Matthew C. Mitchell's Blog, page 98

#6. Why do we pray to a sovereign God?

Christian Prayer Catechism: Question #6

Q. Why do we pray to a sovereign God?

A. We pray to a sovereign God because prayer is one of the ways God expresses His sovereign rule over His creation.

Because God is sovereign, prayer makes sense. Why pray to someone who can’t accomplish His will? Because God rules everything, it is appropriate to ask Him to do things (Ps. 5:2). God does not rule His creation, however, in such a way that our prayers are not necessary. God has ordained that our prayers are one of the means He uses to effect His sovereign will. He has given us the dignity of being a causation of what happens in His world. Therefore, our prayers to the Sovereign Lord are very significant and accomplish much (James 4:2, 5:16, Luke 11:9-10, etc).

[Matt's Messages] “A Transformed People: Part One”

“A Transformed People: Part One”
All Roads Lead to Romans
May 3, 2015 :: Romans 12:9-10 

We’ve slowed down again, haven’t we? Back in chapter 8, we took several weeks to study the whole thing, and then we marched fairly quickly through chapters 9, 10, and 11, but we’ve slowed down again in chapter 12.

And we’re going to slow down even more.

Today, I want to read to you chapter 12 verses 9 through 21, but I’m only planning to teach on verses 9 and 10.

Think of this as a mini-series on Romans 12 within our maxi-series of All Roads Lead to Romans.

And here’s the title: “A Transformed People.”

That word “transformed” comes out of Romans 12:1-2.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy [the big gospel story of the first eleven chapters in this letter], to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. [Give your whole self to God, and He will change your whole life, verse 2.] Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Last week, we said that the transformation of our mind includes our thinking about everything, including our thinking about ourselves. We should think of ourselves humbly, as belonging to the body, and as gifted for the body of Christ.

But the transformation doesn’t stop there.

It affects everything in our life.

Just as the world wants to press us into its mold in every area of our life, so the Lord wants to transform every area of our life.

And this next section, verses 9-21, is full of short bullet-point commands of how we need to change, to be transformed.

And most of them are about community. They are about relationships.

So, that’s why I call this section, “A Transformed People.”

Because it’s the people who are transformed and not just as individuals but in our relationships with one another. Community. A Transformed People.

You’ll see it as I read the whole thing to you.

Before I do, I want you to hear again in the back of your brain that this is all THEREFORE stuff.

The transformation of God’s people is all based on the mercies of God in the gospel of grace.

We can’t do this stuff on our own. We need God’s grace to live this way.

This is transformed living. It’s supernatural. And it’s because of what Jesus did.

Do you see what I mean by saying that Paul is going to ask for some pretty big things in these chapters?

We need 11 chapters of God’s grace to fuel our obedience to these big requests.

God wants us to change, to be transformed, and it takes God’s grace to do it.

Do you see what I mean by saying that these are bullet-points?

Little staccato sentences that pack a big punch.

This is one sermon where I don’t have to come up with my own summary points of application. Paul has done it for me very nicely. There will be four today.

#1. LOVE MUST BE SINCERE.

In a people transformed by the gospel of grace, love must be sincere. V.9

“Love must be sincere.”

Or “Love must be genuine.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like fakes.

I want the real thing–not a fake.

I don’t mind if something is artificial, if they tell you it is artificial.  I don’t mind if something is synthetic, if they tell you that it is synthetic. But when someone tells you one thing, and it is really another–that drives me nuts.  I hate fakes.

God loves what is genuine, too.  God looks on the heart and can see if someone is being authentic and genuine or a fake.  And sincerity is what He desires for our transformed relationships.

“Love must be sincere.” v.9 says.  The old KJV puts it, “Let love be without dissimulation.”  That means no simulations allowed.  No fakes.

The great theologian George Burns once said, “Sincerity is the key to success. If you can fake that, you can get away with anything!”  I wouldn’t have wanted to be George Burns’ friend!

Have you ever had a friend that wasn’t really a friend?

