Author: tpdrenoske

MAN’S WISDOM VERSUS GOD’S WISDOM – I Corinthians 1:18-25

Bible, Bible sermon, Bible sermons, God, Jesus Christ, Jesus crucifixion, Joy, New Testament, New Testament sermon, sermon for you today, sermon verse-by-verse, sermon with illustrations, sermons you'll enjoy, Uncategorized, wisdom

INTRODUCTION:

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”  Proverbs 16:25 says the exact same thing.  Is that significant?  How can something that seems so right be so wrong and have such terrible consequences?

The passage of Scripture I’m sharing today, I Corinthians 1:18-25, gives us an instance in which the reverse principle is also true:  “There is a way that seems wrong to a man, but its end is the way of life.”  In I Corinthians 1:10-17 we read that the Corinthian church was being divided because of quarrels between groups in the Church.  Today we will see that the problem was a reliance on human wisdom.  There is one area where human wisdom plays absolutely no part, and that is the salvation of one’s soul.

I.  THE SUPERIORITY OF GOD’S WISDOM (verse 18)

When man focuses on and glories in his own wisdom, he automatically tries to lower God’s wisdom, which seems like foolishness because it disagrees with his own thinking.  In verse 18, “the word of the cross” includes the whole gospel message and Christ’s saving work.  The thought of God becoming a human being and dying on a piece of wood on a small hill in a remote part of the world, and that this would determine the eternal destiny of every person who has ever lived, sounds foolish or stupid to the natural man.  It leaves no room for man’s wisdom, man’s achievements, and man’s pride.

A Christian was made fun of by an atheist because of his faith in God.  “The idea that the blood of Christ can wash away sin is foolishness”, said the atheist.  “I don’t understand it or believe it.”  The Christian, a student of the Bible, answered, “I think you’re telling the truth.  In fact, you and the apostle Paul agree exactly on one thing.”  “What do you mean?”, asked the atheist.  The believer read I Corinthians 1:18 which says, “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness”.  Then he witnessed to him and told him that Christ could change his life.  But the atheist walked away unmoved.  He was not willing to accept the Lord. The next time you share the Gospel with someone  and the person responds by saying, “that’s ridiculous”, you might show that person I Corinthians 1:18 and say, “that’s just how God said you would respond!”

On the other hand, verse 18 goes on to say, “but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  Another story illustrates the truth that those who believe the Gospel will experience the Lord’s saving power.  A missionary told the story that he went to a western town to pastor a small church.  He didn’t know that many of its members were antagonistic to “old-fashioned preaching”, and that some were practically atheists.  As he spoke about sin and the atoning work of Christ, the irritation of his audience became obvious.  In a few weeks, the attendance had dwindled to 10.  But the faithful preacher continued to give out the Word and the Holy Spirit brought sinners under conviction.   At one service three entire families received the Lord, and the downward trend was reversed.  The Gospel is indeed the power of God!

There’s a Chinese tale about a young man who captured a tiger cub, brought it home, and raised it in a cage.  When it was full-grown, the man loved to brag about how ferocious and powerful it was.  “That tiger isn’t wild anymore,” scoffed his friends.  “He’s as tame as an old house cat!”  This went on until a wise old man overheard them and said, “There’s only one way to know whether this tiger is ferocious or not.  Open the cage!”  The young man smiled, placed his hand on the latch, and challenged his friends, “Want to try out my tiger?”  There was a moment of silence, and then one of the friends said, “We’ll believe you!  Just don’t open that latch!”

A tiger’s strength, of course, is destructive and can bring death, but the power of the Gospel leads to life and freedom.  It destroys guilt and breaks the stranglehold of sinful habits.  If we have experienced this power ourselves, let’s challenge others to “try out our tiger!”

II.  THE PERMANENCE OF GOD’S WISDOM (verses 19-20)

In verse 19, Paul quotes from Isaiah 29:14.  It reads:  “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”  Paul’s purpose is to point out that the wisdom of men will be destroyed.  The background of this verse is important to the understanding of it.  In chapter 8 of Isaiah, God tells the people of Judah that Assyria is going to invade them.  Instead of asking the Lord what they should do, they went to witches and sorcerers, and in Isaiah 30, following their advice, they make a treaty with Egypt, thinking that will protect them.  But that treaty gets them into even more trouble!  Their plans fail, but God shows them that He has a better plan.  Judah would be saved completely by God’s power, with no human help.  In Isaiah 37:36 God destroyed 185,000 men of the Assyrian army with just one angel!  The complete account of this is given in II Kings 17.  I encourage you to read it.

The apostle Paul teaches here in verse 20 that human wisdom is not only unreliable, it is also not permanent.  Paul asks several questions.  Each question is asking, “Where are all the smart people today that have all the answers?”  How much closer to peace, in the world and in the heart, is man today than he was a hundred years ago, or a thousand years ago?

Paul asks:  “Where is the wise man?”  He is paraphrasing Isaiah’s words, and the prophet Isaiah was referring to the wise men of Egypt – the sorcerers and magicians who made promises but gave bad advice that led Egypt astray.  “Where are the scribes?”  Paul is probably referring to the Assyrian scribes who went along with the soldiers to record the plunder that was taken in battle.  But God saw to it, in this case, that they had nothing to record, and nothing to count or to weigh.  What was left of the Assyrian army ran away empty-handed.

“Where is the debater of this age?”  Paul is probably referring to the Greek philosophers of his day who spent most of their time arguing with each other!  Throughout history, human wisdom has never solved the basic problems of man.  And nothing has really changed over the years, has it?  Life has the same problems.  People have the same struggles.

III.  THE POWER OF GOD’S WISDOM (verses 21-25)

Verse 21 says that God planned it that way.  Man cannot come to know Him by the wisdom of the world.  In Acts 17, when Paul came to Athens, he noticed a shrine on which were written these words:  “To an unknown God.”  With all their learning and philosophies they made for themselves many gods, but the God who had made them, they did not know.

God does not expect people to come to Him through their own wisdom.  He knows they cannot.  But they can come to Him through His wisdom.  And that wisdom has been given to us in the simple message of the Gospel.  It is not through philosophy or human wisdom that salvation comes, but through believing God’s Word and His plan of salvation.  God saves only those who believe.  People cannot figure out salvation, they can only accept it in faith.

Unbelief is always the basic reason for not accepting God’s will and God’s way, but unbelief can be expressed in various ways.  In verses 22 and 23, the Jews wanted supernatural signs before they would believe the Gospel.  The Gentiles, represented by the Greeks, wanted proof through human wisdom, through ideas they could consider and debate over.

These two groups that Paul mentions here, the Jews and Greeks, are representative of all unbelieving mankind.  Whether, like the typical Jew, they demand proof by a supernatural sign, or like the typical Greek, they want proof by natural wisdom, unbelievers will find an excuse for rejecting the Gospel.  But God has called out a people for Himself from among the Jews and the Gentiles.  These will believe and find that Jesus Christ is both the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Paul closes this portion of his letter by saying that, even if God could possess any sort of foolishness, it would be wiser than man’s greatest wisdom.  And if God were able to have any weakness, it would be stronger than the greatest strength that man could muster.  Jesus may have appeared to be foolish and weak as one imagines Him hanging on a Roman cross, suffering and dying.  But by doing so, Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the world and opened the gates of heaven for all who would believe in Him.  Christ’s death and His resurrection were actually the greatest demonstrations of His infinite wisdom and power.

CONCLUSION:

I would like to give two different applications of what Paul has taught us in this passage of Scripture.  First, God’s wisdom is opposed to man’s wisdom.  We Christians make a great mistake when we water down the Gospel message to make it acceptable to people, and reasonable to them.  The Gospel isn’t an argument, but an announcement.  And this announcement is meant by God to be proclaimed clearly and accurately.

Secondly, if you still have your own personal philosophy about God and about life, and it doesn’t agree with the Bible, the wisest and most needful statement I can make to you is that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, died on the cross for your sins in your place, and shed His blood so that you could be acceptable to a holy God.  And the wisest decision you could ever make in your life would be to believe that announcement, repent of your sins, and accept Jesus Christ into your life and your personal Savior and Lord.  If God is calling you to make that decision, don’t delay or look for excuses, but respond to His call by receiving Him into your life;  and let other Christians know what you have done so that they can rejoice with you and help you grow in your knowledge of Him.

