Love One Another

We use the word love for lots of different things and for lots of different purposes.  We commonly use the word love as a synonym for the word “like”.  We love our cat, we love the color purple, we love the St Louis Cardinals, etc.  We use the word love to describe the romantic or positive feeling that we have toward someone of the opposite gender.  We love our boyfriend or we love our girlfriend.  Another way we use the word love is to describe a close bond we share in relationship.  We love our mom and our dad, we love our friends.  These are not inappropriate or wrong ways to use the word love, but they all come up short of the powerful way that God wants us to give and receive love in relationship.

The #1 one way that God wants us to treat one another in relationship is, Godly Relational Characteristic #10: LOVE one another!  The type of love that God has in mind is a supernatural type of love.  This supernatural type of love is something that we are to freely offer to others in relationship.  14 times in the New Testament (3 times more than any other “one another”), believers in Christ are told to “love one another”.  Each of the 14 times believers are told to “love one another” the greek word αγαπη is used which means, “showing genuine CARE and CONCERN for others by SACRIFICIAL good deeds”. Αγαπη is supernatural because it is unconditional.  Unconditional means we do sacrificial good deeds for others whether they have earned it or deserve it, we just do it, no matter what!  Where do we get this type of love, what does it look like, and what does it accomplish?

Our ability to love ORIGINATES from our LOVE relationship with GOD (1 John 4:7-21) – God created us to reflect His image through a loving connection in relationship with others! In Genesis 1:26-27 God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”  In this passage we see the individuality (“us” and “our”) and the connectedness in relationship (“he” and “him”) of God.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, although distinctly individual and different are intimately connected with one another.  How are they connected to one another?  1 John 4:8 says that, “God is love”.  The Father, Son, and Spirit are individuals who are connected by an intimate, close, unifying love between them.  This divine relational “image” or “likeness” is what man was created in and designed after.  1 John 4:11 says, “If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”.  Being made in God’s image, God’s likeness, all of us individually are created for loving connection in relationship with others and without loving connection in relationship with others we fail to become who we are created to be (1 John 4:19).

Love is LAYING down our LIFE for another (John 15:12-17) – Of all the things we can do in relationship, the type of love that sits at the very top of the list is “laying down (our) lives for (our) friends”!  There is NO GREATER type of love!  If we are ever in doubt of what to do in relationship let this one question come to mind, what personal desire, opinion, or plan can I selflessly put to death right now in order to show genuine care and concern for another person?  This type of love will work miracles in relationship.  This type of love is extremely difficult to live out because it means putting aside our own will and interests in relationship to others.  Jesus loved us in this way and we are to love others in this way as well (Phil. 2:5-11; 1 John 3:16).

Love is the primary way others will KNOW that we are DISCIPLES of Jesus Christ (John 13:34-35) – Jesus Himself declared that the most powerful way to communicate that we are fully devoted followers of Christ is by loving others!  We do not display that we are disciples’ of Christ by going to church, reading our Bible, listening to Christian music, but rather how often and how well we show genuine care and concern to others by sacrificial good deeds!  This means that in every loving (or unloving) interaction we have with another we are unveiling the genuineness of our relationship with Christ!

CONCLUSION
1 John 4:19 says, “we love, because He first loved us”!  Without relationship with God we will never be able to give the supernatural, unconditional love that He wants us to give to others.

Forgive One Another

If we are in a car accident, we do not want to hear that our car has been totaled.  If a car is totaled it means that the cost of the repairs exceeds the value of the car.  A totaled car is no longer worth investing time or money, and therefore goes unrepaired, and is abandoned in a junkyard.  Sometimes we determine that a relationship has been totaled.  Someone lies to us and we feel like we can no longer trust them.  Someone is inconsiderate or ignores us enough times and we feel angry and bitter.  Someone is rude, cruel, or makes fun of us and we feel hatred toward them.  When someone offends, wrongs, or sins against us, we quickly develop an attitude of, “you owe me!”  The damage done to the relationship is costly and they are indebted to us.  When the hurt is so deep and the offense so great that they couldn’t pay us back if they tried, we consider the relationship totaled and the effort to repair it is beyond what it is worth!  Is there any hope for a relationship that has been totaled?

