Malachi 2:10-16

We are continuing in the book of Malachi. This morning we’ll be covering chapter 2 verses10-16. Please turn there. You can find it on page 954 in the pew Bible.

This is our fourth of eight sermons in Malachi. It’s a short book. It only has 4 chapters, but as you have seen already, it packs a punch.

Malachi’s prophecy began with a reminder of God’s electing love for Israel. But then God turns to the ways in which they have been unfaithful in response.

The overall theme of the book is God’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness.

And we will see that clearly in our text this morning. The people were demonstrating a lack of faith in God because of unfaithfulness in their marriages.

Reading of Malachi 2:10-16

Prayer

There is one relationship in life that is more important than any other. This relationship requires dedication. It’s a relationship built on forgiveness. It’s one where if you are not seeking to honor the one with whom you are in this relationship with, then you will struggle. Your path will be filled with difficulty. This relationship is that important.

I’m talking about your relationship with the Lord.

Some of you probably thought that I was going to say, “your relationship with your spouse.” Right? After all, a marriage relationship is critically important. But your relationship with the Lord is more important.

It’s tempting to see our text this morning as only applying to marriage. After all, it has plenty to say about marriage, and we’re going to get there. However, this passage is ultimately about your faith in the creator God. So, whether you are married or not, you are directed to draw near to the Lord by faith.

I don’t know if you noticed it, but the word “faithless” is used here 5 times. Look at verse 10. After asking a couple of rhetorical questions, which we’ll get to, it says, “why then are we faithless to one another.” Then immediately in verse 11. “Judah has been faithless.” Judah was the southern kingdom which was exiled, some of whom had returned. So in other words, God was calling them faithless. Now go down to verse 14. In the middle there it says, “…the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless.” That is repeated at the end of 15. “Let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.” In those instances, it is faithless to their spouse. And finally, this passage ends with this, “so guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

So, faithless. Their faithless actions and faithlessness in their marriages, displayed a faithlessness before God.

To give a little structure this morning, we’ll consider this in 4 points.

1. Faithless before a Faithful God (2:10–11a)

2. Faithless with a Faithless Bride (2:11b–12)

3. Faithless to a Faithful Bride (2:13–16)

4. Faithful despite a Faithless Bride

Those may be hard to remember, but they are printed there on page 4.

1. Faithless before a Faithful God (2:10–11a)

So again, #1, Faithless before a faithful God. Verse 10 and the first half of verse 11 begin by emphasizing their covenant relationship with God and therefore with one another.

The two questions there in 10 direct them to God. Malachi asks “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?”

They already know the answer. Yes, he is God their Father. Yes, they are his children. And yes, he is their creator. Those questions are to remind them of who God is;  who they are; and the centrality of his relationship with them. You see, before God speaks into the tangled mess of their marriage relationships, he first directs them to himself.

He also directs them to one another.

That is because their faithless actions not only reflected their faithlessness before God. But it also reflected on their faithlessness with one another. In other words, because they were in a covenant relationship with God together, anyone who broke that covenant with God, was being faithlessness toward one another. And anyone breaking the covenant with one another, was being faithless before God.

By the way, we are going to get very practical in just a couple of minutes. But before we get there, it’s critical to first understand why breaking the covenant was an act of faithlessness.

It says that by their actions, they were “profaning the covenant.” That’s  a strong statement

Let me say a couple things about it:

·      The reference to covenant here includes the promises that God made to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. God established a relationship with them as his people. He called them to be his. He gave them his law. He promised them a kingdom and that they would be a people as numerous as the sands of the sea. They were set apart by the God of all creation. It was a beautiful thing.

·      But they “profaned” the covenant relationship. They profaned it because they were dishonoring God by violating the relationship that he had established with them. They had been breaking his commands. Rather than acting in faith, some had been rejecting the covenant promises that God had given them. So, it was serious. That’s why it says in 11 that they had been faithless. They had been faithless to God and faithless to one another.

Now, I want to say one more thing before we get to the heart of this passage about marriage. In the middle of verse 11 it says that they profaned the “sanctuary of the Lord.” At the heart of the word translated “sanctuary” is the word set apart. Some believe this is a reference to God’s covenant people. They were profaning one another. And I think that’s right. It goes along with two things. First, verse 10 had just said that they were faithless to one another. And second, immediately after saying they had profaned the sanctuary, it says, “which he loves.” Remember from the opening verses of chapter 1. God loves his people.

In summary, their sin broke faith with God and with one another.

Sometimes we don’t think about that. Our sin is not only a sin against God it is sin against the covenant community. No matter our sin, it affects the community, sometimes in a more direct way, which we will see here, or sometimes indirectly. Either way, it was breaking fellowship with God and with one another.

Ok, then, but what was it? What sin had they committed which was an abomination to God and which was faithless to one another?

Well, they had been violating God’s sacred establishment of covenant marriage. They were violating it in two ways: First, many had been marrying people outside of the covenant. And second, many had been unlawfully divorcing their spouses.

2. Faithless with a Faithless Bride (2:11b–12)

Which brings us to points 2 and 3 about those two things. About unholy marriage and unlawful divorce.

Point 2 is this: Faithless with a Faithless Bride. They were being covenantally unfaithful because they were marrying outside of the faith. Right there at the end of 11. They had “married the daughter of a foreign God.” Verse 12 points the finger at some men who were doing this

When the exiles were in Babylon, all around them were not just Babylonians but also other nations that Babylon had conquered and brought to Babylon. The temptation was to intermarry with those outside of God’s covenant people. But even when they were back in Jerusalem, there were now people from other kingdoms. Part of the temptation was marrying into the people group who was in control in order to improve their plight. Now, whether it was just an attraction to someone outside of the covenant community or whether it was for economic gain, either way, it was an abomination, as God says.

And let me be very clear. This is not about race. There is nothing in the Bible that prohibits marriage between people from different ethnic backgrounds or people groups. Rather, this is about marrying outside of God’s covenant community. That is very clear at the end of verse 11, “the daughter of a foreign God.” Plus, we have several examples of women who were originally outside of God’s covenant community, but who became part of the covenant, and then married an Israelite. Think of Ruth. Ruth was a Moabite woman who was joined the covenant community and then married Boaz. Rahab is another example. She was a Cannanite, whom God spared from the destruction of Jericho because of her faith. She married Salmon.

The admonition for us is to only marry someone who shares our faith in Christ.

Let me take a moment to speak to those of you who are not married – young and old. Not everyone is called to be married. The apostle Paul wasn’t married, and he makes it clear that there are blessings to being single. But many of you have the desire to be married. Younger kids, I want to make sure you are listening as well. Marriage may be far from your mind right now. You may be thinking “eww, marriage.”  But that will likely change. So, listen as well.

If you decide to get married, the most important thing is to marry someone who shares your faith in Christ. It’s God’s command to marry in the Lord.

The world says that love is not a choice. It says that when love finds you, no matter with whom, you cannot say “no.”

But don’t buy the lie. Don’t mix up attraction with love. Love is a choice. Yes, you should be attracted to someone you want to marry, but that person needs to share your faith and commitment to your Lord and Savior. There is no such thing as missionary dating. Do you hear me? You are playing with fire if you are dating someone who you think you can win over to Christ. It’s the Holy Spirit job to change someone’s heart. Don’t go there.

The most important relationship you have is with the Lord and if you can’t share that with your spouse, it is difficult and comes with consequences.

I know several godly people who are married to unbelievers, and they would confirm that struggle. Sometimes that happens because one spouse comes to faith in Christ after getting married. Praise the Lord. If that happens, the struggle is still there. If you are in that situation, stay married. As the Scriptures say, so that you may win over your spouse.

But sometimes someone young in his or her faith marries an unbeliever. It’s only later that the person realizes the sin of it and how difficult it is. God forgives and he helps. If that is you, stay married and continue to pray for your unbelieving spouse to believe. And we will pray along with you.

But for those of you who are not married, I plead with you, if you marry, marry a Godly man or woman who loves the Lord and his Word. Not just someone who says they are a Christian, but someone who demonstrates their faith and Love for the Lord.

These verses are saying that marrying outside of God’s covenant community demonstrates faithlessness. The consequences are difficult.

3. Faithless to a Faithful Bride (2:13–16)

Which brings us to the other thing that they were doing. Many were unlawfully divorcing their spouses.

This is point 3. Faithless to a Faithful Bride. As we already saw, twice it mentions unfaithfulness to the wife of their youth. These men had made a covenant commitment to these women, yet they were walking away from their marriages. We’re not told, but perhaps some of them were the ones who then married outside of the covenant community.

Before I go on, I want to be sensitive to the burdens and pain in this room from past marriages. Some of you have endured difficult marriages that have failed. Perhaps your marriage failed because of your own sin or perhaps your spouse’s or perhaps both of you. Whatever the situation, it’s hard and there’s often relational fallout beyond the breaking of that marriage covenant. But I want you to know that God is merciful and forgiving. As you look back and either recognize your own complicity or you feel the hurt of being sinned against, know that God forgives and ministers his grace.

To be sure, God’s mercy and forgiveness is never to be a justification for an unbiblical divorce. The Scriptures are clear about divorce. Jesus spoke of divorce being permissible when sexual infidelity has occurred. Elsewhere abandonment is included. I would include abuse as a form of abandonment. These grievous sins are the only grounds for divorce.

What was happening in Jerusalem is that marriages were being annulled because a spouse no longer cared to be married. And because of it, God no longer heard them or received their offerings, verse 13. They were weeping because of God not receiving them. It was not a godly grief that led to repentance, but rather just a groaning because of the consequences.

In verse 14, they ask, “why has he not?” Why does God no longer accept us?

By the way, this is the Malachi pattern, remember. They were reaping the consequences of their sin but didn’t acknowledge their sin. And so the hammer drops again. Two weeks ago the hammer dropped on their polluted offerings. Last week it dropped on the corrupt priests. And here, it’s back to the people, some of whom were faithless by divorcing their spouses without warrant.

But they had made a covenant with their spouse. The Lord was a witness to that covenant commitment. And look at verse 15. “Did he [that is, God] not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?” They were united to one another in marriage. It’s a reference back to Genesis 1. God was actively present in bringing about that oneness. So by abandoning their marriage, they were abandoning God. And not only that, they were abandoning God’s call for them to raise their children to know the Lord. As the middle of 15 says, God desires “Godly offspring.” It would be a downward spiral of faithless future generations.

Now, not every husband or wife was walking away from their marriage. But even some who were still married were considering divorce.

We know that because it says, “guard yourself in your spirit and let none of you BE faithless.” The verse before said some of them “have been faithless.” In other words, for the ones who were still in their covenant marriage, they were to guard their hearts and minds against going down the path of divorce. And, actually, did you notice that the phrase, “guard yourself in your spirit” is used twice. Once in verse 15 and second in verse 16.

Ok, let me now speak to those who are married. Some of your marriages are struggling. And I probably only know the half of it. Every marriage has its ups and downs, but some marriages have acute struggles for a variety of reasons. And it is hard. What is supposed to be the most intimate relationship on earth, is sometimes fraught with tension and mistrust and heartache because of current sin or past sin... which can lead to more sin and cause more tension and more mistrust and more heartache.

If that is you, I want to say two things:

1. As it says here, “guard yourself in your spirit.” Do not let yourself wander to thoughts of divorce. Don’t let go of the covenant that you made to your spouse. Pursue your spouse again. Recommit yourself to your marriage. There’s a warning here of faithlessness if you pursue unbiblical divorce. So, guard your thoughts and your heart.

2. Number 2. There is help and there is hope. There is not a single elder here unwilling to help if your marriage is struggling. Please reach out. I will meet with you and pray with you, multiple times if necessary. We can also find help outside of our church if you would be more comfortable with that. But please reach out. If you do not think your marriage needs help, but your spouse does, let me encourage you to honor and listen to your spouse. Set aside whatever is preventing you from getting help.

And do not lose hope. We serve a God who is in the business of forgiving and reconciling. The forgiveness and reconciliation that he gives you, individually, is the basis for forgiveness and reconciliation in you marriage.

4. Faithful despite a Faithless Bride

Which is a nice transition to point 4. Faithful despite a Faithless Bride

I’m not talking about a marriage between a man and a woman here. I am talking about the marriage between Christ and his church. Despite the unfaithfulness of God’s people, his bride, God has remained faithful.

The marriage paradigm is the pattern that God uses all throughout Scripture to convey his faithfulness despite our unfaithfulness.

And this goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, when they ate of the forbidden fruit, their sin was spiritual adultery. They had been in a covenant relationship with God. He promised them life, but they turned against his promise of blessing and instead ate that which was forbidden.

That spiritual adultery theme continues throughout the Scriptures. God’s people were betrothed to God, but they forsook his name and committed spiritual adultery against him by going after other so-called gods from the surrounding nations.

But as we read in Hosea 2 earlier in the service, despite the people’s unfaithfulness, God promised that he would be faithful. He promised to be their husband who would protect and lead them in righteousness and justice. They would once again be called his people and they would call him their God. This is the pattern over and over in the Old Testament. The people forgot the Lord. They acted in adulterous ways like the people here in Jerusalem. Yet God was merciful… and just like here, he called them back to himself.

And the climax of this marriage paradigm in Scripture… is found in Christ. He not only sought his bride, the church, but as we read earlier in Ephesians 5, he died for her. There is no greater love. He sanctifies and cleanses her. By giving his church his righteousness, Christ presents her pure and spotless. SO not only is he faithful despite her unfaithfulness, he makes her faithful.

And he nourishes and cherishes her and leads her. And all of that will come to full fruition when he returns for the consummation of the great spiritual wedding. He will usher his people, his bride, into the wedding supper of the Lamb forever.

Beloved, this is the reason that marriage is sacred. Marriage on earth is patterned after the union between God and his people. It is why a Christian should only marry a Christian. It is why God hates divorce. It is why those who are married should fight for their marriage and not against it. It is why in a marriage relationship you should love and forgive just as Christ loved you and forgave you. It is why a husband has been called to be the spiritual leader in his marriage and home. It is a sacrificial leading. Again, as Ephesians 5 said, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and died for her.

The people in Jerusalem didn’t have this full picture, yet. They didn’t yet know of what was to come. But as we will find out in these next 2 chapters, God is going to lift the curtain and give them a glimpse of what was soon to come for them. In the meantime, they were to return in faith to God by returning in faithfulness to their covenant marriages.

For those who desire one day to be married, seek Godly spouses by faith in Christ. And for those who are married, pursue and love our spouses because God has pursued and loved you. For all of us, may we see the beauty and wonder of our bridegroom, Christ. And because of his love and faithfulness to us, may we seek to be faithful in return to him.

Please turn in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 2. Our sermon text is verses 1-9. That can be found on page 953 in the pew Bible.

Last week, we learned that the people had been bringing polluted offerings to the temple. They were supposed to bring unblemished offerings for the sacrifices. Instead, they brought lame and sick and blind animals. By doing so, they were dishonoring the Lord.

I usually don’t spend a lot of time on sermon titles. But last week’s title and this week’s title are connected. Last week’s title was The Polluted Offerings and the Pure Offering. This week, it’s The Polluted Priests and the Perfect Priest. That is because last week’s passage and this week’s passage are connected. The problem was not only that the people were bringing impure offerings. The problem was also that the priests were allowing it. And not just allowing it, supporting it and failing to lead the people in God’s way and will.

Let’s now come to God’s Word

Reading of Malachi 2:1-9

Prayer

In 1794, a young man was ordained to pastoral ministry in Berlin. He was brilliant and eloquent. This man had studied theology and philosophy at a Protestant university named after the great Martin Luther.

As a young pastor, he witnessed the younger generation in Germany walking away from the church. That greatly grieved him, as it should. But, to win them back, he developed a new kind of theology which he hoped would make Christianity more attractive to modern minds.

He began to teach that the essence of faith was not trusting in God’s revealed truth, but feeling God’s presence within. The Bible, he said, was not divine revelation itself, but a record of human experiences with the divine. Repentance gave way to sentiment, and the cross of Christ became a symbol rather than a saving act.

His name was Frederich Schliermacher. Sadly, his sermons and teaching spread across Germany. Even worse, after he became a professor at the University of Berlin, his influence spread to all of Europe and into America.

In the last two centuries, Schleiermacher’s beliefs have led thousands of churches and millions of Christians astray. Few men in modern history have done more to undermine the Gospel while claiming to defend it.

I bring this up as an example of what Malachi 2:1-9 warns against. The priests were supposed to lead the people. They were the ones who were to direct the people to the Lord and were to faithfully teach his truth. But they failed.

Look down at verse 7. I know we are jumping ahead. But this is an important verse about the role of priests. It says, “For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” The priests were not only to oversee the temple and sacrificial system, but they were to faithfully teach God’s truth. By the way, that is different from a prophet. A prophet was given new revelation from God. A priest was to teach what God had already reveled. Does that make sense?

Well, as you know, we do not have priests today. No, the priestly function in the Old Testament has been fulfilled in Christ. That is why there are no priests in the New Testament. There are no more animal offerings, because, as a reminder from last week, Jesus offered himself for us as the ultimate offering for sin.

However, there are some parallels between priests and pastors… or priests and teachers of God’s Word. Both are to direct people to God, and both are to faithfully teach his Word and live out his ways. So, a big part of the application of these verses today is about preachers and teachers. And as you will see, the stakes are high.

Now, you may be tempted at this point to check out. Maybe you are thinking, “I’m not called to teach the Bible, so this doesn’t really apply to me.” Well, I want to say a couple things.

·      First, one of the passages we read earlier in the service was from 1 Peter 2. In 1 Peter 2:9, God’s people are called a royal priesthood. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “priesthood of all believers.” In some ways, we are all to teach and model God’s Word. You may not have a formal teaching role in the church, but you may be called to disciple others at some point in your life. Or if you are married, you have a responsibility to lead or participate in leading your family.

·      Second, this passage teaches us to know what to look for in a Godly leader in the church. In the Old Testament times, the priests were descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons. However, in the New Testament, elders and pastors in the church are appointed by the church. So, we have a responsibility to seek Godly men to lead.

I’m just saying that these verses apply to everyone in the church.

Which brings us to Malachi 2.

We’re going to look at three things: #1. The Curse. #2. The Corruption. And #3. The Covenant.

1. The Curse

So, number 1. The Curse.

Briefly look at verse 1. It says, “And now, O priests, this command is for you.” It’s referring to the command in chapter 1 to bring pure offerings. Last week, our focus was on the people bringing their offerings. But the bigger problem was that the priests were letting them. The priests were not rejecting the offerings that the people were bringing. They were not reminding the people of God’s command to bring unblemished offerings. Furthermore, the priests were taking the people’s polluted offering, and they were the ones sacrificing them on God’s altar – polluting God’s altar.

Also from last week, we saw that the end of chapter 1 was all about honoring the Lord. The people were dishonoring him by bringing inappropriate offerings. But it was the priests who were leading the people to dishonor God.

That is why, in chapter 2, verse 2, God warns them. He says, “If you will not listen, if you will not… give honor to my name… then I will send the curse upon you.”

That word “curse” is used three times here. God is warning of their damnation if they do not repent. “IF you will not listen or… honor me, THEN I will send the curse upon you.”

Well, what was the curse? Three things would happen.

·      Number 1 – God would curse their blessing. In fact, verse 2 says that he has already cursed their blessing. The priests blessing was their blessing on God’s people. Quite often at the end of our worship, Coleman or I will use the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6. You probably know it well, “may the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Aaron was the first High Priest – he was from the tribe of Levi. And he and the priests were to bless the people. Well, God had taken away their blessing. In fact, he had turned their blessing into a curse. Instead of blessing the people… through their words and actions, they were cursing the people. That's very sad.

·      Number 2 – The Lord also says that he would “rebuke their offspring” – their seed. This is about the Levitical line. You see, these priests were priests because their fathers were priests. Their fathers were priests because their father’s fathers were priests. The priests in Malachi 2 were part of the priestly succession going all the way back to Levi. God was saying that their particular branch of the Levitical line would end with each of them. It was a devastating warning for them.

·      And Number 3 – this one was the worst… and most graphic. Middle of verse 3.  “I will spread dung on your faces.” It’s referring to the contents of the entrails of the offerings. When the people brought the offerings, the priests prepared the offering. They would remove the inner digestive system. You know, intestines and such. Those things were to be carried off and burned outside the temple area. It was all unclean. God was saying that the priest’s acts were so shameful that God metaphorically would spread the unclean intestinal dung on their faces. They were to be carried off like the innards to be burned. It’s a stinging warning they would be cursed like the dung.

Add those three things together and it is a pretty condemning curse upon them.

#2. The Corruption

Which brings us to point #2, The Corruption.

We’re going to move down to the second half of our passage next. We’ll come back to the middle section in a minute. We’ve already looked at verse 7 which is about their responsibility to teach. But now look at verse 8.

It begins, “you have turned aside from the way.” The priests own lives did not display the godliness and wisdom of God. They were not living out God’s commands. And that makes sense, doesn’t it. It stands to reason that if they were not directing the people to fulfill God’s commands then they themselves were not doing it.

Not in every case, but often a pastor who begins to teach false doctrine or who does not direct his people in righteousness, has himself fallen from the way.

And the result of turning aside is found in the second half of verse 8. “You have caused many to stumble by your instruction.”

I want you to think of the gravity of what they were doing. The priests were leading people to destruction. That is why the curse, as we just considered, was so condemning! Their sin not only impacted them, it impacted many.

A friend once said to me, “you know, all sin is the same before God.” He was trying to argue that his sexual sin was the same as telling a white lie. But that is not true. Yes, each and every sin deserves God’s judgment. Our sin, no matter what it is, condemns us before our holy God. No matter our sin, we need Christ. That is all true. However, there are degrees of severity with sin. It is not the same to think of murdering someone in your heart as it is to actually murder someone. Some sin, like actual murder, is more heinous. Some sin is more grievous in God’s eyes. All sin deserves God’s judgment, but some sin is more severe.

And one of the worst sins in all of Scripture is when the leaders of God’s people abuse the sheep or lead them astray. Malachi 2 here is just one of several Old Testament judgements against godless and morally corrupt leaders. Ezekiel 34, Isaiah 56, Jeremiah 23, and Zechariah 10 all speak of God’s condemnation of the “corrupt” and “worthless” so-called “shepherds” and “watchmen” of Israel. Think of Jesus anger against the Pharisees. Or in James chapter 3, verse 1, it says “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Now, if you’re a math or science or English teacher, the Lord is not necessarily talking about you. Rather, his greater judgment will be upon teachers in the church.

That is why the hammer is so heavy here in Malachi 2. They, themselves, had fallen from the way and they were leading people astray.

You need to fire me… the moment I begin to teach false doctrine. If I ever start teaching things contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ or in direct contradiction to the Word of God, I should no longer be allowed to be a minster. I think you know this, I’m talking about tier one things that are very clear in Scripture. Things that we share with the Bible-believing Protestant world.

For example, that salvation is found in Christ alone. There is no other way. Jesus death on the cross satisfied the wrath of God, for those who believe in him. We receive Jesus’ righteous when we come to him by faith and in repentance. And furthermore, that the Bible is the very Word of God. It testifies to its own authority. You should boot me out if I ever undermine essential doctrines like those.

You also need to fire me… the moment I commit a sin that undermines my responsibilities… like abuse or infidelity or a pattern of ongoing sin that is not being delt with or of which I will not repent. Obviously, like any elder, I sin and need the grace of God. However, just like the priests of old, a leader in the church should model faith and repentance.

3. The Covenant

Which brings us to that very point. #3 The Covenant

In the middle verses here, verses 4-6, we are given the picture of what a priest should be like!

By the way, you’ll see the word “Covenant” used several times in these verse. When I first saw that, I thought it was referring to the Covenant of Grace. You know the covenant that God had established with his people. The Covenant of Grace includes the covenant with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. They all, in different ways, are part of the Covenant promises fulfilled in Christ. After all, verse 7 speaks of life and peace and reverent fear. Those are all benefits of God’s Covenant with his people.

