2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Triumphal Procession in Christ

Please remain standing for the reading of our sermon text. This morning, 2 Corinthians 2:12-14. That can be found on page 1146 in the pew Bibles.

Thank you to Coleman for preaching last week.

In the verses that he worked through, Paul further explained his change of plans. He didn’t want to make another painful visit. That would have been hard on them. Instead, because of his love for them, he thought it best to write a letter and send Titus.

Also from last week, Paul exhorted them to forgive a brother of his sin. What an encouragement to hear. One of the men stirring up controversy had repented. Paul encouraged the church to receive this man back into full fellowship. As Coleman put it, repentance and forgiveness are the Most Precious Remedy Against Satan’s Devices.

OK, that brings us to chapter 2 verse 12 through the end of the chapter. In our verses today, we learn (1) where Paul went next and why, and also (2) from where he draws his strength.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Prayer

One of my seminary professors said to our class once. “If you can do anything else, do not be a pastor.” At the time, I thought, “that is ridiculous.” In fact, I was doing something else. I was working full time in a career and taking classes in the evenings and weekends. And furthermore, I thought, any one of these guys in seminary should be able to do something else.

I didn’t realize what my professor meant until becoming a pastor. It’s not the work-load. Being a pastor is like any career – it often requires long days and unplanned things that come up. Furthermore, he was not talking about work politics. Any job requires navigating difficult dynamics.

Rather, my professor was telling us that being a pastor comes with burdens unlike most careers. Loving and caring for sheep often requires carrying their burdens. It means weeping with them in grief. It means yearning to see change and pleading with the Lord to see reconciliation in families and marriages and in the church. It means suffering with and alongside others.

Now, to be sure, we all carry those burdens for our friends and family. But being a pastor is like multiplying that by 100. My professor was saying “being a pastor is a special calling because of those things.” To be sure, I am not saying “do not come to me or Coleman with your burdens. No, it is a privilege and honor to minister God’s grace and carry them with you.

The reason I’m bring this up is because the apostle Paul carried many many burdens. For him and the apostles, take the burdens of a pastor and multiple that by 100.

Paul not only carries the weight of the people he’s ministering to where he is. But he carries the weight of all of the churches that he helped establish. And that’s a lot

Look back up at chapter 2 verse 4 and you’ll hear what I mean. “I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.” Anguish of heart. Many tears. Abundant love. What a pastoral heart. He was in Ephesus when he wrote the painful letter he’s talking about. His heart was in Ephesus, for sure. But his heart was also in Corinth. He sent that letter with all those emotions – tears and anguish and love.

And as I mentioned, he sent that letter with Titus. Titus’s objective was to deliver the painful letter to the Corinthians and help them see their need to repent. Then following that visit, Titus was to travel to Troas where he was to meet Paul and give an update.

That was the plan.

Now look at verse 12 “When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest (why?) because I did not find my brother Titus there.”

You see, Paul had left Ephesus and travelled north to Troas, which was also in Asia Minor. And when he got to Troas, as he put it, there was a “door opened for me in the Lord.” That’s a phrase Paul has used before. The city was ripe for Gospel ministry. There were believers there and many people were open to hear about Christ Jesus. By the way, in Acts chapter 20, it is in Troas on this same trip that Paul preached late one night. He went on and on. There was a young man Eutychus who was sitting in the window. He fell asleep and then he fell out of the window 3 stories down to his death. But God used Paul to revive Eutychus back to life.

So, Paul is there in Troas, and he is ministering… but his heart is not settled. Titus didn’t show up. You see, Paul was still carrying a great pastoral burden for the Corinthians. The anguish and tears for them were still there.

Maybe Paul thought that Titus was detained in Corinth because they weren’t listening… so maybe Titus needed to stay longer. Paul didn’t know for sure… but the burden was too much. He couldn’t stay in Troas. No, Paul needed to find Titus. So, as it says, he continued on to Macedonia.

Full stop.

Paul pauses the narrative about his travels. In fact, Paul doesn’t pick it back up until chapter 7!

In other words, Paul interrupts himself. He had been sharing about his intense burden and love for them which caused him anguish in his heart. But then he says in verse 14 - “but thanks be to God!” And he gives us an amazing word of Christ’s ministry in him and through him.

Speaking of interrupting, let me take a brief tangent.

Every single one of us here carries different heart burdens. What burdens are weighing you down? Some of your burdens are very very hard. I know some of them. Sometimes we need an interruption. Sometimes we need to say, like Paul, “but thanks be to God.” You may be suffering a difficult illness, but thanks be to God. A relationship dear to you is struggling, but thanks be to God. A child is suffering or is wayward… or a parent is in his or her last days of life. But thanks be to God. Like Paul, you may feel a similar anguish of heart for someone you love, but THANKS be to God.

But thanks be to God… why? Well, there are many reasons to thank God.

But here, Paul hones in on something that directly relates to his ministry.

He writes, “but thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession.”

On the surface, I think we can understand this. Jesus Christ is the victorious king. He has triumphed over his and our enemies – sin, death, and the devil. And now he is leading us. Look at the verb and modifier there. “always leads us!”

Paul is reminding himself this truth. While he is enduring affliction and anguish, God in Christ is always leading him because God is the triumphal king. That is the surface level understanding.

Now, when the Corinthians read this, they knew exactly what Paul was referring to. Remember, Corinth was a Roman city in Greece. It had been destroyed a couple hundred years prior, but Julius Ceasar re-built Corinth. It then became the Roman capital of the region.

So, the Corinthians knew the Roman system. They knew the history of the empire. They knew all the conquests of the emperors and princes and generals of the land. And they knew that when a commander conquered a foreign land, there would be a great triumphal procession in Rome.

It was the highest honor any general could receive. He would be dressed in a purple robe. He would ride in a gold chariot – the triumphal chariot, it was called. His soldiers would march behind him, celebrating the victory. Some of the spoils of war would be carted along. Incense would be burned and the fragrance would waft through the streets masking the usual rancid smell with a sweet aroma. And furthermore, prisoners of war would be dragged behind in chains. And when the envoy reached the Temple of Jupiter, the prisoners would be publicly sacrificed to their false god – Jupiter, by the way their chief deity of justice and authority.

It was quite the display of victory and triumph. Celebrations throughout Rome would break out and many in the city would join in the great celebration.

So, when Paul says … “God… in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere,” …that imagery would come to mind.

Now, there has been two main interpretations of this metaphor. The first is that Paul considered himself one of the soldiers or lieutenants following Christ in the triumphal procession. John Calvin held this view. He’s been on my mind since we were studying him today in Sunday school. Calvin wrote, “Paul shared in the triumph that God was celebrating… just as the chief lieutenants shared in the general’s triumph by riding on horseback behind his chariot.”

That’s a very reasonable interpretation, I think. As Paul is continuing on from Ephesus to Troas to Macedonia, he is like a soldier of Christ, being led by him. Thanks be to God for that.

However, even Calvin agrees that the word “triumph” in the Greek includes triumphing over us.

I’ve been wrestling through this all week. You see, the other main interpretation is that God, in Christ, triumphed over Paul.

In other words, the imagery Paul gives may not be as a soldier, but as one of the captives being led to his death. Now, mind you, he’s a joyful captive. But isn’t it true, God conquered Paul’s heart. He had been an enemy of God, persecuting and killing God’s people, but God took him captive. Paul bowed the knee in submission to Christ. He forsook all his sin and evil ways. The cross of Christ became his life. In fact, multiple times in his letters, Paul refers to himself as a “prisoner of the Lord” or a “prisoner of Christ Jesus.”

And that interpretation aligns with the rest of 2 Corinthians. Paul and the apostles had been enduring affliction and trials and persecution as a testimony of their apostleship. Paul is a prisoner in that sense - bound to God’s call in his life. And Paul is on the triumphal procession to his death, suffering as an apostle. And as I mentioned, it’s a joyful imprisonment because in his death, he will be given new life.

I think this second interpretation is likely what Paul is implying.

But either way, it is Christ who is leading the triumphal procession. Jesus is the one who through the cross and in his resurrection accomplished the overwhelming victory. The burden of our sin fell on him. Satan and his demonic forces thought that they had the author of life destroyed forever. They thought they had won, but what they didn’t know is that through their very act, God accomplished salvation and defeated them. And when he rose from the grave, he defeated death and sealed Satan’s fate forever.

You see, it is finished! Salvation has been accomplished. And now, Christ is leading us, always, whether as a prisoner or a soldier, in that triumphal procession with him.

Thanks be to God. Because even with the burdens we carry, we can rejoice in his victory.

Now, I think… Paul could have ended it there. It’s a wonderful image of being led in Christ’s triumphal procession. But that is not the end of Paul’s illustration.

No, he also uses the imagery of fragrance. As the triumphal procession continued through the streets of Rome, as I mentioned earlier, incense filled the air. Spices were soaked and slowly burned which gave off a pleasing aroma – it was the smell of victory.

When I was growing up, my grandmother had a few little ceramic potpourri bowls. They were filled with flower petals and dried fruit and spices like sticks of cinnamon. All of it was mixed with water. And underneath the ceramic bowls, were little candles. The little flame would heat up the mixture and the smell would permeate the house.

Of course, I was mesmerized by it. Not the smell, but the candles. Anything with fire is mesmerizing for boys… that doesn’t really change when boys grow up!

But anyway, when you entered my grandmother’s house, it had a sweet aroma. And when I smell a similar smell today, it kind of transports me back in time to her home.

In Rome, the incense bowls were big, and the smell would fill the streets. As the triumphal processional passed by street after street the aroma of burning incense would fill the whole city.

Paul likens the fragrance to the aroma of Christ spreading throughout the world.

And what is that aroma?

The aroma is the aroma of Jesus’ sacrifice. The reason I say that because the language parallels how the burnt offerings were described in the Old Testament. In Leviticus, the offerings were called “a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” That very phrase “pleasing aroma” is used 16 times in the book of Leviticus and 18 times in the book of Numbers. What I am saying is that use of the word “aroma” intentionally connects to the idea of a sacrifice.

And all those sacrifices and offerings of old come together and are fulfilled in Christ.

Now to be sure, this text in 2 Corinthians does not make the explicit connection to the sacrifice of Christ for our sin. But listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 5 verse 2: “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

When we follow Christ and walk in his love and testify to his sacrifice… then the pleasing aroma of Christ will emanate from us. His fragrance will permeate to those around us. When the church does this as a whole, many will be drawn to the love and grace and hope and forgiveness and community that God has given us in him.

And by the way, look how the fragrance is described in verse 14. “The fragrance of the knowledge of him.” You see, the aroma of Christ in us and coming from us is more than just the testimony of our lives. Yes, it absolutely includes that. But the aroma is also the testimony of our words …as we declare Christ’s sacrifice and his love… which includes the call to repentance and faith.

So, when we love God and reflect that love, and speak of God’s love and the salvation accomplished and offered in Christ, we we do those things, then we will exude the aroma of Christ.

And look at what will happen. Again, up in verse 14. The fragrance will spread “everywhere!” You see that word? The aroma of Christ will permeate to every corner of the earth. Every nation. It is and it will expand to every people, every language, every tribe.

It’s been almost 2000 years since Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice. Yet, his fragrance is still spreading today – more so than ever. The Gospel of Christ which Paul preached has been expanding ever since and will continue to expand until Jesus returns.

And how does that expansion work? Through us. As the aroma of Christ works in us, it then emanates from us. Others then received it. And they, in turn, pass that fragrance on. We “are the aroma of Christ,” as Paul puts it.

Alright, let’s look now at verses 15 and 16.

We learn an important thing here. The aroma of Christ will have one of two effects.

Number 1: The fragrance of Christ will be a sweet aroma to those who are “being saved.” That is the phrase right there in verse 15. In other words, those whom God has called, whom the Holy Spirit turns to him will smell the aroma of Christ. It will be pleasant, and it will draw them to him. Verse 16 reinforces that. The aroma of Christ will be a fragrance from life to life. The aroma will be the sweet smell of life which will yield new life to them.

Burt there’s a second effect: Not everyone who smells the fragrance of Jesus sacrifice will smell that sweet aroma. No, for those who reject Christ, who, as it says “are perishing” the aroma will not be sweet. Rather, it will be the stench of death. The aroma will permeate to them, but it will sadly be, as verse 16 says, “from death to death.” The smell of death will lead to death.

I want to say this... if you are smelling the aroma of Christ for the first time. Meaning if you are hearing about Jesus sacrifice on the cross. It is the most beautiful aroma. It is the most beautiful testimony of God’s love.

Here’s what I mean. Every single one of us. Every single person who ever lived has offended God. We’ve rejected him. We’ve rejected his law and promises. And God in his perfectly just nature is justified to treat us as enemies. Because of the unholiness of our sin we cannot be in God’s holy presence. We deserve to suffer the captive’s fate.

But God, because of his great love, sent his son, the eternal son of God, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die and receive God’s wrath in your place. And the only requirement for you is to believe that by faith – to forsake your sin and turn to him. In other words, in his sacrifice is life.

That is the pleasing aroma that Christ offers you – life in him. As you smell this aroma, so to speak, receive it with joy and with faith. Join the triumphal procession as a captive of Christ… and celebrate his triumph!

May the aroma be a pleasing aroma because God is saving you.

As we draw to a close, let’s go back to the apostle Paul. He is saying that he is spreading the aroma of Christ in his life and his ministry. And he makes an important point in verse 17. Being the aroma of Christ is not like selling goods. It’s not something to be “peddled”, as verse 17 puts it. That’s what was happening in Corinth. The false teachers and so-called “super apostles” were treating the Gospel like a business. They were using it for their glory and using the people in the process. But no, Paul calls us to “sincerity” (that’s the word he uses)… and calls us to “to speak in Christ.” In other words, we’re to let the aroma of Christ overwhelm us. Out of a heart that has the love and grace of Christ, we can then let the aroma of Christ flow to others. And that sweet fragrance will then draw people to him.

Even in our trials, and suffering, and the anxiousness of our souls, may we know that Christ is leading us on that triumphal procession. May we give thanks to God for that. And may God use us to spread the pleasing aroma of Christ everywhere. Amen

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2 Cor 1:12-22

Change of Plans and Plans that Never Change

Please remain standing and turn to 2 Corinthians 1:12-22. That is on page 1145 in the Pew Bible.

In these verses, the apostle Paul explains three things. First, his own manner of life as it relates to the Corinthians. Second, Paul explains his change of plans. And third, he explains that the promises of God never change.

Listen for those three things as I read.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 1:12-22

Prayer

“Who moved my cheese?”

That question is the title of a 1998 book that has sold over 30 million copies. Maybe some of you have read it.

It’s about 4 characters who live in a maze. Day in and day out they are looking for cheese. Well one day, the cheese is not in its usual place. And one of the characters, in frustration, exclaims, “who moved my cheese?”

It’s really a book about change. We are creatures of habit. We like things to stay consistent. We like our plans to work out the way we planned them. When things don’t go as expected, we resist or we blame, or we make bad assumptions. Or we worry about the future.

Well, the apostle Paul moved the Corinthian’s cheese, so to speak. You see, Paul had told the church in Corinth that he planned to visit them, but those plans changed. In fact, Paul’s plans to visit had changed two times.

First, at the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul told them that he planned to visit them after travelling through Macedonia. Well, that didn’t work out.

Second, he mentions here, in 2 Corinthians 1 verse 16 that he had hoped to visit them twice, but he didn’t. Further, if you remember from a couple of weeks ago, Paul had made an emergency visit to them. That was an unplanned trip. And following that visit he wrote a painful letter, as he described it.

So, Paul had set expectations with the church in Corinth, but over the prior few months, he made multiple changes of plans.

What if Sinclair Ferguson, well-known Scottish preacher, promised to visit us? We had him scheduled to preach. But he had to back out. So, we rescheduled. And again he had to cancel. Then one day Sinclair Ferguson did show up, but his visit was unplanned. We had to scramble to accommodate him. How would you feel about that? Now, I know it’s not the same. Sinclair is not an apostle, nor do we know him personally.

But the Corinthians did know Paul. And he did promise to visit. And because of his changed plans, they were frustrated. We get that sense in verses 17. Paul uses the word “vacillating.” They thought he was wishy washy. In that same verse he asks whether he makes his plans according to the “flesh.” That word flesh is often in Scripture used to indicate sinful desires and actions in contrast with living according to the Spirit. Because his plans changed, some believed he was therefore not walking by the Spirit.

So, all these questions were swirling about. And I want to remind you about the group that had been undermining Paul. The reason Paul defends himself in this letter is because of their accusations. This group was using Paul’s change of plans to undermine his authority. They were in essence taking advantage of the Corinthians’ doubt and assumptions and unmet expectations and using those thing against Paul.

Paul moved your cheese, how can you trust this guy? After all, he says one thing, but he does another. His “yes” is not “yes,” his “no” is not “no.” That is not how someone led by the Spirit would act. No, this Paul guy is being led by the flesh. With all his vacillating, can he even be an Apostle?

And some of the Corinthians were persuaded.

So, Paul wants to clear things up. That is the premise and purpose of these verses. And as I mentioned up front, he does that by communicating three things.

· First, in verses 12-14, Paul reminds them about the testimony of his own life and his love for them. That’s really important for them to remember.

· Second, verses 15-17, Paul explains that his plans do not undermine his love for them nor his ministry

· and then, third, verses 18-22, he tells them that there’s something that never changes - God's promises fulfilled in Christ.

So, that is where we are headed this morning.

1 Paul’s Life and His Love

So, again, #1, in verses 12-14, Paul begins by testifying to his own life and his love for them. By the way, it’s not just his life, it’s also those who were with him, like Timothy.

Now, let me ask you this. When someone questions your decisions, what is your first response? Do you get defensive? Sometimes I do. Do you dismiss the person? Do you turn the tables on them and start questioning them? Those are the kinds of things that we tend to do. Right?

Well Paul doesn’t do any of that. No, instead, he lovingly responds.

Look at verse 12. Paul begins with a reminder about their time together. He and Timothy modelled “simplicity” and “godly sincerity” in their lives. You can see those words there. What Paul means is that he and Timothy demonstrated their deep faith by (1) living a simple lifestyle and (2) doing that with sincere hearts seeking to honor God in their lives. And look at that phrase there at the end of 12. They were doing that, it says, “not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.”

He was reminding them that when he and Timothy were in Corinth, they loved them well. They built them up in the Word, through the Spirit. They were gentle and peaceable. Their lives testified to the grace of God, especially in their relationship with the Corinthians.

Verse 13 essentially extends that same idea to what they wrote. Paul and Timothy have been very consistent in their lives and letters.

And then verse 14. It’s so encouraging. Look at it, the second half. “on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.” That word boast comes up many times in this book. It’s a joyful confidence in God’s work in someone. So, it’s not negative, it’s positive. It’s not pridefully bragging in one’s own strength and will, instead it’s boasting in what God has done.

Here’s what Paul was saying: when Jesus returns in glory, we will give praise to God for your lives and you will praise God for ours. You have built us up in the Gospel and we have built you up. And glory to God in Christ when he returns! What an amazing testimony.

You know, I brag about you. It’s true. Sometimes people ask me how church is going. And I describe how you love and care for one another. And how you seek to build each other up in the Word through the Spirit. And how your hearts love your neighbors. Now, I am not really boasting about you in and of yourselves. No, rather, I am boasting about God’s work in you and through you. It will be great on that day when Jesus returns to see one another … and to boast of what God’s has done here in Tucker.

That is what Paul is doing here. He’s boasting in Christ.

He’s drawing them back in to the relationship that they have with him. Especially after that emergency visit and painful letter… he wants to re-affirm his commitment and love for them.

2 that his change of plans do not undermine his ministry

Isn’t that a great way for Paul to begin? In fact, all of these verses from 12-22 are positive. As you know, sometimes Paul strongly exhorts the church, but here he lovingly encourages and explains.

And actually, these next verses, 15-17, continue to display Paul’s heart for them.

Look at verse 15 and 16. Two times he says, “I wanted to come.” In verse 15, “…I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first…”

and then in 16… “I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia.” He was saying, this was and is my heart for you. Don’t interpret my change of plans as a lack of interest or love. In fact, we will find out next week that his love for them was one of the reasons he changed his plans.

Let me mention a brief side note. That phrase “double blessing of grace” is something that relates to chapters 8 and 9. It’s the grace of giving. We’ll see what that means in a couple of months.

Plans sometimes change because God redirects us. Doors close. Other paths open. New dynamics may require re-evaluating. And when we are resistant to change, it may actually indicate an unwillingness to let the Lord lead. Not always, of course. And to be sure, the number one responsibility we have in letting the Lord’s lead us is pursuing him and his righteousness.

For Paul, his willingness to change demonstrated his being led by God in the Spirit. Paul’s life demonstrated that. On his second missionary journey, Paul was in Asia and he had planned to revisit all the churches he had planted there. But God redirected him to Macedonia. And he obeyed. And through that, God brought the Gospel to Europe for the first time.

We submit our plans to the Lord, we move forward with those plans by faith, but we allow God to direct and at times redirect our steps.

Some of you were around 5 years ago. We had our plans in place. I think it was almost exactly 5 years ago that we set our launch date for the end of March, 2020. We had a location lined up. We were excited. As the date got closer, we got the word out. Then the world shut down because of COVID. All of us here learned many things during that time. We learned to trust in the Lord. We learned the importance of prayer. And one of the things I learned was to have an open hand with our plans. It’s not our church, it’s the Lord’s church. When we hold on to our plans with a tight fist, we can miss the blessing of how the Lord leads and guides.

When Paul asks whether he was vacillating? Verse 17. The implied answer is “no.” He also affirms that he was not saying “yes, yes” and “no, no” at the same time.

By the way, the double “yes” and double “no” was a cultural thing. If you said “yes” twice, it was a definitive yes. “No” twice, was a definitive “no.” Apparently if you just said “yes” once, it was like saying “yes” while crossing your fingers behind your back. You didn’t really have to mean it.

This is related to what Jesus said in Matthew 5, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” And it is similar to what James said. “Let your yes be yes or your no be no, or you will be condemned.”

You see, in verse 17, Paul was insinuating a severe critique. Some were saying that Paul says “yes, yes,” and “no, no” at the same time! They were saying he was a liar!

Paul’s answer is bound up in the question itself. No, that is not the case at all. Paul is being led by the Spirit, not by the flesh. Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

Even though Paul is an Apostle, he does not have divine foresight into the future. No, he faithfully plans his ministry, but he allows God to lead and guide according to God’s grace, not earthly wisdom, as he put it.

Ok, To recap. Paul’s heart has not changed for them, even though his plans changed, His life and his letters testified to his faith and love. He still boasts in God’s work in them. Those times that he said he would come, he earnestly desired to do so. It was not vacillating in the flesh but rather being led by the Spirit.

3 There’s something that never changes – God’s promises in Christ

And that brings us to verses 18-22. Really, these verses are the center of this whole section from chapter 1 verse 12 to chapter 2 verse 4. We’ll get to the rest next week.

Paul has been leading up to these words. He gives us here the immoveable rock in the midst of change. Despite all of his changed plans, here’s what he says to them in verse 18 “As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No.” In other words, yes, plans may have changed, but our message has not changed.

What he preached to them when he planted them… what he wrote to them in his multiple letters… what he said to them in his emergency visit just a few months prior, has not changed.

That’s because, God’s promises in Christ never change.

Verse 19 “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes.” Jesus whom we proclaimed is always “yes.”

By the way, notice that Paul names himself, Timothy, and Silvanus. The testimony of three witnesses establishes the truth of this matter. They were there with Paul. Their message never changed, and that message is the message of Jesus Christ.

Verses 20 is definitely the most well-known verse in this passage. “All the promises of God find their yes in him.” That is, in Christ Jesus.

God’s plan from before the foundation of the world has always been “yes” (so to speak) in Christ Jesus. That’s because all the promises of God find their yes in him.

If I could go back in time and experience one event in the Bible, it would probably be Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Jesus was with two men after his resurrection. They didn’t recognize him. And as they were walking, Jesus began explaining how the promises and prophecies of old have been fulfilled in him. Luke 24:27 says, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Wouldn’t that have been amazing to hear?

As you know, Sinclair Ferguson is not here. He was planning to come, but his plans changed. Just kidding.

Here’s what Ferguson said about all the promises of God finding their “Yes” in Jesus.

“He is the seed of the woman who was promised to Adam and Eve. He is the seed of Abraham who was promised to Abraham and Sarah. He is the true Melchizedek Priest. He is the true Prophet that God promised to Moses He would raise up. He is the King that He promised to David would sit upon his throne. He is the Son of Man that Daniel envisaged. He is the suffering Servant about whom Isaiah spoke. He is the Root out of Jesse whom [Isaiah] also prophesied. Every single line of promise that we find in the Old Testament Scriptures… meet in Jesus. Which means this: If I want to know the promises of God fulfilled in my life, the place I need to go to begin to experience these promises coming to pass is to Jesus, in whom all of the promises of God are Yes.” Amen to that?

That word, “Amen” is used there in verse 20. We can “utter Amen to God for his glory.” As it says. We can do that, because all of the promises of God do find their fulfillment in Christ. Amen literally means, “let it be so” or “it is true and so.” Jesus is even called the “Amen” in Revelation 3.

Let me put it this way, Jesus Christ is the great Amen and the great Yes in all of history and all of life and in all the universe. He has been and he will be so forevermore.

This unchanging promise in Christ is an unchanging promise for you.

When you have the promise of Christ, that promise will be yours forever. It’s not just a promise out there that God has fulfilled in Jesus. The promise of “Yes” and “Amen” is for you. It is offered to you… and when you receive it by faith, it is yours forever.

That is what Paul is telling the Corinthians. Verse 21 God has “established us with you in Christ.” They are together united to him. And verse 22, he’s “put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

It is guaranteed. Plans won’t change. When you turn your life to God in Christ by faith - that means forsaking your sin and ungodly ways, and turning to him as Lord and Savior… when you do that, God will put his seal on you. Like a king putting his signet seal upon you. You are his. And that will never change. He, Jesus. will be your “yes” and “amen,” forever. You are guaranteed life and peace and redemption in him.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I want to say it again. One of the beautiful things about 2 Corinthians is how Paul always goes back to the Gospel. It’s what we each need to do as well.

Conclusion

Let me summarize. Yes, Paul’s plans changed. But no, his message never changed. That is because God’s plans never change. The promises of God in Christ have always been and always will be yes and Amen. It’s what the Corinthians could be assured of. Despite Paul’s detractors undermining him, he could point to his life in Christ and to the unchanging promise of the one in whom they had life forever.

And it’s the same for us. Despite all the changes in life…. Despite your cheese getting moved, so to speak… despite all the unexpected hurdles and expectations that fall through. when you have to move to a new home, or when you lose your job, or when your friends move away… when you are disappointed or afraid for whatever reason. Despite all of that, there is one innwhom will always be “yes”… All the promises find their yes and Amen in him. His promises will never change. And that is the eternal and unchangeable promises of Christ Jesus for you.

May we be able to say yes and amen to Christ, our rock and redeemer.

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2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Delivered by God, Sustained by Prayer

Please remain standing for the reading of our sermon text – 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. That is on page 1145 in the pew Bibles

These verses continue the theme from last week. The apostle Paul was expressing the comfort of God to the Corinthians. He wanted them to be comforted by the comfort of Christ in their suffering and also share that comfort.

These verses, 8-11, continue that theme. Paul now gives them an example - a life threating affliction that he experienced.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 1:8-11.

Prayer

There is strong evidence that most of the apostles were killed for their faith… for their gospel ministry. We call that being martyred. For example, James, the brother of the apostle John, was executed by king Agrippa. We know that for sure from the book of Acts chapter 12.

That is the only one recorded in the Bible, but we have other historical testimonies from the early church fathers. They wrote about how Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. How Thomas was killed in India. How Andrew was crucified in Greece on an X shaped cross. And how Paul was beheaded under the persecution of Nero.

Other accounts exist as well. And while we can’t absolutely verify the details, the evidence supports those accounts.

Some of you will know this, but before the apostle Paul’s radical conversion, he was the one persecuting and even killing Christians. Yet God transformed his life. He was confronted by Jesus himself on the road to Damascus. Even though he was temporarily blinded, God opened the eyes of his heart, he could now see the truth clearly. Instead of being a persecutor he became one of the persecuted.

In fact, at the time of his conversion, God revealed to Paul, what he must suffer. God told a man named Annanias to find Paul. Annanias was hesitant because he knew Paul’s history. But listen to these words spoken by the Lord to Annanias.

“Go, for he [that is, Paul] is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

And suffer, Paul would. In the book of Acts we have account after account of Paul’s imprisonments, beatings, and other persecution. And we don’t even know the half of it! Later in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, Paul lists many more than we have recorded elsewhere. Five times he received what was known as 40 lashes minus 1. That is whips on his back. Three times he was beaten with rods. One time he was stoned. He had been left for dead.

You see, Paul and the other apostles endured intense persecution because of their Gospel ministry. And eventually would be martyred,

I’m telling you all this because when we read 2 Corinthians, it’s important to understand and apply this book correctly. And we can do that on three levels.

· First and foremost, Paul is defending his apostleship. The apostle’s ministry was patterned after Christ’s ministry of persecution unto death. The affliction and martyrdom that Paul and the others endured testified to God’s special call for them. So, the first layer of application is to affirm their apostleship and this word from God and to therefore reject false teachers and false apostles.

· Second, the call to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth still applies today. And while there are no more apostles, capital A, yet God still calls many to bring the love of God in Christ to places that have never received the good news of Jesus Christ. And it is a sacrifice. There are those, today, who give their lives for that great cause. Martyrs, who in their frontier mission work, testify in their life and death to the risen Christ and hope in him. That is the second level of application. Those being persecuted for their faith receive a special comfort from these verses.

You with me, so far? The first level application, again, is the apostle’s persecution and affliction which testifies to their apostleship. The second level of application is in the affliction and comfort of those who are afflicted because of their faith.

Now, some people draw the line there. They say that those are the only two levels of application here. In other words, they say we should not extend the application to the other kind of suffering… like sickness, hardships, emotional or relational pain, or grief. But I disagree with that.

· I want to make the case (like many others have) for a third layer of application in 2 Corinthians. If you have your Bible open to 2 Corinthians 1, look at verse 3 from last week. God is to be worshiped because he is the God of “all” comfort. That is pretty broad... “all.” And if you look at verse 4, the word “all” is used again. Then Paul says that they want to comfort others who are in “any” affliction. Again, it’s a very broad application of comfort in affliction… “any.” Here’s what I am saying… the giving and receiving of comfort in suffering also applies beyond those in dangerous missions work. I mentioned last week that we are not talking about worldly comfort, but rather the comfort of assurance and peace and being encouraged and strengthened in Christ to endure.

As the theme of suffering and comfort comes back around over and over, we’ll apply it on those three levels.

I wanted to say that up-front because it relates to today’s verses…

Ok, before we get into verses 8-11, I want to share one more thing. Amy told me this after last week’s sermon. The verses from last week are very meaningful to her family. 30 years ago, Amy’s brother died in a small plane accident. He was 23 years old at the time. A dear friend of the family shared these verses of comfort with Amy’s dad. That friend who shared those verses had himself been comforted by those very words. Years earlier his daughter had died in an accident. He was sharing with Amy’s family the comfort of Christ with which he himself had been comforted in his suffering.

It's a beautiful picture of sharing Gospel comfort with one another.

Now look at verse 8. It begins with the word “for.” It’s a connecting word. “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia.” The apostle Paul directly connects this new paragraph to what he has just written to them. He is saying, let me now give you an example of our affliction through which you can be comforted.

The big question, of course, is what exactly happened in Asia? That would be helpful information.

And the answer is, we don’t know exactly.

However, I do want to give you a couple of possibilities. Look at how Paul describes the event in the second half of verse 8. “We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.” It was very difficult. Verse 9 makes the event even more intense. “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.”

Whatever the situation they found themselves in, they thought they were going to die.

Earlier in the service, we read from Acts 19. One possibility is that Paul was referring to the riots in Ephesus. Ephesus was, after all, the capital of Asia at that time - Asia minor.

You see, in Ephesus, Christianity had been spreading and transforming it in a good way. But it was bad for business. What I mean is that the church had been preaching against idols and idolatry. Well, that meant that all the merchants who were selling little “g” god idols were losing money. And so, Demetrius, the silversmith stirred up a riot. As you know, when a crowd gets stirred up, it can easily turn into an angry mob. When that happens, people lose any sense of peace or moderation… if they even had any to start with.

Well, this mob in Ephesus dragged off two of the believers, Gaius and Aristarchus. They were, in fact, two of Paul’s travelling companions. It’s amazing that these men and others were not killed. God delivered them… he used the Roman authority to calm the crown down.

You can see, it is possible that Paul was referring to this event – After all, they thought they had received the sentence of death, broadly speaking.

The only thing is that Paul was not in the midst of it. He was not at the theater where the riot occurred. The other believers wouldn’t let him go out of fear for his life.

So, we do not know for sure if this was the event.

Another possibility is in 1 Corinthians 15. There Paul mentioned that they fought with “wild beasts” in Ephesus. Those were the words he used. Now, to be sure, he was not talking about literal beasts, but rather men so evil it’s as if they were wild beasts. So, there was a second event where they had been attacked. They could have felt the same sentence of death that he describes.

Maybe it was some other event. We ultimately don’t know. But whatever it was, Paul and the other with him were overwhelmed. They feared for their life, and despaired of what was going to happen. Paul described what they felt as “burdened beyond our strength.”

Let me ask, have you been there? Have you experienced something so intense and so difficult that you could not see any path out of the burden? That is what they experienced.

In the garden of Gethsemane the night before he was crucified, Jesus prayed, “Father, take this cup from me… yet not my will but yours be done.”

I think it is safe to presume that Paul and those with him prayed a similar prayer. And what happened? God delivered them.

So, while we don’t know exactly what happened, we certainly know how it affected them and we know that God delivered them.

And furthermore, we know two more things.

· We know what God taught them.

· And we also know how the church was to help them.

So, let’s turn our attention to those two things. Again, what did they learn and how can the church help.

What they Learned

Number 1: what did they learn in their suffering?

You know what? We don’t have to guess. No, actually, Paul tells us right there in verse 9 – the second half. “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

In the middle of our affliction, suffering, trials, God desires that we rely on him. And I want you to notice something very important here - the order of what happened. Paul first says that they learned to rely on God and not themselves… THEN in verse 10 he says that God delivered them. That’s important. It was not after God delivered them that he taught them to rely on him. No, it was in the middle of feeling the sentence of death. That is when they learned to rely on him.

That’s hard to do, isn’t it. Because in the moment, we often feel so overwhelmed. Yet it is in that very moment that we need to rely on God the most.

And why we can rely on him and trust in him in those very moments? Well, it is for this reason: God raises the dead. That is what he did. God raised Jesus Christ from the grave. And that is what he will do. He will raise the dead.

At the very height of the intense burden… feeling the sentence of death, what did God teach them? He taught them to not rely on their own strength but to turn their hearts to the one who raises the dead.

It is the greatest promise that we can rely on in our affliction.

Some of you may recognize the name Donald Barnhouse. He pastored 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia back in the mid 20th century. Sadly, when his children were young, his wife passed away. As you can imagine, he struggled to have the words to comfort his children. Well, on the way to the funeral, one of his children asked, “Daddy, why did mommy have to die?” At that moment, God gave him words of comfort for his children. You see, right then, a large truck drove past them and cast its shadow over them. And he asked his children, “would you rather be run over by the truck or by its shadow? His youngest child responded first, “the shadow. It couldn’t hurt anybody.” Barnhouse replied “Remember, children, Jesus let the truck of death strike him, so that it could never destroy us. Mother lives with Jesus now—only the shadow of death passed over her.” She lives.

He was telling his kids… death is not the end. And while we grieve, we grieve knowing that God raises the dead. We each will experience the death of our bodies, yet we have that sure hope in our resurrection because of his. Those in Christ will be raised with him forever

Let’s go back to the apostle Paul and those with him. God did deliver them in that moment. God still had more work for them to accomplish in this life. More suffering to endure. More people to share the hope of Christ. More letters to write, like this one. More churches to plant. God delivered them.

I want you to notice something in verse 10. The word deliver is used three times. The first use is past tense. “[God] delivered us from such a deadly peril.” Then twice, future tense. “God will deliver us.” That future deliverance involved first, hoping and praying that the Lord would deliver them again in their earthly circumstances. But second, the future deliverance meant that whatever happened, God would deliver them forever. Death in this life will only be a shadow because God raises the dead.

Paul and those with him learned to rely on God who will deliver them. They “set their hope” on it (that is the phrase used)…. They “set their hope” that God would deliver them from the next sentence of death in this life. But they knew that their ultimate deliverance would be beyond the grave.

And as I mentioned, at God’s appointed time, Paul suffered a martyrs death. But he lives.

Lets bring this together… what was God teaching them? He was teaching them… to rely on him. His strength, his purposes, his means, and not on themselves. God reminded them that he raises the dead. That is the most profound truth for those in Christ… especially in our suffering and affliction. God will deliver you. We pray for and set our hope on deliverance in this life from whatever affliction we are enduring… but ultimately, we rest on Christ and his eternal promise. We will be delivered because God raises the dead.

How they should help

OK, that brings us to the other thing we learn in these verses.

We learn the primary thing the church can and should do for those suffering. And that is, pray!

Now, there are a lot of things that we can do to support one another as we go through affliction. Last week, we learned we can share the comfort of Christ with each other. Obviously, Paul had that in mind – he had just written that. And of course, we can come alongside each other in several other tangible ways. But the most important thing that we can do for anyone in any trial or affliction is pray. Pray with them and for them.

Now, remember, Paul was not there with the church in Corinth. That is why he wrote to them. So, the church in Corinth could not help him and support him in the middle of this affliction. But they could pray.

Look at verse 11. “You also must help us by prayer.” That is pretty strong. Paul petitioned them to pray. They needed prayers from the church in Corinth.

As we think about how that applies to us today. Number one, we need to be praying for those on the front lines of mission work around the world. We do that. We know and support several that are on those front lines of Gospel ministry. And we need to continue that and maybe increase our prayers.

Praying for their ministry… praying for protection… praying for them to rely on God who raises the dead. Praying that through their ministry, that God would change hearts and minds and increase his kingdom. All those things.

We also need to be praying for the persecuted church. Last week, Open Doors published their annual report of persecution. They are a ministry which focuses on information and prayer for the persecuted church. They estimate that last year 380 million Christians across the world faced persecution… and about 4,500 Christians were killed for their faith. We need to pray. God will work through our prayers to bring deliverance or endurance just as he did for Paul.

Let me ask this: What does Paul assume by telling them they must pray? Well, he believes prayer is powerful and effective. God hears our prayers. Look how he describes the importance of prayer in verse 11. He says, “many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” You see that? The Apostles will be blessed because of the prayers of the church. Our prayers will build up those in Gospel ministry. Though our prayers, God will give them confidence and reliance on him.

So, we need to press on in our prayers for those experiencing persecution.

Let’s take this down to that third layer of application. We need to pray for those in any kind of suffering…. Like what I mentioned earlier: sickness, hardships, emotional pain, or grief. To say it again, there are other ways we can and should support one another. But the most important is prayer.

And we absolutely can pray for deliverance. If it’s sickness, we can and should pray for healing. God heals. If it’s emotional or spiritual, we can pray for the Holy Spirit to intercede. If it’s relational we can pray for reconciliation. We can pray boldly for comfort and peace, and healing.

The same confidence that the apostle Paul had in prayer should be the same confidence that we have in prayer. May we pray for these things.

Conclusion

So, God raises the dead. If your only hope in life and death is in the Lord Jesus Christ, then this great promise is one you can rely on in your affliction. God will ultimately deliver you forever.

But God also can deliver you from affliction in this life. We trust in his providence, but we pray and hope that God will intercede. We boldly pray, knowing that our prayers for one another are powerful and effective.

In our suffering, may God direct us to rely on him and the power of his resurrection. And may we pray for one another and especially those enduring affliction because of their faith in Christ.

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2 Corinthians 1:3-7

The Comfort of Christ in Our Affliction

Please remain standing for the reading of our sermon text. We are continuing in 2 Corinthians chapter 1. This morning, 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. That is on page 1145 in the provided pew Bibles.

As a reminder, last week, Paul emphasized his apostleship. He was writing to them, to the church of God in Corinth, as an apostle of God. Paul had been appointed by God in this special role. The reason he emphasized that point is because some in Corinth had been questioning Paul’s legitimacy.

As we read, we are reading the Word of God given to us through the apostle of God.

As you hear this Word, know that it is the very Word of God.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Prayer

Why has God allowed this suffering in my life or my loved one? What are his purposes in it? Does my trial mean that God is displeased with me? Will it ever end?

Every one of us, in some way or to some extent, struggles through these questions.

And we generally struggle through them on two levels. On the one hand, the intellectual questions... Why does God allow suffering and affliction? What do the Scriptures teach about it? And then on the other hand are the questions of the heart. Why am I or why is someone I love enduring this? God, where are you?

Questions of the mind and questions of the heart.

In 1940, well-known British author and Christian philosopher, CS Lewis, wrote the book, the Problem of Pain. It’s a philosophical analysis of why a loving and omnipotent God allows pain and suffering – questions of the mind. Lewis seeks to answer by working through questions of God’s nature, his justice, the fallen state of the world, heaven and hell, and the purposes of pain.

But 20 years later, in 1961, Lewis wrote a very very different book on suffering. A Grief Observed. You see, in 1957 Lewis married Joy Davidman. They had developed a deep friendship with one another over the years through letters and visits. Joy was from the States. Eventually that friendship turned into a deep love for one another. But Joy developed breast cancer and it metastasized into her bones.

Nonetheless, they loved one another, so they had a small wedding ceremony in a hospital room in Oxford, England. Joy lived for three more years. They endured the ups and downs of her cancer. They grieved and cried together. Lewis significantly reduced his writing and speaking engagements to be by her side. Joy passed away in the summer of 1960 at the age of 45.

In the months after her death, Lewis wrote A Grief Observed. In it he shared his sorrows, his confusion, and doubts. He wrote about the struggles of maintaining his faith in God through it. But he shared how he came to find deep meaning and healing in the grief and sorrow and suffering. Through it, he experienced the love of God in Christ in a way he had never before. In short, Lewis experienced in his heart what his mind knew.

What we find in 2 Corinthians is that very thing. It was one of the apostle Paul’s goals in writing to the church. He wanted them to understand the intellectual side of affliction and suffering, but also for them to apply it to their hearts.

Let me explain. You see, the theme of suffering and comfort runs throughout 2 Corinthians. It’s not the only theme, but the apostle Paul comes back to it many times and in different ways.

And the reason Paul addressed affliction and suffering over and over was to correct them - to first, correct their thinking.

I mentioned last week that there was a group trying to infiltrate the church. Paul called them “super-apostles.” And one of the ways that they were attempting to sway the church, was by undermining Paul.

Do you know what their main critique of Paul was? It was the suffering that he was going through. They were saying something like, “Hey, church in Corinth, look at that guy, Paul. You know, the one who calls himself an apostle. Look at all the suffering that he has and is going through. He’s been persecuted. He has this physical ailment and God hasn’t healed him. His speaking ability is weak. He’s suffered many things. You see, there is no way that this guy Paul is a true apostle. No, God would not allow someone with such an important role to go through all of that.”

That’s what they were saying. We’re going to get into those details in chapters 10-12. But it’s important to understand why Paul writes these opening words here. He wants them to understand clearly that suffering and affliction are part of the Christian life. But that’s not the only thing. In fact, there’s something greater that Paul explains. You see, in the Christian life, God gives comfort and joy and hope in our trials and afflictions.

Let me put it this way. A big part of Paul’s letter teaches us a foundational theology of suffering. It’s a theology that we can understand in our minds and apply in our hearts. And when we do, not only will we understand the problem of pain, to use CS Lewis’s language, but in the grief and suffering that we observe and experience, God will overwhelm us with his comfort… the comfort of his grace in whatever we go through.

As we go through 2 Corinthians, it will be critical for each of us, you and me, to re-evaluate our theology of suffering. Because in the trials you are experiencing or will experience, your understanding of suffering will greatly affect your heart response to suffering. It’s that important.

We see that right here in these opening words. So let’s consider them.

And to start with, I have a theory about these 5 verses. I don’t know how to prove it. But I think that these 5 verses may have the most intense use of word repetition in the whole Bible.

· That word “comfort” is used 10 times in the 5 verses. I’m including the verbs and the nouns, by the way.

· The word “affliction” and “suffering” are used seven times, total between them.

· The words “share” 4 times.

That is a lot packed into just 5 verses.

Maybe Psalm 150 rivals it. The word “praise” in Psalm 150 is used 13 times in just 6 verses. But still, in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, multiple words are repeated – comfort, suffering, affliction, and share. It is intense – intensely comforting.

Before we get into Paul’s message, let me first define the word “comfort.” Because we may be tempted to think about our current use of the word. When we think about comfort today, it is most often about how we feel in our senses. We say, “are you comfortable?” ...meaning are we at ease. “Are those chairs comfortable to sit on?” In healthcare... comfort is how well our pain is medicated.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with those uses.

But the word “comfort” here is spiritual and relational. It’s about being encouraged and consoled in the midst of a trial. In other words, it’s not about removing the affliction or being physically comfortable in it. Rather it is being strengthened in your soul while enduring the suffering, whatever trial it is.

Ok, with all of that said… (1) the false teaching being addressed, (2) the mind and heart application, and (3) the repetition and the word comfort, let’s now get into the message.

Let’s look at three things this morning.

Worship the God who comforts.
Know the comfort of God in Christ.
Share the comfort of God with others.

Let me say it again if you are taking notes… (repeat)

Worship the God who comforts

So first, worship! Look at verse 3. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” In the very opening words (in the body of this letter), Paul emphasizes God as the God of comfort. God of ALL comfort. And these words direct our praise to him.

The very first thing that Paul wants the church in Corinth to do… is to worship and acknowledge God as the God of comfort.

And when it says that God is the “God of all comfort, who comforts us in our affliction” it is saying that God brings hope and resolve in suffering. He is present with us in our suffering. Back to the definition of comfort. God consoles us. He ministers to us. He strengthens us to endure. Furthermore, gives us assurances that his promises are eternal. In all of that, God provides a measure of peace in unsettled times and in pain. Comforting his people is part of his nature. He is the God of all comfort.

God is not some detached supernatural being that cares not about the suffering of his people. No, he loves us and ministers to us in our suffering.

So, in our suffering, we’re to direct our attention to him in worship … because he is the God of all comfort who comforts us in those ways.

In fact, let me add this point. Worshipping God is one of the ways through which God ministers to us in our suffering. When we praise him for all the ways that he cares for and loves us and gives us hope, he increases our comfort. Through it, he strengthens us to endure the trials and suffering in this life.

Now, when I say “worship” I am talking about both what we are doing here in our worship service, and in all of life when we direct our attention to God.

So, worship the God of all comfort.

Know the comfort of God in Christ.

2 – know the comfort of Christ.

Let’s go back to the so-called super apostles one more time. They claimed that Paul’s suffering disqualified him for apostleship. They are very much like today’s health-wealth preachers. If you are not familiar with that term, it’s referring to pastors who say “that suffering is not God’s will for you.” One thing they believe is that sickness or affliction indicates that you do not have enough faith.

There are a lot of problems with that. The main problem is that it’s not the pattern of Jesus’ own life and ministry.

Verse 5 speaks of the suffering that we share in Christ.

Suffering is a part of the Christian life. And it was especially so for the true apostles. They endured much affliction and persecution because of their ministry. But through their suffering, they brought the comfort of Christ and his salvation to them.

You see, Paul is saying the opposite. He’s saying something like this “The reason that I am suffering is because I am sharing in the ministry of Christ. It is actually for your comfort and salvation. My affliction does not disqualify me. No, actually, my suffering is instead a qualification of my apostleship.”

Part of Paul’s message here is a defense of his ministry.

But he also wants them to know the amazing comfort of Christ in their own affliction.

Now, there are lots of ways through which God comforts us in suffering. But the main way is through the comfort we have in Jesus Christ.

Look at verse 5, “For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

The greatest comfort that we can receive in our affliction comes from sharing the comfort of Christ.

It says we “abundantly share” in Christ sufferings and comfort. I think that’s hard to get our minds around. Afterall, Jesus lived 2000 years ago. How do we share in his sufferings and comfort?

It happens this way… when God calls believers to him and gives them faith in Christ, he unites them to him. So, if you believe in the saving grace of God, he does this amazing thing. You are ingrafted into Christ… Jesus describes it like a vine being grafted into his root… like a branch grafted into a healthy tree.

Jesus said that when we abide in him, he will abide in us. That is what Paul is referring to when he says we share abundantly in Christ. He is ours and we are his. The afflictions that he endured, he endured for us… and through those afflictions, we receive the abundance of his comfort.

We have a Savior who endured the suffering and miseries of this life. He shed tears of sadness and was grieved at Jerusalem’s lack of belief. He was tempted in the desert. He was insulted and persecuted. He endured the shame of the cross where he suffered unto death.

And in our union with him, he ministers to us through what he endured… and he is therefore able to comfort us through his victory over the persecution and suffering and death.

I like how one commentary I read put it: “The key experiences of Christ, especially his suffering, death, and resurrection, are the pattern by which Christians can understand their own suffering and final triumph.”

Because we share in his suffering, we share in his great comfort.

It’s not emphasized here, but part of that comfort comes through knowing that Jesus sympathizes in our weakness and our suffering. You see, because we are united to him by faith, he is present in us. He is with us in our trials. He can therefore can minister his comfort to us. I like to refer to it as Gospel comfort. Sometimes you’ll hear me use that phrase “gospel comfort” when I pray.

We have the Gospel comfort of Christ through what he endured and accomplished for us. I’m talking about all those things I mentioned earlier. Strength to endure, hope and resolve. Consolation and peace. Heart encouragement. We share all those comforting things through him.

Now, there is more to say about this, especially as we consider Jesus’ resurrection. We’ll get to that next week.

All experience affliction and suffering. But we worship a God who comforts us in our affliction. And he does that through Christ.

Share the Comfort of God

So, #1, Worship the God who comforts. #2. Know the comfort of God in Christ.

And number 3, share the comfort of God.

One of God’s purposes in your suffering, is so that you can comfort others by the comfort you’ve been given in in Christ.

That is actually the main emphasis in these 5 verses. It’s woven throughout. In verse 3, right after it says that God comforts us in all our affliction… Paul writes this, “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” And then again in verses 6 and 7, Paul goes right back to comforting others with the comfort that we are given.

Verses 6 and 7 are like an example. Notice he says, “if we.” “if we are afflicted it is for your comfort and salvation.” He’s talking about himself and Timothy. If they are afflicted, God will use it to comfort the Corinthian church. Verse 7 reinforces that. Next week when we get to verses 8-11, he is going to give a real example – their persecution in Asia.

Here is the point for them and for us. We are called to comfort one another. You and I are to both give and receive the comfort of God. That means relaying the comfort we receive in our affliction. That means directing one another to worship the God of all comfort. It means sharing the comfort of God in Christ. It means blessings each other with the promises of God in his Word. It means being with one another in our suffering… and caring for one another through trials. It means praying with and for each other through those difficult times.

Beloved in Christ, look around you in this room. These are your brothers and sisters in Christ. In the pain and suffering that we each share... we also need to share the comfort of God.

You see, one way that God ministers this grace to his people is through his people.

Now, two things come to mind that are necessary:

· First, in order to minister God’s comfort to one another, we need to intentionally grow in our relationships with one another. I’m very encouraged by how that is happening here in different ways. But we should continue to strive towards that.

· Second, we need to know when we are each suffering. Someone can’t share the comfort of Christ with you without knowing the suffering that you are enduring. You know, sometimes we bottle things up. We don’t want people to know. I get it. To be sure, I’m not saying that everyone needs to know your trials and pain, but I encourage you to reach out to someone. Or reach out to me so that I can connect you with others here who can come alongside of you… and comfort you in Christ. In order for us to minister this Gospel comfort to one another, we need to share our burdens with one another.

In summary, part of the comfort we receive in our suffering comes through sharing the comfort we have in Christ.

Conclusion

So, worship the God who comforts. Know the comfort of God in Christ and share the comfort of God.

If you know the grace of God in Christ. If you have faith in the living Lord... then today, in the midst of the burdens you bear, as you feel the pains of this world weighing on you... be reminded in your mind and heart that God is the God of all comfort. Worship him.

Be strengthened and nourished and assured of all that Christ has done for you. Know of the comfort that he gives because you share in his affliction and his comfort. And may we comfort one another in that great eternal comfort.

If you are suffering today but you do not know the great comfort of Christ... come to him with your burdens. Lay your life and your suffering before him and come and worship him… for God is merciful as it says in verse 3. He will give you that everlasting comfort, the only true comfort in this life.

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2 Corinthians 1:1-2

Grace and Peace to Corinth and Beyond

We are beginning a new series today - the book of 2 Corinthians. And we’ll just be considering the first 2 verses this morning. Chapter 1 verses 1-2 and you can find that on page 1145.

As you will hear, this book is a letter written by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth.

In his opening greeting, Paul includes that this letter is also from Timothy. Now, that does not mean that Timothy is a co-author. Most of the book is written using the first-person singular, “I.” …and throughout, Paul talks about his own travels, his relationships, and his struggles.

Rather, Paul includes Timothy because Timothy was with Paul. And Timothy was very much known by the church in Corinth. Paul is saying that he and Timothy are unified in this letter that he is writing.

Let’s now come to God’s inspired and inerrant Word.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 1:1-2

Prayer

Over the last century, several books have been written about The Lost Art of Letter Writing.

And as you would imagine, these books lament how people today no longer sit down to write thoughtful and engaging personal letters. Or when we do communicate, we are not sensitive or thoughtful about our words. Salutations and concluding words are sparce. Etc. etc.

You would probably agree with those assessment. And if you think back over the last 100 to 150 years, there have been remarkable changes in communication technologies. We’ve gone from the telegraph, to the telephone, to email, to the cell phone… then came instant messenger and texting, and now video calls. As the technology has advanced, it has led to helpful and unhelpful communication habits.

But there is something special about an old-school letter written in pen and on paper. A letter with many personal elements. Life updates and feelings and struggles. Hopes and dreams. A letter that recalls times together and plans for the future. A letter with intentional thoughts about important matters. One that conveys love and care and longings. A letter that you can hold in your hand and read and ponder and read again.

Well, 2 Corinthians has it all. It is a letter of letters. I would say, out of all the New Testament letters, which we call “epistles,” 2 Corinthians is the most personal and engaging. What I mean is that 2 Corinthians contains more details about personal matters and events and relationships than the other letters in the Bible. Now, to be sure, I am not minimizing the other letters. Each is engaging and thoughtful and has a context.

But there’s something special about 2 Corinthians. In it, the apostle Paul conveys his love and care for the church in Corinth; he works through difficult things that he has gone through; he defends his calling and teaching; and he applies the truths of God in Christ to the situations that they are experiencing. In all of it, Paul encourages them, directs them in truth, and challenges them.

It’s beautiful.

Are we allowed to have a favorite book of the Bible? I think so. As long as we are not minimizing the relevance and authority of the others. Well, if so, my favorite book is 2 Corinthians.

And my hope is that over the next few months you will likewise come to love 2 Corinthians… and you will also be challenged as we apply it to our lives.

So let’s dive in. And this morning, as an introduction to the book, we’ll touch upon the city, the situation, and the significance. The city (what do we know about Corinth), the situation (what was happening in the church and what were the reasons Paul wrote this letter), and the significance (what does it say and why does it matter).

The City

Alright, Corinth.

Please turn to the back of you bulletin. I thought it would be helpful to include a map. The arrows represent the apostle Paul’s travels on his third missionary journey. We’re going to come back to that shortly.

But first, notice Corinth. It’s right there on the southern part of Greece. And actually, the circle there for Corinth should be a little northeast of where it’s positioned on the map. That’s because Corinth sat between two inlets. On the east side of Corinth, there was access to the Aegean sea. Ships would travel back and forth between Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and Greece, going to both Athens and Corinth. And on the west side of Corinth, was access to the Adriatic Sea. Italy is not pictured in this map, but it’s right there off the map west of Greece.

So, Corinth was strategically positioned. It was an access point between the two seas, allowing ships to avoid the often treacherous Mediterranean.

A couple of years ago, Caleb and I were helping at a missions conference on the island of Crete. Some of you were also there. You can see Crete there on the map. Well, on our way back, we took a ferry to Athens. And let me say, it was rough going on the Mediterranean. The winds were very high, and the waves just hammered the ferry the whole trip. It was like a 10-hour trip. We were glad it was a rather large ferry. Even so, it was rocking and shaking. But as soon as we got to the bay with Athens on the east and the ruins of Corinth on the west, it was much calmer. You see, back in the first century, ships were much safer docking near Corinth and sending their cargo across the land to the port on the other side of Corinth.

In fact, back then, Corinth was also a land port. It was the access point to the southern part of Greece.

I’m telling you all this because Corinth was a strategic city. It was a crossroads. It was the Roman capital of the whole region of Achaia.

Interestingly, the Roman Empire had destroyed Corinth 200 years prior. That happened in the year 146 BC. But 100 years later, in 44BC, Julius Ceasar re-settled the city given its location.

So, in other words, Corinth was a Roman city in Greece… and it attracted people from all over – from northern Africa, Asia Minor, Italy, and of course, Greece itself. It attracted Maritimers and merchants and other trades. It attracted the poor because there were jobs and it attracted wealthy.

Added to the cosmopolitan mix was the religious diversity. People brought their idols and beliefs. And on the hill overlooking the city was the temple of Aphrodite. She was the Greek goddess of love and fertility. Some have suggested that temple prostitution was common. That is disputed, but what is clear is Corinth’s sexually promiscuous culture.

Ok, two things are important to understand about Corinth.

· First, when you intermix all of these ideologies and cultures and religions, it is a recipe for tension and conflict and prejudice. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, which we call 1 Corinthians, we see that conflict played out in the church. Paul therefore addressed their lack of love for and unity with one another.

· So that was one thing about Corinth – the people did not get along with one another. The second thing about Corinth involved social status. Because the city was relatively young and prosperous, the social structures were still being developed. There was an opportunity to raise your social status and standing. But in order to achieve that, often you had to figuratively climb over other people to gain a higher status. In fact, we will see that explicitly played out in this book, 2 Corinthians. We’ll come back to that in a minute.

So, to summarize, the city of Corinth was a melting pot of culture, religion, and commerce. It was also like the Las Vegas of the Mediterranean… with its sexualized and promiscuous culture. A culture that was filled with tension and prejudice and social one-upmanship.

It was a place that desperately needed the Gospel.

The Situation

So, that’s the city. Let’s now talk about the situation.

First, imagine how all of those cultural influences affected the church in Corinth.

The apostle Paul planted about 13 churches on his missionary journeys. Yet, he spends more time supporting the church in Corinth than any other church… all because of their sin and issues.

I believe that is true because we have record of multiple letters and visits and the involvement of other church leaders.

Let me highlight some of those things.

As far as letters, yes, we only have two of them preserved. 1 and 2 Corinthians. However, Paul actually wrote at least four letters to them. In 1 Corinthians he refers to an earlier letter. And in 2 Corinthians he refers to yet another letter– an emotionally painful letter which was written right after an emergency visit to Corinth.

Added to that, Paul invested his two most trusted co-laborers to help in Corinth. Timothy and Titus.

Ok, here’s a brief synopsis of events that led up to this letter.

· First, Paul with Timothy’s help, planted the church in Corinth in about the year 51AD. That happened on Paul’s second missionary journey. In fact, we read the account from Acts 18 earlier. The church included Jews and Gentiles and it grew rapidly. We also read that Paul stayed for 18 months to help shepherd the growing community.

· But then very soon after Paul left, he heard some discouraging news. Some people associated with the church were caught up in the sexual immorality of the culture. So Paul wrote his first letter to them explicitly about that. As I mentioned earlier, we don’t have that initial letter, but Paul alludes to it in 1 Corinthians 5.

· Well, things did not get better, and the church also started to fracture in disunity. So, Paul writes the letter we know as 1 Corinthians. He doesn’t just put it in the mail, no, he sends it with Timothy.

· Now, at this point, Paul is on his third missionary journey. Please look back at the map. As I mentioned, this is a map of Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul spent 3 years in Ephesus. Do you see Ephesus on the map there? That is where he wrote 1 Corinthians. Do you also see that purple dashed line? Well, Paul had to make an emergency visit to Corinth. He refers to that painful visit in 2 Corinthians chapter 2. We’re going to get to those details in a few weeks.

· And then, after that emergency visit, Paul writes a painful letter. He refers to that letter in chapter 2 and chapter 7. But Paul doesn’t just write that letter calling them to repentance. No, he sends Titus – his other trusted co-laborer. Titus delivers it with Paul’s hope and prayer that they would seek repentance and renewal in Christ.

So, a founding visit, a letter, another letter, an emergency visit, and another letter. And besides Paul, Timothy and Titus were very involved. All of this is happening before Paul writes 2 Corinthians.

Now, the reason I’m telling you all of this is because Paul loves this church. He is on his knees praying with tears and he is fully invested in their spiritual wellbeing.

So, again, Paul sent the painful letter with Titus. Meanwhile, he continued on his missionary journey. He goes north to Troas. You can see that on the map. Titus had planned to meet Paul in Troas and give Paul an update. But Titus didn’t show up. Of course, Paul was worried. So, he continued on to Macedonia hoping Titus would meet him there. And thankfully Titus showed up.

And Titus brought good news. Titus shared that the church in Corinth repented and that they longed to see Paul again. This was great news to Paul.

And it is at that moment that Paul wrote 2 Corinthians.

We know all this from 2 Corinthians chapter 7. Let me quote a few words from that chapter. “But God... comforted us by the coming of Titus, ...he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it... because you were grieved into repenting."

Great news and encouraging words.

There are two reasons that Paul wrote 2 Corinthians.

· First, he was very glad. He wanted to encourage them to continue in their spiritual maturity.

· Second, there was a matter that Titus brought to Paul’s attention. And this goes back to Corinth’s cultural problems around social status. You see, there was a group trying to infiltrate the church. Paul sarcastically calls them “super apostles.” Basically, they were trying to position themselves as superior to Paul. They critiqued Paul’s theology and they sought to undermine his apostleship.

We don’t learn about these so-called “super apostles” until later in the book. But in every chapter, we get the sense that Paul is countering their false claims and false Gospel.

So, that is the situation. The church in Corinth had been heading in the wrong direction. Thay had been infected by the culture. But the Holy Spirit used Paul and Timothy and Titus to call them back to being a faithful witness. And in 2 Corinthians, Paul encourages them in their renewed faith and he exhorts them to stay away from these false teachers.

3 The Significance

Now, I know what some of you are thinking right now, “You are putting me to sleep! How am I supposed to keep that all straight and why does it matter?”

We are now shifting to “The Significance.”

To answer the first question, “how to I keep it all straight?” as we work through 2 Corinthians verse by verse and chapter by chapter, we are going to come back to the situation at hand. My goal this morning was simply to give an overview.

To answer the second qurstion, “why does it matter.” It matters because in order to bring to bear the Scriptures to our situation, we need to first know the original situation… we need to understand why Paul writes what he writes, and what his words meant to them. It’s then that we can apply this Word to us.

Let me illustrate this by going back to verses 1.

Here are Paul’s opening words. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…”

It’s easy to skip over that, right. But consider what was happening in Corinth with the false apostles.

Paul is saying in his opening words, “God is the one who established the role he has given me. I, Paul, am a witness of Jesus himself. What I write to you, I write as a true apostle. Receive this letter as such and do not listen to or believe the false apostles. They are trying to dissuade you from the truth.”

Friends, this word is God’s Word. All of Scripture is. And it’s given to us through God’s ordained apostles. We are to hear it and heed it. That means we are to filter any and all spiritual teaching through this truth.

You see, it would be easy to miss this important point if we didn’t consider what was going on in Corinth.

And let me say, this book, 2 Corinthians, is gold. It gets to the heart of salvation. Over and over, 2 Corinthians speaks of the reconciliation that we have with God through Christ. That ministry of reconciliation come through Jesus’ death for us and the new life we have in his resurrection.

And 2 Corinthians applies that Gospel truth to God’s covenant promises, it applies it to our suffering and our weakness and our resources, and the way we live our lives. That’s what makes this book my favorite.

2 Corinthians is the height of the beauty of God’s grace put into words.

Rather than just tell you that, let me highlight some of the more well-known verses.

And by the way, these verses are going to be a part of our Scripture memory as a church this year.

· 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Deeply encouraging words.

· Here’s another great one. 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.” …in Jesus

· And how about chapter 2 verse 15 “…we are the aroma of Christ… among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing”

· Another one of my favorites is 2 Corinthians 4:6 – “For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

· Listen to chapter 4 verses 17-18 These are the most encouraging words in the trials we face. “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

· Moving to chapter 5. Verse 21 is perhaps the clearest articulation of the Gospel in the entire Bible. Listen to it “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

· 2 Corinthians 8:9 You hear me pray this often before our offering. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” That whole chapter is about God’s grace in giving. But that verse is not about earthly riches. No it is about the riches we receive in Christ Jesus, who became poor by becoming a man.

· Ok, two more. Listen to 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

· And here’s one last one, 2 Corinthians 12:9 This is Paul speaking about his “thorn in his flesh.” He writes “But [the Lord] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

You see, blessings upon blessings upon blessing in 2 Corinthians. And each one of those beautiful statements is founded on the grace of God in Christ. We have a lot to look forward to.

And I want to ask you to do something this week. I want you to read 2 Corinthians.

Let me leave you with the words of verse 2. And I want you to know, these are very common words from the apostle Paul. He uses in them in almost evert salutation in his letters. But they are not cliché’. No, he means these from the bottom of his heart.

He writes: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

As we study 2 Corinthians together, may God grant to us a deepening of his grace in our lives. And may we be renewed in the peace which God the Father gives through His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

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Join us on Christmas Eve for traditional lessons and carols.

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Please turn to Romans 11. We’ll be considering verses 11-24. That is on page 1125.

Last week, we focused on the remnant of Israel, chosen by grace. We learned that even though Israel as a whole, rejected God and his promises, yet God in his mercy has always had a remnant of his people who did and do believe.

This week, the apostle Paul shifts to talk mainly about the Gentiles. He answers the question, why did God ordained that Israel would not believe. Why? So that the Gospel would go to the Gentiles. That is the main focus of our sermon text this morning. And, as we’ll see, it will relate back to Israel.

Reading of Romans 11:11-24

Prayer

In 2008, art professor Sam Van Aken did something very unique. He grafted in 40 different kinds of fruit branches into a single tree. He called it the Tree of 40 Fruit. And it is quite spectacular.

The tree is still alive today, 16 years later. It’s planted on the campus of Syracuse University where Van Aken teaches.

Every spring, buds will blossom into a beautiful array of pastel colors with shades of white and pink and red and purple. It looks fairy-tale-like but it is real.

But what’s more amazing is what happens in the summer. It produces all kinds of fruit including peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries, and almonds. Basically different kinds of stone fruit -different heirloom and native varieties.

Interestingly, Van Aken began producing multiple Trees of 40 Fruits and you can actually buy one. Several museums and universities now have them on display. There are about 20 of these beautiful trees around the country.

It's a picture of what is described in Romans 11:11-24. People from all over the world, being grafted into the tree of faith in Christ. Each with different blossoms and fruit and each displaying the wonder and glory of God in Christ. He is the root and the source of life and the one who sustains and is cultivating this amazing tree.

This idea of grafting is the apostle Paul’s main analogy in these verses. And it’s very helpful. Paul uses it to help answer an important question. His question is right there in verse 11. “Did Israel stumble, in order that they may fall?” In other words, is the reason that Israel stumbled in their faith because God wanted to reject them forever? And his answer is, “By no means.” There it is again.

And actually for the rest of the verses today, he explains his answer, and he uses the grafting illustration to help.

Before we dive into these verses, let me point out there are two main parts to the answer. And what we will see is that Paul actually circles back to those two answers three different times.

The two parts to the answer are right there in verses 11 and 12. So, let me first highlight what he says there, and then we’ll take them one at a time and see them worked out in these verses.

So, why did Israel stumble in unbelief?

The first part of the answer is right there after the question. “through their trespass [Israel’s trespass], salvation has come to the Gentiles.” The first reason for Israel’s sin of unbelief is so that the Gospel would go to the Gentiles.
And that leads right in to the second part of the answer. It’s the next phrase in verse 11. “So as to make Israel jealous.” And a little bit later Paul adds, and “thus save some of them.” In other words, one reason that salvation has come to the Gentiles is so that Israel will see what God is doing and be jealous – jealous in a good way. They will want to be a part of what God is doing and that will cause some to believe.

So, that is the summary. Part #1 – Israel’s unbelief has resulted in salvation going to the Gentiles. Part #2 – the Gospel going to the Gentiles will make Israel jealous, so that more will come to believe.

And we see those very same two points in verses 13-16 and then again in verses 17 to 24. It’s that last section of verses where apostle Paul talks about branches being cut off and also grafted in.

Main Point #1. Israel’s Unbelief -> Salvation to the Gentiles

So, let’s take those one at a time. Again, point number 1 - Israel’s rejection has resulted in salvation for the Gentiles. And to support his point, in verse 13, Paul highlights his own ministry to the Gentiles.

It’s like he’s saying, “look at what God is doing among the Gentiles, to whom I am called.”

Paul’s own ministry testifies to how the Jews rejected Jesus which caused him to go to the Gentiles. In fact, it’s the pattern in almost every city he went to. The first thing Paul would do is find the Jewish synagogue and speak to them about Jesus. But every time, the Jews, by in large, would reject the Gospel. So, what would he do? Paul would go to the Gentiles. Sometimes he would even be so bold and tell the Jews. If you are not going to believe, then I am going to them. That happened in the city of Antioch. It happened in Corinth. And it happened again in Ephesus. All of those are recorded in the book of Acts. In Corinth Paul said. “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

And, as we considered before, it’s not as though every single Jew rejected Jesus. Some believed. Paul, himself, and others were an example of this. But it was a small number compared to God’s work among the nations. Faith in Christ was exploding among the Romans and the Greeks and those in Asia minor and in North Africa and it was beginning to spread to all non-Jewish people groups, all Gentiles, to the ends of the earth. And as we talked about before, the Gospel is continuing today to expand to all nations, peoples, and languages.

Here is where we get to the grafting metaphor. Verse 17, which is the third time that Paul explains how Israel’s unbelief resulted in the Gentiles’ belief. He writes in 17, “branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in.”

Let’s go back to the Tree of 40 Fruit…. In order to accomplish all the grafting, Professor Van Aken would begin by carefully notching the tree trunk. He would then insert new freshly cut branches from other fruit trees and align the grain so that the sap could flow into the branch. And actually, he couldn’t do it all at once. it took 10 years to graft the 40 different varieties into the tree. But that wasn’t the only thing he had to do. He also pruned off many of the natural branches. The reason is, pruning redirects more nutrients to the grafts. It would also allow for more sunlight and airflow. The end result is that the grafts would take and become part of the tree.

Unbelieving Israel was pruned away, and the believing Gentiles were grafted into the trunk. All the promises of God for Israel of old would become promises for us. All the blessings and benefits of true faith given to them, Israel, would become blessings and benefits for us. Those benefits include communion with God and one another as we are all united to Christ. Through that union, we have been reconciled to God. We have peace with him. We now have the source of nutrients through God’s Word and in his Spirit. All those things and more are now available to the branches that have been grafted into Christ.

So, why did Israel stumble in unbelief? The part 1 answer is so that believing Gentiles would be grafted into the tree of life.

Now, before we move onto the part 2 answer, which is about Israel’s jealousy, I want to take two tangents – two side comments. There are two other important things related to the Gentiles being grafted in.

Tangent #1: Humility

The first tangent is a tangent that the apostle Paul takes. Did you notice that he warns the Gentiles? Right after he says that branches have been cut off so that you can be grafted in, look at what verse 18 says. “Do not be arrogant toward the branches… it is not you who support the root but the root that supports you.” Let me ask, who are the branches that he is referring to? It’s the branches that were cut off. Paul is referring to unbelieving Israel. Do not be arrogant towards them. If you are arrogant, as verse 19 says, you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” The emphasis there is on “I.”

To be sure, that statement is true. Branches were broken off so that you could be grafted in. And the apostle Paul validates that in verse 20. “that is true,” he says. However, he adds, “you should stand fast through faith.” Paul is saying, remember, you are a product of God’s grace which you received through faith. It is not you who grafted yourself in. “Do not become proud,” he says. No, you’ve received God’s kindness and not his severity. Rather than being prideful, we need to understand that we’ve been grafted in by faith according to God’s grace.

We don’t know the reason that Paul includes this. It’s possible the church in Rome was experiencing persecution by unbelieving Jews. It’s possible the church was acting out against the unbelieving Jews. We’re not sure. However, they and we are given a clear directive. We, as branches grafted into the root, are to treat unbelieving Jewish people with respect and love. We should have a desire for them to believe in Christ and be grafted back into the tree of faith.

There is a lot of antisemitism in the world today (racism against the Jews). In fact, since the Holocaust, some have argued that the New Testament is the reason. People have even said that the apostle Paul and Jesus himself are guilty of causing antisemitism. Friends, that belief is a perversion of what the New Testament teaches. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. We are called to love our neighbors – that includes any and everyone. And there should be a unique place of respect for our unbelieving Jewish neighbors. We’re called here to be humble and loving toward the branches that have been cut off, because we have been grafted in.

So that is the first tangential comment.

Tangent #2: Who is true Israel?

The second comment also relates to the grafting. It’s an important question. Who are God’s true people? Who is true Israel? I want to answer that by considering all of history.

And let me start with the easy part of the answer. God’s true people include people from all nations who truly believe by faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. In other words, Gentiles who have been grafted in by faith. That is one group that is part of God’s true people.

Another group are Jewish people who believe by faith in Jesus as the Messiah and as their Savior. I’m talking about messianic Jews today and going back to the time of Jesus. They were not grafted in. Rather, they were and are the natural branches that have not been cut off. That is the second group.

There’s also a third group. The third group are the Israelites before Jesus came, who believed in God’s promises by faith. They did not have a clear picture of how salvation would be accomplished, but they looked to God for salvation and hoped in the coming Messiah. These are the remnant of old of which the beginning of Romans 11 speaks. They did not look to the law for their salvation, but neither did they reject God’s law. Rather, they trusted in God’s covenant promises by faith and sought to honor him as a response of faith. Romans chapter 9 also spoke about them. Remember what the apostle Paul said? Not all Israel are Israel. A subset of Israel was true Israel – children of the promise. Those are the remnant in the Old Testament times… and they are part of God’s true people.

And finally, I don’t want to leave out the non-Israelites in the Old Testament who also believed in the God of Israel, like Ruth and Rahab. They are also among God’s elect.

All of those groups are part of God’s true people. We sometimes say spiritual Israel or as I mentioned true Israel. All those groups are branches of the tree, either natural branches that have not been cut off or grafted-in branches. They have all received God’s grace and mercy. Or to use the words here, God’s kindness. And they all have true faith in Christ - either hoping in what God would do to bring salvation, or believing in Jesus and what he has done. And none of those groups are saved by their works. Rather we are all saved by Christ’s work and his righteousness.

In one sense, that’s a summary of these three chapters in Romans.

Ok, I hope those two side comments are helpful. First, the call to humility and love for unbelieving Israel in hope that they may believe. And second, addressing the question, Who are God’s people?

Main Point #2. Salvation of the Gentiles -> Israel’s Belief

Let’s come back now to the main question of these verse. Why did Israel stumble in unbelief? The first part of the answer was so that salvation would come to the Gentiles. It has and continues to today.

That brings us to the second part of the answer. Israel’s stumbling will lead to more Jews coming to faith in Christ. Here’s the logic: Unbelieving Israel will see what God is doing throughout the world. Some will be jealous of it and subsequently come to believe. That word jealous is in verse 11 as we already considered. It is also there in verse 14.

One reason that Paul highlights his ministry to the Gentiles is because he wants his fellow Jews to also believe in Jesus. He says, “I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous and thus save some of them.” Do you see that? By the way, this is the third time in these three chapters that the apostle Paul opens his heart. He so desires that the unbelieving Jews would believe.

Why? He answers that with a rhetorical question in verse 15. “…what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” He knows that they are branches cut off without Christ.

But, God can graft them back in. It’s right there in verse 23. “And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in.” He’s talking about unbelieving Israel coming to believe. Do you see that double negative? “If they do not continue in their unbelief.” In other words, if they turn to believe, they will again be grafted in. He’s referring to current generation or future generation unbelieving Jews who come to faith in Jesus. They will be grafted back into the tree.

You know, I was curious which root stock was used in the Tree of 40 Fruit. I was hoping it was an olive tree… but actually, it’s a plum tree – technically a Myrobalan Plum. Maybe some of you know what that is. It has a hearty root system. It’s resistant to many diseases. It can grow in different soil types. This kind of plum tree can also receive grafts from many other kinds of stone fruit trees. For all those reasons, it was used as the main root system and trunk for the Tree of 40 Fruit. But do you know what kind of branch can most easily be grafted into this kind of plum tree? A Myrobalan plum branch. I know that’s probably obvious.

As verse 23 say, “God has the power to graft them in again.” And if God has grafted us in, from a wild olive tree… “how much more,” he says, “will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.”

God chose to reveal himself to Abraham and his descendants, who would become the people of Israel. It was not because of anything they did, but it was because of his purposes. Through them, he revealed himself. He revealed his character. He revealed his promises and law. God revealed the nature of his creation and the call for each of us to know him. He revealed the sinful heart of mankind. He revealed redemption. And it is Israel, physical Israel, through whom God sent his very son. Jesus himself was Jewish. And it is through him, that the world, the Gentiles, would come to know and believe in the God of Israel. He is the one true God of the universe.

And the very clear sense we get from these verses is that God is not done with unbelieving Israel. Back to verse 12, “if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean” From the context of chapters 9-11, I believe Paul is referring to all the remnant of Israel, whom God has ordained to come to know Jesus. How amazingly rich will that be!

Let me note, lots has been written about that one verse, verse 12. Particularly the phrase “their full inclusion.” I do want to spend more time on that phrase. But you’ll have to come back next week. There’s a similar phrase at the end of chapter 11 in verse 26. It says there that “all Israel will be saved.” What does that mean? We’ll work through both of those next week.

The main point of these verses is clear. God has grafted us, the gentiles, into the nourishing olive tree that is true Israel. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are part of God’s people saved by grace through faith. We’ve been united to him, to Christ, by faith. And God will use that amazing grace, which is going forth all throughout the world, to bring about a godly jealousy in unbelieving Israel.

As we come to a close, let’s go back to what it means to be grafted into the root. Remember, Paul was writing to the church in Rome. A majority of the Christians in Rome were Gentiles. They didn’t have the background of the Jewish people. Before coming to Christ, they didn’t know the law of Moses. They didn’t have the Psalms or the Prophets. They never read the historical account of Israel as a nation nor the wisdom literature. Yet, they believed. And when they were grafted into Christ, all of that history became their history. In the book of Romans there are about 60 Old Testament references. In writing to the church in Rome, Paul is drawing them into the full counsel of what God has revealed in his Word.

And it’s not just for the believing Gentiles in Rome. No, this is our history. Abraham is our father by faith. We are not natural descendants, but we are now spiritual descendants by faith. We have been grafted into what God has done in Israel and what he is doing now around the world, as people from every tribe, and tongue and nation who have been grafted into him.

May that give us a passion to see more Gentiles grafted into the tree by faith in Christ. And may God give us a similar passion and humility, desiring to see the natural descendants of Israel come to know Jesus as their Messiah and Savior and be grafted back in.

May it not just be a tree of 40 Fruit, but a tree with branches from the 17,000 people groups in the world including believing Israel in her fulness.

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Please turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 10. Our sermon text this morning is verses 5-17. You can find that on page 1124.

As you are turning there, let me note a couple of things.

We are in the middle of our summer study of Romans 9-11. Thank you to Peter Van Wyk for preaching last week from the end of chapter 9 into the beginning of chapter 10. It was excellent. As we get into these verses this morning, I’ll refer back to some of those points.

In these three chapters, the big question is, how should we understand Israel and the Jewish people today? Especially unbelieving Jews? There were many in the apostle Paul’s day and there are many today.

It’s an important question because God revealed himself to the world through Israel. So, Israel, as a people, were central in God’s plan.

One thing that underlies these chapters is having a heart for their salvation. In the beginning of chapter 9, Paul put it in the most passionate of ways. If I could be cut off for their sake that they would believe, I would do it. That is how deeply he desired to see them believe in Christ. In fact, Paul says something similar at the beginning of chapter 10, verse 1 – he writes, “my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.”

Our hearts desire should be the same. So that is the underlying sentiment in all three of these chapters.

And what the apostle Paul has been explaining in these chapters is the relationship between unbelieving Israel and believing Israel and believing Gentiles. As I mentioned before, but just to be sure, the Gentiles are all the non-Jewish people.

To explain the relationship between these groups, Paul asks questions and gives answers. That has been his approach all through Romans.

And as he asks and answers questions, he makes the point that his answers are not new. I was thinking about how he’s done that. I think a good phrase that captures it is this, “it has always been that way.” He doesn’t use those words, but that idea is in every answer.

For example:

· Paul asks, since many Israelites do not believe in Christ, have God’s promises failed? Remember that question from three weeks ago? His answer is no. Why? Not all Israel are Israel. A subset of Israel are children of the promise. He points out that it has always been that way.

· Paul next asks, is God unjust when he chooses only some to believe? The answer is no. Rather God in his sovereignty is merciful. He points out again it has always been that way.

· His next question, which was last week, is a really important one. Do the Gentiles (which includes us or most of us) receive a right standing before God by faith, but the Jews are righteous by keeping the law? Paul’s answer again: no! Righteousness is only received by faith. In fact, it has always been that way.

That answer is like the beating drum of these chapters. It has always been that way. That is why there are so many Old Testament quotes. And we’ll continue to see that.

Alright, I know that is a long preamble, but hopefully that helps tie together where we’ve been so far.

In our verses this morning, Paul addresses the next logical question, what is this faith thing? And second, how do people come to know of this faith?

So, let’s turn now to God’s word.

Reading of Romans 10:5-17

Prayer

The word “faith” today is very squishy. I think you know what I mean. Its use is broad. We say we have faith in other people. Or we have faith in our abilities. Or we have faith that something will work out in the end.

Sometimes faith refers to different religions. You’ll hear people ask, “what faith tradition do you come from?” Other times you will hear “he has a deep faith” or “she has a deep faith.” Or maybe you’ll even hear, “I have faith in science or technology to solve such and such a problem.”

You see, in today’s world, faith has a lot of different meanings.

But what is the faith that the apostle Paul is speaking about here? That is a crucial question. He’s told us that righteousness, which is our right standing before God, comes by faith and not works.

He explained that we are righteous before God not because we are good enough. No, rather, it is because of Christ’s righteousness. When we have faith, we are given his righteousness. I like how Peter put it last week: Christ is the law. It’s a great way to think about it. Christ is the beginning of the law. He is its purpose and its fulfillment. He fulfills the law for us. And guess what, it has always been that way.

But the question is, what does it actually mean to have a righteousness by faith and not the law? That is the first question that these verses address.

Look at verse 5. It says, “For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.”

In other words, if you think that you can become righteous by keeping the law, you will live with the consequences of not keeping the law. And you know what? …the consequences are bad. Verse 5 is a reference back to the book of Leviticus. In fact, it’s not the only time the apostle Paul quoted this same verse from Leviticus. In Galatians chapter 3 (which is his letter to the church in Galatia), Paul quotes the same verse. He then says that trying to be righteous through the law is a curse. As he put it there, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” The point is: we cannot keep the law. There is only one who has, and that is Jesus. He is the only righteous one.

And that is why we are called to have faith in him.

Let me take a moment and speak to the children and teenagers here. One thing you learn in life is that your work and efforts contribute to good outcomes or rewards. For example, if you do your homework and study hard, you will likely do well in school. If you practice and train in a sport, you will excel in the competition. If you do your household chores and respect your parents, they will give you more privileges.

You see, we have this idea ingrained in us that to get a reward, we need to put in some sort of effort. And that is true for almost everything in life. Except it is not true for the most important thing in life - faith in Jesus.

Faith is not something you do to get a reward. That is what we learn here. Faith is not work. We don’t have to do anything. We don’t have to look to find faith. This is what verses 6 to 8 teach.

We don’t have to ascend to heaven to find Jesus. We don’t have to search the depths of the earth or cross the sea to find him and know him. Those verses, by the way, quote Deuteronomy 30, which we read earlier in the service.

There are no special hoops to jump through. We don’t need to meditate or do special religious practices to have faith in Jesus.

No, on the contrary, Jesus is near– the word of God is near. That is what it says in verse 8, which again is a quote from Deuteronomy 30. Faith is simple. And, in fact, it has always been that way.

That is why he quotes from Deuteronomy. Faith it is believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth. It’s that simple - believing and confessing.

Believing and confessing – those are two words used multiple times in verses 9-13. The word “believe” is used three times. The word “confess” is used twice. But a synonym to confessing, which is the phrase “to call on him” is used twice more. So, faith is simple – it’s believing in and confessing Jesus.

It’s right there in verse 9, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” That is a very clear and simple statement of faith.

And to be sure, confessing something is not just saying it. Rather you are declaring that you wholeheartedly embrace what you are saying. And, as it says here, it’s confessing that Jesus is Lord. That word Lord is referring to Jesus divine nature. So, part of it is that you are affirming that Jesus is God. But you are also declaring that Jesus is your Lord. He’s Lord of your life.

I’ve always been intrigued by something the apostle James wrote. In James chapter 2, he talks about true faith. And he writes this: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe [that]—and shudder!” It’s very penetrating. He’s saying that the demons know who Jesus is. In fact, in the Gospel accounts, it’s the demons who first recognize Jesus as the eternal God. But what does that get them? Nothing. Why? Because they cannot confess that Jesus is their Lord. You, see they can recognize who he is as God the Son, but they cannot confess him.

Saving faith is simple – it’s believing in and confessing that Jesus is God and that he is your Lord. And a key part of that is believing in the resurrection. That’s the last half of verse 9. Belief in the resurrection is a key belief for true saving faith. Let me give you three reasons.

· First, when you believe in Jesus’ resurrection, you also believe that he died. Someone can’t be resurrected without first being dead.

· Second, believing in the resurrection, means believing that Jesus conquered death and sin and the devil. Without the resurrection, he would not have been victorious over those enemies of the faith.

· And third, believing in the resurrection, is believing in the hope for heaven. Our future resurrection comes through Jesus’ resurrection.

This is why believing in the resurrection is so important as a key part of having faith.

Alright, let me summarize so far. Faith is simple. It’s confessing Jesus as Lord - your Lord – and believing in what he’s done for you. Saving faith is not a generic faith like how the word “faith” is sometimes used today. Faith is not being generically religious or trusting in whatever. Rather, faith is confessing and believing in Jesus, who is the focus of our faith. So, we acknowledge the truth of who Jesus is and what he has accomplished in his death and resurrection. And we personally trust in its sufficiency to make us righteous in him.

And in verses 11 to 13, Paul goes back to the same point he’s made multiple times now. It’s the same thing for the Jews and Gentiles. It’s the same faith – he makes that really clear in verse 12. “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all.” And you know what? It has always been that way. Those two quotes in verses 11 and 13 are from the prophet Isaiah and Joel. The emphasis is on “everyone.” “Everyone who believes in him…” and “everyone who calls on him… will be saved.” Faith in Christ is offered to all - Jew and Gentile, alike.

Now, Paul has more to say about faith in Christ for both groups of people. Next week, we’ll be talking about the remnant of Israel, “chosen by grace,” as he puts is. And the week after next, we will be talking about how believing Gentiles have been grafted into Christ. So, stay tuned for those.

But before we get there, Paul turns to an important question. If having faith in Christ is the only means through which people receive his righteousness, how do people know about this faith? He’s talking about both unbelieving Jews and unbelieving Gentiles.

And he answers that with a series of questions. Look at the first two questions there in verse 14. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?”

By the way, do you hear the two aspects of saving faith in those? Confessing and believing in Christ. How are they to call ON HIM…? How are they to believe IN HIM…? The rhetorical answer is built into the question.… they need to hear about Jesus.

The next two questions are the next two logical questions. “…how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”

Do you see how Paul asks the four questions in the reverse order to show how it needs to happen? He’s making the logical point.

Faith is confessing and believing in Christ. But in order for them to confess and believe in Christ, they need to hear about him. Well, in order for them to hear about him, someone needs to tell them. And, in order for someone to tell them, people need to be sent.

Being sent leads to proclaiming the Gospel which leads to people hearing, which leads to some believing.

I googled population estimates in the first century. There were a lot of educated guesses. Back in Paul’s day, in the middle of the first century, there were roughly 150-350 million people in the world. I know that is a wide range, but it still gives us an order of magnitude.

At that time, Christianity was growing rapidly, but it was still miniscule compared to the world’s population. It’s very hard to know how many Christians there were back then. But think about this…

· When the Holy Spirit was given after Jesus’ resurrection, 3000 believed. Some were residents near Jerusalem, other dispersed to other regions across the Mediterranean.

· The book of Acts documents the Gospel going to Africa through the Ethiopian Eunuch. Apollos was from Africa and he had heard.

· Peter brought the Gospel to the coastline along the eastern Mediterranean.

· Of course, Paul went to Asia Minor, and Greece.

· We don’t have Scriptural record of the other apostles, but tradition has Thomas going to east Asia; Matthew going to northern Africa and Simon to Persia.

When the book of Romans was written, it had only been about 25 years since Jesus’ death and resurrection. That’s it. But the Gospel had been going forth. Yet even with all those encouraging ways the Word was going out, Christianity was still small. It was growing exponentially percentage wise, but there were still likely only tens of thousands of Christians at the time. Again, that’s small compared to the hundreds of millions in the world.

A vast majority of those hundreds of millions were not Jewish – they were Gentiles. But there were also Jewish people who had been scattered all over going back centuries earlier. When Assyria and Babylon overthrew Israel and Judah, respectively, the Jews were dispersed. Jewish documents and DNA evidence seem to indicate that the exiles travelled deep into Africa and far into east Asia. My point is that many many Jews and Gentiles all over the world needed to hear about faith in Christ.

In verse 15, Paul quotes from Isaiah, chapter 52. “how beautiful are the feet of them who bring the good news!” Isaiah 52 is a great chapter. In it, God foretells that the good news would go forth. In that same chapter, he assures them that “the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Those who heed the call, would not and will not be alone.

Let’s go back to what was happening in Rome. When the church in Rome received this letter in the middle of the first century, they were just beginning to experience persecution. That persecution would continue for another couple of hundred years…. In fact, between 250 AD and 300 AD, it escalated. Christians were being tortured, persecuted in various ways, and many executed.

But something else happened over that same period. Christianity exploded in growth. Historian Rodney Stark estimates that the number of Christians in the City of Rome went from 78,000 in the year 250 to 298,000 in the year 300. A 350% growth in 50 years. He estimates that 66% of the population of Rome confessed and believed in Christ in the year 300.

The persecution only accelerated the good news going forth. And remember, this letter was written to the church in Rome. Many were heeding the Romans 10 call to be sent. They were preaching the good news, people were hearing, and many believed by faith, confessing Jesus as Lord.

Today, the world’s population is about 8 Billion people. The Joshua Project, which tracks unreached people groups, estimates that out of the 17,300 people groups in the world, 7,280 are unreached. They consider a people groups as unreached if less than 2% of the population are Bible believing Christians. By their estimates, 3.43 Billion people live in unreached people groups.

What I am saying is that the call for the church to be sent very much applies to us today.

To be sure, the call to proclaim the good news of Jesus applies to all of us. There are many in our city who have yet to hear and our responsibility is to bring the good news to them.

But let me point out… the word “sent” in verse 15 comes from the Greek work apostello – which means be sent forth. Apostello is also the same root for the word apostle. The ones sent out. So these verses particularly focus on going forth in the work of Gospel missions. It’s bringing the good news to people and people groups that have never heard – Jews and Gentiles. “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.”

As many of you know, I’ll be headed out on a sabbatical in the middle of next month. One thing that Amy and I will be doing is visiting some of the missionaries that we support as a church. We’re excited to see the work to which God has sent each of them. And as you also know, in the next couple of months we’ll be sending out Jonathan and Beka (and Andrew and Josiah) to the Middle East. They are going forth to support the work of bring the good news to a people who desperately needs the hope of Christ.

And why do we do this? Why do we support missionaries and send people out? Well, Paul concludes and really summarizes with these words. “Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.” We send and support… so that the word of Christ is preached, so that people can hear the word of Christ, and confess and believe in him by faith.

Let me bring this all together. Righteousness has always come through faith in Christ. For God’s people in the Old Testament, it was faith looking forward to the promised Messiah and the salvation he would bring. For the people in the New Testament and beyond, it’s faith in what Christ has done, bearing our sin on the cross and being raised from grave. All people are called to believe by faith, Jews and Gentiles.

And that message of faith needs to go forth so that people can hear about, believe in, and confess Jesus as Lord.

In closing, let me ask, do you feel the call to be sent? That could mean many things. It could mean dedicating your life to bring the Gospel to the people and people groups here in the Atlanta area who need to hear about faith in Christ. But that could also mean going forth to the ends of the earth to proclaim the good news… or support the work of proclaiming the good news.

If you feel any sense of that, talk to me. Talk to one of our mission team members. We’ll explore together what that sense of call may mean. And one thing that will be for sure – you will have a church family fully supportive of that call to be sent, fully supportive in prayer, fully supportive in partnering in the great call to go. “Blessed are the feet of those who preach the good news.” Amen

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Some of you will remember… When we launched 4 years ago, we began with a short sermon series on Romans chapter 8. The reason was… we were in the middle of COVID and we needed Romans 8 encouragement. It gave us some foundational perspectives and hope. It gave us great assurance. It speaks of the impact of sin not just on humanity but on creation itself. And it reminds believers in Christ that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

That was four years ago. And in between our regular sermon series, we’ve been going back to different chapters in the book of Romans.

So, for the next 7 weeks, we’ll be working through Romans chapters 9-11.

This morning, our sermon text is Romans 9:1-8 – actually, I’ll read verse 9 as well.

You can find that on page 1123 in the pew Bible.

Reading of Romans 9:1-9

Prayer

Almost every news broadcast today touches upon the war in Israel and Gaza. And it weighs on our hearts. Every day it seems that more people die. Just when it appears there may be some semblance of peace, there’s another setback. Iran sends a barrage of missiles at Israel. Hezbollah attacks towns on Israel’s northern border. An errant bomb kills aid workers in Gaza. Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields.

Until the October 7 invasion of Israel, there had been relative peace going back to the mid-1990s. Occasional skirmishes lasted only a few days. Today, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight

And we are saddened at the loss of life. We grieve the Israelis murdered in their hometowns. We grieve the Palestinians in Gaza caught in the crossfire. And we are angry at the hate filled and bloodthirsty regimes and groups. Thinking back on our Proverbs study, the description of wickedness defines some of them like Hezbollah and Hamas. The Lebanese and Palestinians and Israelis are often their victims. And they have a goal to wipe Israel off the map.

Let me add another layer of complexity. This spring, protests arose on several college campuses across the United States. Many of the protestors were supporting Hamas and were against Israel. It’s been reported that antisemitism has been on the rise in the US. That is deeply concerning. Besides the fact that any and all racism is sin, we’ve seen the tragic effects of antisemitism in the past – persecution and genocide.

With all of that in mind, how are we, as Christians, to respond? And related to that, how should we understand Israel and the Jewish people in relationship to God’s redemptive plan in history?

Let me acknowledge, some of you are really nervous right now. You’re either nervous wondering if I’m wading into politics… or you are nervous about how I will talk about Israel.

Let me slightly relieve some of those concerns.

· First, Romans 9-11 speaks about Israel. In fact, the apostle Paul directs us how to think about Israel and how to understand Israel within God’s plan of redemption. If there is any text in all of the New Testament which helps us with these questions, these three chapters do.

· Second, when we get to chapter 11, some of what Paul writes does have implications for end-times theology. However, these chapters are not about the end times, so we won’t be getting too much into that sticky subject.

· And the last thing to relieve some of your concerns… like any passage in the Bible, we’ll begin with the text and its context and draw conclusions from that perspective. I’ll be very careful not to impose current politics or geopolitical events into the text. Rather, we’ll seek to do the opposite – understand what the Scriptures mean to the original audience, and then second, how they apply today.

In fact, let’s start there. Let me remind you of Paul’s occasion for writing. He wrote this letter to the church in Rome. Unlike the other churches that Paul wrote to, Paul did not plant the church in Rome. He had actually never been to Rome, at least after his conversion. Yet, Paul knew many of the Christians in Rome. In chapter 16, he greets many of them. That list includes Priscilla and Aquilla whom he met in Corinth. It includes other Jews who professed faith in Christ, including some of his relatives. The list includes many Greek and Roman names, some names typically given to nobility. You see, the church in Rome represented a cross-section of the culture – Jews and Greeks and Romans. But they all shared one thing in common – they believed in Jesus as their Savior and as the promised Christ.

And it’s important for me to point out one more thing. The New Testament was not yet available. But they did have a couple of things. They had the Old Testament translated into the common language of the time, Greek. They had people who were discipled by the apostles – Priscilla and Aquilla are examples of that. They likely had others who knew the promises of Christ or, perhaps, who had even met Jesus.

And you ask, what were they being taught? Well, they were being taught about God, his law, and his promises. The church in Rome was learning about Jesus – who he was as God and as the promised Messiah. They were learning how he fulfilled the prophecies, and what Jesus had done to accomplish salvation.

So, even though the majority of the church in Rome were not Jewish, yet they were learning about God’s work in history, through Israel, to bring salvation to the world. That is why the first 8 chapters give a thorough explanation of sin, of God’s law, of Christ’s righteousness, of God’s promise to Abraham, and how all of those things relate to believing Jews and Gentiles. That is a big emphasis in the opening chapters.

Romans 1 verse 16 is a key verse in the whole book. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” In fact, multiple times in the opening chapters he speaks of the Jew and the Gentile or Greek. What he is saying is that salvation is offered to all people - Jews and Gentiles. The word Gentiles is a catch phrase for anyone who was not Jewish. So, Salvation in Christ is offered to all people.

But why is Paul making the point about the Jew and the Gentile? Well, it’s because he wants the church in Rome to be unified in the Gospel. He wants them to understand how the people of Israel relate to this salvation and how the Gentiles relate to salvation. Hint – the same way.

But there are some huge questions to be addressed.

What about the natural descendants of Israel who do not believe? Does that mean God’s promises failed? I mean, God gave all these promises to Israel, but they still did not believe! In fact, an overwhelming majority of Jewish people in Paul’s day did not believe in Jesus as the promised Messiah… AND an overwhelming majority of Jewish people today do not believe in him.

What are we to make of that? And how should we relate to and consider those of Jewish descent?

Well, Romans 9-11 gives us clear answers and directs us how to relate.

And Paul doesn’t waste any time. No, he gets right to the point. He begins by modelling for us, how you and I should relate to Israel.

We’re going to look at these opening verses in two sections. First, verses 1-5 – Having a heart for unbelieving Israel. And second, verses 6-8 – Realizing that true Israel represents children of the promise not the flesh. That’s where we are headed.

A heart for unbelieving Israel

One thing that is important to know, the apostle Paul was Jewish. As he puts it in his letter to the Philippian church, he was “of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee… as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” In other words, if anyone could claim a status as a true Israelite, Paul could. But when he came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, he realized that his Jewish credentials could not save him. They never could. No, rather, he learned that salvation comes through faith in Christ, alone, for both the Jew and the Gentile.

And he desperately wanted his fellow Jews to believe.

We see that in the opening five verses of chapter 9. Paul is pouring out his heart. He yearns for his fellow Israelites, who do not believe. He longs that they come to believe in the promised Savior. And look at the statement he makes in verses 3, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” He was saying that if there was a way to offer his life and be cut off from Christ in exchange for his fellow Jews to believe in Christ, he would do it. He had unceasing anguish for them, it says.

Now, to be sure, Paul knows that he could never actually be cut off. After all, he just said in chapter 8 that nothing shall separate those who are in Christ Jesus, “neither death nor life, nor angels, nor demons, nor anything else in all creation shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” Again, Paul knows it’s not possible, but yet he wishes that it would be so. That is how passionately he desires Israel to be saved.

As a side note – isn’t this a picture of the Gospel? Paul was willing to give his life in place of his fellow unbelieving Israelites. He was willing to receive the judgment of God so that they would not receive it. Paul could not literally do that, but that is how much he desired they be saved. One commentator said this of Paul’s heart: It’s “a spark from the fire of Christ’s substitutionary love.” Paul was willing to give his life like just like Jesus gave his.

Beloved, we should have the same heart as Paul for our unbelieving Jewish neighbors and friends. To be sure, most of us, maybe all of us, are not Jewish like the apostle Paul. However, that shouldn’t matter. Our hearts should long for unbelieving Jews to be saved… really, our hearts should long for any unbeliever to come to know the grace and mercy of Christ. I don’t want to limit the application here to just Israel.

We should desire any unbelieving people to come to faith. Going back to the Middle East, we should desire that more Palestinians come to faith… that more Syrians and Iranians would come to faith in Christ. And by the way, the church is growing among those people groups in amazing ways. I read an article the other day how the church in Iran is exploding in growth.

And here’s a challenging one – we should desire to see the Gospel penetrate the hearts of Hamas and Hezbollah – especially those involved in the ongoing wickedness and evil.

May the Lord bring peace in the Middle East, not through war, but through Christ. Amen to that?

And of course, there’s another application here: we should have hearts that yearn for our unbelieving family and friends. May the Lord use us to share the love of God in Christ and may the power of the Gospel turn their hearts to him.

Let me ask: Do you struggle to have a heart like Paul? One thing you can do is remind yourself of God’s grace in your life. You know, remind yourself of how he brought you from death and judgment to life and peace... Next week, we’ll be talking through God’s sovereignty in salvation. The middle of Romans 9 gives us hard truths but when we realize God’s undeserved love for us in Christ, there’s nothing else we can do but fall on our knees in worship and share that love with others.

Let’s go back to Israel. Paul is emphasizing Israel in these verses. And look how he puts it in verse 4: “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever.”

You see, through Abraham and his descendants (in other words, through Israel), God revealed himself. He gave them his Covenant promises. God gave them his law and he gave them worship – which here is referring to the sacrificial system. He revealed himself through the tabernacle and the temple – “his glory,” as verse 4 puts it. Each step of the way, God revealed to them more and more who he is and his promised redemption.

So much of the New Testament refers back to all these things … the law, the covenant promises, the prophecies, the patterns, the sacrifices. I heard a sermon the other day and the pastor said that the New Testament is like a sponge – it has its own structure and substance, but when you squeeze it, the Old Testament comes out.

It’s so true. The New Testament reveals how Christ fulfilled each of these aspects of God’s revelation to Israel. The covenant promises are fulfilled in him. The Exodus and the Passover and the Temple and the sacrifices find their true meaning in Jesus’ death and resurrection. The law itself reveals the need for Christ and his righteousness. The prophets, like Isaiah and Ezekiel, prophesied about the coming Messiah – and the New Testament testifies that those prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus’ nature, his life, his death, and his resurrection. King David and others were shadows of the King to come – the eternal king.

Earlier in the service, Ed read the road to Emmaus account. Wouldn’t it have been amazing to be there… to hear Jesus himself testify to how he fulfilled all these things. Maybe those guys were in Rome? Probably not, but they went somewhere testifying to all this.

And notice what he included in the list in verse 5… that Christ himself, who is God over all, he says, came in the flesh as a Jew. God sent the savior of the word through the people of Israel.

You see, all of it is there for the people of Israel to see and know and believe. Paul longed for his fellow Israelites to believe. It was all before them. They didn’t have to learn about all those things, they already knew them. Rather, they needed to see and believe in Jesus as the one who fulfilled it all.

So, similar to Paul, we need to long that all unbelieving Jewish people would believe. That includes, of course, many who are residents of Israel today – both secular Jews and orthodox Jews. We do that by praying. We do that by making known to our Jewish friends and neighbors and co-workers how all these things that Paul lists out are fulfilled in Christ. Friends, this is the opposite of antisemitism. We are here today as gentile believers (or a majority of us) because of how God revealed himself through Israel to bless the world. May our hearts long, as Paul longed, to see them believe.

Realizing that true Israel are children of the promise.

Which brings us to an important question. If most of Israel did not and does not believe, does that mean that God’s promises didn’t come true? Does it mean that God’s Word failed? It’s a very legitimate question. After all, God revealed himself in all those ways, yet, so many did not believe.

And this is where we will turn to verses 6-8. Because Paul gives us an answer. He says, “it is not as though the Word of God has failed.” And then he gives the reason. He says, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.”

Wait, what!? “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel”

If you are into logic or philosophy, that statement will come across as contradictory. You may be thinking, “the law of non-contradiction says that something can not be both true and not true at the same time.” So, we have an apparent contradiction. But let me point out… the law of non-contradiction includes not just at the same time but also in the same sense.

And that is why this is not contradictory. He is referring to Israel in two different senses. #1 physical Israel and #2 spiritual Israel – or Israel according to the promise. In fact, in verses 6, 7, and 8, he describes the distinction in three different ways.

· We already considered verse 6. Not all the physical descendants of Israel are Israel.

· In verse 7, he puts it this way – “not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring.” That’s interesting. We’ll come back to the Isaac reference in a minute. Essentially, just because you are Jewish, he’s saying, does not mean that you are part of the promise.

· And in verse 8 he explains, “it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”

Again, what he’s saying is that there are two categories. Physical Israel are the Jewish people physically descended – in other words, they have Jewish DNA. And second, spiritual Israel are the spiritual descendants of Abraham – children of the promise. By the way, what we will learn later in chapter 9 is that the spiritual descendants also include us - gentile believers. In other words, the people of God throughout history include the people in the Old Testament who believed in the promise as well as believers in Christ in the New. Stay tuned in a couple of weeks for that.

But let’s go back to Isaac. The second half of verse 7 quotes from Genesis 21 that Abraham’s son Isaac was his true offspring.

Here’s what happened. Abraham was married to Sarah. God had promised that Abrham’s descendants would be like the sand on the seashore. But there was a problem! Abraham and Sarah they didn’t have any children. So, what did they do? They took matters into their own hands. Abraham had a son with his maidservant, Hagar – that son was Ishmael. Ishmael was definitely a descendant of Abraham, however he was not the promised descendant.

No, God had other plans.

He promised them that Sarah herself would have a child. But here’s the thing. She was 90 years old at the time. That is hard to imagine. She was way passed child-bearing age. Sarah herself laughed when she heard the promise. But God said, “is anything too hard for the Lord?” The answer is…? And he did it. The Lord fulfilled his promise. Sarah gave birth to Isaac when she was 90 and Abraham was 100. I’m tired just even thinking of that. Sleepless nights, a crying baby, dirty diapers at 90 and 100.

But the Lord did it. God then revealed that his covenant promise would be fulfilled through Isaac, not Ishmael.

Do you see what Paul is saying? The distinction between the natural descendants and the descendants of the promise is not new. The word of God had not failed!

Even despite many natural descendants not believing in Christ, God’s promises were coming true. After all, Paul himself and other Israelites did believe in the promise fulfilled in Jesus. And more would and will come to believe.

Conclusion

Now, there are many more questions to ask and answer. Why did they not believe? How is it that the Gentiles are part of the promise? Is there hope for unbelieving Israel in the future? If so, in what ways? Those are some of the questions that Paul will address.

But he begins where he needed to begin and where we need to begin. A heart for the lost, including and especially the people group through whom God promised and brought salvation. As 2 Corinthians 1 says, “All the promises of God find their yes and Amen in Jesus.”

May the Lord turn more and more physical descendants of Abraham into children of the promise. May they see and believe and know Christ, “who is,” as Romans says, “God over all.”

And may the Lord give us hearts for all people… and eyes to see how all the promises of old are fulfilled in Christ.

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The Proverbs 1-31 Woman

Our sermon text this morning comes mainly from Proverbs 31. Verses 1-3 and 10-31. You can find that on page 654 in the pew Bible. There are also 3 other verses from earlier in Proverbs. Those are printed on the first page of the hymn insert. We’ll begin with those and then I’ll read from chapter 31.

By the way, Proverbs 31 is the last chapter of Proverbs. But we have 2 more thematic sermons, so we will conclude our series in two weeks… on June 23.

Before I read, let me note that in Proverbs 31, we’re told that these are the words of King Lemuel. They are an oracle taught to him by his mother. Similar to Agur from last week, we don’t know anything about King Lemuel other than his name, nonetheless, this is God’s very Word.

Reading of Proverbs 12:4, 18:22, 19:14, 31:1-3, 10-31.

It was the middle of the night in the spring of 1523 in northern Germany. 9 nuns lay awake. You see, they were waiting to escape the convent.

And then it happened. A horse drawn carriage pulled up to the main gate and was let in. The driver was there, allegedly, to pick up empty fish barrels, from the prior day’s Easter celebration. But he had more important cargo to take away. He cracked his horse whip. That was the signal. The nuns tiptoed quietly from their beds into the hallway, then through the shadows of the night, hid themselves in the cart, some even allegedly hiding in empty barrels.

The nuns gave the all clear signal and were soon free at last.

It was a bumpy ride, but they made it to their destination. Wittenburg, Germany and the home of Martin Luther. You see, Luther had helped orchestrate the convent escape. And within a matter of weeks, Luther had these young former nuns matched with young men in the town.

But there was a problem. One stubborn nun, named Katherine Von Bora, would have none of it. No, she would not be set up with the guy that Luther picked. She had other plans. And she made those plans known. It was Luther himself, she wanted.

Well, they were soon married. Former nun, former monk, and quite the couple.

Luther would write, “God gave me Katy, I would not trade her for Venice and all the kingdoms of France … I love her so dearly.” His nick names for her included “my rib” of course, referring to Eve being created from the rib of Adam. He also called her “doctor” because she cared for him. And also “queen of the pig farm” because she owned and managed a nearby pig farm.

Katy loved the Lord. She managed the house and finances. She brewed beer for Luther and his many guests. She would rise at 4am and work until 9pm overseeing all matters of the household. Luther called Katy, “the morning star of Wittenberg.”

They were very affectionate with one another. She honored and loved him, and he honored and loved her.

Katy embodied the Proverbs 31 description.

Now, if you are a woman and you and are feeling like “I’ll never be a Katy Luther.” Well, I do want take that heavy burden off of you. Because, while the Proverbs 31 woman is indeed a model, there’s so much more here. My goal is that all of us would see her heart and purpose… and all of us, would pursue her ways from a similar heart and purpose.

To get there, we’ll consider three things.

· First, the important question – to whom does this chapter apply?

· Second, we’ll consider the qualities of this virtuous wife.

· And third, we’ll conclude with Christ and the church. That’s the relationship to which this ultimately points.

1 To whom does this apply?

And again, if you are feeling overly burdened by these verses, I want to try and both relieve that burden but also inspire you. First, notice in verse 10 that the section begins with the question, “an excellent wife, who can find?” It’s a recognition up front that the woman described is a rare jewel. It is not saying that if you don’t measure up, then you’re failing. Rather, it’s a picture of a beautiful, Godly woman. One that you can, yes, seek to emulate – but not in your own strength. No - the most important description is in verse 30. “a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

Everything else comes out of her reverent fear and worship of the Lord God. Her heart, which loves and honors God, is what motivates and enables her in her wisdom and work. So, instead of feeling the moralistic weight of this unattainable standard, recognize that this can never be achieved in your own strength. No, rather, it is the Godly fear of the Lord that enables this.

And another thing, the woman described has many resources to help her - servants, family finances, other things that enable her to produce clothing and plant vineyards. Also, her husband is an elder of the land. He’s esteemed and wise. What I am saying is that her situation is likely very different from your situation.

Furthermore, not every woman is called to be married, nor is every man. The apostle Paul was single and encouraged those who are single. But even if you are not married, you still have a household to manage and steward – and therefore, these pursuits in the Lord are for you as well.

So that is one thing.

But also, this chapter is not just written to women. In fact, it is actually written to young men.

For the younger guys here, I want you to see this. Remember, this is an oracle which King Lemuel received from his mother. Why would his mother pass along this word to Lemuel? Well, because she knows the heart of young men. Ok, there are many of you young men here. Teenage boys and twenty-something single guys. Look with me at verses 2 and 3. “What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.” In other words, do not be seduced by charm and external beauty and therefore blind to true matters of beauty. That’s exactly what verse 30 says. “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain” It’s talking about external beauty. Instead, what is the most important quality in a wife? A reverent fear of the Lord – that’s what it says.

Young men, are you hearing this? Do not let your feelings deceive you. By the way, young women, this is for you, too. Charm and seductive dress and looks will attract the wrong guy. He will not be an elder in the land. To be sure, I am not saying that attraction is not important. But it is secondary to a heart that loves the Lord and pursues him. SO, young men and women, ingrain this in your hearts and minds now, before you “fall in love.”

Ok, there’s one more category of people to whom this chapter is written. And that is, all of us… men, women, and children. I will argue, later, that this chapter is a picture of the relationship that we, as God’s people, have with Christ. The Scriptures are full of the language of God’s people being betrothed to God. In the New Testament, Christ is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. But even in the Old Testament, as we read earlier, God’s people are described as the unfaithful wife, whom the Lord loves and forgives and redeems. What I am saying is that even though the description is of a virtuous wife, this is also a description of us, God’s people. We are to honor the Lord in our calling as the bride of Christ. So, in other words, do not tune this chapter out if you are young or old, or married or single – this is for all of us. We’ll come back to that.

2 The Virtuous Wife

But before we do, let’s consider this beautiful description

The woman described here is often referred to as The Proverbs 31 Woman - for good reason, of course. But I want to tweak that. Really, the description here is a bride who embodies all of Proverbs. So, I think it is better to call her the Proverbs 1-31 woman.

Think back over these last 9 months. We have seen a contrast, over and over, between the way of wisdom and righteousness versus the way of foolishness and wickedness. And the virtuous wife described here fulfills the categories of wisdom and righteousness. Almost every single positive category in Proverbs is modelled by this women.

Let me list them:

· She is trustworthy – verse 11, her husband trusts in her. She has a heart of integrity and honesty. She is praised at the gates, verse 31.

· Her words are kind, and she teaches kindness (verse 26) because her words bring life and not death – remember those Proverbs verses? She speaks what is true and builds up. Verse 12 – she does not harm her husband. Meaning, she does not speak ill of him behind his back.

· She is also generous to the poor - verse 20. She manages the finances and resources of the family with wisdom. She’s a good steward of all that is entrusted to her.

· Let me pause here and remind you again. This is for all of us. In other words, don’t tune out.

· Discipline and diligence describe her. Verse 17 – she dresses herself with strength. Similarly verse 25, strength and dignity are her clothing. And wow is she disciplined, rising early. Taking care of many things.

· Related to that, she is industrious. That is exemplified, really, all through these verses. Verse 27 – she does not eat the bread of idleness.

· She’s the opposite of self-centeredness and pridefulness – She cares for her household, providing clothing and food. They need not fear cold or hunger.

· And last, wisdom and knowledge describe her! That is explicit right there in verse 26. She’s been given discernment. She considers a field and buys it, verse 16. And verse 18, she perceives the value of her merchandise.

That’s quite the list. And of course, as I already mentioned, underlying all of this is her fear of the Lord. Actually, the fear of the Lord is going to be our concluding sermon in two weeks. It is the theme that has come up over and over and over. It is seeing and knowing the eternal God of the universe – whose judgement is just and whose ways are pure. Underlying this entire description is her reverent worship of the one true God. She considers his nature and truth and righteousness above all others.

What an amazing picture of the Proverbs applied to life. A picture for us to see and seek and emulate, especially in marriage.

In fact, this chapter is meant to be a model. Verses 10-31 are in the form of an acrostic. That means that every verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order. Verse 10 starts with Aleph which is the first letter of the alphabet. And verse 31 starts with the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, Tav. 22 verses and 22 letters. It shows us that this description is a pattern. It’s not just one example of how wisdom can be applied. No, it is the ideal model for marriage.

It models of what God has ordained for marriage on earth.

Eve was created in the garden as a “help-meet” for Adam, as the Hebrew words puts it. Together they complement one another as they seek to fulfill what God has called them to do. That call in Genesis 1:29 is for them to be fruitful and multiple and fill the earth and subdue the earth and have dominion over the earth. Sometimes we call that the cultural mandate. It is for all of us, but part of it is for married couples, who work together but with different roles.

Back in Proverbs 31, notice verse 11 - the husband’s trust in his wife yields him “gain,” it says. Her work is his gain. That indicates the responsibility given to the husband. But what’s very clear is how the wife oversees matters of the household. That word “household” is used several times here. She works to care for those whom the Lord has entrusted to her care – including caring for her husband. It is a very full and rich description of that responsibility worked out. In other words, this chapter beautifully displays the sphere to which Eve is called.

Now, some in the church (a minority) believe that submission means the husband makes all the decisions and the wife should never work outside the home. That is not how Proverbs 31 describes her responsibilities. No, she clearly is making decisions and is applying the wisdom that God has given her in matters within her domain.

· She considers the value of a field and buys it and oversees it.

· She works both in the home and outside the home. She provides for her household… but also verses 18 and 24 – she makes garments and sashes and sells them in the market.

Here is what I am saying: Proverbs 31 a beautiful model of what God has ordered for marriage. Husbands and wives are equal in dignity and status before God. They are both created in his image. But each is given roles and responsibility that support and work together to accomplish God’s mandate… the mandate to fill and subdue the earth. And again, we are talking about the domain of the home and marriage.

Let me put it this way: Proverbs 31 helps us not to fall off the rails on one side or another. It helps a husband see his role not as authoritarian or dictatorial. Rather it demonstrates entrusting his household to his wife’s care, enabling her to fulfill that responsibility with dignity and wisdom. It also reveals that there are unique areas of responsibilities to which a husband and wife are each called.

Now, obviously this is a much larger conversation. There are several New Testament verses that further clarify and direct us. I would be glad to talk more.

3 Christ and the church

But moving on, I mentioned that this chapter applies to all of us. What I mean is that the model of the excellent wife is a model we are all called to emulate. The reason I can say that is because this chapter also typifies the relationship of Christ to the church. We, the church, are his bride, called to fulfill all these things.

And let me work this out by showing you another structural element. Besides an acrostic, verses 10-31 are in the form of a chiasm. We occasional come across this. As a reminder, a chiasm is a form of parallel which we find both in Hebrew and Greek. The parallel ideas work from the outside into the center.

Here, we see both themes and words that draw us to the center of this text.

