Two Journeys

It's a delight to be able to open up Romans 13 again. And as we come to Romans 13:8, we come to the issue of debt. America in ways unimaginable to our forefathers, has become a debtor nation. I looked up on a website called the National Debt Clock, clicked into the national debt of the Federal government, and I'm not going to read all of the digits, but it's $8.3 trillion that our federal government's in debt. It's kind of hard to hear them talking about fiscal responsibility, isn't it? And they took the population of the US and divided out and I now know what my personal responsibility is. It's $28,000.

"Well, Federal government, I don't have it," and probably you don't either because that's your responsibility as well, $28,000. That's staggering. Closer to home, though, is the issue of personal debt. Whether through home or college education or car loans or credit cards. Many, many American people are facing a staggering burden of debt which is greatly affecting the way they live their lives every day, greatly affecting their marriages, greatly affecting their plans for the future. 75,000 people each day in the United States apply for a Visa or a Mastercard. Every day, 75,000 new ones.

Randy Alcorn, in a book that we were reading in our home fellowship, reports that one man in America with an income of only $27,000 a year, owns more than 800 credit cards, and his monthly line of credit is $9 million. I would urge him not to use it. $9 million a month he can spend. The American Credit Counselors Association estimates that the average credit cardholder in the US owes $13,000 to credit card companies, $13,000 in personal debt. Well, in verse eight of Romans 13, Paul gives a simple statement. It says, "Owe no one anything except to love each other, for the one who loves has fulfilled the law." Now today we're going to discuss the issue of debt, godly debts, ungodly debt, how a Christian discharges his debts.

And I think that some of us are going to find few topics as relevant as this one. For some, it's going to be a painful topic because you're in the category of facing a burden of debt and you don't know what to do about it. Perhaps God's word this morning will give you the way out. Now the context of Romans 13:8-10 is Paul's teaching on the Christian life. We saw in the Book of Romans, we have 11 chapters of solid doctrine on how it is that sinners are made right with the holy and perfect God. It is the Gospel, Romans 1-11, more depth than any of us can handle in a thousand lifetimes. But then in Romans 12-16, the Apostle Paul is taking that deep doctrine and applying it to our everyday lives. It's answering the question, "How then shall we live?"

And we've seen it going through verse after verse, Romans 12:1, 2, talking about how we are to present our lives as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God. That's our spiritual active worship. Talks then about spiritual gifts and how we are to use them to build up the body of Christ. He talks about how Christians should relate to those inside the body of Christ and those outside the body of Christ. Over the last three weeks of preaching in Romans, we saw it in Romans 13 how a Christian should relate to the government, and we began to touch on some of those issues. Now the issue of government was a bit of a digression in the flow of Paul's thought.

Now he makes what I think is somewhat of a clever transition back to the everyday life through the Christian and dealing with the issue of love within the body of Christ, and he does it on... The connecting point is the issue of debt. If you look at verse seven, talking again about government, he says, "Give everyone what you owe him." So there's that issue of owing or debt. "Give everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, pay taxes. If revenue, then revenue. If respect, then respect. If honor, then honor." And then the NIV gives us in verse eight, "Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law." So we see a transition now back into those more common issues of love and the way that we deal with one another in the body of Christ. The transition, the bridge, is the issue of debt of what it is we owe. So that's the context.

We owe Christ our lives!

Now what does a Christian owe? That's an important question to ask. Let's begin with our lives, which we owe to Christ. We owe everything to Jesus Christ, we who are Christians. We owe it all. As the hymn says, "Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe." And that is true. Everything in our lives, we owe to Christ. At one point in our Lord's life and ministry, he was at the home of Simon, a Pharisee, and a notorious woman in that community came in and washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. An incredible encounter happens then between Jesus and Simon. They're in Luke 7. Says there "When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of a woman she is, that she is a sinner.' Jesus answered him, [that is to say he answered Simon's thoughts] 'Simon, I have something to tell you.' 'Tell me, teacher,' he said. 'Two men owed money to a certain money lender. One owed him 500 denarii, the other 50. Neither of them have the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now, which of them will love him more?' Simon replied, 'I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.' 'You have judged correctly,' Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet and therefore I tell you her many sins have been forgiven for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little, loves little.'"

This is a debt of love that we owe to Christ. There should be a sense of every moment of the day that Christ's love constrains us to follow him, to give him everything he commands of us. We owe him everything. He shed his blood on the cross under the wrath of God that we might have eternal life. And what Jesus is saying there is that these displays of love by this woman are appropriate given her sense of the freedom of her debt. She owed a lot and Jesus paid it, and now the rest of her life, she has this sense that she owes Christ everything. We see it in the parable of the 10,000 talents in which the dead is set up at an infinitely, a measuredly high level. We owe 10,000 talents, 750,000 pounds of gold. You can never pay it. Jesus paid it all. We see it in the Lord's prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.

Christ came to pay our debts. He came to pay it off, and so he has at the cross. At the moment that Jesus died in John's gospel, he says the incredible words, "It is finished." In the Greek word, tetelestai, it was written across a bill once the bill had been paid, somewhat like being stamped paid in full. And Jesus paid in full for our sins. Our debts are cancelled.

Paul’s Obligation to Christ

Now Paul the Apostle had a sense of an ongoing obligation or debt to Christ. In Romans 12, or Romans 8:12 though 14, it says, "So then, brothers, we are debtors." Romans 8:12, "not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, for if we live according to the flesh, if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live, for all who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God."

We are debtors. We owe Christ everything, but we don't owe the flesh anything. And another place, in 1 Corinthians 6, the apostle Paul says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God. You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." There's a sense in which we were on the auction block. We were slaves and Christ bought us with a price. We are His bond slaves. We are His, for He purchased us. And therefore there is the sense of constant obligation. We owe Christ everything, our bodies, our souls, our time, our gifts and talents, everything.

It's on this very basis that he urges in Romans 12:1, "Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship." It's on the basis of what we have received from Christ. We owe him everything. Also there's a sense in which the ongoing stuff of our lives that we are stewards of, they really belong to God, and on judgement day he's going to want all of them back. They're his. So he has loaned them to us and we owe those things back to him and he will ask an accounting. Every matter of stewardship underscores this sense of debt that all we have goes back to God. What do we owe to other Christians? Well, we owe them love. That's what this passage says. Because of all that Christ has done for us, we owe other Christians a debt of love.

We owe our love to other Christians

Look at what it says in verse eight. "Owe nothing. Owe no one anything except to love each other, for the one who loves has fulfilled the law." So there's this sense of continuing debt to one another. We owe each other love, and it's a debt we'll never cease paying. It exists as long as we live in this world. Paul says that if we love one another, we have fulfilled the law of God. Look at verse 9, the commandments. "Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet, and whatever other commandment there may be are summed up in this one rule: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to its neighbor and therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Now let me say if you look at those commandments, they are essentially negative, and Paul even underscores the harm aspect, murder and adultery and stealing and lying. These harm another. But I say to you we've been raised to a higher level. It's not enough for us just not to harm our neighbor. We are to be actually laying down our lives for our neighbors. And so the call of love is actually a higher call, and therefore, all of these negative commands that Paul lists here are included in it, but so much more.

Look what Jesus did. You look at the parable of the Good Samaritan and how there was an outflow and outpouring of resources to somebody who needed it. Now Christ put us under this debt of obligation to other Christians when He ministered to us the way He did. Think about the foot washing in John 13:14. He says then, "If I then, your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." Now that word "ought" is a sense of obligation. We owe each other this. We owe each other love. Now, of course, John gets very specific about the nature of how we discharge this debt, in 1 John 3, it says, "This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down His life for us and we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongues but in action and in truth." So this is the way we discharge our debt of love, self-sacrificial giving to meet a need of another person.

Now this debt of love is comprehensive. It's comprehensive in time. There'll never be a point in your Christian life where you say, "That's it. I've fulfilled my debt of love. I don't need to love anymore. The Lord sent an angel to tell me I'm free from the responsibility of loving other people the rest of my life. I've done enough." It's comprehensive in time. The rest of your time here on Earth, you will have this debt of love. It's also comprehensive in scope. Basically anything you have belongs to God, and he may call on you to give it even up to your life for the cause of the gospel, for the cause of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

We especially owe forgiveness, don't we? We especially owe forgiveness. In Matthew 18, Christ teaching on forgiveness mentioned a moment ago, Christ says the fact that the king forgave the servant, put the servant under a different kind of debt, a moral obligation to forgive the debt of his other servant. And when he wouldn't do it, the king hauled that sorry guy back into court, may mess with your ideas of justification, I'm not preaching on Matthew 18 right now, but I'm just telling you what it says, he hauled that guy back in court and this is what he said, "'You wicked servant. I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger, his master threw him into jail until he should pay back all he owed." This is what we owe to each other. We owe a debt of love, of service, and of forgiveness to other Christians.

What do we owe to non-Christians? Well, friends, we owe them the gospel. We owe them the gospel. Take a minute and look back, Romans chapter one. By my calculation, this I think is my 100th sermon in Romans, triple digits. Some of you have been here for most of them. I was here for all of them, but way back when, at the beginning of this whole series in Romans, we started with Romans 1 and in 14, Romans 1:14, there Paul talks about his debt. He says, "I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I'm so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome, for I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, and then for the gentile."

The debt of carrying the gospel to the lost

Paul there in Romans 1:14 is talking about a debt, an obligation he has both to the wise and the foolish, the Greeks and non-Greeks, to everybody, an obligation to preach the gospel, to share the gospel of Christ. Now how did he discharge it? Well, by preaching faithfully to everyone that God providentially brought across his path. We are not obligated personally to preach the gospel to six billion people. We cannot discharge that debt. But we are obligated to make an effort to share the gospel with those that are providentially in our lives.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones talked about this obligation, the sense of duty that we have to share the gospel, and he gave a beautiful illustration. He talked about a man that he knew that was suffering from a painful and crippling arthritic illness. And he did everything he could to try to alleviate his pain and to get some kind of healing or cure from this illness. He would sit in mineral baths and go to spas and try different therapies, but nothing worked until he read of a physician on the continent. I don't remember in what European country, but had developed a special therapy for people who are suffering exactly his kind of illness. He went over there. The man looked at him and said, "I know exactly what your problem is." He prescribed him some medication and some therapy. Within three or four months, he was completely healed.

Some time later, he met another person who was suffering from the exact same illness, the same symptoms, everything. He had a sense of obligation to share with him the information of what had healed him. We owe the gospel. As Jesus said in Matthew 10, "Freely you have received. Freely give." You are trusting in the cross of Christ for the forgiveness of all your sins. It's been given to you as a gift. You owe it to non-Christians to share it with them as well.

Alright. Well we've talked about what Christians owe. What ought we not to owe? Now I was warned this morning, you're going to be treading on some toes. Look, I hope I'm not treading on anybody's toes, but I'd be happy if Romans 13:8 tread on your toes. I don't mind that. The scripture is here to help us. It's here to bring us to conviction. And I think that this is an area of weakness for Americans today. I think it's an area of trouble.

Debt Crisis in America

We are in a debt crisis in America. Listen to this, Ron Blue, Crown Ministries in a survey that they had access to, said more than half of the Americans they surveyed, listen, had no plans to get out of debt before they died. That's staggering.

They just have accepted the debt they have and are making no plans to get out of it. Sears some time ago started the Discover card. They expected, and their prediction was not that people would use the Discover card in place of Visa and Mastercard, but rather that they just lay the Discover card on top of Visa and Mastercard and go into greater debt. They were absolutely right. The one thing they were wrong about was the amount of increased indebtedness Americans would tolerate. They were way low. They thought it would be something like $35 billion nationwide. It's proved to be three or four times that amount. A financial goal of many families is simply to earn as much as they spend. That's a goal, to get to the point where money in equals money out. Well we already said it's a goal of federal government does not reach.

Last year, in fiscal year 2005, the government spent $319 billion more than it took in. Every day, $2 million more in debt or $2 billion. I'm sorry. The problem for the federal government is significant, but for most Americans, their personal problem is even more pressing. It's immediate. It's in their face every day. Now some time ago, I was reading about a sugar plantation in the Philippines that went around to the neighboring villages and gave to illiterate poor people $150 in a debt-free loan. They could do anything they want with. But why did the plantation do this? Well, it's called debt bondage. Those people would blow it perhaps even in a month or less on things that didn't matter, or maybe even things they needed, but in any case, they now owed $150. To you or me, that's not much, but to them it was an astronomical amount. They were then working on the plantation the rest of their lives. They couldn't get out of it. They could never save enough money to pay off the debt.

Well, when I graduated from college, I got five applications for credit cards in the mail. My alma mater, I guess, sold my name to the companies. And so immediately I'm getting these very flattering letters; Now that you have achieved this high level of achievement etcetera. And they're willing to offer me a credit card. They want me to work on the Chase Manhattan plantation the rest of my life.

You know one thing I found in my research is you know what credit card companies call people like us who desire and actually do pay off credit cards every month and never pay a late fee? They call us deadbeats. Can you believe that? I thought a deadbeat was somebody that didn't pay alimony or child support. Alright. But I'm a deadbeat if I don't pay the plantation owner what I owe him namely the 18% or 21% every year. We're called deadbeats. That's an odd way. Now you can declare bankruptcy. They've loosened up the laws on that. It was in the past. It's like in the Scripture, if you're in debt, you get thrown in prison and you can't get out because you can't make any money from prison. And so it was a big problem, I thought it was unjust, a dead end. And so now they have lenient bankruptcy laws that enable people just to declare a bankruptcy. I watched on one of these talk shows, a guy who had six times his annual salary in discretionary debt. Six times, and they asked him how did you get to that point? He said at a certain point, it didn't matter. So buy another dog, another couch, another whatever. It didn't matter because they're already way more than they could ever pay off. It's a whole mentality there.

Well, this is a major problem. Randy Alcorn said this, if all American evangelical Christians were out of debt, literally hundreds of millions of dollars would be freed up for God's kingdom. Our families would be stronger, because financial pressures caused by indebtedness are major factors in more than half of divorces. There's also the issue of our weakness. What does it look like to a non-Christian world when Christians don't pay their debts? It's a shameful thing.

The nature and history of debt

Well, what is the nature and history of debt? Well, Randy Alcorn said this, "Credit is a grant to pay later for what's received now. Interest is the fee that the creditor receives when the debtor pays for this grant. Whenever a person goes into debt, he obtains money he hasn't earned. In exchange for the money or possessions he presently receives, he mortgages [listen] his future time, energies and assets." That's what it is. Now there was a time that to go into debt was considered a privilege. It wouldn't be extended to the majority of people but just to a certain few. But nowadays that privileges almost seem to be a right, that somehow we are owed the right to go into debt. But there was a time that you had to be wealthy really to even do this. Why do credit card statements that show that you owe $500 allow you to pay $35? Think about it. You don't have to be a genius to figure it out. They want to collect on you, so that you will not be a deadbeat. They want you to pay money to Chase.

Well, there's a problem, a spiritual problem going on here, isn't there? This revolving debt feeds a monster called materialism, idolatry. Basically, the way it works is we see something we want, our covetousness kicks in. In the past, it would have stopped there, because we didn't have the money for it, but now we can go into debt and actually obtain it, and so we feed the monster of discontent. We're not satisfied with what God's provided for us. Perhaps you see maybe some trendy clothes or hot new sound system for the car, no way you have enough money this month but maybe you will in the future, you hope. And so you plunk down the plastic.

The debt mentality: six key assumptions (from Randy Alcorn)

Well, Randy Alcorn said there's six key assumptions with this debt mentality.

First is we need more than God has provided for us. What we have now is not enough, we need more.

Secondly, God doesn't seem to know best what our needs are. So we kind of take over from God and say, "Actually, I need this as well."

Thirdly that God has failed to provide for our needs and forces us to take matters into our own hands.

Fourth, if God doesn't come through the way that we think He should, we can find another way. We'll be creative, create a financing to get the thing we think we need.

Fifth, just because today's income is sufficient to make our debt payments, we are assuming that tomorrow's will be as well.

And finally, we are assuming that our circumstances won't change, that our health will be good, that we'll keep our present job, we'll keep our present or have a greater salary that God will not call us to leave that job for a lower salary or to give more money to Christian work. Making lots of assumptions about the future.

James chapter, 4 deals with all of this presuming on the future. James 4:13 and following, it says, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we'll go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money,' but you don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You're a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' As it is you boast and brag and all such boasting is evil." I think that there's a boasting element in credit card debt, a sense in which, definitely, in the future, you'll have enough to pay this debt off.

How to translate Romans 13:8

Now, if you look at verse 8 there are different ways to translate it. KJV gives us, "Owe no man anything, but to love another." NAS follows the same, "Owe nothing to anyone." ESV, "Owe no one anything," and RSV the same thing, "Owe no one anything." The NIV gives us more of an interpretive translation which says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another." The literal Greek translation is basically don't owe anybody anything, that's the simple translation. That's why four of those English translations go with that way. And in that way some Christians believe it is sinful and wrong to ever incur any kind of debt at all. Well, I think that's not true, and I think the Bible can prove that. There's actually a lot of borrowing and lending that goes on in the Bible. A great deal. For example, in Deuteronomy 15, it says, "If there is a poor man among you in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your poor brother. Rather be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs."

Christ says in Luke 6, "If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be repaid in full, but love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them, without expecting to get anything back, then your award will be great and you will be sons of the most high, because He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked." If borrowing and lending is always evil, why did Christ use that kind of language? And even more significant is the parable of the talents, the five talents, two talent and one talent. Remember the man with the one talent who didn't do anything with it? Went off and hid it in the ground because he thought his master's a hard man.

Do you remember what the master said to him, he said, "So you knew that harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would have received it back with interest." Again, why would Jesus use that kind of language if borrowing even in the involvement of interest were always sinful? So not all borrowing is bad. There is some borrowing that maybe Christians may need to do. Randy Alcorn lists some things like borrowing to start a small business, perhaps borrowing to get a college education, or a home that you'll live in. But you know Alcorn in his book is always cautious about all debt. If you borrow $200,000 or $180,000 for a $200,000-home, put down $20,000 for the home, 7.25% interest rate, you will buy that home for $442,000. That's about two and a quarter times as much.

We just assume that it's okay to do it just because we can do it. What Alcorn is saying we're not here long. God's resources are precious, be very careful about going into debt. Alcorn gives a series of consequences of debt. First of all, debt lingers, the new boat is fun for a while, but after a while when its engine needs repair and the kids don't want to water ski anymore, it's sitting in the garage and you're still paying on that boat. Debt causes worry and stress, there's a great deal of anxiety. As a matter of fact, it's one of the top three reasons for divorce in America today. Debt causes a denial of reality. Alcorn puts it this way, we drive our bank-financed cars running on credit card gas to open a department store charge account, so we can fill our savings and loan-funded homes with installment-purchased furniture. We're living a lie and we're hawking the future to pay for it.

It's deceptive. We are not at that level and we shouldn't be living at that level. He also gives us a big issue and that is the debt ties up resources and makes him unavailable for the kingdom of God. Do you realize how many, literally, millions and millions of dollars would be released if Christians were not in any credit card debt and gave that money to kingdom work could be incredible?

Well, as we look at this problem of debt, what can we do about it? First of all, let's go back to how a Christian should discharge their debts. Let's go back to the foundation and back to our relationship with Christ. One of the big problems with looking at the sense of our indebtedness to Christ is that we'll misunderstand salvation. John Piper in his book, Future Grace, said salvation is not a mortgage. What is a mortgage? Well, you get the home and then you make installment payments or you make payments for the rest of your life, and if you don't keep up with the payments, the home will be repossessed from you, taken from you. Some people look on it this way, you're given salvation, but you got to keep cranking out the good works to pay for it, your good works do not pay for Christ's blood.

You should not look at it this way. We are not debtors in that sense, we are children of God, we're adopted in his family, and so therefore, we can't pay off what Jesus did for us. You shouldn't look on your good works that way. Still less is salvation. Like a lay-away plan where you don't even get the thing until the end of your life. If you made enough payments like a Christmas saving plan, then you can go buy it. That is wrong, I believe that's kind of the way the Catholic system looks at it, which I grew up in. It's held back from you and you're making installment payments and then at the end, you get it. It's neither one of those, it's a free gift of grace, grace doesn't cause debt, it pays debts. And so Jesus has paid it all and we are free from debt.

So don't discharge your debt that way. Understand grace and the gift of salvation. Concerning your debt to others, let me say it a practical physical level, don't accept a mentality of indebtedness. Don't think that I can just go into debt all the time. Don't think that it's okay to borrow if there's something you don't have. I was convicted by this. I actually looked around in my office and saw a number of things that I have had for months that I borrowed from brothers and sisters in Christ. I started getting them back to them, like I borrowed a CD from Eric. He was very gracious, he said, "I hadn't even noticed it was missing." I said, "I hadn't even noticed I still had it."  So I praise God for you, Eric and for your gentle spirit with me. I got that CD back. If you're going to borrow something, use it and get it back.

I think borrowing can be a good thing. I think we ought to loan each other expensive equipment that you'll only need once a year, rather than buying it new from Lowe's. I think we should be borrowing from each other and don't expect to get it back in pristine condition, it's gonna get used. This stuff is meant to be used for the Kingdom of God. So I think that kind of indebtedness is fine. Concerning your loans, pay them off on time. If you can, accelerate your payments. Sometimes people say, "Well, if your interest rate is lower than something you could get back from it, it's not... " Don't think like that, because the debt you owe is a real actual burden in your life, and when you're free from it, it can change things in immeasurable ways.

Have a mentality of wanting to pay off as quickly as possible. I think it says something to churches, don't go in debt for building programs. Be very careful about that, be wise about it. So many churches, I know sink down when they overreach themselves concerning building programs, be very, very cautious about that. And if you are already in debt up to your nose, Randy Alcorn's book, Money, Possessions, and Eternity gives something like 12 steps on how to get out of debt. If you want to ask me more about that, some of the specific things that he says, I think it might be beneficial for you. There's no reason for you to be laboring under this in 10, 15 years. You need to start taking steps to get out from under it, beginning with repentance in a whole new way of thinking.

Now, as we come to the time of the Lord's supper, I think it's an incredible opportunity for us to think about what Jesus did for us on the cross. Isn't it a beautiful thing that Jesus' blood shed on the cross is sufficient for all of our debts? I love to meditate on this, as we come to the table, we think about the bread, we think about the wine, how it represents Jesus' body and His blood, shed on the cross for us, given for our sins. The Lord's supper was established for Christians. For those that have trusted in Christ, have testified to that by water baptism, if you are a Christian, you have testified by baptism, have trusted in Christ, you are welcome at the table. If not, I want to urge you to consider coming to Christ for the payment of all of your debts.

Jesus Christ's blood is sufficient for all of our debts. Come to Him and believe in him. Now, as we come to the Lord's supper, I'm going to close here in prayer. I want you to be in an attitude of prayer, be ready to receive the Lord's supper. If there's any sin in your life, it might even be credit card debt or anything related to what I've been preaching about, then confess it to God, and allow his blood shed for you to be sufficient for your forgiveness. Come with me in prayer.

Well, I'd like to wish all of you that are mothers Happy Mother's Day, and I am delighted to be able to open up Proverbs 31 to you this morning. Now, we were talking in the staff, and none of the staff had ever heard an exposition on Proverbs 31. We'd heard it read or alluded to it a number of times, but to actually go carefully through the word has been a rich privilege for me over the last few weeks, and I rejoice in that.

We live in America, we live in a culture that formerly honored motherhood. There was a time when the role of a mother, and a godly wife, and a well-ordered godly home was clearly established and esteemed, but that is no longer the case. In the last 50 years, we've seen a universal cultural attack on the concept of a godly wife and mother, and a well-ordered home. Now recently, I came across one of these books written by a woman named Susan J. Douglas, it was entitled, The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women. Now, it attacks the basic idea of the perfect housewife, the unattainable standards of a well-ordered home and well-mannered children with finely honed sarcasm. I have to admit, it was somewhat humorous to read, but the message was terrible. She was talking about what it's like to just come home from the supermarket and what it would be like to be a perfect wife and mother in that simple situation.  This is what she wrote:

“If you were a ‘good mom’ you’d joyfully empty the shopping bags and transform the process of putting the groceries away into a fun game your kids love to play (upbeat Raffi songs would provide a lilting soundtrack). Then, while you steamed the broccoli and poached the chicken breasts in Vouvray and Evian water,” - it's a recipe hint, I guess, right in the middle of it - “you and the kids would also be doing jigsaw puzzles in the shape of the United Arab Emirates so they learned some geography. Your cheerful teenager would say, ‘Gee, Mom, you gave me the best advice on that last homework assignment.’ When your husband arrives, he is so overcome with admiration for how well you do it all, that he looks lovingly into your eyes, kisses you and presents you with a diamond anniversary bracelet…. The children, chattering away happily, help you set the table, and then eat their broccoli. After dinner, you all go out and stencil autumn leaves on the driveway.”

Well, let me tell you, there's a great deal of mockery about the image of a homemaker and a godly wife. She, this author, mentions June Cleaver nine times in the book, every time with a sense of mockery. She is the picture of the ideal 1950's style housewife. But I believe that the value of a well-ordered and godly home has never been clearer in American society now that it's under attack, and there has never, in my opinion, been a greater need for the church to step up and speak clearly and truthfully and with words of great encouragement and praise to this very issue. This is the time for the church to step into the breach and to speak the truth about what it means to be a godly wife and a godly mother, and I can't think of no better passage to do that than Proverbs 31, what's commonly called "the virtuous wife".

The context is very interesting. Now Proverbs 31 is the final chapter of that book of practical wisdom, The Book of Proverbs, rubber meets the road wisdom, how to live everyday life in a wise way. The final chapter is, interestingly, advice given by a godly mother to her son who's sitting on the throne. She's, in effect, I think, a Queen Mother. King Lemuel is not one of the Hebrew kings, he's not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. And so, in Proverbs 31, it says, "The sayings of King Lemuel," which he learned from his mother, and here we see the influence of a godly mother over a whole life, not just at the very beginning. Her desire is that his reign should prosper, that the nation should flourish under his rule, and she warns him specifically to show restraint concerning women and wine. Look back a little bit at Proverbs 31:2-3, there she says this, "O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not spend your strength on women and your vigor on those who ruin kings." In contrast to the kind of woman who can ruin a man - who can ruin a king - she wants to set up an ideal woman, the kind of woman he should seek to be his wife and his helper in his rule. But this advice is not just for him and how he personally is gonna find a godly wife, but really extends to all of the marriages that would make up his reign. A nation is only gonna be as strong as the health of the homes, and therefore, this woman is not necessarily the wife of a king, but it says her husband is respected in the city gate, etcetera. This is a universal advice given for all wives and all marriages in his reign and in his realm.

Now, this passage, Proverbs 31, has perhaps the greatest potential to put women under the pile and make them feel discouraged than any other chapter in the Bible. Perhaps you might have looked down and said, "Oh, no, here's Proverbs 31 and more ways that I can feel terrible about myself as a wife and a mother." This is not what it's meant to do. I actually believe there's no more reason for a woman to feel discouraged when reading Proverbs 31 than any of us should when we read the Sermon on the Mount. Who can live the Christian life depicted perfectly in the Sermon on the Mount? None of us can. And yet there it is, beckoning us higher in our lives. Or even just a simple line from the Apostle Paul in one of his epistles, like Ephesians 4:2 says, "Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love." Now, does that put you under the pile to read that? It could. You could say, "When have I ever been completely humble and gentle, patient, bearing perfectly with one another in love?" None of us ever does any of this perfectly, but the word of God stands for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, beckoning us up higher, and so Proverbs 31 does that. It's not meant to be a discouragement, but rather an encouragement and an exhortation.

So what I'd like to do is just go through these verses and try to draw out aspects of this virtuous woman, this virtuous wife. Let's begin with her description in verse 10. She is a wife of valor. It says in verse 10, "A wife of noble character...". Who can find that passage in the NIV? "Gives us noble character." Literally, it's a wife of courageous virtue. I found this interesting, the Hebrew word used here is sometimes translated "army", like a powerful army, or a man of valor, a courageous man of valor, someone like Simeon, or Samson, or Gideon, or David who can take on a battle and fight courageously. David's mighty men of valor, the same word is used here. You know all of his list of mighty men, like this man in 2 Samuel 23:20, “Benaiah,” it says, “was a valiant fighter…” - the same word is used here in verse 10. He, “…performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men, he also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed the lion.” So that's the nature of this word, it's a word of valor, of courage, of strength.

Now, the Proverbs 31 woman has shown, in my opinion, no less valor in putting together a godly home and be a godly wife than this man Benaiah who went down and killed a lion on a snowy day. Now, you may ask what is so courageous about the woman of valor? Well, again, the focus of this woman is the maintenance of a godly home. A godly home is an oasis of peace and rest and renewal and strength, spiritual strength, in a maelstrom of satanic rebellion against God. And how much strength does it take to carve that out in this world? How much strength does it take to stand in the middle of a whitewater river up to the chest and not move? How much strength would it take to go out in a hurricane - in a storm - and take your stand and not move?

I found a man, I was doing some research, and this man, Louis Cyr, was the first professional strong man; he went from place to place at the end of the 19th century doing feats of strength and people would pay him to do it. And there's this grainy black and white photo of this man out in the middle of farmland, he's taken a stand like that and his arms are like this, and there's a harness attached to a horse on left arm and right arm pulling the opposite direction, and this guy is there - like that - and the horses are losing. Now, I feel like a godly housewife probably feels like that, trying to carve out a place of peace and rest when she's being pulled in every direction: the phone is ringing, the children are crying, husband has incessant needs, always needs. Whether he knows it or not, he has incessant needs - ladies, you know what I'm talking about - but they're pulled in all directions. It takes a woman of valor to carve out a piece of refuge and place of spiritual renewal. And so, Proverbs 31 pictures a godly wife and mother as a heroine of almost mythic proportions.

Secondly, we see her value. Her value is greater than rubies. Verse 10, it says, "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Husbands, the greatest thing you can do is to praise and encourage your wife in her godly calling, to give her the strength and the encouragement. This is what it says in Hebrews 10, that we should, “…encourage one another, and all the more, as you see the day drawing near, provoking one another to love and good deeds.” This is something a husband can do, is encourage his wife, and it begins with having a right assessment of her value - that he sees the value of this godly woman - and so, she's compared to rubies.

Rubies were among the rarest and hardest to find of all of the precious gems in the ancient world. Now, some scholars believe that they could only be brought by camel caravan from the distant parts of Afghanistan, and so they were very rare, perhaps even rarer than diamonds or pearls were rubies. And the statement right there, a woman of noble character, "Who can find?" implies that she's very difficult to locate, she is rare.  Now, all over the world men are searching, single men, searching for the perfect wife, for the perfect wife, and looking at it from a worldly point of view, looking at worldly standards, what does it take to be a perfect wife? Well, the standards are much lower in the world than they are listed here. Usually they have to do with physical beauty and external qualities. At the end of Proverbs 31, it talks about charm and beauty, saying, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain...”. The Bible itself acknowledges how difficult it is to find a godly wife and a godly mother; it says in Proverbs 19:14, "Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord," and so we see her incredible value.

Thirdly, we see her focus, and her focus is a godly home life. The entire focus of this virtuous woman is setting up or carving out in the middle of that hurricane storm of satanic opposition to God, carving out a place of refuge and peace for herself and her husband, and her family. Now mark this, she is not cooped up, she's not penned up, she's not chained to the stove; she has a wide scope in her life and ministry. Look at verse 14, it says, “She is like the merchant ships bringing her food from afar.” Verse 16 says, “She's out considering a field and buying it.” Verse 20 says, “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.” So she's out in the community, she's out doing things, but the focus of her activity is the blessing of the home; that's their home base at the center of her ministry. She's a constant blessing to her husband, to her children.

Now, in the 21st century, women are hearing constantly a siren call away from the home and out into the professional workplace. It's going on all the time. Some of this mockery, like I read earlier, is part of that; you feel like you're gonna be a person of no consequence if you were to stay at home, you're only a wife or mother, only a housewife, made to feel like you're nothing if this is what you do. Now, it can hardly be argued after what's happened in the last 30 years, that women do not have the intelligence, or the capability, or the drive, or the inventiveness, or administrative ability to be successful out in business. They're doing it all the time. It's going on right in front of us. So the question is not, can a woman do this? The question is, what is God's best for herself, for her husband, her children, for the kingdom of God? Not, can I do this? But what is best? What will produce the greatest eternal fruitfulness? And I think only God can tell us what that is, he knows how to organize a world; he knows how to organize a family, a church and society. So the question is not, what can I do? But what is best for me to do? What should I do?