DIVISIONS IN THE CHURCH – I Corinthians 1:10-17

1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Bible sermons, church fights, church unity

INTRODUCTION:

How important is it that there be unity within the Church?  How important is it that there be unity in the Church where you fellowship?  How important was unity to the apostle Paul, and to the Holy Spirit who moved Him to write this letter to the Church in Corinth?

This issue was so important that Paul devotes the first four chapters of I Corinthians to divisions in the church.  In verses 10-17 of Chapter 1, Paul establishes the fact that there are divisions and begins to deal with them.

I.  PAUL’S APPEAL FOR UNITY (verses 10-12)

In verses 10-12, Paul begins by giving an appeal for unity.  In verse 10 we see both Paul’s affection for the Corinthian church, and his authority as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He addresses them as “brethren”.  They are his family in  Christ.  And he speaks “in the name of” or by the authority of, our Lord Jesus Christ.  There are several important terms in this passage.  Paul exhorts them to “agree”.  The Greek word used here literally means “to say the same thing”.   This doesn’t mean that they have to agree on the minutest points in areas where there is no clear teaching in Scripture.  In these cases, there should be freedom to “agree to disagree”.  But when it comes to the clear teachings of God’s Word, there cannot be two conflicting views that are both right.  God is not confused, and He does not contradict Himself.  His Word does not disagree with itself.  So Paul is insisting that the Corinthians, and all believers, have doctrinal unity that is clearly based on God’s Word.  He appeals to them “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.  In other words, there must be agreement with Christ, with His will, and with His Word.  For a local church to be spiritually healthy and effective, and for there to be harmony in the local church, there must be doctrinal unity.  Paul continues in verse 10 by saying that “there be no divisions among you”.  The word “divisions” comes from the Greek word “schismata”, from which we get our English word “schism”.  This word was normally used to refer to a tear in a garment.  What happens when you get a tear in a piece of clothing and you keep washing and wearing that piece of clothing with the tear in it?  Unless it’s mended, the tear gets bigger and bigger, doesn’t it?  The church in Corinth was a group of people who were tearing themselves apart!

Paul doesn’t want these divisions to continue, so he offers them an alternative.  Instead of tearing themselves apart, he urges them to be “made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment”.  The words  “made complete” mean “to be perfectly joined together”, like a jigsaw puzzle.  How many of you have ever put together a jigsaw puzzle?  Every piece of that jigsaw puzzle is different, isn’t it?  But when each piece is fitted together into its proper place in the puzzle, you have a beautiful and complete picture.  Have you ever tried to put a jigsaw puzzle together with the pieces turned upside down so that they are all blank?  Try it some time.  It’s a lot harder!  On a large jigsaw puzzle of a thousand pieces or more, it’s almost impossible to put it together upside down!  That’s not the way a jigsaw puzzle was meant to be put together.  In the same way, that’s not the way the Church was meant to be fitted together.  God wants the local church congregation and the local community to see the beauty of a church that is unified and “fitted together” in love.

Unity in the church is something that requires cooperation with each other and with the Spirit of God.  We need to be “perfectly joined together” in the love of Christ.  One day in Africa, a small boy was lost.  The news went out but no one had seen the little fellow.  The search went on until nightfall, but no answer came to their urgent calls.  The anxiety of the child’s mother continued to grow, for she knew that her boy was somewhere out in the darkness where wild animals were constantly on the prowl.  When daylight again appeared, they looked for him with renewed energy but still without success.  In desperation, they returned and held a meeting.  Perhaps, in their individual efforts, they had missed some spots;  so the suggestion was made, “Let’s all join hands and go through the long grass again.”  Finally, the child was found, but it was too late.  When the lifeless body of the little one was carried back to the anxious mother, she cried aloud, “Oh why didn’t’ you join hands before?”

When it comes to seeking the spiritually lost for Christ, we can be much more effective if we are “perfectly joined together” in an unfailing zeal for God’s glory, not our own.  Believers who are joined in heart should not find it difficult to be joined in hand, working together for the common good and for the glory of Christ.  This applies also to the leadership in the church.  The elders should make their decisions with “the same mind and the same judgment.  There should be unanimous agreement.  Not even a three-fourths vote should carry a motion.  There should be oneness of mind, no matter how long it takes.  Because the Holy Spirit has but one will, and because a church must be in complete harmony with His will, the leaders must be in complete harmony with each other in that will.  The congregation then is to submit to the elders because it has confidence that their decisions were made under the Holy Spirit’s direction and power.

The words “made complete” in verse 10 are translated from a Greek word that was used to speak of mending such things as nets, bones, dislocated joints, broken utensils, and torn garments.  The basic meaning is to put back together and make one again something that was broken or separated.  Paul wants the Corinthian church to mend the broken relationships that have been caused by the divisions among its members.

In her book, “The Key to a Loving Heart”, Karen Mains includes a parable about the church entitled “The Brawling Bride”.  It tells about the most climactic moment in a wedding ceremony.  The families have been seated.  The groom and his attendants are in their places.  The minister is waiting, Bible in hand.  The bridesmaids have come down the aisle.  The organ begins the bridal march, and everyone stands.  A gasp bursts from the guests!  The bride is limping!  Her gown is ripped and covered with mud!  Bruises show on her arm!  Her nose is bloody!  One eye is purple and swollen!  Her hair is messed up!

In this parable, the groom is Christ.  “Doesn’t He deserve better than this?” the author asks.  “His bride, the Church, has been fighting again!”

Ridiculous?  Not when we hear of churches with factions or cliques of people who sit on opposite sides of the aisle.  Not when one part of the congregation meets in one part of the building, and the other part of the congregation meets in another spot.  Not when some people in the congregation won’t look at, speak to, or even acknowledge the existence of certain other people in the congregation.  These kinds of things happen when there are divisions in a church.

In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth.  He had received a report from the household of Cloe that there were quarrels among the members of the Corinthian church.  We do not know who the people were who belonged to “the house of Cloe”, but we must commend them for their courage and devotion.  They did not try to hide the problems.  They were burdened about them, and they went to the right person with them.  They were also not afraid to be mentioned in Paul’s letter to the church.

Verse 12 tells us the source of this problem.  Four groups had formed in the Corinthian church.  There were:  the followers of Paul, the followers of Apollos, the followers of Cephas or Peter, and the followers of Christ.  The content of their messages was in agreement, but the followers of these men probably focused on personality differences and distorted their teachings.  Paul was the apostle to the gentiles.  They may have carried Paul’s teachings of justification by faith and freedom from the Law to an extreme and felt free to do whatever they wanted.  Apollos was an intellectual.  Acts 18:24 says that Apollos was “an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man”.  Alexandria was a center for learning and philosophy.  His followers in the Corinthian church may have viewed Christianity as a philosophy rather than a relationship with a Person – Jesus Christ.  Peter was an uneducated, common man and may have appealed to that group of people in Corinth.  The followers of Jesus may have believed in Jesus’ words only, and did not believe that the writings of Peter, Paul, and the other apostles were really Scripture.  We have “Jesus only” groups even today.

II.  PAUL’S CONDEMNATION (verse 13)

Paul condemns their behavior in verse 13 by saying, “Has Christ been divided?”  In other words, have different amounts of Christ been given to different people?  In Matthew 12:25 the Lord Jesus says, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”

Only the Lord Jesus Christ could pay the penalty for our sins because only He is the Son of God.  Luke says in Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name  under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.”  The ground is level at the cross.  We are all equally undeserving of salvation and a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Anyone who claims that he or she has an exclusive part in Christ is wrong.  Christ belongs fully to every believer in His spiritual body, the Church.  I Corinthians 12:12,13 says, “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, and whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”  You and I can’t have more of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we can give Him more of ourselves, and experience more fully what is already ours as children of God.