To begin, both verses 10 and 29 use the word excellent to describe the wife. That’s the outer parallel. In 11 and 28 - moving one verse in on both sides - Her husband trusts her and praises her. That’s the second level. If you go in one more level – she provides for her household. That is in verses 12-15 and also down in verse 27. Do you see how it’s working it’s way in from both sides? Wisdom is next, and then strength and dignity after that. Let’s move closer to the middle. Look down at verses 22 and 24. In 22, she makes bed coverings, and in verse 24, she makes linen garments. See that parallel? And at the very center is verse 23. By the way, the center reveals the main emphasis in this kind of parallel.

Verse 23 is the center. Let me read it. “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.”

You see, the respect and honor that her husband receives comes, in part, through his wife. Her virtue in overseeing his household makes him known and brings him greater honor.

Her faithfulness increases his influence in the community. His wisdom is lifted up as she acts in wisdom and righteousness.

Beloved, this is the relationship that we, the church, have with Christ. As we oversee the household of faith with diligence and integrity and care of one another and generosity to the poor and in wisdom and righteousness. When we do all those things, Jesus is exalted.

He is made known and honored at the gates of the city. The world will see him more clearly, when we, his bride, are faithful to the call that he has given us… that is, when we seek to live and acts in all the ways that Proverbs has taught us. We are the Proverbs 1-31 woman - the bride of Christ.

Our strength comes from him. We’re honored because of his honor. And just like the Proverbs 31 husband, Christ, as our redeemer, enables and empowers us to live out that calling to which he has called us.

Do you see the parallels?

Christ is the husband, here, the bridegroom. He has redeemed and forgiven and restored us from our unfaithfulness to be his faithful bride. … more on that when we get to the Lord’s Supper. And to be sure, that does not take away how this applies to husbands and wives. No, these words are for marriages here and now… but the heart of these verses is the union between Christ and his church.

Let me try summarize it this way: When Proverbs 31 is lived out in the relationship between a husband and a wife then (1) the husband is honored and his wisdom known, (2) the wife is built up and praised by him for her faithfulness and work, and (3) their household receives the rich blessing of their marriage.

And similarly, when Proverbs 31 is lived out in the relationship between Christ and the church then (1) Christ is honored and his wisdom known, (2) the church is built up and praised by him for her faithfulness and work, and (3) the household of faith receives the rich blessing of the marriage between Christ and the church.

Proverbs 31 is a beautiful testimony for marriages but especially our spiritual marriage with the Lord.

Conclusion

Going back to the Luthers - Even considering their failures and sins, and let me say, there were many, Martin and Katy’s marriage modeled a Proverbs 31 marriage. Her care over his household was a tremendously rich blessing to thousands of people. Luther was known among the elders of the land, due in no small part to her wisdom, diligence, hospitality, and labors. Some have said that their marriage transformed the institution of marriage. I think its better to say, their marriage restored the institution of marriage to the model found in the Word.

Briefly, in closing, I had always wondered why these verses closed out the book of Proverbs. But now, I think I know why. These verses are for all of us and they direct us to Christ. They bring together all the wisdom of Proverbs.

May we emulate this wife, through our reverent fear of the Lord, because we are the bride of Christ.

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We are winding down our Proverbs study. Today, we do not have a Proverbs insert. That is because we are covering all of chapter 30. Next week, we’ll be in the last half of chapter 31, and we’ll have a couple of concluding sermons.

The author of chapter 30 identifies himself as Agur. We don’t know who he is, but he is a man of great wisdom. He tells us these words are an oracle – they are the wisdom of God for us.

You can find Proverbs 30 on page 653 in the pew Bible.

As you are listening, you will hear a lot of numbers. Over and over he says there are three thing… no there’s four. It’s a way to emphasize a point by escalating the number.

But also, a big theme in these verses is humility. Be listening to how these words call us to humility in different ways.

-Reading of Proverbs 30 and prayer

A few years ago we were on a family trip and came across a hall of mirrors. I don’t know if you’ve been in one, but you walk through different rooms and passageways, and there are mirrors all over the place. Mirrors that are angled... and mirrors that reflect off of other mirrors. At times, you don’t know if the other person you are seeing is reality or a reflection in the mirror. At other times, you are not sure where to go, or you bump into the mirrors. And then there’s the room with the funny warped mirrors. When you look in the mirror, sometimes your body is really big and your head is really small, or your head is big and the rest of you is small. Or your legs are super short and the rest of you looks like a giraffe.

It's kind of fun, but it’s also very disorienting. After a while, your brain is not sure what to make of it all. There’s the reality and then there’s the distortion of reality.

We all live in the same world. But each person has a particular view of the world. What I mean is that we each have understandings of why things happen; what governs order; what should happen; where meaning and life come from, and what is right and wrong.

Some people can tell you what they think in each of those areas, but for others it’s just an underlying assumption they are not even aware of.

The problem happens when someone’s view of meaning or life or morality doesn’t line up with what is real and true. It’s like living in a hall or mirrors. That person’s world is distorted and inconsistent and they can’t find a way out. It can be very disconcerting or depressing. You can lose your way.

What Proverbs 30 does is it gives us wisdom to see the real world clearly. In essence, it takes the roof off of the hall of mirrors so that (1) we can see ourselves and God clearly, (2) so we can see how the world can be distorted, and (3) so we can actually see the amazing world that God has made. And Agur tells us, in order to see and understand anything, we need humility.

So, three things there. Three things that orient us to see clearly. Actually, there are four things! Did you see what I was doing there. There are three things, no there are four!

Three things that give us wisdom. Let me give them to you and then we’ll work through them.

· First, verses 1-9: Humbly know God’s divine order

· Second, verses 10-23: Humbly submit to God’s moral order

· And, third, verses 24-31: Humbly observe God’s creation order

Humbly know God’s divine order

That is where we are headed.

Let me ask… What is the first thing we need in order to understand God, ourselves, and the world? We need to humbly know God’s divine order. Again, that is point number 1.

Notice how Agur opens, “I am too stupid… I have not understanding….” That word “stupid” means ignorant or senseless. Now, to our modern ears, that may sound a little disingenuous or even contradictory. “I do not know anything, but let me tell you about wisdom.” That’s how it may come across, but actually there is a profound truth here.

What Agur is saying is that in and of himself, he cannot know or have wisdom. Look at verses 2 and 3. Notice the personal pronoun, “I” over and over. “I have not the understanding” “I have not learned wisdom” “nor have I aknowledge of the Holy One.”

Agur is saying that knowledge does not and cannot be derived from within ourselves. To know requires, at the very start, a humble acknowledgement that we are not the source of knowledge. Man is not the measure of all things.

Instead, Agur redirects our attention away from ourselves and toward God. Look at what he says next in verse 4… After stating his lack of knowledge and wisdom, look where he turns:

“Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name…?”

Isn’t that like the book of Job? “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?”

In order to understand anything, you first have to know and understand God and who you are in comparison to him. This is part of what it means to fear the Lord. We’ll be coming back to that again in a couple of weeks.

The more you know God and his creation, the more you realize how much you do not know. And the more you realize how much you do not know, it’s then that you will know more of God and his creation.

The bottom line is that humility is required to know anything. And when you see God for who he is and you see yourself and his world for what it is, then through that humble perspective of divine order, you will be given the eyes of wisdom.

Some of you will know of John Calvin, the 16th century French reformer. As some have said, if Martin Luther was the heart of the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin was the head. The depth of his understanding of God and the Scriptures was and is unparalleled. And Calvin’s seminal work was his Institutes – the Institutes of the Christian Religion. Two very thick volumes – 1200 pages total. In fact, Calvin refined it over his entire life.

Let me read to you the very first words of Calvin’s Institutes. Book 1, chapter 1, paragraph 1 – this is what Calvin writes:

“Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” And he goes on 1 sentence later, “…no man can survey himself without first turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves.” And Calvin goes on to talk about the humility required to know God, which includes knowing the “miserable ruin,” as he puts it, into which Adam plunged the world.

John Calvin is saying what Proverbs 30 is saying. Any and all knowledge must begin with a humble recognition of who we are as creatures… and who God is, as the one who created all things. Even though Calvin did not quote Proverbs 30, he begins his entire treatise with the very same point.

That is what the first 4 verses are saying. It is a profound truth that we have to recognize in order to correctly understand anything.

And then for the next 5 verses, Agur explains and demonstrates the implications of that truth.

Verses 5 and 6 – God is true. His Word, therefore, proves true, as it says. We dare not add to his words, it says. There’s both a promise and a warning. The promise is that “he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” But if you add to his words, he will rebuke you. It’s a scary thing to be in the hands of God.

And underlying all of it… is humility. We humbly see ourselves as weak and finite. We humbly see God as infinite. And we therefore need to humbly recognize his Word and his way.

And in verses 7-9, Agur shows us how to do that!

We humbly come to him in prayer. Verses 7-9 is a prayer. Actually, this whole first section is a prayer. Did you notice that? Agur addresses God in verse 1. He takes an interlude in the middle to talk about God and his word. And then in verse 7, he comes back to his prayer.

He’s demonstrating how to submit ourselves to God. And actually, it is very similar to the Lord’s prayer.

In the Lord’s prayer, we pray, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” Agur prays, “Remove far from me falsehood and lying.”

In the Lord’s prayer, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” And here, “feed me with the food that is needful for me.” Do you see the parallels?

In the Lord’s prayer, “Lead me not into temptation.” Agur similarly prays, “give me neither poverty nor riches… lest I deny you… or lest I be poor and steal”

You see, prayer is a humble recognition of our dependance on God and our need to submit to him. It’s a beautiful way for Agur to not just communicate the transcendence of God compared to the weakness of of man, but how we humbly surrender to him

To summarize point number 1: the very first step to understand the world clearly, is to humbly recognize our vastly limited knowledge compared to God’s eternal wisdom, and to therefore humbly submit to him and his word.

All knowledge and understanding begins there.

Humbly know God’s divine order

Humbly submit to God’s moral order.

And next. What is the second thing we need in order to see clearly? We need to humbly submit to God’s moral order.

There’s a big change starting in verse 10. Agur began with himself. He began by looking in and looking up. And you can see that in all the first-person self-references as well as all the references to God. But when we get to verse 10, he looks out. He observes the world.

In verses 10-23, Agur observes those who reject point number 1. They don’t see the transcendent God nor who we are in him. Because of that, they are the opposite of humble. That’s most clearly seen in verses 12 and 13.

“There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. There are those—how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift!” They see themselves as the measure of all things. They see their own way as the right way. Instead of the humble disposition that Agur demonstrated in the opening verses, turning to God and his word, they see themselves as pure and right in their own eyes.

And wow, it is quite the contrast. Some have teeth like swords, meaning their words. Others hate and devour the poor. There are those who slander and others curse their mothers and fathers. He describes some as leeches - self-absorbed and never satisfied.

When someone denies God and his word, they will turn his moral order into disorder. When you begin with an exalted view of yourself, not recognizing God and his ways, look at the result. You will deny God and his standard.

The truth is, we do not want to believe there’s a moral standard because we do not want to be accountable to it or accountable to God who defines the standard.

Part of the message here is that you can try to deny the moral order all you want, but in the end it is undeniable.

And if you don’t see that in verses 10-17, Agur makes it clear in verses 18-23.

Look down at verse 20. It says, “This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done no wrong.’” You see, she’s denying that her way goes against God’s way of what is right and wrong.

Her way is contrasted with the way that God made the world. In the previous two verses, Agur highlights the way of the eagle and serpent and ship. And he includes the way of a man with a virgin. That is referring to a newlywed couple in the marriage bed. You see, God made all of creation with order. We’ll see that more in the next point. And part of that creation order is his moral order. When the adulteress breaks that order, she’s distorting what God has established as good and right and true.

It’s a grave thing to go against God and his standard. That’s the graphic warning in 17 – the eye that mocks and scorns will be plucked out by the ravens… and eaten by the vultures

You see, God has revealed a moral order in his book of creation. Even if you do not believe God’s written word, Agur testifies that God’s standard of right and wrong is undeniable.

Ok, to summarize so far. First, to have true wisdom, you need to begin by acknowledging God in all his glory as the eternal creator and your humble estate as a finite and limited creature. That is God’s divine order.

And second, you need to acknowledge that the categories of right and wrong are built into the very fabric of our being. That standard is revealed through both God’s written word as well as in creation itself. That is God’s moral order.

Without these understandings, you will be lost in a hall of mirrors, not knowing what is real nor what is right and wrong nor where to turn… But when you humbly recognize these things, God will give you eyes to see clearly.

Humbly observe God’s creation order

That brings us to number 3, which is related. What is the third thing we need to see clearly? We need to humbly observe God’s creation order – the fulness of it. This is also looking out. God’s eternal wisdom is displayed in his creation all around us.

By the way, did anyone stay up and see the Northern lights a couple weeks ago? I missed them but I’ve seen them in the past. It’s amazing how God has formed and fashioned the universe to display his glory. Now, in verses 24-31, Agur is not talking about inanimate objects like stars and electrons that light up the sky and other displays of beauty that we see all around. Rather, he is highlighting the wisdom of God found in the smallest and largest creatures. The industrious wisdom of the ant. The instincts of the rock badger hiding in the cliffs. The formations of locust swarms. Lizards found in the palaces of kings. The mighty lion, the strutting rooster and the he-goat, all given rule over their dominions.

We could add to that. Schools of fish, all turning at the same time. Isn’t that amazing. Humming birds, whose wings flit up to 80 times a second, whose hearts beat up to 10 times a second… and who travel 1-2000 miles during migration. Or consider the 400,000 pound blue whales – the biggest creatures on earth. Their songs can be heard by other whales 1,000 miles away.

Yet some believe there is no God. Instead, they believe that all of reality came about through an evolutionary process. The wisdom that we observe in life is not fashioned and formed by a God of infinite wisdom, they say, but rather, through chance and evolution. And back to point number 2, they say that the morality we observe is not morality at all but merely behavior traits learned through the same evolutionary process.

That thinking is an example of what this entire chapter is addressing. It’s the height of pride and arrogance. It assumes an exhaustive understanding the universe that goes back in time.

In other words, to reject God as he has revealed in his creation order is to put oneself in the place of God. It is the epitome of arrogance. No, God alone has an exhaustive understanding of all things because he is the creator of all things. The order and wisdom of creation all around us testifies to the inexhaustible wisdom and glory of God.

That brings us back to the very beginning of the chapter. Any and all knowledge has to begin with a humble recognition of God and who we are in relationship to him. If we don’t see that divine order, we will not recognize his moral order, nor will we see clearly his amazing creation order.

Let me put it this way - in order to see things clearly, you need to see God clearly, see yourself clearly, see his way clearly, and see his creation clearly. Anything else is merely a hall of mirrors - distorting divinity, morality, and reality.

In fact chapter 30 comes to a close where it began, humility. Verse 32. “If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth.” In other words, if your whole life you have followed this foolish self-exalting thinking or evil living, then speak no more. Submit yourself, like Agur, to the one in whom all wisdom and authority and all things find their meaning.

Conclusion

So, three things! Yet even four! Actually, there is a fourth. Maybe I should call this one “Salvation Order?” Divine order, moral order, creation order, and salvation order.

Speaking of 4. Let’s go back up to verse 4. Agur asks the question, “who has ascended to heaven and come back down?” When he asks that, he is saying that the only one who can have knowledge is one who has ascended to heaven and has seen the glory and work of God – and has come back down to reveal it.

Jesus himself quotes that very phrase in John chapter 3. Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus about knowledge. About knowledge of the things of earth and the things of heaven. And Jesus said, “no one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the son of Man.” Jesus was confirming to Nicodemus that he is the one with the full knowledge of God. By the way, that title Son of Man is a reference to his divinity. Jesus’ knowledge comes from his divine nature as God’s Son. That is why the apostle Paul can say in Colossians 2 that in Christ are “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

So in Proverbs 30, when Agur asks, “what is his name, and what is his sons name?” He is speaking about the eternal Father and the eternal son of God, who would descend from heaven and whose knowledge and wisdom is ours through him.

In fact, John Calvin, in his Institutes quotes this very verse. Proverbs 30:4. He uses it as one of many verses which speak to the eternal nature of God the Son, before he was incarnate, before he descended to earth and became man. That nature caried over into the person of Jesus – truly God. As Calvin put it in reference to Proverbs 30. “He who was afterwards visibly manifested was the invisible Son of God.”

Our humility and knowledge comes through him, comes through the son, who descended from heaven, who humbled himself that we may humble ourselves. And in that humility, we can know God, his divine order, his moral order, his creation order, and his salvation order. Ultimate humility is submitting your life to him, and when you do, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge will be yours.

In closing, I think I could probably take another 15 minutes and show all the other ways that Christ fulfills this chapter. I won’t do that, instead, let me just highlight them:

· Christ is the Holy One of verse 3 whose holiness reveals what is true and right and good.

· He also fulfills verse 5. He is the word of God and a shield to those who take refuge in him

· In verse 12, we can say we are clean, because we have been washed of our filth through his blood

· And Christ is the agent of creation’s order, through whom God fashioned and formed his amazing world.

May we humble ourselves before him, so that we may see ourselves, God, his ways, and his world clearly.

View Details

Before we begin, I wanted to answer a question.

Some of you have asked whether these Proverbs sermons are topical or expository. That’s an excellent question. Typically, a topical sermon uses different passages in the Bible to focus on a particular topic – thus the name. Expository sermons involve preaching through a book of the Bible. The goal is to understand both what the original human author intended and what the Holy Spirit intended as far as how the book fits within the Bible and redemption in Christ. After that, the text can be faithfully applied to us.

When we went through the first 9 chapters of Proverbs, we definitely considered them in a traditional expository way – verse by verse. Starting in chapter 10, we’ve been looking at the themes contained in the rest of the book. I would say, even though we’ve been dealing with topics, our sermons have still been expository. Let me give you four reasons.

1.) We have been staying within the book of Proverbs… and focusing on what King Solomon wrote and compiled for his sons and the people of Israel.

2.) By working through different themes in this second half, we’ve been able to dig deep into the message of the book. Topical sermons often impose meaning into the text, but we’ve been seeking to draw meaning from the text.

3.) Related to that, by the end of our study, we will have read every single verse in the book of Proverbs. That has led to a very thorough understanding of Proverbs, why Solomon wrote it, and how we should understand it today.

4.) And last, we’ve spent a lot of time considering how each passage and theme fits within God’s work of redemption including how they’re fulfilled in Christ.

To be sure, the thematic approach in the last half has been a little unconventional, but I think overall faithful to our expository study. I hope that is helpful

Ok, let’s now consider our verses today.

Please take out the Proverbs insert. Our theme is strife and anger and quarreling versus peace and love.

Reading of selected proverbs:

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Strife: Stirring up or putting out

Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

13:10 By insolence comes nothing but strife,

but with those who take advice is wisdom.

15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

17:14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

17:19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;

he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

18:6 A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.

18:18 The lot puts an end to quarrels

and decides between powerful contenders.

21:14 A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

Proverbs 25:21-23

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

22 for you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the LORD will reward you.

23 The north wind brings forth rain,

and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

26:20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,

and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

26:21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,

so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

29:22 A man of wrath stirs up strife,

and one given to anger causes much transgression.

Anger: Slow to or quick to

14:17 A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.

14:29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,

but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

16:32 Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

19:11 Good sense makes one slow to anger,

and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

22:24-25 Make no friendship with a man given to anger,

nor go with a wrathful man,

lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

Quarrelling: Living with or driving out

16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD,

he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

17:1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

18:19 A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,

and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.

19:13 A foolish son is ruin to his father,

and a wife's quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.

20:3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,

but every fool will be quarreling.

21:9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

21:19 It is better to live in a desert land

than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

22:10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,

and quarreling and abuse will cease.

25:24 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

26:17 Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own

is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

27:15-16 A continual dripping on a rainy day

and a quarrelsome wife are alike;

to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one's right hand.

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Prayer

October 8, 1871. It was a particularly devastating day in American history. Two massive fires killed thousands of people and destroyed lands and buildings and homes.

You may be familiar with the first fire, the Great Chicago Fire. It was started in a barn allegedly by a group of men who where gambling and knocked over a lantern. The fire quickly got out of control. The dry conditions spread the fire and the winds blew toward the heart of Chicago. There was no stopping the blaze. In the end, it destroyed over 17,000 buildings and 300 people died.

Far worse, however, was a second fire that started that same day - October 8, 1871. This one was a forest fire that started in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Railroad workers had started a brush fire to clear land. But given the dry conditions and wind, it turned into an inferno. The fire burned 1.2 million acres and over 1200 people died. It is still the deadliest fire in US history.

Every year, fires destroy lives and livelihoods. The larger a fire, the more difficult it is to contain. In fact, the resources required increase exponentially. In certain conditions, temperatures can reach up to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit in an out-of-control fire. That’s only 1/5 the temperature on the sun’s surface. But if a fire is contained early, the resources needed to stop it are greatly reduced.

Isn’t that what happens between people? A little tiff turns into a spat which leads to a dispute and then to a fight. The fire of conflict escalates and escalates, until there’s seemingly no turning back. It becomes all-consuming. Anger and hate may then turn violent. Multiple people and groups may be pulled into the fight, and it can all lead to a devastating forest fire of strife and anger. But if the conflict can be put out early, then peace will win often the day.

Solomon recognizes the propensity of the human heart to fight. He knows that every single person and every single community by nature is prone to anger and hate, which can lead to bitter disputes that destroy relationships and people.

Look down at Proverbs 26:21. It’s on the left hand side. “As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.” Anger is stirred up by a quarrelsome man, which is like kindling to the fire of strife.

Sadly, Solomon experienced some of this. We read earlier how later in his life, several adversaries opposed him. That was a result of Solomon’s own sin. And that conflict continued and escalated even after Solomon’s death. It led to the divided kingdom.

Every people and every generation has or will experiences this. It’s part of our fallen human condition.

Ok, as we look at these proverbs, there are three general categories. Those align with the three groupings of proverbs - strife, anger, and quarreling. And within each, there’s a contrast between escalation and de-escalation. In other words, how our words and actions can either make things worse – escalate. Or how our words and actions can calm things down – deescalate.

Before we consider how we make things worse or calm things down, let me define the three terms that Proverbs uses.

Let’s begin with anger because that’s often where conflict arises. Anger is when you have deep feelings of displeasure. You know that, already, but there’s a funny thing in the Hebrew – the word for anger is the same word for nose. You know, your nose. We think of anger more associated with our ears. My ears are red. I’m angry. Well, the Israelites associated anger with their noses. When your nose was red, you were angry - like a bull in a bull fight. Its nose is steaming because it’s angry. In the Hebrew, if someone has a long nose, they do not get angry easily. The phrase “slow to anger” literally translated means long nose. Do you have a short nose or a long nose? The bottom line is that anger is a strong emotion against something.

And that leads to strife and quarreling. Those two words are used interchangeably. In fact, there are four different underlying words in the Hebrew. The basic meaning is contention or hostility – and its often verbal contention meaning debating and arguing forcefully. It’s when voices are raised with intense disagreement. In Genesis 13, an argument arose between Abraham and Lot’s herdsmen. They were quarreling, it says, because they were trying to share the same land for their livestock, but they couldn’t get along. Tensions were high.

Typically, when one of the underlying words is used as a noun, it is translated strife. When used as an adjective to describe someone, it is translated quarrelsome. Someone is quarrelsome if they are prone to cause strife. And typically, if the underlying word is used as a participle, it is translated quarreling.

Let’s go back now to the main two questions which proverbs asks:

Are you stirring up strife because you are angry or you are quarrelsome? Or are you seeking peace and calming the flames of strife? Are you trying to put the fire out?

Stirring up strife

The first question – are you stirring the pot of strife?

There are a lot of patterns and repeated phrases in these proverbs. Rather than give you specific verses, I’ll just highlight the repeated phrases. Now, as you hear these, your temptation may be to think about other people. “Oh, I know someone who has a backbiting tongue.” Instead, try to think about your own heart and words and actions.

As I mentioned, one of the obvious things that stirs up strife is anger. You know, someone with a “hot temper” or “quick tempter” or “hasty temper.” Those phrases are all used here. Another phrase is someone “given to anger.” Sometimes we describe this kind of person as having a short fuse. Like a firecracker when you light the fuse, and it explodes really fast. If you have a short tempter, like that, I suspect you often find yourself in conflict. That’s one way strife is stirred up.

A second way that strife is stirred up is through our careless and insensitive words. There are a few different phrases that capture this. For example, “A fools lips walk into a fight” and “a harsh word stirs up anger.” A “scoffer” is another word used that falls in this category. A scoffer is someone who mocks or makes fun of someone of something. A scoffer will obviously stir up strife. Another word is someone who’s quarrelsome. That’s someone who likes to pick a fight – they may have a backbiting tongue, to use another phrase here… or they are disagreeable or they have to make a negative comment about everything.

It's like a “continual dripping on a rainy day.” By the way, I should comment on the Proverbs about avoiding a quarrelsome wife. Amy said to me, “you know it’s Mother’s Day on Sunday.” I was like, “oops.” Hopefully I am not stirring up strife.

On a serious note, remember, Solomon is writing to his sons – young sons. He wants them to be careful about who they will marry. As beautiful as a woman may be on the outside, if she is quarrelsome, it is better to live on “the corner of a housetop” than with her. Solomon is not targeting women. If he were writing to his daughters, he would have said something similar focused on husbands. Proverbs 17:1 summarizes it well. “Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” In other words, it’s better to be poor with little food and have peace in your home, than be a Kardashian! – just saying.

So, number 1, a hot temper and anger stirs up strife. And number 2, being careless and insensitive and quarrelsome also stirs up strife.

Kids, have you ever seen the Pixar movie, Inside Out? It’s about a girl named Riley who moved across the country with her family. And that’s a hard thing. Some of you have moved to a new city. Riley has so many emotions that she was dealing with like sadness and fear and anger.

The interesting thing about the movie is we are taken into the headquarters of Riley’s mind. Each emotion is a character in the movie. Joy and Sadness are trying to guide her, but then they both get swept away and lost in another part of Riley’s mind. And guess who is left in her mind’s headquarters? Anger and Disgust and Fear. And that is a bad combination!

Anger’s is, of course, red. And quite often he blows his top. Literally out of the top of his head comes this stream of anger like a steam engine. Disgust is outspoken and negative. She is opinionated and dramatic and she rolls her eyes a lot in disgust. Everything is unacceptable.

Those emotions, Anger and Disgust, are like the first two descriptions here in Proverbs… And they are not helping Riley. They both stir up conflict. The question is, are Joy and Sadness lost forever? I won’t spoil it. You’ll have to watch the movie. It’s a helpful movie, actually, because one of the things we need to learn is how to identify and control our emotions. Stay tuned for more on that.

Ok, there’s a final category here that stirs up strife - hatred and wrath. Yes, those are related to anger, but you can be angry without hating or being wrathful. This category is about intentional evil and wickedness. The phrases captured here are “evil devices” and “a man of wrath” and someone who “loves transgression.” Intentional evil and vitriol and sin will obviously stir up strife.

In summary, are your words and actions causing and escalating strife? …because you are hot-tempered? Or because you are careless and quarrelsome? Or worse, because you are hateful and vengeful? None of it conforms to the pattern of peace that we are called to pursue.

Seeking peace by avoiding

And that brings us to the other side. How are we to put out the fire of strife? How do we calm a hot situation down before it explodes into an uncontrollable fire?

Here’s how you do it: when someone’s anger is rising and things start to get out of control, here’s what you say. You should say, “you just need to calm down.” It works every time, doesn’t it? It is especially effective if you raise your voice and squint your eyes and point your finger.

No, of course that doesn't work.

Rather, “a soft answer turns away wrath.” That’s the most well-known Proverb here. 15:1.

Our words are not neutral. You can say things that hurt and make someone angry, or you can say things that sooth and calm. One way hinders and another helps.

Even if you have to convey difficult things, you can do it with care and sensitivity. Instead of saying “you just need to calm down.” How about “I’m sorry for making things difficult, can we talk through this” or “is there something I can do to help.” or “can we come back in a few minutes and work through this.” Every situation is different. It takes wisdom and advice, as Proverbs 13:10 explains.

The main way that these Proverbs exhort us to calm strife is through love and longsuffering. “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” That’s the first Proverb in the list. We’re to “overlook an offense” as another Proverb says.

Another well-known Proverbs is chapter 25 verses 21-22. It’s there on the left. “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” That is not saying that you should try to “kill him with kindness” so to speak… so that you can get back at him.

No, this is actually to demonstrate love and not hate. That phrase “to heap burning coals” is an idiom which likely means that your enemy becomes repentant. His conscience has softened. Your words and actions have brought peace.

One phrase that is used several times here is “slow to anger.” Again, having a long nose. That means when you are provoked, to not provoke back. Instead of a short fuse, a long fuse. It means to love even when it is difficult. And it means overlooking offenses.

Look at 16:32 “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” “He who rules his spirit.” Or he who controls his emotions. Instead of blowing your top like the anger character in Inside-Out, having a “cool head” as we sometimes say.

There’s a classic book by Ken Sande titled Peacemaker. It’s great and I would recommend it. In it, he outlines the Biblical case for being a peacemaker and what that looks like. He gives three helpful categories: Peace makers, peace breakers and peace fakers.

· A peacemaker is someone seeking peace with others through the ways that Proverbs describe as well as other ways. Or you are helping to mediate peace. In other words, you are helping to bring peace in other situations. Proverbs 18:18 captures that. It says, “The lot puts an end to quarrels and decides between powerful contenders.” A lot was a Hebrew way to make a decision. “Casting lots” is like drawing straws today. Both parties agree to abide by where the lot fell. Being a peacemaker may mean you are helping to bring two or more people together and pave a path of peace for them. So, being a peacemaker applies to either your relationships or helping others in theirs.

· On the contrary, a peace breaker is someone whose words and actions escalate or stir up conflict like the various ways we talked about earlier.

· The third category is being a peace faker. Meaning you are pretending to be at peace but you are still holding anger on the inside which may erupt. Or you are putting up walls and just ignoring the conflict. Proverbs 17:19 describes that – the second half. “He who makes his door high seeks destruction.” In other words, you are blocking a path to peace. You are turning your back on someone and stonewalling them. It’s not peace but rather a silent kind of strife.

This is all difficult, isn’t it? Some of you know the pain of conflict all too well.

And theory is much easier than practice. It’s easy to talk about being peaceful but in the moment, it is difficult. When you are personally attacked or when your feelings of anger well up within you, it’s hard to even think straight.

So, the question becomes… how do you break through your own sin to be a peacemaker? How do you break through your anger and quarrelsome nature and hate to instead be soft with your words and slow to anger?

Well, you do that by looking to the one who is slow to anger.

The phrase “slow to anger” used in these Proverbs is directed at us. We’re to have a long nose - to be slow to anger. But every other instance in the Old Testament, the phrase “slow to anger” is ascribed to the Lord. Nine other times. And the phrase that is used in almost all of them is this… the Lord our God is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” That’s a description of an ultimate peace maker.

God himself said that to Moses when he gave Moses the 10 commandments. It is what Moses spoke to the people in the wilderness as he called them to repent. Repent because the Lord your God is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Ezra includes that very phrase in his prayer as recorded in Nehemiah when the people repented. The prophet Joel called on the people to repent and gave them the same reason… the Lord your God is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” And Jonah prayed this in his prayer… it’s why he didn’t want to go to Ninevah… he didn’t like them and didn’t want them to repent… but he knew, as he prayed that the Lord God was “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

Our ability to be slow to anger comes through the one who is slow to anger. God in his holy anger against sin is fully justified to punish you for your strife and anger and quarreling. But he is also a God who is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…” When you come to him seeking his forgiveness.

And in his mercy and steadfast love, God will satisfy the unquenchable fire of his anger against you. He’ll do that through the cross of Christ. Jesus is the only one who can extinguish the unquenchable anger of God against your sin. And when you come to him by faith, tht peace will be yours…

In Ephesians 2, the apostle Paul said that Christ has brought us peace… he’s made us both one by breaking down the dividing wall of hostility… reconciling us to God through the cross, thereby killing the hostility, he says.

That is the foundation of peace that we have with each other. When you know Christ, each day you are being conformed more and more to his image. That means you can grow in the fruit of his spirit – peace and patience and goodness and kindness and gentleness and self-control. You can be a peacemaker because he is your peacemaker.

· Because God is slow to anger, you can be slow to anger.

· Instead of quarreling, you can reconcile with others because he’s reconciled you to him.

· And in him you can give a soft answer and even love your enemies, because you were once his enemy, and he loved you.

The path to peace is the path of Christ.

May we each have a long nose. May we be slow to anger and loving… because our God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

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We’re resuming our Proverbs study this morning.

This is our 26th sermon in the book of Proverbs. We’ve learned a lot of things about wisdom and foolishness and righteousness and wickedness.

Before we begin, I wanted to take a few minutes and summarize our Proverbs series to date. It will be helpful for our study today.

First, while Proverbs does give us day to day wisdom for life’s decisions, it goes way beyond that. Proverbs teaches us how to understand life and death and good and evil and the world and God. In fact, the foundation to making day to day life decisions is understanding God, his world, and his word. Let me put it this way: Proverbs reveals a worldview for living.
Second, we learned that wisdom is a lifetime pursuit. It is a path. The path of wisdom calls us to pursue God’s wisdom and his righteousness. And when we do, we will grow in discernment of what is good and right and true.
Third, Proverbs reveals that there is not just one path. There are two divergent paths of life. The first path, as I mentioned, is the path of wisdom and righteousness. The second path is the path of foolishness and wickedness. Our thematic sermons starting in chapter 10 have been expanding our understanding of each path. Remember, foolishness and wickedness relate, but they are different. Foolishness is actively or passively ignoring God’s commands and his law. Wickedness and evil are hostile to them and often to the detriment of others. So, two paths. And we are called to walk the path of wisdom and righteousness.
Fourth, and this is very important. The path of wisdom begins with fearing the Lord. That is where Proverbs began – fear the Lord. And we’ve seen that phrase over and over. In fact, listen for it in our verses today. Fearing the Lord means recognizing who he is as the sovereign, holy, and just God; it means trusting in him, honoring him, and reverently worshiping him. And we fear the Lord through faith in Christ. The promises of God which are fulfilled in Christ are all throughout the Proverbs. We’ve seen that in each chapter and each theme. He is wisdom personified. Jesus models perfect righteousness. He leads us down the path of righteousness. Jesus is the one who at the end of our life on earth, will preserve us for eternity… as Proverbs promises. The fear of the Lord, which comes through Christ, is the first step on the path of wisdom. But it’s the first of many steps on the path.
Fifth, and last - you can fear the Lord, yet stumble down the path of wisdom. You can get stuck in a rut; you can be on the path of wisdom but do foolish things. And that will lead to struggles and difficulty in life. In other words, believing in Christ does not mean you coast to the end. No, God calls us in Proverbs to continue pursuing what is good and true and right. Remember, Solomon is writing primarily to his sons. Besides teaching them about God and wisdom generally, Solomon want’s his sons to prosper in the wisdom and righteousness of God. He wants them to make wise decisions in life, and Solomon warns them about foolish and wicked decisions.

Let me recap: (1) Proverbs gives us God’s worldview for living. (2) It teaches us that that the path of wisdom is a lifetime pursuit. (3) we’ve learned about the divergent path of foolishness and wickedness. (4) We’re given the starting place, which is to fear the Lord, and (5) We’re exhorted to persevere on the path of wisdom and righteousness and warned about the consequences of not following it. That last point, #5, is where our verses today fit within Proverbs as a whole - warnings about wickedness and exhortations about righteousness.

I know that was a very long preamble, but I wanted to make sure that we understand these verses in the context of Proverbs.

Please take out the Proverbs insert in your bulletin and turn to the inside.

As I read, listen for those encouragements about pursuing righteousness and those warnings about wickedness.

Stand

Reading of selected Proverbs

11:27 Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it.

15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who pursues righteousness.

17:15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

17:26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

19:19 A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.

24:1 Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them,

24:2 for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.

24:15 Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home;

24:16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,

24:18 lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.

24:19 Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked,

24:20 for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

24:21 My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise,

24:22 for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

24:24 Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,” will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,

24:25 but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.

24:26 Whoever gives an honest answer kisses the lips.

25:19 Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

28:4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them.

28:9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

29:27 An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.

Prayer

We are a people easily influenced.

Speaking of being influenced, did you know, in the United States, Instagram has about 177,000 social media influencers. These are people with over 10,000 followers on Instagram. And let me give you an example - Dwayne Johnson – you may know him as “The Rock” has 398 Million followers. Because of that, when a company wants The Rock to market their product, they will pay him $1.5M per post because of his influence.

I know some of you are worried about my growing influence on Instagram. Well, I just checked my number of followers, I am up to 204 followers. Maybe you can help me catch up.

We are a people easily influenced, easily persuaded… and people are paid to influence us.

A recent study of peer pressure in teenagers showed that 61% of teenagers would break a rule if their friends were already breaking the rule. And 55% of those kids continued to break the same rule even when their friends were not around. The study also captured the peer influence on beliefs – it showed that 94% of kids are influenced by their peers in what they believe… to some extent.

I’m bringing this up because one of the things we learn from these verses is to be on guard against the persuasions and temptations of wickedness. Instead, we are called to be influenced by righteousness. We’re to actively pursue righteousness and avoid wickedness and the wicked in his ways.

Alright, take a look at the insert again. I want you to see a pattern here. There are many direct commands throughout. And most of them are formed in the negative. For example, look down at chapter 24 verse 1. “Be not envious.” A couple verses later, 24:15: “lie not in wait” and later in that same verse, “do no violence.” There are a total of 9 negative commands in these verses. Even more, there are also similar negative proverbs just not in an imperative form. And every single one of both types are about how we should relate to wickedness. Some of them are warnings and others direct us how not to react to wickedness.

So, let’s look at these verses in two main categories:

Be wary of wickedness
Be resolute in righteousness

And, by the way, each of those categories has four commands.

Be wary of wickedness

So again, first, Be wary of wickedness. The four command here warn us not to be drawn into wickedness.

And let me say, these warnings very much relate to our last sermon on wickedness and righteousness. Remember, it’s ultimately a heart matter. A heart of wickedness gives way to wickedness. A heart of righteousness gives way to righteousness. The warnings in these verses take us back to the heart. We need to guard our heart in Christ and not be drawn into wickedness.

The first warning is about envy. We’re not to envy wickedness. That’s what chapter 24:1-2 says: “Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.” A few verses later there’s a similar command.

To envy is to want something or be to jealous of something. To envy the wicked is to have a heart desire to either want what the wicked has or to be jealous of his associations. I’ll illustrate these in a minute – I want to start by explaining them.

So first, envy. And next, envy leads to some sort of rationalization. The word “justification” is used in 17:15 “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.” Justification in this sense is saying or believing that what the wicked are doing is somehow right. A few verses later, it says, “Whoever says to the wicked, ‘You are in the right,’ will be cursed by peoples…” It’s the same idea. The temptation is to believe that what the wicked are saying or doing is right.

Now, we’ve talked a lot in our Proverbs study about the dividing line between wisdom and foolishness and between righteousness and wickedness. And what is that dividing line? It is God’s Word – his commands and law. God determines the divinding line. Look at chapter 28 verse 4. It captures that line. 28:4 “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them.” What it is saying is that to justify or agree with the wicked is to actually forsake God’s law.

So, do not envy the wicked; do not justify or praise their wickedness; and then, next, do not seek out wickedness. That seeking is captured right there in 11:27. “Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it.” Do you know what happens when you search for evil and wickedness? You will find it! There’s no lack of evil to be found when you search for it.

That path obviously leads, next, to participating in wickedness. Joining in wicked ways.

24:15 “Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home;” That envy and rationalization and seeking out wickedness turns to an active involvement in wickedness.

Here’s the scary part here. It’s often a subtle drift away from righteousness and toward wickedness. We are incrementally influenced by wickedness until we join in wicked ways.

I studied German in college for a year. My professor was from Germany and he was born right when Hitler was ascending to power. This professor had such a gentle and Christ-like spirit about him. And that is because as a young child, he experienced the devastation of war with evil all around him… but God’s mercy through it.

He wrote a book about his family’s experience. In it, he highlighted his mother’s faithfulness to disciple her children to stand against the evils of the Nazi regime. They were trapped like many others… in a world of evil.

He wrote this about his mother’s struggle: “What could a parent do to instill in one's children values of decency, respect, faithfulness, and diligence when all around the only thing that seemed to guarantee success was the rejection of such qualities?”

They sought to be faithful to the righteousness they were called to in Christ… and faithful to minister the hope of the Gospel in the darkness around them.

But their beliefs were in direct opposition to the Third Reich. My professor’s older brothers were forced to participate in the Hitler Youth. They had to mentally and spiritually fight against the brainwashing of the Nazis. By God’s grace, the boys held firm to their beliefs in Christ. At one point, one of them fled his Hitler Youth post and almost escaped out of Germany, but he was detained. He was maybe 13 years old. Because of his age, his life was spared.

The oldest brother was drafted at age 17 into the German military. Even there, he sought to be faithful to Christ and forthright about his Christian beliefs. At one point, his commanding officer found out… and this young man was cursed at in front of the entire company. The commander yelled at him that it was a great crime to be a Christian because Jesus had also been a Jew. Again, by God’s grace, this brother survived the war, despite being later captured by Russia and imprisoned for 5 years.

I want you to imagine the pressures to either give in to the wickedness… or the temptation to envy or desire the power of the wicked. Let me ask the teenage boys here… imagine being 12-years-old in the Hitler Youth. You are told that your race and nation were superior to all others… and that you would participate in conquering the world. Would you find yourself tempted to believe the lie and then actively join in the evil machine?

Or for any of us, if you lived there in that time… and you saw the power and the privilege afforded to those aligned with the Nazis, would you go down the path of these warnings? First, envying them, then rationalize their evil, then searching it out, then participating.

Did you know, many churches in Germany either supported the Nazi regime or turned a blind eye to the atrocities? Directly or indirectly, they were saying of evil, “you are in the right.”

Now, it’s one thing, of course, to look back 85 years at another generation in a country across the ocean, but what about wickedness and evil that exist today? What things today are we turning a blind eye to or supporting directly or indirectly? Over the last three sermons, we’ve considered several examples of evil – human trafficking, tragic shootings, our culture of death and the life of the unborn. But is there another evil that has drawn you in? For example, has your sin drawn you into porn? No, you are not the one driving that evil industry, but besides the sin of lust and heart adultery, your sin is feeding the industry… just like those in Nazi Germany supporting the regime. Now, we’re going to get to the righteousness that we can pursue in Christ, but I wanted to press the question of our sin and wickedness.

Alright, those are the four warnings. Be wary of wickedness.

Be resolute in righteousness

That brings us to a second set of commands. Again, I’m naming them - Be resolute in righteousness.

The question is, when faced with wickedness, how should we respond? Instead of being influenced and drawn toward the wicked and wickedness… how can we respond in righteousness?

And, as I mentioned, there are four admonitions here:

First, do not worry about wickedness. 24:19 says “Fret not yourself because of evildoers.” The word “fret” is stronger than the word “worry.” To fret over wickedness is to have an internal turmoil because of it.

I think this is perhaps the hardest command in all these verses today - especially when you are the target of evil. Or do you look around and see all the injustice and prosperity of the wicked, and you worry? But God says, do not fret. The wicked will come to their ultimate destruction. That’s the second part of the Proverb in verse 20 – “The lamp of the wicked will be put out.” On the day of judgment, they will stand before judgment seat of the Lord and be judged, but the righteous in Christ will be vindicated.

Again, this is a hard one. And, I have to say, I struggle with this. I have to remember that God will have victory in the end. His righteousness will prevail… despite evil at times seeming to overcome righteousness.

In the book I mentioned by my professor, I was struck by how often their family prayed…. by how they sought to trust in the Lord. As bombs were falling all around them, as they were helping their injured and grieving neighbors, as the evil of their own countrymen seemed to be prevailing, they prayed for protection and help, but they did so trusting the Lord’s will. Do not worry about evil.

And second, do not trust the wicked. That one is right there in chapter 25:19 – “Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.” But it is so tempting, isn’t it? You are down and out. Maybe you are overcome by your situation. And someone comes along says, “hey, I can help you out but I need you to do something for me.” But it turns out his offer is merely to use you for his evil schemes. Trust not in the wicked.

Ok, third, do not rejoice when the wicked fail. This is another difficult one! Look at 24:17 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles…” I mean, who does not want to celebrate when your enemy falls?

But we are not to rejoice. It is a humble reminder of two things. Number 1 – it is only by the grace of God in Christ that you are counted among the righteous and can, in him, pursue righteousness. And number 2, it’s a reminder that the wicked need the Lord. Instead of rejoicing, we should pray that he would redeem them.

So, worry not. Trust not. Rejoice not when the wicked stumble. And last, rebuke wickedness. Honestly, all four of these responses to evil are all difficult. Beloved in Christ, we are called to call out wickedness. Proverbs 24:25. “those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.”

We are afraid to stand up for goodness and righteousness. We will be called names and perhaps persecuted. Think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a pastor in Germany during World War 2. He was part of the confessing church which did not support Hitler. He was in a position where he could speak out against the atrocities, and he did. He was jailed multiple times for his stance. In a tangential way, he also participated in a plot against Hitler. In the end Bonhoeffer was executed for that.

Now, I am not saying that on social media, you should call out every evil thing you see and hear. No, we should be thoughtful, sensitive, and clear. At times, it may require a bold witness like Bonhoeffer. But at times, like my professor’s family, it may require an under the radar testimony to neighbors and family who are tempted by wickedness around them.

In all of this, the call is to be resolute in righteousness. May we heed both the warnings not to get pulled into evil, but also the call to stand firm in the righteousness to which we are called.

Conclusion

On Thursday evening, we had our Smoke Rise home group gathering. We were looking at these verses and someone made a very helpful observation. I want to share it with you in conclusion. Chapter 24 verse 21 unlocks all these verses. Take a look at it. 24:21. It says, “My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise…”

It is the fear of the Lord, which I mentioned in the introduction, which enables us in each of these commands. It is the reverent trust in God through Christ, by which we can be wary of wickedness… and heed the warnings and be resolute in righteousness.

Here’s what I mean:

Instead of envying or justifying wickedness, we fear the Lord… we desire him and what he determines is right.

Instead of searching for evil and getting pulled into evil ways, we fear the Lord… seeking him and his ways.

And similarly, it is through that fear of the Lord, knowing his judgment and his love for us in Christ, that we can be resolute in righteousness.

Instead of trusting in the wicked, we trust in the Lord. That trust is really at the center of what it means to fear the Lord.

Furthermore, when we fear the Lord, we can set aside our worry and not fret about wickedness. He has and will overcome all evil. Yes, the cross of Christ atoned for the sin of those who fear the Lord, but through the cross and in the resurrection, Jesus also triumphed over evil. In the end, when he returns, all wickedness will be defeated. That is a great comfort.

And last and related… in that same confidence, we can rebuke wickedness. We can stand firm against wickedness because it is God’s standard and not ours. We can declare that in Christ, God has revealed righteousness and the path of righteousness and he has overcome wickedness.

So, may we fear the Lord, and in that holy fear, may he lead us in the paths of righteousness for his name sake. Amen?

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Thank you to our instrumentalists and choir. Especially Oscar and David.

For the last few months, we’ve been studying the book of Proverbs. It’s one of the wisdom books in the Bible and it is full of wisdom for life. I think that’s a good summary of Proverbs – wisdom for life.

Some of you are joining us for the first time this morning, and so let me give a quick synopsis. Last fall, we considered the opening 9 chapters of Proverbs. Those contain 12 foundational lessons about wisdom. Those lessons answered the questions, What is wisdom? Why do we need wisdom? And Where do we find wisdom? We were also warned about folly and evil.

When we got to chapter 10, instead of taking the proverbs in order, we began considering the themes found in chapters 10-31.

If you’ll take out the Proverbs insert in your bulletin, you’ll see those themes listed and the number of verses in each.

We’ve completed the ones with the check boxes. As you can see, we are about half-way through. Proverbs includes two major thematic contrasts. The first is wisdom versus foolishness. And the second is righteousness versus wickedness. We’ve made it through most of the categories related to wisdom and foolishness and today we are beginning the second major contrast.

Let me note that the differences between foolishness and wickedness are not always a hard line. However, there are a few important differences I want to highlight.

•The two Hebrew words for folly indicate either an active or passive disregard for truth and morality. A fool, as Proverbs describes, is someone who doesn’t care about living with integrity or pursuing what is good and right and true according to God. The actions or inaction of a fool do affect others but more as a consequence of their foolishness.

•Wickedness, on the other hand, is hostile. The underlying Hebrew word for wickedness includes violence and evil perpetrated against someone. A wicked person as Proverbs describes is someone guilty of intentional injustice according to God’s standard.

Hopefully that helps as we now consider the contrast of wickedness and righteousness.

By the way, there are an overwhelming number of verses about righteousness and wickedness. Because of that we’ll consider them in 3 sermons.

Now, you may be thinking – an Easter Sermon about righteousness and wickedness? It’s true! As I’m reading the verses, I want you to be thinking about the resurrection and I think you’ll see how they relate.

That’s a long preamble but hopefully it orients you to these verses and theme.

If you’ll open up your Proverbs insert, let’s now consider God’s Word.

Stand

Reading od Selected Proverbs

(1) The heart of evil and righteousness

11:20 Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are his delight.

12:26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

13:5 The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.

12:3 No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved.

21:10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.

24:8 Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer.

29:7 A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.

29:10 Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright.

29:24 The partner of a thief hates his own life; he hears the curse, but discloses nothing.

(2) The way of evil and righteousness

10:6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

11:5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.

11:13 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

12:6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them.

12:10 Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

14:9 Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance.

15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but gracious words are pure.

15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

17:4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

17:11 An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

21:3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

21:27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent.

21:29 A wicked man puts on a bold face, but the upright gives thought to his ways.

22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.

28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

(3) The (temporal) result (impact?) of evil and righteousness

10:3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

11:10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.

11:11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.

11:17 A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.

11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.

11:31 If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!

12:13 An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble.

12:21 No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.

13:17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.

13:25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

14:19 The evil bow down before the good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

15:6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

17:13 If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

18:3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also, and with dishonor comes disgrace.

25:26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

28:10 Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.

28:12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.

28:17 If one is burdened with the blood of another, he will be a fugitive until death; let no one help him.

28:28 When the wicked rise, people hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase.

29:2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

29:6 An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices.

29:16 When the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will look upon their downfall.

One of the things we’ve seen in Proverbs is how it deals with the breadth of the human condition. The joys and the sorrows – the height of virtue and wisdom and the depth of depravity and folly. We’ve seen that over and over.

Blaise Pascal, the famous 17th century mathematician and philosopher wrote about this contrast. He said of mankind’s condition that we represent “the glory and the garbage of the universe.” “Man’s greatness and wretchedness,” he wrote, “are so evident that the true religion must necessarily teach us that there is in man some great principle of greatness and some great principle of wretchedness!”

Those are true words, which Proverbs affirms over and over. Wisdom and foolishness, righteousness and wickedness, integrity and deceit, justice and injustice… and the list goes on.

It is a fool’s errand to argue that evil and good are only concepts made up in people’s minds.

Some may say that evil and good don’t really exist, but I bet if you pressed them with specific examples, they would reluctantly agree.

Let me give you an example.

Earlier this month I was at a breakfast event here in Tucker. It was about human trafficking. The event was attended by several police officers, civil servants including city and county officials, as well as a few pastors.

We heard first from a ministry called Street Grace that works with law enforcement seeking to end the exploitation of children. We also heard examples of victims rescued from trafficking. And then we heard from the main speaker - a man named Victor Marx.

When he was a boy, Victor had been physically abused by his five different stepfathers – once almost to the point of death. It was traumatic and led him to want to help others. Today, he works with militaries all over the world to save children from slavery. In fact, his wife is also trained and they work together. They’ve been to Gaza twice since October 7 to rescue children enslaved by Hamas.

He and his wife are battling against evil. They are battling against evil people who kidnap children to use them for their own and other’s perverted desires. I’m trying to be careful with my description, but I think you know what I mean by trafficking. It is outright wickedness.

And what a contrast between that evil and the righteous pursuits of Victor, his wife, and those with whom they work. They are putting their own lives at risk to rescue the victims of this horrible industry. And when asked why he does it, Victor speaks about his faith in Christ and how he wants to rescue these children the way he had hoped to be rescued himself as a child. What a testimony of a life dedicated to righteousness and seeking to put an end to wickedness.

And that is one thing that we cannot escape in these verses. The reality of wickedness and the reality of righteousness. 29 times the word righteous or righteousness or upright is used. 31 times the word wicked or wickedness or evil is used. And this is only a portion of the Proverbs that speak to these realities. By the way, the reality of righteousness and wickedness is found throughout Scripture, including Jesus own teaching. Jesus called his own generation an evil and adulterous generation.

What I’m saying is that wickedness and righteousness are not ideas that we come up with individually or even as a community. No, there are standards of right and wrong defined by God and given to us.

Now, you may have a lot of questions as to where the line is between righteousness and wickedness. Those are good questions. I would submit that Proverbs gives us that line.

•Similar to our study of wisdom and foolishness, we began with the broad categories and then drilled into the details week by week.

•Well, over the next 3-4 months, we’ll be working through the details of wickedness and righteousness. Proverbs gives us a clear line. I guess what I am saying is “stay tuned.”

But there’s a reason we’re starting with these verses. Unless we have the end in mind, we will not grasp the importance of these verses for our lives.

What is that end? Well, it’s life and deliverance for the righteous… death and destruction for the wicked.

I know that Proverbs is often thought of as a book of maxims by which we should live. Does it include principles to live by? Yes. Does it give us guidance in decisions and help us navigate life? Yes. But Proverb is way more than that. Proverbs is about God and his law and his promises. Remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A big part of Proverbs warns us of the eternal consequences of folly. And it, instead, directs us to the path of wisdom which leads to life.

You see, the path of life and deliverance versus the path of death and destruction is not new. Proverbs has presented two paths over and over. And that’s what these verses expand on - where the path of righteousness and the path of wickedness lead.

So, let’s spend just a couple of minutes on where each path leads. And then we’ll come back and consider the critical question. Who is righteous and who is wicked?

First, where does the path of the wicked lead? There are so many words and phrases here that describe the end of the wicked. Let me highlight just a few.:

•What the wicked dreads will come upon him (10:24)

•An evil person will not go unpunished (11:21)

•The lamp of the wicked will be put out (13:9)

•Here’s another one, the house of the wicked will be destroyed (14:11)

•The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing (14:32)

•Proverbs 21:7 says, “The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just.”

•The LORD is far from the wicked (15:29).

Again, that’s only a few of them. Other verses speak of the wrath and ruin that will come upon them.

One thing that is apparent all throughout these verses is that the wicked will endure condemnation and ruin by the Lord himself. There is an active judgment on the wicked by God. In fear and dread, they will endure his wrath because of their wickedness.

That’s the where the path of wickedness leads.

Let’s now turn to the result of righteousness. And it’s similar in intensity. There are so many words and phrases that capture amazing promises for the righteous. Let me highlight a few.

Consider these:

•The wages of the righteous leads to life (10:7)

•The righteous is established forever (10:25)

•10:30 The righteous will never be removed

•The righteous is delivered from trouble (11:8)

•the house of the righteous will stand (12:7) – that’s a contrast to the one I read about the house of the wicked being destroyed.

Again, those are just a few of the descriptions. There are others like being rewarded with good and not visited by harm, and how the good will meet steadfast love and faithfulness.

Life and joy and blessing and refuge... these are the rewards of being righteous. Who would not want these blessings and future promises?

The contrast is so stark. The wicked will be defeated. Their judgment will be thorough and complete. And the righteous will inherit life forever.

Did you notice, there is no third path. Every one of us is either considered righteous or considered wicked. Let me point something out in these verses. About 80% of the descriptions are nouns - “The righteous” and “the wicked.” Proverbs describes righteousness and wickedness as a state of being… We are either righteous or we are wicked.

It’s easy to look outside of ourselves and say, “oh, you see that human trafficker. He is wicked or she is wicked.” But what happens if you look at your own heart? Would you consider yourself righteous? Do you think of yourself as a good person deserving of these promises?

In the Bible, do you recall which group of people considered themselves righteous? It was the Pharisees. Yet they are the ones who Jesus condemned for their self-righteousness. When speaking about the evil and adulterous generation, Jesus was talking about them. They thought they were righteous, but in reality, they were counted among the wicked.

I was thinking about King Solomon. Solomon was the one who authored and compiled the Proverbs. Who would he regard as righteous and wicked? Did he consider his father, King David, as righteous? David was an adulterer and murderer. Are these verses then condemning David? Is Solomon condemning himself, with his own violation of God’s law in the worship of false God’s and his many wives? Is Proverbs condemning us because of our own foolishness and wickedness? The answer to all those questions is “yes.”

Solomon also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. It’s another book of Wisdom. In chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes, “there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” Not one. In the book of Romans, that verses is alluded to by the apostle Paul. “None is righteous… no one understands, no one seeks God… no one does good, not even one.”

Do you see what I am saying? We have a big problem. Every single one of us should be counted among the wicked. The destruction and condemnation of the wicked, which Proverbs describes here, is destruction and condemnation of our wickedness.

There’s a gap we cannot cross. We, in and of ourselves, are not righteous. And we cannot become righteous, in and of ourselves. That does not mean that the promise in these verses are not true. Righteousness does save. That is true! But it cannot be our righteousness. No, we need a righteousness that comes from outside of ourselves. Look down at Proverbs 21 verse 12. “The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked down to ruin.” Proverbs describes one who is righteous and who in his righteousness is the ultimate judge of wickedness.

And you probably noticed that it’s capital “R” righteous and capital “O” one. In the Hebrew, there are no capital letters, but the translators clearly ascribe this reference to Christ. First, because he is the only perfectly Righteous One. All the descriptions of righteousness in proverbs describe him. But second, Jesus Christ is also described over and over in the Scriptures as the judge. He will come to judge the living and the dead.

The righteousness that we should be seeking is not a righteousness in ourselves. No, in order to be “righteous” …to be part of the group here called “the righteous” we need a righteousness outside of ourselves. And that righteousness comes from the Righteous One.

We need to be delivered from our wickedness and made righteousness.

Did you notice the deliverance theme in a few of these verses?

Twice we read that “righteousness delivers from death.”. We’re also told that “the righteous is delivered from trouble” (11:8) …and you are promised that if you “wait for the LORD… he will deliver you” (20:22).

A couple of us have been reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to one of the 5th grade classes here. It’s one of CS Lewis’s classic novels about the land of Narnia. There’s a point in the book, when Edmund betrays his brother and sisters. He in a sense sells them out to the White Witch. Little did he know but his betrayal required death at the stone table. He was to be killed. As the witch put it, “his life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property.”

Edmund needed to be delivered from the consequences of his betrayal. He was a traitor and the law of the land called for his blood. And so Aslan, the lion (who is the Christ figure) offers his life to save Edmund’s. Aslan delivers Edmund from his status as a traitor. To use the words of the proverbs, his status among the wicked. To do that, Aslan he had to be delivered over to the witch to die in Edmund’s place.

You see, that language of deliverance goes two ways. In order for us to be delivered from our wickedness and made righteousness, Jesus, the Righteous One, had to be delivered over to evil and take on the consequences of our wickedness. That is the language used in the New Testament. Jesus was delivered into the hands of sinful, evil, and lawless men to be killed. That exchange needed to happen for deliverance to be accomplished.

Back to Aslan. The witch and her evil creatures shaved Aslan’s great mane. They muzzled him and dragged him to the stone table… and tied him to it. The White witch then whet her knife and killed the great lion. Aslan was dead but Edmund delivered – no longer a traitor.

These particular Proverbs speak about deliverance from the consequences of being wicked. To use some of the words here - deliverance from the dread of destruction, from violence and evildoing, and from the punishment and wrath of the Lord.

But that is only half of the promise. It’s one thing to be delivered from the condemnation. But the promise here also includes receiving the eternal blessings of the righteous.

I’ve already highlighted a few verses about these eternal promises - how the righteous will be established forever, and how the righteous will never be removed. But look at Proverbs 14:32. It says, “The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death.” Proverbs promises life beyond death for the righteous.

But how is that accomplished?

Right before Aslan’s death, the witch leaned over and whispered to him “you fool, did you think that by all this you would save the human traitor? Now I will kill you instead of him as our pact was and so the deep magic will be satisfied. But when you are dead, who will prevent me from killing him as well?” And when the witch finished him off, they immediately set off to attack Edmund and his siblings.

You see, it’s a great thing to be delivered from our wickedness through the Righteous One, Christ… and to be righteous in him. But in order to receive the promises of life… in order to find refuge in death… in order to be established forever, as the Proverbs put it, Jesus needed not only to be delivered over to receive the consequences of our wicked ways, but he needed to defeat wickedness and death itself.

And he did that through the resurrection. He overcame death and overcame wickedness to give you the full promises being righteous in him. Deliverance and life.

To use the language of Narnia, there was a deeper magic from before the dawn of time. That if a innocent victim was killed in the place of a traitor, the stone table would crack and death itself would work backwards. Aslan would come back to life and would soon defeat the witch forever.

Let me tie this all together. Proverbs is wisdom for life - life now and life forever. There is not a single Proverb that describes an end for the righteous when his or her days on earth are done. Not a single one. Do you find that amazing as I do? The Righteous will be established forever and find refuge in death.

But there is only one path to be counted among the righteous and have the promises of life forever. And that path is through Jesus. He was delivered over to the wicked to deliver us from our wickedness to make us righteous. He endured all the consequences described here in Proverbs. But that was not the end. He is risen. Death and dread have been defeated. Through the resurrection, Jesus paved the way of life for the righteous.

And that path – the path of the righteous is offered to you. But it is not a path that you can earn. It is only a path you can receive from the Righteous One. To use some of the words here, he calls you to fear him. That means to recognize your wickedness, to see him as the Righteous One, and to revere and trust him as the one who can make you righteous. And when you fear him in this way… his righteousness will be yours and you will find refuge in death.

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Acts 18:1-11

Many in this City Are My People

We’re taking a one week break today from our Proverbs study. Next week, we’ll resume. It will be an Easter sermon from Proverbs. That’ll be interesting.

But today, as part of our focus on outreach, I wanted to consider the call and importance of Gospel ministry to the community in which God has placed us.

To do that, we are going back to the book of Acts. Our very first sermon series was in Acts. Acts gives us the beginnings of the church after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. In it, we learn a lot about missions and ministry. Acts testifies to the apostles and early Christians fulfilling the great commission.

From a macro view, we see the Gospel spreading from region to region. And from a micro view, we see how God directs ministry in a city.

That’s what we’ll be doing today. Zooming in on the city of Corinth to see how God uses his people to reach his people.

Our text this morning is from Acts 18. We’ll be reading verses 1-11 but mainly focusing on verses 5-11. You can find that on page 1102 in the pew Bible.

The first time I preached this chapter, we considered verses 1-17, and I remember wishing I had more time to focus on the middle section, so that’s what we’ll be doing today.

Reading of Acts 18:1-11

Prayer

Every city in the ancient world had a unique characteristic. Rome, for example, was the seat of authority in the whole region – the center of the Roman empire. Ephesus boasted of its entertainment and sport. The heart of Athens was its philosophical and religious beliefs. The city of Antioch brought trade and traders from east and west. And Corinth was the city of sensuality. I think nearly every commentator I’ve read and every sermon I’ve heard about Corinth calls it the Las Vegas of the ancient world. A city caught up in the worship of sexual gods with an anything-goes promiscuous culture.

We don’t know for sure what the apostle Paul was thinking when he arrived in Corinth. But we do know that he had just come from Athens. And Athens had been a let-down for Paul. Athens was the only major city where Paul did not plant a church. Furthermore, he left Athens after only a small handful of people believed. And he headed to Corinth, only 50 miles away,.. another major city with its own idolatry.

So, I think likely, Paul felt apprehensive about how he would be received. But nonetheless, he persevered in his calling. And just like in other cities, he began by going to the Jewish synagogue. Look what it says in verse 4. Every sabbath, he went to the synagogue to try and persuade the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks to believe.

And what happened? Well, Paul’s fears were realized. They would not believe! In fact, verse 6 says they “opposed and reviled” Paul. They didn’t just ignore Paul. They actively opposed him. That’s a strong word there. Reviled. It means to actively defame someone by insulting or slandering or cursing them. Of course, this response wasn’t new for Paul, but given the let-down in Athens, Paul was aggravated.

Look at his response at the end of verse 6. “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” As he was saying that, he shook off the dust of his garments. If you won’t believe, then that’s on you! You see, he desperately wanted them to believe, but they didn’t and he was disappointed because they rejected the truth.

Can you relate? Maybe you don’t have the passion of the apostle Paul. But have you ever felt like your words were falling on deaf ears - those in your family; your neighbors; your co-workers. You’ve shared your faith. You’ve sought to be faithful. You wanted to see others come to faith, but it seemed like your efforts were wasted. Have you ever wanted to say or think what the apostle Paul said? “I’m giving up on you!” For Paul, it was, “forget you Jews! I’m now going to the Gentiles.”

Now, if you take that verse out of context, you are going to think that you should walk away if your efforts are not fruitful. You may think that this verse means that if a group of people are not hearing the word… then you should move on. But that understanding is not true!

Paul said, “From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” But the fact is, he continued to proclaim the Gospel to both the Jews and Gentiles! When he left the synagogue, he went next door. He wasn’t giving up. In fact, and at the end of the very same chapter, chapter 18, Paul was travelling through Ephesus for the first time. And what did he do? He went to the synagogue. That first visit in Ephesus was just a brief stop. After that stop, he went back to Antioch, but he soon returned to Ephesus in chapter 19. And guess what he does back in Ephesus? He went back to the synagogue. Even though he said he would focus on the Gentiles, yet he continued to bring the Gospel to the Jews.

But there’s another surprising thing that happened. Look at verse 8 of Chapter 18. Remember, Paul had just said, your blood on you, I’m going to the Gentiles. But look what happens! Verse 8 - “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue,” it says, “believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”

So, Paul had just shaken off the dust from his garments and he had left the synagogue with a parting word about their unbelief… But look who then believes! The ruler of the synagogue! The very guy in charge! And not just him, but his whole household. And not just his whole household, but it says many of the Corinthians believed and were baptized.

Talk about a turnaround. After all the opposition, the Lord turned the hearts of many Jews and gentiles to him.

10-12 years ago, I was involved in an English as a second language ministry. It was for international graduate students and their spouses. Besides offering English classes, we offered a class called Christianity Explored. Some of you may be familiar with it.

Every semester we had a small handful of students. Some were Christians and others just curious about Christianity since they didn’t know any Christians in their home country. And there was a period of time I was discouraged. We weren’t seeing any fruit, so to speak. But we continued faithfully.

One semester we had a visiting scholar at Emory University attend. Her academic focus was feminism. She was very curious. She had lots of questions. And one of the very first question she asked was this: Why didn’t God send twins, a boy and a girl? It was a serious question. She wasn’t combative or anything. It came to mind given her feminist studies. I don’t remember exactly how I replied! I fumbled through some kind of answer. She was satisfied, I guessed because she stuck with the class.

Well, the Christianity Explored curriculum begins with what the Gospel is, and who Jesus is… It begins with the good news about Jesus. He is the eternal Son of God. He has come to offer life. We are dead in our sin, but through faith in Jesus Christ, God forgives.

But about half-way through the curriculum shifts to ask more personal questions. And I remember I was teaching one evening and I asked the question, “do you believe?” Now, when I asked it, I asked it in kind of a rhetorical way. But she looked at me and she said “yes, I believe.”

I was not expecting that! I’m not sure why I didn’t expect that. I mean, that’s what God does. He works through his Word, using his people, and through that endeavor, people come to faith. The Holy Spirit is the one who turns someone’s heart to believe.

But sometimes we get discouraged, thinking our efforts are not working. And we forget it is God who does the work, and we are merely called to be faithful. And we don’t even know the half of what God is doing! …as far as changing hearts and mind.

By the way, we baptized this woman, she returned to her home country. She found a faithful church. Her daughter came to faith in Christ, as well. What a tremendous testimony of God’s work.

Well, the apostle Paul experienced, as he had experienced before, a tremendous work of God’s grace. He went from a drought of belief to an exciting response to the Word.

Now, that did not change the fact that many were still opposing Paul’s ministry.

And we learn that one night, the Lord himself spoke to Paul in a vision… verses 9 and 10 “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” Paul needed this encouragement.

Now, to be sure, these promises were spoken to Paul, and some of it is very specific for Paul. The middle of the promise is an example: “No one will attack or harm you.” The Lord promised to preserve Paul for that moment in that city. Later in Paul’s life, we know he would be killed for the sake of the Gospel like the other apostles before him. But in Corinth for that moment God had more work for Paul to do and he promised to protect him.

What I’m saying is we have to be careful about applying the promises and prophecies in Scripture directly to our situation. Sometimes they do apply to us. For example, the first part of the promise is true for us. It says, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.” We know that this promise to Paul is also for us because we’re given that same promise elsewhere.

Jesus promised that he will be with us to the end of the age. That promise is part of the great commission in Matthew chapter 28. Or take what the apostle Paul said in Romans 8. Nothing will separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our lord… “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.” None of that will separate you from the love of God. As he puts it, “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

So, that part of the promise to Paul is also a promise that God has given to us. He will be with us as we faithfully fulfill the Great commission.

Let’s now consider the last part of God’s promise to Paul. It’s an important one for us to know. It’s there at the end of verse 10, “for I have many in this city who are my people.”

The Lord was saying to the apostle Paul “go on speaking” why? “for there are many in this city who are my people.” These people still needed to hear the good news!

I heard another pastor put it this way… there were people in Corinth who were God’s people, but they did not yet know they were God’s people. They had yet to believe! But they would believe, and God would use Paul and the church in Corinth to proclaim the good news.

It’s a promise specifically for Paul, but it certainly has relevance to us. You see, we don’t know who God will call to be his people. We don’t know whose hearts and minds the Holy Spirit will open up to hear the Word and believe. And we don’t know if or when God would use something we have said in the life of our friends or neighbors. It could be years down the road that the Lord brings to their minds what you said, and they hear. You see, we don’t know, but God does. And that is the very reason we should be faithful and not lose heart in the task. God is the one at work.

There are many people in Tucker, in Lilburn, in Clarkston, in Decatur, or wherever you live, who are God’s people but who do not yet know it. And we need to find them and tell them the good news of Jesus. And do you know how we find them? We tell as many people as we can about the good news of Jesus and the Lord reveals them.

Let me take a brief tangent. Like many of you, I did not grow up in a Presbyterian church or a reformed church. Some of you may not know what I mean when I use the words Presbyterian and reformed. So let me briefly define them.

We are a Presbyterian church, as you know. A Presbyterian church believes that qualified elders are called to oversee the church. We believe the Bible teaches that. A faithful Presbyterian church is also Reformed. That means we believe the Scriptures teach that the Old Testament and New Testament present one unified story of Salvation. And we believe that the Scriptures teach that God is sovereign over salvation. So, we believe the centrality of the Bible as God’s Word, which teaches that God is sovereign over salvation – really over all things.

Let me take you back 30 years. I was a senior in college. It wasn’t until then that God gave me a passion to study his Word. And I had this great job. I was a security guard in a big corporate building. I mostly worked from midnight to 7am. Actually, when I got the job, my grades went up, because I was essentially paid to study. Well, I had this deep desire to understand the Bible, and I had a lot of time to study.

You may have heard me share this before, but in the middle of the night for months and months, I was reading through the New Testament and cross referencing every single Old Testament cross reference. It was transformative in my life.

One of the main things I learned is that it’s through God’s sovereign grace that people believe… from beginning to end. Here’s what I mean: From before the foundation of the world, God determined those who would believe. The term used in the New Testament is the term elect. God has elected his people to be his people. He’s chosen them. He’s the one who turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. He gives us ears to hear and eyes to see. We were dead in the sins and trespasses of our heart, but God made us alive in him.

This idea of God’s sovereign grace is infused all throughout the New Testament. Jesus speaks about those whom the Father has given him. The apostle Peter clearly testifies about how God choses and elects his people in Christ. The book of Ephesian and Romans walk us through God’s gracious choice in election. Over and over and over.

But this is not just a New Testament teaching. No, the Old Testament testifies to this as well. Over and over, God chose people. He chose Noah and his family. He chose Abraham. He chose the people of Israel to be his people. Not because they were better than anyone else or because they deserved to be God’s people. No, rather he chose them to demonstrate his undeserved lovingkindness. That is what sovereign grace is about. We read earlier from Ephesian chapter 2 how we were dead in our sins but God made us alive together with Christ, by grace, it says, you have been saved.

To say it again, from before the foundations of the world, God elected his people to be his people.

You may be thinking… “wait, if God has elected people to be his people, then what is the point of evangelism?” That is a very important question. The answer is that God uses his people. He uses us to be the mouthpiece of the Gospel. As the message goes forth, the Holy Spirit turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. People hear the truth and grace of God because they are given ears to hear. And when they are spiritually awakened, they repent and believe. It’s a beautiful thing for God to use his people to reach his people.

Romans chapter 10 captures it well. Listen to these words. “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”

Do you see, there’s a chain there. It’s given to us in reverse order. Here’s the logical order:

Number 1 - we’re sent. That’s the Great Commission. God sends us all to bring his good news.
Step 2 - we’re faithful in going and declaring the Gospel. That looks different in different contexts and situations, but the Gospel message is the same.
Then number 3 – people hear. There are two sides to this. The outward call of the Gospel, which is what we do. The Gospel goes forth in words – spoken or written. And then there’s the inward call as God open ears to hear the good news.
And last, people believe! And I don’t have to tell you that, you know that because you believed! You believed and called on the name of the Lord, who saved you. Maybe you don’t remember the exact day that you heard and believed because you grew up in a home where the Gospel was always taught. Or maybe you do remember the day when you called upon the Lord and were saved. Either way, you did believe by faith.

To summarize: God uses us, according to his sovereign will, to bring the Gospel to his elect.

There’s no disconnect in the Bible between God’s sovereignty over salvation and his call for us to proclaim the good news of Jesus. In fact, they go together.

It is precisely because of God’s sovereignty that we have hope in the great commission! And not only hope, but confidence - confidence not in ourselves or our words, but confidence in God who is at work in the hearts and mind.

Think back to the apostle Paul again. What an amazing promise from God that there were more people in Corinth who were his people… more people who would hear and believe. Paul had seen it already and he would see it again. Just when he thought the Jews were a lost cause, God redeemed their synagogue leader. And then people from all walks of life believed. And a church was planted in Corinth. And Paul would continue on and leave Priscilla and Aquila to lead that fledgling congregation.

And beloved, God has and is using us. He’s using you in ways you do not realize. It may seem like the ground is hard. You may feel like your friends or family members are a lost cause, but do not underestimate the Sovereign will of our sovereign God, who in his sovereignty can call anyone from death to life.

So, may we press on individually and press on as a church in the great call to be a light of the Gospel here where God has placed us… whether that’s your neighborhood, your work, your family. Whether that’s in Tucker, or Clarkston or in Lilburn or around the school here or wherever the Lord leads. May we trust in the Lord’s work and be faithful in the call. Just as the apostle Paul was faithful in Corinth, may we also be faithful to the call where God has placed us.

Amen

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Parenting and Honoring Parents

If you would please take out the insert with the Proverbs verses. On the inside, you’ll see that our Proverbs reading this morning begins a few verses from Proverbs chapter 23. Verses 13-16. If you would like to read those in the pew Bible, You can find that on page 646.

Our theme is parenting and parents. Let me say, these verses are not just for parents with younger children. No, actually, these verses have applicability to all of us. They speak to children, of course, but also to adults of all ages, whether your parents are still alive or have passed from this world.

Let’s now consider God’s Word. Again, starting with Proverbs 23:13-16

Stand

Reading of selected proverbs

Proverbs 23:13-16

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;

if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

14 If you strike him with the rod,

you will save his soul from Sheol.

15 My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad.

16 My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right.

The Joys and Sorrows of Parenting

10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

15:20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

17:25 A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.

23:24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

23:25 Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.

27:11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,

that I may answer him who reproaches me.

29:3 He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,

but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

Honoring and Obeying Your Parents

17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

19:26 He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother

is a son who brings shame and reproach.

20:20 If one curses his father or his mother,

his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

23:22 Listen to your father who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

27:8 Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.

28:24 Whoever robs his father or his mother and says,

“That is no transgression,”

is a companion to a man who destroys.

Guiding and Disciplining Your Children

19:18 Discipline your son, for there is hope;

do not set your heart on putting him to death.

22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.

22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom,

but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

29:17 Discipline your son, and he will give you rest;

he will give delight to your heart.

Pray

Every year, about 3-4,000 books about parenting or parents are published. That’s hard for me to wrap my mind around. To keep up, you would need to read 10 of those books every day.

Some of them, of course, become irrelevant pretty quickly because their cultural focus is so narrow. Many are not worth the paper on which they are written. But some parenting books stand the test of time.

And I would say, there’s one parenting book that is head and shoulders above the others. I strongly recommend that every single child read this book. Every single parent needs to read this book. If you’re not married or don’t have kids, reading this book will help you support others in the church. If you are a young or middle-age adult with parents, you need to read it. In short, everyone needs to read this book about parents and parenting.

I’m speaking, of course, about the book of Proverbs.

Do you realize, the entire background of Proverbs is about parenting. I know we just read 20 or so verses that focus on tangible areas of parenting and parents. But the premise of the whole book is a father writing to his sons.

Do you remember that from the first 9 chapters? Over and over, Solomon was speaking to his sons. Like Proverbs chapter 1 verse 8, “Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching.”

In fact, 19 times in the first 9 chapters, Solomon is directing his wisdom to his son or sons. Sometimes it’s singular, son, and sometimes plural, sons. And the first nine chapters that we considered last fall gave us the foundations to wisdom. They answered the questions: What is wisdom? Why do we need wisdom? How do we obtain wisdom? Where is true wisdom found? Who is wisdom? Where should we not go to gain wisdom? It included warnings about evil and foolishness. Part of Solomon’s warning was about sexual temptations that his sons and all of us need to hear.

Twelve foundational lessons in the first nine chapters written from a parent to his children.

But when we get to chapter 10, the structure of the book changes. Instead of focused lessons, we’re given multiple themes in each chapter.

One commentator suggested that the first 9 chapters are from a father to his grade school and teenage kids. King Solomon was giving them the foundations to wisdom. But then chapters 10-31 are for his adult children. I think that’s a reasonable suggestion.

First, look at Proverbs 10:1. It’s on the left under the section titled “The Joys and Sorrows of Parenting.” This is the very first verse after the opening wisdom lessons. That’s why 10:1 begins with the title, “The proverbs of Solomon,” and then it says, “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.”

The very first thing that Solomon conveys in this entire second half is about a son living in wisdom. He wants his sons, perhaps adults now, to live a life of wisdom which would be pleasing to him and to their mother. Some of the Proverbs in chapters 10-31 contain themes more applicable to adults. Like, in today’s focus, disciplining children. Or other themes like just leadership and being a good steward of your money. So, in other words, it’s written to children of all ages – which includes you and me.

I’m pointing this out for a reason. We need to understand the bigger picture of wisdom and foolishness in order to understand how it applies to parents and children. For example, when Proverbs 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go…” We first need to know what way he should go be going. That “way” is referring to the way of God’s Word as Proverbs instructs. Parents need to know this way in order to fulfill that Proverb. That’s why the whole book is the best parenting book around.

With that in mind, let’s tackle these verses. We’ll actually start with that last category, Guiding and Disciplining Children. It’s the most focused as far as who it applies to, so I thought we would start there and then get broader.

Guiding and Discipline Children

So, disciplining children.

That word, discipline, is used four times in these verses. Like the very first verse listed, Proverbs 23:13. “Do not withhold discipline from a child…” The word discipline in the Hebrew means to be corrected or admonished through some sort of punishment.

Our New Testament reading earlier today spoke about this kind of discipline. That was from Hebrews 12… discipline from both our earthly fathers as well as our heavenly Father. Our earthly fathers “disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but [God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

You see, the goal of discipline, is to train the person in righteousness and warn them about the severity of their words or actions.

Disciplining a child is guiding them through the means of a tangible consequence. Children go through different stages as they mature, and discipline helps them to know in concrete ways what is not honoring to God and others. In other words, discipline is directing a child away from folly and evil and toward wisdom and righteousness.

In order to convey that message, children need concrete and tangible consequences when they disobey.

The reason for discipline goes back to what we’ve seen over and over in Proverbs. Foolishness and wickedness lead to sad consequences and death. Discipline is necessary to redirect a child to the road of life.

That idea is captured right there in the very first verses we read from chapter 23. “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.” Sheol is the grave.

On the top right is a similar one. Proverbs 19:18 “Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.” It’s the inverse… If you do not discipline your child, then it’s like you want him to be put to death.

Let me make a brief side note here. I’ve said it before but want to remind you. Proverbs are not formulas. 22:6 is an example of that. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” That Proverb is giving us the general pattern of what leads to life and godliness. It does not remove the responsibility to pray for your child, nor the sinful heart of your child, which may still be led astray. We’ll come back to the sorrows of parenting in a few minutes.

Parents, the call is to discipline your children, because you love them. And that may include corporal punishment (I’m talking about spanking). Four times in these verses, parents are exhorted to use the “rod” for discipline. It’s the same word for a shepherd’s staff. A shepherd’s staff has a hook on one end to grab hold of a sheep and redirect it. But it was also used to strike the sheep as a punishment. The rod is a corrective and protective instrument.

Now, some have suggested that the word “rod” is metaphorical… they would say, instead of physical punishment, it’s referring to the responsibility of discipline in a general way, no matter the form. I would agree that the word “rod” is not always used in a literal way. For example, In Isaiah 10, God says that Assyria is the “rod of my anger.” So yes, sometimes it’s metaphorical, but even in that example, the punishment is still physical.

Let me say a few things to be clear because I know this is a sensitive topic.

· Corporal punishment is encouraged in Scripture. But I’m distinguishing Biblical corporal punishment from abuse, which is always wrong.

· When used, though, it needs to be measured and careful. It should be done out of a heart of love and never in a moment of anger. Dads, that’s a hard one at times.

· Corporal punishment is best for younger children because of its tangible effect.

· Also, it should be used as a punishment for disobeying and not to force a child to do something.

However, if in your conscience, you are unsure about corporal punishment (you may have some legitimate reasons), then whatever alternate discipline you choose should correspond to the severity of the offense. Discipline needs to make the point clear.

Whatever discipline you choose, always explain why your child is being disciplined – to the extent that you are able to communicate depending on their age and situation.

Let me add one more thing. Shaming your child in front of others is wrong. What I mean is either verbally putting them down for what they did in front of others, or making them do embarrassing things in front of others as a punishment. To be sure, that’s different than telling them to go ask forgiveness from someone they sinned against. They may feel embarrassed but it’s still the right thing to do.

Lots more can be said, of course, but I’ll end it there for now. The bottom line is this: discipline is necessary, and it is a sign of love.

Honoring and Obeying your Parents

OK, let’s move to the middle category. #2 Honoring and obeying your parents. As I mentioned earlier this is not just for young children and teenagers, rather, this is also for adults.

But first, I would like to speak to the school aged children here.

Kids, God has given you parents, and he has called you to obey them. And this is really important for your life. Earlier in the service we read the fifth commandment about honoring your parents. It’s one of ten summary statements of God’s law and it is directed to you. That’s how important obeying is.

Let me give you another example where God calls you to obey your parent. There’s a book in the Bible called 2 Timothy. The apostle Paul, guided by God, wrote this book to Timothy, a young pastor, whom Paul was discipling. And in chapter 3, he talks about godlessness. Godlessness includes the things people say and do, which demonstrates that their heart is turned away from God. And he lists all of these evil and foolish things. I want you to listen to this list. He writes: “understand this, that in the last days [he’s talking about now] there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”

Did you hear that? In the middle of that list of grievous sins, he includes, “disobedient to their parents.” God considers obedience so very important. Now, to be sure, God forgives, and he helps.

The book of Proverbs, likewise, emphasizes how important it is to obey your parents. For example, Proverbs 20:20 says “If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.” That image is a grave warning about not honoring your parents.

For the younger children here… at your age, it’s sometimes difficult to understand why you should obey. Sometimes you want to do something and your parents say “no” OR you don’t want to do something and your parents require it. And it’s hard to understand. But, let me say, your parents more often than not, know what’s best for you.

Onetime, I didn’t like all the things my parents told me not to do. So, I decided to run away. I was young, by the way. I packed a small bag with clothes and I told them, “I’m running away!”

And my parents said, “ok, well, umm… the door is always open if you want to come home.” So, I left and went around to the side of the house. I think I lasted like 30 minutes and then came back.

They knew what would happen.

Proverbs 27:8 says, “Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.” Now, that has applicability to both children and adults. To be sure, it’s not talking about physically leaving, rather, one who leaves behind a faithful commitment to the Lord and his Word.

That’s a good transition because all of us here are called to honor our parents. And that can be difficult at times.

For the adults here, I want you to think about your relationship with your parents… or parent if you grew up in a single parent home. Maybe you live close by and see them often. Or maybe you occasionally visit them. Or maybe you are caring for them in some way. Maybe one or both of your parents have passed away. Whatever your situation, how would you describe your relationship? Loving and caring? Did something happen that broke that loving bond? Is it strained because of other factors, like health or divorce? If you had a father growing up, did he work so hard to provide for the family that you felt he wasn’t there for you when you needed him? Many, many things affect our relationships with our parents. We sinned against them. They sinned against us.

But that doesn’t change the responsibility you have to honor your father and mother… again, whether they are still alive or have passed from this life. It may mean forgiving them for something that happened or a pattern of sin. If your parents are older, honoring them may mean caring for them or helping them in different ways. You may need to honor their choices, even if those choices may not be what you prefer or think is best.

Look at Proverb 23:22 “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” That applies no matter your age or theirs.

To be sure, I am not diminishing the challenges or relational strain, whether current or past. Each situation requires prayer and help.

Nonetheless, we are each called to honor those whom the Lord ordained to be our parents.

Joys and Sorrows of Parenting

That brings us to the last category, which is the first there on your list. the Joys and Sorrows of Parenting.

Parenting is full of joys and sorrows… times of rejoicing and times of worry and sadness and fervent prayer. These verses capture that reality:

“A wise son makes a father glad” – multiple verses say that in different ways. Or take chapter 23 verses 24 and 25 “The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.”

It is the great joy of parents to have a child or grandchild faithfully walking in the wisdom of God.

And it is a deep sorrow to have a son or daughter walking down the path of folly. The second half of 10:1 speaks of that sorrow, “…a foolish son is sorrow to his mother.” 17:25 is similar, “A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.”

Some of you here carry the weight of a son or daughter who has wandered from the way. It’s a heavy burden and often seems hopeless. And you pray that the Lord would turn your son’s or daughter’s hearts back to him.

Recently, I was listening to a podcast where the hosts were interviewing a guy name Christopher Yuan. He wrote a book a few years ago titled “Out of a Far Country.” In it, he describes his conversion to Christ.

You see, Christopher had gone down the path of drugs, drug dealing, and homosexuality. He lived a life of partying and promiscuity.

His mother, Angela, became greatly distraught because of her son’s choices. At one point her despair brought her to the place of contemplating suicide. It was in that moment that she came to believe in and know Jesus (that’s a story of it’s own). Through her new faith in Christ, she found solace and hope. And she began praying. While Christopher was partying and dealing drugs, his mother prayed. She committed every Monday to pray and fast for her son. And she enlisted dozens of friends. At one point, she fasted 39 days for him.

Well, for Christopher, things came crashing down. He was arrested and sentenced to 6-years in prison for drugs. All of his so-called friends deserted him. He hit rock bottom. And so he reached out to his mom, whom he had not spoken to in a long while. She shared her faith in Christ and that she had been praying for him for years. That had a profound impact on him.

On his third day in prison, he pickup up a book from the trash pile. It was a New Testament, so he took it and read it. Then he read it again and again. And the Lord opened Christopher’s ears to hear. And the Lord transformed his life… The Lord answered his mom’s faithful prayers. After his imprisonment, Christopher dedicated his life to ministry, he eventually received a doctorate in ministry. He now teaches at Moody Bible and also runs a ministry reaching the LGBTQ community with the Gospel. And his mom continues to be his prayer warrior.

Through the joys and sorrows of parenting, there is hope.

Conclusion

That hope comes through the one we call our Heavenly Father and through his Son, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Their relationship perfectly models the relationship between a Father and a son. And every single aspect of their relationship ministers to every single aspect of our relationship with our parents… and if you are a parent, with your children.

Consider three things related to our three points:

· First, we deserved the fullness of the rod of the Father’s discipline. Yet, that rod of discipline fell on Christ for us. The judgment we deserved for our disobedience, Jesus endured for us. So, children, when you receive discipline from your parents, it is only a shadow of the discipline that you truly deserve. Parents, when you discipline your children, you are demonstrating to them the consequences of sin. That discipline reveals to your children the justice of God and it ultimately points to their need for Christ. That is why discipline is so important for children.

· Second, Jesus perfectly honored and obeyed his Father. He submitted himself to his Father’s will. And the results of Jesus’ obedience are amazing – his exaltation and glory and our salvation. When we honor our earthly mother or father, even considering their failures, it testifies to the perfect obedience of Christ… and it testifies to how, in him, we can honor and obey our parents, no matter our age.

· And last, sorrows and trials exist in every single relationship in this world. That is the result of sin. But there is a particular heartache when it is between a parent and child or child and parent. If you know and believe in Christ, you not only have a Savior who took on the discipline you deserved, but in him, you have a Heavenly Father who loves you. He loves you despite your sin. It’s the true love of a Father. And through his love, you can love your parents… and you can love your children despite their sin and wayward lives. You can pray for them trusting in your heavenly Father. And you can rest in his comfort and love through his son.

So, for the parents of young children, here, when you discipline your children, may it point to the one who endured the disciple you deserve. And for the children here, all of us. May we honor our mother and father, not because they deserve it in and of themselves, but because we’re called to and we have a heavenly Father who loves us.

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Faithful Friendships, Fake Friendships

Several of you have expressed appreciation for our Proverbs series. Thank you.

Before we started working through the themes, I was worried they would feel repetitive or moralistic. But I’ve found it refreshing, convicting, and redemptive. It sounds like many of you have as well.

Our verses this morning deal with a thing that is near and dear to each of us - friendship. Faithful friendship that builds up and loves and cares versus shallow friendship that is selfish and fleeting and convenient.

Please take out your Proverbs insert. On the inside you’ll see those two categories. (1) On the left-hand side, The Foundation to Faithful Friendship, and (2) and on the right, The Folly of Fake Friendship.

Stand as we read God’s holy Word.

Reading of selected proverbs

The Foundation to Faithful Friendship

Proverbs 11:25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,

and one who waters will himself be watered.

17:9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

17:17 A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity.

18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,

but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

20:6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,

but a faithful man who can find?

22:11 He who loves purity of heart,

and whose speech is gracious,

will have the king as his friend.

27:5-6

Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,

and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

27:10 Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend,

and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.

Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.

27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

The Folly of Fake Friendship

Proverbs 14:20 The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,

but the rich has many friends.

15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is

than a fattened ox and hatred with it.

19:4,6-7

Wealth brings many new friends,

but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

Many seek the favor of a generous man,

and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.

All a poor man's brothers hate him;

how much more do his friends go far from him!

He pursues them with words, but does not have them.

You may not have heard this, but there is a new epidemic sweeping the nation. Last October, the surgeon general released a report about its devastating effects.

But it’s not an epidemic spread by germs. It’s not an epidemic that requires masks. We don’t have to wipe down door handles and counters. This epidemic is not helped at all by any kind of social distancing. No, in fact, quite the opposite.

But this epidemic sadly increases your risk of diseases. The report states that if you are touched by this epidemic, your disease and heart condition risks increase by 29% and 32% respectively.

This epidemic has affected 61% of adults. But it has especially targeted younger people. In the last two decades, this epidemic has increased 70% in teenagers and young adults ages 15-24.

It’s been devastating in so many ways.

What is this epidemic? Let me read you the title of the surgeon general’s report: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.

The trend of more and more loneliness began way before the COVID pandemic but was heightened by it.

Think about this: We live in a world where we have more interaction with other people through social media, yet we are more and more lonely.

We live in a world where we have hundreds of so-called “friends,” online, yet we feel isolated. And I think you know some of the tragic results of loneliness.

In speaking with several of you, I know that some of you are lonely - lonely to different degrees and for different reasons. And we go through phases of loneliness in our lifetime. I remember driving into the Atlanta area for the first time back in the mid-90s. I had taken a job here. But I didn’t know a single soul. Those first few months were very lonely. But by God’s grace, through the church, I began to develop some fast friends. Many with whom I am still friends today.

Proverbs speaks to our hearts about friendship. It not only tells us the importance of friendship, but it directs us to what faithful friendship looks like. And it also warns us about superficial friends.

My hope this morning is that each of us would see, in a deeper way, the importance of friendship… and how to be a faithful friend to one another.

With that in mind, let’s first consider the foundation to faithful friendship and then second, the folly of fake friendship. After that, we’ll talk about where to begin.

The Foundation to Faithful Friendship

As I was contemplating these verses, three categories stood out to me that summarize a faithful friend.

A faithful friend (1) provides steadfast support through the joys and trials of life, (2) imparts God’s wisdom in love, and (3) nurtures mutual brotherhood. (2x)

Some of these verses fit nicely into one of these categories, but a couple of them speak to more than one category.

(1) steadfast support

Let’s begin with the steadfast support one. I am including the phrase “through the joys and trials of life” because think of the different kinds of experiences in life. Joys include celebrations and success and other kinds of milestones, and trials include different kinds of suffering and sadness and difficult change.

And a true friend is one who is there. It’s someone who is present and who endures with you through thick and thin.

I think the Proverb that most embodies this characteristic is 17:17. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

If you are going through one of life’s valleys– no matter what it is whether grief or doubt or persecution of some kind, a true friend will be there for you. He or she will encourage you if needed, or be present with you if needed, or care for and provide. That friend will know you and how to care for your soul. And if you are both going through that adversity together, you can support one another through that time.

Proverbs 18:24 also captures this in a different way: “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

A companion, by the way, is someone with whom you share something in common or you occasionally spend time together. In other words, a casual friend.

If you only have people in your life who are companions, then when adversity comes, you may not have someone there for you. “…but a friend,” it says, “sticks closer than a brother.” Someone you are knit close to will be there for you.

A couple of these other verses similarly emphasize this kind of steadfastness, like the one that says, “do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend…”

And this kind of steadfast support needs to be demonstrated. What I mean is, it’s one thing to say you are faithful, but it’s another thing to confirm it with your actions. That’s what Proverbs 20:6 says. “Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?”

So, that’s the first category – steadfast faithfulness.

(2) imparts God’s wisdom in love

The second characteristic in these verses is how a friend imparts God’s wisdom in love.

This is about loving your friends by giving counsel - not the world’s counsel, but wisdom from the Word. That may be listening to and praying with your friend through a big decision in life. It may be giving godly advice.

For example, look at Proverbs 27:9 “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” A dear friend helps to apply God’s word in various situations in life.

Sometimes that means gently exhorting them when you see a disconnect between their actions and faith in Christ. Take, for example, Proverbs 27:5-6 – It says there in the middle – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” A friend speaks the truth in love.

Let me add, a friend supports you but does not enable you.

And let me give you an example. Let’s say you are married. Maybe you are. And you are going through a rough patch. And you go to your friend and say, “I’m really hurt. My husband (or my wife) said this difficult thing to me.” Whatever it is… If your friend says back to you “I can’t believe he (or she) said that. You have a right to be angry. That’s the worst thing I’ve heard in a while. I hope that you dished it back at him.” Well, that is not being a good friend.

A faithful friend will instead say something like “I’m so sorry. That sounds very difficult. Can I pray with you and encourage you?” And then later have a deeper conversation about what transpired. And if there were hurtful things said on both sides, encouraging your friend to seek forgiveness from her spouse.

That’s a pretty different kind of response, isn’t it?

I heard someone say the other day “there is no such thing as ‘I love you but’.” Meaning, if you love someone you will always affirm them. That’s not what the Scriptures teach. No, quite the contrary. Displaying love to a friend is speaking the wisdom and truth of God to them. The book of James ends with this word: “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death...”

Now, that’s the extreme case. Often times, we just need a gentle correction. Or a reminder of God’s Word in matters of doctrine or practice.

So, first, a faithful friend is there for you in the joys and sorrows of life. Second, a faithful friend speaks God’s wisdom to you, in love.

(3) nurtures mutual brotherhood.

And third, a faithful friend nurtures mutual brotherhood - brotherhood in the sense it’s used in Scripture meaning brotherly love. Phileo. It’s mutual. To use another word, it’s reciprocal. It’s giving and receiving. Good friends support one another. Not in a selfish way, but in an edifying way.

It’s really difficult to be in a friendship that’s always one-sided, meaning one friend is always the one who gives in the ways we already talked about. To be sure, there will be times when one friend needs to pour her life into her friend. That’s part of what it means to be an enduring friend. But healthy friendships are mutual.

Look at the very first Proverbs listed. 11:25 “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” There’s that mutual relationship.

Here’s another one: Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” I think that Proverb is in every single men’s ministry book I’ve ever read. The reason is, it captures both the second point of speaking wisdom to a brother as well as this point, reciprocating brotherly love by sharpening one another.

It’s a great one because faithful friends nurture and challenge one another.

So steadfast faithfulness, speaking the truth in love, and mutual brotherhood.

The greatest example in the Bible of these principles lived out is the friendship between King David and Jonathan. Jonathan was King Saul’s son. We read about their friendship earlier from 1 Samuel 18 and 19.

These two men, David and Jonathan, loved each other with that phileo - brotherly love. They forged a two-way covenant friendship. They fought alongside one another in battle. Jonathan defended David from King Saul’s jealousy. And after Jonathan died in battle, David not only wept bitterly, but later in honor of Jonathan, David cared for Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth essentially became part of David’s family.

And think about this, King Solomon, David’s son, would have heard about his father’s friendship with Jonathan. Solomon never met Jonathan. Jonathan died before Solomon was born. But Solomon would have known Mephibosheth. Solomon would have read the prophet Samuel’s account of David and Jonathan’s friendship - the very words we read earlier. And I think it’s safe to assume that King David would have spoken about Jonathan and so would, of course, Mephibosheth.

So, as Solomon was composing and compiling these Proverbs on friendship, one of the examples of a faithful friendship was his father’s friendship with Jonathan.

It's a beautiful picture of faithful friendship.

And I get angry when I hear people say that David and Jonathan’s friendship included intimacy in inappropriate ways. The Scriptures in no way paints that picture. These were brothers, knit together with that phileo love and trust to defend and support one another.

For the guys here… deep friendships with other men is critical for each one of us. If you are married, yes, your wife should be your closest friend in many ways. But you need other guys like this to sharpen you - to be there for you and to both challenge and encourage you.

Ok, let me say one more thing about friendship and love. As you know, one of the most common passages used in weddings is 1 Corinthians 13 – the love chapter. I think I’ve preached 3-4 wedding homilies on it. But you know what, that chapter is not about marriage. No, the book of 1 Corinthians is written to draw the Christians in Corinth back to unity with and love for one another. Certainly 1 Corinthians 13 applies to marriage, but it’s primarily about brotherly love.

Hear these familiar words… “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

The similarities are striking between Proverbs description of faithful friends and 1 Corinthians 13.

That’s because it’s the love between friends. It was the love that David and Jonathan had for one another. And it’s the love we each need in faithful friendship.

The Folly of Fake Friendship

That brings us now to the opposite of genuine deep friendship and that is fake friendship. You can see those verses on the right, The Folly of Fake Friendship.

These verses capture the general folly of false friends... false friends are convenient friends. They are only a friend to you because they can get something from you or vice versa. Or false friends are superficial because their friendship with you is not based on trust and love but is just a means-to-an-end.

The main example here is how someone with wealth has many friends and someone in poverty has few. You see that in Proverbs 19:4 and 6. It says, “Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend. Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.” The point is that the friends of the wealthy are often not genuine. Their interests are more “what can you give me” rather than genuine reasons of mutual brotherhood.

I’ve always found Proverbs 15:17 humorous. “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.” Amy has tried to get me to eat more herbs – like, you know, basil and cilantro…. something about nutrients and anti-oxidants. But, of course, I’d rather have fattened ox.

Actually, I think the point is more about poverty and wealth. A dinner of inexpensive herbs with faithful friends is so much better than dining on the choicest of foods with fake friends.

And maybe it’s not money, but maybe instead it’s the other person’s popularity. Or their lifestyle that you like participating in… or because it will advance your career or your status in the community. Or because they are an expert at something, and you are intrigued by that. Or because they can become a client of yours.

This reminded me of a painful story in college. I had a friend, a good friend, who signed up for Amway. And, of course, he wanted to tell me about the products he was selling. I listened, but in the end, I politely declined. My reason was that I didn’t want our friendship to be complicated by multi-level marketing or salesy type things. But he kept pushing and he wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. That eventually drove us apart and we haven’t talked since. When I think about what happened, it’s always grieved my heart.

Think about it this way: shallow convenient friendships don’t have the foundation of faithful friendships.

· Instead of standing by you through trials, a superficial friend is going to flee.

· Instead of speaking the truth in love, a superficial friend is going to lie or tell you what you want to hear.

· And especially this last one… instead of reciprocation, a superficial friendship is one sided. It’s a “what have you done for me lately” friendship.

And that is sad.

Finding Faithful Friends

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The question is, how do you be a faithful friend?

And the answer is, you look to the one who is the most faithful friend. You begin with and look to Jesus. He’s truly the one who has fulfilled these proverbs. Like back to 20:6 He promises steadfast love and he has faithfully fulfilled that steadfast love.

Jesus modelled and fulfilled that kind of friendship with his disciples… especially his inner circle – Peter, James, and John. They served alongside of Jesus. He poured out his wisdom to them. He was there to lift them up when they lacked of faith. He called them out when they misunderstood, and he loved them. He washed their feet.

And think about this. All of Jesus disciples left him when he was arrested. Peter was even there in the courtyard that night where they had taken Jesus. And yet, instead of standing by Jesus, Peter denied him three times. Yet, Jesus remained faithful to him and all of his disciples.

Despite their unfaithfulness, Jesus faithfully endured the cross. Through his faithfulness, he redeemed their unfaithfulness.

And after Jesus resurrection and ascension, an amazing thing happened. Peter, James, and John became the epitome of faithful friends to Jesus. They risked their lives to defend Christ and proclaim his truth. They would ultimately die for him, that his name may be exalted.

Jesus faithfulness to them, gave them courage and hope to be faithful to him to the end.

This is the friend that we have in Jesus.

And to be sure, we do not need to set aside our reverent awe for Jesus. He is not our “pal,” so to speak. No, he’s the kind of faithful friend described here… and he is our Savior and our Lord. We can come to him in prayer. We can bare our hearts to him knowing that he bore the cross for us and he hears us. He is the most faithful friend for each of us.

And it is out of that friendship with Christ that we can seek and be faithful friends with one another.

I’m not saying we can’t have faithful friends who don’t yet know the Lord, but I am saying that our closest friends will share that friendship in Jesus. Why is that?

· Well, because #1 it is through the faithful ministry of Christ that we can love and support one another through all of life.

· And #2 because Jesus turned our hearts and minds to him, we can speak his wisdom into each other’s hearts and minds.

To say it in another way, our friendship with Christ enables our friendships with one another.

With that in mind, let me close with two practical encouragements for each of us.

· First, loneliness is real here among our church family. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. And so, as we look out for the needs of one another, one of our deepest needs is faithful friends. That means, if you see a brother or sister in Christ here who seems disconnected, let’s work together as a church family to foster friendships… that we may be a family known for our love and care and support of one another. And if you feel lonely, please share that with one of our ministry team leads or elders or with me so that we can be the body of Christ together.

· Second, every single human being has been created in God’s image. That means we were all created for relationships. As we think about our own need for friendships, we should also consider the need that our neighbors have for friendships. In the surgeon general’s report on loneliness, it included not only an analysis of loneliness and isolation, but it also included practical guidance - advice to different kinds of organizations including churches. And yes, a lot of that guidance was fostering friendships within the community. But the report also challenged organizations to foster friendship in the broader communities around them. And I think that’s a good word. One suggestion was to “lead by example” to quote the report. When the world sees a church community loving one another as faithful friends…. it testifies to the ministry of God in Christ in us. Another thing we can do is continue to be a welcoming community. That includes here on Sundays as well as the ministries in which we’re each involved in the community. Witnessing to Christ often comes through relationships with those whom God has brought into our lives.

So, may we each grow in our faithful friendship with one another. And in that endeavor, may we look to the one who is our faithful friend – Jesus our Lord. And may we testify to the world around us of the faithfulness of God in Christ as we build relationships in his name.

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Gluttony, Drunkenness, and the Grace of God

This morning our Proverbs topic is gluttony and drunkenness. Neither are a primary emphases in Proverbs, but there are several verses that speak to the issues.

While gluttony and drunkenness are related, they are also different. Gluttony is essentially indulgence in matters of food, but it does not lead to a mental impairment, so in that sense it is different than drunkenness, which does.

Also, I want to expand the topic beyond alcohol to include substance abuse. If we compare ancient Israel at the time of Proverbs with today, there’s a big difference in the quantity and availability of drugs. Opium was certainly available 3000 years ago, but today, as you know, there are many many more drugs on the streets. So, I think it’s important to apply these verses to include substance abuse and drug addictions.

One thing we will not consider this morning is pornography addiction. Although there are some similarities, if you were here in the fall, we spent time working through lust and pornography, as we worked through chapters 5 to 7. If you missed those, I really encourage you to go back and listen to them.

Please take out and open your Proverbs bulletin insert.

Reading

Gluttony and Drunkenness

Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,

and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

23:20-21

Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat,

for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and slumber will clothe them with rags.

23:29-35

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?

30 Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine.

31 Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.

32 In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.

33 Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter perverse things.

34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast.

35 “They struck me,” you will say,

“but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake? I must have another drink.”

25:16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

28:7 The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.

31:4-7

4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine,

or for rulers to take strong drink,

5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed

and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,

and wine to those in bitter distress;

7 let them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more.

Prayer

These are sensitive topics. The reason I titled my sermon “Gluttony, Drunkenness, and the Grace of God” is because we need the grace of God in these struggles. To be sure, we need God’s grace in all of life, but I think with matters of addiction it is especially important to begin there given the shame that often comes with them… and how often recovery is a journey.

If you are a believer in Christ, let me remind you that you are his, forever. Just like in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, God the Father has given you his robe which indicates his blessing and honor. He has given you his signet ring indicating you are his son or daughter and will share in his inheritance. God has forgiven you and will forgive you in Christ. And he will never leave you or forsake you. And if the things that we are working through today are your struggles, know that God has given you the church to come alongside and help.

As we go through this, we are going to work out what that grace looks like in more detail, but I wanted remind you up front because God’s grace is at the heart of recovery from our sin and struggles.

The other thing I want to say up front is that you are not alone. It’s easy to come to church and look around and think that everyone else has it all together. The truth is: none of us has it all together. On our podcast this week, Amy quoted a friend of hers. This friend said, “we often compare our insides to everyone else’s outsides.” That is to say, we each know our own internal heart struggles and sin, but we don’t often know what other people’s are. It’s easy to presume because we often just see the outsides of others.

So, if you struggle with drinking or substance abuse or a kind of addiction, you are not alone here. We’ll talk later about how we can support one another.

Others of you may think that you are immune to such things. If you think that, I want to caution you that it’s something to which each and every one of us is susceptible. It may be triggered by a painful event, or it may be triggered by something out of the blue.

Let me give you an example. Several years ago, I was at six-flags with my family. They used to have an old rickety roller coaster. At least, I think it’s gone now. But anyway, we rode it one time and at the end of the ride, it came to a screeching halt. It felt like it went from 60 to 0 in 1 second. And I remember getting off the ride and my neck was a little sore. Well, two days later, I could hardly move my head. And then I started feeling pain radiating down my left arm all the way to my finger. It was very painful for months. Because of the pain, the doctor prescribed me Percocet. I didn’t think anything of it. I just knew that it provided a lot of relief. Well, over the 4-5 weeks that I was taking it, my desire for the drug became unrelated to the pain I was experiencing. I began taking them even when I wasn’t in pain. It was a scary moment for me when I realized what was happening. I got rid of the remaining pills and am thankful that a cortisone shot eventually relieved the pain.

Many things cause drinking and drug abuse and let me add, gluttony. I do want to talk through those root causes in a few minutes. But before we do, let’s spend some time in these Proverbs.

We generally learn two things from the Proverbs. First, the problem and second the impact.

Let’s first look at Proverbs 23 verse 31. It’s in that middle section of verses on the left. 23:31 says, “Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.” It’s speaking of a desire to drink. The wine is desirable to your eyes. You’ve become captivated by looking at it… not because it looks pretty, but because of its effect. And as it says, “it goes down smoothly.” In other words, you have to have it. And you have to have more of it.

Now, there’s nothing in Scripture that forbids drinking alcohol. You’ve probably heard different things like “Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine.” Or you’ve heard, “the feasts in the Old Testament included drinking wine, like the Passover meal. And likewise, the Lord’s supper was celebrated with wine.” Wine was a part of life.

But these verses are referring to something different. They’re referring to when your alcohol consumption brings you to the point of drunkenness. Look now at verse 33. “Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things.”

Your drinking has brought you to the place where you are mentally and physically impaired. Verse 34 continues the problem. It describes being in the middle of the sea on the mast of a boat. You can’t think straight because it feels like your body is swaying. Notice that twice it says you lie down. In other words, you can’t even walk. Those verses continue on and end on an ominous note. You say, “I must have another drink.” You’re addicted.

Can you see why I’m including substance abuse this morning? It does similar things as being drunk in how it affects your mental faculties.

Here’s the problem: Wisdom goes out the door. Drunkenness and getting high on whatever… strips away your ability to think and speak and act with wisdom. I’m speaking about the wisdom that God has given you. Instead, it turns you into a fool. Note the very first verse listed there. Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” It steals God’s wisdom in you and replaces it with foolishness.

You will do and say things that are that are not honoring to God or others. For example, if you travel for work… and at night you go to the bar with your work friends, and you have one or two or three too many. Well, you will say and do things unbecoming of your calling in Christ.

If you then get in a car and drive, your utter foolishness may destroy your life and others made in God’s image.

In a few minutes, we’ll be digging deep into the grace of God in Christ in different ways. But let me say, God’s grace does not minimize the seriousness and foolishness of these sin struggles. Rather, by his grace, he forgives and helps us overcome them. I hope that difference makes sense. Hold on for a few more minutes until we get there.

Before that, let’s go back to the Proverbs. Let me highlight a couple of other consequences.

First, Proverbs 31:4-5. It says there in the second line, “it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.” The consequences of drunkenness or addictions affect those for whom you are responsible. For a king, it’s those in his dominion. For a parent, it’s those in your family. Like Proverbs 31 here, the collateral damage of your addiction may be heavy.

But also, part of the impact is financial. Look back up at Proverbs 23 verses 20-21. In the middle there, it says, “the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty.” This is another example of wisdom going out the door. Addictions lead to a squandering of resources, which leads to self-inflicted poverty… and if you are married, poverty for you and your family.

Gluttony is included here because, as you know, good food is expensive! Over-indulging day after day will also lead down the same path.

By the way, when I read verse 25:16 about honey, it reminded me of a funny story. Our family was sitting around the kitchen table a long time ago. The kids were young, and they were talking about honey and butter… and one of them said. “when I get older, I am going to make a note to myself, ‘eat butter and drink honey’.” Well, we all have ambitions in life. I guess some are about food.

On a serious note, let me take a brief interlude to talk about gluttony. At the heart of the Hebrew word for glutton is excess. It means excessive feasting and/or partying. Drinking may be part of that or may not. It’s eating or partying often, for the pleasure of it. It’s turning something good into something you live for. Gluttony can become an addiction and at times just as debilitating as other addictions.

Two weeks ago, I quoted CS Lewis’s book Screwtape Letters about being slothful. I’m going to quote it again because he has a whole chapter on gluttony. It’s quite convicting. Screwtape, a senior demon in the devil’s army, writes this about how to tempt men. He says, “males are best turned into gluttons with the help of their vanity. They… think themselves very knowing about food, …[like] having found the only restaurant in town where steaks are really ‘properly’ cooked. What begins as vanity can then be gradually turned into habit. But, however you approach it, the [best] thing is to bring him into the state in which the denial of any one indulgence-it matters not which, champagne or tea… or cigarettes ‘puts him out,’” In modern terms, if he can’t have his favorite BBQ or craft beer, he feels robbed. Screwtape continues that at that moment… “his chastity, justice, and obedience are all at your mercy. Mere excess in food is much less valuable than delicacy.”

Maybe we should call that “sophisticated gluttony.” It’s often our kind of gluttony. And what it does is it steals your heart away from God… and away from true pleasures which are found in him.

At this point, let’s now come back and let’s talk through some of the root causes of these struggles and God’s grace. For us in this room, I don’t think that partying is what leads us down these paths. Although maybe for some. Rather, I think our struggle with alcohol and addiction including gluttony is most often caused by deeper struggles and heartaches, like depression or anxiety or grief.

The reason we’re tempted to turn to these things is because they numb the pain and heartache temporarily. They become an escape mechanism where we self-medicate to try and survive the sorrow that we carry. Instead of turning to Jesus, we turn to alcohol or drugs. That may be recreational drugs or abuse of prescription drugs.

Before exploring those root causes, I do feel a need to comment on Proverbs 31:6 It says, “Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;” Yes, it sanctions the use of alcohol to sooth physical and emotional pain, but only for extreme cases - someone dying and someone in “bitter” distress. But note also that it’s monitored. Someone is giving the drink in a medicative sort of way. That verse is not saying that alcohol is the solution.

When we self-medicate with alcohol and drugs, we are looking to those things as solutions, and we are not seeking to resolve the source of our anxiety or depression. In fact, when these things become an addiction, it often only exacerbates the heartache and pain we experience. It adds to our woe, our sorrow, our strife, and our complaining. Those are the exact words that Proverbs 23:29 uses to describe someone addicted to wine.

· You may be here today struggling with an addiction. Maybe this is your first or second time here and the Lord brought you here for a reason. What I want you to know today is that God offers his grace and help.

· Now, you may not struggle with alcohol or drugs (or excessive eating), but maybe today you are weighed down because of some traumatic event or pain in your life. What I want you to know today is that God offers his grace and help. Same grace, same help.

· For many of you, perhaps at this moment in your life, you neither struggle with these addictions nor are you currently burdened with sorrow. What I want you to hold onto today is that God offers his grace and help when those times come.

In other words, God offers his grace to help free us from addictions and on the long journey to recovery. And he offers his grace and help to keep us from alcohol and substance abuse.

God’s grace ministers in different ways depending on the burdens you bear.

I have a dear friend who has been involved in Celebrate Recovery. It’s a Christ-centered ministry for any kind of addiction. He shared with me about a friend he met at CR as it’s sometimes known. His friend had been trapped by both alcoholism and a drug addiction.

By God’s grace this man has been on an amazing journey of healing. One of the things that they do at CR is drill deep into the causes so that they can apply the Gospel to the specific underlying struggles. They recognize that addiction is almost always a “fruit issue” and not a “root issue.” Fruit issues are more easily addressed once the root issues have been brought into the light… so that the Gospel of Grace may bring healing.

When this man started pealing back the layers which caused his addictions, he first realized a deep self-hatred. He had been getting high and drunk to escape from himself. As he went deeper to the source of that self-hatred, he realized that his anger was also directed at his mother. You see, she had mistreated him when he was young. He found out that his mom’s anger at him was because she had a miscarriage before this man was born. His mom had lost a baby girl and she had hoped that he would be a girl. Because of her own pain from the miscarriage and anger at him, she emotionally abandoned him.

In this man’s life, four things were instrumental in his recovery.

· First, forgiving his mother for her anger toward and abandonment of him. His ability to forgive her came through the grace of God in Christ who had forgiven him.

· Number 2 - knowing that even though his mom abandoned him, God will never abandon him. In Christ, God has secured his salvation for eternity. Even with setbacks, he knows he is secure in Christ forever… and he can persevere on the path of sanctification in him.

· Third, he knows that he is loved by God because he has been redeemed by Christ. His self-hatred has been replaced by the love of God in Christ for him.

· And fourth, a grace-oriented community of Christian brothers came alongside of him in his recovery journey.

On that last point about the church, I want to add something. My friend told me about his own journey. He said that if it hadn’t been for a family member and his pastor intervening, he would have died. But God used his family and his church family to minister God’s grace to him.

For both of these men, their journey to recovery has come through God’s love and grace in Christ. The journey is often hard and rocky, but the transforming work of the Gospel brings healing and hope.

Let me touch upon a couple of other causes of addictions and how God’s grace intervenes.

· Feelings of insecurity or inadequacy. We all want to be able to fit in and have friends. We sometimes think we need to act in a certain way to be accepted. We may be afraid of how we’ll be treated, or we may have fears because of past relationships. Those struggles can turn someone to alcohol to either change the way he or she acts or as a coping mechanism. The truth is, if you are believer in Christ, your identity is in him. And that is a blessed reality now. You are secure in him, and you can hold on to him through all your feelings of inadequacy and failure. And those feelings can be transformed to surety and confidence in Christ.

· Another common root cause is anxiety. Pressures at work, or in your family, or conflict with others or a move or a health condition… or a combination of those can stir up deep levels of anxiety in your heart. The problem is, when you self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, those initial feelings of relief are often followed by more intense anxiety. In fact, anxiety can accelerate an addiction because the lows get lower and you have to drink more and longer to sustain those fleeting feelings of false peace. Friends, true peace and stability and freedom from worry comes through a growing foundation of knowing the promises of God and his Gospel.

· And the last one I want to mention: depression. Depression is a difficult one because there are so many factors that lead to depression. It may be hereditary. It may be because of grief or one of the other factors I already mentioned. It may be loneliness or caused by a difficult life situation. It may be seasonal or postpartum. Similar to anxiety, drinking or drug abuse may give you relief from the sadness, but it is only a fleeting relief. It’s a false relief. True joy and hope is found in Christ. To be sure, there are some helpful treatments available for depression. But the path to recovery needs to begin with God and the amazing hope that we have in Christ.

As Psalm 18 says, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”

In closing, I know that often times addictions are stigmatized in the church. And I know that often times we feel shame for our current and past struggles in this area. But I also know that we have a Savior who knows our weakness. He is a friend and redeemer of sinners. Every single one of us needs him. We need the hope and joy and forgiveness that God the Father offers us in his Son through the grace and reconciliation of the cross.

If one of these things is your struggle, please reach out to me or one of our elders. We will not be surprised nor make you feel ashamed, but we will come alongside you… both to pray for you and to help you on the journey to be restored and healed.

Pray

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Discernment, Discretion, and Answering the Fool

Our proverb’s focus this morning is on discernment, discretion, and whether to answer a fool in his folly. Originally, I was planning on preaching these in two sermons, “Discernment and Discretion” and Answering a fool. But I realized that the verses about answering a fool in his folly are really about discernment. So, I thought we’s take them together.

