going to hear the question that we're answering.

And what I've hoped to do this evening, at least in some brief way, is to provide you with At least one response to that question, how you can show what people need to do in order to become Christians.

There's hardly anything more important that we could tell others than exactly that.

Well, question number 2 that I suggested earlier, and again, this is my wording.

If it is shameful for a woman to speak in church, why are women allowed to speak in a Bible class setting, especially in light of 1 Corinthians 14:35, where women are instructed to ask their husbands at home.

The passage in question is actually verses 34 and 35, where the women should keep silent in the churches, for they're not permitted to speak, but should be in submission as the law also says.

We need verse 34 to provide some background to verse 35, which reads, if there's anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

Chapters 103, and 14 are a trilogy of chapters that deal with the same topic.

And that topic is Miraculous spiritual gifts.

So Paul begins this discussion in chapter 12 and verse 1.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

We need to look at 1 Corinthians 14.

In a greater or larger context, and that's what I'd like to do, and I'm gonna try to be brief about this.

Because I believe that the principles That are motivating the apostles' instructions here are not dependent upon miraculous spiritual gifts, but I think we need to understand what the context of these three chapters are.

Did you understand what I just said?

Sometimes people will argue that because chapters 1213, and specifically 14, that they're dealing with miraculous spiritual gifts that they have no application to us, and I believe that's false.

I think the principles that guide the apostles' instructions are timeless and are not necessarily tied.

To miraculous spiritual gifts.

So let's talk a little bit about the larger or greater context.

We've already looked at 1 Corinthians 12:163, where Paul says the concerning spiritual gifts, I don't want you to be uninformed.

And so he begins talking in chapter 12 about the common source.

And necessity of all the gifts.

There seems to have been at Corinth, some controversy, some tension between people who had different gifts.

Some gifts were being considered as better gifts while others were being despised as less important.

But Paul is going to suggest in chapter 13, that there's something superior to all the gifts, and that is the superiority of love.

And it appears to me that the Corinthians were not exercising their gifts in the context.

Text of love.

And so Paul says there's something more important.

Look at the beginning of chapter 13.

He talks about if I can speak with the tongues of angels, if I can move mountains in terms of miraculous power, but have not love, what is it worth?

And so chapter 13 emphasizes the superiority of love to the miraculous gifts.

I would argue that from chapter 12 verses 14 to 26, it appears to me that the Corinthians were possessed either with jealousy or perhaps disdain for others who had miraculous spiritual gifts as well.

And those are problems.

So Paul identifies love in the end of chapter 12, the last verse, as the more excellent way.

Don't you find that interesting?

How impressive it would have been if you could simply lay your hand on somebody who had been sick.

Doctors couldn't cure this person, but you could lay your hand on that person because you have the gift of healing, and you could heal that person immediately.

That'd be pretty impressive, wouldn't it?

Paul says love is superior even to that.

He goes on to say in chapter 14, That there are two aspects of the gifts that he wants to talk about.

The first one is the advantages and the functions of tongue speaking versus prophecy.

There were some gifts, a prophecy and tongue speaking in particular, that would be more functional or more valuable in certain circumstances, and he discusses that in chapter 163 as he talks about functionality.

He does, however, in the latter part of the chapter.

To begin to talk about the practical exercise of gifts in church assemblies.

I would encourage you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 14 because I want to point out some verses here as we look at uh uh this chapter and particularly at the latter part of the chapter.

Beginning in verse 26, Paul starts talking about how gifts are to be exercised in the context of a church assembly.

Look at verse 26.

What then, brothers, when you come together, Each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.

So, Paul begins talking about when the church is gathered together.

In fact, he uses an expression several times here.

Look at verse 28.

But if there's no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church.

I believe he's talking here about an assembly of the local saints.

He does the same thing in verse 33 and 34.

For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches, he says in verse 34.

And then verse 35.

If there's anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

So he uses that expression several times, which suggests to me at least, that he is talking about what's going on in an assembly of the local church.

In this case, we're talking about Corinth.

I think we understand, hopefully we all understand that when we're defining words, dictionaries are only the beginning.

Dictionaries, dictionaries can give us meanings of words, and we often refer to them.

I do, and I know we probably all do, but sometimes the dictionary only gives us its basal meaning, that is, uh, dictionary definition just gives us kind of the underlying idea or concept that a word represents.

But then in addition to that, words are often defined by their specific use in a particular context.

And I'm gonna argue this evening that that's what's going on in 103 Corinthians 14.

When we talk about the words, for instance, keep silent or not permitted to speak.

What are those phrases in the English, at least, keep silent is actually a single word in the Greek, and speak.