III.  PAUL’S EXAMPLE (verses 14-16)

In verses 14 to 16, Paul uses himself as an example.  In this passage of Scripture, Paul is very careful to focus the attention on Christ and not on himself.  There was nothing wrong with Paul baptizing people, but Paul didn’t want people to boast about the fact that he baptized them.  In Philippians 2:9 Paul said of Christ, “Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.”  No Christian, no Christian minister, is to put himself in Christ’s place, or allow himself to be put in Christ’s place, and take the authority and honor that is due to Christ alone.

IV.  PAUL’S CALLING (verse 17)

In verse 17, Paul says that his calling of God was to “preach the Gospel”, and the focus of the Gospel is the cross of Christ.  Paul says that he does not preach “in cleverness of speech” because the power of the gospel lies in the facts of the gospel, and not in any man’s presentation of them.

CONCLUSION:

We’ve seen how important unity was to the apostle Paul.  How important was unity to our Lord Jesus Christ?  If you will turn in your Bibles with me to John 17:20-23, I will read the passage to you.  The Lord Jesus is praying to the Father, and this is part of His prayer for us:

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (NKJV)

Having listened to Paul’s words and the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ, how important is unity to each of us today?  Are we willing and ready to pray for unity in His Church, and work at building a stronger unity among fellow members of the congregations where we fellowship and serve?  Will we do so by the strength which God alone can and will supply?  Are we willing to love each other as Christ loved us?  If we are, all our differences and difficulties would soon come to an end.  Remember, a believer who is at war with his brother or sister in Christ cannot be at peace with our heavenly Father.

 

 

THE TRUE MINISTER – I Corinthians 4:1-5

Bible sermons, church ministers, pastor

INTRODUCTION:

How do you evaluate a pastor?  All kinds of criteria have been used to determine who are the most successful, the most influential, the most gifted, and the most effective ministers.  Some magazines take surveys and write extensive reports, ranking pastors by church membership, attendance at worship services, sizes of church staff and Sunday school, academic and honorary degrees, books and articles written, numbers of messages given at conferences and conventions, and so on.  As popular as this practice may be, it may not always be true to God’s Word.

I Corinthians 4:1-5 focuses on the true nature and marks of God’s ministers.  Paul is not speaking here of the traditional concept of a full-time employee of a church who  is hired to do the preaching, the teaching, and the counseling, as well as officiate at other church functions.  This concept is unknown in the New Testament.  It came into the church only within the past 500 years.  A minister of Christ in the New Testament was anyone, “anyone”, who, because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, was a preacher or a teacher of the Word of God.  That is what Paul is talking about here.  And Paul gives basic guidelines and standards by which ministers are to minister and be evaluated.  He also gives us the characteristics of a true minister.

I.  THE IDENTITY OF THE MINISTER (verse 1)

In verse 1, the first characteristic Paul gives us is the identity of the minister.  When Paul says, “Let a man regard us in this manner”, he is referring to all men, both Christians and non-Christians.  He wants them to see God’s ministers according to what God has called them to be, that is, “servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.”  The word “servants” is a translation of the Greek word “huperetes”, which literally means “under-rowers”.  Everyone in Corinth understood what that word meant.  Corinth was where the war ships of the Roman Empire crossed the isthmus that separated the Ionian Sea from the Aegean Sea, and the Corinthians knew that the lowest deck was the place where the lowest class of slaves sat.  Then, on a little deck, raised up about them all so that all could see him, was the captain of the ship.  It was the rowers’ task to row according to what he said.  If he wanted the ship to move,  then they were to row.  If he wanted them to stop, they were to stop instantly.  Their whole business was to obey his orders.  That is the word that Paul chooses to describe those who are teachers, preachers, and ministers of the Word of God within the congregation of the church.  They are “under-rowers” of Christ.

A young pastor at a pastor’s conference once asked an older pastor whom he respected, “What would you do if you were in my shoes?  My church board called me in and said to me, ‘Look, there are some things we want you to understand.  One is that this is our church;  it is not your church.  We were here before you came and we are going to be here when you leave.  Therefore, we expect you to do what we want you to do and not what you think you ought to do.’  What would you say to a church like that?”  The other pastor told him that he would call together the elders of the church and would say to them, “Brothers, I think you are suffering from two very serious theological errors.  One, you think this is your church, but it is the Lord’s church.  Churches belong to Him.  They do not belong to the people.  They are not a democracy, owned by the people.  Jesus said, ‘On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.’  So all of us are under the authority of the Lord of this church and it is His work to tell us what He wants the church to be, and not our job to tell Him what we think it ought to be.”

“The second error is that you think you hired me to work in this church, but you have not.  I did not come on that basis.  I have joined you to share the ministry with you.  I appreciate the fact that you have set me aside and given me support from the congregation so that I don’t have to spend time earning a living but can devote my full time to the study of God’s Word, and to the ministry of preaching and teaching His Word.  If you will not accept those terms then I will have to look elsewhere.  I cannot work on any other terms because that is what the New Testament says.”

He went back to his church, shared these principles with them, and they fired him.  But now he has another church, and he made his stand clear from the beginning, and things are working out very well with him.  So, to look first of all at men’s needs is to fail men as well as to fail the Lord.  A minister who becomes so occupied with counseling and helping his congregation and community that he spends little time in the Word is unable to meet those people’s deepest needs.  To serve Christ is to serve His Word, which is the revelation of His will.  As a servant of Christ, his function is to obey God’s commands as revealed in His Word, serving Him with all humility.

Ministers of the Gospel are also “stewards of the mysteries of God”.  The word for steward is “oikonomos”, meaning “housekeeper”.  When you are on an airplane you find a stewardess or a steward who serves coffee, tea, milk, and other beverages, as well as serving a tray of food at the proper time.  They are entrusted with certain valuable commodities which they are responsible to give you.

A minister of Christ, whoever he or she may be within a congregation, is to be a steward entrusted with what Paul calls “the mysteries of God”.  These are the secret truths and the hidden wisdom which can only be found in God’s Word and nowhere else.  As a steward of God’s mysteries, a minister is to take God’s revealed Word and dispense it to God’s household, so that lives are changed and are lived on the basis of these remarkable truths.  A preacher or teacher’s concern should not be to please his hearers or to dispense his own views.  As the apostle Paul said to Timothy in II Timothy 2:15, “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”

II.  THE REQUIREMENT OF A MINISTER (verse 2)

In verse 2, Paul says that the most important requirement of a good steward is that he be trustworthy or faithful.  God does not require brilliance or cleverness or creativity or popularity.  He can use servants with those qualities, but only trustworthiness is absolutely essential.  So the main issue is not, “Is Paul popular?”, or “Is Apollos a better preacher than Paul?”  The main issue is, “Have Paul, Apollos, and Peter been faithful to do the work God assigned to them?”

God supplied His Word, His Spirit, His gifts, and His power.  All that the minister can supply is his faithfulness in using those resources for God’s glory.  George Washington Carver once asked the Lord to tell him all about the universe.  According to Carver, the Lord said, “George, the universe is just too big for you to understand.  Suppose you let me take care of that.”  Humbled, George Carver replied, “Lord, how about a peanut?”  The Lord said, “Now, George, that’s something your own size.  Go to work on it and I’ll help you.”  George discovered over 300 uses for peanuts, and he helped farmers by showing them how to take care of the soil.  Carver used what little he had, and God rewarded his faithfulness.

III.  EVALUATION OF A MINISTER (verses 3,4)

In verses 3 and 4, Paul uses his own situation as an example of the evaluation of the minister.  Paul is not bragging or placing himself above other ministers, or above any other Christian.  What he said about his own attitude about himself should be said by every minister and every Christian.  It should be “a small thing” to any of us when our ministry or our spiritual life is examined by other Christians or “by any human court”.  The word “examined” means “to investigate, question, evaluate”.  It does not mean to determine guilt or innocence.

It is important to remind ourselves that in the spiritual realm, outward appearance means nothing.  You cannot fool God!  That’s what Paul emphasizes here.  He declares that he is not concerned about the judgment people place upon him and his work.  This doesn’t mean that a sincere word of appreciation from others or a helpful criticism can’t be useful and even a blessing.  But no minister can remain faithful to his calling if he lets his congregation, or any other human beings, decide how true his motives are, or whether he is working within the Lord’s will.  Because their knowledge and understanding of his motives are imperfect, their criticisms and compliments are imperfect.