Now, I think it's easy to underestimate the value of a well-ordered home. People who sneer at homemaking, sneer at the value of a godly home, who make jokes about June Cleaver, they don't know what they're talking about. They don't have any sense of the value of a godly home. God places a high value on the physical side of life, he gave us bodies, and there's something to be said for a lifetime of nutritious meals, of organized home, of clean sheets, of the physical side of life that this godly woman is ministering to. The husband himself needs a place where he can come and be encouraged, a refuge for him where he can be renewed and strengthened, or else he's going to easily become discouraged or slide off into mediocrity. She is setting up a base of operations for him to advance the kingdom of God, and they do it together. And so therefore, I think a godly wife and a godly mother, her focus being on the family, her life is only as valuable as the souls of the people in that family, and God says those are infinitely valuable.

Fourth, we see her character, and it's one of comprehensive wisdom. Now, I went through verses 10-31 very carefully, I read through every verse, and I drew out from each verse whatever virtue or character trait I could find, and I ended up with 27 different character traits, and I thought this is going to be the longest sermon I have ever preached in my life. They were saying I should make a book available to all of you and be grateful it's only gonna be as long as it is, because these 27 virtues are each of them worth talking about. I would urge you to do that yourselves, just go through and say, "What does this verse tell me about this godly woman?" What I wanna do instead is just zero in on some that are especially pronounced. This is not exhaustive, but rather just suggestive of the virtues, what kind of person this is.

First of all, we notice that she's a hard worker, very hard worker. Now look at verse 27, it says, "She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness," or the "twinkies of idleness", if you will, something like that. Whatever would cause a sense of idleness and pleasure seeking, this woman is not involved in that. And please don't come and tell me I like Twinkies. I know that you probably like Twinkies, that's not what I'm saying, that's not her home base, she's a hard worker. Now look what it says in verse 17, "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her task." And so she's a hard worker.

Secondly, we notice her cheerfulness. In verse 13, in the New American Standard, it gives us this, "She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight." The Hebrew word here is really rich, it's a rich word, a sense of the delight that she has in the work that she does. She's not grumpy or irritable, and why should she be when she's taken her God-given gifts and talents and skills and making them available to enrich those that she loves and to advance the kingdom of her Savior? So there's no grumpiness or irritability here, she is delighted to do what she's doing.

Thirdly, we see self-sacrifice and discipline. She's not living for immediate pleasure. Now verse 15 says “She gets up while it's still dark”; verse 18 says “…her lamp doesn't go out at night.” Now you may be wondering, when does she ever sleep? Well, it does say she gets up so imply she does get some rest, but look at this, this is a long, long time to be awake, and this is before electricity. I went on a mission trip to Kenya, and when the sun went down, we were all in bed within an hour because it costs money to keep the lamp going, but this woman is a hard worker; she's got a full day. So 15 through 18 may bracket a very busy day for her. She's a hard worker and she's disciplined.  Now, she's living for others, she's living for her Lord, for her husband, for her children, for the workers in her home, and even for the poor and needy in the society around her. She's others centered.

She has foresight; she looks ahead at what's coming. Look at verse 21, it says, "When it snows, she has no fear for her household for all of them are clothed in scarlet." Now, snow is obviously very rare in Palestine, it's not likely to come. I looked it up and there's only 21 uses of the word snow in the Old Testament, and most of them are metaphorical, like our sins will be washed white as snow, this kind of thing. It was not a common experience, yet this woman has had the foresight to get ready for a snowy day. She's ready when it comes because she has foresight. Look again at verse 25, it says there, "She is clothed with strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come." It's so easy, isn't it, to slide into anxiety, all of us, not just women, but men as well, to be anxious about tomorrow. But she's not anxious, because first and foremost, she fears the Lord and trusts in him. But secondly, she's done what she can under God's leadership to provide and get ready for the future. So these are some of her character aspects.

Fifthly, we notice her works. Her works are fruitful, they are skillful and plentiful, both inside the home and outside the home. Within the home, she is blessing her husband with every good thing that he might need for his life and ministry. Also, she's providing him and her children and even the poor with food and clothing. She's skillful in this way.  We were talking just as we were waiting to come in here about the making of garments, and perhaps you've been to some of these pioneer sites where it shows how they would spin from flax or other things and make thread, and then thread would eventually be woven into cloth, and then sown into garments. This woman had the whole thing from alpha to omega, from A to Z. She knew how to make clothes, a skillful woman. She also spoke wisdom to her children, and we'll talk about this, we're gonna finish with it, talk about it in a moment. And she manages the affairs of her household, there's the gift of administration, she looks after details of her household, her husband, her children, servants, all of them needing direction. So that's inside the home.

What about outside the home? Well, she buys well. She's a good shopper, she knows, she looks with discernment at what's the best thing to buy?  Look at verses 13-16, and it says, “She seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands,” as we said; verse 14, “She's like the ships of the merchant bringing her food from afar”; verse 16, “She considers a field and buys it, with the fruit of her hand she plants a vineyard.” She's a choosy and discerning shopper. There's a certain education in knowing what is the best to buy in each situation, and she knows how to buy it, whether it's a vegetable fiber like flax, or an animal fiber like wool, she knows what the best quality is to make the best quality garment. And so it is with a meal, the best ingredients go into making the best meal. Papa John tells us that. If you're gonna have the best pizza, you're gonna have the best ingredients, right? So this woman knew that long before Papa John. She says she's going to go like a merchant ship from afar to get the best ingredients for the meal. She understands that big things come out of little things, and little things matter, and she chooses with quality.

She also invests and sells widely. “She considers a field…”, and the Greek or the Hebrew gives us the indication of a careful process of discerning which is the best field to buy, and also it's gonna take some finagling even to get it purchased. But then it turns out well. With the fruit she gets from that field, she then considers a vineyard and buys that. So she's in an ongoing sense, investing. She's a very wise and careful businesswoman. We also see her mercy to the poor in verse 20, “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy, these are her works.”

Next, we see her relationships, and the center of it all is her relationship with God. The relationships are well-ordered because they are God-centered. The fear of the Lord is foundational to this woman's personality, it's the center of everything she is and does. Now, this is really the center and the beginning, middle and end of the whole Book of Proverbs, isn't it?  In Proverbs 1:7, it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." That's the beginning, verse 7 of Proverbs 1. But here at the very end, in verse 30, it's, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." And right in the middle, just about the middle verse in Proverbs, 15:33 gives us this, "The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor." The message of the Book of Proverbs is a wise and discerning life begins and is, in the middle, and in the final analysis, all about the fear of the Lord. It's all about God-centeredness in your life.

AW Tozer wrote a classic called, The Knowledge of the Holy, one of the greatest devotional writings ever written, and he got it right from Proverbs 9:10, it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." So the sum total of this woman's character is that she fears the Lord, she knows and understands the Lord, and everything she does flows from that. Now, this friends, is true beauty. This true beauty, 1 Peter 3 tells us that beauty doesn't “…come from outward adornment such as braided hair, or the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Instead, it's that of the inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.” Unfading beauty. This woman can be beautiful at age 95 because she fears the Lord. True beauty.  Now, it says in verse 30, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Women spend literally billions of dollars every year on cosmetics. More and more investing even in cosmetic surgery, so I guess we have to re-understand verse 30, it's not just charm that's deceptive, but beauty can be deceptive as well. It's not what you appear to be. And what a sad commentary on a society, that this is all we think of when we think of female beauty; it's all external, it's about as thin as the cover of a magazine. And yet it's everywhere, isn't it? An intense interest in external very, very temporary feminine beauty. The Bible has a different view of what's beautiful, and it has to do with the fear of the Lord, it has to do with true, genuine godliness. And so we see her relationship is first and foremost with the Lord.

Secondly, we see her relationship with her husband in her godly marriage. Look at verse 11, it says, "The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain."  Now, it's amazing, this word "trust" is in every other place that I could find in the Old Testament used only for God, that we are to be trusting in God and in God alone, and so it is true. But in a similar way that the husband, a godly husband will trust in the Lord for his salvation, at a lower level he's trusting in his wife for many things to do with his practical life, He trusts her, she's trustworthy, she's faithful. We also see that she provides for husband, she meets his needs. It says he will have no lack of gain in verse 11, anything that he needs to be fully successful in his life and ministry, she has thought of, and she has provided.

Another interpretation from the Hebrew word I think is very powerful, it literally says he has no need of spoil, he doesn't need any plunder. And what this plunder is, is taking something that belongs to somebody else, and this man is essentially discontent 'cause he's gotta go plunder somebody else. But this godly man who's married to this woman, he has no need of plunder, he has no need of spoil, he's content with what God has provided because she meets his needs in a wonderful way.  It says in Proverbs 5, "Why be intoxicated by another man's wife? Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well." In verse 18 of chapter 5, "May your fountain be blessed and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth." He doesn't need to roam or wander because she meets his needs in every way, he has no need to plunder or spoil. And we see also their lasting relationship. Look at verse 12, "She does him good and not harm all the days of her life." Till death parts them, she is committed to this one man, and I've seen some godly women in this church that nurse their husbands right through to the day of their death at great sacrifice and done it cheerfully. There's a lasting relationship.

And then, in terms of her marriage, we see also finally her husband's place in society. Proverbs 31 seems to draw a direct connection between the quality of this man's wife and the esteem with which he's held in society. Because he's got such a godly wife, he is freed up and empowered and able to go be everything God wants him to be as well.  So look down at verse 23, it says, "Her husband is respected at the city gate where he takes a seat among the elders of the land."

Now, first, let's understand what kind of man is this kind of woman going to choose for a husband, right? She's not gonna be just very, very careful about wool and flax and marry just any guy. She's gonna marry a godly man who's worthy of her respect. And so for you, young men as you're growing up, you ought to think about that. If this is the kind of woman you want, if this kind of wife you want, then you need to be a certain kind of man. So she, I'm certain, is very careful about what kind of man she chose to marry, but then she does everything she can to make him be everything he can be, and he is respected at the city gate where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. A godly man, fully successful, who has a great impact for eternity, he doesn't do it alone. But God has brought a helper suitable for him, and she deserves as much reward and praise as he does for whatever he accomplishes. And so we see her godly relationship with her husband.

We also see finally her godly relationship with her children, and I'm gonna take this whole section and bring it to the very end of the sermon. She invests herself in preparing her children for eternity, and we'll talk about that at the end of the message.

Seventh, we see her reward, both temporal and eternal. First, we see her temporary or temporal reward from her husband and from her children. Now, when I say it's temporal, it doesn't mean it's not important. It is important for her husband and her children to praise her. Pause the sermon for a minute. Men, this is Mother's Day.

Okay? You know what to do.

End of pause. Back to the sermon. Okay?

It's very important for men to take the time creatively and intelligently to praise their wives, the mother of their children, and to praise their own mothers as well. And so we see her praised, and also praised from her children. Verse 28 and 29, "Her children arise and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her. Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Oh, she'll love to hear that, if she thinks you really think it. And so you have to kinda earn the right so that it's not a matter of flattery, but throughout the year, not just on Mother's Day, but 364 other days a year, earn the right to say it so she'll believe it on Mother's Day that that's what you really think.

We also see praise from her neighbors and elders in the land. Verse 31, "Give her the reward she has earned and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." And so she gets esteem from society, from the culture, from the church, let's say, from people who see the value of what she does.

But does she care ultimately about these things? No, no, not ultimately. Ultimately, it means the highest place. What does she really want? What is her true reward? Is it not praise from God? Isn't that what she wants? It's that God would see, that God would know, that God would praise her. Now, do not think it immoral or wrong or sinful for a woman or a man to desire to be praised by God. It is the reward we will get at the end of a faithful life, where the Lord will say to us, "Well done, you good and faithful servant. You've been faithful with a few things, I'm gonna put you in charge of many things. Enter now into the joy of your Master." Is that not your yearning? Isn't that the reward you're hoping to store up day after day by faithful service, that God would see what you do and praise you for it? Well, that's the reward she's gonna get.  Now look at verse 30, it says, "A woman who fears the Lord will be praised." There's a future tense. There's a yet future praise she is living for, that's what she wants.

Now, one of the discoveries I made as I was preparing this sermon was the connection between Proverbs 31 and Matthew chapter 10. It's a connection I'd never really seen before, but it clicked in for me this week. Now you might think, what does Matthew 10 have to do with Proverbs 31? Well, in Matthew 10, Jesus is sending his apostles out two by two to go out and witness, to share the gospel, to advance the kingdom. It's a very important part of Matthew. He's entrusting them at an early stage, the ministry of reconciliation, they're going to go out. And this is the instruction he gives.  In Matthew 10:11 he says, "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave." In other words, get a base of operation and don't move from it. Just stay there and let them feed you, let them care for you, let them renew you in the evenings, let them pray for you, and then you go out and you minister.

You say, "Okay, well, if I'm gonna host the apostle, what do I get?" you may ask. Well, at the end, he deals with that. In Matthew 10:40-42, he says, "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. And anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will never lose his reward." A cup of cold water, and you won't lose your reward? What does a godly wife do, but provide decades of a base of operation for her husband to go out and do his life and ministry? She will never lose her reward. And as a matter of fact, according to the logic of Matthew 10, she gets the exact same reward he does. Whatever he's out doing, if she's the base of operation for him and he comes back and gets renewed and goes back out, she gets the same reward he does. Now that is rich, isn't it? That's the reward that she's hoping for, that's what she's yearning for.  One commentator put it this way,

“This godly capable woman is fully using all her capacities, intellectual, physical, spiritual, emotional, moral, to produce a well-ordered godly home which is a haven of rest and spiritual refreshment for her husband, herself, and her children. That home is a launching pad for world changers, and an oasis of spiritual sanity in the midst of an insane, rebellious, wicked world. She is a co-laborer with her husband, and what she is doing is every bit as difficult and every bit as eternally fruitful as what he is doing. They have a mutual call, but different focuses. And God will reward them equally based on their faithfulness to their challenging tasks. AND WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT? WHY IS THAT NOT SUFFICIENT? Equally challenging work, equally fruitful in this world, equally essential to God’s Kingdom, equally rewarded by God on judgment day. How can a godly home-maker be so thoroughly disrespected in this world, except that Satan is trying to destroy that oasis of refreshment, that launching pad of kingdom building world-changers? Now we see his evil design at last! The force that leads men and women alike to disparage the godly homemaker has its origin in the mind of the Devil himself…. Because he deeply fears this godly Proverbs 31 woman and the peaceful and orderly home she so powerfully carves out of his world of wicked chaos.”

Finally her proclamation of wisdom, Scripture's witness to Christ. Now, no woman in history has fully lived this out. None. It's a goal, and the more godly you are, the more you know your own deficiencies, isn't it true? The more you go on in the Christian life, the more humbled you are by your own sin and the more of it you see, and that's a good thing. Even the apostle Paul called himself “the greatest of all sinners,” 1st Timothy 1:15, he knew himself to be the greatest of all sinners.  So when you read this and it makes you feel guilty or whatever, push it aside. Instead, read and say, "What can I be today by God's grace?" And strive to live as best you can according to this pattern.

But I say to you, a Christian isn't looking to herself or himself anyway for the ultimate answers of righteousness. There is a man who has perfectly lived out the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs. There is a man who is the Book of Proverbs embodied, walking wisdom. He dealt with everybody perfectly, he dealt with every situation perfectly, he always spoke perfect wisdom, he dealt with his money perfectly, he dealt with temptations perfectly, he dealt with his family perfectly, he was the Book of Proverbs embodied. He was Jesus Christ. And Christ, and Christ alone, is perfect wisdom. And in his wisdom, he would rather die on the cross than disobey the law of God, and in his wisdom, he loved us so much, he would rather die than have us lost to hell. That is the wisdom and the love of Christ, and we see it perfectly in the cross. Christ is wisdom embodied, not the godly homemaker, however, godly she is.

And you know what? She knows it, doesn't she? She knows ultimately she cannot be the savior to her children, only Christ can. Well, what is she gonna do about it? Well, this godly woman proclaims Christ to her children everyday of their lives. She is getting them ready, their souls ready for eternity, she's getting them ready to meet God face to face. And her example of godliness is insufficient to do that, she knows it. So therefore all she can do is proclaim Christ from Scripture to them from infancy. God's word is a perfect combination of everything we need to bring us to salvation. Isn't that wonderful? Everything we need for life, eternal life, and godliness is found in the Scripture.

A godly wife knows that, a godly mother knows that, and she knows there's a combination of law and grace, that working together saves souls. The tremblings of the law and the sweetness of grace, and the two of them combined in a perfectly wise way to get us ready for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  And so we see Eunice doing this for Timothy. In 2nd Timothy 1 we see that her faith lives in Timothy, but then in 2 Timothy 3, it says, "Continue in what you have learned and become convinced because you know those from whom you learned it," especially your mother, "and how from infancy, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." The wisdom for salvation comes from the Scripture, and it comes from law, and it comes from gospel or grace.

Now, you might say, where do we get this in Proverbs 31? Well, I hadn't seen it until four days ago. Look at verse 26. Now, in the King James Version, it's the only translation that I find that does the two key words here justice, literally says, "She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness." Now, the word law is "Torah", and the word kindness is "hesed". These are two of the weightiest words in the Old Testament. She speaks law and she speaks grace. That's what she speaks to her children, she speaks the whole counsel of God's word.

How does she speak law? Well, she proclaims the fiery tremblings of Mount Sinai to her children. She tells them that God is the only God and we shall have no other gods before him, and that God will condemn any that rebel against him. The threatenings of law and of death for all that transgressed the law. It says, "Honor your father and mother." She upholds this, and she disciplines when they sass and are dishonorable to her, or to their father. It says, "You shall not steal." She upholds this and she disciplines if they steal or if they lie, or if they disrespect, or if they covet. She's upholding the law. The greatest law is love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. She's taking the law and lying it next to their hearts and saying, "Are you loving God right now? Are you honoring God right now?" And in this way, she brings them to a thorough knowledge of their own sinfulness, that's the law.

But then we need hesed, we need the grace. Now, this is a rich word, hesed. Up on Mount Sinai, the Lord was interacting with Moses, and Moses said, "Show me your glory. I wanna see your glory." And he said, No one can see me and live. But what I'll do is I'll put you in a cleft of the rock, and I'll go by and you'll see my last portions, and I will speak my name to you. And this is what it says, "Then the Lord passed by in front of Moses and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in hesed, abounding in loving kindness and truth.'" That's who he is. Or in Psalm 23:6, Surely goodness and hesed, mercy, will follow me all the days of my life. Or in Psalm 51, after David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he said this, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your hesed, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion, blot out my transgression." In other words, my only hope for my transgression and my sin is the hesed of God, the grace of God. It's the only hope I have, God's loving kindness to sinners.

And so a godly mother speaks wisdom. She speaks law, and she speaks grace, and she points to Christ who is the perfect fulfillment of both. She leads her children to Christ everyday, she acts. It says in Galatians 3:24, "The law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ so that we may be justified by faith." She takes the law and uses it as a tutor to bring those little kids to the cross. She evangelizes them with the law. She also evangelizes them with sweet, loving kindness. How can they understand what God's loving kindness is like, other than they see it in life? And from the moment they are nursing at their mother's breast to the time when she binds up their wounds and wipes their tears, to the time when she cleans up their foul messes in the middle of the night, she is displaying God's loving kindness in action. They are learning what it's like that God is a God of loving kindness, that he covers over grace. How many times do the children come and have to apologize to their mothers for sin? And she grants them lovingly, graciously, forgiveness. She's gentle with them and she shows them the love and the mercy of God.

Jeremiah 31:3 says, "The Lord appeared to us in the past saying, I have loved you with an everlasting love." Listen, I have drawn you with hesed. I've drawn you with loving kindness. God's love, his kindness, attracts us. We don't go into the arms of God running screaming from hell, that's not what does it in the end. It's the tender mercies of God displayed in Christ, but pictured at a lower level by the evangelist who is their mother. And so she, by every act of loving kindness, is putting a band around their heart and drawing them to Christ, pulling them to Christ, that's what she's doing. It says in Romans 2:4, God's kindness leads you toward repentance. In Matthew 4, Jesus said, "Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men." She is a fisher of their heart, pulling them in with a net to believe and love Christ.

More than anything, she teaches them that God's grace is infinitely greater than all their sin. Romans 5:20 says, "The law was added so that the trespass might increase, but where sin increased, grace increased all the more." Torah, law, uncovers sin before their eyes. Grace covers it up with the mercy of God. You need to picture grace to your children. Everyone's sin is like a fire. Some is like a match. Some like a candle. Some like a torch. Some like a bonfire. The grace of God in Christ is like the Pacific Ocean that can handle the match, the candle, the torch or the bonfire with equal ease. The grace of God is greater than all of our sin, and a godly mother proclaims both law and the loving kindness of God. His grace is sufficient to cover our sin, and so she's proclaiming Christ day after day by how she lives, but especially by the way she reads Scripture to them, the law of loving kindness.

Now, we have seen today a godly woman, we've seen her description, she's a wife of courageous valor. We've seen her value, it's greater than rubies. We have seen her focus, it's a godly home. We've seen her character, comprehensive wisdom. We've seen her works, they are fruitful, skillful and plentiful. We've seen her relationships, it's a God-centered family. We've seen her reward, both temporal and eternal, it's praise. And we have seen her proclamation of wisdom, which is Scripture's witness to Christ.

Now, by way of application, let me speak to different categories of people briefly. To young, unmarried women, set Proverbs 31 in front of you as a matter of prayer so that you would be transformed and become this kind of person before you get married. Set this as a goal for yourself and find a mentor who can help you become this kind of woman.

To young, unmarried men, I already spoke to you earlier in the message, but be the kind of man who this kind of woman will wanna marry. And by the way, you wanna know what kind of man that is? Look at Job 31. Men, you wanna be under the pile? Read Job 31. Women, Proverbs 31. Okay? There's a parallelism there. But be that kind of a godly man who this kind of woman will want to marry, and then don't choose any less than this, don't settle for less. That's what Lemuel's mother was saying. To married men, I urge you to find something in this proverb that you can use to encourage your wife or your mother.

To married women, resist the temptation to feel under the pile by this or any passage of Scripture. Don't feel guilty, feel renewed and strengthened and empowered by God to perform this very thing, because the New Covenant says that God writes his laws in our minds and on our hearts and then empowers us to fulfill them.

To all children of mothers, to all those of you that have had a mother, who would that be? Well, that's all of us, I guess, except Adam and Eve. All of us have a mother. First of all, be thankful and grateful to God for any way that your mother fulfilled this, even if she wasn't a Christian. If she's still living, encourage her today that her labor was not in vain, speak words of encouragement to her. And to all of us realize, it doesn't matter how godly your mother was or is, it doesn't matter how godly you feel you are, our only hope of righteousness is Jesus Christ who fulfilled it all at the cross.

Close with me in prayer.

I'd like to ask that you take your Bibles and look at Romans chapter 13. This is the third part of three in this series on the Christian and Government. Really, it's just one sermon in three parts. And as we come now, having understood already, the first two parts in Romans 13:1-7, we're coming to some ethical questions about how Christians relate to government.

Now, it's difficult to find a tale charged with stronger patriotism than that written by Edward Everett Hale in 1863, entitled "The man without a country." It was written at the height of the civil war and Hale's passion for the United States of America breathes in every line. The story is a compelling one about a man named Philip Nolan, who was unjustly charged with treason in 1807. And during that trial, he cried out, "Curse the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again."

The court was shocked, since many of those sitting in the court martial had fought and risked their lives and their possessions for the American Revolution. And so the judge icily granted Nolan's request, and exiled him to sail for the rest of his life on a series of naval vessels. The sailors having been commanded never to mention the United States to him, or give him any news of his former home country. Though defiant at first, Nolan eventually, bitterly regretted his rash words. A painful moment occurred for him when he overheard someone reading Sir Walter Scott's famous lines,

Breathes there the man with soul so dead

Who never to himself hath said

‘This is my own, my native land!’

Whose heart hath ne’er within him burned,

As home his footsteps he hath turned,

From wandering on a foreign strand

By the end of his life, Nolan was probably the strongest patriot in the history of the country. Even though he had never been permitted to hear the name of the United States again, he had an estate room, a shrine with an American flag draped around a picture of George Washington. And he said to a sailor, "For your country boy, and for that flag", as he pointed to the ship's flag, "Never dream a dream but of serving her as she bids you, though the service carries you through a thousand hells. No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you, or abuses you, never look at another flag. Never let a night pass by, but you pray God to bless that flag. Remember boy, that behind all these men... Behind the officers and government, and people even there is the country, herself. Your country. And that you belong to her as you belong to your own mother, stand by her boy, as you would stand by your own mother."

Now, Hales intense patriotism is reflected in people all over the world. It's the same way that German people feel about the Fatherland, and Russian people feel about Mother Russia, and Chinese people feel about what they call the Middle Kingdom and what Japanese people feel about the land of the rising sun. It's their own, their native land. And if you've ever traveled and been abroad for a long period of time, I think you can relate to what Walter Scott said... "It feels good to be home."

But I'm calling on us as Christians today to look to a better country. To a distant country that hasn't come to us yet, to embrace the words that the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:20. When he said, "Our citizenship is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Our citizenship is in heaven and we're waiting for the time when we will be there, and we are homesick, at least I am homesick, for a place I have never seen. I'm homesick to come home to heaven, aren't you? And in the meantime while we can embrace patriotism at one level, and our native land and it's good to be home, those feelings, I believe are just a dim reflection of something that's going to be elevated to a much higher level, when at last, we see the Savior. When at last, we come into that new heaven and that new earth which is the home of righteousness.

And so understanding our relationship to our own, our native land, begins with properly understanding our status as aliens and strangers in this world... That we are just passing through. It starts even above that with understanding what it means that "Jesus is our king". He is ultimately our government.

It starts were living a life of faith that sees a future country. A better one, a heavenly one, as it says in Hebrews 11:13-16, of the faith-filled people. It says there, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised, they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, and they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things, show that they're looking for a country of their own, a heavenly one. Now, if they had been thinking about the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they are longing for a better country, a heavenly one, and therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them." The city of God, my friend... A better and heavenly country.

We are citizens of that if we're Christians. And what's so beautiful is that's true of people all over the world, from every tribe, and language, and people, and nation. One of the greatest evidences of the truth of our faith is, you can sit in an airport and find a man from Nigeria, or a woman from China, or a child even from Germany, and you can talk to them if you can get past the language issue. You can talk to them, and if they're Christians, you will have more in common with those people than you will with non-Christians from America, because that is our true home country.

Now, we've looked at Romans 13. And I just want to review what we've already learned about government, human government. We've seen that God is Lord of Heaven and Earth. He rules over all things, but that he delegates some of his sovereign power, his authority, he delegates to created beings. And he's going to judge those creative beings, governors, kings, rulers for what they do with their power, and he's going to judge those who are under their authority, about what they did with the relationship, as well.

We've also seen that although God has delegated his power, it doesn't mean he has released his sovereign control of the ebbs and flows of history. But God actively rules over the rise and fall of nations. We've seen that good government, as reflected in Romans 13, is a blessing from God. We've also touched on the fact that bad government, as revealed I think in Revelation 13, is a curse from the devil. And therein lies the problem. The pure and high picture of government in Romans 13 is not always the case. Seems to me that God has put human government... In history, he's put human government on display. And even the best governments have been tainted by human sin, have they not? And then there are the horrendous governments that have been openly embracing human sin. And so we've had our chance to rule, and Utopia has never come.

There's never been a perfect society in this world, but there will be some day when Jesus rules. Amen? And we're yearning for that day and looking forward to it. So we've seen that, and from these basic principles, we have two commands coming from Romans 13, one through seven. First, we are to submit to the governing authorities. And we saw that submission is a glad humbling of oneself below a God-ordained authority, for the sake of God and for his glory. We talked about that.

We've also talked about the need and the command that Paul gives to give to government, whatever we owe. Whether taxes or honor, respect, those things that are listed in Romans 13, we've already seen that.

Now, we began last week to look at some ethical questions that flow from Romans 13. Six ethical questions. Now, my purpose this week is to survey the terrain of the rest of these questions. That's right, to survey the terrain of the rest of these questions. Not finally to answer them. You all have the expectation to get out of here at a reasonable amount of time. Am I right? Okay. And we've got five more of these questions, and if I were to give suitable time to each one, we would be here for hours and hours. Books have been written about these things. What I want to do is, I want to lift up some of the main issues that come connected with these ethical questions, and try to show you how Christians have thought on both sides of some of these issues over the time. I'm trying to refrain from giving my own opinion on these matters. I'll try to share with you what I think as a Christian, but I tell you this... My word will not be the final word on these questions.

What I do want you to do is, I want you to understand how Christians have discussed these things. I want you to have respect for other Christians who disagree, and I'd like the discussions to continue. We live in a time when this country is at war. And these issues are majorly on people's thoughts and minds right now. The issue of the patriotism and of our responsibility to human government.

Now last week, we saw limits to human submission to government. We asked the question, is submission to government absolute or are there limitations? We answered yes, there are limitations. We saw the example of Peter and John, having been commanded by the Sanhedrin, not to speak or teach it all in the name of Jesus. This ran on direct contradiction to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. And so, the answer very clearly, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you, rather than God. We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." Now that's a key issue. When it comes down to this, judging for ourselves whether it's right to obey a human government rather than God, that word "rather" is key. And when we are brought to a place where we must choose, we must choose to obey God, and we saw therefore that our obedience to human government is limited.

Now, let's look at this question of Christians and war. The question is, should a Christian fight for secular government? I want to bring before you two opposite case studies that have been in my mind over the last two weeks. Imagine, case study number one... You come upon a situation in which an innocent man is being bludgeoned to death along the road by some muggers. In effect, you've come on the scenario Jesus describes in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Only, he's not already lying by the side of the road bleeding, the mugging is actually going on. The question you have to ask is, "How could you rescue that helpless victim from the situation without using force?" And if you can't rescue the person without using force, are you obligated or allowed to use force to rescue him? And if the answer to that question is "yes," you're on the road to what we call a "just war approach." That Christians are obligated, in some cases, some will answer, or allowed to use force to rescue the innocent from human government.

Let me give you an opposite case. Imagine that you came upon two Christians who are arguing bitterly, and you knew them well and it seemed like they're very upset with each other. Would you make any effort to be a peacemaker in that situation? I would hope to think you would. You would make an effort to be a peacemaker. Suppose while it's going on, they got even more aggressive and started pulling out weapons and wanted to kill each other. Would your desire to be a peacemaker increase or decrease in that situation? Well, I would think it would increase except you have one thought, and that's you'd like to get out of it alive. But you would desire to bring peace between the two Christian brothers, who seem to have lost all perspective. And now want to kill each other. I assure you, Jesus did not have this in mind at the time of the foot-washing.

Is it okay, though if they're wearing uniforms of opposing countries during a time of war? Can you have one spirit-filled Christian sighting along a sniper rifle at another spirit-filled Christian also sighting along a rifle at you, at each other. Is this even possible? This is a logical absurdity. Is one of those two Christians failing to hear God correctly? And if you answer yes, you're along the road to pacifism. Herein lies the problem... Should Christians be involved in war? Now in World War I, this scenario that I described to you actually happened. There was a time in which British Christians and German Christians met in no man's land and celebrated Christmas.

And so they had a little celebration under a flag of truce, and they enjoyed that time of worship together, and the next day they went back to fighting again. What a strange scenario. How do we explain that? Are one or both of them hearing God wrongly?

Absurdity number one: The Good Samaritan stands idly by, waiting for the mugger to finish his work, so that he can begin his work of mercy. That's strange. Absurdity number two: The Spirit helping one Christian to kill another Christian while the same spirit is helping the other Christian to kill the first. That's an absurdity, and herein lies the problem... We're dealing with the tangled mess and irrationality of sin. And it leaves Christians literally not knowing what to do.

Three Different Positions: Activism, Pacifism, Selectivism

Now, there have been, in church history, three different views on this question. First, there's the view of activism. Basically, it's my country right or wrong. If the country says go to war, you need to go. Regardless of what you think about the cause, you go. That's called activism. Then there's pacifism, that basically a Christian should never be involved in war, for New Testament principles. Usually the arguments are made from the Sermon on the Mount, saying, We should not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, you should turn the other also. And then there's thirdly the view called selective-ism, the idea that Christians should get involved in the right wars for the right reasons, but not in the others. This is what you call The "just war" theory.