Back when I was a youth pastor, I saw a lot of that problem among the teens that I worked with.  Two people can spend a lot of time together, have similar interests, and share a lot of personal information, and yet not be real friends.

The teens (especially the girls for some reason) were famous for connecting with another teen for a short period of time and sharing all kinds of intimate discussion and then turning around and using it against each other.  Sharing it with someone they shouldn’t.  Gossiping the information down the grape-vine until someone got hurt.

It wasn’t real friendship.

Perhaps you know someone like that right now.  They are all friendly and nice to you to your face, but you wonder, “is it real?”  Do they really care or is it a fake?

Perhaps someone is wondering that about you right now.  Are you for real with your relationships?  Or are you just faking it?

“Love must be sincere.”

Christians can’t fake our love for one another.

Now, that doesn’t mean that we have to always share everything that is on our hearts.  We aren’t called to always be open.  But we are called to always be honest.

I was convicted as I wrote this sermon of the recent times when I’ve told someone in a very “sincere-sounding” tone that I would pray for them and then turned around and promptly forgot to pray.

But that’s not what God wants from me.  He wants me to be sincere, authentic, without hypocrisy.

The English word “sincere” comes from two Latin words, “syn-cere.”  In Latin, the prefix “syn” means “without” and “cere” means wax. Without-wax.

Because in the middle ages, if you were a potter and you dropped a piece of pottery that you were going to sell, if the pottery had just a “hair-line” fracture, then you might be tempted to cover over the crack with wax. The wax would blend in with the pottery and it would be weeks before the leak would show (or at least until the pottery got close to an open flame)–long enough for you to get away with selling it.

So, if you were pottery-shopping in those days, you would ask, is this vase without wax?  Is this vase “syn-cere?”  Is this vase sincere?

God is asking us that question right now.  Are there “hair-line” fractures in our “love” for others that we are papering over?  Is our love mostly real but 10% fake?

“Love must be sincere.”

Now, there is actually no verb in the original Greek there. It’s possible that it’s supposed to serve as like a heading for the whole section.

“Sincere Love.”

Everything flows from that.

For our second point, look at the second sentence in v.9.

“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

#2. HATE WHAT IS EVIL; CLING TO WHAT IS GOOD.

Now this sentence is about hating evil in general and loving good in all of its forms, but it is sandwiched in between two sentences that are clearly about love and transformed relationships.  So, I can’t help but think that this verse is about wanting purity, holiness in your relationships.

Sometimes we get the idea that if we are going to be a good Christian friend, we will ignore the  shortcomings, failures, and sins of our friends. That is not what God says.
God says to hate evil even if it shows up in your friend!

Turn to the person next to you and say, “I hate the evil in you.”

(I love you, too!)

But isn’t that right?  Would it really be love if you just let your Christians friends destroy themselves with sin and wrong-doing?

I remember once my wife saying to me, “I hate the evil in you.”  And I felt loved.

She hates it when I am a hypocrite or when I exaggerate into falsehood or when I am a glutton or when I complain against a holy God.  She hates that in me.  She wants that gutted out of me.  And I hate the evil in her.  And that’s love!

Isn’t that how Jesus loves us? He loves us “just the way we are but too much to let us stay that way.”

Do you have a Christian friend who is caught in sin?  It very well could be UNLOVING for you to not confront them about it.  It could be UNLOVING for you to ignore their failure to obey God’s will for their lives.  It would be UNLOVING to simply accept their evil!

I hate confrontation. It’s the one thing I hate the most about being a pastor. I don’t  mind standing up here and calling sin, sin. But I hate to have to get into someone’s face about it. And I have often failed to do that loving confrontation.

But love does it.

Transformed love does that.

Transformed love goes to people caught in since and (gently as possible) shares with them where they are going wrong.

If I were in the second story of a burning house, you would hopefully love me enough to yell, “Fire!  Get out!”  You wouldn’t say, “Oh, I’m his friend.   I’d hate for him to  think that I’m ordering him around or think that I know something that he doesn’t.”

That would be unloving.  Love hates evil in the other person.  Go to that person this week and try to help them expunge the evil.