READ:  Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13

God has given us a relational “tool” to repair a totaled relationship, Godly Relational Characteristic #9: FORGIVE one another!  The greek word χαιρω, where we get the word “forgive” has a few other distinct meanings including “joy” (χαρα) and “grace” (χαρις). A primitive definition of forgiveness could be “to restore joy through grace”.  Forgiving one another in the context of Eph. 4:32 and Col. 3:13 means to, “bring joy by RELEASING another from the CONSEQUENCE of their offense”.  Forgiveness is the powerful relational tool that God has given us to use to repair “totaled” relationships!  Many of us never use this tool because it seems unfair, but if we can’t offer forgiveness to others, God will not offer it to us (Mt. 18:23-25; Lk. 6:37).

READ:  Luke 7:36-50

Forgiveness is offered FREELY by the one to whom a debt is owed (Lk. 7:41) – The moneylender in Jesus’ parable, rather than hold the debt above their head, chose to cancel the “debt of both” without expectation of any repayment since neither of them were able to pay.  Forgiveness is a gift of grace given by of the one who has been offended.  Forgiveness is not given because the debtor deserves it or has earned it, but a choice which communicates that love and joy in relationship are more important than being repaid a debt we are owed.

Forgiveness is CANCELLING a DEBT that cannot be REPAID (Lk. 7:42) – A denari was worth a little less than 2 days wages.  Therefore, 500 denarii was worth about 20 month’s wages and 50 denarii was worth about 2 months wages. In both cases, for whatever reason, the debtors were not able to repay what was owed.  Forgiveness needs to be extended to others in relationship whether the debt is great or small.  Therefore, forgiveness is not only a tool to repair relationships that have been totaled but to maintain relationships as well!

Forgiveness restores the joy of receiving and giving LOVE in a relationship (Lk. 7:44-46) – The sinful woman’s expression of love is an outpouring of gratitude as a result of her debt of sin being cancelled.  The debt of her sin locked her in a prison of guilt and shame, but once forgiven she was free to give and receive love in relationship with God again.  Others will sin against us, but we must not imprison them with unforgiveness.  By forgiving, we set others, and ourselves, free to express love and share joy in relationship once again.

CONCLUSION
We are all debtors to God with a bill we cannot pay.  Our unpaid debt of sin is deserving of God locking us in jail and throwing away the key for eternity.  The good news in Colossians 2:13 is that, “(we), who were dead in our trespasses . . ., God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross”.  Amazingly, God did MORE than cancel our debt and allow it to go unpaid, He paid the debt Himself by dying on the cross for our sin.  THIS is our example of how we are to forgive others, “as God in Christ forgave you”.  God willingly offers to bring joy back to our relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

Bear With One Another

Have you ever noticed that some people are really hard to put up with?  There are an infinite number of things that we have to put up with in relationship with others . . . procrastination, negativity, overly optimistic, lateness, arrogance, self-centeredness, cockiness, talk too much, talk too little, workaholic, laziness, emotional, unemotional, temperamental, irresponsible, rude, mean, sarcastic, fake, grumpy, liar, cheater, dominant, tattle-tale, inflexible, different, etc.  There are times when these bad habits/attitudes, character flaws, and shortcomings in others drive us crazy!  Other people can be really hard to put up with.  But wait, did you notice any of those characteristics in yourself?  I am sure that you were already aware that YOU are really hard to put up with sometimes.  Being in relationship with others often involves putting up with others who do things differently, have a different personality, or have different opinions than we do.

READ:  Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:13

Putting up with someone else and being put up with by others is living out Godly Relational Characteristic #8: BEAR with one another!  Bearing with one another in Eph. 4:2 and Col. 3:13 means to, “TOLERATE another through FRUSTRATION or OFFENSE”.  The greek word ανεχω, where we get the word “bear with” has a two primary meanings.  First, “bearing with” means to “hold up” or to “carry the weight of something”.  Therefore, in the context of relationship it means to be ready and willing to, “carry a load of relationship in our arms”.  A second meaning for “bearing with” is to, “hold back” or to “restrain”.  Again, in the context of relationship it means to, “prevent or withhold something”.  Not surprisingly, both of the ideas of “holding up” and “holding back” in relationship can be seen in God’s relationship with us.