If you’ll take out you proverbs insert, we’re starting with a few verses from chapter 23. If you’d like to read them directly, you can find those verses on page 646 in the provided Bibles. We’ll start with those verses from chapter 23 and then read the read the rest of the selected verses on the insert.

Reading of Selected Proverbs.

Proverbs 23:1-3; 6-9

1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what is before you,

2 and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

3 Do not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;

do not desire his delicacies,

7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

and waste your pleasant words.

9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words.

Pursue Discretion and Discernment

11:22 Like a gold ring in a pig's snout

is a beautiful woman without discretion.

18:13 If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

25:7b-10

7b What your eyes have seen

do not hastily bring into court,

8 for what will you do in the end,

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

9 Argue your case with your neighbor himself,

and do not reveal another's secret,

10 lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,

and your ill repute have no end.

25:15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded,

and a soft tongue will break a bone.

25:17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house,

lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

25:20 Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart

is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,

and like vinegar on soda.

27:14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,

rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.

Answering a Fool and His Folly

13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,

but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

14:7 Leave the presence of a fool,

for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

17:12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs

rather than a fool in his folly.

26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

26:4-6

4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,

lest you be like him yourself.

5 Answer a fool according to his folly,

lest he be wise in his own eyes.

6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool

cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

26:8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling

is one who gives honor to a fool.

26:10 Like an archer who wounds everyone

is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.

29:9 If a wise man has an argument with a fool,

the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.

Prayer

Last year, a guy named Young Baek was crowned king of coffee tasters. It’s a thing. The formal job title is coffee cupper. It’s the person who tests the quality of coffee batches on behalf of producers or buyers. Their taste buds are highly refined. Mr. Baek is constantly practicing and honing his skill. He studies beans from all over the world and soils and altitudes. He intimately knows the different roasting methods. And when he’s tasting, he can identify impurities in the beans or issues in the roasting or finishing.

Basically, being an expert coffee cupper requires three things:

· First, it requires knowledge about all things coffee and beans.

· Second, it requires understanding the problems that may arise when the beans are processed.

· Those first two things are the easy part. The third thing is applying that knowledge and understanding practically when you taste the coffee. In other words, having coffee discernment.

And those three things are very similar to wisdom. Wisdom, as Proverbs has taught us, requires:

· First, knowledge. Knowing God, his Word and his world

· Second, having wisdom requires an understanding of what is good and right and true compared to what is not.

· And third, wisdom requires discernment. Discernment is basically applying that knowledge and God’s standard of right and wrong in life situations.

That definition of wisdom is how King Solomon began Proverbs back in chapter 1. And he’s been, or I should say, God has been working that out that definition in different ways throughout the book.

What I’m saying is that discernment, Biblical discernment, is part of the equation of having wisdom. You can’t have wisdom without discernment.

Our goal today, therefore, is to answer two questions: what is discernment? And how do we learn discernment so that we may mature in wisdom? In other words, how do we become a coffee cupper in life?

I want you to look on the front page of the proverbs insert. You’ll see that Proverbs give us two main contrasts. Those are in the bold. We’ve been talking recently about wisdom contrasted with foolishness. In a couple of months, we’ll be getting into the second main contrast. Righteousness and wickedness. Notice also that several of the sub-categories in Proverbs are also contrasts. Like last week, sloth versus industry. Or two weeks ago deceit versus honesty. A little further down the list you’ll see others like pride versus humility, anger and hate versus peace and love. Just and unjust leadership.

You see, one of the things that God is teaching us in proverbs is discernment. Not just knowing what wisdom and foolishness and righteousness and wickedness are… but being able to differentiate between all of the categories listed here and apply that understanding in life - in your life, in the situations that you find yourself in, and the people that God has brought into your life.

Discernment

Ok, let’s now look at some of these verses. Let’s start with those opening verses in Proverbs 23. It’s a helpful illustration of discernment.

You are sitting down to eat with a king. He’s invited you. And there’s an amazing spread of delicacies from all over the world. His goal, however, may be to distract you or to bribe you or for you to become indebted to him. It’s deception as verse 3 puts it – deceptive food. And notice what verse 2 says – “put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.” In other words, your appetite could be your undoing in that situation. You will fall prey to the king. What it’s saying is you will need self-control in those situations.

What is discernment in that scenario? Well, it’s knowing the human condition. It’s seeing beyond what is in front of you. It’s understanding both the heart of the king and your own heart. And it’s responding by not falling into his trap. You see that?

And verses 6-8 are similar. But instead of a ruler, you are being offered food from a man who is stingy. He may say, “eat and drink” but he will hate you if you actually eat and drink.

So, having discernment is the ability to navigate the complexities of a situation. It’s being able to apply your knowledge of God, his Word, and his world to a situation. First and foremost, discernment is understanding. Look at Proverbs 18:13. It’s on the left side of the page. “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” Our tendency is to react immediately or overreact in a situation… or presume something and respond out of that presumption.

But first, we need to listen in order to understand. Perhaps ask questions, or if that is not appropriate, observe what’s going on. Evaluate the situation through the lens of what we have been learning in Proverbs.

Then, ask yourself, how should I respond? Should I even respond at all?

So discernment is, in a sense, decision making. It begins with evaluating and understanding a situation and then it moves into responding. It’s knowing what is appropriate and not appropriate. Follow me?

Now, we will talk about how to gain discernment and therefore grow in wisdom. Hang on for a few minutes. We’ll get there.

But before we get there, let’s consider two practical areas of discernment from these verses. First discretion and second interacting with a fool.

Discretion

That word discretion is used there in Proverbs 11:22. That may be the most well-known Proverb in this group. “Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.” Discretion is having good judgment to act appropriately and thoughtfully. In that verse, if a woman with external beauty flaunts her beauty, or has no moral sensibilities nor propriety, or perhaps she is rude and unruly, then she is, in fact, not beautiful. Ether her indiscretion overshadows her external beauty, or her indiscretion takes away her beauty. She’s either the gold ring in a pig’s snout… or she’s the pig with a gold ring. Either way, it is to her shame.

Ok, part of having discretion is being sensitive to situations.

Let’s say that your neighbor is going through a tough time. And you want to help her with yard work. So, you get up at 7am on Saturday, you get your leaf blower out, and you start blowing her leaves. Well, Proverbs 27:14 addresses that: “Whoever blesses his neighbor with a [leaf blower], rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.” I think we can relate to that one. That’s poor judgment.

And there are a couple of other examples of this… like not rushing to court to expose your neighbor. That one is about being discrete, and first going to your neighbor.

I like how Coleman described it earlier this week. He said it’s like having good emotional intelligence. That applies to discernment in general, but I think it especially applies to having discretion. It’s being able to understand the emotional dynamics going on, including your own… and responding appropriately. Proverbs 25:20 captures that. “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day…” It goes back to navigating what is appropriate and inappropriate and responding in measure.

So, to summarize, having discretion is acting with thoughtful judgment. It’s being careful and sensitive. You can think about it this way, discretion is essentially applying your discernment in situations with others.

Answering a Fool

Ok, so that is discernment and discretion – understanding and acting. Which brings us now to a very focused application of that. Interacting with fools.

Now, before we go there, I think it would be helpful for me to summarize Proverbs teaching on the fool. We considered a few weeks ago the contrast between the wise and the fool. How the fool pursues folly and the wise pursues wisdom. As a reminder…

· A fool is someone who ignores or rejects seeking knowledge, understanding, and guidance. That’s either actively or passively.

· A fool also disregards moral truth and he opposes God’s wisdom.

· In addition, Proverbs describes a fool as being very much wrapped up in himself, and his thoughts. He is right in his own eyes, and he acts out of his selfish disregard for others and he acts out of his rejection of truth and goodness.

· A fool flaunts his folly. Remember that Proverb. And we’ve seen a couple of examples of foolishness so far. Last week was about the sluggard. And the week before about how a fool lacks integrity and is instead deceitful.

So, with that in mind, how should you relate to a fool? How should you respond to a fool in his folly?

Of course, this takes us to Proverbs 26 verses 4-5. You see them on the right side of the sheet. Verse 4 – “Answer not a fool…” and verse 5 “Answer a fool…” So, which is it?

Now, some have critiqued Proverbs because of this seeming contradiction. But the thing is, those verses are intentionally together. The reason is, it takes discernment to know if, how, and when to answer a fool.

Let me give you an example of how not to answer a fool. And I want to do that with a modern-day parable. Some of you have heard of Juha, especially down in front here. Juha is a middle eastern man living somewhere in the Arabian Peninsula.

Well, one day Juha was in the market. And he ran into a guy who loved to argue. It didn’t matter what, he just liked to disagree. And this guy said to Juha. “Did you know, the sky is green and the grass is blue?” Juha couldn’t pass up the opportunity to respond. “The sky is not green and the grass is not blue. You are out of your mind. The sky is blue and the grass is green.” “No it’s not, the guy answered.

Well, Juha and this guy went at it for a long time. They caused so much disturbance in the marketplace that the police showed up and arrested both of them.

They were soon brought before the judge. Juha knew that he would finally be vindicated. The judge, of course, would agree that the sky was blue and the grass green… and besides that, the judge was his friend.

And so, the judge listened to both sides of the story. And then he pronounced his judgment. He ordered Juha to spend a week in jail.

Well, as you can imagine, Juha was shocked and confused. He waited until the courtroom emptied, then asked the Judge: “Judge, you know the sky is blue and the grass is green. How could you rule against me and send me to jail for a week?”

The Judge replied, “You’re not going to jail because of the color of the sky or the grass! No, you are going to jail for disturbing the peace by arguing with a fool in the market and then wasting my time by bringing the stupid argument into my courtroom!”

Juha learned his lesson the hard way.

You see, answering a fool by stooping down to the level of his foolishness is not how to answer a fool. Look at verse 26:4 again. “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.” You see how that directs us not to enter into a fool’s folly? Now, verse 4 could either mean, don’t answer him at all, or it could mean, don’t answer him using his foolish ways. I think either interpretation is fine.

If you look at the very last Proverb listed, 29:9 it’s similar. “If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.” Juha would have been served well to know that one.

So, if you choose to answer a fool, how should you do it? Verse 26:5 gives us some clarity: “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” What it means is to answer by revealing the folly of his ways. The purpose would be for him to see his foolish ways, or to at least know that what he thinks… is regarded as folly.

In a conversation, that would mean changing the direction of the conversation. It would be showing him (in some way) why his thinking or his actions are self-contradictory or selfish or unwise in whatever way… Just know that depending on the situation, that may only stir up more folly. If so, then maybe you should not respond.

So, in the end, how do you know if, when, and how to answer a fool? Well, it takes wisdom and discernment. And so, we’ve come full circle.

Learning Discernment

Which brings us back to the question of “how?” How do we grow in discernment so that we may mature in wisdom?

Again, we’re talking about Biblical discernment. Now, there is discernment in a general sense of the word that is something available to all people, Christians and non-Christians. It’s someone with a keen sense to understand situations and people. And that’s good. But the discernment that Proverbs speaks of goes much further. It’s a discernment based on the wisdom and knowledge of God. It is a discernment that understands God’s commands and the righteousness to which he calls us.

And so the obvious prerequisites to having discernment are having the first two components of wisdom. First, knowledge… knowledge of God, his word and world. And second, an understanding of righteousness. Let’s take those one at a time.

· First, the knowledge part. It’s knowing what God has revealed. Or to put it another way, it’s having a worldview based on what God has revealed. Revealed in his Word and revealed in the creation around us. You have to have those. First, you have to be in God’s word to know God’s word. There’s no substitute for that. And, second, you have to be a student of God’s creation – his general revelation. To be sure, we are limited in our knowledge. So, I’m talking about having a general understanding of how the world works, how people are, and how people and systems interrelate. And that includes a general understanding of history. In order to pursue discernment, you have to be growing and learning in those things.

· Second, the morality part. It’s not just knowing God’s law. You have to know it, of course, but you have to believe and apply God’s commands in your life. I know I probably sound like a broken record sometimes, but I’m trying to ingrain this in your head: God’s wisdom necessarily requires pursuing righteousness. You can’t read Proverbs without seeing that over and over. And we’ve talked over and over about how that righteousness comes by and through Christ. We’ll come back to him in a minute.

So those are the two pre-requisites to Biblical discernment – growing in knowledge and righteousness.

And it’s from that platform that you then will be able to learn and grow in discernment. Discernment is being able to see how the different aspects of that knowledge and that righteousness interrelate in different circumstances. Hebrews 5 speaks to this. It says, “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.” It’s talking about not maturing in knowledge and righteousness. “But,” it says, “solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

It takes practice, like a coffee cupper. It takes learning from your mistakes and thoughtfully analyzing situations. It takes being with people in the marketplace. It takes serving and working and reading. It takes being around people with wisdom – that’s right there in Proverbs 13:20. “whoever walks with the wise becomes wise…”

And, of course, it involves prayer. Pray that God would give you wisdom and discernment in situations. In the book of James, God tells us to pray for wisdom, and he promises to give it to you graciously. Ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you as you navigate life.

Ok, here’s where I want to draw us back again to Christ and the Gospel. Because, in order to receive and grow in Biblical discernment, knowing Jesus and his Gospel of grace are the foundation.

Let me give you three reasons why.

· Number 1: Jesus is the perfect model of discernment. Even though we don’t have Jesus’ omniscience – how he intimately knew the hearts with whom he interacted, yet his interactions are still examples of discernment and discretion. All throughout his ministry, he was able to get to the core of the matter. He was able to call out the deceitful and reveal the folly of the fools with whom he interacted. There were times, on the way to the cross, that in discretion, he did not speak. There were times when he did. We could spend all afternoon considering each situation and how his great discernment was on display. The point is that in him we can grow in discernment as he leads us in discernment.

· Second: Discernment of situations outside of you first requires discernment inside. God has to first awaken your heart so that you may see your sin… as Proverbs puts it, your foolish and evil ways. That’s where discernment begins, seeing your need for him and the grace and forgiveness that God offers in Christ. Part of that internal discernment is knowing that when you are his you are a redeemed sinner. You are redeemed by faith. You are secure in that. But in this life, you will still struggle with sin. Discernment is knowing your own sin struggles as you seek to be discerning.

· And related to that, number 3 is the Gospel. As the apostle Paul put it, the Gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” The Gospel includes that Jesus has redeemed you from your sin, but it’s also how God redeemed you. He accomplished your salvation through the most amazing display of wisdom and discernment - the cross. God, in all of his vast wisdom… in his perfect and eternal justice and love, and in his infinite power, discerned a way for his greater glory and our good. At the very center of his eternal wisdom and discernment is the cross. It’s where God’s infinite, eternal, and unchangeable justice and love intersect. It’s where Jesus, the eternal son of God, in his perfect righteousness took on the eternal consequences of our sin… as only he could as truly God and man. Is that not the most amazing wisdom and discernment? It is the lynchpin of all things - the center of history. What I’m saying is that in order to begin down the path of Biblical discernment, you need to know this Gospel. To know not just what God has done, but to believe it yourself, and to see Jesus for who he is, Lord and Savior.

This truth is what unlocks the door to your journey of wisdom and discernment.

So… may we each understand the importance of having discernment and discretion in our lives. May we each navigate, with the help of God’s Spirit, different situations and relationships through that Biblical discernment. And may we each mature in our discernment, through the grace of God in Christ through what he has done. Amen.

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The Ant and the Slug

Thank you to Coleman for his sermon last week on integrity and slander, and flattery, among other things. I listened to it a few days ago. Very well done! And I’m not trying to flatter him.

Well, as we’ve gone through the book of Proverbs, one of the amazing things is how timeless the proverbs are. I think you would agree. This book was written almost 3000 years ago… But no matter whether you lived back then or you live today, the human condition is the same. It’s just manifested in different ways.

This morning we’re considering the theme of sloth or idleness compared to diligence. In fact, it’s one of the more prominent themes in Proverbs. Clearly in King Solomon’s day, it was a significant issue. And I think that it’s also one of our struggles today.

Please take out your Proverbs reading insert. You’ll see that we are starting with a few verses from chapter 6 this morning. The first half of chapter 6 was the only portion of Solomon’s opening lessons that we saved for later. So we’re coming back to part of it now and in a few weeks, we’ll consider the rest of it.

If you would like to read those first verses from you Bible, please turn to Proverbs 6.

Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of Proverbs 6:6-11 and selected proverbs

Proverbs 6:6-11

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,

she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,

and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

10:4-5 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,

but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

10:26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

so is the sluggard to those who send him.

12:11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,

but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.

12:24 The hand of the diligent will rule,

while the slothful will be put to forced labor.

12:27 Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,

but the diligent man will get precious wealth.

13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

14:23 In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.

15:19 The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,

but the path of the upright is a level highway.

16:26 A worker's appetite works for him; his mouth urges him on.

18:9 Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.

19:15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

19:24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish

and will not even bring it back to his mouth.

20:4 The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;

he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

20:13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;

open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

21:17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;

he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

21:25-26

The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.

All day long he craves and craves,

but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

22:13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”

22:29 Do you see a man skillful in his work?

He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

24:27 Prepare your work outside;

get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

24:30-34

I passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,

and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;

the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.

Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction.

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,

and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

25:13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

is a faithful messenger to those who send him;

he refreshes the soul of his masters.

26:13-16

The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!

There is a lion in the streets!”

As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

27:18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and he who guards his master will be honored.

28:19-20 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,

but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

A faithful man will abound with blessings,

but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

Prayer

A few years ago, ESPN hosted a contest which they called the “Ultimate Couch Potato.” The goal was to see who could last the longest in a recliner watching ESPN. The rules allowed only one stretch per hour. You were not allowed to sleep… and you could only take a bathroom break once every 8 hours. Oh, and they provided all the food and soft drinks you wanted. The winner went 72 hours. Can you believe that?

The guy received a new TV, a new recliner, and the coveted Ultimate Couch Potato trophy. By the way, it was the third year in a row this guy won. I suspect that’s why they discontinued the contest.

Our culture glorifies and enables laziness.

Here are some statistics. Americans spend, on average, 3 hours and 9 minutes a day streaming video content. On average, we spend 4 hours and 25 minutes on our phones every day. And weekly, we average 8-12 hours playing video games.

To quote the title of Neil Postman’s prophetic book, we are Amusing Ourselves to Death. He wrote that in 1985. Imagine what he would say today.

And social media and games are only one of the paths today to an idle and slothful lifestyle. As we read, Proverbs speaks to this. It warns against this. The problem is, such a life does not reflect the goodness of God’s creation in you, nor does it reflect God’s call for your life. Let me say that again, a slothful lifestyle does not reflect the goodness of God’s creation in you, nor does it reflect God’s call for you life.

That’s basically the summary for today. Let me tell you how we’re going to work that out.

First, we’ll analyze Proverb’s account of the slothful and the diligent. What it says
Next, we’ll look at the consequences. What it warns.
Third, it’s very important to consider the cause. And let me say, there are some difficult things in life that can contribute to idleness.
And fourth, last, we’ll talk through the cure.

So, the account, the consequences, the cause, and the cure. That’s where we’re headed.

The account: The Sloth and the Diligent

Number 1. How do these verses account for the slothful and the diligent?

The first thing is that there’s word here used over and over. It’s the word “sluggard.” It’s used 14 times here. Now, in English, the word “sluggard” is a derivative of the word “slug.” Slug, meaning, of course those slimy little creatures that move so slowly.

In the Hebrew language, the word for sluggard and slug are totally different words, but the idea is similar. The Hebrew meaning of sluggard is someone who is slow to take action - someone habitually lazy with no discipline or initiative in his life. That’s very similar to the second word used here. The word slothful… used 3 times. It’s someone who constantly refuses work. He is the opposite of diligent.

And we see these definitions worked out all through these verses.

· First, a sluggard loves to sleep! As a door turns on it’s hinge, so a sluggard on his bed. Or as we read a couple of times, “a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest” He even sleeps during the harvest, it says. By the way, we all need sleep… but this is different. The sluggard wins the couch potato award.

· Second, the one who is slothful is mere talk. That’s how Proverbs 14:23 describes him. “Mere talk tends only to poverty.” He’ll say something like, “Oh, I’ll get to that tomorrow.” But tomorrow never comes. He talks a big talk, but never follows through.

· Next, he also makes excuses. Like in 26:13 – This is a funny one… “There’s a lion in the road!” In other words, “I can’t go out there to work.” There are murder hornets out there! Or, the dog ate my homework. If you lived in our house, that could actually happen.

· And a fourth description are his worthless pursuits. That phrase is there in Proverb 28:19. “…he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.” That’s pretty descriptive of us today. We get sucked into the vortex of social media. Name your favorite – Tick Tok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. We get pulled into the articles, pictures, videos, and reading the comments. Then all of a sudden, hours have passed! Has that happened to you? It’s happened to me.

· There are some other descriptions in here as well. For example, work is drudgery to the slothful. Also he ignores the severity of his situation.

So, he loves his lazy-boy recliner or his bed, always procrastinates, talks a big talk, pursues the unimportant, and cares not about working or his situation.

Now, no one here that fits that full description. But I think we can each identify slothful areas or lazy tendencies, perhaps even significant ones, in our lives.

The contrast here is with the diligent. That word means someone who is industrious in his work and focused. It’s not just that he is diligent to do something, he is also thoughtful and intentional in his tasks. Look at Proverbs 27:24, you’ll see that sense of priorities. “Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.” The diligent understand when it’s time to plant seed and when it’s time to harvest. It’s in between those times, that’s when he will build or maintain his house.

And, of course, the illustration is the ant. Now, at the time in Israel, one of the more common types of ants was the harvester ant. It was known to store kernels of grain during the harvest, which would last them the whole year. At other times of the year, these ants would expand their nest and care for the young. So likely, Solomon had these in mind. It’s a picture of diligence and preparedness in the tasks at hand. You see, the diligent don’t need a task master to keep them going, rather they understand and can accomplish their responsibilities.

Kids, if your mom or dad are always reminding you, every day, to do your school work, then likely you are acting more like a slug than an ant. It’s time to become like an ant.

The Consequences

Ok, point #2. The consequences. All throughout these verses, we’re given consequences. Let me say, these are generalities, not formulas. When the Proverbs speak about immediate consequences, it’s not giving us a formula. We can’t say, if you are diligent, the result will always be blessing and security. No, those Proverbs are rules of thumb. Look at Proverbs 10:4. “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” Is it the case that a sluggard will always find himself in self-inflicted poverty? No? Is it the case that the diligent will always have financial security? No. External circumstances can change the outcome. But the principal is generally true. It’s important to understand that.

For the sluggard, in many many cases, his carelessness and laziness will lead to poverty. Some of the language used here is “suffer hunger” or “have nothing” or he’ll “be put into forced labor.” Or he’ll have “plenty of poverty.”

On the other hand, the diligent will in many many cases “reap a harvest” or “will have plenty of bread” or “will abound in blessing.” That’s the language here. You can see the contrast – poverty versus plenty.

Let me highlight another consequence. Being around a sluggard is no fun. Especially if you are responsible for him or her.

This last week, Amy, Caleb, and I were in the kitchen, and Caleb said, “Mom, do you remember when you made us take a mouthful of vinegar and then you read us that Proverb?” Amy and I both laughed because little did Caleb know at the time, but that Proverb is on the list for today. Look down at Proverbs 10:26. “Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.”

This was several years ago. The kids were all having one of those days. They weren’t listening. They were not following through on chores or assignments. They didn’t want to do anything. Parents, you know what I’m talking about.

So Amy brought them out on our deck. She gave them each a little cup of vinegar, and made them swish it around in their mouths … and then she read Proverbs 10:26. Her point was this: That bitter and sour taste in your mouth is what it’s like to those around you when you disobey and are lazy.

Now, to be sure, Amy didn’t make them swallow the vinegar, so please don’t call family services.

By the way, some of the other consequences listed here are similar. A sluggard brings shame and the diligent brings honor.

To summarize: the consequence for the slothful include self-inflicted poverty, difficulty working with him, and often shame to his family. And for the diligent? Stability, security, leadership even, and honor.

3 The causes

At this point, let’s transition to the causes and the cure. We’re going to focus on idleness and sloth. Now, is it possible that our diligence can become a problem? Yes! Absolutely. Work can become an idol. What I’m saying is that you should not use these verses to justify working 60, 70, or 80 hours a week at the expense of your family. Nor should you use these verses to turn work into your identity. Those are problems, for sure… but what these verses focus on is laziness.

Also, I also want to acknowledge that there are difficult things in life which can lead to struggles with motivation. Grief is one of them. When you lose a family member or dear friend, some days it’s hard to even get up out of bed. Depression is similar. Depression can be caused by many things. And I want to say, in those two situations, it’s important to get help – that may be Godly counselling or other kinds of help. If that’s your struggle, please reach out for help and guidance.

I also want to say that idleness is different than rest. We all need rest. God has given us the pattern and focus of our rest. That’s a topic for another day. What many of these verses speak to is the sin of laziness. It’s being a dead weight on your family or friends or at work. It’s when you are not contributing with your God given skills and gifts to labor.

Let me add, this is not just about a career. Rather, we all have lowercase “c” callings. That may be a paid job. It may be caring for someone or a family. It may be serving the needs in the church or community.

For example, children, at this point in your life, your responsibility is to be diligent in your schoolwork. On the other hand, if you are one of our older members and struggling with heath issues, your calling may be prayer. Whatever it is, we’re to pursue it with diligence.

But the problem is that sin has affected everything. That includes affecting our motivations and our work. And this goes way back to Genesis 3. Part of God’s curse on all creation is that the ground will produce “thorns and thistles.” And as it also says, “by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” Because of that, we often don’t want to work. We don’t want to deal with the struggles of whatever calling we have.

And those thorns and thistles can come in many forms. And so, we cave in. We don’t want to put in the effort. We distract ourselves and we make all kinds of excuses. But at the heart of it all, the heart of our laziness in whatever area of our life… is our sin. We don’t want to recognize that part of God’s call for us is to work. Again, work in a broad sense of our daily callings.

You see, we were created to work. Every one of us. We read that earlier in the service from Genesis 1 and 2. Part of God creating man in his image, is the inherent responsibility to labor in this world… which is patterned after God and his work in creating all things.

In other words, work is not a result of the fall. No, the toil of work is the result. And in our selfishness and pride, we would rather distract ourselves with mind numbing activities or a lazy lifestyle, than follow through on the gift of God in our callings.

To summarize, what are the primary causes of our sloth? Sin in the world and the sin in our hearts.

Let me add one more cause. And I’d like to use CS Lewis for this one.

Some of you have read his book Screwtape Letters. It’s a fiction and it’s really unique. It’s a series of letters written by Screwtape, who is a senior demon in the devil’s army.

Screwtape, the demon, is writing to his demon apprentice, Wormwood. Screwtape’s goal is to get Wormwood to effectively distract his human patient from God and instead direct him to sin. His tactics are many including exploiting personal weaknesses, stirring up anger and strife, undermining prayer and the church, promoting despair and apathy, and elevating the patient’s pride.

Let me read what Screwtape writes in letter 12:

“My dear Wormwood… You no longer need a good book, which he really likes, to keep him from his prayers or his work or his sleep; a column of advertisements in yesterday's paper will do. [or should I add, “a little screen time”] You can make him waste his time… [by doing] nothing at all for long periods… you can keep him up late at night… staring at a dead fire…. Nothing is very strong - strong enough to steal away a man's best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why in the gratification of curiosity so feeble the man is only half aware of them… You will say that these are very small sins… [but] it does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing.” He wrote that 85 years ago.

You see, the devil has many lies and tactics and one of them is complacency or sloth. He wants to exploit your sin and the fallen world around you… He wants you to retreat into the world of idle nothingness and away from God.

4 The Cure

So, where does that lead us? Well, it leads us to the cure. This is point number 4.

The good news is that God is at work. He’s at work redeeming. And one of the things that he’s redeeming… is he’s redeeming our labors.

We don’t often think about redemption being applied to our daily callings. Do we?

Rather, when we think about redemption, we think about how Christ has redeemed us from the eternal consequences of our sin. Or we think about how we are reconciled to God through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. Or we think about how the resurrection gives us hope for eternity. Or we consider the grace that God gives us through Christ in forgiving us for the sins that we actively commit. Those are all amazing things.

But we should also consider that God’s redemption applies to our passive sins like sloth… and we should consider how God is redeeming our labors. Whatever you’re called to do in this life.

Many of you know I spent almost 20 years in a different career. I experienced the highs and lows of any job – difficult situations, demanding responsibilities. At times, I struggled with motivation. But at other time, I experienced joy in my work.

And I will say, these last 10 years as a pastor, there have been highs and lows. Times of discouragement and times sensing the joy and passion of this calling. I’m thankful to God that most often it’s been the later.

Let me share four things I’ve learned over the years:

· First, when we intentionally seek to honor God in our work, God often gives us a desire to work and a satisfaction in our work. That’s the first one. By the way, I’ll restate them at the end.

· Second, when we recognize that part of what it means to be created in God’s image is being created to work… when we recognize that, God often gives us purpose and meaning in our work.

· Third, when we recognize that God’s work of redemption includes our work, we are able with his help to endure the thorns and thistles.

· And fourth, when we realize that God’s grace in Christ through the cross includes forgiving us for our sloth, then we can be renewed to diligence… as we pursue our daily callings.

Let me says those again. (1) Pursuing God’s glory in what we do, often gives us desire and satisfaction in our callings (2) Remembering that we are created in God’s image gives us purpose in our callings (3) God is redeeming our work which helps us persevere through trials in our callings and (4) God’s grace covers all our sin, including our idleness. When we come to him with it, he will help renew our hearts in our callings.

As we come to a close, let’s consider one more thing - work in this life compared to eternity. You see, in this life, each one of us struggles or will struggle in our daily callings. That may include a struggle of apathy. You may have days or weeks or months where you are fighting to regain motivation and fighting against idleness. But beloved, if you are in Christ, there will be a day when work will no longer be a chore. A day when you will be in the presence of your Savior with all the saints. A day when you will enter his rest. His eternal rest. But it won’t be a rest without work. No, it will be an eternal rest from the thorns and thistles… an eternal rest from any and all temptations to sin. Yes, we will be worshiping forever, but we’ll also be working in some way. But our labors and service will be fully redeemed, with no toil or struggle. Whatever it is like, at every moment it will be fully satisfying to us and fully glorifying to God.

May God give us an eternal motivation and perspective, as we labor in this life. My we forsake our sloth and idleness and instead hear the call to diligence – not for our glory, but for God. Amen?

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Introduction

We’re continuing our Proverbs thematic study this morning. And let me say, we’ve been in unchartered territory. I’ve actually never heard anyone preach through the second half of Proverbs, so this has been a new experience.

I’ve learned a couple of things:

· First, reading 40-50 Proverbs takes more time than I realized. My sermons have been a few minutes longer than usual, so I’ going to try and adjust. We’ll still read all the verses, but I’ll slightly shorten my content.

· Second, I’ve learned that it’s virtually impossible to reference every verse in my sermon. Last week, I was blitzing through too many verses too quickly. So, what I plan to do instead is point to representative verses that really encapsulate the emphasis. And, I’ll also summarize themes and words without always pointing to specific verses.

· To be sure, I still want to anchor my sermon to the text so, I’ll still reference specific verses, but just fewer of them.

Well, that brings us to our focus this morning - the results of wisdom and foolishness.

Last week, we considered the nature of wisdom and foolishness. The wise pursues wisdom. The fool pursues folly. And remember, our words and actions reveal whether we have a heart of wisdom or whether we need a heart of wisdom. That wisdom is ultimately found in Christ. The good news is that there is not a single one of us, nor anyone in the world, who cannot be redirected to the wisdom of God in Christ.

So, that was last week. This morning is more about the effects and consequences of the one who is wise and the one who is a fool.

If you’ll take your Proverbs bulletin insert… On the inside, you’ll see two groupings of verses. The first is titled near-term effects of wisdom and foolishness. In other words, what wisdom and foolishness cause. I’ll say, those verses do include some action verbs, like a fool “troubles” his household or “belittles” his neighbor. Those words imply an effect, so I’ve included them. The second grouping contains more longer-term results. Many of those are eternal in nature. In other words, where does each path lead?

There’s a little overlap from last week as well.

The first 3 verses are from Proverbs 13:13-15. If you would like to read those out of your Bibles, please turn there. You can find them on page ???.

Stand

Reading of selected proverbs:

Proverbs 13:13-15

Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself,

but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,

that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.

A. The near-term effects of wisdom and folly

11:12 Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,

but a man of understanding remains silent.

11:29 Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind,

and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

12:8 A man is commended according to his good sense,

but one of twisted mind is despised.

12:16 The vexation of a fool is known at once,

but the prudent ignores an insult.

17:21 He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy.

21:22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty

and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

24:9 The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.

27:3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,

but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.

29:8 Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.

B. The long-term results of wisdom and folly

10:8 The wise of heart will receive commandments,

but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

14:3 By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,

but the lips of the wise will preserve them.

14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

14:18 The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

14:35 A servant who deals wisely has the king's favor,

but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.

15:24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent,

that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.

16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

17:2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully

and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

19:29 Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and beating for the backs of fools.

21:16 One who wanders from the way of good sense

will rest in the assembly of the dead.

22:3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but the simple go on and suffer for it.

24:13-14 My son, eat honey, for it is good,

and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

Know that wisdom is such to your soul;

if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,

and a rod for the back of fools.

27:22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,

yet his folly will not depart from him.

28:26 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,

but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Prayer

About 10 years ago, we visited the Grand Canyon. It was the first time that I had ever been there. If you’ve ever seen it, you’ll know that it is really grand. Our kids were a lot younger then, so we only hiked down a little way into the canyon. And of course, we were holding their hands really tight. Because you quickly realize that the Grand Canyon is a dangerous place. There are cliffs everywhere without railings. It’s also very hot and dry with hardly any water except the river below.

In fact, in the visitor center we found a book titled “Death in the Grand Canyon.” It’s really sad. On average, a dozen people die every year due to various causes. People have died trying to take selfies as close as they can to a ledge, and then slipping. Some have died when they pretended to fall but in doing that, they actually did fall. Others have ignored warning signs and wandered off the path only to get lost and die of heat exhaustion or of cold at night. Some have tried to jump across to rock outcroppings but didn’t make it. And every year, a couple of people die attempting to hike the 26 miles from one rim to the other and back again in a single day. That happened twice this last fall. They were ill-prepared physically and mentally and did not plan well.

You could categorize many of those tragedies as foolishness.

And I’m sure we could spend all day coming up with similar examples.

As we read, and as we each intuitively know, actions have consequences… and words have consequences. The folly of our foolish ways leads to tragedy - that may include near term damage and drama. Sometime it includes immediate tragic results like these examples, and certainly living a foolish life will lead to long term consequences… as Proverbs puts it, to ruin.

On the one hand, these verses are a warning to us. If you act this way, if your words are flagrant and foolish, this is what will happen. But, on the other hand, these verses also give us hope. They give us a picture of wisdom’s results – both the near-term benefits but also the ultimate deliverance that wisdom will bring. So, again, on the one hand, the warnings about foolishness, and on the other hand, the hope of wisdom.

Here’s where I do want to draw your attention to a couple of verses. Either in your Bibles or in the insert, look at Proverbs 13:13-15. These are the first three verses in the list.

Really, they are a good summary of today’s focus.

Verse 13, “Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.”

“Whoever despises the word…” The Hebrew for the word “word” literally means, “that which has been stated.” What Solomon is saying is that if the Proverbs which he has written are rejected, the result will be self-destruction. That’s an important point to note. The one who rejects the Proverbs will bring destruction upon himself. His words and actions will cause his own demise.

And remember, Solomon is being guided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit here. His words in Proverbs are God’s words. The second half of verse 13 alludes to that. Again, it says, “but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.” That word for “commandment” is equated with the word “word” and it’s a reference to God’s commandments. So, the determining factor of whether you will receive self-imposed destruction or whether you will receive a reward is… whether you obey the commandments of the Lord.

Now, to be sure, this is not saying that obedience is the way to salvation. No, remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Reverent trust in the Lord is the starting point. The New Testament calls that faith. Our obedience rather testifies to our faith.

To be sure, Proverbs is a rubber-meets-the-road book. We’ve talked about this. There are tangible consequences in this life to both wisdom and folly. I don’t want to skip over those and jump right to the eternal matters. So, we’ll consider both the near-term and the eternal consequences.

In fact, verse 14 is the verse about eternal matters. It says, “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.” It’s saying, wisdom and foolishness are ultimately matters of life and death. We’re going to come back to those eternal matters.

And next, notice verse 15. It’s about near-term matters. “Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.” When we act and speak with “good sense” (meaning all the things we talked about last week - humility, sensitivity, carefulness, prudence, and thoughtfulness) when our lives reflect those things, there are near-term blessings that we will reap.

But the opposite is true for the fool: “the way of the treacherous,” as verse 15 says, “is their ruin.” There’s that self-induced trouble, again.

So, near term and long term.

Near Term Effects

We’ll first consider the near-term effect and then we’ll move to the long-term ones.

Do you remember Mr. T? He’s still out around! His life motto is, “I pity the fool.” That was originally a line in Rocky III. After that, he adopted it personal;y and would use it in both acting as well as in real life. Although, for Mr. T, the line was always blurred between his characters and his persona.

But what does he mean when he says, “I pity the fool.” Well, as you would suspect, he’s been asked several times about that. And Mr. T’s is pretty clear about it. He feels sorry for the fool, he says. He has both sympathy for a foolish person as well as a desire to see him change. The reason is that a fool has to deal with the consequences of his foolishness. As Mr. T puts is, “something bad is going to happen to him. So, I pity the fool.” By the way, he’s a professed Christian and he even connects that phrase to the Scriptures warning to the fool.

And these verses here have much to say about the effect of a fool. A big one is relational. To use some of the words in grouping A, a fool is “despised” and an “abomination” to society. He causes, as one of these verses says, “vexation.” A fool is a trouble-maker. He brings “trouble” on himself as well as others. Another word used here is “provocation.” His words and actions provoke trouble.

I think the verse that best captures the near-term effects of folly and wisdom is 29:8. It’s the last verse there in grouping A. It says, “Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.” In his folly, a fool stirs up and escalates controversy and anger. He fans the flame. You could compare a fool to a tornado. He or she leaves a path of destruction - relational and other.

But on the flip side of that, “the wise turn away wrath.” They put out the flame. Instead of fanning the flame, they help to extinguish it. One of the other verses says that “the prudent ignores an insult.” That’s hard to do! Instead of going into attack mode, the wise respond by absorbing the insult and thereby defusing a situation.

You know, we’ve been having problems with one of these cafeteria refrigerators. It’s very noisy. To try and minimize the noise, we put up a couple of sound blankets over the top, and they really help. You can still hear the compressor, but the noise is greatly reduced. Someone wise is like a sound blanket. He or she dampens the folly of a fool or acts as a peacemaker instead of a peace breaker.

By the way, there’s plenty of ventilation on the other side of the wall. We don’t want to foolishly burn the building down.

Now, to be sure, there are more positive effects to wisdom than just peacemaking. Proverbs 21:22 captures that. “A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.” There’s safety in wisdom. There’s power in wisdom – power in the good sense of the word. A power that protects and enacts justice. And there’s security in wisdom, compared to the fool.

I think Jesus’ parable of the wise man and the fool captures the near-term consequences well. We read it earlier. The wise man built his house on the rock. The foolish man built his house on the sand. Some of you know the parable and are probably singing the song in your head! What happened? The rain fell, the floods came, the wind blew – and the house built by the wise man stood firm. But the house built by the foolish man was destroyed. Now, that implies both near term and long term consequences.

Jesus makes clear that the rock is his Word. He said, “everyone who hears these words and does them, will be like the wise man who built his house upon the rock.”

That’s quite relevant. It takes us back up to the first verse we looked at… Proverbs 13:13… where we look for wisdom? We look to the Word.

Long Term Results

Ok, so there are real and tangible near-term consequences to wisdom and foolishness. But, we’re also told of long-term including eternal consequences. So, let’s go there now. The long-term results of wisdom and foolishness.

The language is very ominous for the fool. Let me highlight some of the phrases in the second grouping.

· “The babbling fool will come to ruin.”

· And “fools die for lack of sense.” That certainly captures some of the deaths in the Grand Canyon.

· Here’s another result “the simple will inherit folly”

· There are a few others that speak to the long-term consequences. They include words such as “wrath” and “condemnation.”

Really, the heart of the issue is near-sighted, self-absorbed sin. It’s near-sighted because a fool is not considering the longer-term consequences of his actions. He’s more interested in the instant gratification or the thrill of what he’s doing or taking the path of least resistance. And the results are tragic.

But besides being near-sighted, a fool is also self-absorbed. It’s all about him and his ways. He rejects God’s word as the standard of guidance. He doesn’t care about the impact of his words and actions on others. And in the end, following his own path will leads to death and condemnation.

Do look down at Proverbs 28:26. It’s the very last one in the list. It says, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”

That verse encapsulates the world in which we live. Doesn’t it? If you were to summarize our culture in one word, it would be the word “self.”

“Be true to yourself.” “you do you.” We’ve all heard the phrases. It’s the self-absorbed notion that the standard of right and wrong centers on “you,” not God, not his Word. There’s no universal standard of right and wrong to a fool. Rather, his heart desire is what matters most. That’s what the world says. You determine your way. It’s the Disney and Sesame Street message today.

But that belief is described here as foolish. Again from 28:26, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.” And the warning is that it will lead to tragic results.

That self-absorbed sentiment and results are captured in two of these Proverbs. They’re in fact, identical. 14:12 and 16:25. They both say, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” When we define our own wisdom… when we chose our own way, not the way of God in his word, the path will lead to death.

So then, where can the path to life be found? Well, I think you know the answer, it is found through pursuing the wisdom of God.

The language used is a stark contrast to the end of folly. Here are some of the things these verses say. The wise will be “delivered.” It also says, “The path of life leads upward.” It promises, “There will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” Those are encouraging words because they promise life and hope.

Someone with the wisdom of God has an eternal perspective. He or she sees the enticements of the world as fleeting pleasures. They may feel good, but their path leads to the grave.

There’s a well-known quote by Jim Elliot about this. Jim was one of 5 missionaries killed while trying to reach a remote tribe in South America. He wrote this in his Journal. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

To put that in terms of our Proverbs study, “he is no fool, who rejects the folly of the world and it’s path, and instead embraces the wisdom of the word and it’s eternal life.” He gives up the temporal to gain the eternal. May God give us eyes to see not just the way of the fool and the wise, but also where each path leads.

Let me briefly summarize.

· In the near term, foolishness breeds strife. It sets a city aflame and leaves a wake of pain and destruction. In the long term, a fool’s self-absorbed and near-sighted life rejects God and his word… it will ultimately lead to death and condemnation.

· On the other hand, the wise are peacemakers. Their prudence yields near term security and stability. And through an eternal perspective founded on the wisdom of God, their hope for eternal life is secure.

The near-term effect and long-term results of wisdom and folly.

Gospel Connection and Conclusion

But there are two important questions remaining.

· First, How do I receive this eternal wisdom?

· And then second, how does God actually give us his wisdom?

I ask those questions because if we critically look at our lives, each one of us is a fool. What I mean is that each one of us follows our own way and acts out and says foolish things. And the tension in these verses is the question, does that mean I am a fool? Will I reap the consequences of my foolishness –condemnation?

Well, there are answers to those two questions.

· First is that the wisdom of God can be received. And it starts by trusting, not in our own mind (again, as 28:26 puts it), but rather trusting in God. That means (1) recognizing your foolishness, (2) recognizing how it ultimately is a rejection of God and his word, and then (3) turning to him. That means acknowledging your self-absorbed and near-sighted folly that only leads to death. And it means trusting God by faith to renew your heart and mind, and give you his wisdom.

· But the answer to the second question is just as important. How does God give us his wisdom? The answer is that we receive it from the one who is wisdom – that is, Jesus. Last week we briefly considered how Jesus is the model and fulfillment of wisdom. But we need to take it a step further. When we come to God by faith, we come believing in Christ. When you do, he takes your foolishness and he gives you his wisdom. He takes the consequences of your foolishness and you receive the results of his wisdom. Do you get that? That is the purpose of the cross and resurrection. In Jesus death, he bore your foolish sin and rejection and he took on the consequences of it… to use the words here from Proverbs… wrath, condemnation, and death. Jesus absorbed the Father’s wrath and condemnation and he overcame death. The grave could not hold him. You see, in the resurrection we are given life in him. Both life now, which includes having the wisdom of God. And it includes the eternal fountain of life, everlasting. the results of Jesus wisdom are ours.

It does not mean that in this life, you will never act in foolish ways. No, but you have the wisdom of God in Christ. You are given his Word and Spirit, and you can pursue the wisdom of God, because you are on the path of wisdom.

Let me conclude with the words of Proverbs 24:14 “Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”

May we believe by faith in this wisdom, the wisdom of God in Christ, and know of life eternal in him.

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Wisdom vs. Foolishness Part 1: The folly of the fool; The wisdom of the wise

Introduction

This is the second sermon in our Proverbs thematic study. Last week, we talked through our need for rebuke and discipline and godly counsellors in our lives. Those are important first steps as we move into these themes that deal with our words and actions.

If you’ll take out the Proverbs insert in your bulletin. On the front page, note our next theme focuses on wisdom and foolishness. We’ll be covering this theme in three sermons. The first, today, is on the nature of wisdom and foolishness. What is wisdom like? What is foolishness like? We’ll also consider their worth?

Then, next week, we’ll shift to consider the consequences of wisdom and folly. What are their near-term effects and long-term results?

Part 3 will be later in February or early March.

Go ahead and turn to the inside of the insert, you’ll see the Proverbs for today. There are two sub-categories. A - The nature of wisdom and folly and B - The worth of wisdom and folly to the wise and the fool.

Stand

Proverbs 24:3-7

By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;

by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,

for by wise guidance you can wage your war,

and in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.

A. The nature of wisdom and folly

10:13-14 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,

but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.

The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

12:23 A prudent man conceals knowledge,

but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

13:16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.

14:1 The wisest of women builds her house,

but folly with her own hands tears it down.

14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,

but the folly of fools is deceiving.

14:15-16 The simple believes everything,

but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,

but a fool is reckless and careless.

14:33 Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding,

but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.

15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

not so the hearts of fools.

15:14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

17:7 Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.

17:24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

17:28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

19:2 Desire without knowledge is not good,

and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing his opinion.

18:7 A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

18:15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,

and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

27:12 The prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but the simple go on and suffer for it.

29:11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

29:20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

B. The worth of wisdom and folly to the wise and the fool

10:23 Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,

but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.

12:14 From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good,

and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.

13:19 A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

14:24 The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the folly of fools brings folly.

15:21 Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,

but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.

16:16 How much better to get wisdom than gold!

To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

16:22 Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,

but the instruction of fools is folly.

17:16 Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom

when he has no sense?

19:8 Whoever gets sense loves his own soul;

he who keeps understanding will discover good.

20:15 There is gold and abundance of costly stones,

but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

21:20 Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling,

but a foolish man devours it.

26:7 Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless,

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

26:9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

26:11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

Prayer.

In the late 15th century, author Sebastian Brant wrote a book which he titled Ship of Fools. Maybe you’ve heard that phrase before. In his book, Brant critiques many of the follies of his time. His metaphor throughout the book is a ship filled with all sorts of foolish characters. The book has 112 chapters. And each chapter focuses on a different character, giving a satirical vignette of their foolish behavior or vice or disregard for reality…. Such as: flattery, greed, laziness, lust, lack of charity, neglect for one’s own affairs, foolish talk, disrespect for tradition and history. And the list goes on. Does that list sound familiar?

Well, Brant’s book became wildly popular, especially because of his use of satire. It was translated into multiple languages and inspired other writings and art. For example, a well-known painting by Hieronymus Bosch comes from Brant’s book. The painting, also titled “Ship of Fools” depicts a boat floating on the sea. And in it, 10 people are engrossed in all kinds of folly, oblivious to their surrounding. Next to the boat, 2 people swim carelessly. It’s a ship without a captain, without a rudder, floating aimlessly toward an uncertain end.

All of it really captures the essence of folly. In many ways, it captures how the book of Proverbs portrays the fool.

By the way, I want to acknowledge that this is not the first time we’ve come across wisdom and foolishness in Proverbs. Remember chapter 7? …the foolish man seduced by the adulteress. He was ignorant of her twisted speech and her deceptive ways. It was a trap and he fell prey to a tragic end.

And remember wisdom? Several chapters gave us a clear definition of wisdom including its value. Do you remember how chapter 1 described wisdom? Biblical wisdom has three parts: knowledge, righteousness, and discernment. (1) knowledge of God, his Word, and world; (2)righteousness that reflect God’s goodness and his Word in your life and (3) discernment in understand and applying what is true and right and good.. We covered that definition multiple times in the fall. Hopefully that is a good reminder.

Foolishness is like the mirror opposite of wisdom. If you’re old enough, you’ll remember that cameras used to use film. Light helped to capture the image to the film, but what’s interesting about the film is that it captures the opposite. Dark colors were captured as light colors…. dark reds were light blues. Basically, it captured the inverse. That’s why they were sometimes called negatives.

Well, folly is the negative of wisdom. Instead of seeking truth and knowledge from God and seeking to apply that knowledge in righteousness and understanding, folly is the opposite. It is ignoring or rejecting knowledge and understanding and goodness.

In the original Hebrew text, there are two words in Proverbs which are translated “fool.” They’re also the root for the words foolish and folly.

The more common word for fool means someone with not just a lack of understanding but a rebellion against understanding. One commentator described it to be someone who has an active disregard for moral truth. It’s someone who defiantly opposes wisdom and instead doubles down on his folly. This word for fool is used about 80% of the time in Proverbs.

The second less common word for fool indicates someone more passive in his foolishness. It’s not a lack of ability to understand, rather it’s a lack of desire to understand. This kind of fool stubbornly rejects the need for wisdom because he doesn’t care.

So, foolishness can be active and passive.

That brings us to the two questions to which these verses speak.

1 – What is the nature of wisdom and foolishness? Again, what does foolishness and wisdom each look like?

2 – What is the worth of wisdom and folly to the wise and fool?

Those two questions line up with the two groupings of verses in the reading.

But really, instead of the word “foolishness,” we should talk about the fool. There are 26 occurrences of the word “fool” in these 41 verses. That’s a lot! You see, the contrast here is between the “fool” and the “wise.” It’s saying you are either in one category or another. You are either a fool or you are wise. These verses don’t present a middle ground. I think that’s hard for us to hear. Because if we reflect on our own lives, we’ll recognize that we each have a measure of foolishness in us. Don’t we?

I’ve been thinking about this, and I want to propose an analogy. Did you know, the City of Tucker is on the Eastern Continental divide? What that means is that when it rains in Tucker, some of the water flows into the Gulf of Mexico, and some of the water flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The line runs somewhere near Main Street. I’ve heard that sometimes the firetrucks will come out and turn on their hoses and spray them on one side of the eastern continental divide line… and then they will spray them on the other side. Interesting fact, isn’t it?

Well, each of us is like a drop of water in Tucker. We’re heading in one direction or another… not to the Gulf or to the Atlantic, but we’re either travelling down the path of wisdom or the path of folly. And Proverbs names the person travelling down the path of wisdom as a wise man or wise women (verse 14:1) and it names someone heading down the other path as a fool. I hope that helps orient you toward the language here.

In fact, what we learn from the first set of verses here is that a fool pursues folly and someone wise pursues wisdom. You see, the nature of a fool is self-perpetuating and the nature of the wise is self-perpetuating.

The Folly of Foolishness

Let’s start with the fool.

And actually, that self-perpetuating description is all throughout these verses. Let’s look at some of them.

· Provrbs 12:23 in group A. “A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.”

· The next verse there is similar… 13:16. “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.”

· Or on the right side of the list in section B. look at 14:24. “The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the folly of fools brings folly.”

There are a few others verses that also show this. Foolishness breeds more foolishness. A raindrop falling on the Gulf side of the divide in Tucker is probably going to make its way into Peachtree Creek, which is then going to flow into the Chattahoochee River. It’s going to get bigger and bigger until it then flows out into the Gulf. Foolishness snowballs. That’s the nature of a fool.

And these verses get very specific in how that happens. Let me give you three things described here.

· First, a fool rejects or ignores the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. I already briefly mentioned that, but look at Proverbs 15:14 – “The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.” He rejects wisdom and instead seeks folly.

· Second, a fool flaunts the fact that he rejects wisdom. He proclaims folly (12:23). He pours out folly (15:2). And there are a couple of other similar ones. Basically, a fools words spew forth whatever comes to mind - hurtful or vulgar or thoughtless words. Look at the beginning of 18:7 “A fool’s mouth is his ruin.” And 29:11 “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” By the way, I know I’m listing these verses pretty quickly. All of my notes are published on our website and in our app if you’d like to go back. Also! One of the future themes is on words. Stay tuned for that.

· Ok, first, a rejection of wisdom. Second, a flaunting of foolishness. And now third, “a fool is reckless and careless.” Those are the exact words right there in Proverbs 14:15-16. He is irresponsible in his words and actions. Proverbs gives us an example of that. Look on the top right to 27:12. “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” A fool is irresponsible and reckless.

Ok! How about a real word example of such a fool? I’m going to give you one. Last November, Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF as he’s known, was convicted of the biggest financial fraud in history. He’s 31 years old. He stole billions from his crypto customers and was convicted of fraud, embezzlement, and criminal conspiracy. He’s facing a 110-year prison sentence not to mention how his actions brought financial ruin to many of his customers. But also, let me read to you what he said just a couple of years ago. He said, “I would never read a book. I don’t want to say no book is ever worth reading, but I actually do believe something pretty close to that. ... If you wrote a book, you [messed] up…” only he didn’t use the word “messed.”

(1) He rejected the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. (2) He flaunted that rejection with thoughtless and crass words. And (3) he displayed utter reckless and careless actions. And all of that didn’t start a couple of years ago. No, SBF has been on the continental divide of foolishness his whole life.

Now, before we switch wisdom, let’s consider the second question applied to foolishness. What is the worth of wisdom and folly to the fool? The answer is this: a fool sees folly as worthwhile, and he sees wisdom as worthless.

Let’s look at some of the Proverbs on the right side of the page under grouping B.

· Proverbs 10:23 – “Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool.” This means either he laughs at his folly, or he pursues folly as if it is a funny joke.

· Similarly, 15:21 “Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense.” A fool revels in his folly. He enjoys his careless and thoughtless words and actions.

· And, as you would suspect, he also de-values wisdom. The last four Proverbs in the list speak to that. He “devours” the precious value of wisdom (that’s 21:20). Wisdom is “useless” to him (26:7). And Proverbs 26:9 “Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.” Wisdom, to him, is an irritating thorn. It only stirs his heart to more foolishness.

Let me summarize where we are. The nature of foolishness is a downward spiral of thoughtless and reckless words and actions. A fool is like a drop of water on one side of the continental divide that grows into a mighty river of a careless and self-centered existence. A fool rejects the pursuit of God and all knowledge and understanding that is found in him. True wisdom is worthless to the fool.

Now, we started with the fool because I didn’t want us to end there!

The Wisdom of the Wise

So, let’s switch to wisdom. The good news is that these verses also present the nature of wisdom. They direct us to the worthy pursuit of knowledge and discernment that is founded on the one who is wisdom.

Now, we already reviewed the definition of wisdom – knowledge, righteousness, and discernment. What these verses do, is give us a picture of how that Godly wisdom is lived out. It’s similar, of course, to how it painted a picture of the fool.

Ok, here’s the nature of wisdom: A wise person displays careful and thoughtful words and actions. His (or her) words reveal knowledge and demonstrate a discernment of what is good and true and right. His actions demonstrate a faithful pursuit of wisdom lived out in righteousness.

Let’s start with the words, and then move to the actions.

Again, his words demonstrate knowledge and discernment. Several Proverbs speak about this.

· Look at Proverbs 15:2 - “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge.” The wise direct people to knowledge.

· 15:7 is very similar. “The lips of the wise spread knowledge”

· But also, the wise are cautious in their words. They are not prideful in the knowledge and understanding that the Lord has given them. In other words, they don’t blurt out everything they know. Rather, they cautiously and humbly dispense the wisdom of God. Look at 12:23 – “A prudent man conceals knowledge.” That word “prudent” is used a few times here. It means discerning and sensible. Let me translate this into modern language. A wise man does not go around “mansplaining” what he knows to everyone. Yes, that word is in the dictionary.

In other words, he’s discerning about when and how to share his knowledge and understanding.

Ok, second… actions. A wise man or woman lives out that knowledge and discernment.

· 14:1 “The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.” A wise woman is intentional and diligent and careful.

· Look again at Proverbs 14 verses 15-16. “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps. One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil.”

In summary, wisdom is lived out in a life faithful to the knowledge and righteousness of God. Wisdom is displayed in words and actions.

Let me add one more thing about the nature of wisdom. It’s like a rain drop on the other side of the continental divide. Wisdom grows in wisdom. Wisdom pursues wisdom.

Let me give you some rapid fire verses:

· 10:14 – “the wise lay up knowledge”

· 15:14 – he “seeks knowledge”

· 17:24 – “the discerning sets his face toward wisdom”

· And 18:15 – “an intelligent heart acquires knowledge…” and it continues, “the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”

Think of someone in your life, present or past, who displays a maturity in wisdom. That person is likely stable, and thoughtful and intentional and caring… He studies God’s Word. She enjoy reading thoughtful and faithful books. In a discerning manner he applies God’s Word and his wisdom in situations. Her life displays a godliness, and she has a purpose in life that is centered on the Lord and his glory, not hers. When confronted with folly or evil, he speaks truth and respond carefully but firmly.

A few people come to mind who demonstrate several of those traits.

And there’s one thing that they all share. They point to the one who is wisdom. They point to Christ.

You see, if you are on the path of wisdom, one of the first things to know is that your wisdom journey will not end in this life. You will never become the perfect example of wisdom. And actually, to think that is foolish. But there is one who has.

This week, I was re-reading each of these verses on wisdom and thinking about how Jesus fulfilled them. It’s quite an encouraging exercise! We have a Lord who in every way demonstrated in his words and action and heart the fulness of wisdom.

· As a child, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature.

· His words displayed an understanding of all things

· In any conversation and interaction, he could penetrate to the heart of the matter with remarkable discernment.

· He spread his knowledge and commended his wisdom to his disciples and the crowds and really, the world.

· When confronted by foolishness, he dispelled arguments. He left his adversaries speechless.

· The wisdom of his parables revealed an eternal perspective and justice that defied the way of the world.

· His life testified to the wisdom of God’s Word as he perfectly fulfilled the law

· He faithfully and sensitively ministered to any and all who came to him in need

· He set his mind and heart on his purpose – not deterred by Satan nor the powers of this world, nor the detractors of the faith.

· He faithfully endured the cross set before him. The cross, which was foolish to the world, yet through it, God fulfilled his infinite wisdom.

· In all of it, as it says in 1 Corinthians 1, Christ Jesus became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

He is wisdom. And for us, he is the beginning of wisdom. He is the continental divide, the line which determines if you are on the side of the fool or on the side of the wise.

He is the one who can move you to the other side of the divide… the only one who can redirect you to the path of true wisdom.

And when you have his wisdom, you have the most worthy knowledge and understanding.

That’s where I want to bring this to a close – the worthiness of the wisdom of Christ.

Look again at the verses in section B.

· Proverbs 10:23, the second line. “Wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.” The wisdom of Christ is a joy to his heart.

· It “satisfies him with good” (12:14); it is “sweet to the soul” (13:19)

· His wisdom is better than gold and silver (16:16)

· It is a “fountain of life to him who has it” (16:22) and “a precious jewel” (20:15)

· And finally, as Proverbs 21:20 says, “Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling.” To have the wisdom of Christ is to have precious treasure and oil that overflows in your life to others.

The wisdom that Jesus models and that he gives us is a wisdom that cannot be bought. It can only be received by faith. And when you receive it, it’s joy and blessing will radiate from a new heart – a heart of wisdom – the heart of Christ.

Are you on the ship of fools? Are you on the wrong side of the continental divide of foolishness and wisdom? If so, the wisdom of Jesus is for you… and it’s a wisdom that he offers to you.

So, may we each embrace the wisdom of Proverbs – a wisdom that pursues the knowledge of God and the righteousness of Christ.

And may we set aside our foolish ways and our foolish words that we may be wise in him… Amen.

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Discipline, Rebuke, and Godly Counsellors

Thank you… and thank you to David Fraser for bringing God’s Word last week. Always a blessing.

You’ll see there is a second insert in the bulletin beside the hymn sheet. On the front is a chart of the themes in Proverbs that we’ll be covering this winter and spring. Last fall, we worked through Solomon’s 12 wisdom lessons to his son, which are found in chapters 1-9.

But in Proverbs, once you get to chapter 10, there’s a change from focused lessons, to wisdom nuggets. And so rather than work through chapters 10-31 sequentially, we’ll be working through different wisdom categories. Besides the themes listed on the first page, you can also see the number of verses in each theme.

Let me note that most of the verses in Proverbs 10-31 are organized in poetic couplets. They start with a statement and then are followed by either a contrast, or a comparison, or an affirmation. For example here’s one for today: “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” You can hear the two sides of the couplet.

That brings us to our focus today. We’ll be considering the theme of rebuke, discipline, and counsellors. In a few minutes I’ll explain why we’re beginning there.

If you would turn to the inside of the insert. You’ll note the initial 5 verses are from Proverbs 22. If you want to read those from your Bibles, you can do that. In the pew Bible, you’ll find them on page 645. For the rest, I’ll be reading from the insert.

As we come to God’s Word, know that this is the inspired and authoritative word of the Living God. Please stand as we give reverence.

Proverbs 22:17-21

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,

and apply your heart to my knowledge,

for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,

if all of them are ready on your lips.

That your trust may be in the LORD,

I have made them known to you today, even to you.

Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge,

to make you know what is right and true,

that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

10:17 Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,

but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls,

but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but he who hates reproof is stupid.

13:1 A wise son hears his father's instruction,

but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

13:18 Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction,

but whoever heeds reproof is honored.

13:24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son,

but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

15:5 A fool despises his father's instruction,

but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

15:10 There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;

whoever hates reproof will die.

15:12 A scoffer does not like to be reproved;

he will not go to the wise.

15:22 Without counsel plans fail,

but with many advisers they succeed.

15:31 The ear that listens to life-giving reproof

will dwell among the wise.

15:32 Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,

but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.

17:10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred blows into a fool.

18:1 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;

he breaks out against all sound judgment.

19:20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,

that you may gain wisdom in the future.

19:25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;

reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

19:27 Cease to hear instruction, my son,

and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

20:30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil;

strokes make clean the innermost parts.

23:12 Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge.

23:19 Hear, my son, and be wise,

and direct your heart in the way.

23:23 Buy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

25:12 Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold

is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

25:28 A man without self-control

is like a city broken into and left without walls.

27:5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,

and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

27:23-24 Know well the condition of your flocks,

and give attention to your herds,

for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations?

29:1 He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,

will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

29:18-19 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,

but blessed is he who keeps the law.

By mere words a servant is not disciplined,

for though he understands, he will not respond.

29:21 Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will

in the end find him his heir.

Prayer

Several years ago, I was at a co-worker’s home for a company event. And I remember at one point he asked his 8-year-old daughter to help with something. And she responded, “You’re not the boss of me!”

My jaw dropped. But my co-worker, without missing a beat, said to his daughter, “Oh yes, I am.” And he took her aside and lovingly rebuked her, explaining his responsibility over her and her responsibility to him.

That was the first time I had heard that phrase.

I thought, where did that come from? Was it a refrain in a hit song? Or some movie line? But after some research, I found that it’s a phrase that’s been around for decades.

And then I realized, that independent-minded, self-autonomous idea has been around since the garden… since the moment that man rejected the authority of God. In fact, it’s in every single one of us. It’s intrinsic to our fallen nature. We don’t want others to tell us what to do. We don’t want to be told we’re wrong. Or that we’re hypocritical or selfish or prideful.

Instead, when we’re told one of those things, our natural reaction is to be defensive or dismissive or to lash out at the one who said it. “You’re not the boss of me!”

It’s in my heart. As much as I want to believe I can receive rebuke, I can tell you my knee-jerk reaction is often denial or dismissal.

So, why begin here? Why begin this section of Proverbs with these verses on rebuke and discipline?

Well, turn back to the front of the Proverbs insert. This book will be getting into your business. To be sure, every text of Scripture deals with us in some way. Our beliefs, our faith, our sin … but you can’t read Proverbs without being confronted with the state of your heart, with the inconsistency of your life, with your words, and your actions, and your relationships.

And the question is, will you receive this word? When we get to the verses on integrity (you see that in the list), will you examine yourself? When we get to the verses on honoring your parents, will you resent it? What about anger and justice and greed? Will you dismiss these words? What about sloth? Will you justify the hours you spend watching and talking about SEC or ACC football or playing video games or watching the Hallmark channel? I see some of you getting a little nervous.

Now, to be sure, the opening 9 chapters did speak to our hearts and words and actions. Some of them were very pointed, but these chapters cover a much broader application.

You see what I’m saying? Being willing to apply each of these themes to your life begins with being willing to listen, and being willing to be rebuked by God’s Word. Committing yourself to godly change.

In other words, studying these Proverbs needs to begin with a heart receptive to reproof. Really, it begins with having the heart of Christ. We’ll be coming back to that, of course.

So, we’re beginning here because we need to begin here. We need to allow other people to speak God’s Word deep into our lives. We need to humbly desire that. And when we do, God will be more glorified in our lives. We will be conformed more and more to the image of Christ. And we will be able to walk alongside one another on the rocky path of life.

Before we continue, I want to revisit King Solomon and his son. We talked plenty about Solomon last fall. God spoke through him to give us this wisdom. And at the time, three thousand years ago, Solomon was renowned. He was known all throughout the world for the wisdom God had given to him.

But do you remember this… Sadly, he turned away from the one true God and began worshiping foreign Gods. In other words, he did not keep the wisdom that God had given him.

And also sadly, it was similar for Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. The first 9 chapters of Proverbs were written explicitly to him. Solomon penned these words for Rehoboam, his first-born son, heir to the throne.

But Rehoboam witnessed his father’s decline. As we read earlier in the service in 1 Kings 11 and 12, Rehoboam witnessed the increased burden that his father inflicted on the people. And after Solomon passed away, Rehoboam had a choice to make. Would he listen? Would he listen to the wisdom of God through what his father had written? Would he listen to the counsel of the older men who said to him, “serve the people and speak good words to them.”

No, he wouldn’t. We know the path that Rehoboam took. He essentially said, “you’re not the boss of me.” He rejected God’s wisdom. He increased the burden on the people, and it led to tragic results - the splitting of the kingdom.

Besides the impact on his own life and reign, it also led to 350 years of struggle in Judah until Babylon overthrew the nation. Much of it can be traced back to Rehoboam’s decision not to listen to wisdom.

Now, you may remember, we came across the idea listening to wisdom all throughout the opening chapters. But I want to point out something out. The emphasis in these verses today is more than just listening to wisdom that you may stay on the path of wisdom. No, it’s also heeding wisdom to bring you back to the path.

Let me note a few words that are repeated over and over, and then I’ll define them.

· First look at verse 13:1. You’ll see the words “instruction” and “rebuke.” “A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.” That word instruction is used 9 times in these verses. The word “rebuke” is used 3 times.

· Next the words “reproof” and “discipline.” Look down at verse 15:10. “There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.” The word “reproof” or “reprove” is used 11 times in these verses, and the word “discipline” is found 4 times.

Here’s the continuum.

· Instruction is conveying God’s truth and righteousness. Remember, wisdom has a moral component to it. We see that all throughout the Proverbs. That’s instruction.

· Next rebuke. The Hebrew word for rebuke means a verbal correction. It’s telling someone that what they believe or what they are saying or doing does not conform to God’s law or his Word. Rebuke does not have an associated punishment with it other than the weight of the verbal correction.

· But the words discipline and reproof do. In fact, they are very similar in the Hebrew. Reproof is instruction or rebuke plus some kind of just penalty or direction. In English, we think of rebuke as more pointed than reproof. But in the Hebrew, reproof is more intense and includes consequences.

· And last, the word discipline is similar. Discipline is a path of correction. It may include making amends for something or it may include a punishment for something said or done.

· So, instruction, rebuke, reproof, and discipline.

All of it is to help the one receiving the correction. The point is to bring one back to what God has ordained as good, right, and true. In other words, rebuke and discipline are intended to restore and not push away.

Hopefully that clarifies the words here.

With that said, let me give you 3 principles from these verses. By the way, they all start with the word love.

Love instruction, rebuke, and discipline.
Love and listen to godly counsel

And the last one…

Love others by rebuking and disciplining them

Now, we are not going to end there. After considering these three principles, we’ll consider some underlying assumptions which lead us to the Gospel. But let’s spend the next few minutes on these principles.

Love instruction, rebuke, and discipline

Again, number 1: Love instruction, rebuke, and discipline.

Our heart disposition should be to desire these things. And we are called to not just receive or tolerate correction and reproof, but to seek them out. And I know, that is really difficult.

I remember one of the times that I had asked Amy out on a date. She initially said yes, but later, she called me back and said no. I hung up the phone and in frustration, I kicked over one of my roommates dining room chairs. And he looked at me and he said “you have any anger problem.” That was rebuke. How do you think I took that?

Let me highlight some of the verses here:

· Look at 12:1 – “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” Isn’t there something raw about the Proverbs.

· Consider 17:10 – “A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.” If you have the wisdom of God in Christ, you will not only want to receive rebuke, but you will desire a heart change when you receive it. A fool, on the other hand, dismisses rebuke.

· There are of course, several other verses here which are similar.

Amy shared on our podcast a story about one of her College professors. He was talking about this very thing. And he said, when people come to him with feedback or a rebuke, here’s what he says to them: “Thank you so much. But let me tell you, you don’t know the half of it!” Instead of being defensive, he acknowledged that he did need correction – even beyond what the person was addressing. May we all have that mindset.

Now, before we move on to the second principle, let me note a couple of negative examples:

· Look at 15:12 “A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.” We’ve come across that word before. A scoffer is someone who mocks truth and righteousness.

· And then one last example from 29:1 “He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.” Here’s what we do. We deny the loving correction from our parents or our spouse or friend or from another brother or sister in Christ, and instead, we set our mind against them. We reject their loving reproof and become angry. That’s what it means to stiffen your neck. And that breaks relationships. It causes disunity and turns something that should have been good for us into something that breaks us.

But beloved, this is not God will for you. No. Rather (and here’s the principal again) we’re called to love instruction, rebuke, and discipline. As hard as it is to do that, we’re to have an open heart, listening to what God is speaking to us, through others.

Love and listen to godly counsel

Principle number 2. Love and listen to godly counsel.

Each of us has been or will be faced with important decisions in life. Should I marry this person? Should I move to this place? Should I take this job or go to this school?

How do you decide? Well, part of your decision should be to seek advice from godly counsellors.

· Look back down at chapter 15. This time verse 22. “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” That’s a well-known Proverb.

· Jump down to 18:1 “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” If you isolate yourself, you will miss out on the godly wisdom of others. Others can help you see things you wouldn’t have considered or thought.

· And one more: 27:9 “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” A true friend give you loving and wise counsel.

Ok for the kids. The older you get, the more decisions you will have to make in life. And what’s so important is that you seek out godly advice… from your parents or perhaps others in the church who can direct you to God’s Word in those decision. And part of it is listening to and evaluating that advice. I want you to remember that as you get older.

Again, the principle: Love and listen to godly counsel.

Love others by rebuking and disciplining them

That brings us to the last principal… number 3. Love others by rebuking and disciplining them.

Honestly, I think this may be the hardest one for us. Some of us are people-pleasers. The Bible calls this the fear of man. Because of that, we tend to shy away from being honest with our family and friends. We worry about pointing out things in their lives that are contrary to God’s Word. But others of us may be too comfortable with expressing criticism and rebuke.

These verses direct us that love requires reproving and disciplining others, but from a position of humility. Think about this: If the call here is to receive rebuke, it means that we should also lovingly give rebuke. Again, lovingly.

Let me highlight a couple of verses.

· First, 19:25 “Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.” That verse gives us the full scope from a scoffer to a man of understanding. In other words, we all need to rebuke and be rebuked.

· Or consider 20:30 “Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts.” That is, blows from a friend.

Now, I’m not saying we should go around pointing fingers. “Do you know what your problem is? Well, I do” I am also not saying that children should discipline their parents. There’s more to be said of course, about discipline and the structure of the family and church. But what I am saying is that we should have the mindset of being a community committed to one another. And part of loving one another is being willing to speak truth and righteousness to one another lovingly.

Several years ago, I observed a friend of mine in the church struggling with a prideful attitude in a particular area of his life. So, I went to him, and I asked if we could get together for coffee for the purpose of sharing some feedback. He was willing to receive it. And so, we sat down. I said, “you know, I want to share this because I would want you to do the same for me.”

Then, I explained what I thought the Scriptures taught in that area. I read them and then I gave him some examples that I observed in his life. Now, he didn’t agree with everything. And that’s ok. But there were things that I think were helpful for him to hear. I’m not the Holy Spirit, but I did feel my responsibility was to communicate those things. And we still occasionally talk or see each other.

What I’m saying is that rebuking doesn’t have to be painful – especially when we lovingly give it, and we lovingly receive it.

Ok, let me make one last comment on this principle. The most famous Proverb in this whole batch is 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”

Parents, part of training your child up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is discipline. Now, we can have a healthy conversation about how to discipline – there are different ways, but discipline is necessary.

Every single one of us was born selfish. Parents know this. And disciplining children begins early. When your child talks back, or lashes out at a sibling, or is defiant in some ways, then that child needs to be disciplined. That could be a punishment, or it could be directing a child to practice righteousness or make something right.

One time when I was in grade school, my parents made me write an apology letter for something I did… and I had to go over to the person’s house, give it to them, and ask for forgiveness. I was mortified, but you better believe it made an impression.

And children, because your parents have a responsibility to discipline you, you likewise have a responsibility to receive that discipline. That’s difficult, isn’t it. Your parents probably tell you this, but it’s true “I’m disciplining you because I love you.” They are training you in righteousness. The more you respond to God’s discipline now, the greater blessing that will result later in life. I know that’s easy to say, but hard to do.

Conclusion

Ok, to recap: 1. Love instruction, rebuke, and discipline 2. Love and listen to godly counsel and 3. Love others by rebuking and disciplining them.

Now, we cannot conclude here. Hopefully it’s been ingrained in you from last fall that Proverbs is not a book of morality. Yes, it directs us to live a life honoring to God and receiving the blessing of living out his law. It certainly points us to that. But Proverbs fits in the broader narrative of Scripture by revealing faith.

The beginning of chapter 3 was so clear that this book fits into the covenant framework of God promises fulfilled in Christ. And remember, where does wisdom begin? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom – fear is the reverent faith that comes with knowing God in Christ.

We’ve seen over and over how these chapters are fulfilled in Christ. He’s the greater Solmon. He’s the creator of all things, chapter 8. He's the faithful husband despite his wayward wife, the church, chapters 5, 6, and 7.

So let me conclude by telling you how these verses fit into the narrative of the redemption found in Christ alone.

· First, these verses presuppose sin. We can’t read them without a recognition of our fallen nature. We need reproof. We need discipline because our hearts have gone astray, and we need to be called back.

· Second, these verse point to a standard that is outside of us. God has established righteousness and truth. It’s who he is. And the contrast to that is foolishness and wickedness. In other words, to be called to give and receive rebuke presupposes a standard upon which that rebuke is based. We can’t read any of the Proverbs without this recognition.

· Number 3, rebuke, reproof, and discipline are part of the call to repentance. Part of faith in God, is repenting of our wayward beliefs and life… and turning to the one true God who receives us. And remember, God receives us not because of our righteousness, but because of Christ’s righteousness.

· And that brings us to a final consideration. The call to respond to these verses is not so that God may save us. No. Instead, we respond by faith for what God has done for us in Christ. In other words, we can respond because of what Christ has done on the cross. By his grace and through his Spirit, we can receive rebuke.

In closing, we still have a long way to go through Proverbs. But let’s be reminded that it’s not in our strength that we seek to be rebuked or disciplined but rather it’s through the Holy Spirit in us. He enables us to pursue God, His Word, and receive correction. As we read from Hebrews 12 earlier, God disciplines his children. As painful as it may be at times, it testifies to God’s work through Christ in you and me.

May we receive God’s love and discipline through others from his word out of hearts desiring to conform to Christ.

Amen

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A Prophet Greater than Moses

Hebrews 3:1-14

Last Sunday we began a brief advent series in Hebrews. Hebrews is probably not the first book of the Bible that comes to mind when you think of Advent or Christmas. However, the whole book is about Jesus. It speaks clearly about his coming, his nature, his glory, and as we considered last week, his offices. As a reminder, that word office is the official capacity of his ministry – who this child that we celebrate at Advent is… who he is… and what he has come to do. His offices are Prophet, Priest, and King.

The first few verses of Hebrews chapter 1 introduce Jesus as the Son of God in those redemptive roles. This week, we’ll be focusing on Jesus’ prophetic office. A prophet is one sent by God, to speak the word of God, on behalf of God. Our text is Hebrews chapter 3 verses 1-14. You can find that on page 1188 in the pew Bibles.

As you are turning there, let me note that if we had time, we would read all of chapter 3 and chapter 4. Those two chapters are really one message. Our text this morning in chapter 3 is a good summary of the larger section. The opening 6 verses compare Jesus to Moses. Then in verses 7-14 the author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95:8-11 and gives a brief explanation and application. They call us to hear and believe in Christ, holding fast to our faith in him.

Let’s now come to his Word.

Reading of Hebrew 3

Prayer

As you know, the Old Testament is full of history. Of events, of people, places, festivals, wars, promise, families. But out of all of them, one event stands out as the most significant in the life of God’s people. The Exodus. It was ultimate demonstration of deliverance in the Old Testament.

It’s amazing what God did and how he did it. It’s hard for us to even wrap our minds around some of it. God sent Moses to the king of Egypt, Pharoah, multiple times calling him to free God’s people. Each time, Pharoah rejected the call. And after each rejection, God sent plages on Egypt. Terrible plagues. The worst was the tenth. The angel of death came and all the firstborn in Egypt died. Yet, the Lord passed over the homes of the Israelites, if the blood of the lamb was on the their doorposts.

It was that moment that Moses led God’s people out of Egypt. God went before them with a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. The people rejoiced, thinking they were set free but then the Egyptians began pursuing them, and they ended up at a dead end - the Red Sea. It appeared that all was lost. They couldn’t cross. But yet again, God displayed his power and salvation. First, the pillars of smoke and fire held off the Egyptian army. But even more amazing was what happened next. Moses raised his staff, struck the water and the Red Sea parted. Another miracle. Moses led them across on dry land. And as soon as the last Israelite crossed, the waters came crashing down on the Egyptian army… destroying them all.

Imagine all that had transpired. Imagine being a father or mother or child and seeing and experiencing all of it. And that wasn’t the last of it. Even the small miracles displayed the provision of God. The soles of their shoes didn’t wear out. God gave them manna from heaven - daily provision of food. They were there when Moses went up on the mountain and returned with the commandments. They were there to see the pillar of smoke and fire above the tabernacle revealing the Lord’s presence.

They witnessed so many things. And at the center of it all, besides, of course, God himself, was Moses. He had been the one to boldly speak to Pharoah. He had been the one to lead them out. God parted the Red Sea through Moses. God had revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush and on the mountain. He was used to bring the tablets of stone, the ten commandments.

Moses was the man. And besides all that God had done through Moses in the Exodus, God also revealed to Moses his laws. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Moses wrote down the creation account, their history including the patriarchs, the ceremonial and civil laws. Moses was and is the central figure in Judaism… perhaps only paralleled by Abraham.

Moses was their guy.

So, when the author of Hebrews brings up Moses, you better believe it that his readers would be paying very special attention. Verse 3 would have been a particular eye opener to them – It says, “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses.” For some of the Jewish reader, this would have been shocking. More glory than Moses? Moses had to veil himself (cover his face) when he descended from Mount Saini because he reflected the glory of God.

But Jesus was counted as more glorious than Moses.

Now, to be clear about the audience, Hebrews was written to Jewish people who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. We read that right there in verse 1. The author calls them “brothers” and, as it says, they “share” in the same “calling” and “confession.”

But they still would have been startled by the emphasis of Jesus over Moses. We know from other New Testament books that Jewish background believers often struggled by overemphasizing Moses and the law. Sometimes the law was elevated above grace (the book of Galatians deals with that), and other times the law was put on the same par as faith. Like grace plus circumcision, or we’re saved by grace plus the law (the book of Romans deals with some of that).

So, what the author of Hebrews is doing here is making really clear that Jesus is greater than Moses. But note: the author is not diminishing Moses, no, rather Moses, as great as he was, is being put in his proper place compared with Jesus.

Jesus is the greater prophet.

Now, I said that, but some of you probably noticed, the word “prophet” is not found in our text this morning. In fact, the word “prophet” is not found anywhere in chapters 3 or in 4. So, first, let me explain why the underlying emphasis is Jesus as the greatest prophet – greater than Moses.

· Number 1 - we often don’t think of Moses as a prophet, do we? But he was the most preeminent prophet in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 18, which we read earlier, Moses calls himself a prophet. And that makes sense. God sent Moses to speak and through Moses God gave his Word and law to the people. And related to that, the prophets often performed signs and miracles as a testimony to their prophetic role. And that was certainly true for Moses. He was a prophet.

· The second reason - in the same Deuteronomy passage, Moses writes that God will raise up a prophet like him from their brothers. Moses says, “it is him you shall listen.” Well, there are two places in the New Testament that quote that Old Testament verse. Both pronounce that Jesus is the prophesied prophet. We read one of them earlier in the service - Acts 3 – Peters sermon. Stephen also says the same thing in Acts 7. Jesus is the prophesied, capital “P” Prophet.

· Third, in Hebrews 3 verse 1, Jesus is called THE apostle. He’s “the apostle and high priest of our confession.” That word apostle in the Greek means “sent one.” It’s a different word than prophet, but both have been explicitly sent by God and they share the divine authority to speak his word. So even though these verses don’t use the word prophet, yet they still convey the role of prophet.

· And last, these two chapters, 3 and 4, are about God speaking and our listening. In fact, the beginning of verse 7 reminds us that God is the one speaking through his Word. Look at what it says: “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says” and it quotes Psalm 95. The thing is, King David is the one who wrote Psalm 95, but he was carried along by the Holy Spirit. Many of the Old Testament quotes in Hebrews are attributed directly to God. To be sure, it doesn’t diminish the human author’s intent or context, but it’s a good reminder that God has given and directs his Word. OK, now flip forward to chapter 4 and jump down to verse 12. Basically, the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4 are an exposition of Psalm 95. The author has made the case to listen to the Word of God and to believe it. And then he writes these well-known words. Starting in verse 12 of chapter 4: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Again, he’s talking about the word of God. Now listen carefully to verse 13. “And no creature is hidden from his sight…” Did you hear that? It doesn’t say “its sight” but “his sight.” The author of Hebrews is speaking of Jesus as the Word of God. And the second half of verse 13 makes that abundantly clear: “but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Jesus is the one to whom we will be accountable on the last day. He is God’s Word.

Let me boil it down this way. Earlier, I gave you a definition of a prophet. A prophet is sent by God to speak the word of God on behalf of God. Moses certainly fits that definition. But Jesus fulfills that definition. He is sent by God as THE apostle – God the Son sent into the world. He speaks the word of God because he is the word of God. And he’s come on behalf of God because he is God.

Jesus is considered worthy of greater honor than Moses for all those reasons.

Let me pause here. Why does this matter? You may be thinking, “Isn’t this just an intellectual discussion? Can’t we just get to application?” Well, look at verse 1. What’s the imperative in verse 1? Do you see it there? It’s the word “consider.” “Consider Jesus, the apostle and High Priest of our confession.” Beloved, there’s nothing and no one greater to consider. He IS the application. Now, we’re going to get to our response in a few minutes, but I wanted to point that out.

And just to be sure, these verses don’t minimize Moses. Verse 2 makes that clear. Moses was faithful. He was a faithful leader. God called him to faithfully speak to Pharoah. He faithfully obeyed God. The people saw Moses’ faithfulness to God – they knew Moses had a special role in God’s kingdom. Look at the phrase at the end of verse 2: “Moses… was faithful in all God’s house.” That term "house” describes God’s people – as in the family of God. Moses faithfully served the family of God.

Jesus was also faithful. Faithful to speak the truth and grace of God. Faithful to God the Father in fulfilling his task on earth - salvation. Faithful in perfect obedience to God’s law.

You see, both were faithful. But faithful in different ways. And what these first 6 verses highlight is that Jesus is categorically more faithful than Moses. Jesus is worthy of greater glory than Moses. Why? Well, he writes, “the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.” Verse 5 explains: “Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant…” and in verse 6 “but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son.”

So, on the one hand, you have Moses. He’s a servant in the house. And on the other hand, you have Jesus, as the builder of the house, as over the house.

This last summer, we vacationed in Washington DC. And one of the things we did was go on a White House tour. The most famous house in the world. It was very interesting. We didn’t see the west wing or the oval office, but we entered the east wing and were able to walk through the lower level and then the rooms on the main floor. And there were pictures everywhere (and painting, too). Almost every picture included one of the presidents… but he was with a foreign dignitary, or a famous musician or movie star, or the queen, or the first lady, or the family dog. Pictures of president after another president after another president. It was a good reminder that each president merely serves in the house. He didn’t create the office of President or build the house and he doesn’t own the house. No, the president serves the country. It’s the constitution which established the office 250 years ago. The President, though important, is merely a servant in the house… appointed by the people.

It’s not a perfect analogy, but you get the point. Moses served in the house. He’s described as a servant. And what did Moses do? End of verse 5: he was there “to testify to the things that were to be spoken later.” There it is again, by the way… prophet. Moses was a prophet pointing to a greater prophet. That’s Moses… faithful in the house.

Jesus, on the other hand, is described as “the builder” – verse 3… and “the son” – verse 5. He has more honor because he is over the house. It’s his house. He established the house. Again, we’re talking about the household of God – the people of God. The reason that Jesus is over the house is that he is God. Verse 4 notes. “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.” So after being described as the builder, Jesus is equated with God. Moses is a servant in the house. But Jesus, as God the son, owns the house.

We’re to consider him: Jesus is not another faithful prophet like Moses, rather he’s THE prophet, the Word of God. He’s the one whom Moses prophesied would come. He’s over Moses and over the whole house of God, the church. Greater and more glorious as the builder of the house.

Response

And that brings us now to our response. We’ve considered Jesus, but what does that mean for us? Well, look at the middle of 6. “And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and hope.” Verse 14 is very similar to verse 6. Look down at 14. “we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” “Hold our original confidence.” And earlier, “Hold fast our confidence.” Those two verses are saying the same thing. We’re to hold onto Christ. We’re to see and hear and have a believing heart.

The Psalm 95 quote illustrates the opposite - an unbelieving heart. In fact, verses 7-11 take us back to the Exodus and the wilderness. The sad reality is that even though they witnessed the 10 plagues…. Even though their firstborn had been passed over by the angel of death… even though they were there when God protected them from the Egyptian army… even though they crossed the red sea… even though they experienced God’s provision in the wilderness… yet they did not believe. They witnessed and experienced it all, yet constantly displayed unbelieving hearts. Things got to a boiling point at Meribah – the place of the rebellion. They needed water, yet they didn’t trust the Lord to provide, even though he had provided all along the way. So they rose up against Moses. “Why have you brought us into this wilderness to die?” They wanted to go back to Egypt, back to slavery. They hardened their hearts. That’s how Psalm 95 describes their rebellion in verse 8. It’s the same phrase used to describe Pharoh’s heart.

Suppose you had not gone to your doctor for years. You thought you were fine. But then one day, you notice that you get out of breath really easily and your chest feels tight. So, you go see your doctor. After performing some tests and scans, he or she sits you down and says, Tell me about your diet? Well, I don’t eat green things. Usually, it’s ice cream for breakfast. For lunch sometimes grilled cheese sandwiches or a burrito. For dinner, my all-time favorite is BBQ, but pizza or fried foods will also do.

You then learn that your arteries are 80% blocked. Your terrible diet is causing your heart to slowly harden and die. You have congestive heart failure and the risk of a massive heart attack is high. The doctor says, Your diet needs a radical change or you will die. How do you respond? Do you think, I don’t believe it. I’m fine. Or will you believe and realize your grave condition.

The generation in the wilderness had spiritual heart disease. Because of it, sadly they would not be allowed to enter the promised land. As Psalm 95 puts it they would not enter God’s rest. You see that in Hebrews 3:11. It’s referring to the eternal rest in God’s presence for eternity. And why would they not enter it? It’s because of their unbelief. You can see that down in verse 19. We didn’t read that verse, but it directly answers the question why.

Let me take a brief tangent here. Some have suggested that verse 12 means we can lose our salvation. It says that you should not have “an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”

However, it’s not saying that we can have true faith in Christ and then later lose that true faith in Christ. Rather these verses are emphasizing that a true testimony of faith is revealed by someone who demonstrates their faith over time. Who indeed, “holds fast our confidence,” as it says. The Israelites in the wilderness demonstrated they never had a believing heart. It wasn’t a matter of believing and then losing that belief, rather it was witnessing the deliverance and provision of God, but never believing.

Now, you may be asking yourself this question: “If that generation had all those reasons to believe, yet they didn’t believe, what hope is there for us and our generation?”

Well, we have even more reasons to believe. Moses was a shadow of the greater prophet who has come. And the Exodus, despite how God miraculously delivered his people and displayed his glory, was also just a shadow. The deliverance that Christ has brought is greater. Deliverance not from bondage in Egypt but bondage from sin and shame, and not through the blood of a lamb, but through the blood of THE lamb of God, Jesus. And we have the prophecy fulfilled because the Word of God has come – Jesus himself. What was veiled in the past, we now see clearly… the faithfulness and mercy of God in Christ.

And speaking of veiled… let’s go back to when Moses had to veil his face. Exodus 34 describes Moses’ face radiating the glory of God after being in his presence on the mountain. So much so, the people were afraid to come near him. So he put a veil over his face. But over time, that reflected glory of God on Moses face faded away.

But not so the glory of God in Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 says that God has shown the light of his glory in our hearts. What is that glory? It says: “The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.” Not a reflected glory, but the glory of God himself in Jesus. As Hebrews 1 says, Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God.

This advent, may we consider Jesus, the one greater than Moses, the great prophet of our confession, and may we believe. May our hearts not be hardened by the deceitfulness of our sin,” as it says, but instead, may we believe and behold the one who delivers us from our sin.

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The Eternal Son of God: Prophet, Preist, and King - Rev. Erik Veerman

Hebrews 1:1-6

We’ll be taking a break from our Proverbs study until January. In the meantime, we’ll be in the book of Hebrews for a brief Advent series.

Last year for advent, we spent time the book of Matthew chapter 1 - Jesus’ genealogy and his birth narrative.

The year before we looked at Luke 1… both Mary’s song - her Magnificat as well as Zechariah’s song.

This year, our Advent focus will be a little bit different. We’ll be considering who Jesus is as the Son of God - specifically as Prophet, Priest, and King. This morning will be an introduction from Hebrews 1, then next week, Prophet, the following week Priest, and then Sunday morning, December 24, Jesus as King.

You can find Hebrews 1 on page 1187 in the provided Bibles. We’ll focus on the first 6 verses. Later in this short series, we’ll consider the rest of chapter 1.

As I read, listen for the different aspects of Jesus’ identity as prophet, priest, and king.

Reading of Hebrews 1:1-6.

Prayer

Back when I was in grade school, I always enjoyed visiting my grandparents. They had a large farmhouse in western Pennsylvania. As a kid, there was lots to explore, both inside and outside.

And one of my memories was their large formal living room. It had bookshelves and chairs and tables, and a big picture window that let the afternoon sunlight in, which light up the whole room. In front of the window, my grandmother had strategically hung a set of crystal prisms. They were oval shaped glass-like prisms with angled surfaces. When the sun hit them, it would refract the light in different colors around the room. Small little colored spots would appear on the walls and furniture - yellows, blues, greens, reds. Of course, I would stick my hand out to capture the light on my palm. It was mesmerizing because at the time, I didn’t know how a prism worked.

How could this sunlight turn into different colors? I didn’t realize that the sunlight was actually made up of different colors… and the prisms were simply revealing that.

In a similar way, Hebrews 1 is like a prism. Instead of revealing the different colors of the sun s-u-n, it is revealing different aspects of the son s-o-n. Essentially who Jesus is - His nature as God and the different redemptive roles he fulfills.

I think it’s a beautiful thing to consider the breadth of Jesus’s identity and ministry. At least for me, it expands the awe I have of God in how he accomplished salvation for his glory and our good. And, I would add, it deepens my understanding of and relationship with Jesus – my savior, my Lord, my king, my hope, and my redeemer.

The prism of Hebrews 1.

This morning, we’ll begin with Jesus as God’s son. And then we’ll briefly consider Jesus as prophet, priest, and king from these verses. It will be an introduction to his three redemptive offices. That’s what we call them. Like the “office” of president or the “office” of governor. The redemptive offices of Jesus are “prophet,” “priest,” and “king.” As I mentioned, over the next 3 weeks we’ll be exploring each in details from Hebrews.

But before we get there, let me make some introductory comments about the book. We haven’t studied Hebrews together so let me briefly touch upon the author and audience.

First, we do not know who wrote Hebrews. We often refer to the author as simply… “the author of Hebrews.” Over the centuries, different possibilities have been suggested.

· Some believe that the apostle Paul wrote this letter. The problem with that view is that the style and grammar in Hebrews is very different from the apostle Paul. John Calvin points out that the author’s teaching approach is also different than Paul’s. So, I think it’s unlikely to be him.

· Others have proposed Apollos or Barnabus. Those could certainly be possibilities.

· But in the end, it’s best to simply say: we don’t know. God does.

Second, as the title of the book indicates, it’s written to a Hebrew audience – a Jewish audience. If you were to flip through chapter by chapter, you will see dozens of Old Testament quotes. And what the author is emphasizing is how Jesus has fulfilled the promises and prophecies of old. How he is greater than the angels, greater than Moses, greater than the High Priests and the priesthood. His covenant is greater than the old covenant.

Those were all shadows of the one to come. But now Jesus has come and fulfilled them all as the promised Savior.

When I think about the book of Hebrews, I think of ever chapter as a different sermon about Jesus. In some ways, it teaches us how to exposit the Old Testament and explain how Jesus has fulfilled God’s promises.

Many have said that the book of Hebrews can be summarized this way: The supremacy of Christ. I think that’s a good succinct summary.

So, this Advent, as we briefly study Hebrews. we’ll behold Jesus for who he is as God, and as Prophet, Priest, and King.

Jesus: God in the Flesh

Number 1. Jesus as God – God in the flesh – fully and truly God in every way. The first thing I want you to see is that Jesus is referred to as God’s Son. That’s right there in the middle of verse 2.

And related to that, there is a clear distinction in these verses between God (including his Son) and his creation. We, you and I, are his creation. The whole world is his creation. God the Son is not identified as being created. In fact, God the Son is the one, “through whom [God] created the world.” That’s right there at the end of verse 2.

You may remember, just 3 weeks ago, we were studying Proverbs chapter 8. That amazing chapter is about the wisdom of God in Christ, who was there at the beginning. In God’s wisdom through Christ, the full expanse of the universe was made. And if you remember, we considered a couple of New Testament texts which speak of Christ as creator.

· One of them is the Gospel of John chapter 1. It says in John 1 verse 3, “all things were made through him.” That is, through Christ, through God the Son.

· And also very similar is Colossians chapter 1. It says, “For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.”

The prepositions are helpful here. Everything was created “through him” or “by him.” It’s not that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were uninvolved. No, creation was an act of God - the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. God the Son was and is the instrument through which creation came to being. Sometimes we say, Christ was the agent of creation.

I want to make the point really clear here: God’s Son was not created. No, rather he is God and is central in all of creation coming into being.

This is really important. Over the last two years, we’ve had Jehovah’s Witnesses come to our door, I think, 3-4 times. You will also see them on Main Street.

In talking with some of you, I know that that you are also dialoging with them. Well, they would say that God’s Son is not part of the Trinity. He is a lesser god, they believe, who has some of the powers of God. They would also say that Jesus Christ was created by God before he created the world. And also, they will say that Jesus himself is not God in the flesh. As some of you know, they will often go here to Hebrews 1 to argue their point.

For example, they will go to verse 5 and say “see, Jesus was begotten, that means he was created.” Furthermore, they will point out the word ”today” there in verse 5. To them, it means there was a time when the Son did not exist.

That’s a lot, isn’t it? And as you know, they have their script.

Well, what do you say to all of that? Do you say, “can I give you the phone number to my pastor?” You’re welcome to do that, but they are not going to call me.

There’s a lot to say about Jesus being fully and truly God – it’s all through the Bible. But let’s focus on Hebrews chapter 1.

First, let me respond to the word “today” in verse 5. It does not mean there was a day when God’s Son didn’t exist. Rather, verse 5 is referring to the incarnation – when God became man. When through the Holy Spirit, Jesus was begotten by God, in his mother Mary. We know this because the apostle Paul quotes the very same verse (Psalm 2:7) in the book of Acts chapter 13. There, the apostle specifically uses it in reference to the incarnation. In other words, Hebrews 1:5 in no way suggests that the Son of God was created.

In fact, quite the contrary. Let me give you 3 brief reasons from verse 3 why these verses testify to Jesus’s divine nature:

Let’s go to the beginning of verse 3. “Jesus is the radiance of the Glory of God….” “is…” “Jesus is the radiance….” It does not say Jesus reflects the radiance of the Glory of God. No, it’s not like the moon reflecting the light of the sun. Rather, Jesus has all the glory of God because he is God. He radiates the glory of God as God.
Second, verse 3 continues, Jesus is also “the exact imprint of his nature.” In the Greek, it implies identical in form. Jesus being, in other words, is one and the same nature as God because he is God. That statement alone is pretty clear. There are dozens of New Testament passages that support this, including words from Jesus himself.
And third, verse 3 continues. “He upholds the universe by the word of his power.” That adds to what we already talked about - Jesus as creator God. What an amazing testimony to the power of Christ as God – as creator of all things.

You see, verse 3 testifies to Jesus in all his glory as God.

Now, much more can be said, of course. In fact, as we work through Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King, it will add to the testimony that Jesus is indeed God in the flesh.

Well, I hope that does two things for you. I hope it helps you in your conversations to stand firm on Jesus as fully and truly God. And I hope that it draws you to an even deeper awe and reverence – that this Jesus whom we worship, the one we celebrate at advent, is not some little “g” god. But rather he is God the Son, the one through whom all things were created, the exact imprint of God’s nature. And who upholds the universe… he uphold us… by the word of his power. The entire cosmos is created by and sustained by the Son. Very God of very God…

Prophet

Next, Jesus as prophet. Now, next week we’re going to dive deep into this redemptive office, but in the meantime, there’s so much here in these opening verses.

Jesus as Prophet is where this chapter begins. It says: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets… but, ” it says, “ in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”

A prophet, by the way, is one chosen by God to speak the word of God on behalf of God. In the Old Testament time, there were many prophets. In the Scriptures, there are 16 prophetic books, but there were dozens of other prophets mentioned in Scripture. Think of Elisha, Elijah, Nathan. Each of their prophetic messages were similar, but for different contexts. And what did they do? They called the people to repentance and back to God. They warned about coming judgment. They proclaimed God’s mercy. They performed signs and miracles which demonstrated their call as prophets and demonstrted God’s power. They foretold what was to come, including the Messiah. But in the end, each of their voices died out. Each prophet was limited and each prophet was a frail, fallen man. Even the repetition of prophecies and the number of prophets revealed a weakness in the prophetic role of old.

But then we read Hebrews 1. There’s a finality to Jesus as Prophet. His prophecy is for all… every people and nation. Jesus is not just a new prophet that has come on the scene. No rather, his words… his voice is the voice of God.

God has given us his Son, through whom God now speaks.

· Jesus is the Word of God as God himself, as the apostle John writes.

· He is the final and ultimate pronouncement of mercy and judgment.

· His words are eternal because he is eternal.

· His signs and miracles culminate in the greatest sign and miracle of all… his death on the cross and his resurrection.

· And it is his word, as we considered in verse 3, which upholds the universe.

And let me point out something important in verse 2. That phrase “last days” is a special phrase. It’s specifically referencing the New Testament times. It doesn’t say “these days” but instead “last days.” You see, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others prophesied that the “last days” would come. Those days would usher in a final prophet who would bring fulfillment to their prophecies. It is his voice which would go out to the world. In other words, we are in the last days. The author of Hebrews is declaring that the time has come because God’s Son has come. The Word made flesh has come. He is THE prophet. Through him, the last days have come.

Priest

And notice, the reference to “last days” in verse 2 doesn’t only apply to Jesus as the ultimate prophet. No, the description of the “last days” continues. It also includes Jesus’ fulfillment as priest and king. Let’s consider priest next.

Jump down to the end of verse 3. There’s a short phrase there… sometimes we skip right over it. It says “After making purification for sins, he [that is, Jesus] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

That sentence right there is the Gospel - Christ is the one who purifies us from our sin. In some way, that one sentence summarizes the driving emphasis of the book - Jesus as the ultimate High Priest. A priest, by the way, was the one who represented the people before God. He was their intermediary… their go-between to God.

And what the priests of old did were to made sacrifices for the people. Sacrifice after sacrifice, year after year. And these sacrifices were to make purification (or cleansing) for sins. That’s what verse 3 references. But the problem was, (1) the priests had to make sacrifices for themselves, for their own sin, and (2) the sacrifices were inadequate. You see, the whole Old Testament sacrificial system was pointing to something greater. A greater sacrifice and a greater priest. In fact, one in the same.

As God the Son, Jesus’ himself was the only sacrifice that could once-and-for-all cleanse us from our sin. And as God in the flesh, he was the perfect priest – the perfect mediator between God and man.

Let me submit to you this: in order for Jesus’ sacrifice to be effective as a once-and-for-all sacrifice AND in order for him to be the eternal mediator, Jesus had to be fully and truly God and fully and truly man. That goes back to the question earlier about Jesus as God.

Before we move on to king… let me mention one more thing about Jesus as the Priest. He lives. Verse 3 highlights that. Jesus is now seated in heaven… it tells us. After his sacrificial death, Jesus was raised and then ascended to heaven. You can also see the present tense there in verse 3. Jesus IS the radiance of the Glory of God. He UPHOLDS the universe. He overcame death as the perfect sacrifice so that he could be the perfect priest and continually intercede for his people from heaven.

Now, you may have more questions about the Old Testament sacrificial system… and maybe the role of the High Priest… and how it all relates to Jesus. Well, stay tuned for 2 weeks from today. We’ll be in chapter 9.

King

That bring us to one last redemptive office. Jesus is King. THE King. The greater king.

You see, the kings of Judah and Israel all had their weaknesses. Some were downright evil. But even the good kings like David and Solomon and Hezekiah and Josiah had their weaknesses. Their governing was limited. Their sins were apparent. They all passed from this earth.

But we have a king today. Not an earthly king, but an eternal king. And one without any limitation or sin.

Let me note two things here from the text.

First, verse 3 identifies Jesus as the “heir of all things.” What’s an heir in this context? Well, Jesus is the heir to the throne. He’s the one who has the full status as heir to the eternal throne of God – Heir to God the Father.

The author of Hebrews notes that Jesus is the heir of “all things.” That’s language of dominion and authority. He is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” as Revelation 19 puts it.

And the second thing to note is at the end of verse 3. We already considered part of this. It says, “he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Actually, this is the first of four refences in Hebrews to Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father. The phrase “right hand” is significant because it indicates power and authority. The one who sits on the right hand of a throne is the one given authority to govern and judge. He has all the majesty and glory of the one next to whom he sits. In other words, it’s a testimony of Jesus as equal with the Father in authority and glory and power. He is our king.

Let me summarize it this way. Jesus is the eternal King with all dominion, power, authority, and Majesty… all of that “due his name.” That’s from verse 4 – Jesus is superior than the angels. Why? Because he is the Son. That’s his name. That means Jesus is worthy for us to ascribe all those attributes to him because he is king of kings.

Conclusion

So, Jesus is Son the God – He’s one with God… He’s the ultimate Prophet as the eternal Son of God and Word of God. He’s the perfect high Priest. He’s the triumphant King with all God’s radiance and power.

And he’s all of that together. Isn’t that the incredible part? The prism of Hebrews 1 merely reveals who Jesus is in all these aspects of his nature and ministry. They are not separate. but are unified in the person and work of Christ. The dominion of his kingship, his priestly intercession, and the authority of his prophecy as the Son are who he is and what he has and will do for all eternity as the redeemer of the world.

And in conclusion what is our response? Worship!

Look at the response of the angels in verse 6! Worship. “Let all God’s angels worship him.” When the Son of God entered the world as a baby in a manger, what did the angels do? They worshipped. Verses 5 and 6 here takes us back to Luke 2. Do you remember that? The angel appeared to the shepherds. He announced the great joy of the birth of the Savior, who IS Christ the Lord, he declared. And then verse 13 of Luke 2. “and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’”

This advent, may we worship Jesus with the angels… worshipping our Lord in all the radiance and glory of God due his name as our Prophet, Priest, and King. Amen.

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Revival of the Fittest - Rev. Jay Scharfenberg

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Proverbs 9

Two Invitations, One Choice

We’ll be considering Proverbs chapter 9 this morning. You can find that on page 632 in the provided Bibles.

This is Solomon’s final introductory lesson on wisdom. Over these 9 chapters, Solomon has presented 12 lectures on wisdom. He’s answered the questions… What is wisdom? Where do we find wisdom? How do we pursue wisdom? These lessons have also given us contrasts and warnings, which make really clear what wisdom is and what wisdom is not.

This final lesson, Chapter 9, is the culmination of the opening chapters. And what it does is bring us to a decision point. It presents a stark contrast between two choices: the invitation of wisdom versus the invitation of Folly.

Let’s now come to God’s word.

Reading of Proverbs 9.

Prayer.

We make lots of choices each day. Someone estimated that the average person will make about 775,000 decisions in his or her lifetime. About 27 per day. That’s just a number because in one sense, we make hundreds of decisions each day. But if we think about judgements that affect what we do and where we go, then perhaps that is a good estimate. Do I snooze my alarm or get up? Do I have eggs or cereal for breakfast. Do I contact this person? …or apply for this job? …or make this trip across the country? All kinds of decisions. Some are morally neutral. Other decisions have a clear moral component to them.

Someone could argue that the book of Proverbs as a whole gives us practical wisdom for day-to-day decisions. There’s some validity to that on a certain level. However, in these opening chapters, we’ve seen something greater. God’s wisdom is a way of life. Wisdom’s foundation is God’s covenant promises which are fulfilled in Christ. Having wisdom IS having knowledge and discernment, BUT it begins with the knowledge of God and discernment of his revealed will. It begins with trusting God and his wisdom.

So yes, having the wisdom of God will work itself out in day-to-day decisions, but you have to begin by trusting the Lord and his wisdom.

And that’s where Proverbs 9 comes into play. We’re presented here with two invitations. Two calls that have gone forth. Two choices. On one side, wisdom is calling you dine with her… and on the other side, folly is calling you to dine with her.

In other words, this chapter is not about the day-to-day decisions in life. No, rather, this chapter is about the big decision in life above all the others. Will you accept the invitation from wisdom and feast on all that she and her servants have prepared? Or will you take the offer of Folly and dine with the dead?

As we read, the two calls, the call of wisdom and the call of Folly… they begin the chapter and end the chapter. And in between, Solomon gives an interlude. In it he describes the kind of person who follows Wisdom and the kind of person who follows Folly, and then he exhorts his son where his journey should begin.

We’ll begin by comparing the two invitations and then consider Solmon’s analysis.

And wouldn’t you agree, the powerful thing about this chapter is the comparison and contrast between these two invitations – especially verses 4 and 16.

Look at verse 4 “’Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!’ To him who lacks sense she says…” and then Wisdom continues with her invitation.

Now, jump down to 16. “’Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!’ To him who lacks sense she says…” and then Folly continues with her invitation.

Identical.

In a way, it’s shocking or at least worrisome. It’s not by accident that Folly’s invitation sounds similar to Wisdom’s. Folly wants to deceive us. She is preying upon our ignorance and our sin. That word “simple” in both calls means naïve. It’s someone easily deceived or someone who lacks wisdom. Wisdom wants the simple to leave their naïve ways and learn wisdom. But Folly, on the other hand, just wants to take advantage of the simple.

The natural question is this: If the call of Wisdom is so similar to the call of Folly, how will we know the difference?“

Well, when we start to peel back the layers here, we actually find several differences – fundamental differences. And in the end, eternal differences. So, let’s consider them.

First, the differences in their houses -

Notice in verse 1: Wisdom has built her house. And it’s quite the estate! She has hewn from the rock, seven pillars. Regular homes did not have pillars. No, those were reserved for important and distinguished buildings in a kingdom. This house that Wisdom has built is grand and it’s for all who accept her invitation.

And that is a contrast with Folly’s house. Look down at the end of 18. “Her guests are in the depths of Sheol.” Sheol, by the way, is the word for the grave – or more specifically, the depths of the underworld. What a contrast! An impressive mansion verses a crypt for the dead.

And next, look up in verse 14. Folly is sitting. She’s not moving. She is not working. She’s not doing anything for you.

But Wisdom, on the other hand, is hard t work. She’s industrious. Notice up in the first three verses: She’s built her house. She’s hewn her pillars. She’s slaughtered her beasts… mixed her wine… set her table… sent out her young women to spread the word. Do you see all the labor that Wisdom has put in? Not just preparing the feast, but everything else as well for this elaborate banquet.

What a contrast between wisdom and her servants as they labor, and on the other hand, Folly’s inaction.

I think the biggest contrast is the meal itself. Notice, Folly didn’t even make her meal. Verse 17, “stolen water is sweet.” I mean, how pathetic is that? Yes, water was harder to come by back then, but it’s still just water. Folly also offers “bread eaten in secret.” Why is it eaten in secret? Because it was also stolen. Think about this: Folly’s meal is bread and water. What kind of banquet is that? But it’s the stolen and secret part that makes it enticing.

When I was in 8th grade, maybe 9th, I had a really bad case of teenage boy syndrome. Some of you teachers or parents know what I’m talking about.

You see, my family lived close to a golf course. And a couple times, my friends and I would go to the golf course at dusk. We would sneak out onto the driving range when no one was around. And we would steal the driving range balls.

Is that not the dumbest thing you’ve heard? I mean, these golf balls were in terrible shape. But what do you do with gold balls, anyway? I look back and I’m mortified by it and convicted about it. But I had zero sense of conviction at the time. I’ve often wondered what was going through my mind. But after reading these verses, I think I know what it was. It was the “stolen” and “secret” thing of verse 17. It was the exhilaration of doing something I wasn’t supposed to do.

Folly is inviting you to a pitiful meal, one that she didn’t even make, and she’s trying to entice you to eat it simply because it is not yours to eat. “Stolen water is sweet” but its sweetness quickly turns to bitter poison.

On the other hand, Wisdom’s meal is not stolen. Notice the language back up in verse 1-3, it is her house, her pillars, she’s slaughtered her beasts, mixed her wine, it’s her table. The spread is amazing, and it is Wisdom’s to give. She says in verse 5, “come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine that I have mixed.” Now, that language should sound familiar to you with New Testament eyes. In a few minutes, we’ll come back to what this feast alludes to.

But before we get there, there’s one final contrast between these banquets. One banquet leads to life and the other “so-called” banquet leads to death.

Jump down to verse 18, again. Right after Folly entices him with stolen water, she says there, “But he [that is, the one who lacks sense and follows her] …he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”

The guests sitting at Folly’s table are dead. They are acting alive but they are the living dead.

I was thinking of the Haunted Mansion at Disney World. I’m sure several of you have been there and seen that. One of the first things you see is a grand hall. And as you are being transported along the balcony you see a banquet table below with a birthday celebration… but as you move along, the guests vanish and they then reappear as skeletons and other ghastly creatures circling the room. And then a zombie like organist hammers the keys and the pipe organ music fills the air. A banquet of the dead.

Now kids, it’s all holograms and hidden mirrors. It’s all pretend.

But Proverbs 9 is not pretend.

The sad thing in our culture is that we minimize death and hell. We trivialize it. We make fun of it or we entertain ourselves with it. I’m not saying “we” as in those of us here, but we’re certainly influenced by the world around us.

Death in this life is real. We know that. And it’s painful. Hell is real. Jesus vividly spoke of hell as a place of eternal fire… and weeping and gnashing of teeth. To be sure, Sheol is a different concept in the Hebrew, but they’re related. Sheol, if you will, is on the path to hell.

I want you to consider something. These words in verse 18 are the very last words of Solomon’s wisdom lessons. He wants to leave his son with this grave warning. Literally grave.

But the contrast to death is found up in verse 6. “life.” “Leave your simple ways,” says Wisdom, “and live… live and walk in the way of insight.” Wisdom versus Folly… life versus death.

Quite the contrasts here. Let me summarize them:

· A mansion prepared for you versus a grave.

· A banquet fit for a king versus stolen water and bread.

· Wisdom and her attendants calling out truth inviting you to come to what is good, versus Folly calling out with lies and deceit.

· A banquet of the living versus the dead… one leading to life, the other to death and hell.

On the outside, the call may sound the same, but the invitations are vastly different.

That brings us to the middle section here, verses 7-12. Sandwiched between these two calls is Solomon’s instruction. And what it does for us… is brings into focus one of the main messages of Proverbs 1-9. Will you listen to Wisdom?

I searched through the first 9 chapters and 25 times Solomon exhorts us to listen to wisdom. He uses different words and phrases like “hear” or “listen” or “incline your ear,” or “be attentive,” or “do not lose sight” 25 times.

Verses 7-8 tell us about the one who doesn’t listen. That person is a scoffer. That’s someone who not only doesn’t listen but who mocks and ridicules… someone who is obstinate in all that. We learn that if you try to correct or reprove a scoffer, he will not only reject your correction, but he’ll hate you for it.

And the opposite is true for those with wisdom and righteousness. The second half of verse 8 and 9. If you reprove or teach or instruct the wise, he will love you, he will grow in his wisdom and increase in learning.

Do you see how these central verses tie the chapter together? Wisdom is calling. Folly is calling. Who will you listen to? Will you be a scoffer and reject the call of wisdom to your peril? …or will you receive the invitation of wisdom to a banquet of life. That encapsulates verse 12. “If you are wise, you are wise to yourself.” That expression means if you are wise, you will receive the great blessing of wisdom. On the other hand, if you scoff, you alone with bear it.

Will you listen and receive the instruction and increase in wisdom… or will you reject it? Are you wise unto life (verse 11)? …or are you a scoffer unto your peril?

In the middle of this chapter are verses 10 and 11. Let me say, these two verses don’t just happen to be in the middle of the chapter. No, they are there for a reason. This whole chapter is in a Hebrew form of parallelism called a chiasm. We’ve come across it before. The chapter forms an X. What that means is parallel ideas work their way from the outside in, working their way to the center of the X which gives us the focus of the text.

So, in chapter 9, here…

· it begins with the house of wisdom (verse 1) and ends with the house of the dead, Sheol (verse 18)

· Next, Wisdom has prepared her meal of wine and the choicest of meat, verse 2… and down in verse 17, Folly’s meal - stolen water and bread.

· As we move in one layer - the call of wisdom, verses 3-5, and the call of Folly verse 14-16.

· Another layer in, verse 6, Wisdom calls to walk in insight, contrasted with Folly’s seduction, verse 13. She doesn’t have insight. Literally, it says, she “knows nothing.”

· Next, verses 7 through 9 parallel verse 12. The contrast of the wise and the scoffer and the end result of the wise and scoffer.

And at the heart of the chapter - the center of the X is verses 10 and 11. Let me say, it’s not only the focal point of this chapter, but it’s the key to the book of Proverbs.

Here it is: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.”

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It’s right behind me here on our banner.

As a reminder, we fear the Lord when we trust by faith in the all-powerful God who knows all and sees all. We fear him by reverently honoring him with humility and by exalting him with all the glory due his name. We do not fear man, no instead, we fear the God of the universe. And we do not fear him by cowering in terror. Rather, we have a godly fear of the one who made us and redeems us…

This is not a general call to believe in some god out there, lowercase “g”. No, we’re to fear the LORD, all caps, the covenant Lord, Yahweh, by faith in him. And the end of verse 10 tells us exactly where to center our faith. It says by knowing the “Holy One.”

Remember, Proverbs is in the Old Testament. Jesus had not yet come… but he was promised. The “Holy One” is a reference to the promised Messiah.

And for us, he has come. What this is saying is that we’re to center our faith on Jesus, who is our Insight, as verse 10 says. He is wisdom. And look at what verse 11 says, “for by me your days will be multiplied.”

Think about this. Verse 11 is not part of the two personification sections in this chapter, Wisdom and Folly. So, this “me” here is not referring to lady wisdom or Folly. This is the Holy One speaking. Christ it the one calling us to fear him and to know him.

What God, through Solomon, is saying in verses 10 and 11, is that the decision of chapter 9 keys on fearing and knowing Jesus. Faith. And when you do, as verse 11 puts it, “your days will be multiplied, and years added to your life.” It’s not speaking of a longer life here – but rather life beyond the grave.

And that brings us full circle back to Wisdom’s feast. Solomon’s sons and the people of Israel would have had several spiritual meals in mind as they read these words. They would have been reminded of the Passover meal, which included bread and wine and the sacrificial lamb. The provision of manna in the wilderness and other ceremonial feasts would have come to mind.

Each meal testifying in different ways to the life and provision and communion that they had from God and with God…. Saving them from slavery in Egypt… preserving their lives in the wilderness… celebrating with God the provision of his first fruits.

In other words, for them, Solomon’s audience, Widom’s banquet revealed the great feast that the coming Messiah would bring. And for us, it’s the same! Widom’s banquet reveals the great feast that the coming messiah will bring.

But you say, “wait a second! The messiah has already come! Jesus walked the earth, he was the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the people. We feed on him by faith.”

Well, that’s all true, but Wisdom’s banquet in verses 1 - 6 also points to a future banquet when the Messiah returns. It’s anticipating what Scripture calls the marriage supper of the lamb. We read the description earlier in Revelation 19. It’s the eternal feast that God is preparing for his people in eternity. And at that great banquet we will celebrate Christ, we will feast with him as the host. It’s called the marriage supper because it is the consummation of the marriage between God’s people, the church, who is the bride and God the Son, Jesus, in all of his glory as the risen Savior and Lamb. He is the bridegroom. It will be an eternal celebration like none other.

I would point you to two things that clue us in to this future heavenly banquet.