But purity is more than just getting rid of evil.  It is also (v.9), “cling[ing] to what is good.”  If all you do is go around poking your Christian friends and trying to pry out their bad parts, then you are missing more than half of friendship. The reason why they trust you to poke around in their evil is because you recognize and cling to what is good in them.

Do you do this with other Christians?  Do you catch them doing something good and right and pure and then congratulating and thanking them for it?

“Cling to what is good.”  If God is doing something in someone’s life, I want to encourage that, I want to sing God’s praises in their life, I want to bless them for that, I want to cling to it and fan it to flame in them.  Don’t you?

Isn’t that what the best of Christians do?  Don’t they bring out the best in you?  This is crucial.

1 Corinthians 13:6 says, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

My wife is my best friend on Earth.  And Heather Joy is committed to seeing what God is doing in my life and then clinging to it.  When God has led me to draw closer in prayer, or to confess and renounce some sin, or to take some new step of faith, she is right there encouraging me on in purity.  That’s what we need.

Transformed people in our lives that hate the evil in us and who cling to what is good in us.

Do you see how that is a transformation? We don’t naturally do that. That’s a work of God’s grace.

#3. BE DEVOTED TO ONE ANOTHER IN BROTHERLY LOVE.

V.10. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.”  Loyalty.

The word for “devoted” here in v.10 is a word that describes more than just sticking to someone else, it means being truly attached to someone like they were a family member.  Proverbs says, “A friend sticks closer than a brother.”

The ESV translates this, “Love one another with brotherly affection.”  That gets across the idea.  Love must be sincere, love must strive for purity, and love must be loyal with a brotherly kind of affection.

The Greek Word is literally, “Philadelphia.” Brotherly love.

That takes transformation, doesn’t it?

For Christians to see each other as brothers and sisters?

We talked about this last week especially with verse 5.

“In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

That’s the body metaphor.

This in verse 10 is the family metaphor.

We are brothers and sisters in Christ.

We belong to each other.

And I think it boils down to this. We care for each other.

We genuinely, truly care.

Do you care about your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Do your have affection for them. Look around this room. Do you care about these folks? Do you care what happens to them, good or bad?

As Christians, as transformed people, we are aren’t supposed to be passive or apathetic. We are to love each other with a brotherly love.

Now, that doesn’t mean that we are always going to like each other or agree with each other or enjoy being with each other.

I have a younger brother and we have not always liked each other or agreed with each other enjoyed being with each other.

But we are BROTHERS. We care about each other.

Thankfully, after we grew up we came to like each other, agree most of the time and enjoy each other’s company. Yesterday was my brothers’ birthday, and called him to see how he’s doing.

Do you call other Christians to see how they’re doing?

Do you treat fellow Christians as brother and sisters?

A transformed people are devoted to one another in brotherly love.

The fourth and last bulleted sentence comes from the last phrase in verse 10.

“Honor one another above yourselves.”

#4. HONOR ONE ANOTHER ABOVE YOURSELVES.

That takes transformation!

That takes humility.  That means putting someone else first.

The NIV is almost not strong enough here.  The ESV translates this better, “Outdo one another in showing honor.”

Our Christian relationships, if they are going to be good and godly and pleasing to the Lord, need to be contests of deference.

Love puts the other person’s needs ahead of your own.  1 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Love is not self-seeking.”

Let me ask you a trick question.  In your Christian relationships, whether they be husband and wife or friend to friend or whatever, which of you are more important in your relationship? You or the other person?  Which of the two of you is more important?

It’s a trick question.  Before God, you are both equal in worth and value.  And you both have equally important things to offer to your relationship.  The answer is: neither is more important.

So, who is going to go first?  Who is going to bend?  Who is going to serve whom?  Do you see why this quality is crucial?

God calls us to outdo one-another with honor.

Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

D.L. Moody said, “The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves.”

Have you ever had to “take a number” in a line at a store or at the PENN DOT  License Center or somewhere like that?  And they serve you in the order that you grabbed your number?  They call it out or flash it on a screen, “#27, #28, #29"

God calls us to regularly hand over our ticket to our brothers and sisters in Christ.  To put them ahead of ourselves in the line of life. Humility.