In fact, Paul says that even his own evaluation of himself isn’t really important.  What matters is the Lord’s verdict.  A person can do things that make him look good before men, and in the process even fool himself into thinking he is pleasing the Lord;  yet, in reality, he may be motivated by selfishness and greed.  Men see only the outward deeds and may be favorably impressed, but God sees the intentions of the heart.  Therefore He alone can judge with complete fairness.

There is the story of a young composer whose music was being performed.  He kept his eye fixed intently on one man in the audience, watching every expression that appeared on his face.  It was his teacher.  He cared more for the slightest mark of favor on his face than for all the applause of the large audience.  In our own lives as well, we should watch the face of Christ, as mirrored in His Word, caring only that He should be pleased.

Whenever you are tempted to speak insincerely, or do a good deed only for the praise of men, remember that the Father in Heaven is watching.  In His sight it’s what you really are that counts.  God alone is the judge of the true spiritual value of our service.

IV.  GOD’S EVALUATION (verse 5)

In verse 5, Paul looks ahead to God’s evaluation of His people.  Paul tells us not to go on passing judgment before the time.  We need to remember that our brothers and sisters in the faith are at different stages of growth and come from many different backgrounds and cultures.  Conversion to Christ is just the beginning, and a lifetime of replacing old thoughts, attitudes, habits, and actions with new ones follows after it, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who continually works to change us.   We must take the time to understand people, get to know them, learn their backgrounds, and ask for God’s wisdom to discern each one’s stage of spiritual development.  We should never draw hasty conclusions.

God has a day when He will “bring to light the things hidden in the darkness”.  I do not believe “things hidden in the darkness” refers to sins or anything evil, but simply to things presently unknown to us.  We know from this Scripture that the rewards and praise that God will give to his servants will not be based on the degrees behind our names, the numbers we have preached to, taught or witnessed to.  It will also not be based on the programs we have planned and directed, the books we have written, or even the number of converts won to Christ through us.  It will be based on one thing alone:  the motives of our hearts.

According to a legend, a desert wanderer found a crystal spring of unsurpassed freshness.  The water was so pure that he decided to bring some to his king.  Barely satisfying his own thirst, he filled a leather bottle with the water and carried it many days beneath the desert sun before he reached the palace.  When he finally laid his offering at the feet of his king, the water had become stale because of the old container in which it had been stored.  But the king would not let his faithful subject even imagine that it was unfit for use.  He tasted it with expressions of gratitude and delight, and the loyal man went away with a heart filled with gladness.  After he had gone, others sampled the water and expressed their surprise that the king had even pretended to enjoy it.  “Ah”, he said, “it was not the water I tasted, but the love that prompted the offering.”

Our service to God may be marked by many imperfections, but the Master looks at our motives.  He rejoices in our loyal actions, no matter what others may think of them.

Have you become discouraged in your work for the Lord?  Remember the parable of the water and let it motivate you to keep on serving the King of Kings, being faithful to Him and His Word.  Someday your faithful efforts will receive God’s praise.  What is done for Christ now will be rewarded in eternity.

 

THE PROFILE OF A LEADER – II Timothy 2:1-7

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INTRODUCTION:

William Sangster, a popular preacher and writer of the 1950’s, said this:  “The church is painfully in need of leaders.”  In the Scriptures God is frequently described as searching for a man of a certain type;  not “men”,  but “a man”;  not a group, but an individual.             I Samuel 13:14 says, “The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart.”  In Ezekiel 22:30 God says, “I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap . . . but I found no one.”  Are you such a person?  What kind of a person is it that God is looking for?  In II Timothy 2:1-7,  the apostle Paul, after telling Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”, describes such a person by using four images:

I.  A TEACHER (verse 2)

In verse 2, the first image Paul uses to describe the Christian leader is that of a teacher.  A college student was having difficulty with his studies so he finally decided to talk to his professor.  He complained, “I’m studying hard.  I’m doing my best, but I just can’t retain what I read or try to memorize.  Do you think it would help if I hired a tutor?”

Clearly understanding the young man’s problem, the instructor replied, “No, I wouldn’t recommend that at all.  You don’t need a teacher, you need a pupil!”  He knew that learning is increased when we share our knowledge with others.

This professor’s advice reminds us of believers who know many Bible facts but still have a poor understanding of scriptural truths.  They attend church every Sunday, listen faithfully to religious broadcasts, and study the Scriptures personally;  yet they seem to lack a working knowledge of the Bible.  What’s the problem?  They never do anything with that information!  They don”t need to be taught more;  they need to tell others what they have learned.  As they put it into practice, they will begin to understand it more fully.  That is what Paul said to Timothy in verse 2.  The things Paul said were confirmed by many witnesses as being the truth of God.  There are many teachers today who compromise the Scriptures so that they are acceptable to the mentality of this age in which we live.  Paul is telling Timothy to “entrust” the things he’s learned from him to faithful men.  The word “entrust” gives the picture of a precious treasure being placed in the safekeeping of another person.  We each have things that we treasure, either because they are expensive or because they have sentimental value.  If you were going on a trip, would you hand these items over to a total stranger?  No!  You would give them to a trusted friend with information on how to care for and protect them.  The Gospel is a precious treasure and should be given to “faithful men” who won’t misuse it or abandon it.

The teacher is described in verse 2 as equipping others to teach, not satisfied with just communicating the message.  The nature of the Gospel message demands that it be propagated or reproduced in the lives of others.  The ultimate goal of the teacher is to see God’s Word passed on to others, and through them to still others.  That is the key to reaching this world for the Lord Jesus Christ.

II.  A SOLDIER (verses 3-4)

The second image that Paul uses is that of a soldier.  You could say that if any apostle was an authority on soldiers, it was the apostle Paul.  He had been in prison and chained to soldiers during much of his Christian life.  What comes to your minds when you think of a soldier’s life?  In verse 3, Paul describes a soldier as one who is willing to suffer hardship.  The apostle Paul was a good soldier of Jesus Christ because he suffered for the cause of Christ, and had the scars to prove it.  There was a popular saying during World War II:   people would often say to each other, “there’s a war on!”  It was a reminder to them that hardships were to be expected and accepted.

Fellow Christians, there IS a war on!  We, as Christians, are in a war against the world, against our own sinful flesh, and against Satan.  Are we willing to accept all the hardship that comes as a result of identifying with the cause of Christ?  As modern-day believers, we may not all experience great persecution for our faith, but we do face hardships and trials.  Our faith in Christ is not an escape from them, but it does give us the strength to endure them.

In verse 4, Paul says that a soldier is obedient and loyal.  The words “on active duty” describe the life of a soldier of Christ as a constant battle.  There are no “furloughs” or “vacations” from the Christian life.  Constant and complete dedication is needed.  A soldier  also does not “entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life”.  A Roman soldier was forbidden to engage in civilian occupations and was told to avoid becoming overly involved in the affairs of the market-place.  He was a soldier first and his loyalty was to be to his commander.

The Christian is also to be single-minded.  This may mean laying aside certain habits, amusements, pursuits, and maybe even certain relationships, not necessarily because they may be wrong in themselves, but because they may be an entanglement, keeping us from performing our primary responsibilities as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

III.  AN ATHLETE (verse 5)

In verse 5, Paul uses the image of an athlete to describe the Christian.  The word “competes” comes from two Greek words which were used together to describe a “professional” as opposed to an “amateur” athlete.  It was a full-time dedication of one’s life to excellence in the athletic event or events he had chosen.  Paul says that the goal of the athlete is to win the prize by “competing according to the rules”.  Several athletes in the 1976 olympic games were discovered to have taken prohibited drugs.  Their medals were taken away from them.  All those years of preparation and hard work were for nothing!

As a Christian leader, the standard is God’s Word, and we have several umpires observing what we do and how we do it.  We have the divine umpire, and He doesn’t miss a thing.  But we also have the Christians and non-Christians around us.  I’ve personally found that some non-Christians will tempt you, test you, argue with you, and antagonize you, but inwardly many of them want you to succeed, to pass their tests, because they want something worth believing, and worth giving themselves to.  God is looking for faithful Christians, faithful to Him and to His Word,  whatever the cost.  And some day we will win the prize when God rewards our faithfulness to Him.