Number 1 - Wisdom’s house is being built with seven pillars. The number seven is important here. Seven represents fulness and completeness in the Bible. In other words, this house foreshadows the heavenly home for God’s people - full and complete for eternity.

Jesus said, “In my Father's house are many rooms.” And then he said, “I go to prepare a place for you, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you myself, that where I am you may be also.” God’s eternal house in heaven for us.

Number 2 - Wisdom has sent out her young women to call forth and invite. This is a picture of the Great Commission. God calls his people to be his ambassadors of the good news. We are the mouthpiece of God. We’re called to invite any and everyone to Wisdom’s banquet – to eternal life in Christ.

You see, Proverbs 9 is a beautiful picture of the future marriage supper of the Lamb… it will not be a meal of stolen bread and water, rather it will be an exquisite meal bought by the blood of the Lamb as we feed on him for eternity.

In conclusion… Proverbs 9 calls us to hear and respond to the call of God’s wisdom. That involves fearing the Lord in reverent worship of his name… it involves knowing the Holy One, Jesus, by faith… and it involves rejecting Folly’s seduction, turning your life away from her foolish ways and your scoffing, and instead to the one who will give you life.

And when you do, there will be a feast for you unlike any you can ever image. An eternal banquet hosted by the eternal king, the one and only Savior – Jesus Christ the Lord.

I invite you to receive Wisdom’s invitation. To come to Christ, the Lamb of God. And have the eternal blessing of joy in the presence of the one true God…. Feasting with the living and reigning Lord, forever.

Will you believe?

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Proverbs 8 - The Eternal Wisdom of God in Christ

Our sermon text this morning is Proverbs 8. You can find that on page 631.

There’s really so much here in this chapter… including some profound philosophical themes on the existence of God. How God in all of his wisdom speaks to humanity in different ways. For the kids here, there may be times when you find this particular sermon a little deep. I want to ask that you try to stay with me, today. But I would also be glad to meet separately to help explain more. Proverbs 8 so rich and invaluable.

As I read, listen for the ways in which God’s wisdom reveals God himself.

Reading of Proverbs 8

Prayer

“I would believe in God, if he would just show himself to me.”

Maybe you’ve heard that before or thought that or even think that now.

It’s a common response to the question of God’s existence. Over the centuries, many have expressed that sentiment. One person said, “If God actually existed, and if he made himself unmistakably plain, I would have to believe that he exists.” The argument is that because God appears silent, he therefore doesn’t exist.

I don’t want to minimize that thought. We each have family or friends who perhaps think that or may say something similar. Or maybe you are here, today, and that thought has crossed your mind.

Well, my goal today is to make the case from Proverbs 8 that God does speak – that he has revealed and is revealing himself. What I’d like you to see today is an overabundance of God’s revelation to us. God testifies to his existence and his nature all around us and within us. And at the very center of that revelation is Christ.

My hope is that by the end of this sermon that either (1) your confidence in the revelation of God will be enriched or (2) that if you came here today wondering whether God even exists, that you will leave with a profound sense of his presence and that all things exist because of and for Christ.

I believe that is the purpose of the chapter.

Look at the two questions in verse 1. “Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?” That’s how the chapter begins, and all through it, God’s wisdom speaks. And as you heard, the wisdom of God is personified. She’s speaking. This is not the first time that Solomon has used this poetic device to reveal God’s wisdom. There is a little bit of that back in chapter 1. Wisdom is a feminine noun in the Hebrew – so she is lady wisdom. King Solomon wants his sons to hear her and embrace her.

And look at verses 2-4. What is she doing?

She is calling out. She is raising her voice. On the heights, she stands. At the crossroads and at the city gates, she cries aloud. In other words, she’s everywhere, raising her voice for all to hear. And what is her message? That God is truth and he is just… and he is the creator of all things. And right there with him at every point is his wisdom.

I would say, chapter 8 here, is like the pinnacle of God’s revelation of wisdom so far, perhaps even the climax of wisdom in the Scriptures.

It’s magnificent. These verses take us to the very edge of time and space. It’s like God opens the gates of heaven and reveals not just his wisdom, but himself. He’s there for you to hear and see and to take hold of and to believe.

So let’s now get into this chapter. By the way, there’s an outline in the hymn sheet insert.

Four points and you can see the subpoints in the insert. These brief summaries are what God reveals in Proverbs 8 and our response.

He’s revealed his all-encompassing truth in Christ to embrace – the first 11 verses
The perfect justice of God in Christ (on which) to rest assured – verses 12 to 21
The eternal wisdom of God in Christ to behold – that’s verses 22 to 31
And, the last 5 verses, the abundant grace of God in Christ to believe

I won’t repeat those since you have them in front of you.

The all-encompassing truth of God in Christ to embrace (8:1-11)

The first 11 verses are the call. We’ve already seen how she’s calling. She’s standing, it says, “on the heights” for everyone to hear. I want you to notice something all through these verses. Wisdom’s call is not just for God’s people.

No, rather the call is for everyone.

· We see that first in verse 4. “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man.” It’s to everyone - the whole world. That same phrase, “children of man” is also found down in verse 31.

· Similarly, in the middle of the chapter, verses 14-17, wisdom is speaking to kings and rulers – all kings and rulers. It says in 17, “all who govern justly.”

· And let me add one more thing. All the calls to seek wisdom or to love wisdom or to listen to wisdom are for anyone. For example, verse 35 – “whoever finds me finds life.” Whoever does. The call of wisdom is for me. It’s for you. It’s for your neighbor, your friend. It’s for all who are near and far off. She’s calling for you.

And what is wisdom’s call? That’s the focus of verses 5-11. If you just scan the verses, you will see that language of truth and knowledge and understanding. And there’s a contrast between truth, which is not twisted or crooked (as it says), but straight, and wickedness, which goes against truth by deception and lies.

There are a couple of things apparent in Wisdom’s call.

· First, truth is objective. What I mean is that truth is out there to be known and understood. She’s saying truth is not something relative or subjective. Wisdom says in verse 7, “my mouth will utter truth.”

· That’s one thing. And second there’s a premise in her call: truth and knowledge can be found. We can seek it. We can obtain it. We can desire truth and wisdom. It’s precious like jewels, verse 11. Truth can be sought after.

Now, those things may sound basic to you, but they are profound. Truth is there to know and find and embrace. I’m using the word “embrace” in the title of point 1 because the three commands here are Learn, hear, and take. You see, it’s more than just knowing, it’s embracing this truth.

Let me add one thing that perhaps you weren’t thinking about – the mere presence of truth itself testifies to God himself. In other words, the mere presence of objective knowledge that can be obtained points to the existence of one who establishes truth and is wisdom.

One of the greatest Christian philosophers of the 20th century was Francis Schaeffer. I’ve mentioned him before. He and his wife started L’Abri in Switzerland. That was a community seeking the truth and wisdom of God.

One of Schaeffer’s books is titled “He Is There and He Is Not Silent.” It’s a great book. If you are the philosophical type, he goes in to the metaphysical, the epistemological, and the existential reasons for God. That would be being, knowledge, and experience. Basically, he lays out the case for God and the Christian worldview from multiple angles.

Schaeffer writes this about truth: “The beginning for modern and postmodern people [basically all of us] is the existence of God and the existence of truth… There is nothing more practical nor more basic than the conviction that there is truth that can be known. Without this conviction life becomes more and more intolerable, and more and more filled with alienation, the more consistently we live with the loss of truth.”

Schaeffer is echoing the words of Proverbs 8. There is truth and that truth can be known.

I think one of the compelling aspects of this chapter is the fact that God’s truth and his wisdom are personal and knowable.

But you ask, ok, but how can we in our finitude, relate to and know the truth of God? That’s an important question.

We read from the Gospel of John chapter 1 earlier. It’s the most beautiful expression in all of Scripture of the wisdom and truth of God entering into his creation. “In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God, and the Word was God.”

The Greek word for “word” is “logos.” Maybe you’ve heard that before. But it’s important to know that it’s not a disconnected impersonal logos as the Greek philosophers would have understood it. No, rather it’s logos, wisdom, that is personal and knowable. Truth is knowable to us because the logos of God became flesh. That’s later in John chapter 1. In other words, the truth of God can be known because God has revealed himself by entering in to his creation.

What I’m saying is that these first 11 verses of Proverbs 8 are fulfilled in Christ. As the apostle Paul put it in his first letter to the Corinthian church, “he,” that is Christ, “became to us wisdom from God.” Because of that we can know the truth and wisdom of God.

Let me summarize point 1 this way: the truth and wisdom of God can be known because the truth and wisdom of God has been made known.

The all-encompassing truth of God in Christ to embrace.

The perfect justice of God in Christ (on which) to rest assured

And now, second: The perfect justice of God in Christ (on which) we can rest assured.

This is the second part of Wisdom’s call, verses 12 to 21. You’ll notice that there’s a change in focus. Lady wisdom opened with an appeal to listen to truth. She now turns to declare her character. - wisdom’s character – God’s character.

These verses very much relate to the moral nature of wisdom. I’m using the word justice in point 2 because you’ll see the word just or justice in verses 15, 16, and 20.

Righteous is another word here in verses 18 and 20. And it’s contrasted with “evil” verse 13. So, God and his wisdom are just and righteous.

Now, if you get anything out of our study of Proverbs, I hope this one thing sticks with you. True wisdom is lived out in God’s standard of what is good and right. We’ve seen that over and over. God’s wisdom has a moral standard to it – his standard.

Sometimes people say, “you know, it’s fine if you want to live by some moral standard, but don’t impose your standard on me. I want to live the way I want to live.”

But these verses, 12-21, give a different message. They are saying that God’s standard of righteousness and justice is for all. It’s saying that his standard applies to all mankind, all kings, all rulers (verses 15 and 16).

Not only is truth objective, but there’s also an objective moral standard which defines good and evil. I’ve used the word objective a few times so far… what I’m saying is that both truth and goodness are outside of us. There is a standard which transcends individuals. The definitions of good and evil are not something we each come up with, but are for us to seek and discover.

One argument for an external, absolute moral standard is actually the sense everyone of us has within us of right and wrong. To be sure, we disagree over what fits in each category but it is very hard to deny the innate human sense that moral categories exist. Even those who say that what is good and what is bad are subjective still draw the line somewhere.

Where does that come from? I ask because if we existed by chance, then we would not have an internal sense of right and wrong in us. We would just be products of random events only able to react to stimulus. But we do. We each have a moral sense deep down in the fabric of our very being. That sense of right and wrong testifies to a God who establishes what is right and wrong.

I like how Psalm 19 puts it, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;”

The external law of God is revealed in the hearts of his creatures. There’s a testimony within each of us that testifies and affirms the testimony of God outside of us.

And ultimately, the testimony of God’s law, his standard, is found in Christ. You see, the perfect standard of what is good and true and right is found in the one who became for us the righteousness of God.

Earlier I quoted from 1 Corinthians chapter 1 “Jesus became to us wisdom from God” but I didn’t finish the sentence. Here it is: “you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” The wisdom of God is righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

Here’s what God’s wisdom is declaring: God is just and righteous. He calls us to justice and righteousness. And his perfect justice and righteousness are found in Jesus, who revealed and fulfilled his justice and righteousness. A justice and righteousness that we can have in him.

This section ends with a reminder that the justice of God is not only good, but it’s precious. In other words, God is not imposing his justice and righteousness as something oppressive. No, they are a rich blessing and benefit. God’s wisdom compares their fruit to precious metals, saying it’s even better than gold and silver, verse 19. It’s an “inheritance,” verse 21 to those who love wisdom. An inheritance upon which we can rest assured.

The perfect justice of God in Christ (on which) we can rest assured

The eternal wisdom of God in Christ to behold (8:22-31)

Number 3. The eternal wisdom of God in Christ to behold.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been enamored by the beauty and wonder of the universe.

One particular memory comes to mind. I was in northern Wisconsin one summer as a high schooler. And that summer, the northern lights were on full display. It was like these white and green horses galloping across the sky. Wave after wave. I remember being so overcome by and in awe of God’s grandeur and wonder.

I often go back in my mind to things I’ve seen and experienced… beautiful sunsets over the ocean, grand show capped mountains, the milky way on a dark night, canyons and fjords, lush valleys, pale blue glacial lakes, stunning waterfalls.

My heart is always stirred by the beauty and glory of it all, a glory that reflects the glory of God. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” That’s back in Psalm 19.

Yes, God reveals himself in his word. Yes, he speaks to us in the Scriptures of his character and nature and of salvation and grace.

But even if a person denies the Bible, there is still the entire universe which testifies to the vastness of God’s being. It testifies to his wisdom in crafting the seas and the skies and the stars. Galaxy after galaxy all the way down to the intricate interworking of cells and atoms.

What verses 22-31 do is herald the wisdom of God in all of his majesty as he fashioned and formed the universe.

Before any of it was made, his wisdom was there. As it says, before the beginning of the earth (verse 23) wisdom was there. Before the depths were formed and the springs gushed forth, his wisdom was there. Before the mountains and fields sprung up, God’s wisdom was there.

When God established the heavens (verse 27) wisdom was there. When he firmed up the skies and established the fountains of the deep, wisdom was there. Every step of the way, his wisdom guided as the master workman (verse 30)

And what is God’s wisdom, here, in creation? It is the wisdom of God in Christ. When we think of the Son of God – of Christ, we often only consider his incarnation – when he became man. But the Scriptures speak of his pre-incarnate role in creating all things – as God’s agent in speaking forth the creation all around us.

The author of Hebrews speaks of this. He writes of the Son of God, “through whom,” it says, God “created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” So, when we are beholding the glory and wonder of God in the universe around us, we are beholding the glory and wonder of God in Christ.

Colossians 1 puts it this way, “For by him [that is, Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

And let me add, that includes not just the heavens and earth out there. But it includes the wisdom of God in creating us. This section on wisdom’s call concludes in verse 31. God is “rejoicing in his inhabited world” and “delighting in the children of man.”

We hold a special place in God’s creation. As the Scriptures say, we’re each created in his image. What that means is each of us testifies to God’s workmanship and wisdom – the wisdom of creation that is the wisdom of Christ.

Do you hear it? The wisdom of God is calling out for all of us to hear…

· wisdom that reveals truth which can be known in Christ.

· wisdom in the righteousness and justice of God, which is fulfilled in Christ.

· and wisdom in the creation of all things. All things which testify to God’s glory and all things which God created through Christ.

The abundant grace of God in Christ to believe (8:32-36)

And that bring us to the last point, the abundant grace of God in Christ to believe.

There’s an important question to ask? If God has revealed himself in these ways, if his wisdom has been calling out all over, then why are so many deaf to his voice or blind to his wisdom? Why do many claim that he has not made himself known?

Blaise Pascal, the 17th century mathematician and philosopher answered that question well. Pascal wrote, “[God] has willed to make himself quite recognizable… willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from Him with all their heart. He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not. There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who [desire not].” Pascal is saying, there’s no lack of God’s testimony all around us. God reveals his truth, and he shows forth the wonder of his creation, and he testifies to his nature within us. Rather, what is lacking is listening to God, and seeking out his wisdom.

Scattered all throughout this chapter is the call to hear, to take, to love, and to seek God and his wisdom. Verse 17, for example, wisdom says, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.”

You see, it’s not a matter of whether God is speaking or whether his wisdom is calling. No, the matter is whether we are listening and seeking God and his wisdom.

These last few verses drive that point home. Wisdom calls out in verse 32, “listen to me.” And again, verse 34, “blessed is the one who listens to me.” That means listening to the testimony of God all around you… listening to the testimony of his truth, his justice and righteousness, his creation, and listening to the testimony of God in his Word.

So I ask, are you listening? Are you seeking the wisdom of God in Christ? He is there, and he is not silent. And when you seek him, you will find him. And a curious thing will happen. You will find that he was the one seeking you.

Chapter 8 closes with a great promise in verse 35, “for whoever finds me, finds life.” I think that verse could end right there, but no, it gets better. “for whoever finds me, finds life AND obtains favor from the Lord.”

When you seek God in Christ, he will not only give you his wisdom, but he will give you life and favor. The Hebrew word for favor is God’s acceptance or pleasure. His grace, if you will. And that favor is only found in Christ. He is the one who brings you to God. To God and his wisdom. Brings you from death, verse 36, to new life in him.

In closing, it is this favor… God’s favor in Christ which reveals all of Proverbs 8.

· It awakens your hearts to embrace his truth – the truth of Christ.

· With God’s favor, you can rest and trust in his justice and righteousness – the justice and righteousness of Christ.

· You can behold him in all of his creation – the creation which he fashioned through Christ.

· And it is his favor which blesses you abundantly with life, when you believe in him

May we all hear the call of wisdom in Christ.

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Proverbs 7

Beware Seduction's Scheme and Snare

Our sermon text is Proverbs 7. You can find that on page 630 in the pew Bible under the chair in front of you. We are down to our last three wisdom lessons. Next week, we’ll cover chapter 8. The week after, we’ll consider chapter 9, which is Solomon’s last opening lesson on wisdom.

The timing’s worked out pretty well because after chapter 9, we’ll take a break for Advent.

Then in the new year, we’ll begin a thematic study of Proverbs. There are about 25 themes that we’ll be working through.

If you look at the bulletin, you’ll see that this morning, we’re covering all of chapter 7 plus 4 additional verses from chapter 22 and 23. We’ve printed them on the back of the hymn sheet.

So, let’s now come to God’s Word.

Stand

Proverbs 7; 22:14; 23:26-28

Prayer

A friend of mine was visiting church last Sunday. After the service, he shared an amusing story about Proverbs.

This was a years ago. His church was reading through Proverbs chapter by chapter. One chapter every day. Sort of like we did a few months ago.

Well, when they got to chapter 7, his daughter went upstairs to do her reading. By the way, she was about 10 years old at the time. Pretty soon after, she came running down the stairs and declared “not another day of adultery!” And then she added, “I just don’t struggle with adultery.”

Maybe you’re ready to move on, too.

When I was thinking about preaching through Proverbs, in the back of my mind, I was worried the most about these three chapters (5, 6, and 7). Part of my fear was the sensitivity of the topic.

· For one, as you know, there’s a growing divide between the Biblical ethic and our society’s beliefs. And it’s not just an intellectual discussion, but it deals with the most intimate aspects of who we are.

· The other concern I’ve had is knowing some of your painful history and your current and past struggles. I’m sure there’s much more than I’m aware.

In fact, before we get into chapter 7, I want to clarify something I said last week and ask for your forgiveness. One of the emphases of chapter 6 is our lustful desires. We worked through that including the pervasiveness and sinfulness of pornography.

In my last point on how we fight these struggles, I spent most of our time emphasizing the heart side of our lust but I was dismissive of some practical help. Specifically, I downplayed accountability and putting up fences to guard our actions. I want to correct that and say that those can be very helpful, especially with porn addictions. Having someone to walk alongside you… or using technology tools that block access to sites are often effective in moments of temptation. In fact, today, we’re going to see how Solomon warns his son to guard his actions.

What I should have said is that while our heart issues should be our main emphasis, we should also bring to bear other resources and one another in the church to help.

An example may help. I know a few counsellors who help with sexual addictions. One of them had himself struggled with pornography in the past. He shared with me that he reads through the New Testament three times every year. He says that constantly filling his mind with God’s Word, has been transformative on his desires. By doing that he says it reminds him over and over of (1) God’s love and forgiveness in Christ, (2) the work of the Holy Spirit in him, and (3) God’s call to obedience and purity. When you talk with him, his words are so saturated with Scripture. But to be sure, his full-time job is helping men through these kinds of addictions. A large part of his counselling has a Gospel heart emphasis – he believes that’s the primary need, but he also organizes accountability and recovery groups, and he helps men with other strategies and tools to help break the cycle.

What I was trying to say is that fences and accountability are not the answer in and of themselves. They can be tremendously beneficial as we walk with one another through these struggles. I hope that’s a helpful clarification.

And as I mentioned, it’s not unrelated to chapter 7. A big part of Solomon’s desire in this chapter is to warn his son about the trap of sexual sin. That includes being on guard against temptations and even staying away from temptations. Really, In both chapters, 6 and 7, Solomon’s desire is to protect his son. We saw that last week, and we see that again here in chapter 7. In verse 5, he writes that his desire is “to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.”

In chapter 6, Solomon emphasized his son’s heart and the consequences if he were to go down the path of adultery. Here in chapter 7, Solomon turns his attention to the other side - the strategy of the adulteress. He doesn’t want his son to be naive about sexual temptation. No, rather, he wants to prepare him.

As I was reading verse 6, I was picturing in my mind King David’s palace. Remember, King David built the royal palace; his son, King Solomon built the temple. So, Solomon was living in the royal residence as he described looking out his window.

To give you a little sense of this, the palace was set on a hill in what was known as the City of David. It overlooked much of the region. From Solomon’s vantage point he could see the temple mount on the north. Perhaps at the time he wrote this, the temple was being built. He could see the Kidron valley on the east with various home lining either side up of the valley up to the Mount of Olives. On the west, he would see more buildings and homes as the landscape slowly rose to the base of mount Zion. On the south, more homes near a spring fed pool. He could see it all and he could observe the comings and goings of those in his kingdom.

And he says to his son, I see through the lattice of my window “a young man lacking sense.”

He goes where he should not go. He believes what he should not believe, and in the end, he is trapped by that which should not ensnare him.

Do you see Solmon’s strategy here? He’s giving his son a play-by-play analysis of their enemy. “Son, here are her tactics. Here’s what she will say and do, and there’s where she will lead you.”

It’s sort of like a coach showing film of the opposing team. He wants to prepare his team for the big game… so the coach walk them through play-by-play footage. He’ll show them their offensive strategy. He’ll rewind the play, analyze it from different angles. Do you see that offensive formation? 50% of the time their fullback runs left up the middle. Or do you see when the quarterback rolls right with his lead rusher running to the flats? Watch for the short pass. Defensive backs, don’t be caught off guard by fake handoffs like this.

Solomon is saying, see that young man on the film? Watch the play-by-play of how he falls into her trap. Don’t make the same mistakes as he does.

From verses 8 to 20, I count six temptations. Six. And so, let’s look at them one-by-one and analyze how they can be avoided.

Temptation 1

The first temptation – verses 8-9. Solomon is saying, notice how this all begins. Let me read it. He’s “passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness.”

You see, he begins by putting himself in compromising situations. He’s tempting himself. He goes near her home at night. By the way, did you notice how this whole chapter has lots of references to locations and times? It’s a warning. You should ask yourself two questions: (1) Where am I? and (2) what time is it? In other words, are you putting yourself in tempting situations and at times when you’re susceptible to acting upon your lust? Not always, but often we’re most susceptible at night. Plus, there’s a metaphorical use of night in Scripture to represent darkness, secrecy, and the vulnerability of sin.

And the thing is, in this young man’s heart, he’s already committed adultery with her. He didn’t just randomly show up on her street at night. This is why I think chapter 6 is before chapter 7. If you are putting yourself in tempting situations, then you have to recognize that your lustful heart is already leading you down the path. Part of your response is to do those things we talked about earlier and last week. Reminding yourself of the Gospel of Christ. Replacing those heart desires with a desire for God and His word. Shoreing up your faith. And looking to God and all his glory.

On a more practical level, we should be surrounding ourselves with brothers and sisters in Christ. Seeking help from the community. And spending more time in prayer and in the Word. Those are all things that will help you avoid temptations and remain faithful to the call.

Temptation 2

Ok, Solomon moves on to the next action in the film.

And let me say, temptations two through six focus on the enemy’s strategy. But be reminded, one of the enemies is your sin, my sin. We are fighting against tempters out there as well as temptations in here.

This next one is verses 10-12. Let me call this seductive enticement. It’s the attempt to lure you by appealing to your lust. Solomon is saying, “son, do you see what she’s doing? She’s dressing and acting in ways that are enticing to your sinful desires. She’s dressed like a “prostitute,” “wiley of heart,” She’s loud and she’s aggressive in all of this. And notice in verses 11 and 12, she’s everywhere. She’s flaunting herself in order to prey upon you.

We live in a highly sexualized culture. It’s everywhere and it’s in your face. Everyday shows, film, fashion, social media. Add to that, the porn industry is aggressive. And it’s especially targeting young men - click this, watch that.

Our response should be to see this temptation for what it is. It’s a perversion of truth and of true beauty. You see, God created the universe with amazing wonder and splendor. Part of the amazement of God’s creation is the beauty of sexuality. As we’ve talked about before, it’s a gift of God but one reserved for husband and wife in an intimate setting. But this beautiful gift has been perverted. Our culture desecrates it today by commodifying it and objectifying it. It’s seen as a pleasure to be enjoyed at anytime with anyone. Solomon is warning his son: Do not be caught up in the seductive enticement of sexual immorality. It’s full of promises that may sound good and may appeal to your desires, but which pervert the beauty and goodness of God. Be aware.

Temptation 3

Next: Temptation 3. The false claim of piety – of appearing religious. Verses 13 and 14 say, “with bold face she says to him, ‘I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows.’” Solomon is pointing out that she’ll even use religious language to appear spiritual. She’ll try to alleviate any concerns you have about the morality of your intimacy. Or convince you that she’s added enough to the “good” side of the scale to offset the bad

Some have suggested that this is Canaanite language of temple prostitution. That’s possible. But I think whether it is or not, what she’s essentially saying is that according to her religion, she’s blameless and free to live out her sexuality.

Isn’t that the argument of the world today? Morality is flipped around. Holding exclusively to the Biblical patterns of marriage (which we talked about in chapter 5) is claimed to be oppressive. On the other hand, the cultural norm of sexual autonomy is claimed to be liberating. Right is wrong and wrong is right.

But something we’ve seen over and over in Proverbs is that true wisdom comes from God. True wisdom is not a wisdom we come up with in our hearts and minds, but one that is lived out in righteousness according to God’s commands. True religion, therefore, is one that conforms to God and his holiness.

One thing that we’ve been considering all along is how the wisdom of this book, Proverbs, is fulfilled in Christ. We see that here.

The adulteress says, “I had to offer sacrifices.” True religion says that none of our sacrifices make us righteous or holy. No, rather it’s the sacrifice of Christ for us that makes us righteous – not our righteousness but his.

The adulteress says, “today, I have paid my vows.” But there’s only one vow that makes one righteous in the kingdom of God: that is the vow of faith in Christ. And the result of our faith in Christ’s sacrifice is a life devoted to pleasing and honoring God. We seek to do that in our thoughts, our words, and deeds, which, of course, includes our sexuality.

Let me summarize temptation 3 this way: We’re tempted to conform our religion to our sexual desires, but true religion seeks to conform our sexual desires to God’s pattern of sexuality.

Temptation 4

This next one, number 4, hits very close to home in our culture. It’s the appeal to “you.” The appeal to your desires and your pride and your vanity.

She says in verse 15, “so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.”

Solomon says to his son, “do you hear how she’s enticing him? She’s going right to the heart of his sin.” His selfishness – His self-idolatry. One of the lies of sexual temptation is that you will be satisfied. You deserve the forbidden pleasure of the adulteress or whatever sexual desires. But that is the heart of lust. I covet. I want. I have to have it. Me, me, me.

I’ve mentioned this phrase before - philosophers call it “expressive individualism.” It’s our culture’s obsession with self-expression and fulfillment. In the area of sexuality, our culture places a huge emphasis on individual autonomy and individual identity and the pursuit of our desires, whatever those desires may be.

But beloved in Christ, your identity is in him. You are a new creation in him. You are a child of the king. Who you are is who God made you to be and your redemption in Christ. You are beautiful and beloved. And that understanding gives us a deep humility and deep gratitude for God’s grace in Christ. The tempter wants you to exalt yourself and make you think that you are what it’s all about – especially in the area of sexuality. But faith in Christ turns that upside down. It’s not about you. It’s about God and it’s about us together in him.

Temptation 5

Temptation 5. This one is the lie that lust equals love. In this next play-by-play analysis, Solomon points out… “Do you see how she’s appealing directly to his heart adultery?” She says, ‘Come let’s have our fill of love ‘til morning,’ verse 18. On my bed are expensive Egyptian linens and perfumes… including cinnamon! Actually, I’m not sure I get the cinnamon thing. I like cinnamon in my hot chocolate or cinnamon sugar on my toast ... not sure about it as a fragrance! But apparently it was an exotic imported spice at the time.

Solomon was saying to his son, she will promise you love and intimacy, she will promise you everything but it is all empty and fleeting. There’s no commitment or promise. In fact, all that’s there is broken promises and commitments. In verse 19, we find out she’s actually married. So you see, it’s lies and false promises and broken commitments.

None of it, my son, is true love. True love denies oneself. It is patient and kind and committed. True love finds fulfillment in a faithful marriage covenant. It overlooks wrongs. It is not resentful. It rejoices in truth.

Everything about her words strikes at the heart of true love. We confuse true love for fleeting passions that have no lasting commitment. It’s coveting and lust outside of the bounds of what is good and right in the eyes of God.

Temptation 6

And that brings us to the last temptation. #6. The temptation to deny the consequences. Verses 19 and 20. “For my husband is not at home; he’s gone on a long journey; he took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home.”

In other words, you have nothing to worry about. No one will know. I promise to keep this a secret. This is just between you and me. Or in the case of pornography, it’s just me and the screen. It doesn’t hurt anyone, therefore, why not?

But this final lie rejects our faith in Christ in a couple of ways. For one, we believe in a God who knows and sees all! Nothing is hidden from his sight, including all our sin – our thoughts, words, and deeds. It’s believing a lie to think that no one knows or will know. God knows.

Second, it’s a sin against Christ, to whom we are united. If you are a believer in Christ, you have been grafted into him through the Holy Spirit. When you sin in the body, you are sinning against Christ.

We read from 1 Corinthians 6 earlier in the service. The apostle Paul’s language is pretty pointed. He writes, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!” He’s saying, all sin is sin against Christ, but especially sexual immorality. Why? Because we are joined to Christ. As he puts it, our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Let us glorify God in our bodies.

There are no secret sins nor sins without consequence. No, God knows and sees all.

Closing

Well, the game film has revealed a blowout game so far. And as the fourth quarter winds down, Solomon shows his son one last thing - The end of the game.

And it’s tragic. Every step of the way, the naive young man fell for the trap. She led him like the pied piper to his demise. As Solomon put it, like an ox to the slaughter. Or a stag in a trap. Or a bird in a snare. All of it, unsuspecting… and as he put it, “he does not know that it will cost him his life.”

It’s a grave warning.

Maybe in the back of your mind, you are asking, “why has Solomon, why has God through Solomon, spent so much time on adultery and sexual sin?”

A few years ago, I heard a pastor describe multiple conversations with young adults who had grown up in the church but who had walked away from their faith. Here’s the question he would ask them: “who are you sleeping with?” In every case it wasn’t an intellectual disagreement, it was the path they wanted to go down – this path.

You see, Solomon knows the temptations his sons will face. He knows the heart of man and he knows that of all the paths that lead away from the wisdom of God, it is this path, the path of sexual sins, which most often leads people away from truth and life. That’s why he concludes, “Let not your heart turn aside to her ways…” Why? He concludes, “Her house is the way to Sheol (the grave), going down to the chamber of death.” It is the path that leads to death.

Well, as we wrap up these personal and sensitive matters, I don’t want to leave you with such a downer. Instead, let me leave you with some encouraging reminders from these three chapters.

· First, there’s a better way. The pattern of marriage that God has established from creation is beautiful and it is one of commitment. It’s even the pattern that reflects the relationship that God has with his people, the church.

· Second, the forgiveness and love of God in Christ is for any and all sin. That, of course, includes this personal area in life. Speaking of “going down to the chamber of death” Jesus is the one who has taken that path for you. Our God redeems and restores when we come to him by faith.

· Third, he gives us new hearts. In him and through his Spirit, we can fill our hearts and minds with the Gospel instead of our lustful desires. As we consider God in all his glory and grace, he’s at work sanctifying us… as we look to him.

· And last, we have one another to help us through our struggles and temptations. Together, we can build each other up, remind one another of these truths, and walk side by side on our journey of faith.

May God call to mind all these things as we walk the path of wisdom in our sexuality. Amen.

Prayer

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Our sermon text this morning is Proverbs 6:20-35. That is found on page 630 in the provided Bibles.

Solomon is returning to the sensitive but important topic of adultery. This is his second lesson on the issue. In Chapter 5, he introduced it by making the case for faithfulness in marriage, faithfulness in the pattern of marriage that God designed.

When we were in chapter 5, one important thing we discussed is the forgiveness that we have in Christ. Believers in Jesus are forgiven of all our sin. And that includes our sexual sin. In him, we have redemption, and in him we are being restored and renewed. Keep that in mind as we continue to navigate God’s Word in these matters.

As we now come to these verses in chapter 6, Solomon shifts his focus to two things. 1.) Where adultery begins, and 2) the cost of adultery. So, as I read, listen for the cause and the consequences of infidelity.

Let’s now come to God’s Word.

Stand

Reading of Proverbs 6:20-35

Prayer

In the early 20th century One of the great British journalists was Malcolm Muggeridge. He served in World War 1, graduated from Cambridge, lived in India for a period of time, and edited several periodicals in England. For most of his life, Muggeridge was agnostic to God. That means he didn’t care about or consider God; but then later in life, Muggeridge converted to Christianity.

In his diary and letters, he often reflected back on the things that eventually led him to Christ. One of those was his struggle with lust.

In a letter to his father, Muggeridge recounted one suchincident in India when he was younger. At the time, Muggeridge had fantasized about infidelity… the allure of adultery. As Proverbs chapter 9 puts it, how “stolen water is sweet.” Muggeridge had never acted on his impulse, though. That is until one morning while swimming in a local River in India. Across the river he saw the silhouette of a woman bathing. It’s then that his heart stared racing with what he called “wild unreasonableness which is called passion.” This was his moment, he thought. And so, he began to swim towards her. Not only did he struggle against the water but also the current of his own conscience. Yet he continued.

When he reached the other shore, he emerged from the river and came to a shocking reality. The woman was a leper. Her nose had rotted off. Her body was covered in sores all over and the tips of her fingers were gone. His first reaction was to think, “what a wretched woman this is.” But he soon realized, it wasn’t the woman who was wretched, no, instead, it was his own wretched heart.

As Muggeridge recounted that event, he wrote “If only I could paint, I'd make a wonderful picture of a passionate boy running after that and call it: 'The lusts of the flesh.'"

Well, that story captures the warning of Proverbs 6:20-35.

Yes, a big portion of these verses focus on the consequences of actual adultery, but here Solomon identifies where it all begins… it all begins with the lust in our hearts.

This morning, we’re going to approach these verses a little differently. Usually, as you know, we work logically through the verses section by section. Occasionally, we’ve looked at themes we find throughout. But this morning, we’re going to start in the middle, work our way to the end, and then circle back to the beginning.

So, I’m saving verses 20-24 to the end. The reason is, these opening verses help us as we each confront our sinful desires. So, I thought it would be good to actually end with the beginning.

Three points this morning.

The Cause of Sexual Immorality – That is verse 25.
The Cost of Sexual Immorality – Verse 26 to the end of the chapter
The Cure to Sexual Immorality – Back up to verses 20-24. Cure may not be the best word. But it helps my alliteration.

The cause of, the cost of, and the cure to sexual immorality.

The Cause of Sexual Immorality

So number 1 - the cause.

Jump down to verse 25. This verse captures Solomon’s message to his son. After he had just told him to love God’s commands, he warns him about the forbidden woman, and then he says this: “Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes.”

He’s speaking about that internal lust of the heart. Sometimes we call that heart adultery. Jesus refers to this in his Sermon on the Mount. If someone looks at a woman with lustful thoughts (or for that matter, looks at a man with lustful thoughts), he or she is breaking the seventh commandment – committing adultery in his or her heart.

And verse 25 is very interesting. It’s not what we would expect. Because if you look at the rest of the chapter, Solomon is identifying the consequence of breaking verse 25’s command… but those consequences are connected to physical adultery, not heart adultery.

In other words, what we expect verse 25 to say is: “Do not commit adultery with her.” But Solomon didn’t say that. Instead, he goes back to the beginning. He goes back to where adultery starts. And he basically says, do not lust in your heart for her. His premise is that our desires, our unholy desires lead down the path to adultery. Solomon wants his sons to recognize where adultery begins. Unless they recognize its source, and deal with their desires, he’s saying, they will fall prey to adultery and its tragic consequences.

Really, all sin begins in the heart, but it’s especially true for adultery. Let me expand that to include all sexual sin - what I mean is any sexual activity outside of God’s ordained pattern of marriage between one man and one woman. We talked about that pattern in chapter 5. All sexual sin begins with lustful desires in our heart. It doesn’t start the moment that it’s acted upon.

Verse 25 alludes to an external attraction. For boys and men that’s where it often begins – not always but often. Solomon knows this. His father, King David, experienced that desire and then acted upon it. For girls and women often it’s an emotional connection – not always but often.

Whatever it is, someone is attractive to you in some way. The problem comes in when that other person is married or you are married and the other person is not your spouse. Perhaps you justify your thoughts. You think, my spouse is not satisfying my physical or emotional needs. Or I know she is married but there’s something about her I desire. Whatever it is, whether you are single or married, you begin to have lustful thoughts in your heart. In your mind, you violate God’s commandment against adultery.

And let me add another category to which I believe verse 25 speaks. This category doesn’t just include unholy and sinful desires, but also in a way acting upon them. I’m referring to pornography. Maybe your sinful desires led you down that path or maybe you were exposed to it which led to unholy desires. But what porn does is pervert what God created as good within a Biblical marriage, and instead it corrupts that design to suit our own lustful passions. Not only that, but it objectifies someone else made in God’s image for your own pleasure. The difficult truth today is the pervasiveness of porn. A recent study revealed that 64% of Christian men and 15% of Christian women say they watch porn at least once a month.

Let me ask this. What would the statistic be if the question focused on adulterous thoughts about someone else in the last month? Would it be 90% of Christian men and 60% percent of Christian women? Perhaps higher.

What verse 25 is saying is that our desires, when they are outside of God’s pattern, are unholy and sinful. Now, to be sure, I’m not saying that the temptation itself is sin. No, being tempted is not sin. Rather it’s when we act on the temptation in our mind, when it becomes sin. Verse 25 is using the word “desire” to mean coveting or lusting after something forbidden.

This is very contrary to our culture’s message today. Some have called the moment of history that we are in “the sexual revolution.” One of the tenants of this revolution is that our desires in this area are not sinful, but rather they define who we each are. We are not “binary” as the revolution says. Some of you will know what that means.

In response, there’s a critical element of the Christian worldview that we need to understand. It’s that when sin entered the world, everything was affected. The universe experienced corruption. Life itself experienced corruption. Our bodies deteriorate. Disease entered the world. And our hearts and minds were corrupted by sin. That includes our desires, which have also been corrupted.

What I’m saying is that having a desire does not legitimate that desire as good or ok. To be sure, not every desire is sinful, but desires that are contrary to God’s creation pattern or desires that are idolatrous or adulterous, like verse 25, go against what is holy and right and good.

I want to be sensitive not to dismiss the reality of those desires or the difficulty of the struggle. As some of you know, it’s complicated and painful. But let me encourage you - the Christian message is one of redemption and restoration. Each of us has different struggles in our lives – maybe it’s this, maybe it’s something else. But one thing that the Christian can hold on to is that God is at work in us, in this life. Over time through prayer and the community of faith and the Word, God through his Spirit helps. He’s conforming us more each day to the image of Christ.

That sanctifying work in us includes our sexual desires and lust. And we can hold onto the hope of eternity when we will be fully restored one day, body and mind.

I know I’ve said a lot and, of course, more could be said. So far, we’ve been dwelling on verse 25. But let’s continue now on to the cost.

The Cost of Sexual Immorality

This is point number 2. The Cost of Sexual Immorality.

Verses 26 through 35 focus in on the cost. Really, as I mentioned, these verse are referring to the consequences of full-blown adultery. It’s where our unrighteous sexual desire lead.

One of the things we do in this area of sin is we minimize the cost. We only think in the moment and we don’t think about the consequences of our actions. Solomon captures that in some of these verses.

For example, in verse 26, he compares the cost of prostitution – only a loaf of bread - to the cost of adultery – your precious life. In other words, adultery may not cost you a penny of your money, but it will cost you your life.

Let me comment on two brief things here.

· First, Solomon is not condoning prostitution. In fact, in the next chapter, the adulteress acts like a prostitute. And prostitution is condemned in several places in Scripture.

· Second, these verses are not identifying women as the problem. Ive mentioned that before, but wanted to reaffirm it. No, Solomon is writing to his son, so he emphasizes the adulteress. Add to that, the focus in on his son’s heart and his actions, not the forbidden woman.

What he is saying is that the cost is extremely high. The two questions in verses 27 and 28 correlate sexual immorality with fire – you will get burned. In verse 29, Solomon gets really explicit – He says, “no one who commits adultery will go unpunished.”

And then in verse 30, he contrasts adultery with stealing. He reveals that the consequences of adultery are far worse.

It’s like this: suppose someone in your community steals food to satisfy his hunger. As wrong as that is, after he is caught, he can be restored. He can pay seven times of what he stole… and if he does, the community will be whole again with him.

But not so with adultery. No. Verse 33 – his “his wounds and dishonor and his disgrace will not be wiped away,” it says. Adultery fractures communities and families. There’s a lasting and painful mark all around. It includes the anguish of deep betrayal and shame. If children are involved, the impact on them often lasts their lifetime.

As a reminder, Solomon is not saying that God and others can’t forgive. No, as we considered in chapter 5, his father, King David was forgiven. Rather Solomon is speaking about the tragedy and consequences on a family and the community.

Some of you are painfully aware of the cost. Perhaps because of your own infidelity, or a spouse or a parent or child or in-law. You know the heartache. Perhaps you know the comfort of Christ in that situation or forgiveness or restoration in him. At times there’s tremendous restoration in a marriage or in a community. But often times adultery leaves a trail of hurt and sadness and grief.

And note how Solomon ends. The last two verses. He warns his sons about revenge. You see, the sin of adultery often results in wrath from the husband of the adulteress or the wife of the adulterer. Nothing you can do or give him, Solomon warns, will satisfy his anger.

The costs is high - destruction, pain, shame, disgrace, and revenge.

And remember, he’s speaking about the costs sexual immorality that has been acted upon. But what the warning about the cost does is raise the stakes of our sinful desires. The lust of our hearts if unchecked will lead down the path to damage and destruction.

My opening illustration about Malcolm Muggeridge is in some way, very personal. In the mid-1990s, I moved to Atlanta to work for Ravi Zacharias ministries. I worked there for a few years until 1999. During my time there, I heard Ravi use that illustration a few times to highlight our sinful hearts, or as he put it, our lecherous hearts.

Sadly, many of you know his story. Ravi passed away from cancer in 2020. Shortly after, he was accused of sexual impropriety and abuse. I say accused because he’s not alive to defend himself and some of the facts are disputed. Nonetheless, enough is known and it’s a painful illustration of how lustful desires lead down the path to immortality. His sin broke relationships in his family… it destroyed a ministry… and it undermined the faith of so many who considered Ravi a spiritual father here on earth.

Brothers and sisters, the cost of sexual immorality is severe, and it all begins in the heart.

The Cure to Sexual Immorality

The cause, the cost, and now, point number 3 – The Cure to Sexual Immorality.

When I say “cure” I’m referring to how we overcome our internal sinful desires. Or how we protect ourselves. Solomon writes this because he wants to protect his son. Back up in verse 24, he uses the word “preserve.” He wants to preserve his son from falling prey to sexual temptation.

Of course, the question we ask is “how?”

Well, before we get to God’s answer in these verses, let me first tell you how not to protect yourself. The answer is not to put up fences and create rules to follow and get accountability partners.

I can see some of you squirming in your chairs right now. “but but but wait, I find those helpful.”

Well, maybe I overstated that. But I did not say those things were unhelpful. I’ve heard good things about the app Covenant Eyes, and certainly having someone who is asking you hard questions will be helpful.

But remember, your desires, your lust begins in your heart. Any of those external strategies are not going to help unless you begin by addressing your heart. Your unholy desires spring up from a heart that is sinful. What I’m saying is that whatever heart adultery that is in your mind is not going to be resolved by just putting up fences and creating rules.

That’s why Solomon begins with the heart. Look at what he says to his son in verse 21: Bind the commandments “on your heart always,” he says. You see, he’s not saying obey the commandments because these are God’s commandments. Yes, we should seek obey God’s commandments because they are God’s commandments. But ultimately, they are not going to change your heart. No, you need to start with a heart that love’s God and his commandments. Do you see the difference? We start from the inside out.

This is not a new aspect of our Proverbs study. Almost every chapter has included loving God’s commandments from our heart. We love God’s commandments because we love God and he loves us. If God and his commandments are just external, then our hearts will wander to all kinds of lusts and desires. On the outside, perhaps we appear righteous and holy, but on the inside, our hearts are wildly adulterous.

But when we have God and his commandments in our hearts, look at how Solmon describes the effect. Verse 22 – “When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.” I love it, even when you sleep, your heart and mind will be filled with God and his commandments. And in verse 23, after describing the commandments as a “lamp” and “light,” it says, “the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.” Way of life. A life dedicated to God and his wisdom.

So, how do you fight the battle of the lusts of your flesh? You do it by loving God and making his way the way of your life.

I’ve had Ephesians 6 on my mind all week - the section we read earlier in the service. How do you fight the battle of sexual desires and stand firm? You put on the whole armor of God.

· You put on the breastplate of righteousness. Not your righteousness but the righteousness of Christ in you – the fulness of his purity.

· You wear the belt of truth and the sword of the Spirit which is God’s Word. That means through the Holy Spirit you trust the truth of God which he has revealed in his Word. Truth about the world, about creation, about what is good and right… truth about sin and the effects of sin.

· And Ephesians 6 continues, you wear the shoes of the Gospel, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. You constantly remind yourself of what Christ has done for you in his Gospel. Salvation in him - the grace that you have which you receive by faith. That you are forgiven and cleansed of all our sin, which includes your lust and your sexual sins.

It's a beautiful place to begin because it’s a beautiful thing!

What I’m saying is that to fight the battle against your sinful lust, you need to replace your unholy heart desires with holy desires. And there’s nothing greater than to look to God and to look to what he has done for you in Christ.

When you embrace his Gospel, and rejoice in the Cross, and glory in his resurrection and all the redemption and hope that you have in him, he will fill you with a passion to reflect his righteousness and seek his commands. Instead of your heart being filled with lustful thoughts, more and more it will be filled with glorious thoughts – thoughts about the Gospel and God’s grace and forgiveness in your life.

Will you be cured from any and all lustful thoughts in this life? No, but through the Spirit, you will be enabled more and more to put to death those desires, to listen to his conviction… and when temptation comes, to turn away from it and back to the Gospel of grace.

In closing, there will come a day when those in Christ will be cured from all impure thoughts, all sinful desires, and the consequences of our sin. And it’s a day we can long for and anticipate with joy.

And in the battle of the flesh, today, we can fight with the full armor of God, knowing the cause of sexual immorality, it’s cost, and the ultimate cure. May the Lord help us each day in this battle.

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Our sermon text this morning is Proverbs chapter 5. In the pew Bible, you can find that on page 628. As you are turning there, let me say that three of Solomon’s opening lessons in Proverbs are about matters of sexuality and adultery.

That’s what this chapter focuses on, but it’s not just chapter 5 here. The second half of chapter 6, and then all of chapter 7 also deal with this topic.

Originally, I was planning to preach one sermon that covered all of it. After thinking about it more, I changed my mind.

· First, if Solomon (or really God through Solomon) put such a weight on these matters, then so should we. We should also consider them with similar significance and not simplify them.

· Second, as I worked through these chapters, they each have a unique emphasis.

· Chapter 5 directs us not just away from adultery, but also toward faithfulness in marriage.

· The second half of chapter 6 includes an emphasis on keeping our hearts pure in matters of sexuality. So, part of that chapter is about lust.

· And chapter 7 gives explicit warnings about the temptations which lead us down the path of seduction.

That’s where we’re headed. Next week is a missions focused Sunday and the week after we’ll be in the first half of chapter 6. So, these heavy matters will be spaced out a little.

Let’s turn our minds and hearts now towards God’s Word.

Reading of Proverbs 5

Prayer

Well, these are sensitive topics for several reasons. I thought I would start out by acknowledging a few.

· For the parents here with younger children, I will be careful about my word choices without avoiding the matters. But you may need to elaborate with your children later at your discretion.

· It’s also sensitive because it’s intensely personal. God created us as sexual beings. He created us male or female. That’s a big part of who we each are. It should not be our primary identity – no, if you are a believer in Christ, you’re primary identity is in him. Nonetheless, sex and gender are important matters.

· Let me add something else. This topic may also be personal to you because of your history. That may include being a victim of sexual abuse. Some of you, I know, experienced that deep hurt and pain perhaps even by someone you thought you could trust.

· Or you may also have experienced the deep wounds of adultery – not your own adultery but the unfaithfulness of a spouse.

· Or lastly, the sensitivity of this topic may come from your own sin - past or present - sexual sins that you have or do struggle with. The Bible is not shy about addressing those. That may include lust or a pornography addiction, or that may be physical adultery – not just adultery of the heart but actual. Sexual sin has a particularly hard and lasting impact. That’s part of the warning of these chapters.

What I want to say up front is this: we have a God who is loving and forgiving. He is a God who restores and ministers to us on both sides of sexual sin. He can bring healing, and he can forgive.

The pain of being abused will last a long time, but we have a God who lifts us up and who is with us. He has come near to us in Christ.

Jesus knows your suffering and weakness. He himself suffered. He was grievously sinned against. And he experienced temptation. As the author of Hebrews put it, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

If you have sexual sin in your past or you are struggling with it now, let me say this: There is no sin so great that God cannot forgive you when you lay it before him. Do you understand that? When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, he took all your sin. He nailed all of it to the cross. That includes your sexual sin, whatever it is. When I say “your sin” I’m referring to you if you have come to Christ. In other words, you’ve turned your life to him. You’ve come to him repenting and seeking his forgiveness and renewal. If that’s you, as the prophet Isaiah wrote, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Now, perhaps this is your first time here. I don’t know your situation. God does.

· Maybe you’ve made a mess of your marriage because of your infidelity.

· Maybe you are so overcome by a sexual addiction that you don’t know where to turn.

· Or maybe there’s some other sexual struggle… or you are feeling a great weight that you are having a heard time bearing.

Jesus can bear it for you, when you come to him in faith. That includes turning that sin, that struggle, over to him. And when you do, a beautiful thing will happen. He will take the full judgment that your sin deserves, and he will make you right in God’s eyes. That is the very first thing that needs to happen. And then through that restored relationship with God through Christ, he will begin, by his Spirit, to help you with that sin… with the support of the community of faith. If I’m speaking to you today, Jesus says, “come to me.”

Because of the personal and sensitive nature of this chapter, I wanted to begin there… to begin with the forgiveness and restoration of Christ.

And let me point out, Proverbs 5 is not just personal to Solmon’s sons or to his original readers or to us today. No, these chapters were very personal to him. Solmon himself was born as a result of an adulterous relationship.

Some of you know what happened very well. One day, Solomon’s father, King David, was on the roof of the king’s palace. And across the way was a beautiful woman bathing. Bathsheba. She was already married yet David sought her. He had her brought to the palace. He then committed adultery with her. And when David learned that she conceived, he had Bathsheba’s husband put on the front lines of the battlefield knowing he would be killed. And he was. So, not only adultery, but murder to cover up his sin. David then took Bathsheba as his wife.

And at first, David felt no conviction. That is until the Lord rebuked him through Nathan the prophet.

Nathan told David a story of a great man who had a great many possessions including many lambs, but this wealthy man took and killed the only lamb of a poor man, so that he, the wealthy man, could feed guests. David heard the story and was enraged. To which Nathan replied with those famous words: “You are the man!”

King David was cut to the heart, and he cried out in repentance to God. And Nathan responded, “the Lord has put away your sin.” You see, God forgave David. Now, David and those around him still had to endure the earthly consequences of his sin, but he was forgiven.

And we have the beautiful Psalm of David’s repentance – Psalm 51. It’s the same plea we can make to the Lord knowing that he forgives.

Well, what happened next was that the child Bathsheba conceived died. Nathan had prophesied that. But soon after, she conceived again, and Solmon was born.

As Solmon grew up in the palace, he would have found out exactly what happened. When David and Bathsheba taught Solomon about love and faithfulness, they would also have warned him about adultery and its consequences – but yet God’s mercy to them despite David’s grievous sin.

So, you see, as Solmon is instructing his sons, here, he is intimately aware of adultery. And Solomon so desired his sons to walk the path of faithfulness throughout their days.

Let me put it this way: Solmon wanted his sons to learn the easy way and not the hard way.

Kids, do you know the difference between learning the easy way and not the hard way?

· The easy way is listening to your parents (or others) as they teach you God’s commands… and then seeking to honor Lord in your life.

· The hard way is not listening to them or God’s commands. Then realizing later that what they taught you was right all along. But you had to sadly experience the heartache and pain and consequences of your sin.

Look down at verses 12-14. That’s basically what it says. You see, right after describing the consequences of adultery, Solomon describes to his sons what they would say if they followed that path:

“How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.” Solomon is saying that they will go back in their minds to when they were younger. And they will wish that they had listened to their parents and God’s Word. In short, they will regret not listening because they learned the hard way.

And then in verse 14, they will lament, “I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” It’s too late, for them, in the sense of their shame and the destruction it caused. But as Solmon personally knows from his father, it not too late in view of God’s mercy.

For all the younger generations, here’s the plea of Solomon: learn the easy way and not the hard way.

Here’s the warning: The path of adultery is so tempting and so enticing. Let me expand that to include any sexual sin. Look at how verse 3 puts it: “For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil”.

Now, don’t be distracted by Solomon focusing on the adulteress woman. Remember, he’s writing to his sons here. Yes, adultery is personified as a woman, but Solomon is not saying that somehow women are the problem. In fact, back down to verses 12 and 13, he points out that his sons will realize they were at fault if they follow the path. Really, these opening verses are about any adultery – or let me add, any fornication. That is, any sexual activity outside of the confines of what God has ordained. We’ll come to that in a minute.

Let me say it again, sexual sin is so appealing on the outside. It promises so much, yet it delivers on none of its promises. It’s described here in verses 4-11.

· Rather than honey, it’s “bitter as wormwood.” Wormwood is a terribly bitter herb. It often makes someone sick who eats it. Solomon is saying it’s poison. Going down the path will poison you.

· And he adds that it’s like a two-edged sword. Death.

In the original animated jungle book movie, there’s a scene where Mowgli is being entranced by Kaa. Kaa is the big snake and Mowgli is the young boy – the man cub. Kaa’s eyes get big as he sings “trust in me” and puts Mowgli in a spell. He’s luring him so that he may devour him.

Sexual sin is especially alluring in our culture today. It’s not just something we conjure up in our sinful hearts, but we’re also preyed upon. Our weaknesses and sinful desires from the fall are tapped into through images and videos… and through lies of the culture. We’re targeted through all the devices we carry around everywhere. And it’s all animated by the devil, who has no interest in preserving your life. We’ll talk more about the temptations out there and our desires in here when we get to the end of chapter 6 and especially chapter 7.

Beloved, the plea here for you (and me) is to not get pulled into the lies and deception of sexual sin. It may promise life, but it only leads away from life and instead, as it says, to the path of “Sheol” - the grave.

In fact, much of the description here is about the sad consequences, especially verses 9-11. You are giving yourself away to “strangers,” your years to the “merciless.” It says they will take “fill of your strength.” Your years will be years of “groaning.”

King David was forgiven. He was washed by the blood of Christ. Jesus not yet come, but yet his sacrifice was sufficient for all those who had come before, who trusted by faith in the one to come. Yet King David still endured the heartache of his sin. If you track David’s life, after his adultery and his act of murder, the trajectory is a struggle of pain and difficulty. I’m not telling you that to discourage you. The Lord restores and forgives. Rather, I’m mentioning that because a big part of this chapter is a warning to stay away from sexual sin… or to put an end to it, with the help of God’s Spirit and the church.

And let me say, there are resources today that can help. It’s never too late. The Lord knows your sin – that’s down in verse 21. You are not hiding it from him. He can and will forgive. Please reach out to me this week… so we can talk and pray.

That brings us to an important question. Is God saying that all sexual intimacy is sin? No. Rather, what he’s saying is that any and all sexual activity outside the context of a Biblical marriage is sin. But inside a Biblical marriage, it can be a beautiful thing.

I’ll define Biblical marriage in a minute. But first, the language there in verses 15-19 is poetic. It’s speaking of the passion and fulfillment of marital intimacy. If you will, it’s Song of Solomon language that is describing the marriage bed. The language of cisterns and streams and springs and fountains is poetic for an overflowing fulfillment of physical love between a husband and wife.

And did you notice that it clearly says that it’s something to only be shared in that context.

Twice the word “intoxicated” is used. The first time is in verse 19 – Solomon tells his son to be intoxicated with his wife – delighting in physical intimacy with his wife. The second time, verse 20 – Solomon exhorts his son not to be intoxicated with a forbidden woman.

When you think of the word “intoxicated,” what comes to mind?

Well, we would think of someone inebriated or drunk. But a better understanding from the underlying Hebrew is to be in raptured or enamored or captivated with a great pleasure or a great fondness for something.

And let me point out the slight difference in the two intoxications described here.

· The intoxication in marriage is an intoxication of “love.” That word is at the end of verse 19 - love. This intoxication is founded on love between husband and wife. The word “love” there is not the Hebrew word for covenant love, rather it refers to a deep affection and commitment. That love is the foundation of the intoxication.

· The second intoxication is a shallow blind intoxication. It’s not described as love, but rather is only connected with physical intimacy. You see that in verse 20. It’s a sinful intoxication of something forbidden.

The point is this: God has created the joy of physical intimacy, but it is reserved for Biblical marriage. Sexual intimacy can and should flourish in that covenantal union between a husband and wife. Any other sexual intimacy is not what God ordained. Even though it may feel exhilarating, like I’m sure it did for David in the moment, yet it violates what God has established. That path leads to the consequences as this chapter describes.

Let me clarify one thing. I’ve used the phrase Biblical marriage a few times. And what I mean is a marriage between a man and a woman. One thing really important to understand is that God established marriage before the fall – before Adam and Eve sinned. In other words, marriage is an institution that transcends the fall and sin. Marriage is a creation ordinance applicable to all humanity. Marriage is part of God’s grand design and command to fill the earth with his image bearers.

As you know, we live in a cultural moment that questions the institution of marriage – that questions whether there’s even a need for such an institution… or questions whether marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

But let me say, what God has established in marriage is good! The Christian ethic of sexuality in a monogamous marriage relationship between a man and a woman is good. The institution of the family with a father and mother is good.

Study after study has shown that this pattern (which God has given) leads to the flourishing of humanity and the stability of society. It’s founded on the loving commitment between a man and a woman in marriage.

To put it in another way, the Christian sexual ethic that God has laid out in his Word (including here in Proverbs 5) leads to blessing. Any other patterns suggested or pursued do not come from God but come from the fallen and sinful desires that we each have.

I’m not shying away from saying that, because one avenue through which God gives his common grace to all the world is through marriage – marriage between one man and one woman.

Let me tell you a few things that I am not saying:

· I’m not saying that all marriages are healthy. No, the fall did happen. When two selfish sinners come together (and that is any of us to one extent or another) there is going to be conflict. Those here who are married will tell you that marriage is one of God’s means of sanctification.

· I’m also not saying that physical intimacy in marriage is always easy or uncomplicated. No, it can be difficult at times because of history and sin and health issues.

· Another thing that is important to know is this: singleness can be a great blessing. The apostle Paul made that point very clear. So, I’m not saying that everyone is called to be married.

· And one more - I’m not saying that a single mom or dad can’t raise up their children faithfully. They can with the help of a loving community.

Here’s what I am saying. Marriage as a whole, between a man and a woman seeking to love each other, is good for all humanity. It’s good because it’s God’s design.

Let me make one last point: Marriage between a husband and wife points to the relationship that Christ has with his people. It’s a beautiful picture that God has given us. In fact, it’s more than a picture. Christ is the bridegroom and his church is the bride. That’s the relationship that God has established with his church. The church is betrothed to the Lord Jesus himself. He provides and protects her and delights in her. Jesus is our redeemer.

That’s one thing that Proverbs 5 does… it points to that beautiful relationship, which brings us back to where we started – the love and forgiveness of Christ.

The marriage between Christ and his church happens through the redeeming work of Christ. We were unfaithful. We had followed the enticing path of the adulterer. We were the ones giving away our honor to others and groaning in our sin, yet Christ redeemed us. He restored us to a relationship with himself.

The reason that any of us here can seek faithfulness in our sexuality…. is because of the faithfulness of Christ.

I know I’ve said a lot so far, so let me briefly summarize as we close.

First, we’ve all sinned and struggled in matters of our sexuality, but God is a loving and redeeming God. He forgives and restores in and through Jesus.

Second, like Solomon with his sons, God wants us to learn the easy way and not the hard way. He wants us to listen because the path of sexual sin, though enticing, leads down the path of despair and destruction.

Third, there’s an infinitely better way - the way of faithfulness to God in our sexuality. If you are not married this means sexual chastity with the help of God’s grace. If you are married, it means loving your spouse and keeping physical intimacy to that relationship alone.

Fourth, though the cultural winds blow strong against this pattern, yet it is God’s design and through it, all humanity is blessed.

And last, marriage is ultimately patterned after the relationship that God has with his people through Christ. In him, we are redeemed and can pursue his will and our purity through his grace.

Regardless of your marital status, your past hurts, or present struggles, we can all enjoy the faithful love of our heavenly bridegroom. And through him we can anticipate the day when we will be free from all sin and sorrow… and will delight in his love and presence forever. Amen.

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The Road Less Travelled By

Proverbs 4

We’ll be looking at Proverbs 4 today. You can find that on page 628

This is Solmon’s 5th lesson on wisdom. In these opening chapters, he’s been answering the “what,” the “why,” and the “how” questions of wisdom. Last week was another “why” answer. Why pursue wisdom? Because the value of wisdom is beyond what we can even imagine.

This chapter, chapter 4, answers another “how” question – “how do I stay on the path of wisdom?” The answer: Cherish wisdom every day of your life.

As I read, listen for two things. Listen to the language of keeping or holding on to wisdom and listen for the language of the path or way of wisdom.

Reading of Proverbs 4:1-27

Prayer

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken” is perhaps America’s most well-known poem.

Those are the opening lines. Likely you are more familiar with how it closes:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

As the literature teachers here would probably tell you, the poem is often misunderstood. When we hear it, we immediately think of the path of life. After all, choosing the right path makes all the difference, as it says. But, as I understand it, Frost was actually making fun of an indecisive friend. This friend struggled to pick any path in the woods.

Nonetheless, his poem has become a symbol of life’s journey. In a way, it appeals to that inner sense that there are different paths in life…. that we need to choose a path. And, of course, it also appeals to American individualism – choosing a path less travelled.

Well, Proverbs 4 is about the path of life. It’s about choosing the road less travelled by, the path of wisdom. And it’s contrasted with the path of evil.

Now, you may have noticed this: At the end of almost every wisdom lesson so far, Solomon concludes by identifying 2 paths.

· On one hand, he has talked about the ignorant, the fool, the complacent, and the wicked. And he’s described their end. They will be cut off or rooted out or disgraced.

· On the other hand, he’s talked about the wise, the righteous, and the upright. They will inherit honor or remain in the land.

· Two paths – one leading to life and one leading to death

We get here to chapter 4, and it what it does is expands on the 2 paths of life. But instead of just describing the two paths – he’s already done that. Solomon tells his sons how to stay on the path.

This is critically important. You know that famous quote: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." That’s true, but the journey doesn’t end with the first step, no it takes step after step. Wisdom begins with the reverent fear of the Lord, but that’s just the beginning of the journey. Wisdom is a life-long journey.

What’s interesting about this chapter is that there are three themes present. However, they’re not logically ordered. Rather, these three themes permeate the chapter. So instead of working through this sequentially, we’ll take it thematically.

What are those three themes? Three “H” words. Hearing, Holding, and Heeding the way of wisdom. Hearing the wisdom of God; Holding to the wisdom of God; and Heeding the wisdom of God.

Hearing, Holding, and Heeding. Let me put it this way: these are the three keys that will help you stay on the path of wisdom.

Hearing

Honestly, I don’t want to spend too much time on hearing. This is not the first time we’ve come across the importance of hearing wisdom. A few weeks ago we considered how we are bombarded today by different messages from our culture. It’s hard, isn’t it, to filter through everything out there and to hear true wisdom.

And, do you remember where we go to listen to God’s wisdom? We go to God’s commands and his teaching. We find that in his Word.

Hearing is essential on the journey of wisdom. I think you would agree with me, that makes sense.

Note the very first word of chapter 4. “Hear.” Hear what? “Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.”

This is the king of Israel. He’s speaking about the teaching that had been passed down through the ages. It was passed to his father, King David. David then taught Solomon, and now King Solmon is passing it to the next generation. You can see that generational connection right there in verses 3 and 4. “when I was a son, my father taught me.”

Now, jump down to verses 10. Solmon re-emphasizes the need to “hear” him. There’s that word, again, “hear.” Then in 11, he explains: “I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.”

He’s saying, “my son, these are the things of God: his commandments, his precents, his covenant promises. Hear them. Receive my teaching.”

And notice yet again, down in verse 20. Solomon once more reemphasizes the need to hear: “be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.”

Children, you have your life ahead of you. Lord willing, he will give you length of days. There are so many things for you to learn. Good things to learn about the world, about history, things to learn in the various career paths.

But the most important thing to learn is about God: All the things he has revealed to us in his Word. Wonderful things about who God is and his love for you in Christ. Kids, your parents and others are teaching you these things. And the very first responsibility you have on your life journey is to listen to God and his word.

And I think you all know this, it’s not a one-time thing. No, throughout our whole lives, we are to be listening to God - studying his Word (all of it!). We’re to listen attentively to it.

Let me put it this way, you can’t walk on the path of wisdom or stay on the path if you’re not listening to the word of wisdom. Hearing is required.

There’s, of course, more to say about hearing. This won’t be the last time we talk about hearing, so I’ll leave it at that.

Holding

Next holding. Not just hearing God’s wisdom but holding on to the wisdom of God. Cherishing it constantly all your days. Never letting it go!

This idea is all through these verses. Really, it’s the main trust of what Solomon is conveying to his children. Yes, hear my teaching, but also hold on to my teaching.

First, look at verse 4 “let your heart hold fast my words.” Verse 5. “do not forget” and “do not turn away from the words of my mouth.” Verse 6 – “Do not forsake her.” Solmon is speaking about lady wisdom.

And did you notice how personal this is. “love her, and she will guard you.” Verse 8 “prize her highly, and she will exalt you. She will honor you if you embrace her.”

In other words, holding on to wisdom should not be a stubborn duty-bound endeavor. Rather, I think the word cherish is the right word here. Hold on to her lovingly because she will give you life. Look down at verse 13: “keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her;” and then look what it says, “for she is your life.”

On the journey of life, the wisdom of God gives you life.

Many of you have heard of Corrie Ten Boom. Perhaps some of you have read her book, The Hiding Place. Corrie and her family lived outside of Amsterdam during World War 2. They were Christians… and they were part of a network of believers who hid Jews from the Nazis. They helped them and others escape. They had a clock business which they used as a cover for their true operations.

As you can imagine, the Ten Booms put themselves at grave risk because of their endeavors. The Nazis had taken over the region in 1940, so for multiple years they continued in their efforts to save people. During this time, Corrie and her whole family memorized Scripture. Her father would recite from God’s word and often from Psalm 119. He would read this: “Lord, You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. Deliver me from evildoers” It, of course, gave them encouragement to continue in their work. But it would also be their lifeline.

You see, in February of 1944, the Ten Boom family was arrested. Corrie and her sister Betsie were sent off to Ravensbrook concentration camp. There they endured the harshest of conditions. In her book, Corrie recounts the neglect, the disease, and the starvation. Her sister, in fact, did not survive.

Through those dark and difficult days, Corrie describes how God’s Word sustained them. She and Betsie would recite the Scriptures they had memorized. It was their life. Not only was it a lifeline for them, but they would also share the Word with the other women.

Corrie wrote this: “Nobody can take away from you those texts from the Bible which you have learned by heart.” You see, she heard the word and she held on to the word. It was life for her.

If you’ve never read The Hiding Place, I would encourage you to. Someone told me once that they read it every single year. It reminds them of the priorities in life, of evil in the world, and of being sustained by the Lord and his Word.

Back to Proverbs 4. Down in verses 21-23 we find the same theme - holding on to God’s wisdom as a source of life. After Solomon calls his son to be attentive to his words, he says, “let them not escape from your sight. Keep them within your heart.” And expanding on that in verse 23: “keep your heart with all vigilance.” Why? Listen to what he says: “for from it flows the springs of life.”

We hold onto wisdom, we cherish it, because it helps keep us on the path. So, constantly remind yourself of God’s truth and commands. And do that through days of plenty and days of lack, through temptation and sickness and persecution, in times of joy and sadness.

Holding onto and guarding wisdom will sustain you on the path of life.

Heeding

So, first hearing. Hearing is not a one-time thing or for one period in your life. No, it’s attentively listening to God and his word all your days.

Second, holding onto it. Keeping it. Embracing it. Hiding God’s wisdom in your heart. This is also not a one-time thing. No, we’re to hold onto it every step of the 1000-mile journey.

And third, heeding - heeding the way of wisdom. You can stuff all the Scripture you want in your head, and you can actually believe it. But you also need to respond to it. You need to take action because of it.

In other words, heeding is obeying.

And just like hearing and holding are found all throughout this chapter… and are described as lifetime pursuits on the journey. So also is heeding.

It’s captured here in the language of walking. And staying on the path. And not veering to the path of evil.

· Verse 5, for example: not only does Solmon command his son to not forget his instruction, but Solmon next commands his son to not “turn away from the words of my mouth” That means to be faithful to them.

· Verses 11 speak of the “way of wisdom,” which is the way of “uprightness,” as it says. Theres that idea again that wisdom has a moral component to it. Know the wisdom of God and reflect the wisdom of God.

· Verse 12 continues the image of walking. When you walk in this way, “your step will not be hampered, and if you run you will not stumble.”

In other words, wisdom is an endurance race. It’s not a sprint.

You’ll also notice in chapter 4 that to heed wisdom is to stay on the path. It’s not straying onto the wrong path.

One time, I was competing in a bicycle road race up in north Georgia. That was a long time ago. I was doing pretty well, I thought… but a few miles in, there was an arrow spray painted on the road to take a turn. It was a little faded, but I thought, “ok, ok, this must be the way to go.” No one else was around, so I turned.

The problem was, I hadn’t study the course map before the race. The arrow on the road was from the prior year’s course. For miles and miles, I rode my heart out. No one was around me. I thought I was killing it, but I had gotten on the wrong path.

The funny thing is, eventually it brought me to the finish line but from the wrong direction! So, I just rode up a little ways, turned around, and came back.

Look at verse 14. “Do not enter the path of the wicked.” And “do not walk in the way of evil.” “Avoid it,” it says. “Turn away from it and pass on.” Verse 15.

And look how the path of wisdom is described in verse 18: “the path of the righteous.” You see, the path itself, is the path of heeding the way of wisdom.

And the last 4 verses really capture it all: “Put away crooked speech… and devious talk” This is not like putting dishes away to be used later. No, the Hebrew is much stronger. Literally “remove it.” Let it be no more.

He adds… ”let your eyes look directly forward” …”do not swerve to the right or to the left.”

Try something later today. Try walking in a straight line while you head is turned and you are focusing on something off to the side. You’ll find that it’s very hard. On the path of life, there are many distracting, appealing things on the wrong path. Solomon says, don’t even gaze over at them. No, face forward and continue straight.

And the chapter concludes, “turn your foot away from evil.”

Do you see what Proverbs 4 is saying? Wisdom is not a one and done thing. You don’t just arrive at wisdom and then coast. No, wisdom is a life journey. It’s a way of life. And it requires hearing, holding, and heeding.

The sad reality of this chapter is to consider Solmon himself. He wrote Proverbs as a young man, as a young king, with young sons. Yet, the lifelong path of wisdom that he describes is not the path that he persisted on.

No, Solomon swerved from the truth. We read from 1 Kings 11 earlier. It describes how Solomon lost sight of God.

In fact, in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 17, the kings of Israel were given specific commands:

Kings were not to acquire many horses for themselves, lest it caused the people to return to Egypt

Also, kings were not to acquire many wives nor acquire excess silver and gold, lest his heart turn away from God. So far, Solomon is 0 for 3.

No, instead, do you know what kings were commanded to do? They were to keep a copy of God’s law. Let me read you exactly what Deuteronomy 17 commands for the kings: “he shall read [the law] all the days of his life” (in other words, hearing). It continues: “that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes,” (In other words, holding). It continues, “and doing them,” it says (heeding). And then Deuteronomy 17 explains why: “that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.”

Solomon broke these. He lost sight of God’s commandments and of God himself. And it happened because he failed to hear, hold, and heed God’s wisdom all his days.

Now, you are probably asking “is there any hope for anyone? I mean if King Solomon with all his God given wisdom couldn’t hold and heed wisdom in his life, ca anyone stay on the path? Is there any way?” That is the question.

And what I want to say is that Proverbs 4 is not setting us up for failure. No, rather Proverbs 4 is leading us to The Way.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In fact, do you know how they referred to Jesus followers in the New Testament? They are referred to as those belonging to The Way.

In the book of Acts chapter 9, the apostle Paul, before his conversion, was persecuting those “belonging to The Way.” (capital “W”)

In Acts 18, Priscilla and Aquila explained to Apollos “the way of God” more accurately. Twice in Acts chapter 19, and twice more in chapter 24, it describes the Christian life as “The Way” – again capital “W.”

Following Jesus is the way of God. He is the path of righteousness.

But there’s something important to understand, though. Don’t picture in your mind Jesus walking on a path and you are there following behind trying to keep up. Don’t picture yourself tripping and falling, and then having to run to catch back up to him. No, Jesus said, “I am the way.” The way of wisdom is Christ. Following Christ is giving your life to him. It’s recognizing your utter inability, because of your sin, to hear, hold, and heed the wisdom of God. Jesus is the one who hears, holds, and heeds the wisdom of God for you.

Picture it this way, when you fall (I didn’t say “if” I said “when”)… when you fall, Jesus lifts you up and restores you to the path of life… or if necessary, he carries you the rest of the way.

I hope you are following me here. None of what I just said takes away from the call of Proverbs 4. Following the one who is the way, makes the way of Proverbs 4 possible.

· When you come to Christ, you are given ears to hear the way of truth and the commandments of God. The Spirit of God opens up the ears of your heart to hear his truth.

· You are also given his Gospel to hold all your days. When you come to believe that Christ died for you so that you may live, it is the beginning of a lifetime of cherishing the grace of the cross all of your days. In fact, he is the one who is holding you fast.

· And last, you are enabled to heed the commands of God. Jesus is the upright one. And through his Spirit in your life, you can reflect his righteousness.

Hear, Hold, and Heed the wisdom of God in Christ.

Let me end by putting it this way: Following Christ is the road less travelled by, that truly does make all the difference.

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Wisdom’s Blessing: Peace and Life, Now and Forever

Proverbs 3:13-35

Our sermon text is Proverbs 3:13-35. Before we look at these verses, I thought a quick review would be helpful.

So, if you would actually turn to Proverbs 1. You can find that on page 625 in the pew Bible.

One of the difficult things about Proverbs is how every chapter is about some aspect of wisdom. Because of that, some of the passages can appear redundant. It can also be hard to remember the differences. So, let’s briefly review.

Chapter 1 focused on 2 things. The first 7 verses revealed that wisdom has an ethical component. You can see that right there in verse 3 – “righteousness, justice, and equity.” Wisdom is not just knowing God and his law, but wisdom requires a heart and life commitment. Over time that will also yield a discernment between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. That’s why wisdom requires fearing the Lord. You see that’s there in verse 7. To have knowledge and wisdom you need to first fear the Lord - an awe, honor, and worship of God. You can’t start anywhere else.

Then, the second half of chapter 1 was the flashing lights! Warning, danger ahead! If you follow the path of foolishness and evil, it will lead to anguish, distress, terror, and ultimately destruction. Remember that phrase there in the last verse - 33. But whoever listens to wisdom will dwell secure… without the dread of disaster. Heed the warning.

That brought, chapter 2. It answered the question, how do we get wisdom? Well, we need to seek the wisdom of God. That’s the first few verses of chapter 2. It requires diligence, prayer, and study. We can’t just sit back but need to pursue wisdom. And when we pursue wisdom from our heart, God will give us his wisdom in our heart. Look at chapter 2 verse 6 – “for the Lord gives wisdom.” That’s a beautiful promise. And once we have true wisdom, God will use it to protect and deliver us.

Then, last week, we started into chapter 3. The first 12 verses of chapter 3 are probably the most well-known in the book. If you are faithful to God’s covenant conditions – that means keeping his commandments, trusting and fearing him, honoring him in your life, then he will fulfill his amazing covenant promises – an abundant life of peace, healing, and prosperity. Those promises are ultimately spiritual and eternal, nonetheless, there are tangible near term blessings in this life.

In all of it, we’ve considered the person and work of Christ. We’re not shoehorning Jesus in here. No, on the contrary,

1.) it is only through Christ that we can truly fear the Lord in worship.

2.) The cross, though it is foolish to men, is the ultimate fulfillment of wisdom.

3.) Jesus’ life perfectly demonstrates the wisdom of God,

4.) he goes before us to deliver us from evil.

5.) And fifth, he is the covenant keeper on our behalf. Through him we can pursue God and his wisdom. And through him we will receive all the promises of God.

As we continue our Proverbs study, we’ll see more and more of Jesus - his life, his ministry, and salvation in him.

That brings us to the rest of chapter 3 verses 13 to the end of the chapter. It’s a continuation of the blessings of wisdom.

Reading of Proverbs 3:13-35

Prayer

A few weeks ago, we visited Washington DC. It was the first time we’ve been as a whole family. And if you’ve been there, you’ll know that there’s more to see than there is time. So, at one point we split up. Amy went with the girls to see the museum of Natural History. And of course, the boys and I wanted to see things that fly and go fast… so we went to the Air and Space Museum. However, after hearing about the precious gem collection, we kind of wished we had time for both. At least I did.

They were able to see the largest deep blue diamond in the world. Deep blue diamonds are very rare and very coveted. This one is called the Hope diamond. They say it’s priceless. It’s one of a kind with a weight of 45 carrots. A few years ago, a 13 carrot deep-blue diamond sold for 48 million dollars. So, doing the math, the Hope Diamond is likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

That’s a lot of value, but what I want to tell you today… the Hope Diamond is nothing compared to the value of wisdom. Wisdom is priceless. It’s blessing in our lives goes way beyond what we can think or imagine.

I’ve been thinking about these verses in chapter 3 as the mirror opposite of the second half of chapter 1. They both answer the same question: why we should pursue wisdom? but they come from opposite perspectives. Chapter 1 is the ultimate deterrent – if you don’t pursue wisdom – a downward tragedy. You will succumb to evil and those who propagate evil. But these verses in chapter 3 give us the ultimate prize. Fix your eyes on wisdom! …the beauty and the blessing of wisdom. You see, we need both motivators. We need the warning in chapter 1 and the blessing here in chapter 3.

I was able to get an outline in the bulletin this week. You can see that on the back

We’ll be looking at wisdom in 3 points:

Valuing the blessing of wisdom – verses 13 to 20
Embracing the blessing of wisdom – verses 21 to 26
Giving away the blessing of wisdom – verses 27 to 32

So valuing, embracing, and giving away the blessing of wisdom.

It’s all centered around the blessing of wisdom. If you look at verse 13, you’ll see that it starts with the word “blessed.” “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom.” That word blessed is repeated at the end of verse 18. It gives us a clue that the first few verses are about the blessing of wisdom. But then down in verse 33, the Lord blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Yet, another emphasis on blessing.

Valuing the blessing of wisdom (v13-20)

So first, valuing the blessing of wisdom. Maybe the Hope Diamond is not your thing. Maybe the most valuable commodity in the world to you is not gold, silver, or precious jewels as verses 13 and 14 mention. Maybe it’s that rare Bugatti sports car? Or that Leonardo Da Vinci painting? Or in Monaco, that famous palace overlooking the Mediterranean? You name it! But whatever it is… it’s nothing compared to wisdom. Look at how verse 15 describes wisdom: “nothing you desire can compare with her!” It kind of raises the stakes of our study of Proverbs!

Of all the things in the world to desire, wisdom is it. That’s not intuitive for us. We desire many things. Status in a career. Financial independence. Comfort in life. We want those things because we think they will give us peace and stability. But we sell ourselves short in those pursuits. There’s something greater. Wisdom. The wisdom that we’ve been talking about, that is. God’s wisdom.

Now, verse 16 is interesting. In her left hand, it says, are “riches and honor.” We’re tempted to think of earthly riches and honor. But the earlier description placed wisdom above riches, above any desire. So, these riches of wisdom go beyond external riches and honor. We see that in how Solomon describes the other blessings that she carries: “her ways are the ways of pleasantness,” “her path is peace.”

I think that’s particularly relevant today. We live in a world of strife. Polarization breaks families apart, neighbors apart. It splits churches. Can you even imagine the way of pleasantness or peace? Yet, this is the way of wisdom. This is the value of wisdom. Its blessings go way beyond this world.

But you ask, “how is this even possible? Because, you know, I can dream about a wisdom whose value transcends this world. It sounds exciting to think about. But let’s be honest. What hope is there?”

I hear you. And Solmon anticipated your question. Are these transcendent blessings of wisdom even possible? “Yes!” He says. You see, this wisdom is not conjured up by some human invention. It’s not a philosopher waxing eloquent about something unattainable. No, this wisdom comes from the almighty God.

Notice, that is where verses 19 and 20 take us. “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.”

Let’s take a moment and think of the all the amazing interworkings and complexity of creation… of all creation.

· Think of how each atom and cell works and work together. By wisdom, God created it all. Think of life – plant life, and birds, fish, animals and man.

· Think of how we can see and feel.

· Think of how we can even think! and remember! By wisdom, God created it all.

· Think of our planet and the ways in which God waters the land and provides food. How the earth turns on its axis and revolves around the sun. By wisdom, God created it all.

· Think of how the light from stars travels through space, how it enters our atmosphere and illuminates the land. How the light produces food for plants.

· Think of how it all works, just the right balance to sustain life. By wisdom, God created it all.

You see, it’s God’s wisdom! He is the source of all wisdom. He’s the priceless wisdom described earlier. All of its blessings are not some fabricated “pie in the sky” wisdom that is unattainable. No, it’s real. It’s far beyond what we can even imagine… because it’s God’s wisdom. So, all the blessings described here… life and pleasantness and peace, are real because they come from the God of all wisdom.

We can believe in the immeasurable value and blessings of wisdom because it comes from the almighty creator God.

Valuing the blessing of wisdom

Embracing the blessing of wisdom – verses 21 to 26

Point number 2. Embracing the blessing of wisdom. So, we’re going from valuing to embracing.

Now, you may be thinking, “ok, what’s the difference between valuing and embracing?” I’m glad you asked.

You see, studying proverbs requires us to consider nuances… it requires us to consider the slight differences in between verses and chapters. Honestly, one of my fears in tackling proverbs is repetition. Meaning, are all these sermons or points going to feel redundant. That’s why I started this morning with a review. I really do want us to see and understand all the different aspects of wisdom, the different reasons for wisdom, and the different pursuits of wisdom.

So, valuing the blessings of wisdom and embracing the blessings of wisdom. They are different.

Look down at verses 13-18. Notice that the focus is on wisdom out there. She, wisdom, is discussed in terms of her value. Even the blessings are ascribed to her. Her way is pleasantness. Her path is peace. We can value something that is not ours. We can see it for what it is worth. And that’s the nuance of these opening verses. Beholding wisdom and beholding God, the source of wisdom.

Now look down at verses 21-26. It’s still the same blessings of wisdom. But what word is used over and over here? Do you see it? It’s easy to overlook. It’s only used one time in the earlier verses, but it’s used 10 times in these verses. It’s the word “you.” I’m including the word “your” in that list.

You see, the Lord first revealed the amazement of wisdom. It’s worth is incalculable… it’s blessings are innumerable… it’s source is infinite.

But now he’s saying, this wisdom is for you! All the blessings of wisdom are available to you. As the source of wisdom, the Lord is saying, I can give you all the blessings of wisdom.

These are some very overwhelming blessings of wisdom here:

· Life for your soul… verses 22 and adornment for your neck. You can have and you can display the wisdom of God

· Verse 23. You will walk on your way securely… and your foot will not stumble.

· 24 if you lie down, you will not be afraid… Your sleep will be sweet.

I think the three words that really summarize these blessings are confidence, security, and peace. The word confidence is used twice here. “The Lord will be your confidence.” The word security is also used here. And even though the word peace is only used up in the opening verses, isn’t that what this is all about. Peace. Resting secure. Having that inner confidence in the Lord. A peace that passes understanding.

And to be sure, the Lord is not saying that you will be in a bubble in this life. He’s not saying that you will be immune to evil and the impact of sin around you. No, he’s saying that despite it all, you can have confidence in the Lord and his will. That’s captured right there in verse 25. “Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes”. Why? “For the Lord will be your confidence.” That’s why we sang Psalm 23 earlier. “Yea thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff will comfort me, all the days of my life.”

Tremendous blessings of peace and confidence. Embrace them! …for God’s wisdom and the blessings of wisdom are for you.

The thing is, you’re never going to own the Hope Diamond. You’ll never have that exotic sports car or that luxurious multi-million dollar ocean view home. But you can have wisdom. Its blessings are of far greater value… and it’s available to you.

Embracing the blessings of wisdom… for you.

Giving away the blessing of wisdom

Ok, third, Giving away the blessing of wisdom.

Once we get to verse 27, there’s yet again, another shift in this text. It’s most clear in all of the “do not” statements. Do you see those there? Do not withhold… Do not plan… Do not contend… Do not envy.

Now, we are still in the opening chapters of proverbs. It has probably felt abstract at times. But pretty soon we’re going to get into some heavy issues. One thing’s for sure, much of Proverbs contains very practical guidance for life. Certainly these verses give a taste of that.

But notice something here. Every single one of the “do nots” focuses on how you interact with other people. I think that’s the point. Verse 27 for example. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due.” Verses 28 and 29 are about relating to your neighbor. Being honest and trustworthy. 30 and 31 are about not stirring up contention with others nor envying a man of violence.

This is about peace and stability. In other words, the very same blessings of wisdom earlier in our text should be worked out in your life to the benefit of others.

We’re to give away the blessing of wisdom. We’ve gone from seeing it, to having it, to now giving it away.

I was thinking back to chapter 1. Remember, in the second half, we were warned about being enticed by the fool and evil. They were the ones on the offensive. They were out there to pray upon our sinful nature to try and pull us down to destruction. But here in chapter 3, we are now the ones on the offensive. The blessings of wisdom are for you to give away. You are to be a agent of God’s wisdom and its blessings.

In fact, this was always God’s plan. God’s covenant blessings were always meant to flow through his people to others. God said to Abraham, I will bless you and in your offspring shall ALL the nations of the earth will be blessed.

Ultimately, that is the blessing of Christ, but there’s also a very tangible blessing.

Let me make this practical. We all deal with drama. Drama at work. Drama in your extended family. Drama with your siblings or in your friend group or neighborhood. I should probably also include … drama at church?

Now, the risk of me bringing up drama, is that you may get distracted thinking about it. So, stay with me.

Isn’t it easy to get pulled into the drama? Right? Being presumptuous, nosey, or easily offended. Stirring up frustrations. Escalating tension with your words. Arguing for the sake of arguing to get back at someone. Spreading discontentment. Over reacting. All those things.

But if God has given you a stability in life and a peace beyond measure, all out of his wisdom… then you can be an agent of peace. Being peaceable and kind and honest is infectious. You can be a calming agent in the middle of the drama. You can be the one to de-escalate and you can be a peacemaker.

And what will that do? Well, besides helping to calm the storm, it will cause those around you to wonder, “why do you have such peace?” Maybe you’ll have an opportunity to open this Word… and to speak of the priceless value of God’s wisdom. They can then see and hear the blessings of wisdom in your life… blessings of wisdom for them.

Giving away the blessing of wisdom.

Conclusion

So, valuing, embracing, and giving away.

In all of it, we’ve talked about the different blessings of God’s wisdom present here: Security and confidence in the Lord and the blessing of peace.

But there’s another blessing mentioned here. We’ve only touched upon it. But this blessing is the source of all the other blessings. Through this blessing we can receive the wisdom of God and through it we can give away the blessing of wisdom.

It is the blessing of life.

Back up in verse 16, we’re told that long life is in wisdom’s right hand. For Solomon’s audience, the right hand symbolized prominence and strength. A king, for example, would hold his scepter and sword in his right hand. His signet ring would be on his right hand. Long life, therefore, is identified as the most prominent blessing of wisdom. Verse 22 is similar. Wisdom and discretion are described as giving “life for your soul.” Life for your very being.

But the clearest reference to life is found in verse 18. Look at it. Wisdom is a “tree of life.” It’s not that wisdom just holds life. No, wisdom IS a tree of life. Solmon’s readers would have picked up immediately on the “tree of life” reference. It would have taken them all the way back to Genesis. To creation. To the garden of Eden. Two important trees were in the garden. The tree of life, which Adam and Eve had full access to. And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which they were commanded not to eat. When they broke the command, mankind was banned from the Garden. Genesis 3 explicitly states banned from the tree of life – cherubim and flaming swords guarding it.

In fact, the “tree of life” comes back into the picture all the way at the end of the Bible. The last chapter of Revelation. It’s the center of the new heavens and earth, the source of all life.

The only other place in Scripture where the tree of life is mentioned is here in Proverbs – chapter 3 is the first of several references. Solomon is saying, “You know that tree of life? That tree that gave you life? The one that we were banned from? Well, God is giving you access again to the tree of life. The wisdom of God is that tree.”

Think about that. The priceless wisdom of God is even more priceless. A return to the garden. Life forever. Full communion with God again. A return to his presence.

And if we fast forward to Revelation 22 – that tree of life is Christ. From him flows all the blessings of the wisdom of God. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations, it says. Proverbs 3 is pointing us to the one who gives life. Who is the tree of life. Whose life and death and resurrection yields blessings beyond measure.

Through him comes all the blessings of these verses - security forever, confidence in him, peace with God. If you have him, the tree of life, you need not fear the sudden terror or the ruin of the wicked in verse 25 because in him, in Christ, is life forevermore.

May we see wisdom in all of its priceless value because wisdom is THE tree of life.

May we embrace God’s wisdom for us because through Christ are blessings for you: life and peace now and forevermore.

And may we give it away – because the blessings and wisdom of God are to flow in you and through you to others, as you testify to the tree of life, to Christ. Amen

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Proverbs 3:1-12

Our sermon text this morning is Proverbs 3:1-12.

These are arguably the most important words in the book of Proverbs. In a way, they give us the key to understanding every Proverb.

It’s easy to go out and cherry pick different proverbs for different occasions, but if you do that, you risk misunderstanding the specific proverbs and you’re likely to misapply them in your life. What these first 12 verses of chapter 3 do is set the stage for how to understand and apply all of Proverbs.

It may sound like I’m overstating it, but I think these verses are that important.

As I read, listen for similarities between what we read earlier in Deuteronomy 28 and these words.

Reading of Proverbs 3:1-12

Prayer

As I was thinking about these verses this week, I became suspicious that they were probably misunderstood. Particularly verses 9 and 10. It says, again, “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

So I googled Proverbs 3:9-10.

I found it made the top 10 list of almost every single post about wealth and God. Here are some of the different ones I came across:

· 6 Keys to guarantee Biblical Wealth and Prosperity

· 22 Awesome Bible Verses about Prosperity

· Scriptures for Todays Advancing Entrepreneur

· Miraculous Bible Verses for a financial breakthrough

Listen to this quote: “when you give God the first and best of what you earn, He will multiply it back to you. He will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that you cannot contain.” The author was speaking about material blessing.

People read that proverb and say, “yes! Lord, fill my barn with plenty. Give me an abundance of your good gifts.” It’s very appealing today. We live in a time of things and money and wealth. We consume and consume. Our social status is wrapped up in our cars and home and dress. We want financial prosperity. And so we read these two verses, and see them as the key to wealth and prosperity.

What I want to say shout “no!” No, that understanding is misguided. It misses the point.

But you say “wait! Pastor, don’t take the promises of prosperity away from this passage. Look at the other verses… verse 2, after all. It says we’ll have length of days and years of life… or verse 4 We’ll have good success… verse 8 our flesh will be healed. I want all of that and it sure sounds like God is promising to give it to me.”

Certainly, I don’t want to dismiss the promises of these verses. They are real and they are true. But approaching these verses from the mindset of what we get out of them is backwards. It’s fundamentally man-centered and near-sighted. When in actuality, these verses are God-centered and far-sighted.

So, then how should we approach these verses?

Well, first, we need to see Proverbs 3, not through our modern consumer eyes (we butcher Scripture all the time when we do that), but rather through the eyes of Solomon’s audience. And second, through God’s grander narrative of his promises in the Bible and how they are fulfilled.

In fact, the interesting thing about these verses is that both of those perspectives overlap. Solomon’s original audience, really the people of Israel, would have directly connected these verses to God’s promises and how he would fulfill them. Even though the word “covenant” is not used here in chapter 3 or anywhere in Proverbs, it’s the key to understanding it all.

By the way, God’s Covenant with his people essentially defines his relationship with them. It’s his commitment to them and their commitment to him.

The covenant language in these verses would have been overwhelmingly clear to the original audience. For one, there is a direct connection to Deuteronomy 28. Those verses highlights the covenant blessing that God promised his people if they would be faithful. There are clear parallels in the language between Deuteronomy 28 and Proverbs 3:1-12. You probably sensed that. But also, in Proverbs 3, the language of steadfast love and faithfulness is covenantal language. It’s God’s steadfast love for his people. That’s the word Hesed in the Hebrew. God’s covenant love. And finally, the repetition of the word LORD, all caps. Five times here. That is God’s Covenant name. There are some other indicators, but I think you get the point. The unifying theme of these verses is God’s covenant.

Let me summarize so far. These verses, and really all of Proverbs, need to be understood through God’s Covenant relationship with his people, not through a modern prosperity mindset. When when we begin with God and his covenant relationship with us, these promises go way beyond a man-centered and near-sighted understanding.

I hope that groundwork is helpful.

No, I want to say this. I’m not dismissing the near term benefits of obeying the Proverbs. I’m going to make that clear a little bit later, but I want you to hear that up front.

Ok, we’re going to take these verses in an interesting order. We’re going to start with the odd number verses. 1,3,5,7,9,11. Those contain God’s covenant conditions.

Second, we’ll take the even verses, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 – those are God’s covenant promises. Or in Deuteronomy 28 language, the covenant blessings.

Then third, we’ll end with God’s covenant faithfulness. Which is really interspersed throughout here but is especially present in verse 12. God’s covenant faithfulness in Christ. He is the one who fulfills both the covenant conditions and the promises.

So, God’s Covenant Conditions, God’s Covenant Promises, and God’s Covenant Faithfulness.

Covenant Conditions

When we come to the conditions, the odd number verses, one thing to note is all of the imperatives. I counted 14 commands here.

· Verse 1 - Do not forget my teaching… keep my commandments

· Verse 3 - Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you… Bind them around your neck, Write them on your heart

· Verse 5, trust in the Lord, lean not on your own understanding.

· There are a few others. Be not wise in your own eyes… honor and fear the Lord, etc

And what are these imperatives? These are God’s prerequisites in order for his people to receive his blessings. Now, stay tuned for point 3, God’s Covenant Faithfulness when we fail. But in the meantime, we need to recognize our responsibility.

And do you know what? None of these commands are about you. Yes, the commands are for you, but every single one of them redirects you away from yourself.

By the way, that’s the first problem with seeing these verses through the lens of material prosperity. In that understanding, it focuses on you and things, and not on God. Not only does the prosperity perspective begin from the wrong direction (the promises), it’s also fundamentally self-centered.

But these verses, these covenant conditions, direct us away from ourselves and instead to God, to his work, and to his commands.

Do you see that in the odd verses?

· Verse 1 directs us not to what we think is right or wrong, but to God’s standard of right and wrong.

· In Verse 3, we’re to wear God’s love and faithfulness like a necklace for everyone to see. It should be also be etched into our hearts – In other words, God’s love should be displayed on the outside (like a necklace) as well as on the inside (written on the tablet of our heart). In other words, your identity should be in God’s loving faithfulness. That’s yet another problem with connecting these verses to material prosperity. That view shifts the focus from your identity belonging to God to an identity that is dependent on your wealth and prosperity.

· And look at the two negative imperatives in 5 and 7. “Do not lean on your own understanding.” “Be not wise in your own eyes.” Those clearly direct us away from ourselves and to God. They are calls to humility.

· Instead, look at the positive imperatives in verses 5-9. “Trust in the Lord,” “acknowledge him,” “fear the Lord,” “honor the Lord.” Really, those commands are the heart of our responsibility before the Lord. It’s our faith in God and his promises – that’s the trust part. It’s looking to him and worshiping him – that’s the acknowledging and fearing part. And it’s desiring to reflect his goodness in your life – that’s the honoring part.

To put it in another way, all those commands in verses 1-10, all those responsibilities, are about our relationship to God. He is our God, and we are his people. In these odd numbered verses, we are to direct our attention to God. These are the conditions that God has set for us.

So, in order to be his people and receive his promises, we need to obey his command, and trust and worship him as our God.

Now, you may read verse 11 and think, “ok, but how does that fit into this idea of a covenant relationship with God.” Well, let’s look at it. Verse 11: “Do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof.” At first glance, it may seem disconnected from 1-9. But actually, with a Covenant perspective on these verses, it fits right in. You see, verse 11 is about our Covenant relationship with God. Because, what does a father do who has a loving relationship with his children? He disciplines them. When God rebukes us, he does it for our benefit and because he love us.

The other thing about Verse 11 is that it alone blows up the material prosperity argument. You see, part of the argument by those advocates is that material prosperity is a sign that God is pleased with you. Here’s what they say, and I quote “Lack of material blessings is a reflection of your lack of faith.” Or here’s another one, "Poverty and hardship are not His plan for His children. If you're not prosperous, you're not aligning yourself with His will." It’s hard for me not to get angry with that perversion of the Gospel. God disciplines his children. He may take away your heath or your comfort for the very purpose of focusing your eyes on him.

Think of that passage in James. “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom.” Or think about Job, a man of God, enduring great affliction. Or the multiple places in Scripture where God’s people call out asking God why the wicked prosper.

In all of life, trials and joys, our call is to lift our eyes to God, trusting, fearing, and honoring him. God is saying here, those are the conditions of my covenant relationship with you. Look not to yourselves, but rather look to me, to my commands, and my steadfast love.

God’s Covenant Conditions.

God’s Covenant Promises

Which brings us now to the even numbered verses – God’s Covenant Promises.

By the way, by grouping these into odd and even numbers, I’m not suggesting that the promise of verse 2 does not relate to verse 1, nor that verse 4 does not relate to the imperative of verse 3. On the contrary, they are connected.

In fact, there’s a direct connection between the commands and the promises. When you worship the Lord and fear him and seek to know him and keep his commandments, those will lead to benefits and blessings. Like I said earlier, I do not think we should make this just a future promise. No, there are both blessings in this life when you obey and honor God, as well as, of course, eternal blessings.

What I’m saying is this: there are tangible benefits in this life when you follow the Proverbs. For example, let’s take the promises of verses 2and 4. “years of life… peace… and favor in the sight of God and man.”

Following the path of God and his commands generally leads to those things. Stability in life. Peace in your relationships. Length of days. Let me call them positive consequences of living a life of wisdom.

To be sure, Proverbs does not hide from the fact that the wicked often prey upon the righteous, or as we already considered that God disciplines his children. But when your life is marked by integrity, and you are generous and fair and your words are true and you avoid evil and deception… those marks will most often result in blessings in this life – relationally and tangibly. Again. Most often.

But what we absolutely cannot do is make those positive consequences either our ultimate motivation or see them as the ultimate end.

Here’s what I mean. First, the ultimate motivation for pursuing the Proverbs is God! We already talked about that. He is the one to whom our devotion and our honor are to be directed. As our covenant God, he is the one in whom the promises reside. We should pursue these commands and all of the proverbs because of our desire to honor him, not because of any near-term benefits.

Second, we should also not see the positive consequences of following Proverbs as the ultimate end. That would be tragic. You would be setting yourself up for disappointment and discouragement. You could faithfully keep God’s commandment and these proverbs from your heart, yet the Lord’s will for your life journey could be a difficult one with deep disappointment and grief.

I remember a difficult phone call I had many many years ago. My first full-time job out of college was for a Christian ministry. We had a small staff, and I was on the support team, so we took turns answering the phones. Usually, people called for general information or to place an order, but I picked up the phone one day and a women on the other end was crying.

We started talking and she was so overwhelmed. She had had disappointment after disappointment in life. She couldn’t understand it. She felt as if God had forgotten her or was judging her because, as she put it, the Bible promises that God’s children will rest secure and be protected and healed. I think I was 23 years old at the time. I totally fumbled through a response. I’m not even sure what I said other than trying to point her to heaven and Jesus’ resurrection.

But reflecting back on it, I realized one thing. It’s devastating to believe that the eternal promises of God are fulfilled on this side of eternity, like material prosperity or heath. I’m not saying that God doesn’t answer prayers for heath. He does. Nor am I saying that there are no blessings in this life. We have tremendous blessings as the people of God here and now – spiritual blessing of peace and eternal security and identity in the Lord and fellowship. I’m also not denying, as I’ve said, the near term benefits of following the Proverbs.

But what I am saying is this: God’s covenant promises (in the even verses) are ultimately eternal. The promise in verse 8 of healing to our flesh and refreshment to our bones will come true one day. That day when our flesh will no longer be corrupted and our bones will be restored forever.

And let’s talk about verse 10. Will your barns be filled with plenty, and will your vats be bursting with wine tomorrow if you give to the Lord today? Maybe, or maybe God will take it all away to drive you closer to him. But one thing he will do when you honor him with your firstfruits – he will give you a perspective on life that’s not about money, where you understand that it’s all his, anyway. He will give you a heart that is bursting with joy because of all the spiritual blessings in him. And there will be a day when you will reap the full promises of God in heaven.

There’s no place in these verses for the misguided and backwards prosperity movement. They see these verses as BOTH the ultimate motivation and ultimate end. No, the true promise of prosperity is spiritual and eternal. All the positive effects that we may receive by heeding these proverbs are overshadowed by the spiritual and eternal promises in the Lord.

God’s Covenant Faithfulness

That brings us to the third point – God’s Covenant Faithfulness.

We have a problem. Really, it’s an issue which stems from the covenant conditions (the odd verses)… but it affects the covenant promises (the even verses). You see, in order to receive the covenant promises or blessings, we need to keep the covenant conditions. They are required. The promises flow from the commands. Evey single one of the imperatives is connected to a promise through a conditional phrase. Verse 2 requires compliance to verse 1. Verse 4 requires compliance to verse 3, and so on. You can see that in the transition words, “for” and “so” and “then.”

The problem is that we can’t keep them. We can’t keep the odd numbered verses. We can’t keep God’s commandment. We forsake his faithfulness. We don’t honor or acknowledge or fear the Lord. None of them. And that’s a big problem. It means none of the promises in the even verses can come true for us. The blessings are unattainable.

This is what happened to Israel in the wilderness. They forgot God. They worshiped a golden calf. God commands were forgotten. And because their generation rejected God, God rejected them. They died in the wilderness and were not permitted into the promised land.

Let me extend the problem to all the proverbs. We can’t keep them. We can’t follow the path of wisdom and righteousness on our own. We can’t live a life of integrity or humility or avoid the path of the adulterous woman or evil man. No, at every turn, we are sucked into the evil way and to the path that leads to destruction. None of the covenant blessings are possible because we can’t keep any of the covenant conditions.

But there’s someone who has. He’s kept every single one of these. We couldn’t. Jesus has. And he has for you. And the only thing he asks is to believe. To repent of your covenant breaking and acknowledge that you’ve failed. That there’s nothing in you that can ever fulfill these conditions. And To believe that he has kept them for you.

This is God’s hesed love, his steadfast love, his covenant faithfulness. In a covenant relationship, both parties come to the table with their commitments and requirements. We failed our side, but Jesus stepped in and fulfilled it for us. It is through him that those covenant conditions are met and through him that we receive those amazing covenant promises.

Really, these verses can’t be understood without seeing their fulfillment in Christ. For Solomon’s son and his other readers, it was hope in a future fulfillment. They would have understood the gravity of breaking a covenant contract. You see, when you enter into a covenant with someone, it was binding to death.

That means that not only do we forfeit the blessings by breaking the conditions, the consequence is death – an eternal severed relationship with God.

This is where the promise of verse 12 comes in: “for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights….” In the Hebrew, the word for reproves is to judge or punish in order to bring vindication. The penalty for our failure to uphold the covenant condition was taken on by the Son, by Jesus, as our vindication. We are the ones who deserve the judgment, but he came in order to vindicate us and fulfill the conditions for us. And he calls you believe.

If we had more time, we could explore how all the covenant promises here are also fulfilled in him. “Length of days” forever, “favor” in the sight of God, “healing” to our flesh.

In short, Jesus upholds the odd numbered verses for us, so that we may receive the full promises of the even verses in him.

God’s covenant faithfulness for us, fulfilling his covenant conditions, so that we may receive his covenant blessing.

Conclusion

So, what should we do with a material prosperity mindset in these verses? Throw it away. Not only does it pervert the meaning, but it misses the greater prosperity in view here. A true prosperity. Riches and blessings in Christ and his Gospel.

As we continue to work through Proverbs, this is the lens through which we need to understand it all. We need to begin with God, the Lord, Yahweh. Trusting and fearing in him for who he is and what he has done for us in Christ. And then, out of hearts of faith in him, we can pursue the path of proverbs.

May the Lord give us eyes to see and hearts to hear his Covenant promises on our journey.

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Proverbs 2

Seeking and Receiving the Wisdom of God (Rev. Erik Veerman)

Our sermon text this morning is Proverbs chapter 2. You can find that on page 626.

One thing these opening chapters do is present the case for wisdom. Not human wisdom but God’s wisdom. In particular, the first 4 chapters answer the question: What, Why and how. What is wisdom and why and how should you pursue the wisdom of God?

We’ve already considered chapter 1. It defined wisdom for us and it gave us the foundation to wisdom. Wisdom begins with fearing the Lord. You can’t start anywhere else. Fearing the Lord is having him at the center of your life and giving him all the reverence, awe, and worship that he alone deserves as the eternal God. That’s the first part of the “how” question.

Then in the second half of chapter 1 – we were given the first part of the “why” question. Why wisdom? In those verses, Solomon gave his son a grave warning. If you don’t listen to the wisdom of God, the path you will be on will lead to anguish and destruction. He was saying, “Beware and listen up!” Now, to be sure, in the coming weeks, we’ll hear the positive answers to the “why” question, but we first needed a little wake up call.

Chapter 2, here, goes back to the “how” question. Yes, we start with the fear of the Lord, but how do we then get wisdom? How do we build on that foundation?

As I read, listen for the answer.

Reading of Proverbs 2

Prayer

Every single day, about 7 million new blog entries are posted. 7 million every day! Every week, about 550 thousand podcast episodes are released. Think about that. Half a million published every week. Let’s also consider books. Last year, about 2.2 million books were published.

As you know, some blogs and podcasts and books are entertainment, but most are informational or about opinions. They including thoughts on lifestyle and finance and travel and the latest social trends, or about news and commentary or, of course, about religion and politics. Millions and millions of all of that.

We have an almost insatiable desire to consume information.

Why is that? Well, there are many reasons, but part of it is a deep desire to make sense of the world. We want to be able to understand things so that we can navigate life. We want to formulate our own opinions and analyze other people’s opinions.

Almost everyone is searching for some kind of wisdom.

And that’s where Proverbs 2 comes in. Proverbs 2 instructs you on how to get God’s wisdom. His wisdom is not received through self-help books or podcasts (except for Proverbs podcasts!). To be sure, some of those resources can be helpful, but none of those are where you will find the wealth and source of God’s wisdom. No, there’s a greater source. There’s a greater treasure of knowledge and wisdom to pursue. And here’s what Proverbs 2 tells us: when you seek this treasure with all your heart, God will then give it to you.

I think that’s the beauty of this chapter. Wisdom is not just something you pursue. Yes, we each need to do that. But wisdom is also something that you must be given. And when wisdom is given to you, it will transform you. So, seeking and receiving wisdom.

Let me say, Seeking wisdom is not an intellectual pursuit. It’s not a pursuit where you are just trying to fill your mind with information. Yes, knowledge is important, but it’s not the goal. In the same way, receiving wisdom from God is not receiving head knowledge or the ability to remember and recall. No, getting wisdom is much deeper.

The thing about this chapter is that it’s rich with language that goes to our very being. It’s seeking and receiving at the very center of who we are. It’s heart and soul seeking and receiving. You’ll see that word “heart” there in verses 2 and 10. The call is to “incline your heart” to wisdom.

Now, to the original Hebrew audience, the word “heart,” as we’ve talked about before, had a very different connotation than it does today. Today, when we think about our heart, we primarily think about our feelings. But back then, your heart was about what you believe and cherish deep down. Feelings come and go, but a heart of understanding and wisdom is a foundation in your life. You are going to hear that kind of language worked out in different ways.

In fact, I’m going to use that word “heart” in my points. I’m referring to the original meaning.

· Point 1 is this: Seek God’s wisdom from your heart

· Second: Receive a heart of wisdom from God

· And Third: Reap the rewards of a heart of wisdom

So, seek, receive, and reap. Seek God’s wisdom from your heart, receive a heart of wisdom from God, and reap the rewards of a heart of wisdom.

Seek God’s wisdom from your heart

To begin, right in verse 1 we’re told where to search for wisdom... where to direct our attention. Solomon tells his son “If you receive my words and treasure up my commandments.” Solomon is referring to the words written here in Proverbs… and he includes the commandments. In other words, Solomon is directing his son to God’s law and his word. You see, outside of studying these Proverbs, the children would have been taught the law and the prophets. They would have studied God’s Word and even memorized it.

But let me ask this. If you are a student here. Grade school, middle school, high school, college… do you like to study? I think know the answer. Sometimes. Often though, you’re not interested in the subject. Right? But yet, in school, you have to study and learn even the topics you don’t like. So, what do you do? You jump through the hoops. You cram for the exam, and right after the test, poof. It disappears out of your mind. I have intimate knowledge about how to do that.

But that is the exact opposite of how to get wisdom. Look at the language.

· Verse 1, if you “receive my words.” That means, taking hold of them. It also says, “Treasure up my commandments.” When you treasure something, you are holding something dear.

· Verse 2. If your “ear is attentive to wisdom.” It’s not in one ear out the other. It’s like you are leaning forward, hanging on every word from God. And then there’s our word “heart.” “inclining your heart to understanding.” Your pursuit of wisdom is not about knowing information so you can pass the test. No, the call here is to have a heart for wisdom. “I want your wisdom, Lord. Give me a heart that yearns for wisdom.”

· And look at verse 4. “If you seek it like silver and search for it as hidden treasure.” Do you hear that sense of a deep longing and searching for wisdom?

I was thinking of Jesus’ parable of the hidden treasure. A man finds hidden treasure in a field, but he doesn’t own the land. He can’t take it. And so what does he do? He sells everything he has to buy the field so that the treasure would be his. That is the level of heart pursuit we should have for God’s wisdom.

Again, it’s not a mental exercise to fill your mind with knowledge so you can regurgitate it or demonstrate that you know things. No, our seeking of wisdom should be a deep yearning and longing for the wisdom of God… which he has given us in his Word. What does that require? It requires pursuing it. Filling our minds with God’s Word and commands. Memorizing them.

In fact, in the Hebrew, this chapter is written for memorization. Chapter 2 is a form of an acrostic. An Acrostic is when a text connects to the alphabet. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet and 22 verses here. The first 11 verses are full of the letter Aleph. That’s the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Verses 12-22 are full of the letter Lamed. Lamed is the 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So, it’s a type of acrostic which indicates two things. First it communicates completeness – completeness in seeking and receiving wisdom. But second, it supports memorizing the chapter. Acrostics helped with that.

In other words, this chapter’s instruction to pursue God’s wisdom parallels this chapter’s structure which enables the pursuit of God’s wisdom.

You see, seeking the wisdom of God in your heart and mind requires filling your heart and mind with the wisdom of God in his word. That’s our part, our responsibility. It’s seeking out the wisdom of God from a heart that desires the wisdom of God.

So seek it.

Receive a heart of wisdom from God

And that brings us to point 2. The receive part. Receive a heart of wisdom from God

Let me say, these first 2 points are really interrelated. The first point, Seeking God’s wisdom from your heart interrelates with the second point, Receiving a heart of wisdom from God. It’s both our pursuit AND God’s gift.

That’s why in verse 3, we’re to “call out” and “raise our voice” for wisdom. In other words, pray. You see, part of seeking wisdom is praying to God that he would give you wisdom.

Have you ever done that? Have you ever prayed that God would give you a heart for wisdom… Have you asked God to fill your heart with wisdom? We read from the book of James, earlier. He says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

I have this very clear memory of someone asking me that question. Had I ever prayed for wisdom? I was in High school at the time. It was in the summer. I remember not knowing exactly how to pray for wisdom. I just knew I had a desire to better understand God and his world and his word. So I prayed! But it wasn’t like, all of a sudden light bulbs went off. No. But over time, first God developed in my heart a deeper desire to have his wisdom… and second, over time he gave me a deeper understanding of his wisdom. I believe God is still answering that prayer in my life.

Will you pray for wisdom? Verse 6 says, “for the Lord gives wisdom.” You see, wisdom flows from him.

Did you notice how these opening verses lead up to that? IF you receive and treasure my commands. IF your ear is attentive… IF you call out for it… IF you seek it like silver. IF, IF, IF, THEN….

THEN, it says, “you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” WHY? Verse 6. “For the Lord gives wisdom.” We seek it. He gives it.

God is the source of all wisdom. Verse 7 – “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright”

As Romans 11 declares, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! …For from him and through him and to him are all things.”

When you seek God and his wisdom from your heart, he will give you his wisdom in your heart. Look how verse 10 puts it, “for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.”

Again, “heart” in the ancient Hebrew sense of the word. You’ll be given a deep-seated belief and knowledge of God, his word, and his commands. You’ll be given discernment of what is good and right and true and righteous. “wisdom will come into your heart.” When you seek wisdom with all your heart.

Seeking and receiving. It’s our pursuit and God’s gift. If you hold the Scriptures up to your head, the words are not going to somehow move from the pages to your brain.

No, you read the word, listen to it, meditate on it, study it. God is the one who then moves it from your head to your heart. The call of wisdom to know God’s and to know God’s Word. And to know God is for him to know you. That’s why you call out to God for wisdom because he is the one who gives wisdom and who gives you knowledge of him.

Let me answer the question “how do I get wisdom?” by state the first two points this way: If you seek God’s wisdom from your heart, then you will receive a heart of wisdom from God.

Reap the rewards of a heart of wisdom

And here’s the thing. Having a heart filled with God’s wisdom comes with innumerable blessings. The second half of chapter 2 gives us some of the rewards of wisdom. And actually, we’re going to see more of the blessings in chapter 3.

We learn in this chapter that when we receive the wisdom of God, we will reap the rewards of a heart of wisdom.

This is our third point. Reap the rewards of a heart of wisdom.

Let me say, as we continue to work through Proverbs, we’re going to see, over and over, various temptations. We’ll read about the path of the fool and the wicked. We’ll hear about injustice and sloth and gluttony, pride, and deception. We’ll see, in pretty graphic form, the temptations of the adulterer. Yes, proverbs will point us to a life of integrity and honor and righteousness, but it’s also full of the various landmines that are on the path to destruction.

And what Solomon is saying here in the second half of chapter 2 is this: Having the wisdom of God will protect you, guard you, deliver you. In other words, when you seek the wisdom of God with all your heart and you receive the wisdom of God in your heart, God will use that to preserve and protect. You will reap the tremendous rewards of wisdom.

I want you to notice something in the second half of this chapter. The verbs connected to Solomon’s son are passive. In other words, the one who has wisdom is being acted upon by wisdom.

Let me highlight some of those:

· Verse 11.”Discretion will watch over you… understanding will guard you” Do you hear that language of protection?

· Verse 12… “delivering you from the way of evil.” And then for three verses, Solomon explains just how devious and perverse the wicked are. The placement of the word “delivering” at the beginning reveals an emphasis on being delivered.

· Verse 16 is similar. “You will be delivered from the forbidden woman.” And then again, for three verses, he explains just how destructive her path is. It leads to death.

· What will having a heart of wisdom give you? Verse 20 – “you will walk in the way of the good.” It’s a promise that wisdom will keep you on the paths of the righteous.

Last weekend, we were out of town and rented a car. This car would warn you if you got too close to the yellow or white lines, or if there was a car in your blind spot. And if you enabled the cruise control, it would literally turn the steering wheel for you to keep you in the center of the lane – It would also make sure that you were not too close to the car in front of you. It would slow you down. I know what some of you are thinking. “They’ve had that technology for 10 years.” Yes, but let me just say that the cars in our driveway are (to put it nicely) vintage. So, it was new for us.

This is what wisdom does for you. It warns you, watches over you, guards you, keeps you on that path. Those are the words. In a sense, delivers you from falling asleep at the wheel, from accidents. You’ll have the wisdom to discern truth from error, righteousness from wickedness, and holiness from perverseness.

We don’t need to look much further than the life of Christ. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, we’re told of Jesus as a twelve-year-old boy. He was studying at the temple, listening to the teachers and interacting with them. And as it says, Jesus was filled with wisdom and he increased in wisdom and stature. In a sense he’s the embodiment of the first half of Proverbs 2. Seeking and treasuring the wisdom of God, and then being filled with wisdom from his Father.

Now fast forward to Jesus in the desert when Satan tempted him. In that situation, his wisdom was put into action. Jesus was tempted by the epitome of evil and deception - the devil himself. In fact, Satan twisted the very word of God to try to tempt Jesus.

Think of that, Satan quoted Scripture, really perverted Scripture, in an attempt to cause the Son of God to fall. But armed with the full wisdom of God, Jesus saw right through the lies and temptation. He responded, in wisdom, with the truth of God, not only setting the record straight but condemning Satan.

We need the wisdom of Christ. It’s through that wisdom that we will be delivered.