“Honor one another above yourselves.”

God is calling you to put them first.

“Honor one another above yourselves.”

Do you see how this take transformation?

You and I don’t do this stuff on our own.

On my own, I do not love sincerely.
On my own, I do not hate what is evil and cling to what is good.
On my own, I do not love other Christians with a brotherly love.
On my own, I do not honor anybody ahead of myself.

I need to be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

BUT if I AM transformed, then I need to live a new way.

This weekend, I went down to Ligonier Camp and Conference Center to speak at First Free McKeesport Church’s Men’s Retreat.

First Free is the church where our much loved Pastor Jack Kelly went to pastor after he was our pastor. And he’s much loved there, too, even though he’s retired.

Their current pastor Kirk Albrecht asked me to preach 3 times yesterday on “Me and My Big Mouth,” on the connection between our hearts and our words. And how God wants to change both of them.

And yesterday, I hit this point hard:

That we don’t change to earn God’s favor.

We don’t change to rack up the points to see if we can measure up and achieve salvation.

Salvation is by faith alone in grace alone through Christ alone. And what He did on the cross for us.

But that grace changes us.

By grace, we are entered into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ that starts now and goes on forever.

And it changes all of our lives, including our relationships.

So, are you changing?
Am I changing?

Not to be saved but because we are saved?

There was an older man there, I’d say that he was in 80's. Most of the men at the retreat were younger men, 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's. But this fellow was older and his Pittsburgh neighborhood has changed over the years.

And changed for the worse.

Where it used to be filled with hard working, respectful steel worker types. It is now filled with people living off of the government and many of them disrespectful and dangerous.

This man has witnessed two shootings in his neighborhood in the last few years.

And this fellow has been consumed with anger about what has happened to his neighborhood.

But this weekend, God got a hold of this man and showed him that instead of sending him to a mission-field, God has sent the mission-field to him.

And instead of using his words to curse his neighbors, he is now going to seek ways to use his words to bless them and try to reach some of them for Jesus Christ.

This fellows knows Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

And that makes that the difference.

That transforms him.

God loves this man just as he is but too much to let him stay there.

He is changing. Even in his mid-80's he is changing.

God is building a transformed people.

Who live differently than the world.

How about you?

Are you being transformed?

Is your life marked by sincere love?
Is your life marked by purity, hating what is evil and clinging to what is good?
Is your life marked by brother love?
Is your life marked by honoring others above yourself?

May it be said that Lanse Free Church is a people being transformed by the gospel.

***

Messages in this Series:

01. All Roads Lead to Romans
02. I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel
03. The Bad News
04. Hope for Holy Sexuality
05. The Even Worse News
06. The Worst News
07. Justified
08. Father Abraham
09. The Blessings of Justification
10. How Much More
11. New You
12. Slaves Of...?
13. A Life-Changing Relationship with Jesus Christ
14. No Condemnation
15. If the Spirit Lives in You
16. The Spirit of Sonship
17. We Know
18. For Us
19. Who?
20. God's Word Has Not Failed
21. Israel Stumbled
22. God Raised Him From the Dead
23. God Always Keeps His Promises
24. Therefore
25. How to Think of Yourself

Goldvein Iris

#5. How should we approach God?

Christian Prayer Catechism: Question #5

Q. How should we approach God?

A. We should approach God with reverence and awe, as well as confidence and boldness.

God is holy and should not be trifled with (Eccl. 1:5-7, Hebrews 4:13). “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire’” (Hebrews 12:28-29). The priestly work of Jesus Christ, however, assures us of access to God and answers from God (Hebrews 4:14-16). Both attitudes of reverence and confidence should characterize our prayers simultaneously.

[Matt's Messages] "How to Think of Yourself"

“How to Think of Yourself”
All Roads Lead to Romans
April 26, 2015 :: Romans 12:3-8 

Last week, we turned the corner from the indicative to the imperative. We turned the corner from Paul’s grand explanation of the gospel of grace into Paul’s deep application of that doctrine to our lives.