However, I realized that the word Covenant here is actually referring to the specific responsibility that God had given to Levi and his descendants. Verses 4, 5, and 8, specifically refer to God’s “covenant with Levi.” To be sure, the priestly order and responsibilities given to Levi directed God’s people to the Messiah, so it’s not unrelated. But it’s different.

By the way, there’s not a single passage in the Old Testament which describes the covenant with Levi. However, we are given their priestly responsibilities in the book of Leviticus. That is why it is named Leviticus, of course. Also, we read from Deuteronomy 33 this morning which speaks of God’s blessing upon Levi and his descendants. They were to keep the covenant; they were to observe and teach the word. The Levites were also to administer the offerings on the altar, and they were to protect the people from false teachers.

And now look at the end of verse 5 into verse 6. “…he feared me.” As we talked about before, that’s a reverent worship-filled fear of the Lord. “He stood in awe of my name. [verse 6] True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.” That description is the opposite of the priests of Malachi 2. It’s the model.

The priests were to give honor to God’s name. They were to teach the truth of God’s Word. Furthermore, walk with God in uprightness. And instead of leading people astray, they were to turn many people from sin.

This is God’s call for teachers and pastors in the church.

I read a really good book last year. It’s titled, Pastor as Leader. The author, John Currie, is a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary. He teaches and trains future pastors. The whole book is about the character and responsibilities of a pastor. The book is very rich and it’s full of Scripture.

Currie summarizes a pastor’s role this way: “for the glory of God, a man of God, appointed by the Son of God and empowered by the Spirit of God, proclaims the word of God so that the people of God are equipped to move forward into the purposes of God together.” That’s helpful, isn’t it? Let me read that again… [repeat]

That really captures the heart of Malachi 2:5-6.

This is the kind of pastor that each and every church needs. A man who seeks God’s glory and not his own. A man who leads his sheep in God’s Word through his Spirit, and who cares for and loves them in Christ.

I’ll say, it’s both sobering and inspiring to me. It’s sobering because I know my own weaknesses and propensity for sin. I know I’ve failed at these responsibilities many times and perhaps even at times have hurt you without even knowing. I feel inadequate.

But it’s also inspiring because God doesn’t call without equipping. He doesn’t leave pastors to their own strength. No, God gives clear guidance to the role and responsibilities of a shepherd. His Word clearly reveals his salvation and clearly reveals his truth and his way. God furthermore gives his Holy Spirit to lead in righteousness and truth. And God provides earthly accountability in the process.

And there’s one more related thing. Look again at verse 6. “True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.”

Who is this referring to? Is it referring to Levi? Well, Levi failed in many ways – he was vengeful and a murderer.

What about Aaron, one of Levi’s descendants? He was Moses’s brother and the first High Priest. Is verse 6 referring to him? Well, don’t forget that it was Aaron who led the people to melt their gold and create the idolatrous golden calf. He, at first, led many people astray.

Verse 6 certainly doesn’t describe Aaron’s sons, who brought unauthorized fire and experienced God’s immediate judgment.

In Numbers 25 we are given the example of Aaron’s grandson, Phinehas. He was identified as a faithful Levite who fought against unrighteousness. Perhaps verse 6 alludes to him.

But in the end, there is only one who meets this description. He is the one in whom all the Levitical requirements are fulfilled. He is the perfect High Priest. Every single word he spoke was true instruction. Absolutely no wrong was found on his lips. He followed the way of God, keeping all the commandments of God. He not only walked in peace, as verse 6 describes, he bought and brought peace with God - peace beyond measure. And last, he turned many from iniquity. And the word “many” is a vast understatements. He had led billions in the way of truth and righteousness.

Beloved, this is your Savior Jesus. In him is truth and righteousness, and through him is the only way to God.

May each and every one of us as a priesthood of believers look to him for he is the way, the truth, and the life.

 And may every single pastor and teacher point to him as the great shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep… and may they point to his Word.

And may we each follow his lead and model for he is the perfect priest.

Malachi 1:6-14

The Polluted Offerings and the Pure Offering

We are in the second week of a new sermon series. We’re studying Malachi. It’s the last book in the Old Testament.

Malachi was prophesying to the returned exiles in Jerusalem…. at some point in the mid-400’s BC. However, even though many had returned, the situation was pretty dire. That is why the Lord reminded the people in verses 1-5 that he loved them. He had chosen them to be his people. They had been questioning God’s love and thy needed that reaffirmation.

Which brings us to verses 6-14 of chapter 1. You can find that on page 953.

As you are turning there, let me note that at this point in history, the temple had already been rebuilt – likely a few decades earlier. That meant that the sacrificial system had resumed. People would bring their offerings to the temple, you know, different kinds of animal offerings, and the priests would take them and sacrifice them, presenting them to the Lord.

As we come to our text this morning, you will hear that all was not right with the offerings.

Stand

Reading of Malachi 1:6-14

Prayer – revealed your righteousness. Truth. Like the people of old, failed. HS. Conviction. Ways in which we do not glorify you in our lives and worship.

A few years ago, a woman found a Butterball turkey at the bottom of her freezer. She had forgotten about it and after checking the date on it, realized it had been there for 26 years.

She wondered if it was still good to use, so she called the Butterball support line. They said that as long as her freezer had stayed below freezing for the entire time, the turkey would be fine to eat. However, the support agent said, it likely has lost all its flavor.

To which the woman responded, “if that’s the case, I’ll just give it to my church.”

I know that’s just an anecdotal story, but it does illustrate how we often today de-prioritize the things of the Lord including his church and worship and our personal and family Scripture reading and prayer. But as God has called us to in his Word, we’re to honor him with our first fruits, or like Mary Magdelene, to anoint Jesus’ feet with the finest of perfumes, or like in the sacrificial system, to present to him our unblemished offering, not our leftovers.

But what does it mean to offer to the Lord our finest and why does it matter? I hope to answer those questions this morning.

Introduction

Before we get into our text, I do want to note that the book of Malachi is pretty intense. We are going to see in every section how God confronts the people and the priests with their sin - their corruption, their idolatry, their immorality, their faithlessness, their selfishness, and their lawlessness. God hates it. He hates our sin. His judgment is real, which we will also see over and over. Which brings up a question you may be asking, “ok, well, how does that fit with last week’s message that God loves them? That his love for them and us is unconditional? Yet he is angry at their sin?”

Let me answer that this way: God’s unconditional love does not give us license to live unconditionally. 2x. In other words, we are not free to do whatever we want just because God love us. God’s standard and law do not go away when you receive God’s love in Christ.

To be sure, pursuing God and his commandments are not a prerequisite to receive his love. No, God’s love is unmerited meaning we do not earn it by our works or keeping his law in any way. No, we receive it on the basis of Christ’s work. But that does not mean that after receiving his love in Christ, we are free to pursue our own desires and will. No, God calls us to submit to him, to pursue his righteousness, to honor him in our lives. That is very important as we study Malachi. God continually calls out their sin because he loves his people. He wants them (and us) to reflect that love by honoring him.

Honoring and Fearing the Lord

Which brings us to our text. In fact, this whole passage is about honoring the Lord. It is about our hearts reverently fearing him.

Honestly, I didn’t see that initially. The first couple of times I read it, I only saw the failure of the people to do the thing. You know, they were failing to follow the law. They did not offer the best sacrifices, as they were required. Therefore, I thought that the primary reason the Lord was angry was because their offerings were polluted. Now, it’s true that their offerings were unacceptable. But the Lord was angry because they were not honoring him. Their polluted offerings were just a symptom of hearts that did not fear or honor God.

That’s the thrust of this passage. It’s right there in the beginning, the middle, and the end.

·      First, look at verse 6. God questioned why they had not been honoring him and fearing him? He said to them, “where is my honor? … where is my fear?” He was asking, “why have you not been giving me the reverent awe and worship that I deserve as the God of the universe?” Instead, they were despising his name. That’s what it says. They were dishonoring him.

·      Next, jump now to verse 11, in the middle. It says, “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations.” Even if you do not honor me, my name will be honored throughout all the earth.

·      Now look at verse 14. Our passage ends with that same reaffirmation. It begins, “Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.” Why? Listen to the reason. “For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.”

You see, their polluted offerings revealed hearts that did not honor and fear the Lord. God is the great king over all the earth, over all of creation. Yet they were despising and dishonoring his name.

And do you know what? They did not even realize it. Or, they denied it. Look at the end of verse 6. “But you say, How have we despised your name?”

Side comment here - I’ve read Malachi several times now, and there’s something I’ve been convicted about. The people did not realize their sin nor the depth of their sin. In every section, like this one, God tells them their sin and every single time, he quotes them question him. Like here “How have we despised your name?” And verse 7 “How have we polluted you?” They didn’t see it.

I’ve been asking myself, what sin am I blind to in my life? Is there pride or selfishness or some heart idolatry or some area where I am dishonoring God? Every single one of us in this room is blind to some sin. Now, there are many sins in our lives which we know about and struggle with. But there’s also sin that we do not recognize, or we suppress. Will you pray that the Lord reveals that sin, that unconfessed sin? And will you listen to him when he does? May the Lord reveal our sin and refine us.

Ok, back to our passage, the returned exiles did not know they were dishonoring God. But it was bad. They were polluting God’s altar. Their relationship with the Lord revolved around the temple sacrifices. God had commanded them to bring animal offerings of different kinds for different sin on different occasions. The priests were to take the people’s offerings and then sacrifice them to the Lord on the large altar just outside of the temple. Those offerings symbolized the need for atonement for their sin. That is why, as we read earlier in Leviticus 22, they were to bring an unblemished male… the very best and purest of their flock.

But, as we read in Malachi 1, they failed to do that and they therefore despised the Lord’s name. By the way, the priests were especially guilty here. More on that next week.

Now, let’s enter back into their situation for a moment. Remember from last week, even though they were in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, they were subjected to a foreign kingdom. That came with heavy taxation. It came with some opposition at the local leve. Much of their forefather’s land had been taken over by this godless people. On top of it all, they were enduring a famine. Every day, they struggled to survive.

Now, imagine that you lived there and that you had 5 goats. You had to care for and feed them. There wasn’t, you know, kudzu everywhere for them to eat. The younger females would produce milk, and you could use and sell the milk. The healthy males were especially valuable – and they could be sold if needed. Your goats were important for your daily sustenance.

Well, the time has come for one of the annual sacrifices. You are to bring one of your 5 goats to offer to the Lord. And out of the five, three of them are female. You couldn’t offer them. Of the two left, one is a healthy male and the other male has a bad rash and is sterile – it’s unable to reproduce.

So, which goat would you bring? I know it’s hypothetical, but put yourself in their shoes. Their unblemished male goat was their prized possession. Offering it would put themselves at risk. So, what did they do? Well, they brought their weakest or sickliest animal to the temple to be offered.

As very 8 tells us, they brought their blind, or lame, or sick animal to present to God Almighty. But it gets even worse. Look at verse 13. It’s the parallel verse in the second half. We learn that they didn’t even want to bring any sacrifice! The people were saying, “what a weariness this is” and as it says, they snorted at it, you know, like a horse unwilling to move.

It furthermore says some even took animals by force for the offering. In other words, they stole and offered what was not even theirs to the Lord. IN all these ways they profaned God’s altar.

I think we can certainly understand their temptation. But they were dishonoring the creator God of the universe who had commanded them to offer their best…. He’s the one who breathed life into them, who called them to be his people, who rules and reigns over all things, who promised them eternity with him. He is the great God who saved Noah and his family, who covenanted with Abraham their forefather, who revealed himself to Moses, and promised through David a kingdom that would never end.

And look at the second half of verse 8. God points out that they would never bring such a gift to an earthly governor. The Lord asks, “will he accept you or show you favor?” Of course they would not bring a sickly goat to an earthly ruler as a gift – it would greatly dishonor him.

Yet that was the very thing that they were doing to the “Lord of Hosts.” Did you notice that description of the Lord multiple times here – seven times. The Lord of hosts. The Lord of the heavenly armies, king of kings, who has and will subject all earthly rulers under his sovereign reign. Yet they had defamed his great and awesome name.

Their worship… because that’s what this is – their offering to the Lord… their worship was complacent. They were simply going through the motions. They didn’t care about God. After all, as we learned in verses 2-5, they weren’t even sure he loved them.

Friends, in difficult times, it is easy to slip into a similar pattern. God can become just an afterthought. Instead of giving him our whole heart and mind and body and strength, he’s often at the bottom of our list.

Instead of giving back to him the first fruits of the talents he’s given us, or the first fruits of the resources which we steward; or our most precious resource – our time; instead of honoring him with those things, we direct them to ourselves. We keep our unblemished offering and we offer him our polluted offering.

What about Sunday morning worship? Are you bodily present here but your mind is wandering to things of work, or yesterday’s football game, or your upcoming vacation? Do you let your mind wander to those things including your difficult situations and struggles? Are you going through the motions, but your heart is far from the Lord?

If you were in the presence of the governor of Georgia, would not your attention be fully on him? I think it would. Yet, when you come into the presence of the Lord of the universe, is your attention on other things and not worship directed to the one who created you and who loves you and who invited you into his very presence?

And what about those Sundays that you are not here? Are you travelling because flights are the cheapest on Sunday mornings? Are you at the beach and make excuses that because you are in God’s beautiful creation that you don’t need to worship with God’s people? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t enjoy travel, but God desires us to be worshipping together with his people. If you are out of town, find a Bible preaching church where you can worship the Lord with other believers in the splendor of his holiness. Find a church where you can exalt his name and where his Word is declared, where you can give him glory in your hearts and praise him with others lifting your voices together to the one who is worthy.

You see, in all of these ways, and many more, we are complacent in our worship of God. I’m talking about both our gathered worship and also how we are to worship God in all of life.

And then there is verse 10. It’s like the nail in the coffin. “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!” In other words, it would be better if someone barred you from bringing your sacrifice to the temple. It would be better not to bring any sacrifice than the vain polluted offering that reveals your wayward heart and which despises my name. Or as the Lord put it in Revelation 3, writing to the church in Laodicea, “Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The Lord is not mincing his words here. They had profaned God’s mercy and holiness. God would have been just to consume them with the fire of his eternal judgment.

Yet, he didn’t.

These verses called them to forsake their vain, polluted, and heartless worship. God desired his name to be honored. He was calling them to return to him… to repent… to once again come to him in reverent holy fear. Instead of bringing their polluted offering, they were to once again bring a pure, unblemished offering.

There was an even deeper reason why their polluted offerings were profaning the name of Lord. Yes, they were breaking God’s commandments. And yes, their offerings revealed hearts that were complacent. But even more so, they were disregarding the Messiah. They were defaming Christ, who had yet come.

You see, all of the sacrificial offerings were set in place in anticipation of a Messiah, of a deliverer, who would come and who would be the perfect sacrifice. He would be the unblemished perfect offering. The sacrificial offerings in the old covenant demonstrated the need for a pure offering to once and for all atone for their sins.

And so, by offering their sick and blind and stolen offerings, they were rejecting God’s promise that he would send a pure, righteous Savior who would be offered in their place for their sin. It was a matter of faith. Their difficult situation did not relieve them from trusting in the future promise that a Messiah would come and would be the pure offering.

This is what verse 11 is alluding to. God’s name will be great in all nations. As it says, “in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering.” To translate that, incense was the sweet aroma which signified the prayers of God’s people. Psalm 141 speaks of our prayer being an incense before God. And in both Revelation 5 and 8, the incense in the golden bowls were the prayers of the saints which would rise to the very throne room of God.

The Lord was saying to them, a time will come when throughout all nations, prayers would be offered to the Lord, and a pure offering would be made.

And that time has come. Jesus has come and he has offered up himself as the pure offering. His sacrifice has fulfilled all the sacrificial offerings of old. But more importantly, he has satisfied the debt of our sin before our holy God.

And so why do we seek to honor God in our hearts when we worship? Why do we seek to be obedient to his commands to worship him well? Why do we set aside this particular day to gather together and praise the Lord? Two answers:

·      First, because when we do, with hearts tuned to him and his mercy, we honor our Lord. We bring great fame to Jesus our Savior. Our prayers are received in his name as a holy aroma to our God. God is both honored in our lives and his glory and name is displayed for all to see.

·      Second, we seek to worship him well because he is the pure offering. As John the Baptist said, Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We worship him with grateful hearts because of his mercy and forgiveness. Our worship is a testimony of true faith in him. He enables our worship. He is the center of our worship. And we will be worshiping in his presence forever.

Even in those days of trials and pain and temptations and grief (especially those days), come before your great God and your Savior, honoring and fearing his great name.

So, leave your 26 year-old Butterball turkeys at home. Give him the first fruits of your time, your talents, your resources. They are all from him, anyway. Furthermore, plan your trips around the Lord’s day and worship with God’s people, in person together.

And when you come to worship, focus your hearts and minds on him. And do all of this because of God’s great name and because Christ, our Savior, has offered himself, for you. Amen.

Malachi 1:1-5 - From Doubting God’s Love to Declaring God’s Love

We’re beginning a new sermon series this morning. We’ll be in the Book of Malachi for the next couple of months. You can find Malachi chapter 1 on page 953 in the Pew Bibles.

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, so if you can find the book of Matthew, turn left a couple of pages.

We’ll begin with verses 1-5.

One note before I read. In these verses, you will hear of a reference to Edom. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau. That will be some helpful context.

Reading of Malachi 1:1-5

Prayer

When I was in high school and college, I spent a few summers working at a Christian camp.

Well, one particular summer, one of my fellow counsellors had a very difficult camper.

This kid was, I think, only in 1st grade. And he was rambunctious. He was mean to the other campers. He struggled to follow rules. He didn’t want to participate in activities.

In those moments, his counsellor would get down on one knee to his level, and try gently instruct him. During dangerous activities, like archery, his counsellor would often have to hold his hand, to keep him safe. Of course, the other boys in his cabin would get angry at him. Their counsellor would always intervene and remind them all to speak kind words to one another.

Well, one afternoon, things escalated. The counsellor tried to calm his camper down, but the boy lost it and started screaming. Literally, the whole camp could hear it. They were in the middle of a big group activity, so his counsellor had to gently carry him away.

As this young boy was being carried away, he kept screaming over and over, “I hate you.” “I hate you.” To which his counsellor calmly responded over and over, “I love you.” “I love you.” Their back and forth slowly faded as they passed out of sight.

The camper, of course, didn’t understand that his counsellor did love him. He didn’t know what love really looked like in that situation. To this boy, it didn’t appear to be love at all.

Maybe some of you who are parents have experienced something similar.

Well, as we get to Malachi chapter 1, God’s people, likewise, were questioning God’s love. It didn’t feel like God loved them. But he did. And in response, God mercifully reminds them of his love.

Most of us here today have at one point or another cried out to God. We’ve questioned whether he was even there or if he was loving. Maybe that is what you are feeling today.

My hope and prayer that you will leave here with a renewed or new sense of God’s love for you.

Introduction

As we get into the book of Malachi, let me first mention some background things.

Malachi is one of 12 books called minor prophets. They are called “minor” not because they are less important but because they are shorter. We don’t actually know much about the prophet Malachi other than that his name means “messenger.” He was a messenger from God.

As we will find out next week, he lived in Jerusalem. And based on the themes in the book and its position in the Old Testament cannon, Malachi prophesied sometime during the middle of the 400s BC. He very likely overlapped with Ezra and Nehemiah. At that time, some of the exiles had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, and the temple had been rebuilt.

The last thing to point out is the word “oracle” right there in verse 1. It’s used throughout the Old Testament when a prophets were given a particularly burdensome word from God. Oracle, in fact, means burden – you know, like a heavy load that an animal would carry on its back and the weariness or distress that it would bring.

When the word “oracle” is used to describe a prophetic utterance, it is conveying the weight of that prophecy. As we work our way through Malachi, we are going to see the weight of this prophecy. Over and over, God very clearly calls for repentance from grievous sin, and God warns them if they do not return to him.

However, before all of that, God begins with a reminder of his love. And that is what verses 2-5 are about.

If you turn to page 4 of your bulletin, you can see where we are headed.

·      First, God’s Love Doubted. Verse 2.

·      Second, God’s Love Defended, the end of verse 2 through verse 4

·      And third, God’s Love Declared, 5

So, God’s love doubted, defended, and declared.

1. God’s Love Doubted

We see right there in verse 2 that the people doubted God’s love for them.

 “I have loved you,” says the Lord, but you say, “how have you loved us?”

By the way, this is the pattern throughout Malachi. God quotes the people questioning him, and then he answers. It’s the organizing framework for the book.

How have you loved us, Lord? It sure doesn’t feel like you do.

This was a difficult time in Jerusalem. We don’t often think of it that way because, after all, the people were back in Jerusalem. The temple had been rebuilt. However, socially and economically, it was a very unstable time.

Yes, the Persian kings had supported the return and rebuild, but that did not mean prosperity. No, the people experienced a lot of trouble and opposition. Taxes were high. Jobs were scarce. They were in the middle of a famine. The people had to mortgage their fields and vineyards and houses just to survive. Some even forced their sons and daughter into slavery. We know those things from Nehemiah 5. All of it weighed heavily on them.

And think about their expectations. God had promised through Isaiah and Jeremiah a return from exile back to Jerusalem. The people had in their minds the glory of the former unified kingdom – you know, prosperity and peace. They pictured Solomon’s temple restored to its original beauty and splendor. I’m sure some even pictured a return of the national power that Judah and Israel had once had.

But their expectations came crashing down with the reality of their situation. They couldn’t lift their eyes to see beyond each day… because of the difficulty that each day brought. It was not peace and prosperity, it was survival mode.

And in their minds, who was at fault? God. And so, they were asking, how have you loved us, Lord? Where have you been?

Have you or are you asking that?

Lord, do you love me? It sure doesn’t feel like it. I can’t find a job or it’s hard to financially survive each day. Or I’ve lost a parent or a spouse or a sibling or a child. Or even harder at times, my relationship with my son or daughter is estranged, or I’ve endured the pain of divorce. Or my health is deteriorating more each day, Or I struggle with chronic pain or a debilitating disease. Or my loved one is.  I feel all alone. Or I’ve been a victim of abuse or false accusations.

Lord, where are you? Do you really love me?

Maybe someone told you this well-known phrases once: “God has a wonderful plan for your life.” Have you heard that before? It is one of the most unhelpful statements in evangelicalism. I’m not saying that it is not partially true. Stay tuned for that.

But becoming a Christian does not mean that you will experience peace and prosperity in this life. To be sure, being a Christian does come with many blessings on earth. Blessings in relationship and community with one another in the church. Blessings of worship and prayer, and many others things. But if we expect that our days on earth will be filled with temporal success or health or relational flourishing, we will become deeply disappointed. And it may cause us to question God’s love.

I want you to note something in verse 2. Before the Lord quotes their questioning of his love, he begins by affirming that he does love them.

“I have loved you.” By the way, that word “love” is not the word “hesed.” You know, God covenant lovingkindness. Rather, that word for “love” is the word “ahab.” It is a word for love that focuses on a loving relationship. It’s God’s love for them as his people whom he chose to be his people.

In fact, the verb form indicates that God’s love for them has been accomplished and it is definitive. It’s like saying, I *did, I do, and I will * love you. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. God has, does, and will love his people.

What I want to say to wrap up this first point is that in those times of doubting God’s love... in those times when you are burdened by your suffering… or when you are wondering where the Lord is, God calls you to first remember that the Lord does love you.

But rather than just leave it there, the Lord goes on to defend his love. He explains the source of his love.

2. God’s Love Defended

That brings us to #2. God’s Love Defended.

In the second half of verse 2, the Lord returns their question with a question himself. He asks, “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” And then reminds them of his love for Jacob and his hatred for Esau. The Israelites are Jacob’s descendants.

Now, the reason that God reminds them about Jacob and Esau is because Jacob and Esau demonstrated both God’s unmerited love as well as his just anger.