IV.  THE FARMER (verses 6 and 7)

The fourth image that Paul uses to describe the Christian leader is that of the farmer.  In verse 6, he describes the farmer as being “hardworking”.  The word means working to the point of weariness and exhaustion.  As a kid, I remember spending a week with a friend on his parents’ farm.  We went to bed early every night and got up really early every morning.  His mother made the biggest breakfasts that I have ever seen!  There were eggs, pancakes, potatoes, meat, rolls, fruit, and hot cereal.  I soon found out why there was so much food.  We worked hard after breakfast gathering the eggs, feeding the chickens, cows, horses, and pigs, spraying the weeds, and picking the ripe fruit and vegetables.  By lunch time, and also at supper time, I was famished and ate lots of food.  After the week was over, I can remember coming home exhausted.  Now I knew why their son liked to spend a week with us once in a while!

The farmer must be content to keep working hard,  and also to keep waiting.  More than any other worker, the farmer has to learn that there is no such thing as quick results.  It takes months after the seed is sown and the ground is continually watered and cultivated, that the fruit, vegetables, and grain finally begin to ripen and can be harvested.  But all that hard work will finally pay off.

The Christian life is also hard work  The Christian too must learn to work hard and also to wait.  Often he will sow the seed of God’s Word into the hearts of others and see no immediate results.  Sometimes it takes years of sowing and watering before some people respond to the Gospel message and are saved.  But we must, like the farmer, keep on working and waiting.  The pastor and author, John R.W. Stott, said:  “This notion that Christian service is hard work is so unpopular in some happy-go-lucky Christian circles  today.”

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:

Let me summarize the qualities of a good Chrtistian leader.  As a teacher, he should be characterized by faithfulness to uphold the truth of God’s Word, and a zeal to see it reproduced in the lives of faithful people, and then passed on to others.  As a soldier, he is to be undistracted from his calling and willing to endure anything for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As an athlete, he is to be above reproach in his actions, attitudes, and methods, both before the eyes of the world and the eyes of God.  And as a farmer, he is to work long and hard, trusting God for the harvest to come.

Will you be such a person:  the kind of person that God and His church seeks after;  the kind of person that this world needs?  Will you be able to say confidently to those you are teaching and helping to grow spiritually, what the apostle Paul said in verse 7:  “Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything”?

 

 

JESUS ENTERS JERUSALEM – John 12:9-19

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INTRODUCTION:

I imagine that most of us are familiar with the song, “The King Is Coming”.  We know that the king spoken about in that song is Jesus Christ.  When you think of Christ as King, what image or picture do you see in your mind?  Do you see Christ seated on a great throne ruling the universe?  Do you see Him on a white horse as He is described in the book of Revelation, leading the armies of heaven?  Those are probably the most common mental images.  In this passage of Scripture, John 12:9-19, we find a different description of Christ as King; one that is equally true and especially important for us today.

I.  THE BACKGROUND AND SETTING (verses 9-12)

Lazarus was now a walking miracle ever since Jesus raised him from the dead, and this put Lazarus in a place of danger.  Now the Jewish leaders wanted to kill both him and Jesus.  They wanted to put Lazarus back into the tomb because he was leading people to faith in Christ.  Since they weren’t willing to accept the evidence, they were going to try to get rid of the evidence.

The next day was Sunday, the Feast of Tabernacles, remembering the period of time when the people of Israel lived in tents as they traveled from Egypt to the Promised Land, and God dwelt with them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.  The time was ripe for Jesus to make a public appearance.

Picture this, if you will.  The word is getting around that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and a large crowd of people is following Jesus and wanting to see Lazarus.  Meanwhile, over two million Jews are arriving in Jerusalem to make preparations for celebrating the Passover.

II.  THEIR RESPONSE (verse 13)

The response of the people was a greeting fit a king.  It says that they “took palm branches” and went out to meet Jesus.  Palm branches had nothing to do with the feast of Passover.  It was on the feast of Tabernacles that the people were commanded to rejoice before the Lord for seven days with “branches of palm trees.”  This command is found in Leviticus 23:40.  However, history shows that over 150 years before the birth of Christ, palm trees and palm branches became the symbol of the Jewish nation.  So the use of palm branches during Christ’s entry into Jerusalem symbolized the people’s hope that their nation would soon be set free by Jesus, and this is supported by the words which they used to greet Jesus.  In verse 13 the people cry out:  “Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”.    They were quoting from Psalm 118:25-26.  The crowd was expecting Jesus to lead them in triumph over the Romans.  The word “hosanna”  literally means “save us, we pray thee”.

III.  JESUS’ RESPONSE (verses 14-15)

In the midst of all this celebration, Jesus finds a young donkey, sits on it, and has His disciples lead Him in a procession.  A donkey is a symbol of humility and peace, and the kings and judges of Israel rode on donkeys when they were on a mission of peace.  Jesus was a King on a mission of peace:  peace with God through His shed blood on the cross just a few days later.

Jesus was also obeying God’s Word and fulfilling the prophecy written about Him in Zechariah 9:9, which says, “Fear not, Daughter of Zion:  behold your King is coming seated on a donkey’s colt.” Jesus knew that prophesy and knew that it would need to be fulfilled.  I think Jesus made arrangements for that colt to be ready for Him when He came into the city.  He knew exactly what day this would be, for the book of Daniel gives us that information.  Almost five hundred years earlier an angel had appeared to the prophet Daniel and told him that a certain amount of time has been marked out by God for the fulfillment of certain climactic events that concerned the people of Israel.  And the time this was to begin was clearly given.  It would be when the Persian king, Artaxerxes, issued an edict for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.  You will find that edict recorded in chapter 2 of the book of Nehemiah.  And when this heathen king issued the edict, he unknowingly set in motion God’s clock for the Jewish nation.  Daniel was told that 490 years must pass before all of God’s events would be fulfilled, and the passage of 483 of those years would be marked off by the arrival in Jerusalem of Messiah the Prince.

Many years ago there was a brilliant lawyer who served for a long time as the director of England’s famed Scotland Yard.  His name as Sir Robert Anderson.  He was also an avid and devout Bible student.  Sir Robert Anderson, with his precise mind and his training in logic, analyzed the book of Daniel and determined the exact date when that decree of Artaxerxes was issued:  March 28, 445 B.C.  Counting from that date and making the necessary corrections for calendar errors, he determined that on April 6, 32 A.D. Jesus rode into Jerusalem – exactly 483 years later.

Now, if a man in the 19th century could take these Scriptures and figure out the very date on which this event took place, surely the Son of God also knew it very well, and He made arrangements to enter the city and come riding down the slopes of the Mount of Olives on a donkey, on a colt on which no one had ever sat, in the fulfillment of the predictions of Zechariah and Daniel.  And it was as they were about to enter the city of Jerusalem and the people were cheering, that Luke 19:41-44 says that Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem because of what was going to happen to it because the rejected their Messiah.

IV.  THE RESULT (verses 15-19)

After the procession, there was a lack of understanding of what Jesus came into this world to do.  His disciples were confused.  The Jewish leaders were angry and said, “look, the world has gone after Him.”  The crowds had a wrong understanding of Jesus.  They didn’t realize that before Jesus Christ could enter into His power and glory, He had to suffer and die for the sins of the world.  It may well have been that many of those who were shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David”, later changed their cry to “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

APPLICATION:

Let’s ask ourselves this question:  “Why do you and I follow Jesus?  Do we have expectations we want Him to meet?  Do we think He’ll deliver us from life’s hardships?  Are we just following the crowd?  Or have we accepted Jesus Christ as King and Lord of our lives and serve Him out of gratitude and worship?  As we think about this day in Jesus’ life, and His death and resurrection that will happen just a few days later,  let’s remind ourselves of these words of the apostle Paul in II Corinthians 5:15 and put them into practice in our lives:  “And He (Jesus) died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.”

LOVE – TRUE LOVE

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How is your love-life?  Do you want to be a better lover?  Do you want to show your love in ways that will be more greatly appreciated, and more fulfilling to you as well? Then two words, when correctly understood and properly applied to your relationships, will make all the difference in the world!

