The Story of God s Explosive Grace

Transcription

1 The Story of God s Explosive Grace

2 Living the life, the Christian life of Romans 12-16

3 Review

4 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12

5 To present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice

6 2a And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12

7 Breaking the world s jello mold

8 Paul s Use of Biblical Bookends

9 The Bible uses many different metaphors to describe the Church. If you had to guess, what do you think is Paul s favorite way of describing how the Church is to function?

10 Paul now transitions from what believers are to do individually to what they are to be collectively as the church. In Romans 12 he will be using his favorite metaphor. He will be showing how God s people under the new covenant functions just like their own human body. All parts doing their respective functions to achieve a healthy living organism.

11 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.

12 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 9 Don t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

13 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. NLT

14 As we all know, some churches appear healthy, strong, and well. Other churches can appear as as if they are on life support. Hidden in plain sight is the number one reasons for churches turning sick.

15 To live above, with the saints I love, Oh, wouldn't that be glory. But to live below, with the saints I know, that's another story.

16 Wouldn t it be nice if Paul would have given us some significant insight or caution in the text as to how to prevent or at least minimize infectious disease in the body of Christ? Well, fortunately he did, not in the text itself but on either side, and that in the form of Biblical bookends!

17 Other than being often decorative in nature, they perform a function. In short, bookends help with fulfilling the purpose of the books, that is to be read. They keep books straight, tight, and organized. So when a book is needed it is more readily available for use. What if I told you that Paul uses bookends on this passage in Romans 12? The two bookends are Romans 12.3 and respectively.

18 3a For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment. Romans Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Romans 12

19 3a For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment. Romans Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Romans 12

20 Pride

21 P de

22 iworship (Pride) is a total preoccupation with one s self usually to the exclusion of others. It is the monster within us that has an insatiable appetite to be recognized, honored, and esteemed above all others. Because it is so odious to others, it is often disguised as much as possible. It is responsible for the pain and anguish of so many who often themselves are also vying for position to have themselves exalted.

23 One insight into the importance of a word is to look at its various synonyms in order to explore different angles of a word.

24 Meekness Timid Modest Bashful Shy Reserved Humility is the opposite of pride. The above are more personality traits than the essence of humility. It is possible to be confident, strong, loving, and put other people s interest above your own.

25 Arrogance Hubris Self-exaltation Conceit Egotism Vanity Smug Self-absorption Haughtiness Self-centeredness Pr de Selfishness Narcissism Self-importance Self-love Bigheadedness Boastful Superiority complex Snobbery Pretentiousness Self-interest

26 Examining Paul s Bookend Verses to Make His Six Mega Points

27 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Romans 12

28 For through the grace given to me [to make me an apostle and spokesman for God] (3a)

29 Paul begins his transition to the importance of God s people living together as a healthy body. He begins by playing the apostle card against pride in the church. Why? Because controlling pride in the body of Christ will determine whether it will be healthy, strong, and loving or riddled with cancer. If you can t control pride, all is lost.

30 Grace and pride cannot occupy the same heart at the same time. One will have to vacate.

31 That is, do not think about your abilities, intelligence, and contributions and rate them higher than they really are. And furthermore, don t artificially elevate yourself above everyone else in order to appear superior to others. Stop it now, take a breath and really see yourself truthfully as God does.

32 but to think so as to have sound judgment When you are feeling like you are all that, stop, think, and ask yourself what is missing with this picture.

33 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Romans 12

34 Don t be like caste minded people who divide others in groups with themselves being in a top caste and others below.

35 In the people you hang with, mix it up and make sure there are people that have less social status, money, and popularity that get an invite to your social events.

36 Don t be the only one enamored by your wisdom. It s embarrassing for you to be the only person attending your fan club meetings.

37 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. I Corinthians 11 Paul is referring to the agape love feasts where communion was taken at a communal meal. It appears that some of the wealthy believers would arrive before the slave believers got off work. They would eat and become intoxicated and for that reason were discipline by the Lord with sickness or in some cases death.

38 Some Other Significant Passages on Pride in the Bible

39 The first of the Ten Commandments 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. Exodus 20 Personal exultation puts oneself first above God and hence is a violation of the first commandment

40 18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. Proverbs 16 This is the Message on this verse First pride, then the crash the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.