Back in Genesis 25 and following, we learn about Jacob and Esau. They were both sons of Isaac. Twins, in fact. Esau was born first, so Esau was to have the privileges of being the firstborn, authority in the family, the blessing of Isaac, and a large share of the inheritance.

But if you remember, Jacob took advantage of Esau. When Esau was famished, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. And then Jacob lied to and tricked their father into blessing him instead of Esau.

Even though Jacob did not deserve it, God chose him and chose his descendants to be his people. Esau and his descendants, on the other hand, were rejected. You see, neither deserved God’s love, yet God chose Jacob. Jacob and his descendants were the ones who received God’s promise.

But, back to Malachi, there was the problem. To the people in Jerusalem (you know, the returned exiles), it sure felt like God loved Esau’s descendants and not Jacob’s. As I mentioned earlier, the Edomites were the descendants of Esau.

In fact, in some way, they partnered with or supported Babylon in the destruction of Jerusalem a hundred years earlier. We’re not told how, but we’re told elsewhere that Edom rejoiced in Jerusalem’s destruction. The prophet Ezekiel even mentions that Edom took vengeance against Judah. So, it’s possible Esau’s descendants even participated in Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem.

Let me make a side note here. There is some evidence that after the Babylonian exile, another nation overthrew Edom and the Edomites were forced to move. There is also evidence that at this time Edom began rebuilding just south of Judah. If that is true, it certainly explains verses 3 and 4. They were displaced by jackals, as it says, but they began to rebuild.

I’m telling you all this because in these verses, God is both affirming his love for his people… and he is letting them know that even though Edom appears to be prospering again, it will be short-lived and their destruction would be eternal.

In contrast, the suffering that God people were experiencing would be short-lived but their prosperity would be eternal. Why? Because God chose them to be his people. He loved them with an undeserved and unconditional love.

Beloved in Christ. There are or will be times in your life when it seems like the enemies of faith are overcoming you. I’m talking about sin, death, and the devil. You will have moments when you are questioning God’s love because you don’t see a path forward. Your pain, suffering, grief, loneliness, or disappointments may overwhelm you at times.

But if God has given you the gift of faith in Christ, you are one of God’s chosen descendants of Jacob – his spiritual descendant. And God loves you. Does God have a wonderful plan for your life? Yes, because all his and your enemies will be defeated and one day, you will be rejoicing for eternity in his presence.

Do you see what I am saying. This passage, for them and for us, is ultimately fulfilled in the unmerited love of God in Jesus Christ. God chose all his people to be his people, not because of any self-worthiness. No. Just like with Jacob, despite our sin, God chose us to be his people. He called us in him before the foundation of the world. And God’s judgment against Edom is the judgment that Jesus bore on the cross for his people.

What I am saying, is that in those moments of despair and doubt. Remember not only that God loves you, but remember that he has called you to be his through Christ. And one day, God will defeat once and for all the very burdens that are weighing you down.

Just a week and a half ago, I was at an event where a missionary shared about a very difficult time. He and his wife were serving in Rwanda back during the difficult civil war there. It was tragic. Neighbors turned on neighbors. In a single day, a million people were killed. In one incident, a group or Christians fled to their church building. Their pursuers broke in and slaughtered every single one of them. As you can imagine, seeing all of it overwhelmed this missionary and his wife.

But then it became more difficult. Because, soon after that, his wife went into premature labor while there. Their son was delivered but the hospital didn’t have the expertise or medical equipment to save him. He died after only 5 days of life. This missionary described the deep struggle that he and his wife went through. They questioned God’s love and goodness in all of it.

They searched for answers.

He then recounted how Job demanded God for answers. And how God answered Job back and asked, “where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”

And then this missionary said this: “Job never got answers, but he got presence. And in that presence, he worshipped.” That really struck me. God does not promise that we will not suffer in this life. But he does promise that he loves us and will be with us… and one day he will defeat his and our enemies forever.

This missionary closed by sharing how they were drawn back to Jesus and God’s love for them in him.

3. God’s Love Declared

Which brings us to point number 3. God’s love declared.

For the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem, both their worldview and their perception of God was small.

Remember, God had promised them many things. He had promised a Messianic king. He had promised a restoration of a kingdom beyond what could be imagined. He promised to defeat their enemies. And that was part of their struggle. None of it seemed to be coming to pass. In fact, for them, it seemed to be getting worse rather than better.

They forgot God’s love and his promises, and they lost hope.

What they needed was not only a reminder that they were God’s chosen people whom he loved. They needed a reminder of his future promises. Verse 5 says “Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!’”

Most prophecies in the Bible have a more immediate fulfillment but also a future redemptive fulfillment. For the immediate, there is some historical record that the Edomites were soon overcome by both Greek and then Roman conquests.

But I think verse 5 is really meant to draw their attention to the future. To point them to a coming king who will be victorious, not only in Israel, but as verse 5 says, beyond its borders.

It’s like God was saying to them through Malachi, “Yes, I love you, but I also want you to lift your eyes up from your suffering to see what I will do! It will be far greater than you can imagine. Not only will the enemies of faith be destroyed, but you will see the greatness of my salvation to the world”

As you may have figured out, it was still about 450 years before Jesus’ birth. God was not saying that those particular people in Jerusalem would see the ultimate fulfillment of this verse. Perhaps they would see Edom overcome. But remember, the Lord was speaking to Israel. It is through them that that Savior would come. This is the last period in their history before Jesus came. And when he came, he would bring salvation not only to Israel, but his electing love would greatly expand beyond the border of Israel to the world.

Beloved in Christ, you and I are part of this promise. We are here today worshiping our God who has saved us because God has and is fulfilling this promise to Israel. Christ has come and His Gospel is going forth in mighty ways throughout the earth.

This is part of God’s reminder to us when we are doubting his love. Yes, we can rest in the fact that we are God’s people. We have his love in Christ. But in times of suffering and disappointment and grief and despair, we can lift our eyes up to see what God is doing all around us and around the word. It is truly amazing. And by seeing what God is doing, believing what he will do, we can and should then declare his love to the world.

As verse 5 puts it, “you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!’”

From doubting God’s love to declaring God’s love.

Conclusion

As we close, let me briefly say that these opening verses are the foundation to the rest of Malachi. We’re going to see over and over the sin of the people, the sin of the priests, and the Lord’s call for them to repent and return to him.

Malachi begins where they needed to begin… it begins where we need to begin. Knowing and believing in God’s saving and electing love in Christ.

So, in our doubt and discouragement and pain, may we know and believe in God’s undeserved love for us in Christ – he has chosen us in him. May we lift our eyes to see what he is doing, and may we declare the greatness of our God in all of it. Amen.

Over the last 6 weeks, we’ve been talking through our vision, mission, and philosophy as a church. We started with 4 sermons on the pillars to our ministry.

·   First, being a faithful church, which begins with God’s faithfulness to us in the Gospel.

·   Second, the means through which God applies his grace in us – which are his Word, prayer, and the sacraments.

·   Third, the overarching theme of the entire Bible, God’s covenant promises and their fulfillment in Christ.

·   And forth, God’s appointed leaders for his church – elders.

And now we are applying those pillars to our worship, our discipleship, and our missions. Last week we focused on worship – that is, corporate worship. This week’s focus is on discipleship, and then next week, we will conclude with missions and outreach.

Please turn to Matthew 28 in your Bibles. Our first of two sermon texts is what we call the great commission. Matthew 28:18-20. That is on page 993 in the Pew Bible.

You may be wondering why our sermon text is the great commission, yet our focus is on discipleship. Well, that is because this passage is about discipleship. You can’t really separate missions and discipleship. In fact, worship is in the mix as well. Discipleship begins in worship and includes missions. They all overlap.

Reading of Matthew 28:18-20

Our second sermon text is from 2 Peter chapter 3. That is on page 1209 in the Pew Bible. 2 Peter 3 verses 14-18.

This is one of the more traditional passages related to discipleship. The apostle Peter has just written about the second coming of Christ. And then Peter writes these very important words as far as our godliness and our knowledge of Jesus Christ, as we wait for the new heavens and hearth.

Reading of 2 Peter 3:14-18

Prayer

If you were to survey 1000 pastors and you were to ask each one for a definition of discipleship, you would get 1000 different answers.

Some would focus on relationships. Others would focus on Bible study. Some would center their answer on serving. Others would say it’s about being real. Others would make the case that discipleship is all about missions. Some would say that it is about God’s kingdom – kingdom discipleship. For others, it’s life-on-life ministry. Others talk about sonship – being sons of God. Yet others describe it as head, heart, and hands. For some, families are the most important thing. For others, the church is key. Some say discipleship is about self-denial and taking up your cross.

And we ask why? Why are there a gazillion definitions of discipleship?

Well, I think the main part of the answer is quite simple.

The word “discipleship” is not in the Bible. It is therefore difficult to come up with a Biblical definition for that reason. To be sure, the word “disciple” singular and “disciples” plural are in the Bible. It’s just that the word discipleship is not. It’s is a word that we’ve come up with to capture the task of making disciples. The word discipleship seeks to answer the “how” questions. How do we make disciples of Jesus? Discipleship is about implementation. That is why there are so many definitions.

And so, I think it’s better not to come up with a single approach to discipleship. Rather, I think it’s best to first understand what a disciple is, then second, consider the foundations to making disciples. And only after we do that, can we evaluate discipleship approaches and start identifying our own principles.

Here’s what I am saying… rather than trying to come up with a definition of discipleship, it’s better to consider the broader Biblical framework for the task of making disciples. That framework can then be used to evaluate discipleship approaches.

By the way, this is an impossible task. I’m not talking about identifying the Biblical principles for making disciples, I’m talking about trying to preach on it in one sermon. I realized this on Friday afternoon. I thought, what have I got myself into? There is no way to fit this into a 30+ minute sermon. I also thought, I’m looking forward to getting back to our regular expository sermons in a couple of weeks.

But we are here now. And many of you have mentioned that this series has been helpful. So, I’m going to press on and try.

1. What is a disciple and what is the call?

As I mentioned, let’s begin with the question, what is a disciple?

Let’s start by looking at Matthew 28. These verses give us a good foundation on what a disciple is and what a disciple should pursue. And we know these verses well. Matthew 28 verse 19 – “Go therefore and make disciples.” By the way, much debate has been had about the underlying Greek words, especially the word “go.” We’re not going to “go” there today. Let me simply say that the imperative here is to “make disciples.”

The call is to bring people from not following Jesus to following Jesus. That is what the word disciple means - a follower. Being a follower includes, of course, believing in Jesus, but it implies a lot more. It includes a commitment to Jesus’ teaching, and his ways, and pursuing his commands… just like Jesus’ 12 disciples did.

So the call in Matthew 28 is to “make disciples” and that involves two things here. First, it’s bringing them into the covenant community. That’s what Baptism is. It includes either being part of a household, like circumcision in the Old Testament – that’s one reason why we disciple our children. Or it includes those coming into the covenant community for the first time as believers in Christ. So that’s the first task.

Second, making disciples also includes teaching the commandments of God. That is captured in verse 20. After the call to baptize, Jesus adds, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Being a disciple requires learning God’s commands and pursuing them.

I think that all makes sense because that is what a disciple is and what he does. He believes and follows Jesus.

And the message to make disciples is simple. Faith, repentance, and obedience.

Matthew 28 does not speak to the message. But Jesus has been clear. The Bible is clear. The core message is repentance from sin and faith in Christ. That is what we call our children to, and it is the call for all humanity. Obedience is part of that call. It comes after faith and repentance, as a response to God’s grace. Again, Jesus said, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

However, let me say this. The call to faith and repentance does not end when we come to Christ. No, actually, faith, repentance, and obedience is the ongoing call for a disciple. Ongoing repentance from sin; an ongoing renewal of our faith; and an ongoing commitment to observe the commandments of God.

Now, just to be sure, when you come to faith in Christ, you are secure in him. You are forgiven of your sin. That does not go away. Rather, renewing your faith in Christ, repentance from ongoing sin, and new obedience are in response to God’s saving grace. I just want to be clear about that.

Now, you may be thinking, “well, yeah, isn’t that obvious? Of course, a disciple should believe that Jesus died for his or her sin and should believe that we need to pursue holiness despite our ongoing sin.”

Well, the reason you may think those two points are obvious is because we teach them. We teach the heinousness of our sin before our holy God. We teach that the only path to God is by faith, repenting to God of our sin and trusting in Christ as our Savior. We teach that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is necessary to atone for our sin. And we teach that in our redeemed state, we are still sinners. We are redeemed sinners who struggle with sin but are empowered by God’s Spirit to pursue holiness – and God calls us to pursue him. That is the Gospel.

But let me say, that message is not emphasized in many parts of Christianity. Often sin is minimized. The word “sin” is not seen as culturally sensitive today. And so, some circles replace it with words like “brokenness” or “struggle” or “woundedness.” I am not saying that we are not broken nor struggle nor have wounds. But when those ideas are used in place of sin and not in connection to it, then the underlying problem of our separation from God because of sin is suppressed.

What I am saying is that the task of making disciples of Jesus begins and ends with faith, repentance and the call to observe Jesus’ commands.

2. How do we mature as disciples?

Ok, let’s move on to a second helpful question. Let me ask you, how do you mature as a disciple of Jesus?

It’s important to ask that question because the Bible calls us to mature in our faith. We call that maturity sanctification. It is the ongoing work of God’s Spirit where more and more we die to our sin and live to righteousness. The task of making disciples needs to include that lifelong pursuit. All throughout the Bible we are called to grow in our faith. We’re called to be conformed to the image of Christ. We are called to be filled with the knowledge of his will. Hebrews 5 calls us to mature from milk to solid food like children. Ephesians 4 calls us to mature into manhood, growing up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. In 2 Timothy 3, we’re to know the Word that the man of God may be equipped for every good work. Romans 12, we’re to renew our minds.

We would be here all day if we were to go through every single passage that speaks of being conformed more and more to Christ. Rather than doing that, I picked one example that I find to be very helpful as a representative passage. 2 Peter 3:14-18 – it was our second sermon text. If you’ll turn there.

This is one of my favorite passages about our sanctification.

We’re going to focus on verse 18, but I don’t want to overlook the context.

The apostle Peter had just written about Christ’s second coming when he will make all things new. While we are waiting, we’re called in verse 14 to “be diligent” that we may be “found by him without spot or blemish…” And then a couple of verses later in verse 17, there is a warning against sin. It says, “…take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people...”

Then we get to verse 18 which is my favorite. If you only remember one thing about this sermon on discipleship, I want you to remember this verse. 2 Peter 3:18. It says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” I love it. Let me read it again. “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Look first at the titles given to Jesus. Lord and Savior. He is to be both. He is to be Lord over us as we live. We look to him, as Lord. He is to lead us in what is true and right and good. But Jesus is not only our Lord. Jesus is not just a model for living. His teaching includes more than just commands about how to live. He is also our Savior. He has redeemed us. He calls us, as I mentioned earlier, to faith and repentance.

And the command in verse 18 is to grow in two things: grace and knowledge of him.

·   First, we are to grow in grace. That is, more and more we need to see our sin and the depths of his mercy and love. We are to grow in our understanding of the cross and the hope of the resurrection in our suffering, and grief, and pain. That is all growing in grace.

·   And second, we are to grow in our knowledge of him. We need to know his Word, not for the sake of head knowledge but for the sake of knowing him, knowing God, in his fullness, and living out his commands.

You see, when it comes to discipleship, verse 18 is so very helpful. It directs us to the core things that discipleship needs to be about. It direct us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And that is very consistent with the rest of Scripture.

A few weeks ago do you remember that I sang you a song during my sermon? Remember it? “Read your Bible, pray every day, and you’ll grow, grow, grow.”

That was probably the first and last time that I’ll do that. Remember that we talked about the ordinary means through which God changes us. And what are those ordinary means? God’s Word, Prayer, and the sacraments. We considered Acts 2:42, about the early church, and we looked at Hebrews 4 as well as 1 Corinthians 10.

Our sanctification, that is, our growth in grace, comes through the Holy Spirit’s work in us as we engage in these appointed means – (1) reading and studying God’s word, (2) praying to the one true God of heaven and earth, and (3) participating in the visible signs through which he shows us the Gospel and strengthens our faith, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

And to tie that back to what I mentioned earlier, through those means, we are called again and again to repentance, to a renewal of our faith, and to further observance of and obedience to God’s word and will.

Here’s what I am saying. Any discipleship approach needs to include some aspect of those foundations. I’m not saying every discipleship approach needs to include all of it. But every discipleship approach needs to direct us toward maturing in Christ by… revealing our sin and his grace and commands… or directing us to God Word, prayer, and the sacraments. It is through those avenues, that God conforms us more and more to his image.

·   So, if a discipleship approach is only about loving as Jesus loved but mentions nothing about sin nor Jesus’ call to repentance and faith, then it falls short.

·   If a discipleship approach is all about being a better husband or wife, or a better doctor or electrician, or a better neighbor, but there’s nothing about the grace of God in Christ and being conformed to him and his commands, then it falls short.

·   If a discipleship approach is about the disciplines of the Christian life, but does not focus on knowing God’s Word and being in prayer, then it falls short.

I could go on with more examples. My point is that the Scriptures do give us a framework for making disciples. And that framework needs to be at the heart of our discipleship approach.

Discipleship at Tucker Presbyterian

Which brings us to our church – Tucker Presbyterian. Given what I’ve said already, how are we seeking to make disciples?

By the way, it’s entirely impossible for me to answer that question over the next 10 minutes.

But I do want to let you know that on the welcome table is a draft of our new philosophy of discipleship. We, as your elders, have been working on this for the last 2-3 months. It includes the foundations to discipleship, which I’ve just mentioned, but also includes our priorities in discipleship and how we desire to work those out… in worship, in our children and youth ministry, and our adult ministries, which includes our men’s and women’s ministries.

I can’t cover it all, but I do want to highlight 8 priorities or principles of our discipleship.

1. We believe discipleship begins in worship. This is really important. Corporate worship is where the means of grace converge, as I mentioned last week. God works through our worship, including our family or private worship. Through worship, he conform us to him as we declare salvation in Jesus Christ and praise God for his grace and mercy.

2. In our discipleship, we desire to foster a heart for missions – a heart for our neighbor and a heart for the nations. In other words, disciple making involves disciple making, which is calling people to faith in Christ. More on this one next week.

3. Discipleship needs to direct people to the local church. Local congregations, where God’s covenant people gather, are God’s ordained avenues for worship, discipleship, and missions. The sign of baptism is the sign of our ingrafting into Christ and therefore ingrafting into one another as a body of believers.

4. We seek to disciple one another across generations. God’s call for the church is to be a people of God together. We want our members, old and young alike, to know and care for and support one other in the task of discipleship. To be sure, we do not believe this should be the exclusive pattern. As Proverbs teaches, a brother is born for adversity, and as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. There is value in peer discipleship, but often times, churches overprioritize that and not intergenerational discipleship.

5. Every single one of us is called in one way or another to the task of making disciples. You may be a parent, you may be an ordained leader in the church, you may have been given one of several Holy Spirit given gifts mentioned in the Bible such as teaching or knowledge or wisdom. Even if none of that applies to you, you are still called to be a witness to your neighbor or co-worker or family member. We are all to be disciple makers.

6. This next one is about children and parents. Parents are ordinarily to be the primary disciplers of their children. However, not all children have believing parents or parent, nor are all parents available for different reasons. The church needs to support parents and children in the discipleship endeavor.o

7. Church discipline is a matter of discipleship. Two months ago, when we were in 2 Corinthians chapter 13, we considered the responsibility that the church has to disciple those whose sin is destroying the family of God or whose sin is unrepentant and grievous. We can’t unpack all of that here, but that sermon is out on our website and podcast. And let me remind you that the goal of church disciple is always repentance, renewed faith, and restoration.

8. Finally, number 8. Discipleship needs to happen in the context of fellowship. In Acts 2:42 intentional fellowship, or koinonia fellowship, is included with the means of grace. Fellowship is important. We believe discipleship happens in relationships with one another because we are brothers and sisters united together in Christ.

So, those are our priorities in discipleship: the priority of worship, a heart for missions, the centrality of the local church, discipleship across generations and in support of peers, assisting parents, church discipline, and all in the context of deep fellowship.

Conclusion

In summary, we do not believe there’s a one-size-fits-all pattern for implementing discipleship. However, that does not mean that all discipleship approaches are good. We need to evaluate each according to God’s pattern for making disciples which he has given in his Word.

And at its core, that pattern for making disciples involves (1) calling each other to faith and repentance and obedience in Christ, and (2) directing one another to the Word, prayer, and the sacraments. It is through those means that God will grow us in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Over the next 3 weeks, we’ll be working through our beliefs and practices in our worship, discipleship, and missions.

Really, these are the implications of the last 4 weeks… and how our foundational beliefs apply in those three areas.

So, today, we’ll focus on worship. And I do want to remind you that we have a philosophy of worship document. It’s next to the welcome table. That document gives the reasons behind the elements of our corporate worship. We’ll be talking through many of those today.

We have two sermon texts listed, Leviticus 10:1-3 and John 4:1-26. We will also be considering the second commandment from Exodus 20. We read earlier in the service.

Please turn to Leviticus chapter 10. You can find that on page 104 in the Pew Bible. This is a difficult passage. Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu make an unacceptable offering to the Lord. And they were met with God’s immediate judgment.

Reading of Leviticus 10:1-3

Reading of John 4:1-26 – Our second reading is from the Gospel of John, chapter 4. Please turn there. You can find that on page 1056. This is the account of Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well.

Reading of John 4:1-26

Prayer

We live in the age of personalization. You can configure your home screen, your playlist, your news feeds, your chicken sandwich. Certain apparel can be tailor-made to your liking. If you buy a new car, you can pick exactly the features and colors you want before it’s even manufactured. A new home can be customized to your desire, including picking a floorplan, your kitchen cabinets, your flooring, the color of your walls, your bathroom tile and vanity, and the exterior look.

And those things are kinda nice, because, you know, we have different likes and preferences.

Well, Nadab and Abihu learned the hard way that the worship of God is not on the customizable list. That is, how we worship God is not something that we get to decide, but rather has been decided by God himself.

Now, I want to acknowledge that Leviticus 10:1-3 is a sensitive text. It’s hard to read and think about because here are two men who were coming before the Lord. Their father, Aaron was the very first High Priest among God’s people. He was Moses’s brother. But in that very moment when Nadab and Abihu came to the Lord, they were consumed by the fire of God’s wrath. They did not die in an accident nor were they killed by another man. No, it was God himself who inflicted his judgment directly on them.

And I’m sure you, like me, have many many questions. God, where is your mercy? What did they do to deserve this? Or how about this question, which you may also have: Do I deserve the same judgment?

Well, the answer to that last question is “yes.” Yes, I do. Yes, you do.

You see, one thing that this passage reveals is why Christ Jesus came and was crucified.

Jesus suffered the wrath of God in place of his people for the very reason that Nadab and Abihu were killed. God is a holy and just God. His judgment against sin must be satisfied. Nadab and Abihu experienced what Christ endured for those who turn to him by faith.

I wanted to say that up-front to relieve any undue burden for those of you who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. The holy justice and judgment of God, which Nadab and Abihu suffered, Jesus bore on the cross for you.

But that does not mean that Leviticus 10 only speaks about God’s justice and our need for mercy.

No, it also shows that God cares about how he is to be worshiped.

1. Worship According to God’s Word

Our worship, meaning, what we are doing here and now, our corporate worship, needs to be submitted to God’s Word.

That is the foundational thing that I want us to consider this morning. We need to worship according to what God has prescribed for us. I’ll begin by arguing that principle from a couple of passages, and then we’ll apply that to our worship this morning.

But first, back to Nadab and Abihu. They had been given the ceremonial requirements that the priests were to follow. In fact, right before they offered their unauthorized fire, Moses had presented all of God’s requirements for the priestly offerings and then their father, Aaron, made the first offerings to God based on those commands.

But Nadab and Abihu failed to meet them. They were supposed to consecrate themselves and their incense before coming to the Lord. That consecration involved a ceremonial cleansing which indicated their need to be holy in God’s presence. But they didn’t do that and they therefore suffered the immediate consequences of God’s holiness.