But you say, “wait, wait wait! How can God deliver us if at the end of his life on earth, Jesus wasn’t delivered?” That’s a great question because you likely know what happened. Jesus was arrested, accused, mocked, tortured, and hung on a Roman cross. Look at Proverbs 2:12-15. It describes what Jesus endured. Men of deceptive speech rejoiced in doing evil against him. Their ways were perverted and crooked and devious. He was killed and we were complicit. Well, what happened to wisdom? Why didn’t the Father deliver him? or why didn’t Jesus save himself? Why? Because our deliverance depended on Jesus’ endurance. He endured the anguish and torture at the hands of evil men, in order to deliver us from evil and death and destruction. And in the end, which is the critically important part, Jesus was delivered. He overcame death and sin and evil so that he could guard us, and be a shield for us, and watch over us and deliver us.

This chapter is very instructive because nowhere in here does it say that you will deliver yourself. All the guarding and protecting is being done to you, if you have been given wisdom. Our responsibility is to actively seek the wisdom of God in his word and commands. After verse 5 – we’re the recipients of the benefits of wisdom. “The Lord gives wisdom….” “He stores up wisdom for us…,” “He’s a shield for us.” He is the one who delivers and guides and watches over us. We will reap the rewards of a heart of wisdom

The ultimate benefits of wisdom are in the deliverance that wisdom gives us. That deliverance comes through the wisdom of God in what Christ has done.

Conclusion

Let me briefly summarize and close.

Seek the wisdom of God in Christ. Pursue God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength. Pray for wisdom, yearn to have a heart of wisdom. Seek wisdom but seek God and his wisdom - his Word, and his commands.

And when you do, God will give you a wisdom beyond the wisdom of the world. He’ll give you a heart of wisdom. He will take the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And when you have that wisdom, he will deliver you. He can do that because he is the deliverer.

The promise of verse 21 will then be for you. “For the upright will inhabit the land and those with integrity will remain in it.” That’s the promise of Christ. It’s not your uprightness or integrity that delivers you. No, it’s the uprightness and integrity of Christ.

So, may we each seek the one who is wisdom, seek his word which reveals wisdom, and receive his deliverance through wisdom… his guidance and protection for eternity.

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Proverbs 1:8-33 - Warning: Danger Ahead

Our sermon text starts with Proverbs 1 verse 8 and goes to the end of the chapter. That is found on page 625 of the pew Bible.

Last week we ventured into the heart of Proverbs. Wisdom. What is wisdom and where do we begin.

As a reminder, there are three components to wisdom – knowledge, righteousness, and discernment. Knowing God and his commands; Reflecting God’s righteousness in your life, and growing in discernment of what is good and true and what is not.

And wisdom begins with fearing the Lord. For Solomon’s original readers, to fear God meant to pursue God and the terms of his covenant promises. It also meant to have a reverent awe of his being and glory and power. For us, that reverence and awe centers on Christ and salvation in him. Because it’s through him that we can fear the Lord in worship. In fact, that phrase “the fear of the Lord” is in the book of Proverbs 21 times. It’s very central to Proverbs. Listen for it in today’s reading.

As we come to God’s word, please stand in reverence of God and his very word.

Reading of Proverbs 1:8-33

Prayer

In 1994, I spent a couple of weeks at a camp in Sweden. I was with a group ministering to children from the Chernobyl area of Ukraine… This was about 8 years after the Chernobyl nuclear plant melted down. Sadly, because of the radiation exposure each one of them had some form of cancer. Some of them were not expected to live much longer.

The Chernobyl incident was a grave tragedy. The Soviet Union listed only 31 official deaths as a result of the meltdown, but the true number is in the thousands.

The sad part is that it all could have been avoided. The risks and the warnings were ignored or suppressed.

· For one, employees were not properly trained. Because of that, operators overlooked the warnings signs about the reactor’s instability.

· Several safety tests had been postponed several times.

· Then, the night of the meltdown, the automatic shutdown mechanism was deliberately disabled. Add to that, when the reactor core showed signs of heating beyond control, protocols were not followed to shut the reactor down.

· And get this, the scientists knew about several design flaws. They knew the implications of a meltdown. In fact, the main chemists and several engineers expressed grave warnings about a catastrophic accident. Yet the Soviet government and their culture of secrecy suppressed the concerns. The warnings fell on deaf ears.

The result was tragic.

Well, Proverbs 1:8-33 is an urgent warning. It’s saying, “listen to the voice of wisdom.” If you don’t, and instead listen to the voice of evil, your life is at grave risk. Like a nuclear reactor meltdown, there will be a chain reaction that leads to destruction and deadly fallout.

Think about this. Starting in Proverbs 1 verse 8 and going all the way through chapter 9, Solomon presents several life lessons about wisdom. They build on one another as Solomon makes the case to pursue wisdom and to avoid folly and evil. And where does Solomon begin? He begins with a warning. Up front, he wants to make clear the gravity of the situation. If you do not hear me… if you do not listen to the voice of wisdom, you will die.

I know that sounds harsh, but the beautiful thing about this chapter is the loving urgency in which the warning is conveyed. “Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching.” Solomon is lovingly pleading with his son.

Now, before we jump into the details, let’s go back to something we considered a couple of weeks ago. The wisdom of Proverbs is wisdom for all of us. Every single one of us here. But it is especially written to the younger generation.

Children and teenagers here – God has given your parents the primary responsibility of teaching you God’s wisdom. Wisdom from the Word. They’re not the only ones in our church family leading you on your journey of wisdom and faith, but your parents have a special role, and they love you. In this opening verse, verse 8, God is calling you to listen to them.

Sometimes it feels like your parents are weighing you down. That sometimes their teaching and guidance feels unfair or harsh. I know this from experience. But kids, the truth is the opposite! Look at verse 10. When your parents are guiding you in truth and righteousness… Those instructions are (and here’s what it says) “a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” A garland of greens made into a king’s crown symbolized victory over enemies. That was usually reserved for those who fought in the battle. But this crown is for you, in your youth, as you listen to your parents’ wisdom. And the pendant around you neck symbolizes guidance and protection in life.

So, in other words, listening to your parents as they disciple you in God’s wisdom will be a tremendous blessing in your life. Having their wisdom will give you victory over your enemies and give you guidance in life.

But if you do not listen and follow their instruction, the path of your life will be difficult and will risk the grave consequences presented in this chapter.

This chapter is for all of us, but it’s especially for you to hear.

Well, that brings us to the warnings in this chapter.

We’ll consider them in 3 points. First, Beware the Dread of Disaster; second, Avoid the Enticement of Evil, and third, Hear the Warning of Wisdom.

· Let me say those again. Beware the Dread of Disaster – that’s what will result if the warning is not heard. We’re going to start with the end in mind.

· Second, Avoid the Enticement of Evil (that’s the focus of verses 10-19). How evil entices us.

· And third, Hear the Warning of Wisdom (verses 20-32 give us a warning from wisdom, herself).

Now, to be sure, we’re not going to end with these warnings. Yes, they are critical and we’ll spend most of our time on them. But we’re going to end with how we should respond to the warnings. That’s also emphasized here.

But let’s begin with the warnings.

Beware the Dread of Disaster

So first, beware the dread of disaster. Those words, “dread of disaster,” are the last three words of this chapter. You can see them there down at the end of verse 33. You may be thinking, “Why start with the end?” Well, here’s my reasoning. Having the end in mind is going to raise the stakes of the warning. And that’s the point of this chapter. The phrase, “dread of disaster” summarizes the results of ignoring wisdom and getting pulled into evil.

Listen to what happens to those who reject wisdom and instead follow the path of evil.

· Verse 18, They “lie in wait for their own blood,” it says, and they “ambush their own lives.” This is the self-destructive nature of evil.

· Verse 19 talks about how greed for unjust gain, “takes away the life of its possessor.”

· And down in verse 32… they will be “killed,” it says, because they turned away from wisdom. Their own complacency “destroys them” as Solomon warns.

Do you hear the dead of disaster in that? Death, murder, your life taken away and destroyed. We’re talking about the end of the line here. It’s what will ultimately result if you do not listen and instead venture down the path of folly and evil.

And it’s not going to be pretty on the way. Verses 26 and 27 capture that. Wisdom laughs and mocks at the life of the one who ignores her. And look at the words used to describe that life: Calamity, terror, distress, and anguish, all like a storm and whirlwind.

And down in verse 31, they will “eat the fruit of their way.” That’s shorthand for saying their evil ways will result in evil consequences.

None of the results are good. When you reject God’s wisdom, the result is self-destruction. You are setting your life on the path of death.

You see, the stakes cannot be higher. And this is the warning. The path of sin and evil leads to ultimate consequences.

Beware the dread of disaster.

Avoid the Enticement of Evil (v. 10-19)

Ok, let’s go back up to the beginning, because one of the things that these verses do is tell us where it all starts. The question is, where does the path that leads to disaster begin? We’re given the answer back up in verses 10-19. It begins with the enticement of sin and evil. This is the second warning: Avoid the Enticement of Evil. That word enticement is right there in verse 10. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.” By the way, that word for sinner is someone whose is caught up in deep sin. We’re all sinners, but this instance is about those who practice evil ways. They make a career out of sin and leading people astray.

Do not be enticed by them.

And Solomon wants to make this warning real – real in the sense of what the call of the sinner sounds like and what to avoid. Because, the thing is, sin and evil are enticing. In our sinful nature, we’re naturally drawn to the lies, empty promises, counterfeit pleasures, and false hopes that they offer.

“Come with us. Look at all of the stuff and things and money out there. It’s all waiting for us to take. Oh, don’t worry about what will happen to those in our way. All the gains outweigh what must be done. We won’t get caught. No, we’ll do this together. We’ll split the spoils. Your life will be changed.”

What is the enticement? Well, in the example that Solmon gives, it’s an appeal to material wealth and an allure to power. We’ll have those precious goods. We’ll be the ones in control. Ultimately, it’s false promises and lies achieved through ill-gotten means. It’s greed for unjust gain, as verse 19 says.

Over the last two year in Los Angeles, there’s been a rash of smash and grab robberies. NPR did a story on this recently. In one incident, 30 people entered a Nordstrom in the middle of the day. Then all at once, they began smashing retail displays, and grabbing as much high-end merchandise that they could, as quick as they could, before fleeing in different directions. It was a flash mob. One of the perpetrators sprayed a security guard with bear spray. They got away with $300,000 in goods in just a few minutes. That was one of a couple of dozen similar robberies. In another incident, a woman fired a handgun at an officer and is now in custody for attempted murder. The LA Times did a story on this. In fact, they interviewed several people who participated in these crimes who were now behind bars. One person said, “That’s how people pay heir rent, pay their car loans. Going to the mall, stealing clothes, that’s how people have money.” Another person said, “[people] don’t have things and they want things.” Many of them are enticed by what are called smash and grab gangs who coordinate the attacks. They get a cut of the merchandise without taking the risk, and then, if they are feeling the heat, they sell you out to save themselves.

Perhaps you’re not enticed by that example. But what about insider trading, or stealing software or violating copywrite license, or financial fraud, petty theft, tax evasion, stealing legal drugs… or cheating on exams, or school groups that bully other kids.

Whatever the enticement, it starts small but escalates quickly. Sin and evil draw us in incrementally. We’re lied to or we lie to ourselves… and the consequences are downplayed. Each step takes you down the path further and further away from wisdom and closer and closer to disaster.

And Solomon pleads with us here. Verse 15 “Do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their path… their feet run to evil and they make haste to shed blood.” As we already considered, the path of greed for unjust gain takes away your life.

Avoid the enticement of evil.

Hear the Warning of Wisdom

That brings us to the third warning. The call to hear the warning of wisdom. The previous verses provided a concrete example of sin and evil in the form of a gang or mob. These verses, 20-32, broaden the warning and describe the downward spiral of sin when wisdom is ignored.

Wisdom in these verses is personified. She’s crying out in the streets and market and at the city gate. In other words, wisdom is calling to those going about their business. The reference to city gates in verse 21 is particular because that is where the leaders and the elders of the city would meet to discuss matters of concern. So, the cry of wisdom is to the entire city. Every single one of us.

And she begins with this question, “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?” The English word “simple” doesn’t really capture the Hebrew understanding. It does mean “simple” but in the sense of ignorant. Some translations use the word gullible. It’s a person who does not care about seeking wisdom, or does know to seek wisdom, or has no discernment. That’s very different than the word “scoffer” in the question that follows. Scoffers are intentional in their mockery of wisdom. And then next, there’s the fool, who, as it says, “hates knowledge.” A fool says, “I’ll do what I want and believe what I want.”

There’s a progression from being simple in this sense, to a scoffer, to a fool. It goes from being ignorant of the consequences, to continuing down the path despite the consequences, to being utterly defiant of the consequences. And there’s something they all share. They all ignore the call of wisdom. That’s all over the place in these verses.

· Verse 24. “You refused to listen” …and right after that, “no one has heeded”

· Verse 25. “You have ignored my counsel” and “would have none of my reproof”

· It gets worse down in verse 29. “They hated knowledge” and “did not choose to fear the Lord”

· And finally verse 30, the worst of all – “they despised all my reproof”

Do you hear how their rejection of wisdom escalates. It goes from ignoring counsel, to refusing to listen, to hatred of knowledge and truth, to despising wisdom. To summarize, the downward spiral of ignoring wisdom leads to a downward spiral of consequences.

And wisdom responds. Verse 28. “They will call on me, but I will not listen. They will seek me diligently, but will not find me.”

Some of you will be familiar with the critically acclaimed show Breaking Bad. It came out about 15 years ago and ran for a few years.

It’s a drama about a high school chemistry teacher, Walter White. He was diagnosed with cancer. To pay for his medical bills, he naively gets wrapped up into the Methamphetamine industry. And, of course, doesn’t tell his family. The meth he makes is the purest ever. While it pays for his cancer treatments, it starts him down the Proverbs 1 path to destruction. He initially gets tangled up in local drug wars, then the cartel, then a relational war with his own family. There’s a trail of death, deceit, and destroyed relationship. Though he occasionally wants to escape and leave it all behind, the tangled web of lies and moral failures and murder have trapped him. The damage had been done. The meltdown reached the point of no return.

Like verses 26 and 27, wisdom turned on him - laughing at his calamity and distress and anguish. Ultimately, the dread of disaster fell on him. And it all began with a good motive to provide for his family with all of his medical bills, but he made terrible decision on how to do that. It destroyed them all.

Let me say, I am not endorsing the show. We watched it through a content filtering service because of the level of language and violence. But Breaking Bad, as the title indicates, captures the sad progression of rejecting wisdom.

Let me also say, it’s never too late to get out. You may have heavy consequences to deal with but don’t let that stop you from hearing wisdom.

Wisdom is crying out to you. Will you hear her warning?

Beware the Dread of Disaster, Avoid the Enticement of Evil, and Hear the Warning of Wisdom

Conclusion

I imagine by now you’re feeling the weight of the warnings. I think that’s the point of Solomon’s intense language. But notice how this ends. Verse 33. “but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” Did you notice? There are only two outcomes in this chapter. Almost the entire chapter has focused on tragedy of destruction for those who reject wisdom. But Solmon ends with the promise of security for those who listen.

The warnings in this chapter are a wake-up call to listen. But think about this, what is required for you to listen to this wisdom?

Well, hearing and responding requires trust and belief. You see, this is a matter of faith. God is saying through Solmon, “Listen to me. Hear my words of wisdom. Believe them and live, reject them and die.”

And the test of whether you believe this wisdom is whether you turn from your sin and to the wisdom of God. I skipped over verse 23. That’s because I wanted to come back to it now. It captures the key element of listening to wisdom. Look at it. verse 23. It begins, “if you turn at my reproof.” That idea of turning is the heart of repentance. It’s turning from what wisdom has warned against – from ignoring and refusing to listen and turning to wisdom. Wisdom calls you to turn away from the sinner, away from evil, away from your sin, and turn to God. You cannot come to God and his wisdom without turning away from the ways you ignore or reject his wisdom.

This message is the message of faith in Christ. We’ve already talked about how Christ and the cross is the wisdom of God. We’ve already talked about how through Christ we can rightly fear the Lord, by worshiping him in our lives. That’s where wisdom begins. And these verses direct us to faith in God by hearing and trusting in him and repenting from all the ways we have rejected his wisdom. It’s faith that is fulfilled in the person of Jesus and salvation in him. The call to hear and respond to wisdom is a call to faith and repentance in Christ.

What I’m saying is that the warnings of rejecting wisdom and the tragic result of death and destruction is only overcome one way. It’s turning to the one who is wisdom. Who is wisdom personified. That is Jesus. There’s no middle ground. If you’re here today and you haven’t turned your life from the folly of sin to him and his wisdom, then he’s calling you.

And when you do, you will receive a great reward. Let me read verse 23 again. “If you turn at my reproof,” says wisdom, “behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” When you turn away from your sin, evil, folly, scoffing, wisdom will be given to you. You’ll have the spirit of wisdom. You’ll notice that the word “spirit” is lowercase. That’s because wisdom is speaking. But when we understand that the wisdom of Proverbs is ultimately God’s wisdom, that lowercase “s” becomes a capital “S.” In other words, when you hear the call of God’s wisdom and you turn to him by faith, God will pour out his Spirit on you. Your new faith in Christ will result in God giving you the Spirit of truth and wisdom, the Holy Spirit. You will have an intimate relationship with Wisdom himself.

Let me say that in a slightly different way. This whole section of Proverbs 1 is a call to believe in God and his wisdom. Belief in God is hearing, trusting, and turning. It’s hearing the call of God’s wisdom, turning away from rejecting his wisdom, and trusting in his wisdom by faith in Christ.

Let me very briefly summarize as we close.

Hear the wisdom of God. When you do, it will be for you a blessed crown of victory and a pendant of God’s grace. But be warned, if sin and sinners entice you and if you reject the wisdom of God in Christ, the path will lead you through anguish and distress to disaster.

But when you hear the wisdom of God in Christ, and turn to him by faith, he will give you his Spirit and you will rest secure forever. May we each hear the warning and turn to him.

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Proverbs 1:2-7

The Beginning of Wisdom: Fear the Lord

Our sermon text this morning is Proverbs 1:2-7. You can find that on page 625…

Before we read, let me mention three things:

First, Amy, Coleman, and I started a podcast on Proverbs. It’s a weekly discussion about the upcoming verses that we’ll focus on in the sermon. The goal is to help us all engage with the text before Sunday. You can find links on our website, and it’s published on the standard podcast channels.
Second, in our app, you can submit any questions you have about Proverbs. We’ll plan to either talk about those in the podcast or in the sermon series.
And then third, just a reminder from last week. God spoke through King Solomon, son of King David to give us the wisdom of Proverbs. Solomon was the primary human author, but, as we considered, he was also a shadow of a greater king, a greater son of David – Jesus. Christ is the wisdom of God.

That brings us now to verses 2-7. They give us the purpose of Proverbs and the foundation to wisdom.

Prayer

Reading of Proverbs 1:2-7

Do you desire wisdom?

I think deep down each of us wants wisdom. We want to comprehend the meaning and purpose of our life… or we desire an ability to understand other people and social dynamics… or we want wisdom to sift through political and social theories and philosophies… or we just want wisdom to help us make day to day decisions. (that is probably the most common reason we desire wisdom)

Well, Proverbs is a book about wisdom. And its purpose is to help us with those very questions.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve been looking forward to our study of Proverbs. Every single day we are confronted with situations, beliefs, temptations, critiques… And how we think about those things, what we say and do, and the decisions we make affect ourselves and others.

We need wisdom. But not just any wisdom. No, we need God’s wisdom and Proverbs is part of God’s answer to give us that wisdom for life.

Last week, we talked a little bit about how the book of Proverbs fits within Scripture as a whole. And more specifically, how Proverbs fits within the different kinds of wisdom books in the Bible.

This morning I want to go a little deeper into the wisdom of Proverbs. The reason I want to do that is because these verses, 2-7, are the launching pad to the rest of the book. They set us on the path to gain wisdom. They answer the questions, what is wisdom? and how do we begin?

If you want to think about it this way, these verses are like your phone’s GPS map. Your destination is Godly wisdom. Verses 2-7 give you an overview of the route and the very first turn.

So, let’s jump in.

Something you probably noticed is the repetition of the word “to.” It’s there five times. Solomon was answering the question, “what is the purpose of this book?”

“Well, the purpose of the book,” he writes, is…

• Verse 2 – to know wisdom and insight

• Verse 3 – to receive instruction in wise dealing (in other words, how you live)

• Verse 4 – to give prudence and discretion

• Verse 6 – to understand a proverb and the words of the wise.

Let me summarize it this way: The purpose of Proverbs is to impart the wisdom of God. What’s really important is that we not just know God’s wisdom, but that we live God’s wisdom.

I opened with the question. Do you desire wisdom? But what Proverbs is asking: Do you desire to know and live God’s wisdom?

I’ve been using that word wisdom over and over. Last week, I provided a quick definition of wisdom. “Wisdom is having and exercising sound judgment. It’s applying truth and knowledge in life.” That’s fine as a summary. But let me give you a more comprehensive definition of wisdom and then connect it to these verses in chapter 1. Here it is:

Pursuing biblical wisdom is (1) seeking to know God, his Word and his commands, (2) desiring to humbly reflect God’s goodness and righteousness in everyday life situations, and (3) striving to discern what is true and right and good in the world, and what is not.

If you didn’t catch that, I’ll repeat each part as we go through it. And let me say, I’m intentionally using the words seeking, desiring, and striving because wisdom, as the book of Proverbs lays out, is the pursuit of those things. We each should be on the journey to grow in the wisdom of God.

Back to the first part of the definition. Biblical wisdom is seeking to know God, his Word and his commands. Having biblical wisdom requires that kind of knowledge and a desire for further knowledge. That point is sprinkled all through these verses. Verse 2 “to know wisdom and instruction.” It’s also there in verse 4 and 5 “knowledge and an increase in learning.” As we work through the first few chapters, we’ll clearly see that this knowledge is directly connected to knowing God’s Word and his commands. Then Verse 7… the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We’ll to come back to that in a bit, but notice for now how the call to seek knowledge includes knowing the Lord. So, biblical wisdom is first seeking to know God, his Word and his commands.

Number 2…. the second part of the definition. Biblical wisdom is also desiring to humbly reflect God’s goodness and righteousness in everyday life situations. Wisdom does not end with knowledge. No, in fact, a very large portion of Proverbs is ethical in nature. It’s the heart response to the knowledge of God and his commands. That’s partly captured in verses 3. “instruction in wise dealing.” And notice how it describes that dealing - “righteousness, justice, and equity.” Someone can know the Bible, but unless he or she is seeking to reflect God’s righteousness and goodness, that person doesn’t have wisdom. Furthermore, Proverbs is very focused on our life situation and decisions. And you can see that in verses 4 and 5. The words used are prudence, discretion, and guidance. Those are all tactical words for day-to-day decision making as we seek to honor God. To say it again, biblical wisdom is desiring to humbly reflect God’s goodness and righteousness in everyday life situations.

So, knowledge, righteousness, and the third part of the definition is about discernment: Biblical wisdom includes striving to discern what is true and right and good in the world, and what is not. Also scattered through these verses is that word “understand.” Verses 2, 5 , and 6. Understanding is discerning. It’s not just regurgitating what you are hearing. Understanding is being able apply that knowledge in life and in the world. At the end of verse 7 we’re introduced to the word “fools.” A fool despises wisdom and instruction. There’s an underlying contrast there. Part of wisdom includes being able to distinguish between goodness and folly and between truth and error. This goes beyond our personal pursuit of righteousness. Having biblical wisdom includes navigating the ideas, perspective, and ways of life in the world.

So knowledge, righteousness, and discernment.

Let me repeat that definition one more time. Pursuing biblical wisdom is (1) seeking to know God, his Word and his commands, (2) it’s desiring to humbly reflect God’s goodness and righteousness in everyday life situations, and (3) striving to discern what is true and right and good in the world, and what is not.

Do you desire this wisdom? It’s a lifetime journey. It’s my hope and prayer that by the end of our Proverbs study that you and I will be well on the path of wisdom. That we’ll have the framework, the categories, and the motivation… to know, understand, and apply God’s word in life.

One question you may have is this: How does Proverbs convey that wisdom? How is Proverbs structured to impart God’s wisdom to us?

Well, it’s a very interesting book as many of you have read. The first 9 chapters are the introduction. That’s quite a long introduction. We’re going to work through those chapters sequentially. They present the importance of wisdom. They answer several questions, like how do we seek and find wisdom? What is the value of wisdom? How do we listen to wisdom? These opening chapters also warn us of evil and folly. And a particular warning is the seduction of adultery and where that sinful path leads.

For those of you that have read Proverbs, you’ll know that once you get to chapter 10, there’s a major change in the book. Instead of a step-by-step argument for wisdom, we’re given proverb after proverb. Hundreds of different proverbs, each with a different point and emphasis.

So, starting with chapter 10, we’re going to study the proverbs by category. We’re going to read every single one of them, but we won’t be studying them in the order in which they are laid out on the page, but rather by their focus.

By the way, let me take a brief tangent. My daughter Kate has a new t-shirt. It says, “Everything I do seems to end up in a sermon.” We kind of joke about it because, as you know, it’s pretty rare that I talk about my family in my sermons. However, I did want to mention that Kate and Caleb helped Amy and me categorize the proverbs. This has been a family affair. For a few months earlier this year, our family devotions involved going proverb by proverb. We discussed what each meant and we assigned different categories to each of them. We came up with about 30 categories in total for the more than 600 individual proverbs from chapter 10 through chapter 29. Those categories included things like friendship, justice, integrity and honor, sloth, anger, financial wisdom, and a whole bunch more.

Let me also mention that the final two chapters return to a more linear focus. So, we’ll wrap up the series in chapters 30 and 31. That’s just a little preview.

So, Proverbs is about wisdom. It’s about desiring and obtaining wisdom. Seeking to know God and his word, reflecting his righteousness, avoiding folly and evil and striving to discern of the things of the world.

Maybe that sounds overwhelming. Maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t even know where to start. I long to have and pursue God’s wisdom, how do I find the path of wisdom? Can you tell me where to begin?”

Well, I don’t need to tell you. The answer is right there in verse 7. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” That word for knowledge in the Hebrew is more than just an intellectual comprehension. Its primary definition is “knowledge with a focus on moral qualities.” In this verse it’s used synonymously with the word wisdom in the second half of the verse.

In chapter 9 verse 10, which you can see on our banner behind us, says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

In other words, this is where we all need to begin - the fear of the LORD. It’s the ground floor to wisdom, the center of wisdom. The path to wisdom begins with fearing the Lord.

The two natural questions are 1) What does it mean to fear the Lord? And 2) why is fearing the Lord the beginning of wisdom?

When we think of fearing something, we think of being afraid or even terrified.

But Solomon’s audience would have understood it very differently. One thing you’ll notice is that the word LORD is in all capital letters. In the Hebrew, that’s the word Yahweh. It’s God’s covenant name. And back in the book of Deuteronomy, to fear the LORD meant to live in response to God’s covenant promises. There was a relational component to fearing the Lord – knowing God as the covenant maker - as well as a submission to God as his covenant people.

Translating that to us today, fearing God means putting him at the center of our lives. It’s removing ourselves or others as the center and instead considering who God is and his call for us.

It’s helpful to consider fearing the Lord in contrast to fearing man. When we fear man, we fear what other people will think of us. For example, what we wear, what we think, what we do. That kind of fear drives what we do and say and think because we are seeking to please others. To fear the Lord, on the contrary, is to think, say, and act in ways that please and honor the Lord.

You may have heard of Oswald Chambers before. He wrote one of the most well-known beloved devotional. It’s titled “My Utmost for His Highest.” Chambers wrote: “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.”

He’s saying, what we fear is the thing that ultimately motivates us. When we fear God, we trust in him for all things. There’s nothing else to fear.

So that’s one aspect of fearing the Lord – placing God with all his covenant promises and stipulations as the center of our lives.

There’s also a second aspect of fearing the Lord. Literally translated, the word Yahweh means “I am.” In the wilderness when Moses asked God who he was, God responded, “I am who I am.”

Fearing the Lord is also a call to recognize God for who he is. It’s seeing God in all of his grandeur and power and holiness and justice and then recognizing our estate as creatures, sinful creatures. To fear God is having a reverence of God with that perspective. It’s seeing him as the one in whom all things hold together. It’s recognizing the vastness of the universe that he created… It’s recognizing his infinite knowledge, his eternal being, how he is all powerful and he is present everywhere. To fear the Lord is to see him in all the glory and breadth of his nature.

I was thinking this week of CS Lewis’s classic book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy enter Narnia through the wardrobe, they quickly learn about the forces for good and evil. The White Witch has been terrorizing Narnia. She’s been turning creatures into stone. But they are told that Aslan the Lion is on the move. Aslan is the allegorical Christ figure.

“Who is Aslan?” asked Susan.

“Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver, “Why, don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood... He is in Narnia at this moment. He’ll settle the White Queen all right..."

“She won’t turn him into stone too?” said Edmund.

...Mr. Beaver [answered] with a great laugh. “Turn him into stone? If she can stand on her two feet and look him in the face it’ll be the most she can do and more than I expect of her. No, no. He’ll put all to rights..."

[Susan asked], “Is [Aslan]--quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

[Mrs. Beaver answered] “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Our fear of the Lord is a fear that recognizes he is not safe, but he is good. He’s not safe because of his justice and goodness compared to our sin. But he is good because of his saving grace.

Let me give you another word that captures all of these ideas about fearing the Lord. Worship. The worship of God in your life. I’m talking about worship in the sense of honoring God in all aspects of your life. Exalting him alone and not others or yourself. Having him at the center of your identity. And recognizing him as the Almighty… the I AM who created all things.

This is where wisdom begins. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. It begins with worship.

But why? Why is fearing the Lord where we need to begin?

Well, think about it this way. If God is the one in whom and for whom all things exist (as the Scriptures teach) then wisdom has to begin with him. The foundation of wisdom is ultimate purpose and meaning. Since God is the one in whom exists ultimate purpose and meaning, then seeking wisdom needs to begin with seeking him and worshiping him

And let’s go back to our definition of wisdom - knowledge, righteousness, and discernment. Each one of those elements requires fearing the Lord.

• Knowing God and his Word begins with fearing God – having reverent awe of the one true God.

• Reflecting God’s righteousness is fearing the Lord in the sense of responding to God’s covenant promises.

• And discerning truth and goodness in the world starts with fearing the Lord because it is in him that all truth and goodness exists.

And each one of those comes together for us in Christ.

• We can know God because God has revealed himself to us. Jesus is the word of God made flesh. One of us and God himself. He’s the bridge through which we can know and fear God.

• He’s also the righteousness of God. The ultimate model for us to reflect.

• And last, Christ is the one through whom God created the world. Discernment of what is right and true in the world comes through fearing the one who created the world.

Think of the disciples in Mark 4. They were on the boat with Jesus in the Sea of Galilee. When the sudden storm arose, they feared death. And in a panic, they woke up Jesus who was sleeping. And what did he do? After chastising them for their lack of faith, he rebuked the wind and the waves. “Peace be still!” And suddenly there was a great calm. But the interesting thing is what we’re told next. The disciples were filled with an even greater fear! At first they feared the storm thinking they were dying, but their fear turned to the Lord. “Who is this,” they said, “even the wind and the waves obey him!”

What I’m saying is that wisdom begins when we fear God in Christ… fearing him in all the ways that we have talked about. How God’s covenant promises are fulfilled in him. The reverence and awe we owe him as creator and Lord of all things. And as the one in whom we were created and exist.

And, to wrap things up. The very heart of wisdom and the fear of God in Christ is the cross.

You see, in the cross of Christ we see the full power and justice of our holy God against sin. The cross raises our awareness of God’s power. It raises our reverent fear of God. But it also raises our understanding of his love and goodness. He is not safe, but he is good. It’s in that space, where God’s justice and goodness come together, that we can fear the Lord with awe and reverence and humility, all in worship.

The path to true wisdom begins there. It begins by fearing the Lord of all creation. It’s recognizing what he can do in his divine justice and power, but also what he has done to satisfy that divine justice.

Do you fear him? Because, unless you do, wisdom from God will be unattainable.

But when you do, the wisdom of Proverbs will be yours in Christ.

So, let’s journey together through Proverbs in the fear of the Lord.

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Genesis 50:15-21 A Framework for Life (Rev. Charles Dunahoo)

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Romans 7:13-25

The Battle within: The Redeemed Sinner

Rev. Erik Veerman

7/23/2023

This morning, we’re wrapping up our summer study of Romans 6-7.

One thing we’ve learned is that our justification is the foundation to our sanctification. Our justification

is how God has redeemed us and restored us to a right relationship with him. Our sanctification is the

ongoing work of God in us as we are conformed to his image.

For example, Chapter 6 revealed that God has applied Jesus’ death and resurrection to us by uniting us

to him. Our justification comes through that beautiful union through which we receive the benefits of

what Christ has accomplished.

But the main point of Chapter 6 is that because we’ve been united to Christ, we should turn from the

ongoing sin in our life and pursue the things of God. That’s our sanctification. It happens through the

work of God’s Spirit now in us, as we seek to live out the grace of God. Our justification in Christ is the

foundation to and motivation for our sanctification.

That brought us to chapter 7. It has focused on our relationship to God’s law. His law is the ultimate

standard of right and wrong. Because of our sin, God’s law revealed condemnation and death. To put

that in terms of our justification, God’s law does not and cannot justify us. No, instead we need faith in

Christ – He fulfilled the law’s requirement of perfect obedience for us and he paid the law’s penalty for

us.

The important thing we learned is that the law was not the problem before coming to Christ. No, rather,

our sin was the problem. In fact, the law is good and holy and right. It reveals our sin, points us to God,

and directs us to holiness and righteousness.

And that brings us to these final verses in chapter 7. We’ve already learned that the law is not the basis

of our justification. These verses reveal that the law is also not the basis of our sanctification.

So now, let’s come to these last verses of Chapter 7. You can find that on page 1121 if you are using the

provided Bibles. Chapter 7 verses 13-25

Stand

Reading of Romans 7:13-25.

Prayer

About 10 years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Belgium. A group of us were visiting some missionaries

to experience their work. While there, we took a day to explore a couple of WWII battle sites. Of

particular note, we stopped by some of the Battle of the Bulge sites. In fact, we came across some of the

old foxholes that had been dug near the city of Bastogne. There was no sign, just a nearby monument

dedicated to the E Company from northeast Georgia. The men fighting in that location had been trained

near Toccoa, Georgia. It was moving to be there. The soldiers had hunkered down in the freezing cold

starting. It was December, 1944. They stood their ground, fighting for each other and against evil. Many

lives and limbs were lost.

The Battle of the Bulge was Germany’s last-ditch effort in the war. You see, by then, the allied forces had

already recaptured France. The successful invasion on the beaches of Normandy delivered a devastating

blow. The war was over… but it wasn’t. It was over in the sense that there was no path to victory for the

evil Nazi regime, but it wasn’t over because the Germans had not yet surrendered.

The war had been won but the battles continued. And those battles were real. Jeff and Dianne Chinery

had a neighbor who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He passed away recently, but he told them how

hard and cold it was.

Beloved in Christ, victory over sin has been achieved, but the battles against sin are still waging. Sin’s

power has been broken. But until we reach eternity with Christ, we will still battle. Not to win the war.

No, it’s already been won by Christ for us. We still battle, but we do so as victors in him. Sometimes we

call this the already and not yet. The war has been won in Christ already, but we have not yet reached

the full benefits of his victory.

That’s what I believe the apostle Paul is describing in these verses: the ongoing battle of sin in the

Christian but with the sure hope in Christ’s victory.

Now, I have to tell you, there have been different interpretations of these verses. Some believe, myself

included, that Paul is writing from the perspective of a believer, redeemed in Christ. Others believe that

he’s writing from the perspective as an unbeliever, not yet redeemed, such as his old self. In fact, many

of the early church fathers in the second and third century thought Paul was personifying someone else

– someone unredeemed. Augustine, who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries started with that

perspective, but then changed his mind. He originally thought the apostle was writing as an unbeliever.

But later in life, Augustine decided it’s better to understand these verses as someone redeemed by

Christ but still struggling with sin. If you know a little of Augustine’s life perhaps his own struggle

influenced his understanding.

Today, you’ll find commentators on both sides and some in the middle.

Again, I believe Paul is writing as himself as a believer by faith in Christ. Let me give you the two reasons

which tipped the scales for me:

• First, there is a very clear change in verb tense. The verses we looked at last week, 7-12 were

referring to the past. For example, in verse 7 Paul wrote, “if it had not been for the law, I would not have

known sin.” In the next verse, he said, sin “produced in me” (past tense) and later, “sin “deceived me.”

Then Verse 9, “I once was alive apart from the law.” Do you hear that? And if you read those verses

again, you’ll get the clear sense that Paul was writing about his pre-conversion as the Lord began to

open the eyes of his heart. That is very different from our verses this morning - 13-25. He’s now

exclusively using present tense verbs. Over and over “I do” and “I do not” and “I agree” and “I know”

and sin “dwells with me.” Present tense. Let me add to that. In these verses, Paul continues to talk

about himself. Some believe he’s switched to now talking as an unbeliever. I just don’t buy that

argument. In verse 25 he writes, “I myself” He’s emphasizing himself. Plus, these verses are a

continuation from the previous verses. He connects them to the commandment he’s been referring to

as well as the rest of God’s law. So, I believe the apostle is talking about himself in the present tense, as

a believer in Christ.

• Second, the person who’s speaking is very affirming of God’s law with a heart desire to fulfill it.

As we go through these verses, notice that he refers to the law as good. He wants to do what the law

says, which is good. In these verses, he uses the word “good” over and over in reference to the law. And

he has an internal desire to do that which is good. There’s very much a heart motivation to do good, not

an external, pharisaical, “going through the motions” response to God’s law. A Christian’s view of God’s

law should be that internal heart desire to know it and obey it. God’s law is good. It’s not our salvation,

but it helps us to see our sin and to know how God desires us to live.

I hope that helps. I think by the end of this sermon, you’ll have an even deeper sense that this is

redeemed Paul speaking… that he’s writing as himself at this moment in his life.

With that perspective in mind, let me first summarize these verses.

Paul is acknowledging the internal struggle of sin that he and all believers deal with. We desire to do

what is right according to God’s good law, but we often fail because of the weakness of our flesh. This is

the ongoing and often intense battle against sin. But thanks be to God because the war has already been

won.

As we start to look at some of the specifics, notice that Paul begins with a reminder of God’s law.

In fact, verse 13 is a good summary from last week. He writes, “Did that which is good,” meaning the

law, “bring death to me?” Did the law bring death? “By no means!” The law merely revealed our sin for

what it is – (1) totally contrary to God’s will; (2) deserving of death and condemnation.

“The law is spiritual,” Paul writes. God’s law is good and righteous as he stated one verse ago. But in

contrast, look at the end of 14, “but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.” I know what some of you are

thinking. “See, I told you so. This isn’t the apostle Paul talking as a Christian. No, a Christian has been

bought by Christ. He’s now free. Got you. Checkmate. Good game.”

Ahh! But I got you. Because you see, his train of thought does not end there! No, it continues. Look at

the middle of 15 “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” You see, in our minds, we

want to do that which is good. We have the earnest desire to do what is good. But what do we do

instead? We end up doing what we hate – sin! You see, it’s the Christian who hates his or her sin. “Sold

under sin” is referring to the sinful hearts that we were born with. Like David’s plea for mercy in Psalm

As we read earlier, he said, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother

conceive me.” Even though we’ve been redeemed, the presence of sin is still there.

Every single one of us here has patterns of specific sin in our lives. What’s yours? Anger? Lust? Coveting?

Do you have an addiction? Or are you prone to laziness or selfishness. There are a whole host of things.

The Christian hates his or her sin. A maturing Christian hates his sin more and more.

Do you not cry out to God. “Lord, I know what is good, but I need your help because I continue to

struggle with this specific sin.” This is what these verses are saying.

This helps us understand Verse 16, which can be confusing. It says, “Now if I do what I do not want, I

agree with the law, that it is good.” Paul is saying that the law gives him the categories of right and

wrong. He recognizes his sin, which is good. It’s like he’s saying, “Lord, I’m agreeing with the law. When I

sin, I know that it is wrong. That is a good thing!”

Does not your heart grieve when that sin you are so familiar with raises its ugly head again?

The important question is: how should we understand the ongoing sin in our lives? What is going on

inside that causes us to sin? Verse 17 answers that question. “It is no longer I who do it.” But you say,

“What?! How can the apostle say that? Of course, it’s him, right. He’s the one who sinned.” Let me

explain it this way, Paul is saying is that his identity is now in Christ. That’s who he is. It’s what defines

him. He’s a new creation in Christ. Sin is no longer his core identity. Rather when he sins, it’s the vestiges

of sin in him from the fall. “It’s no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”

To say it again, the battles we wage against sin are not battles to win the war – it has already been won

for us. But that does not make the battles easy.

As you look at these verses, multiple times, Paul comments on the difficulty of the battle against sin.

He says in verse 18 “nothing good dwells in me.” But he’s very careful to qualify it. He adds, “that is, in

my flesh.” He goes on to say that the battle is so difficult. I am not doing what I want but I do the very

thing that I consider evil.

Do you feel that tension in your own life? I know many of you do. Because I’ve talked and prayed with

some of you about it.

For the believer, feeling overwhelmed by sin is common. I think the reason Paul repeats this tension is

because we all experience it. Because look, it’s repeated again in verses 22-23! “I delight in the law of

God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind…”

What is that war being waged? It’s right there at the end of 23. It’s the war seeking to make you “captive

to the law of sin.” On the one hand, there’s the law of God. On the other hand, there’s the law of sin, as

he puts it. Or we could say, “the law of how sin operates.”

Here’s what sin wants to do in your life: Sin wants to bring you back to your old ways. It wants you to sin

more and feel condemned more. Here’s how sin operates: it wants you to think that the battles you are

fighting are still battles to win the war. Sin wants you to think that you are losing the war or that the

answer is to run to God’s law.

A few years ago, I was counselling a man who struggled with pornography. A common struggle of many.

It was an on and off thing in his life. He would have times of victory. But then he would stumble and fall.

And he said to me one day in deep pain. “I don’t even know whether I am a Christian. I keep failing. I

keep losing the battle against lust.”

We went to Romans 7. “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” And “I

see in my members another law waging war in me.” I said to him, “the very fact that you are fighting the

battle and feel that ongoing conviction testifies to your faith.”

In his mind, he had been comparing the sinful part of his flesh to God’s law without reminding himself of

the Gospel. That caused him to feel condemned by his sin.

The law is not the means or avenue through which we are sanctified. Let me put that in another way:

The law’s function in our justification is very similar to the law’s function in our sanctification. It does not

justify us, and it does not sanctify us. Rather, it reveals our sin and either points us to Christ for the first

time or it points us back to him.

I really like how pastor John Stott put it: He said, “Having vindicated the law in verses 7-13 as not

responsible for sin or death, Paul now proceeds to show that nevertheless the law cannot be

responsible for our holiness either.” He continues, “The law is good, but it is also weak. In itself, it is

holy, but it is impotent to make us holy.”

As a Christian, what do you do when that persistent sin circles back around? …when you fall to its

temptation again? Where should you turn for help? Your temptation will be to go to the law. See how

bad I am! You’ll feel the weight of that sin.

What should do you do, instead? Two things!

First, go to Christ!

Paul proclaims, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” He’s not hiding

from the severity of his sin nor that the sin in his flesh is an affront to God. No, Paul is very upfront

about his sin, as should we. In his first letter to Timothy he writes, “The saying is trustworthy and

deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the

foremost.” Paul clearly recognizes the severity of his sin over and over. All that does for him is make him

all the more thankful for Christ. You see, Paul knows where to turn. “Thanks be to God through Jesus

Christ our Lord!”

Repeat these words in your heart. Not out loud but inside. “I am redeemed.” “The war has been won.” “I

can fight the battle of my sin in his strength.” “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ [my] Lord!”

Beloved in Christ, you have a Savior who loves you and who has died for you. You are united to him.

You’ve been justified in him. Let your justification in him be the foundation to your sanctification. Go

back to it as often as you need it.

Love God’s law. Love it not because it saves or sanctifies, but because it points you to God and directs

you to the one who does save and sanctify.

So that’s the first thing you should do when your sin weighs you down. Return to Christ, be reminded

that you’re victorious in him. Fight the battle against sin in his strength, not yours.

Second, draw upon the strength of God’s Spirit in you. There’s only one Holy Spirit reference in this

whole chapter - way back up in verse 6. To be sure, the apostle Paul is not downplaying the Spirit’s role

in the life of the believer. Remember, this chapter focuses on God’s law. What it is and what it isn’t.

What the law does and what it does not do. But when you turn the page to chapter 8, it is full of

references to the Holy Spirit - 20 references in chapter 8 to the Holy Spirit. Many of them about how

God applies his law in us.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of

life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Over and over. We are in the Spirit.

He dwells in us. We can set our minds on the Spirit. Through the Spirit we can put to death the deeds of

the body. Etc and Etc.

For those of you who were here three years ago. That was our very first sermon series. Romans chapter

We needed a Romans chapter 8 encouragement in the midst of Covid.

We can draw upon the strength of God’s Spirit who applies God’s Word in us. How do we do that? We

go to God in prayer. We ask him for strength. We dig deep in his Word. We seek to worship God

together and in our lives. And through all of it, his Spirit will be at work in us.

So, when the battle gets intense, go back to the salvation you have in Christ and draw upon the work of

God’s Spirit.

The Battle of the Bulge lasted about 40 days. 40 painful days. It ended on January 25, 1945. In the three

months that followed, the allied forces launched several counter attacks. As they advanced, they

liberated several concentration camps. They pressed on knowing the end was near. And finally, on May

7, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered. The war had already been won but now it was officially

over.

There will come a day when believers by faith in Christ will be fully released from sin. That day will come

when either (1) we pass from this life into glory or (2) when Christ returns in glory. Until that day, fight

the ongoing battles of sin through Christ, in his Spirit, knowing that he has already won the war.

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Romans 7:7-12

The Law Revealed what Sin Concealed

Rev. Erik Veerman

7/16/2023

Our sermon text this morning is Romans 7:7-12. You can find that on page 1121 in the Pew Bible. One of the things that we’ve seen in Romans 6 and 7 is a series of questions with answers. This is one of the apostle Paul’s literary techniques. He asks a question about an important matter of faith and practice, and then he explains the answer. Verse 7 has a new question followed by an explanation.

And just like last week, he’s continuing to focus on God’s law. His goal is to explain the relationship between the Christian and God’s law. Needless to say, that’s important for all of us. If we misunderstand the purpose of God’s law, we can either think it saves us (so we work hard to obey) or we can think the law has no more value to us (so we disregard it). But neither is the right answer.

Last week, we learned that the Christian is no longer bound by the law… specifically, Jesus met the requirements of the law for us, perfectly obeying, and he bore the penalty of the law for us. Instead of being bound to the law, we belong to Christ. We’re no longer captive to the law, but are now filled with God’s Spirit.

That’s where we ended last week.

STAND

Reading of Romans 7:7-12.

Prayer

The largest pendulum in the world is located in Paris. It’s called the Foucault pendulum and is about 220 feet tall. It’s named after the French physicist Leon Foucault, who installed it in 1851. All day long, it swings back and forth. As the earth rotates, it changes direction.

We are kind of like pendulums. Aren’t we? When it comes to different beliefs, no matter the category, we sometimes swing from one extreme to another. When we learn something new, sometimes we realize that there are problems with our old perspectives of something. But instead of coming to a balanced view, we swing all the way to the other side. This especially happens in groups. There’s a social theory called Group Polarization. Group discussions tend to result in extreme positions. It’s caused by social dynamics and pressures to conform. It can lead to large swings of collective opinion within social groups.

The apostle Paul is worried about pendulum swings. Or maybe we call them overcorrections. In chapter 5, he wrote “where sin increased, grace abounded.” Paul believed that but was worried that his readers would take it to the extreme. “Well, then, let’s sin more!” So, in chapter 6, he dealt directly with that concern. “Should we continue to sin that grace may about? By no means!” Don’t go there! Don’t swing too far!

In chapter 7, Paul is worried about another pendulum swing. This time, he’s worried that they will completely disregard God’s law.

You see, up to this point, Paul’s discussion about the law has been largely negative. The law leads to condemnation which leads to death. Back in chapter 2, he wrote, “All who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.” Or think of earlier in chapter 6… “we are not under law but under grace.” Or last week’s verses, we are no longer bound by the law.

Now, if the apostle Paul had ended his discussion of the law in chapter 7 verse 6, how do you think they would respond? I think some of them would swing like a pendulum to the opposite extreme. Some of them, especially the Jewish Christians in Rome, but also some Gentile Christians had been steeped in the law. We get the sense that some of his readers overemphasized the law. Paul’s been trying to correct that. But he doesn’t want them to overcorrect. “Paul, I get it now! This whole time, I’ve been elevating the law. But now, as you say, I am free of the law. It was the problem! I see clearly now, thank you, Paul. The law is no longer important. We can throw it all away.” Do you see how they could have come to that conclusion? Paul had to be really clear of what he was saying and what he was not saying.

Why? Because, when it comes to God’s law, our tendency is one of two extremes. Either legalism, which is strict adherence to the law thinking we still need to earn God’s favor. OR antinomianism. That’s a big word. It means anti-law… disregarding God’s law believing it has no purpose.

But neither is the answer. That’s part of the message of chapter 7. The first 6 verses were addressing the tendency toward legalism. And verses 7-12 are addressing the opposite extreme, antinomianism. The apostle Paul deals with the second extreme, disregarding God’s law. These verses explain the relationship of God’s law to our sin.

I say that because that is the main question. Is the law sin? By no means! Again, there’s that really clear response. Heaven forbid we think that.

I think you can understand the possible confusion. Part of the message has been that the law brings condemnation and death. Someone could think, therefore, that the law must be the problem. After all, the law seems to be the first thing in the progression to condemnation and death. But the law is not the problem. No. Rather sin is the problem. It’s our sin, our rebellion against God, that deserves the condemnation. The law’s nature is, in fact, the opposite of sin. As it says down in verse 12, the “law is holy.” And he adds, the commandment is “holy and righteous and good.” He’s referring to a specific commandment, and we’re going to get back there.

And because it is God’s law, any and all sin is condemned by it. The law does the condemning. Sin is what deserves to be condemned.

Think of a courtroom setting. Suppose a man is on trial for murderer. The law states that someone found guilty of murder will be punished in some severe way. And let’s say that this guy on trial is found guilty. The evidence was overwhelming. The jury therefore convicts him. And the judge in the trial sentences him to life in prison. Is the law is the reason the guy is serving a life sentence? No, the law is just the standard. The reason for his life sentence is his action.

You see, the law of God is not sin. It is not evil or unjust. Rather, the law displays the very nature of our holy God. The law is good and right. Through the law we can know of God’s righteousness. We are made aware of God’s very nature as pure and true. God’s law reveals his character as perfectly just and entirely good.

Instead of dismissing the law as the problem, we should uphold the law. We should see it as God’s perfect standard for righteousness - the standard which points us to God, himself.

For the Christian, the law doesn’t go away! It’s still there for our blessing and edification and guidance, we’re just no longer condemned by it.

So, we can rejoice with the Psalmist in Psalm 19, as we did this morning, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; …the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.”

The law is beautiful - it reveals the splendor of God’s holiness. We can delight in the law because it shows us God and his goodness.

As we talked about last week, in response to being freed from the law’s condemnation, we can seek to honor God through it, not as a means to salvation but in response to his salvation. So, we seek to know the law, and meditate on it, and uphold it, and delight in it.

The law is not sin. It’s not the problem.

But that brings us to an important question. Since God’s law is not sin, since the very nature of God’s law is in contrast to sin, well then, how do God’s law and our sin relate? interact?

Really, the heart of these verses answer that. You can think of the beginning of verse 7 and verse 12 as brackets. The law is not sin. In fact, the law is holy, and righteous and good. And the middle section helps us to know the interplay between the law and sin.

And there are three things. Three ways that the law relates to sin.

• First, the law reveals sin. That’s verse 7

• Second, the law stirs up more sin – that’s verses 8 and 11

• And third, God uses his law to bring conviction of our sin and lead us to Christ. That’s verse 9 and 10.

The law reveals sin, stirs up sin, and is used to bring conviction of sin.

Reveals Sin

If the nature of God’s law is holy, and righteous, and good (as verse 12 says), then one of the things it will do is reveal that which is unholy and unrighteous and not good. The law is the perfect standard and therefore it will illuminate everything that does not conform to its standard. It reveals our sin. Again, it is not sin, but rather reveals our sin. If you blame the law as the problem, it’s kind of like you are shooting the messenger. The law is the messenger that is revealing the problem.

You can see that role of revealing our sin right there in verse 7. Paul writes, “Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.” And he gives an example. “For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’”

Just to be sure, even though he uses one of the 10 commandments, he’s not saying that the law came into existence when the 10 commandments were given. No. He’s already said in earlier chapters that the law is written on the hearts of all.

But what the commandments do is reveal the extent of sin. They illuminate the atrociousness of our sin. The expose the breadth of our sin and the nature of our sin. The law is like a big light shining on your sinful heart.

The law reveals sin.

Stirs up more sin

But second, the law often stirs up more sin! And that’s where Paul goes next.

That’s captured in verses 9 and 11. In fact, the first few words are almost exactly the same. Verse 9 says, “But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness.” Verse 11 extends that to include the deception of sin. In other words, when our sinful hearts are confronted with the law of God – we want to rebel even more. That is the deception of sin. Your sin wants you to sin more.

And that’s true!

Let me try to illustrate this.

Kids, suppose it’s raining outside and suppose your yard is full of mud puddles and you love playing in the mud. Let’s say you ask your mom to go out… but your mom says, “sure, you can go out and play, but don’t jump in the mud puddles.” When you hear that, doesn’t it make you want to jump in the puddles even more? There’s a stirring up of sin in you. Now, all you want to do is jump in the mud puddles. And also, you’re not happy with your mom telling you what you can’t do.

Do you see how sin can be heightened by the law? Paul said something similar up in verse 5. Our “sinful passions were aroused by the law.” Also, This is not something new in the Bible. Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden. Adam was told not to eat of the forbidden fruit. But God’s command to not eat made the forbidden fruit all the more attractive. Satan seized the opportunity to deceive them.

You see, commands can make you want to do the very thing that you are not supposed to do.

So, first, the law reveals sin. Second, the law stirs our hearts to more sin.

Conviction of Sin

And the third one is that God uses his law to bring conviction of sin. The unbeliever is made aware of his sin and condemnation, which leads him to Christ. There’s an application for believers as well. But I’m saying unbeliever because in these middle verses, Paul is talking about his life before coming to Christ.

Notice these verses are full of personal reference. I counted 8 uses of the word “I” or “me.”

Now, let me take a little tangent.

Some scholars don’t think that Paul is talking about himself and his personal history. Rather, they believe he is speaking on behalf of humanity in general (like putting himself in Adam’s shoes) or speaking on behalf of Israel in particular (back when they received the 10 commandments). And let me say, it is possible to use first person pronouns but speak as a representative of a group. And these Bible scholars make some great points. I’d be happy to have a side conversation about it.

However, I want to argue that Paul is referring to himself. That he’s conveying how God revealed his sin, and his struggle, and how his eyes were opened to the condemnation that the law revealed which his sin deserved.

One of the reasons that I believe Paul is writing about himself is how personal he is. All through his letters, he expresses love to his recipients. In different places, he shares his testimony, the burdens that he’s carried, what he’s endured, grief and joys. Sometimes we think of the apostle Paul as this aloof, heady guy, but his letters are saturated with relationships and personal situations. This section is no different.

But the other reason I believe Paul is talking about his own story is who he was before his conversion.

Paul had been a pharisee. The pharisees were the ones who were totally self-righteous. The law was their salvation – so they thought. They even created more laws to help them obey God’s law. It was all external and hypocritical. They believed that they could keep God’s law. In fact, Paul was the epitome of a Pharisee. Elsewhere he described his old resume - all that he had done, who he had studied under, what he knew. At the time in his life, before turning to Christ, he thought all of it was his ticket to heaven.

With that in mind, look back at the second half of verse 7. “For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” Now, think about this. “You shall not covet” is the tenth commandment. And this commandment is very different than the others, especially if you are a pharisee. Think about the other commandments, Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Keep the sabbath. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain, etc. A pharisee would think “I can do those things.” Because all a pharisee is thinking about is the external. He has no sense that anger is murder, that lustful thoughts are adultery. But a pharisee can’t escape the tenth commandment. Why? Because that commandment’s very nature is internal. “Do not covet.” Covet is wanting something in your heart that is not yours. The apostle Paul’s heart was exposed. He realized that he was breaking the tenth commandment all over the place. And he wanted to break it more.

Now look at verse 10, “The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.” As a pharisee, he had thought that the commandments led to life. But when he fell under that heavy conviction of his sin when his sin was revealed, then he realized he was a law breaker. He could do nothing about it. He was condemned. Instead of the promise of life, the law proved to be death. Not because the law was the problem. No. His sin was exposed. He had been blinded by his sin. Deceived by his sin. He had no sense of his sin until he felt the weight of conviction. Until God opened up his heart and revealed his sin through the law. Until that, he didn’t know his sin.

That understanding also helps to explain the end of verse 8. It says, “For apart from the law, sin lies dead.” Let me put that slightly differently. “For apart from the conviction of the law, we’re blind to our sin.” In that sense sin was dead in us. We didn’t realize our sin.

Verse 9, then, applies that understanding in Paul’s former life. He says, “I was once alive apart from the law.” In other words, even though he was a Pharisee and knew the law, he was not under the conviction of the law. IN that sense, he felt alive, even though he was dead. Next it says, “but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.” When Paul realized he was breaking the tenth commandment, then “sin came alive.” Sin had always there, but it was now exposed. He fell under the conviction of the law. And then he realized he was actually dead. Spiritually dead.

Again, I believe Paul is writing from the perspective of his old self. He thought he was alive because he didn’t see his sin. But when sin came alive, as the law revealed, he realized he was actually dead.

That’s how the Holy Spirit uses the law in an unbeliever. God reveals sin and the condemnation of sin, and therefore the need of a savior. That’s what conviction of sin is. God revealed to Paul the death he deserved, and then turned him to Christ.

And I should say, part of that is similar for the believer in Christ. God uses his law to bring conviction of our sin. The difference is, the believer is no longer condemned. The conviction of sin is instead, God working his sanctifying grace in the Christians life… as we are conformed more and more to the image of Christ.

Conclusion

Let me try to briefly summarize all of this and close. The law is not sin. Quite the opposite. It is holy. Because it is holy, the law reveals sin. In fact, the deceptive nature of our sin does not like the law and the law can stirs up more sin (the law doesn’t do that, our sin reacting to the law does that). But in all of it, God uses his law to bring conviction of our sin, either turning our hearts to Christ for the first time or returning our hearts to him.

In all of it, the law is good. That’s why Paul ends he way he does. Think of all the ways that God’s law is good.

• It is good because it is pure and holy and righteous in and of itself.

• God’s law is good because it points us to God who is pure and holy and righteous

• It is good because God uses it to reveal our sin and bring conviction of sin

• It is good because it revealed our need of salvation and therefore pointed us to Christ

• And finally, it is good because it directs us to godliness and righteousness in him

So instead of swinging like a pendulum to an antinomian, anti-law belief, see the law as good in all those ways. Love his law, because you love him.

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Romans 7:1-6

Freed from the Law to Serve in the Spirit

Rev. Erik Veerman

7/2/2023

We’re starting into Romans 7 this morning.

This week when I was preparing, I read a helpful description of how chapters 5 through 7 relate. Each chapter presents a different fruit of our justification. Our justification is how God has made us righteous in his sight through Christ. We are justified.

• The fruit of our justification in chapter 5 is peace with God.

• The fruit of our justification in chapter 6 is holiness,

• and the fruit in chapter 7 is freedom - peace, holiness, and freedom.

That’s helpful. The freedom described in chapter 7 is freedom from God’s law. We are released from God’s law. Now, you probably have a lot of questions about that statement. What is God’s law? What does it mean to be free from it? How do we then relate to God’s law? I think you’ll find that chapter 7 addresses those questions.

Let me make one more comment before we read. The chapter starts out with the word “or.” “Or do you not know…” That means that these first few verses are a continuation of chapter 6. The question, “should we continue to sin so that grace may abound?” The first 6 verses of chapter 7 answer that question with regard to God’s law.

You can find Romans 7 on page 1121 in the pew Bibles.

We’ll focus on verses 1-6.

Stand.

Reading of Romans 7:1-6

Prayer

“Live Free or Die.” That expression has been used at different times in history, but you probably know it as New Hampshire’s state motto. “Live Free or Die.”

You would think, with such a motto, that people living in New Hampshire had more freedoms than the rest of us.

Well interestingly, in the mid-1970s, some residents started taping over the “or die” part of the motto their license plates. That didn’t sit well with the state. They, then, sued their own residents. Apparently in the “live free of die” state you were not really free… at least when it comes to the use of their motto. Well, the case made it all the way to the US Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the residents.

When it comes to human laws, we have a complicated relationship. On the one hand, they are helpful. They provide protection and order and direction to society. On the other hand, breaking the law can lead to difficult situations – punishments and imprisonment. Some civil laws we like, some we hate, some we tolerate. At times, tyranny and abuse can lead to unjust laws.

When it comes to God’s law, we have a complicated relationship. On the one hand, God’s laws are helpful. They provide protection and order and direction to humanity. On the other hand, breaking God’s law can lead to difficult situations – certainly immediate consequences, but also the ultimate consequence of offending God. Some of God’s laws we like, others we ignore, some we violate. But one thing is for sure, none of God’s laws are unjust. To some they just appear to be.

Well, Romans 7 seeks to uncomplicate the complicated relationship we have with God’s law. It’s easy to be confused by different aspects of God’s law. But I think you’ll find this chapter helpful because it clarifies the purpose of God’s law, the penalty of God’s law, and what it means to be freed from God’s law.

To best understand chapter 7, we need to first understand where Paul’s readers were coming from. And I want to remind you that he’s writing to the church in Rome. The church was pretty diverse – we know that from chapter 16. It included Jewish converts, Roman elites, other Gentiles and Greeks. Typically, when the Gospel reached a new city, the first converts were Jewish. That’s because Paul and the other disciples would begin by going to the synagogues. They would preach how Jesus was the fulfillment of the promised Messiah. As the church grew, the disciples and new Christians would branch out to the marketplace and other venues to preach Christ.

We’re not told exactly how the church began in Rome, but likely it was similar. We’re given clues to that in the book. Earlier chapters spoke about Abraham and some of the history of Israel. Paul had also written about the law. Before we even get to chapter 7, he had already used the word “law” 43 times. He’s written about “the law and the prophets” he’s written about “the works of the law.” And he’s talked about the “law written on our hearts.” There’s been an underlying assumption that his readers understood God’s law.

Now look at chapter 7 verse 1. He writes, “do you not know, brothers—” and listen to what he writes next… “for I am speaking to those who know the law.” And then he goes on. You see, they were steeped in the law. Even the Gentile converts would have been taught the 10 commandments and the various laws like the sacrificial laws and other ceremonial laws.

But here’s was their struggle: Because of their background, their temptation would be some form of legalism. In other words, they would have been tempted to see the law in some way as necessary for salvation. Like believe in Jesus and keep God’s law, and you will be saved.

But, you know, that’s not how it works. That’s not how salvation works. The problem is that if we are still bound by God’s law, then we are also still under its penalty. And that’s a problem.

So, Paul wants to clear that up. Really, the entire chapter helps to clarify how the Christian should relate to God’s law. So, it has deep relevance to us.

Now, what these first 6 verses do is bridge the gap between Paul’s explanation of our union with Christ and God’s law. I already mentioned the important word “or” at the beginning. In other words, as Paul begins to discuss God’s law, he does so by relating it to our union with Christ… which includes answering the chapter 6 question of our sanctification.

And here’s how he does it: he begins with a rhetorical question and then gives an illustration and explanation.

The question is right there in verse 1. “or do you not know… that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?” He’s saying, “Of course the law is no longer in force when someone dies! You know that. Death releases someone from the law.”

And in order to explain it, the apostle gives the example of a marriage. Its something that we can understand. By the way, this is yet another illustration of our union with Christ. In chapter 6 we talked about how Jesus described our union with him as a branch grafted into a new root. We also talked about the illustration that Paul used. That we are no longer a slave to sin but a slave to God.

Here’s a new illustration: A husband and wife are united to one another. They are legally bound. That’s the word used here, “bound.” Think of wedding vows – “as long as we both shall live.” While they are both alive, they are bound by the laws of marriage. That makes sense. If one of them commits adultery, the one who broke the marriage vow would be an adulterer or an adulteress. Guilty. Committing infidelity breaks that union. They would face the penalty of breaking the covenant of marriage.

Similarly, neither is allowed to marry someone else while their spouse is still alive. They are still married and bound by their vows. But if one of them dies, the living spouse is free to marry someone else. The covenant vow they entered into is no longer in effect. Death has released the living spouse from the binding law.

Here’s the comparison:

Before knowing Christ, we were bound to the law. Let me explain that. The law here is referring to God’s law – referring primarily to God’s moral law, which the 10 commandments summarize. To only worship only the one true God. To not take his name in vain. To obey our parents, to not commit adultery, nor murder, lie, or covet, etc. We were bound to that law. And there are two aspects to this binding.

• First, we were bound, in and of ourselves, to keep the law… just like a marriage vow in the illustration – you are not to break the vow nor marry someone else. So, bound to keep it.

• And second, we were bound by the penalty of the law… again, just like in the illustration – if you break the marriage law, you are an adulterer and receive the penalty for your adultery.

And therein lies the problem. We could not keep the requirements of the law. Therefore we were bound by the penalty of the law. You see, God’s law is perfect! But in our sin, which chapter 6 is clear about, we failed to keep God’s law. We broke God’s law. And do you know what that means we were? Back to the illustration. We were spiritual adulterers. We deserved the full penalty of the law as adulterers. And the penalty of breaking God’s law is death.

To quote the Apollo 13 lunar mission: “Houston, we have a problem!” The problem is we needed to be released from both the demands of the law (what we were required to do) and released from the penalty of the law.

Or to go back to an earlier expression. We needed to “live free or die!” Or maybe it would be better to say, “be freed or die.”

Well, the good news for us is that there is a way to be released from the law. In marriage, death breaks the law’s binding. The living spouse is released from marriage. When one spouse dies, there is no more marriage. Couples vow, “Till death do us part.”

The parallel is that for a Christian, death releases you from both the demands and penalty of the law. Jesus’ death for you. Really, your death in his death. Remember that from chapter 6? And this is where the beginning of chapter 7 verse 4 comes in. Go ahead and look at it. “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ.” In other words, because you are united to Christ, his death released you from the crushing requirements of the law and its penalty. Jesus fulfilled the requirements for you through his righteousness and released you from the law’s penalty through his death.

This is a beautiful illustration. Part of it is how we are now married (or I should say, betrothed) to Christ. United to him. Like so many Scriptures, Jesus is the bridegroom and we, the church, God’s people, are his bride.

What this is saying is that we are no longer married to the law of sin and death, but rather, we are married to, united to Christ. That’s the second half of verse 4. After it says that you have died to the law through Christ, it says, “so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead.” You belong to another, are married to another.

Christ has released you from the law through his death, and now you are his bride. But of course, we can’t be married to someone who is dead! That’s not possible. But Jesus is no longer dead. As it says, he’s been raised from the dead. We now belong to him, who died to release us from the law, and who now lives.

Are you tracking with the marriage illustration? Let me summarize it so far.

For the Christian…

First, as in a marriage, you were bound to God’s law which required perfect obedience to it and death if you broke it.
Second, as in a marriage, if you break the marriage vow you are an adulterer. You did break God’s law and therefore you and I were adulterers – guilty.
Third, as in a marriage, in order to be released from the requirements and penalty of the law, death needed to happen. Well, death has happened. The death of Christ for you, which released you from the law.
And fourth, as in a marriage, if your spouse dies, you are free to marry again. Well, you have been! You now belong to Christ. You are betrothed to him as we wait for his return and the great marriage supper of the Lamb. We, the church, are his bride.

But let me ask this question: what happens when a person re-marries after his or her spouse died? Well, he or she makes a new covenant vow with that new husband or wife. There’s a new marriage contract in place. The old one no longer applies. The new one is now in place.

The old is gone, the new has come. Or to put it in terms of Romans 7. We’ve been released from the old way of the written code (that’s the end of verse 6). We’ve died to it. As it says, we are no longer a captive. No longer imprisoned by it. We’ve been released. And God has given us a new promise.

Ok, for the theologically minded, let me go a little deeper and put this in broader covenantal terms.

We were bound by the Covenant of Works. Or sometimes we say the Covenant of life. That was the covenant promise that God established with Adam back in the Garden of Eden. The promise was, if you obey, you will live, if you disobey, you will die. Well, Adam and Eve failed to keep that Covenant. In their failure they and their descendants reaped all the negative consequences. Sin and death, and more sin and more death. Verse 5 of Romans 7 captures the consequences of that… “our sinful passions” were “aroused by the law.” That means in our flesh, our sinful nature, we wanted to break God’s law. That simply lead to more sin, or, as verse 5 says, “our sinful passions were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.” Not godly fruit leading to sanctification, but ungodly fruit because it was all leading to death.

But in Christ, God released you from the Covenant of Works. You are no longer bound to it. And in its place, God gave you a new Covenant promise. We call it the Covenant of Grace. In Jeremiah 31, the prophet refers to it as the new covenant. We read from Hebrews 10 earlier in the service. Those verses refer back to Jeremiah. The new covenant is not an external covenant based on the law which condemns, but rather in the new covenant, the covenant of Grace, God fulfills our responsibility in Christ. It’s a covenant where God’s law is not external, but they are now written on our hearts. And as Hebrews says, where God will remember our sins and lawless deeds no more. It’s a Covenant of Grace.

Released from the Covenant of Works, blessed by the Covenant of Grace.

Before we wrap up, there’s something else very important in these verses. It goes back to the question that Paul asks in chapter 6. Do we sin that grace may abound? These 6 verses conclude his answer. The answer is in verse 4. Remember, we now belong to Christ who has been raised from the dead… and listen to what it says next “that we may bear fruit for God.” One of the implications of being freed from the law is that our hearts are now turned toward God. So that in him, we might serve him and honor him in our lives. Not because we’re trying to be righteous in God’s eyes, but because we already are righteous in God’s eyes… because he’s freed us from the demands and penalty of the law to now serve him.

But we don’t serve God in our flesh, meaning in our own strength or our own will. No, no, no! We serve God in the Spirit. We serve through the Holy Spirit who is the one who is working in us. That teaching is right there in verse 6. “We are released from the law… so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” You see, it is now the work of God Spirit in us who directs us to bear fruit for God… to pursue the things of God. The Holy Spirit helps us to put away the idols that distract us from him. He reveals the passions of our flesh and turns our hearts to repent, and to again pursue his will. This is the new work in us. The “new way” of God’s spirit, as it says.

But here’s what we do. We drag ourselves back into the old way. We try to put ourselves again under the yoke of God’s law. Salvation becomes faith in Christ plus keeping the law. We say, “I’m not good enough,” or “God is not happy with me.” Therefore, “I need to try harder to win God’s favor.” In our minds. we check the boxes of God’s law. I did this good thing, check. I didn’t do this bad thing, check.

It’s like putting on one of those orange jump suits that prisoners have to wear. And you go about your day acting as if you are still incarcerated. In your mind you are doing things because you want to please the parole board. You have no joy. You’re always conscience of the prison uniform that you put on. Even though you have been completely exonerated, your heart and mind are still functioning as if you need to somehow win your freedom.

But all that is doing is reverting back into a legalism that relies on the law. It will cause you to feel condemnation because you can’t live up to demands of his standard.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: God has released you from the curse of the law. You are no longer a captive. You are free. He’s taken away the penalty. He’s taken away the burden. You are no longer bound.

And, instead, he has given you his Spirit. Seeking to bear fruit in your life should not come from the vestiges of the law in you that brings condemnation. Rather, seeking to bear fruit should come from your identity in Christ. You’ve been given his Spirit. You now belong to him. You are no longer married to the law which brings condemnation. No, you are married to Christ, united to him through the Holy Spirit. And through his Spirit, you desire to and are able to please and honor him in your life, knowing of his grace.

Do you see the difference? One path is just trying to take you back to your old self and the old way. You’ll never measure up and you’ll feel that weight. But the other path is serving with the Spirit. Knowing that you’ve been released from the law and you now belong to God in Christ.

You see, it’s out of that new union with Christ, through the Holy Spirit, that you are free to now serve and seek him with a new liberty and peace in Christ.

Next week, we’ll work through an important question. If being bound to the law brings death… does that mean that the law is bad? Is it evil? Verse 7 asks that very question. So, stay tuned to hear the answer.

In summary, the weight of God’s law is unbearable. No one can escape its requirements (perfect obedience) or its penalty (death). But if you are in Christ, that is, if you’ve come to him by faith seeking his forgiveness, you are no longer bound to the demands and curse of the law. No, the law’s demands and curse have died with Christ for you and in you. You now belong to him, who is risen. He’s given you a new marriage vow, a Covenant of Grace. He promises that he will never leave you or forsake you. And he’s given you his Spirit that you may freely serve and love him.

So, may we embrace our freedom in Christ and joyfully serve him in His Spirit. Amen?

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Romans 6:12-22

Slaves to Righteousness

Rev. Erik Veerman

6/25/2023

A big thank you to David Fraser for preaching last week. Aren’t we always blessed by his rich insights into the Gospel of Mark?

A couple of weeks ago we started a summer sermon series in the book of Romans chapters 6 and 7. That will be our focus for the next 5 weeks.

These are two chapters where the apostle Paul answers the question, “should we sin because we’ll get more grace?” And as we considered two weeks ago, the emphatic answer is, “heaven forbid!” And he goes on to answer why.

The reason we started with the first 11 verses are their emphasis on knowing. If you remember, that word “know” is used three times in those opening verses. Well, as we get to these next 11 verses it shifts to two things.

• First, action. Over and over we’re called to respond. As I read, listen for the word “present” as in “present yourself.” That’s one emphasis, our responsibility.

• But second, there’s also an emphasis on something done to us. We’ve received action from God. Also listen for the phrase “have become” or “have been” as in “have been set free.”

Those two ideas are interwoven throughout these verses. Our responsibility as a result of what God has done for us in Christ.

Reading Romans 6:12-22 (Page 1120)

Prayer

I bought a lemon tree this week. It’s too small right now to produce lemons, so I made some paper lemons so you can imagine it. This lemon tree is called a Meyer Lemon tree. The root system is not the original root system for this small tree. No, this stem with its branches had been cut off from its own roots and grafted into a new root structure. And as you can see, it’s alive! One of the reasons for grafting fruit trees into new root stock is that it helps protect the fruit tree from disease and it gives it strength and durability in different environments.

In the first 11 verses of Romans 6, we learned how believers in Christ have been grafted into him. The language used in verse 5 is “united.” We’ve been united to Christ. And let me say, it’s one of the most theologically beautiful concepts in the whole of the Bible. Believers in Christ are united to him in a mysterious way. If you know and believe in Christ as your Savior, you have been grafted into him like this lemon tree has been grafted into a new root system. It’s through that union that you receive the benefits of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Through his death, you’ve died to your sin and its consequences, and through his resurrection you have assured hope beyond the grave.

That’s what the first 11 verses reveal - the great truth of your union with Christ; that your old self died with him and your new self is alive in him. Christ is now the source of your strength. All the nutrients and blessings of Christ are flowing through you because you are in him and he is in you.

So, with that truth, the rest of this chapter now turns to the consequences of your union with Christ.

And when you think about it, it’s profound! Knowing that when you came to Christ as Lord and Savior, the change in your life was more than just setting your mind and heart on God. You became one with him, as a branch that has been grafted into the vine. The Holy Spirit united you to him. Even though we can’t comprehend how that union that happens, it’s true, andd it has deep implications for how we live our lives. And that’s what this second half of chapter 6 focuses on.

Two points. [CHECK: They are on the back of your bulletin.] I also included some of the related verses that go with each.

First, You’ve been freed from your slavery to sin. (Romans 6:14, 17, 18, 20, 22)
Second, Therefore, live as slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:12, 13, 16, 19, 21)

You’ve been freed from your slavery to sin. Therefore, live as slaves to righteousness.

You’ve been freed from your slavery to sin (Romans 6:14, 17, 18, 20, 22)

Another way to describe point #1 is your status. You are freed. Or another word: redeemed. Or rescued. Or delivered. It’s not something that you’ve accomplished yourself, rather, it’s something that God has accomplished on your behalf.

Look down at verse 14. This is right after that apostle Paul says you are to be an “instrument for righteousness.” We’re going to come back to that in point 2. But look at what he says in verse 14. “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Do you see how this is a statement of your status? Sin “will not have dominion over you.” “will not.” It’s referring to the fact that because of your union with Christ, sin is no longer in control. And let me define sin again. Sin is when you break God’s commands in what you think, say, or do… or in what you don’t think, or don’t say, or don’t do.

In other words, sin used to be in control of your life, but since you are in Christ, sin is no longer in control.

The end of verse 14 further explains. “You are not under law but under grace.” If Christ is your Lord and Savior, your status is no longer condemned by God’s law, but rather your status is redeemed by God’s grace. Grace is God’s free and underserved gift of salvation.

Imagine chains tied to your arms and legs and secured to the wall of a prison cell. That’s an image of your old self under the power of sin. You were bound by it.

I was thinking of Les Mis this week. I’ve used this illustration before but there’s an angle that connects really well with Romans 6. Jean Valjean is the protagonist. And the story starts out with Valjean in prison. We learn he had stolen bread to feed his sister’s family.

And his punishment is forced labor for years and years. He’s consigned to grueling work in the galley and quarry. The guards constantly driving the prisoners like cattle. There’s no escaping. That’s like our old self, bound by sin, slaves of sin.

But something happens to Jean Valjean when he’s release. As a former prisoner, he was considered tainted and unworthy of being hired or helped. He had nowhere to go. But a bishop takes him in and feeds him. Despite that, in Valjean’s desperation, he steals the bishop’s silver utensils. Well, soon after he left, he’s arrested and brought back to the bishop. But in an overwhelming display of grace, the bishop gives Valjean his silver candlesticks as well. Had the bishop spoken up, Valjean would have been condemned to live out his days as a slave. But instead, he’s shown favor and love. And that grace changed him. In the musical, the Bishop sings to Valjean, “I have bought your soul for God.” A little bit later, Valjean responds that this man offers me freedom. And he concludes that out of the whirlpool of my sin, a new story must begin.

Romans 6 over and over declares that your old self had been a slave to sin, or a slave to lawlessness and impurity. But, Christ bought your soul for God. You have been set free by him. That’s the language here. Verses 17 and 18 and 20 and 22. You’ve been set free. It’s a passive action that has happened to you. You see, you didn’t set yourself free. You didn’t break the power of sin. No, God has done that for you. It says, “you have been set free.”

This language of slavery and freedom is Paul illustrating your union with Christ. He’s using a metaphor. He says that right there in verse 19. “I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations.” In other word, “I’m using this life example because this is a difficult concept to understand.” You see, in the Roman Empire in the first century, indentured servitude was very common. Paul’s audience would have been very familiar with slavery. A slave was forced to obey his master. And furthermore, the terms of the slavery and freedom were not in the control of the slave. I think we all get that. The metaphor teaches that before you were united to Christ, you were bound by sin to death (verse 16). Your branch was not grafted into the life-giving source of Christ, but rather it was bound to your former self. Your old root system was dead in your sin. There was nothing you could do to come alive. But God made you alive in Christ. You were cut from that old dead root and grafted into Christ into his life-giving root structure.

The summary of point #1 is this. Sin no longer has dominion over you. God has given you his grace in Christ. You’ve been freed from your slavery to sin through your union with Christ. It’s God’s work, not your work. It’s grace because you didn’t deserve to be freed, but God has freed you.

Therefore, live as slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:12, 13, 16, 19, 21)

That brings us to point number 2. Therefore, live as slaves to righteousness.

The implication of the grace that we have in Christ is to live, not as slaves to sin, but instead as slaves to righteousness.

You probably noticed that the question in verse 15 is virtually the same question as in verse 1. “Are we to sin because we are not under the law but under grace?” And his answer is the same, “by no means!”

To put the answer in another way. Since God gave you his underserved grace by freeing you from sin, then why would you want to continue to be in sin?

Sometimes we call this misunderstanding “cheap grace.” The idea that because God is so gracious, we don’t need to worry about how we live. We can willfully continue to sin knowing that God will forgive us. That’s cheap grace.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who opposed the Nazi regime, wrote these words:

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, [and] grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

In fact, I don’t think we can even call it cheap grace. It totally misunderstands the purpose of grace.

Bonhoeffer then writes about true grace which he calls costly grace. “Costly grace ... is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble… it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.”

You see, the true grace of God causes us to pursue righteousness.

To put it in another way, as a response to God’s work in us, uniting us to Christ, we are therefore enabled and called to pursue him and his righteousness.

That idea is captured in the language of verses 12 and 13 and 19. In verse 12, Paul writes, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” Your ears, your eyes, your mouth, your hands… each part of your body is directed by your mind and heart. God is saying in Romans 6 that as new creations in Christ, pursue the righteousness of God and not the sinful passions of your heart which are worked on in your mind, and mouth, and hands, etc.

That word “present,” as you heard, is used multiple times in these verses.

• Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,

• but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life

“Present” meaning “to offer” or “to give yourselves in service to.” So it’s saying, because God has grafted you into Christ, so now give yourself in service to him and his righteousness.

• If you look down at verse 19, its similar. “Just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity…

• so now present your members as slaves to righteousness”

There’s that language again of slavery. This time, not a slave to sin, but as a slave to righteousness.

The beautiful think about Jean Valjean’s life is how he changed. After Valjean received that undeserved grace, he dedicated his life to helping and showing grace to others. He started a business that provided for many his town. He cared for Cosette, acting as her father after Cosette’s mother passed away. He rescued Marius from the drama of the French Revolution, carrying him through the sewers of Paris to freedom. Yet the whole time he was being pursued by Javert, the inspector seeking to throw Valjean back into prison and slavery. But Valjean was a new man, with a new freedom, enslaved by grace. The ultimate picture of this was when the revolutionaries captured Javert, they planned to kill him, but Jean Valjean spared Javert’s life. Valjean had the opportunity to take revenge on the man who had hunted him through the years. But instead, Valjean returned the grace given to him so long ago. He was now a slave to righteousness.

His heart had been changed and there was a new master to serve.

There’s a word at the end of verse 19 that really captures the theological heart of our response. It says, “present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.” Sanctification is God’s ongoing work in us. If you will, conforming us more and more, each day, to Christ. Sanctification is also a work of grace. But we have an active part in that. Our responsibility is to respond to the Holy Spirit’s work in us through our union with Christ. That is sanctification.

And look at verse 22. It continues that emphasis on God’s sanctifying grace in our lives. It says, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification...”

I love that phrase there. “The fruit you get.” It does not say “your fruit.” Imagine that you are this lemon tree, and you are growing yummy lemons. The thing is, you have a new root system. The nutrients that are causing those lemons to grow are flowing through you and in you to produce those lemons.

You see, it’s God working in you through your union with Christ that produces the fruit in your life.

For a long time, I misunderstood this idea of fruit in the Christian life. When people would ask if I was displaying fruit, I would always think of things external to me. Like, are people coming to faith, am I seeing others grow in discipleship. But I came to realize that the fruit of the Christian life is an internal thing. It is God working in you. Galatians 5 captures it well, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Let me put it this way, bearing fruit is allowing God to work his sanctification in you. Now, you can constrict it. Imagine you are a branch, and you say, “I don’t want fruit, I’m going to cut off the flow of nutrients to my branches.” But what will happen? Well, your leaves are also going to turn brown. And that’s going to lead to a branch that is in poor spiritual health. But that’s not what we’re called to!

Let me read our two points again and then summarize.

1 You’ve been freed from your slavery to sin. #2 Therefore, live as slaves to righteousness.

What I’m saying is that God has taken you from death to life. Because he now lives in you, you can now live in his righteousness. It’s still God working in you. It’s God’s fruit. Don’t believe that it’s you who are producing the fruit. But you are responsible to present yourselves to God in obedience. That’s what it means to live as slaves to God and his righteousness.

Conclusion

Now, I think it’s important for me to answer the how question. In other words, how do we do this? Where do we start? Where do we go to fulfill this call to live as slaves to righteousness?

Well, part of the answer is right in verse 17. “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart” (and here’s the answer), “to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.” When God unites you to Christ, you become obedient from the heart (from within) to what? “to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.” It’s saying, we go to God’s Word. God commits us to it. In other words, he brings us to his standard of righteousness which is his Word. So, we read the Bible, we seek to know it, to understand it, and to apply it in our lives. And through that endeavor, God will produce that fruit which leads to sanctification.

Now, every single one of us struggles with certain temptations and sin. The journey of sanctification is not an easy one. For example, addictions are very difficult to overcome. It takes prayer and outside help and the body of Christ supporting you. Also, the impact of past situations and broken relationships and grief is hard to navigate as we seek to pursue righteousness.

The apostle Paul is not saying that the journey is easy. In fact, in the next chapter, he’s going to be very clear about his struggles and how he looks to God’s grace.

But how do we take steps forward? Well, I want you to think about one or two areas of sin in your life. Is it sexual temptations that you act upon in your heart or mind or in pornography or adultery? Or is it anger or anxiety or covetousness? Or are there cultural idols that are distracting you from God – the love of money or you reputation or your appearance? What is it?

Now let’s apply Romans 6 to that sin. If you are a believer in Christ, you are united to him. And that gives you three things that will both challenge you and help you.

• First, when you sin, or to use the words here, “when you present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness.” When you do that, you are sinning against Christ. Remember, he is in you. Actually, this is helpful to think about that when you are tempted… remembering that Christ is in you and you in him.

• Second, and related to that. Because you are united to Christ, you can draw on the deep nutrients of his righteousness in your life. You can allow his fruit to develop in your life as you grow in sanctification. So, go to him with your sin. Go to his Word. Seek his righteousness which in you.

• And third, because you are united to Christ, you have his grace… the grace of Jesus death and resurrection. I want you to hear me if you are struggling right now. God’s grace should not be used to justify your sin. But that does not mean that God’s grace is not sufficient for when you do sin. It is. Through your union with Christ, you are assured that you have been brought from death to life for eternity.

As we close, you probably noticed - I did not include verse 23 this morning. Romans 6:23 is one of those well know verses in the Bible. So, we’re going to consider it next week. And of course, it very much connects to the rest of chapter.

To wrap up. If you know God in Christ. If you have professed faith in him, repenting of your sin, then you have been freed from your slavery to sin. In that new life, united to Christ, your call is to live no longer as a slave to sin, but as a slave to righteousness. If that’s you, allow God to work his fruit in you, the fruit of sanctification.

But if you do not know God in Christ. You need him. You need to be united to him by faith, you need him to free you from your slavery to sin. And you need to instead be his servant. He is a loving, gracious Lord to who will free you forever.

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Romans 6:1-11

United in Death and Life

Rev. Erik Veerman

6/11/2023

United in Death and Life

As some of you are aware, in between our main sermon series, we have been coming back to the book of Romans.

In fact, when we launched our church, we started in Romans chapter 8. That was because the pandemic had just started and we needed a Romans 8 kind of encouragement - God’s sovereign assurance.

After Romans 8, we took over a year to go through the book of Acts. That was a great book for us as a new church, because Acts is the history of the church as it was being established. Acts ends with Paul arriving in Rome. So, next, we studied Romans chapter 15 and 16. That was a nice postscript to Acts because those chapters highlighted the church in Rome.

Next, we went to the Old Testament book of Zechariah. Visions of flaming walls, a candelabra, flying objects as well as prophecies. All of it looking forward to the life and ministry of Jesus, the consummate priest and king.

Well, after Zechariah, we were again back in Romans. That was last fall. We went through chapter 12. It was about not conforming to the world, but instead being transformed by the Gospel. It also included the unity that we have with one another in Christ and the marks of a true Christian.

As you know, we then went through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, which we just finished last month.

And now, we’re back in Romans. This time, chapters 6 and 7. That will be our focus this summer. These two chapters relate because they are about the implications of God’s grace and law for the Christian.

Anyway, I wanted to give you a little reminder of where we’ve been and what you can expect over these next two months.

This morning, we’ll focus on the first 11 verses of Romans 6. You can find that on page 1120 in the pew Bible. As you are turning there, let me note one important phrase in chapter 5. The apostle Paul concludes chapter 5 by saying, “where sin increased, grace abounded even more.” In other words, the more sin, the more grace of Christ. That’s important to note because chapter 6 opens with a question about that.

Stand. Reading of Romans 6:1-11.

Prayer

Catherine the Great, as she was known, reigned as Russia’s monarch from 1762 to 1796. Many describe her as the most influential Russian leader in their entire history. She enacted several cultural reforms, including expanding cities, establishing new school and universities, and reforming Russia’s legal system. Literature and arts flourished due to her support of learning and enlightenment ideals.

Catherine’s reign also included several aggressive military campaigns. Under her control, Russia’s army seized control of Crimea (sound familiar?) and parts of Poland. Russia dominated Eastern Europe and had a growing political influence in the world. In fact, Catherine’s aggression started back when she staged a coup against her own husband, Peter III. He had been emperor of Russia for only 6 months until Catherine forced him to abdicate his throne. To this day, his death is a mystery.

Throughout her time as empress, several of her adversaries received the death penalty after being convicted of crimes against the state. Despite that, Catherine the Great considered herself a Christian. She’d been raised in a protestant church. She converted to Russian Orthodoxy when she ascended to power and she participated in orthodox practices and worship services.

The question is, how did Catherine reconcile her Christian beliefs with her actions? Which, as you can tell, often betrayed her beliefs. Well, she gave this answer: “I shall be an autocrat: that's my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that's his.”

I guess she never read Romans 6.

“Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?”

I think it’s a natural question. If God has forgiven and will forgive us when we sin, and if Romans 5 says that the more we sin, the more grace God gives us, then it seems to follow that if we want more grace, we should sin boldly.

That in essence is what Catherine the Great believed. “I am the dictator of a great nation. That requires at times cruel acts for the sake of my country, which, by the way, God has given me. Since God is a gracious God, he will forgive me, and the more he does, the more grace I receive.”

You see, the apostle Paul had anticipated this line of thinking. He had just laid out in chapter 5 the sinfulness of our estate as descendants of Adam. Next, he revealed the free gift of life and righteousness through Christ. In him we abound in grace.

From that point, the apostle Paul could have jumped right to chapter 8! “There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” I mean, it logically flows, doesn’t it? Sin and death through Adam, life and grace through Christ. “Therefore, there’s no condemnation for those in Christ!”

But before going there, the apostle Paul knew that he had to address the question of sin in the life of the believer. He had to first answer the question, “should we continue to sin?” and as part of that, he had to give the reasons for the answer. How do grace, sin, and God’s law relate in the life of a believer?

In short, that’s what Romans 6 and 7 answer for us. And I think you’ll find it’s so helpful. Not just because these chapters explain how sin and grace and God’s law relate, but because they reveal the most profound truths about your relationship to Christ. Truths that will change you.

Ok, let’s go back to the apostle’s opening question:

“Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?”

What is the answer at the beginning of verse 2? If you have the ESV, let’s read the three word answer together. “By no means!”

Here are some of the other English translations of that phrase:

• God forbid!

• Certainly not!

• Absolutely not!

• Heaven forbid!

• Far be the thought.

• May it never be!

• Of course not!

• That’s unthinkable!

• Or my favorite: “What a ghastly thought!”

What is Paul saying here? He’s saying that grace does not give us license to sin. Grace is not a free pass to do whatever you want. Sin, by the way, is breaking God’s commands in what we do or don’t do... or say or think.

So, in verse 2, he answers the yes/no question. The simple answer is an emphatic “no!” But what’s really important is to know why and then to apply that to our lives. Again, that’s what these two chapters do. They work out the answer. Just glance down to verse 15. Notice it is a very similar question with a very similar short answer. It shows that Paul is working out the answer.

The reason we’re just starting with the first 11 verses is that they give us the foundation to the answer. Paul is explaining what actually happens to someone who comes to know and believe Christ. There is a profound change in his or her life – your life, my life. And it’s more than just what our hearts and minds believe. Something changes in us.

The apostle wants us to know and grasp what that change is.

In fact, that word “know” is used three times in these 11 verses. Look at verse 3. “Do you not know” and it goes on to explain something about baptism. Look next at verse 6. It starts out “we know” and talks about death. Verse 8 also starts out “we know” but it talks about life. And look at verse 11. It says, “so you must also consider yourself…” That word “consider” means understand. So, in other words, these first 11 verses emphasis knowing what happens in us when we come to Christ. And that knowledge has a profound impact on how we live.

Given that, let’s look at this in three points. Those three points line up with the three uses of the word “know.” By the way, those three points are on the back of your bulletin, if it helps.

Know that you are united with Christ. (verses 3-5)
Know that your old self died with Christ (verses 6-8)
Know that your new self is alive with Christ (verses 9-10)
Know that you are united with Christ.

So first, know that you are united with Christ. When you come to faith in Christ, something amazingly mysterious happens in your life. And these verses describe it for us. We can’t fully understand it, but we can know it to the extent that God describes it here for us.

These verses describe that mystery in terms of our baptism. You see that right there in verses 3 and 4. We’ve been baptized into his death, and by implication, raised with him to new life.

I want you to see something. Notice that there’s a parallel here between the word “baptism” and the phrase “united with him.” Verse 3 says “baptized into his death” and verse 5 says “united with him in a death like his.” Similarly, part of this baptism includes being raised from the dead. Verse 5 includes the phrase “united with him in a resurrection like his.”

So, to put these elements together, this baptism is about being united with Christ.

By the way, that word baptism has been interpreted in two different ways in these verses. The first interpretation is that it refers to your baptism with water. You know, that sacrament when the minister baptized you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The sign of water is used to signify the cleansing of Christ. That’s one interpretation. The second interpretation is that the word baptism here refers to your spiritual baptism – what’s happening on the inside. Meaning when you came to Christ and received the Holy Spirit. That word baptism can also mean that. In other words, it can mean that time when God opened your heart to believe and you professed faith in Christ. That’s when God cleansed you – you were justified in his sight through Christ. So, spiritual baptism in that internal sense.

I definitely lean toward that second understanding. Baptism in these verses is about those who have the blessings and benefits of Christ in his death and resurrection. That’s emphasized in the parallel between baptism and this idea of being united to Christ.

But here’s the million dollar question: what is this union with Christ? Because it’s the thing that ties all of this together. All of these verses. Really the whole chapter. United in his death. United in his resurrection. And the implications of that for us.

That word “united” in the Greek includes the idea of being grown together or grafted together. The best way to understand this union is that we have been ingrafted into Christ. Jesus spoke about it in these terms. He said that he is the vine, and we are the branches.

Think of a how a branch is grafted into another tree. It’s a very cool thing. All kinds of fruit trees can be grafted into a different root system. Apple trees as well as citrus, peach, pear, olive, cherry, and others. If you cut off a branch of one of those trees, and you slice it in just the right way, and then pair it to the root system of another tree, at the precise angle and cut, then the fibers of the trees will fuse together. That branch becomes part of a different tree.

The thing is, when you cut off a branch from a fruit tree, it’s dead. It may look alive, it may still have leaves on it. But there’s no more nutrients feeding it. It can’t sustain itself. Even if you stick it in the ground, it’s not going to grow new roots.

But when that branch is grafted into that new root system, it has new life. The nutrients from the roots feed that branch. Remember from your biology class days. The xylem and phloem flow back and forth between the roots and the leaves and fruit. The branch becomes one with the tree.

That’s how our union with Christ is described. The Holy Spirit unites us to Christ. We’ve been grafted into him. Jesus said that apart from him, a branch will wither and not bear fruit… It will die and be thrown into the fire. But in him, the branch will have new life.

We were dead but now we’re connected to a vibrant tree with the nutrients flowing through us that give us life. Christ is in us, and us in him – united together. And that union comes with all the blessings and benefits of salvation in him.

And think about this question, how do we actually receive the benefits of Christ’s death for us? And how do we actually receive the benefits of Christ’s resurrection? Well, we receive those benefits through our union with Christ. It’s through that union, that my sin, your sin, is transferred to Christ, and his righteousness transferred to you. That’s the benefit of being united in Jesus’ death. And it’s through that same union in his resurrection that we have and we will be resurrected to new life in him, forever.

If you know and believe in Christ, you have been grafted into him in a mysterious way that only God knows. But he’s assured us of it! And isn’t it amazing to think about? He is in you, united to you and you to him. The blessings of his death and his resurrection are yours.

Think about it this way: Salvation was accomplished through the death and resurrection of Christ. Your union with Christ is how God applies that salvation to you, believer in Christ. It’s an amazing mystery for us to behold and wonder and embrace.

Know that you are united with Christ. Ok, that’s the first “know.”

Know that your old self died with Christ (verses 6-8)

And that union has significant implications for us. Those implications revolve around two things. Jesus’ death and his resurrection.

That brings us to the second and third “know.” #2 - Know that your old self died with Christ - your old self died with Christ. The whole point of the cross is that Christ bore your sin. He took on your sin and all its consequences for you. Your old self, before your union with Christ, was imprisoned by your sin. You needed to be freed from the chains of your sin.

That’s what verse 5 is talking about. “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin [meaning your sin and its consequenes] might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”

Through the death of Christ, our sin died with him. Therefore, we are freed from our sin. It no longer identifies us. We’re not bound by it. Christ has paid the penalty for sin, and because of our union with him, we’re no longer slaves to sin, we’ve been set free.

It’s like that great line in the hymn, And Can it Be. “My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”

If the whole point of the cross is to deal with our sin, to put to death its consequences, to free us from its bondage, then why would we think that in this new found freedom, we should sin even more? That goes back up to the second half of verse 2. “How could he who died to sin, still live in it?” Do you see that incongruity? Do you see the disconnect with the idea to sin more so that grace abounds more? Heaven forbid! We’ve been united to Christ, we’ve died with him to our sin.

Now, there’s an underlying assumption here. Sin is still present in the Christian life. The Christian can still sin. And, actually, that goes along with what we studied in 1 John. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.” The difference between our old self and our new self is that our new self is not bound to sin. We have the ability in Christ to pursue righteousness.

Ok, let me summarize point #2 this way: Because our old self and our sin died with Christ, we should die to our old self and seek to put to death our sin.

So that’s one implication of our union with Christ… letting our sin die with our old self, which has died in Christ.

Know that your new self is alive with Christ (verses 9-10)

The other implication is like the flip side of the coin. It relates to the new life we have. In that mysterious union, we have all the blessings and benefits of Jesus’ resurrection. We live because he lives.

Point number 3 is this: Know that your new self is alive with Christ.

You see, in our union with Christ, we are one with the risen Lord. One in the sense that just as he will never die, so we have eternal life in him. That means, not only should we turn away from the temptation of sin, but we should embrace that we are alive in Christ. We’ll experience the death of our bodies, but we will live forever. What a great joy and hope!

And I want you to think of the phrase that’s in verse 10. “The life he lives, he lives to God.” Because we are united to God in Christ, our life should be about him. Do you follow me? It should no longer be about sin and death, but rather our life should be about living for the purpose of God, living in the grace of God, and living to glorify him with our words, our intentions, our actions, and our desires. Because of our union with Christ and the eternal life we have in him, our whole being should be one of worship to God in Christ.

That is our new self. IN other words, if we are united with Christ, our life should be about him. We are alive in him.

Do you see the two sides of this mysterious union? Our old self in all of our sin, dead in and through Christ. Our new self, alive in him, living for him and through him.

And that’s why verse 11 compels us to reflect on our union with Christ. “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

It doesn’t matter whether you are a monarch of a powerful country, or whether you live a retired quiet life at home, or whether you are a student, a teacher, a professional, a pastor or whether you’re a parent or a child. It doesn’t matter whether you are 9 or 99. The call is the same, “consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Conclusion

As we come to a close, you may have noticed, there’s one thing that is overwhelming in these verses. And when I say overwhelming, almost every single verse focuses on it. It’s the emphasis on death and life. The death and crucifixion of Christ, our death, the death of sin…. and life! The resurrection and life of Christ and our life in him.

• Dead, death, and die are referenced 14 times in these 11 verses. Add “crucified” to that and it’s in every single verse starting in verse 2.

• The reference to “life” is similar. If we include “raised” and “resurrection” and “alive,” there’s 10 references in these 11 verses.

And every single one of these is directly or indirectly connected to the death and resurrection of Christ. The death of sin was accomplished through the death of Christ. The new life we live was achieved through the resurrection of Christ.

There’s nothing more central to our faith and to our union with Christ than Jesus’ death and resurrection. You take away either and there is no death of sin, no life, no hope for eternity. These verses are clear, they are referring to Jesus’ actual physical death and resurrection. His death and resurrection are the key in our union with Christ which drives us away from sin and to God in Christ to live in him.

So, may we know of the great union that we have with Christ. And through that union, may we put to death our old self and our sin. And may we turn our lives to Christ and live in and for him, all because of his death and resurrection for us. Amen?

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Matthew 20:20-28; Philippians 1:1-2

Deacons: Servant Leaders

Rev. Erik Veerman

6/4/2023

In just a couple of weeks will be our third anniversary as a church. It’s hard to believe. A lot has happened since we launched. But I think you would agree, it been encouraging and a blessing.

Part of that was becoming an official church in our denomination. That happened last August where we ordained our first set of elders and deacons. So, this year is our second round of officer nominations. And the reason we’ve taken a couple of sermons to focus on elders and deacons is that we are still setting the trajectory of our church. We won’t have sermons like this every year, but I think it is helpful in these formative years.

You’ll note in your bulletin that we have two scripture readings for our sermon text this morning.

On the surface, it’s a strange combination. The first is from Matthew 20. In that passage, Jesus speaks about the importance of being a servant. The second passage is the apostle Paul’s introduction to his letter to the church in Philippi.

They’re relate because both passages use the Greek words diakonos. Diakonos is the word for deacon or servant. In fact, if you have an English Standard Version, ESV, you’ll see footnotes to those words.

Last week, we considered elders, and so this morning, our focus is on deacons. And part of understanding the role of deacon (or, as we say, the “office” of deacon) is to understand the word itself and its various uses.

So, let’s now come to God’s Word.

Stand

First, Matthew 20:20-28. You’ll find that on page 981 in the provided Bibles.

Reading of Matthew 20:20-28.

If you would turn now to Philippians 1:1-2. That can be found on page 1164. Again, just the first two verses of Philippians chapter 1.

Prayer

If you had lived in Rome in the third century, you would have experienced a lot of persecution. In fact, in the year 258, the Roman Emperor declared that all ordained leaders in the church should be executed.

And not only were the church officials to be killed, all of their possessions and the wealth of the church was to be confiscated and added to Rome’s coffers.

So, on August 6, 258, the head of the Roman church, Callixtus, was martyred. He had been leading a worship service and an in the middle of the service, he was abducted and killed.

To comply with the full command, the Roman authority called up the head deacon of the church in Rome. His name was Lawrence of Rome. Only one year earlier, at the age of 22, Lawrence had been ordained as a deacon in the Cathedral church.

Well, the Roman guard demanded of Lawrence that he gather all the wealth of the church in Rome and turn it over to the state. The historian Ambrose wrote that deacon Lawrence asked for three days to do that. He was granted that request. But in those few days, instead of gathering the treasury of the church, he distributed the treasury, all of it, to the poor and the suffering and the sick in the church.

On the third day, Lawrence was called to appear before the prefect of Rome. He demanded that Lawrence yield the full treasury of the church. In response, as Ambrose wrote, Lawrence brought forward many of the poor and suffering, whom he had helped. They all stood there in the presence of the Roman authority. Then Lawrence declared, “Behold in these persons are the treasures and crown of the church which I promised to show you.”

As you can imagine, that infuriated the Roman prefect. It didn’t take long for Lawrence to be seized, persecuted (literally half his body burned), then imprisoned, and soon after martyred.

I would put it this way: Lawrence of Rome’s acts of service capture the essence of what it means to be a deacon. He stewarded the resources of the church. He served her mercy needs (the needs of the people), and all with humility and self-sacrifice, honoring those he served.

But the question is, if that exemplifies the role of a deacon (service, stewardship, mercy, humility, and self-sacrifice), where in the Bible do we learn that? And actually, that’s a hard question!

You see, for elders, we have explicit passages like the one we looked at last week, 1 Peter 5. There is a command there to shepherd the flock. We also have examples like Acts 15 when the elders gathered to discuss a theological matter relating to the church. Or Acts 20 when Paul called the Ephesian elders and exhorted them to care for, protect and oversee the flock by the word of God’s grace. Even in 1 Timothy 3, the qualification of elders, there is a clear indication that elders need to be able to teach the Word. And 1 Timothy 5 references elders who labor in the preaching and teaching the Scri[tures.

So, for the office of elder, we’re given a clear picture of the their spiritual responsibilities.

The responsibilities of deacons, however, are not explicitly described in the Bible. It’s almost like we have to back-in to an understanding of what a deacon is called to. We’re given several clues and hints. And I think it’s because the role of deacon has more variety to it depending on a church’s situation and the time in history. Elders, on the other hand, have a more clearly defined responsibility. The spiritual needs of people are similar no matter what century or context. We all need the spiritual guidance and care, and we all need to be instructed in God’s Word.

What I’m saying is that the role of elder has a more defined scope and the role of deacon fluctuates based on a church’s needs. Let me put it this way. Elders are given defined responsibilities for their role. Deacons are given defined principles for their role.

So, then, what are those principles and what does that mean for us? My goal this morning is to answer those two questions.

Before we get there, I think it’s important to note that the Bible clearly establishes the formal role of deacon. Yes, as I mentioned earlier, the word for deacon is also the general word for servant. And we’re going to come back to that in a few minutes, but first, two places in the New Testament talk about the formal office of deacon.

The first passage we read. Philippians 1, verses 1-2. The apostle Paul, along with Timothy, were writing to the church in Philippi, but with the special mention of the overseers and deacons. He writes this: “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.” That word overseer is used synonymously with the word for elder in multiple places in the New Testament. So, what this salutation does is indicate the two formal positions in the church - overseers (or elders) and deacons.

Those two offices are also clearly indicated in 1 Timothy chapter 3. We didn’t read 1 Timothy 3 this morning, but we looked at it last year. In 1 Timothy 3, the apostle Paul is writing to Timothy, and he is explicitly telling Timothy who is qualified for formal leadership in the church. Paul lists two official positions and their qualifications. First, qualifications for elders, and second, qualifications for deacons. So that is the second place in the New Testament where the role of deacon is identified.

Let me make a side note – these passages only list two formal roles or offices. Overseers and deacons. The list doesn’t include rectors, bishops, or priests. No, just two offices. Other churches like Anglican or Episcopal churches have multiple layers of church leadership, but the New Testament just focuses on two offices. Elders and Deacons. By the way, that is one distinguishing characteristics of a Presbyterian church – the belief that the New Testament only defines these two offices for the church.

OK, so as we consider deacons, the natural question is this, what exactly defines their role?

And to answer that question, I want to give you two principles this morning.

Principle #1 – Deacons are co-laborers with Elders in the ordained leadership of the church. Co-laborers. In other words, they work together. They compliment and support one another in their work.

And really, the reason they are co-laborers comes from the very same two texts we looked at.

The two offices go together. They are meant to. It is a team effort and partnership in serving and supporting the needs of a church family. And that realization tells us a lot about the role of deacon.

As I mentioned several passages speak about elders, and I would say, those passages also help us to understand the role of deacon. You ask, “how?” Well, because they are distinct roles and since we’ve been given direction on the role of elder, that means that the role of deacon is complimentary to the role of elder.

Last year, one of our elders, Jeff Chinery, preached on the role of deacon. I loved his sermon title: “*everything else.” He made the case that deacons are to serve the church in support of the elders, so that the elders can focus on shepherding and teaching.

I think this is most exemplified in the book of Acts chapter 6. We’ve looked at that chapter in the past. What was happening in the early church in Acts 6 is that the church was growing so fast, the apostles could not keep up with the needs of the church body. And so word came back that the Hellenist widows had been neglected. They were underserved. Their needs were not being met by the ministry of the apostles and disciples.

And so the apostles gathered the church leadership together. They selected seven men who they appointed to support the work. The purpose of the seven was to serve the mercy needs of the people, so that the apostles could remain focused on their task of preaching and teaching. These seven were godly men, full of “wisdom and of good reputation,” it says.

And so the church set aside these men for the task. The apostles formally laid their hands on them, prayed for them, and dedicated their service to the church family.

To be sure, the formal title of “deacon” is not used in Acts 6, so I don’t think this explicitly ties to the role of deacon. However, I do believe that Acts 6 gives us a pattern to follow.

• First, it shows us that there are different types of needs in the church – spiritual and tangible.

• Second, the ministry of teaching and shepherding is furthered when the mercy needs of the church family are cared for separately.

• And third, Acts 6 models setting aside qualified men to formally lead. We call that ordaining. I would say, Acts 6 gives us the pattern for ordaining both elders and deacons in the church.

Let me state principle # 1 again: Deacons are co-laborers with Elders in the ordained leadership of the church. Both roles support one another but are distinct. That means they work together, pray together, serve alongside one another, and support each other in their God given roles.

Part of that unity is captured in 1 Timothy 3. The qualifications for elders includes being gentle and not quarrelsome. Deacons, similarly, are to be dignified and not double tongued – meaning they believe and speak the truth in love. Those qualifications lead to the unity that elders and deacons should have in their work together and in their separate roles.

Now, as some of you know, sadly, in local churches, elders and deacons can be at odds with each other. I wouldn’t say that it’s widespread, but it is common. It can happen when elders see their role as managing rather than shepherding and teaching. Or it can happen when deacons see their responsibility as one of church oversight rather than one of serving.

That begs the question, though. What does it mean for a deacon to be a servant?

Well, that brings us to principle #2 – Principal 2 is this: Deacons are called to humbly serve the tangible and mercy needs of the church. One more time: Deacons are to humbly serve the tangible and mercy needs of the church.

And that has a broad scope. I mentioned earlier that it entails the specific situation and needs that a church and community has. The reason that it’s a broad responsibility is that the word servant, diakonos, has a broad use in the Bible. Diakonos appears 31 times in the New Testament. Only three of those are the formal role. Those, again, are found in Philippians 1 and 1 Timothy 3.

The rest of the 28 uses are used in different ways, with different emphases applied in different situations. As a noun, the word diakonos is used to indicate someone who is an assistant, or one who cares for the welfare of others, or one who labors in service. As a verb, it’s about serving or ministering to someone’s needs. In fact, some translations use the word “minister” in those cases. A minister of Christ, a servant of Christ.

As an example, let’s go back to Acts 6. When some of the widows were inadvertently being neglected, the disciples said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.” The root of the word “serve” is the word diakonos. Again, it’s not used as the formal title of deacon, but it is used in the context of steward and distributing the financial resources of the church. That’s what it means there to serve the tables.

Now, to be sure, I’m not saying that every use of the word diakonos should be applied to the role of deacon. Rather, my point is to give examples and uses to broaden our understanding of the word.

As a matter of fact, Jesus himself used the word diakonos multiple times. Mark records Jesus’ words in chapter 9. He said, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” Similarly in our Matthew 20 sermon text this morning, Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant…”

You see, leadership in the kingdom of God is upside down from leadership in the world. Greatness comes not through domineering and controlling, but rather through being a humble servant. Of course, that applies to all leadership in the church, but it specifically captures the use of the word diakonos.

So, back to principle #2. Deacons are to humbly serve the tangible and mercy needs of the church.

A big portion of that is mercy – if the elders are serving the spiritual needs of the church family, the deacons are serving the material or mercy needs of the church family. You know, those times when we each need practical help. That, of course, requires knowing our needs. Asking and seeking out and being able and willing to support those needs.

Let me add, it also includes other forms of diakonos service, which frees up the elders to shepherd and teach and pray. That would include stewarding the finances, the facility, and other resources. It doesn’t mean exclusively handling all of that but rather taking on the leadership of that work, partnering with others in the church and getting outside help as needed. And I should say, all of it with the support, encouragement, prayer, and oversight from the elders.

So, to review first, Deacons co-labor with Elders as the ordained leadership of the church, with unity and peace, caring for the needs of the church body. And second, deacons humbly serve, supporting the mercy needs and stewarding the tangible needs of the church.

Let me say one thing that I’ve heard in the past, but which I disagree with. Some have said that being a deacon is a stepping-stone to being an elder. They’ve said, it’s helpful to be a deacon first before becoming an elder. Honestly, I don’t find Biblical support for that. They are two separate roles with two separate giftings. Yes, they overlap in having a humble heart for serving, but the focus of their service is different.

It’s not that being or becoming a deacon prevents a man from becoming an elder in the future. It’s just not a prerequisite. Being a deacon is a high, humble, and honorable call by itself in the church.

Now, before tying all this together, let me give you two applications for us.

And by the way, this is going to sound very familiar to last week, just applied to deacons.

First, as we enter these few weeks of officer nominations, seek out men who have hearts of service, who are humble, and who love Christ’s church. We have a tremendous group of deacons. Scott, Burt, David, Jonny, and Greg. But as you know, as a young church that is meeting in a school, we have a lot of needs to serve the body. These brothers need more faithful men to continue in their faithful work. Seek them out.
Second, for the men, here. Do you have a burden to serve? Do you get joy when helping in different ways, whether mercy, whether stewarding the gifts of the church, or helping in other ways. If so, would you pray about receiving a nomination to be a deacon? It is a great call. Ask trusted friends and family. It would truly be a blessing to all of us. A lot of things happen behind the scenes that make Sundays and other ministries happen, and a large part of that is the humble service of deacons – AND, I should add, those who partner with them in the work.

Ok, as we draw to a close, let’s go to the source of diakonos service in the church. I think you know where I’m going. Last week as we considered the shepherding role of elders, it all came back to the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. He is the source of strength and the model of a true elder.

Well, it’s the same with deacons. Right after Jesus said that whoever wants to be great among you must serve, he said “for the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve (diakonos), and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The greatest act of diakonos service, ever, was what Christ has done for us, serving by giving his life for many.

That’s what makes Lawrence of Rome’s short life of service so compelling. He could have gathered all the treasures of the church together and just handed them over to the Roman Empire – perhaps his life would have been spared. But instead, he embraced his call. He knew of all the needs of the church family. He knew what would become of him if he distributed the funds to the mercy needs of the church. Yet, he had the high calling in Christ’s Church as a deacon, ordained to serve. And so, he fulfilled his role and is now numbered with the martyrs. He served and honored those in the church by sacrificing his life for their wellbeing. What a testimony of the great service and sacrifice of Christ.

So, as we continue on in fulfilling our call here in Tucker, may the Lord see fit to raise up more faithful deacons with humble hearts of service, willing to serve because of the service of Christ. Amen

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1 Peter 5:1-7

The Shepherd, the Shepherds, and the Sheep

Rev. Erik Veerman

5/28/2023

We’re taking a couple of weeks to focus on the church. That is in preparation for officer nominations coming up soon. Last week, pastor Chuck preached on the gifts of the spirit. Those are the various ways that each of us contribute to the life of the church – like service, or teaching, or hospitality, or works of mercy. They are from God and given for the express purpose of building up the body of Christ.

Now, you may or may not remember this, but a year ago when we had our very first officer nominations, we had two sermons that focused on the qualifications of elders and deacons. They were primarily from 1 Timothy chapter 3.

This year, we’re going to focus on the primary responsibility of elder and deacons. This morning elders and the call to shepherding. We’ll be looking at 1 Peter 5 for that.

As a brief background, the book of 1 Peter was written by the apostle Peter to the churches in the northeastern Mediterranean region. So, it’s a very broad audience with direct applicability to the church today. And in the beginning of chapter 5, the apostle Peter turns his focus to the elders of the church.

So let’s now come to God’s word.

1 Peter 5 can be found on page 1206 in the pew Bible.

Again, our focus will be on verses 1-7.

Stand

Reading of 1 Peter 5:1-7

Prayer

You probably don’t know this, but the sheep population in Tucker has been on the rise! It’s true. That’s mainly due to a local shepherd named John. He’s a very nice guy… I’ve talked with him a few times. Some of you know him. He’s a Mennonite pastor and I think he has two to three dozen sheep. What he does is rents his sheep out to eat the Kudzu in your yards.

Well, a few months ago, his sheep were attacked by a pack of 11 coyotes. Normally that would spell disaster for the sheep. However, that night, two of his sheep dogs were on duty. Two Great Pyranees. The female dog gathered the sheep as close as possible. That allowed the male dog, Casper, to go on the attack. The fight lasted 30 minutes. By the end of it, Casper had killed 8 coyotes. He chased off the rest. I don’t believe a single sheep was lost.

Of course, the story went viral and Casper is now famous.

Since we’re in a metro area, it's little difficult for us to imagine what it means to be a shepherd. But I think we were given a glimpse. The threats are not just wild animals on the attack. No, shepherds deal with the weather, and with rough terrain, and, at times, lack of food and water. Sheep are not the smartest animals, and often wander off. If they’re not devoured by a wild animal, they can get lost and not know how to find water or make their way back to the fold. And sometimes, the shepherds are the problem! Instead of protecting their sheep, some fail to lead or protect.

I think you know this. One of the most common analogies in the Bible is shepherding - shepherds and sheep. It’s not just a New Testament thing. We sang Psalm 23 earlier – “The Lord is my shepherd.” And the Old Testament speaks of the shepherds of Israel. They were often the focus of God’s anger at their failed shepherding. In the middle of last year, as we were working through Zechariah, we came across one of the many warnings against shepherds.

That’s because the call of a shepherd is to protect and care for and nourish the sheep under his care. To lead and guide them to water to drink and grass to eat. To be on the lookout for danger and to protect. To stay awake and aware at all times, day and night.

It’s no wonder the shepherd and sheep metaphor is used. It captures both those caring for and guiding the flock as well as the flock itself - all of us who need caring for and guiding!

And 1 Peter 5 particularly captures the call of a shepherd. It’s full of meaning. 1 Peter 5 gives us a picture of a spiritual shepherd. It answers the questions, what is the role of a shepherd? How should a shepherd accomplish his role? How should he not accomplish his role? And there’s also guidance given to the sheep.

Now, I mentioned these verses focus on elders. Peter himself says so. And notice he writes as a “fellow elder.” Yes, Peter had a unique role as an apostle. More than that, he witnessed the suffering of Christ, as he says. He was there when Jesus suffered and was crucified. And Peter was there when he rose from the dead.

And let me say, this call for elders to be faithful shepherds was very personal for Peter.

The reason I’m saying that is because of two connected events that Peter experienced.

The first was a low point in Peter’s life. Jesus had predicted that Peter would deny him three times. And that prediction came true despite Peter’s telling Jesus he was willing to die with him. Peter denied Jesus three times, after which, the rooster crowed. His heart was grieved about it. He wept over his own failure to stand by his Lord.