Now, in the Old Testament, there's ample evidence that war and the involvement of the people of God in war, is not in itself evil. In Genesis 14, Abraham gets 318 of his trained men and rescues his nephew Lot in the war of the seven kings, king of Sodom, and all those others, you can read about it, that's the first war described, and Abraham is right in the middle of it. God clearly commands Israel to participate in war as an agent of his wrath during the time of Joshua, when they took over the land of Canaan and drove out seven nations and destroyed them. God actually judges King Saul for not finishing the conquest of the Amalekites by leaving King Agag alive, and Samuel kills him and it's clearly in the text, pleasing to God that Samuel did it and displeasing that Saul didn't do it.

God blesses David for killing Goliath who was defying the armies of the living God. And David celebrates God's training of his hands for war in Psalm 144, verse one. It says, "Praise be to the Lord, my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle." Nehemiah rebuilds the wall of Jerusalem with the sword in one hand and the trowel in the other. God blesses Israel by defeating their enemies again and again, in answer to prayer or with the courageous actions of godly men. From this, it is clear that the Old Testament at least, does not call participation by the people of God in war itself and evil or wicked thing.

Now in the New Testament, nowhere is this basic idea openly contradicted. There are no commands anywhere for Christians not to be involved in warfare. John the Baptist, when speaking to soldiers... Soldiers come to John the Baptist and say, "What should we do?" he doesn't say, "Resign in position... Stop being a soldier", but he urges him to act morally and with integrity, as soldiers. Jesus himself uses a military analogy, about counting the cost. If you want to become a Christian, you have to count the cost and he says in Luke 14, "Suppose a king is about to go to war against another king, will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with 10,000 men to oppose the one coming against him with 20,000?" Jesus doesn't there say that the enterprise of war is evil or wicked, he shouldn't be doing that, what he's saying is he shouldn't do it, if he's going to lose.

And he should figure out whether he's going to lose and if he can't, he's going to sue for peace. And so also, you should decide ahead of time if you've got the commitment that it takes to follow Christ right to the end of your life. At the end of the Book of Revelation at the end of the world, Christ is portrayed as riding at the head of the armies of heaven, who are clothed in white linen and his robe is dipped in blood, and on him is written, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords", and he comes conquering.

Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, celebrates... Again, this is in the New Testament, giving these examples of faith... Celebrates Old Testament warriors. This is Hebrews 11:32-34. It says, "What more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Sampson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, all of those were involved in warfare. They're all listed together. And the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies."

This is right in the New Testament a display of faith. The Apostle Paul uses a military analogy for the Christian life, being like the life of a soldier. He said in 2Timothy 2, "Endure hardship with us as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs. He wants to please his commanding officer." And so there's that military analogy. However, there are some key changes as well, in the New Testament. Christ example as the Prince of Peace, he lived out the turn-the-other-cheek mentality. When he was about to be arrested in the garden, and Peter wanted to use the sword to deliver him from that, he said, "Put your sword away for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." And then he said, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father and he would at once put at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels? But how then would the Scripture be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?" he chose not to. Clearly, he had the power to do it but chose not to.

And even more significantly, is Christ's statement to Pontius Pilate, when he said, "So you are a king?" And he said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest from the Jews. As it is, my Kingdom is from another place." Therefore, Jesus said his kingdom's different than any other kingdom that's ever been. Those kingdoms advanced by conquest, military conquest. His kingdom advances differently, and you find out from his teaching and from church history, Christ's kingdom, his true kingdom advances, not by killing, but by being willing to die. By taking up the cross. Daily in following Jesus.

Christ commands on the Sermon of Mount have already been listed not to resist an evil person, to turn the other cheek. Paul makes a statement that our warfare is not earthly warfare, but heavenly. He says, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we're ready to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." He says openly in Ephesians six, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world."

And then there's the issue of the worldwide advance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, basically it was clearly an us versus them situation. If they're across that stretch of land, they are bad people who don't know anything about the living God. Very clear, the Philistines or whatever. But in the New Testament era, the Gospel is commanded to be preached to every creature under Heaven. That Jesus is making a claim on every nation and that the Gospel must be preached to every tribe and language and people and nation. That command, brothers and sisters, was not given last week. For 2000 years the gospel has been permeating the world. There is no political nation on earth where there are not churches worshipping Jesus Christ. And therefore it's not so clear anymore who's across that space. We don't know who's over there. And therefore that absurdity that I talk to you about actually has happened again and again. Not just in World War I, but in the Civil War and in other wars. Most European Wars that was very much the issue.

C.S. Lewis

Now C.S. Lewis in 1941 published a strong tract on the issue of Christians involvement in war. He said that the Christian faith has made two great contributions to the issue of war and participation in war. First, pacifism, and second chivalry. Pacifism, he says, is an honest theological mistake. Now, he's writing, having been a soldier in World War I and it was in the height of the struggle between Great Britain and Germany, Nazi Germany at the time. He says that pacifism is an honest mistake and he says so because it's leaving the dirty work to others, that's the way he argued.

Instead he argues for chivalry. Now what is chivalry? You might think of Sir Galahad or Sir Lancelot or something like that. The formation of a chivalrous knight who's going to fight what we call the just war in the just way. And so the chivalrous knight is going to learn how to display extreme fierceness and extreme meekness and will have extreme wisdom to know when to do either one. And so he argues for chivalry. The just war fought in the just way.

Now, I say to you, first of all, only a just society can produce a just warrior. Only the church ultimately can produce somebody who could fight a just war in just a way. If it's to be done at all, it has to be done by the church. This would include soldiers being willing to not get involved in a war because it's unjust or if they're in a just war, disobeying an unjust command in the middle of that. Being willing to be court martialed. Say, "I will not bomb a civilian target, I will not gun down those POWs? I will not violate the principles of chivalry." Well, then you're going to be court martialed. They would actually welcome it because in this way they could be salt and light in their own society and prevent their society from becoming corrupt as any pagan nation might. Thus the chivalrous soldier is willing to lay down his life in a different sense so that his society will not become corrupt.

Now my strongest argument for Christian involvement in warfare is the need for Christians to be precisely that. Salt and light to prevent immoral decisions and actions and war. Without Christians acting as Salt to retire the spread of corruption, the gung-ho blind patriotism of some Marines or bomber pilots or rangers or Navy Seals or covert operatives coupled with their overwhelming weapon systems and their natural violence and their pride and their desire to use those weapon systems, will bubble over into wickedness. Only if there are Christians they are to retard it, will a conscience be maintained in the Army, the Navy, Air Force and the Marines. My strongest argument for Christians not being involved in warfare is the ever-increasing complexity of the modern scene. Urban fighting against non-uniform terrorists who use women and children as shields or even participants, makes fighting with chivalry very difficult.

So you're saying, "What's the answer?" Well, I didn't tell you I was going to give you an answer. I respect pacifism, but I think in the end the Christian is called to fight for the helpless who can't fight for himself. He's called to defend his wife and his children, he's called to defend. In the end I think this is right. Just war. I'm just saying it's getting harder and harder and harder.

Now what about the questions of limit to opposition? Is armed opposition to government ever permissible? Now we've already seen that Christians must disobey evil commands given by their government. That's already clear. But here we're arguing something else. Should we go beyond disobeying evil commands given by a government to organizing ourselves militarily to try to topple what we perceived to be an evil government?

That's a different question. And what bothers me is, any arguments or defense of revolution tend to start with an individual case like the Hebrew Midwives or Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego or Peter and John in front of the Sanhedrin. And argue from that to complete revolution, overturning of the government. You can't draw that. The Hebrew Midwives continued submissive to Pharaoh, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego continued submissive to Nebuchadnezzar. So did Daniel submissive to King Darius. And Peter and John as they could be submissive to the Sanhedrin.

So you're saying, "Well, what about the American Revolution? It may be on your mind. Our country was started by people who felt it right to overthrow the power and authority of King George. I've had numerous people come to me over the last two weeks, say, "What are you going to say about the American Revolution?" Well, we're just about out of time here actually as we're moving along and...

I said at one point, it's not looking too good for the American Revolution at this point. I will say this, there was a saturation of pastors and religious leaders who were in the forefront of the revolutionary movement. And who made strong and elaborate arguments. And they understood English law and the relationship between the king and Parliament and the people better than I do. There are limits even for pastors on how much we want to study Political Science. Okay? So as I read, I say, "I can see the arguments." They basically said that the government had been set up so that the king's power was in check by the Parliament and he didn't have absolute authority. 1688, the Glorious Revolution, set that up. So the Parliament was strong. And thus they were making this argument, no taxation without representation, saying basically the king had broken the Covenant.

But does that argue that the King should therefore be toppled and no longer have authority? That's a big leap. It's a leap I'm not able to make, but others are and I can respect them for that. And I also think that God can bless something that isn't born according to his will, but then after that flourishes in a wonderful way. But others disagree and say, "No, they were... " They can make a very strong and elaborate case for the American Revolution. There are other issues like in the 20th century in Nazism, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, had wrestled with his sense of loyalty as a German citizen to the regime, but he realized the regime was satanic, was wicked. And he didn't know what to do at first, but it became clearer and clearer that he needed to oppose Hitler. And so he was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler.

He was caught, his involvement was uncovered and he was hanged three weeks before the end of the war in Europe. This has been an issue again and again. Now, to resolve this, I think the answers end up being similar to the answers on pacifism or just war. The argument is, should Christians band together to try to defend the defenseless militarily? Some will say, "No, we should be willing to let the sovereignty of God rule and we will preach the Gospel and we'll be willing to die." And I can respect that. But others say, "How do you interfere and help someone who's being destroyed if the destroyer is government? Some argue you should never get involved unless you think you can win. They actually go to Jesus’ statement in Luke 14 that I mentioned earlier, you've got to count the cost and see if you can win, other than that it's just slaughter.

But some argue they're saying they're willing to do it. Ultimately from just war views, some people argue in that sense that revolution should occur. The one question I would ask of those that argue in that way, why do we have no examples or commands or even hints in the New Testament that Christians should band together to throw off Caesar who was wicked and evil and ungodly. Actually, Paul's continually saying, even in Romans 13, we should submit to governing authorities and seek to do right while refusing to obey individual and wicked commands.

On the question of capital punishment, does Government have the right to take human life? Simply put, yes. It's very clearly taught right here in this verse. Look at the verse 3-4, "Rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you for he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong be afraid for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant and agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."

Recently my family and I were on a tour in Washington, DC and we came to the Rayburn Building which is the congressional office building. And on the cover of your bulletin there's a picture of the statue that's out there, it's called the Majesty of Law, that's what it says engraved in the block of granite on which the statue is seated and so it's this intimidating looking guy with a long beard and he's holding a huge sword. That sword is a symbol of government's authority and specifically it's right to take life following due process of law. In Genesis 9:6, after the flood, God spoke these words, "Whoever sheds man's blood by man's blood shall his be shed for in the image of God has God made man."

What is capital punishment? Well, it's an execution of a criminal under legal authority, due process of law having been followed. Now, the Old Testament is filled with examples and laws concerning capital punishment. When the law of Moses was given on Mount Sinai there was a barrier put around the foot of the mountain and the law was given, if anyone jumps the barrier and goes up in the mountain, he will be put to death, no hand will be laid on him, but he'll be stoned or shot with arrows. Two chapters later, there is many capital crimes established in the Law of Moses, Exodus 21:12, "Anyone who strikes a man and kills them shall surely be put to death." Exodus 21:15, "Anyone who attacks his father or mother must be put to death." Verse 16, "Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells them or still has him when he is caught, must be put to death." "Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death." And so clearly in the old testament, capital punishment is established.

Now, there are some arguments against capital punishment. They will say Israel was a unique nation of theocracy and its law is going to be reduplicated here. Some will say that Christ's death has forever displayed justice and therefore remove the need for capital punishment. Some say that Christ behavior toward the woman caught in adultery shows a pattern of mercy triumphing over judgment. Some Christians just simply point to the Ten Commandments and say, "You shall not kill." Which bothers me because I think the real command there is, "You shall not murder." Don't take it upon yourself not having been moved by God's command to take another human life, that's murder. But clearly there is killing commanded throughout the Bible that God commands people to do.

Also they say that capital punishment is frequently unjustly applied, perhaps to minorities or people who don't have means to hire a good lawyer. And they say therefore it should be removed because it's never being justly applied and then they will say, "There's no way to fix an error if a person is unjustly executed." And that is true, but still the Bible establishes this. Finally they will argue the capital punishment is no deterrent. Now, do you think that's true? That seems ridiculous to me.

Are you telling me in the midst of a fight somebody doesn't think, "If I do this, I might actually be executed." Of course it's in their mind. Besides with the Bible openly says that it's a deterrent. After commanding in Deuteronomy 13 that no Israelite should lead Israel to pursue other gods, this is what it says, "They shall be surely put to death." And it says "Then all Israel will hear and be afraid and no one among you will do such an evil thing again." To me that settles the issue of, is capital punishment a deterrent? Clear indication in scripture is that the government has a right to capital punishment, it's established and upheld by God.

Fifth, Christians participating in government. How much and in what manner may a Christian participate in government? Some Christians have openly embraced a union of church and state, direct role of Christians and secular government. A desire to see as much of the kingdom of God enacted in the laws of the state as possible. They generally come at it from an Old Testament point of view and they want to see Christ exercising dominion over every area of life and so they're going to argue for a complete union of church and state. They look to the Emperor Constantine who after he became a Christian just organized the church along the lines of the Roman Empire. Charlemagne, who created a unity between the Frankish Kingdom and the church that came to be known as Christendom. John Calvin who shaped Geneva as much like a theocracy as he could. And then the Puritans that followed him whether under Cromwell in England or in New England. They were not seeking a separation of church and state, but rather that God would be glorified in every area of human society, in government, in the church, in every area. In the marketplace they wanted Christ glorified.

Abraham Kuyper was a Dutch reformed scholar, professor and church leader. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands in 1901 and 1905. He said this, "There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign overall, does not cry, 'Mine.'" And so Kuyper is arguing that Christ says all things are his and therefore Christians should exercise dominion over those things and be involved in government. However, there are Anabaptists and others, or Baptist forbearers, that argue very strongly for a separation of church and state. The first Anabaptist Confession, The Schleitheim Confession of 1527 basically argued that Christians should never participate in government at all for governments are armed with steel and iron but the Christians are armed with the armor of God and with truth, righteousness, peace, and faith.

You may not know this, but historically it was Baptists who argued for the separation of church and state during the time that the constitution was being founded and established in our country. Now, America is a Representative Democracy. We are able to influence things in our country. We are able to vote, we are able to lobby, we are able to influence decisions made by government, we can remove corrupt officials and presidents and we can impeach presidents. These things can happen. And so therefore Christians are asking different questions here. To what level should I be involved? Should I give my whole life to government issues? Should I be constantly writing letters? Should I be constantly picketing? What should I do?

It's a question of stewardship. There's been a rather unpleasant public debate between John MacArthur and James Dobson, two of the kind of stars in the Evangelical firmament in America. And they disagree on this issue. John MacArthur wrote a book entitled, Why Government Can't Save You. And basically he's saying that the best Christian response to abortion, homosexuality, drug abuse and other symptoms of moral decline in America is to preach the gospel. And what he said is, McArthur wrote this, "God does not call the church to influence the culture by promoting legislation." His theological basis for that is in Galatians 3:21. There it teaches that righteousness does not come by the law. It says, "For if a law had been given that could impart life then righteousness would certainly have come by the law." And what does government do but establish one law after another? Or argue the merits of a law. And what MacArthur is saying is righteousness doesn't come that way. So Christians should not be involved.

Dr. Dobson responded through Tom Minnery who wrote a book, Why You Can't Stay Silent. And he argued that Christians must speak out and get involved in the government process to the maximum amount because that's how we can be salt and light. There is a big problem with this complete involvement in politics. Take the issue of abortion or perhaps homosexuality or something like that. If you're going to get involved, you're going to try to build as big a coalition as you can. Because just Representative Democracy you're trying to get as many votes as you can, you're going to influence... Try to influence as many people as you can.

Phillip Johnson said, "This is a problem. When your political agenda involves forming alliances with Mormons, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Moonies and all kinds of humanistic moralists, you simply cannot afford to speak frankly about the exclusivity of Christ. It's an issue you can't bring up. You have to stifle the truth about justification by faith alone, because Roman Catholics who are your political allies reject that doctrine. You're better off in fact not to mention the name of Jesus Christ at all. Because Jewish people who are our political allies are sensitive about that. And so the Gospel is stifled as a consequence whenever people become political activists. They begin to trim away the offensive parts of the Gospel, it's the natural and inevitable consequence of moving to fight in the political arena. It happens all the time."

And so what I would urge as Christians, you should look to the issue of calling. I believe some Christians are called to get involved in lobbying the government. I think some Christians are called to be judges, policemen, congressmen, perhaps even presidents. I think each one of them should recognize the limitations of human government. It is only here to restrain evil until the Gospel can finish its work. If you don't understand that, you're gonna misunderstand. You're gonna think you're gonna go for utopian society that government can in the end save sinners and it cannot. So I think Christians should be involved as salt and light. But understand the limitations. And I think the rest of us should be faithful and preaching Gospel knowing that the issues of abortion and homosexuality and poverty and all the other issues that people try to address through legislation can only be solved by a transformation of the heart by the power of the Gospel and therefore that is the church's real power.

But I say to you, we should not judge someone else's servant. If God is calling that brother or that sister into an arena, you should support them and encourage them and not say, "they ought not to be involved in it."

The final question is the question of persecuted Christians. Satan has had three greater attacks on the church over history. They are persecution, worldliness and false doctrine. Usually you get one of the first two, not both. Either the world surrounding the church is friendly toward the church and therefore lures it into softness and immorality and worldliness or the world surrounding the church is hostile to the church and persecute and attacks it. In both settings false doctrine can be involved. Do you perceive a shift in the relationship between the church and surrounding American culture over the last 30 years? I hope you do. If you trace it out, we are heading toward a hostile relationship with our surrounding culture and with the government. We have to be willing to be persecuted by our own government, not just the Christians in Sudan or in Persian Gulf states or in communist countries. Not just there, but even here.

And I say to you, this is the normal relationship of the church and government. All over the world and throughout most of time, the church has had a hostile relationship with the host government. And so Jesus said very, very plainly in Matthew 10, "Be on your guard against men. They will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account, you'll be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you'll be given what to say for it will not be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." Be ready to give a defense, be ready to stand for the exclusivity of Christ. Be ready to stand for righteousness. I think we're gonna have more and more opportunities as time goes on.

Now, what if the persecuting government is not our own government? What if it's another country like in Darfur or in a Muslim country or communist country? Well, first of all, recognize your limitations, how much can you do about that? Well, I think you can do a lot on your knees. And therefore it says in Hebrews 13:3, Remember those in prison," that means in prayer. "Remember in prayer those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." And remember them by supporting them financially, sending a help to them. As the apostle Paul said, when he was in prison people came to him and brought him food and clothing and supported him and were willing to risk their lives to do so. American Christians need to do that as well.

Now, I have traced over these issues quickly. There's far more that we could say. My desire is that you would, having had a heightened awareness and needs to these issues, be able to talk to one another. The Scripture says, "As iron sharpen iron, so one man sharpens another." I'm in one sense glad that James Dobson and John MacArthur having this discussion because both of them have something valuable to say, frankly. And so they can sharpen one another. It's a very big temptation for someone involved in lobbying government to let go little by little on the salt and light of the Gospel itself and stop preaching Christ to their Jewish co-lobbyists or they're Muslim co-lobbyists. We need to share the Gospel boldly and stand for Christ. But all of this, you know what it's done? It's made me hungry and thirsty for Jesus to come back. These things are a mess. How can we finally resolve any of these things? It's too difficult for us.

And so I say, come Lord Jesus, set up your throne and rule over me and over all my brothers and sisters and over the world, that's what I say. I yearn for the day when Christ will come. Because Jesus shed his blood on the cross. Sinners like you and me can have our sins forgiven and we can enter a perfect kingdom where we won't have to wrestle with these seemingly insolvable problems. And so I'm going to finish with this quote from Isaiah. Chapter 9, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will rule on David's throne and over his kingdom from that time on and forever the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." Close with me in prayer.

At the center of the universe, both visible and invisible, there is a throne, and seated on that throne is Almighty God. And if you had the privilege that the Apostle John did in Revelation 4, of hearing a command, "Come up here and I will show you," what you would see is you would see that throne with everything centered around that throne, and all of Heaven ordered around the will of the one seated on the throne. But we live in an Earth in which that fact, that central fact of the universe visible and invisible, is systematically obscured and denied by the father of all lies, Satan. The essence of his lie is rebellion against that thrown, that's the essence of it.

And we, the human race, joined in his rebellion through our ancestor Adam. And we have, as a race, been in rebellion ever since. And therefore the essence of the saving work of God is to take sinners like you and me, who are in essence, in rebellion against authority, in essence, in rebellion against God and restore us back into glad submission to that throne that I mentioned a moment ago. That's what he's doing. That is the saving work of Jesus Christ and therefore he began his Gospel ministry in Matthew 4:17, by preaching this "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And so I can't do any better than to say the same thing to you. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

We have to repent. We have to come back under glad submission to the authority of God. That's the essence of our salvation and that's the joy of preaching that I actually could be instrumental through the power of the Spirit to help you and me do that very thing, repent and come gladly, under the yoke of Christ. Now, God, in His wisdom established human governments to help those who have not yet fully repented, who have not come back fully under the authority of that central throne to make it through this world without anarchy. And He has ordained human governments and He has ordained that we, His people, His adopted children should submit to those human governments.

Now in Romans 1-11, we saw 11 chapters of doctrine. And how it is that God has worked in history through Christ to take sinners, rebels like us and redeem us, save us, cover over our rebellion, transform us by the power of the Spirit into new creations and bring us into a whole new way of life. Romans 1-11 in about four seconds... Alright? A hundred sermons about four seconds of summary. That is what God is doing through the cross, he's taking sinners and bringing us back under the throne.

In chapters 12-16, He's explaining to us what our lives here in this world are going to look like as a result. Again, with Francis Schaeffer answering the question, "How then shall we live? How shall we live in light of Romans 1-11? And as we come to Romans 13:1-7, the issue is, how Shall a Christian, a spirit-filled Christian live with secular government? What is a godly way for us to live under secular government? In essence, the scripture is teaching that we are citizens of two different countries. And the fact that they are different makes for serious challenges.

Now, in the year 410 AD, the Western world was shocked to its foundation by a historical fact and that is that Alaric and the Goths sacked the city of Rome, burned it, they conquered the Western Roman Empire. It was shocking. Rome is burning, the eternal city under pagan boots, the Western Roman Empire conquered? And that was a little less than a 100 years after Constantine had declared himself to be a Christian. There were some critics, some pagans within the Western Roman Empire saying Christianity has weakened the Roman Empire. It did fine before Christianity became the official state religion. Now look, we're weak. And some wondered if with the fall of the so-called Eternal City, that Christianity would fall with it because the Roman Empire had been protecting Christianity, had been taking all of its might, and its political machinery and military strength, and protecting the Christian faith. So some people thought.

Well, there was a man at the time who knew better, and his name was Saint Augustine. And three years after the fall of Rome, he wrote one of the most greatest works, City of God. And what He says in the City of God is that basically Christians are members of an Eternal City but it isn't Rome. It's the Eternal City, the new Jerusalem which will come down out of heaven from God that we are citizens of the city of God but we are also citizens of another city, the city of man.

And the city of man is represented by the rise and fall of one human government after another. Characterized by wars and rumors of wars and good kings and bad kings and all kinds of politics and machinery and all of that, that's the city of man. The challenge is that we Christians are called to be good citizens of the city of God and the city of man at the same time, and that's a problem. Because the city of man is made up of sinners who rule and reign sometimes very unjustly. And we are led to a problem.

Now, this dual citizenship that we're talking about is clearly established in the life of the Apostle Paul. Paul was a Roman citizen and he claimed that status again and again consistently claimed to be a Roman citizen. For that's what he was. And he used it at a key times. For example, in Acts 22, he was being stretched out to be flogged by some Roman soldiers and he mentioned to one of them, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?" Ahh. Shock? So they went and got the Roman commander and he hurried immediately to Paul and the commander went to Paul and says, "'Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?' 'Yes, I am,' he answered. Then the commander said, 'I had to pay a big price for my citizenship.' 'But I was born a citizen,' Paul replied," a Roman citizen.

But yet Paul says to the residents of Philippi who are Christians, who just by the fact that they were members of the city of Philippi, were also themselves Roman citizens. He said our citizenship, Philippians 3:20, is in heaven. "Our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." We are citizens of whatever Rome we're under and we're also citizens of God. Citizens of the city of God.

Now, that dual citizenship is going to bring us into some problems. And those issues, those ethical questions have plagued and troubled brothers and sisters in Christ for 20 centuries. Now you have in your outline there six ethical questions. As I kept writing and writing and writing on this sermon and we passed the 20-page mark, I said, now, that's too much alright?

Because each one of those six ethical questions is the source of book after book, after book. And so therefore, we're going to have to do it in two weeks, not just this one week, but next week, and even then it will not be enough. We're going to talk about how we can be good citizens of the city of God and at the same time, good citizens of the city of man. We're going to ask some questions right in our text, we're going to ask questions. Is it lawful or right for Christians to pay taxes to a pagan government? Especially if we have a sense that that government is going to use our tax money for immoral things, what should we do about that? Right in our text, we'll look at that today. We're also going to start the first of those six ethical questions today, the others will remain till next week.

1. Are there limits to the obedience that Paul commands to secular government? Is submission to government absolute or are there limits to it? Next week, we're going to look at these.

2. Are there limits to opposition to secular government, for example, is armed revolt against a lawfully ordained government ever permissible?

3. We're going to talk about capital punishment, is it right for a human government to take human life?

4. We're going to talk about Christians participating in government, how much and in what manner, may Christians or ought Christian to participate in government?

5. And what about persecuted Christians, what should Christians do concerning the persecution of Christians by government either in our country or in other countries, what's our responsibility there?

6. And then this one question that has plagued so many, the issue of Christians in war, is it right for Christians to be involved in war? Should we follow the dictates of our government, if we're drafted or called to go fight for our country, etcetera, as citizens of a higher country are we to obey that call? We'll talk about that next week now.

We're not going to answer every single question. We're not going to solve every riddle that will rise in your mind. What then is our purpose? Well, to bring some clarity to these issues and specifically more than anything to make you yearn and long for the day when Jesus Christ himself will set up his throne and God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Amen. And I'm yearning for that and yes, to try to bring some insight and some truth to each of these ethical questions.

My desire is that you would gladly happily submit to whatever authority God has established, to do it with delight and joy as far as you are able, but to have the wisdom to know when you are no longer able, when government for example, has crossed the line and is now compelling you to do something that will violate scripture or forbidding you to do something that God has commanded you to do, to know how to say no.

Now, last time that we looked at this, we looked at some basic principles of human government in the Bible. First we established as I already did at the beginning of my sermon that God is Lord of Heaven and Earth. He rules over all things. Secondly, we talked about how God has delegated some of his authority to created beings. A third, we said that God will judge both the rulers and the subjects by how they handle the relationship. The rulers will be judged and the subjects, the citizens will be judged by what they do with it. Fourth, we said that God, actively, sovereignly rules over the ebbs and flows of history. He hasn't just let it go, he hasn't just delegated authority and then said, "Don't bother me with the details." God is intensely involved in the details and rules over all things.

And we talked about how good government is a blessing from God for which we should be grateful. That it restrains chaos and evil. That it promotes and demonstrates God's passion for justice. It promotes order and peace and this order and peace is essential to the spread of the Gospel and to the ability we have to lead productive and godly lives in quietness as it says in one passage. And that good government encourages love and good deeds. And the key passage for a government as a good thing is Romans 13, as we've seen.

We also said there's another theme and that is that bad government is a work of the devil, that bad government is a curse from the devil and the key passage on that is Revelation 13. It's easy to remember. There's a certain parallelism. Romans 13, government a good gift from God. Revelation 13, bad government a beast from the sea under the influence of the dragon, and that's what you have and therein lies the problem.

Now, the key passage for what we should do, Romans 13:1-7, Paul gives essentially, two basic commands. Command number one is submit for the Lord's sake, to every authority instituted among men. Submit to human government. And secondly, what we're going to look at this morning, give to the human government whatever it deserves, whatever you owe it, whether taxes or revenue, respect, honor whatever. And we'll talk about that today.

Now, the command to submit, verse one, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities." We talked about that. It means a glad submission, gladly accepting a subordinate position, because it is glorifying to God. Submission we saw it was not demeaning or insulting in any way, and this command was given to everybody. Every soul literally must submit himself to the governing authorities, but especially to Christians. We listed... Paul listed seven reasons in verse one through five, I'm not going to go through them again.

You can get the message and listen to it again. But, basically, Paul is saying Christians are not in the business of overthrowing Nero. We're not gonna be organizing to throw off the Roman government, that's not what we're about. We have another calling. And so, submit. That's what he says.

But he says here in the second command, they're to go beyond merely submitting, they're to actively support human government by paying taxes and revenue and respect and honor, look at verse six and seven. "This is also why you pay taxes for the authorities are God's servants who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, pay taxes, if revenue then revenue, if respect then respect, if honor then honor."

Was it shocking to you to see the cover photo there on the bulletin, that nasty 1040? You thought you were done with that a few weeks ago and here it is right on the cover of your worship bulletin of all things. What were they thinking? But that's how we pay taxes to the federal government. So it seemed appropriate to put the 1040 on there. This is what Paul is commanding. He's commanding that we should pay taxes. Now, resentment over the payment of taxes is not a new thing. Don't think it began with you when you finally started making enough money to have to pay a federal tax and file a 1040, it didn't start with You. Benjamin Franklin said "Nothing is certain but death and taxes." Do you think he spoke it gladly?

Was he speaking as an act of gladness and worship? I am so glad about those taxes we get to pay. It's an old thing. I think about the revolution itself, "taxation without representation." That was the issue. They did not think it was right for them to be taxed without having representation at parliament. Recently I was driving to the District of Columbia and I noticed that all of the license plates say the same thing, "Taxation Without Representation" at the bottom, why? Because DC's not the member of any state and so there's no senators from that city and so they're arguing for DC statehood as a result, taxation without representation. Got me to thinking I thought it was interesting.

Resentment over Taxes is an Ancient Issue

But it's an issue. And many people have expressed to me how much they hate filing their 1040. It's not a happy time, it's not something they look on as an act of worship but you know, resentment over taxes goes further back than that. Even to Bible times, taxes were a big issue of Jesus' life. If you think about where he was born in fulfillment of prophecy Bethlehem.

We know that it was because of the census that Caesar Augustus took of the entire Roman world, and behind that census (scholars are right in telling us) were taxes, so that the people would pay the tax and also so that they would have a sense of the population mass in each area, so they'd know how many troops to put, the legions... Where... How to distribute the legions. But it was about taxes. And so, because of taxes, Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea.

But then in Jesus' ministry was a major feature. Tax collectors were among the most hated people that Jesus ever ministered to. Everybody hated the tax collectors. Tax collectors were Jews who had gone over to the Roman side and were benefiting from the Roman occupation by collecting taxes and with the might of the Roman authority and military strength behind them, sometimes, read every day, collecting more taxes than they really needed to collect. And so they were filthy rich and very hated by the people. Moreover, they were in constant conversation with Gentiles, eating and drinking with them and going in their houses and breaking all the kosher rules and all this kind of thing. They were just ritually unclean all the time, and so tax collectors were the epitome of evil people to most Jews.

Zealots hated the Romans, hated the tax collectors, hated the payment of tax and would have at any moment organized themselves and actually frequently did around that time, organize themselves to fight the Romans. Isn't it amazing how one of Jesus' disciples was Matthew the tax collector and another was Simon the zealot? And how both of them came to realize that allegiance to the city of God, the kingdom of Christ was higher than any of their earthly political callings and they became brothers and friends and loved each other deeply from the heart. Isn't it magnificent how God did that, how Christ brought them together. Now, Christ taught twice directly about taxes.

Taxes and Christ

Once was about the temple tax, the money that you would have to pay to go worship. And Jesus asked Peter, a principle, said, "'From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes, from their own sons or from others?' 'From others,' Peter said. 'Then the sons are exempt.'" Jesus said. What an interesting statement. In other words, should a son have to pay money to get in his own home? Now, before you parents get any ideas as a fundraising measure and all that, it will not work because the money they're giving you, for the most part, it'll be your own money anyway, and you'd just be building up resentment, charging your kids to get in the door, alright don't do it.

Jesus said, No, They're free to come and go. Why should we have to pay money to be in my Father's house? "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line fishermen and take the first fish you catch, and open its mouth, and there inside the mouth, you'll find what you need to pay the tax four drachma coin. Take it and use it for my tax and yours."