As I mentioned earlier, that event reveals the need for cleansing work of Christ, who makes us holy. So, Nadab and Abihu’s lack of obedience to God’s commands for worship… revealed that their hearts didn’t believe in the justice of God nor the Messiah who was to come.

Let me put it this way, God prescribes his worship to reveal his character, our need, and his mercy in Christ. The sacrifices and offerings of old directed the people’s attention upward to God and forward to Christ who was to come. The bottom line in Leviticus 10 is the need to trust God and worship him according to his commands.

Now, more could be said about Leviticus 10, but I want to move on to a second passage in the Bible that also reveals this principle. In fact, this second text is the most important passage about worship in the entire Bible. It’s that important. I am referring to the second commandment. We didn’t read it as part of our sermon text this morning. We read it earlier in the service. But let me re-read part of it. Exodus 20 verses 4-5

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.”

Now, you may be thinking. “Ok, yes, we should not have idols, but isn’t that commandment really about other gods?” And the answer is “yes” and “no.” Yes, because it in-part refers to creating something that we worship that is not God. But the answer is also “no” because it’s refers to not creating a carved image or any likeness, as it says “that is in heaven above.” God is in heaven. In other words, we are not to make images or likenesses of God himself.

In fact, I would argue that is the primary point of the second command. The first command is that you should have no other Gods before him. The second command is saying that if we make images, even if we make them to represent God, we are not worshipping God, we are instead bowing down to something that is not God at all.

Let’s go back to when God gave Moses the 10 commandments. God had just miraculously saved his people from slavery in Egypt. He had just made a path through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptian army. God brought them safely to the base of Mount Sinai. And Moses is then called to go up on the mountain, where he is given these very commands carved on stone.

But back down the mountain, Aaron led the people to melt down their gold and make a golden calf and worship it. But do you know whose image they thought they were worshipping? They thought they were worshiping Yahweh. God himself. But they were gravely mistaken. They had come up with their own worship. Instead of worshiping the one true God, their idolatry was a false worship, and they received judgment. Why? Because God alone is to be worshiped and worshiped according to his commands.

That has huge implications for our worship, doesn’t it? We want to worship the Lord well. Our responsibility is to worship the Lord according to his Word and not according to our whims or our creative devices or the world’s ways.

Now I think this is obvious, but I want to say it anyway, just to be sure. The Old Testament sacrifices and offerings are no more. All those priestly observances and the annual festivals have been fulfilled in Christ. The second half of the book of Hebrews makes that really clear. Our worship no longer includes those shadows which pointed forward to Christ, but rather, our worship now focuses on Jesus and his sacrifice for us – the salvation we have in him. I just want to be absolutely clear about that.

Let me summarize so far. God desires to be worshipped. He is the only one worthy of worship. But our worship of him needs to be conformed to the pattern of worship that he has given us in his Word, as the second commandment teaches and as Nadab and Abihu learned the hard way.

We believe that principle is really important for the church. And so we seek to conform our worship to the pattern given in God’s Word.

2. What has God prescribed for our worship?

Which brings us to THE important question. What exactly has God prescribed for our worship?

We’ll spend the rest of our time on that question.

But first, a quick story. My first time in London I was at a series of conferences. And one of them was at a Pentecostal church – I think it was a Toronto Blessing church. Some of you may have heard of that before. Anyway, in the middle of a worship service, people were barking in the Spirit… like literally making animal noises. It was very disconcerting to me. I know that’s an extreme example of worship not according to God’s word. Another one like that would be snake handling. Of course, we set those aside. But let me ask you this: is it ok in worship to have skits? You know, dramatizations…or what about some kind of dance? Or what about movie clips? I just want to get you thinking.

Let me begin to answer the question about worship by going back to the foundations that we’ve talked about over the last few weeks. Because, our foundational beliefs especially come to bear in our worship. So let’s reconsider them with that I mind

Number 1 from four weeks ago: We looked at the church in Antioch which was faithful in three things - their devotion to Christ, their commitment to doctrine, and their desire to fulfill the great commission. Remember: the master, the message, and the mission. At the heart of those three things is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And the heart of our worship needs to be those three things. (1) a heart devotion to Christ as we praise God for our salvation in him, (2) the amazing doctrines of truth as we acknowledge God for his glory and grace, and (3) the declaration of his work throughout the world.

When Jesus was talking to the woman at the well about worship, he said “a time is now here when the true worshippers will worship Father in Spirit and truth.” Our worship needs to be grounded in God’s revealed Word, his truth, and empowered by his Holy Spirit. That means that our worship cannot be a empty going-through-the-motions kind of worship. Rather our worship needs to be Gospel saturated and Spirit led, as the Holy Spirit works in us as we praise the Father for the ministry of his Son.

You can call that the heart of our corporate worship.

Number 2 from three weeks ago: The ordinary means of grace. Remember what those are? God’s Word, prayer, and the sacraments. Those means of grace are the content of our worship.

God uses those appointed means to give us his grace, which changes us. And those means of grace converge in corporate worship. Infused throughout our worship are God’s Word, prayer, and the sacraments.

A couple of years ago, some out-of-town friends of mine were visiting. And after the service, one of them said, “there is so much Scripture in your worship service.” It was said, I think, to imply almost too much. But it warmed my heart. Besides our sermon passage, we have other readings. We often include responsive readings from the Psalms. Our call to worship and our benediction are from the Scripture. Our confession of faith is most of the time right from the Bible as well as our assurance of pardon. We intentionally fill our worship with God’s Word.

And as you know, also throughout our service, we pray. We open with our adoration to God. We confess our sin. We intercede for our needs and those of our community and world. We pray for God’s kingdom work in the world. We pray for the Holy Spirit to illuminate us before the sermon. We pray after the sermon and before and after the Lord’s supper. And. ss you probably hear, many of our prayers are filled with Scripture.

And speaking of the Lord’s Supper, in our worship, we celebrate the visible signs that God has given us – his sacraments. Both the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. They are part of worship as they display forth God’s covenant promises, including our union with him and one another and the cleansing work of Jesus Christ.

God’s Word and prayer and the sacraments are the primary content of our worship.

Number 3: In our third sermon in this series, we considered how God’s Covenant with his people is the unifying theme of the Bible, from Genesis (the first book) to Revelation (the last book). It connects God’s people in the Old Testament to us, the church today. Our worship emphasizes God’s creation, the fall, redemption in Christ, and the final consummation when he returns. We read from the Old Testament and the New including the Law and the Gospels. Our practice of Baptism likewise aligns with our belief in God’s covenant promises given to the next generation. Our sermon series rotate between the various genres of the Bible including the history portions, the wisdom literature, the law, the prophets, the Gospels, and the New Testament letters. And … each and every sermon always includes how our passage fits within God’s plan of redemption.

Ok. Number 4: Last week, we talked through our belief that God has ordained elders to lead his church. Their role is to shepherd the flock of God, comforting us in times of pain and grief, leading us to Jesus, calling us to repentance and righteousness and faith, protecting us from those who would seek to hurt us or lead us astray, teaching us the Word, and giving us godly wisdom in life. And I would include in the list of their responsibilities, leading our worship. Preaching, praying, and administering the sacraments. That is part of shepherding the flock.

By and large, that captures our public worship. Out of hearts that love the Lord and his church, we praise him for his Gospel, we pray to him, we focus on his promises and commands and their fulfillment as his Word reveals, and we practice the ordinances that he has given us in the two sacraments of the church.

But of course, there is one more thing that we cannot forget! Singing!

The scriptures are full of songs. When the Hebrew people were freed from their slavery in Egypt, they sang a new song. After the last supper, Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn and went to the mount of Olives. The Psalms are a book of songs! Furthermore, we are commanded to sing. In Ephesians and Colossians we’re called to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. And we seek to fulfill that.

As you may know, we sing 2-3 Psalms from the psalter portion of our hymnal every month. But actually, we sing more Psalms than that because many of our hymns are based on Psalms.

And while it is wonderful to sing the Psalms, we do not exclusively sing the Psalms. That is because the Messiah has come. Jesus has come. Many of the Psalms allude to the coming of Christ, but they are veiled. Well, Christ has come, and we can sing of the cross, as we did today, and of Jesus’ resurrection. So, we sing God’s word from the Psalms, and we sing of their fulfillment in Christ. We sing rich hymns, as you know, old and new, from all eras of church history.

I’ll never forget an experience I had back in the early 1990s. I was travelling with a college choir to Eastern Europe. We visited several churches in different cities like Prague and Bratislava. On the only Sunday that we were there, we worshipped at a church in Oradea, Romania. It was a pretty big church. I think maybe 500 people. I remember not being able to understand what they were saying – the service was in Romanian. But then, they started singing Great Is Thy Faithfulness… in Romanian. It was very powerful. Mind you, this was only 5 years after the Romanian people overthrew their communist government. Their pastor had been in prison until that time. Through all of that, God was faithful. As they sang, we joined in English. It was wonderful to sing across cultures as well.

And, as you also know, we sing with instruments. Nine of the Psalms mention being written for stringed instruments and 13 other Psalms mention instruments in their songs.

Other places in the Old Testament mention trumpets, harps, flutes, and cymbals. In the book of Revelation, harps are mentioned in heaven, as the angels and saints sing a new song to the Lamb. And so we lift our voices, supported by instruments, as we worship in song.

But of course, singing a cappella is also beautiful, and so we sing without instruments once or twice in a service. Now, I’ll have to be honest, the cafeteria here is pretty unhelpful acoustically. I can’t wait to someday be in a space that supports our worship in song. Maybe soon. Let’s pray for that.

And finally, we occasionally have our children’s choir or our adult choir sing. Choirs and singers are mentioned many times in the Psalms. In Nehemiah 12, two great choirs participated in the dedication of the wall and then immediately in the temple worship service. To be sure, we all sing, but at times choirs lead in song, presenting a musical offering to the Lord.

In summary, at the heart of our worship is God’s faithfulness to us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is out of our love for the Lord and his Word that we seek to worship him in Spirit and truth. And so, in our worship we read and declare the truths of God found in his Word; we confess our sin and rejoice in God’s forgiveness in Christ. We preach God’s Word testifying to its unity and God’s plan of redemption in Christ, as we seek to apply it to our lives. We pray throughout and we sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, seeking to give glory to God in all of it.

As we close, I want to say one more thing about our worship. We often fail. At times our hearts and minds are distracted. At times, our prayers or preaching are weak. Other times, we struggle to believe, or the elements of our service are lacking. But I want you to leave you with this: We have a savior in Jesus who is not only interceding for us, but who is perfecting our worship. As God the Son, he is perfectly worshiping the Father and the Spirit. And they likewise are worshiping him. We serve a God who perfectly exalts himself, and as believers by grace, through Christ, our worship is offered in Spirit and truth.

May we as a church know this…  and in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and through his Spirit, may we pursue worship not conformed to the pattern the world but conformed to the pattern given in his Word. Amen

As many of you know, we just had our church’s 5th anniversary a couple of months ago. Because of that, we have been taking a few weeks to walk through our foundations as a church and how those work out in our ministry.

We started 3 weeks ago with our calling to be faithful in three things: faithful in our devotion to God, faithful to Biblical doctrine, and faithful to the great commission. We considered the church in Antioch as an example of a church that was faithful in those ways.

Then 2 weeks ago, we talked through the primary means through which God changes us. The Holy Spirit works through God’s Word, Prayer, and the Sacraments. We call those the means of grace. Our worship, our discipleship, and our mission revolve around those means of grace.

Then last week, Coleman preached on the central unifying theme of the Bible - God’s Covenant promise to his people which he fulfilled in Jesus. God’s Covenant with us is what ties together the Old and New Testaments including God’s covenant people of old and the church today. That covenant theme affects our teaching and prayer and ministry and really, our lives.

That brings us to our focus for today. The question is, why do we call ourselves a Presbyterian church? What does that mean and why is it important for us?

We have two sermon texts this morning. The first is from Acts chapter 15. Please turn there. You can find Acts 15 on page 1098 in the pew Bibles. We’ll look at verses 4-21.

This passage is about the Jerusalem council. Remember from three weeks ago, the church in Antioch had sent the apostle Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem. They were to work with other elders and apostles concerning an important matter in the church. Our verses this morning are about the council itself.

Reading of Acts 15:4-21

Our second reading is from 1 Peter 5:1-5. Please turn there. That is on page 1206. The apostle Peter is writing to the church scattered across Asia minor. In the prior chapters, he has been encouraging them in their persecution, and then Peter turns to address the elders and their role.

Reading of 1 Peter 5:1-5

Prayer

Every single organization in the entire world shares one thing in common. I’m talking about corporations, non-profits, governmental agencies, countries, states, counties… social clubs, and sports team … Each and every one of those organizations shares one thing in common. They all have leaders.

Some leaders are effective, some struggle. Some are inspiring, some lead by example, some you want to follow, others you don’t have a choice.

From the world’s perspective, good leaders are often identified as strong and decisive. They are the take-charge kind of people who are willing to take risks and make hard decisions and sometimes whatever it takes to be successful.

Well, that leadership model is a far cry from God’s call for leaders in his church. No, rather, the church is called to raise up shepherds of God’s flock. Elders. These men are not to be like army drill sergeants or naval commanders. They are not to be heavy-handed CEOs or brash politicians, or whip-you-into-shape coaches.

No, elders in the church are called to care for your soul and to pray for you. They have been entrusted to lead in matters of eternal consequence. They are therefore to be humble like our chief shepherd, Jesus, who humbled himself and laid down his life for us, his sheep.

Elders are to serve. They are to pour themselves out for us, as God’s sheep.

Now, you may be asking, what does all of that have to do with being a Presbyterian church?

Well, actually, it has everything to do with being Presbyterian. The word presbuteros is the Greek word for elder. The plural is the word Presbuteroi, elders. We are a Presbyterian church because we believe that God’s design for leaders in his church centers around elders.

Given that, what I want to do this morning is argue for two things related to elders:

Number 1, that God has prescribed elders to lead his church.

And number 2, the model for elder leadership goes beyond the local congregationals.

That is where we are headed. And by the way, this is not the first sermon we have had on elders. We have had a couple of them. It’s usually when we have opened nominations for elders and deacons. In those sermons, we’ve mainly focused on the Godly character qualities of the officers, as both Titus chapter 1 and 1 Timothy chapter 3 reveal.

Today, we will not be focusing on the qualifications of elders. But I don’t want you to get the impression that those are not important. No, those qualifications are absolutely critical.

Rather, my goal today is to make a Biblical case for the role of elders in God’s church.

1. Elders as God’s Prescribed Leadership

Number 1: elders (presbuteroi) are God’s prescribed leaders for his church.

And the first thing I want to say is that if we take the New Testament as a whole, we are given two offices for the church – elders and deacons. I’ve already mentioned Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3. Titus 1 speaks of the qualifications of elders and 1 Timothy 3 speaks about the qualifications of both elders and deacons. Broadly speaking, the word deacon is the word for servant. Deacons are entrusted with the mercy needs of the church family and stewardship of tangible needs. Elders, on the other hand, are to minister to the church’s spiritual needs and are to oversee the church.

The word elder, itself, presbuteros, refers to someone mature, typically older. In the Greco-Roman culture of the time, it referred to those with wisdom and dignity who were counsellors or advisors. Often the word elder was used in a formal way as a title, like the elders of the city.

In the New Testament, elders were to be able to teach. In other words, one application of their wisdom and knowledge was the ability to convey it to others.

Let’s now look at 1 Peter chapter 5. Verse 1 uses the plural of the word elder. And then we are given a beautiful description of the role. Elders are to shepherd the flock of God. And what does a shepherd do? A shepherd cares for the sheep under his care. He protects them from danger. When they wander, the shepherd seeks them out. The shepherd’s staff is used to keep the sheep close to the fold but also to fend off predators, like wolves.

The primary role of an elder is, in fact, to “shepherd the flock of God.” That command is right there in verse 2. By the way, the word shepherd is the word for pastor. They are one in the same.

Shepherding includes comforting us in grief and pain by pointing us to the hope of Christ. Shepherding includes directing us away from our sin and toward righteousness. It is reminding us of God’s promises and the forgiveness we have in Jesus. Shepherding is guiding us in the wisdom revealed in God’s Word - wisdom for life. In all those ways, elders are spiritually caring our souls.

Also in verse 2, shepherding involves “exercising oversight.” Do you see that phrase? It is having a responsibility over us – a spiritual authority. But the apostle Peter is clear, elders are not to take advantage of the flock, nor be domineering over the flock, but are instead to be examples to the flock. They are to spiritually oversee us - caring for and loving and guiding us.

By the way, there is something very important here. The root word for oversight is the Greek word episcopos – an overseer. Does that sound familiar? Episcopos. It’s where the episcopal church gets its name. In the English, besides being translated overseer, it’s sometimes translated as bishop.

Let me say this. We believe the New Testament uses the word elder and bishop or overseer interchangeably. They are merely two roles of one spiritual leadership position.

Let me give you four examples of this synonymous use:

·      First, our 1 Peter 5 text right here, verses 1 and 2. An elder is described as having the responsibility of oversight. Both words are right there.

·      Second, in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he addresses the saints in Philippi which include overseers and deacons. The word overseer in Philippians 1:1 is the plural of the word episcopos. Paul is identifying the two offices of the church. But in 1 Timothy 3, he uses the word elder – persbuteros in place of overseer. In that chapter, he refers to elders and deacons. In other words, Paul is not creating a new office for an elder. Rather, he’s simply referring to one and the same office.

·      Third, and related, in Titus chapter 1, verse 5, Paul directs Titus to appoint elders in every town - presbuteroi. Then in verse 7, he describes their qualifications. He begins with the phrase “For an overseer” – episcopos. He’s just commanded Titus to appoint elders and then describes what these overseers should be like. Again, both words are used interchangeably – elder and overseer.

·      Fourth, earlier in the service we read from Acts 20. The apostle Paul had called the elders of the church in Ephesus to meet him. He refers to them as presbuteroi. But then when he is speaking to them, he says this “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” He refers to the same group as both presubteroi and episcopoi.

Personally, I think that is pretty clear. God’s plan for his church is to have elders, who oversee the flock of God. Put simply, an elder equals an overseer equals a shepherd. They are one and the same

Just so you know, I did not grow up in a presbyterian church, but in my early 20s, I came to the conviction that a presbyterian form of church government is God’s design for his church. That’s partly why I am here today.

To be sure, there are many many faithful churches that are not Presbyterian. We are all first and foremost, Christians. We believe in the atoning death of Jesus Christ for us. He died in our place to break the bonds of our sin and pay our penalty. When we come to him in repentance and faith, we are made righteous in him. Furthermore, we believe in the resurrection. We believe in eternal life. I want to be very clear about that. That Gospel is the very center of what we believe, and we share that belief with many churches.

But we also believe that the Bible speaks to other less important things, and one of those is God’s leadership plan for his church. We are presbyterian for that reason.

Now, before we move on to point number two, let me make one side note here. All the examples in the Bible of elders are men. Furthermore, the description of the roles and qualifications are focused on men. Because of that, we also believe that the office of elder, which includes pastors, is reserved for men. We believe that is God’s design. That belief in no way diminishes the worth or dignity or respect of women. There is no inferiority in that pattern that God has given. There are also many many other ways that women serve and lead in the church. We just believe that God has given spiritual authority and oversight in the church to qualified Godly men.

I know that is not culturally popular. However, we believe it is what the Bible presents as God’s design. If you would like to talk through that more, I would be glad to. Please reach out to me.

Let me summarize this first point. God, through his Word, has given us his pattern for leadership in his church. That leadership comes through elders who faithfully serve and shepherd the church of God with humility. They are entrusted to care for, guide, oversee, and protect God’s sheep, you and me.

2. Elder leadership in the visible church

That brings us to point number 2. God’s appointed elders are to work together to oversee the broader church. In other words, the elders of our church have a responsibility to support other churches. And the elders of other churches, have a responsibility to support us.

Think about this. Probably 99% of organizations in the world have a leadership hierarchy. Think of a business. You have the owner or president at the top. Then you have several people who report to him or her, like CEOs or CFOs. Then below that you have middle management, and it works its way down to the various workers.

Well, a presbyterian form of government is very different. There is no top. We don’t have a pope. There is no archbishop of Canterbury. We don’t have a hierarchy of bishops and cardinals we certainly don’t have priests. We believe in the priesthood of all believers. The temple curtain was torn in two when Jesus was crucified. Jesus is our high priest and we can go to him directly.

What I am saying is this: one implication of elders leading the church is elders leading the church. Instead of a top-down hierarchy, the presbyterian form of church oversight is shared and it’s representative. It’s like an upside-down pyramid. The higher you go, the more elders you have in oversight.

Let’s look at the example in Acts 15, which we read. As I mentioned, this is called the Jerusalem council. It happened because a theological division had come to several local churches. We are not going to consider the specifics of the disagreement. We actually did cover that a few years ago when we went through the book of Acts. Today, we’ll just consider how the council worked.

The particular issue was causing division and confusion. So, what did the apostles and elders do? Well, they gathered together in Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas were sent by the church in Antioch. They were welcomed by other apostles and elders, verse 4. We learn here the council included the apostle Peter and the apostle James. And look at verse 6. It says, “The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.” In fact, that phrase, “the apostles and the elders” is used 5 times in this chapter.

And what did they do in this council? Well, they deliberated. They listened to arguments from both sides. They took turns speaking. They considered the Scriptures. And in the end, they decided the matter. Later in chapter 15, we learn that they wrote down their decision and they distributed it to the churches in Antioch, Cilicia, and Syria. Now look at verse 28. This is an important verse. “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements:” And then they went on to describe the particulars. You see, the Holy Spirit worked through the apostles and elders in this council.

We believe this is the model of oversight that the church is to have. There are no other layers. No bishops, no cardinals, no popes.

In this council, it was just apostles and elders together. And to be sure, the apostles filled a unique role at this point in redemptive history. In our 2 Corinthians study we saw that the apostles were given unique gifts. Nowhere in the New Testament are new apostles to be appointed. Rather, it is elders which are to be appointed in every town.

Do you see what I am saying? Elders from different churches are to work together to oversee the broader church. That is the presbyterian model of church oversight.

On a quarterly basis, a subset of our elders at Tucker Pres gather with elders from other churches in the Metro Atlanta area. We pray, we oversee men who desire to be pastors, we support church plant efforts and support the Reformed University Fellowship campus ministries in our area. Occasionally we work through difficult things like when elders break their vows and hurt their people. We care for those churches and families. Spiritual discipline is often involved in those difficult situations.

Occasionally there are theological matters to discuss. Often those theological matters are considered at our annual assembly, which includes elders across North America and some from across the world. Just three months ago, a question about Christian Nationalism arose. As you know, that’s a sticky subject. And so at our denomination’s assembly, we approved a study committee to review the range of beliefs about the relationship between Christianity and the state. That committee will consider the Scriptures and it will report back next summer or the summer after on how we should be thinking about these matters from a Biblical worldview. When that report comes back, it will be a matter of deliberation just like in Acts 15. That is just one example of many.

Now, I do not want you to think that your elders here are spending hours and hours on matters outside of our church. We don’t. But we do spend some time and energy to support the broader church family.

Why do we do that? Well, because we believe that it is the pattern God has given the church. Godly elders primarily shepherd the flock of God where they serve but also joining with other elders in the Acts 15 pattern of broader church oversight.

Conclusion

You may be asking, why does it matter to me? Well, for one, it matters because if this is God’s ordained structure for his church, then we want to be faithful to that end. It matters because if culture dictates leadership in the church, then there will be leaders who do not align with the principals of loving and humble eldership, but who instead are domineering or who mistreat the flock of God. We read from Ezekiel 34 this morning. It’s one of several Old Testament passages where God drops the hammer on the worthless shepherds of Israel who abandon the flock or who have led the flock astray or who are lazy or are in it for their own personal gain or because of their pride.