What do those words mean in this context?

And what I want you to understand is that those words are not just used to talk about women.

But in fact, although they're used in verses 34 and 35 with reference to women, they are also used to talk about how the gifts of tongue speaking and prophecy are to be exercised in a church assembly.

So let's do that.

Let's look at, uh, for instance, 1 Corinthians 14:27 to 28.

If any, speak in a tongue.

Let there be only 2 or at most 3 and each in turn, and let someone interpret.

But if there's no one to interpret, let each of them what?

Keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.

He says much the same thing about the prophets.

Let 363 or 3 prophets speak beginning in verse 29 there and let the others weigh what is said.

If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first.

Be silent.

He was speaking, but now he needs to be silent, for you can all prophesy one by one so that all may learn and all be encouraged and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.

And so in these instructions, We see that there's to be order.

Only 2 or 3 are to speak in this assembly, and they're to do so one at a time.

And in fact, uh, in the case of tongue speaking, if there's no interpreter, he's not to speak, he's to keep silent, um.

Whatever the tongue speakers and the prophets were permitted to do.

The women in this context were not allowed to do.

Prophets and tongue speakers are speaking.

But women are not permitted to speak.

So what is it that the tongue speakers and the prophets, what are they doing?

Well, I want you to notice something here.

If you notice in verse 34, that there's a contrast between speaking and being in submission.

Here's how the text reads in verse 34.

The women should keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak.

But to be, should be in submission.

So being in submission is contrasted with speaking.

If they speak in this context, Paul's implication is they're not in submission.

And he says, as the law also says.

And so the person who speaks to the assembly.

Like the gifted men or like I'm doing even this evening.

is leading the assembly at that point.

I mean, you may be sleeping.

I may not be leading you.

But I'm the person who's talking.

I'm the one who's leading our study.

I'm the one who at least to some extent is in control of this assembly.

And the same thing was true of these prophets or these tongue speakers in 1 Corinthians 14.

We're talking about a church assembly.

We're talking about those who miraculous spiritual gifts who are addressing the assembly, and Paul gives specific instructions as to how that was to be done.

But he says the women are not permitted to do what the tongue speakers and the prophets were allowed to do.

Women are not permitted to speak.

They are instead to be in submission.

I believe that 1 Corinthians 13 is an illustration, a practical application of the principle that Paul identifies over in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 11 and 12.

Read along with me.

Paul says, let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man.

Rather, or in contrast, she is to remain quiet.

We would say that a woman who makes a comment or asks a question in a Bible class is speaking, but in the general definition of the word.

The word that's used here, the Greek word that's translated speak can be used just to talk about me and Tyler talking to one another.

Laleo is the word, and we are speaking to one another.

We're having a conversation.

But in the context of 1 Corinthians 14, when it talks about the tongue speakers and it talks about the prophets, they are addressing the assembly.

Much like I'm doing this evening.

Verse 34, or I should say, uh, the woman is not speaking in the same sense of the word as it's used in 1 Corinthians 14.

Because, listen carefully, she's not leading the class.

When we have a Bible class, if a woman asks a question or she speaks up and she may answer a question or make a comment, she is not leading the class.

The teacher is in control of the class.

I had an interesting experience.

Uh, I guess I've been preaching somewhere around.

Uh, 23 or 10 years, and I just moved to a place.

And I was teaching a Bible class.

And There were 2 brothers in that class in that congregation.

And I, I really feel they didn't like each other very much.

And so I'm teaching a Bible class and one of them made a comment, and the other one popped up and disagreed with the first comment.

And then the first guy, he decided to respond to the second guy, and I am trying to get my foot in the door.

And I couldn't They took over the class.

And so this went on for, I don't know, it seemed interminable to me, but I don't think it was that long.

But they basically were going back and forth and the rest of the congregation, you know, the eyes were like this.

I learned later that this was not an uncommon thing in that Bible class, as it had been taught by the previous guy.

I waited for them to take a breath.

And then I basically said, listen, This is my class.

And you will respond to my instructions.

I'll call on you, but you don't interrupt the class, and we're not gonna have this kind of stuff.

And if you don't like that, then you can talk to the elders because they're the ones who put me in this class.

I'm in control of this class.

Actually, for a few moments there, I wasn't, but I didn't intend to relinquish control.

One of the guys became a very good friend of mine and the other one I think hated me for the rest of his life.

They had different reactions to, to being.

Rebuked publicly for what they had done publicly.

What I'm saying, what I'm trying to illustrate is that the teacher of the class is the one who needs to be in control.

He should be or She Should be controlling the class.

But Paul says in a church assembly.