Last week, Paul gave us a great big “THEREFORE” that tied eleven chapters of Christian doctrine to these next four chapters of Christian living.

He said, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship”  (12:1).

We said last week that these next four chapters are going to be full of big great asks. Great big requests. Great big demands; but they are grounded in a great big gospel.

In view of the amazing mercies of God, God is now calling us to give our whole selves to Him and to allow Him change our whole lives.

God is asking everything from us and everything will change.

Now in verse 3, Paul starts to get into some specifics. Because of the great big gospel, we are to have our whole lives transformed.

And that includes our thinking. Verse 2 said, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Our total life change includes a change in our thinking; and that is our thinking about everything, including ourselves.

Today’s message is entitled, “How To Think Of Yourself.”

How should you think of yourself?

How would you answer that question?

Some of you, the more spiritual ones, might say, “You shouldn’t think of yourself at all.” And there’s something to that. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to escape from thoughts of yourself all of the time. Tim Keller calls that “Blessing of Self-Forgetfulness.”

But that’s not quite right or that’s not all there is to it.

I did a Google search on this phrase, “How to Think Of Yourself.”

And the first set of results changed the preposition.

They were all about “How to Think FOR Yourself.” And there’s something to that, as well. We need to be doing our own thinking and not just blindly accepting some human authority and drinking the Kool-Aid.

A number of the other first results were self-improvement projects. “How to think of yourself...as beautiful or how to think of yourself...as smart or how to think of yourself...as successful.”

There may be some good practical advice buried in there somewhere, but I don’t think that Google really had the answer of how we are to think of ourselves.

The gospel of grace has changed who we are, and it defines how we should think of ourselves.

In view of the mercies of God, how should we think of ourselves?

#1. SOBERLY.  V.3

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

Think of yourself soberly.

Now, notice that Paul directs this teaching at every one of us.

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you:”

This is true for all Christians without exception.

It’s based on Paul’s apostolic authority (by the grace given him as an apostle of Christ Jesus) and applies even to him in his apostolic authority. Even though he’s an apostle, this teaching is for him, as well.

“I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought...”

No exceptions. It applies to every Christian in this room.

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought...”

Don’t get uppity. Don’t get full of yourself. Don’t get to thinking that you’re better than others.

Don’t be prideful.

Have we seen this kind of teaching already in the book of Romans. Yes, we have.

Paul has been going after human pride from the first chapter.  And he’s been applying it specifically to the problem that was apparently going on in Rome between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians.

Probably both of them thought on some level they had some reason to boast over the others. Jews for having the law. Gentiles for coming to Christ in greater numbers. Or a some other thing.

But Paul says to both of them and all of us, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought...”

But he doesn’t say “Don’t think about yourself at all. Just disappear from your own thoughts. He goes on to say (v.2), “but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

Sober judgment.

That word translated sober judgment is difficult to translate.

It means “realistically, seriously, sensibly, in one’s right mind.”

I think that the best translation into English is perhaps “levelheadedly.”

Think levelheadedly about yourself.

Not too high and not too low. Don’t get a big head but also don’t decimate yourself either.  Decimating yourself is thinking too much of yourself as well. It’s just demeaning yourself and debasing yourself and degrading yourself.

When the Bible says to think of yourself soberly.

The opposite of soberly would be drunkenly. Sometimes we get drunk on ourselves.

Don’t we?

We get to thinking that we’re God’s gift to the world.
That everything should revolve around us.
We all do it at times. We are all narcissists at heart.
Drunk on ourselves.

But the gospel says that we should sober up about ourselves.

“...but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

Now, I went round and round about that last phrase in my study this week. “The measure of faith God has given you.”

That could mean that God has given each of us a different amount of faith, some big and some small. And we shouldn’t get prideful about having a big amount of faith because it’s just a gift from God anyway.

And that’s true. If you have a big amount of faith then don’t get prideful about that.

But I tend to think that this is saying something different. It’s saying that the measure we should use to measure ourselves is the measure of THE faith that God has entrusted to us. The faith as in the faith once and for all given to the saints. The Christian faith. In other words, the gospel.