Godly elders are instead are to be committed to the truth of God and are to be loving examples to the flock.

This matters because God’s care for his people and his oversight for his church is to come through faithful elders. And those elders are to love Jesus and his Gospel, and are to love us and shepherd our souls, and are to love Jesus’ church and care for her.

This matters because when it comes time to nominate men to this role, we should have an understanding of their responsibility and character.

I know you know this, but I am going to say it anyway. Your elders here at Tucker Pres are sinners. It’s true. We, at times, have failed and will fail you and the church.

But we have a Savior in Jesus who has died for us. He is our Great Shepherd. And in his salvation and through his Spirit, your elders are striving to love you well and point you to him. In our monthly session meetings, that’s when our elders meet, the most important thing we do, which we prioritize, is to pray for you and for our church. Would you pray for us as we seek to be faithful to this important call – the call to be your presbuteroi, your elders, who serve under the great Sheperd of the sheep. Amen.

This morning is our second sermon in our series about who we are as a church.

Last week we talked about our desire as a church to be faithful to God’s call for local congregations. Remember that faithfulness is a three legged stool. 1. Faithful in our devotion to the Lord, the Master, 2. Faithful to the message – the rich doctrines that God has given us in his Word including and especially the Gospel message. And 3. Faithful to the mission. God’s call for us individually and as a church is to be a light of the Gospel. That mission is carried out locally and to the ends of the earth.

Underlying those three responsibilities is God’s faithfulness to us … what God has done for us through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

That is our ministry heart – a desire to be faithful to the Master, the message, and the mission.

Today we’ll be considering the centrality of God’s Word, prayer, and the sacraments in these endeavors as a church.

Before we begin, let me give you a brief the lay of the land where we are headed over the next few weeks. We’re starting with four foundational beliefs.

·      Last week was our belief in God’s call for the local church

·      This week is the primary means through which God works in our lives.

·      Next week will be what we believe is the overall theme of the Bible - God’s covenant promises to his people which are fulfilled in Christ.

·      And in 2 weeks, we’ll consider what we believe the Bible teaches about the organization of the church. In other words, why do we call ourselves a Presbyterian church.

Those are the four foundational things we’ll be covering. Then after that, we’ll talk about how those work out in our worship, our discipleship, and our missions.

Again, this series is a little out of the ordinary, but hopefully it will be an encouragement to you as well as unifying for us.

This morning, we have three passages. First, Acts chapter 2, then Hebrews chapter 4, then 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

If you will turn to Acts chapter 2. That can be found on page 1082 in the pew Bibles. we’ll begin with verses 42-47.

·      Reading of Acts 2:42-47 (church just beginning);

·      Hebrews 4:12-16 (page 1189 - right after the author of Hebrews had expounded on God’s Word given in Psalm 95);

·      1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (page 1138 – the context is the contrast between idols and food sacrificed compared with the Lord’s supper).

Prayer

How do people change? Have you ever asked that question? How does change happen deep within us? I’m not talking about changing our minds about what we like or what we agree with in secondary or tertiary matters. Rather, I’m talking about a heart change to believe a truth about God or a change in someone’s life for the better – you know, like setting aside a pattern of sin…or forsaking some kind of heart idol or changing a bad habit and replacing it with something that honors the Lord.

What causes that kind of change in someone… or in you? It’s a critical question because the answer impacts everything about our ministry as a church.

One of the responsibilities of a local congregation is to be a change agent in people’s lives. I’m using the word “agent” intentionally because we are not the ones who actually change people. No. It is the Holy Spirit who changes hearts and minds. The church merely leads people in the means or to the means through which the Spirit works to change hearts. In that way, we are agents.

So, then, to what do we direct or lead people for spiritual and life change? And the answer is, #1, God’s Word, #2, prayer to the one true God, and #3 the sacraments that he has ordained, which are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

To say it again, the Holy Spirit works through these means to transform us. God works his salvation in us through these ordinary things – his Word, prayer, and the sacraments.

When I say that God is working his salvation in us through them, I’m using the word salvation in a broad sense, like the Scriptures often do. Salvation includes faith in Jesus’ work on the cross, reconciling us to him, which we sometimes call justification. But salvation also includes God’s continuing work of sanctification in us as he conforms us more and more to his image. That salvation will one day bring us to glory.

So, God’s Spirit works through his Word, and through prayer and in the sacraments to change us or transform us, as he brings to bear his salvation in our lives. Those three things are the ordinary means through which God gives us his extraordinary grace. They are God’s appointed instruments.

We’re going to get into more details in a moment, but let me say this up front. Given the overwhelming significance of these means of grace, the church must focus its ministry on them. The church needs to steward these gifts given to us. God’s Word, prayer, and the sacraments need to be the primary emphasis in our ministry.

That is one of the foundational things that we believe as a church.

If we go all the way back to the early church in Acts 2… it is these means of grace to which the church devoted itself.

By the way, Acts 2 is when the Holy Spirit was given to the church. After that event, Pentecost, is when the people of God started gathering together in communities. That was when local churches started forming. And we learn in Acts 2:42 that they devoted themselves to these means of grace.

They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. That’s the first thing mentioned. Now, at that time, they did not have the New Testament. Rather, the Holy Spirit was at work through the Apostles to reveal God’s truth. We know from other places in the book of Acts that this included teaching how the Old Testament is fulfilled in Christ. Their teaching also included how Jesus accomplished Salvation for his people, and it included the call to faith. So, the church was dedicating themselves to these truths, which we have in God’s Word.

It next says they dedicated themselves to fellowship. That’s the word Koinonia, which is a mission-driven relationship with one another. In other words, God’s word and prayer and the sacraments were not being pursued in a vacuum. Rather this devotion happened in this new gathering of believers, the church.

It also says they dedicated themselves to prayer. What is prayer? Well, it is coming before God in humility for who he is and what he has done for us. It’s asking for the Lord’s help for our situations and others. It’s interceding for his work throughout the world. The apostles would have taught the people the Lord’s Prayer as they learned it from Jesus. Their prayers would have included many examples from the Old Testament, like Hannah’s prayer or Daniel’s, or David’s, or Ezra’s or Nehemiah’s. We’re given many examples.

Prayer and the Word have always been central to God’s people, Old Testament and New. We call them means of grace because they are the channels through which God gives amazing gifts to us. You’ve heard me say before that the word grace is the word gift. God has given us his very Word and he invites us into his presence in prayer.

We read from Hebrews 4 because it, in part, captures the power of God’s Word to change us. Listen again to the language and consider the ministry of God’s Word in your heart and mind. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” It penetrates to our very core. God’s Word always goes with his Spirit and as we read from Isaiah 55 earlier, it will always accomplish the purpose for which it goes forth. It will never return void. And as God’s Word goes forth, through the power of his Spirit, it brings conviction. The Holy Spirit shines the light of the truth of God’s Word on our hearts.

What an amazing blessing and grace that God has given us.

·      Through God’s Word, we learn of his nature and power and justice. Through it, we understand the demand of his law and the sin in our own hearts.

·      Furthermore, God has revealed, through his Word, both the divine and human nature of Jesus, who is, by the way, the Word of God incarnate.

·      We’re called to repentance and faith through God’s Word. Romans 10 says that “faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ.”

·      Moreover, God molds and shapes us through his Word. As 2 Timothy 3 puts it, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

All of that is why we study it. It is why we uphold it as authoritative and inspired. Each of us could spend our entire lives mining its truths and we would still not exhaust its depths. It is that rich and deep.

And let me say… prayer is no less an extraordinary grace. It’s an amazing thing to consider that the God of the universe has invited us in to his very presence.

We’re unworthy, yet we have been made worthy through Christ. And he goes before us. He intercedes for us. That is what Hebrews 4 verses 14-16 speaks of. Jesus is our High Priest. Through his sacrifice and his intercession, we can draw near to the throne of grace. Here’s Hebrews 4:16. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We can come with confidence and when we do, as it says, we will receive his mercy and find his grace. Do you see how prayer is a means of grace? Through prayer, we are communing with the living God. We are abiding in him. We are acknowledging his worthiness and power to accomplish his purposes in our lives. We are submitting ourselves to him, confessing our sin, asking for peace. Philippians 4 says “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God uses his Word and prayer to lift us up and sustain us and remind us of his precious promises in Christ. They are there for our blessing. And so, we each need to avail ourselves of God’s Word and prayer.

I remember learning a song in, I think, first or second grade Sunday school. At the time, I didn’t think anything of it. But it’s come to mind decades later. We would start on the ground and then we would sing, “read your Bible, pray every day, pray every day, pray every day, read your Bible, pray every day, and you’ll grow, grow grow.” [repeat] and we would slowly stand up. It was symbolizing our maturing in Christ. And then, it would reverse! “Forget your Bible, forget to pray, and you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink.” We would not be maturing in Christ.

I had no idea, at the time, how profound that is. I am still learning its lesson, today.

If you are not regularly in the Word and in prayer, you are missing out on two of the three most amazing gifts that God has given his people.

Let’s look at the third.

Briefly go back to Acts 2:42. Another phrase is used: they dedicated themselves to  “The breaking of bread.” Now, at first glance that seems to indicate they enjoyed fellowshipping over meals together. However, it already says that they fellowshipped, which would have included meals. Rather the historical consensus, including John Calvin and Martin Luther, considered this phrase to reference the Holy Supper as they often called it. In other words, when the early church gathered, they participated in the sacraments.

Now, the word sacrament is not in the Bible. However, we use that word to identify the two holy ordinances that Jesus established for his church - Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

I am using the phrase “Jesus established” because he is the one who called the church to practice these sacraments. Jesus calls us to make disciples and baptize them. As you heard me say a couple of times earlier this month, Baptism is the New Covenant sign of God’s promise and it is connected to the Old Covenant sign of circumcision. Similarly, the Lord’s Supper is the New Covenant sign of faith and our union with Christ. It connects to the old sign of the Passover. Jesus called his disciples and calls us to partake of the holy supper often, and as we do in remembrance of him.

It is a remembrance, but it is way more than just a remembrance. First of all, the sign itself, just like Baptism, is more than words on a page and words spoken. They are visible and tangible signs of the Gospel. The symbols themselves, the bread and the cup in the Supper and water in Baptism display the ministry of Christ – his death and his cleansing of sin. And those symbols are applied to us. All our senses are engaged as we see and participate in these ordinances that God has given.

In the case of the supper, we are participating in the body and blood of Christ. That’s what we read from 1 Corinthians 10. That similar idea is in the Gospel of John chapter 6, which emphasizes our eating of Jesus body and drinking of his blood.

Now, we don’t believe that the elements become the body and blood of Jesus. No, Jesus has ascended and he is reigning in heaven. But in a mysterious way in the supper we are participating in Christ. The Holy Spirit has united us to him by faith and in the supper, the spiritual reality of that union is brought to bear.

Sometimes I say that we are receiving his sanctifying grace in the meal because in the meal, we are given assurance and hope and we’re given strength to endure temptation. But as I mentioned earlier, our sanctification is part of our salvation. I say sanctifying grace to make clear that the elements do not justify you. No, Jesus justifies you when you come to him by faith in repentance of your sin. But do not minimize the grace that you receive in the supper through our mysterious participation in Jesus’ body and blood.

What I am saying is that just as God’s Word and prayer are ordinary means through which God gives his extraordinary grace, so too are the sacraments. They show forth and commune the benefits of salvation.

All three are means through which God changes us. And to be absolutely clear about it, it is the Holy Spirit who uses these means to transform our hearts and minds.

Let me now ask, what does this mean for us as a church? Well, it means we need to be devoting ourselves to these means… just like the early church did. We as a church need to both direct one another to participate in them, and we need to lead with them in our ministry.

·      So, why do we have several Bible studies and focus on God’s Word in our small and large groups and throughout our worship? It’s because of these means of grace.

·      Why do we have prayer throughout our service, and on Sunday evenings, and in our home groups, and other times? It is because of these means of grace.

·      Why in our outreach do we teach Bible stories and emphasize Jesus’ ministry on the cross and in the resurrection? It is because of the means of grace.

·      Why do we have a prayer sheet and occasionally have Bible memory verses and a Bible reading plan? It is because of these means of grace.

·      Why do we take time in our service to explain and practice the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. It is because they are means of grace.

Now, you may have a question. How do these means of grace connect to our study last week about being faithful? Remember, faithfulness to the Master, the message, and the mission. It is an important question.

Think about it this way. The church’s call to be faithful in those three things are like railroad tracks that we need to be travelling down. The church is the train and the tracks are what we are to focus on – the Master, the message, and the mission. But what makes the train move? Well, the means of grace power the train. The Word, prayer, and the sacraments are like the fuel for the train. It’s like the coal in an old steam train. It powers us to go forward down the tracks.

In other words, at the center of our devotion to the Lord (the Master) needs to be God’s Word and prayer and participation in the sacraments he’s given us. It fuels our piety and devotion to the Lord.

Likewise, at the center of the message is God’s Word. Furthermore, we pray that God would open our hearts to understand it.  And we practice the Lord’s Supper and Baptism which display what we believe. The means of grace fuel our heart desire to know the Gospel and the depth of the doctrines that God has revealed.

And last, at the center of our mission, the great commission, needs to be declaring God’s Word and praying for God to be at work in those to whom we minister. And, as we make disciples, they will worship the Lord with us where they can then participate in the sacraments.

Last week, I mentioned the first line of our motto. “Living and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.” That captures our desire to be faithful to the Master, message, and mission. Well, the second line of our motto captures the means of grace. It says, “through worship, prayer, in word, and deed.”  In other words, we desire to fulfill the call to live and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, through those things. The first three are the means of grace. The sacraments happen in worship, and we are committed to prayer and the Word. By the way, we included “deed” there because we desire not just to minister to one another and our community in word, but also we want to display the Gospel in our deeds.

So, living and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, through worship and prayer, in word and deed.

Brothers and sister, this is at the core of who we are.

May we not only be a church that practices these means of grace, but may we each avail ourselves of these extraordinary graces… that God may change us and mold us to conform to his righteousness more and more each day. Read your Bible, pray every day, and you’ll grow, grow, grow.

Antioch – A Faithful Church

A couple of you have asked what are studying next.

Well, I have answers.

The next few weeks will be a little out of the ordinary. Since we just celebrated the 5th anniversary of our launch, we’re going to take some time to focus on who we are. We’ll cover the foundations of what we believe as well as how we work that out in ministry.  This morning is kind of like our ministry heart.

So that will take us through September.

Then after that, we’re going to go back to the Old Testament. We do a short series through Malachi. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. And we’re going to do that as a lead in to the Gospel of John. We haven’t gone chapter by chapter through a Gospel yet, so we are going to tackle John.

So, that is the plan. Tucker Pres, Malachi, and John’s Gospel. As you know, sometimes plans change. I don’t anticipate that they will, but will let you know.

As far as who we are as a church, we’ll be basing each of these sermons on a Scripture text or two or three.

This morning, we’re going to be looking at the church in Antioch as a case study.

If you look in your bulletin, you will see that we are covering selections from the book of Acts – several passages from Acts 11-15. We’re going to begin with chapter 11 verses 19-26, then as we go, I will direct you to the next passage. Acts 11 is found on page 1093

Stand.

Reading of Acts 11:19-26; 13:1-3; 14:24-28; 15:1-2, 22, 30-35

Prayer

Let me ask, what would you say if someone asked you about Tucker Pres? What are the things that define who we are at Tucker Pres?

Would you say that we are a church that loves one another? Would you say that we are a church that loves God and the Gospel? Would you say that our primary thing is pursuing the truth of God’s Word? Or are we a church that emphasizes mercy and outreach? Or is the most important thing for us knowing God intimately and praying? Is our number 1 thing Gospel centered worship? I could ask more, but I simply want to stir your minds with those questions.

The reason I ask is because every church has an identity. Every church has things that are important to them. Churches have vibes and churches emphasize different things.

Well, what defines us Tucker Pres?

There is a word that comes to my mind. It’s a word that I believe defines us well. It’s also a word that is aspirational. So what is it?

Well, the word that comes to my mind is the word “faithful.” I believe we are stiving to be faithful.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. The word faithful is not that helpful because what church doesn’t want to be faithful. And that’s true. What I mean by faithful is faithful to God’s mission for his church. Faithful to what God has called his church to be and to do.

Faithful in our worship. Faithful in our ministry and our mission. Faithful to be a light of the Gospel. Faithful to care for one another. Faithful to grow in our faith. Faithful to the Gospel and to God’s Word.

Faithful.

This morning, I want us to consider what it means for a church to be faithful. A church that has a heart to be faithful.

There’s a reason I picked Antioch as an example. I think of all the churches mentioned in the New Testament, Antioch stands out as a model of a faithful church.

The other day, I was driving home from a day trip out to the Covington area – taking the back roads. And I passed by a church named Corinth. It kind of made me laugh. Given all the internal struggles that the church in Corith had, some of what we just studied, I’m not sure why a church would want that name. But nonetheless there are churches named Corinth.

On the other hand, there are hundreds of churches in the United States named Antioch. There are many many Antioch Baptist churches. There are several named Antioch Methodist. A few named Antioch Christian Church, and even a couple of them are named Antioch Presbyterian. I think it’s a good name because Antioch modelled what it means to be a faithful church.

By the way, the city of Antioch was located on the Mediterranean Sea about 200 miles north of Israel. It was right in the corner of the Mediterranean where the coast of modern-day Turkey turns south and Syria begins.

As we read, the church was started when the Christians were scattered because of the persecution and martyrdom of Stephen. In Acts 7, Stephen, one of the early church leaders was preaching and he was stoned to death by the Jews. Well, several Christians ended up in Antioch and they formed a church, there.

Flip back to Acts 11. Look down at verse 23. Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to survey the situation. And look what he found. Verse 23 says, “When he [Barnabas] came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.”

And that is exactly what Antioch did. They remained faithful! …faithful to the Lord with the purpose to which God had called them. They modelled faithfulness.

But what does that mean? How were they faithful?

Well, I want to highlight three ways that the church in Antioch displayed faithfulness.

And these are three ways that we, as a church, are seeking to be faithful.

1. Faithful to the master. 2. Faithful to the message and 3. Faithful to the mission. Master, message, mission.

Maybe that is too many “m”s. There are several similar words that capture the same idea.

If you’ve been in our Discovering Tucker Presbyterian class, you’ve heard me talk about piety, doctrine, and mission. That is…

(1) a heart commitment to the Lord and to honoring him. Faithfulness to the master…That is what piety is …a lived out devotion to the Lord.

(2) doctrine. Faithfulness to the message. Being intentional to pursue what God has revealed in his Word as true and right.

(3) mission. Faithful to the great commission. Faithful to be a herald of the Gospel to those around us and bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

And let me say that the church throughout history has flourished when it has sought to be faithful in these three ways. A heart devotion to the Lord, a commitment to the truth revealed in God’s Word, and an obedience to the great commission.

It’s kind of like a well-balanced 3-legged stool. Each leg supports the stool. You can’t take one away.

Let’s take those in order and consider Antioch.

1.) Faithfulness to the Master

#1 Faithfulness to the Master - A heart devotion to love the Lord and honor him. That is the very first thing that Barnabas noticed about Antioch. The grace of God was in them. The reason he could call them to “remain” faithful to the Lord is because they had been living faithfully to the Lord.

Turn to the beginning of chapter 13. Verse 1 has a beautiful list of those who were leading the church. They were from different places – the island of Cyprus, Cyrene in north Africa, and Galilee in Israel. By the way, it mentions that Manaen was a lifelong friend of Herod Antipas – that’s fascinating, so he was from the ruling class. Despite this diversity, we’re given no sense that there was disunity. Isn’t that quite different from the church in Corinth? Rather, they worshipped and prayed and fasted together. That is right there in verses 2 and 3.

As you have probably heard me say, a church that prays together, stays together.

And, I think particularly their fasting testified to their heart devotion to the Lord. Twice it mentions they fasted. What is fasting? Well, fasting is depriving oneself of food for a period of time to seek the Lord and be reminded of him and his sustaining grace.

When we fast, we are humbling ourselves before God. We are seeking him and his guidance or we are interceding in a particular situation. In other words, we are depriving ourselves so that our hearts and minds can turn our attention to the Lord. The church in Antioch fasted together to seek the Lord and his will. It’s a beautiful display of faithfulness to the Master – to the Lord.

Our endeavor to be a faithful church needs to include pursuing the Lord. We need to be seeking him, worshipping him, desiring to reflect his righteousness in our lives. That is one of the three legs that a faithful church should pursue.

But, it’s not the only leg.

A couple of years ago, I was at a church planting network meeting. It’s a gathering that supports the work of church planting in the metro  Atlanta area. The speaker that day was talking about his church. His church modelled piety. It was very compelling. He spoke of their deep commitment to grow in their relationship with the Lord. He described their love of God and their pursuit of him. They take time individually and together to meditate on who God is in all his wonder and his love and mercy. Their ministries and their worship focused on this – they focused on drawing one another into the presence of the living Lord. It was who they were. It was their identity. I was very moved by it.

But I was thinking later that day. This pastor never mentioned witnessing to their neighbors and he never mentioned studying God’s Word. It was all about piety – you know, their vertical relationship with the Lord as believers and as a church.

So, what I want to say, is yes, our devotion to the Lord is critical. Antioch fasted and prayed. However, a faithful church should not exclusively focus on those things. No, the message and mission are just as important.

2.) Faithfulness to the Message

That brings us to the second aspect of a faithful church. Faithful to the Message. In other words, faithfulness to central doctrines as taught to us in God’s Word.

Back in chapter 11, when Barnabas and Paul arrived in Antioch, it says they spent a full year there teaching the church. One of the responsibilities of the church is teaching. It’s teaching the doctrines of God and the Gospel. As the apostle Peter says in his letter, we are to “grow in the grace and the knowledge of God.” We’re to grow in God’s grace, meaning realizing more and more the depth of God’s love for us in Christ. And we are to grow in the knowledge of God. We’re to get deeper into his Word and understand more and more the truths that he has revealed.

Now, turn to Acts 15. At the beginning of the chapter, we read that a group of teachers had arrived in Antioch. However, they were teaching that circumcision was necessary in order to be saved. Well, that was a problem. It caused a rift. Paul and Barnabas debated with them. So what did the church in Antioch do? They didn’t initially choose sides. They didn’t allow the debate to divide the church. No, rather, they wanted to know what was true and right. So, they sought wisdom from the other apostles and elders.

That’s when Paul and Barnabas were appointed to go to Jerusalem to discuss the matter. There they met with the apostle James and Peter and other apostles and elders from the churches that were scattered around. And by God’s grace, unity was achieved. As the Gospel had gone to the Gentiles, God had made it clear that circumcision was not necessary for salvation. Not at all. Other similar matters were discussed. God worked through that council.

And then Paul and Barnabas and others were appointed to go back to Antioch and report. Now, look down at chapter 15 verses 30 and 31. These brothers arrived back. They gathered the church together. They then read the summary letter from the counsel, and it says in verse 31, “they rejoiced because of its encouragement.”

This is an amazing thing. Instead of allowing the theological disagreement to divide them, the church in Antioch was the catalyst for theological truth. They were the ones that asked for a counsel to determine what was true and right, and they then rejoiced at how God had answered. And down in chapter 15, verse 35, we learn that Paul and Barnabas continued to preach and teach the Word of the Lord… verse 35 ends with this phrase “with many others also.” God’s truth was being established and was spreading. More teachers were being raised up. You see, Antioch model a church faithful to the message. They loved and taught the holy doctrines of God.

But, let me say this. Just like piety should not be our sole focus. So also, doctrine should not be our sole focus. A church that only cares about knowing truth and being right in doctrine is often inward focused and does not seek to be a Gospel light to their community.

And sometimes those overly theological congregations do not display lives devoted to Christ, but rather sometimes their words and actions betray their beliefs. Again, sometimes.

To be absolutely clear, I’m not dismissing theological passion and love for doctrine. I think you know that. No, Antioch displayed a fervor for truth. What I am saying is that faithfulness to the message cannot suppress faithfulness to the Master or faithfulness to the mission.