The second connected event happened after Jesus’ resurrection and in a way, pointed back to Peter’s denials. Jesus, of course, appeared to his disciples many times. And one of the first times, Peter and a few of the others were fishing on the Sea of Galilee. And after breakfast, Jesus asked Peter, “do you love me?” Peter, of course responded, “Lord, you know I love you.” And what was Jesus’ response? He said, “Feed my lambs.”

But the interaction didn’t end there. No, three times Jesus asks Peter the same question. “Do you love me?” Now, imagine that you are Peter. You’ve already answered the question. But, yet the Lord persists in asking. “Do you love me, Peter?” Peter was grieved that the Lord asked again. He had already said “yes.” But Jesus asks him three times. Three times as if to remind Peter of his three denials. And Jesus responded similarly each time. First, he said, “Feed my Lambs.” Second, Jesus said, “Tend my sheep.” And third time, “Feed my sheep.” Perhaps by the third time, Peter realized the connection.

This is the call that the Lord had for Peter. To shepherd the flock… to tend and feed God’s sheep.

So, when Peter was writing to the elders in 1 Peter 5, he was passing along the call from Jesus himself. The command to care for the sheep of God’s pasture.

Let’s consider three things related to this shepherding call. First, the shepherds. Second, the sheep – you and me. And third, THE Shepherd. These verses touch upon all three.

Shepherds

So, number 1, shepherds. The call of an elder is the call to shepherd. It is the primary responsibility of elders in the church. And it’s a spiritual responsibility.

•It means praying for the needs of the church family.

•It means lovingly guiding us in matters of faith and practice as we seek to navigate the joys and trials of life.

•It means teaching us what is good and right and true.

Of course, To do all of that requires knowing the sheep…. AND it also requires knowing God’s Word. An elder should not be disconnected from either. Now, there are, of course, human limitations on how many people an elder can know. But being a shepherd elder means being closely connected with a subset of people in the church. And it’s the responsibility of the elders as a whole to work together to know and care for each and every member of their congregation.

And one thing is very clear in these verses. There’s a spiritual oversight given to elders.

Look at the language in verses 2. There’s a responsibility to “exercise oversight.” There’s an active emphasis in the participle. It’s not a passive thing. No, it’s being involved.

Have you ever been to a control center? Where you have all these TVs in front of you. And each monitor is connected to a different camera. You can see all that is going on around a building, inside and outside… different rooms and entrances. And the security guard just sits there and watches. Well, that’s not what this is talking about. It’s not like watching the flock from a distance. Rather an elder needs to “exercise oversight,” to be among the flock, to see and know what is going on in order to best direct and lead and care for the flock of God. In other words, shepherding is an active responsibility.

Another thing that apostle Peter includes here is a contrast between good shepherding and bad shepherding. This is really important,

A bad shepherd uses his sheep. You see, for him, It’s not about the sheep, it’s about himself. A bad shepherd uses his sheep for “shameful gain.” He’s “domineering” over his sheep. Those are the words used here that highlight how not to shepherd.

No, instead, a shepherd should be very different. Notice it says, “not under compulsion.” In other words, a good shepherd feels called to shepherd. It gives him joy – not that it’s always easy, but he has an internal sense of wanting to lead and care for us. Peter also uses the words, “eagerly” and “willingly.”

And besides that, a good shepherd is an “example to the flock.” That’s at the end of verse 3. An example of godliness. A model of faithfulness. Last year when we considered the qualifications of an elder, being a model certainly describes the character and integrity of a man who is called.

Sometimes we think that a good candidate for elder needs to be a proven leader. It’s like we add that qualification to the list. But that’s not so. Being an elder is not like being a corporate executive or board member. Sometimes local churches get sideways because the elders they’ve ordained act more like CEOs than Shepherds. Now, I’m not downplaying the importance of organization, or being aligned, or communicating well. Those are important. Rather, I’m saying that spiritual leadership in a church is different than leadership in a business. An elder’s primary role is shepherding, which requires a demonstrated knowledge of the Scriptures, a demonstrated care for others in spiritual needs, and an ability to teach or disciple in the faith.

So, then, what does that mean for us, here and now?

Well, for one, these are the kind of elders that we should be looking for. This is what it means to be an elder – to be a faithful shepherd. So, as you think and pray about who is qualified to be an elder among us, think and pray about the God given role of shepherding.

And if you are a man with that burden to guide and care for and pray for, and nurture people in the Word and in the Gospel, then I would encourage you to think and pray about accepting a nomination to elder.

Aren’t we blessed to have Tim, Jeff, David, Jonathan, and Chuck shepherding us. Each of them has preached. Each of them is involved in some way teaching the Word or discipling. And each of them prays and cares for each of you.

Before accepting a role as a full-time pastor, I served as a lay elder in the church. By the way, that title pastor is the word for shepherd. In our denomination, pastors are elders. Well, a difficult situation arose with a family in the church. I was their lay elder with responsibility to help shepherd them, so I was involved. We came along side of them, prayed for them, supported them in different ways. It involved some difficult conversations, but in love. And I remember, at that time, we had some guests come into town to stay with us for the weekend. After church, I needed to stay for a little bit because of the situation. I obviously couldn’t share the details, but one of our house guests asked, “why are you involved in helping? I thought that was the job of the pastor.”

I think that’s a common misunderstanding of the responsibility of an elder. As we learn here, it’s first and foremost a role of shepherding. Now, to be sure, the elders have responsibility to protect the mission of the church and to set the spiritual vision for the various ministries, aligning them with the church’s goals and purpose. That is also a form of shepherding. But their primary responsibility is to care for the sheep.

In summary, shepherd elders shepherd the flock.

Sheep

That brings us, second, to sheep. That includes all of us. All of us need to be shepherded, including the elders.

In these verses, the sheep are also given a responsibility.

You may be thinking, “I’m not called to be an elder, so therefore I can live free as a bird!” Well, that may sound fun, but the reality is that sheep are called to respond to shepherds.

Look at verse 5. “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.” It’s the same word for elder here. Peter is specifically encouraging the younger generation to submit to their elder. Kids, teenagers, college age, young adults, that’s you! It doesn’t mean the rest of us are off the hook. We’re all called to submit ourselves to the spiritual care of our elders. That doesn’t mean always agreeing with everything said nor how shepherding is happening. But what it does mean is recognizing that God has placed elders over us for our care. It means listening and taking serious the call of an elder. It means allowing them to shepherd us, like being vulnerable to share our burdens and fears and sin. Why? So that the elders can focus their prayers for us. And allow them to come alongside of us to support us in specific needs. The times when we begin to wander off, they can gently direct us back to the flock… show us where to find nourishment for our souls.

1 Peter 5 continues, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” In order to submit ourselves to God and Godly elders, we need to be humble and listen and care about their role. Think about the opposite. Pride doesn’t want to listen or be shepherded. Pride says, “No, I think I’ll do my own thing.” Pride says, “You are not the boss of me!” None of us in our natural state wants to have anyone over us. Rather, we want control of our own lives and thoughts.

But the elder described here, is an elder who is a model of truth and love and who cares for you and has the utmost desire to see you flourish in your walk with the Lord. Our responsibility as sheep, then, is to be humble and listen. It includes receiving encouragement from them and at times, admonition… so that we may be renewed and built up in Christ

Of course, the other responsibility that we have as sheep, as I already mentioned, is to seek out qualified elders that can and desire to lead and shepherd in these ways.

So, elders are called to shepherd the flock. Sheep are called to be shepherded by such elders.

The Shepherd

And finally, the Shepherd. THEE Shepherd. The one true and great shepherd who shepherds the shepherds and shepherds us all.

Verse 4 calls him, “the chief Shepherd.” Or as Jesus called himself, “the good shepherd.” Or as the author Hebrews calls him, “the great shepherd.”

Jesus is the Shepherd. It’s through him that the shepherds of his people can shepherd.

Really, all the elders and pastors in the church are all lowercase “s” shepherds, or as they are often called “under shepherds.” All serving “under” the chief shepherd.

And there’s something else you should note here in 1 Peter 5. We, the sheep are God’s sheep. It says that back in verse 2, “shepherd the flock of God.” And going back to Jesus’ interaction with Peter. “Feed MY sheep.” “Tend MY lambs.” A shepherd needs to understand that the sheep under his spiritual oversight are God’s sheep. He should be directing them to God – to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Verses 6 and 7 emphasize this. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

The focus should be on God as shepherd, and the earthly shepherds should point to him. Yes, they care for us, the sheep, but we are God’s sheep, and ultimate he is the one, as it says, who cares for us.

Let me put it another way: Jesus, as the chief shepherd, is…

(1) the model of what it means to be a shepherd. Elders should look to Jesus in how he cared for and shepherded.

(2) Jesus as the chief shepherd is the one to whom the earthly shepherds should direct us.

and (3) he is the source of strength and hope for the shepherds and the sheep. That’s what’s captured in verses 6 and 7. The great shepherd “will exalt you,” meaning your hope for eternity is in Jesus, the chief shepherd. That’s why earthly shepherds should direct your hope to him. And they should encourage you to “cast all your anxieties on him.” Jesu will protect you forever.

So, he’s the model, he’s the one to whom shepherds should point, and he is the ultimate source and strength.

Let’s go back to Casper the famous sheep dog for a minute.

I think the most compelling part of the story is what happened after the coyote attack.

You see, the sheep were safe. 8 coyotes had been killed, the rest gone. But Casper was nowhere to be found. In fact, it was thought that maybe Casper himself has been dragged off and killed or had wandered off to die from his wounds. Word went out on social media, but no one could find him.

But two days later, Casper limped back home on his own. Part of his tale was gone. He had open wounds on his neck. The coyotes had torn into his flesh. Some of his skin looked like it had been peeled off, it was so bad. You see, Casper had put his life on the line for his sheep. Fighting to save them. Willing to die and almost dying for them.

This is the call of a true shepherd. To be willing to die for his sheep.

And that is what the chief shepherd has done for you. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

There’s no greater love, no greater care, and no greater protection for his sheep than to die for them. To die in their place so that they would live.

And this is what Christ has done. He gave his life for yours. He endured the suffering and the attacks of the enemy and the just judgment of God, so that you may live. And he bears the scars.

Do you know the chief shepherd? If not his arms are open. He offers to be your chief shepherd and for you to be his sheep, to give your life to him, that he may guide you and lead you, and direct you to what it means to be in the flock of God.

May he be the one to whom our elders direct us. And may he be our good shepherd, forever.

Amen.

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3 John 1-15

Ministry Hospitality or Hostility?

Rev. Erik Veerman

5/14/2023

We’ll be looking at the book of 3 John this morning. Based on word count, it is the shortest book in the whole Bible.

3 John is like the inverse of 2 John. In 2 John, the apostle John warns against welcoming and supporting false teachers. 3 John, on the other hand, encourages the support and hospitality of faithful workers. So, these two letters go hand and hand.

The letter is written to Gaius. That name was one of the most common names at the time. In fact, there are three different Gaiuses mentioned in the New Testament. One Gaius was part of the church in Corinth, another was from Macedonia and seized by the mob in Ephesus, and the third Gaius travelled with Paul and was from Derbe. Derbe, by the way, is in central Asia Minor.

3 John could be written to Gaius from Derbe or possibly a fourth Gaius.

But this we do know about him, he’s was a dearly beloved Christian. The apostle John makes that clear.

Let’s now come to God’s Word.

Reading of 3 John 1-15

Prayer

When you think about the Great Commission, what comes to mind?

The Great Commission is recorded in Matthew chapter 28 verse 19. It’s the last thing that Jesus commanded before ascending to heaven. He said, “Go… and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

When you hear that, what comes to mind?

You are probably thinking, and I would agree, the Great Commission is call to bring the good news of Jesus to the world. To every tribe, language, and nation. To every corner of the earth.

You may also be thinking the call to disciple and baptize as part of the Great Commission. Not just proclaiming the Gospel but teaching the word and receiving people into the church through baptism.

Those are all central aspects of the Great Commission.

But I’m guessing you’re not thinking about how the Great Commissions happens. What are the essential elements or necessary steps in order that the Gospel may go to the ends of the earth?

Well, number 1, certainly, people need to be sent. Some of you here have been called to that task. You’ve dedicated your lives to fulfill the Great Commission. You are participating in bringing the hope of Christ to all people.

When the Great Commission was given, there was a whole world that needed to hear about Jesus. People were called to go to places that had never heard of him before. There are still places today that have never heard of the good news of Jesus Christ.

The other essential element for the Great Commission is senders and supporters. The Great Commission doesn’t happen without the support of faithful churches.

Those necessary aspects of the Great Commission are what 3 John is about! Being sent, sending, and supporting. And the question for us is, are we helping and participating in the work? Or are we hindering the work to which the church is called? Both sides are addressed here.

If you look at this letter, there are three people that the apostle John mentions.

I’ve already mentioned Gaius –John commends him for his supporting role;
Then there’s Diotrephes – He was the one hindering the work – in several ways.
And Demetrius – He’s mentioned in verse 12. He was one of the brothers sent.

So, three people, and we’re going to take each of them one at a time. The question to ask is, Are you a Gaius – hospitable and supportive of the work of ministry? Or are you like Diotrephes, hostile to the work? Or are you Demetrius – a faithful worker called to dedicate your life to the Great Commission?

Which one?

Gaius

Well, first, Gaius. He’s really the main focus of this letter, so we’ll spend half of our time on him.

Let me describe Gaius this way: He was a faithful man of God, (1) loved by the church because of his loving spirit, (2) faithful in living out the truth of God in Christ, and (3) faithful to support the mission of the broader church.

That summarizes what we learn about Gaius in both John’s opening salutation, as well as John’s encouragement in verses 5-8. And if there were one word to describe Gaius, it would be the word faithful. Faithful to the church, faithful to Christ, faithful to the work.

Gaius is the one we’re called to imitate!

And one thing is clear, here: The apostle John loves Gaius. He says he loves him, verse 1, and he calls Gaius “beloved” three times. Gaius is like a son to the apostle John - a son in the faith. John mentions that he prays for Gaius’s wellbeing, his physically well being and his soul, verse 2. John is filled with joy, verses 3 and 4, because he heard that Gaius was being faithful.

I was thinking, Gaius to the apostle, was like the model of a faithful believer. Many of the positive themes in 1 John and 2 John describe Gaius’s life. Gaius is an example of knowing and walking in the truth, displaying the love of God, and not being in love with the world.

Isn’t that the stuff we heard about over and over in the apostle’s letters? Gaius is like 1 and 2 John personified. Can you imagine the joy that John feels because of Gaius? Look at how John describes his joy. He writes in verse 3, “For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.” He basically repeats that in verse 4.

And when we get to verse 5, we learn about one way that Gaius had been faithful. And here’s where the letter begins to take focus. Gaius was faithfully supporting the work of the Great Commission.

You see, this is one application of walking in truth and love. Gaius is faithfully caring for the workers that God had called to go.

Now, I just want to say, some see this letter as a general call to hospitality – you know, to welcoming people into our homes like neighbors, co-workers, other brothers and sisters in Christ. That’s a good thing, of course, but I don’t believe that it’s the focus of 3 John. No, rather Gaius and others are showing hospitality to full time ministry workers. If you will, who have dedicated their lives to the Great Commission.

I say that because verse 7 says they have “gone out for the sake of the name.” We’ll come back to that in a few minutes. But basically, they had been sent to proclaim the name of Jesus. Verse 7 also says they accepted “nothing from the Gentiles.” That means they were called to go, and they needed support, but they did not want support from the people they were trying to reach – the Gentiles.

And look how John describes them in verse 8: “fellow workers for the truth.” Do you see how that all adds up? Today we would call them missionaries or maybe ministry partners.

So, Gaius and others helped these brothers. By the way, that word for “brothers” can also be translated “brothers and sisters.” Some of your Bibles have that footnote.

Look at how John describes Gaius’s service to them. Verse 5. “it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts.” They served these brothers and sisters, they hosted them, provided for their needs, cared for them, supported them, and sent them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.

Let me say it again: the Great Commission doesn’t happen without senders and supporters. And there are many ways to send and support. Certainly financial, but also prayer, and also hosting, and also caring and getting to know them, and loving them well… all done in “a manner worthy of God.”

In fact, we see this kind of ministry hospitality all through the book of Acts. That’s when the Great Commission work began to go forth.

Let me give you some examples:

•In Acts 9, Peter was hosted in Joppa at the home of Simon the tanner. While Peter was there, God used him to minister to the people. And we’re told many believed in the Lord.

•In Acts chapter 10, Cornelius the centurion came to faith in Christ. Cornelius then hosted Peter in his home in Caesarea for “some days” it says.

•In Acts 16, the apostle Paul came to the city of Philippi for the first time. He witnessed to a group of women by the river. One of them, Lydia, came to faith in Christ, along with her whole household. She then welcomed Paul and those with him to stay in her home. In fact, Lydia’s home likely became the place of worship for the Philippian church.

•Or consider what happened in Corinth in Acts 18. It’s there that Paul met Aquila and Priscilla. Not only did they support and host him, but they co-labored in their tent making trade. Priscilla and Aquila would also travel around to support the Great Commission work of the church. In 1 Corinthians, we learn that the church met in their home. They were tremendous examples of ministry hospitality.

•The examples continue. In Troas and Ptolemais, Paul and his companions stayed with the brothers, it says. In Caesarea, they stayed at the home of Philip. From there, they travelled to Jerusalem and stayed with Mnason of Cyprus.

•On Paul’s third missionary Journey, he stayed with Gaius in Corinth. Likely a different Gaius than the one in this letter. In fact, in Gaius’s home in Corinth, Paul wrote the letter to the church in Rome.

•Outside of the book of Acts, we’re given testimony in 2 Corinthians 8 of how the church in Macedonia – a very poor church - gave abundantly to support the Great Commission work. It says they “gave beyond their means.”

You see, this is the pattern over and over and over - faithfully supporting the Great Commission by faithfully supporting the faithful kingdom workers.

And look how John puts it in verse 8, “we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.” In other words, by supporting Great Commission work, we are participating in Great Commission work. That is how it happens.

So, to summarize the example of Gaius. He faithfully walked in the truth, faithfully loved the church, and faithfully supported the kingdom work by supporting these mission partners. May we be known as faithful in those same ways.

Diotrephes

End of story, right? Unfortunately, no!

You see, it turns out that not everyone was supportive. In fact, Diotrephes was not just passively unsupportive. No, he was actively hostile to the work.

This is the second person John mentions in his letter. Diotrephes. He’s also an example for us, but a negative example. In fact, we can learn how to be supportive of mission work by thinking about the opposite of what Diotrephes was doing.

He’s a troublemaker. And notice, Diotrephes was part of the church. He’s not on the outside opposing the work. No, rather, he is on the inside. We can say that because he even wants to put those who support the work, out of the church. That’s at the end of verse 10.

For that reason, John planned to visit and to sternly exhort Diotrephes. But even if John doesn’t make it, this letter serves as a grave warning to him. Earlier John called Diotrephes’s words about them “wicked nonsense.” And in the second half of verse 11, John writes: “whoever does evil has not seen God.”

He’s saying that Diotrephes’ works are evil. And if he persisted in this evil, he would be demonstrating that he does not know God. You see that grave warning? Was Diotrephes even a true believer. The Lord knows.

If you were to ask me, what is the purpose of this letter for us? I would point you to verse 11. John writes, “beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good.” Do not imitate Diotrephes but imitate Gaius! That is our call.

But there’s something really important here. And I want you to see it. Verse 11 doesn’t just tell us to imitate good. It also tells us why. Look at the second half of verse 11. It says, “Whoever does good IS from God.” That is critically important. The good that we are called do comes from God. “Is from God.” The doing comes from the being. Imitating Gaius and not Diotrephes testifies to a heart that knows and has God in Christ. It’s the same for Gaius. He was walking in the truth because he abided in the truth. I don’t want you to misunderstand what is underlying this call to imitate and do good. Do you understand that?

Well, let’s get back to Diotrephes as the bad example. What exactly was he doing or not doing that caused this stern word.

In verses 9 and 10, we’re given 3 things not to imitate:

Number one, Diotrephes put himself first. In other words, he was a self-promoter. Instead of being humble and honoring others, Diotrephes was selfishly prideful. That is not the call for believers, and especially leaders in the church.
Second, he did not acknowledge the John’s authority. The apostles had been given the authority by Christ to establish the church and to teach what Jesus had taught them. But Diotrephes rejected that authority. Again, John says that Diotrephes was talking “wicked nonsense” about them. Besides rejecting the true authority, Diotrephes was committing slander.
And third (and this relates directly to the emphasis in the letter), Diotrephes rejected the faithful Great Commission workers. AND he rejected those who wanted to support them. Now, we’re not told why he rejected them. Perhaps he thought it was a waste of resources and time. Or perhaps he thought that people shouldn’t be dedicating their lives to ministry. You know, “get a real job and stop mooching off of the goodwill of others.” Or perhaps he was rejecting the Great Commission – “we shouldn’t minister to those people.” We don’t know the reason, but whatever it was, Diotrephes was really rejecting God and his work.

So, number one, he was prideful. Number two, he rejected the authority of the apostles. And number three, Diotrephes rejected the support of faithful workers of the truth.

He’s the opposite of Gaius. Imitate good and don’t imitate evil.

Kids, your mom or your dad has probably said to you at one time, “choose your friends wisely.” Right? It’s true. You will imitate those you spend time with. So, seek out friends who model goodness and truth. And watch out for those whose who are prideful and who deny God. Now, I’m talking about your dearest friends. Of course, you should be friendly to your classmates who may or may not know of Jesus. Be a great example of Christ to them, like Gaius.

Demetrius

Ok, one more person mentioned here. Demetrius. He just gets one verse – verse 12.

Demetrius is the example of the sent one. I say that because John goes out of his way to affirm Demetrius’ faithfulness in his work. John uses that word “testimony” three times in this one verse. He’s basically telling Gaius to receive Demetrius as a fellow worker. To treat him well and support him in the work to which he is called.

Gaius doesn’t know Demetrius, but when he receives this letter from John, he would eagerly anticipate Demetrius’ arrival. Demetrius had been sent forth, like the others, for the sake of the Great Commission!

Some people are uniquely called to full time Great Commission work. We have a few people here. Pastor Chuck, Jonathan and Beka, pastor Jay is out of town today, but he’s another example. Another Chuck, our guest violinist, ministered the Gospel to refugees in London for years and years. [Dennis and Brenda?] Others of you have been involved in full-time work in the past. Roy and Kristy and Sanders, and I’m sure there are others here. And, as you know, we support the work of several who serve all over the world. This is part of the church’s calling – to send and support that work.

Jesus said in Matthew 9, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Maybe you are the answer to those prayers. Are you called just as Demetrius was called? Have you felt the burden to go and dedicate your life to Great Commission work? If so, what is holding you back from exploring the call?

I’m using the phrase “exploring the call” on purpose. In verse 12, Demetrius was validated. What I mean is that part of being sent is the testimony of others. If you have an inward sense that God may be calling you to go, that needs to be matched with an outward confirmation of that call. In verse 12, that happens through the testimony from leaders in the church and the testimony of the truth. In other words, God will confirm that call in you through the witness of people you know and your faithfulness to the truth of the Gospel.

Will you pray about whether God is calling you as he did Demetrius? Will you explore that call with those who know you and with the church? If you are called, know this: the Lord will use his church and his people to support your Great Commission work to the end of the earth.

Conclusion and Gospel Connection

In summary, the Great Commission requires people to be sent as well as churches who send and support the work.

•Gaius was a faithful demonstration of supporting and sending those called to this full time work. Our call is to imitate Gaius out of hearts that know God in Christ.

•Diotrephes, on the other hand, modelled how not to serve and love those who are called. Let the testimony of his life be a warning.

•And, last, Demetrius revealed a life called to go and verified by the testimony of the church.

As we draw to a close, what is the purpose in all of it? Is it for the purpose of social change in the world? Or to bring Christian morality to the world? Well, let’s go back to verse 7. Again, it reads, “they have gone out for the sake of the name.” That name is the one name under heaven whereby we must be saved. The name of Jesus. The sending, supporting, and being sent is for the express purpose of heralding the name of Jesus. The primary goal is not to bring about social change. To be sure, there will be aspects of the work that serve the tangible needs of the people being reached, but the primary goal and emphasis is for the “sake of the name.” That the name of Jesus may be exalted. That more and more may know of his love and then they themselves supporting and be sent in the work.

Think of the 2000 years since the Great Commission. That work has multiplied through the efforts of churches and brothers and sisters like Gaius and Demetrius. The Lord has used all those who have supported the Great Commission and have heeded the call.

We are here today worshipping because of the faithful ministry and support of those who have gone before us. Running through my mind this week has been all the faithful missionaries that have sought to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Amy Carmichael and William Carey in India. David Livingstone in Africa. Hudson Taylor and Gladys Aylward in China. Adoniram Judson in MyanMar. And many many many others. I can’t even imagine how many homes were opened up to these servants and how many churches supported this work. For they were all fellow workers fulfilling that Great Commission call to the nations.

So, may the testimony of our church and each of us be similar to Gaius as we seek to imitate good. May we each be warned about the life of Diotrephes that we may not imitate evil. And may God call some of us to go as he did Demetrius. All for God’s glory, all for his kingdom to go to the ends of the earth, and all because of the Gospel hope in us. Pray

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1 John 3:19-22; 5:16-17

Rev. Erik Veerman

4/23/2023

Preaching God’s Word and 1 John Loose Ends

This morning’s sermon will be a little bit different. As you may know, we finished 1 John a couple of weeks ago. However, there are two passages that I want to go back to. You could call them loose ends. I didn’t have the time to adequately address them back when we were going through the related sections.

The other thing I’d like to do is talk through our philosophy of preaching. I’d like to answer the question, why do we usually work through books of the Bible? Why don’t we preach themes from the Scriptures every week? What are the reasons?

Some of you are probably sensing the irony, here. “So, you are saying that you’re going to preach a topical sermon on why you don’t preach topical sermons.” That’s true. The only thing I’ll point out is that we occasionally do topical sermons. We’ve done a few here for different reasons. But the large majority of our sermons are what we call “expositional.” That means expositing or explaining a scripture text.

This morning may feel a little more like a lecture than a sermon, at least at first. But rest assured. Next week we’ll be getting back to our normal pattern. We’ll be in 2 John, then following that, 3rd John.

Let’s begin by coming to God’s Word.

Please turn to 1 John 3, verses 19-22. You can find that on page 1212 in the Pew Bibles. After those verses, we’ll read 1 John 5:16-17.

Let me invite you to stand as we give reverence to God’s eternal word.

Reading of 1 John 3:19-22 and 1 John 5:16-17.

Prayer

Preaching God’s Word

A well-known pastor from Atlanta recently said that pastors who preach verse by verse are lazy. In fact, to quote him, he says we are “just cheaters.” Why does he think that? Well, he believes that growth in the Christian life happens when the “bottom line” (as he says) or overarching principles of Christianity are taught. He also emphasizes being really really practical.

That sounds good, and to be sure, understanding the bottom line and being practical is important. There is a place for studying principles in the Scripture. Last year we did 2 sermons on church officers. One about elders and the other about deacons. In those sermons, we surveyed what the scriptures taught. Even two weeks ago, on Easter, we considered Evil and Suffering and the Resurrection. That sermon was grounded in a few verses of Philippians 3, but touched upon broader themes in the Bible.

But our week-in and week-out study, our primary sermon diet consists of working through books of the Bible. We dig in to the details of what God is saying through the original author to the original audience. And then, we apply that to our situation today.

Why?

Well, first of all, this is God’s Word. The Scriptures themselves testify to their inspiration and authority.

•The apostle Paul put it this way in his in his second letter to Timothy: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”

•The apostle Peter wrote something similar in 2 Peter 1. He said, “no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” When we focus in on God’s Word, the very words on the page, we are examining the message that God has for us. God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is at work in that endeavor …because he is the one who worked through the human authors to give us God’s Word.

You’ve probably noticed that our worship service is full of Scripture. That’s because we believe it is the way through which God speaks to us. When we mine its depths, we are enriched, and God is at work. Let me put it this way: the Scriptures are the most relevant and powerful message for everyone and every generation. As the author of Hebrews puts it in chapter 4, “…the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart… no creature is hidden from its sight.” When we study and meditate on God’s word, it changes us – it conforms us to Christ. Through it, we grow in God’s grace, our understanding of God and salvation is expanded, and our faith is strengthened.

To be sure, a topical sermon can be very faithful to God’s Word. Absolutely. I hope and pray that this sermon meets that standard.

However, a steady diet of topical sermons comes with serious risks. Let me give you two primary risks:

First, in topical preaching, there is a great temptation for the pastor to impose his thoughts upon God’s Word. He can pick and choose verses that support his views and emphasis and leave out others. The message can focus more on a human agenda rather than what the Bible is saying. To be sure, that can happen in expository, verse by verse, preaching, as well. The text can be a spring-board to a topic, if the preacher doesn’t consider the true aim and purpose of the passage. But the risk of imposing our agenda on Scripture is greater when week after week, the sermons originate from a list of subjects or current cultural matters.

Instead of starting with a subject and then going to the Bible, we should primarily be starting with Scripture and then seeing what it says for our current situation.

The second risk is very much related to that. Every pastor has hobby horses and blind spots. When every sermon or series is focused on the pastor’s list of what’s important, there will be gaps. Important matters will be overlooked. Difficult subjects unintentionally avoided.

I’ll have to say, some weeks when I’m starting my preparation, I think, “Can I just skip over this?” But even though it’s hard work and at times, challenging, we are blessed because of it. By Sunday, I find myself very grateful for every verse that we come to.

Earlier in the service we read from Acts chapter 20. Paul had stopped near Ephesus on his journey back to Jerusalem. And he called the Ephesian elders to come to him. He exhorted them to stay focused on their shepherding role - protecting the flock and continuing the work he began. And he said this, “for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” You see for over 3 years, Paul taught them, day and night. They studied the prophets, and the law, and the psalms, and the teachings of Jesus and the other apostles. He did not “shrink” from it. In other words, he did not shy away from teaching unpopular truth, nor did he omit essential doctrine. Rather, he declare to them the “whole counsel of God.”

When we work through different books of the Bible, different genres, Old Testament and New, we are experiencing the whole counsel of God. And it is a rich and deep blessing to us.

A couple years ago, a Facebook friend of mine posted his criteria of what makes a good sermon. To him, a sermon is good if it speaks to the pain and suffering we experience. If it doesn’t include that, then it’s a bad sermon. I didn’t post a reply, but I wanted to! I would have said this “I agree that the Bible speaks to our heartache and grief and affliction -certainly it does in the Psalms, parts of the epistles, in various narratives…. And, of course, the suffering of Christ. However, the Scriptures give us so much more. God’s Word speaks into all areas of our lives. It reveals our idolatry and sin, directs us to give God the glory, it shows us the path to life, the wisdom and holiness of God, the folly of selfish pursuits, true love contrasted with hate, life and death. It speaks to the history of God’s relationship with and promises to mankind.

Through all of that, God speaks to the breadth of life experiences, that we may know who we are, who God is, and how to know and trust him.

Beloved, when we begin with the Scriptures, seeking to study the whole counsel of God, from the first page to the last, then God’s priorities and message will become our priorities and message. God will use his Word to shape and mold us through the Holy Spirit. And a big part of that is week after week Sunday morning sermons focused in the Scriptures. We begin with God’s Word, and see what Lord has for us from his Word.

Let me add this. The pattern of preaching in the New Testament is this pattern. The sermons recorded in Acts expound upon the prophets and the law and the history of Israel. The book of Hebrews is like a series of sermons. Next time you read Hebrews, notice the verse-by-verse exposition of multiple Psalms, Genesis, Leviticus, and a couple of prophets. And guess what they all do? Every single one of the example sermons in the Bible points to Christ. Every single one of them reveals how God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus and what that means for you and me.

And let me respond to the opening critique! Expository preaching is not lazy and it’s not cheating. In fact, tilling the soil of the Scriptures is often hard work. I spend hours every week studying and considering this Word – what it meant to the original readers and how it applies to us, today. It’s my number one job. I can’t think of anything else I would rather focus on. God changes us through this. He changes me through this.

You’ve probably noticed this, when we are deep in the Scriptures, I often ask you to look down at specific verses. I do that on purpose. I don’t just want you tell you what I’ve learned. No, I want you to see and read the Word yourself.

One of my goals in preaching is to help each of us better study the Bible. To know how to dig deep into the text, and let it speak to us.

Ok, I’m going to leave it at that! More could be said, of course! At some point, I’d like to have a class on how to study God’s Word.

Well, let’s shift our focus now. If you are not there, please turn to 1 John 3. We’ll look at verses 19-22 and then chapter 5 verses 16-17.

These are two of the three most difficult texts to understand in 1 John. I think they will be an example of the blessing that comes from the work of studying God’s Word.

1 John 3:19-22

So, loose end #1. 1 John 3:19-22.

Back a couple of months ago, when we worked through these verses, we focused on love and hate. You may remember that sermon. It contrasted Cain who murdered his brother, and Jesus who laid down his life for his brothers. In there was a call to lay down our lives for one another. That was part of John’s broader message in chapter 3. When we display a love that comes from God’s love for us in Christ, then we know that God’s love abides in us.

And right in the middle of these verse on love and hate, are verses 19-22. Look down at verses 19 and 20. It says, “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”

One commentator I read pointed to three interpretive difficulties here.

•First, the Greek word for “reassure.” It could also be translated “convince” or “persuade.”

•Second, the word “whenever.” That word could also be translated “if” or “because.”

•And third, the meaning of the phrase “God is greater than our hearts.” That’s a difficult one. Related to that, the word for heart could also be translated “conscience.”

If you mix and match those various words, the meaning changes.

One historical interpretation has leaned more negative. It goes something like this: because our hearts condemn us, and God knows our hearts, therefore God’s condemnation is greater. In other words, our sin condemns us, and God sees the sin in our hearts, therefore he is just to condemn.

On the other hand, another historical interpretation has leaned more positive. It goes like this. Our conscience often condemns us. However, God knows all. We can have confidence in our true faith because of him. In other words, even when we feel condemned, God reassures us because he is greater than our sin.

That second interpretation aligns so much more with what John has been saying in chapter 3 and really, his letter as a whole. When our faith in Christ is genuine, when the pattern of our life testifies to our genuine faith, we can know that we are not condemned. No, God is greater.

I believe that word “reassure” in verse 19 captures the apostle John’s emphasis. And remember, the church, to whom John was writing was struggling with assurance. They had gone through a painful period where false prophets had taught false Gospels. Now that those “antichrists” as he calls them had left, John needed to clarify what was true and to reassure them of their true faith.

What I’m saying is that these verses offer that deep reassurance. When we feel the shame of sin in our hearts, we can look to God who renews of our faith in Christ.

Our assurance of pardon this morning came from chapter 1. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

What a great promise! And even if on this side of eternity we don’t know every detail of what chapter 3 verses 19-22 means, I believe we can take away a great assurance from God through it. The condemnation that Jesus endured for our sin is immeasurably greater than the condemnation that our hearts feel when we sin. As the old hymn goes, His grace is greater than all our sin.

Hopefully that helps to tie up that first loose end and give you great assurance in it!

1 John 5:16-17

The last and final loose end is in chapter 5. Jump ahead two chapters.

It was 3 and 4 weeks ago that we looked at these final 8 verses of John’s letter. You may remember, verses 13-15 are a beautiful call to come to the Lord in prayer. We can have confidence to bring our requests to God. And we can know that he hears us. Those verses gave us that rich promise of God’s love.

Then we skipped verses 16 and 17 and looked at 18-21. In the concluding words, we saw how the apostle circled back to the themes of assurance. God protects those in Christ forever. He protects us from our sin, from the world, and from the devil. And that eternal protection comes through the true and living Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is a tremendous conclusion to his letter.

The reason we skipped over 16 and 17 is there wasn’t enough time to work through the interpretive hurdles. It would have distracted us from those great concluding promises.

So, let’s tie up that final loose end.

Look down now at verses 16 and 17. The challenge is two phrases. The first phrase is early in verse 16: “a sin not leading to death.” Do you see that? The second challenging phrase is at the end of verse 16. It’s the opposite. “there is a sin” he writes, “that leads to death.” The question is, what sin does not lead to death and what sin leads to death?

Answering that is the key! So, let’s take those one at a time.

And let me say, one of the most important things when interpreting the Bible is the context. So let’s go back to what John has already said in his letter up to this point.

First, multiple times in chapters 1 and 2, he wrote that Christians still sin. He said, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” On the contrary, we have sinned and do sin. When we sin, as John wrote, we have an advocate with the God the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. That message has been very clear in this book. We talked about how Christians still have the presence of sin in their life, but the power and the penalty of sin have been removed.

So, when we read in chapter 5 about a sin that does not lead to death, in context, it’s talking about the presence of sin in the Christian life. And notice the word “brother” …verse 16. The point is to pray for your brother or sister in Christ who is struggling with a sin in their life. That connects to the previous verses on prayer. We’re to pray for one another when we see sin, knowing that we each have the remnants of sin in our lives. And by praying for one another, God will give life. That’s the emphasis here. In fact, John writes about sins that do not lead to death 3 times in these two verses. That’s because he wants them to understand the presence of sin in the Christian. It doesn’t lead to death, no, God forgives. Our responsibility is to pray for our brother or sister to overcome that sin.

So then, the big question, what is the sin that leads to death? Well, John has been talking over and over about those who reject Jesus or who’s lives display a pattern of unbelief. He has said they are not born of God, they do not know the truth. In other words, their sin of unbelief is the sin that leads to spiritual death.

These two verses are not saying you can lose your salvation. That interpretation goes against what John has been writing about over and over. In fact, the concluding verses of chapter 5 speak about how God protects those who are born of him.

Remember, all throughout, John has been drawing a line between true faith and false faith. True belief in Jesus and false belief about him. Verses 16 and 17 fit right into that pattern. Sin that does not lead to death –is the sin of a true believer. And sin that does lead to death – is the sin of rejecting Jesus.

And that helps us understand the end of verse 16. John writes that we should not pray for the sin that leads to death. The antichrists, who had been in the church, had revealed their rejection of Jesus – they were anti-Christ. John is calling us to focus our prayer on believers, who have made a true profession of faith in Christ. Should we pray for unbelievers? Absolutely! We were all unbelievers, and people prayed for us, and the Holy Spirit worked in us. What he seems to have in mind are not those who are seeking, but those who outright reject Christ.

He’s emphasizing to pray for brothers and sisters who have stumbled in sin. That is the primary emphasis. We should pray for one another in the sin struggles we each have. Not just praying for needs and burdens but asking the Holy Spirit to bring conviction from sin and praying that he would remove temptation.

We all need God’s grace to pursue his righteousness and give glory to him. We cannot do that in our own strength, and so we pray for one another, that God would open our eyes to our sin and draw us back to him.

Conclusion

In closing, God’s Word is inspired, powerful, effective, true, authoritative, and sufficient! When we spent our time reading and studying it, allowing it to speak to us, God will build us up. Through his Spirit, he will broaden our understanding of his nature and love. We will grow in hope and assurance. He will direct us to what is true and right and holy.

May we seek to be faithful to know and receive his Word. And may we be encouraged and challenged as we continue to study the whole counsel of God. Amen?

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Did you miss the service on Sunday? Guest preacher Rev. Richard Lynn Downing preached on Matthew 16:13-20 in his sermon titled, ““The Importance of the Church in the Mind of Christ.” Don’t miss it!

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Philippians 3:8-11

Rev. Erik Veerman

4/9/2023

Resurrection Hope in Suffering

Our Easter sermon text is from the book of Philippians, chapter 3, verses 8-11. You will find that on page

1166 in the provided Bibles.

As a background, the book of Philippians was written by the apostle Paul. He wrote it to the church in

Philippi. Philippi was on the northern coast of the Agean Sea. That would place it in the northeast area

of modern-day Greece. About 10 years before writing this letter, Paul had planted a church in Philippi.

That’s where Lydia had come to faith. Also, while there, he had also been severely beaten and then

briefly imprisoned. In fact, Paul likely wrote this letter from a prison – when he was in Caesarea.

The reason I’m mentioning that is one theme in Philippians is joy in all circumstances. In the lead up to

our verses this morning, Paul calls them to rejoice in the Lord. Then he lists all the temporary things that

used to give him status in the world, but which he gave up for Christ.

Let’s now read Philippians 3 verses 8-11

It is our practice to stand for our sermon text, in reverence of God’s Word. We would stand for all of our

Scripture readings but that would be a lot of ups and downs. So, consider this representative of our

reverence for the Holy Scripture.

Reading of Philippians 3:7-11

Prayer

I picked these verses this morning because they deal with suffering. Last week’s massacre in Nashville

has been difficult to process. Evil and tragedy are not new. We all know that. But when they strike close

to home, it prompts questions, and it weighs on hearts. The shootings occurred at a sister church and

school in our denomination.

But if I could broaden it out, every month brings new suffering and pain, some caused by evil acts,

others caused by natural disasters, as we call them, others by accidents or disease. Besides the shooting,

in the last couple of weeks, several deadly tornadoes ripped through Mississippi and Missouri. In

February, a devastating earthquake killed tens of thousands in Turkey and Syria.

And we ask why? Why cancer? Why murder? Why catastrophes and deadly accidents?

A common question is this, “with all the evil and suffering in the world, does God even exist?”

In philosophical circles, it’s called the problem of evil. If the Christian God is so powerful and good, then

why would he allow evil and suffering in the world?

That’s an important question for all of us to consider. In countless surveys about religion over the last

10-15 years, the problem of evil has been one of the top 3 arguments against Christianity or against the

existence of God in general. It’s not new, of course. Every generation, every individual seeks an answer.

This morning, I want to address the question of evil and suffering. And I want to use these verses in

Philippians 3 as a foundation. To be sure, we don’t have time for a full answer to the question. However,

these verses give us a perspective on life, on suffering, and on the world. And they particularly focus on

the resurrection of Christ as the ultimate answer to our suffering.

My goal is not to leave you with a dry, disconnected response. No, rather, my hope is that you might

leave this morning with both an intellectual understanding of the Christian perspective on evil and

suffering as well as a personal grasp of what Jesus’ resurrection means for you.

That’s the flow of how we’ll work through this. First, a more academic response to suffering and evil but

then second, we’ll traverse down to the personal. The evil and suffering in our own lives.

The General Problem of Evil

If you were to boil down the “problem of evil” argument, it would be this:

• The Christian God of the Bible is supposed to be a good and all-powerful God.

• A morally good and all-powerful God would not allow suffering and evil to exist.

• But evil does exist.

• Therefore, Christianity cannot be true.

• In summary, Christianity and evil cannot co-exist.

Now, there are different paths we could go down in response. One of those could be the underlying

presupposition in the argument that good and evil exist. But if they exist, there must be a higher moral

being that defines good and evil. That’s one path. I don’t think that answer, even though it’s true, gets to

the question of “why.”

Another path could be the assumption about God’s nature. Yes, it’s true that Scripture speaks of God as

good, but that’s only one of many aspects of God’s nature of which the Bible speaks. That could be

another path to go down in response. Certainly, that would be a helpful discussion.

But what I believe is the most helpful response is to understand how the Bible speaks of evil and

suffering. In other words, the perspective it gives on the presence of evil and suffering, and God’s

response to evil and suffering. It’s to look at the whole picture of the Christian worldview and

understand how good and evil fit.

If we just focus in on the existence of God or just consider the seeming disconnect between God’s

goodness and the presence of evil, then we’re not really getting to the heart of the matter. We wouldn’t

see how evil and suffering fit in to the broader Biblical narrative, nor understand how suffering fits into

the Christian’s life, now and in the future.

Let’s look at Philippians 3. These verses help by giving us a perspective on suffering. They do that

through an underlying understanding of the world and our situation, but also they give God’s answer to

suffering and death.

Let’s consider three things here. Let me list them, and then we’ll go through them as the intellectual

response to evil:

• First, the presence of suffering and death

• Second, a perspective of reality beyond this world

• And third, God’s resolution to suffering and death

I’ll restate each as we go through them.

Again, number 1, the presence of suffering and death.

Nowhere in the Bible is evil, suffering, and death minimized. These verses are a great example of that.

The apostle Paul has experienced persecution, tragedy, and loss. In fact, at the point in his life when he’s

writing this, he’s been stoned, left for dead, and imprisoned multiple times, including his present

imprisonment. He bears many scars from being tortured. He speaks about his suffering, here, and he

alludes to his own future death. It’s all very real.

The presence of evil in the world goes all the way back to the beginning chapters of the Bible. Originally

the relationship between God and man was intimate and their communion was pure and untainted. But

then sin and death entered the world. Mankind, through the first man and woman, Adam and Eve,

broke communion with God by breaking his command. And from that point on, the whole world

changed. Besides death, the corruption affected all of creation. The whole world groans, as the apostle

Paul wrote in Romans 8.

But from the very moment when sin, suffering, and death entered the world, God began his plan of

redemption. That plan is being worked out all the way to a future day when, as the book of Revelation

tells us, there will be no more tears, no more suffering, no more evil, and no more death.

What I’m saying is that central to the Christian message is the reality of suffering, evil, and death in the

world. They do not disprove Christianity or the Christian God. On the contrary, those hard realities

testify to the reality of Christianity.

Second. These verses in Philippians 3 give us a perspective that goes beyond this world - beyond the

physical world of time and space. Paul makes that clear in these verses. He considers his worldly pursuits

for the sake of his fame worthless. They are all loss to him. That’s what he says. Verse 8. Paul gave them

up and suffered because of it. Why? Because there’s something greater. There’s something greater than

this life. He speaks about it in verse 11 - a resurrection from the dead. It’s an acknowledgement that this

world and all the trappings of the world are temporary. Life is fragile and we die. That theme is very

consistent throughout the Bible. The momentary afflictions of this world compared to the glory of the

life to come. The Bible speaks over and over about heaven and hell. About life beyond the grave. About

a heavenly home. As Jesus said, “in my father’s house are many rooms, I go there to prepare a place for

you.”

The difficulty is that we live in the world now. We are bound by time and space. So when we think of

evil, we are naturally disposed to think within the box of our world. Of course, it can be very

discouraging. Hope can be elusive as we see and experience the vanity of life. Yet the Scriptures speak

clearly of a hope and peace that can be experienced now because of a future life where there is no

suffering. That’s what the apostle Paul is referring to – a future resurrection to a new heavens and earth.

One, as I mentioned earlier without the burden of evil.

That brings us to the third intellectual response to the problem of evil. And that’s God’s resolution to

sin, suffering, and death.

The heart of God’s response is the resurrection of Christ. It’s why Paul says in verse 10 that he “may

know [Christ] and the power of his resurrection.”

The very hinge upon which all Christianity turns is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Why do we

say that? Because it’s through the resurrection that God reversed the trajectory of sin and suffering and

death. And God accomplished that great reversal not through a mere man, but through the God man,

Christ Jesus. The fulness of God dwelling in the fulness of man. In fact, Christ is the one through whom

God created all things, in heaven and earth. That is clear in Scripture. Hebrews 1, Colossians 1, John1.

Jesus subjected himself to torture and death at the hands of his very own creation in order to redeem

his very own creation.

Did you hear that? God triumphed over evil through evil and suffering. In the book of Acts, which is

about the New Testament church, it says that Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and

foreknowledge of God,” It says he was “crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” But then it

says, “God raised him up.” Through the resurrection, God triumphed over evil.

And just to be sure, the resurrection of Jesus was not just the return of his body to the same physical

state before his torture and death. No, it was a resurrection to a renewed imperishable body. A physical

body which would last forever, a body through which even now he is ruling and reigning.

This is the power of the resurrection. Sin, suffering, death, and evil have ultimately been dealt with

through it. And through it, there is a guaranteed hope beyond the pain and miseries in this life.

How so? Through his resurrection, Christ has secured an imperishable resurrected life for us - one with

no pain or loss or fear or evil. Without the resurrection, there is no hope beyond this life. But, as we say,

Christ IS risen. Many, many bore testimony to his resurrection.

The death and resurrection of Christ is the Bible’s resolution to the problem of evil.

Let me recap the intellectual responses to suffering and evil:

• First, evil and suffering are real. Christianity speaks very clearly into that reality, revealing the

wicked heart of man and the effect of sin on all creation. Evil, sin, and suffering do not undermine

Christianity, but rather testify to Christianity.

• Second, the Bible speaks of life beyond our present fallen condition. We are not bound and

trapped in a corrupt world with no hope. There is life beyond this life. One that is incorruptible, free

from all evil, and death.

• And third, the resurrection is the means through which God has dealt with sin and suffering. It’s

the basis of our sure hope. That’s why the resurrection is the pivot point in all of history. Through it, God

is and will make all things right and new.

The Personal Problem of Evil

If I ended this sermon here, it would be lacking. It’s one thing to talk about evil and sin and suffering, but

it’s another to experience it. Some of you know that suffering all too well.

Amy can tell you, when we pray for our children, one of the things I pray for almost every time is for God

to protect them from evil. I think that’s what made the Nashville tragedy particularly hard for me.

Especially since the pastor of the church lost his 9-year-old daughter.

You see, we cannot merely work through these hard questions in our minds. No, dealing with evil and

suffering is very personal.

One thing is clear in Philippians 3. These matters were also very personal for the apostle Paul. Over and

over, he talks about his own pursuits… about knowing Christ and attaining that resurrection life in him.

Let me highlight what he says:

• First in verse 8, he writes about “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.” (he

says)

• Later in that verse, he writes about sacrificing in this life, why? He says “in order that I may gain

Christ”

• He continues that in verse 9, “and be found in him”

• Verse 10, “that I may know him”

• Then he says, “that I may share in Christ’s suffering, becoming like him in his death”

• And Paul concludes in verse 11, “that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from

the dead.”

Let me note this. If you have been with us in our recent series through 1 John, you will be very familiar

with the word “know.” Verse 10. “that I may know him.” The original Greek goes way beyond our

modern sensibilities. In English, the word “know” focuses on an intellectual understanding. We process

information. We read words. Knowledge to us today is categorizing and knowing information. Being able

to recall the information and analyze it.

But knowledge of something or someone in the world of the New Testament times goes far deeper. To

be sure, it includes a head knowledge, that we talked about, but it also comes with an intimate personal

heart-felt belief. Truly knowing Christ. Not just knowing of him, but communing with him

That kind of intimate knowledge of Jesus is not optional. Paul is implying in these verses that we cannot

merely assent to Christianity’s answers to sin and suffering. We can’t just say that it sounds good, or just

say that its answers to evil align with the reality around us.

Rather, in order to have the hope of the resurrection in your sufferings and death, you have to know the

One who suffered and died.

To say it in another way, the power of the resurrection for you only comes through knowing Christ.

“Knowing” in the full Greek sense of verse 10.

And the way you know Christ is answered in verse 9. It’s through faith in him. It’s recognizing, as it says,

that you cannot have a righteousness of your own, but rather you need Christ’s righteousness.

Let me put it in the terms that we’ve been talking about today. You cannot save yourself from evil, from

suffering, or from death. Suffering itself does not save you. You cannot resurrect yourself. Rather, there

is only One who can… the One who himself triumphed over evil, and sin and death. To triumph with him

requires faith in him.

And when you come to know him, and the power of his resurrection, then you will share in his suffering

and his death and will share in his resurrection. That is one of the most beautiful aspects of the Christian

faith. In our grief, in the evil we experience, and in our death, in all those things, we share in Christ’s

suffering and death. When you know Christ, he ministers to you in those sufferings… because he has

gone before you in them and has triumphed over them. Your hope for a future resurrection is found in

the power of his resurrection.

It doesn’t take away the tears, the suffering, or the evil in this world now, but if you come to know him

and the power of his resurrection, then you will have that immoveable rock upon which to stand. And

you will have that future resurrection hope knowing that you will triumph in him.

A couple of weeks before his daughter was killed, pastor Chad Scruggs was preaching on Jesus raising

Lazarus. The profound moment in that story was when Jesus wept. Jesus knew that he was about to

raise Lazarus, yet he wept. Pastor Scruggs said these words as he preached, “Do you see that a strong

confidence in the end of the story does not undo or justify the absence of grief in the middle. A mature

faith adds its tears to the sadness in our world. Jesus says blessed are those who mourn… all the while

not losing confidence how that sadness will eventually be overcome in him.”

Following the passing of his daughter, Pastor Scruggs lived out that belief. He wrote, "Through tears we

trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again."

I don’t know how each of you deal with the presence of evil, sin, and suffering in the world… or its

presence in your own life.

On an intellectual level, if the problem of evil trips you up as you consider Christianity, know this: the

Bible is not silent. Rather, evil and suffering’s very presence is why Christ came and it’s why Jesus’ death

and resurrect is the linchpin of Christianity.

On a personal level, each of us experiences the corruption of the world and the heart of man, including

our own hearts. At times, it will be very painful and sad. In those moments, hope in three things.

• First, God has, himself, experienced pain and evil. God the Father gave up his son to suffer and

die. And the Son of God, Jesus, endured the evil of this world. We’re invited to share in his suffering.

• A second hope - this world is not all there is. One day, evil, sin, and suffering will all come to an

end.

• Third, through the resurrection, God triumphed over evil. If you know Christ and the power of

his resurrection, you will share in Jesus’ triumph… along with your family and friends who also know and

believe in Christ.

May we each have the same heart and mind as the apostle Paul: faith in the risen Lord. May we have his

same confidence, comfort, and hope. If you do not know the resurrected Christ, may today be the day

that you come to know his comfort and hope.

Prayer

View Details

1 John 5:13-15

Rev. Erik Veerman

3/26/2023

He Hears Us

Please turn to 1 John 5, verses 13-15. That’s on page 1213 in the provided Bibles.

Just 3 short verses this morning but they are a rich blessing.

Next week, we will finish up our study of 1 John.

Let’s come now to God’s Word. Please stand for this is God’s very Word.

Reading of 1 John 5:13-15

Prayer

Last October, my son Caleb and I were invited to help serve at a ministry conference. We were part of a small team, which included a couple of you. It was on the island of Crete. Crete is in the Mediterranean Sea just south of the mainland of Greece. It’s actually the island where the apostle Paul stayed on his journey to Rome. After leaving Crete, Paul and crew got caught in that bad storm, they were blown across the Mediterranean and eventually shipwrecked.

Well, Caleb and I were not in a terrible storm, but we did have quite the experience.

On our day off, we joined a group of about 10 others on a hike. It was a 3-4 mile hike down a beautiful gorge. It was a pretty remote place… very dry and very rocky. And there were tons of fun places to boulder. Bouldering means you are climbing on the rocks but you are not tied in – so, of course, you try to stay close to the ground. I wasn’t bouldering but Caleb loves to climb, so he was having a good time.

Well, about half-way through the hike, Caleb was climbing maybe 5-7 feet off the ground, when suddenly, one of the rocks he was holding onto gave way. He came crashing down onto the rocky ground and landed on his arm. We didn’t know it at the time, but he broke his arm and dislocated his elbow. I’ll say, it was quite obvious something was wrong. It looked very broken.

So, what do you do when you are in the middle of nowhere, with no medical help, no sling, and still a couple miles to hike?

Well, we prayed. We prayed for God’s help, for his intervention into that difficult situation.

Literally, 30 seconds after we prayed, a doctor hiked by. Not only was he a physician, he was an ER doctor. He was very kind and helpful. He assessed Caleb’s arm, poking and prodding to see how bad it was. He let us know that Caleb’s elbow had been dislocated and his arm possibly broken. And with a slight twist of Caleb’s wrist, he popped his elbow back in place. The only problem was, this doctor didn’t have a splint or a sling.

Well, just at that moment, a second doctor hiked by! And guess what! He had a flexible aluminum splint and a wrap. Within a few minutes we had Caleb’s arm all wrapped up and there was enough wrap to make a sling around his neck to hold it up. We were able to hike the rest of the way.

It was a tremendous example of the Lord answering our prayer in quite an immediate way. And I want you to think about this. God orchestrated the answer to our prayer before we prayed it. Those two doctors were already on the path, right behind us, when Caleb fell and when we prayed.

Now, I’m not saying that God always answers our prayers in such a spectacular way. No, you know that. Sometimes God’s answer to our prayers are not what we hope or in the timing we desire. We’ll spend some time working through that in a minute.

But one thing you can be absolutely confident about is that God hears you. He hears you.

I’m not making that phrase up. It’s right there twice in these verses. At the end of verse 14 – look at it. “if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” And the apostle John repeats that phrase at the beginning of 15 – “he hears us in whatever we ask…”

He hears you when you pray. The sense of that word in the original Greek is not a distracted hearing. No, rather it’s an engaging listening. God attentively listens to your requests.

Before we get into what it means to pray according to God’s will, let’s first take a step back. I want you to see how this fits into this short letter.

This is not the first time that John has mentioned prayer, in the book. In chapter 1, we’re assured that “if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us.” In chapter 3, there’s a very short statement in verse 22 about receiving from the Lord what we ask. But here in chapter 5, this is the first time that John elaborates on prayer. We’ll see even more emphasis next week.

The question is, how does it all connect? Why does he include this focus on prayer?

And here’s where I want you to look at verse 13.

It says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Now at first glance, there appears to be absolutely no connection to prayer. In fact, verse 13 is John’s purpose statement for the whole book!

Multiple times throughout the letter he’s told them why he was writing to them. He’s said over and over. I write to you because you know the truth. I write to you fathers and young men because God’s word abides in you. And I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

All of his reasons are about assurance. John wants them to be totally sure that if they know and believe in Jesus, God’s Son, then they are God’s children - they know the truth and they have eternal life in him.

That’s exactly what verse 13 says. He writes to those who believe in Christ, to affirm that they have eternal life.

There’s a very interesting parallel, here, to the apostle John’s Gospel letter.

At the end of his Gospel, John chapter 20 verse 31, John writes this:

“these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Now, let me read you 1 John 5:13 again. it says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Did you catch the difference? In his Gospel, John’s goal is that his readers may believe in Jesus. In 1 John, John’s goal is that those who do believe might know of the eternal life they have. Different target audience, different purpose. Now, to be sure, there are many themes that overlap. And both books make the case for Christianity and both books talk about the abiding we have in Christ.

But the primary reason that John has been writing this book, 1 John, is to give the church assurance. They desperately needed that assurance. Spiritual wolves had entered their flock, the congregation was in disarray. False teaching had been propagating false beliefs. The church was weary, disunified, they didn’t know who to believe. So John tells them the truth and assures them of the sure foundation of the Gospel upon which they stood. Jesus is the Son of God AND as we studied last week, through Christ, believers are reconciled to God and given eternal life. Nothing could take that future promise away from them.

Now, some of you are probably thinking, “Ok, I get the assurance thing, but you still haven’t answered the question! Why does John all of a sudden switch from talking about assurance to talking about prayer?”

And the answer is, he’s not switching topics!

Look at verse 14. It begins, “and this is the confidence that we have toward him.” That word confidence can also be translated assurance. “and this is the assurance that we have toward him.” A cheerful courage because we know that we are his and he therefore hears us.

In other words, John was just writing that they are assured of eternal life… out there, in the future. They have that future promise. And what he’s saying next is their future assurance has immediate benefits. We are assured that now, right now, we can go to God, and we can know that he hears us.

This confidence to go to God in prayer, comes out of the assurance that we are his children. If you believe by faith in the Son of God, not only do you have eternal life, but you have access to God the Father, now, because you are beloved by him through Christ and given his Spirit.

What an amazing thing to consider, especially as we think about who God is.

The God of the Scriptures, the true and living God, created all things in heaven and earth by the word of his power. Indeed, he created all of time and space out of nothing. The billions of starts in the billions of galaxies – he created it all - from the vast expanse of space to the smallest of subatomic particles. And there is not one square inch or one square nanometer in all of it that he does not know intimately. He is present in all of it and sovereign over all of it.

Everything created finds it’s life and being in him. Our God is the only being in all of the universe whose existence is in and of himself. Everything else, everyone else, every living creature relies on God. Every breath, every heartbeat all come from him. He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end - infinite and eternal in his glory and knowledge and justice and truth.

Nothing is beyond his reach and purview. Nothing is hidden from his sight. He’s King of kings, Lord of Lord. Perfect in holiness, utterly righteous and just. Set apart as the perfect standard of truth and goodness. As the apostle John has declared, he is light and he is love. He illuminates all things. He defines what is right and good and true by his very being.

And his wisdom and power and holiness and goodness are beyond measure. Yes, God is knowable, but the extent of his power and knowledge and being are beyond our finite minds to grasp his eternal nature…. beyond our ability to fully comprehend his glory.

This is who God is, the one true and living God, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

And this God, our God, in all of his grandeur, has called you into his very presence in prayer. He promises to you who believe in Jesus as God’s son, that he hears you. You, who are one of 8 billion people in the world, hardly a blip in all of his vast universe, yet he knows you, and he promises that he will hear you when you come to him with your requests.

Is that not utterly mind blowing and inspiring? It speaks volumes of God’s nature and his care and concern for you.

Let me put this in perspective with a little comparison.

The President of the United States receives tens of thousands of letters, packages, and emails per day (tens of thousands!). As of a few years ago, the White House Correspondence department had 45 full time staff members, 35 interns, and 300 rotating volunteers - all of them dedicated to read and filter through this glut of correspondence. That was about 8 years ago, it’s probably grown since then. The President who was serving at that time asked to read 10 letters per day. So, his team would cull through all those letters and pick out examples from a variety of types of letters and provide them to the president. That’s 10 out of tens of thousands. A infinitesimal fraction of the letters written to him. Now, I’m not critiquing just reading 10, that’s actually quite encouraging considering all the responsibilities of the President. I’m merely pointing out the contrast.

Think about this, there are roughly 3 billion Christians in the world. If each Christian prayed on average three times per day, that would be 9 billion prayers that God receives each day. And he hears them all. In fact, that is nothing for him. He could hear a gazillion prayers, and intimately hear them all. All of your prayers, all of your requests, whenever you pray.

Now, part of the condition of verse 14 is we need to ask according to God’s “will.” That could mean God’s revealed will, meaning his commands and precepts - what God reveals that we should be pursuing in righteousness. But I think more likely, John is referring to God’s secret will –his hidden will. Sometimes we say God’s decretive will – what God decrees will come to pass. Put simply, what God allows and pre-ordains to happen in the world.

If that’s the case, what does it mean to ask according to God’s will? Does that mean that God will give us whatever we ask for? No. Rather we are to submit our situations to God’s sovereign will. We pray with an open hand. To be sure, we pray boldly for specific outcomes, specific needs, but we do so trusting that God will answer us in accordance with his will and in his wisdom, not ours.

But to be sure, you should not lose the confidence that God hears you when you pray. He considers your prayer in his will. What a mysterious and wonderful thing. Before the foundation of the world, the Lord heard your prayers – and has worked them into his sovereign plan. So you can pray confidently, yet pray submitting your will to his.

God heard our prayers on that hike. He answered by sending two doctors right then and there. Could God have chosen not to do that? Of course! God’s will could have been for us to carry Caleb out of the gorge (that would have been hard, he is a pretty big kid for a 15-year-old). Caleb would have learned what it is to receive the care and love from others, and we would have learned how to work together and trust God. Yet, God answered beyond what we could imagine, well, at least beyond what I imagined!

This verse is pretty clear that we should ask! But when we ask, we ask trusting in the Lord’s will. The Lord’s will may be to heal you or your family member. Or it may be to not and instead to help you to trust him more and more. Or God’s will may be for you to be a Gospel example to others of what it means to rest secure in your eternal life. Or it could be that the trial or need you are experiencing helps you to minister to someone else in a similar situation…. all the while sharing the sustaining and saving grace of Christ.

Look at verse 15 – it continues that promise: “if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

That word “requests” is a little tricky to understand. It’s easier to understand if you replace the word “requests” with the phrase “answers to our requests.” If we know that he hears us, then we know that we have the answers to the requests that we have asked of him.

Let me say the whole verse a little differently. If we know that God hears us when we submit our requests to his will, then we know that whatever comes about, it is God’s answer to what we asked of him.

I really like how John Stott put it - late pastor of All Souls church in London. He wrote, “Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or for bending his will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to his. It is by prayer that we seek God’s will, embrace it and align ourselves with it. Every true prayer is a variation on the theme ‘your will be done.’” When we pray submitting our requests to God’s will, we are submitting ourselves to God.

The ultimate example of submitting to the Father’s will is Jesus himself.

As you know, over the next two weeks, we will be celebrating Easter. That includes the events leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. One thing is clear from the Scriptures, Jesus, as God’s Son, knew what was coming. He knew the death he would experience. He knew the judgment that he would endure on the cross on our behalf.

After the last supper with his disciples, Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane with them. And he was praying to his Father. He knew of what he called “the cup” that he would endure. That’s referencing the cup of God’s wrath.

Listen to his prayer in the garden on the night before his death. This is from Luke 22. Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Jesus prayed for the removal of what he knew was about to happen. In his humanity, he knew that he would endure physical death but even more that he would endure the weight of sin’s consequences. So he prayed for deliverance, but he submitted his prayer to the Father’s will.

That is a great encouragement. Our Lord and Savior Jesus sympathizes in our weakness. He went before us in submitting his will to the Father’s will. In him we can rest assured that God’s will is good. The suffering and death that Jesus endured, ultimately resulted in his glory and our eternal hope.

And so, when we pray, when you pray, you can submit your prayer to the will of God, just as Jesus submitted his to the Father’s will.

Let me summarize:

•First, the assurance that the apostle John has been writing about is both long term and near term. Long term, it’s the eternal life we have in him. Near term, we are assured that we can come before God now.

•Second, God promises that he hears us. That is an amazing promise from the eternal God who made the heavens and the earth.

•Third, when we come to God, we come presenting our request to him. Small requests, big requests. He hears them all. We can have confidence that he graciously ordains to use them in accomplishing his sovereign plan.

•And finally, when we pray, we submit our prayer to God’s will – trusting in him to answer according to what is pleasing in his sight, for his glory.

What is the main takeaway in these verses? It’s the confidence of knowing all of that. That word “know” is all through these verses. Knowing your assurance in Christ for eternity, having confidence to come to him knowing that he hears you. And knowing that his will is perfect.

In closing, there’s one more thing. One more takeaway. One more consequence of the confidence we have. And it’s pretty simple.

Pray.

We should pray! The one true living God, creator of all things knows you and hears you. You should pray. Pray because of the confidence you have in him. Pray because he calls you to come before him with your requests. Pray because he listens to your needs and desires to works them in his will. And pray, knowing that Christ has gone before you in prayer. He submitted his will to the Father’s, so that we can come to him in prayer, and submit ours requests to God’s will.

Pray!

Closing prayer.

View Details

1 John 5:6-12

Rev. Erik Veerman

3/19/2023

Testifying to the Testimony of God

Please turn to the book of 1 John 5:6-12. In the church Bibles, you can find that on page 1213.

As you are turning there, I want to note that historically, this is considered a very difficult text in 1 John – difficult to understand. The reason is that apostle John uses the phrase “water and blood.” You’ll hear it multiple times. He’s pretty clear that it refers to something related to Jesus. The big question is, what? Over the centuries there have been different proposals. Interestingly, most commentators today believe that “water” is referring to Jesus’ baptism and “blood” is referring to Jesus’ death on the cross. As I read, have that in mind. And once we get into the specifics, I’ll make that case.

Let’s now come to God’s Word.

Reading of 1 John 5:6-12

Prayer

Moms and dads wear many different hats as parents. One of those is being a judge and a jury. I think moms especially are often called on to arbitrate.

Here’s how it goes: “mom, I was playing with the Legos first. Then Jonny came in and he broke my Lego creation on purpose.”

“that’s not true! When I came into the playroom, no one was playing with the Legos. So I started making the coolest X-Wing fighter.”

“But you took several pieces off my pony’s barn!”

“But I didn’t know you were working on it until you came in. Mom, then Sally stepped on my X-Wing fighter.”

“Not true. That was an accident, but mom, he smashed my barn!”

“No, I didn’t, it fell apart on its own.”

Does that sound familiar? Whether you are a mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandparent… it’s often hard to discern what really happened.

As someone once said, “there are two sides to every story and then there is the truth.”

And let’s be honest, as we get older, these kinds of disagreements don’t go away. No, rather, our arguments get more sophisticated. We become better at spinning the truth. And the stakes are higher. We have real judges and juries, courts and arbitrators, and senate hearings. People testify and swear to tell the truth.

In fact, God is very very concerned that we tell the truth. Think about the 9th commandment. Often it’s simplified – You shall not lie. But what it actually says is “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Yes, lying is related to that, but the primary emphasis is being a truthful witness.

All throughout the Scriptures, we’re told that multiple witnesses are necessary for a charge to be valid. We read earlier from Deuteronomy 19. It speaks about the need for two or three witnesses. Throughout the Scriptures, there are several more references to that.

Why? Why are multiple witnesses necessary? Well, for one, it’s the sin nature of humanity. Even Christians, who are called to be honest, still have sinful motivations. But second, human limitation. Our recollection of events and our words can be clouded by the limitations of our memory and our perception.

So we should all have a healthy skepticism about human testimony. We should be careful and listen well and recognizing that the truth is often unclear.

But here’s the rub. When it comes to matters of faith, how can we have certainty? Or let me put it this way, with the weakness of human testimony, how can we really know if Jesus was truly God’s Son?

That’s what these verses deal with. How can you be sure who Jesus is?

In fact, the word “testify” or “testimony” is used 8 times in these few verses. And each use relates, in in one way or another, to the question of Jesus’ identity.

To give us a little organization this morning, two points:

Receive God’s testimony concerning Jesus
Believe God’s testimony concerning Jesus

Receive and believe. Receive meaning hearing the testimony and considering it. And believe meaning embracing it. Believing also comes with the benefits of belief as we shall see.

Receive God’s testimony concerning Jesus

So first, receive God’s testimony concerning Jesus.

One thing to notice is that the testimony in these verses is from God and not man. God himself testifies that Jesus is God’s Son. For example, verse 6 speaks of the Spirit testifying. Verse 9 speaks of the testimony of God, which is greater, it says, than the testimony of man. Verse 10 is the call to believe the testimony from God.

We would all agree. If you had to choose between a testimony that God gives you, or a testimony from another person… we would all choose to believe God’s testimony.

And what John is doing in these verses is making that case. He is saying that God himself has confirmed that Jesus is divine. Jesus was and is the promised Messiah. When Jesus walked on earth, he was not just another man, he was not just a human prophet, no he was indeed God in the flesh. Remember, this was the big issue in John’s day. Was Jesus, the man, truly God, and his promised Savior? And John is saying, if you don’t believe the human testimony, believe God’s testimony.

And what is God’s testimony? That’s the focus of verses 6-9.

Ok, let’s get in to the phrase “water and blood.” What does that mean? Well, over the centuries, there have been three primary interpretations.

The first interpretation is that the “water and blood” refers to what happened immediately after Jesus died. Jesus was still on the cross and a Roman soldier came by and he pierced Jesus’ side. And what happened? “Water and blood” gushed forth. That confirmed Jesus’ death. That interpretation makes sense to some extent because the same words are used. The problem, though, is that these verses in 1 John 5 say that Jesus “came by” or “came through” water and blood. Well that incident doesn’t really fit that language of coming by. In addition, 1 John 5 separates “water” from “blood.” It says there are three that testify… the Spirit, the water and the blood. The problem is the water and blood from Jesus side was the same incident.

A second interpretation is that the “water and blood” refer to the two sacraments of the church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. I’ll have to say, this interpretation is appealing. After all both baptism and the Lord’s Supper testify to Christ, his cleansing work and his atoning death. In fact, I read that the great protestant reformers, Martin Luther and John Calvin, both held this interpretation. But there are two issues with it.

•First, no where else in Scripture is the Lord’s Supper referred to by the word “blood.” Rather, the shorthand reference to the Lord’s Supper is “the breaking of bread.”

•Second, if “water” is used to refer to baptism here, you would expect “wine” or “bread” to be the reference for the Lord’s Supper. You see, if the phrase “water and blood” is referencing the sacraments, it would be mixing the sign in baptism, which is water, and what’s signified in the Lord’s Supper, which includes the blood. In other words, the words doesn’t match up. And so this interpretation also has some serious limitation.

That brings us to a third interpretation. I mentioned it earlier, water signifying Jesus’ baptism and blood signifying the cross.

•For one, when Jesus was baptized, we’re told the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus. Then a voice from heaven, God the Father, testified that Jesus was indeed His son – “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus’ baptism very much aligns with these verses – it was a testimony that Jesus is the very Son of God.

•And second, blood. As we think of the cross, it is the culmination of Jesus’ ministry. And it very much testified to Jesus as God’s Son. Think of all the prophecies of the Christ including prophecies of his death. Or of the sacrificial system and the need for an unblemished sacrifice. The cross confirmed Jesus identity by fulfilling those prophecies and promises. Even the events surrounding Jesus’ death confirmed his identity. It was midday, yet darkness covered the land. And at the very moment of Jesus’ death, the massive curtain in the temple was torn in two, an earthquake shook the foundations of the city, rocks were split apart, and graves of the dead opened. After witnessing all this, listen to these words of the Roman centurion “Truly this was the Son of God!” He was testifying to all that God had caused to come about when Jesus died.

So, I would submit that that understanding of “water and the blood,” seems to fit our text best.

But wherever you land, I think the point is clear – God the Father has testified that Jesus is indeed His Son.

But you may have noticed, the Father’s testimony is not the only testimony mentioned in these verses. No, we’re also told that the Spirit testifies. That’s right there in the middle of verse 6 “And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.”

The apostle John is referring to the Holy Spirit – God the Spirit. Part of that may be referring to the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus at his baptism, confirming his identity. But John’s emphasis on the Spirit’s testimony is broad. He says that “the Spirit is the truth.” The Spirit witnesses that Jesus is the eternal God through many ways.

•The Spirit witnesses through Jesus’ own disciples including John himself…

•through the other apostles like the apostle Paul…

•through the testimony of the early church.

•The testimony of the Spirit also includes Jesus’ own testimony that he would send his Spirit who would testify to the truth.

•That testimony is captured in the book of Acts chapter 2. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the believers in Jerusalem. And immediately after, the apostle Peter testified about Jesus. In fact, every time the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the book of Acts, he testifies that Jesus is the promised Messiah and the Savior of sinner. By the way, it’s likely that John’s readers had a copy of the book of Acts.

So, to summarize, the emphasis of these first few verses is that God himself is testifying – God the Father and God the Spirit. They both confirm that Jesus is the Son of God.

In fact, verse 7 makes that very point. It says there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water, and the blood. John is merely alluding to the law about two or three witnesses. It’s a way to emphasize that God’s testimony is legitimate.

And we’re called to “receive” it. That word “receive” is right there in verse 9. “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony from God is greater.” Receiving happens before believing. That word “believe” is in verse 10 – we’ll get there in a minute.

But first we’re called to receive the testimony. Recognize its validity. Consider its source and witness. And of course, as verse 9 says, the testimony of God is greater than the testimony of man. Why? Because God is truth. He knows all. He is perfectly holy and just. Furthermore, God cannot lie! The Scriptures teach that in Numbers 23, 1 Samuel 15, and Titus 1.

You see with God, it’s not one side and another side and somewhere in the middle is the truth. No, with God, there’s one version of the truth. Truth itself because he is truth himself. And that truth has been revealed to you.

Receive the testimony of Jesus as God’s son. As Colossians 1 says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (we would say, eternally begotten). Through Jesus all things were created in heaven and earth… in him all things hold together. And it says, for in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell.

Receive God’s testimony concerning Jesus.

Believe God’s testimony concerning Jesus

That brings us to our second point this morning. Believe God’s testimony concerning Jesus.

There’s a difference between receiving a testimony and believing a testimony.

Think about a court of law. Some testimonies are considered valid, they can be received into the pool evidence. But other testimonies are considered inadmissible. If they violate the rules of evidence, they are not allowed in the courtroom. But when the criteria is met, the jury then receives the testimonies. Their job is then to listen to the testimonies and decide which ones to believe.

That’s what verses 10-12 focus on. Moving from receiving to believing. Verse 10 “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.” Believing takes what God has testified about Jesus and not just agreeing that it is true, but accepting and trusting in that truth.

And notice that verse 10 goes on. “Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.” In other words, since God the Father and the Holy Spirit testified that Jesus is God’s Son, if you don’t believe it, you’re essentially saying that God is lying. You’re saying that God’s testimony is false.

And there are two ways to not believe God’s testimony. First, you can outright disbelieve it – that’s the obvious one. But second, not deciding is also not believing. The problem is, sitting on the fence is merely receiving the testimony, but it’s not believing it. It’s the same as rejecting it. We’re called here to believe.

In the late 1970’s, journalist Lee Strobel decided to disprove Christianity. His wife had become a Christian and he was determined to disprove her belief.

So what did he do? He started researching the ancient manuscripts, interviewing archaeologists, and studying the historical evidence. Strobel was an investigative journalist, so he was familiar with research and finding inconsistencies. His plan was to attack Christianity on two fronts: First the external reliability of the Bible, and second, the internal inconsistency of its witness.

What Strobel found was a massive number of old manuscripts – over 5000. Many of the manuscripts dated back to the second and third centuries and from different regions in the Middle East. What was shocking to him is that a word-for-word comparison proved they were 99.5 percent similar. The differences were mainly spelling and word order. Because of that, Strobel realized scholars could very accurately construct the original writings. Close to 99.9 percent accuracy.

Well, this led Strobel to start reading the accounts in the Scriptures. Reading about Jesus life, his death, and his resurrection.

And something began to happen. Strobel’s whole agenda to disprove Christ and Christianity was turned upside down. He realized the documents were accurate, and the accounts in the Bible were true. He received the testimony, and he began to believe it.

In fact, his whole intellectual effort to reject Christ turned into the channel through which God brought him to Christ. Much of his journey and research is documented in his book The Case for Christ.

Now, to be sure, much of Strobel’s research focuses on the manuscripts and the human eye-witness accounts, but Strobel also includes God’s testimony of Jesus’ divinity. In fact, he highlights Jesus’ baptism and he highlights the cross.

Strobel writes this: “Jesus' baptism was a public affirmation by God himself of Jesus' divine identity. The voice from heaven declaring, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased,' was a clear sign that Jesus was no ordinary person, but was, in fact, the Son of God."

Furthermore, he writes that "Jesus' death on the cross was more than just a historical event. It was the pivotal moment in human history, when God himself took on the burden of sin and made a way for humanity to be reconciled to him.” Strobel then goes on to quote one of his expert witnesses, “The cross is the ultimate evidence of who Jesus was and what he came to do. It's the ultimate evidence of God's love for us, and the ultimate evidence of the reality of the Christian faith."

Strobel had come to believe.

Let me sum it up all this way - to believe in Jesus does not mean that you have to check reason at the door of faith. Reason and faith are not opposites. Believing by faith in Jesus is not some blind leap of faith or unsure hope according to our cultures’ definition of faith and hope. No, believing by faith in Christ is reasonable and sound. It’s receiving the testimony from God, himself. It’s believing that Jesus is who he says he is. It’s believing the testimony of God the Father and the Holy Spirit. And it’s believing in Jesus ministry on the cross.

And when you believe, an amazing thing happens. The testimony out there from God himself becomes the testimony in here. His testimony becomes your testimony. That’s what it says right there! Verse 10. “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.” The Spirit’s work in you testifies to the testimony of Christ.

Again, what an amazing thing – God’s testimony has become our testimony. And this is not a new idea in 1 John. Yes, John is using different words, but the concept is similar. All throughout, God has been telling us, through the apostle, that his abiding love in us. For those of you who believe the truth of the Gospel, God abides in you and you in him. This abiding is the testimony of God within you.

And that testimony brings you life. This is where the apostle John ends this section. If you believe, then you have life in him – eternal life. Listen how he concludes in verses 11 and 12. “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

All throughout our study of 1 John, we’ve talked about the line that John has drawn. The line between true faith and false faith. We’re either on one side of the line or we’re on the other. We’ve experienced how John has called out false anti-Christ beliefs, as he’s put it. And finally in these verses, he tells us why it matters to you.

The answer is life. Eternal life, beyond death, forever in the presence of God. When you receive and believe the testimony from God, then you are given life in Christ, forever. If that is you, you have that life.

And if you do not have the Son – verse 12 is very clear - then you do not have that eternal life that he’s promised. No, instead, you need that life. John is saying that this is a matter of life and death. He’s calling you to receive and to believe. Believe that Jesus is God’s Son and your savior.

To wrap things up…

Who is Jesus? As God himself has testified. He is very God of very God – the eternal Son of God. He came into the world to bring life. Don’t believe my testimony. Believe the testimony of this Word, given through God himself, through his Spirit… through which you can receive and believe. And when you do, you will rest in the eternal life that he has given you. Amen?

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Introduction: We are at War

FACT: We are at war. Bold. Underline. Italics. Exclamation point. We are at war. There are an estimated 600 million Evangelical Christians around the globe today making up about 8% of the world’s population. The majority of the other 92% are walking in darkness, held captive by our great enemy Satan who is the father of lies. Billions have been led astray by false forms of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Secularism, Materialism, Atheism, and vast array of other false religions. These all stand in opposition to the Gospel and often fight with great zeal against Jesus Christ and His people. We are engaged in a war for the souls of men, women and children. The Battle is real and it one that we cannot win on our own.

Stories of persecution

In a few weeks we will be celebrating Palm Sunday here at TPC. Six years ago, on Palm Sunday 2017, bombs blew up at two churches in Egypt, killing nearly fifty Christians and injuring more than one hundred others. Just hours after the blast, amid outrage and grief, Pastor Boulos stepped before his packed church in Egypt and gave the terrorists a three-point sermon that went viral worldwide. It was entitled “A Message to Those Who Kill Us.” His three points were simple: “Thank you,” “We love you,” and “We’re praying for you.” Pastor Boulos said “Thank you” because the terrorists gave the dead the honor to die as Christ died; and because the

terrorists’ actions made people outside the church mindful of their eternal destinies. (After the attacks, Egyptian churches overflowed with people who had never attended before). Then Pastor Boulos said “We love you” because even murderers and thieves love those who love them, but only followers of Jesus are taught to love our enemies. Pastor Boulos closed his

message with “We’re praying for you” because, he reasoned, if a terrorist could taste the love

of God even one time, it would drive hatred from his heart.

This is one story of persecution among millions through the ages. Across 76 countries, more than 360 million evangelical Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith today. We are indeed at war. And on our own, it is a war that we cannot win.

John Piper on Prayer as a War-Time Walkie Talkie

John Piper has been preaching that we are war for decades. In his book “Let the Nations Be Glad!” Piper says some convicting things about our major weapon in fighting this war against our adversary the devil – a weapon that we often misuse or do not use at all. That weapon is prayer as we know from Ephesians chapter 6 (which we read earlier). It is our primary firepower against the devil. But let me read directly from John

Piper’s book, because I’m not so sure we act like life is a battlefield. Piper says:

“Probably the number one reason why prayer malfunctions in the hands of believers is that we try to turn a wartime walkie talkie into a domestic intercom. Until you know that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for. Prayer is for the accomplishment of a wartime mission…[Our] field commander (Jesus) called in the troops, gave them a crucial mission (go and bear fruit); [he] handed each of them a personal transmitter

coded to the frequency of the General’s headquarters, and [he] said, ‘Comrades, the general has a mission for you. He aims to see it accomplished. And to that end he has authorized me to give each of you personal access to him through these transmitters. If you stay true to his mission and seek his victory first, he will always be as close as your transmitter, to give tactical advice and to send air cover when you need it.’

“But what have millions of Christians done? We have stopped believing that we are in a war. [There’s] no urgency, no watching, no vigilance. No strategic planning. Just easy peace and prosperity. And what did we do with the walkie talkie? We [have] tried to rig it up as an intercom in our houses and cabins and [our] boats and [our] cars – not to call in firepower for conflict with a mortal enemy, but to ask for more comforts [and

cushions] in the den.”

Four Elements of Earth-Shattering Missions Prayer

With that as our introduction, I want to turn to our two texts for today. We will be looking at two biblical prayers that were prayed in times of great distress for God’s people. We will look at one prayer in 2 Kings 19 and one prayer in Acts chapter 4. In both situations God’s people were at war and they were engaged against enemies they knew that they could not defeat. They knew they were hopeless unless God came to their rescue. So, they turned to Him in God- exalting, enemy-defeating prayer. In both instances, these prayers moved the heart of God and he acted with great power to help his people.

Both of these prayers follow a pattern and have 4 key elements that I want to examine. As we look at prayer as a weapon of war against the enemy, I want to encourage us to integrate these elements in our prayers as individuals, as families and as a church body here at TPC. We can use these prayers as roadmaps as we pray for the work of spreading the Gospel to every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Let’s look at the pattern first, and then we will look at how it plays out in these two prayers. The pattern is printed on the back of today’s bulletin.

The Pattern is:

We acknowledge the DIVINE POWER of God alone

We affirm our DEPENDENCE on God alone

We arouse the heart of God to DELIVER his people and to DESTROY our enemies

We appeal to God to DISPLAY HIS GLORY for all the earth to see

Hezekiah’s Prayer (2 Kings 19:14-19)

First, let’s consider Hezekiah’s prayer. Let us look at the historical backdrop. Hezekiah was King of Judah. He was a good king. In fact, the Bible says there were no kings of Judah before or after him that followed God like he did. In 2 Kings 18:5-7 we read:

5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.”

Now these last words were the epicenter of the problem that Hezekiah was facing. He rebelled against the King of Assyria. He would not bow his knee to a pagan king. The King of Assyria was named Sennacherib and the capitol of his evil empire was “Ninevah” if you have ever heard of it. It is no wonder that brother Jonah had no love for this people.

So, Sennacherib was coming to extract his vengeance on this rebel king of Judah. He besieged Jerusalem with the largest most powerful army on earth. Then he sent a blasphemous letter (in 2 King 19:10-13) to Hezekiah that read:

‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?

13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or

the king of Ivvah?’”

In verse 14 we read about what Hezekiah did upon receiving this letter. It says: “Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord.” What a glorious demonstration of faith. He didn’t sit and fret on his throne, filled with anxiety and fear. He didn’t sit and strategize and mull over all of his military options to fight or surrender. He went into the temple and spread the letter before the Lord and prayed! And what did he pray?

First, Hezekiah Acknowledged the DIVINE POWER of God alone:

15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.”

Consider these words in contrast to the blasphemy of Sennacherib who had mocked the God of the Israelites. Hezekiah here is saying to God, Sennacherib is a blasphemous liar, for we know, we believe, we have faith that you alone, not Sennacherib, are the Sovereign Lord who is above all kings and who sits enthroned over all nations.

Second, Hezekiah Affirmed His DEPENDENCE on God alone: In verse 16 we read:

“Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.”

After acknowledging the power of God alone, Hezekiah humbly entreats God, demonstrating his complete dependence on God. He says incline your ear O Lord. Listen to me. Hear me. We need your help, Lord. And “Open your eyes Lord and see. “ If you don’t listen to us and see us, no one will hear us, see us, rescue us. The idols of the other nations did not save them. But we depend on you, the true and the living God who alone has the power to save us!

Third, Hezekiah Aroused the heart of God to DELIVER his people and to DESTROY their enemies: In verse 19 we read: “So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand.”

Only after acknowledging God’s power and sovereignty, and his dependence on God alone, Hezekiah appeals for help. He simply says, “O Lord our God, save us, please from the hand of Sennacherib.” His heart’s desire was for his people to be delivered and he knew that no one else could deliver from the mighty hoards of the Assyrians, so he simply says, “save us, please.” It is beautiful in its simplicity and earnestness.

Finally, Hezekiah Appealed to God to DISPLAY HIS GLORY for all the earth to see: “That all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.” Hezekiah was praying for something bigger to happen than just for his people to be rescued. He knew the power of the Assyrian army, the arrogance of King Sennacherib, the wanton cruelty, and destruction and annihilation that they had wreaked on the entire Middle East. He knew that if God delivered His people and destroyed the Assyrians, then all the Kingdoms of the earth would know that there is only one and true and living God who answers prayer and is more powerful than any king or empire that sets themselves up against Him. He wanted God to deliver his people in the same magnificent way that he had delivered His people from the hands of Pharoah King of Egypt hundreds of years before and all of the world heard and trembled. He wanted God to be glorified far beyond the borders of Judah, and so he prayed for this very thing.

So what did God do in response to Hezekiah’s prayer?

Two things. First, God sent the prophet Isaiah to assure Hezekiah that God had heard his prayer and would surely come to the defense of his people. We will not read Isaiah’s entire message for the sake of brevity, but in verse 22 God says to Sennacherib:

“Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the

heights? Against the Holy One of Israel!”

And jumping down to verse 32-34 God says:

32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 34 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

The second thing that happens is that God acts with great power. He sent his angel and destroyed the Assyrian army. In verses 35-37 we read:

35 And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

Indeed, now the whole world knew there was only one God, the God of Israel, that he alone had all power, and that He delivers His people from their enemies when they pray. The blasphemous king of Assyria and his mighty army were totally annihilated by Jehovah Sabbaoth—the God of Angel Armies.

The Prayer of the First Church (Acts 4)

Let us turn our attention now to the New Testament, to Acts chapter 4, to a prayer of the disciples, of the early church. The context here is that in chapter 3 Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray. Along the way they met a beggar who had been lame from birth who asked them for money. Peter replied:

“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”

Peter then proceeds to preach a powerful gospel sermon at the end of Acts chapter 3 to everyone gathered at the temple. This results in Peter and John being arrested because all of this greatly annoyed the Jewish religious leaders. They interrogated them and asked them where they got the power to heal this man. Peter boldly says:

“Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus[a] is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b] 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[c] by which we must be saved.”

The religious leaders and rulers then ordered Peter and John to stop preaching about Jesus and doing miracles in His name.

“But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to

God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

“When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and prayed.”

What did they pray? Their prayer is very similar to Hezekiah’s, containing the same 4 elements although in a different order. Let’s take a look.

First, in verse 24, the church Acknowledged the DIVINE POWER of God alone: “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.” Before they ask for rescue, they begin with worship, adoration and an affirmation of faith in God’s sovereignty and power over all things.

Second, the church Aroused the heart of God to DELIVER his people and to DESTROY their enemies: In verses 25-28 we read:

25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

They reminded God that these very same enemies of theirs, these Jewish religions leaders, who are now persecuting them had only a short time ago set themselves up against God and his Anointed son Christ Jesus and joined with the Gentiles to destroy him. But the disciples also acknowledged that all of this was part of God’s sovereign plan that he has predestined to take place.

Third, the Church Affirmed their DEPENDENCE on God alone: In verse 29 they pray:

“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness”

We see that they have a simple prayer for help. Strengthen us to continue preaching your gospel in the midst of persecution. We need your help. We cannot win this war on our own. Protect us and strengthen us and give us boldness. We depend on you in this war for souls.

Finally, the church Appealed to God to DISPLAY HIS GLORY for all the earth to see: In verse 30 we read:

“while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your

holy servant Jesus.”

In addition to a plea for boldness, the church asks God to do signs and wonders through the Name of Jesus. They wanted something greater to happen than just to be able to continue to share their faith. They wanted God to act in powerful ways so that all the earth would know that salvation is found in no other name than in the powerful and beautiful name of Jesus Christ.

How did God answer this prayer? We see in verse 31:

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

God answered their prayer for boldness. He shook the earth and poured out the Holy Spirit upon them. Along with that, he also answered their prayer for miracles. In the next chapter, Acts 5 we read that they continued to do miracles in the Name of Jesus. People from all around brought the sick and demon possessed to the disciples and they were ALL healed.

Conclusion: As we draw to a close this morning, I want to offer three words of encouragement as we wage war for the souls of the lost through prayer, as we continue the battle of global missions and church planting among every tribe and language and people and nation.

First. Your prayers matter. The enemy wants you to believe that your prayers do not matter, that your prayers are not heard, that God is not moved by your prayers. That is a lie. James 5:16 says: “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” In Revelation chapter 5 we get the glorious glimpse into the throne room of God. We see angels, elders, heavenly creatures and the redeemed from every nation are gathered to worship the Lamb of God. Here we see that our prayers are a fragrant incense before God. It says that angels and heavenly creatures and elders are holding golden bowls of incense before God. What is the incense that fills those bowls? The prayers of all the saints through the ages. They are a beautiful aroma to God and they move his heart. Your prayers matter and are effective in this battle. They are ever present in the throne room of heaven.

Second. We do not pray alone. Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit pray with us and pray for us. In Hebrews 7:25 we read: “Consequently, he (Jesus) is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” And in Romans 8:26-27 we read: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” We do not pray alone in this war.

Third, and finally, the war has already been won. As opposition to the Gospel grows stronger day by day, and persecution of the church intensifies, it is easy to be discouraged and to believe that we are losing the war. Perish the thought! King Jesus has already defeated sin and death and Satan through his death and resurrection. Satan is in the throes of death, wriggling and writhing and lashing out like the great serpent that he is. The final victory will soon be revealed, so let us persevere to the end in our faith and in our God-exalting, enemy-defeating wartime prayers. What shall we pray? And what shall we pray? Let us pray that the light of the gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit will push back the darkness that holds almost 7 billion souls in slavery to the devil. Let us pray that the lost sheep will come into the fold of Jesus. Let us pray that the Church of Christ will prevail as we storm the gates of hell. Let us pray that the elect from every tribe and people and language and nation will be saved. And let us pray that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior to the glory of our Heavenly Father. And let us pray, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus, Come Quickly, and let your sovereign rule and reign be revealed for all of eternity!” To him be the glory. Amen.

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1 John 5:1-5

Rev. Erik Veerman

3/5/2023

Love, Obedience, the World, and Doctrine

We are on the home stretch in our study of 1 John - the last chapter. We should wrap up before Easter. And, by the way, after Easter we’ll spend a little time in 2nd and 3rd John. They are both single chapter books and some of the themes continue, so it seems like a good time to continue.

Before we read, let me summarize the book so far. That will actually be helpful for this morning’s text.

John has been writing to his church. They are his beloved children in the faith. He is their spiritual father in this world. At this point in time, at the end of the first century, John is the last living disciple of Jesus. He’s in his 90s.

John has an urgency in his writing. That’s because false beliefs and false teachers and worldly living had infiltrated the church. And it was a big problem. The false teaching was striking at the heart of the Christian faith – the person of Jesus. And furthermore, unrighteous living had crept in. All of this was causing division, confusion, and for the true believers, discouragement.

So, what was John’s response?

Well in chapter 1, he first established his credibility as an apostle of Jesus, and he established the credibility of Jesus – the Word of life.

Also in chapter 1, John presented his thesis for the whole book. God is light and we need to be walking in the light - walking in truth and grace. So that was chapter 1.

In chapter 2, we were presented with four themes that John has come back to over and over. Obedience, love, the world, and true beliefs about Jesus. Those were the 4 life tests. And the point of the tests was to give assurance to true believers and to unsettle unbelievers. So that the believer would be encouraged in the faith and the unbeliever would come to faith.

As we got to chapter 3, John introduced what it means to be born of God. If you are a true believer, as the life tests affirmed, then you are a child of God. That comes with great blessings, immediate and eternal.

In the rest of chapter 3 and into chapter 4, John took those main themes and applied them in his readers’ lives. And he helped them evaluate teaching based on them. Again, the themes or categories are obedience, love, the world, and the content of belief. Up to this point, John had been switching back and forth between each theme.

But here in chapter 5, John brings these themes together.

As I read, I want you to listen for how he does that. How John merges all that he has taught them.

Please turn to 1 John 5:1-5. In the pew Bibles, you can find that on page 1213.

Stand

Reading of 1 John 5:1-5

Prayer

Our study of 1 John has been very provocative. Recently, I heard someone say that they came to faith in Christ when they read the book of 1 John. As we’ve seen it’s very penetrating. You can’t escape the apostle John’s clear delineation of what’s true and good, versus what is false and evil.

And I’ll have to say, I’ve been convicted on multiple occasions as we’ve journeyed through the apostle John’s letter.

Let me ask you, what has convicted your heart? What has challenged you as we’ve delved into this first century situation and sought to apply it today?

Has it been the call to love one another? There are days when that is challenging.

What about God’s call to obedience? Are you overwhelmed with what God has commanded in his Word? I mean, it’s pretty extensive. The Scriptures address not just our words and actions but our heart motivations.

Or is it the influence and temptation the world? Are you in love with the world, as John asks? Or the things in the world? Or have you found that the world’s skewed priorities and secular philosophies have crept into your life? I can say, I’ve felt that weight. In one sense, we’re all affected by the world around us in unknown ways. And when those get revealed, it’s a painful realization of how easily we are shaped by the culture.

Or have your foundational beliefs about God, or Jesus, or the Gospel been challenged (in a good way)? Have you had to rethink or recommit yourself to what the Scriptures teach about truth and God as light?

Which of those categories has been most convicting? …the call to love, to obey? Is it to reject the world’s priorities and teaching, or the call to belief and truth?

One thing’s for sure, John has been perfectly clear and precise. But he’s also been very loving. He has assured us over and over that despite our sin, God is forgiving. He’s been clear that the life test are about whether the pattern in your life reflects the truth and God’s love. And John has been really clear about the Gospel. If we believe in Christ as Lord and Savior, we are his. Even though sin is still present in us, we are forgiven. We are his children – born of God. He abides in us and we in him. What a beautiful revelation of how we are blessed as sons and daughters together in Christ, as he abides in us.

And this morning, what the apostle does is to bring all of these themes together. Everything that he has been teaching, he weaves together into one cord. What he shows is how each reality of true faith is dependent on and works together with the other realities of true faith. Our obedience, our love, our holding the world at bay, and our beliefs.

I am a bad golfer. And golf is bad for me. It kind of reverses my sanctification. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I played. The thing that is hard about golf is putting all the mechanics of your golf swing together. How you hold the club, your stance, keeping your left arm straight, your right elbow in, your head in a steady position, making sure your wrists turn just the right amount, keeping your eyes on the ball, having a steady backswing, accelerating the club head at the right rate for the right distance, rotating your torso, and being sure to follow through! Plus all of the mental stuff that goes along with golf.

What I’ve heard is that the more you work on your golf game, the more natural it gets. Your swing becomes second nature. All of the mechanics start to work together.

You see, as we mature in Christ, each aspect of our faith begins to merge together into a beautiful picture of grace and a reflection of Christ.

The love with which we love God and others merges with our pursuit of righteousness in heart and mind, which merges with a deeper and more faithful understanding of what the Scriptures teach about God and salvation, which merges with our sensitivity to the temptations of the world around us as we reject false hopes and beliefs.

To say it in another way, this is what discipleship does. We long to know God more, we desire to know his Word, we grow in holiness, our love for the Gospel and others expands. Our knowledge of truth and grace deepens. Our hope and assurance is strengthened. All of those things, all working together as we conform more and more to the image of Christ.

I want you to notice something here. Look at verses 1 and 5. Both of them speak of believing in Jesus. Verse 1, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” And verse 5, “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” They bracket this text. It’s a literary way of emphasizing the point. In other words, what we believe about Jesus is foundational to our obedience and love and our knowledge and discernment of the world.

To quickly summarize: Chapter 5 verses 1-5 brings together all that John has been writing about so far and it centers on Jesus.

Ok, let’s now get into some of the specifics. How do love and obedience overlap? How does one who pursues God’s commands overcome the world? How does what we believe relate to love and obedience? And How does love of God and one another relate to the world?

Let’s begin with the relationship between love and obedience. That’s the big emphasis in verses 2 and 3. Verse 2 focuses on loving the children of God. How do we know that we love others? We know that, as it says, “when we love God and obey his commandments.” Verse 3 is very similar. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” What does it mean to love God and love one another? It means keeping his commandments. There’s a very close relationship between love and God’s commandments.

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he responded by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength… and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy. It’s a summary of God’s commandments. Love God and love your neighbor. In other words, love and God’s commandments cannot be separated. We display our love by pursuing God’s commandments.

Now, to be sure, it’s possible to try to pursue God’s commandments in a loveless way. That’s exactly what the Pharisees did. The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day. They had all these rules, and rules upon rules. They added to God’s commands. And even when they sought to obey God’s commands, it was a hollow going-through-the-motions kind of obedience. They didn’t have any love. In fact, they were full of hate. They rejected Jesus, thereby rejecting God, and they hated everyone else. Their rules were just a way to control. They had an upside-down view of God’s law. They thought they could get into God’s good graces by obeying God’s law and coming up with new rules to obey. But they were utterly wrong! Their loveless attempts were not obeying God’s commands. No instead, it’s the opposite: obeying God’s commands comes from the heart. It comes from a love of God and a love for your neighbor. Love and obedience to God’s commands are inseparable. When you have love without God’s commands, you have a misguided understanding of love. When you try to follow God’s commandment without love, you get hollow pharisaical religion.

I want you to notice that phrase at the end of verse 3, “And his commandments are not burdensome.” That is a surprising statement! It’s saying that obeying God’s commandments should not be a burden to you. They should not wear you down. Isn’t that counter-intuitive? Our natural inclination is to think that God’s laws are restrictive.

In fact, a common critique of Christianity is that the Christian God is merely an angry taskmaster. The argument is that the God of the Bible imposes harsh restrictions that stifle happiness. Friedrich Nietzsche, 19th century philosopher, described Christianity’s emphasis on obedience and as oppressive. From the outside, many believe the Christian faith is just a rules-based religion devoid of joy and love.

Yet that is the opposite of what we’ve been learning in 1 John.

But let’s first acknowledge that a pharisaical view of obedience is devoid of those things.

Let’s go back to the pharisees for a moment. Their version of obedience and added rules was burdensome! Jesus said so himself. In Matthew 23, he said, “The scribes and the Pharisees... tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger." Commandments without love for God and neighbors and without faith in Christ, do the opposite! They add burdens that are hard to bear.

This idea of a burden is based on farm animals that carry loads. Think of a horse or an ox that carries a lot of weight or plows the field. A pharisaical type of religion adds burdens to people, it does not relieve burdens from people. But we’re told here that the opposite should be true.

And there are 2 reasons why. The first we already talked about – Love for God and one another is necessary part of obedience. When we love God we desire to pursue his commandments. That’s the first reason.

The second reason is found in verses 4 and 5. It starts with the word “for.” So, it’s answering the question “why?” Why should God’s commandments not be burdensome? Here it is “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” Verse 5 continues the reason, “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

This is yet another intersection of themes from the first 4 chapters. The world and our beliefs. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that John is using the word “world,” to mean the temptations, the idols, the evil, and the false hopes which are in the world. In regard to believing, John is referring to our doctrinal beliefs. He specifically highlights the belief that “Jesus is the Son of God.” Those are the last words of verse 5.

If you remember, believing that Jesus was God in the flesh was a big problem in John’s day. Some were teaching that Jesus was not the Christ, not the Son of God. So, John is absolutely clear: a true believer believes that Jesus is God’s Son! In fact, in order for Jesus to have overcome the world for us, he had to be God’s Son. Fully and truly God, fully and truly one of us, so that he could deal with sin our the world. Someone with a true belief in Jesus is born of God, and therefore given the victory over the world.

Just to be sure, John is not saying the world will not influence us. He’s not saying that sin is no longer present in us. But rather, he’s saying that a believer has overcome the world. It is a state of being. It’s like the end of Romans 8, “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

John’s point is this: we are victorious over a world that seeks to reject God’s commandments. In that victory, through Christ, God’s commandments are not burdensome.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The word yoke is similarly referring to oxen or horses. It’s the wooden harness placed on their shoulders. And Jesus says, “my burden is light.” It’s feather weight. When we believe in Jesus, he takes our burdens. And that includes any burden related to obedience.

To be sure, that does not mean obedience is always easy or natural. No, the scriptures call us to strive and fight for what is good and right and to put to death our earthly nature.

What I’m saying is that as you mature in Christ, as you realize the victory you have in him, and his love for you, then God’s commands become lighter.

•God will give you a desire and heart to pursue them.

•You will realize that his commands are for your blessing and benefit.

•You will also realize that pursuing God’s commandments blesses others.

•You’ll come to know that when you keep God’s commandments, you are reflecting Christ in you.

•And through them you are loving God and loving others.

Listen to these words from Psalm 19 – “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;”

You see, God’s law and his commandments not only become light, but as the Psalmist has said, a wisdom and joy which will revive your soul and enlighten your eyes. You see, God’s commandments are not oppressive without joy and love, rather they are freeing full of joy and love.

Let me put it all together:

•As you grow in your love for God and one another, you will grow in your desire to pursue God’s commandments.

•Then, as you mature in knowing and keeping God’s commandments in his Word, you will mature in your knowledge of God and salvation in Jesus.

•Next, as this understanding of God and salvation is deepened, so is your understanding and discernment of the world.

•And finally, as you further grasp the world with all its false hopes and beliefs, you will further grasp how to pursue God’s commandments and how to love him and others, more and more.

So, you see, it’s all woven together. And each strand – your love, your obedience, your beliefs, and your discernment of the world – each of those strands supporting and strengthening the others. There’s a reason that ropes are often braided. They’re more durable, they can withstand stresses. They are less likely to break under load. Such will be your life as you mature in these areas.

As we come to a close, there’s an important word that I’ve mostly skipped over. In fact, it’s the only time in the whole letter that this word is used. Which I think you’ll find surprising. And it’s a word that ties all of these themes together into one.

Look at that two-word phrase at the end of verse 4: “our faith.” Faith is the Greek word Pistis. Faith is more than just believing. Over and over John has used the word for belief, even a couple of times in these verses. But faith is assenting to what you believe. Embracing it. Faith goes hand and hand with God’s grace. Faith is a gift of God where you see your sinful situation apart from him and you turn your life to Christ.

I’m not saying that John has been avoiding the idea of faith in his letter. No, the concepts of faith have been presented all throughout, especially being born of God. But it’s significant that as John summarizes his letter, he uses such an important word - faith.

So, these five verses are a picture of true faith. Faith is where it begins. When you come to faith in Christ, you are then “born” of God. And if you are born of God, spiritually born, you are his by faith.

It’s by faith that you turn from your unbelief, to him. It’s through your faith that you experience God’s love in Christ and respond to his love with love. It’s by faith that you pursue the things of God, his commandments. And it’s by faith that you trust in what he has revealed in his Word about the world and about Jesus.

So, may we not think of each of these themes individually, but rather may we embrace them together by faith. May we mature in our faith as they become woven together in our lives. And when we do, God will lift the burden of his commandments from us and we’ll experience the victory that he has given us over the world.

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1 John 4:1-6

Rev. Erik Veerman

2/19/2023

The Spirit of Truth vs. the Spirit of the Age

Preamble

The Scripture reading for our sermon is from 1 John 4. We’ll be looking at verses 1-6. You can find that on page 1212 in the Bibles.

One difference between the first half of 1 John and the second half of 1 John is its focus. In the first couple of chapters, John gave us foundational truths about Jesus and what true faith looks like. A big part of that was testing our own lives and beliefs.

Well, the second half has been about applying those truths in our lives and the church. That’s what our verses this morning do. And they intersect two themes already covered: (1) our beliefs about Jesus and (2) the influence from the world. The difference is, rather than asking us to test our own beliefs and lives, the apostle John reveals how to test what’s being taught in the church. Is the teaching from the Holy Spirit and true, or is the teaching from the world and false? We’re talking about core matters of faith.

Now, you may remember. At the end of chapter 2 when we looked at the doctrine test, I made you a promise. I said when we get to these verses in chapter 4, I would get specific on worldly philosophies that are infiltrating the church today. We’ll consider those in the second half of today’s sermon.

Let’s now come to God’s Word.

Please stand as you are able. Several of you have been memorizing this chapter, so let’s read it together. Feel free to look on or try saying it by memory.

As a reminder, this is God’s inspired and authoritative Word given to us.

1 John 4:1-6 - together

Prayer

Brushing your teeth is bad for your health. Think about it. Every time you brush, you are wearing down the enamel that protects your teeth and nerves. Furthermore, toothpaste is toxic to your teeth. Fluoride is a corrosive chemical. Not only are you subjecting it to your teeth, but you are introducing it into your body. Brushing your teeth is merely a marketing scheme by big pharma.

In 1961, Dr. William McGuire conducted a study on persuasion. His topic was brushing your teeth. His goal was to see how easily we are deceived and how to prevent it. One of his study groups had no warning. Someone came in and began to argue against brushing your teeth. By the end, people felt sheltered by their families and duped by society. This group couldn’t believe they used to think brushing your teeth was good.

Another group of people were prepared beforehand. They were given positives for brushing your teeth and they were told of possible arguments against brushing your teeth. Later when someone argued against brushing, this group was able to discern truth from error.

That’s what the apostle John is doing here. He’s teaching his church how to know what’s true and how to know what’s false. Yes, he’s addressing false teaching that had already infiltrated the church, but he also wants them to be prepared for the future.

That’s my goal for this morning. To give you principles from this text to discern core matters of truth from error. And to analyze our current cultural moment and some worldly philosophies that have infiltrated the church.

Before we get there, we have to understand what John is saying and why he is saying it.

As I read, you probably noticed that word “spirit.” It’s used 8 times in these 6 verses. Two of the times it’s referring to the Holy Spirit. Capital “S” spirit. The Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one whom God the Father gives us, through Christ, who testifies to the truth and brings comfort and conviction. He’s called in Scripture the Spirit of Truth. That’s what he’s called here along with the Spirit of God. He’s called elsewhere the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Helper, and the Comforter.

In contrast, in these verses, is the spirit of error. Lowercase “s.” It’s not referring to any specific person. Rather, it’s referring to teaching that claims to be from God. The sense we get is that false teachers were going around claiming to have a word from the spirit. But in reality, they were teaching falsehood.

Now, put yourselves in the shoes of John’s audience. They had heard contradictory teaching. Both sides claiming to be from the Holy Spirit. How were they to know what was true and what was false? That is why John is using the language “testing the spirits.” Testing to see whether the teaching is from the Holy Spirit or whether the teaching is from the spirit of error. It’s not from God, but rather it’s from the “world.”

That’s another word that is used multiple times in these verses. The word “world.” Six times in these 6 verses, especially in verses 4 and 5.

In fact, the word “world” is one of the apostle John’s favorite words. But he uses it in different ways! Let me give you a couple of examples. In the Gospel of John chapter 1:10, John writes “He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” There are two uses right there. Jesus was in the world, meaning earth. The world was made through him, very similar - world meaning all of God creation. But then it says, yet the “world” did not know him. There, he’s referring to the people in the world.

Or as a contrast, take John 3:16 and 17. A very well-known passage. It begins, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son.” In that context, John is using the word “world” to mean the people in the world whom God loves. Verse 17 confirms that. It continues “For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” There, John is talking about people who would believe in Jesus. In other verses, it’s quite the opposite. He talks about judging the world and the rulers of the world who will be cast out. In those cases, it’s the world’s systems and beliefs, which are opposed to God in Christ. So, you see, the word “world” is a utility word for John.

Here in these verses, the word “world” is that last definition. It’s the things which are contrary to God. Idols, beliefs, systems, desires, philosophies. Look at verse 5 for example: “They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.” Let me rephrase verse 5 into, “they are from the world’s corrupt systems and ideologies. Therefore they speak from those worldly philosophies and beliefs, and the people in the world who do not know God, listen to them.”

So, to summarize: There’s truth from the Spirit of truth versus error from the spirit of the age – the world. And John tells them, here’s how you discern which is which.

Now, I know, all the parents here want me to say “Brushing your teeth is healthy.” It is! And flossing too, by the way. I just made up some ridiculous arguments against it. But, did some of you wonder for a moment? We are, after all, a susceptible people.

Kids, throughout your life you will have to discern what people are saying and teaching. And we’re not talking about secondary matters. It’s not about brushing your teeth. No, John is talking about core matters of faith and life. You will need to be like the Bereans. In Acts 17, it says they received what the apostles were teaching, but it says they did so “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” You will need to do that throughout your life, and these verses give you some guidance.

Ok. What was the issue at hand? What was John dealing with? Well, we’re told. Right there in verses 2 and 3. “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.”

The problem was, there were people in the church who denied Jesus’ humanity. Saying that he did not come in the flesh. Or maybe that Jesus was not the Christ – not the promised one. Again, we’re talking people in the church in John’s day.

And we’ve already talked about where some of those false beliefs came from. Remember, in John’s day, Gnosticism was on the rise. This worldly philosophy separated the spiritual realm from the material real. Proponents believed their goal was to achieve a heightened spirituality and enlightenment – kind of like an out of body experience. Everything material, including our flesh was corrupted and evil. This worldly thinking was the new kid on the block at the turn of the first century. And it was cool to think about and believe in these things.

As you can imagine, that worldly philosophy began to infiltrate the church. And think of the consequences. For those that bought in to this gnostic belief, if matter was corrupted and evil, then they couldn’t imagine that Jesus came in the flesh. If he did, he would have been corrupted (again, according to them)! Do you see that connection? How this false worldly philosophy had crept in and struck at the essential doctrine of the incarnation?(God becoming flesh) As a result, they denied Jesus humanity or that Christ had even come.

And John says, “no! this belief is not from the Spirit. It is a lie. The Holy Spirit only testifies to the truth of what we, the apostles, taught. And the foundation is that Jesus Christ has come, and he’s come in the flesh.” Matter and the flesh is, in fact, not evil.

We live in a very different context. In John’s day, the canon of the New Testament was yet to be established. The creeds on the Trinity that unified the church were yet to be written. For us, broadly speaking in the church, there is unity surrounding the person of Jesus – his humanity and divinity.

No, in our day, in the church, the winds of secular philosophy blow in different way into the church. But they do the same thing. They strike at the core principles of faith – maybe not Jesus’ humanity or divinity, but they oppose Christ and salvation in other ways. Look down at verse 3. Notice what John says there, “every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.” Opposed to Christ. John is saying, we test beliefs and teaching in the church by evaluating whether they are antichrist. The teaching is against Christ if it distorts or denies (1) the person of Jesus (again, that’s what John was dealing with), (2) sin and the need for salvation in him alone, (3) God’s nature and character, or (4) the life we are called to live. John has written about each of those. Again, if any teaching in the church distorts or denies any of those, it fails John’s test. That is how you will know the Spirit of Truth vs. the Spirit of the Age.

So then, what worldly philosophies today have crept into the church and are seeking to strike at the vitals of the Christian faith?

Here we go. Now, You may feel uneasy with some of the things I am going to say. We can talk more later.

Let me start with an easy one.

About 100 years ago the church was dealing with the winds of modernism. The ideas coming from the Enlightenment that centered on man - that man is the measure of all things. And furthermore, that there’s nothing outside of the universe - it’s all a matter of chance. It took a while for that worldly philosophy to infiltrate the church, but when it did some teaching in the church began to question the physical resurrection of Jesus, question the virgin birth, and question miracles in general. Really, it questioned the supernatural within the natural world. This denial of God’s supernatural work contradicts Scripture and strikes at the vitals of salvation and Christ. It is the spirit of error.

Now, modernism hasn’t gone away, but it’s current impact on the church has waned.

Ok, let’s take another one – a little closer to home.

In post World War 2, there has been a boom of consumerism. Our culture has an almost insatiable appetite for things and entertainment. We live in a world where we click a button and stuff shows up on our doorstep the next day. Security is found in money. Identity is found in what you own. The right doctor can heal almost anything. Broadly as a culture, we long for money, things, and comfort. This philosophy has affected the church by distorting the hope of the Gospel. What Christ has done for us is to reconcile us to God and to give us hope beyond the grave – eternal life. But in certain circles of the visible church, that hope is focused on this life. Some teachers will say, “God wants you to materially prosper in this life.” They say the confirmation of a Godly life is your heath and the ways in which you prosper now.

Brothers and sisters, that distorts the Gospel. It minimizes the suffering of Christ and our comfort in him when we suffer. There’s often very little eternal hope spoken of in this social or prosperity gospel. It also minimizes sin. It is not the Gospel.

To be sure, I’m not advocating minimalism nor a rejection of medicine. But this teaching has turned good things into ultimate things. It is a spirit of error.

Ok, let me take the next two together.

Recently I read an article titled: “What Would Francis Schaeffer Say to Today’s Evangelical Church?” Shaeffer was a Christian philosopher and Presbyterian pastor in the middle of last century. He was masterful at analyzing the culture and the culture’s impact on the church. I’ve referred to Schaeffer before. Now, it’s risky to surmise what someone would say after they’re gone, but I thought the article was well done. It was written by a Schaeffer scholar. The author had worked at the L’Abri study center with the Schaeffers who started it. And this author had started a new L’Abri in England. So he was very qualified.

In Schaeffer’s day, postmodernism was the cool kid on the block. Postmodernism questions truth itself. It pushes an agenda that says your truth is your truth, but it’s not my truth. In response, Schaeffer hammered home the church’s the need to stand for the objective truth of God’s Word and the objective guilt of every man before our holy God. That message still needs to be trumpeted today. There’s still a postmodern relativistic mindset in the world. It has watered down the Scriptures and is a spirit of error.

So, that’s one thing, postmodernism. But today, the bigger ideological impact on the church is experientialism. Relativity has moved from the realm of truth in the mind to our experiences and feelings. And we see that all around us. Our culture says, “if it feels good, do it” or “follow your heart” or “be true to yourself.” The problem is, this expressive individualism denies sin. However, it, in fact, is sin – it’s the sin of pride and self-idolatry. It rejects the very thing that it is - sin. When the winds of this cultural ideology bleed into the church, God’s law is relativized and sin is minimalized. It strips away the core of and need for salvation. It is the spirit of the antichrist.

So, then, what would Francis Schaeffer say today? I think the author is right that Schaeffer “would,” he says, “call [us] to stand for the Truth of Scripture, to not compromise with the current thought of the day, and to proclaim Christ alone as the way, the truth and the life... [and] that everything is not relative, that God’s laws are good and life-giving.”

So, modernism, consumerism, postmodernism, and experiential or expressive individualism – any of these worldly philosophies will compromise the Gospel message of hope in Christ alone. They therefore fail 1 John 4’s test.

I have two more philosophies to highlight.

In our nation, we live with the sins and scars of racism. The pain of our history of slavery and segregation continues today, and racism certainly continues. I’m using that word racism to mean partiality and prejudice against someone else based on the color of their skin, or their cultural, ethnic, or national heritage. The answer to that sin is ultimately the Gospel. Ephesians 2 speaks of true reconciliation in Christ. It says, “For he himself [Jesus] is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two.”

The ultimate hope of reconciliation and peace is found in Christ alone. And the pattern in Scripture is love for God and love for our neighbor which includes repentance and forgiveness.

The answer to the sin of racism is not found in the secular ideology of critical theory, or to use the popular term, critical race theory. The reason I bring it up is because there continues to be a movement in the church to adopt some of its tenants. However, it replaces sin with sin, oppression with oppression, and racism with racism. It has no concept of forgiveness or reconciliation, no understanding of guilt or redemption. None of its solutions to racism remotely resemble the Gospel or hope in Christ, but rather perpetuate sin. This is the spirit of error.

I’m not saying the path is easy to work through the sorrow and suffering of the sins in our nation (now and in the past), but the answer needs to conform to the pattern in Scripture. And ultimately focus on a true understanding of sin and redemption in Christ.