We should measure ourselves against the faith revealed in the gospel.

To me that fits better with what we’ve been learning in these last 25 sermons on Romans.

The gospel destroys our boasting.

When you truly understand the Christian faith, you can’t live in pride.

How should I think of myself?

I’m a sinner.
I’m an object of God’s just wrath.
And whatever I might have tried to do to make up for my sin, I would always fall short. Even my good works were sinful.

And then the gospel came!
Then I heard the good news of justification by faith.
Nothing that I contribute! By faith.
God did everything to save me.
That’s pride-destroying truth, isn’t it?

Prideful Christians are not acting like Christians at all.

Even after I believed the gospel, I still find myself sinning. Right chapters 6 and 7.

The gospel changes how I think of myself.

But it doesn’t leave me in the dust, does it?

Thinking soberly about myself isn’t thinking malignantly about myself.

The faith given to me also says that God loves me. So I’m beloved.
The faith given to me also says that God has called me. So I’ve got a purpose.
The faith given to me also says that God has plans for me. So I’ve got a future.

I shouldn’t be full of myself but I should be happy about myself and my situation.

Not better than other Christian, not uppity. But blessed.

I think that’s what it means to think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure (or standard) of (the) faith God has given us.

Do you need to hear that today?

Maybe you need to repent of pride and trying to get the world to operate around you.

Are you drunk on yourself?

We can all think of someone else that is drunk on themself, but apply this to yourself first.

Think of yourself soberly in accordance with the standard of the gospel.

Number two.  Think of yourself:

#2. AS BELONGING.

To the body of Christ.

Verse 4 proceeds directly from verse 3. There is a little Greek connector word that doesn’t show up in the NIV that makes it clear that they are linked. For (v.4)

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Think of yourself as belonging.

Now, I admit that I didn’t get this very quickly this week.

I admit that when I read these verses, I didn’t see how they flowed out of Romans 12:1-2 very well.

And that’s because I tend to think very individualistically.

But Paul doesn’t want us to think that way. He wants us to think corporately.

He wants us to think communally.

All of this transformation of verse 2 is supposed to be done in community.

Transformation is a community project.

We don’t just give our whole selves to Jesus. We also get grafted into the body of Christ.

We aren’t just supposed to not think highly of ourselves, we are to think of ourselves as belonging to others. V.4 again.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Now this is one of Paul’s favorite metaphors. He uses it here in Romans 12. He also uses it in 1 Corinthians 12, and he elaborates on it more there.

The picture is pretty obvious but also profound.

How many bodies do you have?

One, right? Anybody here have 2 bodies?

Now, how many body parts do you have? How many members?

A bunch, right?  And are all of your body parts the same?

Anybody here who his all eyes or all ears or all left hands?

I’ve heard about people who say that they’re all left feet, but I think that just means that they can’t dance. They actually do have heads.

Paul says that Christ has a body, too. How many bodies?  Just one.

But many body parts. And they are different from one another yet belong to one another.

Isn’t that a great illustration?

The church is AMAZING.

It is both unified and diverse. Unified and diverse.

God values both unity and diversity, and it’s obvious from the church.

Unity. God desires unity among His people. He hates sinful disunity. The pride of verse 3 has to go. The self-drunkenness of verse 3 gets in the way of the church functioning the way its supposed to. Unity!

But God also values diversity.  We are not all alike.

We are all different from one another.

Look at the people on either side of you right now.

Are they the exact same as you or are they different from you?

Look across the aisle at those folks!

Paul says that we do not “all have the same function.”

We’re diverse.

We’ve got both males and females. Is there a difference between men and women?

You bet there is.

We’ve got both old and young.

We’ve got folks with money and folks without.

We’ve got folks from different ethnicities and different backgrounds.

We’ve got folks from different political persuasions. Democrats and Republicans and Libertarians and Independent types.

We’ve got blue collar and white collar.

We’ve got folks who are married and folks that are single.

And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

The church is supposed to be diverse.