3.) Faithfulness to the mission

Which brings us to just that - the third leg of the stool - faithfulness to the mission.

God’s mission call for his church is clear. We are called to go forth to all nations making disciples. As Jesus said, we are the light of the world. We’re not to be hiding our lamp under a basket, but rather displaying that light for all to see.

That faithfulness to the mission involves two things. Number 1, faithfulness to be a Gospel witness to the community around us, to our neighbors, friends, and family. And number 2, faithfulness to send and support in the work of Gospel missions to the ends of the earth.

Antioch modelled both. In chapter 11 verse 24, we’re told that a great many people were added to the Lord there in Antioch. That’s because they were intentional to witness the love of God in Christ to those in the city. And the Lord turned many hearts to him through their faithful witness.

But second, Antioch modelled faithfulness to the global work of missions. The church in Antioch were the ones that sent Paul and Barnabas out on their first missionary journey. Turn to chapter 13 again. In verse 3 it says that after fasting and praying they “laid their hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them off.”

And so, Paul and Barnabas went forth. They planted several church in Asia Minor, you know, modern day Turkey, and then in the middle of chapter 14, they returned to Antioch.

I love chapter 14 verses 26 and 27. It says, “they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. [so, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch.. then it says]  when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them.” Antioch held the very first missions conference. They rejoiced at what God was doing, as the Gospel went forth.

You see, they were faithful to both of those aspects of missions. And it’s our desire as well to be a light to our neighbors and a light to the world.

We’re not to be hunkered down in a theological hole and we’re not to be hovering in the clouds in our pietistic pursuit of God and holiness. No, we are to be present where the Lord has placed us, witnessing to his Gospel work in our lives and testifying to the hope that is found in Christ alone. And we are to be sending and supporting those who take the Gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation.

But similar to the prior two points, that does not mean that we pursue faithfulness in the work of mission to the detriment of studying and growing in the truth or to the detriment of loving the Lord and seeking to honor him in our lives.

In some churches, it’s all about ministry and mercy to the community around them. Yes, we are called to be a light, but an exclusive focus like that often leads to a watered down message. At times it has even led to a social Gospel devoid of the call to repentance and faith.

Conclusion

What I am saying is that a faithful church is a church that seeks to be faithful in all three areas. Faithful to the Lord, faithful to his truth, and faithful to his mission for us.

Have you ever tried to sit on a 1 legged or 2 legged stool? It doesn’t work…

I believe we, as a church, are on this path. I’m calling it a path because we always need to be reminding ourselves of these three aspects of faithfulness. We need to be renewing our hearts to pursue God and build one another up in him. We need to be renewing our minds to the glorious doctrines that God has revealed to us in his Word – who he is and what he has done. And we need to be renewing our pursuit of his mission - here in the Tucker area and to the ends of the earth.

If you go to our website, at the very top… you will see the first line of our motto. It really captures our desire to be faithful in these ways. It reads this: “Living and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.”

We desire to be a people who are living the good news of Jesus Christ. That means being faithful to our Master – living out the Gospel in our lives – walking in a manner worthy to the calling to which we have been called.

We furthermore want to also be proclaiming the good news of Jesus. That is faithfulness to the great commission – “proclaiming”.

And underlying both of those is knowing the good news of Jesus Christ. Faithful to the message.

In fact, it is that good news which is the foundation to all of it. Out our sin and misery, God has redeemed us in Christ Jesus. He took on our sin and all the eternal consequences of judgment that we deserved, and he gave us his righteousness and life. That good news, that Gospel, is the foundation to our pursuit in all these areas

Let me say that in another way. Our pursuit of faithfulness as a church begins with God’s faithfulness to us. God is the one, as Jesus said in Matthew 16, who will build his church. He is the one, as the great commission says, who will always be with us to the end of the age. God’s faithfulness, centered on the Gospel, is the foundation to our faithfulness.

Back to the opening question, if someone asked you about Tucker Pres, what would you say? My hope and prayer is that you would be able to say that we as a church are seeking to be a faithful… faithful to the Lord, faithful to the truth found in his Word, and faithful to his mission.

May we, Tucker Presbyterian Church, always be known as a faithful church in these ways.

As you know, we have more distinctives as a church, and we’ll get to them in the coming weeks, but this pursuit of Gospel faithfulness is our heart.

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 - Rejoice, Live in Peace, and Receive God’s Grace

Please turn to 2 Corinthians 13 verses 11-14. That is on page 1153 in the pew Bibles.

It’s always bittersweet to finish a sermon series. On the one hand, I wish it wasn’t coming to an end because 2 Corinthians has been such a blessing. On the other hand, it’s good to move on to other books of the Bible and be blessed and challenged in different ways.

So, this will be our last sermon in this series. Next week, we are going to have a missions focused Sunday. And then after that, stay tuned.

Let’s now come to these concluding words of 2 Corinthians. This is inspired, inerrant God’s Word, given through the apostle Paul.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Prayer

Every book of the Bible, in different ways, relates to our culture and the church, today. Sometimes, the connection is more direct. Other times it is more indirect. Well, in 2 Corinthians we’ve seen many direct parallels.

I think the reason is that the city of Corinth is like our culture today. It was a confluence of many backgrounds, beliefs, and idols. If you remember, it was a Roman city in Greece. The city had been resettled about 100 years earlier by Julius Ceasar. It therefore boasted of Roman authority and power but being on the Achaia peninsula in Greece, it was still influence by Greek philosophy and gods. The temple of Aphrodite – the goddess of love – overlooked the city. That unholy influence increased the city’s sexual promiscuity and prostitution.

Furthermore, it was also a major port city. People and goods travelling east and west would travel through Corinth. That made it a desirable place to live for many people from many cultures. You had sea merchants and other traders capitalizing on its primary industry. Other entrepreneurs set up shop to profit off of the all travelers. Since it was a rather new city, Roman and Greek nobles came to fill in the vacuums of political power. Put this all together, Corinth was very cosmopolitan. It was a melting pot of people groups with diverse religious, political, and commercial interests and backgrounds.

Sound familiar? I don’t think there’s any major international city today that doesn’t share some of the same characteristics, at least to one extent or another… the Atlanta area included.

Think about the effect on the church. The world’s philosophies and priorities were pressing in on the church in Corinth. And it wasn’t just a single cultural influence; it was a combination of all those influences. That made it even more difficult for the church to filter out truth from error and righteousness from sinfulness.

And it’s the same thing today. Yes, there are different influences, but they are surprisingly similar. And like every generation in the past, those influences affect the church.

Someone asked me the other day whether there was a particular teaching in the church today that 2 Corinthians directly confronts. And the answer is yes.

2 Corinthians directly confronts the Prosperity Gospel. As you know, the prosperity gospel has come up several times over these last few months. It teaches a false theology of suffering, an idolatrous view of money, and a perverted Gospel – a gospel not based on faith in what Christ has done on the cross and in his resurrection, but a false gospel that is socially conceived; focusing on earthly health and wealth and not faith in Christ alone. And, of course, it lines the pockets of the prosperity preachers.

So, the false apostles in Corinth, which Paul called “super apostles” are in many ways analogous to prosperity Gospel preachers today. They not only perverted the truth, but arrogantly exalted themselves, their social status, and their worldly credentials.

Now, to be sure, it’s not a perfect parallel. The church in Corinth had its unique challenges, but the parallels to Prosperity preaching are there.

And you can see some of those parallels in the various things that Paul has been addressing in the book. We’ve come across several of them. In summary, there have been five streams of teaching that have dealt with the issues in Corinth. They include:

1. Number 1, Authentic ministry. Not only has the apostle Paul over and over defended his apostleship, but in doing so, he has laid the foundation to true and authentic ministry. A faithful church and a faithful minister is humble and seeks to reflect Christ. Faithful churches and pastors pursue integrity and sincerity and point to Christ, not themselves. As Paul put it just a couple verses earlier, they build up and don’t tear down. Those are the signs of faithful ministries.

2. A second stream that has come up multiple times is strength through weakness. That is, the strength of Christ in the weakness of our human flesh. 2 Corinthians has given us rich truths that we can hold on to in our weaknesses and suffering. Rather than try to summarize it here, let me just remind you of those verses.

·      Chapter 1: “[God] comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

·      Chapter 4: “…we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” It’s speaking about the treasure of the Gospel given to us which we have in our frail bodies.

·      How about this one: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen, which are eternal…”

·      And one more, chapter 12… “But he said to me [that is, the Lord said to Paul], 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

There are others. What God has done in 2 Corinthians is reorient our doctrine of suffering. God uses our suffering to remind us of his strength that we may rely on him, because when we are weak, then we are strong.

3. Ok, the third stream – God’s Covenant promises of old have been fulfilled in Christ – in his Gospel. Through Jesus, the old covenant has been fulfilled. Remember, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” This one has particular relevance to Corinth given some of the Jewish influences. The false apostles were trying to drag the people back into the forms and practices of the old covenant. But remember, those old forms and practices (like the sacrifices and festivals) were shadows of what was to come. Remember, the moon and planets reflect the sun, which is the source. It’s a similar idea.

Chapter 3 was all about this correction. The 10 commandments condemn us, but Christ has redeemed us. Chapter 5 gave us amazing truths. Verse 17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And you’ve heard me say that 5:21 is in my mind, the clearest single verse that articulates the Gospel. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God made him, that is Jesus, to be sin for us, that we may receive his righteousness.

4. Number 4 – the fourth category. Giving and wealth. The middle chapters, 7-9, spoke of the grace of giving. Paul testified to Corinth that the Macedonians, though they were poor from a worldly standpoint, gave generously out of their poverty. The church has a responsibility to support the church. However, giving is not a means to salvation or a means to a better life, as today’s false prosperity teachers say. No, rather, giving is a response to the grace of God in Christ. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” It’s not talking about earthly riches but the riches of grace in Christ Jesus. Salvation and hope in him. The ultimate motivation for our giving is the grace of God in Christ.

5. And then the last thing – the last stream, number 5. Repentance and restoration. The whole letter, in a sense, is a call to repentance. Repentance and restoration have been key themes throughout. That’s because the church in Corinth’s beliefs and practices and lifestyle looked more like the Roman and Greek culture around them rather than the beliefs and practices and lifestyle that God had revealed to them in his Word and through his true apostles.

That message is a message for every church and every believer in every generation. We are all tempted to trust in the things of this world and conform our beliefs to the philosophy of this world, rather than putting our trust in God and seeking to be conformed to him by faith. Chapter 10, we should “take every thought captive to obey Christ” and last week, chapter 13, we should therefore “examine ourselves.”

So 5 emphases, 5 streams of correction which broadly speaking, the church in Corinth needed to hear. Not every individual, but the church as a whole, which is why at the beginning of this chapter the apostle warned of judgment if they did not to repent.

Paul prayed for and entreated them to repent. The big question is, did the church in Corinth actually repent? Did they return to God in Christ in faithfulness? And I have an answer for you. But you’ll have to wait a couple more minutes.

First, let’s actually get into our text this morning. I know we’re more than halfway through our usual time, but I think that review was helpful both as a conclusion to our series as well as context for these final verses.

So let’s look at them. First look at verse 11. Paul calls them “brothers.” Last week, remember, he had just dropped the hammer of judgment - the warning of judgment. And now he reminds them that they are brothers and sisters in Christ. And I want you to think back on our study of 2 Corinthians. Really, Paul had been writing to two groups in the church. One, the faithful believers. He is thankful that their godly grief has produced repentance. He wrote that in chapter 7. In chapter 8, he called on them to also excel in the grace of giving, just like in other areas.

But Paul has also been very direct at times with those who were not walking in godliness and truth. Some in the church were following the false apostles. Remember from chapter 11, some were “putting up with them readily enough.” And in chapter 12, Paul fears that they will not repent.

Nonetheless, they are all in the church and they are therefore brothers and sisters. He says, “finally brothers” In other words, listen to me for you are my church family.

And then notice that he gives them 5 imperatives in verses 11. That’s a lot! Five commands in one verse. And each of them connects in different ways to the rest of the letter.

Let’s briefly consider these commands.

He begins with “rejoice!” That specific Greek word for “rejoice” includes a sense that is not captured in our English word rejoice. It’s rejoicing in sadness or suffering. That is how it is used in chapter 6, “though sorrowful, we are rejoicing.” And that particular emphasis of rejoicing in suffering, directly relates to the second command in verse 11. Look at it. “Comfort one another.” That brings us all the way back to chapter 1. Comfort one another in your affliction because you share in both the affliction and comfort of Christ.

The next one is also very connected to the rest of the book. “aim for restoration.” It’s a recognition that restoration is not always possible. But as much as it depends on you, aim for restoration. Do what you can to restore those who have wandered from God’s truth and word. Remember from last week, Paul desired their restoration. Even if one of the so-called super apostles repented, he should be restored to the family of faith. Aim for restoration.

The last two imperatives in verse 11 are related. “agree with one another” and “live in peace.”

That’s one of the things that the church in Corinth struggled with. Unity. Remember, the city had people from all over… people from different cultural backgrounds. Scattered throughout 1st and 2nd Corinthians, we are given glimpses of the makeup of the church. The church had Jewish background believers in Christ. It had gentile believers from both lower classes in society and from wealthy families. It had Greeks, Romans, some from northern Africa (that’s where Apollos was from) and likely some people from Asia. Given the diversity, they struggled to get along. They often sinned against one another by quarrelling or slandering or gossip. That struggle has been well documented. And God calls them, through Paul, to agree with one another and to live in peace.

Do you see how verse 11 is like a summary?

Then after those 5 imperatives, he says, “and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

Living in harmony in Christ with one another will bring to bear the love and peace of God. In other words, with all their troubles, the Corinthians were not experiencing God’s love and peace. It’s not that they didn’t have the love of God or peace from God, but all their troubles suppressed that love and peace.

It’s very difficult to live in a community or family where people are always at odds with one another. I’ve never experienced that, but I’ve known plenty who have. It fosters relational sin that at times can spiral out of control if the forgiveness and grace of Christ does not prevail. That forgiveness and grace needed to prevail in Corinth. It needs to prevail in every church. That’s a good word for us.

And then Paul says, “greet one another with a holy kiss!” This refers to a brotherly or sisterly kind of kiss. Most believe it refers to kissing someone on the cheek – Kind of like in Italy or France today. The point is to show some kind of affection to each other. It’s a sign of commitment. Paul desired them to be with one another in person and display love and devotion because they were united together in Christ.

You can’t do that if you remain in your little tribes and only talk to your people. There’s something about being together and displaying your brotherly or sisterly affection to one another that disarms conflict.

A parallel today could be communicating in the digital world. You know, we send emails and texts. And sometimes, we inadvertently imply something that we didn’t intend. Or someone assumes something based on how we worded something. But when you are in person, many of those opportunities for miscommunication go away.

I am not saying that we should only communicate in person. In fact, that’s what this letter was, a written word. But Paul was on his way there to be with them in person. And he wanted them to be with present with one another.

And he adds, “All the saints greet you.” It was a reminder that all the believers from all the churches are bound together in Christ. We greet one another knowing that we share the amazing promises of God in him. The Corinthians were not alone. No, they shared their faith in Christ with the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem. And with the churches of north Africa. And with the Macedonians and those in Asia minor. The were all brothers and sisters in Christ.

Ok, before we get to this great benediction in verse 14, let’s return to the question. Did the church in Corinth repent? Were the false apostles kicked out or even better come to know the truth and grace of Christ? Did those causing division and those living unholy lives return to faithful living in Chist? Did they follow through on their commitment to give to the poor saints in Jerusalem?

And the answer is, yes. Or I should probably say all indications are yes, they did.

In the beginning of Acts 20 we’re told that Paul spent 3 months in southern Greece. There is no mention of conflict in the church. Furthermore, at the end of Romans in chapter 15, Paul confirms that yes, the church in Achaia, where Corinth was, contributed to the saints in Jerusalem. And that is all consistent with the report that Titus brought to Paul earlier in chapter 7 – repentant hearts.

The work of the Holy Spirit, through Paul as a true apostle appears to have unified the church in Corinth.

As he’s writing these final words, Paul doesn’t know what will happen… But he nonetheless concludes his letter with a great benediction.

It’s one of the two most used benedictions in Scripture. The other being the Aaronic benediction from Numbers 6. In fact, 2 Corinthians 13:14 is one of the main trinitarian verses in Scripture. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ… that is, the grace that saves and the grace that sustains us. It is that grace which has been the central emphasis of every single chapter in this book - the grace found in the cross of Christ, which restores and reconciles. May that grace be the center of our ministry and lives.

And may the love of God… that is, the love of God the Father who gave his son for us. A love greater than any love anywhere at any time. It is a love that we did not deserve, but a love which God nonetheless poured out on us.

And may the fellowship of the Holy Spirit… that is the unifying work of God through his Spirit who has brought us together in Christ. It is the only thing that can break down the walls of hostility and make us one body, because he has broken down the walls in our hearts and made us one people in Christ.

May God who is three in one, in all these ways, bless and keep us, just as he did for the Corinthians. Amen?

I want to encourage you to re-read 2 Corinthians this week. I think you’ll be blessed to be reminded about all that we’ve studied.

Please turn to the last chapter of 2 Corinthians. Chapter 13. Our sermon text is verses 1-10. You can find that on page 1153.

Last week, the apostle Paul reminded the church of his fatherly love for them. Paul was their earthly spiritual father. And as their spiritual father, he warned them about their sin.

Those who had wandered from the truth and godly living needed to return to the Lord. And they needed to do that before Paul’s third visit.

In the last paragraph in chapter 12, Paul expressed his fear that the Corinthians would not repent.

That brings us to chapter 13. In our verses this morning, Paul warns them about what will happen if his fears come true. He will need to discipline them.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 13:1-10.

Prayer

Just last month, Lifeway research published a study on church discipline. They found that many churches have discipline policies but rarely are their policies put into practice. Four out of five churches have discipline policies, but only one in seven have recently put those policies into practice.

It’s not surprising. Discipline is not fun. Parents know that. Children know that. And when something difficult happens in the church as a result of someone’s behavior or belief our natural tendency is to avoid the issue, or we hope that the person who committed the offense will move on. Hard conversation and actions are difficult.

However, those difficult church discipline conversations and actions are the most loving thing that can be done. It’s loving for the sake of their souls, for the sake of any victim of their sin, and for the peace and purity of the church.

In short, church discipline matters.

Now you may have two questions in your mind. #1 – what exactly is church discipline. And #2 – how does it relate to this text in 2 Corinthians 13. Those are excellent questions.

My goal today is to answer them. In fact, the sermon outline lists several questions. Not just the what, but also the why and the how and the who. We’ll spend our time going through them, and I hope by the end you will not only have a picture of church discipline’s importance, but will also see its loving purpose in your life and our church.

1: What is church discipline and what is it not?

Question #1: What is church discipline and what is it not?

That’s a great place to start and I found a good definition from another pastor. He put it this way:  “Church discipline is the process by which the church confronts sin in the life of a believer and seeks to bring about repentance, restoration, and reconciliation.”

Let me say that again. “Church discipline is the process by which the church confronts sin in the life of a believer and seeks to bring about repentance, restoration, and reconciliation.”

We’re going to see that worked out in these verses. In fact, I believe, these verses, 2 Corinthians 13:1-10 are the most helpful passage in the Bible on church discipline.

That’s a bold statement. We read another helpful passage earlier from Matthew 18. It’s considered by most to be the foremost directive for church discipline. In that passages, Jesus talks about when a brother in Christ sins against you, that you should first go to him. If he doesn’t listen, bring someone with you. And if he still doesn’t listen, Jesus says, bring the matter to the church. It’s very helpful. We’re told how to deal with sin when we are sinned against. And the church has some level of responsibility to adjudicate.

But the question is this, what does it look like for the church to handle such situations? And this is where 2 Corinthians 13 helps. It gives us an example which includes the warning of discipline, the lead up to discipline, the basis of discipline, and its purpose.

The reason that this text is about church discipline is found right there in the middle of verse 1. Take a look at it. Paul writes, “Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” Remember again from last week, Paul had just warned them about the consequences of unrepentance, and here he used the language of judgment.

That requirement of 2-3 witnesses goes back to the Old Testament laws regarding crimes and offenses. So, in other words, the warning in chapter 12 could lead to the legal action described in chapter 13, depending on whether the sin is proven. So, even though the word “discipline” is not used, these are matters involving the judgement of sin.

And that is the heart of church discipline. It’s judging and confronting serious sin in a believer’s life in order to bring peace and purity to the church.

Alright, let’s consider some examples. That’s always helpful.

First, let’s go to Corinth. As you know, we’ve spent the last 7 months working through this letter. And one of the things we’ve seen over and over is how the false apostles taught a false Gospel and were making false accusations against Paul. Those were serious matters. And add to that, at the end of chapter 12, Paul lists two other categories of sin that continued to infect the church. One category dealt with the peace of the church – he includes “quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.”  Those things will tear the church apart. He then listed sins that affected the purity of the church – he mentions “impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality.”

So, false doctrine was being taught, an innocent party was being accused, the unity of the church body was being damaged, and the lifestyle of some in the church was contrary to God’s design. Those are serious things.

Let me expand that with some concrete examples today.

If a pastor constantly berates church staff members or volunteers with a harsh and derogatory tone, and is unrepentant about it or does not change, that pastor needs to be discipline.

If a wife or husband breaks the one-flesh union they have with their spouse by committing adultery, that wife or husband has committed a grave sin and needs discipline.

If there’s case of domestic abuse involving members of a church, the abuser needs discipline and the one being abused needs care.

Just to be sure, there are civil laws and civil punishments related to some of these situations. Those need to be worked out through the legal system. In other words, when it comes to church discipline, there are no physical punishments. Again, the civil courts handle that.

Rather, when we talk about church discipline, we are specifically talking about spiritual discipline. That means formally confronting sin and seeking repentance and restoration. That may involve requiring someone to abstain from the Lord’s Table, or it may involve removal from membership.

For the younger children here. Last week, I asked you if you had ever been warned by your parents about consequences. You said or did something that was hurtful to someone else. Maybe you lied about something, and your mom or dad sat you down and warned you. I saw many of you nodding your head, that yes, that happens.

Well, have you ever ignored their warning? Did you say or do something you parents warned you not to do? I see some nodding. Maybe you disrespected your mom or you continued to lie about something. Well, what happened? You were punished. Right? Maybe you lost a privilege like screen time or playing with friends, or maybe a spanking, or maybe you had to write an apology letter. All of those different consequences are forms of discipline. You were being disciplined by your parents.

And what was the goal of that discipline? Was it to make you mad at your parents? No. It was to help you learn what is good and right and true. It’s so that you would learn how to love others and how to be truthful and honest and hardworking.

Well, it’s a similar thing in this chapter. Turns out, adults need disciple, too.

The truth is, we are all selfish. We desire things that are not ours. We commit acts that dishonor God and break the trust and unity in the church. Even though the power and penalty of sin has been removed by Christ, those in him still have the presence of sin, and we all are still on the path of sanctification and renewal.

2. What is the basis of church discipline?

So that is generally what church discipline is about. Which brings us to a second question.  Actually, this question is not on the outline – it’s a late addition, but it is crucial.

What is the basis of church discipline?

Church discipline needs to be based on the truth. It needs to pursue truth. This is absolutely critical. It’s why these verses begin with the need for 2-3 credible witnesses. It’s why Paul sent multiple brothers to Corinth to assess the situation. And look at verse 8. “For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.” There has to be truthful and credible testimony and evidence. It’s really easy to make assumptions and it’s really easy for someone to twist or pervert the truth in defense of sin or out of retribution or revenge. The truth is not always clear and that makes it difficult, but credible testimony and witnesses need to be pursued. In other words, church discipline needs to stand for what is true and right and good and it needs to be based on what is true and right and good.

Those given charge to care for your souls and care for the church need to pursue the truth with diligence and care.

That is really important, so I wanted to include that question.