The first word is “patience” .  True love isn’t in a hurry.  It doesn’t put the other person on a timetable, but gives the person space to make decisions and adjustments.  True love  lets relationships go at their own pace.  It never gets tired of waiting, and demonstrates this attitude by the absence of griping, complaining, grumbling, or any other outward signs of irritation and impatience.

True love doesn’t lose heart, but perseveres through difficult and troublesome times.  It keeps on hoping and believing.  True love is also forgiving. Remember:  nobody is perfect.  If you’re looking for the perfect person to love, you’re in for a very long wait, and hopefully you’ll learn patience in the process!

A true lover is a good listener, and knows how to ask the right questions to keep the conversation going. A true lover seeks to understand, and shows respect for the loved one’s opinions.  A patient person also excercises self-control and knows how to hold his or her tongue to avoid hurting the other person by a hasty or thoughtless word.  A billboard had these words written on it:  “A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves you a thousand moments of regret”.  Do you want to be a more patient person?  You will be loved for it, and you won’t regret it.

The other word is “kindness”.  A true lover is kind, and a kind person is a joy to be around because he or she lifts the spirits of others.  A kind person is also merciful, showing kindness even when it isn’t deserved.  A true lover is kind and doesn’t take advantage of others.  A little child was heard saying these words in a prayer:  “God, make all the bad people good, and make all the good people nice”.  This child saw a difference between being “good” and being “nice”.  I think we can notice that difference also.  Kind people don’t look down on others or make fun of others.  True lovers focus on lifting up their loved ones, not bringing them down.

Kindness is something we all long for.  We experience joy when we receive it from others, and even greater joy when we show it to others.  An act of kindness leaves an indelible impression on the receiver and the giver, as well as on all who witness it.  On the New York subway, a young man, his head covered by a hooded sweatshirt, fell asleep on the shoulder of an older passenger.  When someone else offered to wake the young rider, the older man quietly said, “He must have had a long day.  Let him sleep.  We’ve all been there.”

We all need someone to lean on sometimes, don’t we?  Do you want kindness to be more evident in your life?  Do you want your loved ones to experience it more often from you?

These two qualities, patience and kindness, are at the top of the list, and that list is given in the Bible, in I Corinthians 13:4-7:

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,                                   
It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.                 
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

May our love for one another be characterized by these virtues.

 

A New Year’s Committment

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INTRODUCTION:

If you were to make a list of everything throughout your life that you decided you were going to do but didn’t do it, how long would your list be? Just deciding to do something doesn’t necessarily get it done, does it? There is another necessary ingredient, and that ingredient is mentioned in the Bible in I Timothy 4:7 and other Scripture passages.

I. DISCIPLINE

In I Timothy 4:7-8 the apostle Paul says these words to Timothy: “. . . discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness: for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things since it holds promise for the present life and also the life to come.” The word “discipline” is the Greek word “gymnazo” or “gymnasia”. We get our English word “gymnasium” from that Greek word. The word means “sustained daily effort”. It was a term often used in athletics to refer to a training program or exercise program.

I’m sure most of us, if not all of us, have watched parts of the Olympic games on T.V. We admired those athletes and marveled at their ability to stick to a rigorous training program for years in the hope of winning a medal. Paul is saying here that God wants each of us to apply that same dedication and daily discipline to the goal of “spiritual fitness” or “godliness”. God wants our schedules and our whole lives to be organized around and focused toward the goal of godliness, that is, becoming more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that’s a tall order, but whenever God gives a command He also provides the means necessary for us to accomplish it.

II. THE PRACTICE OF DISCIPLINE

So how can we discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness? Two other verses that use the term “gymnazo” give us the key. The first verse uses it in a negative sense, and the second in a positive sense. II Peter 2:14 speaks of a “heart trained in greed”, and Hebrews 5:14 talks about “having your senses trained to discern good and evil”. What do these two passages have in common? They are both talking about habits, the first bad, and the second good. God gave us an amazing capacity that we call a habit. Whenever we do something long enough it becomes a part of us. For example, when you buttoned your shirt or blouse this morning, did you button it from the bottom up or from the top down? Did it take you a moment to remember? Maybe you still don’t remember. That’s because you don’t consciously think about where to begin anymore. It has become a habit. Can you imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have this capacity to form habits? If we had to consciously think through every step of putting on our clothes, eating our food, brushing our teeth, and combing our hair, we would be mentally exhausted before the morning was over!

The bad habits are easy, aren’t they? But good habits take time and consistent effort. Too many people give up because they want change to occur too soon. We live in an age that has instant coffee, instant pudding, instant breakfast, instant messages, and instant just about everything. But there is no such thing as “instant godliness”. Studies have found that it normally takes at least three weeks of daily repetition before a person feels comfortable performing a new task. But many of us don’t continue for even three days. If we don’t receive instant success we often get discouraged and quit. There seem to be two basic philosophies of religion or morality in the world today. One says, “I will live according to my feelings. I will do what I feel like doing”. And the other philosophy says, “I will live as God says”.

III. THE EXAMPLE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL

That was the apostle Paul’s goal in life. Would you like to be able to honestly say, at the end of your life, what Paul says in II Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”? Well, God provides another means necessary for godliness, and I’ve saved it for last so that, hopefully, we’ll remember it if we remember nothing else from this message. It’s found in Philippians 2:12-13. Verse 12 says, “work out your own salvation in fear and trembling”. It doesn’t say, “work for your salvation”, but “live out that daily process of sanctification, becoming more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ”.  Verse 13 is the key:  “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure”.  The principle here is this:  God must work in us before He can work through us.  God wants us to obey His command to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness, but at the same time, we must realize that God will increase our desire to become more godly, and He will enable us to accomplish our spiritual growth objectives if we rely on His power.

CONCLUSION:  Do you want to be a godly person?  Do you want God to use you to accomplish the work He has for you this new year?  There are no shortcuts.  It comes down to this:  the daily prayerful study of God’s Word and consistent obedience to it, applying its principles to all the situations and decisions of our daily lives, and growing in the knowledge of God.  May the Lord be with you this new year.

THE POWER OF THE TONGUE – James 3:1-12

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I’m going to describe a particular part of our bodies in the first person, as if I’m that part of our bodies.  Here goes:

I may be the strongest muscle in your body.  I am considered to be the strongest muscle for my size.  I have been known to lift over 80 times my weight, but don’t put me to the test!  I am busy during the day and all through the night, and I never get tired.  I may be kind of rough on the surface, but I’m smooth underneath.  I’m about 4 inches long and I am the only muscle in your body that is only connected to your body at one end.  I can heal myself faster than any other part of your body. Thanks to your nose and my buds,  I’m learning to develop a taste for things.   I used to come out of my den more often for people to see me,   but now I only come out when you need help eating an ice cream cone, or when the doctor says, “open your mouth, stick out your ‘tongue’ and say ahhhh”!  As you’ve  probably guessed, I’m the muscle that would be speaking this message aloud to you right now.

As strong as our tongues are physically, they boast of even greater power for good and for evil both emotionally, socially, and spiritually.  I think it’s significant that, right after the apostle James writes about evidences of genuine, saving faith, he talks about the tongue.

James has already explained two characteristics of the true, maturing Christian. First, in chapter 1, James says that the true Christian is patient in times of trouble. Secondly, in chapter two, James says that the true Christian practices the truth. Here in chapter 3, James says that the third characteristic of a true believer is that he has power over his tongue.

James now goes for the jugular vein of the Christian life – the problem of the tongue. No other section of the Bible speaks with greater authority and impact on this subject than does James.

The words of the Lord Jesus Christ put this problem of the tongue into perspective. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 15:11, 18-19: “Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man. . . . the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man”. We need to realize that the heart and the tongue are directly associated with each other. Through its every word, the tongue broadcasts the condition of the heart.

In order to impress on us the importance of controlled speech, and the great consequences of our words, James gives us six pictures of the tongue: the bit, the rudder, fire, a dangerous animal, a fountain and a fig tree. You can put these six pictures into three categories that reveal the three powers of the tongue.