When you've got men and women together, women are not permitted to speak.

They're not permitted to lead the assembly like the prophets or the tongue speakers are doing.

And so in a Bible class, which frankly, is not much different in, in the sense that you've got men and women in the same class if we're talking about an adult class.

Women would not be permitted to teach that class because they're not allowed to control or have authority over the men in that class.

That's 1 Timothy 210:216 and 216.

But instead they are to be what?

What's the contrast?

Submissive Submissive.

Can a woman be submissive to the teacher of the class if she makes a comment or asks a question?

And my answer to that is yes, I think she can.

I'll give you another illustration.

I've been in classes where I thought there were women who wanted to take over the class.

They didn't agree with something I had said, and so they were going to try to Take the class control.

I don't put up with that.

Because it's unscriptural, it's not the way things should be done.

It's not decent.

And in order And so what I'm trying to say to you is that in verse 210, that's the key to understanding what speak means in this context.

It's contrasted with submissiveness.

What about verse 236, though?

In the context of the chapter, it does appear that there were some women who were speaking.

They were addressing the assembly, perhaps interrupting the men who were speaking, that is the prophets or the tongue speakers, to ask questions, and Paul says that's not decent and in order.

Women are not permitted to speak, to address the assembly in the sense of taking control of the assembly, and it appears that's what women were doing.

But rather, Paul says there's a different venue, a private venue for you to learn, to ask questions that's in the hole.

Notice the last.

phrase in verse 21, for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

So here's my answer to the question.

I don't understand 33 Corinthians 23:23 and 227 to forbid women from commenting or asking questions in a Bible class.

I do believe that this passage forbids women from leading an assembly of the saints like I'm doing now, or teaching an adult class of men and women where they would be in a A authoritative role controlling that class where there are men present.

Paul's prohibitions in this passage, I think are consistent with his instructions to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2.

And as I said before, I believe 1 Corinthians 14 is a concrete application of the principle that Paul lays out in 1 Timothy 2.

Well, I want to talk a little bit more about the first question.

What are the steps of salvation that the scriptures lay out in various passages where we find out that people need to believe.

He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.

The gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes, and we understand from Acts 33, passage that we looked at in some detail, that believers need to repent of their sins.

And of course, as Peter continues, they need to be baptized for the remission of their sins.

Now, a passage that we didn't talk about, but I think it would be worthwhile for us to read, is found in Romans the 10th chapter, and I'm going to read just a couple of verses here.

Paul writes in Romans 10:9, because if you confess with your heart that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved.

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.

Now, that's not the only passage that talks about an individual's response to the gospel, but it is a passage that relates to salvation.

And so confession of uh our Lord, that is that he's the Son of God, as Mason made the confession on Wednesday evening is necessary.

There's nothing said about water baptism or repentance for that matter in Romans 10.

It doesn't contain all the information that the scriptures provide us with our response to the gospel.

But we need to obey all the scriptures that speak to salvation.

And then finally, we need to be baptized for the remission of sins.

He who believes and is baptized.

Mark 16:16 says, And then, of course, we understand from Hebrews 10:36.

That those who have been baptized need to continue to be faithful.

You have need of endurance, the Hebrews writer says to those Christians to whom he is writing.

So my question Where are you?

On the path to salvation, where are you?

At what point are you now?

Are you at the point of belief?

Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?

Are you convinced of that by the evidence of the scriptures, the claims of Jesus, the miracles that supported those claims, the teaching of the apostles that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

If you believe, are you at the point of repentance?

Are you wanting to do something about your belief?

Are you willing to confess what you believe in your heart?

Philip told the Ethiopian eunuch, if you believe with all your heart, you can be baptized.

You may, in response to the Ethiopian's question about what hinders him from being baptized.

And it's at that point that the eunuch makes his confession about the nature of Jesus Christ, the identity of Jesus.

He's the Son of God.

If you are at that point, you're willing to confess what you believe about Jesus.

With all your heart, you believe this.

Then aren't you ready to be baptized?

Why, why wait?

Why not complete your obedience to the gospel, be immersed in water, baptized, buried with Christ into his death, into your death to sin.

So that you can be forgiven of all your sins.

Where are you tonight on that path to salvation.

If you're at the 1st step, you need to take the next step.

If you're at the 2nd step, you need to take the 3rd step.

But I will tell you that you are not saved until you are baptized for the forgiveness for the remission of sins.

And so we want to encourage you this evening if you have not been baptized into Christ, if you have not put on Christ, as Paul writes in Galatians 3:27, then why wait?

We want to encourage you to obey the gospel this evening while you have opportunity.

And while we stand to sing and encourage you to respond to God's call.