41 In Ancient Rome, the Auriga was a slave with gladiator status, whose duty was to drive a biga, the light vehicle powered by two horses, to transport some important Romans, mainly Duces (military commanders); it was then a sort of chauffeur for important men and was carefully selected among trustworthy slaves only. It has been supposed also that this name was given to the slave who held a laurus crown, during Roman Triumphs, over the head of the Dux, standing at his back but continuously whispering in his ears Memento homo (remember you are (only) a man) to avoid that the excess of celebration could lead the celebrated commander to lose his sense of proportions. The term became common in latter times to indicate any biga driver.

42 7 For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? I Corinthians 4

43 Your intelligence Your culture Your gift of salvation Your health Positive personality traits Born in America Your parent s influence The positive influences in your life Your DNA A loving family

44 And if you did received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?

45 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Galatians 6

46 But you said in your heart, 1. I will ascend to heaven; 2. I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and 3. I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 4. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; 5. I will make myself like the Most High. Isaiah

47 If good parenting entails instilling confidence in children, at what point does confidence cross the line and become pride? What about many skilled surgeons who have been at the top of their profession who are arrogant and egotistic. Donald Trump and Steve Jobs also have excelled. But there are others who excelled without pride and ego driving them. So pride is not a prerequisite to greatest and at the end of the day the accomplishments of the proud become a mix bag.

48 Examining How Pride Hurts the Church

49 Pastors Church leaders (Elders, deacons) Wealthy individuals and families Groups within the church Individual church members and attenders

50 A church divided over how the word Hallelujah is spelled. Is it Hallelujah or Alleluia? The Full Gospel Temple budgeted money for a praise banner to hang from the sanctuary ceiling. Some wanted it spelled one way, the other group the other. One man, an alleluia supporter, was nearly clobbered by a rock that came through his window. The rock bore a note that said, simply, hallelujah!

51 Some decades ago, we changed churches and I became friends with the pastor. He asked me to go with him on Monday nights to church visitation to welcome new visitors to the church. I could not believe the pain and heartache from those past church leaders caring so little about the sheep. This was the story of many we visited. It seemed they didn t care about the people as much as their position and power base.

52 Early in his ministry, [Chuck] Smith left an independent church he founded in order to pastor Calvary Chapel. The issue was micromanagement by elders, who confronted him when he arranged chairs in a circle before opening Bible study. The elders told him not to do it again. Smith told CT he recalls thinking, "I've got to establish a church on a little different basis. It was then he accepted the offer from Calvary Chapel. Though Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa had (and still has) an independent board of elders, Smith's book Calvary Chapel Distinctives teaches that senior pastors should be answerable to God, not to a denominational hierarchy or board of elders.

53 It appears that restricting a pastor to some old time personal preference was beyond an elder s boundaries in Scripture. There is enough in the Bible as a leader to insist on without making new stuff up and causing them to be dishearten. Then in order to protect himself, Chuck dismisses the authority of a plurality of elders who are divinely ordained by God to oversee the Church, putting himself above all.

54 Years ago, I found myself in a strategic role in my church. We were looking for a new pastor to come in and help rebuild our church after having gone through some tumultuous trials. I remember really wanting for our church this one man while others were leaning toward others. I used all my persuasive abilities I could muster to get my man the position which I did. Because of my pride, lack of prayer, and thinking I knew best, I help place as pastor the worse man possible. He lasted a short time, but the memory of my pride has been a life time memory.

55 Wealthy families who are major givers who will pull their support if they don t get their way.

56 Groups of believers who swarm a church business meeting to oust a pastor because of a minor infraction. Pastors who treat the church as their own making policy changes without caring about the flock and the pain they are causing.

57

58 By the way, my youngest son was in FCS with your daughter. While your daughter was (is?) a pretty model student, my son did his best to create problems...so they weren't exactly in the same "social circle." But, my son told me once that, unlike most of the "good kids," your daughter was always nice to him and treated him with respect. As you might guess, he feels that many (most?) Christians are hypocrites...saying one thing, but doing another. Your daughter was one of the few who showed him that, regardless of their differences of opinion, there are those whose behaviors match their words. I am hopeful that my youngest son will work himself back into Christian circles someday. If that happens, a part of the reason will be his memory of your daughter and her willingness to treat someone with very different views and a different "lifestyle" with the kind of respect that we are called to as Christians.