Introduction: Hospitality Series

We have about twenty-some people over in the baptism class, so we’re going to be a little bit light this morning. Does that look like it’s everyone out there? All right, well, welcome to equipping hour. For the women who were at the retreat, I apologize, this is going to be a rehash of what we covered in August. But there is a good reason for that. I heard from a number of women that they walked away from the hospitality retreat—we did a three-part, sort of four-part, series on hospitality—and they were very motivated, many people were very motivated to make changes in their life and in their home. But it put them in an awkward position, saying, “I don’t want to lead my home. Husbands, here’s all the stuff I learned.” So there was probably a half-dozen homes that said, “Can you teach this stuff to the guys too?”

So we said, let’s bring it to an equipping hour. As you’re going to see, hospitality is not a women’s thing. It’s not a thing that only some of us do, but it’s a defining trait of Christians. We’re going to go back through that content, a three-part equipping hour starting this week while they’re doing the baptism class, a three-part equipping hour on hospitality.

Defining Biblical Hospitality

I just want to start by saying the gospel is the good news of God’s hospitality to sinners. If we go to the definition that I’m going to use of hospitality, I think it’ll be helpful. You might have a lot of things in your mind like the hospitality industry, or you get magazines about how to entertain, how to get your house in perfect order. We’re entering the holiday season, and you might think you have to have the right holiday plates, perfect decorations, get your house in perfect order so you can have people over and impress them. That is not the biblical picture of hospitality.

Rather, biblically, hospitality is treating those who aren’t your family as if they are your family, especially in your home. Hospitality is treating those who have no natural claim to be your family, no natural claim to your stuff, as if they are your family, especially in your home.

To understand why this is so definitional for the Christian, we need to remind ourselves of who we naturally are before God, before salvation. The Bible describes us as children belonging to a particular entity and a particular family. We are not naturally God’s children, and we are not naturally God’s family. Instead, we are children of wrath, described as children of the devil, sons of disobedience, explicitly described as strangers to God’s family.

You’re going to see a distinct before-and-after contrast that should make us worship when we realize we become children of God, adopted into God’s family. But before we jump forward to the good news, I want to open our Bibles and look at this bad news: who we are naturally before salvation.

Before Salvation: Children of Wrath

Adam was described in Luke 3:38 as the son of God, but after the fall, our relationship to God changed dramatically. Look at John 8:44, as Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, He says, “You are of your father the devil.” You might think, “Well, that’s the Pharisees, they were hypocrites, they murdered Jesus, surely that doesn’t describe me or humanity in general.” But it does. First John 3:10 clarifies: everyone who does not do righteousness is not of God and is a child of the devil.

Turn to Ephesians 2:1-3, a very familiar section. It describes our natural familial relationship. Ephesians 1 talks about adoption as sons of God, then Ephesians 2 shows the contrast. Ephesians 2:1: “You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air.” This describes every single person. You formerly walked according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience. We all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Before salvation, we belonged to the family of God’s enemies, children of wrath, sons of disobedience. But in salvation, God saves sinners, and we’re adopted as children. Turn to John 1:12-13. If you’ve heard the gospel many times, there’s a danger of growing familiar and a corresponding opportunity to worship. John 1:12 says that to all who receive Him, who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God. Not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God.

Galatians 3:26 says we are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. The blessing of adoption is not for everyone but only for those who believe. Every human being is naturally a child of wrath, a son of the devil, and only those who believe in Jesus move from that position of damnation as enemies to the exalted position of adoption as sons and daughters.

A mark of a Christian is that you agree with God that nothing good is in you. You don’t bring any natural claim to God. Nobody comes to God saying, “Adopt me because I can make your family better.” We agree with God that we are dead, children of wrath, sons of disobedience, and we say, “God, will you change me from the core, make me into your image, make me your son?” He adopts you, gives you the position as sons with every right of inheritance. He also changes your nature.

We must not smuggle merit into this. We are in His family because of His purposes, by His grace. Then He saves us to walk in obedience, to glorify Him through good works prepared beforehand. Turn to Ephesians 1 and prepare to marvel.

God’s Adoption and Our New Family

Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace.