READ:  Matthew 17:14-21

Bearing with others is ENDURING through DISCOURAGEMENT and DISAPPOINTMENT –Jesus verbalizes frustration with His disciples’ inability to heal a demon possessed epileptic because of their “little faith”.  After much time spent, teaching, and training, Jesus’ disciples were still not able to do this simple spiritual act of ministry.  In spite of Jesus’ frustration, He does not give up on His disciples, but rather “holds up” the relationship by performing the miracle Himself and reminding them of the faith required to heal. Relationships are filled with frustration.  These frustrating moments with others will cause us to want give up on them and quit.  But instead, in these moments, we are called to “hold up” and “carry” the relationship by enduring through the flaws and shortcomings of others.  Be strong, flex your God-given relational muscles, and don’t let the weight of discouragement and disappointment prevent you from carrying on!

READ:  Romans 2:1-4, 3:23-25

Bearing with others is RESTRAINING ourselves from JUDGMENT – God has restrained Himself from executing the judgment we deserve for the sin and wickedness that is in our lives.  In his “divine forbearance” He withholds the just punishment (death) we deserve for our sin.  If God did not restrain Himself, we would be eternally separated from relationship with Him.  In relationship, there will be those who offend and sin against us.  These moments of offense will cause us to want to render a guilty verdict in their life and condemn them to a relational “death penalty” which often means revenge, holding a grudge, or being bitter.  Instead, in these moments, we are called to “hold back” and “restrain” ourselves by withholding fair punishment or judgment.  Only God is in the position to judge others, we are to be slow to pass judgment when other sin against us!

CONCLUSION
Are you grateful that God is willing to put up with you?  It is God’s divine “putting up with” us that upholds, maintains, and sustains our ability to be (and stay) in relationship with Him!  If we’re grateful that God is willing to bear with us, maybe we should be more willing to bear with others in our lives!

Serve One Another

Carrying someone’s groceries. Preparing someone else’s meal.  Working to buy someone else’s things.  Watching someone else’s children.  Cleaning up someone else’s mess.  Washing someone else’s dishes.  Doing someone else’s laundry.  Picking up someone else’s toys.  Mowing someone else’s lawn.  Raking someone else’s leaves.  Helping with someone else’s homework.  Washing someone else’s car.  Shoveling someone else’s snow.  All of us have tasks that we are responsible for.  Most of us are willing to do the tasks we are responsible for, but very rarely are we willing to do someone else’s responsibilities.  When we get asked to do something for someone else our first attitude is probably something like, “why do I have to do that?”, “that’s not my responsibility?”, or “why don’t they do that for themselves?”  Sound familiar?

What many of us don’t realize is that by performing these tasks we are living out Godly Relational Characteristic #7: SERVE one another!  A servant is someone who, “does the work OF or FOR another”.  A servant is someone who does the jobs that others do not want to do.  A servant is someone who performs tasks at the request of another.  No one wants to be a servant.  Servanthood is not something that most of us wake up in the morning and look forward to doing.  And yet, servanthood is a godly relational quality that is prescribed by God for us to live out among others in our lives. What does it mean to serve others?  We are going to look at two passages of Scripture that help us understand what it means to be a servant . . .

READ:  Galatians 5:1, 13-15

Servanthood is ENSLAVING ourselves to LOVING others (Gal. 5:13) – A slave has no rights.  A slave does not make their own choices.  A slave is obligated to do their master’s will.  In the context of Paul explaining that a believer in Christ is free from the law and is not to, “submit again to a yoke of slavery” he tells the Galatians to use their new found freedom for the purpose of slavery.  What?  Where does he say that?  The word translated “serve” in Gal. 5:13 comes from the greek word δουλος, used in Gal. 5:1, which means “slave”.  Sounds like an oxymoron, but the Galatians were to use their freedom in Christ to “serve (enslave themselves to) one another” through love.  We who are free in Christ serve others by willingly enslaving ourselves to love them.  Ironically, through this paradox of being set free from the law and by serving others with love the, “whole law is fulfilled” (Lev. 19:18; Mt. 22:36-40; Lk. 6:27-36; Rom. 13:8-10; Jms. 2:8).  Choosing to enslave ourselves to the unconditional love of others is only possible for those who have experienced being set free from the law, sin and death by faith in Jesus Christ!