And finally, one more message of the world that I fear is infiltrating the church. Politics. Let me tell you what I mean and tell you what I don’t mean. Our country is so polarized these days. That alone has raised the prominence of partisan politics. Along with that has come a disproportional hope in political solutions.

When that intersects with the church and either parallels the Gospel in importance or displaces the Gospel as the answer to sin and salvation, it’s then that it becomes a message of the world and is a spirit of error.

I am not saying that you should avoid politics. There are important matters, and the Bible speaks to some of the matters that come before our state and federal systems. But even on a personal level, we should not trust in chariots and horses (as Psalm 20 puts it) but rather we should trust in the name of the Lord. It’s a matter of priority and hope.

Well, there you have it.

Let me recap so far and then conclude.

You should brush your teeth.
The apostle John is calling us to test the spirits… test the teaching in the church. Why? He says there are many false prophets that have gone out into the world. There is the Spirit of God who is the Spirit of Truth and there are spirits of error, or spirits of the age which come from the philosophies of the world.
The test is whether they confess the truth of Christ in his person… and I believe, by implication, in his work – the Gospel. Any worldly ideology that denies a core principle of Jesus or salvation is a spirit of error, just like the Gnosticism of the second century.
There are many false philosophies in the world that try to subvert the Gospel. And there will be more tomorrow. We’re called to be discerning by testing them with the Word of God, such as 1 John 4:1-6.

In conclusion, when we focus on Christ in all his fullness and glory and in his Gospel of peace, we are assured that we have the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, in us. When it seems like the world and the devil are encroaching in on the truth and the church, we hope and rest in what verse 4 says.

“Little children,” beloved of God, “you are from God and have overcome them,” now listen… “for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” God has given you his Holy Spirit in you. He is infinitely greater than he who is in the world. Through him, God’s Spirit May we believe the truth of Christ, may we reject the world’s philosophies, and may we rest in his work in us. Amen?

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Hello TPC! Did you miss the service on Sunday? Coleman Erkens preached on 1 John 2:15-17 in his sermon titled, “Knowing that You Know Him: the World Test” Check it out!

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1 John 2:12-14

Rev. Erik Veerman

1/1/2023

Because You Know and You Are

We’re back in the book of 1 John for our sermon text. It’s been a few weeks. Although, it seems like it’s been a few months. I’m glad to have our church move mostly behind us.

By the way, we have some Bible available in the back, if you didn’t pick one up, feel free to do so now. Our reading is from 1 John 2:12-14. It’s found on page 1210 of the provided Bibles.

As you are turning there, let me give you some reminders. The apostle John wrote this letter to his home church. Likely that was the church in Ephesus where he lived. 1 John is one of the last letters written in the New Testament… written at the very end of the first century. John was in his mid-90s at the time. Imagine that. The last living disciple of Jesus. I think you would agree, he was very with it. That comes out in his letter.

Our banner behind me captures the theological heart of John’s letter. It’s from chapter 1. “God is light and in him is no darkness.” John is very clear about (1) who God is and (2) who Jesus is, and John is very clear about what true Christianity looks like. That’s the second part of the quote on our 1 John banner. The call to “walk in the light.” To not walk in darkness. To walk in the light of God and his Gospel.

We’re in the middle of chapter 2 this morning. It’s more of a side comment that John is making. It has some very encouraging reminders for us.

Let’s now turn our attention to God’s Word. This is God’s Holy Word. His sufficient, inspired, and inerrant word. Please stand.

Reading of 1 John 2:12-14

Prayer.

My Christmas gift to Amy this year was a washing machine. It wasn’t a hint. She loves it. In fact, I didn’t buy her a new washing machine. Instead, I bought her a 23-year-old washing machine. Let me borrow the words of verse 7, “I am giving you no new washing machine, but an old washing machine that you had from the very beginning.”

This thing has a very powerful motor in it. When it’s doing its thing, it really agitates your clothes. Especially when you set it for heavy dirt. The most important feature is that you tell it how much water to put in it. If you have a small load but the clothes are really dirty, you can max out the water to get your clothes clean. I think the old adage is true, they don’t make them like they used to.

So far, 1 John has been like a heavy-duty washing machine.

Here’s what I mean: the church at the time was living in the gap. It was around the turn of the first century. It had been about 65 years since Jesus walked on the earth. All the apostles, except John had passed into glory. But at the same time, the New Testament had yet to be formed. Some letters and a couple of the historical accounts of Jesus life had begun circulating, but there was a void.

As a result, two kinds of corruption began to emerge in the church. First, false beliefs about God, about Jesus, and about salvation. Because there was no the New Testament yet to evaluate truth from error, multiple perversions of the truth began to emerge.

The second corruption in the church was about their living. Their words and action were not lining up with true belief.

This must have pained the apostle John so much. He had spent three years with Jesus. He heard and he witnessed the Word made flesh, as he calls Jesus in chapter 1. John had seen Jesus demonstrate what it means to follow him.

John knew that the church needed to be cleansed from the impurities. There were false teachers and false witnesses that needed to be dealt with. But think about it. That’s complicated. John needed to call out false beliefs and practice, while, at the same time, build up the true believers and their desire to practice righteousness.

To do that, John puts the church into the washing machine of sorts. That is this letter. The church needed to be cleansed from false belief and practice. So John needed to be very clear. This is what is true, this is what is false. Evaluate your own life.

We are in the middle of four life tests. We’ve already looked at test #1 - the tests of obedience. Remember that one? The beginning of chapter 2. The call to keep God’s Word and his commandments.

We’ve also considered test #2 – the test of love. That’s verses 7-11. The call to love your brothers and sisters. Remember that test? A true believer who is walking in the light, seeks to love others.

To be sure, John has been really clear that we all still sin. What John is saying is that these tests of true faith is demonstrated by your heart’s desire to pursue these things and demonstrating that desire.

Let me go back to the washing machine. It’s like we’ve been in the agitation stage. You know how that works. Your dirty clothes get immersed in soapy water. And then the washing machine stirs them, agitates them… the goal is loosen up the dirt … that’s how clothes get clean. Imagine being a piece of clothing. John has been stirring you up… in a good way, mind you. He wants to dig deep into your life. He wants you to evaluate your heart and mind. But you may feel a little shaken.

And that’s where verses 12-14 come in. This is the soaking phase. The last thing that the apostle wants to do for a true believer is take away your assurance of faith. No, one of his main points is to assure you if you truly know him. But his straight-forward-ness has been a little jolting. So now, John wants you to soak in the true Gospel. He wants you to embrace God and be reminded of his forgiveness.

Now, John is going to turn the agitator back on. Next week will be the third life test – the test of the world. The week after next will be the fourth life test – the test of doctrine. But before the motor spins back up, John wants to soak you in the soapy water of the Gospel. He wants to assure you, believer in Jesus, of God’s grace. He wants the Gospel to seep deep into the core of your being. He wants you to stand firm on its truth and its grace.

That’s what these verses are about. To build you up and remind you of God’s grace. Isn’t this a great message for New Year’s day?

Ok, let’s focus in on these verses. And let’s consider them from two angles. Two points that summarize John’s message here.

First, Knowing of Your Security - That’s a big emphasis in this book. The assurance of God for those who know the light and walk in the light. Again, number 1 knowing of your security.

And second, Growing in Your Maturity - There’s a progression here in these verses. A spiritual maturity that is presented. It gives us a vision for what God will do in us as we spiritually mature in him. So that’s number two. Growing in your mature.

Again, number one, knowing of your security. And number two, growing in your maturity.

Knowing of Your Security

So, let’s jump in to that first point.

One thing that is very apparent in John’s writings, is that he is really pastoral. He loves those to whom he is writing. He calls them beloved many times. They are his spiritual children. Multiple times in this book, he calls them children. God’s children, his children. He’s not saying they are immature; he’s saying they are his beloved spiritual offspring. God’s children. He wants them to know that God loves them. These verses are the epitome of John’s expression of his love and care.

And besides children, he calls them young men and fathers. To be sure, this is not John just writing to the men in the church. Rather, these are terms that are broadly applicable to both men and women. It’s like the word “brothers” which is used in several New Testament letters. Even though it’s a masculine tense, it refers to brother and sister in Christ.

It’s the same idea here. Fathers and mothers in the faith. Young men and young women in the faith. It’s a very personal appeal to the faithful believers. And these are words not just for John’s original audience. No, they are words for you, believer in Jesus. Words for me. Words for us to hold on to, dearly. Words to build us up. To give us the surety of faith in Christ.

Now, look at the verses here. There are six “because” statements here. John is writing because of this reason. And because of that reason. And because of another reason. There is a progression here. We’re going to get into that progression in point number 2. But for now, I want you to notice two general categories, two general reasons why John wrote this letter.

Knowing and receiving.

That word “know” is repeated three times. I write to you because you “know him who is from the beginning.” That is repeated in verses 13 and 14. It’s referring to Jesus. John is pointing back to the very opening verse of his letter! He spoke of Jesus, whom John said was “from the beginning.“ He was saying there that if you know Christ, you know the eternal life that is found in him alone. If you know Jesus, you know the word made flesh who was from the beginning.

But John also adds, “I am writing to you… because you know the Father.” It’s not just the Son of God that you know, you know God the Father. The providential, loving Father who superintends all things for his glory and your good.

I write to you because you truly know God. You know Jesus and you know his heavenly Father.

And the benefits of truly knowing God is what you receive in him. What he has given you. In other words, your status in him. That’s the other general reason why John wrote this letter.

You see it right there in verse 12. I write to you “because your sins are forgiven.” Your status is forgiven. Freed. Redeemed. Restored. Delivered. Rescued. You are no longer under the weight of sin and its consequences. You are forgiven for Jesus’ sake.

Then twice John adds, “I am writing…because you have overcome the evil one.” That is another part of the blessing and benefit of knowing God in Christ. The great enemy of the faith no longer has dominion over you. You are more than conquerors in him.

So, your status is forgiven and you have overcome the evil one… And both of those come through what Jesus has done for you. His atoning sacrificial payment for your sin is how you are forgiven. His conquering of death through his resurrection is how you have overcome the evil one.

What John is saying is that you can rest assured in the finished work of Christ.

Jesus himself put it this way, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Beloved in Christ, you know this Jesus, you know his Father. And because of that, you are his, forever. Forgiven and assured that the great enemy of God, the devil himself, will never overcome you.

And there’s something endearing about the repetition here.

I was thinking about the movie Good Will Hunting. Matt Damon plays a young man named Will. He’s had a rough life. He was physically abused by his father. He’s brilliant, but very rough around the edges and of course, has deep-seated pain and mistrust. Will’s counsellor, Sean, is played by Robin Williams. He’s a father figure but himself was abused as a child. So, he has a level of understanding. Probably the most well-known scene of the movie is when the counsellor Sean tells Will that it is “not his fault.” …what happened to him. Will responds “yeah, I know.” Sean says it again, “it’s not your fault.” Again, Will responds, “yeah, I know” Again, “It’s not your fault” …“I know, stop messing with me” Will starts to get angry. But yet Sean moves closer and closer to him and again says “It’s not your fault.” Over and over. Finally, Will breaks down in tears and they embrace.

You see, Will knew the answer, but he hadn’t fully believed it.

I am writing to you, beloved, because you know Jesus.

I am writing to you, dear ones, because you know the Father.

I am writing to you, my children, because your sins are forgiven.

Hear me. I write to you. Notice the change in verb tense in the middle of verse 13. John is emphasizing his point.

I write to you because you know Jesus, you know the Father, you are forgiven. You have overcome the evil one. Be confident that you know him, and rest in his security forever.

Is your assurance just something you repeat because someone told you that you have assurance? Or do you believe that you are secure in Christ. If you know him, he abides in you and you in him. And he will never let you go.

It’s like John is saying this: “I’m not writing to shake your faith. I’m not writing for you to question your faith. No, rather, I am writing because I want you to have the utmost confidence in God. I know that my words so far have been strongly worded. But beloved in Christ, they needed to be strongly worded. Your fellowship has been infected with beliefs contrary to the truth of God in Christ. And some in your fellowship are not displaying lives that reflect true faith in Christ. But for those of you who know Christ Jesus, who believe in the forgiveness of sins through him. You are his. He is yours. Nothing can take that away!”

You are secure in him.

Knowing of your security.

Growing in Your Maturity

And that bring us to point number 2. Growing in your maturity.

There’s something that happens in you the more and more you know that you are secure in Christ. And it’s this: you grow in your spiritual maturity in him.

Let’s take a step back for a minute. The three categories of people that John is addressing are children – little children, it says here, young men, which includes young women, and fathers, which includes mothers.

I do not believe these are referencing someone’s age, or whether they have children. No, rather, I believe these categories are referring to someone’s spiritual maturity. Children in the faith. Young men and young women who are growing in their spiritual maturity. And fathers and mothers of the faith. Not necessarily people who have had children, but spiritual fathers, spiritual mothers.

For children, those young in the faith, John writes two things. “Your sins are forgiven” and “you know the Father.” These are two things that new believers are often overjoyed with. The amazing forgiveness of God and how God is a loving Father. Maybe you are a new believer in Christ. You came to him because of the love with which the Father loved you in giving his son for you, to redeem you. Or maybe you look back and you remember those feelings of joy knowing God’s forgiveness in Christ and the deep sense of the Father’s embrace. These are some of the first things that we experience as new believers. God, our loving Father, and the forgiveness we have in His son.

But as you mature in your faith, God gives you more. Look at the description of young men. First, John writes – “you have overcome the evil one.” He says that twice for young men. It’s also there at the very end of verse 14. You see, the great enemy of faith, the devil, does not want you to mature in your faith. No, he will attack you. He wants you to question your faith. He will tempt you to fall back into patterns of sin. The mark of a maturing believer is overcoming those temptation. Notice how John puts it in verse 14. “You are strong.” In other words, you’ve begun to demonstrate your faith. And he adds, “the Word of God abides in you.” That is where a maturing believer goes… to God’s Word. It is the mark of a maturing faith. A desire to know God’s Word more and more. The Scriptures will direct you in evaluating truth from error, instruct you in how to pursue Godliness in your life, and remind you of God’s grace and assurance over and over. Maturing believers in Christ display a growing strength of faith, overcoming temptations, and display a growing desire to know God’s Word.

So, first children in the faith and second young and maturing believers. And the third category is fathers in the faith. Mature Christians. By the way, kids, you don’t have to be old as dirt to be in this category. It does take time, to be sure. Years… perhaps decades. As you grow and mature in your faith, you will demonstrate your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, you will show your desire to pursue God and his Word, you will display a willingness to be discipled by others in the faith, including your parents. Then over time, you will grow into a father or mother in the faith. You will become one who nurtures others and cares for them in the faith.

Notice there’s just one phrase associated with these fathers in the faith. It’s mentioned twice: “you know him who is from the beginning.” Now, that may seem simple…. but I want to suggest it is rich and deep.

I’ve already mentioned that it refers to the opening of the letter. In those words, John has given us a full description of Christ - the fulness of his deity as God; the amazing testimony of the incarnation – the Word made flesh; John calls Jesus the Word of life because he brings eternal life. It tells us of the fellowship of God within the Trinity, and the breadth of God’s ministry through Christ as light.

Do you see?

•The more and more we mature as believers, the more and more deeply we understand and know God in Christ… in all the wonder and amazement of his person and work, his being and presence; his glory and power.

•The more and more we know his Word the more and more we know him as the Word.

•The more and more we understand the atoning work of the cross, the more and more we are amazed at the undeserved grace we have in him.

•And the more and more we mature in him, the more and more assurance we derive from him, through all of life, in the joys and sorrows, the grief and hope… looking to him, the author and perfector of our faith. Who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father.

What an exciting thing to look forward to as you mature in your faith. To know him more and more. Beloved in Christ, this maturity in him is for you.

You see, the assurance that John is writing to you about is paired with the blessing of maturity that you can have in him.

As you seek him more and more through his Word, living in his grace, he will bless you with a deepening maturity in him.

Know of your security, but also grow in your maturity.

Conclusion

Well, the apostle John is about to turn the dial again… back to the agitator. And pretty soon after that, the spin cycle.

But through it all, his desire is to cleanse the church, to purify her as a bride ready for her savior – the bridegroom, Jesus himself.

So, as we continue to be challenged in our beliefs, in our lives and action…. may we know that it is for our good, and God’s glory. And may we also be assured… believer in Christ, may you rest secure because you know God in Christ and you are forgiven and redeemed in him. Amen?

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Hello TPC! Did you miss the homily on Sunday? Peter Van Wyk preached on 1 Peter 3:8-22 in his Christmas message titled, “Reason, Hope, and Jesus” Check it out!

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Rev. Erik Veerman

12/18/2022

Matthew 1:18-25

A Savior who Is God with Us

Our sermon text this morning is from Matthew chapter 1, verses 18-25. You can find that on page 959 in the pew Bible.

Last week we looked at the first 17 verses. In the very first verse, Matthew claimed that Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah. And if you’ll remember, Matthew’s main audience was Jewish. That claim would have been very significant to his audience. After all, they had been waiting for the promised savior.

And, think about this, they would have had a ton of questions. How can we know for sure Jesus was the Messiah? Did he fulfill the covenant promises? Did the prophecies come true? In other words, prove it!

After making the claim that Jesus was the Christ, Matthew had a lot to prove.

And I think you and I would have had just as many questions.

Verses 1-17 answered the human and natural lineage of Jesus.

As we now turn to verses 18-25, Matthew explain Jesus’ divine nature and supernatural lineage – his incarnation.

As I read, I want you to think about Joseph. What was he going through and thinking when he found out Mary was pregnant? What changed his mind? And how did he respond?

Let’s now turn our attention to God’s Word.

Stand

Reading of Matthew 1:18-25

Prayer

Over the last 100 years, the virgin birth has drawn some of the most intense critiques directed at Christianity.

By the way, we say virgin birth… what we mean is that Jesus was conceived in Mary by God. Mary was still a virgin.

And if you think about it, from a mere human perspective, it is quite unbelievable. Absurd even. Biologically impossible.

Yet, the birth of Jesus by the virgin Mary is considered an indispensable part of the Christian faith. I would put it up there with the resurrection as the two supernatural events upon which Christianity stands or falls.

Can it really be true? Could Mary really become pregnant as a virgin?

I was reading an article this week about that very question. The author quoted CS Lewis, who was grappling with that same question. What would it take for a supernatural event to occur, like the virgin birth? Well, it would take a supernatural God.

You see, if all that existed was mere matter, if the laws of nature, as we call them, governed everything, then of course, we would have no expectation or hope that a virgin could conceive.

But if on the other hand, if God does exist. If he is the creator of all things, sovereign over all things, as the Scriptures claim, then what would prevent him from bringing about a miracle in his creation?

CS Lewis was saying, if God is God, then he most certainly could accomplish something outside of the ordinary and natural processes.

We read Matthew’s account of Jesus birth, which focuses on Joseph. In Luke’s account, he focuses on Mary. And when the angel tells Mary that she will conceive in her womb and bear a son, she asks the natural question, “How can this be so, since I am a virgin?” And how does the angel answer her? “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you…” And the angel says, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Really, it’s the question of plausibility. Could it have happened? And I think you would have to agree, yes. If God is the creator of all things. If he set in motion the stars and planets. If he created time and space itself. If he sustains it all through his all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present character, then there’s nothing outside of his ability, that he could not cause to come to pass.

And that of course, includes conceiving a child in the womb of a virgin.

But it’s one thing to intellectually ascent to that possibility, it’s another to believe that it happened. If a pregnant woman today claimed to be a virgin, what would you think? I think I know what you would think.

So now, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of Joseph. Because that is exactly the situation he’s in. He believed in God. If someone asked him, could God cause a virgin to conceive? He would answer, “yes.” God could certainly do that. He is God, after all. However, like us, Joseph was living in the normal order of things all around him. He had no sense, at the time, of the special role that he and Mary would play in redemptive history.

Now, before we work through the situation, let’s consider some cultural similarities and differences.

Today, when a couple gets engaged, they are both agreeing to get married. And there’s an engagement ring to symbolize that commitment. If they break up, it hurts and it’s painful, but they each move on.

In Jewish culture back then, a betrothal was much more formal. In order to break off a betrothal, the couple had to get a formal divorce. In fact, a betrothed couple was called husband and wife. You see that right there in verse 24. Mary is called Joseph’s wife even though they were not yet married. Now, to be sure, they were not to physically consummate their relationship until marriage. Scriptural was and is clear about that.

So Mary and Joseph were betrothed.

But then tragedy from Joseph’s perspective. Mary had become pregnant. Now, an angel had spoken to her. He told her she would conceive a child, but she had yet to tell Joseph.

From an outsider’s perspective looking in at Mary and Joseph, there were only two possibilities. The most likely was that Joseph was the father of the baby growing in Mary. Of course, that would be the natural assumption. The only other possibility was that Mary has been with another man. Unfaithful.

Either case would have been scandalous. Shame would have come on them and their families. It wasn’t practiced at the time, but the law allowed stoning of the unfaithful party. That’s how serious it was.

From Joseph’s perspective, there was only one possibility. Joseph knew that he was not the father.

Imagine the burden and weight on him. The hurt. Mary, whom he loved, had rejected him in unfaithfulness. She had betrayed him.

Joseph could have made this very public. He could have sought to save his reputation. He could have directed the shame on Mary. But in verse 19, we’re told, no. That was not the kind of man he was. As much as the situation pained him, he was a righteous man. He wanted to divorce her quietly. Joseph still loved Mary despite what he thought she did.

But then, it all changed.

An angel appeared to him. And here’s what the angel said to Joseph. “Joseph, son of David….” Even that spoke volumes. Joseph’s earthly father was named Jacob. Joseph would have been called son of Jacob. But the angel goes back into Joseph’s heritage to remind him of his ancestral line. You are a descendant of king David. And the angel continued, “do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

Up to this point in Joseph’s mind, there had been no third option for how Mary could have become pregnant. But all of that changed when the angel spoke to Joseph.

One of the things that the angel said, was that Joseph should name the child “Jesus.”

Now, we’ll come back to what that name means. We’ll also come back to Matthew’s commentary on Jesus birth.

But first, how did Joseph respond? After all, the angel was telling him that God had done something supernatural. Something way beyond what Joseph could ever imagine. The angel was saying that indeed Mary was still a virgin. That the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. In other words, God himself, through the work of his Spirit, supernaturally caused Mary to become pregnant. God brought about this miracle.

How did Joseph respond to that message? Jump down to verse 24. “When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Joseph’s response was immediate. He didn’t hesitate. In other words, he demonstrated his belief by following through with the angel’s command.

Joseph demonstrated that in two ways.

•First, Joseph remained with Mary. He took her as his wife. He did not quietly divorce her as he had considered. And there’s an important note there in verse 25, “he knew her not until she had given birth to a son.” That phrase “know her not” implies they did not consummate the relationship until after Jesus was born. He remained faithful to God and faithful to Mary.

•The second way that Joseph demonstrated his belief was naming the child. That would have been his responsibility as the man. Joseph named the baby “Jesus,” just as the angel had commanded.

In a way, Joseph is an example for Matthew’s audience. Joseph had gone from seeing the situation as heartbreaking, to hearing the word of God through the angel, to then believing and embracing Mary’s child as from God.

This is how Matthew wanted his readers to respond. If they had heard of Jesus before, likely they would have thought he was a problem. Jesus had, after all, caused a split in Judaism – a new sect had started. But Matthew wanted his readers see and know the truth. Jesus coming was not an unfortunate situation, like the unfortunate situation that Joseph thought he was in. Rather, Jesus was the fulfillment of what they had been waiting for. Matthew wanted them to understand and believe - understand that this baby was conceived by God himself, but more importantly to believe… believe that this child was and is the savior.

The first part of Matthew’s argument concerned the virgin birth. The second part involved the names of this child. And he gives us 2 names here: Jesus and Immanuel.

Verse 21, the angels tells Joseph, “[Mary] will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” We hear that and the question we ask is, how does the name Jesus connect with saving people from their sins? To us, Jesus is just a name. However, to a Jew at the time, the name Jesus had significant meaning. Jesus is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Jeshua. Or Joshua. So, Joseph would have connected in his mind the Greek name Jesus (or Iesous) with the Hebrew Jeshua. Translated it means Jehovah is salvation. Or the Lord is salvation. That’s why the angel said, “for he will save his people from their sins.”

The angel was explaining the meaning of Jesus name and how he would fulfill that name. It’s like the angel was saying this: “you shall call his name the Lord is salvation, for he will save his people from their sins”

I was reading a commentary this week… just to get a better understanding of Jesus name. I really liked how this one commentator, William Hendrickson, described Jesus’ salvation.

He put it this way, “to be saved means a. [first] to be emancipated from the greatest evil: the guilt, pollution, power, and punishment of sin; and b [second] to be placed in possession of the greatest good.” Hendrickson goes on “…One cannot be saved from something without also being saved for something: true happiness, the peace of God that transcends all understanding, freedom, joy unspeakable and full of glory, answered prayers, effective witness bearing, assurance of salvation, etc”

That is the “salvation from” and “salvation for” which this Child, Jeshua (Jesus) will bring.

You may be thinking. “Ok, but the angel didn’t actually include the part about what we’re being saved for.” That’s a fair point, but that’s where the prophecy comes in – verses 22 and 23. The second name mentioned, Immanuel, means, as Matthew highlights, “God with us.” Jesus will save and through him, God will be with us.

Verse 23 there is first of about 40 Old Testament quotes that Matthew includes in the book. And there’s a pattern. Look at verse 22. “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet”

That phrase, “to fulfill what the Lord has spoken,” is used multiple times in Matthew’s Gospel. Other places say, “you have heard that it was said” or “for it is written by the prophet.” Matthew is very intentional to point his reader back to the Old Testament. And I want to point out this. Notice it says, “to fulfill what the Lord has spoken through the prophet.” Even though the words are penned by the prophet, God is the one speaking. Matthew is reminding us that it is God’s Word.

Ok, verse 23 is a quote from the prophet Isaiah chapter 7. If you have been to advent or Christmas eve services, you’ve no doubt heard this prophecy many times. We read a large part of the chapter earlier in the service.

There’s not enough time to give a full explanation of Isaiah 7. But let me give you the short summary. Ahaz was the king of Judah in Jerusalem. By the way, Ahaz is listed up there in Matthew 1 verse 7. He’s in the lineage of Jesus. At the time, Judah was being threatened in the north by Israel (the northern kingdom) and by Syria. The prophet Isaiah called on king Ahaz to trust in the Lord and ask him for a sign. However, Ahaz refused both. In fact, Ahaz mocked the prophet Isaiah, and then made an unholy alignment with the nation of Assyria. In other words, Ahaz didn’t trust in God’s protection, instead, he put his trust in man’s strength – a pagan nation at that.

Isaiah 7 is a judgment on Judah because of Ahaz. Even Assyria, whom Ahaz trusted, would turn on Judah. But yet, in the midst of God’s prophecy of judgment, God nonetheless gives his people hope. And he does it with this sign. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.”

Matthew is saying that this child conceived in the virgin Mary, is the fulfillment of Isaiah. This Child will be God with us.

And there’s a critical connection between the virgin birth and the name Immanuel – God with us.

This child, Jesus, is not descended through ordinary generation. He does not have an earthly father, yet he has an earthly mother. That means that he has two natures, God and man. He is truly Immanuel, God with us. Truly God, but also truly man. The God of the universe came down to us. He knows our weakness, understands our sorrow, and temptation. Jesus is Immanuel.

Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century pastor put it this way: “Emmanuel, God [means] with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and [and Spurgeon includes] Second Advent splendor [ when he will come again]”

This child, born of the virgin Mary, the one whom we celebrate each advent. He is Jeshua – Jesus, savior, and he is Immanuel, the sign of Isaiah 7 fulfilled. God with us in the flesh.

And this is just the beginning of Matthew’s case. Through the rest of his book, he reveals many other ways in which Jesus fulfilled God’s promises and prophecies. But it all begins with virgin birth. Without it, there is no Immanuel – God with us. Without the virgin birth, there is no salvation, because there would be no God in human flesh.

But as the angel revealed to Joseph, Mary’s child was indeed conceived by the Holy Spirit, and Joseph believed.

Let me summarize everything so far:

1.First, the virgin birth of Jesus is one of the most contested beliefs of the Christian faith. Yet nothing is impossible with God, the all-powerful creator of all things.

2.Second, Joseph himself was confronted by the reality of Mary’s pregnancy. Yet before he could divorce her, the angel revealed that this Child was no ordinary child. No, he was conceived through the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary.

3.Third, this child was to be called Jesus - savior. And he was and is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Through the virgin birth, this child would be God with us.

4.And fourth, in all of this, Joseph believed. And just as he believed, so Matthew wanted his Jewish readers to believe as well.

For those of you that believe as Joseph believed, you have the great hope that God is with you. Right before Jesus ascended to heaven, he said “behold, I will be with you to the end of the age.” Immanuel, God with us, was not a one-time thing during Jesus’ life on earth. Rather, he is with you now. In times of joy and in times of sadness, pain, struggle, and sin, you can come to him and know that he is with you.

For those of you unsure about the virgin birth of Jesus, uncertain about Christianity. Would you believe as Joseph believed?

Ask yourself, what is holding me back from believing?

•Is it the seeming irrationality of the virgin birth? Could not God, creator of the universe, accomplish it.

•Is it that you don’t know God, or that you don’t know how to know God? Come to Immanuel – he knows you and desires for you to know him.

•Or Is it thinking of Christianity as a rules-based religion and you fear you would fail at every turn? Well, Jeshua is the answer. Jesus is salvation. The answer is not that we work our way up to God, but that he has come down to us.

As the angel said, “he will save his people from their sin.” He desires you to be one of his people. The very reason that he was born was to be savior. At the end of his earthly life, he gave his life so that you may be saved in him. And when you believe, God will be your Immanuel, God with you. All the blessings of Immanuel will be yours in him. The presence, the comfort, and the sustaining grace of God in Jesus for you.

Pray

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Matthew 1:1-17

Rev. Erik Veerman

12/11/2022

The Lineage of the Promised Savior

Given that it’s advent season, this Sunday and next Sunday we’ll be considering the book of Matthew, chapter 1. You can find that on page 977 in the pew Bibles.

As you are turning there, let me give you a quick background. Matthew was one of Jesus’ disciples and he wrote this account of the life and ministry of Jesus. We call it the Gospel of Matthew. It’s one of four testimonies about Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each was written for a different purpose and audience. The Gospel of Matthew was written to a Jewish audience. One reason we know that is there are roughly 40 direct Old Testament references. That’s a lot more than the other Gospel accounts.

We’ll begin with the first 17 verses. Please stand.

Reading of Matthew 1:1-17

Prayer

Once upon a time there was a kind and beautiful girl, whose name was Cinderella… and you know the rest of the story.

Or, once upon a time there was a poor widow and her son Jack… who had 5 magic beans. … and you know the rest of the story.

Or how about this one: Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away… and you know the story. I can’t say you know the rest of the story, because it seems to be never ending!

We hear those word, “once upon a time” and we know, it’s the script of fairy tales… of fables with far-fetched plots, or other fictional stories. We’re transported to far-off lands, other worldly settings, wicked witches, magic bean stalks, light sabers, elves, and dwarfs.

“It’s the stuff of dreams” as the saying goes. There’s no illusion about them. They are fun, made-up stories that stir our imagination.

What a contrast to the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel. Really a contrast to all of the Gospel accounts, but especially Matthew. It doesn’t begin with “once upon a time.” In no way does it set the stage for some mythical tale. No, rather, Matthew begins with real people, real history. Fathers and mothers, sons and daughter.

One of the underlying messages is that this is true. It is history. It’s legitimate. Matthew is saying that this is not a contrived story about a fictional man. No, Jesus’ birth, his life, his death, his resurrection are real events. Let me put it this way, they are the center of all of history.

Now, some of you may not be familiar with many of these names. Others of you may very well know their stories. I’ll touch upon some of their situations as we work through this.

But I want you to put yourself in the mind of first century Jew. Imagine you are living somewhere in the Mediterranean region. You know the history of your forefathers. You’ve studied Moses and the prophets. You are intimately familiar with the God’s promises. You’ve read the accounts of the judges and kings over and over. And you believe in the coming of a Messiah – a promised king.

But maybe… maybe you’ve never heard of Jesus before. Or perhaps if you have, it’s only been in passing. Something about a wise Rabi who caused a stir.

Then someone gives you a scroll. It contains this Gospel account. And you begin to read it. And from the very first words, you are captivated.

You see, our 21st century, non-Jewish eyes tend to gloss over when we read lists of names in the Scriptures. Am I right? …but to a faithful Jewish audience, each word and each name here is full of meaning and history.

And my goal this morning is to explore some of that meaning and history and how it relates to Jesus and to us.

Before we begin, though, let me try to answer a common question. What’s the difference between this genealogy, and the genealogy listed in Luke chapter 3?

This genealogy in Matthew chapter 1 is a genealogy of Jesus through Joseph. Joseph was Mary’s husband. Mary, the mother of Jesus. Even though Joseph wasn’t Jesus’ father by blood, yet Joseph was considered Jesus’ earthly father. And the paternal line was very important in a Jewish family, so Matthew begins there. Some call this the royal line of Jesus. It includes the formal kingly descendants leading to Joseph. That’s different from Luke chapter 3. There, you will see the genealogy diverges after king David. It tracks the legal descendants down to Jesus. In other words, the first-born sons leading to Jesus versus the royal descends in Matthew. There are often multiple paths in a family tree to an ancestor. Some believe Luke gives us the maternal ancestry through Mary. That possible as well.

I didn’t want to leave that question unanswered

But let’s get into this family tree. And to give us some structure, let’s consider three points.

Trust the Sovereign Lord
Believe in the Promised King
Behold the Savior of Sinners

All of these have to do with what God is conveying in these opening verses.

•Trust the sovereign Lord – God ordained it all from the beginning

•Believe in the Promised King – God promised a son would be born. He would be an eternal king and a blessing to the nations.

•Behold the Savior of Sinners – There’s a lot of messiness in these generations and it demonstrates the kind of salvation that Jesus brings.

Trust the Sovereign Lord

So first, trust the sovereign Lord.

To the astute Jewish reader, even the opening five words had significance. It says, “The book of the genealogy.” Sound a little boring, but that phrase is very similar to the phrase used in Genesis chapter 2 verse 4. Genesis is the first book of the Bible and deals with creation. In Genesis 2:4, it reads, “These are the generations [and it continues] of the heavens and the earth when they were created.” In fact, Matthew’s opening words in Greek are identical to the early Greek translation of Genesis 2:4. Matthews’s readers would have known that translation. And it’s not just Genesis 2:4. Genesis 5:1 also begins with the same phrase. “This is the book of the generations of Adam.”

So, even though Matthew begins his genealogy with Abraham, the opening words are an allusion to the creation account.

Let me put it this way: these first 17 verses summarize the history of God’s people up to that point. From creation to Israel’s forefathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) to the kings (David and Solomon), and to the exile, when Babylon overthrew Judah and Jerusalem.

In other words, the birth of Jesus connects to all of Israel’s history up to that point.

And if you jump down to verse 17, it tells us that there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David… fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian exile… and fourteen generations from the exile to Christ.

That number 14 is significant because it represents the number 7 times 2. The number 7 in Scripture is the number of completeness. That also goes back to creation – the seven creation days. And when you add multiples to any significant numbers, it merely emphasizes the message. 7 times 2, 7 times 2, 7 times 2. Matthew is saying, God’s plan is being fulfilled in Jesus.

Now, some may argue that it’s not exactly 14 generation between each. For example, notice Jeconiah is listed as last in the generation before the exile (verse 11) and he’s listed again as first in the generations in the exile (verse 12). Well, the reason he’s included in both is that he belongs in both. He was the last generation of kings before the exile, and he was the first generation in the exile.

Here’s the point: Matthew is conveying that it was all planned out; It was all in God’s sovereign plan from creation; it was a perfectly complete plan. Each step, each generation, worked out precisely in the way that God intended in sending his Son.

That plan was established before creation, and it reached it’s climax in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

What Matthew is doing is pointing us to God, to Yahweh… pointing us to the one true God, who oversees and superintends all things.

Jesus’ birth wasn’t a reactionary decision on God’s part. Rather he planned it all and he is accomplishing that plan through Jesus. For Matthew’s readers and us, this is not a human invention, it’s not a “once upon a time” fictional story, but rather, the very God of the universe worked in history to fulfill his plan in his perfect time.

Isn’t that amazing to consider? We worship a God who works everything according to his perfect plan in his perfect time. We’ll see in a minute that God plan is worked out even through the struggle of sin and suffering. God is sovereign over it all. Trust the sovereign Lord.

Believe in the Promised King

And that brings us to point number 2 - Believe in the Promised King. That is the second thing that these verses highlight. So, we’re going from God’s sovereignty in orchestrating it all, to now how God communicated his plan.

You see, the coming of Jesus was not something out of the blue. No, God had been preparing his people for generation upon generation. God communicated over and over that he would send a savior. And he revealed that plan to his people.

He did that in multiple ways, but one of the main ways that God communicated his plan was through promises. Scripture calls them covenants. A covenant is an agreement that God established with his people. They defined his relationship with them. You could say they are relational contracts. God’s covenants with his people include future promises that God would fulfill. And God established these covenant promises through representatives.

Now, the reason I’m telling you all this is look again at verse 1. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Those words speak directly to Jesus fulfilling God’s covenant promises.

•Notice it doesn’t just say, the genealogy of Jesus. Rather, the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The word Christ is a title. It is the word for the anointed one, or the promised one. Matthew is stating right up front that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

•And add to that, Matthew calls Jesus, “son of Abraham” and “son of David” (referring to king David). The reason that’s significant is that Abraham and David were two of the primary covenant representatives. Abraham was the patriarch of Israel. The father of God’s people. And David was king of Israel. Not Israel’s first king. That was Saul. But rather David was the king after God’s own heart.

And through both Abraham and David, God vowed that he would send a descendant who would fulfill his covenant promises.

Earlier in the service we read parts of those covenant promises. In Genesis 12, God promised to Abraham that he not only would make Abraham’s descendants a great nation, but God promised all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. Later in Genesis, we read that a promised descendant of Abraham, would bring this great blessing.

Again, that was the Covenant promise to Abraham.

The Covenant promise to David was similar. We read it in 2 Samuel 7. It’s that king David would have a great descendant, in his line. This king of kings would be an everlasting king. His kingdom would have no end. In several Advent and Christmas hymns, we sing of Jesse’s lineage. Jesse was the father of David. You see that right there in verse 6. He’s the promise of Isaiah 11. All the nations will come to the root of Jesse.

Imagine, again, that you are an Israelite living in the first century. Imagine that you are reading these words for the very first time. Your whole life, you have heard of the Messiah. You’ve read all of the promises in the prophets. You’ve read of God’s covenant promise to Abraham – that his descendants would be like the stars of the sky. And you’ve known of God’s covenant promise to David, that one of his descendants would sit on an eternal throne.

Put yourself in that situation. And imagine reading these words. Matthew is saying that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. He is the fulfillment of all the covenant promises. The son of Abraham, the son and David.

You see, for century upon century, God’s people had been waiting. They had been yearning for God to fulfill his covenant promises. And Matthew is writing to you. Matthew, a disciple of Jesus, who witnessed it all, is writing that you may believe. He wants you to know that Jesus is the one who would inaugurate the everlasting kingdom and be a blessing to all nations. He is the one. Matthew’s whole book was written so that you would see and know that Jesus is the Messiah. That’s why Matthew opens with that very clear declaration.

And you know this, Matthew’s Gospel is not just written for the physical descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people. No, God’s purpose through Matthew is also for spiritual descendants of Abraham. He’s calling us to believe. To know that Jesus is the promise to the nations. Jesus is the eternal king. He rules and reigns over a kingdom that will have no end. God wants you to believe in the promised King.

Behold the Savior of Sinners

So, first Trust the Sovereign Lord – it’s was all worked out in God’s perfect plan and timing. Second, Believe the promised King. And now, point #3, Behold the Savior of Sinners.

Over the last few decades, there’s been a renewed interest in family trees. Several websites help you identify relatives and common ancestors. As of this year, the largest documented family tree has 27 million people listed.

There’s also a huge interest in DNA tests to better understand your heritage. You can even be connected with relatives you may not know. There’s been story after story of people connected with half siblings they never knew they had. Or stories of people finding out their dad isn’t their biological father. Family trees are messy. They’ve always been messy. When someone is drawing a family tree, there are all these symbols that indicate things like death, divorce, separation, infidelity. And the truth is, which many are finding out today, family trees can be messier than the known messiness.

Well, this family tree in Matthew 1 is no different. You may be tempted to think, “well if God sent his promised Savior into the world through ordinary generation, well then each and every ancestor must have been faithful and Godly.” I mean, right? That’s what we may be tempted to think.

But that is far from the reality. And one of the things that this genealogy clearly displays is a need for a savior. As Jesus himself said, “I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Some of you know the story of Judah for example. He’s listed there in verses 2 and 3. Judah was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. So, Judah was one of Joseph’s older brothers. Well, it says here that Judah was the father of Perez by Tamar. Tamar was actually Judah’s daughter-in-law. Judah had shunned her, and so she seduced him while he was travelling. She covered her face, and he didn’t recognize her. And she became pregnant. Judah, of course, was guilty himself, even more so. Judah, thinking Tamar was a prostitute. Yet Judah, Tamar, and their son Perez in the line of Christ.

Or take King David, himself. Verse 6. It says, “David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” It’s speaking of Bathsheba. David used his position to take Bathsheba. He then committed adultery with her. She became pregnant, and when that happened, David had Uriah, her husband, killed on the battlefield. Solomon was their second son. And let’s talk about Solomon. He began his reign seeking wisdom from the one true God. But Solomon lost that faithful pursuit. He loved many foreign wives, and he came to love their idols and false gods. David, Bathsheba, and Solomon in the line of Christ.

The list of kings itself is a telling list. It includes godly kings like Josiah, the young king who tore down all the false places of worship and who restored worship of the true God. The list also includes Hezekiah who sought the Lord and sought the Lord’s protection and whom the Lord used to protect Jerusalem.

But the list also includes Ahaz and Manasseh, two of the most wicked kings of Judah in Jerusalem. Devoid of any heart desire to please the Lord and serve him. No, these kings sought their own worldly power. They displayed no interest in the Scriptures or in seeking God. That ultimately led to the nation’s downfall. Ahaz and Manasseh in the line of Christ.

This is all reality. Difficult circumstances, sin, evil, and shame. Yet God demonstrated his faithfulness through their failures. It reveals that God works in the fallen world to accomplish salvation.

The very reason that Christ came was to save sinners. Jesus own family tree demonstrates that. He entered into the miseries and sin of this life to redeem those who live in the miseries and sin of this life. Yet he was without sin. A savior of sinners.

But there’s a second thing that this genealogy also highlights. It demonstrates that salvation is for all. Or maybe it’s better to say, salvation is offered to all. There is a diversity in this genealogy.

First of all, you would expect Jesus’ lineage to be exclusively Jewish. But that’s not the case. Rahab, for example, verse 5, was a Canaanite… an inhabitant of Jericho. In fact, Rahab had been a harlot. A prostitute. Yet, she faithfully helped God’s people. The Lord redeemed her and brought her into the family of faith.

Or take Ruth, King David’s great grandmother. Ruth was a Moabite. Moabites had been cut off from the blessing of God for their false worship and cursing of the children of Israel. Yet God redeemed Ruth and brought her into the family of faith.

It’s likely Bathsheba was a Hittite. She is referenced as the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

The diversity in Jesus’ lineage is also seen in the number of women referenced. For a patriarchal society, it would have been very uncommon to list so many women. And if a lineage did include women, you would expect to read of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, or Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, or Rachel, Jacob’s wife. But no, they are not referenced, rather, Tamar and Rahab and Ruth and Bathsheba, and, of course, Mary.

Besides Jesus’ lineage highlighting that he is the savior of sinners, Jesus’ lineage highlights that he is the savior of the world. Salvation for all peoples and all nations.

As God had promised Abraham, through his lineage, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And this family tree demonstrates God’s blessing to all people.

Conclusion

Beloved, it is a real-life history... not just of any man, but of the promised Messiah

And in it, may we:

•Trust the Sovereign Lord

•Believe in the Promised King

•Behold the Savior of Sinners

In this advent season, may you wonder in awe at this savior! Amazed at his family tree… Instead of skipping down to verse 18, may you take heart in how God orchestrated it all, how God fulfilled his promise in history, and how we have been given a king and a savior. A savior of the world. May you believe in him.

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Hello TPC! Did you miss the sermon on Sunday? Dr. Guy Richard preached on Luke 15:1-32 in his sermon titled, “The Love of God” Check it out!

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1 John 2:7-11

Rev. Erik Veerman

11/27/2022

Knowing that You Know Him: the Love Test

Our sermon text this morning is 1 John 2:7-11. You can find that on page 1210 in the pew Bibles.

If you are visiting for the holiday weekend, we are in the middle of a series in the book of 1 John. This book is the first of three letters that apostle John wrote. And he wrote them very late in the first century. John was likely the only disciple of Jesus alive at the time, in his late 80s or early 90s.

John’s purpose in writing was to correct some false beliefs that had arisen in the church. This included not just the content of what they believed about faith, but also their practice – how they were living. At this time, the church did not yet have the New Testament cannon. They may have only had a small handful of letters and likely they had John’s Gospel account. So, overall they had a limited set of the apostles’ writings upon which to evaluate truth versus lies and right versus wrong.

So, this letter was very much needed for the church. And John gave them clear criteria in order to evaluate their faith… not just the content of true faith, but whether their lives demonstrated true faith in Christ.

Last week, we began to look at a series of life tests. Each test is given to help you evaluate whether or not your faith is authentic. The first test was the test of obedience. True faith in Christ is marked by a life that seeks to obey God’s commands. To be sure, these tests are not telling you how to know God in Christ, but rather whether you do know God in Christ.

This morning the life test is the test of love. Does your life display love? Not the world’s definition of love, but God’s definition.

Let’s turn our attention to God’s Word. 1 John 2:7-11.

Reading of 1 John 2:7-11

Prayer

The day started without much fanfare. The life of a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee included the mundane task of mending nets. James, his brother John, and their father Zebedee were each involved in the task.

But what started out as a normal day quickly turned to an extraordinary day.

We’re not told directly whether James and John had any sense of what was about to happen. The fact that they were busy repairing their nets suggests they didn’t. But as soon as Jesus called out, the Holy Spirit so compelled them that they immediately dropped their nets to follow him.

We can only imagine the questions swirling around in their minds. Who is this Rabi? What will following him involve? How can we be fishers of men?

And imagine what the next three years of their lives would be like. In the presence of the promised messiah…. Conversing with him, sitting under his teaching, seeing and experiencing many miracles.

John saw Jesus multiply the bread and loaves. He witnessed Jesus calm he sea; heal the paralyzed man, raise Lazarus from the dead. Miracle after miracle.

John was with Jesus when he taught the crowds. John heard him explain the Scriptures, witnessed him confronting the pharisees and loving the outcasts.

Over those three years, the crowds grew and the tension with the religious elite escalated. And over those three years, the disciples slowly realized Jesus‘ identity - the Son of God.

A few weeks before his death, Jesus set his sights on Jerusalem. He and the disciples slowly made their way to the holy city. When they arrived, it was this mixture of love and hate. The crowds initial shouts of joy quickly turned to shouts of murder. The Jewish establishment seethed - Jesus’ claimed an authority that only God possessed. They wanted him killed.

But then, the calm before the storm.

Jesus gathered his disciples in the upper room. They retreated from the fray. The disciples didn’t know what the next 24 hours would hold, but in the meantime, they were with the Lord.

And something amazing happened. Jesus wrapped a towel around his waist. He knelt down and then he began to wash his disciples’ feet. John, James, Peter, and the others. The Lord of all creation humbled himself to do the work of a servant.

Immediately after that Jesus returned to the table with them. And he said these words. Now, listen carefully and think about how they relate to our sermon text.

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

That is recorded in John’s Gospel chapter 13.

For the 60-70 years since Jesus washed his feet, no doubt John had been cherishing that moment and pondering those words. Really that was true for John’s entire time with Jesus, now that he could look back and reflect on what it all meant.

But when it came to John’s audience in this letter, that particular event and those particular words came to mind. Jesus demonstrated his love to his disciples by washing their feet… and he commanded his disciples to love one another as he had loved them. John wanted his audience to know that love and to demonstrate their faith with the same kind of love.

Jesus had said to John, “…people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” And John now was passing along that same message to his audience. Look at verse 9, “Whoever says he is in the light,” meaning he thinks he has faith in Christ, “and hates his brother is still in darkness.” John continues,

“Whoever loves his brother abides in the light.” His faith is authentic and true.

This love is the second test of authentic faith. Last week was the test of obedience. If you look back up to verse 3, it’s captured right there, “…by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.” That involves knowing God’s commandments and pursuing them. Not the world’s standards of right and wrong nor our standards of right and wrong, but God’s standards.

But last week you may have had the question. “Ok, fine. I get it. God gives us commandments and we’re to keep them. But if keeping God’s commandments proves that someone has true faith, my question is this: What’s the difference between a pharisee who doesn’t have true faith yet is trying to obey God’s commands and someone who has true faith who is trying to obey God’s commands?

That is a very legitimate question. Jesus was vehemently opposed to the pharisees, yet they were the ones trying to keep God’s commandments. So what gives? What’s the difference between a pharisee and someone with true faith in Christ?

• Well, three things. Number one - Last week we saw that obeying God’s commandments begins with faith in Jesus for salvation. That’s the point of verses 1 and 2. The Pharisees rejected Jesus – and by doing so, they rejected true faith in him.

• Second, John is really clear that obeying God’s commandments is not the way to come to faith in Christ. No, seeking to obey God’s commandments demonstrates true faith in Christ. The Pharisees believed that by keeping God’s law, they were righteous and therefore worthy of salvation. That is completely opposed to what John has been teaching. We are all sinners. None of us is righteous, and we all need the righteousness of Christ by faith. Pursuing God’s commands will never save you. So really, the Pharisees failed the test of obedience.

• And third, the Pharisees would have failed the love test. These verses. Rather than love, the Pharisees were full of hate and pride. They didn’t love the least and the lost. No, they harassed and persecuted them. To the Pharisees, these sinners were merely pawns to be used or outcasts that that were damned. The Pharisees never loved and never considered God’s love in calling sinners to repent.

My point in bringing this up is that the obedience test of the first 6 verses of chapter 2 cannot be separated from the love test of verses 7-11. They go together.

The apostle Paul put it this way: “Love is the fulfillment of the law.” He wrote that in Romans chapter 13 after listing some of the 10 commandments. All of the commandments of the law are summed up by love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

John opens these verses by confirming that. Love is not a new commandment that began in the New Testament. The call to love was not inaugurated by Jesus. No, rather love has always been the purpose of the commandments. When John writes that it’s an “old commandment from the beginning” he’s going back to the Old Testament law. It’s the call of Leviticus 19 to love your neighbor. It’s the call of the book of Deuteronomy over and over to love the Lord your God.

Yet, it is also, at the same time, a new commandment. That’s exactly what 1 John 2:8 says. John had in mind Jesus’ words that love is a new commandment. With Jesus’ fulfillment of the law through his righteousness, and with the Gospel promise for the nations, in that sense, love is a new commandment for all the world. So it is both an old commandment as well as a new commandment.

In a minute, we’ll talk about what true love looks like.

But before that, notice that in these verses, John has returned to the theme of light and darkness. He introduced that theme in chapter 1. “God is light,” he said, “in him is no darkness.” And then John called us to walk in the light and not darkness. Walking being a metaphor for living. Chapter 1 was the general command to walk in the light. And now, in chapter 2, he answers the question, “what does it means to walk in the light?”

If you haven’t noticed, John is very big on contrasts, light and darkness, truth and lies. And here he introduces another dichotomy: love and hate. Verse 9 “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.” In other words, whoever says he knows God, yet his heart is turned against a brother or sister in Christ, he, in reality, does not know God.

Verse 11 further explains, “whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

In college, I spent a summer in Bolivia… in South America. We were helping build a summer camp for kids. It was in a remote part of the country. The camp was right on a tributary of the Amazon River, so we were in the jungle. There were just 3 of us. And the missionaries just dropped us off with some instructions. To make sure we were ok, they had a short-wave radio in a shed on the property. And every night, one of us had to walk an 1/4 of a mile down a pitch-black path to this shed, to communicate with them. We took turns. It was dark. Even the light from my flashlight seemed to get swallowed up in the darkness. We could hear monkeys in the distance. And one night, while on the path, I saw this pair of beady yellow eyes staring at me. No just kidding about seeing eyes! …but you know, your mind goes there. There are things out there that could attack me at any time. And I thought, “what if my flashlight breaks? I won’t be able to see anything. I’m going to die in this jungle, trying to feel my way back to our base camp, but going in the wrong direction!” Have you ever been in a room where it’s so dark, you can’t see anything? And if you were to turn in circles, you wouldn’t know where the door is?

That’s what the apostle John is describing. The darkness of sin and evil without the light is so overwhelming, you can’t see where you are going. There’s no light to follow. The darkness has blinded your eyes. John says, “whoever hates his brother is in the darkness.”

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus spoke of hate its consequences. “You have heard that it was said… ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” Jesus was equating anger with murder. Our very thoughts condemn us. You see, hate and love are matters of the heart. If your heart is full of anger and resentment and hate, John is saying that you are in the darkness.

To be sure, John not saying that if you are experiencing anger, you are walking in darkness. No, rather the question is whether your life is marked by hatred. Whether you anger is unbridled, and you feel no conviction about your hate and no desire to turn from it. If that is the case, then John is calling you to examine your life. It is not displaying the love to which you’ve been called.

Hate is the negative side of the love test. A life of hate is life of darkness apart from Christ.

On the flip side is the call is to love. The life of a true believer in Christ is a life marked by love… that seeks to pursue love, that demonstrates love for others. Someone who loves his brother, as verse 10 says, is in the light.

The reason we read 1 Corinthians 13 earlier is that it defines love for us.

Love according to the Scriptures is not a fleeting emotional feeling that comes and goes. No, love for your brothers and sisters in Christ is patient. It is longsuffering. It overlooks wrongs. It forgives. It endures the test of time. Love defers to the other person. It is selfless and humble. It honors the other person. The one who loves well, listens well and cares well. Love seeks to be united or reunited.

Loving your brother and sister in Christ does not mean never disagreeing. Rather it dictates how you disagree. It’s the manner in which you listen and perhaps compromise. It’s the kindness and demonstration of your heart’s desire for the wellbeing and honor of your brother or sister in the faith.

Furthermore, love does not mean an acceptance of someone else’s beliefs or lifestyle. That’s what the world thinks. A common expression today is “choose love and not hate.” You’ve probably heard that. You’ll see it on memes and tweets and t-shirts, and hear it in songs. Several books have been written with that title. The phrase “choose love and not hate” according to the world is about acceptance. If you disagree with someone’s decisions, their self-identity, then you hate them… again according to the prevalent cultural norms. But that is not what love means. No. As 1 Corinthians 13 says, love “rejoices in the truth.” This is another reason why the test of love cannot be separated from the test of obedience. We display our love for others by speaking God’s Word… with kindness and compassion and care.

Some of you are probably familiar with Rosaria Butterfield, author and speaker. She wrote about her conversion in her book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. It’s quite the testimony because Butterfield was a liberal university professor, totally opposed to Christianity. She described herself as a leftist lesbian feminist professor. She did not want anything to do with Christianity. Her philosophical heroes were Freud, Hegel, Marx, and Darwin. In 1997, she wrote an article blasting Jesus followers, their conservativism, and their hate for women.

In her book, she describes the types of letters she received. Fan mail and hate mail – those who supported her and those who vilified her. But one letter came from a local pastor. In the letter, he was kind and not mocking. He asked her questions about her presuppositions… questions about how she came to her beliefs. Initially, Rosaria crumpled up the letter and threw it into the recycle bin. But the questions were gnawing at her. Unable to shake them, she fished the letter out of the recycle bin. And she responded to this pastor. That began a series of communications with him and his wife.

They invited her over for dinner. She accepted. They had open conversations about philosophy and sexuality and about faith. It started a friendship. Butterfield experienced the love of this pastor and his wife for her, and, also, over time she experienced a church family that loved one another and loved her. She witnessed deep heartfelt prayers for one another in the community, and care for each other’s needs. And love not just for her, but also love for her friends. She witnessed the love of 1 John 2. A faithful and loving community displaying the light, caring for her in word and deed. The ministry of that church family and the words of truth spoken to her in love bore fruit. She turned her life and her lifestyle over to Christ.

When we display the love of God to one another and to others, we not only testify to God as light, but we shine that light to the world.

After Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, his words about love challenged them not just to display love, but how their love would be a light to the world. Did you catch that? Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” One of the purposes of loving each other is to be a light to the world. Our love is to be displayed to the world… not in a look-at-us and see-how-much-we-love-each-other kind of way but rather in a humble way that demonstrates the love of God for us in Christ.

One of the many experiences that John witnessed was Jesus teaching in the temple.

He returned there multiple times. On one occasion, the crowds were amazed at his teaching. Jesus explained the law. He appealed to the authority that God the Father had given him. He spoke of the rivers of living waters for those who would come to him. It stirred the crowds. Many thought and realized he was the Messiah. But the Chief Priests and Pharisees rejected Jesus and sought to arrest him.

It is on this occasion that Jesus spoke these word: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

You see, when John spoke of the light here in 1 John chapter 2, he wasn’t speaking of God as light in a general sense as he did in chapter 1. Rather, here in these verses, John was speaking about the light of Christ. He had in mind the words of Jesus in the temple that he was the light of the world.

We see that in these verses. At the end of verse 9, he writes that “the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” The light that he is speaking about is a light has already come and which is now shining in the darkness. John is conveying that the light is growing. The darkness is passing away. This is the Gospel light of Christ – the hope of salvation in him. By the time that John is writing these words, the Gospel had spread all throughout the Mediterranean region and had begun spreading to the rest of the known world in Europe and Asia and Africa. And as the light of Christ spread, the darkness began to pass away as more and more people received his light.

Notice also, verse 10. John writes that the one who “loves his brother abides in the light.” There’s that word that we came across last week. Abides. It means to take lasting residence in… to be one with another. In the opening verses of chapter 2, this abiding is not associated with God the Father or God in a general way, but rather the abiding is in Jesus. Knowing him and abiding in him is knowing Jesus and abiding in Jesus.

When we display the true love of God, when our lives reflect the love of Christ in us, then we are displaying the light of Christ. That love in your life is a testimony of a true faith in Jesus. You have passed the love test. As imperfect as your love is, it indicates that you are walking in the light of Christ.

However, if you do not know Christ. Or if you say you do but your heart is full of hate for a brother or sister, then, as the Scriptures say, you are walking in darkness. If that’s you, come to the light. Come to Jesus, the light of life.

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John 1:5-10

Rev. Erik Veerman

11/13/2022

Walk in the Light of God

Please turn in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 1. In the pew Bible, you can find that on page 1210. Last week, we began our new series in 1 John and we looked at the first 4 verses.

They introduced the author and his letter. The purpose of the first four verses was to establish the author’s credibility. He was a disciple of Jesus. Even though the author doesn’t mention his name, it’s fairly clear from the content and from when it was written that this is the apostle John.

And he tells his reason for writing the letter. He wants them to believe in and have fellowship with God through Jesus, just as he does. And really, as we saw last week, all of it comes back to Christ. He is the source of their credibility. And he is the message that they are proclaiming. Why? Because Jesus Christ is God. He existed from the very beginning. He is eternal life. And he came to us, as a man, to bring us life.

So, that’s the first half of chapter 1. The letter is a credible testimony from Jesus and about Jesus.

And now, this morning, the second half of chapter 1: the letter’s message. These verses introduce the letter’s main idea. They are like the theological foundation of the letter. So, let’s turn to them. We’ll start with verse 5 and go to the end of the chapter.

Reading of 1 John 1:5-10

Prayer

Introduction

A few years ago, the President of the United States was asked a question: “Have you ever prayed to God for forgiveness?” The President responded, “I am not sure I have.”

This former President had talked about his Christian faith. He claimed to be a Christian. His answer set off a flurry of concern in Christian circles (to put it mildly!). And when follow up questions came, the President said this: “Why do I have to repent or ask for forgiveness, if I am not making mistakes?" He added, "…I'm an honorable person.”

In those few words, we were given insight into his understanding of God, of sin, and forgiveness. Each of those categories is a central category of the Christian faith. God, sin, and forgiveness. The way we understand each of them and put into practice that understanding reveals our true hearts and our faith.

To my knowledge, no one quoted 1 John 1:5-10 back to the President, but someone could have. It directly speaks to his beliefs. And it’s more than just a corrective. These words are penetrating and dividing words. Look at verse 8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” I wonder how this former President would have responded to that verse.

Just to be clear, I’m not making a political statement here. His comments are very relevant to what John is addressing in this letter.

And let me say, these are matters of life and death. It’s critical to understand who God is, the presence of sin in our lives, and what to do about it. If you misunderstand or misapply that understanding, John is saying that you may not be a Christian.

How does that sit with you?

Last week, we talked about the main purpose of the book. It’s to help you know whether your faith is authentic faith. For the true Christian, part of John’s goal is to give you assurance of faith. You know, confidence that you are a believer. Well, it sure sounds like John’s trying to get us to question our faith. Doesn’t it? Verse 10 is similar to verse 8. “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Again, it’s a very strong statement on the negative side. If you say you have not sinned, you are not a Christian.

Let me put it this way: in order to give us confidence in our faith, he needs to be clear about what is authentic faith and what it looks like, and what is inauthentic faith and what it looks like.

It’s like John has pulled out his sidewalk chalk. And he’s draws a line across the parking lot. He’s saying, “here’s the line. This one side of the line is true faith. People on this side of the line believe these things and live out their faith in these ways. But here’s the other side of the line – inauthentic faith. People on this side of the line believe these other things and they are not living out a true faith.”

One line, two sides.

He’s drawing a line because he wants them to be on the right side of the line. True faith. “Come over here,” he’s saying. “This is true faith. If you say these other things or live these other ways, that’s not true and right and good.”

And remember, John was writing to a specific church situation. Part of their problem was new teachers teaching views that contradicted what the disciples and apostles had taught them. They didn’t have the New Testament yet to evaluate what was being taught. And so, John needed to tell them what was true and right, so they could evaluate truth from error, light from darkness.

Actually, we can see all that right here in the text. Let’s spend a minute to work through the structure, then come back to work through the meaning.

Look down at verse 5. It begins, “This is the message.” He is saying, “what I am about to write to you summarizes the main point of my letter.” And then notice, this message is not his message. He says, “this is the message we have heard from him.” He’s talking about Jesus. “Don’t believe it just because I, John, am saying it, no, believe it because it’s coming from Jesus, the son of God.” John had just told them all about him in the opening verses – the word of life, eternal, manifested to us.

So then, what is the message? … it’s right there at the end of verse 5. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” That is the chalk line. It’s the dividing line. We’re going to come back in a minute and see why that’s the case.

The rest of the verses, here, 6-10, speak to one side of the line or the other side.

Now look at the beginning of verse 6. It begins with the phrase “If we say…” And now look at the beginning of verse 8 “If we say…” And now look at the beginning of verse 10. “If we say…”

Three times. And each time, John starts with the negative side. The side of the line of false beliefs and false living. Those beliefs and actions indicate an inauthentic faith.

But then, two out of the three times, John also talks about the other side. Look at the beginning of verse 7. “But if…” He’s switching over to the other side of the line – authentic faith. It’s the contrast to the negative “If we say” from verse 6.

Verse 9 is similar. It begins “If…” And it’s referring to verse 8. We’ll see that the idea in verse 9 is the contrast to verse 8.

So, he draws the dividing line, and then he identifies each side of the line.

But John is not telling them something theoretical, something out there. No, this is real to his readers. He uses the phrase “if we say,” because people were actually saying these things. These verses give us a clear indication of what John was hearing and seeing. This is a rubber meets the road letter. We can’t read this without asking ourselves and our church, “which side of the line are we on?”

So, the dividing line – God is light.

And then the back-and-forth description of each side.

What does that mean, though, “God is light?”

John Stott, late pastor and author, put it this way: “Of the statements about the essential being of God, none is more comprehensive than God is light.” Stott said, “It is [God’s] nature to reveal himself, as it is the property of light to shine; and the revelation is of perfect purity and unutterable majesty.”

“God is light” means that his very nature is pure and holy and true. When verse 5 says that “in him is no darkness,” it affirms this. It reveals that there is no unholiness, no injustice, and no impurity in his being. Everything about him is right and good.

And he shines the light of his character and nature. He reveals himself. That’s part of what light does. It means that darkness is exposed. Nothing is hidden from his sight.

In 2010, scientists discovered a new star. Well, the star wasn’t new, the discovery was new. It’s part of the Tarantula Nebula (pretty cool name). They named the star R136A1… just in case you wanted to look it up. The amazing thing about this star is that it is twice as big as scientists thought theoretically possible for stars. It is 300 times bigger than the sun, 7 times hotter than the sun, and millions of times brighter than the sun. Millions. Imagine how bright that would be.

When it comes to God in his grandeur and holiness, his brightness is beyond even our capacity to understand. Yet we can know that he is light. God has revealed it. And the light of his nature exposes all things, and that includes you and me.

God knows you. He knows everything about you. As the author of Hebrews says in chapter 4, “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Everything is revealed and that includes sin. Sin is anything we think, say, do, or don’t do that is contrary to God’s nature as light – contrary to his perfect holiness, justice, and truth.

So, “God is light” describes his holy character and “God is light” describes his illuminating nature. But also, “God is light” describes the path that he reveals for us. That is very relevant to these verses because we’re called to walk in his light. Much of the rest of 1 John is about that. Walking in his light. It’s applied in different ways and different situations.

But it begins here. It begins in these verses. The metaphor that God is light is immediately applied here. John uses this understanding of light and darkness as the dividing line between true faith and counterfeit faith.

The first example of that is verse 6. “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” He’s saying, if you say you are a believer in Christ, yet your life does not reflect that belief, then your faith is really an empty faith.

This idea of walking is all through the Scriptures. It’s kind of shorthand for living. It’s how you live your daily lives. What are you doing? What are you thinking? What are you saying? What summarizes your life as lived out? If you are walking in darkness, it means your life is not reflecting God and his light. These verses are saying you are living a lie. Again, the language is strong because the very question that John is addressing is which side of the line are you on.

John’s audience included false teachers who were saying, “all you have to do is believe in God. After that, it doesn’t matter how you live.”

Let me get a little technical here. A false belief called Gnosticism was just appearing in this time period – the latter part of the first century. We call Gnosticism a Christian heresy. It’s a false view that contradicts main tenants of faith. The Gnostics saw all matter, including our physical beings as bad, as evil. Physical matter was unworthy and unholy. They believed the only thing important was a person’s spiritual being. That included our gnosis, our knowledge and what we believe. A pursuit of a higher spirituality was their goal - spiritual experiences disconnected from their bodies. The implication of that belief, was that it didn’t matter how you lived out your life in your body. Your physical body was evil and doomed to destruction. Gnosticism had no categories of morality as related to your physical self.

In these verses, John is confronting Gnosticism head on. The thing is, though, the Gnostic would have been fine with the idea that God is light. It fit in with their pursuit of a higher out-of-body experiential spiritualism. What would have confronted them, however, is how the light of God was to affect their living, their practice. Look how John puts it at the end of verse 6. He says, “if you walk in darkness, you lie and do not practice the truth.”

On the contrary, true faith is a faith that is lived out – both in our minds and in our bodies. Verse 7 goes back to the light metaphor. “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light [meaning Jesus], we have fellowship with one another,” and he adds, “the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” In other words, how you live your life testifies to whether your faith in Christ is genuine. Walking in the light means seeking the things of God, pursing his commands, and desiring to please him…

Think about the different areas in your life. Your daily responsibilities, your interactions with family and friends, your finances, the entertainment you watch. Ask yourself… Am I seeking to walk in God’s light in those areas?

We all struggle and fail, but if you have that genuine desire to honor God in your life and you are seeking to pursue that, then verse 7 is about you. The fellowship you claim to have with God and one another is a true fellowship. You are on right side of the line. And because you’re on the right side of the line, you can know that the cleansing blood of Jesus is for you. That’s what John is saying. Walking in the light does not qualify you to be cleansed but it assures you of it.

That’s the first contrast – walking in darkness versus walking in the light.

The second and third false claims are related. Verse 8, “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…” and verse 10 “If we say we have not sinned, we make him [Jesus] a liar.” The difference in the two false claims is the first is present tense, “I believe I don’t have sin in me now.” The second false claim is past tense, “I believe I have not sinned.” Both are contrary to true faith in Christ.

This is very important. These verses teach that sin is still a reality in the Christian life. Walking in the light does not mean that you no longer sin. No, these verses are clear. Sin still exists in a believers life. To believe that you no longer sin is rejected here.

You ask, “ok, but what’s the difference? How can I walk in the light and yet still be a sinner? If I still sin, am I not walking in the darkness?” That is THE question, here. The answer is this: walking in the light means you are not making a practice of sinning. Rather, as verse 6 says, you are practicing truth. It’s the pattern in your life.

I have found understanding the 3 “P’s” of sin helpful. The penalty, the power, and the presence of sin. The penalty of sin has been dealt with by Christ. And the power of sin has been removed. Sin no longer has power over us. However, we still live with the presence of sin. Again, the penalty and power of sin are no more. The presence of sin sill remains. By the way, I’m not sure where those 3 “P’s” originated. I’ve heard them used by pastor Harry Reader at Briarwood Presbyterian.

And these verses really clearly teach that understanding. For the true Christian…

• The power of sin has been removed. We’re able, now, to walk in God’s light and not to walk in darkness. The Holy Spirit is not emphasized in these verses, but he is the one who enables us to walk in the light.

• The penalty of sin has been removed. That’s there at the end of 7. “the blood of Jesus, God’s son, cleanses us from all sin.” There is no more condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

• But we cannot say that we no longer sin. As verse 8 and 10 say, that is deception and a lie. No, sin is still present in us. And that’s the point of verse 9. We’re to confess our sin to God. It’s a recognition that the presence of sin is still in us. And I would add, being in the habit of coming to God in confession is part of what it means to walk in the light.

For the children here. I want to make sure that you are understanding me. There’s a big difference between coming to Jesus for the first time seeking his forgiveness… and confessing your sin daily. The difference is, when you first believe by faith (and it doesn’t matter whether you remember when that happened), when you first believe in Jesus, God forgave you, cleansed you. Jesus died in your place. You are his. He will never let you go. When you come to God daily to seek his forgiveness, it’s not because you need to be saved again. No, you’ve been saved. Rather, it’s because you want to be more like Jesus. That’s his call for you. That’s what it means to walk in his light. I hope that make sense. I would love to talk more if that would be helpful.

So, we still live with the reality of sin in our lives, even though the penalty and power have been removed. If someone asks you, “Have you have ever prayed to God for forgiveness?” Would you say as the former President said, “I’m not sure I have?” No! Your answer needs to be “Yes! Even though the penalty of sin has been paid for, I still sin and need to come to him.”

I’m pretty sure that no one here would actually say or believe that you no longer sin. For us, though, it’s a little more subtle. Instead of making a blanket statement that we don’t sin, we pick certain areas of sin. And what do we do? We justify our sin, rename our sin so that it doesn’t sound like sin, we minimize it… somehow, we try to explain it away or make it seem not sinful. Part of the call here for believers is not to lie to ourselves or God about our sin, but instead to identify it and come to God in confession. And then to be renewed to walk in God’s light.

Now, I want to recognize something. We’ve been talking today in generalities. God is light in general terms. Walking in darkness in general terms. Walking in the light in general terms. Sin in a general sense. And you may have this internal feeling like, “ok, I see the line that John is drawing. On one side, true faith seeing that God is light, and the call to walk in that light and acknowledging our sin… and on the other side, false faith, displayed by a denial of sin and a life that is walking in darkness. But besides the general categories of God, sin, and forgiveness, can you give me example? I need details to think through these.”

Well, I’m glad you asked! Because as we work through the rest of this letter, John goes there. He teaches us more about love, and living, about God and forgiveness and more about Christ.

But this here, is where it begins. Understanding that there is a line and what that line is. “God is light and in him is no darkness.” Understanding God as light and walking in that light…. seeking him and forgiveness in him. And understanding the reality of darkness… of sin, of false belief, and lies.

God is saying, through the apostle John, that he wants you to be in his light. Are you in his light?

Prayer

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1 John 1:1-4

Rev. Erik Veerman

11/06/2022

Credible Witnesses of Credible Faith

We’re beginning a new series this morning in the book of 1 John. You can find 1 John on page 1210 in the pew Bibles.

I’ve been looking forward to our study and would encourage you to read through the book this week. It’s 5 chapters. It will take us about 4 months to work through - four sermons this month and then after an advent break, we’ll pick back up in January.

It’s highly likely that 1 John was written by the apostle John. John was one Jesus 12 disciples. His name is never mentioned in the book, but there’s very compelling Scriptural and historical evidence that he authored it. We’ll get into that today.

We’ll begin with chapter 1 verses 1-4.

Reading pg 1 John 1:1-4

Prayer

Fact or fiction? Genuine or in-authentic? Real or fake?

We spend a lot of time these days trying to discern what is authentic and true.

You would think, in our digital age where so many things are captured in images and videos, that it would be easy to determine what really happened versus what is made up.

You would think that with all the information up there in the internet cloud, that we’d have all we need to know to figure out what is true and right versus what is false and wrong.

But we don’t. It’s kind of the opposite, today. We’re overwhelmed with the amount of stuff out there to sift through. Plus, everyone claims to know what is true and what is right.

• You see a picture of an event… but then later, someone claims it’s just a deep fake - photoshopped by an expert graphic artist.

• Or you watch a video, but then someone claims it’s been doctored with CGI.

• You hear a testimony of something that happened. But then you hear the other side – lies, they say. Fake news.

How do you know what is true? Who can you trust?

It’s very unsettling. It’s like the ground we are standing on is unstable and unsure. It affects our confidence in what we believe and know. Our souls are unsettled.

A recent Barna survey found that 2/3 of Christians experience or have experienced spiritual doubts of some kind. 1/4 of Christians have ongoing doubts about faith and belief. That number is higher for younger generations. I’ve experienced it… uncertainty in my life, and many of you have or do as well.

Doubt is part of the Christian experience. You are not alone. And the unsettledness of the world around us, the increasing plurality of views and beliefs only heightens the struggle.

And you know this, it’s more than just an intellectual exercise of figuring out what is right and wrong. It’s personal. We ask ourselves, am I dedicating my life to something that is true? Or we ask, am I genuinely a Christian? How do I know?

When you and I have these questions, we need to address them. If we bottle them up, that unsettledness is going to increase. And we need to come alongside of one another to think through and pray through those questions.

And that is where the book of 1 John comes in. It’s about discerning those things: what is true and right; what is authentic and credible; who to believe and what is faithful. 1 John is about you and me. It’s about knowing and having assurance of our own faith. In fact, that word “know” comes up 32 times in these 5 chapters. Some instances are about having confidence in what we believe. Other uses are about knowing what is true faith verses what is not. Flip over to chapter 5. If you look at verse 13, it captures the purpose of 1 John: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” The author wants his readers to have confidence in their faith.

My hope in this study is that we’ll each come out of it with a solid foundation for our faith. That 1 John will help us have confidence in our faith… knowing what is right versus what is wrong, truth from error, and what can be trusted and what can’t.

I hope that it challenges and reinforces our beliefs and lives - not just individually but for us as a church. Is what we believe and practice faithful and true?

Ok, let’s spend a majority of our time this morning on two things. Authorship and situatuation.

Authorship – Did the apostle John really write this letter?
Situation – When and why did he write it?

Does that sound boring? It may, but there are some really rich things in here for us. Understanding who wrote the book and why very much relates to knowing what is true and right and good.

Authorship

Now, one of the big differences between this book, 1 John, and other New Testament letters is that there’s no opening salutation. The author doesn’t say who he is and to whom he is writing. And that’s the same for the ending. There’s no final greeting; no concluding thank you’s; no references to dear friends by name; and nowhere in the book does the author mention his name!

We have all these unknowns in the letter, yet so many have attributed this letter to the apostle John.

Why?

Well, let me give you some answers. And I think you’ll find them somewhat compelling and convicting.

First, in the opening verses, the author basically tells us that he was a disciple of Jesus. He does that by describing Jesus and describing his interaction with Jesus. He doesn’t name Jesus Christ until the end of verse 3, but he calls him “that which was from the beginning.” The author names him “the word of life.” He writes that this life “was with the father” and also “made manifest” which means, plainly revealed. All of that language is describing the son of God who came to us.

And notice that the author uses the plural pronouns “we” and “us” to describe his interaction with Jesus.

You’re probably thinking, “Wait, wait, wait! You’re telling me that there’s one author to this book, and yet in the very opening verses there are 9 ‘we’ and ‘us’ references. It sure sounds to me like there are multiple authors!”

I would agree with that, if all we had were these opening 4 verses. However, 10 times in the rest of the book, the author says “I write” or “I am writing.” The difference is, in these first 4 verses, the author is establishing his credibility. He’s not just any other follower of Jesus who happens to be alive in the last decade of the first century. No, he was a disciple of Jesus. By using “we” he was emphasizing his identity as one of the 12 original disciples. “We” collectively witnessed Jesus personally. Multiple times: “we have heard,” “we have seen with our eyes,” “we looked upon and have touched with our hands,” “we have seen and heard and proclaim.”

It’s like the author was saying “My testimony about what is true and faithful (what you can believe!) comes from the word of life, himself, Jesus, and his message. We lived with him. We followed him. We were discipled by him. Even though these words are from my pen, they come from the credible testimony of all of us who were Jesus’ disciples.”

Beloved, these words that we will be studying are not just a letter from any old pastor to his congregation back in the first century. No, they are credible words from a credible source – a disciple of Jesus. It’s why the church, through the Holy Spirit has recognized this book as authoritative and true. As Scripture.

What I’m saying is that you can trust these words and believe them.

Before moving on, let’s go back to the specific question of authorship. You still may be thinking, “Ok, the author was a disciple of Jesus. I see that. But which disciple? Why John?”

Well, that answer comes from two places. History and the content of the letter.

On the history side, John was the longest living disciple of Jesus. Probably by 20-30 years. He lived into his mid-90s, which is incredible for that time period. Because of his age, he discipled many people. And John’s disciples lived well into the second century. His most well-known disciple was Polycarp. He’s considered one of the early church fathers. We have writings from Polycarp and other disciples of John. And they help answer our question. In their writings, they attribute this letter to John himself.

But besides the history, the other thing that you may have noticed is the style and content. The wording is so similar to the Gospel of John. Earlier in the service we read the beginning verses of John’s Gospel. The syntax and phrases are very similar… the word, life, in or from the beginning, made manifest. And the parallels continue throughout the book.

Add to that, both books are less structured and more free flowing than other books of the Bible.

This letter is beautifully composed with interwoven ideas. The author comes back around several times to earlier ideas, but adds further nuances and relationships. It’s a work of art.

It’s like a John Williams symphony. You know, like Star Wars. The opening introduces the themes, and those melodies are highlighted throughout in different ways. Different instruments with different dynamics.

The Gospel of John and this letter both have that style. As we work through 1 John, we’ll see those repeated themes. I think you’ll find it profound and compelling in different ways.

There’s a second content related reason why it makes sense for John to be the author. The book, in part, address the relationship between Jesus’ humanity and divinity. It directly answers the question, was Jesus truly God? The way John answers that question indicates that some were teaching that Jesus wasn’t fully God. Historically, those theological questions didn’t begin to come up until the very end of the first century and in to the early second century. So, this letter was very likely written near the turn of the first century. And as I mentioned, John was the only disciple still living at that time.

So, a letter written by a disciple of Jesus, a letter with very strong parallels to John’s Gospel account, attributed to John by his own disciples, and a letter dealing with issues that John would have dealt with.

I submit to you that this is God’s Word given to us through the pen of the apostle John. It’s credible. It’s authenticate. We can trust it and believe it. It’s not fake, but genuine. And it comes from a man who walked with Jesus. Who was one of Jesus’ closest friends, called the disciple whom Jesus loved.

The apostle John, disciple of Jesus, author of this book for us.

Situation

So, that’s the authorship question. Now let turn our attention to the situation.

What was the occasion for this book? Why did John write this and to whom did he write?

In a sense, we’ve already considered a couple of reasons. First, I mentioned the desire for John to give his readers assurance. To know whether their faith was authentic. Second, I mentioned that John addressed issues in the book related to Jesus’ divinity and humanity – that he was God and man.

But let me step back for a minute. Nowhere in the book are we told to whom John was writing. But what is really clear is that he knows them and he loves them.

Something about 1 John is so endearing and personal. He loves this family of faith. He is so personally concerned about their beliefs, their love for each other, and how they are to live out their faith. He calls them children. Six times he calls them “beloved.” He knows them well.

Now, I can’t tell you for sure who specifically John wrote to, but I can say that he very likely wrote this after his exile on the island of Patmos. John had lived there for a few years. It’s where God revealed the book of Revelation to him. Historical accounts indicate that after his exile, John lived the last years of his life in Ephesus. It’s probable that he wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus, while he was living his final days among them. Ephesus was a very influential city in the region. The apostle Paul had planted a church there 40 or so years earlier. As an older man, it would have been a natural place for John to spend his final years in ministry.

Now, we don’t know for sure. And I don’t think we will know who the audience is on this side of eternity.

It’s a good reminder that while yes, it was written by John to a specific people, yet we are also among God’s intended audience. We can’t lose sight of that fact. Yes, we have to understand it through the lens of the author and situation (and we’re given some clues here). But God has also given us this word. It’s for you and for me. It’s for us to be challenged, and assured, and for us to know God in Christ.

Ok, I have been thinking a lot about the occasion for John writing this letter and how it relates to us. While we don’t know whether his audience really was the Ephesians, we do know the broader situation of the time.

And I would say, challenges to Christianity at the end of the first century has some similarities to challenges that we face today, but from vastly different angles.

Let’s go back in time to sometime between the year 95 and 105 AD. And think about this: it had been 60-70 years since Jesus’ death and resurrection. In those decades, Christianity had spread far and wide in the region. Also by that time, the Gospel accounts of Jesus life had been written, several letters were penned by different Apostles, but there was no complete New Testament yet. Copies of the different letters and historical accounts were still making their way around. Add to that, Paul had died 30 years earlier, and, as I mentioned, historical accounts indicate that all of Jesus disciples except John had also passed from this world.

So they were in a precarious state. Different beliefs about Jesus and about Christianity began to emerge. Different teachers started teaching contradictory views. Imagine living in the early second century. And imagine hearing different teachings about Jesus, about your faith, about your living, about your relationships. Who do you trust? Where do you turn? How do you know what is right and wrong? How do you know if you are a Christian?

The vacuum of authority was being filled by different views that contradicted one another. Do you see how that would be spiritually unsettling back then?

And there’s a similar spiritual unsettledness today. No, it’s not a vacuum that’s being filled, rather it’s the opposite. It’s a preponderance of beliefs and views and lifestyles out there. It’s a similar struggle, but from the opposite side. We ask, how do I sort through it all? Where do I turn to find what’s true and right and good? How do I know that I am following the right path?

These are the very things that John is addressing in his letter.

And you ask, where do I begin to get those answers?

Well, in these opening verses, yes, John is establishing his credibility. Yes, he’s telling them to listen to him. But the very center of his appeal is not himself. It’s not him nor the other disciples who were with him that he’s emphasizing. Rather, he is directing them to Jesus.

Jesus is the overwhelming emphasis of these verses. He is where we should begin.

John establishes the identity of Jesus as God in the flesh. He existed in the very beginning. Verse 1. And verse 2, he is the eternal life and he is with the Father. He has full fellowship with God the Father because, verse 3, he is God’s Son. And John says his life was “made manifest.” He visibly and tangibly came to us. He became one of us.

This Jesus, whom they saw, and touched, and with whom they had fellowship was God’s very Son. He is God. Jesus is the one who makes their testimony credible. And all throughout this letter, John goes back to Jesus… to who he is and what he has done.

And I want you to notice something in the very opening words. Notice the book begins with the word “that.” “that which was from the beginning.” Why didn’t John begin with “who?” Why didn’t he say, “he who was from the beginning?” That seems like it would be the more natural way to write about Christ.

The reason is: John is not only speaking about Jesus (who he is), John is also speaking about Jesus’ ministry and message. He doesn’t just want them to know the person of Jesus. He also wants them to have fellowship with Jesus as well.

He calls Jesus the “word of life.” That’s very similar to the opening of John’s Gospel. “In the beginning was the word” and a few verses later “and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

Christ is eternal life and he brings eternal life. That is why he is the word of life. You see, John was affirming both the person and work of Christ. John was pointing to Jesus’ ministry which would bring life to them. The desire of John’s heart was that they also would have fellowship with God through Christ Jesus (that’s verse 3). And verse 4 reveals that John longed for this. It would be the joy of his heart for them to also know and believe and have fellowship with God through Christ. For those of us here who have that fellowship, it would also be our joy, for you come to the one true God through Christ.

Conclusion

John begins his letter with the foundation upon which to set our spiritual feet. He wants us to know the true Jesus and have faith in him.

Let me boil it down to this: the credible witness to which John and the disciples testified is Christ. He is the eternal God, the word of life, he came to give us life. It’s through him we can know God, and through which we can know what good and right and true.

With all the shifting sand below our feet, we can trust him.

When doubts come about our faith, we can look to Jesus.

When were not sure who to trust and what to believe, we can turn to the credible life and ministry of Jesus, who was from the beginning.

When we question our faith, when we wonder if we have true faith, we can come to the one who has given us faith… the word of life who is the only giver of life.Introduction

Our sermon text this morning is from the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1-10. Page 1159. This letter was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus is on the western shore of modern-day Turkey. Paul spent about 3 years in Ephesus and he wrote this letter a few years after that time. The apostle’s purpose was to encourage them in what they believed and how that belief should be worked out in their lives.

The reason we’re studying these particular verses, is that out of the entire New Testament, I think these verses capture the very heart of Salvation in Christ. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That Biblical teaching was the center of the Protestant Reformation. So, since tomorrow is the anniversary of the Reformation, we’ll be focusing on Ephesians 2.

READ Ephesians 2:1-10

PRAY

Why does the Protestant Reformation matter? Why take one of our Sunday morning worship services to focus on it?

That question is very legitimate. You should be asking it. Many of you have probably wondered why. Well, I hope to answer those questions this morning with a little history and an analysis of these verses.

And by the way, I don’t intend this to be an annual thing. We just happened to be between sermon series, so I thought it would be a good day to focus on these reformation principles that Scripture teaches.

And another important question is, what was the Protestant Reformation? I can’t really answer why it matters without answering the “what.” And to do that, we need to begin with the early church. 2000 years ago Jesus commissioned his apostles to establish his church. As the New Testament describes it, the church includes the people of God throughout all time from every tribe, tongue, and nation, who believed in Jesus, God’s son, as Savior. The book of Acts, which we studied last year, describes the explosion of growth of the church beginning in Jerusalem. It expanded throughout the Mediterranean region and began to go to the ends of the earth. That growth and expansion to every tribe, tongue, and nation, is continuing today.

But even with the tremendous growth of the church over the centuries, the church has struggled in different ways. In the Roman Empire, Christianity spread all throughout. In the 4th century, civil leaders including the emperor became so sympathetic to Christianity, that it became the religion of the state. It was quite the turn of events, especially after the persecution of Christians in the first three centuries.

Becoming the formal religion of the empire may sound good, but it caused a lot of problems. It mixed the civil authority and church leadership. When that happened, the church began to lose its focus and mission. The purposes of the state filtered into the church. The civil magistrates became leaders of the church because of the overlap. Wars were even fought in the name of Christianity. Besides the unholy mixture, it also led to many abuses involving power and money. That only increased over time. Men could buy their way into leadership in the church. That’s how corrupt the church had become. And over the centuries, a separation grew between the people and the church authority. By the 14th and 15th centuries, Christianity didn’t look anything like Biblical Christianity today. The people were not allowed to read the Bible for themselves. No, that was reserved for the clergy. The worship services were in Latin, not the language of the people. The church even taught and practiced that you could buy forgiveness of sins for yourself and even your deceased loved ones.

You ask, how could all of that continue? Wasn’t there anyone who understood what the Scriptures taught and could stand up for the truth? Well, yes! Many tried to, but they were burned alive for their teaching.

On the outside, the Gospel had been lost, the Scriptures were obscured, and the church was corrupt.

But God was at work.

By the 16th century, God had begun to stir a revolution in the hearts and minds of his true people.

On October 31st, 1517, a young Augustinian Monk, named Martin Luther, walked across town. He lived in the little town of Wittenburg in the northern part of Germany. He unfolded a parchment and nailed to the door of Castle Church. It included 95 statements or theses. Each highlighted a different abuse in the church that didn’t align with what the Bible taught - 95 of them.

There was no fanfare or press. At the time, if you had something to announce, you put it on the door of the church. Luther merely wanted to dialog about these abuses. But some of Luther’s students took his 95 theses, copied them, and distributed them all over the region.

The 95 theses were the spark that started the flame of the Protestant Reformation. Protestant meaning protest and reformation meaning a re-formation back to what the Scriptures taught.

The reformation literally changed the world. Many have called the Protestant Reformation the most significant historical event of the last 2000 years, at least in western culture. And that Reformation is still continuing today. I think the further out we get from the reformation, the broader the impact that it has, not just in western culture, but all across the world. And it has impacted the world in lots of different ways… literacy and education, vocation and work ethic, the separation of church and state, seeing all people as being created in the image of God, to name a few.

But what was and is the most significant impact of the Reformation?

Well, the most significant impact of the Protestant Reformation was and is the recovery of the Gospel. God used the Reformation to restore to prominence the centrality of salvation by faith in Christ alone.

We may take it for granted today, but back then, the Gospel had been hidden, bottled up, concealed. It was, in a sense, lost.

And here is where Ephesians 2:1-10 comes in. It teaches the heart of the Gospel. These verses capture very well what was brought to light again. The phrase that summarizes it this: Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

This is what the reformers taught, but they didn’t make it up! No, they were teaching what the Scriptures teach about salvation. Look at Ephesians 2 and jump down to verse 8. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

We could probably end right there, and we’d be good. But let’s work some of these details.

• “by grace alone” point 1.

• “through faith alone” point 2.

• “in Christ alone” point 3.

By Grace Alone

So first, by grace alone. That word grace is scattered throughout these verses. It means an undeserved gift. And I think if you had to come up with a full definition of what grace is, you would look no further than Ephesians 2:1-10. It doesn’t just tell us that salvation is a gift from God. No, it also tells us why it is a gift.

Verses 1-3 get to the problem – we were dead in our sins! This is talking about spiritual death. We may have been alive in our bodies, but we were of the devil. We had no capacity to know God, no capacity to believe, no hope for any kind of reconciliation with God, and no future with him. Not half dead. Spiritually dead as a doornail.

But even though we were dead, we were made alive by God’s grace. That’s right in verses 4 and 5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

The image here is not of God coming halfway down to us, and we coming halfway to him, meeting in the middle. No! We had no spiritual pulse. We were doomed. We had no ability in any way to come to God. It is all God’s work. He fully comes down to us. “Grace alone” captures both the gift part and the undeserved part.

There’s a great quote about the reformation understanding of “grace alone.” I don’t know who to attribute it to because it’s been used so widely without reference. Grace alone means “grace at the start, grace to the end, grace in the middle, grace without fail, grace without mixture, grace without addition, grace that allows no boasting, and grace that precludes all glorying but in the Lord.”

Salvation is all a gift of grace from God from beginning to end.

When I was in college, a couple times we would go to the local community college and talk to people. Our desire was to share the hope of Christ. We used a survey to start the conversation – and one of the questions was this “why should God let you in to his heaven?” Almost every single person said this “because I am a good person.” That’s our natural inclination, isn’t it? To think that we’re good enough for God to accept us. That we can reach out to God and then he’ll reach out to us.

The problem is, that’s not what the Scriptures teach. Like it says in Ephesians 2, we’re dead in our sin. We’re children of wrath. There’s nothing we can do to come to God or be acceptable in his sight. Rather, it’s all his grace. The end of verse 8 into verse 9 captures it well. “…it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” When we see that salvation is all by God’s grace, it humbles us and directs our gaze to him, seeking to glorify him.

Romans 11 also captures it well. Verse 6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”

In salvation, God take our cold dead hearts that deserve nothing but hell, and he gives us a new heart. It's all by his grace. Nothing else. The Holy Spirit awakens us and brings us to Christ. God frees us from the penalty of sin, raising us from spiritual death, and bringing us to spiritual life. None of it is our own doing.

Salvation is by grace alone. There’s no merit in salvation. We were dead, and he made us alive.

Grace alone.

Through Faith Alone

And second, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone.

Martin Luther lived on the eastern side of Wittenburg. The building was known as the Black Cloister. It was a three-story building, built earlier in the 16th century for the clergy – for monks. In 1517, it was where Luther and about a dozen other monks lived, who served the town. Eventually, that same building, the Black Cloister, would become the home where he and Katie would raise their children, and host their famous Tabletalk gatherings. In the front of the building was a spiral tower that rose above the structure. Up high in the tower was a study room. Luther spent a lot of time there studying, and thinking, and praying.

In fact, at one point Luther locked himself in his tower study for a couple of days. He was so engrossed in his research and prayer that he tuned the world out. Well, Katie, it’s said, got so fed up with it, so she took the hinges off the door, in order to break him out.

But let’s go back to 1517. I think it’s true to say that Luther’s 95 grievances sparked the reformation. But what brought Luther to that point? When did his heart change?

Later in his life, Luther wrote about his “tower” experience. You see, earlier in 1517, he was in the Black Cloister tower… and he was thinking about God’s righteousness. One of the things that haunted Luther up to that point was the idea of God’s righteousness. It brought terror to his heart. Fear gripped him at the mere thought of the almighty God’s divine justice. It angered him. Luther wrote that he “raged with a fierce and troubled conscience over it.” He wrote that he hated the righteousness of God, which punishes sinners.

And as he grappled with God’s righteousness in the Black Cloister tower, he was reading Romans 1:17. That was part of our assurance of pardon this morning. You can read it in the order of service. Verse 16 speaks about the Gospel, which it defines as “the power of God for salvation for those who believe.” And then in verse 17, it says, “For in it [in the Gospel], the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”

And there in the tower in early 1517, God revealed to Luther justification by faith. The eyes of his heart were opened. All the lies from the church about merit-based salvation came crashing down. Luther came to understand that our righteousness is not a righteousness of our own based on works. Rather, he came to understand that it is a righteousness that comes from God through faith. It is a righteousness given to us, when we believe by faith. That faith itself also being a gift from God.

Luther wrote of that day in the tower that he felt that he was altogether born again and “had entered paradise itself through the open gates.” He wrote later in life that, “there I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith.” And so it began. The gospel flame of justification by faith in Luther’s heart, which God would use to spark the Reformation.

It could be said that the Reformation started, not when Luther posted his 95 critiques of the church, but a few months earlier. In that Black Cloister tower, God brought him from a place of crisis to a place of believing in the righteousness of God through faith.

But what is faith? As Hebrews 11 says, faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That conviction and hope involves knowing, believing, and trusting in God. Faith is the means or the instrument, through which we participate in the righteousness of God. Let’s go back to Ephesians 2 verse 8 again. “for by grace you have been saved through faith.” The prepositions are important here. We’re saved “by” grace, “through” faith. The power of salvation come by God’s grace. It’s received, “through faith.” Through meaning faith is the avenue or channel. Faith is not the thing that does the justifying, rather it’s the thing through which we receive righteousness from God in Christ.

To be sure, it’s fine to say “by faith.” The Scriptures use that description as well. We “walk by faith,” we “live by faith.” But here in Ephesians 2, it is defining the relationship between grace and faith. It helpfully says by grace, through faith. Our faith does not justify us. God does. We receive his righteousness through faith. In just a couple of minutes we’ll consider the grounds of our justification, but faith is the channel through which God saves us. We are saved by the gift of grace alone, which we receive through faith alone.

It’s really important to understand that these three concepts cannot be separated. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The unmerited saving grace of God is the gift of Christ. And the faith that God gives is a faith in Christ for what he has done. It’s not works, it’s not merit or any special status that someone has, rather it’s a gift from God. In other words, the grace of God and the faith that God gives us is inseparable from the ministry of Christ.

In Christ Alone

“In Christ alone” mean that the grace and faith are in Christ alone. In other words, God’s grace comes to us only in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the object of our faith. We believe by faith in Christ. You see, it’s a package deal, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Ephesians 2 makes that clear.

• Verse 5, “even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ.” Our spiritual deadness was remedied by Christ. We’ve been made alive with him. That is God’s grace in Christ for us now.

• And Verse 6 – God “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This speaks of God’s future grace for us in Christ. Verse 7 verifies that. It says, “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The immeasurable riches of God’s grace is found in Christ.

Our faith is in the grace given to us in Christ.

When we say that salvation is in Christ alone, we are saying three things.

• First, the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was the only sacrifice that could atone for sin. His ransom payment is the only payment sufficient to pay our debt. Nothing else.

• But also, and second, Christ is our only savior. No one else and nothing else can save us from death and damnation and give us eternal hope. He alone can save.

• And third, he is the only mediator between God and man. Jesus is the only one we need to go to for forgiveness and to be in communion with God. There’s no one else.

In the 16th century, the church was not teaching that salvation was found in Christ alone. In fact, much of the teaching was quite the opposite. The “mass” which was their worship service, included the idea of re-sacrificing Christ. That was part of their understanding of communion. In other words, Jesus’ sacrifice was not a once-and-for-all sacrifice.

Related to that, the church also believed that taking the Lord’s Supper was necessary for salvation. It gave you saving grace, not just God’s sustaining grace. Furthermore, they believed the priests played a mediatorial role. You had to go to a priest to confess and receive forgiveness. But Christ alone is our mediator. Even worse, the church taught that you had to pay for your sin and work for your salvation. That included paying money, called indulgences. You had to recite certain prayers and live a good life in order for God to accept you. You see, salvation wasn’t a free gift. Christ’s payment wasn’t sufficient. In other words, Salvation wasn’t by faith alone in Christ alone, it included faith plus a priest, faith plus taking communion, faith plus indulgences, and other types of faith plus works.

Conclusion

But the fire of the Reformation had been started. As the Scriptures were being taught, all these false views of salvation were being exposed. God was on move in the hearts and minds of many.

One of those was a young French law student, who at some point in the early 1530s came to an understanding of grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. His name was John Calvin. In 1533 he wrote a speech for one of the bishops of the church in Paris. In it were these words: “[the priests] teach nothing of faith, nothing of the love of God, nothing of the remission of sins, nothing of grace, nothing of justification; or if they do so, they pervert and undermine it all…. I beg you, who are here present, not to tolerate any longer these heresies and abuses.” As you can imagine, that speech, although true, caused an uproar. Persecution began to spread throughout France. Both the Bishop who delivered the address, and Calvin who wrote it, fled for their lives. Calvin, allegedly, had to dress up as a gardener and be lowered down by a sheet from a window to escape. He would flee to Switzerland and eventually ended up in Geneva. He became yet another pillar used by God, to bring about a true revival of what the Scriptures teach.

The heart of the Gospel as Ephesians 2:1-10 teaches, would not and will not be repressed. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone.

May we each know and believe in the love of God in Christ… that while we were dead in our sin, God made us alive in Christ, by his grace. We receive it not by works, not by merit, but through faith. It’s the only hope we have. Amen.

View Details

Ephesians 2:1-10
Rev. Erik Veerman
10/30/2022
By Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone
Introduction
Our sermon text this morning is from the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1-10. Page 1159. This letter was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus is on the western shore of modern-day Turkey. Paul spent about 3 years in Ephesus and he wrote this letter a few years after that time. The apostle’s purpose was to encourage them in what they believed and how that belief should be worked out in their lives.
The reason we’re studying these particular verses, is that out of the entire New Testament, I think these verses capture the very heart of Salvation in Christ. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That Biblical teaching was the center of the Protestant Reformation. So, since tomorrow is the anniversary of the Reformation, we’ll be focusing on Ephesians 2.
READ Ephesians 2:1-10
PRAY
Why does the Protestant Reformation matter? Why take one of our Sunday morning worship services to focus on it?
That question is very legitimate. You should be asking it. Many of you have probably wondered why. Well, I hope to answer those questions this morning with a little history and an analysis of these verses.
And by the way, I don’t intend this to be an annual thing. We just happened to be between sermon series, so I thought it would be a good day to focus on these reformation principles that Scripture teaches.
And another important question is, what was the Protestant Reformation? I can’t really answer why it matters without answering the “what.” And to do that, we need to begin with the early church. 2000 years ago Jesus commissioned his apostles to establish his church. As the New Testament describes it, the church includes the people of God throughout all time from every tribe, tongue, and nation, who believed in Jesus, God’s son, as Savior. The book of Acts, which we studied last year, describes the explosion of growth of the church beginning in Jerusalem. It expanded throughout the Mediterranean region and began to go to the ends of the earth. That growth and expansion to every tribe, tongue, and nation, is continuing today.
But even with the tremendous growth of the church over the centuries, the church has struggled in different ways. In the Roman Empire, Christianity spread all throughout. In the 4th century, civil leaders including the emperor became so sympathetic to Christianity, that it became the religion of the state. It was quite the turn of events, especially after the persecution of Christians in the first three centuries.
Becoming the formal religion of the empire may sound good, but it caused a lot of problems. It mixed the civil authority and church leadership. When that happened, the church began to lose its focus and mission. The purposes of the state filtered into the church. The civil magistrates became leaders of the church because of the overlap. Wars were even fought in the name of Christianity. Besides the unholy mixture, it also led to many abuses involving power and money. That only increased over time. Men could buy their way into leadership in the church. That’s how corrupt the church had become. And over the centuries, a separation grew between the people and the church authority. By the 14th and 15th centuries, Christianity didn’t look anything like Biblical Christianity today. The people were not allowed to read the Bible for themselves. No, that was reserved for the clergy. The worship services were in Latin, not the language of the people. The church even taught and practiced that you could buy forgiveness of sins for yourself and even your deceased loved ones.
You ask, how could all of that continue? Wasn’t there anyone who understood what the Scriptures taught and could stand up for the truth? Well, yes! Many tried to, but they were burned alive for their teaching.
On the outside, the Gospel had been lost, the Scriptures were obscured, and the church was corrupt.
But God was at work.
By the 16th century, God had begun to stir a revolution in the hearts and minds of his true people.
On October 31st, 1517, a young Augustinian Monk, named Martin Luther, walked across town. He lived in the little town of Wittenburg in the northern part of Germany. He unfolded a parchment and nailed to the door of Castle Church. It included 95 statements or theses. Each highlighted a different abuse in the church that didn’t align with what the Bible taught - 95 of them.
There was no fanfare or press. At the time, if you had something to announce, you put it on the door of the church. Luther merely wanted to dialog about these abuses. But some of Luther’s students took his 95 theses, copied them, and distributed them all over the region.
The 95 theses were the spark that started the flame of the Protestant Reformation. Protestant meaning protest and reformation meaning a re-formation back to what the Scriptures taught.
The reformation literally changed the world. Many have called the Protestant Reformation the most significant historical event of the last 2000 years, at least in western culture. And that Reformation is still continuing today. I think the further out we get from the reformation, the broader the impact that it has, not just in western culture, but all across the world. And it has impacted the world in lots of different ways… literacy and education, vocation and work ethic, the separation of church and state, seeing all people as being created in the image of God, to name a few.
But what was and is the most significant impact of the Reformation?
Well, the most significant impact of the Protestant Reformation was and is the recovery of the Gospel. God used the Reformation to restore to prominence the centrality of salvation by faith in Christ alone.
We may take it for granted today, but back then, the Gospel had been hidden, bottled up, concealed. It was, in a sense, lost.
And here is where Ephesians 2:1-10 comes in. It teaches the heart of the Gospel. These verses capture very well what was brought to light again. The phrase that summarizes it this: Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
This is what the reformers taught, but they didn’t make it up! No, they were teaching what the Scriptures teach about salvation. Look at Ephesians 2 and jump down to verse 8. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
We could probably end right there, and we’d be good. But let’s work some of these details.
• “by grace alone” point 1.
• “through faith alone” point 2.
• “in Christ alone” point 3.
1. By Grace Alone
So first, by grace alone. That word grace is scattered throughout these verses. It means an undeserved gift. And I think if you had to come up with a full definition of what grace is, you would look no further than Ephesians 2:1-10. It doesn’t just tell us that salvation is a gift from God. No, it also tells us why it is a gift.
Verses 1-3 get to the problem – we were dead in our sins! This is talking about spiritual death. We may have been alive in our bodies, but we were of the devil. We had no capacity to know God, no capacity to believe, no hope for any kind of reconciliation with God, and no future with him. Not half dead. Spiritually dead as a doornail.
But even though we were dead, we were made alive by God’s grace. That’s right in verses 4 and 5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”
The image here is not of God coming halfway down to us, and we coming halfway to him, meeting in the middle. No! We had no spiritual pulse. We were doomed. We had no ability in any way to come to God. It is all God’s work. He fully comes down to us. “Grace alone” captures both the gift part and the undeserved part.
There’s a great quote about the reformation understanding of “grace alone.” I don’t know who to attribute it to because it’s been used so widely without reference. Grace alone means “grace at the start, grace to the end, grace in the middle, grace without fail, grace without mixture, grace without addition, grace that allows no boasting, and grace that precludes all glorying but in the Lord.”
Salvation is all a gift of grace from God from beginning to end.
When I was in college, a couple times we would go to the local community college and talk to people. Our desire was to share the hope of Christ. We used a survey to start the conversation – and one of the questions was this “why should God let you in to his heaven?” Almost every single person said this “because I am a good person.” That’s our natural inclination, isn’t it? To think that we’re good enough for God to accept us. That we can reach out to God and then he’ll reach out to us.
The problem is, that’s not what the Scriptures teach. Like it says in Ephesians 2, we’re dead in our sin. We’re children of wrath. There’s nothing we can do to come to God or be acceptable in his sight. Rather, it’s all his grace. The end of verse 8 into verse 9 captures it well. “…it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” When we see that salvation is all by God’s grace, it humbles us and directs our gaze to him, seeking to glorify him.
Romans 11 also captures it well. Verse 6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”
In salvation, God take our cold dead hearts that deserve nothing but hell, and he gives us a new heart. It's all by his grace. Nothing else. The Holy Spirit awakens us and brings us to Christ. God frees us from the penalty of sin, raising us from spiritual death, and bringing us to spiritual life. None of it is our own doing.
Salvation is by grace alone. There’s no merit in salvation. We were dead, and he made us alive.
Grace alone.
2. Through Faith Alone
And second, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone.
Martin Luther lived on the eastern side of Wittenburg. The building was known as the Black Cloister. It was a three-story building, built earlier in the 16th century for the clergy – for monks. In 1517, it was where Luther and about a dozen other monks lived, who served the town. Eventually, that same building, the Black Cloister, would become the home where he and Katie would raise their children, and host their famous Tabletalk gatherings. In the front of the building was a spiral tower that rose above the structure. Up high in the tower was a study room. Luther spent a lot of time there studying, and thinking, and praying.
In fact, at one point Luther locked himself in his tower study for a couple of days. He was so engrossed in his research and prayer that he tuned the world out. Well, Katie, it’s said, got so fed up with it, so she took the hinges off the door, in order to break him out.
But let’s go back to 1517. I think it’s true to say that Luther’s 95 grievances sparked the reformation. But what brought Luther to that point? When did his heart change?
Later in his life, Luther wrote about his “tower” experience. You see, earlier in 1517, he was in the Black Cloister tower… and he was thinking about God’s righteousness. One of the things that haunted Luther up to that point was the idea of God’s righteousness. It brought terror to his heart. Fear gripped him at the mere thought of the almighty God’s divine justice. It angered him. Luther wrote that he “raged with a fierce and troubled conscience over it.” He wrote that he hated the righteousness of God, which punishes sinners.
And as he grappled with God’s righteousness in the Black Cloister tower, he was reading Romans 1:17. That was part of our assurance of pardon this morning. You can read it in the order of service. Verse 16 speaks about the Gospel, which it defines as “the power of God for salvation for those who believe.” And then in verse 17, it says, “For in it [in the Gospel], the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
And there in the tower in early 1517, God revealed to Luther justification by faith. The eyes of his heart were opened. All the lies from the church about merit-based salvation came crashing down. Luther came to understand that our righteousness is not a righteousness of our own based on works. Rather, he came to understand that it is a righteousness that comes from God through faith. It is a righteousness given to us, when we believe by faith. That faith itself also being a gift from God.
Luther wrote of that day in the tower that he felt that he was altogether born again and “had entered paradise itself through the open gates.” He wrote later in life that, “there I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith.” And so it began. The gospel flame of justification by faith in Luther’s heart, which God would use to spark the Reformation.
It could be said that the Reformation started, not when Luther posted his 95 critiques of the church, but a few months earlier. In that Black Cloister tower, God brought him from a place of crisis to a place of believing in the righteousness of God through faith.
But what is faith? As Hebrews 11 says, faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That conviction and hope involves knowing, believing, and trusting in God. Faith is the means or the instrument, through which we participate in the righteousness of God. Let’s go back to Ephesians 2 verse 8 again. “for by grace you have been saved through faith.” The prepositions are important here. We’re saved “by” grace, “through” faith. The power of salvation come by God’s grace. It’s received, “through faith.” Through meaning faith is the avenue or channel. Faith is not the thing that does the justifying, rather it’s the thing through which we receive righteousness from God in Christ.
To be sure, it’s fine to say “by faith.” The Scriptures use that description as well. We “walk by faith,” we “live by faith.” But here in Ephesians 2, it is defining the relationship between grace and faith. It helpfully says by grace, through faith. Our faith does not justify us. God does. We receive his righteousness through faith. In just a couple of minutes we’ll consider the grounds of our justification, but faith is the channel through which God saves us. We are saved by the gift of grace alone, which we receive through faith alone.
It’s really important to understand that these three concepts cannot be separated. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The unmerited saving grace of God is the gift of Christ. And the faith that God gives is a faith in Christ for what he has done. It’s not works, it’s not merit or any special status that someone has, rather it’s a gift from God. In other words, the grace of God and the faith that God gives us is inseparable from the ministry of Christ.
3. In Christ Alone
“In Christ alone” mean that the grace and faith are in Christ alone. In other words, God’s grace comes to us only in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the object of our faith. We believe by faith in Christ. You see, it’s a package deal, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Ephesians 2 makes that clear.
• Verse 5, “even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ.” Our spiritual deadness was remedied by Christ. We’ve been made alive with him. That is God’s grace in Christ for us now.
• And Verse 6 – God “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This speaks of God’s future grace for us in Christ. Verse 7 verifies that. It says, “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The immeasurable riches of God’s grace is found in Christ.
Our faith is in the grace given to us in Christ.
When we say that salvation is in Christ alone, we are saying three things.
• First, the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was the only sacrifice that could atone for sin. His ransom payment is the only payment sufficient to pay our debt. Nothing else.
• But also, and second, Christ is our only savior. No one else and nothing else can save us from death and damnation and give us eternal hope. He alone can save.
• And third, he is the only mediator between God and man. Jesus is the only one we need to go to for forgiveness and to be in communion with God. There’s no one else.
In the 16th century, the church was not teaching that salvation was found in Christ alone. In fact, much of the teaching was quite the opposite. The “mass” which was their worship service, included the idea of re-sacrificing Christ. That was part of their understanding of communion. In other words, Jesus’ sacrifice was not a once-and-for-all sacrifice.
Related to that, the church also believed that taking the Lord’s Supper was necessary for salvation. It gave you saving grace, not just God’s sustaining grace. Furthermore, they believed the priests played a mediatorial role. You had to go to a priest to confess and receive forgiveness. But Christ alone is our mediator. Even worse, the church taught that you had to pay for your sin and work for your salvation. That included paying money, called indulgences. You had to recite certain prayers and live a good life in order for God to accept you. You see, salvation wasn’t a free gift. Christ’s payment wasn’t sufficient. In other words, Salvation wasn’t by faith alone in Christ alone, it included faith plus a priest, faith plus taking communion, faith plus indulgences, and other types of faith plus works.
Conclusion
But the fire of the Reformation had been started. As the Scriptures were being taught, all these false views of salvation were being exposed. God was on move in the hearts and minds of many.
One of those was a young French law student, who at some point in the early 1530s came to an understanding of grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. His name was John Calvin. In 1533 he wrote a speech for one of the bishops of the church in Paris. In it were these words: “[the priests] teach nothing of faith, nothing of the love of God, nothing of the remission of sins, nothing of grace, nothing of justification; or if they do so, they pervert and undermine it all…. I beg you, who are here present, not to tolerate any longer these heresies and abuses.” As you can imagine, that speech, although true, caused an uproar. Persecution began to spread throughout France. Both the Bishop who delivered the address, and Calvin who wrote it, fled for their lives. Calvin, allegedly, had to dress up as a gardener and be lowered down by a sheet from a window to escape. He would flee to Switzerland and eventually ended up in Geneva. He became yet another pillar used by God, to bring about a true revival of what the Scriptures teach.
The heart of the Gospel as Ephesians 2:1-10 teaches, would not and will not be repressed. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone.
May we each know and believe in the love of God in Christ… that while we were dead in our sin, God made us alive in Christ, by his grace. We receive it not by works, not by merit, but through faith. It’s the only hope we have. Amen.

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Romans 12:17-21
Rev. Erik Veerman
10/23/2022
Revenge: the End Game
Our sermon text this morning is Romans 12:17-21 and you can find that on page 1127 in the pew Bibles This is the conclusion to our brief Romans 12 series. Next Sunday is what we call Reformation Sunday, so we’ll have a special focus for that. If you are not sure what that means, come next week. And then in November, we’ll jump into the book of 1 John.
Again, Romans 12:17-21.
Stand
Prayer
Introduction
It started in 1878 (allegedly). Rand’l McCoy accused his neighbors, the Hatfields, of stealing his hog. The Hatfields contended, though, that the hog was theirs, not the McCoys. After all, it had their earmark. And so it began.
You see, Rand’l McCoy, along with his wife and their 13 children, lived in Kentucky, right on the border of West Virginia. And just the other side of the Tug Fork river, in West Virginia, lived Anderson Hatfield, along with his wife and their 13 children. They called him Devil Anse Hatfield.
It seemed like a small quibble, but in the summer of 1880, two of Rand’l McCoy’s sons killed the man who testified against their ownership of the hog. But it didn’t end there, in 1882, three younger McCoy sons killed Ellison Hatfield, Devil Anise’s brother. In retaliation, all three of those McCoy brothers were kidnapped, tied up, and executed in brutal fashion by members of the Hatfield clan. As a result, 20 Hatfields were indicted but they all eluded arrest given they lived in West Virginia and not Kentucky. Tensions escalated. The feud continued in 1886 and 87 when friends of both families were killed.
Then in 1888, Cap and Vance Hatfield, sons of Devil Anse, along with other members of their family surrounded the McCoy house at night. They first opened fire with their guns. They then lit the house on fire. As the McCoy family fled, two McCoy children were shot and killed. Rand’l’s wife, Sara was captured, beaten, and let for dead. Two days later, Vance Hatfield was killed by the McCoys along with three Hatfield family supporters.
That led to a lawsuit. Kentucky’s governor and West Virginia’s governor both entered the fray. They weren’t trying to quell the violence, rather, they opposed each other. The lawsuit escalated to the US Supreme Court. Eventually, seven men were convicted. One executed for his crimes and the others imprisoned for life.
Over the 10-year period from 1878 to 1888, a dozen Hatfields and McCoys were killed. Young and old died, families were broken, anger reigned, and the skirmishes continued for the next 20 years.
Vengeance ruled the day. And it likely started over the ownership of a hog.
Revenge is a never-ending downward spiral. It often leads to escalated feelings of bitterness. It may not end in murder, but the offended party inflicts some sort of pay-back. Then the offended party becomes the offending, and the cycle continues.
There’s something deep down in us, in our natural state, that justifies our revenge. The parents here can tell you, revenge is not something taught. You hurt my teddy bear! …we’ll I’m going to pull the eyeballs off of your stuffed alligator. Hmf.
Well, along comes the Apostle Paul, and in a matter of a few verses, he rejects any and all vengeance. And did you notice? It’s a theme that he’s repeated multiple times. Go back up to verse 15. “Bless those who persecute you.” Not identical, but a very similar idea. Verse 17 and 19 are very similar. “Repay no one evil for evil.” And “never avenge yourselves.” Verse 21. “Overcome evil with good.” Do you see that repeated emphasis?
Now, we’re not told about any particular situation in the church in Rome, but I think the repetition here lends itself toward some situation. Maybe a couple of church members in Rome were at odds and it began to escalate. Or maybe there were some unbelievers who were provoking the Christians, and people in the church wanted to get revenge. Or maybe Paul was addressing a cultural propensity for revenge.
Roman society was very much oriented around reciprocity. You do something for me, and I’ll return the favor and do something for you. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back. In fact, recent academic studies have identified ancient Roman reciprocity as a significant part of the economic system of the day. So, if you lived in Rome in the first century, you had a responsibility to give to others and receive from others in return.
But the thing is, the negative reciprocation also applies. We call that retribution. You do something bad to me, well, then, you deserve something bad from me. Yes, seeking revenge is natural part of our sinful condition, but the cultural inclination of retribution only intensified the sinful desire for revenge.
So, whether Paul was addressing a specific situation or whether it was a broader concern (or maybe both), the apostle felt compelled to drive his point home: Revenge has no place in the Christian life.
Notice, there are no qualifications here? Does it say: “Repay no one evil for evil, except when someone slanders you behind your back?” Or does it say, “Beloved, never avenge yourself… well, except when someone insults you or makes you feel ashamed?” Not at all. “Repay no one for evil” and “never avenge.” That means setting aside all the ways that you try to get back at others.
Now, I don’t suspect that any of you have gone to extremes for revenge. But have you given someone the silent treatment? Or have you avoided someone or pulled back from your relationship? Have you decided to just dismiss all of their concerns or ideas? Or when interacting with someone who offended you, do you have an attitude that lets them know you don’t care for them? Or have you said to someone else, “you know, you should watch out for this [other] person?” Or have you taken some sort of legal action (in the church or in the civil courts)? Now, I’m not saying that a formal action is never necessary, but when you goal is just to make someone’s life difficult, then your motives need to be checked. I’m sure you can come up with several other ways that you take revenge.
But how does it all end? What, if anything, will stop the cycle of retaliation? That’s the big question here. These verses do a lot more than just tell us not to take revenge. They give us the path to end revenge. To end the cycle of retribution.
Let’s consider three parts that answer the question, How do we end revenge?
1. Our part in ending revenge
2. God’s part in ending revenge
3. Jesus’ part in ending revenge.
Our part, God’s part – meaning God the Father, and Jesus’ part, God the son.
1. Ending revenge: Our part (honor – 12:17; peace – 12:18; and goodness – 12:20-21)
So first, our part.
Really, there is so much in here for us. Every single verse here gives us a contrast. It’s not just a list of do nots, it includes a list of dos. What should we do instead of taking revenge?
Look at it. Verse 17. “Repay no one evil for evil, BUT give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”
Verse 19 is very similar. “Never avenge yourselves, BUT leave it to the wrath of God.” We’ll come back later to what that means.
Verse 20 lists several things to do instead of taking revenge (it’s a quote from Proverbs 25). Feed your enemy, give him something to drink. And verse 21. “Do not be overcome by evil, BUT,” it says, “overcome evil with good.”
Our part is not just refraining from taking revenge, but instead, it’s honoring, it’s being peaceable, it’s loving our enemies. It’s doing good and not evil.
And, I think you know, these verses are not isolated in the Bible as a whole. In his sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” That’s a phrase that means do not retaliate. Jesus continues, “And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.”
Or take Leviticus 19:18. It says, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”
Our responsibility is to love. It’s to turn the other cheek, it’s to give to those who steal from you.
In Victor Hugo’s well known novel, Les Miserable, the main character, Jean Valjean, had been imprisoned for stealing bread. His sister and her family were starving. Can you imagine? For years Valjean labored in chains. The punishment was way beyond the crime. He’s finally released, but no one would take him in. To many, he was still a criminal. Yet, a kind bishop took him in. This man gave Valjean food and a place to sleep. However, Valjean was still weighed down by his hopeless future. And so he stole the bishop’s silver plates and utensils. He put them in his bag and fled in the middle of the night.
But soon after, the police detained him. They found the stolen silver and dragged Valjean back to the Bishop. This, for sure, he thought, would be the end for him. For those of you that know the story, how did the Bishop respond? Did he say, “That man doesn’t deserve to be free. He stole my silver. Throw him back in prison!” No, no! Instead, the Bishop did the opposite. He said that Valjean had forgotten to take the silver candlesticks. They were also a gift, he said. And he puts them in Valjean’s trembling hands. And then the Bishop bids the Sergeant farewell.
Jean Valjean’s lyrics from the musical capture it well.
Yet why did I allow that man, To touch my soul and teach me love?
He treated me like any other, He gave me his trust, He called me brother,
My life he claims for God above, Can such things be?
For I had come to hate the world, This world that always hated me

Take an eye for an eye! Turn your heart into stone!
This is all I have lived for! This is all I have known!