You're thinking. "Oh, Lord, do it for me, do it for me." I'm wondering what would be in a fish's mouth that would be enough to pay the federal government at this point. Any check in there is long since disgusting, and you can't cash it. So I'm not sure what it would be. Federal government took in $2.1 trillion in tax money last year, spent 2.4 trillion. We'll get to that next time. But $2.1 trillion, that's a lot of money. But the more direct teaching on taxes came in Matthew 22 when some of Jesus' enemies came to try to get him in trouble concerning the tax money paid to the Romans. And they came to trap Him and said, "Is it right?" They come to Him, the Pharisees come with Herodians and they say, "Teacher, we know that you're a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, since you pay no attention to who they are," that is all fluff.

You can just cut that and throw it in the garbage that is flattery, and Jesus knew it. "Tell us… is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Now we get to it, let's not waste time on the flatter. Let's get to the point, Jesus said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?" Now, what is the trap? If Jesus says it is unlawful for us to have to pay money to stay in our own Promised Land, God promises to Abraham and we should not be paying taxes to the Romans as a result, what do you think is going to happen to Jesus. Next day, Romans come and they get him, and they kill him. But suppose he says "Or yes, we do need to pay taxes to the Romans. Romans are our rightful overlords," then the zealots are going to get him. Either way, they get rid of Jesus. And that was their goal.

So he said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." Oh, the brilliance of Jesus. We're playing Tiddlywinks, he's playing 80 million level chess, at the higher level. You think you can trap Jesus, the mind that created the universe? You think you can put him where he doesn't want to be and he can't get out? "'Show me the coin used for paying the tax.' They brought Him a Denarius. 'Whose portrait is this, and whose inscription?' 'Caesars,' they replied. Then he said to them, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God's."

They were amazed. What are we going to do with that? We can't do anything with that. He openly said we should pay taxes to Caesar, we can't get him but then he says we should give to God what is God's. And what are the zealots going to say about that, other than hopefully to be humbled to know they're not giving to God everything he deserves. Oh, what an answer. That is the backdrop of Paul's command here in Romans 13:6-7. Yes, you should pay taxes. And Paul's reasoning, here in verse six, he said, this is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants. Do you see that word servants in verse six? The authorities are God's servants who give their full time to governing.

Literally, God's ministers, like a minister of the gospel, Paul uses the exact same word in Romans 15:16, Paul there calls himself a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the Gospel of God. He uses the exact same word for the Governor Official. He's a minister of God with the priestly duty of keeping society together. It's just a different calling, he says. Very high view here. And therefore, the taxes you pay as you render to Caesar what's Caesar's enables that servant of God to do His work. They must be supported financially, because they give their full time to governing and so they have to be supported, so pay them the taxes.

Taxes to a Pagan Empire?

Now, some Christians might have objected to paying taxes to a pagan empire and a wicked ruler like Nero. They might say, "Why should we take God's money and give it in support to a wicked empire like that to help advance a wicked anti-Christian Empire?" they might have struggled with that. Does God really expect us to contribute financially to that? His answer is, Yes, that's your responsibility, it's his responsibility what he does with it and he'll stand accountable for what he does. But you must pay that tax. Christians struggle with that, I might say is it right for me to pay taxes to a federal government whose goal is to keep abortion safe, legal, and funded?

Do you want your money going for that? I don't. I was thinking of another idea. You know how in some churches, you can designate giving? Why don't we do that with the federal government, we designate our taxes. I'd like it going to bridges and roads. Well, I favor educational programs. I'm into famine relief, relief for the poor, whatever. Well, can you imagine what society would look like, the things that would be super over-funded, and the other things that would not even be touched? It would be kind of interesting. I don't think that my plan is going to be adopted designated giving to the federal government, I don't think so.

They will decide what they do with the taxes, and they're responsible for their decisions, aren't they? But you must pay taxes.

Paul Goes Beyond Taxes

But Paul goes beyond the basic level of paying taxes. He says in verse seven, "Give everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, pay taxes. Yes. But if revenue then revenue, if respect then respect, if honor then honor." There's a sense of obligation and debt here. We owe these people more than just the taxes. Yes, the taxes, the tribute, the word taxes, this is usually collected from all individual citizens as a tribute to the Roman overlord just to keep the government going. But then there's this other word revenues. These are fees and taxes more like a sales tax or a poll tax for using... Bringing a ship into a port of entry or using a bridge or some of these other things like a toll road.

When I was in Japan, my wife and I, we crossed over one of the longest bridges in the world, the Seto Ohashi bridge, and it's actually a series of long bridges that connects the Island of Shikoku to the main land... Main island of Honshu, and it was an incredible bridge but it cost as almost actually over $100, the equivalent of $100 to drive it. I thought what a tax! I'd rather swim, of course, I wouldn't have made it. $100 to cross a bridge? Wow!

Yeah. Pay taxes, whatever it is. But go beyond just the payment. There's the issue of fear and honor, a sense of respect. Every society has its way of showing respect to leaders. If you were going to meet the Queen of England, you might first have an interview with the protocol officer who'd tell you what you as a commoner would be required to do and you better do it if you ever hope to have another audience which you probably won't get anyway. But the point is that you are going to show respect to the Queen of England in a certain way. And what Paul's saying here is, that's appropriate. Do it. Do it. Whatever it takes.

When I was in Kenya, on another mission trip, I saw the President of the country, Daniel Arap Moi. He was driving through a little town named after him called Moi's Bridge, and I was standing there surrounded my Kenyan friends, and for some reason I stood out. I don't know why, but I just did, and he saw me and pointed and waved. So I was wondering why but at any rate, maybe he just knew I was a guest in his home town. But he carried a Maasai stick, an older man's or an elder of the tribe stick as a symbol of his authority in the government.

I asked one of my friends, I said, "If somebody came and kinda grabbed that stick, what would happen to him?" He said, "He wouldn't get two steps. He'd be cut down. It's a symbol of his presidential authority." And so it is also these protocols. In our country, we say to the President, Mr. President. Yes sir and no sir, that's what you do, and what Paul's saying is it's appropriate.

When you're in a court of law, you say Yes, your honor, no your Honor. You just do, and that's appropriate. It's right. And these things are taught in families to begin with, aren't they? Children should address their parents reverentially. There should be titles of respect. Some families say yes or no sir, others. Yes mom, no mom, something like that but not just, Yeah, or whatever, as though the person you're talking to is a Yeah or whatever kind of person.

Those people that we're referring to are referred to in the 10 Commandments. Written with the finger of God, Honor your father and mother, there it says, and so therefore you honor them by a show of honor, by speaking title of respect, and from then the parents should be saying any other governmental authority, whatever show respect, speak with respect to them from the very beginning. So therefore, how should Christians live with government?

Well, we should understand that in so doing all of this submission, paying taxes, titles of honor, we are really worshiping God, aren't we? It's all flowing down from God's throne. It is a gift of the wise and loving God. And so therefore, every way that we show honor and that we submit, we're really worshiping God, aren't we? We're doing it because He established. And we're doing it in hope looking forward to the day when it will be Christ and Christ alone, directly and we will worship Him. It's an act of worship.

Now, six key ethical questions in the two hours we have left. Why are you laughing? No, we'll just do one of them.

Limits to Obedience: Is submission to government absolute or are there limitations?

And the first is, okay, you've given the command, we should submit. The question is, is that absolute? Is it absolute? Does Government have the right to command any and everything it will to us and we must obey? That is an important question.

Some Christians have taken Romans 13 as a requirement for unquestioning submission to human government. Others have taken the submission quite far. For example, Martin Luther did, German reformer. During the peasant Revolt of 1525, when the peasants who had legitimate grievances against their medieval overlords and who were legitimately right in bringing these grievances to the attention of their lords were not receiving any proper response and decided to revolt, the peasant Revolt of 1525, they thought that they would get support from Luther. Oh, how bitterly disappointed they were when Luther wrote one of his most vicious tracks ever, 1525 against the murderous and thieving hoards of peasants. That's not looking good, if you're a peasant reading that saying I don't think it's looking good. You open it up and you read. And he says to the princes and Nobles that they should crush kill and destroy these rebellious peasants. And his basic argumentation was they were rebelling against what God had ordained, God-ordained authority.

The German sense of duty and submission to authority is a very strong national trait. They have a very strong sense of a chain of command. And we saw in the time of Hitler and the Nazis, the extreme form of this. As the Nazis took over the Protestant church in Germany, and made it its whipped pup with the exception of some courageous pastors who formed the Confessing Church and Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of those and were willing to pay the price for rebellion against Nazi domination over the church. But they argued Romans 13, Romans 13, Romans 13.

This question of the limits of Christian submission to government is really an old one and the Bible has much to say about it. Peter and John were commanded by the Sanhedrin. They were given a very clear command by the Sanhedrin to stop preaching Christ and His resurrection. And their answer, Peter and John's answer in my opinion, stands for all time as a limit to Christian submission to government, a limit to it. In Acts 4:18-19, they called them in again, and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus, but Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God for we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

Alright, now what's the key though? Judge for yourselves whether it's right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. Now that "rather than" is huge, isn't it? You have to discern, are you forced to disobey God by this government injunction? Are you being forced to do something that violates your conscience? Are you being forbidden to do something that God's commanded you to do? Now, that's the issue.

Later on in Acts the same issue comes up again. They call them back in. Say we noticed you're not obeying the command we gave you earlier. Well, they could say we already told you, and they did tell them again in Acts Chapter five, having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. "'We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, he said, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood.' Peter and the other apostles, replied, 'We must obey God rather than men.'" Again, "rather than". When the government forces you to violate your conscience, compelling you to do something that you know will break one of God's commandments or when the government forbids you to do something God has commanded you to do, you must say no. There's a limit to obedience, a limit to what the government can do with us.

And it goes even into the Old Testament. The Hebrew midwives were blessed by God by disobeying, after disobeying Pharaoh's command to kill all the boy babies, they were blessed by God for that. And the Book of Daniel gives us actually repeated examples of godly people who refuse to obey an ungodly command and yet maintained a stance of submission to the government. Daniel and his friends would not eat the defiled food in chapter one, but they asked permission not to eat the defiled food. In Daniel Chapter three, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue. They're thrown in a fiery furnace but God rescues them. And then Nebuchadnezzar comes and gives them a lawful command. "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out, come here."

Now, I've thought before they should said, "Come in and get us. Deal with that right now." Of course that's me speaking because I'm kind of rebellious at heart and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not. They said, "Yes, King." And they came out. They did what they were told, it was a lawful command. Come out. Alright, that doesn't violate my conscience, bowing down does. You see the distinction? There's a difference.

And then later, Daniel refused to obey the unjust command of prohibition against prayer. He was prohibited from praying to God. He could pray to king Darius but he was not allowed to pray to the true God. He went ahead and bowed down and was thrown in the lion's den. And he says, when he's brought out, he says, "I was found innocent in his [God's] sight nor have I done anything against you, O King." He was submissive to the king's authority but not on that point. And so he refused to obey.

Christians suffering persecution under the Romans were forced to burn a pinch of incense to the deity of the Roman Emperor. They refused to do it, that would violate their conscience and many of them suffered as martyrs, as a result. Now, I tell you and be ready for it, be ready for it. So I don't know what the future holds. But in the future when human government gets as evil as it can be under the reign of the anti-Christ, the government at that time will try to compel you to receive the mark of the beast without which you will not be able to buy or sell. And you will need to discern and have the wisdom, it says, to know what the mark of the beast is and not receive it. You will need to stand firm. And apparently, anyone who does not receive the mark of the beast is going to be beheaded. You will need to resist the government at this point, because the command is evil, and wicked.

And so it says in Revelation 13:16-17, "He [the anti-Christ] also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark which is the name of the beast or the number of his name." What's so bad about that? Well, Revelation 14, "A third angel followed them, said in a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he too will drink the cup of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. There is no rest, day or night for those who worship the beast and his image."

In other words, in that era, if you don't defy human government, you will lose your soul. And this is the horns of the dilemma of living in two kingdoms. Do you see it? God has said No, the government will say yes, and you'll be forced. Be ready, be ready for that time. God will give you courage what to say. Why would you want to keep living under anti-Christ reign, anyway, when you could live under the reign of Christ, when you can be freed from this world by martyrdom, and go into the very presence of Christ. Why would you refuse to do that? And you won't if you're the elect of God, not one of you will. Just be ready, be aware it could happen in your lifetime or mine. Romans 13 says we must gladly as an act of worship submit to lawfully ordained authority. We must do that but there are limits to it.

Now, what application can we take from this? Well, I would urge you to find the points inside you in which you are chafing under human authority and government and work on them. Humble yourself. I had an experience this past week, I went to Louisville to a great conference, had a great time, until I got to the Louisville Airport. And here I am. You preach on something and within a week or two, you're facing it. And there I was at the checkpoint thing again, taking my shoes off, dumping out my bag, spilling stuff on the ground, getting out my laptop, taking my belt off, hoping that I didn't need it for the next minute or so. I didn't. Everything was fine but it's very disturbing fluttering time. And you've got 10 people behind you, and I'm kind of a people pleaser. I want to just get through it as quickly as possible.

And there on the other side is a guy who looked like he'd come straight from the Marines or something, 6'2", crew cut, looking kind of beyond me, over my shoulder. "Step forward, sir." It was kind of disturbing. Well, I had put my boarding pass and my driver's license in my breast pocket here for safekeeping. Have you ever put something for safe keeping and then you can't find it? Now, that document had already been checked four times. I do not exaggerate. But I stepped through the metal detector clean as a whistle, with pure intention in my heart. And he said, "Boarding pass." and so I went down here where I usually put it and it wasn't there. I thought I probably has dumped it on top. So I took a step forward toward the other side of the metal detector... Or the scanner thing. And he barked at me to freeze my blood, "Sir, not another step." "Ooooh boy, I am not a terrorist."

So what it says in 1 John 3, The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. I'm not a terrorist. I'm a nice guy, really I am. The way it burned inside of me. I didn't want to be under a barked command of judgment. I just stood there kind of seething, actually, a little bit until I remembered, "Thank you, Lord. Oh yes, here it is." Showed it to him, he didn't say a word, just handed it back. Imagine if I said, "I want another connection with him. I wanted to have coffee with him or something, sit down and talk to him." But instead I felt something boiling inside me. And I have been working on it now ever since. And some of it, I think, is righteous in that I don't think we want to be barked at as an act of condemnation and all that. And if he knew me, if I were his brother or friend, he wouldn't talk to me like that, etcetera, but there's a reason he talks like that. And that's because of the evil in the world and he doesn't know me.

And so for me, I have to pitch all those negative feelings and say, "Thank you, God, for people like that, who are standing at the post and doing their job. And if I'm so dunce headed as to not keep the thing in my hand, then that's my problem, next time I'll do better." As an act of worship, be glad of these people that are manning these posts while there's a need.

But let me tell you something, yearn for the day when they won't be needed anymore. Yearn for it. And if I can say to you, with all the love of my heart, if you're here today and you have never bowed the knee to Jesus as Savior and Lord, the barked command of that guard, that border guard, will be nothing compared to the statement that Jesus will make, "Depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Oh, dread and fear that day if you don't know Jesus.

Jesus came and shed his blood so that now while you have time, you can believe in Him, you can bow your knee to him as your King, as your savior and accept him and yearn for the day when he will openly reign. You won't need faith then but you need it now. And if you do, your sins will be forgiven you, all of them. And he will take you into his eternal kingdom and you will reign with Him forever and ever. Close with me in prayer.

I can't wait to preach this message. I am so excited. Psalm 16 is a gateway to eternal joy for us. It's been a gateway in my life, and I look forward to proclaiming that today. Amen? In C.S. Lewis' fantasy novel, the classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, set in World War II, during the time of the Blitz in London, four children are removed from that danger and they're out in a countryside manor where they are immediately bored because there's nothing to do. So they start to play hide and seek. And one of them, a little girl finds a great hiding place in a wardrobe, what that is is a stand-alone closet that has all kinds of old clothes in it, and so she hides in there and decides to improve the hiding place by moving further and further back in the wardrobe until strangely, she feels some branches brushing across her face and she feels the chill of winter air and the smell of a forest in winter. She doesn't know this, but she has passed through a gateway into a world called Narnia, and that's the foundation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

This theme is a major one in literature, the idea of passing through a gateway, a portal into a whole different world. In Lewis Carroll's classic, Alice in Wonderland, in the first version, she follows a rabbit down into a rabbit hole and tumbles a long, long time into another world, and in the sequel, she goes through a looking glass into a looking glass world, Alice in Wonderland. Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote a book, The Secret Garden, in which a young girl named Mary Lennox discovers a key and then finds the door that it unlocks and it's a vine-covered door, it doesn't look like it's been opened in decades, and she goes through into a secret garden, and the whole story is based on her passageway into that secret garden.

You've heard perhaps of the Arabian Nights, 1,001 nights, one story after another, and one of the stories was entitled “The Man Who Never Laughed Again.” I remember hearing this story when I was a child, and it made such an impression on me, and it wasn't until about two weeks ago that I rediscovered where it was. And in this story, there's a young man who takes care of 11 other men who spend their whole day weeping all day long, but he's not allowed to ask why. Finally, one by one all of them die off, and as the last one lays on his deathbed, this man wants to know “Why are you weeping all the time?” And he's told that in the courtyard where they sat all the time, there was a hidden doorway in the corner behind some vines, and if you would just move the vines and go through that doorway, he would find out, but the man who was dying begged him not to do it because he loved him as a father loved his son. Well, he goes through, of course, he's gonna go through the door. There wouldn't be a story otherwise. He goes through the door, a three-day journey leads him to a mysterious beach, an eagle plucks him off the beach, carries him between heaven and earth to a distant island where he's dropped there. He ends up meeting a beautiful woman who is a princess, she wants him to be her husband. They marry. He's the king of a whole fantastic realm, and he lives in bliss there, but he's told there's a door in a certain place he should never go through. And it just weighs in his mind all the time. He's tempted and finally, he says, “You know, last time I went through a door, look what happened. The next door, it might get even better.” So he goes through the door, next thing he knows, he's back on a beach, the eagle takes him back where he started, he sits there waiting for three months, and the eagle doesn't come back and he crawls back up the tunnel and he's back at the original garden where he started. He spends the rest of his life weeping like the other 11 men did. And I'm thinking, “Oh my goodness, what a dreary story.”

But the common theme of all of these is the portal or a gateway into another world. A world where things are different. Let me tell you something, none of these mysterious gateways is as spectacular and exciting as the gateway that is Jesus's empty tomb. Amen? It is a gateway into a real world of eternal joy and bliss in the presence of God. You see, Christ died on a cross, his body was wrapped up in linens, he was laid in a new tomb in which no one had ever laid. And a stone was rolled in front of that tomb, but on the third day, Jesus arose, came out of those grave clothes, passed in some mysterious way through the wall of the tomb, and began a journey that changed the history of the world. A journey of convincing people, skeptics, unbelievers, that he was God in the flesh, and that he holds in his hand the keys of life and death, and that through faith in his name, eternal life is yours. That journey has been going on now for 2,000 years. And I'm convinced that Jesus has physically been raised from the dead, and that empty tomb has become for me a gateway into eternal joy.

Today, Christ is beckoning all of us to follow him. To begin the journey there at the empty tomb and to follow him through the door into a life that will never be the same again, and unlike Lucy in the wardrobe, it's not an invisible fantasy world called Narnia. Unlike Alice, we're not heading to Wonderland. Unlike Mary Lennox, it's not some earthly garden, which she fixes up through her knowledge of gardening. And unlike the man who never laughed again, we're going to a place where joy will never end, and while we cannot lose the paradise we gain, it's not a paradise of earthly sensual delights as in the 1,001 Nights, no, it's a place of eternal joy at the right hand of a holy God, that's where we're traveling.

Now, this gateway that I'm referring to - although the word gateway isn't found in Psalm 16, but that's what it is - it's a doorway really into the presence of God. It is a doorway or a gateway that was predicted a thousand years before Christ was born. Look at verse 11 in Psalm 16. The prophet who wrote Psalm 16 is King David, one of the greatest prophets, the greatest kings of Israel. He was the greatest king of Israel, and he was also a prophet, and he wrote Psalm 16 a thousand years before Christ. And in verse 11, it says there, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Now, predictive prophecy is supernatural evidence to the truth of the gospel, is supernatural evidence to the truth of Jesus' claim that He is God in the flesh. What do I mean by that? Well, none of us knows the future, we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, we sure don't know what's gonna happen in a thousand years, but God has all of history in his mind and he enabled prophets to write about things long before they took place. And so this ancient Hebrew writing carries within it a prediction of the resurrection of the Christ.

Look at the beginning of verse 7 and following, it says there, “I praise the Lord who counsels me. Even at night, my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices, my body also rests secure because you will not abandon me to the grave,” listen, “Nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Now, the key concept of this predictive prophecy in Psalm 16 is that this statement in verse 10 could not have been David. Even though David wrote it, it could not have been referring to him. Now, much of Psalm 16, perhaps, could refer to David's life and his struggles, and God's faithfulness to him, but there is this one statement in verse 10, where he says, “You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” A very interesting statement, very specific.

Now, on the day of Pentecost, 40 days after Christ had been risen, the Apostle Peter stood up and preached to a huge crowd in Jerusalem that was gathered for that Jewish feast. And after quoting this Psalm, Psalm 16, he said this. He said, “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day, but he was a prophet, and he knew that God had promised on oath that He would place one of his descendants on the throne. Seeing what was ahead” - that's predictive prophecy - “seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are witnesses of the fact.” Let me tell you, his sermon is one of the greatest sermons in history, because 3,000 people were converted that day and added to the church.

Several years later, the Apostle Paul preached a similar sermon in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, would be in modern day Turkey, and he made the exact same point based on Psalm 16. He said there, “The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.” That's in Acts 13. So both the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul make the same point right from the Psalm we're looking at this morning. That it is predictive prophecy that could not have referred to David. It referred to Christ.

Now, God specially protected the body of Christ from corruption, He protected it from decay. Now, we live in a world filled with corruption. I don't just mean the corruption you see in politics with graft and all that, I mean literal biological corruption and decay. It's built into the food cycles that we just are aware of and surround us all the time.

The leaves that I blew off my yard or raked off my yard last fall, I wish I could sell them and get some money for them. Every year I raise a harvest of leaves. I don't get much for them, and so we just move them off to the woods that surround my yard, and we just let them sit there. And the rain and the weather and all that, they just decay. They just break down and they return to the soil where they came from. Paul said that the whole physical world around us is in bondage to decay. In Romans 8:21, it says, “Yearning to be liberated from its bondage to decay,” the whole world surrounding us.

Now, this is especially poignant and powerful when it comes to the issue of the human body after death. It says in Psalm 49:14, it says, “Like sheep, they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.” Well, that is our physical future. I know it's not pleasant to think about, but that is the truth. The body is reduced to corruption and it begins to stink with a bad odor.

With forensic science, the medical examiners are able to set the time of death based at least in part on the process of decay, because we have microorganisms within us, and as soon as we stop living, they begin to feed on our internal organs, not long before corruption comes. Now, this has happened to every dead person in history, except one, and that is Jesus Christ. And the fact that God would not permit it to happen to Jesus' body was predicted a thousand years beforehand, so this is a gateway that has been predicted.

Secondly, it's a gateway that is purchased. A gateway that's been purchased. And I tell you it is the most expensive gateway that has ever been purchased in history. Now, I like to go to St. Louis, we've had some relatives that live there, and they have there the great arch. It's the symbol of St. Louis, and it was built in 1965 at the cost of $23 million. And at the base of the gateway, or at the base of the arch, is a plaque that says “St. Louis, Gateway to the West.” That's where Lewis and Clark's expedition went out. A lot of travelers went to St. Louis and got equipped for their journey west, and so it became, that city became the Gateway to the West. The arch, 630 feet high, 630 feet wide is called the Gateway Arch, and it cost $23 million.

Perhaps the most famous monumental arch is the “Arc de Triomphe” in Paris. Napoleon built it or started to build it in 1806, after his triumph at Austerlitz. No one knows how much money they spent to build that. Especially when you think about the cost of the arch, you factor in all the lives that were squandered as Napoleon pursued his desire for a French empire in Europe, that was a very costly arch. And then in ancient Babylon, there was something called the Ishtar Gateway. It was the most spectacular of all of the gateways into the ancient fortress city of Babylon. It was covered with rubies and diamonds and all kinds of things, which are no longer there, but they have the actual arch and it's really spectacular.

Let me tell you something. There is no gateway in world history, there's no gateway in the world today that's as expensive as the gateway that Jesus opened up for us into the presence of God. Well, what do I mean by that? Well, what we're talking about here is a gateway into eternal pleasure at God's right hand, a gateway into eternal life. Well, the cost of our eternal life is his infinite death, and I say infinite in that he was and is the Son of God, and when he shed his blood on the cross, that's an infinite payment, and he paid it for us.

In Ephesians 1:7, it says, “In Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” The word redemption involves the recovery of slaves by the payment of a price, and Jesus paid the price to redeem us from our sins. Also says in 1 Peter 3:18, “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit.” And so again, this gateway has been purchased. This is the costliest gateway ever built.

Now, when we talk about an approach to God, coming into the presence of God, we have to think, what is the barrier that separates us from God? And the barrier is the combination of our sinfulness and God's holiness. It creates an impenetrable barrier that we could never find a way to open. We could never come into the presence of God as a result. God says in Isaiah 57:15, it says there, “This is what the high and lofty one says, he who lives forever, and whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place.’” How can we sinners live with him? God says in Habakkuk 1:13 that his eyes are too pure to look on evil. He cannot tolerate wrong. He can't even look at evil, how could he dwell with it forever? This is a barrier between us and a holy God.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they were cast out of that perfect place because they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and they were put under the death penalty. And it says that the way back into paradise, back into the garden, back into the place where the tree of life was, was guarded by an angel who had a flaming sword flashing back and forth, basically saying, You can never get in here, the penalty for getting in here is death. And so the only way an opening could be made into paradise, into the presence of God is by the payment of a death penalty.

God established this barrier idea in the Old Covenant again and again. There are these barriers that separate the people of God from the presence of God. Walls and curtains and different things that basically are saying this message: “You are not welcome in the presence of a holy God.” A good example of this is right in the temple in Jerusalem right there. There was a central place where the ark of the covenant was, and that was the place where God met with the people symbolically, that's where he met. And there was a cubicle room called the Holy of Holies, and another room was there called the Holy Place, but this was the Most Holy Place, and the Holy Place was separated from the most holy place by a curtain in the temple.

The courtyard was a place any Jew could go. We Gentiles, we wouldn't be permitted in there, on penalty of death. But any Jew could go in the courtyard, any priest could go in the Holy Place, but only the high priest could go in the Holy of Holies, the Most Holy Place, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in their ignorance. And God was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not been disclosed as long as that tabernacle was still standing, the book of Hebrews tells us. 

Now, the moment that Jesus died on the cross, a miracle happened. That curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. It was a miracle of God. From top to bottom it ripped showing that the book of Hebrews says, “A new and living way had been opened up for us into the very presence of God.” That's what it says in Hebrews 10:19-20, it says, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by a new and living way opened for us by the body of Christ, let us draw near to God.” That is the gateway I'm talking about today. It is a gateway that was purchased at the cost of the blood of the Son of God.

Now, the moment that Jesus purchased that gateway, when he said, “It is finished,” and he died, the gateway had been purchased, the way was open, but it had to be proven to the onlooking human race, it had to be proven to us, so that we could know that it was open. And so the third step is that the gateway had to be proven, and God did this in space and time, he did it in history by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Now, Christ's resurrection is a matter of history first and theology second. I say to you, if it didn't really happen, then there's no point in talking about it. I say to you, if there was no historical resurrection, then any theology about the resurrection is a waste of time. And so this is a matter of history first and theology second.

Without the resurrection of Christ, friends, we have no Christianity. I'm up here for nothing. You're here celebrating nothing. And we are still in our sins, and we have no hope on Judgment Day if Christ has not been raised. H.P. Liddon put it this way, he said, “Faith in the resurrection is the very keystone of the arch of Christian faith, and when it is removed, all must inevitably crumble to ruin.” Philip Schaff, the great church historian, said this, “The resurrection of Christ is therefore emphatically a test question upon which depends the truth or falsehood of the Christian religion. It is either the greatest miracle or the greatest delusion which history records.” Those are the choices we have. It's either a great miracle or it's a great delusion, but history records it. It's a historical matter.

And so therefore we have to ask the question, “What evidence is there that this gateway has been opened?” And I think God has given us at least three great evidences of the resurrection of Christ. The first is the empty tomb. The empty tomb is proof that the gateway has been opened. Now, on that first Easter morning, a series of eyewitnesses came to the place where Jesus's body had been laid. One after the other came and they looked at the evidence of the resurrection. John 20 records one of these accounts, these eyewitness accounts.

They went to the tomb, the stone had been removed from the entrance, and Mary Magdalene, and then Peter and John went in and they looked, and you know what they saw inside? They saw the grave clothes of Jesus, I believe in the shape of his body, somewhat like a cocoon, and the body of Jesus had somehow come through those grave clothes. They also saw the head covering folded separately laying by itself. And the physical evidence just screamed, “Resurrection.” Now, Luke tells us, Peter saw and wondered. But John, John's gospel says that John saw and believed. And I think if you had the privilege this morning of standing on that first Easter morning and looked at that evidence, I don't think you'd have any trouble believing. There's no other explanation. The physical evidence of the empty tomb, it's there.

Now, I say to you that an empty tomb alone doesn't prove a resurrection, does it? Mary Magdalene looked in and saw the empty tomb, and she wasn't convinced yet of a resurrection. We'll talk more about that in a minute. Peter wasn't sure yet. They just knew the body wasn't there, that's all. They weren't sure why. Lee Strobel in his book, A Case for Easter, which we've given out to our guests, if you're a guest, please grab hold of that book, that is a wonderful, short description of some of the evidence of the resurrection for Christ. But he tells an interesting story about a young girl who died tragically in 1963.

He talks about an empty tomb in Birmingham, Alabama. This is what he wrote. “In 1963, the body of 14-year-old Addie Mae Collins, one of four African-American girls tragically murdered in an infamous church bombing by white racists was buried in Birmingham, Alabama. For years, family members kept returning to the grave to pray and leave flowers. In 1998, they made the decision to disinter the deceased for reburial at another cemetery. When the workers were sent to dig up the body, however, they made a shocking discovery. The grave was empty. Understandably, the family members were terribly distraught. Hampered by poorly kept records, cemetery officials scrambled to figure out what had happened. Several possibilities were raised, the primary one being that her tombstone had been erected in the wrong place. Yet in the midst of determining what had happened, one explanation was never proposed, and that is that young Addie Mae had been resurrected to walk the earth again. Why? Because in itself, an empty tomb does not a resurrection prove.” Well, he's right. You look at Mary Magdalene, she's standing there and looking in and what has she concluded? “They have taken him away, and I don't know where they've put him,” that's what she was thinking until something happened.

And here's the second great evidence. She turns around and she has an encounter with the resurrected Christ personally. The account is in John 20, “She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. ‘Woman,’ he said, ‘why are you crying? Who is it you're looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.’” To me, that's one of the funniest lines in the gospel of John, thinking he was the gardener. No, he's not the gardener. He's the resurrected Lord, the savior of your soul, but she didn't know it yet. Somehow he looked different. His appearance was somehow changed. But then Jesus spoke one word to her, he said, “Mary,"” he spoke her name in Aramaic, Miriam probably, and she turned and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” which means my teacher, my rabbi, and she grabs hold of him at that moment, and Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them I'm returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

And Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news, “I have seen the Lord!” and she told them that he had said these things to her. Mary Magdalene, however, was not the only eyewitness of the resurrected Christ. Jesus had a series of encounters with people one after the other. The New Testament records are full of these eye witness accounts. The Apostle Paul kind of organizes them all for us in 1 Corinthians 15. He said this, “For what I received, I passed on to you as a first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the 12, and after that he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time,” 500, “most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. And then he appeared to James and then to all the apostles, and last of all, he appeared to me also as to one abnormally born.”

Now, in a court trial, all you need, at least in Bible times, is two or three witnesses. On the testimony of two or three witnesses, every matter is established. Well, the Lord lavished on the human race well over 500 eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Christ. Josh McDowell points out that if all 500 eyewitnesses strained in the witness stand, each one gave six minutes of testimony, including cross-examination, you would have 50 hours of testimony. Do you think that would settle the matter in the court of law? I would think so.