Yet also unified around Christ.

Paul says that we belong to each other. V.5

“...in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

I belong to you and you belong to me.

Which of us is more important?  That’s a ridiculous question!

I belong to you and you belong to me if we belong to Christ.

Unity in diversity through community.

The church is US.

Do you think of yourself as the church?

I think that some people think of me as the church. What does the church say or think or do?

We’re all the church. The church is US.

Do ever think about whether this church is friendly or not? Or prayerful or not? Or generous or not?

And do you answer that by saying whether or not you are friendly or you are prayerful or you are generous?

If you’ve been coming to this church on Sundays for any length of time, it’s up to you to make this church what it’s supposed to be: friendly or prayerful or generous or whatever. Because the church is us.

Can I encourage you to consider church membership as step in this direction?

Many of you are already active members, and I appreciate that and am thankful for you. Today is our quarterly church family meeting where the official members of the church gather to make decisions for the future. We are unified yet diverse. In fact, we often have different perspectives and opinions about things, but we work hard, really hard, to maintain our unity. Thank you, members, for belonging.

But to those of you who are not yet members, I’d like you to consider it as a step towards living out Romans 12:4&5.

Yes, you belong to the Body of Christ whether or not you belong to a local church if you belong to Jesus.

But one sweet and important way of expressing that belonging to the body of Christ globally is belonging to the Body of Christ locally.

One of you came to me this week to talk about church membership.

I’d like to see 10 or 12 of you do the same thing in the next year.

Think of yourself as belonging.

To something unified yet diverse.

Because we need you. We need each other.

Christianity is not a solo sport.  It’s a team sport.

“Each member belongs to all the others.”

And Number Three. Think of yourself:

#3. AS GIFTED.

For the body of Christ.

That’s a surprise, isn’t it?  After verse 3 said that we shouldn’t get too full of ourselves verses 6, 7, and 8 are going to tell us that we’re gifted.

We are God’s gift to the body! V.6

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

Think of yourself as gifted.

Remember this is directed at all of us. This isn’t for some special class of Christians.

All Christians are gifted by grace. V.6 again.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.”

The are grace gifts. Nothing to get all proud of! They come by grace just like our salvation did. We didn’t earn them.

But we are supposed to use them.

Do you think of yourself as gifted?

You are.

God has given you special abilities for you to use in serving the body of Christ.

Paul lists seven of them here.

But it’s a different list than the one he gives in 1 Corinthians 12-14 and different from the list he gives in Ephesians 4.

I think that means that these are not a comprehensive list of the gifts available but a representative list.

The point is not pick which one of these is yours but to get to work using yours in ministry.

Isn’t that how it feels? Verse. 6

“If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

Now, we could get caught up in defining each of those gifts, and that would be a good use our time.

But the main thrust here is that Paul is urging us to use our gifts in ministry.

To work in the area of your giftedness. And to do it with a good attitude.

He’s not saying that we will never do anything in ministry that isn’t our gift, but that we should focus our energies in the area that we are gifted for.

So, you should never elect me to the Facilities Team.

I’m just not gifted that way.

I could do it if there were no other qualified guys. I am on the facilities team at home.

But it’s not my area of giftedness. And Heather would say, “Amen!”

You’ve got me in a leadership role here. That’s more like it.

And you’ve got me teaching. That’s definitely in my gift set.

But nobody has all of the gifts. That’s why we need each other.

The focus here is to use your gifts in ministry, but it’s also to value the gifts of others in ministry.

We have a great church for people using their gifts in ministry.

I could go down verses 7 and 8 and put names to each one of those. Who is good at what, and I’d bet that you could, too.

The question is, “Are you using your gift, your gifts for the good of the body of Christ?”

Do you think of yourself as gifted?

And what are you doing about it?

For some of you, that will be a real transformation.

The world has told you (or some bad Christian teacher has told you) that you aren’t gifted. That you’ve got nothing to offer.

But the gospel says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

The gospel says that you are gifted for ministry and that you belong to the church.

And don’t get a big head about it but get busy using your gifts in ministry to others with a good attitude.