3. What are its goals?

Ok, the next question is also very important. Actually, all of these are very important, but I think this one needs to be front and center. What is the goal of discipline?

In a word the goal of spiritual discipline is “restoration.”  Look at verse 9. Second half of the verse. “Your restoration is what we pray for.”

Paul desired that those in Corinth who were committing these grievous acts or who held to these unorthodox beliefs be restored. He wanted those who were gossiping and slandering other believers to put an end to the destruction that they were causing. He desired that the church forgive one another and be unified.

In fact, he talked about repentance and forgiveness back in chapters 2 and 7. One of Paul’s critics had repented from undermining Paul, and the apostle urged the church to restore him. He forgave this man, and so should the church.

Verse 10 expands on the goal of restoration. Paul said that his use of authority is for “building up and not tearing down” That’s at the end of verse 10. Church discipline is to build up the body of Christ. It’s just like how the discipline of a child is for their maturity.

The goal of church discipline is always repentance and restoration, which builds up the body of Christ.

Now, to be sure, the destruction that some sin causes may not be reparable in this life. Some marriages broken by adultery are not reparable. Or worse, think about murder. It’s also devastating. But let me say this, there is no sinful act that God will not forgive for those who come to him with a true repentance…. That is, who come to him with a heart grief for one’s sin not just feeling sorry, and seek to turn from it.

4. What precedes discipline?

Next question. What should precede discipline? In other words, at what point should a formal church discipline process begin?

Part of the answer is found all throughout 1 and 2 Corinthians. Over and over Paul conveyed his love for the church. Over and over he identified sin in their midst that needed to be dealt with. He’s been very specific about it. Over and over he has called them to return to faithful living and belief. And over and over Paul warned the church of the consequences.

All of that is part of spiritual discipline, but in 2 Corinthians 13, the apostle warns of a formal process involving witnesses and authority and judgment.

What I am saying is that that step needs to be the very last step after ample displays of love, ample warnings, and ample opportunities to be restored.

Just to be sure, there are situations like abuse where for the sake of the victim, church discipline needs to be accelerated. But even then, it needs to be done carefully, with firm resolve, with a clear warning about the gravity of that sin, and a call to repentance and change.

Look at verse 2. “ I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them.” Multiple warnings. In fact, this chapter is not the implementation of discipline. Rather it is a final warning. This is the discipline they will experience if they didn’t repent.

To sum up this answer: discipline needs to be preceded by patient, loving, clear, and firm warnings about the consequences of sin and the judgment of God.

5. What is the message of discipline?

Next, what is the message of discipline?

The message of church discipline is a plea for self-examination. Look at verse 5: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

Church discipline should implore the offender to search his heart. The severity of the unrepentant sin may indicate that he not a believer in Christ.

In other words, the message of spiritual discipline is the message of the Gospel. It needs to be. The message is that Jesus’ death and resurrection defeated sin and death. As Romans 6 asks, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” If you have been redeemed by Christ, then by the ministry of the Holy Spirit in you, God enables you to repent of that sin and to pursue righteousness.

That does not mean that dealing with the vestiges of sin in our lives is easy. No. But it does mean that God gives believers a heart grief of their sin and a desire to turn from it. And we have the help of the church to come along side of us as we seek to walk in the newness of life in Christ. Church discipline is about unrepentant sin and therefore its message is the Gospel.

That is why Paul called the Corinthians to examine themselves. The test is whether they are in the faith, as verse 5 puts it. Discipline is a call not just for repentance from a specific sin but it is a call for repentance unto life - true Gospel repentance that sees our utter need for the mercy of God and turns to Jesus by faith as our Savior.

This is the message of spiritual discipline. Furthermore, it is why, if the discipline is not heeded, that the one being disciplined should be removed from membership. We call that excommunication. Jesus said, “if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” In other words, treat him as an unbeliever.

And let me ask, how do you treat an unbeliever? By loving them and witnessing to them the love of God in Christ… and calling them to faith and repentance.

6. What is the perception?

Next, what is the perception of church discipline? Well, the perception is often negative.

Sometimes its perceived negatively because it was handled poorly, perhaps by leaders who have no history or understanding of loving servant leadership.

However, oftentimes spiritual discipline is handled lovingly and carefully but still considered harsh or as I heard recently, legalistic.

In particular, the ones receiving the discipline often react against it. That’s what was happening in Corinth. Some turned the tables on Paul. They claimed that he failed the test of faith. That’s found twice in here. First in verse 3, they wanted proof that Christ was speaking through Paul because according to the false-apostles, Paul was not an apostle. They questioned his authority.

Then in verse 7, Paul says that he prays to God “that you may do right, though we may seem to have failed.” Some had been calling him a failure.

In both cases, the call to repentance was met with a counter-attack against Paul. But notice that he received it with grace. He says in verse 9, “For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong.” And that is when he says, “your restoration is what we seek.”

In other words, Paul would rather appear weak if it meant that they would be strong in the faith and return to the Lord and to faithfulness in him.

Even though the perception of discipline is often negative and often responded to with criticism, it should not deter the church from a loving, thoughtful, and diligent call to faith and repentance.

7. Where does the authority come from?

One more question and it’s related. Where does the authority for discipline come from?

And the answer is that the authority has been given by the Lord, himself. Paul makes that clear in verse 10. To be sure, Paul was specifically speaking about his apostleship. In the establishment of the early church, the apostles were given the initial authority. But the ongoing authority has been given to the shepherds of God’s flock. Those are the elders which the Lord establishes in his church. So, the authority comes from the Lord and is given to the church through her elders. And those elders are themselves accountable to the Lord and subject to the same discipline that they oversee.

So, the ultimate authority is Christ. But he uses his church to protect his church and to maintain its purity and peace.

Conclusion

To summarize:

1. What is church discipline? It is the loving and careful process that confronts unrepentant sin, calls for repentance and restoration of the sinners and seeks peace and purity in the church.

2. What should discipline be based on? Discipline cases need to be based on truth and credible witnesses.

3. What are its goals? The restoration of the believer, the building up in maturity unto Christ, and the peace and purity of the church.

4. What should precede discipline? Formal discipline should be undertaken only after many loving and thoughtful attempts to confront sin, except in special cases involving egregious sin.

5. What is the message of discipline? Its message is the message of the Gospel – repent and believe for as verse 4 says, “he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God.” The death and resurrection of Christ are at the center of discipline’s call and its power to overcome sin.

6. What is the perception of discipline? Even though discipline is often perceived negatively or countered with baseless accusations, it should still be undertaken with humility and care.

And 7. Where does the authority come from? The authority for discipline comes from Christ. He is Lord and King of the church and he entrusts that authority to the elders of his church who are called to fulfill that discipline, faithfully.

I want to say that if you would like to talk through any of these points in more detail, please reach out to me. I recognize there’s a lot here and these are difficult things.

Let me leave you with this.

May we be a church that seeks purity and peace. And may our elders lovingly and earnestly pursue us if we go astray… and if necessary, with spiritual discipline that points us to the Gospel.

And may we as members receive the discipline, return to Christ, and be restored to his body, the church, all under the authority of Christ, our Lord.

2 Corinthians 12:14-21

Love that Longs for Repentance

Our sermon text this morning is 2 Corinthians 12:14-21. That is on page 1152 in the provided Bibles.

The apostle Paul is wrapping up his defense of his apostleship. And in these verses, he lets the Corinthians know that he will be visiting them again, soon. This will be his third visit.

Paul’s first visit was when he established the church in Corinth. He was there for 18 months. Paul’s second visit was the painful visit he made a few months prior to writing this letter.

And this third trip would be to check in on them and if necessary, deal firmly with their ongoing sin.

As you will hear, Paul hopes they will repent, but fears they won’t.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 12:14-21

Prayer

In 1962, Dick and Judy Hoyt gave birth to a son, Rick. Rick was born with a severe case of Cerebral Palsey. He was unable to move his legs, had limited use of his arms, and he was unable to speak.

The Hoyts loved their son. They worked with him, and he learned to communicate through gestures and a rudimentary keyboard and screen.

When Rick was 15, he communicated to his dad he wanted to race in a 5 mile road race. It was to raise money for a high schooler who had become paralyzed in an accident.

So, they did it! Rick’s dad pushed Rick in his wheelchair for 5 miles, and Rick loved it. It made him feel like he could walk and run. Dick Hoyt would end up not only pushing his son in road races, but he made a special seat to carry him on a bicycle. He would also row a boat and tow Rick behind him, as if he were swimming. They competed in over 1,100 races including triathlons and marathons. In fact, both Rick and his dad are in the Ironman hall of fame. They have inspired many many others. Rick’s dad would do anything for his son.

In the same way, the apostle Paul would do anything for the church in Corinth. He considered himself their spiritual father. Not their Heavenly Father, but their spiritual father on earth.

And it’s true. Paul brought the Gospel to Corinth. He labored for months and months to teach them about Jesus and God’s promises fulfilled in him. Paul discipled them in their daily walk with Christ. He organized the church in Corinth. He brought the new believers together and taught them how to worship the Lord well. He modelled for them how to witness. He, in a sense, carried them.

He loved them like a father would love a child. And that is why he wrote multiple letters. It’s why he visited them twice up to this point. And it’s why he sent Titus and Timothy, to minister on his behalf when he couldn’t be there.

Paul loved them.

Let me ask, what would a loving father do in such a situation? Some of his spiritual children were not living the life that he taught them. Some of them had been believing in false doctrine – worldly philosophy. Others were even questioning his motives.

What would a loving father do?

Even if you never knew your father, or even if your father was abusive or overbearing or didn’t seem to care or was mostly absent, even if one of those things, I think you can still probably imagine what a loving father would do. Maybe you saw it in someone else.

Here’s what I think.

A loving father would #1 express his unconditional love to them in no uncertain terms.

#2 a loving father would need to correct them. If people had been accusing him of things that were not true (like what was happening in Corinth) a loving father would make it clear what was true and why. If they believed in something that was not true, he would seek to instruct them in what is right.

So, love and correction.

Then 3rd. A loving father would be firm. A loving father disciplines his children. That discipline may include warnings of consequences if their behavior persists.

And lastly, and not least, #4 a loving father would grieve. All these things would weigh heavily on him.

These verses display all of those things. Paul was acting as a loving father for his spiritual children in Corinth.

There are three progressions in his fatherly communication. You’ll see them in the outline.

1. Seeking and sacrificing (12:14-15) – Paul displays a fatherly love that pursues no matter the cost

2. Dispelling deceit (12:16-19) – He speaks the truth in love to build them up

3. Fearing the fallout (12:20-21) – Paul warns them and grieves the devastation of unrepentant sin.

1. Seeking and sacrificing

So, let’s work through those.

Number 1, seeking and sacrificing. That’s what the apostle was doing. He was pursuing them no matter the cost.

We see that right there in verse 14. He was saying to them, I’m ready to come to you a third time and there’s nothing about my visit that will materially burden you. You don’t need to financially support me. No, rather, I’m coming soon to help you.

And then, he makes this beautiful declaration to them. “I seek not what is yours, but you.” I want you. I love you. I care about you.

Isn’t that what we all want to hear? It moving.

I want you to know here that your spiritual fathers and brothers love you. I’m talking about our elders. We love you. I love you. We pray for you. We seek to spiritually care for you. Yes, our love for you is imperfect. We’ll get to the perfect love of our heavenly Father in a moment. But we desire to care for and minister to your souls as your earthly spiritual fathers.

Paul loved the Corinthians and he wanted their hearts. And this is where he uses the parent/child analogy. He says, “For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.”

All parents should care for and provided for their young children’s needs – you know, a place to sleep, a roof over their head, clothing, education, guidance. Parents should save and sacrifice.

Now, when a child becomes an adult, that child typically should take on many of the responsibilities for themselves. There are, of course, special situations.  If that adult child comes to have a family of his own or her own, they should then sacrifice for their own children.

This is what Paul is alluding to in a general sense.

Essentially, he was saying that as their spiritual father, he was pouring out his life for them.

Another beautiful phrase is right there in verse 15, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.”

He has given himself. As we’ve gone through 2 Corinthians, you’ve heard over and over about his love for them and his desire for them to mature in Christ. He would spend whatever it took for them - his time, his emotional energy, his own resources. He would endure all the risks and suffering to minister to their souls.

That is the level of sacrifice that Paul was making for them

He wants them to know of his sacrificial love.

And he ends verse 15 with a question. “if I love you more, am I to be loved less?” He did love them, that’s very true. And so, it was a gentle appeal to them that they return his love. I’ve poured out my life for you. Will you love me in return.

He’s sought them and sacrificed for them, and he desired that they respond to the love he’s displayed.

2. Dispelling deceit (12:16-19)

Which brings us to verses 16-19. Dispelling deceit.

There were a lot of issues in the church in Corinth. We know from the letter of 1 Corinthians that the church struggled with sexual sin. The church also struggled with disunity. We’ll see that spelled out in verses 20 and 21. In this letter, 2 Corinthains, we’ve seen how the false apostles perverted the teaching of Christ. Paul had to correct that. They were also arrogant. These so-called super apostles boasted in worldly credentials. They lived lives unbecoming of faithful believers. And they undermined Paul and his ministry.

They even claimed that Paul was deceitful. That’s what verse 16 says. They claimed that Paul was somehow taking advantage of them (verse 17). Now, we’re not given specifics, but since he just talked about not being a financial burden, it’s likely they claimed Paul was in some way profiting from his relationship with them. But it was all false.

Let me ask a difficult question. When someone makes a false accusation against you and is actively spreading it around, should you make a defense?

Do you defend yourself?

It’s a difficult question because Jesus, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When Pilate questioned him, he didn’t speak. When slander was heaped upon him, he received it. Furthermore, Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek which means to not retaliate.

Does that mean we should not defend ourselves when someone is lying and spreading that lie?

It’s a hard question. Generally, I believe we should stand for what is true.

When rumors or lies are spread about you or the church, depending what they are, they may bring undeserved shame upon the name of Christ. False public claims and distortions of the truth may cast dishonor on the name of Christ.

If they do, then in those situations, I believe we should be clear about what was said or done or happened. We should not do that in a retaliatory or vindictive way, but for the sake of Christ and his bride, the church, we should make the truth known.

Again, I’m speaking about slander that is being spread. In most cases, we should defend the truth because it seeks to restore honor to Christ. But it needs to be done in a way that is honorable and loving.

Look at verse 19. Paul had just defended Titus and himself. He makes it clear that they were not taking advantage of the Corinthians. And then he says this (verse 19), “Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ…”

Much of this whole letter has been a defense. Paul has not been ultimately defending himself, rather he’s been defending the reputation of God. God is the one who had called Paul to his role as an apostle. Paul self-defense and his defense of the Gospel is a defense of Christ and his ministry.

And verse 19 ends with another affirmation of Paul’s love for them. He says, “all for your upbuilding, beloved.” The truth of the Gospel and the truth of Paul’s ministry is what the church needed to hear. It was all done with the goal that they return to faithfulness. And so, Paul defends what is true.

We need to dispel deceit in loving and clear ways to bring honor to Christ and his bride.

3. Fearing the fallout (12:20-21)

Ok, #3 Fearing the fallout – verses 20-21

So far, the apostle has affirmed his fatherly love for the church in no uncertain terms. I do not want what is yours, but you. And I will gladly spend and be spent for your souls.

He’s furthermore defended himself against deceit. In defending his reputation and his love for them, he was defending Christ. It was all for their building up.

And now, in these last two verses of the chapter, Paul firmly warns them. It’s a fatherly firmness that they needed to hear.

Let me ask the kids, her. Do your parents ever warn you? I’m guessing they do.

Maybe you did something or said something that was disrespectful or selfish, and your mom or dad had to sit you down.

What did they say? Well, from experience (on both sides), your mom or dad probably gave you a warning and some reasons. Right?

For example, “yesterday you said that your homework was done so you could play with your friends. I found out that you were lying. It may seem small but lying breaks trust. It dishonors God because we are called to be people of truth and walk in the light. So, I will be checking your homework, and if you lie again, you will lose the privilege of playing with your friends for a week.”

Does that sound familiar? That is a warning from a loving parent to a child.

That is what the apostle Paul was doing here. He was sternly warning them about their actions and warning them about his upcoming visit, but he does it in a gentle way.

He uses the word “fear.” Did you notice that at the beginning of verse 20 and 21? “I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish…” and verse 21, again, “I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented.”

He uses the word fear because he does not want to see the Corinthians enmeshed in sin. He knows the near term and long term consequences of their sin, and he doesn’t want to see his children experience those consequences. And so he makes clear their need to repent, which means to see their sin, to grieve over it, turn from it, and back to God.

Ok, briefly, let’s look at the two lists of sin here. The first list in verse 20 includes relational sin within the church. “quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.” Those are all things that destroy the body of Christ.

The second list are sins related to the purity of their minds and bodies. “impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality.” These are sins that destroy the body and pollute the mind. Each of those lists is destructive in different ways. Those two lists are essentially what Paul’s first letter focused on. That sin still plagued the church at that time.

Paul loved them and longed to see them repent. But he feared that that they wouldn’t. And so, as a loving father, he mourned.

I don’t know a godly parent who doesn’t mourn and grieve and pray for their wayward child. They plead with the Lord and they pray. They love their child or children children by seeking them, sacrificing for them, being clear about their sin, but reminding them of the mercy of God if they turn from it back to him.

You see, these are the words of a loving father, the apostle Paul, to his wayward children, some in the Corinthian church.

1. He sought them with all his heart and sacrificed for their souls. 2. He defended the truth with grace and love, and 3. He longed to see them repent, firmly warning them of their path.

The Love of the Father through Christ

This is fatherly love. And this love that the apostle Paul displays is patterned after the love of God the Father for you and for me.

God’s love is the love that underlies this whole section of 2 Corinthians 12. Every single aspect of fatherly love here reflects the love of God for his children.

First, he is seeking you. verse 14. God “seeks not what is yours but you.” That’s true. The Father doesn’t want your gifts to him or your sacrifices. No, he wants you. He seeks you. He wants your heart. We read from Micah 6 in our call to worship this morning. “With what shall I come before the Lord…? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”  And then Micah says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

He seeks you and your heart.

Second, he has sacrificed for you. Verse 15. “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.” God the Father has made an infinite sacrifice for you and for your soul. The Father sacrificed his eternal Son as payment for your sin. Jesus gave his life that you may live.

Paul’s life as an apostle is patterned after the ministry of God in Christ. Paul suffered and would eventually be killed bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth. But God gave infinitely more. Jesus endured the wrath of God, which you and I deserve, so that we may know him and be reconciled to him by faith. What more could God spend than himself for your salvation.

Third, God has given us his Word of truth. This Word is for all the world to see and know. This Word condemns deceit. It stands against injustice. It reveals truth and righteousness. God has lovingly given us his Word that we might know him and pursue him. And all of it, to use the words of verse 19, are for our upbuilding.

And fourth, and finally, God longs for us to repent and turn to him. This is the call to all humanity that is found all through the Bible. God calls all to repent and turn to him by faith. All through the Old Testament God displayed his mercy and lovingkindness. But his people rejected him and his commandments. They were unfaithful to him. God justly warned of his judgment, but all the while he mercifully sought their return to him.

This is the same fatherly love that he gives us

The apostle Peter captures it well in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

As we come to a close, I want to ask you to evaluate your own heart and life. Each of us falls into one of three categories (related to these verses).

1. God is your loving Father and with a repentant heart, you are pursuing him by faith. Is that you? If so, press on by faith, continue to rely on him, continue to know his Word, and be reminded of his love for you in Christ.

2. God is your loving Father, but you, like some of the Corinthians, have wandered away from him. Maybe an unrepentant sin has taken hold of your life. Or maybe you’ve bought into a worldly philosophy like what the false apostles taught. If that is you, know that God loves you and longs for you to return to him.

3. Or maybe you fall into a 3rd category. God is pursuing you as a loving Father would pursue a wayward child. But you have yet to embrace his love. If that is you, know that God himself is seeking you. He has sacrificed his Son for you. He has spoken the truth to you with the firm resolve of a loving Father. And he desires you to submit your life to him by faith.

Whichever category you are in, may God be at work in you because he is the loving Father.

2 Corinthians 12:1-13

Christ’s Power Made Perfect in Weakness

Please turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. That is on page 1152 of your pew Bibles.

We are on the home stretch in our 2 Corinthians study. We’ll be wrapping up our series over the next 4 weeks.

This morning, we’ll cover chapter 12 verses 1-13. It has one of the most well-known verses in the book. And it’s a great one. The Lord said to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” What a tremendous promise.

As I read, listen for the context of that promise. Also listen for the unique experiences and gifts given to the apostles.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 12:1-13.

Prayer

“To live is to suffer.” That well-known quote has been attributed to a couple of people in history. Again, “To live is to suffer.” Whoever said it has captured one of the common experiences of all mankind. To be sure, it doesn’t capture all the things we share, but it does capture the fact that we live in a fallen world. And part of that fallenness, which we all experience, is suffering.

We each endure pain and suffering. Some to a greater extent and others to a lesser one. Some of our suffering is physical, other suffering is emotional. Some of it has been inflicted upon us by others. Some of our suffering is due to the imperfections of our minds and bodies. To use the words of Romans 8, the whole creation has been groaning… and we groan inwardly.

You may struggle with chronic illness or live with the results of an accident. Or endure the effects of a disease that you had, or perhaps you were born with a condition of some kind that affects you every day. Maybe you have or have had cancer, or endure debilitating headaches, or struggle with vertigo, or seizures or mental illness. Or maybe the burden you carry is the suffering that a loved one is enduring.

All of it is hard. All of it weighs on us. We lose sleep. We shed tears of heartache. Like Paul, we plead for the Lord to relieve our pain and suffering. We cry out for help. We long to be comforted and we long to be whole.

Out of all the verses in the entire Bible, I think 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 brings the greatest comfort and hope to our souls. It directs us to the source of our comfort and it reveals from where we can draw strength in weakness. And that is, in Christ.

I hope and pray that you will leave here today with a renewed strength in God as you endure suffering and sickness.

But before we get to those precious verses, verses 7-10, let’s first figure out what this third heaven is and who experienced it, and then ponder Paul’s thorn in the flesh. I think understanding those things will in fact increase your comfort from this Word.

By the way, I did get an outline in the bulletin this week. It’s there on page 4.

We’re first going to look at Paul’s calling as an Apostle (you know, capital A, Apostle), including the things unique to his role, as well as the things we share with him.

And then second, we’ll apply God’s grace in Christ in our own weaknesses.

1. Paul’s unique calling and our shared struggle

So, #1, Paul’s unique calling and our shared struggle.

Remember, the whole reason that Paul has entered into the foolishness of boasting is because of the so-called super-apostles. They’re mentioned here, again. They had elevated themselves. They taught a false Gospel. And they undermined Paul and his teaching. All of it threatened the stability and future of the church in Corinth.

Therefore, Paul needed to demonstrate his trustworthiness and the truth of the Gospel he proclaimed.

So, Paul had to boast, but it pained him. It pained him because he knew that any and all of the ministry that has happened through him was not because of himself. No, it was all attributable to God. Paul had a special calling as an Apostle, but he knew he was unworthy of that role, yet God had called him to it.

So, he’s been boasting over these last 2 chapters only to counter the super apostles. And now, in chapter 12 verse 1, he continues to boast and says, “I will go on to visions and revelations.”

And then look at verse 2. He begins, “I know a man” and then describes the revelations that this guy experienced. Who is that guy? Well, it’s Paul himself. He basically says so in verse 7. “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations [you know, the thing he just described], a thorn was given me in the flesh”

This is like saying today, “Asking for a friend.” Like “is it ok to wear the same pair of socks two days in a row? asking for a friend.” You say “asking for a friend” because you really don’t want to admit you are the one asking. But everyone knows, it’s really you.