And so we have secondly, the eyewitness encounters with the resurrected Lord. But then thirdly, you have the extraordinary explosion of Christianity through the first three centuries after Christ. You know what they're gonna tell us these days, you see it on the news, you see it on 2020 and all that, that these stories are myths that were written 200, 300 years later, it is impossible. It is a fact that in the year 312 AD, the Emperor Constantine, the Roman emperor, declared himself to be a Christian. That shows the progress that Christianity had made in three centuries. That's extraordinary.

Now, what was the basis of the explosion of Christianity? I tell you, it was the empty tomb of Jesus Christ and these eye witnesses who preach fearlessly and courageously that they had seen the risen Lord. You couldn't shut these people up. And how do we explain the transformation in these disciples? They were just like us. They were running and hiding. They were in a locked room for fear of the Jews. They wanted to go back to fishing. They were done with Jesus. Then all of a sudden, 40 days later, they're in downtown Jerusalem fearlessly preaching that they have seen the resurrected Christ? How do you explain that? Well, I know how I'd explain it. They saw the Lord, and they weren't afraid to die anymore.

J.P. Moreland put it this way, “When Jesus was crucified, his followers were discouraged and depressed, and so they dispersed. The Jesus movement was all but stopped in its tracks. Then after a short period of time, we see them abandoning their occupations, re-gathering and committing themselves to spreading a very specific message that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God, who died on the cross, returned to life and was seen alive by them, and they were willing to spend the rest of their lives proclaiming this without any payoff from any human point of view. They faced a life of hardship. They often went without food. They slept exposed to the elements. They were ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned, and finally, most of them were executed in torturous ways. And for what? Because they had good intentions? Hardly so. It's because they were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had seen Jesus Christ the Lord risen from the dead.” The empty tomb, eyewitness accounts of having seen the risen Lord, and the explosion of Christianity through the first three centuries after Christ, all speak to me of a gateway that is proven opened. Jesus is risen.

And fourthly, this is a gateway that is proclaimed. It's proclaimed. Well, by whom? Well, first by the Apostle Peter and the other apostles, secondly by the Apostle Paul at Pisidian Antioch, as we mentioned, and since that time, by pastors and missionaries and witnesses for 20 centuries in every nation on earth. This is a gateway that's been proclaimed and believed all over the world for 20 centuries.

Now, you may ask, a gateway into what? Look again at verse 11. It says there, “You have made known to me the path of life, you will fill me with joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” What are we stepping into when we believe in the resurrection of Christ? When we step through that gateway, into what are we stepping? Well, look what it says. First of all, it says, “Fullness of joy and eternal pleasure.”

No one can deny we live in a pleasure-soaked age. People desperately seeking pleasure from all sources, hobbies like golfing or gardening or four-wheeling or horseback riding. Gadgets like a new massage chair from Sharper Image, costs you $889, get all those tough spots that are hard to get, or entertainment like DVDs and spectator sports. We're looking for all kinds of things to fill an emptiness inside that only God can fill. And you know what he's saying when he looks down from heaven? He says, “You don't know joy, and you don't know pleasure until you come to be in my presence.” That's where it is.

So he's talking about the fullness of joy. The word “fullness” there literally means to be full to overflowing. Imagine a grain silo after a record harvest and they don't know where to put all the wheat. It's just pouring over. It's overflowing with wheat. That's what we're talking about here. It's the joy of full forgiveness of all of your sins, of knowing that we can stand before God on Judgment Day, blameless and unafraid because Jesus has paid the price, and his blood is enough for me and you. It's the joy of knowing that as we heard Melvin do earlier, if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It's the joy of being in the family of God, adopted as a son or daughter of God by simple faith in Christ, and he will never leave you, he will never forsake you.

It's the joy of living a new kind of lifestyle. Look at verse 11, “You have made known to me the path of life.” There is a path to be traveled. I don't know if you haven't noticed, but we're not in heaven yet. Have you noticed? I mean we tried to make it look pretty here. They worked hard, didn't they? I mean, it looks nice. But friends, this isn't heaven. Did you know that? It isn't. And that's okay, because we're not there yet. There's a journey to be traveled. There's a path of life. And Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And we're gonna be walking a new life. Romans 6:4 says, “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

And what awaits us at the end of this new life? It's a gateway through physical death, a gateway into the very presence of Almighty God, “eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Oh, isn't that sweet? Isn't that sweet? In a moment, Keith Pendergraft is gonna sing one of my favorite songs, “God and God Alone.” I love that song. And in the final verse, it says this, “God and God alone will be the joy of our eternal home. He will be our one desire. Our hearts will never tire of God and God alone.” The eternal pleasure of God.

And we will have an expanded capability to take it in. We won't be bored, we won't be disinterested, we won't be in physical pain, we won't be distracted, we'll have nowhere we need to go, we will just be there soaking in the most fascinating, the most creative, the most powerful being in the universe, God, and he will be an infinite source of pleasure and joy for us. That's the gateway Jesus has opened up for us. I'm not afraid of death anymore. Are you? I'm looking forward to it. As long as my work is done here and he decides when I'm ready to go through that gateway into the very presence of God.

And the pleasure of a new heaven and new earth, a new world, I can't even describe it to you, I don't know what it will look like. It'll be a world where the glory of God will shine all around us, where there'll be a perfect new creation, a regenerated world in which there'll be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain, no decay, no problems, a perfect world. And best of all, it will never end.

Every year, around the fall, when I was living up in New England, I'd go up and look at the foliage in the middle of October, and just the colors are so spectacular that time of year. It was a long weekend, and we would go to the Kancamagus Highway up there in New Hampshire, and we'd sit up on a rocky hill and we would just look at the valleys all around and the beautiful foliage colors, and we'd sit there until the sun would go down, and it'll be Monday evening as the sun was going down. And once the sun dipped down below the horizon, we would just sigh. And it was not a sigh of contentment. It was a sigh of depression, because in a minute we were gonna get in our cars and we're gonna drive back home to school or work, or burdens that we had hoped to escape. We're hoping some little elves would take care of all of that while we were gone, but they didn't, and we know it. And so we're going back to struggle and to work. Friends, we're gonna go to a place where we won't ever have to leave, eternal pleasures at his right hand. Oh I'm looking forward to that.

I wanna close now by just appealing to your faith. Faith is like the eyesight of the soul. I want to ask you to come with me into the empty tomb. I want you to see by eyes of faith, the grave clothes lying there, wholly undisturbed in the shape of Jesus body. I want you to see the head covering folded up by itself, that you can look through the door, through the door to the outside world, there is the stone removed and laying up on a hillside nearby, and you see the light coming in, it's enough light to see in there, but you're not gonna be there forever, because you're convinced Jesus has risen. Now, what I'm asking is, are you ready to walk through that doorway into a whole new life unlike you have ever lived before? And at the end of that life is another gateway called death, where we will be separated from these corruptible bodies, and we'll go into the very presence of God? Are you ready through faith in Christ to take that journey with me? If so, just put your trust in him right now, in your hearts, say, “Lord, I want you to be my savior. I wanna trust you for the forgiveness of my sins.” And just inside your heart, you pray, “Lord, I'm calling on you to be my Lord and my Savior, I trust in you. Lead me through that gateway into your presence.” Close with me in prayer.

This morning, we're going to be looking at Romans 13:1-7 and talking the Christian and government. In 73 BC, a slave from Thrace named Spartacus was being trained at the gladiatorial school in Capua. He escaped with 70 or 80 other gladiators, men who are being trained to fight with the sword in the Coliseum in Rome. They seized knives from the cook shop, and they captured also a cartload of weapons and they camped on Mount Vesuvius and were joined by other rural slaves in open rebellion against the Roman Empire. Over two years, Spartacus led this rebellion, an astonishing uprising of slaves right in the heartland of the Roman Empire. At its height, the revolt included 120,000 escaped slaves who are in open defiance and rebellion against the authority of the Roman Empire.

Initially, the Roman government took Spartacus too lightly. But eventually, they realized the threat and they recalled all of their strongest commanders from the field and brought them back to the Italian Peninsula, from the distant shores where they are fighting. For example, Pompey and his legions marched overland from Spain and came down that way. Lucullus and his legions landed at Brundisium, on the Italian heel, and they trapped Spartacus and his slave army and converging, they crushed him totally. And as a reprisal and as an example to other slaves, they crucified 6000 of them along the Appian Way leading all the way to Rome. And there, ended Spartacus' open rebellion against the Roman Empire.

Almost exactly a hundred years later, Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem being proclaimed as the coming Savior, the Messiah, the King with palm branches but then he was arrested later that week and arraigned before the Roman governor, the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate. The interview between the two of them is recorded in John 18:

"Pilate went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' And Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. As it is, my kingdom is from another place.' 'You are a king then,' said Pilate. Jesus said, 'You are right in saying that I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born and for this, I came into the world: To testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.' 'What is truth?' said Pilate. And then he went back outside and said to the Jews, I find no basis for a charge against him."

Now, Jesus spoke the truth, he was and is a king. But he also said, "My kingdom is not of this world," it doesn't derive its origin from this world, it's not coming from this world, it doesn't follow the world's patterns. "If it were," Jesus said, "my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews." Now, as providence and the sovereignty of God and his zeal for the glory of his Son would have it, Jesus' kingdom advanced over the next three centuries and spiritually conquered the Roman Empire, to the glory of God. But it would not advance in the ordinary way, it would not advance by killing but by dying. It would not advance by hatred but by love for enemies.

Spartacus' revolt is man's way. Jesus' kingdom is God's way. And part of that is the command in Romans 13 for Christians to be in happy, glad subjection, submission to God-ordained authority, to government. And in this, Paul is giving us another aspect of that supernatural Christian life that we've been talking about, the life that results from the doctrine that we studied over many years, Romans 1-11, that explains the gospel of Jesus Christ, the foundation of our right relationship with God. And then answers that great question, "How then shall we live?" Part of that is Paul's answer here in Romans 13, "How shall we live in reference to secular governments?" And Paul here in Romans 13:1-7 gives two basic commands. We're going to look at one of them today and another with some implications the next time we look at this text.

The first command is basically submit. The second command is give to government what you owe it, whether taxes or honor or respect. That is what Paul commands.

God Actively Rules Heaven and Earth

Now, let's talk first of all about basic principles from Scripture about government. We start with this one, God actively rules heaven and earth. He reigns over all things. Acts 17:24, it says, "The God who made the world and everything in it is Lord of heaven and earth," the Apostle Paul says. Also in Psalm 103:19, it says, "The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all." He is sovereign, he is king, he rules over this earth.

God Delegates Some of His Authority to Created Beings

Secondly, and this is not in your outline, somehow it got deleted, but the second principle I want to give you is that God delegates some of his authority to created beings. He gives his authority to created beings and they are to use that authority. Genesis 1:16, it says that God made two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, that's the sun; the lesser light to govern the moon. In like manner then he creates human beings in the image of God. In Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule…" "Let them rule, over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So God delegates to created beings some of his authority. This is true also in the heavenly realms, which we cannot see, we cannot perceive it by five senses, but we know of archangels, ruler angels who ruled over other angels. There is order in the heavenly realms, and this is reflected even in terms of Satan's kingdom, which is spoken of in terms of rulers and authorities, and powers, and dominions. There is order in the heavenly realms, though we cannot see it. So also, there is order here on earth. Ephesians 6:1-3 says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." So, God delegates some of his authority to created beings.

God Will Judge Both Governors and Subjects

Thirdly, God will judge both governors and citizens, both governors and the subjects of their reign for how they carry themselves. God holds created beings accountable for their actions. He will judge kings for how they govern. He will judge their subjects or citizens for how they respond to the government. A clear example of this is in Ephesians 6:9 where it says, "Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them since you know that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven and there is no favoritism with him." In other words, masters, you're going to stand before your master some day and give an account for how you treated your slaves, and so therefore, handle it properly. God will bring to judgment both kings and subjects based on how they handle the relationship.

God Sovereignly Rules Over Both Governors and Subjects

Fourthly, God actively and sovereignly rules over governments day-to-day. He doesn't just delegate to them and then lets it go. But he is actively guiding human history, ruling over all things. Jesus is the King of Kings, isn't that marvelous? To know that he is actively reigning over governments, no matter how wicked they may seem to us, and they are wicked, still Christ reigns. It says in Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, he directs it like a watercourse whichever way he chooses." And I like this in Daniel chapter 7, a great chapter, Daniel. Daniel has a vision of the sea and up out of the sea come beasts one after the other, four beasts. Each of these beasts represents a human government, a human empire one after the other, the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire coming up out of the sea, one after the other. They are beasts, and he looks at it.

And it says, concerning that fourth beast, interpreted to be Rome, it says this, in Daniel 7:23-26, "The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth, it will be different from all the other kingdoms and it will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The 10 horns or 10 kings who will come from this kingdom, after them another king will rise different from the earlier ones and he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and he will oppress his saints, and he will try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time. But, then the court will sit and his power will be taken away and he will be completely destroyed forever." You see the active rule of heaven over these evil kingdoms. The best example of this is in the death of Christ.

In Acts chapter 4, the church met together to consider the escalating persecution by the Jews, the Sanhedrin, and by the Romans. And they prayed about it, and in their prayer they quote Scripture. Psalm 2, "The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed, they say Herod and Pontius Pilate met together in the city with the Gentiles and the people of Israel to conspire against your holy servant, Jesus. [Listen] They did what your power and will had determined ahead of time should happen." God actively rules over human governments day-to-day.

Good Government is a Blessing

Fifth, good government is a blessing from God. That's the basic idea of Romans 13, good government is a blessing from God. Listen to the preamble of the Constitution, it says there, "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America." Well, that's a list of blessings. Those are good things. All of them can be supported in Scripture. That's why the Constitution was written, that's what the government was for. Good government is a blessing from God.

Government restrains chaos and evil

Well, how so? Well, first, it restrains chaos and evil. Do you know that today is the three-year anniversary of the conquest of Baghdad by the troops, the American troops? Today, April 9, 2003, Saddam's statue was pulled down, perhaps the most visible symbol of the toppling of his regime. But even a wicked government has this good effect, it restrains evil and chaos. Do you remember what happened after the government was toppled, the anarchy that ruled in Baghdad? While the military was still pursuing military targets and there really was no police force in Baghdad, Washington Post wrote a story about a month later, May 13, 2003, and this is what it said, "The reports of carjackings, assaults, and forced evictions grew today, adding to an impression that recent improvements and security were evaporating. Fires burned anew and several Iraqi government buildings and looting resumed at one of former President Saddam Hussein's palaces. The sound of gunfire, rattled during the night, many residents said they were keeping their children home from school during the day. Even traffic was affected as drivers ignored rules in the absence of Iraqi police, only to crash and cause tie-ups."

"Police officers, prohibited by US forces from carrying anything other than a side arm, are wary of confronting antagonists who can outgun them. The overall situation is further complicated by a disabled court system and a lack of functioning jails. Carjackings have been particularly frequent. A furniture salesman, Abdul Salam Hussein, [probably no family relation, I would hope anyway] said he watched through the picture window of his store as gunmen chased down a Peugeot sedan on a busy square, ordered the occupants into the street and sped away. They had weapons, he said. No one could do anything to help."

Now, the government of Saddam Hussein's was a wicked government, evil. It's better that it's not there, but in the absence even of that evil government, look what happens. People's wickedness floats to the surface, people take advantage of the situation. We saw the same in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As you see pictures or reports of looters going all over the place, and then private citizens guarding their possessions with weapons and willing to gun down anybody who steps on their property. It's anarchy. So even bad government restrains evil and chaos. Without government, might makes right and anarchy rules.

1 John 3:4, it says, "Everyone who sins breaks the law. In fact, sin is lawlessness." Without government, you'll see that all over the place, sin is lawlessness. Now, some intellectuals in the West have openly espoused anarchy based on a utopian view of society and an overly optimistic view of human nature. "We can get along without government," they say. Well, the problem is Romans 3:10-18 has already diagnosed the human heart. "There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless. There is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves, their tongues practice deceit, the poison of vipers is on their lips, their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood. Ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes." Now you take government away and this is what you have. You'll see it lived out right in front of you.

Without government, people's sin nature runs wild and loss of life, liberty, and property, without due process of law occurs constantly. Without government, we Christians who are basically sheep-like, peace-loving kind of people would have to hide in the hills, as in the days of the Book of Judges with Gideon and just venture forth to see what's left in the streets to eat and then go back up in the hills. It would be a very dangerous place to live.

Government demonstrates God’s passion for justice

Secondly, government also demonstrates God's passion for justice. Governments, police, court systems give daily picture of judgment day. Every night, on the local news, you can see somebody getting arrested, or somebody being arraigned, or somebody being convicted, or somebody being brought off to prison and these images are in our minds all the time. They are a picture of judgment day, aren't they? We see it everyday, it's just a display of God's basic nature to bring things to justice, to deal with things. The court was seated and the books were opened, it says in Revelation 20. Well, we have a picture of that because of government.

Government promotes order and peace

Thirdly, government promotes order and peace. With the natural tendency of humans to evil being checked and restrained, then a basic level of peace and order can be established, and this enables people to live orderly and peaceful lives.

Order and peace is essential to the spread of the gospel

Fourthly, this order and peace is essential to the gospel advance. How can we preach the gospel if there's rioting and looting in the streets? If you're cowering up in the hills and you're not sure where your next meal is going to come from, how are you going to share the gospel with your neighbor? It's going to be hard. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul talks about this in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, he says, "I urge then, first of all that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and for all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness, this is good and pleases God our Savior who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." Do you see how Paul connects government and the orderliness of society with the advance of the gospel? God's desire is to get people saved, and so you got to pray for governments that they would do their job well so that we can advance the gospel. So we need the quiet orderliness that government provides so that we can share.

Order and peace is also essential to general productivity

Now, fifth, order and peace is also essential to general productivity. Governments maintain infrastructure, like roads and bridges and ports and emergency things like 911, hospitals, ambulances, fire departments; these things come from government. Good governments also manage economic opportunities in a way conducive to the general welfare. Now this enables Christians to obey Paul's command in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, where he says, "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." Without government keeping everything under control, you can't do this. God can't put your daily quiet life on display, your hard work with your hands. Instead, again, you'd be running and cowering and trying to survive the day. And so as a result, good things happen with the order of government.

And government encourages love and good deeds. It says in Romans 13:4, "The ruler is God's servant to do you good." So, good government is a blessing from God.

Bad Government is a Curse

Bad government is a curse from the devil. He's a governor, he's a king, he's a ruler, and he rebelled against God, not God-ordained authority, he rebelled against God. And so bad government is in the image of the devil. And it is essentially rebellious, it promotes evil and chaos.

I was reading a book about the history of the civil rights recently and a civil right leader quoted Saint Augustine and he said, "Without justice, government is nothing more than a band of armed robbers." In other words, without justice, a government itself becomes a lot like anarchy. Look at, for example, Nazi Germany in 1938, October 9th and 10th, what's called Kristallnacht in which government permission was given to anti-Semites to roam the streets, destroy Jewish businesses, arrest Jewish people without any charges, hold them, bring them to concentration camps and they were executed without a trial. How is that different than the anarchy I was just describing? Very little different.

And so, bad government is a curse from the devil. The key passage on good government being a blessing from God is Romans 13, we're looking at this morning. The key passage on bad government being a curse from the devil is Revelation 13. It's a good kind of parallelism there. Romans 13, government is a blessing from God. Revelation 13, evil government is a curse from the devil. There it shows in Revelation 13:1-2, the dragon stands on the shore of the sea. The sea in Daniel 7 represents the churning of the nations and up out of the sea come these beasts in Daniel 7. Well, Revelation 13 picks up on the image, and there the dragon, Satan, is standing by the sea, and he looks out over the churning sea and up out of the sea, comes a beast. It has 10 horns and seven heads with 10 crowns on its horns and on each head a blasphemous name. "The beast I saw resembled the leopard but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and throne and great authority." That's government, but it's wicked government, it's from the devil, Revelation 13.

Now, the future of bad human government is the reign of anti-Christ. Anti-Christ will reign over this beast, this wicked human government. He is the man of sin mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2. He sets himself above all things, even wanting to be worshipped himself and he will be destroyed by the breath of Christ and by the splendor of his second coming. Amen and amen. And at last, human government will be finished. But that's the future. We have yet a future of bad human government.

So summary, Romans 13, government is established by God, the government official is God's servant to do you good. Revelation 13, government usurped by the devil is wicked. The wicked government is the beast from the sea. The final form of wicked human government is that of the anti-Christ whom Christ will destroy.

Now, the question before us is, How shall a Christian live in all this? What are we to do? And that's what Romans 13:1-7 is about. Two commands: 1) Submit to human government and 2) Give to human government whatever you owe it whether taxes, or respect, or honor.

Now let's look at this first command, submit to human government. What is the command? Well, everyone, it says, must submit himself to the governing authorities. Now, what is submission? What do we mean by submit? Well, it means willingly and gladly to accept a subordinate position because it is pleasing to God. That's what it means. Willingly gladly to accept a subordinate position because it's pleasing to God. It's the order of God's universe. Gladly to accept it. It means to yield, to put yourself under, to bend the neck under the yoke as it were, and to do it gladly.

The basic concept then in Romans 13 is that Christianity and good citizenship actually go together. Christians were not like Spartacus, a subversive threat to the Roman Empire nor are we a subversive threat to any earthly government. That's not our means, our goal, we're not trying to overthrow government, rather submit. Now, as we'll see later, it means more than just grudgingly acquiescing to laws. It means more than that. It means being glad about it, gladly submitting. It has a gladness, a realization that to submit to God-ordained authority is an act of worship to God himself.

Now, I've seen bumper stickers around like, "Question authority." We have an attitude in our country of questioning and perhaps, even mocking government leaders. There's a whole industry, the political cartoon industry, that openly mocks whoever's in charge: Republican, Democrat, it doesn't matter. There's a whole industry of mocking of whoever's in-charge. And you've laughed at some of those comics, I have too. Alright, because you got politics, so do I. And you're like, "Yeah, that's right." But at the heart of it, there's a disrespect. Alright?

Now, maybe you're not ready to organize armed revolt against the United States government. Not ready for the rest of your life to do that. But yet in your heart and mind is there not some murmuring about authority? I see it, for example, at the airport when you have to take off your shoes and your belts and take your laptop out of your bag and open it up and your personal things fall out on the floor, maybe they don't. I mean, by now you should know where to put those and that won't happen, but I see in facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, open attitudes, rolling of eyes, sighing, comments, even accusations, how little we like to submit to God-ordained authority. We don't like to be told what to do. And one thing I've noticed is how Romans 13 just takes place, rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. You give those people a hard time, they will give you a hard time. And so, "Would you step over here, ma'am? Thank you. We'll get to you in a minute. Or maybe 30."

But I've seen it happen. The ones that are really chafing, arguing, complaining get pulled aside and we'll deal with you in a minute, etcetera. And they have the right to do that. But at heart, we have a hard time with submission, we don't like it. Now, submission is not demeaning, not in any way. Jesus, in Luke 2, submitted to Joseph and Mary, his earthly parents. It doesn't mean that God loved Joseph and Mary more than Jesus, it means that Jesus honored the order that was set up. It's the same thing commanded of Christian wives to their husbands or of children to parents. It doesn't mean that God loves the one in authority more than he loves the one submitting. Not at all, it's just order. It's the way it's set up. That's the command.

Now, to whom is the command given? Well, literally in the Greek it says every soul. Every soul should be subject to the God-ordained authorities. Every soul, so that's everybody. It's comprehensive. Now, of course, Romans is written to Christians, so especially Paul has in mind, Christians should submit gladly to government.

Paul’s Seven Reasons Listed

Now, Paul gives us then seven reasons listed, we'll go through them quickly.

First, government is by divine decree. Look at verse 1, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities for there is no authority except that which God has established. All authority originates from God." Or it's not authority at all. Right? I cannot boss around somebody else's kids. I have no authority, it's not been given by God. Alright? And they'll prove it if I try, right? If I try. You're not the boss of me. Well, that's true, I'm not. It's not been set up by God that way. But I am the boss of some kids and God has set that up. So, all true authority originates from God and that is true of government as well, no matter what form the government takes. Whether it's representative democracy, like the US or a constitutional monarchy, like in Great Britain or perhaps a dictatorship, like under Idi Amin in Uganda.

By the way, I looked up his title. You want to hear what Idi Amin's title was? This is amazing. "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin VC, DSO, MC... " I didn't take time to figure out what those are, some awards he had given himself, I think. "King of Scotland," the Scottish I don't think knew about that, but at any rate, "King of Scotland, Lord of all the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular." What a long title. Perhaps the government is communism, perhaps it's fascism, perhaps socialism, perhaps an absolute dictator tyrant like Nebuchadnezzar. All these forms of human government can be, and have been perverted by human wickedness and sin, and yet God establishes authority.

Now, the scriptural support for this concept is you look at Nebuchadnezzar, he's an evil man, a bad king, bad ruler. But the angel spoke right before when he was warning, "If you don't change your ways and stop being oppressive to the poor, I'm going to judge you." He changed his mind into the mind of an animal, Daniel 4. Well, when the warning was given, the angel said this, in Daniel 4:17, "The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men." Including you, Nebuchadnezzar." And so, there is no king except that God established them in their position.

Psalm 75:6-7 says this, "No one from the east, or the west, or from the desert can exalt a man but it is God who judges." "He brings down one and he exalts another," Psalm 75. So the authorities that exist have been established by God. Now, what about wicked governments? Well, even they have been given authority. The beast from the sea, the one that's referring to the Greek Empire. It says in Daniel 7:6, "After that I looked and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard, and on its back, it had four wings, like those of a bird. This beast had four heads," Listen, "and it was given authority to rule." Who gave it authority? All authority comes from God.

Then even the devil leads Jesus up to a very high mountain and shows him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And what does the devil say to Jesus? "All these have been given to me and I can give them to anyone I want." Well, who gave them to the devil? Even Jesus, in the great commission, what does he say? "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Ask Jesus who gave it to him? It is his heavenly Father. And so Jesus has all authority, and it comes from God. It's all given.

Secondly, rebellion therefore against government is rebellion against what God has instituted, verse 2 teaches this. To rebel against government really is to rebel against God himself. The essence of sin is that we have joined Satan's general rebellion against God, and therefore, the essence of salvation is to come back under God's rule, come back under his reign. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Gladly, the angels obey all the way, right away with a happy spirit. And so also, we come back under that and are glad to submit to whatever God has instituted. We're not fighting against it anymore.

Thirdly, those who rebel will be punished. Verse 2, "Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves." At one simple level, this refers to the fact that if you take up rebellion against government, the government will make you pay, the government will come after you, the government will arrest you. If you park in a loading zone, you'll get your car towed and pay a $50 fine. That's at a low level. If, on the other hand, you smuggle concealed weapons onto an airplane, it could be 10 years in prison or a $5000 fine. So if you rebel against the authority, the authority will bring its judgement to you.

This is an obvious point the night that Jesus was arrested. You remember 600 soldiers with torches, lanterns, and weapons come out to arrest the Galilean carpenter. Jesus orchestrates in John 18 a safety net for his disciples to run away. He tells them that if they are looking for him, then let the others go. Everyone takes it except one person, Peter. And what does Peter do? Surrounded by 600 soldiers, he reaches for his sword and cuts off the high priest's servant's ear. This is a bad idea. Okay? I mean, let's just think pragmatically about it. Peter, if you want to survive the night, put your sword away for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you see them all?

Let's put it in modern language. Let's say there's a hostage crisis in an American city, and the entire city SWAT teams and special forces are all called out surrounding this building, 600 of them. You got snipers up on the rooftops, you got people behind cruiser cars, it's a horrible scene. They're calling through the bullhorn, "Come out!" And out staggers a guy with a trench coat, the chief of police screams at him to get down on his face immediately. Suppose that guy reaches inside his coat and pulls out a gun? What do you think's going to happen to him? Will he last even this far? He'll be riddled with bullets.

So, if you rebel against what God has instituted, you'll bring judgment on yourself simply even at the human government level. Let's speak at a higher level. Even if government never catches you, God sees all things. And if you rebel against what God has established, and government doesn't punish, God will punish, you will see what you have done. That's what Paul says.

Fourthly, government serves to restrain evil, so you shouldn't rebel against it. We've already talked about this. But look at verse 3, it says "Rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and he will commend you." Now, this is amazing, the Apostle Paul is speaking of the Roman Empire, hardly a virtuous government system. Hardly. And yet he says this, that he is God's servant. To do what is right and he will commend you. Paul himself was a victim of many injustices.

Do you know that Felix in Acts 24 said, basically, what was said about Paul, he's innocent. But because he wanted to do a favor to the Jews, he leaves him over, then Festus inherits it, and then Festus and Agrippa confer and said, "If this man hadn't appealed to Caesar, he could have been set free, he was doing nothing wrong." Therefore, he is the victim of injustice, and yet he's writing, submit to authority, submit, do what it says. He is saying, "If I have done anything deserving death I do not refuse to die, I will go to my death, if that's what you decide, but I still want to make my case." That's his attitude. So what he says is, rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.

I believe Paul is speaking here proverbially. Have you ever read Proverbs and you think you read something, you say, "Well, that's not always true." That's the way the Book of Proverbs is, you read it and you read something, it's not always true, it's just proverbially true. Like Proverbs 16:12 says "Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness." Well, is that always true? Do all kings always detest wrongdoing? No. And so, yes, in Nazi Germany, it isn't true that rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. That wasn't true, but it's generally true.

Let me give you an example. Let's say you're driving at night and you're coming around a bend, and this has happened to me within the last year. Suddenly, you're stopped by a road block. The police are there, they stop you, and they ask for license and registration. I hadn't had time to accelerate and start to speed. Not that I would do that. Ever. Okay? But at any rate, I was well under the speed limit and I was stopped, I had absolutely zero fear of that encounter. None. But if I had been hauling a $100,000 dollars' worth of cocaine and it was in the trunk and I come around, what do you think my heart rate's going to be doing at that moment? What am I going to feel as I see the surprise road block right around the bend? Rulers hold terror for those who do wrong, but no terror for those who do right. That's the point he makes.

Fifthly, government serves to promote good. "Do you want to be free," he says, "from the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you for he is God's servant to do you good." For example, there's the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it was given in 1996 to Rosa Parks for her part in the Civil Rights Movement. President Bush has given some out. It's a commendation from government for those who do right. Also, as we've noted that he is God's servant to do you good in the infrastructure, in creating peace, domestic tranquility, supporting an infrastructure for commerce, etcetera. He is God's servant to do you good as we've already mentioned.

Sixthly, rulers are empowered by God to inflict punishment for disobedience. Look at verse 4, "But if you do wrong," he says, "be afraid for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." Now, next time I preach on this, I'm going to talk about six difficult ethical questions about government. What is the extent of a Christian's submission to government? Should a Christian ever rebel against government? What about the American Revolution, what happened there? Alright? What about war? Should we fight or not? These kinds of questions, talk about it next time. I wanted an easy message this time. Is it okay? So, we'll deal with all the naughty, gnarly, difficult questions next time. Alright?

But the death penalty is one of them, and this is one of the major passages on the issue of the death penalty. He does not bear the sword for nothing. There's a threat and punishment here.

And then finally, conscience demands it. Verse 5, "Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities not only because of possible punishment, but also because of conscience." Conscience is that part inside you that tells you to do what's right and to avoid doing what's wrong. If this week, you cut corners on your taxes, don't do the right thing… You know, you're doing things that you should not do, your conscience is going to kind of spark up against you and tell you, "Wait a minute, don't do that."

Isn't it amazing the providence of God I'm preaching on taxes this week? But because of conscience, you should do what's right and not do what's wrong. Christians, Paul says, are to submit to the government even if it's the Roman Empire for seven reasons. Christians then are not looking to overthrow Nero or any other Roman emperor. They're not to agitate against the empire as a whole, they were to submit, they were to obey, they were to be good citizens, to fit in, they were to mind their own business and work hard with their hands, they were to advance the gospel by lifestyle and by witnessing. But they were to go beyond mere submitting, as we'll talk about next time. They were to be actually glad to pay taxes. They were actually to be glad to render honor to whom honor is due.

Now, what application can we take from this? Well, first, as you're doing your return this week... Okay, you want me to get real practical? Look on it as an act of worship. Can you do that? You said, "Now we are in that section, we're talking about the supernatural life. I can't do it."

I was telling my son this week, I said, "Doing taxes is an unusual job. It's the only job I know we have to slave hard in order to pay money." How does that work? You know what I'm saying? So you're working so hard so that you get the privilege of paying the government. But basically, if Romans 13:1-7 is true, do your taxes as an act of worship to God, for him setting up this government that protects you from anarchy, praise him for it, but realize there is in this world the beast from the sea.