I. THE POWER TO DIRECT: THE BIT AND THE RUDDER (3:1-4)

James begins chapter 3 by saying, “Let not many of you become teachers.” The Greek word “didaskaloi” is used in the New Testament epistles to refer to teachers of God’s Word, rather than the alternate meaning of “masters” or “rulers” when referring to the Jewish rabbi’s. James is not discouraging Christians from using their gifts and abilities to benefit the local congregations. He is warning against the misuse of that privilege to gain power and prestige. Those motives and desires are not the marks of a true teacher of God’s Word. A teacher’s words are not to be used to exalt himself but to accurately explain the Word of God and exalt the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verses 3-5 James uses the examples of the bit and rudder because each of them, like the tongue, is small yet powerful. The bit is a very small item that goes into the horse’s mouth in order to overcome the power and the wild nature of the horse. However, it is not the bit that controls the entire horse. It is the experienced rider, using the bit and bridle in the proper ways, that controls the horse. In the same way, the rudder on a ship is a very small item in comparison to the ship, and it has to overcome the forces of the wind and the waves and currents. However, it is not the rudder that controls the entire ship. It is the experienced pilot or helmsman, who operates the rudder in the correct ways, that controls the ship.

Unless the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior and Lord of our lives, we are not going to be able to keep our tongues from evil, nor will we always be able to say the right thing at the right time. There are evil forces inside us and in the world around us that are fighting for control of our hearts and our speech. King David had a temper, as we all do, and he prays in Psalm 141, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to do any evil thing.”

II.  THE POWER TO DESTROY:  THE FIRE AND THE DANGEROUS ANIMAL  (3:5-8)

In verses 5-8, James compares the tongue to a fire and to a dangerous animal.  A fire spreads very quickly and is very destructive, causing damage that can’t be easily repaired, if it can be repaired at all.  In one town where I pastored, a neighbor came to the door yelling, “Help, my kitchen is on fire!”  I grabbed the portable fire extinguisher out of my car and ran to her house, where I saw smoke coming out of the back door.  As I entered, I had to duck down because of the smoke.  I could see the fire on the wall above the stove and sprayed it with fire-retardent powder until the extinguisher was empty.  When I went outside to get some fresh air I could hear the fire truck coming.  The firemen went inside, sprayed the wall area and checked the ceiling and attic.  Afterward, they asked us to come inside to see the damage.  The wooden spice rack above the stove had caught on fire and the fire chief pointed to a couple of places where the flames had burned through the drywall and had charred the wood.  He said that if I hadn’t been there and put the fire out when I did, it would have gone up the two-by-fours and into the attic and roof by the time they arrived just moments later.  It would have become a house fire rather than just a kitchen fire, and the house would probably have been damaged beyond repair.  That was a scary lesson about the swiftness and destructiveness of fire!

James tells us that the tongue can have a similar effect when we use it to gossip about or slander others.  Evangelist Billy Graham used the following illustration to point out the destructive and lasting effect that our words can have:  There is a story of a woman in England who came to her vicar with a troubled conscience.  The vicar knew her to be an habitual gossip – she had maligned nearly everyone in the village.  “How can I make amends?” she pleaded.  The vicar said “If you want to make peace with your conscience, take a bag of goose feathers and drop one on the porch of each one you have slandered.”  When she had done so, she came back to the vicar and said, “Is that all?”  “No,” said the wise old minister, “you must go now and gather up every feather and bring them all back to me.”  After a long time, the woman returned without a single feather.  “The wind has blown them all away,” she said.  “My good woman,” said the vicar, “so it is with gossip.  Unkind words are easily dropped, but we can never take them back again.”  (Day-By-Day with Billy Graham, Sept. 17)

Fire spreads, and the more fuel you add to that fire, the faster it will spread and the farther it will spread.   Time does not erase or correct the effects of the sins of the tongue.   God wants us to confess these sins and let Him take control of our speech, but the fires we have already kindled and fueled will continue to spread, just like the goose feathers being blown away by the wind.  Realize also that those fires we kindle will also burn us.  People who have been hurt by us will no longer trust us, and the word gets around, and our credibility is gone.  There are many lonely people today who are suffering the consequences of their false and malicious words, and yet refuse to change or admit their guilt.

A dangerous animal also has the power to destroy.  Some are dangerous because of their strong, swift and powerful bodies, many of them equipped with claws and sharp teeth or tusks.  If you’ve ever been to Lion Country or to a Wildlife Safari, you know what I am saying.  Yet  James states that man has been able to tame some of these animals from every species. But, he adds in verse 8:  “No one can tame the tongue”.  Sounds discouraging, doesn’t it?     Don’t lose hope!  I believe that what the Lord Jesus said about riches and salvation in Matthew 19:26 is also true about the tongue:  “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Other animals are dangerous because they are poisonous.  My first overseas duty in the Air Force was at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base in northern Thailand.  A group of us new arrivals were in an orientation briefing.  One of the warnings we were given was to beware of a particular snake called the krait snake.  The bite of a krait snake has little or no pain, and can cause a false reassurance to the victim.  It feels like the bite of an ant or a mosquito.  The person may not even realize that he’s been bitten.  There is very minimum evidence of local swelling.  Symptoms include a tightening of the facial muscles within one to two hours, inability of the person to see or talk, and death from respiratory failure (or suffocation) within 4-5 hours.  The krait was called the “two-step snake” because its venom was so powerful and acted so quickly.

Our tongues can also have a poisoning effect on others, and on ourselves as well.  Have you ever injected a malicious remark or comment into a conversation in the hope that it might spread to the person you wanted to hurt?  Have you ever yelled at someone in a moment of anger, or shouted profanity?   Maybe you were on the receiving end of those kinds of outbursts,  How did it make you feel?   A.T. Robinson, in his book, “Studies in the Epistle of James”, makes this observation about the defiling effect of our words:  “It is now known that angry words cause the glands of the body to discharge a dangerous poison that affects the stomach, the heart, the brain.”  King David, in Psalm 140:3, had these words to say about evil and wicked men:  “They sharpen their tongues as a serpent;  poison of a viper is under their lips.”

III.  THE POWER TO DELIGHT:  THE FOUNTAIN AND THE FIG TREE (James 3:9-12)

In verse 9 James recognizes that the tongue is good at times.  It is not altogether evil.  But it is inconsistent.  He uses the illustrations of the fountain, the fig tree, and salt water to get his point across.

Have you ever had your mouth washed out with soap?  It isn’t a pleasant experience!  An older kid in our neighborhood was accustomed to using filthy language, and whenever my younger brother and I were around him we tried to imitate him.  One day my mother overheard our conversation.  Since I was the older son, and should have been a good example to my brother, I received the cleansing treatment first.  I could hear my younger brother snickering as I was going through the ordeal.  Then it was his turn!  He didn’t think it was funny anymore!  The soap she used had a pleasant smell to it but it did not taste good!  As you probably aready know, it wasn’t my mouth and tongue that were the real source of the problem.  It was my heart.  But having my mouth washed out with soap gave me a change of heart!

My mother got the point across and the lesson was learned.  As I think of my mother, I cannot remember her ever cursing, swearing or using filthy language.  I’m thankful to God and to her that the use of such language has never become a habit for me.  However, there are other kinds of language that we all have been guilty of and struggle with.  Evangelist Billy Graham says,  “You can use your tongue to slander, to gripe, to scold, to nag, and to quarrel, or you can bring it under the control of God’s Spirit and make it an instrument of blessing and praise.”

In verses 10-12, James uses three illustrations:  the fountain, the fig and olive trees, and salt water,  to show the nature of things.  Water is not sweet and bitter at the same time from the same fountain, is it?  A fig tree cannot produce olives, can it?  Nor can an olive tree produce figs.  And salt water cannot, of itself, produce fresh water, can it?  Nature is consistent because God made it that way.

Man was also created to reflect the image of God (Genesis 1:27).  James says earlier in his letter:  “No one can tame the tongue”;   no one, that is, except God.  You may remember in Exodus 15:23-26 that the people of Israel came to Marah on their journey to the Promised Land.  The word “Marah” means “bitter”, and the waters there were bitter.  They couldn’t drink the waters, and they couldn’t change the condition of the waters, but God did.  When God told them to cast a particular tree into the water, the waters became sweet and drinkable.