Paul referred to himself in the third person because he just can’t bring himself to boast about the amazing revelations he’s seen. This man, AKA, Paul, has been caught up into “third heaven.” What in the world is the third heaven?  Well, at that time, there was a well-known way to describe the different levels of the heavens. The first heaven was the realm of the clouds and the blue sky; if you will, our atmosphere. The second heaven was the realm of the sun, moon, and stars, what we call outer space. And the third heaven was the spiritual realm, what we just call heaven – in the presence of the Lord. Paul describes it in verse 3 as “paradise.”

So, Paul, as an apostle had been given a revelation of heaven. It was so real to him, he didn’t even know if he was in the body or out of the body. Had God physically taken him to heaven to see its wonders, or had God only brought his spirit to see and hear? Paul didn’t know. But he did know… it was unspeakably amazing.

Now, in the book of Revelation, we are given a glimpse into this kind of revelation. The apostle John was taken up into heaven and Jesus revealed to him many things. John was told to write down what he saw and heard. Paul, on the other hand was told not to. In some way, it was to assure him of the truth and of God’s promises.

I mean, think of all the suffering that Paul had to endure as an apostle. Think of all those things that we considered in chapter 11. The beatings, the shipwrecks, the dangers. Would not the visions revealed to Paul give him confidence in God. Would they not inspire and motivate him to persevere as an Apostle despite the suffering that he would endure? Of course they would. They would do all those things.

But he couldn’t boast about the revelations as himself. He could only boast about them in his God ordained role as a true apostle.

Now, jump down to verse 12. It’s very similar in this regard. He writes, “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.” Same thing. In verse 12 Paul can’t even name himself as the one who performed the signs. So, he uses a passive voice. But the Corinthians were there. They knew full well that it was Paul that performed the signs and wonders… which, by the way, were likely healings and miracles. Besides Paul, other apostles performed them. We have record of several in the book of Acts.

Consider this. Out of all the arguments about Paul’s true apostleship, these are the strongest - visions and revelations and signs and wonders. Yet in all of it, Paul minimized himself and exalted God.

Now, we don’t share in those special things. We’re not apostles…  Those things were given to the apostles.

But there is something we do share with them. We share in their weaknesses.

All throughout 2 Corinthians, we’ve studied the emphasis on suffering. To be sure, Paul has demonstrated his unique roll as a suffering servant for Christ. But he’s also expanded God’s teaching to includes all believers.

Chapter 1: remember, we share in the suffering of Christ and in his comfort.

Chapter 4: we have the unbreakable treasure of the Gospel in our breakable jars of clay bodies.

Chapter 5: we groan in the tent that is our earthly body, and we long to put on our heavenly body.

And now in chapter 12. Christ’s power is made perfect in weakness. And furthermore, just like Paul, we each have thorns in our flesh.

We share those things.

OK, you are probably wondering: what was Paul’s thorn? As you can imagine, there have been dozens of proposals through the centuries. Some have suggested Paul’s thorn was a physical ailment such as migraines, or a speech impediment, or an eye condition, or some kind of disfigurement. That’s possible.

Others have suggested it was more opposition to his work. That view sees the messenger of Satan as an individual or group opposed to Paul. They were  “thorns in his flesh” so to speak. That’s also possible.

Personally, I think it was more likely a physical condition given that he calls it a thorn in his “flesh.”

But in the end, it doesn’t matter. The Holy Spirit saw fit in his wisdom to not identify the thorn. We don’t need to know. And in many ways, it is helpful for us not to know.

In fact, look at verse 10. Notice that the types of suffering listed are broad.  “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.” Those are basically all the kinds of suffering that we experience. All of it is a result of living in a fallen world. Our thorns in the flesh could be many things.

Let me share one of my “thorns in the flesh.”

18 years ago, I was teaching a class. It was an intensive 5-day class in my field of work at the time. In the middle of the class on I think the second or third day, I lost my ability to say certain words. I would be in the middle of a sentence, and I couldn’t say the next word. I had never experienced that before. It was a kind of stuttering. There were certain consonants that just wouldn’t come out. I would get locked up. I had a hard time speaking.

It was overwhelming. I was afraid and I didn’t know what to do at first. At the time, I was only maybe 10 seminary classes away from finishing my degree. A career change was on my mind in the future. And I thought, if I can’t talk clearly, I can’t teach the Bible or preach.

I prayed for healing and for the Lord to give me strength. Amy, of course, was a big encouragement. I was able to get some help. There are ceratin strategies to navigate those moments. It’s mostly gone, but occasionally it comes back. Even today, I have to pause or take a breath before I can say certain words. And you probably don’t notice it.

Honestly, I don’t remember if 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 came to mind in those difficult days. But certainly, its truths have become real to me. It was humbling, like Paul experienced with his thorn in the flesh. And it’s been a constant reminder to rely on the Lord and his strength and his grace in my weakness.

I know many of you have a different thorn, but we share the same strength and grace. Strength in Christ and grace in him.

2. God’s grace in Christ and his power in our weakness

Which brings us to main point number 2. God’s grace in Christ and his power in our weakness.

We’ll spend the rest of our time applying these truths to our suffering and weakness.

The first thing to note is that there are two causes here. Besides the thorn being in God’s sovereign plan, Satan was also present to tempt Paul.

Maybe the apostle Paul has Job in mind. We read from Job chapter 2 earlier. God allowed Satan to afflict Job. Satan thought that Job would curse God, but Job stood firm through that temptation. So did the apostle.

I think every single one of us understands the temptation of weakness. God, where are you? Why have you not brought healing or restoration? Have you forgotten me? Have I done something to deserve this? Those are the questions we struggles through.

And let me say, if there’s nothing else you remember from 2 Corinthians, remember that God ministers to us in our suffering. He understands our suffering, he is with us in it, and he uses it for his purposes.

One big thing that 2 Corinthians has taught us is to reorient our theology of suffering. We’ve learned that God uses suffering in our life for his purposes. And, throughout the book, we’ve been given hope and strength to endure.

But what are those purposes?

Well, to name a few… In chapter 1, we learned that affliction helps us to rely on God more. That’s certainly true. Suffering should drive us to Christ.

God also uses our affliction so that we can minister to others who similarly suffer. Remember, we are able to comfort others with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God.

In Chapter 4, God directed our attention in suffering to the eternal weight of glory. Our suffering points us to heaven and the amazing glory that we will experience.

And here in chapter 12, God used Paul’s thorn in two ways. (1) to keep him from being conceited -to humble him. Suffering certainly does that. And (2), to remind Paul of God’s grace as he endured his suffering. Suffering helps us to lay hold of God’s grace.

That really encapsulates the first subpoint in point #2 - Knowing God’s purposes in our weakness (12:7-8)

God is at work in your suffering. Do you believe that? Do you believe that God is conforming you more and more to the image of his Son. It’s true. Through suffering, God may be releasing your reliance on the world or the world’s things. That’s possible. He may be getting hold of your attention. Or maybe it’s all of those things or something all together different.

Whatever it is, know this: God is at work accomplishing his purposes in your suffering.

Number 2, the second subpoint. If you are a believer in Christ, you have God’s grace. You have God’s undeserved mercy in Christ. And that grace, as verse 9 reminds us, IS sufficient for you in your weakness.

It is sufficient because the power of Christ has come through weakness. Jesus suffered in this life. He endured the trials and pain and torture unto death. It was through those things, through that affliction and weakness, that God has brought salvation to the world.

Isn’t it amazing to consider how the weakness and suffering of our savior ultimately demonstrated his power? That is the power that verse 9 is talking about. In the cross of Christ is the power to save, and the power to sanctify, and the power to overcome sin and Satan. It is that power, the power of Christ which rests upon us, as verse 9 puts it.

So, beloved in Christ, in your weaknesses and trials and suffering, remind yourself of that grace which he gives. It is eternally sufficient to sustain you.

That brings us to the third sub-point listed there. Contentment. Paul says in verse 10, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.”

None of us, by nature, are content with any of those things. We could go through that list and talk about how in each of those things we can become resentful. For example, take that last one – calamities. This last week has been so very hard with the flooding in Texas. Our hearts ache for the families who have lost loved ones, especially those little girls. Yes, we should be crying out to God, but our hearts should at the same time not become resentful. We can grieve and ask God why, but we can do that with a humble contentment in God’s promises and what he is doing through that disaster.

By the way, that word contentment, in the Greek, means to take pleasure in the implications of something. We can be content because we know that God’s purposes are being fulfilled in those things. As Romans 8:28 says, we know that all things work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purposes. It doesn’t say all things are good. It says, all things work together for the good of those who love him.

The difficult providence of suffering is not what we would choose for ourselves or others, but God uses it. He uses it to accomplish his purposes as he has in Paul. The question is whether we will allow our suffering to drive us away from Christ and cause us to become resentful or whether we will allow our suffering to drive us to Christ and be content in him through it.

The last subpoint, #4. Embracing his strength in our weakness. Really the second half of verse 10 summarizes it all. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” This is totally contrary to our sensibilities. Strength, according to the world, is being firm and leading with confidence. It’s being self-reliant and influencing others through our position. Strength in the world is about achievements and successes. In other words, it’s all the things that the super-apostles were about. But none of those things will help you in the trials and tribulations of life.

Rather, strength comes through weakness. That’s the paradox of the Gospel. We are strong through weakness when we humble ourselves and rely on Christ alone by faith. We are strong when we submit to him no matter the suffering we face. It doesn’t mean we can’t lament. Many of the Psalms are Psalms of lament. We are strong when we allow God to mold and shape us in our suffering.

All that strength in weakness comes through Jesus Christ. Though he possessed the full glory of God as God, yet he set aside that glory and became weak. He took on the weakness of human flesh. He endured the sufferings and afflictions of this life. He bore our sin on the cross. But he was raised in power and exalted on high.

You see, his grace IS sufficient because his power IS made perfect in weakness. And because he shares in our weakness, we share in his strength.

That strength will sustain you through all the suffering in this life. The devil may tempt you. Your fear and pain may at times may be overwhelming, but in those moments, renew your faith in Christ. Look to him knowing that his purposes are being fulfilled in you, and know that nothing will separate you from him. Back to Romans 8 one more time. “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

May we grasp on to that great truth through whatever weakness and suffering we endure. Amen.

2 Corinthians 11:16-33 - Boasting as a Fool

Please remain standing. Our sermon text this morning is 2 Corinthians 11:16-33. Please turn there. It is on page 1152.

In this passage, the apostle Paul comes back to the theme of boasting. He introduced it in chapter 10. Remember, our boasting should be in the Lord and his work, not ourselves and our work. That was in contrast to the super apostles, who boasted in themselves.

That is why, at the beginning of chapter 11, Paul had the most pointed critique of them yet. They taught a different Gospel and were actually messengers of Satan.

That brings us to our text this morning. As you will hear, Paul hates their boasting. But to counter the super apostles, he first sarcastically boasts in his credentials and then surprisingly he boasts in something very different.

Listen for those things as I read.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

Prayer

On the world stage, there is no shortage of bragging and arrogance. I’m talking mainly about world leaders. I think there’s been an increase over the last couple of decades. We certainly saw it back in the late1990s with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Vladimir Putin in Russia has certainly displayed a confident arrogance in his 25 years of power. And no matter your political opinions, I think everyone here would agree: our current president is quite the self-promoter, and I’m being kind.

Now, don’t be distracted by that comment. Stay with me.

Let me say that none of this is new. If we go back to the first century in the Roman Empire, boasting was at a similar high. In fact, I read in a commentary this week that Ceasar Augustus, one of the great Roman Emperors, raised the bar of self-promotion. Near the end of his life, Augustus wrote a short treatise about himself. Listen to the title - “The Deeds of the Divine Augustus.” It was released in the year of his death, AD 14. In it, Augustus highlighted all of his successes – his military accomplishments, his public works, his diplomacy, and his reforms in the empire. You can find it online.

In it, you will read over and over. “I did this, I did that.” I triumphed over such and such nations. I built the senate house and the capital building. Four times, I helped the senatorial treasury with my own money. I restored peace to the sea from pirates. I gave shows of gladiators under my name. I extended the borders of the empire… etc. etc.

This kind of self-absorbed boasting permeated the culture of the Roman Empire.

And to give a little historical context, it was published about 60 years after Corinth was re-settled as a Roman city; 20 years before Jesus’ crucifixion, and about 40 years before Paul wrote 2 Corinthians.

So, it is no surprise that the false apostles in Corinth praised themselves. That is what you did if you were to be known and honored. We’ve seen it over and over, these “super apostles” did not live by the Spirit with a humble and contrite heart. No, rather they lived by the world’s standards and beliefs and lifestyle. And part of that was to elevate themselves and their own self-defined credentials.

As we just read, the apostle Paul hated it. In verses 16 to 21 he calls it all foolishness. In fact, look at verse 19. He writes to the church, “for you gladly bear with fools.” So, not only was their boasting foolish, but the false apostles themselves were fools.

That word fool or foolish, if you remember from our Proverbs study, can be understood either as passively ignorant, you know, not really knowing any better… or being foolish can be understood in a more active way, someone being unwise with a senseless arrogance. That second understanding best fits the context. Paul even sarcastically calls the Corinthians “wise.” You see that in the second half of 19. “For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!” It wasn’t wisdom at all, but rather foolishness.

So, that was part of the problem in Corinth. The arrogant boasting of the culture had come to the church through the super-apostles.

So, what does Paul do?

Well, for a brief moment, he enters into their boasting. It is like he is saying, since you are foolishly boasting, let me show you what this foolish boasting is like. He doesn’t want to toot his own horn, but he feels like he has to in order answer the super apostles. That why he says in verse 16, “…let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.”

He goes on in 17, “What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.”

Can you sense it? Paul can’t stand boasting. Nonetheless, he is compelled to do it. The false apostles were enslaving the Corinthians with their lies and deceit. To use some of the other words in verse 20. They were “devouring” them and “taking advantage” of them. The false apostles had “air” of superiority. In all of it, they were in essence “striking [the church] in the face.”

But really, they had nothing on Paul. Paul’s fleshly credentials were greater than theirs. He says in verse 22, “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.” He could have gone on with his worldly credentials. In other places in Scripture he mentions that he is from the tribe of Benjamin. He was among the few. Furthermore, he had been an esteemed Pharisee. But he says in his letter to the Philippians chapter 3 that he “counts it all loss for the sake of Christ.” There is something far greater, and that is his identity in Christ.

“Corinthian church, you have bought into this ungodly boasting. It is all foolishness. And even if you go by the super apostles foolish criteria, they still do not measure up.”

Any and all boasting in human strength and ability is self-centered and not Christ-centered. It is foolishness because (1) it does not recognize God and his Glory and his gifts, (2) it does not recognize our sin and our unworthiness apart from Christ, and (3) boasting in human strength does not acknowledge that all good gifts come from him alone.

Now, we covered some of that a couple of weeks ago.

But we learn something very interesting here in the middle of chapter 11. We learn, there is something that we can boast about in our lives. We can boast in our weakness. Jump down to verse 30. “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

Verses 23 to really the middle of chapter 12 are specifically about that. Boasting in weakness.

Now, boasting in our weakness does not mean glorifying failure or seeking pity. It is not drawing attention to ourselves as a victim. Nor is it seeking our identity in suffering. The apostle Paul is not doing any of that, here.  

So then, what is boasting in weakness? It is giving glory to God who sustains us in our weakness. And it is recognizing that the Lord has gone before us in our suffering. Just as he endured the weakness of the flesh and affliction from the world, so too, in him, God will sustain and use us in our weakness.

I just want to make that clear. As we look at this, there are two things that the apostle focuses on.

First, here in chapter 11 he focuses on the affliction that he received as a result of his ministry. You know, all the things that he suffered as an apostle. Second, when we get to the beginning of chapter 12, he focuses on the weakness of the flesh. Paul will write about his thorn in the flesh. We’ll get to that next week.

But today, let’s consider this unbelievable list of Paul’s suffering and God’s protection.

Go back up to verse 23. Paul begins, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one”

Now, put yourself in the shoes of the Corinthians. What do you think they expected Paul to say, next? Perhaps they expected him to give a Caesar Augustus type list:

I, Paul, planted 13 churches; I saw the risen Lord, himself, on the road to Damascus; I raised Eutychus from the dead; I cast out demons in Jesus name; I healed the sick; I confounded the Greek philosophers in Athens. Etc. etc.

But he doesn’t do that. No, instead, he rattles off a most surprising list. All the things that he suffered (so far!) as an apostle.

And it is overwhelming. God sustained him over and over and over to bring the Gospel all throughout the northern Mediterranean. Only a portion of this list is included in the book of Acts. Acts is the history of the early church.

·      Paul was imprisoned multiple times. In Phillipi, which we read about earlier, he was beaten and then imprisoned with his feet in stocks.

·      He mentions, here, multiple beating with rods. In Lystra he was stoned outside the city and left for dead.

·      The most severe thing on this list is the forty lashes minus 1. It was a Jewish punishment for breaking the law. The guilty party would be severely whipped. Each lash would score the skin of the recipient. It would create what was called a stripe. A bloodied line across the back that would eventually scar. 39 lashes was one short of 40. More than 40 would have broken the Jewish law, so 39 was just in case someone didn’t miscount. Paul bore on his body the marks of his sacrifice for the Gospel.

·      He mentions being shipwrecked three times. However, the most famous shipwreck had not even happened yet. That one is recorded in Acts 27. That would be a couple of years later.

·      He furthermore endured multiple dangers. He endured danger from the elements… from cold and heat. Sometimes he went without food. But also, he experienced danger from others. Danger not just from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles and from robbers. Notice at the end of verse 26 he includes danger from false brothers. He uses the word “brothers” because there were men in the church who threatened him. They were wolves in sheep’s clothing, just like the false apostles in Corinth.

This kind of persecution happens all over the world today. We have so many freedoms in our country, that it’s hard to imagine the suffering that our brothers and sister in Christ experience throughout the world.

Some of you know or have met Pastor Zaki. He pastors the Orthodox Presbyterian Church over on Chamblee Tucker. It’s just down the road from here. He is a dear brother and a friend.

Zaki is from Eretria. He’s been in the US for about 15 years.

A couple of years ago, at a conference here in the area, he spoke about persecution. As part of that, Pastor Zaki shared a little about the persecution that he endured. In 2002, the government of Eritrea shut down many of the churches. Some believers were imprisoned, especially pastors, and the church had to go underground.

Well, Zaki was arrested. He was not even allowed to tell his family, when it happened. He was brought to the prison. They put him in a metal shipping container. There was just one small vent in it so he could breathe. Literally, nothing else was in it. Zaki described how he, at first, struggled to rejoice.

He remembered the words of Jesus, blessed are those who are persecuted for my name sake. And he remembered the words of the apostle Peter that we’re to rejoice in suffering. He thought, “had I led my people astray telling them that they should rejoice even if they suffered persecution for their faith.” Those first few hours weighed heavily on him, and he prayed. Then it happened. The Holy Spirit opened his heart, and he began rejoicing in the Lord.

Something even more amazing happened that first night. About midnight, he said, he began hearing other believers all throughout the prison singing. They were suffering, but they were rejoicing. And he joined in their joyful praise.

Brother Zaki was release but arrested 4 more time over the next 9 years. As I understand it, he was beaten. At one point he almost died, but the Lord preserved him. In 2011, he was able to flee to the United States. He moved to Greenville to study. And then the Lord then brought him here to the Tucker area to pastor.

The kind of suffering and affliction that Paul endured is experienced by many today who love and serve Christ.

And I want you to notice, it’s not just external suffering that Paul endured. Look at verse 28. “Apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”

Paul loved the Corinthians. Really, he loved every single church that he participated in planting. He prayed for them. He communicated with them. He longed to see them be faithful and true. And it all weighed on his soul.

And look what he says in verse 29. He asks, “who is weak, and I am not weak?” In other words, when someone in one of his churches suffered, Paul suffered alongside of them. His heart suffered.

The next question in verse 29 is even stronger, “Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?” In other words, when a fellow believer in Christ was led into sin by one of these false brothers, Paul was indignant. He had a righteous anger at these false apostles for all the ways in which the church was being led astray.

That internal turmoil was part of the suffering that he endured.

Ok, now, jump down to verses 32 and 33. Paul mentions one final experience. Many, many years earlier, when he was in Damascus, in order to escape persecution, he had to be lowered in a basket out of a window. By the way, if someone tried to lower me in a basket, I think it wold probably go very poorly. I wouldn’t even fit in a basket. But Paul escaped.

Now, when you hear this last trial, doesn’t it feel like an addendum to his list? But let me ask, do you remember the significance of Damascus?

Paul was on the road to Damascus when the Lord blinded him and called him to faith. Damascus was the very city that he first stayed in as a believer in Jesus. Do you see what Paul is saying? His suffering as an apostle began at the very beginning of his ministry.

All the suffering that he has endured is not new. It goes back to the very beginning of labors for Christ. Despite what the false apostles were saying, his suffering did not disqualify him as an apostle. No, rather, it testified to his true apostleship.

Do you see now why Paul could boast in this affliction and weakness? It showed and demonstrated that God had called him to suffer and God sustained him through it all.

This was not the theology of the super apostles. Part of their false prosperity Gospel, which we’ve considered multiple times in weeks past, was to reject sickness and suffering as part of the Christian life.

Like many counterfeit pastors today, they taught that suffering was not part of God’s purpose and will for your life. They rejected Paul because he suffered.

But God is saying through Paul that suffering is part and parcel of the Christian life. He’s been saying that all throughout 2 Corinthians. Remember, in our affliction, we share in the affliction of Christ, so that we may share in his comfort. And also, these light momentary afflictions are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

And so, we can boast in our weakness. It’s a humble boasting. Yes, that’s a little paradoxical, but I think you know what I mean. It’s a humble boasting that gives glory to God.

Isn’t that the upside-down world of the Gospel? Strength comes through weakness. Exaltation comes through humility. Life comes through death.

Go back up to verse 23. We’ve already considered it. Paul asks, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one.” Did you notice that it is the only question where Paul raises the bar. He doesn’t say, “so am I” like how he answers the other questions. Rather he says, “I am better.” Literally translated, it would say I am a degree beyond. His service to Christ is far better because of his suffering, not despite it. That question and Paul’s answer prefaces the entire list of his suffering.

To put it another way, Paul suffered in this life, we suffer in this life, just as our Savior suffered in this life.

Jesus endured many trials in this life. False accusations; rejection from his people; temptations from Satan; Jesus disciples abandoned him at his hour of need; he was spit on and mocked and whipped…  not with regular whips, like 40 lashes minus one, but wips with metal or bone fragments in it, which tore into his skin.

Isaiah wrote in his prophecy that our Savior was oppressed and afflicted, yet did not open his mouth. “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Other translations say, “with his stripes we are healed.”

Paul boasted in his suffering because his Savior suffered and died for him.

Jesus suffered and died so that in eternity his people would be freed from suffering and affliction. In other words, Jesus did not suffer and die so that we would not suffer in this life. No. Rather, Jesus suffered and died to forgive and redeem us, and in heaven we will be freed from our suffering forever. And that gives us great hope in our suffering in this life. And we can therefore boast in it. If we must, as Paul says.

So, to recap – Paul’s boasting in his earthly credentials, was simply to put the super apostles in their place.

All boasting in human strength and wisdom is foolishness and it dishonors God. If we must boast about ourselves, we should boast in our weakness. For Paul, his suffering was a testimony of his true ministry as an apostle. And when we boast in our suffering we ought testify to Christ’s suffering for our salvation.

Truly, in all of history, there was only one man who could rightfully boast in his accomplishments. It was not Caesar Augustus. It was not any world leader today or in the past. No. The only one who could rightfully boast was and is our Lord. As God the son, Jesus is the king of kings; the agent through which God created the heavens and the earth; He is the very word of God; and redeemer of God’s people.

Yet, on earth, he boasted not of those things. Instead, he humbled himself. He did not respond when mocked, he suffered and died, but was raised.

As we sang earlier, “I will not boast in anything; No gifts, no power, no wisdom; But I will boast in Jesus Christ; His death and resurrection”

So, let us boast in him… and when we suffer, let us boast because we suffer in him. Amen