And look forward to the day when Christ will set up his kingdom, Lord of heaven and earth, openly ruling better than any government ever has. A perfect government. Worship Him and yearn for that day and submit to his rule now spiritually. If you're not a Christian, if you have never trusted in Christ, Jesus said, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me." "Submit to my government. Let me be king of your life, and you will find rest for your souls." Close with me in prayer.

Well, this is our third week of looking at the supernatural life that the Apostle Paul is commanding. And these very practical commands at the end of Romans 12, the application of 11 chapters of doctrine, the foundation of the supernatural life of the Christian is the shed blood of Jesus Christ. If you have trusted in Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you have come to the cross realizing that you cannot save yourselves realizing that you cannot do enough good works to ever atone for even a single sin. You have come to Christ, you've come to the cross and you have received in his name, forgiveness for your sins. He then enjoins on you, commands this kind of a life and His commands are not burdensome.

This is a marvelous life, this is the best kind of life to live. But we recognize and we've seen the last two weeks and now, this, for the third week, this is a supernatural life that Christ is calling on us to live through the Apostle Paul. And as we look today, the unifying theme of these verses that were read, Romans 12:14-21 is a life with challenging people. Now by that, I don't mean anything negative, it's just that people are challenging. I'm a challenging person, so are you. And I don't mean anything by it, other than that it's a challenge to live with other human beings in a way that honors and glorifies God.

Now, I love church history, and one of my favorite one of the most thrilling stories that I've ever read from church history, centers on the Anabaptists who are our forebearers as Baptists. They are the group of people in the 16th century, during the time of the reformation, who came to the conclusion that baptism was just for believers in Christ. Came to that conclusion and for that they were persecuted by just about everybody in Europe, everybody hated these people and tried to shun them from their countries. By the mis over 50,000 of them had been executed for their faith, it was a terrible time of persecution. The story I have in mind is from the year 1569 when one of these Anabaptist brothers was fleeing for his life in the middle of the winter, and he's running, being chased by somebody who's been deputized to bring him back to justice, which means bring him back to death. He's running across a frozen river and as he's running, he's on the other side, he's just about to get away when he hears a crack in the ice and his persecutor, the man chasing him has fallen in the frozen river and is screaming for help. Now, let me ask you a question, what would you do at that moment?

Some would look at that as a gift from God. I'm free, I can run away, I can get away. He didn't look at it that way at all. A human being, his life was in jeopardy, and if he didn't turn back and go back that man would drown he would die for sure. And so he went back compelled by the love of Christ as the scripture says, "The love of Christ compels us." He went back and he saved that man's life. And he ended up paying for that act by being executed for being an Anabaptist. The man himself, wanted to set William Dirk free, but the authorities caught up and they captured him and they brought him they condemned him to death for his heresy and they burned him at the stake. But what was at the heart of this man, William Dirk? His heart was, Love your enemies. Do good to those who persecute you. Friends, that is a supernatural calling isn't it? It is not natural for us to seek to love those who want to kill us. It is not natural, for us to want to save somebody who's hunting us down. It is supernatural, and that's the kind of life that Christ is calling on us to live.

Now this morning we're going to be looking at a variety of relationships that Christ is calling on us to be supernatural in by the power of the Spirit. But first, we'll just look in an overarching way, at every human relationship. Look at verse 16, there it says, "Live in harmony with one another." "Live in harmony with one another." Now, the bottom line here is that people are complex. We are a complex physical web of hormones and nerves and drives within, physically complex. We are a complex emotional web of hurts and fears, of confidence and vulnerability, of arrogance and pride, also joy and sorrow, very complex. We are a complex mental web of convictions, of opinions, of beliefs and insights, of data and facts and figures, all woven into a unique world view.

We are a complex historical web of personal history, of experiences, of cultural backgrounds, past successes and failures. That's what each one of us are as human beings, we are complex. And human beings are so complex and potent [chuckle] that some people despair from interacting well with other people and they withdraw psychologically, even physically, become reclusive, they pull back, they don't want to live with people, they're just too tough. It's too painful, it's too difficult. So they pull back.

French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, wrote a play called "No Exit". And in that play, one of his characters utters the most famous line that Sartre ever, ever wrote, and that is this: "Hell is other people." Now you think about how would you live that philosophy, out? No wonder these existential philosophers were always depressed. Clearly, he's wrong, but there's something out of reality, something out of truth that flows into that bizarre way of looking and that is that human beings are difficult to get along with, except you, of course. You are sweet and gentle and loving and easy, to get along, but everyone else is a challenge, right? Well, you know, it's a challenge for all of us. Human beings are challenging beings, they're so complex that it isn't long in the Christian life before you realize the hardest thing you will do today, is to get along well with other people in a way that glorifies God. It's the hardest thing. Harder than anything else you're called to do.

The Essence of the Supernatural Life: Dealing with Challenging People

Now, the essence of the supernatural life is in large part dealing well in a Christ-honoring way, with other people. That's a big part of it. Christ is calling on us to live this supernatural life, it's a life that the Holy Spirit enables us by His power, and for his glory to deal well with people all over the map, who are in all different kinds of situations, socio-economically, physically, emotionally, spiritually, to deal well with each person, that's what he's calling on us to do. And the overarching command in verse 16 is "Live in harmony with one another." Now, literally the translation here is think like each other. Think the same.

And so, I believe, at first blush, as you look at it, this is an in-house matter, this is from Christian to Christian. Because we share world view and convictions with other Christians and we're supposed to live out of that. We're supposed to think like other Christians and get along with other Christians. We cannot be of the same mind on ultimate matters as non-Christians. Now, this doesn't mean we're seeking difficulty with them, we'll get to that in a minute, but this is first and foremost, I think an in-house principal of seeking harmony with Christians. It does extend however, in somewhat reduced way to outsiders. Look at Verse 18. "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all people." Do you see that? Now, you realize it isn't always totally up to you to live at peace with others. Some people are just so angry and frustrated and alienated from God, that they will not live at peace with anyone. And so, it isn't your fault, it is not you they are rejecting. They're not angry at you, they're angry at God and they're taking it out on you, and you just need to know that. But it says, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all people."

So this is just a general command Verse 16. In-House, Christian to Christian, think like each other. Outside of the circle of Christianity, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all people." That's what it's saying here.

Christ’s Example and Christ’s Power

Now, Christ has given us a beautiful example of this, he lived in harmony with people of many different backgrounds. He could sit at table with tax collectors and prostitutes and not in any way be dragged down by sin, but rather he lifted them up, some of them right into the kingdom of God. And he could sit down with those folks, he could sit at table equally well with Pharisees and religious leaders, he could do that. He could relate well to a rich Zacchaeus or a religious leader like Nicodemus, these are wealthy, powerful men. He could do that. He could also deal with a sinful Samaritan woman comfortably, and talk with her in a comfortable way.

As a matter of fact, it seems the only people that Christ had difficulty relating with, were those people who are so blind through their own pride and their own self-righteousness, that they felt they had no need or use for him at all. And through that blindness, they actually ascribe his works to the devil. But other than that he got along very well and lived in harmony with all different kinds of people. But praise God, Christ hasn't come only to give us an example, amen? Suppose you just look at the example of Christ, and then you're told without any help from him, be like him. How would you do? Christ as example actually condemns us, but Christ as Savior, saves us. And so Christ saves us from all of the ways that we're not like him, but having saved us, then he brings us to his example and say, "Now live like this." He gives us both the salvation and He gives us example. Now, isn't it wonderful to know within the circle of Christianity, our future is one of absolute perfect unity in heaven.

We will be as one, it says in John 17, "as the Father and the Son are one." There is never a shadow or shade of disagreement between the Father and the Son. There's no disagreements in heaven, there's no factions or divisions in heaven. We will be in perfect unity. But I think the world needs to see it now, don't you? And the more the world sees Christians in unity, living in harmony with one another, the more powerfully the gospel can advance. Isn't that true, when the world sees us getting over our difficulties, resolving things well doctrinal, emotional, physical, whatever the difficulties are, that we get over it by the power of the Spirit of God, the Gospel advances. Listen to this, it says in the high priestly prayer, John 17:23, Jesus prays, "I in them and you in me," listen, "May they be brought to complete unity." See the progress. "May they be being brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and that you have loved them even as You have loved Me." So as we are gradually, consistently being brought more and more into unity, the world watches, and says, "I want to know the gospel, I want to know more about Jesus, if this is how you treat one another." It's so beautiful. So Live in harmony with one another, that is supernatural.

The second thing that Paul talks about here is a supernatural life of compassion toward emotional people. Look what it says in Verse 15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn." The challenge here are the extremes of emotion that we're dealing with here. The world is full of extreme situations from one end of the spectrum to the other. Human beings created in the image of God, we are emotional beings. We don't just react like computers, processing data. We react with feelings, we have emotions, we feel that. And so, you can respond with laughter, you can respond with tears, with great pain with great joy. It's all over the map. But what's so challenging [chuckle] brothers and sisters, is that this is going on all the time around you. Somebody's greatest day could be happening on your worst day. And how in the world can we deal with that? They are so thrilled. They're walking on cloud nine, and you're in the depths of despair, and yet the two of you have to somehow connect and somehow relate.

This verse, verse 15 tells us how. "Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn." Now, the call here, is to show compassion. Another word would be sympathy. They're the same thing, we are feeling with people. We're joining our hearts together emotionally with other people.

Jesus Christ was the most compassionate man in history

Now, Christ did this, I think Jesus Christ was the most compassionate man in history. Wasn't it Christ who was moved with compassion when he saw the crowds and he saw that they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. He was moved with compassion when He wept over Jerusalem. Moved with compassion also, he reached out and touched a leper, a disgusting leper and said, "I am willing, be healed." Moved with compassion. Inside him something moved. He wasn't just a salvation machine without any feelings. He would see situations and he'd say, "Oh, oh." Something would move inside him. He was connected to what he saw, moved with compassion. He wept at Lazarus's tomb when he saw Martha and Mary weeping, it says, "Jesus wept." "And once more deeply moved, he said, 'Where have you laid him?'" There's a compassion in Christ. I think he's the perfect embodiment of the compassion of our Heavenly Father. God, Almighty God, is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. He has compassion.

Listen to this command in Exodus 22. This is just a minor detail, but look at the compassion of God in it. Exodus 22, it says, "If you take your neighbors cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will be sleep in. When he cries out to me, I will hear for I am compassionate." He cares about somebody who doesn't have a cloak to wrap himself up in at night, God says, because of my compassion return his cloak please, before the sun goes down. Do you see the compassion of God and how much more when he heard the cries of His own people, the Israelites in Egypt and he was concerned about them because of their bondage. He was moved with compassion for them and sent Moses as their deliverer.

And how much infinitely more, when God, Almighty God moved with compassion, sees us as slaves, not to making bricks without straw but slaves to sin moved with compassion. He sends His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, our God is a compassionate God. He gets emotional about the things in your life. That's why the Scripture says, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." He has an emotional reaction to what's going on in your life.

God’s Call to Us: Be Compassionate

And God's call to us here is to be compassionate, to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn, he wants you to take your heart and melt it into somebody else's. That takes vulnerability, doesn't it? It takes a willingness to be hurt. A willingness to connect with somebody and find out what's going on in their situation.

Well, look at rejoice with those who rejoice. Finally they get a job after months and months of being unemployed. Do you care? Does it matter to you? They're happy, they're thrilled. They finally got a job. How does it hit you? And perhaps they're celebrating the birth of their first child or their fifth child for that matter. They're delighted, they're rejoicing, they're thrilled. How about you? Perhaps they've just become engaged to the love of their life and they're so excited, stars in their eyes. Everything's so bright and wonderful. And you're thinking, "What does that have to do with me?" Well, that's up to you, what it has to do with you. The scripture here says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice."

Maybe they just got an excellent grade on an exam. Or maybe they just led somebody to Christ for the first time, they finally been able to lead somebody to the Lord. Maybe they're just happy in Jesus and they want to share that with you. There's a challenge if you're not, okay. The Scripture says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice." In any case, you're to rejoice with them as though it were happening to you.

And then there's the flip side, "Mourn with those who mourn." That hurts, doesn't it? You were doing fine until you met somebody who was walking around with a burden. They're under a cloud, and you're thinking, "I don't... Do I want to be dragged down into that?" But the Scripture says, "Mourn with those who mourn." Walk with them through their suffering, maybe they've lost a spouse of 50 years. Maybe they've had a miscarriage. Maybe they just got laid off from their job or they had hopes to get a job and it didn't work out. Perhaps a child is suffering in a hospital bed. Maybe they've just been diagnosed themselves with cancer, and they're going to have to have chemotherapy, or radiation. Maybe it's just a minor thing, struggling in some way. Maybe they're having marital struggles or having a hard time parenting their kids. Mourn with those who mourn.

And notice what it says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn." You have to do it together, sit next to them. Look them in the face, connect with them. It's to be a community issue here, a interpersonal issue. Not just, "Well, I was happy in my room when I got home, I thought about it and I was... " They don't benefit from that at all. This is to draw us together. In order to do that, you know what, you and I, we need to get up out of ourselves don't we? We need to get out of our immediate circumstances and start thinking about other people's situations, what's facing them. Philippians 2:4 says, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also the interests of others." You know what the natural state that sin leaves us in is cold indifference to other human beings.

The kind of thing where in the story, the good Samaritan, people, religious people can just walk by a man laying bleeding in the gutter, just walk right by and say, "It has nothing to do with me." Cold indifference. That's the natural state of our sinful hearts. I don't care, that's where we start. And the Lord is saying here in verse 15, "Care. Be compassionate, rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. " I sometimes ask, I hope my family knows I'm goofing around when I ask this question, but somebody asks, "Hon, could you get such and such?" I ask, "What's in it for me? I want to know, what's in it for me?" "Just get the thing, will ya. I need it now." But I just play with that, because that's kind of the state of the human heart, the natural state. What's shameful is, what I joke about, other times, I kind of live at other times.

I want to know what's in it for me, what do I get out of this? And what the Scripture is saying is that's not the question you should be asking. The thing is, What can I give? How can I minister? How can I enhance somebody's joy, who's rejoicing? How can I minimize somebody's grief who's suffering? What's in it for you is not the question. What's in it for the brother and sister? That's it. And how can I glorify Christ?

The key to the supernatural life is prayer

I find that the key to this is prayer. I can't do this unless I pray for other people. If I invest in somebody's lost job, situation or in their cancer or in their desire to have a child or in some situation they bring to me, if I invest in it, like buying shares of a stock, then when it comes back, my joy is greatly increased. I care. If I invest in somebody's suffering, through prayer, I am going to care, when I see them. And if I don't, I probably won't. The key role of prayer.

The third aspect here is the supernatural life of humility toward people beneath you. Look what it says in verse 16, "Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." Now, life has kind of a pecking order. I know in the British system, it's almost like a caste system, where everybody's in a certain place in the stratified social order and there's going to be people above you, they are your betters. That always bothered me as an American. Is that how to treat your betters. Saying, "Wait a minute, Aren't all men, created equal? Oh, I'm such a colonial. I'm such an American."

So I look at that and it kind of bothers me. It's like, "What do you mean my betters?" But we have a pecking order here in America. It's based on socio-economic success, how well people have done financially, what kind of job they have, where they live, how they're doing. And so there's always going to be people 'above you' and people 'below you.'

When I was ministering, my wife and I and our kids were ministering in Japan, I came to know there was a group there called the Barakamon who are at the lowest rung of Japanese society. And I guess in previous centuries, they had been involved in the Tanning of leather and other things and at some point that became untouchable. And so the Japanese people did not want to have anything to do with the Barakamon. They're Japanese people. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but they all know who they are, has to do with their names and has to do with their breeding and other things, and they don't want to give their sons, to their daughters or take their daughters for their sons, they don't want to intermarry with them. And so it's a big problem. Or again, in India, you've got the Dalit or the untouchable class, and again, nobody wants to deal with them. They're at the lowest rung of society, but we have it too.

And here in this Scripture, the Lord is commanding on us to be... Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low station. The root of this is pride. And pride is the deadly enemy of what God's calling us to do. You're saying, well, these people can't do anything for me. All they can do is kind of make my life disorderly and messy. And so we don't want to associate with poor people or with people who are below us on the social rung. I think the command here is basically don't put on airs, don't have your nose up in the air, don't be snooty. Don't be conceited, but be willing to embrace, warmly embrace people who are of a low position.

Maybe you remember when you were in high school and there were different cliques and groups in high school, the jocks, you had the Chess Club nerds. I was in the Chess Club. Alright, I admit it. I was, I like to play chess. I like math and things like that. So you can call me a nerd. But anyway, I was in a definable a group. The jocks, you've got the... Later on came the Goths, the band geeks, the cheerleaders, the burn outs, the red-necks. Hey, listen, I didn't make these things up, the preppies. And then there was the coveted in-crowd. These are all the most popular kids. And then at the mirror opposite were the losers. And if you wanted to be... If you were almost in the in-crowd, the last thing you wanted was to be seen with a loser or to be friends with a loser because you would be ostracized, you wouldn't be accepted in that in-crowd, that clique.

Well, these are immature groupings in high school, but they take a different feel when you move on to adult life, and there are some people and you begin to ask that same question. I asked a minute a go, what's in it for me in this relationship, what can they do for me? And the answer is probably nothing. They can make your life difficult, they're going to be a drain on your resources, on your time and all that, and you decide, "I don't want to have anything to do with them." Woe to us if we ever do that as a church. Amen? If we will not reach out to people of low position because we're too conceited or too successful.

God has positioned us here to minister to people who need Christ. To minister to them directly as we saw yesterday, in the health fair. It's a beautiful thing, and to realize how is it that the Lord Jesus Christ has approached us, how does he see us? What do we look like from heaven's perspective? And how could we ever put on airs with some other sinner who's struggling just like we are? Jesus put it this way. He said, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, if you do, they might invite you back and you'll be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be paid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Jesus is telling you who to invite to your dinner party. He says invite the people who can't repay you. Invite the people who need it the most. And God is calling on us to a whole different way of viewing people, seeing them as God sees them, not in terms of how they can advance your life, stoke your ego, advance your career, not at all, but who are they, created in the image of God, perhaps brothers and sisters in Christ through faith in Christ. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.

I Think about Jesus. And I mentioned earlier how Jesus reaches out to the Samaritan woman at the well. A good friend of mine told me something about this woman at the well, and I've never forgotten it. He said, "You know, the Jews were, in some sense, the rejects of the world. The Samaritans in some sense, the rejects of the Jews. The Samaritan women, rejected by the Samaritan men, and this woman rejected by the Samaritan women, because she had to go in the middle of the day and get her water because of the lifestyle she was leading. And Jesus opened himself up more to her than almost to anybody else. I know that Messiah is coming, she said, and he said, 'I who speak to you, am He.'"

He said directly, I'm the Messiah. He usually didn't do that. He usually gave some kind of words that were hard to interpret and then you'd know what he was meaning. He said directly, "I'm the Messiah," to her. Incredible acceptance. She's a woman that most people wouldn't have had even a conversation with. Jesus loved her. He connected with her, even to the point of maybe scandalizing His own disciples, they were surprised that he was talking with her. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.

The final aspect here is a supernatural life of loving your enemies. I am amazed at the pervasiveness of revenge and vengeance in our culture. And not just in our culture, around the world. It is a big issue. Just look at geo-political situations, how much is it revenge at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? How much at the core of suicide bombings that are done in reprisal for something that was done by the Israeli occupying force or something like... Back and forth it goes. How much of our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan was motivated by some people, at least, not by everybody, some people as revenge for what happened on September 11th. Get them back, make them pay.

I read about a group of Holocaust victims from World War II that organized themselves into a group called The Avengers. And their job after World War II was to hunt down and kill, assassinate SS members, former Nazis that were involved in the executions and in the death camps. And so they would go and find these people through research and they'd pull them out of their beds in the middle of the night, pull them out into the streets and shoot them and just leave them dead in the street. The Avengers.

It was revenge that motivated a 48 year old Russian man named Vitaly Kaloyev to fulfill a two-year vendetta after his wife and daughter and son had died tragically in a mid-air collision in Europe. He systematically hunted down the Danish air traffic controller, this in July of 2002, the Danish air traffic controller, Peter Nielsen and murdered him in February 2004 for this. Personal vengeance, because this man, he feels, had ruined his life.

Revenge is a major motive in much of the ugliness surrounding divorce court proceedings as people... Two people who formerly loved each other want to take as much flesh almost out of the other person, make them hurt, make them suffer. There's so much bitterness there.

How about gang-related violence, in city after city in America? One gang member does something to another and then they come back and kill two of them, and it escalates. It's always with interest, the payback is always with interest, it never stays at the same level. There's so much vengeance in gang-related violence. Revenge is behind road rage. When a driver cuts somebody else off and the other one comes in flashing their high beams and honks the horn and does all kinds of nasty things, whatever, not that you've ever gotten upset when somebody's cut off and done anything like honk your horn or anything like that. There's not even the slightest motion of revenge in you, I'm sure, but there it is. Road rage, people willing even to kill over slights that happen on the road.

Revenge is behind office politics and slander and gossip. It's behind the strange delight that family seem to take in the punishment of somebody who hurt their family in some way. You watch it in the local news. And it's like "they got what's coming to them," and all I think, "Oh, that's not the attitude here. You should be praying for these people, even if they did something heinous and terrible, because a far greater judgment stands over them than whatever the courts can give out here in this world."

And then there's a more common level. Just in families, and in churches, somebody says something, somebody does something that you don't like, and it hurt you. And then you start thinking, "Oh, I'd like to get them back a little bit. A little bit of payback." Brother to brother, sister to sister, husband to wife, wife to husband, in the church. It happens.

And here the scripture is calling us to let it go. Let it go. Do not take revenge, it says. Do not pay back evil for evil. Try to be kind to everyone. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

The root of revenge: pride

Now, what is the root of revenge? Well, at the root of it is pride. It isn't just that a wrong has happened or else you'd be just as motivated when something happened to somebody else, right? You'd say, "Oh, it's the justice of the matter. It is. This thing was wrong that was done." I say, "Yeah, but wrongs like that happen around you all the time, and you don't get so motivated. "  It's because it happened to you. And therefore pride is at the root of it. And so it's like, "You did such and such to me, to me. Don't you know who I am." And so we become like little gods and goddesses hunting down the perpetrators wanting to hurt them, make them punished for what they did to you.

We become the center of the universe. It's so dishonoring to God, to be a little god or a little goddess trying to get back the person who hurt you. And Christ gave us a perfect example in his commands and his teachings in Luke 6, He said, "I tell you who hear me, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic." That's his teaching, but did he live it out? Did Jesus practice what he preached? Yes, he did. He's dying on the cross, and He says, "Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing."

And at the heart of that was his trust in His Heavenly Father. In 1 Peter 2:23 it says, "When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats, instead he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly." He just gave his case to God, just gave it to God and said, God, you deal with this. And God did. Now, look at the negative commands here. Look at verse 17. Do not repay any one evil for evil. Verse 19, Do not take revenge, my friends. Verse 21, Do not be overcome by evil.

So you're in the office and you find out that somebody's been slandering you, telling something that just isn't even true, making you look bad, what do you want to do? What do you want to do? Not only do you want to vindicate yourself, you want to go beyond that, don't you? You want to hurt them back. You want to come up with some scheme, but it's going to take some cleverness on your part now. You can't do it in an obvious way that everybody can see that it's revenge. So you have to be some creative and all that. God's saying, stop all the meditation. Stop all the planning. Stop all of it. Get rid of it, and give the whole matter up to God. Do not, do not, do not.

Overcoming evil with Good

But he also gives us some positives here too. Look at verse 14, "Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse." Verse 17 and 18, "Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Verse 19, "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath." Verse 20, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you'll heap burning coals on his head." In verse 21, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." So it's not just do not, do not, do not, he's saying actively love these people. Actively bless them. William Dirk goes back and leans down with his hand and grabs the cold hand of his persecutor and pulls him up out of the water. He loves him actively. He blessed him by saving his life. Make your life, your heart filled with activity toward people who are being wrong toward you. That's what he's commanding here. Does this sound easy to you? This is supernatural. This is something only God could work in sinners like you and me.

Vengeance belongs to God

Now, what are the reasons for it? Well, God says, "Do not take revenge, my friends." It says, it is mine to avenge. Verse 19, "It is mine to avenge, I will repay." That is powerful, God is basically staking out a claim here. You can take these three words "I will repay." And depending how you emphasize them you can look at each one of them, each aspect. First of all, I will repay, not you. Or you could say "I will repay." It's a promise. Doesn't it say in Galatians 6:7, "Do not be deceived, for a man reaps whatever he sows." He's not going to get away with it, nobody's getting away with anything. Every sin there is in this world will be judged either at the cross by Jesus' death or on judgment day, by that individual going to hell, that's it.

And He's saying I will repay... And then I will repay. There is justice with God. So, don't take revenge, let God do it. It's his job, his role. And he will do it in God's perfect time.

Now, it's a very stirring thing when he says, leave room for the wrath of God. Is that surprising to you? How would you like to heap burning coals on somebody? I want to heap burning coals on somebody. Woo, that's ugly, that's unpleasant. I read this and I said, "You know, I would have an easier time preaching it if it were written like this. 'Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for the grace of God." Do you see it? And this is a valid theme, isn't it? Because God's grace can take any bitter hateful enemy and turn them around and make them a Christian brother or sister in Christ.

Look what he did to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, he converted him and he became a Christian. And those who used to be afraid of him and maybe even tempted to hate him, then loved him as a brother in Christ. So, don't take revenge because God's grace can be at work in their life. That is true but it's not what it says.

There's another aspect too. Because, frankly, many of these persecutors are not going to come to Christ, and they're goanna keep on persecuting and keep on opposing their whole lives. Still, bless them. Still, love them. Still, pray for them. Because, yeah, they might someday come to Christ, but even if they don't, the ultimate wrath from God is far greater than anything you could ever do. Far greater. And so with every kind act, you're stepping aside and letting the justice of God work. And in so doing, you're heaping burning coals of judgment on their head.

Matthew Henry wrestled with this and he said, "Okay, the burning coals, either it's going to melt their hard hearts into a liquid state, so that they will become Christians and your friend, or it's going to be wrath on Judgment Day. But either way, don't take revenge." Basically, the bottom line here is this, look at verse 21, only good can conquer evil. You can't conquer evil with evil. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Stephen’s example and Paul’s conversion

Stephen, as he was finishing up his sermon in Acts 7, cries out by the power of God, says, "You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears, you're just like your fathers: you always resist the Holy Spirit. Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?" Now you have betrayed and murdered the Righteous One, the Messiah." And when they heard that, they were filled with rage and they flooded out and grabbed hold of Stephen and moved into a place and began to kill him. They poured stones on him and they were murdering him. And while they are murdering him, they laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul who was approving of what was going on. But Saul watched something that day. He watched Stephen sink down and look up and see heaven open. He said, "Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." And then as he was dying, he said, "Lord do not hold this sin against them." And when He had said this, He fell asleep.

Years later, I don't know how many years later, but Saul of Tarsus was on route to Damascus, the story is told in Acts 26, when a blinding light came around him, and he fell to the ground and a voice came from heaven. And someone who is better at loving enemies than anyone ever in this world, Jesus, said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" And then out of compassion, he adds this, "It's hard for you to kick against the goads…" Isn't it? It's hard for you. Out of compassion. What are the goads? Stephen was a goad. The way he died, the way he said "do not hold this sin against them." You want to be a Christian, don't you Saul? Yes, I do. And he was ready.

And so the love and the compassion of Stephen toward an enemy, toward a bunch of enemies converted, in part, converted Saul of Tarsus. What about you? How are you going to deal with it the next time your husband, your wife says something unkind to you? Are you going to try to repay them? Or are you going to just give it up to God? How about here in the church, the next time somebody does something, says something, doesn't notice a good thing and you think they should thank you and they didn't notice, are you going to try to work out a little bit of revenge or are you going to give it up to God?

What about to the non-Christians around who don't have the same values you do, but they try to hurt you, to attack you in the office, on the road, out in public, because they don't know Jesus and they don't know any better. Are you going to give it up to God, or are you going to try to seek revenge? And how about if it's even worse than that, if somebody kills a family member, can you be like some Christian brothers and sisters that I've seen on the local news, say, "I forgive them, I'm praying for them, that they would come to know the Lord" or are you going to be a more vindictive sort, and say, "they got what they deserved?" I pray, God, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will live the supernatural life that God has for us, to live.mClose with me in prayer.

There are three thoughts that bring me joy every day of my life, and all three are focused on the person of Christ. One of them has to do with the past, one of them has to do with the present and one of them has to do with the future.

Concerning the past, it brings me constant delight to know that all of my sins are forgiven through the blood of Christ, much as a candle has been extinguished in an ocean of grace. Just to know that my sin can't even compare with the provision for it, that brings me great joy today. And in that I stand right now up to this very moment, all of my sins in the past are forgiven through the blood of Christ. Isn't that wonderful? Concerning the present, it's a magnificent thing for me to know that Jesus has given me work of eternal consequence to do today, and He will give me everything I need to do that work today. And concerning the future, that someday I will see Jesus face-to-face, therefore all of my best things are yet to come, and nothing, no power in heaven or earth or under the earth can take that from me. Those three things bring me great joy to today. Amen. And so you've had your three-part sermon. I'm done, and so we'll just close in prayer.

No, there are some practicalities as we look back at that second one. Today God is calling on me and you to live supernaturally for His glory, He's calling on us to do things we ordinarily couldn't do, and He's calling on us to live by the power of the Spirit of God. Now, unlike I mentioned last week, like Peter walking on the water, that's not likely to be something He's going to call you to do today, although if He did call you, He would give you enough power to do it, as He did for Peter. But rather the truth of the incarnation, the truth of Emmanuel, God with us, the truth of Jesus coming down from heaven to earth is that Jesus cares about everyday, ordinary life.

He cares how you and I eat our food, He cares how you and I interact with each other in the hall, He cares how you and I deal with brothers and sisters in Christ, how we deal with strangers. He cares about these things, and He knows that only by the power of the Holy Spirit of God can we lift those ordinary encounters into something sublime, something supernatural of eternal consequence, and that's what He's calling on us to do in Romans 12. Now, last week, I'd set the context for you. We've had 11 chapters of doctrine. These ethical commands in Romans 12 are not coming out of nowhere, but rather they are the fruit of all of the doctrine that we have learned in Romans 1-3, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God that we apart from him, can do nothing good, that our mouths are full of cursing and bitterness, and our feet are swift to shed blood, all those things in Romans 3, that's what we were apart from Christ.

We also learned in Romans 3 that through the blood of Jesus Christ, our atoning sacrifice, all of our sins have been forgiven. Through faith in his blood we stand cleansed, as I just mentioned a moment ago. And how we are in Romans chapter 6, no longer slave to sin, we're called to a whole new realm of existence. We're in a whole new country, as it were, with new rules and new ways of living. And yes, we still struggle with the body of death, Romans 7, but through the indwelling spirit, Romans 8, we can live as more than conquerors, and that this sovereign grace that God is giving us, Romans 9-11, it's so irresistible, so powerful that it will have its way with us, and that we can hold firm to it and nothing can steal our hope, and so therefore we can get busy in the Christian life on that solid foundation.

If I can speak a little more directly, this supernatural life that we're talking about this morning can only be lived by Christians. It can only be lived by people who have trusted in Jesus, who have the indwelling spirit, but if that's you, if that's you, today, he's calling on you to live like this. Now, last week, we talked about the supernatural life. It begins in the heart with un-hypocritical love, a genuine love. It also begins with a burning zeal for the glory of God, there's a fire inside us and that we must stir that fire up, we must never be lacking in zeal, but keep our spirit’s of fervor serving the Lord. And a dear brother this week said, "Did you miss verse 10? I just wanted to know if you were skipping it or whatever," and I, "No, I didn't, I just wanted to combine these two heart elements of an un-hypocritical love and a burning zeal together."

It starts in there, but it's hard to make a strong delineation between what's inside and what's outside here. It begins with the heart, we saw last week. Now, this morning, we're going to look at three other aspects of the supernatural life that God through the Apostle Paul is calling on us to live. First of all, the supernatural and very practical love for the family of God. And secondly, we're going to talk about a supernatural hospitality and generosity, and third, supernatural joy in trials.