READ:  1 Peter 4:7-11

Servanthood is using our God given GIFTS for the BLESSING and BENEFIT of others (1 Pet. 4:10) – Whether we realize it or not, we all have spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities given to us by God (Rom. 12:5-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11).  These gifts are not to be used selfishly to benefit ourselves, but to “serve one another”.  The word translated “serve” here comes from the greek word “διακονος” which means to, “serve”, “help”, or “attend to the needs of others”.  This same word is used to describe the role of deacon in a local church (1 Tim. 3:8-13).  Whatever gift we have, whether speaking, serving, teaching, exhortation, contributing, leading, mercy, etc, we are to use it to bless others and benefit them that God may be glorified!  When it comes right down to it, our lives are to be used for the purpose of blessing and benefiting others.

CONCLUSION
In helping His disciples understand what it means to be great, Jesus said in Matthew 20:26-28, “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  According to Jesus’ words and example, greatness is achieved through servanthood.  We can choose greatness by enslaving ourselves to love and by using our gifts to bless and for the benefit of others . . . just like Jesus did!

Submit To One Another

“Sir, Yes Sir!”  When I think of the military the image that comes to mind is a superior officer standing nose to nose with a lower ranking officer and screaming orders.  Before a command is even given, a lower ranking officer already has their response memorized and ready, “Sir, yes Sir!”  Whether this stereotypical image is true in the military or not, it definitely represents an attitude necessary in the military where the demands of someone in higher rank are unconditionally carried out by someone of lower rank.  Lower ranking officers by default have an attitude of submission toward higher ranking officers because of their rank.  Submission of lower ranking officers is necessary on the battlefield in order to keep troops organized and working together as a unit.  Without troops’ submission, a battle would quickly deteriorate into chaos and disorder.  

READ:  Ephesians 5:15-21

In verse 21 Paul tells us who are to be our “superior officers”, Godly Relational Characteristic #6: SUBMIT to one another! The word submit comes from the combination of a preposition and a verb which together mean, “to arrange under”, or “to order under”. This word is used in the military to describe the role of a lower ranking officer in relation to a superior officer. In the context of Ephesians 5 submission is, “willingly placing ourselves under the authority of another”. God has established “rank” in a number of relational contexts.  For example, in marriage, “wives (are to) submit to (their) husbands” (Col. 3:18; 1 Pet. 3:1), in an organized country, “every person (is) to be subject to the governing authorities” (Rom. 13:1; 1 Pet. 2:13-14), in a work context, “servants (are to) be subject to (their) masters” (1 Pet. 2:18), and in a church those who are, “younger (are to) be subject to the elders” (1 Pet. 5:8). While submission designates the lower ranking persons’ role as the follower, it also designates the role of the superior ranking person as the leader.  In relationship, we are not to designate ourselves as the leader. We are to willingly defer the role of leadership to others! This means we do not demand or insist on our will or wants, but rather submit to the will and wants of others. Relationship can truly be enjoyed when submission is mutually shared with one another! Why are we to submit to others?

Submission is a WORTHY way to LIVE our lives (Eph. 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15) – Four times, starting in Ephesians 4:1 through Ephesians 5:8, Paul emphasizes the importance of the “worthy manner” a believer in Christ is to walk (lives their life).  In Ephesians 5:15, after already listing multiple ways to live in a worthy manner, he reinforces with them for a fifth time to, “look carefully how you walk”.  In this concluding section, Paul includes, “submitting to one another” as one of the primary ways we can live in a worthy manner.  Paul could not have emphasized any stronger, . . . submission is a worthy way to live life as a believer in Christ!