If your speech is not reflecting the character of God, and other areas of your life are contrary to God’s will, you may want to make sure that your relationship to God is genuine, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly the Lord of your life.  The theme of the book of James is:  “genuine faith produces genuine works”.  If there is any question in your mind, God wants to enter your life if you will turn from your sinful ways and let Him come in and take control of your mind, emotions and will.  Then your words will become words of praise and thanksgiving to God and to others; words that heal, comfort and encourage; words that are beautiful to hear; words that give glory to God.

THE RIGHT KIND OF FAITH – James 2:14-26

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INTRODUCTION:

Someone has said that faith is not “believing in spite of the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences”.  When we read Hebrews 11, we meet men and women who acted upon God’s Word, no matter what the price they had to pay.  Faith is not some kind of feeling that we work up, but a confidence that God’s Word is true, and that obeying it will bring God’s blessing.  What kind of faith really saves a person?  Is it necessary to perform good works in order to be saved?  How can a person tell whether or not he is exercising true saving faith?  James answers these questions by explaining to us that there are three kinds of faith, and only one of them is true saving faith.

I.  DEAD FAITH (verses 14-17)

In verses 14-17, James talks about dead faith.  People with dead faith substitute words for actions.  They know all the right words to say during times of prayer and testimony, and can even quote the right verses from the Bible, but their actions do not measure up to their talk.

James gives a simple illustration:  a poor believer came into a fellowship without proper clothing and in need of food.  The person with dead faith noticed the visitor and saw his needs, but he did not do anything to meet those needs.  All he did was say a few pious words:  “Go in peace, be warm and be filled.”  But the visitor went out just as hungry and unclothed as he came in!

In verse 14, James is saying, “Can that kind of faith save him?”  What kind?  The kind of faith that is never seen in practical works.  The answer is “No”!  Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration.  What kind of faith is dead faith?  In verse 17, James says “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”  True saving faith can never be by itself.  It always brings life, and life produces good works.

In a Decision Magazine article, missionary Patrick Harris tells of his son David, who was brain-damaged.  When David was very young and his family was home on furlough, many people told them, “We are praying for David.”  Patrick and his wife were grateful.  But one woman said, “I have Wednesday off.  Give me the privilege of taking David out that day to relieve you.”  Harris said, “That was what was needed – not only prayer but practical help!”  An important part of praying is a willingness to be part of the answer.

II.  DEMONIC FAITH (verses 18-19)

Only God can see “faith” in the heart of a person.  People see our faith only by our works. Faith is like a seed planted in the ground.  It is hidden from view, but if it is a living seed it will soon manifest itself by pushing its stalk up through the soil for all to see.  Out of the war comes a story of faith in action.  A godly chaplain in the army found a dying soldier on the battlefield, and being anxious about his salvation, he took out his Bible and said, “Shall I read a portion of Scripture for you?”  But the soldier replied, “No sir, I am thirsty and need a drink of water.”  At the risk of his own life, amid bursting shells, the chaplain went in search of water, and having found some, gave it to the wounded man.  Then he asked again, “Shall I read some Scripture to you?”  But the man replied, “No thank you, I am so cold.  I am almost freezing,”  The chaplain removed his own coat and wrapped it around about him, and once more asked with shivering and chattering teeth, “Now may I read to you?”  Again the reply was, “No sir, I am too uncomfortable on this rough ground.”  The chaplain gently lifted him up and placed him across his knees with his head in his arms and once more asked the same question.  “Yes sir”, he replied, “for if what you are going to read can make a man willing to risk his own life like this to ease a dying stranger, I want to hear about it!”  And there on the battlefield, he was told about Jesus who died that he might live.  This is the gospel in action!  This is what the world is looking for today!

Then James says in verse 19, “the demons also believe and shudder.”  It comes as a shock to many people that demons have faith!  What do they believe?  For one thing, they believe in the existence of God.  They are not atheists.  They also believe in the deity of Christ.  Whenever they met Christ when He was on this earth, they bore witness that He was the Son of God.  They also believe in the existence of a place of punishment.  They live there!  Not only that, but they also recognize Jesus Christ as the Judge, and they submit to the power of His Word.  Yet, knowing all that, they still rebelled against God and were condemned to hell.

In verse 19, the word “shudder” or “tremble” meant to be “rough on the surface”, “to bristle”.  It has the idea of making your hair stand on end and goosebumps to appear. That’s the way the demons respond to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ!

III.  GENUINE FAITH (verses 20-26)

Dead faith touches only the mind; demonic faith involves both the mind and the emotions, but genuine faith also involves the will.  The whole person plays a part in true saving faith. The mind understands the truth, the emotions desire the truth, and the will acts upon the truth.  Faith and works go together.

Pastor John MacArthur says it very clearly in his sermon entitled “Living Faith”. Preaching about James 2:21-26, Pastor MacArthur says:  “There is a faith in God, there is a faith in Christ, there is a belief of Scripture, there is a belief of the gospel that does not save from hell. . . . It is possible to believe in God, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, to even believe that what Christ did He actually did, to affirm the cross and the resurrection and never be delivered from sin and never be given eternal life.  This is what James would call ‘dead faith’.”  That’s what he called it in verse 17, and now he says it again in verse 20 and again in verse 26.

In verse 20, James responds to the unwillingness of his readers to recognize the connection between faith and works.  He says:  “You foolish fellow”.  The Greek word can be translated “empty” in the sense that they are “without spiritual life”.  James goes on to say, “Can’t you see that faith without works is useless”?  The Greek word “arge” means “barren”, “unproductive”.  Faith that fails to produce genuine works motivated by willing obedience from the heart is a dead faith.  It demonstrates that it has never been alive because there has been no external evidence sufficient to remove any doubt.  Righteous behavior is an inevitable result of genuine faith.

In verses 21-25 James proves his point by giving two examples of true living faith from the Old Testament:  Abraham and Rahab, described as “our father” and “the harlot”.  The evidence for Abraham’s genuine faith was his willing obedience to God’s command to offer up his own son, Isaac, on the altar.  Because of his obedience, Galatians, chapter 3, teaches that Abraham is the spiritual father of all true believers..

James 2:22 reads, “You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected.”  The Berkeley version says it this way:  “You see how his faith cooperated with his works and how faith reached its supreme expression through his works.”  Abraham’s works made his faith complete.  In verse 23 Abraham  is called “the friend of God”

On the opposite end of the social and moral spectrum, James now chooses Rahab as an example of true living faith.  Even though Rahab was a Gentile and a prostitute, James says “Likewise also”, telling us that the illustration of Rahab teaches the same lesson about faith as the illustration of Abraham:  “God saves, not because of one’s righteousness, but because of one’s faith.”  Remember:  only God can actually see our faith.  We see genuine saving faith only by works.   Rahab demonstrated her saving faith by her words to the spies in Joshua 2 saying, “… the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below”, and by her willingness to hide the spies at the risk of her own life and the lives of her family members.  Joshua 6:25 and Matthew 1:5  tell us how God blessed Rahab.  She was grafted into the nation of Israel, became the wife of Salmon, and was an ancestor in the line of David and the Lord Jesus Christ.  She is also mentioned in Hebrews 11 as a woman of faith.

CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION:

In verse 25, the apostle James states his conclusion one more time:  “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead”  Do you have living faith? Do you have saving faith?  Is it evident to those around you?  Is it evident to you?  You may have been baptized, you may have made a public or private profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  You may be attending a church at the present time.  You may be in the choir or teaching a Sunday School Class.  You may be on the deacon or elder board.  You could even be a pastor and not have a saving faith that manifests itself in a deepening walk with Jesus Christ and increasing joy in serving Him and obeying his Word.  I’m not saying this to point the finger at anyone or embarrass anyone.   I just want you to be sure if there might be any doubt.  Good works are the proof that Jesus Christ is living and reigning in your life.  As Jesus said in Luke 6:46, “And why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

May our faith be genuine and evident to the world around us, and may we enjoy the privilege of being children of God through faith evidenced by works (Ephesians 2:8-10).