Let's look at the first, a supernatural love for the family of God. Look at verse 10, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love, honor one another above yourselves." Upon being saved, you and I, as we are trusted in Christ, we entered into the worldwide family of God through faith in Christ. It's an international family, there are people from almost every tribe and language and people and nation, and some day it'll be every tribe and people and nation. Amen. I'm looking forward to that. But it's a worldwide body of Christ, it's made up of people in every station of life economically, made up of both genders, of all ages, it's made up in a beautiful way of people from all walks of life. That's what you entered into.

Now, this family, this supernatural family, is supernatural in origin. You enter it not in the natural way, but supernaturally. We're not all children of God in that sense. You have to be born again into the family of God, and so it says in John 1, "Yet to all who received Him [Christ], to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." That's the supernatural origin of my connection with the family of God, and it's happened to people all over the world, that's how we enter. God, therefore, is our eternal Father. Every other Christian is my brother or sister in Christ. Jesus is our head, he's also our elder brother. You could put it that way, for it says in Hebrews 2:11, "Jesus is not ashamed to call them [and us] brothers."

Isn't it amazing, then, sometimes how we are ashamed of Jesus. How could we ever be ashamed of Jesus? He's not ashamed of us, and he's not ashamed, it says to call us brothers. This family is united by the Spirit and by truth, we all believe the same things about God and about Christ, about sin and hell and death, about heaven, about justification, about the blood of Christ. We believe these same things and so doctrine unites us, and also the indwelling Spirit unites us. By the Spirit we are one family.

Love for the Family of God Inevitable Fruit of Faith

Now, love for the family of God is the inevitable fruit of true saving faith. Let me say that again. Love for the family of God is the inevitable fruit of true saving faith. Let me turn it around. Basically, if you don't love other Christians, you're not a Christian yourself. And first John tells us that very plainly in a number of places, first John 5:1 says, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child as well."

You can't love the father and not love the father's children, and so therefore you've got to love the family of God if you're a Christian. Turning it around more negatively. First John 4:20 says, "If anyone says I love God and yet hates his brother, he is a liar, for anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." Now, this love is the very thing that Paul is commanding here in verse 10. "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love, honor one another above yourselves." Now, sadly, it doesn't always happen this way, does it? I actually was reading a book this week about a conflict in a church that ended up in an open fist fight right in front of the communion table. Can you imagine that? I can't, but I know that that kind of extreme fruit, actually trace it back, the roots of it are in our hearts, aren't they?

We can have conflicts, we can have divisions with each other, even though we're better mannered than that so we don't end up in someone's Christian book as an illustration. But the divisions are there, we can disagree and it's an old problem too. The Corinthian church was rife with strife and conflict and factions. In Philippians, Euodia and Syntyche couldn't get along, couldn't agree with each other in the Lord. Even our author here, Paul, had a problem with Barnabas over John Mark, right, so I'm not saying he didn't practice what he preached, it's just what he preached is difficult to do, and there are going to be times that there's going to be disagreements, conflicts like between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark.

But yet in the Book of Acts we see a contrast, we see local churches actually living this kind of thing out. We see them devoting themselves every day to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and a prayer. We see the way they used to sell their possessions and their goods and give to anyone as he had need. They didn't consider that their possessions were their own, but they shared everything that they had, even to the point of selling houses and real estate and putting at the apostles' feet. An amazingly generous collection was taken up among Greek believers for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem, and so we see a Jew-Gentile unity there through the sacrificial giving that went on. That's what the church was like in the Book of Acts.

And we see a church that's characterized by supernatural boldness in dealing with the outside world, boldness in preaching the Gospel, boldness in facing persecution. That's what the church was like. And so here in verse 10, it was lived out, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love, honor one another above yourself." Now, as we look at that first half, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love." Paul combines two Greek words for love, and one of them just has to do with an open display of affection, of genuine affection, and the other just has to do with a family connection, like the love of a brother, a sister, for one another, because they're in the same family, and he combines the two of them together. This is pictured so many times in the Book of Acts toward Paul.

You remember how Paul, at the end of Acts 20 when he's with the elders from the Ephesian church, they're all weeping that they would never see Paul again, then the very next chapter, there's the church at Tyre and they all go to the beach and they're begging him not to go to Jerusalem, and when they see that they can't persuade him not to go, they kneel down on the beach, all the wives and the little ones in the church, and they're just all huddled together praying. And then he gets up from there and goes to the next community and he stays at the home of Philip the Evangelist, who had seven daughters, who prophesied and he opened up his home in hospitality to them, and he goes from them and stays at the home of Mnason, and he opens up his home, Acts 21. One household after another, one local church after another displaying this brotherly love and this devotion. It's a beautiful thing.

Now, I think a beautiful picture of this in the Old Testament is Joseph, whose brothers sold him as a slave into Egypt, and then after their father died, they were afraid that he was going to take his revenge finally, he was waiting for Jacob to die, so they thought, and so they come basically crawling in on their knees begging him not to punish them. And he is deeply moved, he weeps over this, Joseph, and he says, "Am I in the place of God? You meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good." And then it says so beautifully in Genesis 50, that he spoke kindly to them and reassured them and he said that he would provide for all of their needs. That's a good picture of the brotherly love here. We don't always do well by each other, do we? But we've got to have that theological perspective that Joseph had, you meant it for evil but God meant it for good. And I love you and I'll provide for you, I'll do what I can for you to help you. That's a picture of his brotherly love and his devotion.

The Scriptural Emphasis on Humility

Now, I think the scripture here emphasizes humility, it's a foundation to this. Honor one another above yourselves. Prefer others ahead of yourself, think of them as better than you are, seek to meet their needs ahead of meeting your own. Think of issues from their point of view rather than from your own point of view. I think foundational to this is seeing other brothers and sisters as they will be someday, while you see yourself as you are right now.

And Bunyan pictures this so beautifully in Pilgrim's Progress part 2, when Christiana is there with her children and Mercy, and they're in the interpreter's house and he gives all of them clothing, representing their right standing with God, their purity in God's sight. But what's so interesting is they cannot see their own clothes as glorious, but only those of the others. And so they're kind of... Bunyan said that the clothes were a terror to each one of them, because they only saw the other as glorious and not themselves, and so it is in the Christian life. We know our own sin, don't we? We can see it. And it's hard for us to imagine that some day we'll be perfect and glorious and we will be. But in terms of our humility and dealing with one another, we say, "Some day this brother, this sister is going to be glorious in Christ." And you see them that way. Lewis points us out in his great sermon, Weight of Glory, "We treat each other as though some day they will be glorious in Christ."

And you look at how the apostle Paul dealt with this in 1 Timothy 1, he said, "I am the greatest of all sinners," and he's talking about how he persecuted the church, but notice the tense of the verb. He didn't say, "I was the great, the chief of all sinners," he doesn't say that. "I am the chief of all sinners," that's the way he carries himself, the way he thinks of himself.

We honor each other above ourselves. Interestingly, the ESV emphasizes almost a holy competition here. "Outdo one another, in showing honor." That's one translation, like, let's have a contest and let's see who can honor the other more, let's see who can serve more. Churches divide over some of the strangest things, decorating schemes, colors of things; even more significant things like worship styles or evangelistic strategies or things like that can be sources of division. But here we are to prefer one another above the others.

That doesn't mean we sacrifice truth for unity. That's not what we're talking about, but there's a sense of, "I want to see things from your point of view, I want to try to understand your convictions because they matter to me." And so we should try to see who can be the most humble, let's outdo one another, as the ESV gives us, "outdo one another in showing honor."

I love the illustration. I've talked to others about this before, of George Whitfield, who was in a controversy with John Wesley over the doctrine of predestination. And someone came and asked Whitfield, "Do you think you'll see Wesley in Heaven?" And he said, "No, I don't, he said, "I think he'll be so close to the throne of Christ and I'll be so far away that I don't think I'll catch a glimpse of him there." You have to know Whitfield to know that that wasn't just an act. That's the way he really thought. There was a genuine humility there. Outdo one another in honoring others ahead of yourself.

The second aspect of the supernatural life is supernatural hospitality and generosity. Look at verse 13, there it says, "Share with God's people who are in need and practice hospitality." This is going to be a big part of how we are devoted to one another in brotherly love, this issue of hospitality. The word that Paul gives us here is one of pursue, pursue generous hospitality. Make it your business to find ways to be hospitable. Think about it, think about how you can open up your life, open up your home, open up your heart to others, pursue it. Now, the word for hospitality literally means love for strangers or outsiders. And the foundation's in the Old Testament, when God says, for example, in Leviticus 19 verse 33 and 34, it says, "When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." Isn't that marvelous?

Don't you remember how it used to be for you in Egypt, how you were aliens? Do to others in effect what you'd have them do to you. Treat them the way you would have wanted to have been treated in Egypt, not necessarily the way you were treated, but the way you wish you'd been treated when you were an alien, an outsider. It gets even stronger in the New Testament, when Jesus in the sheep and the goats teaching says he's going to gather all the nations before him, and separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he's going to put the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. And he'll say to those on his right, "Come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in."

In other words, people's eternal destiny will be put on display by how they treat other Christians. because at the end, he says, "Anyone who does one of the least of these things, to the least of these brothers of mine, you do it to me." There's a connection to the church of which he is head, and if you treat somebody like this, it's like you're treating Christ that way. Very strong teaching.

An even deeper concept is the idea that when it comes to heaven, we are all aliens and strangers, aren't we? I mean, naturally apart from Christ. Ephesians 2 tells us we were at that time, aliens and strangers and outsiders. That's what it says in Ephesians 2:12-13, it says, "Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." We were aliens, were outsiders and now God has opened himself up and brought you in. And so it says in Ephesians 2-19. So you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you're fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household.

We're going to Heaven on the basis of God's hospitality. He's opening himself up to aliens and strangers through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and he's opening up his home, he's opening up his table, he's saying, "Come sit with me." And one of the sweetest things ever is the idea of God and man at table are sat down, someday we're going to sit down at the table with God. Now, that's hospitality, it's the foundation of what he's calling on us to do, to welcome the stranger.

Hospitality in the New Testament

Now, in the New Testament, it's very practical and foundational. The basic concept is when you're traveling, you're on the road, there's not many other places to stay. Now, I'm not going to say not any places, because you know that there was no room in the inn for Joseph and Mary, so there were inns. And you know the parable of the good Samaritan, he puts him up in an inn, and they were there but there were not as many as we have today.

Certainly no Holiday Inn. There's no Tom Bodett leaving the lights on for you at Motel 6, that wasn't happening. Certainly no Hyatt or Ritz-Carlton. For the most part also, as Christians, they didn't want to stay at the homes of unbelievers. And so you really wanted to stay, in a very practical way, you wanted to stay with believers as you're on the road. Well, Christ's first missionary instructions in Matthew 10, he sends them out without any extra bag or tunic and sandals or staff, without any extra money, nothing, just sends them out. And if there's an immediate practical problem on this mission trip, where are we going to stay?

And he says, "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. If the home is deserving let your peace rest on it. If it is not, let your peace return to you." So the idea is you find a base of operations in a town, and based on hospitality, you stand and you do your ministry there. And at the end of Matthew 10, Jesus pronounces eternal rewards for the people who put them up. "Anyone who receives a prophet because he's a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward. Anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man, will receive a righteous man's reward, and if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones that I'm sending out, [he says] I tell you the truth, he will never lose his reward."

That's an eternal reward for hospitality as we're helping God's servants that are going out to do his work, Matthew 10. Now, later on, the apostles are totally dependent on it. Peter was staying at the home of Simon the Tanner who lived by the sea in Acts 10 when the messengers came from Cornelius' house, he was a Gentile, that's how the whole Gentile church began, and so it's at Simon the Tanner's house that he's staying. It was his base of operations there. And then he's willing to go with a bunch of other Jewish brothers and he is actually willing to enter across the threshold of a Gentile home and share the gospel with them. And afterwards, Acts 11 applies, they sat down and ate a meal together. So he was willing to receive hospitality. Sometimes that's hard, it's easier to give it than receive it. Have you ever felt that way?

But so it is. Here's the apostle Peter and he's willing to receive hospitality from Simon the Tanner, who gives it to him, and he's willing to receive hospitality from the first Gentile convert, there in Caesarea, Cornelius. Even here in the Book of Romans, the Book of Romans is written by a man, the apostle Paul, who is at that moment, receiving hospitality. As it says in Romans 16:23, "Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings." The whole church is based there. House churches were foundational. Lydia opens up her home in Philippi and after she's converted and baptized, she said, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord Jesus, please come and stay at my home." And that became the start of the Philippian church. House churches were big in hospitality. Foundational, then.

2 and 3 John, the foundational issue of those two books is hospitality.  Don't take in a false teacher and show him hospitality or you'll share in his evil works. 3 John, he's thanking them for taking in good teachers and sharing in their good works. And so he says in 3 John 5:8, "Dear friend, you are faithful in what you're doing for the brothers even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love, you will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought…" listen, this is 3 John 8, "We ought therefore, to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth." They needed a base of operations and they gave it to them.

And so hospitality is huge. The most intriguing one is, of course, Hebrews 13: 2, which says, "Do not forget to entertain strangers for by so doing some have entertained angels without knowing it." Wouldn't that be exciting? Find out on Judgment Day. Oh, he was an angel? You know, I had no idea. Now, I think this is talking about Abraham's hospitality in Genesis 18, but there it is. Now, what is the situation today in the American church?

How are we on hospitality?

How are we on hospitality? Well, first of all, just societally, we have certain problems. First of all, there's the problem of affluence. One of the problems with affluence is that it breeds isolation. You know what you get for your affluence? You get to be away from people. And you might say, "Why would I want to be away from people?" Well, people are complex. People can be a little messy, people can mess things up, like your living room. And so as a result, you get to have isolation, a kind of a perfect and neat world, and that's a problem. Another problem is the fluidity of our society, we're a very fluid society, and therefore very few people feel the need to welcome the newcomer, because they themselves are newcomers, and nobody in takes ownership for the neighborhood. That happens especially in churches where people transfer their membership so frequently that they don't necessarily feel a sense of ownership for the community to then be hospitable to visitors. They're asking instead, "Who's being hospitable to me?"

And I always find a way of saying, "Oh, it's not a very friendly church." I'm trying to think, "How do I turn it around," so I ask, "Were you friendly? How do I do that?" I want to think about that. Oh, the church just wasn't very friendly. And I have found that people who are friendly receive friendliness back, and so it's a matter of you don't look inward anymore, and say, "What am I getting from this church?" But rather, you're saying, "I want to be open to the visitors, I want to be open myself." Little by little you find you don't have a problem with friends at all. So it's an issue.

Alexander Strauch wrote a book called The Hospitality Commands, and he was talking about an elderly single woman who had to travel more than an hour by bus to a suburban church that she wanted to go to, and she was there for four years, and no one ever invited that lady out or to their home after worship, four years, until the very end when she had announced that she was leaving the church, another elderly lady took her in and they had a meal together on her final Sunday.

Alexander Strauch himself said, "I would go around and I would preach in other places, some two, three, four hours away from where I live. I would get done with the service," Strauch said. "People would come up, shake my hand, say it was a good message, maybe give me an offering, something like that, invite me back if I'd ever like to come, and then they'd all disappear and there I was, nobody would invite me to their home or give me a place of rest before I had to go back, or maybe there was even an evening service and in between the two services, I had no one to invite me over."

It can happen, it's a problem. Now, here at First Baptist Church, I have personally seen and experienced incredible hospitality from members of this church. When we first came here, we stayed at a wonderful Christian family's home, and I enjoyed that time, that week together, with them. I'll never forget it. It was an incredible time. Or then there's the ice storm, 2002, when many people had to get out of their homes because the power went down, for sometimes as much as a week. And it was wonderful to see the way homes were being opened up to widows and the elderly and just people that had to get out of their homes. And we ourselves stayed at two different homes at that time. I'll never forget, it was beautiful. So we've seen that kind of hospitality. One family I know had a ministry in Pennsylvania of hospitality opening up their homes to really undesirable, poverty-stricken people and seeing many of them come to Christ, because they cared more about the people than they did about the quality or the status of their possessions. They were willing to open their home and they've done the same thing here, with International Ministry.

I've seen many of you open your homes for meals, extended grace to our family and to others. It's a beautiful thing. I've seen it again and again, so there is a wonderful spirit of hospitality here at FBC. But I think we could do even better, I really believe it. And the more I thought about hospitality, the more I think this is strategic for our future ministries. It's very important, it's important for developing a sense of community and fellowship. We are very much a commuter church. People drive long distances to get to this church. As a matter of fact, if you went east-most or west-most to the extremities you're at least a 90-minute travel from one side to the other.

And so it's very, very difficult for us to have community here if people don't show hospitality. One of the things we've seen develop in the last year are the home fellowships, and people have opened up their homes and they're willing to have fellowship in their homes, and that's made all the difference of developing community and fellowship. I think if we don't keep working at it, though, it's easy to slip through our fingers. We want to have a community here. We'll just have a little time on Sunday morning then you go, you go away. There's got to be hospitality to make it happen, fellowship. It's also essential to generosity. Here, we're commanded to share with God's people who are in need. I think one of the best ways you can do that is open up your home and share your home and your life and your food and other things with people, share with them. Now, obviously, for you to a write generous check and send it to needy Christians in other countries is in obedience to this verse. But I like to combine them. It's almost like share with God's people who are in need by pursuing hospitality. You combine them.

Hospitality Fosters Evangelism

Thirdly, also hospitality is strategically vital for evangelism. The gospel itself is weighty, heavy cargo that travels best over a well-built bridge of trust from one person to another. Now, I'm not saying that you can't do contact evangelism or that it's not valuable. What I'm saying is, it works best when you really know the people. And so, how about inviting people over your home and having them, I'm talking unbelievers, share a meal with them, reach out to them, in that way. We've seen fruit from that even quite recently. It's a beautiful thing. I think this is especially true for internationals.

My goodness, nowhere do you see the need for hospitality as much as in international ministry. A lot of these folks come from countries where hospitality is ingrained in their nature and they come over here, and they're amazed at how difficult it is to get into an American home. Some of them study at Duke for two or three years and go home, never having been invited to the home of an American. Never. Now, this is amazing, I found out about a month ago that we have the possibility through Duke University of being a host family for an international student for the first week they spend in the Triangle region before they get situated at Duke. Do you see any possible strategic ministry there for the gospel? Do you think there might be the possibility that during that week, you could build a friendship that would last for a lifetime? That they would get to know you, and that you might actually be able to share the Gospel?

Hospitality, essential to evangelism. If you're interested in doing something like this with internationals, talk to me or to any of the others are involved in international ministry, if you say I want to be a host family for one of those internationals for the first week that they're here in the Triangle region. What a strategic ministry that could be. Imagine seeing some of them come to Christ. Or the host ministry, talk about evangelism, people bring visitors to the church, and Tony is going to be saying at the end more about ways we can get involved, even beginning on Easter Sunday, but then from there on a developing ministry of making our church more hospitable to visitors, so that we can reach out to the people that God brings us.

Hospitality is Strategic for Discipleship

And then finally, hospitality is strategically vital in the area of discipleship. So much of the Christian life is what we say caught rather than taught. How valuable is it for, let's say, a more established family that's got older kids to take in a younger married couple that's just getting going in life, or has a newborn so that they can put their life on display and say, "This is how we discipline our children or this is how we train them or these are the things we do for a family, devotion time, this how we eat a meal together," and it helps you to be better too, as well. You want to put your best face on and to have guests from the outside, things just go so well at that point, and there's just a sweet spirit. So it's a beautiful inducement both ways.

But discipleship works that way. And then the home fellowships are discipleship times. We have developing home fellowship ministry but we had a practical problem, we didn't have enough host families. And so some of the home fellowships have 25 or 30 people in them, that's large. And as a result, it's hard to get everybody in one room. The fellowship's not as intimate. We need more host families for the fall. So that's about as practical as it gets. Be willing to open your home on a Sunday evening and have a home fellowship.

The final area of Christian life that I want to talk about here is supernatural joy and trials. Verse 12, it says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." It seems to me as I look at the Christian life that God has given us the challenge of waiting on him. And I told you the third sweet thing for me is that the best is yet to come. But sometimes it seems like I'll never get there. Do you ever feel that way? When do we get to see the Lord, when do we get to be in his presence? And it's even harder when you're going through a trial, isn't it?

Maybe it's a chronic illness, maybe it's a chronic financial problem, joblessness, for example, maybe there's other issues that make life here on earth very shrill and difficult, but here God is calling on you to be joyful in hope and patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. What does Paul mean by be joyful in hope? Well, first of all, he's not talking about a natural hope, you know what I'm talking about? Like, "I hope my team wins the NCAA tournament," something like that. I don't want to drag us down into the mundane from the sublime, but that's a kind of a temporal hope that rarely gets fulfilled. Or an unemployed person could say, "I hope I get the job I'm interviewing for." Or even a lonely person in a nursing home can say, "I hope somebody visits me this week."

Well, those hopes are fleeting. That's not what we're talking about here when we talk about be joyful in hope. Christian hope is a certainty that's coming to us some day based on the promise of God, you just don't have it yet. That's not a technical definition, but that's what it is, it's something you will most certainly get because God said you would get it, you just don't have it yet. And based on that, we get 11 chapters of what that hope is and from that draw on it, like from a bank account. Be joyful in the hope that someday you're going to be with Christ, even as you're facing great afflictions.

I have seen in this church people go through afflictions in marvelous ways. I've seen people get diagnoses of cancer, and keep drawing on their faith in Christ to get through it. I've seen it again and again, it's one of the most beautiful aspects of the Christian life. I've also seen, not so much in this church, but I've seen people go through difficult trials, and they begin to question God. They begin to murmur against him and they begin to abandon their prayer life. That's why Paul combines be faithful in prayer, keep praying even when things don't seem to be going your way. George Mueller, the great prayer warrior, said it well, when he said, "The great fault of the children of God is they do not continue in prayer, they don't go on praying, they do not persevere." This is a man who recorded over 50,000 answers to prayer, but also prayed for over 50 years for something he never received while he was alive. God waited until after he was dead to give it to him.

Be faithful in prayer. Jesus told many parables on this, like the parable of the unrighteous judge and the widow who kept coming again and again and again. Why did he tell that prayer, except that he's not necessarily going to grant you everything you want right away, but he wants you to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Now, today we have looked at three aspects of the supernatural life that God is calling on Christians to live. My question to you is, do you see this power at work in your life? Perhaps you've already made a commitment to Christ, you've already come to faith in Christ, you've already given your life to him, but you're not seeing this kind of love flowing through you for the brothers and sisters in Christ. You're not seeing the humility that you'd like to see where you honor somebody above yourself. Maybe you haven't been hospitable, you haven't opened your home to anybody sacrificially. Maybe you don't see this is what you want, or maybe you've allowed the trials of your life to get you inward-focused, get you bitter, get you down.

You know, God, when he comes to us through the Scripture, calls on us to repent, and to turn back and say, "I want to live this kind of life. This is my inheritance while I live here on this Earth. God work it in me." But I said at the beginning, if you're not a Christian, you can't live this kind of life. My hope then is that the description of it will be inducement to get you to look at the cross and say, "I want Jesus, not only because I could live this kind of a life here on Earth, but because when I die I can be with him forever in glory. That's what I yearn for."

Don't leave this place without having trusted in Christ as your Savior. Close with me in prayer.

So we're looking at Romans chapter 12 and for the next three weeks, some of the practicalities of the Christian life, what God's word has to say about how to live our everyday lives to his glory. Now as I think about the life of the Apostle Peter, I think there can be no more amazing walk he ever took than the one recorded in Matthew 14. You don't have to turn there, but you know the story of Matthew 14, how Jesus fed the 5000 and then dismissed the crowd, dismissed the disciples, went up on the mountain by himself, alone to pray. The disciples are trying to make their way across the lake, the Sea of Galilee, and as frequently happens on the Sea of Galilee, a terrible storm came and whipped that Sea of Galilee up into a frenzy. And they were having very great difficulty making progress across the lake.

And so, there they were in the middle of the lake, in the middle of the night, in the middle of their terrors, thinking they were going to drown, and suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water, coming toward the boat and they were afraid of him. "'It's a ghost,' they said, cried out in fear. But Jesus said, 'Take courage. It is I, don't be afraid.'" I'm no ghost, I'm here." And then Peter said an astonishing thing. Where did it come from? Do you really understand, Peter? What a man he was. But up out of Peter's heart, somewhere inside he said, "Lord, if it's you tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," Jesus said. And there's the command of God. Come and live a supernatural life, get up out of the boat and do something that you could only do if I support you by my supernatural power.

And so Peter got out and started to walk in the lake. And I would say there was no man on the face of the earth that understood how Jesus' supernatural power is not just for himself to display his own glory, but actually to transform us and make us glorious. He knew at that moment, he was new in this through his own power and strength. Oh, he'd taken many walks since his toddler years. And left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, he could do that. But on the water? It may only be by the supernatural power of Jesus Christ.

Now, I don't want to end in a downer and tell you how it happened. You know what happened after that. But I want to fix that picture in your mind of a supernatural walk because I think that's what God is calling each and every Christian here today to do and to be; to walk in a supernatural way by the power of Christ. Now as you read Romans 12:9-21, you're not going to see the word supernatural in there. But understand, there is a context to Romans 12, it's not just a bunch of ethical teachings that come out of nowhere, but Paul has developed the foundation for a supernatural life already in 11 chapters. It's a life that begins with full and complete forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. Amen? All of your sins forgiven and without that, the rest is impossible. But Romans 1-3, talks about that, how all have sinned and how Jesus shed his blood on the cross, and that through simple faith in the death of Christ, the blood shed on the cross, all of your sins can be, absolutely will be, forgiven.

Amen. Isn't that exciting? That's fantastic. It's the foundation of this supernatural life, but that's not all. Romans 6 says that we're not slave to sin. The baptism we saw earlier gives a picture that we are liberated, we have died to sin, we have risen to a new life. What is the nature of that new life? It is a supernatural life. It's a life that can only be lived by the power of God, only be lived by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Now, Romans 7 says, "It's a life of struggle. It's not easy." Just because you're struggling, doesn't mean you're not living a supernatural life. We're going to struggle with the flesh, we're going to have difficulty, we're going to yearn like Paul did, "O, wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" That is true. But Romans 8 speaks very plainly, very clearly of a supernatural life, a life not lived by the power of the flesh, a life that has lived only by the power of the indwelling spirit, the spirit-filled life, Romans 8. A life in which we are more than conquerors no matter what the devil throws at us. More than conquers.

And so that, I think, is the foundation of this life. As I said, we're not going to see this word supernatural in Romans 12. But here in Romans 12, Paul is going to give us a specific list of duties and exhortations, and aspects of what that life is going to look like. And oh, is it sweet? And oh, is it practical? And it helps us in every way. I think we forget that Romans, people like me can come along and preach it in 88 or 196 messages or something like that, or Martyn Lloyd-Jones in 444. But you can read Romans in one hour, and I think you ought to do it sometimes. Read it right through and realize this is a synopsis of what Paul would have taught to the Romans if he had been there. And so, we forget that we have already had this teaching, it's right there and then within 20 minutes of reading or less, you go right from Romans 8 through 9, through 11, and then into 12, the spirit-filled life looks like this. It's the foundation of what he's telling us to do.

You Are Called to Live a Supernatural Life!

Now, I confess to you that when I was a boy, I used to like to read comic books. I don't do it anymore. But I used to like read them when I was a kid, the Marvel comics, with the Superman and the Fantastic Four. Now they're making all these movie, Spider-Man, and these folks, each one of them had extraordinary capabilities, the ability to fly or to have a bullet bounce off your chest or to have x-ray vision, all of that kind of thing, and the extraordinary, a sense of the supernatural and you know something, this is not new with us. It's been around for a long time. The Greek myths are filled with supernatural heroes like Hercules who could do amazing things. He was given 10 tasks to do, and did each one by his mighty supernatural power.

Why is this? Well, I think there's a cry inside the human heart to be lifted up out of the humdrum ordinary physical existence to something greater, something better. There's a cry for the extraordinary. I could say a cry for the supernatural. We were made for God. We were not just made for 9:00-5:00 humdrum existence, but we were made for more than that. Do you not feel it inside your heart that you were made for more than a humdrum experience? And Christ came to bring us that. He came to call on us to get up out of the boat and see what he could do supernaturally in and through us. And this is the whole thing, Christ's supernatural power is so great, so comprehensive, that he can actually work in the everyday ordinary ebb and flow of life and do supernatural things, things of eternal consequence in the way you think, in the way you speak, in the way you work, in the way you play, in the way you do family, in the way you treat other people, other Christians, non-Christians, even enemies, the way you deal with each one of these categories of people can be done supernaturally.

You are called, brothers and sisters in Christ, to a supernatural life. Isn't that marvelous? You were called to it, and I can show it to you from lots of Scriptures. You know, it says that Christ is in us, indwelling in us, in us the hope of glory. He calls us the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. He says, "Your bodies are the temple of the Spirit of God." These are the bodies we are presenting to him daily as living sacrifices. And we're called on to be more than normal, ordinary people. Look at Jesus' statement in the Sermon on the Mount. I've given you a section of Scripture in Matthew 5, at the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, at the end of chapter 5, Jesus says this, "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?" Think about that.

"What are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect therefore as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Do you not see in that the upward call of God in Christ Jesus? Be perfect, go upward. Don't just be like everyone else. Don't be like the ordinary pagans. Live a higher life, a better life. You should be doing more than others. You should be living a supernatural life. For Paul, we see this in Corinthians. He's struggling with this talented spiritually gifted church that just has so many problems and they're faction ridden, and they've got all kinds of difficulties. And he gets to this point in 1 Corinthians 3 when he tells them that they are still worldly. "For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?"

What is the implication that Paul has? From what point of view is he arguing? He's saying you shouldn't be. You should be better than that. You should be acting like spirit-filled men and women. Not acting in an ordinary way. "For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere men?" What is the problem? Paul is expecting the Corinthian Christians to be living an openly supernatural life. They should be different than they are.

Now, this life is impossible to be lived apart from the Spirit of God. It is impossible to be lived apart from the foundation of forgiveness, through faith in the cross. Forgiveness through faith in the blood of Christ. But it is a life that we Christians are called to live and that we can live by his power. Isn't that wonderful?

And look at all the areas that we're going to be covering in the next three weeks, this week and two more weeks. We'll start with supernatural character. We'll start with the heart and love. And then we're going to talk about again this morning, zeal which is also a heart matter. Zeal and service. And then we're going to talk about next week, supernatural joy in trials and supernaturally loving the brothers, getting along with one another, living in harmony with Christians, which sometimes can be a challenge especially if it's me. I'll put it on me.

Sometimes living with other Christians can be difficult, a challenge. But supernatural love for the family of God, and a supernatural stance toward the outside world, dealing with other people, even humble lowly poor people, dealing with them well; a life of hospitality in which you're opening your homes, a life in which you just feel like you're encountering God, people are encountering God when they encounter you. When they come into your home, when they come into your life in some way, they just feel like God is around that person. Supernatural. And then the culmination in chapter 12, a supernatural love for enemies. Giving up on vengeance, giving up on revenge, living an open and forgiving life. Harder to do than you might think. I believe that everyone of us to some degree still is holding on to some bitterness, some unforgiveness, a desire for revenge at one level. And I just think Romans 12 frees us from that, and I'm looking forward to that in the third week.

It All Begins with the Heart

Well, let's start with the heart. Let's start with supernatural character. It all begins with the heart. And verse 9 says, "Love must be sincere." Paul starts with the character. What kind of person you are inside and he starts with love, that's where he begins. Now, Paul's been discussing spiritual gifts, and after discussing practical ministries that we can have, he goes back to this, the motive for your using your spiritual gift. Love. It must be love. But he says it's got to be a sincere love. And he goes to the root matter.

Now, the issue here is one of integrity. The word that's translated here, sincere, literally, literalistically could be brought over from the original language, unhypocritical. Unhypocritical, and unhypocritical love. Now, hypocritical in that original language is like an actor. Okay? An actor, somebody who presents a facade, who's got a mask and you don't see them as they really are.

I read a story about Sir Laurence Olivier, he's one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. And there was a young actor who became famous in his own right eventually, who was a very hard-working actor and who threw himself into the role by gaining a lot of weight and immersing himself in the lifestyle that he was going to be doing in the movie and studying and going all these sort of places. And Lawrence Olivier pulled him aside and said, "What are you doing?" He said, "Well, I want to experience this role so I can do it better." He said, "Why don't you just act?" He said, "Watch," and he just for 10 minutes acted in this sort of way and the guy was blown away.