Submission is an act of WISDOM and not FOOLISHNESS (Eph. 5:15-17) – In the past I’ve defined wisdom as “knowing and living life according to God’s ways”.  How we live our lives is important.  In the evil times that we live in it is especially important for us to be wise and not foolishly ignorant of the way(s) God wants us to live life.  Very simply, being submissive to others is wise (living according to God’s way) and demanding others follow us is foolish.  Submitting to one another is one subtle, yet worthy way we can shine the light of the gospel with our lives!

Submission is act of REVERENCE for Christ (Eph. 5:21) – We do not submit ourselves to others because they have earned it.  We do not submit ourselves to others because we know they will not abuse it.  We submit to others out of a deep respect and awe of Jesus Christ!  No one is ultimately deserving of our submission, but Jesus Christ is.  While we are submitting to others, we must not focus on our “superior’s” treatment of us, but on Jesus Christ and how deserving He is of our full allegiance and obedience.

CONCLUSION

Who is the leader in your life?  James 4:7 says, “submit yourselves therefore to God”.  Submission to others starts with a life submitted completely to God.  Without an attitude of “Sir, Yes Sir” toward God, we will never understand what it means to submit ourselves to others.  

Encourage One Another

Derek Redmond ran the 400m dash in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Games. Derek is known for the semi-final race where only 175m from the finish line his hamstring snapped. He hobbled to a halt and fell to the ground in pain. Stretcher bearers made their way over to him, but Redmond decided he wanted to finish the race. He began to hobble along the track. The most inspirational part of the race was when his father Jim, who had come from the top row of the stadium, barged past security onto the track to help his son. Derek finished the race with the help of his father while leaning on his shoulder for support and saying “I’m here son, we’ll finish together”. In a moment of deep physical pain and sorrow, Jim encouraged His son on to the finish line!

READ:  1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; Hebrews 10:19-25

In these passages we are given a way to inspire one another during times of difficulty and pain, Godly Relational Characteristic #5: ENCOURAGE to one another!  The word encourage is a compound word meaning, “to calling alongside” or “to call near”.  An encourager is someone who, “comes alongside another to inspire HOPE or offer COMFORT”.  Encouragement is helping others see beyond their circumstances and providing strength when they have none of their own.  What are some ways that we can encourage one another?

Encourage one another with the future HOPE of the COMING of CHRIST (1 Thes. 4:13-18) – Life is a grueling marathon that is full of many blessings and joys but also many trials and difficulties, and at the end of the marathon . . . death.  Sounds dismal, but it is true.  For many this reality is crushing to their spirit.  And yet, for a believer, death is not the end and does not have to empty us of joy and hope.  In his crescendo for the hope of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:55-56 Paul says, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? . . . thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”.  Why does Paul say this?  Because death is not the end, Jesus “died and rose again” and we too will rise to “meet the Lord” and “always be with (Him)”.  It is this fact that the Thessalonians to encourage one another with.  Death is not the end, the reality of the resurrection and the return of Christ must be victorious over the sadness associated with death!

Encourage one another that our SALVATION prepares us for the coming of Christ (1 Thes. 5:1-11) – If we were aware that a thief was going to break into our house sometime in the next week we would do whatever was necessary to prepare.  Although the timing of our death or Christ’s coming are uncertain, we can be prepared because He has told us it was coming.  It is our salvation that prepares us for death or the coming of Christ!  Jesus “died for us” that we might be prepared for our death.  Our salvation is like leaving the light on the front porch of our lives waiting expectantly for Christ to come.  Is the light of salvation on in your life?

Encourage one another to be CONFIDENT in the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19-25) – Giving in to the temptation of sin, not having our prayers answered, enduring trials or suffering,  it doesn’t take much for us to doubt our salvation or to waver in our faith.  Our source of “confidence”, our “full assurance”, the “confession of hope that we hold fast to” can only be found in in one place . . . the “blood of Jesus”.  In spite of our unfaithfulness toward God, He is faithful to us.  When others are hobbling through life, questioning whether they will cross the finish line, we must encourage them that Jesus’ sacrifice for their sins is their only hope.   