We contribute nothing. Why were we saved? Because God had purposes He predestined in grace for His glory. Love motivated Him. His love and good pleasure, for the praise of His glorious grace, moved Him to adopt us.

In Paul’s world, human adoption was of young adult males of good character to preserve a family line. But divine adoption is of persons of bad character—miserable sinners—to become heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. God didn’t adopt us from need or want, but from abundant goodness. Worship! Don’t be unaffected.

Deuteronomy 7 shows God loved Israel not because they were better but because He loved them. Love is central to adoption, and it will be central to hospitality. After reading Ephesians 1, we see that we were once children of wrath (Ephesians 2), but God made us alive and raised us up to show us the surpassing riches of His grace and kindness forever. He adopted enemies so He could forever show us kindness. Understand why John says in 1 John 3: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God.”

This changes everything. What trial can we face that we can’t endure, knowing we have an eternal inheritance with our Father? If God gives us blessings, we can share them with our brothers and sisters. We were reconciled to God and to each other. Romans 8, 1 Peter 1, and many passages show our exalted position as adopted children.

Believers are so exalted that Christ is properly called our brother (Romans 8:29, Hebrews 2:11-12). The Lord of the universe calls us brothers. After He rose, He told Mary, “Go to my brothers.” At the cross He accomplished our adoption.

Paul teaches Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. Whatever we do for one of His brothers and sisters, we do for Him. To sin against a brother or sister is to sin against Christ. Don’t skim over the word “brothers” in the New Testament—it conveys deep meaning. The early Christians always referred to each other as brother and sister. The watching world noticed: “Hardly have they met when they love each other,” the pagans said. See how they love one another.

Before salvation, we were not God’s children. After salvation, we’ve been adopted and made members of the household of God, united with our new brothers and sisters. After salvation, we have love.

Brotherly Love and the Practice of Hospitality

The greatest commandment is to love God, and the second is like it: love your neighbor, especially your brothers. Turn to 1 John to see how the gospel empowers us to keep this command. 1 John 3:10 says by this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: if you don’t love your brother, you are not of God. Over and over, 1 John emphasizes love for the brothers as essential.

We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). If anyone says “I love God” but hates his brother, he is a liar. God’s love is primary, ours is secondary, but if we have tasted God’s love, we must love one another.

Now consider the Greek word Philadelphia, meaning brotherly love. In the Greek world, this term was reserved for literal siblings. But Christians use this term for the church. 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Peter 1:22, Romans 12:10, Hebrews 13:1—all speak of Philadelphia among believers.

Hospitality in Greek is “philoxenia,” literally brotherly love toward strangers. The world knew hospitality, but Christians know a far deeper meaning. We were once strangers and enemies, now family. We show hospitality not to gain something, but because we’ve genuinely been transformed. We love strangers as brothers because we once were strangers and God made us family.

James 2:14-17 shows that genuine faith meets a brother’s needs. Matthew 25:35-40 says what we do to the least of Jesus’s brothers we do to Him. The major New Testament hospitality commands appear in the context of brotherly love. Romans 12:9-13, 1 Peter 4:8-9, Hebrews 13:1-2 all connect love and hospitality.

Galatians 6:10 says do good to everyone, especially the household of faith. Don’t grow weary of doing good. Hospitality can be costly, inconvenient, and messy. But remember why we do it.

Conclusion and Prayer

When you consider opening your home and life, there will be a cost. Don’t think first about the what or how, but remember the why. We were far off, strangers to God, with no right to call Him Father. He adopted us at great cost. Now we must remember God’s love toward us and be defined by brotherly love toward those who were once strangers but are now our blood-bought brothers and sisters.

Let’s pray: God, thank You. Father, thank You. We can’t comprehend what it means to call You Father, but Your word helps us get close. We thank You for Your love, for how You’ve loved us. We pray that we would saturate our minds and hearts with Your word and this gospel message that saved us, Your love toward us. Please let us show that to one another. Let it start now, as we have strangers who are now brothers and sisters in Christ coming through the door of the church. May each of us abound in brotherly kindness. May there be hospitality today, lives opened, people cared for. Above all, may Your purpose in saving us be accomplished: the praise of Your glory and Your glorious grace. May that happen here as we gather as Your church today. In Jesus’s name, amen.

You’re dismissed.