One word from him and I’d be back, Beneath the lash, upon the rack
Instead he offers me my freedom, I feel my shame inside me like a knife
He told me that I have a soul, How does he know?
What spirit comes to move my life? Is there another way to go?

That undeserved grace transformed Valjean. He was no longer a prisoner, no longer a slave. He experienced goodness and love.
All those things that these Romans 12 verses speak of… overcoming evil with good, providing for your enemy, they all break the cycle.
Look at the end of verse 20, “for by doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Now, no one is exactly sure what that phrase means, but I think what happened to Valjean captures it. The act of kindness and grace by the Bishop overwhelmed Valjean. In other words, he couldn’t get it out of his mind – like burning coals on his head. And it deeply changed him.
God, through the apostle Paul, is very interested in this peace and kindness affecting others. He’s very interested in our outward display of good and not evil. Both the end of verse 17 and the end of verse 18 emphasize that. He says, do what is honorable “in the sight of all.” He wants people to see a community that displays love, that does not repay evil with evil. It’s transformational. The end of 18 is similar. “Live peaceably with all.” Do you see that emphasis? Our actions should visibly demonstrate Christianity’s radical response to evil. Doing so, will impact those around us. To be sure, it may not lead to peace. That’s clear here, too. Verse 18. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Every circumstance is an opportunity to live at peace, but every circumstance may not result in peace.
Bottom line, retribution is not part of the Christian life. Rather than revenge, we’re to honor others, pursue peace, display love, and return evil with good. Instead of fostering conflict and allowing revenge to spiral out of control, we’re to break the cycle and do the opposite. And when we do, we’re doing our part to put an end to revenge.
2. Ending revenge: God’s part (wrath and justice – 12:19)
There’s a second emphasis here, though. God’s part. It is found in verse 19. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” Then he goes on to quote Deuteronomy 32, which we’ve read earlier in our service. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”
The reason we should not take revenge, is because vengeance is God’s role. It’s part of his responsibility. We’re on point 2, by the way. God’s part in ending revenge is being the only one who justly and rightly avenges evil.
I was thinking about Anselm of Canterbury this week. He lived 1000 years ago – the 11th century. One of his most well-known works is titled Why the God Man? Cur Deus Home, in the Latin. He asks the question, why did God become man in the person of Jesus? Why? Why was it necessary?
It’s a critical question. And actually, a lot of his arguments pull out different theological points made in the book of Romans.
A very central part of Anselm’s argument is what he calls the retributive justice of God. In other words, retribution is central to God’s nature as a perfectly just being. Nothing in his character is unjust or unholy. Therefore, nothing unjust or unholy can be in his presence. And originally, humanity reflected God’s character – and so all was good. However, when humanity fell in Adam, the dishonor and rejection of God and his commands resulted in mankind’s corrupted nature. We became unjust and unholy in God’s presence.
Anselm demonstrated the incompatibility of God’s infinite holiness and justice with any and all unholiness. Even the slightest sin, as Anselm puts it, results in a debt to God greater than the value of all creation.
Think of the sun (s-u-n). The sun is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. Anything that is close to the sun will burn up. It will be incinerated. It’s the very nature of the sun. That’s similar to anything unholy or unjust in God’s presence. It cannot withstand God’s presence. That’s like God’s justice. He will avenge any and all unholiness and injustice. The thing is, we are 92.5 million miles away from the sun. That’s why we don’t get burned up. But think about this, as big as the sun is, it is nothing compared to God’s infinite nature. There’s no safe distance to which we can flee from God’s holy presence.
That’s what Anselm was saying. Verse 19 validates that. God is the avenger. God alone is the one who is perfectly just in responding with vengeance on evil and sin.
And here’s the point: when you take revenge on someone else, you are playing God. You are putting yourself in the role that only God is to fulfill. He’s the only one to ultimately deal with any and all evil inflicted against you.
Now, God has ordained a role for the civil government to deal with injustice. But that is different from you, individually, trying to avenge injustice. In fact, Romans chapter 13 deals with the civil authority.
The point in these verses is that God will ultimately avenge wrongs. He will put an end to all unrighteousness, all evil, all unholiness, and all injustice. That’s his part in ending revenge.
3. Ending revenge: Jesus’ part (honor, peace, goodness, wrath)
So, our part in ending revenge is turning the tables on what’s done to us. It’s repaying evil with good. It’s showing honor and being peaceable. Our part also involves recognizing God’s part. Vengeance is his alone. As the Lord declares in his word, “I will repay.”
But the truth of God’s just retribution also comes with a harsh reality. If God in his infinite holiness and infinite justice will repay any and all unholiness and injustice, then we are all condemned. None of us can escape the wrath of God against sin. As Romans 3 says, “no one is righteous.” It says, “all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.”
When we recognize that we’ve offended God, that we deserve his just judgment as well, it does two things. First, we see that we’re also guilty. It helps us see that our revenge will not accomplish justice – it will only further injustice. But second, it drives us to God.
Let’s go back to Anselm. He laid out a case for God’s retributive justice based on his character. He demonstrated that any sin or unholiness, no matter how small is deserving of God’s just punishment. Therefore, all humanity is condemned. And by the way, Anselm was merely conveying what the Scriptures teach about God, the fall, and us.
And then, Anselm answers the question, “why the God man?” Why did God need to come in the flesh? Why Jesus? Why? Because the only way that God’s divine retribution could be satisfied is by an infinite payment of the debt. Only a God-man could to that. In other words, Jesus, as God, and as man, perfectly holy and just, was the only way for the penalty to be paid. That is the hope of Christ. God’s vengeance satisfied by the infinite debt that Jesus paid on the cross for those who believe.
That is the Gospel.
Let me put it this way: Jesus’ part in ending revenge involved becoming the object of God’s just vengeance – his wrath.
But that’s not the only thing. Jesus part in ending revenge was not limited to being the substitute for those who believe. No, Jesus also perfectly fulfilled our part in ending revenge. Every part of our responsibility in these verses was accomplished by Jesus in his life and death.
Take Verse 17 and 21 – “repay no one evil for evil…” and “overcome evil with good.” Jesus responded to the evil committed against him with good. Instead of retaliating, he submitted to the suffering and torture and mocking. He prayed to his Father for those who were persecuting him. He suffered unto death so that the greatest good could be accomplished. Verse 18, Jesus lived in peace and brought peace. Jesus came near to sinners to call them to him. Verse 20, to his enemies, Jesus offered the bread of life and the water that would satisfy their thirst forever.
In those ways, Jesus has gone before us. He’s both the example of repaying evil with good and the reason we can repay evil with good.
In real life situations, whatever the offence is, we can look to Christ. Nothing compares to the rejection he underwent as God, or the death he endured, taking on God’s wrath. So, in the day-to-day evil and offences we receive, we can respond with honor and peace and goodness just as Christ did for us.
That is what will break the cycle of revenge. Pursuing our part to end revenge through Christ… and seeing God’s part, the only one who can justly avenge, fulfilled in Jesus.
Conclusion
I wish I could say that the Hatfield McCoy feud ended in the 1800s with an amazing reconciliation in Christ. No, it didn’t. The feuding continued for years. But in 2003, about 70 descendants of both Devil Anse Hatfield and Rand’l McCoy got together. They formally signed a peace treaty. No, they didn’t quote Romans 12 (although that would have been nice for my sermon illustration!). It was more of a social statement of unity. Their signed document say this: “injuries and wrongdoings to and by our ancestors in years past are now committed henceforth to history and that from this day forward the Hatfields and McCoys stand united.” But they did include these words: “We ask by God’s grace and love that we would be forever remembered as those that bound together two families...”
The offenses and evil that we each experience may not rise to the level of that fateful feud. But whatever we experience, may God’s grace in Christ help us to end the cycle of revenge. May we repay evil with good and seek peace and honor. And may we see God as the only who can justly avenge, and Christ Jesus who has received that vengeance for those who believe.

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Romans 12:6-8
Rev. Erik Veerman
10/2/2022
Gifts of Grace
This morning we will be focusing on Romans 12:6-8. That can be found on page 1126 in the pew Bible. These verses expand on verses 3-5. Last week was about unity in the body of Christ. We are many members. We don’t all have the same function or responsibilities, but we are one body in Christ.
And these verses, 6-8, go into different gifts and responsibilities that we’re given to serve one another in the church.
Let’s now turn our attention to God’s Word. Stand.
Reading of Romans 12:6-8
Prayer
According to a 2020 study, 51% of Americans have unused gift cards sitting around their home. The total value is about 15 Billion dollars. That’s an average of $116 per person. Maybe we should go door to door in Tucker asking for gift card donations to help fund a new church building!
$15 billion dollars of gift card. And these are gifts given by friends and family for birthdays and holidays. The intention, of course, was for them to be used. But they just sit. We forget about them, or they get lost, or accidentally thrown away.
When we come here to Romans 12:6-8, we’re told about gifts that God has given to us. These gifts are to be used and not to sit idle. These gifts are to be a blessing to us and others. But often, these gifts, like unredeemed gift cards are not cashed in. They are not used or exercised.
In this passage, we’re given a description of these gifts. We’re given some examples. We’re commanded to use these gifts, and we’re given some explanations about how are to be used.
In fact, each of you, sitting here, has been given gifts like some of these. Your individual gifts serve a purpose, and collectively, all of our gifts work together for the welfare of the body.
We’ll spend a majority of our time identifying these gifts and talking about how to exercise them. But I think it would be helpful to first give a better definition of what these gifts are (and are not!), and then work through the particulars.
You can see a sermon outline on the back of the bulletin. Three points.
• The first is “gifts of grace given” – Why am I calling them “gifts of grace?”.
• Second, “gifts of grace identified.” In other words, what are these gifts? We’ll be looking at other scripture texts to get a better overall sense of them.
• And third, “gifts of grace exercised.” How are we called to use our gifts? In fact, how do you know what gifts God has given you?
1. Gifts of Grace Given
So, first, gifts of grace given. You may have noticed the redundancy in the phrase I’m using - Gifts of Grace. Grace itself means gift. I’m pulling that phrase right from verse 6. “having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.”
Sometimes you’ll hear people describe these gifts as spiritual gifts. And I think that’s a fine title if we mean that they are given by the Holy Spirit. Really, these gifts are from God. Different texts in the Bible describe them as given from God the Father or God the Son or the Spirit. But it is the Holy Spirit who applies these gifts to each of us. And these gifts are like the abilities and skills and passions that God has given you to serve him in different ways.
We’re going to get specific but overall they are gifts from God.
And the word “gifts” right there, the second word of verse 6, is the plural form of the word for “grace.” It’s the Greek word Charisma. It’s where we get the word “charismatic.” That term describes the branch of Christianity that focuses on the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit - like speaking in tongues and supernatural healing. Some Pentecostal churches are charismatic.
And that word Xaris is used twice in verse 6. First the plural translated “gifts,” and second the word “grace” which is singular. So, gifts of grace. And if you didn’t catch it the first two times, these gifts are described as “given to us.” So, gifts, plural. Grace, same word which means a gift from God. And the word “given.”
From the redundancy, the overwhelming sense is that God has blessed you with them. They are his for you to use for his purposes. And that is really important to understand. Because if you don’t understand that it’s God’s gift, it would be easy to become prideful. You could think, “Oh, I’m important, I have the ability to do this or that, like maybe teach or lead.” That’s why the verses leading up emphasize humility. Verse 6 here continues that theme, by emphasizing that they are given as gifts.
The other part that is important to understand is that they are focused on the body of Christ, the church. That also goes back to the previous verses, specifically verses 4 and 5. We have different “functions,” but we are in total, “one body in Christ.”
So, these gifts of grace are not talents that you have that can be used wherever. No, they are specifically for the church and kingdom. They are gifts given you that are to be used to serve and bless the church, the body of Christ.
And by the way, there’s not a one-to-one correspondence between someone skills and talents (which are used in the marketplace) and their service in the church. For example, someone may be a great teacher as a job, but may not have the gift of teaching – meaning teaching what the Scriptures teach. Someone else may be a leader in his or her company, but not called to leadership in the church, but may be instead called to serve. Maybe given a passion for mercy and able to lovingly serve in that way, caring for different mercy needs in the church.
I’m not saying that someone who has skills and experience to teach or lead does not have the corresponding gifts. Rather, I’m saying they don’t always correspond. Do you see that difference?
The bottom line is that the gifts of the Spirit are for the church. They are a grace that God gives each of us to support the body of Christ.
Gifts of grace given.
2. Gifts of Grace Identified
That brings us to point number 2. Gifts of grace identified.
Just what are these gifts, you ask? Or another question that comes to mind: how many gifts are there? I know I’ve mentioned some examples, already, but we’re given a list here. Seven gifts are listed. And let me say this is not a comprehensive list. We’re given other examples in other parts of Scripture.
But notice what it says at the beginning of verse 6. “having gifts that differ according to the grace given us.” Like we talked about last week, just as a body has different parts, so the body of Christ is made up of people with different gifts and responsibilities. And the point is that we all work together with our different gifts to serve the church.
The question for you is, what gifts of grace has God given you? As I work through this list, I want you to be thinking about that question. What has God given you or how has he equipped you to contribute to the body of Christ? By the way, when we get to point 3, we’ll talk about how to know which gifts you’ve been given.
OK, f you look at the list of gifts mentioned here, I’m guessing you have the most questions about the gift of prophecy. Right? I think of all the gifts listed here, that one brings with it the most questions.
When we think of prophecy, we think of an Old Testament prophet. Prophets directly spoke a new revelation from God. Our responsive reading earlier in the service was from Ephesians 2. We read together that we are “members of the household of God.” And it says, which is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” It’s speaking of the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles. Both had a unique role in redemptive history to directly speak God’s Word. They were part of the foundation.
In the New Testament, that word prophet and prophecy is used, but with a different sense about them.
For example, 1 Corinthians 14 speaks about the gift of prophecy. But it’s very interesting because it’s different from what an Old Testament prophet did. I Corinthians 14 verse 3 says: “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” And a little bit later in the chapter, it says that when the church comes together, “let two or three prophets speak, but let the others weigh what is said.” In other words, the gift of prophecy in the New Testament should be evaluated based on God’s Word. That’s different than an Old Testament prophet who spoke new revelation. Do you see that difference? Prophecy in the Old Testament was the very Word of God. Prophecy in the New Testament is a Spirit led application of God’s Word.
The word prophecy in the Greek has a narrow and a broader definition. The use here in Romans 12 seems to be broader. It’s the gift where God’s Word is not just explained, but it is applied to a specific situation for a specific people. It sounds a little bit like preaching, doesn’t it?
Let me add one more thing. At the end of Romans 12 verse 6, it says that the one who has the gift of prophecy should use it “in proportion to our faith.” That word “proportion” is also the word for analogy or ratio or comparison. I think the clearest understanding is that someone with the gift of prophecy should make sure that his prophecy is aligned with our faith - an objective understanding of faith. In other words, it should line up with what the Scriptures teach about the faith, meaning Christianity. To use the words of 1 Corinthians 14, is the “upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” of the prophecy consistent with what the Bible teaches about faith?
I hope that give you a better understanding of prophecy.
The other gifts listed are much more straight forward.
If you look back at the sermon outline, you’ll see a list of Scriptures under point #2. Those are the other places in Scripture which present different lists gifts. In fact, 1 Peter 4:11 says that there are two general kinds of gifts, speaking gifts and serving gifts. That’s helpful to think about.
SO let’s consider some of the other gifts listed in Romans 12. I’ll also pull in some of the other gifts from other Scripture. We only have time to briefly consider each… but in our adult class on the Holy Spirit, later this fall, we’ll be spending more time on these gifts.
• First, the gift of serving – someone who helps in ways that support the work of the church. That could be setting up the communion trays each week or helping manage the finances or safety of the church. That word serving is the same root as the word for deacon. Do you have the gift of serving?
• Teaching is the gift of clearly explaining what the Scriptures teach. Do you have the gift of teaching?
• The gift of exhortation is like focused encouragement or admonition in a specific personal situation. Someone with the gift of exhortation may not have the gift of prophecy or teaching - it’s not about being in front of a group of people, it’s more one-on-one. Do you have the gift of exhortation?
• Giving or contributing is a gift. Financial giving. It’s someone who recognizes that he or she is a steward of the financial resources that God has entrusted to them. And they love to contribute to meet the needs of the church. Do you have the gift of contributing?
• The gift of mercy is helping a member in the church with a need. The Scriptures often speak about widows and orphans. Those are two examples. Mercy could be coming alongside someone in an acute situation in matters of health or shelter. Do you have the gift of mercy?
• Leadership is about overseeing. That could be overseeing the spiritual needs of the church, like what elders do. That could be overseeing the different gifts that relate to serving, like what deacons do. It could be overseeing a ministry area. Do you have the gift of leadership?
• That’s different from the gift of administration. Administration is being able to navigate how to best fulfill the calling of the church in the specific situation or context. He or she is not the captain of the ship but is the chief navigator, coordinating and communicating behind the scenes. It’s not clerical administration but coordinating administration. Do you have the gift of administration?
• Next, the gifts of wisdom and knowledge. They are different. Knowledge is the gift of having a mind that can consume a lot of information and being able to recall that. In regard to the church, that could be church history or Bible knowledge. Wisdom, on the other hand, is applying that knowledge in the church. Do you have the gift of knowledge or wisdom?
• Evangelism is the gift of calling someone to faith in Christ. It’s speaking into someone’s specific situation with the Gospel of Jesus, having Spirit-filled discernment on how to call someone to faith and repentance. Do you have the gift of evangelism? And I should say, not having the gift of evangelism doesn’t mean you are not called to share your faith. No, that is a calling for all of us. It’s just that a person with the gift of evangelism plays a unique role in bringing many people to faith. And we could say something similar about serving and mercy and contributing. It’s in part a call for all of us.
• Hospitality is the gift of welcoming others in the name of Christ. Someone with this gift has the ability to get to know someone and make them sense the love of Christ for them through the church. It’s different from southern hospitality or “entertaining” in that Biblical hospitality involves more than an external hosting. It involves getting below the surface and caring for someone. Do you have the gift of hospitality?
Those are many of the gifts mentioned in Scripture. It’s not comprehensive list. You may have noticed I didn’t mention what we call the extraordinary gifts, like healing, tongues, and miracles. I’m not trying to avoid discussing them. It would take a lot more time to unpack whether or not those gifts are still given today. But, for the adults, we will discuss them in the Sunday morning class later this fall.
Broadly speaking, the gifts I did mention are the gifts of grace that God gives his people for the discipleship, the organizing, the serving, and the caring of the flock of God – his church.
Full disclosure – the reason I picked Romans 12 for a short series is because we’re a new church, just like the church in Rome. And we need that encouragement (1) to be renewed and transformed, verses 1-2; (2) to be humble and unified, verses 3-5, and (3) to work together with the different gifts that God has given each of us, verses 6-8.
3. Gifts of Grace Exercised
Moving on to point #3. Point #1 was gifts of grace given. Point #2 was gifts of grace identified, and now #3, gifts of grace exercised, meaning used. To say it again, every single one of you in the church has been given gifts, different gifts, and God calls you to use them. Do you see that phrase there in the middle of 6? “let us use them.” They are not to sit in a drawer like unredeemed gift cards. Rather, they are to be deployed for use in the church and kingdom. That’s really the main emphasis of this short passage, isn’t it. The apostle Paul doesn’t just list these gifts of grace. No, after each gift, he exhorts the church to use them.
That begs the question, how do I know which gifts God has given me? That’s an important question. Or, how can I confirm the gifts that I think the Lord has given me?
Let me give you two ways that will help identify your specific gifts.
1.) First, ask yourself, which gifts excite me? Which gifts, when you think about them, stir your passion. Notice verse 8. The final three gifts mentioned included heart responses to the gifts. “the one who contributes, in generosity!” Next, “the one who leads, with zeal!” It ends with “the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness!” The gifts you’ve been given should not be a burden to you. You should have joy in exercising them. I’m not saying that every single moment using your gift will be exciting. No, there will be times when it feels like hard work, but overall you should have that internal desire to serve with the gift you’ve been given. Think about the gifts I mentioned. Which ones did you perk up and take notice of?
2.) Ok, the second way to help identify your gifts, is to try them… to exercise them. That’s what the call here is about. In order to use your gifts, you need to use your gifts. For example, if you sense a heart for mercy, sit in on one of the mercy team meetings. If there’s a practical mercy need that has come up, volunteer to help. Or, if you are part of a small group and the leader is going to be out of town for the next meeting, if you think you may have the gift of teaching, try it out one time. That’s what happened with me. 25 years ago, I had the opportunity to lead a home group. I had never done anything like that before, but I had the internal sense. Low and behold I enjoyed not just the teaching but the preparation. Many people affirmed that gift. Which, by the way, is another confirmation: external affirmation by others.
Don’t be shy to test whether you have a gift. Try it out. Sometimes we have paralysis by analysis. We think, “what if it doesn’t go well? I’ll be embarrassed.” Yeah, you may be, but that is part of the process. And even if it doesn’t go well the first time, if you still have that burden, try again.
At the age of 18, Billy Graham, the well-known evangelist, was asked to preach for the first time. He was so nervous but he agreed. His first sermon lasted 8 minutes. He wrote in his autobiography how poorly it went! It was so bad, that afterward, a man came up to him and said, “boy, you better go back to school…. you’re not going to make it.” The point is it often takes time to grow and mature in the gifts.
So, exercise your gifts, be patient, evaluate your desires and interests, listen to others, while continuing to learn and grow in them. Evaluate all of that as you seek to be a blessing to build up the body of Christ. And that necessarily means you need to be a part of the body of Christ. At a minimum that means being here for worship, but it also implies participating in the ministry life of the church to exercise those gifts.
It’s a beautiful thing when the believers in the church exercise their gifts… when they work together to serve and disciple and minister to the community in the name of Christ. I think one of the blessings of our church family has been how so many of you are serving and utilizing your gifts to that end.
Conclusion
In summary…
1. Gifts of grace given – the Lord has given each of us gifts of the Spirt. They are truly gifts of grace from God, and they are for the explicit purpose of serving and supporting the work of the church.
2. Gifts of grace identified – there are many different gifts: teaching, exhorting, serving, mercy, giving, hospitality, knowledge, wisdom, prophecy or preaching, leading, evangelism, administrating, and more. They each have a purpose and they work together.
and 3. gifts of grace exercised. Our gifts are not to sit idle, but we’re to use them since God has given them to build up his church.
As we wrap things up, it’s important to remind ourselves of the grace behind the grace. The gifts are a grace. They are described that way, but the grace behind the gifts of grace is the grace of salvation in Jesus. It is the ministry of Christ, who calls each of us into fellowship with him and with each other which makes the gifts of grace possible.
To say it in another way, your gifts are a grace because of the grace of the Gospel. It would not be possible to have these gifts of grace without the love of God in Christ, which he gives us. And even more than that, our gifts are a mechanism through which grace is given. Think about this:
• …when we exercise our gifts together in the body of Christ, we are a ministry of grace.
• …when God’s Word is taught, his grace is given.
• …when we exhort or encourage each other, God’s grace is made known.
• …when we serve each other in the name of Christ, that grace is demonstrated.
• …when we evangelize, the grace of God is offered.
• …when we show hospitality and mercy, the grace of God in Christ is displayed.
So, it is the grace of God in Christ, which is the foundation. It is through that grace of Christ, that the gifts of grace are given by the Holy Spirit to believers… and the very grace that is received in Christ and in the gifts, is grace that is taught, demonstrated, and offered. It’s all grace, from beginning to end.
May each of us see the gifts of grace that we’re given, may we use them individually and together, so that the bride of Christ, the church, may be built up, and may the grace of God in Jesus be furthered for God’s glory and our good. Amen

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Romans 12:3-5
Rev. Erik Veerman
9/25/2022
A Humility that Promotes Unity
This morning, we’ll be considering Romans 12:3-5. You can find that on page 1126 in the pew Bibles.
This is a continuation of our short series in Romans 12. We’re getting into the heart of the chapter. It relates to us together, our relationships with one another and service in the church.
Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
Reading of Romans 12:3-5
Prayer
Introduction
The big news over the past few weeks has been the passing and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II – the queen of England. She was the longest serving monarch in their history. And as you’ve heard over and over, she was faithful, kind, and gentle – a true example to follow.
One of her former bodyguards shared a story that happened a few years ago. He was on a long walk with the Queen near her estate in Scotland. They happened to come upon 2 American hikers. These guys didn’t recognize the queen and she didn’t tell them who she was. She was dressed in casual attire and a scarf for the hike. They had a nice conversation. The Americans asked them where they were each from. The queen replied that she had a holiday home in the area but mainly lived in London. They asked how long she had been coming up to the area, to which she replied, “for about 80 years since I was a little girl.”
“Oh, you must have met the queen, then,” one of them responded.
Her majesty came back, “I have not met the queen, but he has multiple times,” pointing to her bodyguard.
They then asked him what she was like. He responded, “oh she can be a little cantankerous at times, but she has a lovely sense of humor.”
The Americans then handed the queen one of their cameras, asking if she would take a picture with this guy who has met the queen. After all he had me the queen. So she did, and then her body guard insisted that he take a picture of them with her.
They all went on their merry way. I wonder if they ever realized who she really was.
She never said, “don’t you recognize me, I’m the queen.” She wasn’t stand-off-ish or prideful because of her position. No she had a sweet and humble sense about her. Here are some quotes from recent articles written about her:
• Queen Elizabeth II – A figurehead of such dignity, grace, humility, and faith
• One author wrote: “Elizabeth’s humility was her ‘real strength’”
• Here’s another: “Queen Elizabeth has shown selfless humility, grace, and loyalty”
• “Her majesty was an incredible humble woman at heart”
• And finally: “She had a humble, down to earth demeanor”
Perhaps her humility came from her belief in Christ and His Word, I don’t know. But we certainly could say she modelled Romans 12:3, not thinking of herself more highly than she ought, but rather with sober judgment.
That phrase in 12:3 is a good definition of humility. Biblical humility is… having a perspective of ourselves that we are helpless without God and his grace. It means in our relationships with others, we give deference, and are gentle and respectful, lifting each other up, not arrogant or prideful, but kind and caring.
And the humility that Romans 12:3 speaks of, should be the foundation of our relationships and our work together. It all begins with humility. Let me say it in a different way. Unity in relating to one another and unity in serving alongside one another begins with humility. Humility is an essential ingredient in the unity of the church – the body of Christ.
That’s what these verses are about.
And let’s look at them in three parts.
1. A Humble Example – the Apostle Paul begins with himself.
2. A Humble Appeal – There’s a clear admonition here.
3. A Unifying Reason – We’re not just given a charge, we’re given a reason. And it’s a beautiful one.
So, an example, an appeal, and a reason.
1. A Humble Example
So first, Paul references himself as a receiver of what he is about to exhort them. He says, “for by the grace given to me, I say to you.” In other words, I have received a humility beyond human reason or logic. It has been and continues to be a grace in my life. It’s a blessing. And I want you to have that same humility.
Listen, Paul had everything to boast about. He was a Roman citizen. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews, from the tribe of Benjamin. He was well educated - trained at the feet of Gamaliel, the top Jewish scholar of the day; Fluent in several languages. He had been a pharisee of pharisees. Yet, as he says in his letter to the church in Philippi, he counted it all as rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.
It’s not that the apostle didn’t have convictions. He certainly did. But his disposition towards others was kind and his view of himself was modest.
For him it all started at his conversion. You may know the story well. He was on the road to Damascus seeking to persecute believers of Jesus. And a bright light blinded him. God humbled him. He fell to the ground, as God called out to him. And he believed.
Just like Paul, our coming to faith in Christ is at its foundation an act of humility before God. We submit ourselves to God. When we do so, we recognize him as our creator, as our Lord, and as our Savior. We are nothing apart from him. That’s what happened to the apostle Paul in a radical way. And he calls the humility he received “grace.” The Greek is Xaris. The gift of faith from God to him.
And God gave him wisdom, and knowledge and passion. But he attributed all of it to God. And Paul was intensely relational. The love he displayed to all believers and churches was so apparent. That is very clear in the opening and closing greetings in his letters. There was no one that he considered himself superior to, whether a prisoner, slave, woman, child, or whatever background.
Culturally, his humility was radical. In the broader Greco-Roman world, humility was not a virtue. In fact, it was considered shameful to be humble. If you displayed humility towards someone who had a similar or lower class status, you were unethical. There was no category for humility in the lists of virtuous characteristics.
Today, humility is more appreciated. There’s even a trend among business executives to be humble and approachable.
But not so back then. Paul’s humility was radical, and so he began his exhortation with the example of his life. A humble example.
2. A Humble Appeal
And that brings us to his appeal. This is point #2. Paul’s appeal to the church in Rome. You could say, his humble appeal to be humble.
And the church in Rome especially needed to hear this. The church was very diverse. In chapter 16, Paul greets many in the church. Their names indicate their different backgrounds and cultural status. Some had Greek names, some Jewish names, others Roman names. The list references believers from Asia minor as well. And some names indicated aristocracy, like “Herodian.”
Even though they were all from the Mediterranean region, each came with cultural expectations and different ways they expressed themselves. Plus, they were from different segments of the population. Even thought they were all Christians, it would be easy to misunderstand or presume or get frustrated at each other. They would also be tempted to think their cultural background or status was superior to other people in the church. The apostle Paul knew this, and he wanted to be really clear. In regard to the church, it didn’t matter who you were or where you came from, you were called to be humble. The church in Rome needed that exhortation.
Look at that phrase, “I say to everyone among you.” The emphasis in the Greek is on each and every. Leaders, servants, young, old, new believers in Christ, mature believers. There’s not a single person in this room that this doesn’t apply to.
“Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought.” Rather, “think of yourselves with sober judgment.” Remove any sense of pretense about who you are because of your family, your occupation, your education, your hometown, your role in the church, your age, whether you are married or not, your ethnic background, your neighborhood, how much money is in your bank account. Don’t elevate your worth and value above anyone else. No, rather with thoughtful, level-headed sobriety, consider each-and-every other person as made in the image of Christ and as either a fellow Christian OR someone who needs the saving grace of Christ.
One of the greatest theologians in the history of the church was Augustine. He served as a leading bishop in the church back in the 4th century in northern Africa. He described the importance of humility this way “For those who would learn God’s ways, humility is the first thing, humility is the second thing, and humility is the third thing.” Augustine saw humility as a vital characteristic of the Christian faith, from which flowed all others.
Have you every prayed that God would humble you? It’s a dangerous prayer, isn’t it! Because if God answers that, how will he humble you?
A few years ago, I remember praying that God would humble me. And I remember being surprised that God actually answered it. I mean, no one wants to learn life lessons the hard way, but when it comes to humility, it often requires God humbling you in painful ways, showing you that you are not worthy of higher honor or status than anyone else. Without sharing the details, I’ll just tell you that the process of being humbled was painful and difficult, but it was a sanctifying work in my life.
If you are humbled in some way, the question is, will you cooperate with what God is doing? In those difficult times, whatever it is, will you grow in humility? You see, our natural sinful tendency is the opposite. When hurt or humiliated or shamed, we can become bitter, envious, insecure, or defensive. But instead, we should humble ourselves before God and before others.
Would you heed the call of Romans 12:3 to think of yourself with sober judgment? Would you pray that God would humble you? Would you pray that God would deepen your understanding of his undeserved grace your life? … just like the grace that he gave the apostle Paul.
Before we look at verses 4 and 5, there a phrase at end of verse 3 that is difficult to interpret. It says, “according to the measure of faith given to you.”
You may have wondered what that means. So have I! So, let’s take a brief couple of minutes to analyze it.
The reason it’s difficult to interpret is because that word “faith” can mean different things in the Scriptures. It can mean saving faith – you know, the saving faith you have in Christ, when you came to faith. But it can also mean the level of trust you have in God. Like the call to grow in your faith… grow in your hope… grow in your reliance upon God… seeking to mature in your trust of God. That kind of faith is about the maturity of your walk with the Lord.
But look at the phrase, again. It says, “according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” The word “measure” in English seems to indicate that we are each given different levels of faith. Well, that reading seems to indicate that the faith mentioned is a sanctifying faith, not saving faith. However, some have pointed out that word “measure” in Scripture does not usually mean a different amount, rather it means “fulness.” So the “fulness of faith that God has assigned.” With that reading, it would be saving faith that Paul is talking about.
Those are the main two interpretations. The difference is this: The first interpretation means that as you grow in your faith, you should become more humble. The second is that you should be humble because of the saving faith that God has given you. Which is it? I’m not exactly sure, but I lean toward seeing it as saving faith. In other words, be humble because of the fulness of the saving faith that God has assigned… or that God has given you. That interpretation also ties nicely back to the beginning of verse 3. The grace given Paul is similar to the grace given you. And a couple verses later in verse 6. That same phrase “according to” is used, but with the word “grace.”
Regardless of which interpretation is correct, it doesn’t change the appeal. Either way, God calls each and every one of us to humility.
3. A Unifying Reason
So, the first point was A Humble Example – the apostle’s own humility because of the grace given him. The second point was A Humble Appeal. The call to humility.
That brings us to point 3: A Unifying Reason.
Verses 3 and 4 answers the question, “why?” Really, I would say, this is a mix between the reason and the result. You see that word “for” (f-o-r) right at the beginning of verse number 4. That’s similar to the word “because.”
Here’s the whole thing: “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
This is so rich. Really, over the next 2 weeks, we’re going to see this applied in 2 ways. First, in the different spiritual gifts we are each given. And second, in the love and care of one another to which we are called. Stay tuned for those.
But these two verses, 4 and 5, are the foundation. The analogy is of a body. You’ve probably heard that phrase a lot, “the body of Christ.” It means the true church. We are members together in Christ’s body. That word “body” is referencing someone’s physical body. And it’s a metaphor. It’s saying, just like your body is made up of different parts, and each has a different function, so it is with the body of Christ.
Kids! I want you to think of the different parts of your body. What are these? (waving my hands) Hands! You have eyes. A brain. (although sometimes I wonder if teenage boys have a brain! I wonder if I did back then) Feet to move around. What else? Ears to hear. A mouth to talk. A nose to smell. Yeah, all of those. The adults here have a little more knowledge of what’s inside of you that makes those things work. Like your nervous system, which coordinates your movements and allows you to feel pain. You have your heart which pumps blood throughout. It brings energy and nutrients to your muscles and organs. You have your digestive system which processes the food you eat and turns it into either energy (or waste).
And think about how the different parts of your body work together. Your eyes and your hands. Your ears and your mouth. Think about how your brain and heart and nerves work together to keep you alive and animate all your parts.
It's quite amazing how God made us, isn’t it?!
And what these verses are saying is that the church is like a body. Each person has a different function or role in the church. Each part of the body of Christ works together. Each serves in a different way. We each, in the body of Christ, support each other in different ways. Each role serves a purpose. Next week we’re going to talk about the different gifts that God gives his people, you, to serve the church. But the broader point is that the parts of the body, of the church, work together. Each is an indispensable part.
You say, “but how does this all relate to humility?”
Well, God is saying through the apostle Paul that humility is the essential ingredient. We all need to have humility to see that we each play an important role. The gifts and responsibilities we are given in the church are different, but we are each brothers and sisters in Christ, each serving alongside one another, and each building up his body and giving God the glory.
Humility promotes unity in the church. When God’s people are humble, we serve well alongside one another.
To be sure, this applies beyond just the workings of the church to fulfill the mission of the church. This applies to marriages. A husband and wife may have different roles, but a unified marriage requires the man and woman to humbly serve and listen to one another. This applies to other family relationships - brothers and sisters, children and parents. When we have a humble disposition toward each other in a family, God unites us closer together.
Let’s focus in on verse 5 for a moment. It says, “so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Many but one. Individual parts but one body. Diversity but unity.
Really these three verses are full of this theme. The many and the one. The many: “everyone among you,” “members,” the word “individually,” and the word itself “many.” But also the idea of togetherness. The phrase “one body” is used twice, and verse 5 ends with “members, one of another.” We are all individuals, you and me, but we are one body together.
But where does that unity come from? What is the glue that unites us? What is the tie that binds?
Well, it’s right there in the middle of verse 5. We are “one body in Christ.”
Through saving faith in Christ, God’s Spirit unites each of us to Jesus. And in that uniting to Christ individually, we are united together in him. Sometimes we use the phrase “union with Christ.” Or the Westminster confession uses the word “ingrafting.” We have been grafted into Christ. And through that union with him… we reap all the benefits of Christ in his life, ministry, death, and resurrection. In our suffering, we suffer in Christ and have his strength. Our death is now hidden in Christ’s death. And through his resurrection, we will be resurrected. That’s what Romans 6:5 tells us. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” The benefits of our union with Christ are literally immeasurable. And one of the great benefits is our union together.
We are united together, one to another, in Christ. We are one body in Christ. One body, many members, one to another in him.
Conclusion
As we come to a close, here’s where I want to tie this unity all back to humility. The unity that we have together in Christ, is a unity that is founded on humility. It’s Christ’s humility that has made our unity in him possible!
We read the beginning of Philippians 2 early in our service. It has a very similar emphasis to Romans 12. It says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” It goes on to describe that humility more, but then it lays down the foundation of our humility. It is Jesus. Christ’s humility is the foundation and model of our humility.
It says, “though [Christ] was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” What that means is that when Christ became man, he set aside the external display of God’s glory in him, by becoming a man. He didn’t set aside his nature as God, rather, his glory was veiled in the incarnation.
Philippians 2 goes on, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
The ultimate display of humility is the cross of Christ. The ultimate model for our humility is the cross of Christ. The ultimate source of our humility is found in the cross of Christ. And the ultimate reason for our unity is the humility of the cross of Christ.
The humility that promotes unity is the humility of Christ.
If the God of the universe humbled himself for you, how much more so should you humble yourself before one another? May we be humble people united in heart and soul, lifting each other up as one body in Christ, for his glory, not ours. Amen

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Mark 7:24 – 8:21
David Fraser
9/18/2022
“Was Jesus a Racist?”

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Romans 12:2
Rev. Erik Veerman
9/11/2022
A Mind Transformed and Renewed

Our sermon text this morning is from the book of Romans chapter 12 verse 2. You can find that on page 1126 of the pew Bible. Last week we considered verse 1 which was about being a living sacrifice. It was a call to pursue God and to seek to glorify and worship him in all areas of our lives. Like your work, your daily activities, your relationships, your studies, your hobbies, etc. Verse 2 answers the question, “how?” How do we do that? How can our lives reflect the “spiritual worship” to which we are called?
For context, I’ll start with verse 1, but we’ll focus our time on verse 2.
Reading of Romans 12:1-2
Prayer
Bic Macs. Large Fries. Quarter pounder with cheese. Egg McMuffins.
On February 1, 2003, Morgan Spurlock decided to go on a 30-day McDonalds only diet. It was an experiment. That’s right. Every single meal, he ate double cheeseburgers and fries, or hash browns and sausage McGriddles or the McChicken or whatever else was on the menu including McFlurries and all sorts of coke products. As part of his experiment, if the server asked him if he wanted to super-size the meal, he did. He said he consumed about 5000 calories every day for 30 days.
His purpose was to document what would happen to his body in one month. You can watch his documentary, titled Super Size Me. In fact, that’s exactly what happened.
By the 5th day, Spurlock had put on 9.5 pounds. By the end of the 30 days, he added 24.5 pounds of body weight. For him, that was a 13% body mass increase. His bad cholesterol skyrocketed to 230. That’s really high. Certain types of cholesterol will clog your arteries and lead to heart attacks.
Not only that, he experienced depression, headaches, vomiting, and heart palpitations. I think he proved the maxim – “You are what you eat.”
After it was all over, he said it took him 5 months to lose the first 20 pounds and another 9 months to lose the remaining 5 pounds, all while on a healthy diet. That’s 14 months to reverse the effect of eating fast food for 1 month.
Well, Romans 12:2 is not about eating junk food, but it is about what you feed your mind. And the consequences are similar.
• When you feed your physical body with food that lacks nutrition and is instead full of fat and sugar, while it may taste good in the moment, it is unhealthy for your body, especially if you indulge over and over and over. Your body will deteriorate over time causing all sorts of life-threatening disease. It will take more time to undo the physical damage, than the time it took to cause it.
• It’s similar when you feed your mind with worldly ideologies, unhealthy pleasures, crass language, and all sorts of entertainment, some of which may seem innocent at the time. But if you indulge over and over and over, it will lead to a deteriorated mind. It will be harder to distinguish the things of God from the things of the world. It will affect your spiritual and emotional heath. It will take more time to undo the spiritual and emotional damage than the time it took to cause it.
On the other hand, if you constantly feed your mind with the things of God – certainly his Word, but also things that reflect God character in the world around you. When you turn your mind to those things, God will bless you with wisdom and discernment and peace.
That’s what Romans 12:2 is about. And it’s pretty straightforward:
• Don’t do this one thing, instead pursue this other thing, which will result in this benefit
• Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
So let’s take this verse in those 3 parts: what to avoid, what to pursue, and what will be the benefit.
If you are taking notes, here are the 3 points:
1. Avoid being conformed (conformed to the world)
2. Pursue being transformed (transformed by the things of God)
3. Experience being informed (all the discernment the Lord gives you as a result)
1. Avoid being conformed
So first, Avoid being conformed, or avoid being conformed to the world. That’s basically what the beginning of verse 2 says. “Do not be conformed to this world.”
By the way, that word “world” is not talking about the physical earth. Rather it’s talking about the wisdom of the age, the philosophies and cultural messages that dominate the beliefs and behaviors of the culture.
David Wells, author and seminary professor, described the wisdom of world this way: “It is that system of values, in any given age, which has at its center our fallen human perspective.” He says, “[it] displaces God and his truth… [it] makes sin look normal and righteousness seem strange. It… makes what is wrong seem normal.”
And the call here is to not be conformed to what the world says and believes contrary to God’s wisdom. I’ll come back to the cultural influences in Rome, but let me first ask, What are those influences here and now? What are the messages in our culture that are contrary to God and his Word? I’ve already touched upon a couple of them, but here are a few others:
• First, the world today has an addiction to self. So many of the culture’s messages focus on the individual - on your self-expression, your autonomy in decisions. What is good and right according to the culture is what you decide instead of external values of rights and wrongs. That goes against and undermines God’s moral standards which he has revealed to us. Today it’s the idolatry of the self. And as Christian, we often are unknowingly affected. One small example of that it we don’t consider our time and money as God’s where we are just stewards. Instead, we think of it as completely ours to do with it however we want. God is not in the equation.
• A second cultural problem is the confusion of true beauty with the perversion of beauty. We would say that beauty and values go beyond the “eye of the beholder;” beyond an individual’s conception of beauty. However, today, what is lewd and vulgar is considered beautiful. Pornography, for example, is seen by many as an art form, but it is gross distortion of art. You see, the world doesn’t distinguish between the two. It twists and perverts God’s good creation by denigrating it and by feeding upon the lusts that reject holiness and righteousness. And pornography is the extreme example. There are various levels of this distortion found within entertainment today. To be sure, beautiful art and literature does exist which honors God, whether created by a believer or not. By the way, I’m just touching upon these messages. We could spend a lot more time, of course. So first, the idolatry of the self, second, the perversion of beauty…
• And a third one is ungodly language. Our culture is not respectful and honoring, rather it’s often rude and demeaning. Joking is often at the expense of others. Instead of speaking words that are kind and gracious, our culture breaths out disgust and hate. Just like how images get seared into our minds, I don’t think we realize how words get engrained in us when we fill our minds with worldly language. And then we’re surprised when they come out.
I was thinking back to when I was a high schooler. I didn’t have many Christian friends. Really because my school in the northeast didn’t have many Christians. I spent a lot of time around people that used foul language. There was a lot of cursing. And it didn’t take much for me to start thinking and then using those words. We underestimate how easily we are conformed. I’m not saying don’t hang out with unbelieving friends and family – but you may want to ask them to be careful about their language.
• Besides language, online games, and movies, and shows today are full of gore and violence. Studies have shown a correlation between the amount of violent video games young men play and violent acts they commit.
And think about this, we’re constantly barraged with these messages, everywhere we look. Last year alone, 550 new TV series were released in the United States. Not 550 episodes but 550 series. I’m not saying they are all bad, of course, but a majority are full of these underlying ideologies. And you ask, are there enough people to watch that many shows? Well, the average amount of time that an individual in the US watches TV is 4 hours and 49 minutes per day.
And much if it is filled with humanistic philosophy and often with highly sexualized content, yet we’re surprised as a culture at how that leads to sexual abuse, pornography, pedophilia, and adultery.
Now, you may be thinking, “You’re coming on a little too strong. After all, the apostle Paul’s audience in Rome didn’t have all those things.” Well, you’re right, they didn’t have the pervasive content and screens, but ancient Rome was full of the real thing… orgies, child slavery, and sex trafficking. And we’ve all heard of the gladiator fights in the colosseum. It wasn’t fake death and dismemberment, no real human beings killed for the sake of entertainment. And that’s not to mention all the false God’s and the Roman sense of human power and accomplishment. There are many parallels between our culture today and ancient Rome.
The apostle Paul wasn’t saying that the church in Rome was being pulled into these things and beliefs, but as the church in Rome grew, as people came to faith in Christ, he knew the cultural influences would more and more affect the church.
And notice the verb here. Do not “be conformed.” Let me get a little technical here. That verb is a present, passive, imperative. What that means is that first, it applies now and ongoing – present tense. It’s not a future thing, it’s a now thing. Second, related to that, the imperative means it requires a response – it’s a call to respond. Seek now to prevent yourself from being conformed. And third, and I think most interesting, “do not be conformed” is passive. That means it’s not something you do, rather being conformed is something that will happens to you. Immersing yourself in these worldly philosophies and entertainment will cause you to be conformed to the world. So, what we are to avoid is being conformed to the world. To do that, we need to avoid filling our minds with those worldly ideologies and beliefs and practices, whatever form they come in.
So let me ask (and this is for adults and kids!) Are you filling your mind with the world? What social media do you look at? What podcasts do you listen to? What underlying messages and what content fills your favorite shows? Are you binging on junk food for your brain? Or, are you careful in what you consume each day, so as not to be conformed to the world?
Avoid being conformed to the world.
2. Pursue being transformed
That brings us to point #2. Pursue being transformed. Instead of being conformed to the world, we are to be transformed in the things of God. This is a contrast to the first part of the verse.
Look at verse 2 again. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Instead of allowing the world to conform you, you are to be renewed in the things of God and not the world.
The two verbs here are very similar. Did you notice that? “conformed” and “transformed.” In fact, sometimes they are used interchangeably in the scriptures. For example, we’re to be conformed to the image of Christ.
And actually, “being transformed” is also present, imperative, passive. The same sense of not being conformed to the world applies to being transformed. It’s a now thing, it’s imperative, meaning make it happen, but it’s also passive, it’s not something we do to ourselves, it’s something that’s done to us. We are to be transformed.
In the Greek, the word is metomorphao. It’s where we get the word “metamorphosis.” Like when a little caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly. It goes through a metamorphosis.
It literally means to change one’s form. To undergo a spiritual transformation.
Another use of the word metomorphao in the Bible is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18. In this example, the apostle Paul was describing how Moses had to veil his face after seeing the glory of God. The brightness was too much for the people. And Paul related that to God’s law – how holy and glorious God’s law was. But then he says this. 2 Corinthians 3:18 “and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed,” There’s our word again, we are being, as it goes on, “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
So being transformed means being changed to reflect the glory of God in you.
And Romans 12:2 says you do that by “renewing your mind.” Instead of filling your mind with the world, you are to fill your mind with the things of God. Like 2 Corinthians 3 say, when you behold the glory of God, you are being transformed.
• Considering God in his perfect holiness and justice and goodness will transform you.
• Beholding the glory and beauty of God’s creation will transform you
• Reflecting on the wonder of God’s salvation in Christ, will transform you.
In fact, the main way to renew your mind is filling your mind with God’s Word, with his precepts, with his plan of redemption which he is fulfilling, filling your mind with his promises, and his character, and his call for you. That’s all in his Word and it will transform you.
Here’s an interesting statistic. The Center for Bible Engagement (it’s interesting that there’s even such an entity)… The Center for Bible Engagement found that people who read or listen to the Scriptures at least 4 times per week, are much less likely to fall prey to temptations. They cite drunkenness, pornography, gambling, and adultery... 57-74% less likely. And that is compared to people who only engage with the Bible just 1-3 times per week. In fact, they found that people who don’t read the Bible at all are similar to people who engage with the Scriptures only 1-3 times per week.
They didn’t do a study on the worldview impact, but I bet the results would be similar. The more we engage the Scriptures, the less impact the secular ideologies and philosophies have on us.
God’s Word will transform and renew your mind.
And the way that God transforms you is through His Spirit. The Holy Spirt applies God’s Word in your life. I know that Romans 12 doesn’t mention the Spirit, but the first 11 chapters are full of how God fills us with his Spirit, how the Holy Spirit calls us to faith. How he unites us to Christ by faith. It is part of the mercies of God mentioned in verse 1. And God’s Word and his Spirit go together. The more we are in the Word, the more we are transformed by God’s Spirit.
My transition from high school to college was very radical. In high school, I hardly spent any time reading my Bible. Our school was very secular and that came out in many different ways. When I got to college, I was blown away. It was a Christian college. The professors prayed and gave devotionals in class. We had Bible classes and chapel services. I started to read the Scriptures. And in four years, I was a different person. I’m not saying I wasn’t a Christian before. But I was being transformed… thinking about the things of God, beholding his Glory, in his Word, and removed from the worldly philosophies and practices.
Are you being transformed? Are you reading and meditating on and memorizing God’s Word? Are you hiding God’s word in your heart, As Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart.”
Through it and through God’s Spirit, you will being transformed.
3. Experience being informed
So, point #1 - avoid being conformed. The world’s philosophy with its anti-God and self-focused agenda will conform you. And worldly entertainment with its violence, sensuality, and crudeness will conform you. Avoid them.
Point #2. Pursue being transformed. By reflecting on God and his glory and by studying the Scriptures, you will experience God’s transforming and sanctifying grace.
And finally, the last point, number 3. The result. Experience being informed.
Besides being transformed – there is another benefit of renewing your mind. God will also give you discernment of his will. In other words, you’ll be informed.
I think everyone has asked the question, what is God’s will for my life? What school should I go to? What job should I take? What church should I go to? Where should I move? Who should I marry? Those are all questions about God’s will in your life.
Have you ever done this… you’ve been praying for God’s will. So you take your Bible, you close your eyes, you pick a random page, and point to a verse and then you open your eyes and read it. And it says something like “Absalom was riding his mule, and his head gut stuck in an oak tree, and he hung there suspended.” And you’re like, Lord, you didn’t answer my question!
That’s because that’s not how you begin to seek the Lord’s will.
The idea about God’s will in this verse is more fundamental, it’s where you begin. In fact, I would say, it’s the basis that helps answer those specific questions. It’s about how God desires you to live, and how to evaluate beliefs and philosophies. Some people have called it God’s preceptive will. That comes from the word “precept,” you know, God’s precepts which are his instructions and commands. It’s the principles that God reveals in Scripture so that we can live and believe in inconformity to his will.
Look down at the second half of the verse and you see that sense.
It says, “that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” You see that description of God’s will. In fact, that word “acceptable” connects to verse 1. Seeking in all areas of your life to be acceptable to God, a living sacrifice. In other words, discerning God’s will begins with what God calls you to believe and think and say and do.
So, when you are “testing” (that’s the word used), you are evaluating ideas and actions with God’s Word, his precepts. And here’s the connection to this whole verse: The less you are conformed to the world and the more your mind is transformed to the things of God, then the greater discernment God will give you about what is good and acceptable and perfect.
• You’ll have greater discernment to understand worldly philosophies and greater discernment to avoid worldly entertainment
• You’ll have greater discernment on how to spend your time, who to spend your time with, what you watch and read and listen to.
• And you’ll have greater discernment on those questions I mentioned – what job to take? what school to go to? Where to move? I’m not saying you’ll have direct answers (sometimes you will), but you will be able to evaluate your motives. You’ll be able to test them and test whatever else you are considering.
In short, you will be informed. God will give you discernment from his preceptive will.
So, Avoid being conformed
Pursue being transformed
And experience being informed
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, I want to end by going to a different Scriptural text. It’s related. It’s in the book of Colossians. And actually, turn there. Colossians 3 (page???) Colossians was also written by the apostle Paul. This letter is to the church in Colossae. But it’s a very different book than Romans.
In Colossians, Paul weaves doctrine and application together.
And he presents this beautiful picture of our ingrafting into Christ and what that means.
And in chapter 3, he writes what it means to put on Christ… In verse 10 he says this, “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” There’s one of our words, “renewed” “Being renewed in knowledge.”
And two verses later, verse 12, he says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” You see these verses are very similar to Romans 12:2.
A call to focus on the Lord and his Word and to avoid worldly things that go against God.
And then he writes this: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
He answers the question for us, why? Why shun the things of the world and dedicate time each day to the things of the God? Why? Because if you are a believer in Christ, your life is hidden with Christ in God. You know him. You have him. He’s redeemed you. You are transformed. You’ve been given a new heart. You can focus on the things of God, and reject worldly philosophies and put away sin. And as it says, when Christ appears again, you will be with him in glory.
You see, we seek to be conformed to Christ, not the world, because one day we will be fully transformed with him in glory… and we can look forward to that day when all will be good and acceptable and perfect in eternity.
So may we avoid being conformed to the word, pursue being transformed in Christ, and experience the discernment of being informed to the things of God.

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Romans 12:1
Rev. Erik Veerman
9/4/2022
A Life of Worship and Sacrifice

Our sermon text this morning is from the book of Romans chapter 12. This is the third time we’ve considered Romans.
• Some of you may remember that our very first sermon series was from the book of Romans, chapter 8. COVID was in its early stages, and so Romans 8 provided that clear and helpful foundation to navigate life in a fallen world… and to remind us of God’s unshakeable Gospel.
• After that, we studied the book of Acts, which records the beginnings of the New Testament church. And right after Acts, we went back to Romans and looked at chapters 15 and 16. Acts ended in Rome, and Romans 15 and 16 focus on the church in Rome. And so it was a fitting conclusion
• Now that we’ve wrapped up Zechariah, we’re going to return to another chapter in Romans. This time chapter 12. A lot of this chapter is about the body of Christ – unity and serving and spiritual gifts. I thought it would be a good chapter to consider in our first few weeks of being an organized church.
We’ll start with Romans 12:1. Yes, just one verse. And next week, we’ll focus on verse 2. Then we’ll speed up. These are two very rich and deep verses. I was looking at Dr. Jim Boyce’s commentary this past week. He had 10 sermons just on these two verses. But don’t worry, we won’t go that slow.
Romans 12 can be found on page 1126 of the pew Bible.
Please stand for the reading of God Word.
Reading of Romans 12:1
Prayer – Lord, this is your holy scripture. And we pray through your Spirit this morning that you would plant it deep within us. Uncover areas in our lives that need to be renewed and refined by the truth and grace of your word. That we may each glorify you in all things, that we may be living sacrifices holy and acceptable to you. We pray in the name of Jesus, AMen
Who do you know who’s life is a model of a faithful Christian? Does anyone come to mind?
Someone who seeks to live out their faith in all areas of life; who’s speech is gentle and caring; who desires to honor God 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Someone who takes life’s hurdles in stride. In every difficult situation, God’s Word is the first thing that comes to their mind. They are humble and loving. In their work, they always seek to give God the glory. They pray with and for others. They are peacemakers. They’re not presumptuous but instead gracious.
I know that may sound idealistic, but there are believers in Christ who are such models in these ways. God has refined them over time to become a stable and faithful follower of Jesus in all of life.
Do you know someone like that? It could be someone who is gone from this world like a grandparent, or it could be someone who you talk to every day. Maybe another family member, or a friend, a mentor, a dear saint who has taken an interest in your spiritual life. Maybe you just know of them, but everything you hear fits what I described.
Well, what’s preventing you from becoming like them? What hurdles are in your way and how can you, with the help of God Spirit and grace, overcome those hurdles to become someone like that?
What is holding you back from becoming a faithful, Godly, believer in Christ in all areas of your life? …where the Gospel is a part of every decision and every moment.
I would submit that Romans 12:1 calls each of us to strive toward that kind of life. And it does that by first laying down a foundation - a reason. And then second, calling us to that kind of life – a life of sacrifice and worship to God
Look at the verse for a moment. The first half of the verse is that foundation or maybe a better word is motivation. It says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God.”
And then the second half describes what we are called to. It says, “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
So, let’s work through those two parts. Let me describe them this way:
1. Live a Life Motivated by God’s Gospel Mercies
2. Live a Life Infused with God’s Gospel Mercies
Your life, motivated by God’s Gospel mercies (meaning the Gospel is the reason you pursue a life honoring to God); and your life, infused with God’s Gospel mercies (meaning letting it affect everything – living out the Gospel).
Pretty straight forward.
1. Live a Life Motivated by God’s Gospel Mercies
So number one. Live a Life Motivated by God’s Gospel Mercies.
And let me say, the first half of this verse represents the entire book of Romans. In fact, this is the big transition point in Romans. The book of Romans as a whole can be divided in the two main parts. Chapters 1-11, and 12-16.
Paul was writing to the church in Rome. At the time of his writing, he had yet to visit the church there. He would later, but even before visiting, he still personally knew many in the church from his travels. And he knew that Rome was the most influential city. The church there had been growing, and so he wrote to give them a firm foundation in what to believe and how to live. That’s what his letter to them is about.
And the book is generally modelled after some of his other letters, like his letter to the church in Ephesus and his letter to the church in Galatia. He starts out with what to believe and then how to live based on these truths.
You could say, chapters 1-11 focuses on doctrine and chapters 12-16 focuses on application.
People have described that breakout in different ways. Some have said that the first half of Romans is theology and the second half is application, or the first half is mind and the second half is heart. Well, I don’t like those description for a couple of reasons.
• First, it’s all theology. Theology is what we believe, but part of what we believe is the living out of what we believe.
• Second, I would argue that the first half of Romans is heart. Heart meaning the very center of our lives, what we believe in and trust. It’s our identity in Christ and all that he’s done for us.
I think it’s much better to say that chapters 1-11 give Gospel foundations, and 12-16 give Gospel applications. And let me define that word “Gospel.” In chapter 1, the apostle says that the Gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” The Gospel is God’s work, saving us from the penalty and power of sin, through Jesus’s life and sacrificial death and his resurrection. That’s the basics of the Gospel. And God offers it to all and applies it to those who would believe.
And in chapters 1-11, that is all worked out. Paul explains God’s law, the impact of sin going back to Adam, why sin deserves God’s wrath, why Jesus’ death, as God’s son, could accomplish salvation, how the Holy Spirit unites us to Jesus when we believe by faith, how God is sovereign over all of it, how the Gospel goes forth to all people – Jewish people and Gentiles. And how all of it, is by God’s grace.
That’s the summary of Romans chapters 1-11
The reason I’m telling you that, is if look back at chapter 12 verse 1, Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore.” “Therefore” is a critical word here. Therefore means “I just told you something and now here are the implications of that.” And an important question is, is Paul just referring to what he said in chapter 11? Or is he talking about everything he said up to this point? And I believe the answer is everything he said up to this point. Let me give you two reasons:
• First, at the end of chapter 11, the apostle Paul concluded the entire first half of the book with a beautiful doxology. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” It’s a conclusion. He’s giving God the glory for the wonderful way that he has worked out salvation. It’s a fitting end to chapters 1-11. After that ending, it wouldn’t make sense for the “therefore” to be focused only on chapter 11. Rather it makes more sense for it to connect to all of what he wrote.
• The second reason I believe that the “therefore” is referring to chapters 1-11 is in chapter 12 verse 1. Paul says, “therefore, brothers, by God’s mercies.” Or as another English translation says, “in view of God’s mercies.” He connects the “therefore” to all of God’s mercies. The word “mercies” is plural because it’s referencing all of God mercies, which Paul thoroughly addressed in chapters 1-11. Salvation is all about God’s mercies, and the first 11 chapters are about salvation.
That’s what my first point is, “Live a Life Motivated by God’s Gospel Mercies.” The Gospel of chapters 1-11 is the motivation to which chapters 12-16 look. That’s what 12:1 is saying. And it’s a call. Paul begins the verse with “I appeal to you.” The word in the Greek means exhorting and admonishing. In other words, “do what I’m about to say, because of God’s Gospel mercies.” Work it out in your life. Respond to it. Live out the Gospel.
And, by the way, that word “brothers” is not intended to be limited to men, in this context. The noun is in the plural, masculine form, which refers to all people to whom it’s addressed. And because this letter is written to the entire church in Rome, it includes men, women, boys, and girls. And I’ll say, it applies to us as well. We’re not the church in Rome, but we are the church. And so there’s a direct connection to all the church. By the way, isn’t this a lot easier than navigating how Zechariah applies to us?
Let me summarize the first half of the verse. Through the apostle Paul, God is calling all believers to respond to the salvation that God has given us in Christ. It’s not optional!
Live a Life Motivated by God’s Gospel Mercies
2. Live a Life Infused with God’s Gospel Mercies
And that brings us to point #2. How should we respond? What are the implication of God’s Gospel mercies for how we live? Look at how it’s worded. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Before we get into the details, I titled this point, Live a Life Infused with God’s Gospel Mercies. To infuse means to fill, to permeate, to saturate, or even marinate. Every part of you should be infused with the Gospel. Like you are at the hospital, and you need a life-saving treatment. And they put an IV in you and that medicine is infused throughout your body. It heals and cures you. That’s what the Gospel does. It heals and cures you. And it’s meant to works its way all through you. When you bleed, you bleed Gospel blood. That’s how much it should affect you.
We’re “to present our bodies as a living sacrifice,” as it says. That does not mean only your physical body. Here it refers to your whole being. Everything about you. John Calvin, the great French reformer, put it this way, “By body, he means not only our skin and bones, but the totality of which we are composed… [the connection] of all our parts, for the members of the body are the instruments by which we perform actions.”
We are physical beings, with souls that are connected to our bodies while we are alive. And the call is to be living sacrifices, not dead sacrifices like the Old Testament animal sacrifices. Our lives are to be ongoing sacrifices. The idea of a sacrifice includes the idea of an offering to God. Sacrifices were to be pleasing to God. So your life should be an offering to him, seeking to please him. Furthermore, sacrifices pointed to God and salvation. So, to be a living sacrifice means your whole life is to display the salvation that he’s given you. You are to offer yourself to him and point to the Gospel mercies you have in him. That’s why it actually says, “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” Or “holy and pleasing to God.”
So, we’re to pursue a life that is God honoring; we’re to give up things that are not honoring to God. In other words, we are sacrificing our desires and thoughts that don’t glorify God, and replacing them with desires and thoughts and actions that are holy and acceptable to him.
And the verse ends with one more phrase. Paul writes about being a living sacrifice by saying “which is your spiritual worship.”
That word worship is used in different ways. It’s basic meaning is to express reverence, adoration, and devotion to God. Once sense of the word worship is when we are gathered together for corporate worship, for a worship service. Like what we have been doing this morning. But that’s not the only use of the word. Worship here is not just talking about what we are doing right now, in this worship service. No, the word “worship” in this verse is far more expansive. It means that the totality of our lives are meant to worship God. We are to worship God in all we do. We are to give glory to God in all things because we are a living sacrifice.
The word worship is qualified with the word “spiritual.” “Spiritual worship.” In the Greek, the word for “spiritual” is the same word for “reasonable” and “rational.” The living sacrifice is not meant to be understood as special ceremonial, rather it’s reasonable or spiritual worship worked out rationally in your every-day life. That means, worship at all times and in all situations.
We’re to Live a Life Infused with God’s Gospel Mercies, which effects everything.
That’s why we responsively read the very well known first catechism question of the Westminster confession. What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is… to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
The purpose of our existence is to glorify God and we do that by working the Gospel out in all areas of life.
I think every pastor at some point has use the example of Eric Liddell, the Olympic runner. Some of you may know Eric Liddell’s story very well. Others of you may have never heard of him. I asked my kids if they knew who Eric Liddell was. They said, “Of course, dad, you made us watch the movie!”
They were referring to the 1981 movie, Chariots of Fire. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.
Eric Liddell was an Olympic runner. He ran in the 1924 Olympics for Scotland. Liddell actually grew up in the northern part of China. His parents were missionaries. He was educated in London but his heart was set on being a missionary to China.
But he was also fast. Very fast. He ran on the Edinburgh (Ed-in-bur-ruh) University track team and then ran for Scotland. Liddell was scheduled to run the 100 meter dash at the 1924 Paris Olympics. The only problem was that the preliminary heats were on Sunday. Sunday is the Lord’s day. And as a strong believer, he felt convicted that he should not run on a Sunday. And so, he dropped out of the 100 meter race which he was favored to win.
His commitment to the Lord was greater than his desire to race or win. However, he was given the chance to run the 400 meter race, which was on a different day. It wasn’t his specialty, but he won in epic fashion. I think he broke 3 world records in the two days of the race and he won the final by an unprecedented 3 1/2 yards.
There’s a scene in the movie that really captures Liddell’s life and commitment. The scene was set a few months before the Olympics. Eric is talking with his sister, Jenny. He shares that he has been accepted by the London Missionary Society to serve in China. And Jenny is thrilled. But he says to her that he has a lot of running to do beforehand. And she’s disappointed. She wonderes why he was dedicating so much time to running. She believed he should immediately go to China and serve.
And he says this to her… (now remember, this is the movie based on his life) “Jenny, I believe God made me for a purpose, for China, but he also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure.” Indeed, when Liddell ran, he displayed that pleasure from God and for God. He ran in a very free flowing way with such a joyful expression, his head raised high.
What Eric was telling Jenny is that in all of life he sought to honor and glorify God. Yes, he wanted to serve on the mission’s field, but God had given him this talent and he desired to serve the Lord with it and honor him.
To finish the story, after the Olympics, Liddell did go on to serve in China. He came back occasionally to England for study but spent most of his remaining days in China. He served there during World War 2. But the region where he served was taken over by the Japanese. Eventually Liddell was imprisoned at one of the Japanese camps where he died in 1945 at the age of 43.
Liddell’s whole life was a Romans 12:1 life. He had become so transformed by the Gospel, that it affected everything he did.
Every part of your life and my life is to be a spiritual act of worship before the Lord our maker.
• In our work, we are to honor him.
• In all our relationships, God is to be glorified.
• Whatever we think, say, and do, is to be done with a desire holy and acceptable to God.
• True faith is not a Sunday only faith. It’s an everyday faith from the moment you wake to the moment you sleep.
And that necessarily means identifying areas in our lives that do not glorify God. It means understanding that we each need to change. You need to change. I need to change. We can’t excuse our actions or words because we think “well, that’s the way am.” If you are a believer in Jesus, you are called to conform to the image of Christ…. to “be transformed,” which, by the way, is our subject next week.
That means you need to be constantly evaluating your speech (what you say to others), evaluating your motivations (why you do things), and evaluating your thoughts and action (how you respond to temptations and difficult circumstance).
A couple weeks ago I mentioned to someone that when I was younger, I struggled with anger. That really surprised them. I said, just ask Amy. In fact, 25 years ago, I accidentally punched a hole in the drywall of my office at work. Some technology thing wasn’t working, and I got worked up. That event made me realize that when something didn’t go the way I hoped or planned, I would get very frustrated. I wasn’t submitting it to the Lord, or trusting in his providence. It was painful to realize my sin but by God’s grace it’s been an area of growth.
What areas in your life are preventing you from being that model of Christian faithfulness? …someone who has the Gospel infused all throughout their life?
What is holding you back?
Is it Anger? Lust? Apathy? Control? Are you pursuing things more than you are pursuing God? Is your heart turned against someone who has offended or hurt you? Are your words always seasoned with the Gospel or are they at times biting and sarcastic? Are your thoughts pure and blameless? In your daily activities, are you reflecting the Lord, or are you reflecting your own reputation and pursuits? For married couples, are you honoring one another unto the Lord, or are you trying to win an argument or build up grievances – making a record of the wrongs done to you?
We could be here a long time, couldn’t we? There are many ways in which we are not living sacrifices, not holy, not acceptable to the Lord.
But beloved in Christ, there is one who is the perfect living sacrifice; one who in every area of his life displayed the holiness of God; one whose every thought and word and deed was perfectly acceptable to God; One who sacrificed his life for others, but who lives even now. Jesus is the perfect living sacrifice because as God and as a man, a brother, he could give his life and he could triumph over sin.
He is the one who makes you acceptable before the Lord. He has done that if you believe in him by faith. Or Jesus can make you holy and acceptable before God, by trusting in him by faith. He’s the only one who can. Jesus is the one that Romans 12:1 speaks about. The mercies of God center on Christ, and the mercies of God flow from him and to you.
And if you believe in him by faith, he enables you, through the Holy Spirit, to pursue a life holy and acceptable to God, because you are holy and acceptable to him in Christ.
So live a life motivated by and infused with God’s Gospel mercies BECAUSE God has called you in Christ to be a living sacrifice. All of your life is to be an act of spiritual worship before him.

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Zechariah 14:20-21
Rev. Erik Veerman
8/21/2022
On That Day, a Holy City to the Lord

We’ve come to the last two verses of Zechariah. I hope our study been a blessing to you as much as it has to me. Starting next week, we’ll do a short series in Romans 12. I’ve been going back to do different chapters of Romans in-between our full sermon series. Then, after Romans 12 we’ll dive into the book of 1 John. That will be a nice change of pace from Zechariah.
But let’s now turn our attention to these final two verses. You can find them on page 952 of the pew Bible. Zechariah 14:20-21
Please stand for the reading of our sermon text as we give all due respect to God’s word. Zechariah 14:20-21. Hear now God’s holy word.
Reading of Zechariah 14:20-21
Those last three words are a very fitting ending to the book, “on that day.” Well, on that day, the grass withers, the flower falls, But the word of the Lord stands forever.
Prayer
I would like to do a thought experiment with you.
What if the Old Testament presented every detail about the future Messiah? In other words, what if the prophets prophesied the exact year when Jesus would be born? What if they identified Jesus parents and specifics of where he would live? What if the prophets gave details about the cross and what year Jesus would die. And what if the Old Testament explicitly said that after 3 days Jesus would be resurrected?
When I think about those possibilities, every what-if has led me to a dead end.
For example, if the exact location of the messiah’s birth was known beforehand, imagine what would have happened to that location in the lead up. Or how people would have flocked to Jesus in his infancy or childhood. He wouldn’t have gone through the childhood experiences of the common man. We already know that in his public ministry, he often had to withdraw because the crowds were overwhelming. Jesus himself hid his identity for a period of time. Why? Because, as he said, his time had not yet come.
Or if all the details of Jesus death was revealed beforehand, think of how that itself would undermine, in different ways, his crucifixion. Same with his resurrection.
Every scenario I’ve thought about regarding Jesus or his kingdom, has made me realize how God orchestrated it all, in his perfect time, providing prophecies and promises that all together is astounding.
We have spent a lot of time in the book of Zechariah since February. And we’ve seen in every chapter a different highlight of the coming savior, the salvation he would bring, and the nature of his coming kingdom. From visions to direct prophecies, to people whose represented Christ’s priestly and kingly role, to the temple itself and the lampstand, to events that happened which point to Christ and his kingdom.
With the variety of prophecies and promises, the book of Zechariah is similar to the Old Testament as a whole.
In fact, if you add up all the ways in the Old Testament in which redemption in Christ is foreshadowed, it’s overwhelming.
• Events like the Exodus
• Feasts and festivals that reveal aspects of salvation
• People that prefigure Jesus in different ways like David and Moses.
• The temple itself and all the priestly activities that point to the holiness of God and the cleansing reconciliation of the coming savior.
• Psalmists wrote of sin and a messiah who would save.
• Prophets pointed to many aspect of Jesus birth and life, and death and resurrection.
• And the list goes on.
The point I’m trying to make is that Zechariah and the whole Old Testament paints a beautiful, full-orbed picture of the Gospel. Yes, it’s veiled so that God could work it out in his perfect timing, but the picture is richer, deeper, broader, and (I would argue) more comprehensive than if the Old Testament were a detailed movie script of what was to come.
And it should instill in us an amazement at how God orchestrated it all and brought it to pass… all for his glory and our good.
These last two verses of Zechariah conclude the book in a similar way. They further expand on God’s future promises for his people. …I would say, in a climatic way.
So let’s jump in.
Since we’re just talking about two verses, let’s work through these systematicly.
I have three question for us to answer:
• First, what do these verses mean? I’m talking about the people receiving Zechariah prophesy – what is the significance for them?
• Second, how do these last two verses fit in the book as a whole?
• And third, how does they relate to us? How do we make the jump from them to us?
In some way, we’ve been working through these kinds of questions throughout the whole book, so it’s a fitting conclusion.
1. The Original Meaning
Let’s start with the original meaning.
You’ve probably noticed that these verses are about holiness. Well, holiness was something very significant to the people in Zechariah’s generation. Remember, Zechariah was prophesying to the people who had returned from exile. That’s only a portion of the people. There were many still in Babylon, far away to the east. But why did some return? Well, Jerusalem was a special place. It was sacred to them. The city and surrounding region had historical and religious significance. The people who returned wanted to return because they wanted to be there. But remember, this generation was born in Babylon. So it’s not likely that they had been to Jerusalem before, rather, their families had retained their Jewish identity. This generation had been taught the law. They knew of the ceremonies and the history of the fathers and kings. And they knew that the centerpiece of Jewish life in Jerusalem had been the temple.
Some of the people who had arrived, came before the temple was rebuilt. The first half of Zechariah’s prophecy was written before the temple was finished. So, many returned exiles were there when the temple was rededicated. It was a shadow of its original glory, but nonetheless, it was restored and the priestly activities resumed. And that event drew more people back to Jerusalem - a functioning temple.
But what was it about the temple that was so special? If you were to pick one word that described the temple, what would that one word be? It would be the word “holy.” Holy - we’ve come across it before. It means “set apart” in a righteous kind of way. To be holy was to be distinguished from un-pure, un-clean, and common things. And that word is directly connected to God. God is holy – one of his very character traits as God is holiness – holy, holy, holy.
The temple itself had two inner chambers. One was called the Holy Place. And the other was called the Holy of Holies. Only the priests could go into the Holy Place and only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies once a year. In generations past, it’s where God’s presence and glory dwelt.
To be sure, the priests were like everyone else in that they were, of course, human. Sinful. Unholy. And as such, in order to fulfill their responsibilities, they had to go through ceremonial cleansing and wear special robes and attire. It didn’t mean they became holy. Rather, it symbolized the holiness required to be the go-between to a Holy God.
And what was their job? Besides keeping the temple clean, the priests performed sacrifices – animals, like doves and lambs, were sacrificed as part of the cleansing ritual for the people. It showed the people what was needed to atone for sin. Blood needed to be shed in place of the sinner being punished.
You follow me so far? The temple was set apart as a holy place for a holy God, who set apart priests from among the people. They had holy responsibilities.
We read a few verses from Exodus 28 earlier. It spoke about the high priest. He had to wear very special garments. He wore a turban on his head. And on the turban, as we read, was to be affixed a pure gold engraving that said, “holy to the Lord.” And in Exodus 28, God said that “Aaron,” who was the high priest, “shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.”
The high priest was very set apart. He went before God on behalf of the people, so that they might be accepted by God.
The people were very familiar with the idea of holiness, but holiness was reserved for a small subset of priests and temple objects, which were designated as holy.
But look what Zechariah 14, verse 20 say: “And on that day, there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, ‘Holy to the Lord.’”
Person: “What?! Zechariah, did I hear your prophecy right?” Are you saying that on that day, animals will be holy?”
Zechariah: “Yes, Yes, I am In fact regular ordinary cooking pots will be like the special set apart cooking pots used for the sacrificial meat.”
Person: “But Zechariah, the temple pots were cleansed by the priests themselves. Are you saying that priests will have to go door to door to clean our pots?”
Zechariah: “No, actually, what I am saying is that you will all be priests on that day. Like my prophecy says, all who sacrifice may come and use the holy pots.”
Do you see what this prophecy is describing? There would come a future day when everything will be holy. This would have been mind-blowing for them. This idea of everything being holy was radical compared to what they were used to. The city will be like one big temple.
One commentator I read captured it well: “The city of Jerusalem will be one massive sanctuary, so much so that even the most common of objects will be sacred. Holiness will not be limited to the specially consecrated items in the temple. All of Jerusalem will be a ‘holy’ zone.”
Zechariah adds one more comment. In the beginning of the very last sentence, he adds, “There shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord.” That word “trader” is the word for “Canaanite.” They were known as merchants, so some translations like ours translate it as “trader.” This either means that there won’t need to be merchants in the temple (you know, the kind that Jesus drove out). Or it means that there will not be any people there who don’t believe in the God of the bible - like the Canaanites. Either way, it further emphasizes the future holiness of the city and people.
So to summarize: These two verses were saying to the original audience that a future day was coming when no temple or priests would be needed. Why? Because everything and everyone in the city would be holy to the Lord. A future holy city and holy people.
So that answers the first question, what was the significance of these two verses to them?
2. Connection to Zechariah
But related to that, is the next question, how does this connect to the rest of the book?
Well, the simple answer is it very much aligns with what God had been teaching them. God wanted them. Remember some of the very opening words, “Return to me.” It wasn’t about the physical city or temple, rather it was about God’s covenant relationship with them. They were his people, and he desired their hearts.
Remember the beautiful picture of the golden lampstand in chapter 4? (I have to pull my menorah out one more time). Remember that the vision wasn’t about the physical lampstands in the temple. Rather, it was a picture of God’s people, who would be fueled by the golden oil – the Holy Spirit. And they would be vessels that shine the light of Christ.
These last two verses of the book are a fitting conclusion. It reminded them to look beyond the physical city and temple. Their temptation was to latch on to the temple and earthly priests, as if they were the things that would save them. No, they merely prefigured a future day where a temple was no longer needed. A day when God’s people would be holy to the Lord.
Another connection is these last 3 chapters - chapters 12-14. They’ve been progressing. God had revealed through Zechariah about the coming Messiah – Jesus, and his salvation. He was the pierced one (chapter 12), who would be the rejected shepherd (chapter 13), and in chapter 14, we see the completion of salvation. A resurrected savior, a final battle and victory, and a new and eternal city, where true worshippers of God from all nations would be present.
In other words, these last 2 verses are the climax. They are the pinnacle of God’s fulfillment of salvation.
• A fully restored city with everything and everyone holy.
• The final cleansing from sin and evil, which has been a theme, is complete.
• And a day will come when there’s no more sin. Everything and everyone will be holy.
And that’s the summary of the second question… how these verses fit in. They culminate God’s message to his people. A future day will come where God’s holiness is reflected in everything and everyone who are in his holy city.
3. Meaning for Us
And that brings us to the third and last question. How does this apply to us? This is the “so what” question? So what does this mean to me?
Kids, have you ever asked your mom or dad, “why do I have to study math? You know, like, I don’t want to be an accountant or engineer someday.”
And how did your mom or dad respond? “Well, honey, God has made the universe beautiful and orderly. And when we study math, we are learning the very principles that help us see and know and wonder at God’s created order. Besides, math works itself out in every-day life. We study it so we can be faithful to use the resources he has given and give him the glory in all of it.”
I’m guessing your parents said something like that. And what did you say in response? Maybe “humph!”
You see, there are parts of the Bible that seem distant and irrelevant at first. But as we uncover their truths and see them in light of God’s story of redemption, they become alive.
Zechariah has been like that.
We share many similarities with Zechariah’s generation. They lived in a time of uncertainty which can be unsettling. Some of God’s promises had come true, but the realities around them were difficult and painful. They were awaiting the fulfillment of those promises.
We live in a time of uncertainty which, as you know, can be unsettling. Some of God’s promises have come true, but the realities around us are difficult and painful. And we also await the fulfillment of those promises.
The difference is, they lived before the first coming of the promised savior - Jesus. We live before the second coming of Jesus. For us, some of the future prophecies of Zechariah have already come true. We’ve seen that in many ways. But, there are still prophesies of Zechariah that have yet to be fulfilled.
So let’s apply this in two ways. First, a present reality and second, a future hope.
Present Reality
Let’s begin with the present reality.
These verses, in a spiritual way for us, have already been fulfilled. The promise to them was that a day would come when everyone who worships the Lord would be holy unto the Lord. It’s not talking about every single person. Remember what it said in the verses just before these? It’s those who keep the feast of booths, who would receive the blessing of God. In other words, those who believed in the coming savior and worship him.
If you are in Christ, you know and believe and trust in Jesus and worship him alone… if that’s you, you are holy to the Lord. Right now! You see, despite your sin, God has reconciled you in Christ. You are his by faith. You have the righteousness of Christ. God has given you that. Remember chapter 3? The vision of Joshua the high priest – how his dirty robes were removed and he was given clean ones. That is the promise. We have the righteous robes of Christ. It’s not that we don’t sin any longer. Rather our sin is covered by the blood of Christ.
In fact, the Bible speaks of God’s people as a holy priesthood. We are priests, through Christ, just like these verses prophesy. We can come to God, in his presence, now. Jesus is the earthly mediator – the perfect one. Through him, we can come in God’s presence and be priests, ministering to one another.
And today, there is no more need for a temple. That’s because Jesus has come. He perfectly fulfilled all of the priestly role. And we have his presence here and now. We don’t need an earthly priest or temple or sacrifices. He is the eternal high priest who gave himself on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice.
You see, these are realities now. The returned exiles looked forward to what we have now. And we can rest and trust in God for all that he has done and is doing because of Christ. We can worship God in Christ, we can come to him in repentance. To be sure, they had faith and salvation in the same savior. Theirs was a faith in the future reality of the Messiah and his prophesied salvation. Our faith is the present reality that he has come and has saved.
Future Hope
But if we only saw these final two verses of Zechariah as present realities, then we would miss out on the future hope that they also give.
Part of what is promised here remains in the future for us, just as it was in the future for the returned exiles. It’s the promise of a fully restored future and holy city.
In Revelation 21, the apostle John was given a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem. One of his descriptions included this: “…I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” In the heavenly Jerusalem there will be no temple! Just like our text. There will be no need for a temple.
Not only will we be holy because of the righteousness of Christ, but there will no longer be any sin in us. All evil will be gone. The effects of the fall will be reversed. The term that the apostle Paul uses in Romans 8 is glorified. We will be fully glorified with Christ. Fully restored without even the ability to sin.
• On that day, we will no longer sin against God or one another. Our thoughts will be pure. Our actions will be undefiled. Repentance will not be needed. We will no longer be tempted to lust or covet. Idols of all kinds will be gone. It will be a day when holiness is infused through everyone and everything.
• On that day, our relationships with one another will be completely peaceful. All the strains and tension that we have today will be gone. We will be perfectly reconciled to one another in Christ. We will not fail one another. There will be no more gossip nor hurt. We will no longer have broken hearts
• On that day, we will no longer live in the pain of doubts and fear. We will no longer have feeling of shame. No, because on that day, we will have perfect communion with God. We will no longer cry out to him in our sorrow wondering where he is. Because we will be basking in his presence and glory day after day after day.
It is a day to look forward to. A day to long for. It’s a day that give us hope now knowing what is to come.
Let me end with the words of Jesus about that coming day. These are words that we began our worship service with from Revelation 22 verse 20. Jesus said this about that day: “surely, I am coming soon.” And the apostle John’s response should be ours as well. He said, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
Come, Lord Jesus quickly come.
Prayer

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Zechariah 14:12-19
Rev. Erik Veerman
8/21/2022
The Great Reversal: From War to Worship

Originally, I had planned that this would be our last sermon in Zechariah. But we’re going to have one more next week. The last two verses of the book provide a great conclusion, and so we’ to wrap up then.
Our sermon text this morning, is Zechariah 14 verses 12-19. You can find that on page 951 In the church Bible. They continue the theme of God’s judgment and deliverance. In fact, for a little bit of context, we’ll start in verse 9.
Let’s now turn our attention to God’s Word.
Zechariah 14 starting in verse 9.
Reading of Zechariah 14:9-19
Prayer
Martin Luther, the great reformer of the 16th century, wrote two commentaries on the book of Zechariah based on his lectures. Not one, but two. The first he wrote in Latin. The second commentary, he wrote in German. In fact, his Latin commentary ended with chapter 13. He didn’t know what to make of Zechariah chapter 14. Luther’s second commentary, however, did include chapter 14. He gave his analysis, but in the end, he wrote this: “Here, in this chapter, I give up. For I am not sure what the prophet is talking about.”
Zechariah 14 is considered one of the most difficult chapters in the whole Bible to interpret.
Coleman did a great job last week with the opening verses. He tied the imagery in chapter 14 with the Exodus and the parting of the Red sea… as well tying the chapter to Jesus’ description of the end times. And how all of it connects with God’s salvation and his judgment.
Someday when Coleman is a pastor of a church, he’ll probably say to his pastoral intern, “you think your passage is difficult, try preaching on Zechariah 14!”
In many ways, Zechariah 14 is like parts of the book of Revelation – the last book of the Bible.
The chapter is full of graphic imagery and allusions to other events and ceremonies, including destruction and judgment and victory. Mountains are torn in two (verse 4) and then flattened. A city rises up above the surrounding area (verse 10). Women are raped (verse 2), flesh rots (verse 12). It’s no wonder this chapter is a difficult one. Not just to interpret, but to apply.
The reason I bring this up is because I want to offer you my analysis, but with humility. It may be that one day in eternity the Lord says to me “nice try, but you missed the mark.” So, with a desire to be faithful but with a level of uncertainty, let me present my case. But know this: the breadth and depth and richness of this chapter will only be fully understood and appreciated in heaven. And we’ll give glory to God, for it.
Ok, two objectives this morning. First, a further analysis of Zechariah 14. I say “further” because I think Coleman nailed it last week. He captured the theological heart of the opening verses, which deal with God’s justice, salvation, and deliverance. More specifically, I want to work through how the prophecy of Zechariah 14 has been or will be fulfilled. That will be the first half of this morning’s sermon.
And then in the second half, we’ll dive into these verses, 12-19.
So that’s where we’re headed.
And to start out, let me give you my thesis – the summary of what I believe Zechariah 14 is about. And then 3 arguments for why I believe it’s a faithful understanding of the chapter.
And here it is: Zechariah 14 points to the completion of God’s salvation in Christ, emphasizing his return and a heavenly Jerusalem, not a restored earthly city.
Let me say that again and explain it.
• Zechariah 14 points to the completion of God’s salvation in Christ. In other words, salvation was accomplished through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and in the resurrection, but that’s not the end. No, God will complete salvation when sin and death are no more.
• And what I want to argue is that Zechariah 14 points to that completion of God’s salvation in Christ. And it does that by emphasizing Jesus’ return and the heavenly Jerusalem to come. That completion will happen when Jesus returns. We call that his second coming. He first came as a baby in a manger, but the Scriptures describe his second coming very differently. (like in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4). He will come again on the clouds of heaven with trumpets and he will judge the world and save his people forever. There will be a new heavens and earth for his people and with his presence forever.
• Zechariah 14 is not predicting, in my view, a restored earthly city, rather it predicts a heavenly city – a new heavens and earth, without sin and sickness and death.
One more time - Zechariah 14 points to the completion of God’s salvation in Christ, emphasizing his return and a heavenly Jerusalem, not a restored earthly city.
To be sure, I believe Zechariah 14 does predict some events on earth, but those are just the lead up to the ultimate event, Christ’s return.
And now, let me make my argument… with 3 reasons.
1. Number one. The progression of the book as a whole leads up to this last chapter as the consummation of salvation. Remember in chapter 13, we talked about how the book began with broad categories of salvation but then focused in on specifics and the savior. It’s progressed kind of like a skydiver descending and being able to see more details below. Well, in the book, there has also been a forward progression in how God would fulfill his promised salvation. Coleman highlighted a little of that last week. The last half of Zechariah paralleled the week leading up to and including the cross. Well, chapter 14 continues and concludes that progression.
We’ve spent time talking about the phrase “On that day” In the last 3 chapters of Zechariah, it’s used 17 or 18 times. As a reminder, it’s not referring to a single day. Rather an age. I would argue that each section that begins with “on that day” emphasizes a different aspect of salvation. Part of chapter 12 and 13 emphasized the cross – the pierced one and the shepherd who was struck. Other “on that day” sections emphasized our individual salvation as a result of God’s work. Like repentance and sanctification.
For you baseball fans, think of the world series last year. On that day, the braves won the world series. But it wasn’t just one day. No, they had to win multiple games, and each game had big plays and great pitching. You see, there were multiple “on that day” events which each added up to the big “on that day” event when the final game ended. And they are still world champs, at least until October (maybe longer). So it’s ongoing.
To summarize the first argument. Zechariah as a whole and especially these last 3 chapters lead up to the final consummation of salvation – Jesus’ return.
2. Second, the overall language of chapter 14 is heightened and speaks to that final completion. Like verses 6. “On that day, there shall be no light, cold or frost” and at the end of verse 7, there shall be light in the evening. We saw that parallel last week between that description and how heaven is described in Revelation 21. Add to that, verse 8 - living waters shall flow forth from Jerusalem, east and west. That’s very similar to Revelation’s description of the new Jerusalem in heaven, which as verse 8 say, will continue in winter and summer. You see, it’s lasting and eternal language.
Or take verses 10 and 11. Jerusalem shall be raised up! And all the surrounding mountains and areas shall become a plain. That’s very symbolic language. It’s like Jerusalem will be raised up to the heavens. It’s not talking about the city on earth now, but the new Jerusalem and the new earth in heaven. God’s people! And in verse 11, the language there is also lasting and eternal, “there shall never again (ever!), be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.” Do you hear the finality in those words.
And what is going to kick off all these lasting heavenly things? Well, it’s exactly what Coleman highlighted last week. Verse 4. A new Exodus. Christ will come and he will metaphorically part the Mount of Olives, like the parting of the Red Sea. The final escape from sin and death. And to give you a preview of next week, the last 2 verses of chapter 14 show even more of that finality.
Related to all that, chapter 14 includes language of judgment. Besides the opening verses, we’ll see more judgment language in verses 12-19. But the language also has a finality to it. The nations will go up against Jerusalem, against God’s people, but in the end, the Lord will be victorious. When Christ returns, the Scriptures speak of his final judgment again sin and the devil – all the enemies of faith will be defeated. So even the language of judgment language points to Christ’s return.
3. Ok, my third argument relates to Jerusalem. You could be agreeing with me up to this point but still think these future prophecies are about the city of Jerusalem that exists today. But think back to the situation of the returned exiles. Even with all the positives, including many people who returned from Babylon and a rebuilt temple, there was still the overwhelming situation. A foreign nation was still in control and the city walls were still in ruins. And God, though Zechariah, was calling them back to him. All throughout, his promises were not about the physical city of Jerusalem.
• For example, Chapter 2 – the true city will have walls of fire, not stone walls.
• Or chapter 8 - Jerusalem will be a blissful perfect city. It was pointing to the heavenly city.
• Or chapter 12, the promise of a future Jerusalem was connected directly to the savior and the cross.
One of the main purposes of the book has been to draw people to faith and repentance, to the coming savior and his coming salvation. It has not been about a restored earthly kingdom. All throughout, Zechariah has been emphasizing an eternal priestly king who will reign over earth and heaven with a kingdom that is spiritual and eternal.
I guess what I’m saying is that if the book up to this point has been about people, presence, and peace… about cleansing from sin and salvation. It would not make sense for chapter 14 to make a 180 deg turn and be about an earthly kingdom and city.
So, to summarize.

1 - The progression of Zechariah has been leading up to a final consummation of salvation when Jesus returns again.

2. The language of chapter 14 itself points to this completion of salvation

3. The context and emphasis is not on an earthly city, but on a spiritual and eternal city

That’s my case! That Zechariah 14 is about the completion of God’s salvation in Christ, emphasizing his second coming and the heavenly Jerusalem of God’s people, not a restored earthly city or kingdom.
That’s what I think is the best way to understand this chapter. But honestly, you could come up to me after the service and ask “ok, but what about this little detail, or this phrase” And I would answer, “great question.” I just think that the questions are much bigger with other interpretations.
Well, that brings us to sermon part 2. Verse 12-19.
And let me say, these verses also connect to each of those prior points. For example, one of the themes throughout Zechariah has been that the nations will come to Christ. Many who were once enemies of God and his people will become friends. That theme was in chapter 2 and chapter 9. Well, here in chapter 14, there’s a final emphasis of the nations turning to worship God.
So, let’s briefly work through these verses, 12–19.
As we read, it starts out with some heavy plagues. Flesh and eyes rotting. Internal conflict within the ranks of the people who had been fighting against God. Utter panic.
And we ask, what is going on here? I mean, is this going to happen? Is there going to be a day when all the enemy peoples come to Jerusalem, the city, to fight against God’s people?
I think you already know my answer. No, rather, these verses are here as a contrast to the opening verses of chapter 14. In verses 1 and 2, God’s people were judged, defeated, exiled. The enemies were winning the battle. But when we get down to verses 12-19. It’s a great reversal! While God’s enemies may have won the battle up in verses 1-2, now it's the enemies who are utterly confounded and judged. In fact, we could say that in these later verses, God’s enemies lost the war. They would be plundered, and utterly decimated.
I believe it’s a picture of the spiritual battle against the church and God’s final judgment on his and our enemies. The reason I think so is similar to my arguments earlier. The language of judgment and war has a finality to it. Like in verse 19. It says, “this shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations.” It’s like verse 19 is saying that what was described earlier – the horrible plagues and the judgment – is for all who remain enemies of God. And it’s an image of hell – chaos, death, suffering. The final judgment of Christ when he returns. Do you see how that fits in to the chapter?
But something radical happens. Just like in earlier chapters, some of the very people who were battling against God and his people, become his people. Verse 16, “everyone who survives… shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts.” As one commentator put it: Warriors against God have become worshipers of God.
In the early 1960s, a young tribal warrior in Equador had a radical transformation to Christ. His name was Mincaye. Missionaries had come to his tribe bringing the hope of Christ. In fact, many in his tribe came to profess faith in Jesus. Over the decades, Mincaye became dear friends with a man connected to the missionary families… Steve Saint and his family. Mincaye became like a father to Steve. Steve’s father had been killed when he was just 5 years old.
Mincaye was part of the Saint family. They were fast friends. They would often visit one another, either in Equador or the United States. They prayed for and loved each other.
But let me tell you about the very first missionary contact with Mincaye’s tribe. 5 missionaries were killed by them. That included Nate Saint, Steve’s father, as well as Jim Elliot and 3 other missionaries. Mincaye’s tribe felt threatened and had attacked and killed them.
Steve Saint wrote a book about the event and the missionary endeavors that followed. It’s titled End of the Spear. There’s also a movie and documentary based on it. Steve wrote that many years later, he was talking to Mincaye about that day – they had never before discussed what had happened. But it’s then that Steve found out that Mincaye was the one who had killed his father and one of the other missionaries. Can you imagine? Nonetheless, it did not change their relationship in one bit, Steve wrote. He recognized that God had used that to do an amazing Gospel work –Mincaye had become a worshiper of Jesus, a brother in Christ, and a father like figure to him. It’s a beautiful picture of redemption and forgiveness. From a warrior to a worshipper.
You see, Zechariah 14 verses 16-19 is speaking of the Gospel going forth to the nations, who were enemies of God. Peoples from every tribe and tongue and nation believing in the savior.
Notice that three times, these verses mention the Feast of Booths – you’ll see that at the end of verse 16 and the end of 18 and the end of 19. And in each case, it speaks of people from the nations, including from Egypt, the very people who had enslaved God’s people, coming to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Now, this particular feast was a remembrance of God’s provision in the wilderness. It’s also called the feat of tabernacles. We read about it earlier in the service from Leviticus chapter 23. They were to make tents or booths of sticks and branches. They were to live in them for a week. It was a remembrance of the events following the exodus from Egypt. God’s people lived in tents in the wilderness as they travelled to the promised land. And God provided for their needs. He provided food – called manna, and water, and their clothes and shoes didn’t wear out. This remembrance happened every fall. It was like a fall harvest festival. And it was to remind them that even the crop that they harvested was a provision from the Lord.
And part of the feast involved praying for rain for the upcoming planting season. That’s why verses 17 and 18 mention rain. Rain indicated God’s blessing. Those who celebrated the feast were blessed by the Lord with rain. Those who didn’t celebrate the feast of booths were not blessed with rain, instead were punished with the plagues.
These verses are not saying that in the future, Christians will have to travel to Jerusalem every year, and celebrate the feast of booths. No, no, no! As it says in Colossians 2, these festivals are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. In other words, Jesus has come. He has fulfilled the ceremonial feasts. He is the one to whom they pointed. These verses are not about restarting the feast of Booths again. That would be a step backward in the revealing and fulfillment of salvation in Christ.
So then, what’s the point of these verses? It’s that there will be people, like us, from all the nations, who will believe in the Lord God, the promised Savior, and who will trust him by faith for provision. And it’s those people, us and others from every tribe and tongue and nation, whom God will bless and who will celebrate in heaven with him forever. We who were aliens and enemies of God – even warriors against him and his people, brought near by the blood of Christ.
So to summarize, verses 12 to 19 reveal God’s ultimate judgment, which will not be based on where you are from or what language you speak. Or even whether you were at one time an enemy of God. Instead, his ultimate judgment will be on whether you are a worshiper of the one true God in Christ.
When Jesus returns. On that day, we will each stand before the judgment seat of Christ and he will separate those whom he knows and who know him and worship him from those who do not believe.
If you believe by faith and worship him, he will call you to an eternal blessing in heaven… in the new Jerusalem with him.
Conclusion
As we close, we’ve spent a lot of time this morning trying to discern what this chapter means. As you know, some Scripture is a lot more clear. For example, with clear calls to living out our faith in our thoughts word and action, other scripture drives our hearts and minds toward God in the wonder of his character and holiness. Yet other passages in the Bible give us comfort in affliction and remind us of God’s grace.
Well, this chapter fits in the category of God’s future promises for us - more specifically, end times. And even with some of the uncertainty of how it will happen and how this chapter speaks to it, yet there are still very clear promises of what God will do. So, let me end with certainty. And in that certainty, we can each grasp hold of God’s future promises and believe.
Next week, by the way, as we conclude the series we’ll spend a lot more time on what it means to live in the present with the eternal perspective of God’s future glorifying work in us.
But for now, here these great promises for you, who are in Christ.
• The eternal son of God, Jesus, who is reigning now as king… He will return one day. And on that day, sin will be no more. Death, and the enemies of faith will be defeated once and for all.
• Furthermore, when Christ returns, we will be united and reunited with all the believers by faith in him - people from all nations throughout the centuries who have come to God by faith in the savior. Eternity together in perfect communion as the bride of Christ…
• And finally, at the very center of that future heavenly eternity will be Christ himself - our King and Lord. God’s presence and glory will be with us forever. And there will be lasting peace – peace among us and peace with God.
God will complete his work of salvation on that day, in each of those ways.
Beloved in Christ, those are God’s assured eternal promises for you. Amen.

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Zechariah 14:1-11
Coleman Erkens
8/14/2022
Salvation Through Judgement

Did you miss the sermon on Sunday? Coleman Erkens preached on Zechariah 14:1-11 in his sermon titled, “Salvation Through Judgement.”

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Zechariah 11:7-14

Rev. Erik Veerman

7/17/2022

The Rejected Shepherd Rejects the Shepherds

Last week we looked at the beginning and end of Zechariah chapter 11, which sort of bookended this chapter. It was about God’s judgment on the worthless shepherds. And why he was so harsh.

The middle section is obviously connected. And it’s a drama. A play of sorts. God tells Zechariah to act out a scenario for the people to see. Zechariah was to become the shepherd. Not just any shepherd. Zechariah is to play the role of God as shepherd. So, as I read these verses, have that in mind.

Let’s now come to God’s Word.

Please stand for the reading of our sermon text. Zechariah 11:7-14.

Hear now God’s holy inspired word.

Reading of Zechariah 11:7-14

Prayer

Jesus was the master of parables. Of stories. They really penetrated to the heart of an issue. And often times Jesus’ parables were about his audience. Part of the punch of the parables was that Jesus’ audience wouldn’t realize, at first, that he was talking about them. But then, Jesus would flip the parable on its head. He would reveal that they were the antagonists. They were the ones in the story who committed the offence or who needed a complete reorientation to God and salvation.

Well, shortly after Jesus arrived in Jerusalem (the week before his death), Jesus told a series of parables. And his audience? The pharisees – the hypocritical religious leaders of Jesus day.

In one of these parables Jesus spoke of a landowner. This man owned a home and land. And he decided to build a vineyard on his property. So he planted grapes and he put a fence around it and built a press to process the grapes after the harvest. Before the first harvest, the man needed to travel out of the country, so he leased the property to some tenants. They were to care for the buildings and the land while he was away.

Well, the vineyard started to produce grapes, so, of course, the landowner sent three of his servants to help with the harvest. But what happened was that his tenants attacked his servants. One servant was beat up, another was stoned, and worse, the third one was killed.

Because of that, the property owner decided to send more servants to address the situation.

What happened? Same story – they were attacked, beat up, and some killed.

Imagine being there when Jesus was telling this parable. Even though it just a story, imagine the anger you would feel at the tenants. I mean, it was the owner’s property. He was being kind to lease his land. Yet, in total disregard, the tenants assaulted and murdered some of his servants.

Well, finally the owner thought, “I know, I’ll send my son. This time, surely they will respect him.” Yet when the son arrived, the tenants conspired against him, ambushed him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

At that point in telling the story, Jesus turned the question to the Pharisees. He asked, “What should the owner do to these tenets?” Well, they were disgusted at the tenants. They replied, “The owner should have those wretches put to death! He should find new tenants who will provide his fruit!” Little did the pharisees know they were condemning themselves.

Jesus responded, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone...’ Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.”

Of course, at that point, the pharisees realized Jesus was condemning them. Jesus never minced his words with the Pharisees. No, he was clear and direct with them. Jesus was saying to the pharisees, “you rejected God, therefore God will reject you.”

That’s also the summary of these middle verses of Zechariah 11. God’s rejection of those who reject him.

And let me say, this is a striking kind of prophecy. That’s because it’s not just words that Zechariah is to speak. No, like I mentioned earlier, he’s acting out the prophecy. God told him to do something so that the people would hear AND SEE. It’s like a visual parable. Do you remember what that kind of prophecy is called? It’s called a sign prophecy. We saw an example of that back in chapter 6. The seven night visions had just ended, and God told Zechariah to make a crown woven with gold and silver. Does that sound familiar? Zechariah was to crown a priestly king who was to be called “the branch.” That was a prophecy about Jesus.

Well, the sign prophecy here in Zechariah 11 is very different. It’s not an encouraging prophecy of the future king who would come. Rather it’s a prophecy of judgment and a future betrayal of him.

Try to picture the scene in your mind. It’s likely Zechariah acted this out in front of the temple… in the court. A large gathering area was there. The priests and the people were often at the temple for pray and offerings. And part of the drama involved the temple.

And this drama was not a one act play. No, in fact, it was probably dramatized over several scenes in consecutive days, or perhaps once a week for a few weeks.

Zechariah was to play the part of THE shepherd. There are other actors in the play who act as the bad shepherds and sheep. Zechariah is in charge over all of them.

Look down at verse 4. We didn’t read that this morning, but it says, “Thus said the Lord my God: ‘Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.’” Last week we saw how evil the shepherds were. They were figuratively killing their sheep – using their power to abuse them. That’s what verses 5 and 6 and later in the chapter show us. The reason it says sheep were “doomed to slaughter” is the shepherds. Instead of caring for the flock, they were leading them to the slaughter house.

Verse 7 is where the theatrical prophecy begins. Zechariah writes, “so I became shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders.”

And Zechariah’s audience soon realized just who he represented in the drama. God himself! We know that because Zechariah held in his hands two shepherd staffs – one named “Favor” (God’s favor, his grace) and the second one named “Union” (the union that God gives his people). Picture in your mind two shepherd staffs. They were curved on the end. That was so the shepherd could hook a sheep to direct them if needed. They were also used to protect the sheep. It was a weapon or sorts Maybe these staffs, these props, had words inscribed on them. Favor and Union.

And as Zechariah acted out this this first scene, he begins by “tending the sheep.” That’s exactly what it says there, end of verse 7. These were the sheep who had been doomed to slaughter, but God was rescuing them.

But even though the sheep were being cared for, the problem still remained - bad shepherds. So, in this next act, verse 8, they were dealt with. As part of this play other actors role-played the bad shepherds and the sheep.

It says, “in one month, I destroyed the three shepherds.” Now, we’re not told who these bad shepherds represented. Some have speculated that they represented the failed prophets, priests, and kings. Others have suggested they were specific bad leaders of the time. We’re not given any more details. But what we do know is that they represented the bad shepherds. And we know that Zechariah destroyed them. Maybe he acted that out by using one of his staffs to pretend to destroy three of the shepherds.

As we move on in the drama… a plot twist. The sheep turned on the shepherd. You would think they would have been grateful. I mean, finally, someone has come to care for them. Finally, someone has come to deal with the bad shepherds and protect them. But no, the sheep turned on the shepherd. They rejected him. They rejected God. He had destroyed the bad shepherds, but those were their shepherds. It says, “they detested me.”

Now, Zechariah’s audience may or may not yet realize, at this poin, that they are either the sheep or the bad shepherds. The point of this visual parable is to stir their hearts to be angry at the bad shepherds and angry with the sheep for rejecting the good shepherd. Then when they realize that the drama is about themselves, it would be a wakeup call. So that they may turn and return to the Lord.

Next is verse 9, the next act. We now see the response of the shepherd. His words are stark. “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.”

In other words, ”so be it! you rejected me, I will reject you.” The result would be that the sheep would die. They would be destroyed without the care and protection of the shepherd.

And it’s here that Zechariah, who, again, was role playing for God, took his staff “Favor” and he broke it in half. He essentially said, “You have been my people. I have been faithful to you… longsuffering. I have established my covenant, but no longer.” The word used is “annulled.” God annulled his covenant. That means, he withdrew and terminated it.

And then, in verse 11, Zechariah tells us how the bad shepherds reacted. He said, “and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord.” In other words, the drama at that point revealed that Zechariah was indeed speaking and acting on God’s behalf.

Let me summarize the first half. God was saying to them, “I am your true shepherd. But your leaders failed you. And if you also reject me, God, I will break my covenant promise with you. I will no longer be your shepherd, and you will no longer be my sheep. If that happens, you will all die. Your leaders will destroy you and you will turn on one another.”

That brings us to the next act. Verse 12.

Zechariah, acting as the shepherd, turned to the sheep trader actors in the play. He asked them about getting paid for being a shepherd. Essentially, he said, “pay me if you want, but if you don’t want to pay me, keep your money.” But what they did was worse than not paying him at all. They paid him pittance. Pennies. Thirty pieces of silver was nothing. It was a slap in the face… a betrayal of sorts for his work. Especially since Zechariah was role-playing as the Lord, 30 pieces of silver was certainly not worthy of his work. That’s why it says “the lordy price.” It was a sarcastic response because of the paltry amount.

So Zechariah took the 30 pieces of silver and he threw them into the temple… into the “house of the Lord”, it says, “to the potter.” Now, this could be referencing the treasury of the temple. If that’s the case, it just means that Zechariah was throwing it back. “take your money.” Or it could be referring to the value of a potter’s wages not a shepherd’s wages. Either way, he’s giving it back. It symbolized that they valued him as essentially worthless.

Immediately after that was the final act of this play. Zechariah took his remaining shepherd’s staff, called union, and he broke it. As he put it, he annulled the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. Between the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom.

Let me put this in simple terms. When Zechariah broke the first staff, favor, God warned about breaking the vertical relationship between himself and the people. When Zechariah broke the second staff, union, God warned about breaking the horizontal relationship among the people. In other words, God warned that he would take away what unified them – his covenant promise. Both of these staffs were about God’s covenant. His covenant to be their God and their unity with one another in that covenant.

The rejected shepherd, God himself, would reject those who reject him. There’s a very clear warning in here for each of us and for the church. But before we consider that warning, let’s first fast forward about 500 years.

Zechariah prophesied this second half of his book around the year 480 or 490 before Christ. And as we’ve seen over and over, much of the prophecy in Zechariah is about Jesus. These verses are no exception.

In fact, Jesus’ ministry parallels these verses.

First of all, when Jesus’ public ministry began, he was caring for the sheep that the shepherds rejected. That fulfilled verse 7. Jesus cared for the sinners and suffers… the outcasts and the sick. That’s been the topic of our Friday evening devotionals… all the kinds of people to whom Jesus ministered.

Jesus is the one who fulfilled verse 8. He directly confronted the foolish shepherds. That included three main groups - the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the scribes. I’m not saying that the number three mentioned in verse 8 is a prophecy of these three groups. It’s hard to say. But what is clear, is that Jesus attacked their religious hypocrisy just as the shepherd in the drama attacked the three shepherds.

Add to that, Jesus was the rejected Shepherd in these verses. For sure he was rejected by the religious leaders, but he was also rejected by the people… by the sheep themselves, just like the end of verse 8. In the week leading up to his death on the cross, Jesus went from being praised in the triumphal entry (that’s was the prophecy of Zechariah 9) to being rejected by the people. By the end of the week, the people, themselves, were the ones shouting, “crucify him.”

And then we get to verses 12 and 13. They are directly fulfilled by Judas’ betrayal. Judas was one of Jesus 12 disciples. But he himself turned on Christ. We read from Matthew 26 and 27 this morning. Judas went to chief priests. They paid him 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus. What a meager sum for the son of God… the one and only Savior! Judas himself knew it. When he saw Jesus taken in and condemned, Judas felt overwhelmed. He took the 30 silver pieces back to the chief priests. But they wouldn’t’ take it back. So, what did Judas do? He threw the 30 pieces into the temple, just as Zechariah had done 500 years earlier.

The priests took the money but instead of keeping it, they bought a piece of land from the potter. That also fulfilled this prophecy.

Now, some of you may have noticed… in Matthew 27, Jeremiah was attributed to this prophecy, not Zechariah. Well, that’s because the Matthew passage is also a fulfillment of Jeremiah 18 and 19 about the potter. Since Jeremiah is the more prominent prophet, he would have been the one referenced.

Overall, the prophecy is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus was the rejected and betrayed shepherd by both the religious leaders and the people. He was the one valued at 30 pieces of silver, which were thrown back into the temple.

But we have to ask, where were the broken staffs in the fulfillment? Favor and Union. Did Jesus in some way remove God’s covenant promise from the people? Did he break the union between his people? The shepherd’s staffs are a pretty essential part of Zechariah 11.

The answer is that these symbols are fulfilled in two ways.

First, the warning of God’s rejection. But second, the offer of his grace.

You see, the breaking of the staffs symbolized God’s judgment on the Jewish people. They were God’s people. God had made a covenant promise with them that he would be their God, they would be his people. The stipulation was that they remain faithful as a people. To be sure, God was merciful to them. In fact, over and over, he held back his wrath. He endured with much patience their wandering away from him. But when their trust in him was gone, God’s covenant was broken.

This has two implications today. One for the church and a second for each of us individually.

When it comes to the church, God’s call is for her to be faithful to him. Faithful to his word. Faithful to Jesus. When a church as a whole or its leaders reject God, God will judge that church. In the book of revelation, chapter 2 and 3, we read of 7 different churches in 7 different states of faithfulness (or faithlessness). God is merciful, but when a church loses the very center of what it should be focusing on, his Word and the Gospel, God will judge that church. The language used in Revelation is that God will extinguish its lampstand. God will remove his Holy Spirit from that church. It will no longer be a light of the Gospel or a herald of the Word.

God’s Covenant promise to that church is no longer in effect. They are no longer his people. They betrayed God’s son and God will reject that church.

But remember, a local church is made up of individuals. A church has members who either believe by faith in Jesus and his salvation, or who do not truly believe in Jesus. I’m talking about the visible church. The church on earth that we see. Yes, there are people in the church who may say they believe in Jesus, but their actions or beliefs betray Jesus. He is not the son of God to them, or he is not their Savior. Or they are part of the church perhaps for social reasons, or it’s the place that they have control, or they think it will give them a pass into heaven.

The religious leaders in Jesus day were part of the religious establishment, but they certainly were not part of God’s spiritual family. Now, that’s not to say that there were not true people of God as part of the Jewish people. Think of Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee, but he would come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Savior. He repented from his unbelief.

In a local church today that is losing its way, there may be true Christians still there who are seeking to be faithful to the Word and the Gospel – hope in Christ. But in such a church, there are likely to be more and more religious hypocrites, who say they believe, but who reject God’s promises, his Word, and his Son.

The warning here is clear. God will reject those who reject him. Even if you are in the church, you may be denying Jesus because you are not following his ways or not believing in his truth or have not turned your life fully to him. Are you a sheep of the sheep traders on your way to the slaughterhouse? If so, then Zechariah’s prophecy is about you. God will remove his favor and union from you. It’s a warning of judgment and rejection.

You cannot be one of God’s sheep if you reject Jesus. And the consequences are serious. Let’s go back parable of the tenants. The tenants rejected the landowner (who represented God) by rejecting his servants. And they ultimately rejected the landowner’s son (who represented Jesus). It’s a parable about not listening to God’s Word nor believing in Jesus. And the pharisees got it right, the landowner should kick the tenants out of the vineyard and as they said, “put those wretches to a miserable death.” God will break the staff of his “favor” (they will no longer be his people) and God will break the staff of his “union” (they will no longer be unified as God’s people). This is a question for you to ask yourself. Are you rejecting God?

But there’s good news. There is a second way in which Jesus fulfills Zechariah 11. He fulfills it in the opposite way. Not by rejecting his sheep for rejecting him, but rather by being the one whom God rejected.

You see, God turned the judgment and rejection that the shepherds and sheep deserved onto Jesus. That’s what happened on the cross. And by doing so, God’s covenant promise was not broken, rather for anyone who believes by faith in Jesus, God restored his covenant promises. For those in Christ, God’s favor was not taken away, no, it was enlarged. The union in God was not broken, rather it was preserved in him.

In closing, think about this – Jesus’ covenant faithfulness will overcome any sin…. even the sin of the sheep traders. If they turn from their slaughtering of the sheep to believe in the good shepherd, God will pardon and save them. God’s grace is sufficient for even the religious hypocrites who turn to God in faith and repentance. Grace that is greater than all our sin.

May we be a church and as individuals seeks God’s favor and union in Jesus; may we love the good shepherd; And may we each believe in his covenant preserving grace. Amen?

Prayer

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Tucker Presbyterian Church 03/07/2021 Rev. Erik Veerman Acts 10:34-43

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Tucker Presbyterian Church November 8, 2020 (11/8/2020) Rev. Erik Veerman Acts 4:1-22

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Tucker Presbyterian Church November 1, 2020 (11/1/2020) Rev. Erik Veerman Acts 3 Rise Up: The Power and Promise of Christ

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Tucker Presbyterian Church October 18, 2020 (10/18/2020) Rev. Erik Veerman Acts 2:42-47 The Church: Together in Gospel Unity

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Tucker Presbyterian Church October 11, 2020 (10/11/2020) Rev. Erik Veerman Acts 2:22-41 God’s Ongoing Ministry of the Exalted Christ: His Spirit

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Tucker Presbyterian Church October 4, 2020 (10/04/2020) Rev. Erik Veerman Acts 2:1-21 The Gift of the Holy Spirit

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Tucker Presbyterian Church September 27, 2020 (09/27/2020) Rev. Erik Veerman Acts 1:12-26 Prayer and Preparation

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Tucker Presbyterian Church September 20, 2020 (09/20/2020) Rev. Erik Veerman Acts 1:1-11 The Kingdom of Christ to the Ends of the Earth

Tucker Presbyterian Church Sermons: Recent Episodes

Tucker Presbyterian Church, Erik Veerman

1 Paul’s Life and His Love

2 that his change of plans do not undermine his ministry

3 There’s something that never changes – God’s promises in Christ

2 – know the comfort of Christ.

3 The Significance

1 To whom does this apply?

2 The Virtuous Wife

3 Christ and the church

3 The causes

4 The Cure

1 – What is the nature of wisdom and foolishness? Again, what does foolishness and wisdom each look like?

2 – What is the worth of wisdom and folly to the wise and fool?

1 You’ve been freed from your slavery to sin. #2 Therefore, live as slaves to righteousness.

1 - The progression of Zechariah has been leading up to a final consummation of salvation when Jesus returns again.

2. The language of chapter 14 itself points to this completion of salvation

3. The context and emphasis is not on an earthly city, but on a spiritual and eternal city