You don’t have to do it like I do. There is diversity in the church. Tons of diversity.

But you should do it like you do it.  Because there is unity in the church.

One purpose, one calling. To bring people into a life-changing disciple relationship with Jesus Christ to the glory of God.

That’s how to think of yourself:

Soberly.
As Belonging to body of Christ.
And as Gifted to help build up the body of Christ until He returns.


***

Messages in this Series:

01. All Roads Lead to Romans
02. I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel
03. The Bad News
04. Hope for Holy Sexuality
05. The Even Worse News
06. The Worst News
07. Justified
08. Father Abraham
09. The Blessings of Justification
10. How Much More
11. New You
12. Slaves Of...?
13. A Life-Changing Relationship with Jesus Christ
14. No Condemnation
15. If the Spirit Lives in You
16. The Spirit of Sonship
17. We Know
18. For Us
19. Who?
20. God's Word Has Not Failed
21. Israel Stumbled
22. God Raised Him From the Dead
23. God Always Keeps His Promises
24. Therefore

Goldfish (Carp) in Conservatory Pool

#4. How can I approach a holy God?

Christian Prayer Catechism: Question #4

Q. How can I approach a holy God?

A. I can approach a holy God only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.


The Gospel of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is what makes Christian Prayer Christian. We can now approach God in prayer through the one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). All real Christian prayer is, therefore, “cross-centered.” Through Jesus Christ alone, we now have access to the Father by one Spirit (Ephesians 2:18).

Videos on Arminianism, Calvinism, Lutheranism and the EFCA

In January, I was able to attend a mini-conference hosted by Trinity called "Soteriological Essentials and the 'Significance of Silence': Arminianism, Calvinism, Lutheranism and the EFCA." That's a fancy way of saying 3 views on salvation that are all within the bounds of our EFCA statement of faith.

These are videos from that mini-conference with professors outlining the 3 views and interacting with each other. It's not a debate but a discussion. I found the whole thing stimulating and helpful especially hearing from representatives of the views different from the one I hold. I've listened to the presentations once already since attending, and it helped me in preparing to preach on Romans 9.



Greg Strand with Introductions



Arminianism with Tom McCall



Calvinism with D.A. Carson



Lutheranism with David Luy



Panel Discussion

In the JBC: "Why Is This Sordid Story in the Bible?"

The newest issue of the Journal of Biblical Counseling from CCEF has just been released, and I have an article in it.

My article is entitled Why Is This Sordid Story in the Bible?: Four Reasons to Read about the Rape of Tamar.

You can read a preview here. It's my first JBC article that doesn't relate very closely to the problem of gossip.

In his editorial and introduction to the issue, editor David Powlison writes:

Next comes a sermon from Matt Mitchell. In “Why Is This Sordid Story in the Bible?: Four Reasons to Read about the Rape of Tamar,” Mitchell walks us through the violent and shameful details of 2 Samuel 13, which include evil scheming, rape, murder, a banished son and a passive king. It’s easy to want to avoid this story, but there are good and important reasons why it is in the Bible.

I recommend subscribing to the JBC. It's inexpensive and always worth what you pay. They are also available on Kindle.

"7 Pressing Questions" by Bill Kynes

For the last week, I've been reading a chapter per day of EFCA Pastor Bill Kynes' new book  7 Pressing Questions - Addressing Critical Challenges to Christian Faith .

Here's my review:

Bill Kynes' modest goal for this little book is not to "prove" Christianity with logical certainty. Instead, it is to show (1) that the Christian faith is a rational option to consider and (2) how it maps coherently onto both our experience of the world and the meaning of life.

I appreciated how he takes the 7 pressing questions seriously--there are no artful dodges here--and provides some solid, helpful, raw, real, and Christ-centered answers in everyday language. Kynes defends the faith without being defensive. His approach is similar to Tim Keller's and just as erudite but is more accessible for short attention spans. It would also be helpful for training Christians in how to answer the common objections to Christianity in our day and age.

Give this book to the reasonable skeptic you love and ask them to read it with an open mind.