CONCLUSION

We all need someone to encourage us in life.  Someone who, when we are going through a difficult time, will come alongside of us and inspire hope and offer comfort.  In John 16:7 Jesus said, “if I do not go away, the Helper (the Holy Spirit) will not come to you”.  Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a Helper.  The word translated “Helper” is the noun form of the verb Paul uses to instruct believers to “encourage” one another.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit is ultimately the One comes alongside and encourages us!  Like Jim Redmond encouraged His son across the finish line in a moment of pain and sadness, the Holy Spirit encourages us as we run the race of life . . . giving us the perfect example of how we should encourage one another. 

Do Good To One Another

We’ve all seen a movie where the villain plants a “time bomb” and the hero must find it and disarm it before it blows up.  Ticking time bombs are dangerous.  Ticking time bombs need to be defused before they explode and do immense damage and destruction.  Whether we realize it or not we deal with ticking time bombs in relationships every day.  Time bombs are planted in relationships when we do something evil to another person or another person does something evil to us.  Evil in relationships manifests itself in varying degrees of being selfish, rude, unkind, malicious, showing favoritism, jealous, or hateful etc.  Unless these relational “time bombs” are defused they are going to explode and cause serious damage or permanently destroy a relationship.  So, how are we to defuse hostility and restore peace in relationships?

READ:  1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

Paul gives us a way to defuse relational “time bombs” in vs 15, Godly Relational Characteristic #4: Do GOOD to one another!  The word good means that which is, “excellent, fine, or good.”  To do good is to, “treat others in a way that is for their BENEFIT”.  In Luke 18:19 Jesus gives us the standard of goodness saying, “why do you call me good?  No one is good except God alone”.  God’s relational character is to be our standard of goodness.  God is our example of treating others in a way that is for their benefit including being selfless, kind, merciful, and loving, etc. Why is doing good an important relational characteristic?  When are we to do good to others?

Doing good is an act that promotes PEACE (1 Thes. 5:13) – Rather than planting “time bombs” of evil in relationships with others, Paul commands the Thessalonians to, “be at peace” among one another.  Peace is a relational attitude between two individuals which is absent of hostility or animosity.  Paul said something similar in Romans 12:18, “if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all”.  Therefore, one of our highest relational goals as believers should be to behave in ways which uphold and maintain peace in each and every relationship that we are in!

Doing good is to be our RESPONSE toward those who have done EVIL to us (1 Thes. 5:15a) – Whether intentionally or unintentionally, it is inevitable that others will plant evil “time bombs” in their relationship with us (just like it is inevitable that we will plant evil “time bombs” in our relationships with others).  Our response to the evil done to us will determine whether we experience peace or hostility.  If we return evil for the evil done to us, we detonate the relational “time bomb” and peace in the relationship will be lost causing it to explode into greater hostility.  Whereas, doing good is a godly alternative to “repaying . . . evil for evil” and will quickly defuse hostility in the relationship and bring about peace.  In Romans 12:17, 21 Paul says, “repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable . . . overcome evil with good” (cf Lk 6:35).  Vengeance in relationships only increases hostility, whereas doing good increases peace!

Doing good is what we should ALWAYS seek in our relationship with EVERYONE (1 Thes. 5:15b) – Since doing good is such an evil defuser, Paul says that it is something that we should pursue all the time with all people!  Doing good is something we are to seek diligently and pursue with intense effort.  Doing good is something we are to do “always” toward “everyone”.  So, no matter what evil anyone ever says or does to us, “as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone” (Gal. 6:10).  This supernatural amount of goodness is only possible with the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through our lives (Galatians 5:22-23).

CONCLUSION
Jesus Christ defused the hostility that our sin caused between us and God by dying on the cross for our sins.  Jesus Christ chose to do something for our benefit in spite of the evil we did toward Him.  If we have been the recipients of the goodness of God through Jesus Christ, then we should know how to treat others in a way that is for their benefit whether we feel like they deserve it or not!

Humility Toward One Another

Everyone takes the time to get dressed and put on clothes for the day.  For some, choosing and putting on clothing is an extremely important and purposeful process that includes style, color, and accessories.  For others, like myself, choosing what to clothe themselves with does not take up much time or attention.  No matter what our style or whether we have any fashion sense at all, no one would consider going into public and relating with others without properly clothing themselves.  Whether important or not, we all manage to clothe ourselves each and every day.  Putting on clothes is a natural, normal, routine, every day, all the time, without exception, part of our lives.  With this thought in mind, let me share a third godly relational characteristic . . .