The essence of acting is that it's not based on being, and he's saying, "You don't need to do all that, just act." Well, that's the exact opposite of what the Lord's commanding on us here. You can't just act like a Christian, you can't just act loving. It can't be a sham. It can't be a facade. It must be unhypocritical. How many times do you hear this, 'Church is full of hypocrites'? Well, I have found that church is full of hypocrites. I've also found, so is the world. Have you ever noticed?

I was talking once to somebody about this, "Oh, you know, you're a pastor, you're in the ministry," and, "I never go to church, full of hypocrites." I said, "What's a hypocrite?" "Well, somebody who doesn't live up to the standard that they have." I said, "Well, what standards do you have for life? Give me, for example, 10 ideas of standards we should live up to and write them down." Well, they didn't want to do all that work. I said, "Alright, then do three. And then just watch and see how well you live up to them." It isn't long before they recognize they're hypocrites, too. I think church is a good place to come and get healed of your hypocrisy. Amen? Get healed of it. But here's a command that says be healed of it. Love must be unhypocritical, it must be sincere, it must go to the core. Don't be two different people. Don't have a secret life.

Matthew 22, it says, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all your soul and with all of your strength, this is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself." Everything that God wants of you is summed up in this, love. But it's got to be a sincere love. You're not going to fool God. There's no facade in front of God. He will be able to see through it. This is such a clear indicator of true Christianity that Jesus said this in John 13:35, "By this will all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another." And so it starts with an unhypocritical love. But we also find in this verse that it's not just a positive matter of love. What you are attracted to, what your soul embraces, what you are yearning for, that's not it alone. It also says love must be sincere, hate what is evil. There is a hatred that's part of the mature healthy Christian life. And it is definitely the other side of the coin on love.

If we genuinely love something, you will hate anything that's opposed to that. For example, if you love a person, you'll hate anything that would destroy that person, right? If you love righteousness then you're going to hate wickedness. You can't just love righteousness and be ambivalent about wickedness, so we must hate what is evil.

Recently, my children were going through a unit study on World War II and one of them brought me a picture in a book. I can scarcely even mention the picture, but it was a group of Russian children about the age of my kids, black and white photo, standing for a photo, a group photo, and they're smiling, waving all this kind of thing, oblivious to the fact that they're about to be murdered by some SS guards and all of them were. They're all dead. That was their last moment on Earth, and I started to cry. And that was 60 years ago.

Now you look at that kind of thing and you say, "That is just evil. It's just evil." And you can't have a blah reaction to that. But I say we have a blah reaction to evil all the time. God calls more things evil than we do. And there has to be a passionate reaction to temptation like not just, "Ehh, not right now." But, "No way! May it never be!" We have to hate what is evil. There's a passion inside. Not just to, like it says, cling to what is good, the very next phrase, like glue, literally a good translation. Cling to what is good, but be repulsed by what is evil. Not just neutral. That's the way God is. And so it begins with the heart.

Part of the heart though is zeal. Look at verse 11, it says, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord." What is zeal?

Zeal is the fire of God in your heart. I think about, for example, the burning bush of Moses, the one that he saw that was burning and burning and burning, but it wasn't burned up. It says also in the Book of Hebrews, our God is a consuming fire. Zeal is like the fire of God, a spiritual fire of God inside your heart. It cause you to burn for his glory. And here it says in verse 11, "Never be lacking in zeal. But keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord."

JC Ryle wrote this, he said, "Zeal and Christianity is a burning desire to please God, to do his will, to advance his glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire which is not natural to men or women, it is a desire which the Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when they are converted to Christ, a desire which some believers, however, feel so much more strongly than others, that they alone deserved to be called zealous men and women. This desire is so strong when it really reigns in a person, that it impels them to make any sacrifice to go through any trouble, to deny themselves anything, to suffer, to work, to labor, to toil, to spend themselves and to be spent, even to die. If only they can please Christ their Savior. A zealous person in Christianity then is preeminently a person of one thing. It is not enough to say that they're earnest, strong, uncompromising, meticulous, wholehearted, and fervent in spirit. No, zealous people see only one thing, they care for one thing, they live for one thing, they're swallowed up in one thing, and that one thing is to please Almighty God."

Well, that's what Ryle says, and I think he's right. There's an intense focus like a laser beam on the pleasure of God. I burn to please God, that's what a zealous person is saying. It's a single-minded focus. Now, Christ had it, didn't he? Did Christ not have zeal for the glory of God? Do you not see it in John chapter 2, when he comes in and finds that the place filled with the traffic of religion, all the concessions, the temple concessions, they're selling sacrifices, and what a scam the whole thing was, how filthy and wretched from top to bottom? And so, Jesus pulls off to the side and takes the time to make a whip. I don't know how long it took him to make that whip, but it's a picture of the wrath of God. It takes a while to get going, but boy, when it's unleashed. And he comes out there and he takes that whip and he moves those animals right out of the temple, and he overturns the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and he says, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a marketplace!"

In John 2, it says his disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." I think that's almost a literalistic prophecy of Jesus' life. Basically, zeal for the house of God ate him up. It killed him. What do you think motivated the high priest and all his henchmen to kill Jesus? Was it his doctrine? What do you think? I think these folks were somewhat more atheological than we might imagine. They were businessmen. It's not personal, only business, right? They're going after him like the mafioso.

But at any rate, it's very serious because Jesus interfered with their business. He didn't do it just once, he did it twice, and so zeal for the house of God led to his crucifixion. But let's go even more directly theological. It is for zeal for the glory of God and zeal for our souls that Jesus shed his blood on the cross. He was willing to die rather than that unforgiven, uncleansed sinner should defile his heavenly realm, and he would rather die than that people he love should burn forever in hell. Both sides are true. Do you see the zeal of Jesus, both for the glory and the holiness of God and for souls like yours and mine? The zeal of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul had it too, didn't he? Do you see the zeal of the Apostle Paul? He said, "I count my life worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." And at the end of his life, he gets to say, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Zeal. And so I say, away with bland, tasteless Christianity. Away with it! Away with it from my life. You should have a flavor as a Christian, don't you think? You should be salty. Jesus said if the salt lose its saltiness, it's worthless, it's no longer good for anything. You should have a distinct flavor. I would hope the flavor would be enticing.  It would be appealing, but you should away with bland Christianity. There should be a fire in your life, a fire in your heart, a fire in your ministry.

I used to go camping, as I've mentioned before, with my father, and he had this incredible little blue stove called an Optimus stove, it was made in Sweden. I'll never forget a little blue box like this. We went camping/hiking. Later in marriage, I just went camping, surrounded by RVs and TV sets and hot showers and stuff. I didn't do that when I was younger. We hiked up to just below the tree line, about 5000 feet up and everything you had, you needed, you carried on your back. And so we have this little Optimus stove, and I'll never forget the heat that that thing would put out, this fiery blue flame that could boil water in about 4 minutes. It's just a picture of that fire. Imagine trying to cook a meal using a candle. Alright? You can't do it, try it sometime. Try to boil water with a pot and a candle. It would take an awfully long time, wouldn't it? Couldn't do it.

But yet I feel like we present to God a candle and say, "Here, use me. Use me." He can't. He won't. Thomas Brooks, a Puritan, said, "Cold prayers freeze before they get to heaven." Well, so does cold service, it freezes before it ever gets to heaven, it can accomplish nothing. Where is your fire? These are big time issues going on. Heaven and earth, eternity in heaven, eternity in hell. That's what we're talking about. Giving Christ an account for every moment of your life, that is big. Giving him an account for every careless word you've spoken, that is big. Making the most of every dollar, every minute, that is big. It should call some fire from you, it should call some passion from you that the name of your Savior, Jesus, is dishonored in this world, it should bother you. It should like the psalmist in Psalm 119 said, "Tears flow from my eyes because your law is disobeyed or dishonored." Well, tears should flow from our eyes because Christ is dishonored. And so, we have to get rid of this idea of laziness. A literal translation here is, do not be slothful in zeal. The NIV gives us, never be lacking in zeal. Basically, don't be lazy in the matter of zeal.

I saw a humorous thing put out by a Christian company, they do different videos and stuff and some of them are pretty good, but it showed two teenage or maybe early 20s something young men, sitting in easy chairs, and behind one of them, a fire starts burning in the kitchen. And he looks over his shoulder and just... So he pulls out his cell phone and he dials a number and it's his friend who's sitting in the next chair over to him. He says, "Hey, there's a fire in the kitchen." And the other guy, just as sleepy as he is, he looks back and says, "Well, what should we do about it?" And then at that moment, it just burns down and burns out, and they shrug and they hang up and keep watching the program. I fear that that's how some of us deal with our lives here on earth. Do not be slothful in zeal. Do not be lazy. God is calling from us diligence in the matter of personal holiness, of growing in grace and the knowledge of Christ, we have to work at it.

God is calling from us diligence in the matter of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, even to our neighbors and co-workers. Do not be slothful in zeal, it says. Especially, I want to focus on zeal for lost souls, passion for the lost around you. You're surrounded all the time by people who don't know Christ as their Savior. Do you care about that? Does that matter to you? Christ had that passion for souls. He said in John 4, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work. Do you not say four months more and then comes the harvest? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, they are white for harvest." He's talking about people.

John 7, on the last and greatest day of the feast, it says Jesus stood and called out in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." Do you see the passion in Jesus for lost souls? For people to be saved? And passion when they're not. In Luke 19:41, it says, "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it." We saw the same passion in the Apostle Paul for his own Jewish people who were rejecting the gospel. In Romans 9, "I speak the truth in Christ, I'm not lying, my conscience confirms it, in the Holy Spirit I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart for I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, those of the nation of Israel." Do you see the passion inside it? Do you have it? Do you have that kind of passion for the lost? Is it in you?

William Carey burned with it. Before he went on the mission field, he was a shoemaker and repairer. He used to carry on a leather globe that he had made, and he would turn it to the part of the world that God had laid on his heart, Asia and India and he'd point and with tears coming down his face, he say, "These are all heathen, they're lost." And that's what made him get on a boat and go.

Henry Martin, educated at Cambridge, he could have done anything he wanted in the world but turned his back on all of it, went to an early grave because of his passion for the lost. He said this, "I would be willing to be torn in pieces if only I could hear the sobs of repentance, if I could see the eyes of faith directed to the redeemer." This is zeal.

I'm going to close with a story I read from a biography of Hudson Taylor, and Hudson Taylor was asked to be a missionary motivation speaker in Toronto, and he went there, I think it was, it might have been actually in the UK, but he wasn't used to that kind of speaking and didn't know what to say, but he brought out of his own missionary experience a story that was moving. And this is what he said, "On a journey from Shanghai to Ningbo," he said, "Among the passengers on board the boat was one intelligent man who, in the course of his travels, had been a good deal abroad. On the previous evening, I had drawn him into earnest conversation about his soul salvation, the man listened with attention, and was even moved to tears but still no definite result was apparent. I was pleased therefore when he asked to be allowed to accompany me and to hear me preach." Then as the story continues, as Mr. Taylor was in the cabin a few moments later, he heard a splash and a cry and running out, found this man had fallen overboard and had sunk in the water.

Instantly lowering the sail of the boat, he sprang into the water and he called to a nearby fishing boat to come with their drag hooks. 'Come!' He cried, his hope revived in his heart. 'Come and drag over this spot directly, a man is drowning, just here.' 'It is not convenient,' was the unfeeling answer. 'Don't talk of convenience,' cried I in agony, 'A man is drowning I tell you.' 'But we are busy fishing,' they responded, 'and we cannot come.' 'Never mind your fishing. I will give you more money than many days fishing will bring. Only come, come at once!' 'How much money will you give us?' 'We cannot stay to discuss that now. Come or it will be too late. I'll give you $5.' 'We won't do it for that,' replied the man. 'Give us $20 and we will drag.' 'I do not possess so much. Do come quickly and I'll give you everything I have.' 'Well, how much is that?' 'I don't know exactly, about $14.' At last, but even then, slowly, the boat paddled over and the net was let down, and less than a minute sufficed to bring up the body of the missing man. All in vain, however, life was gone."

It's not convenient? How much will you give me? Christ is calling on us to have a passion for his service, a zeal for him, for his glory. What is he doing in the world? What work is he doing? Is he not calling people to himself, calling people to salvation? Brothers and sisters, we are rich. We have forgiveness of sins, we have the indwelling spirit, we have a glorious future in heaven, we have everything we need for life and godliness. We also have a high calling, to walk perfectly in this world and to be his witnesses to bring people to salvation. Neve be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Close with me in prayer.

Greek mythology, tells the story of how the ancient city of Athens got its name. Two deities were competing for the privilege of being the patron god or goddess of that city, and the people of Athens, it wasn't named that yet, but the people of that city decided that whatever deity gave the better gift, they would choose that deity. So it's like kind of democratic voting for your god or goddess, but that's how the story went. And so, Poseidon, submitting to the process, took his powerful trident and struck the top of the hill that later became known as the Acropolis, and a fresh water spring was opened up, and fresh water flowed down, beautiful, clear, cool water, ready to drink. And the people were suitably impressed. So that was good for Poseidon, until Athena, the goddess of wisdom, stepped forward with her gift. And it was a tree that they had never seen before, it was an olive tree. And the fruit, it was proven, was good for eating, it was nutritious. When pressed, olive oil came out, that was good for burning for lamps, the wood of the tree was good for construction, it was an incredible gift. And even better, it could multiply, so there would be harvest of olives. It was suitable for the climate, it was a winner across the board. And so, Athena had the right to claim that city as her own, and the people named it after her, the city of Athens.

None of that ever happened, but at any rate, it's a good story, and I was thinking about the gifts that God has given us through Christ. Now, obviously, I could stand here and talk forever about the gift of salvation. "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." Romans 6, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus."

If you've never trusted in Christ, you should know that salvation is a free gift, it's offered to you freely today. Jesus said in one place, "Freely you have received, freely give." God has freely given us salvation. So we could talk for a long, long time about that gift, of the gift of salvation. But this morning, for the second week, I want to talk about a different gift. I want to talk about the gift that God has given us, not that we would receive from Him a fruitful tree that we could eat from, but rather that we would ourselves become fruitful to His glory, that He would make us a tree planted by streams of water yielding its harvest, season after season. That we would become a branch in a vine bearing fruit to His glory, and so prove ourselves to be His disciples. That we would ourselves be transformed from narrow, small, hard lives that are worthless, that accomplish nothing, that are dust in the wind, that we're freed from all that, and that we actually are given a role to play, an eternally significant role to play in the advancement of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. That's a gift, isn't it? We're freed from living a worthless life, that's the significance of spiritual gifts. God has given to us a gift, He's given to us, each one of us, if we're Christians, given to us a role to play in the body of Christ. It's different for everybody, a different combination of gifts that come together, but you have a role to play. And so it says in Ephesians 4, that "when he ascended on high, He led a host of captives and gave gifts to men," or so it says here in verse 6, "We have different gifts according to the grace given to us."

Now, last week, we talked about spiritual gifts generally. We said, what are spiritual gifts, we tried to understand them, this is all review. I showed how in Romans 12, it's in a key place in the unfolding of the epistle, how after 11 chapters of incredible doctrine, we get chapter 12 of life application. Two verses, in which we're told to present our bodies in living sacrifice, general application, and then immediately we go from there into the topic of spiritual gifts. Therefore, it must be very important. If this is about the first, or really the second thing that he tells us that we should do and be as Christians, this must be important. So it is. We get the same thing in Ephesians 4, we get the same thing in 1 Corinthians 12-14, really all about spiritual gifts, 1 Peter 4, throughout the Book of Acts, we saw the significance of spiritual gifts.

Secondly, last week we gave a definition of spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are special abilities given to each one of us by the grace of God through Christ and through the Holy Spirit, that God uses to build up the body of Christ until it reaches full maturity in Him. And so each one of us has a special gift, a special role to play in the building up of the body of Christ. And so, we have different things listed here, look at verses 6-8, we have different gifts according to the grace given us. "If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith, if it is serving, let him serve, if it is teaching, let him teach, if it is encouraging, let him encourage, if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously, if it is leadership, let him govern diligently, if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." So there are some of the gifts, there are other gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12. Other gifts listed in 1 Peter 4, some others that are really looking for gifts find them even back in the Book of Exodus.

And so, because all of these lists are different from one another, I have concluded that they're meant to be suggestive and not exhaustive. You're not going to get an exhaustive list of gifts, but rather, you start to get the idea of a place you can serve in the body of Christ. We talked also about how these gifts are called grace from God. And I've already mentioned why. Isn't it a wonderful gift from God to be freed from a worthless life? Isn't it a wonderful gift from God to have something worth doing, something of eternal significance, that you don't have to live a life that's dust in the wind, but you can live a life that has eternal consequence? We also talked about Paul's body analogy, used here in Romans 12, "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others." So we have this body analogy, it's more developed in 1 Corinthians 12. And if you put the whole concept together, it's the idea, if there's one body, many members, members have different functions, the members are arranged just as God wants them to be. All members belong equally to the body, all members belong equally to one another. No member is more important than any other, no member is useless. And as members do their function, they build up the body of Christ to full maturity. So that's the body analogy.

We also talked about the significance of this topic to each one of us. And now, you may not think it's significant to you, but it is, and you know why? Because you are going to have to give an account to God on Judgment Day for what you did with your spiritual gifts. You're going to be called to account, and so you must be ready. And the Lord, through His spirit, I believe, this morning urging you to get out and trade with it. Take that talent, or five talents, whatever you have, and get out and use it, because some day you're going to be called to an account. And I talked last week about the significance of this issue for us at this time in our local church history. We need people to step up and use their gifts, and this is going to actually be accelerating more and more as we go on. We need everybody to be serving in some way.

Now, last week, I gave three key steps on how it is this is going to happen. We talked about discovering your spiritual gifts last week. This week, we're going to focus in on developing and using your spiritual gifts. Last week I talked about this, there are certain steps you can go through to discover your spiritual gift. You need to understand that God has a special will for your life, a plan for your life, you need to know that. Secondly, you need to present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing him, every day. You need to be thirdly, transformed by the renewing of your mind, and in that way you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is for you. And fourth, you need to think about yourself, you need to think about yourself properly, you need to think about yourself humbly, according to faith, but you need to think about what you do, think about what you like to do, think about what you're fruitful at doing, you need to think about yourself. Fifth, you need to serve God constantly in a variety of common ways that all Christians are called on to do. We're all called on to do certain things in the body of Christ, even if that's not your gifted area.

And so if you don't know what your gift is, and we're in the discover section, so I'm assuming you're discovering, because you don't know what your gift is, then just get active in serving in a variety of different ways. And then the final step was, wait for validation from the body of Christ, for people to come and tell you, "Listen, what you do is wonderful. When you did that, that was greatly encouraging to me," etcetera. The body will talk to you and tell you what your gifts are.

Now, that's what you can do for yourself. Last week we talked also about what you can do and really should do for others. And here, I think, the churches tend to be greatly under developed. I don't think we really focus on each other the way we should. We need to think more about each other. And Hebrews 10:24 says we should do that. It says, "Let us consider one another to stimulate to love and good deeds." You're supposed to think about each other, think about your brothers and sisters, think about them by name in your Sunday school class, people that you come with, people that you know you're going to meet up with here at the church, in your home fellowship. Think about them by name, spend some time on them in prayer. Say, "What is his gift? What is her gift?" We talked about that last time, discovering your spiritual gift. Alright, that's all review.

Let's talk about this morning how to develop your spiritual gift. How to develop your spiritual gift. Now, the bottom line here as we begin is that spiritual gifts need to be developed, they don't come fully formed, you need to work on them. Mozart was one of the most overwhelmingly talented musical geniuses in history. And at the age of five, he's already traveling around Europe, people are listening to his talent, they're just astonished. He's already writing music and composing at that age. But I was amazed to find out that he dedicated himself to 14 hours a day of piano practice. 14 hours. Now, there's some people in this congregation, I won't embarrass you, but I know that 14 hours a day would be torture for you. 14 hours a day. But here's this genius, and he doesn't say, "Look, I'm a musical genius. I don't need to spend any time developing my gift." He put 14 hours a day in. Then there's Michelangelo, who was probably the greatest sculptor in Renaissance Europe, maybe the greatest of all time. He has the ability to take a block of marble and make it seemingly come alive, like it's breathing. And yet, he was a scientist and a student of art and design, he wrote treatises on it, even to his old age, he's studying how art and design could flourish and could work. He's studying the other thing... The people, the other sculptors, the works that other sculptors and painters are doing, and he's adjusting his own practices.

Charles Spurgeon, is probably the most naturally gifted preacher, perhaps in history. He was gifted with an incredible eloquence, a great memory, great intellect, solid knowledge of doctrine, a winsome personality, and before the age of 20, he's preaching to thousands of people. But he made a lifelong study of his spiritual gift of preaching. I think often about the fact that, regularly, perhaps even weekly, he would sit down with a milkmaid that he knew, a humble, working class girl, and he would preach his sermon to her, and if she didn't understand it, he would change some things, until it was understandable and clear.

Over and over again in history, we've seen incredibly talented men and women, take their talent and develop it into something magnificent, something beautiful. But you know something? It doesn't always happen that way. When I was a student at MIT, I got to study with some of the best and brightest from around the world. And one thing I noticed when I was there is that if you said that somebody has great intelligence you've said almost nothing else about them. They could be great athletes or not, they could be nerds, or not. I didn't want to say it, but it's true. There are actually some of those at MIT. Of course, I wasn't one of them, but at any rate.

There's all different kinds of people, but one thing I notice is that there are some people that just coasted on their talent, they just coasted. They had the ability to just wing it, and they spent a lot of time partying, they spend a lot of time relaxing or doing fun things, they didn't develop a gift. And they got good grades, they even got good jobs, but I thought, "What a waste. What if they had taken that and really applied themselves, what could they have achieved?" And maybe at some point it kicked in and they did. We cannot coast on the spiritual gifts, they need to be developed. 

Now, I get this, especially from two verses in Timothy. They're right in your outline. 2 Timothy 1:6, it says, "For this reason, I remind you," this is Paul speaking to Timothy, "For this reason, I remind you, to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you, through the laying out of my hands." Timothy, add fuel to the fire of your spiritual gift. It's just a flicker right now, or it's a small flame. Make it a bonfire. Make what a bonfire? Your spiritual gift ministry, fan it into flame, make it something big, something magnificent to the glory of God. Fan your gift into flame.

And even better, is 1 Timothy 4:14-16, there it says, "Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters, give yourself wholly to them so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and your doctrine closely. Persevere in them because if you do, you'll save both yourself and your hearers." 1 Timothy 4:15, is the key verse in the entire New Testament on how spiritual gifts should be developed. Look what he says, he says, "Be diligent in the matter of your spiritual gifts. Give yourself wholly to them so that everyone may see," What? "Your progress," that is the development of a spiritual gift.

So the gift comes ready to be developed. It's like a seed that needs attention, it needs cultivation, it needs watering, it needs the Lord's work. And so therefore the work and effort and zeal involved is a large measure, in my opinion, of the worship we give to God by doing our spiritual gift ministry. As you're developing, that is your act of worship to God, the work you put in. And also, friends, it's in complete harmony with God's usual way of dealing with this, isn't it? God wants to see growth, he wants to see development. And so, like it says in Corinthians, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow." And so it is with spiritual gifts. Now, how do we develop them? Well, we're going to get more to this in a minute, but we develop them by using them. We just do. Just as we use them, we're going to be developing them. I'll talk more about that in a minute.

But we also develop these spiritual gifts by studying them, by applying ourselves to the matter of the spiritual gift and learning how to do it better. Each gift ministry has its secrets of the trade, trade secrets, so to speak. You think about the medieval trade guilds, and they knew how to do certain things, and just little by little, your expertise grew and grew. And so we have to study these spiritual gifts. A great example is Timothy's gift of teaching, 2 Timothy 2:15, and there it says, "Study to show yourselves approved unto God, workmen who don't need to be ashamed," and there it says, "Rightly dividing the word of truth." Well, that was his work, but I think the same thing applies to any spiritual gift. Study it, so you can show yourself approved, so that you don't need to be ashamed, but you use your gift well.

And so I think you have to study your gift. I think that's what's going on here in verse 6, it says there, that we have different gifts that differ according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophecy you should use it in proportion to the faith. Now, what I think this means, literally, the analogy of faith, if your gift is prophecy, my interpretation of that is that you're going to be speaking the Word of God directly in the New Testament setting to the people, but be sure that what you say lines up with the body of doctrine, known as the faith. You know how it says in another place? "Keep the faith," or, "Examine yourselves to see if you're in the faith." The words "the faith" means a body of doctrine that we recognize as Christianity. So if your gift is prophecy be sure that the things you utter, the things you speak, are lining up with that which has already been revealed. What is our faith? So study in this way, it's a matter of studying your spiritual gift.

Other gifts, I think, require as well careful study. Those with the gift of administration still need to learn the best way to organize ministries and to lead people winsomely. Those with the gift of giving can study how other great givers in history have used their gift, and then they can get some ideas. In our home fellowship, we're studying Randy Alcorn's incredible book, Money, Possessions and Eternity, and he's a big believer in this, Randy Alcorn is. You know we have prayer warriors and everybody knows in the church who the prayer warriors are? He said that we should also know who the giving warriors are, as well, because just by knowing the way that they think about material possessions, the way they use their spiritual gift can motivate other people.

We looked at a little DVD of some stories of some of these great givers from church history, and one of them was RG LeTourneau, and this man, he's called the father of the American earth-moving industry, talking about these huge machines that just can shape whole areas of the earth, monstrously big machines. As a matter of fact, many of the large machinery that landed on the shores of Normandy on D-Day, he developed, his company developed and gave to the government, so he's an amazing man. And he considered his business a partnership between him and God, and he gave, get this now, 90% of all that he earned for over 50 years. When think about that, it's like, "Oh, wait a minute, I guess he never got good teaching on tithing, it's supposed to be the other way round, you give the 10%, and 90%." He didn't think that way, he just totally reversed the thing and gave 90%.

Listen, as you study a man like LeTourneau and you listen to how he thought, if your gift is giving it will help you develop your spiritual gift. And the same is true really of any spiritual gift. You just study it by learning how others have done it. Those with the gift of hospitality, could still learn and develop their gift by learning how to perhaps open your home to internationals, and how to be culturally sensitive, or do certain things with foods or whatever. There's some women that are incredibly gifted in the area of hospitality, and you can just learn different things by kind of a cross-pollination. And so, we should develop our gifts by studying them and by submitting to the input of others. Bottom line is, we must develop our spiritual gifts so we can be more skillful.

Now, the final step is to use the spiritual gift. In my opinion, that's the main idea of Romans 12, that's what Paul is getting at. He's not going into an extended treatise on what spiritual gifts are, basically, he's urging people to use their gifts. Look at what he says, "If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve. If it is teaching, let him teach. If it is encouraging, let him encourage. If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously. If it is leadership, let him govern diligently. If it is showing mercy let him do it cheerfully."

Bottom line is, just like the parable of the talents, you have received a talent from God. Remember the parable, how he gave five talents to one, and two talents to another, and one talent to another. And the one with the five talents, went out and put his master's money to work, and he gained five more. And the one with the two talents, he went out and put his master's money to work and he gains two more. But the one with the one talent, he's afraid, and he thinks poor thoughts of his master, and he goes and pulls in and hide the thing in the ground, don't be like that. You've got to go out and trade with it, you've got to use your spiritual gift, that's what He's getting it.

And he talks about it. Using them consistently, just get out there and trade with it, use it, and also I think we need to use them in a focused way. The whole idea of spiritual gifts is to know, this is what you should concentrate on. If your gift is teaching, you should teach. It means concentrate on, focus. If your gift is giving, you should think about giving, how to increase your giving, how to develop it. Concentrated on them, focus on them, use them also skillfully. Paul uses descriptive phrases, for example, if your gift is prophecy use it in a certain way in proportion to the faith. If your gift is giving, give generously, lavishly. If your gift is leadership, you should govern diligently, and if it's mercy you should do it cheerfully.

So he's saying there's certain ways that we do it. And I think the whole focus on here is love. You should use your spiritual gift lovingly. The bottom line is that spiritual gifts are expressions of the love of Jesus Christ through you to another person, it's a way that Christ is loving other people through you in a very marvelous way. And so therefore it's for this reason that he ends this whole section in verse 9, with, "Love must be sincere," love must be un-hypocritical, literally. So let the spiritual gifts flow in a way that the body of Christ is built up, and there is a great deal of love. One of the most interesting insights I've had recently about spiritual gifts, is the idea that... Look at verse 5, "In Christ we who are many form one body and each member," look what it says, "Belongs to all the others." What that means is that spiritual gifts, my spiritual gift doesn't belong to me alone, but it belongs to the body of Christ. Your gifts don't belong to you alone, but they belong to the body of Christ.

It's similar to the whole marriage analogy with marital relations in 1 Corinthian 7, where it says, "The wife's body does not belong to her alone, but also to her husband, and the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife," and as they come together, there's such a beautiful unity there. In the same way, in the same way, the spiritual gifts are meant to be shared together. I cannot deprive you of my gift, and neither should you'd be depriving me of yours. They belong to each other, we need it from each other, so therefore we need to use these gifts lovingly. It's for this very reason in my opinion that Paul ends this, we're right in the middle of 1 Corinthians 12-14, he's talking about love, and spiritual gifts was an issue in the Corinthian church. They were using them, but they were boasting and arrogant about them, there was nothing loving about the way they were using their gifts.

And so he writes, 1 Corinthians 13, to teach us how to use the gift. "Love is patient," he says, "Love is kind, it doesn't envy, it doesn't boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it's not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." In context, Paul is writing there about how to use your spiritual gifts, use them lovingly.

Now, we have looked for the last two weeks at spiritual gifts. We've talked about discovering your spiritual gifts, ways you can do it. We've talked this morning about developing your spiritual gifts, so that they grow into something magnificent for God. And I've just exhorted you for the last number of minutes to use your gifts. Just by way of application, the whole sermon's been application, but by way of application. I want to speak to different kinds of folks that might be listening to me this morning. You might be sitting there saying, "I don't think that anything that I do is ever going to make a difference. I've tried different things and I've never had anybody encourage me about anything I do." What I'd urge you to do, is to come again to the scripture and to realize, first and foremost, even though you may have those feelings, you don't have the right to hold back that gift that God has given you. You must get out and trade with it.

You can't be like the person who's got the talent and hides it in the ground. Step out in faith, but ask God for what you want. And if what you want is for somebody or a group of people to come alongside and find out what your gift is and exhort you and encourage, then ask God for it. Trust him and then watch what happens, is you get out and start ministering in a certain way, you're going to find people will come up and start speaking to you words of encouragement. Don't imagine for a moment that your gift is insignificant. There are no insignificant spiritual gifts.

I may be speaking to somebody who knows what their gifts are, and they're using them, they're using them a lot. All I can do is exhort you to keep going, do not grow weary in doing good, keep using your gifts. Let the harvest be in the future. The apostle Paul said, I don't even judge my own ministry, I leave that to the future time. Discouragement nips at the heels of fruitful Christians. Keep using your gifts, keep being out there trading, don't get weary, don't get discouraged, keep using your gifts.

Then there are others that feel you may be disqualified because of sin, you feel like you've sinned and you know what your gifts are, but you just can't use them because some sin has happened in your life. God's grace is there to restore and renew. Look at Peter the Apostle, look how God restored and sent him back up and made him an apostle and he's preaching a great Pentecost sermon, incredible grace of Christ toward Peter. He's the same gracious God today. Don't hide your gift because you think you're disqualified. If you need to confess sin to Him, confess; if you need to repent, definitely repent. But once you've done that, then get out and be active. If on the other hand, you just don't know what your gifts are, you're really not sure, then follow the instructions I gave last week, if you weren't here, get the tape, I gave much more details on how to discover what your gifts are. Friends, there's no excuse for us not to be using our gifts, we need to be out there and doing it.

Now, pretty soon we're going to be looking to start what we call a host ministry, and I think this is going to be an avenue for lots of different gifted people to get involved. What we'd like to do is make our church more user-friendly, friendly to visitors. People who've never been in here don't know where to go on a Sunday morning, don't know what kinds of ministries there are in the church, etcetera. We would like a whole bunch of people that are ready, willing, able and gifted to greet them and bring them into the life of the church, not just on Sunday morning, but in every way. We're going to need people with gifts of administration and leadership, we're going to need people with gifts of service, people certainly with the gifts of hospitality, people with gifts of evangelism, these things are needed. And as we behind the scenes are organizing and putting that together, please watch for that, it's coming soon, and you'll have an opportunity to get involved. Don't hold back, get involved, it's going to be a very fruitful, fruitful ministry.