READ:  1 Peter 5:5-11

In vs 5 Peter gives us Godly Relational Characteristic # 3: Clothe yourselves with HUMILITY toward one another!  The word humility means, “to lower, to lay flat, to make small/insignificant, to place under.”  Therefore, HUMILITY is an “attitude where we consider ourselves lower, under, and below all others”.  In Colossians 3:12 along with other relational characteristics Paul says to “put on . . . humility”.  In Philippians 2:3 Paul develops the definition of humility a little further by saying, “in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Humility, considering others more important than us, is to be as natural, normal, routine, every day, all the time part of our lives as putting on clothes for the day.  Why is humility such an important relational characteristic for us to put on every day?  

There is an important REASON to humble ourselves: God OPPOSES the proud but gives GRACE to the humble (1 Peter 5:5) – Pride and arrogance are not just unbecoming characteristics.  God is violently against those who exalt themselves and lift themselves above others.  Proverbs 16:18 says, “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”  There are dangerous consequences for those who relate with others in a prideful manner. In contrast, those who humble themselves in relation to others receive favor and kindness from God (James 4:6; Prov. 3:34, 11:2, 29:23)!

There is an important REQUIREMENT to humble ourselves: We must humble ourselves before GOD (1 Peter 5:6a) – If we do not willingly humble ourselves before God, He will do it for us.  At the conclusion of a parable contrasting pride and humility in Luke 14:9-11 Jesus says, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.”  We must be willing to humble ourselves before God.  Humility before God means living with the attitude that He is above us and we are below Him.  By placing ourselves under the mighty hand of God we are submitting to His authority and acknowledging that His plan and purpose for our lives is better than our own.  Humility is a more than a suggestion but a necessary attitude in order to be in right relationship with God and others.  Humility toward God paves the way for us to be able to humble ourselves in relationship with others.  

There is an important REWARD for humbling ourselves: God EXALTS the humble (1 Peter 5:6b) – In God’s economy, relating with God and others with a humble attitude is deserving of exaltation and honor!  Although in Luke 14:9-11 Jesus says those who exalt themselves will be humbled, He goes on to say that, “he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Exaltation is given, not taken.  There is a day when those who humble themselves will be exalted.  By choosing to humble ourselves in our relationship with God and others we will be exalted, but it won’t be us doing it for ourselves, it will be God doing it for us (Mt. 23:12)!

CONCLUSION

Interacting with people with an attitude of pride and humility makes a huge difference in relationships.  With an attitude of pride we selfishly lift ourselves above others, with an attitude of humility we selflessly lower ourselves below others.  Which attitude do you clothe yourself with as you begin each day?  We are to wear humility all day long, no matter who we meet!  Begin your descent to humility by humbly placing yourself under the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ and receiving Him as your Savior.  

Live in Harmony with One Another

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?  We ask this question when we want to know if someone has the same thought in mind as we do about a particular topic or in a particular moment.  In the song “Love is an Open Door” from the popular Disney movie “Frozen” Hans and Anna sing a beautiful duet expressing their mutual love for one another because of how much they think alike.  In the second stanza of the song Hans and Anna sing together, “I've never met someone who thinks so much like me Jinx! Jinx again! Our mental synchronization, can have but one explanation, you and I were just meant to be.”  Without realizing it, Disney has identified an important relational characteristic.  Let’s look at this characteristic of a godly relationship with others . . .

READ:  Romans 12:14-21

In vs 16 Paul gives us Godly Relational Characteristic # 2: Live in HARMONY with one another!  Amazingly, Disney gives a pretty good definition of what living in harmony with one another means by using the lyric, “mental synchronization.”  The word HARMONY means to “THINK THE SAME THING”.  Although translated a little bit differently, Paul says something similar in Philippians 2:2 when he says, “complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” Again, in 2 Corinthians 13:11 Paul writes at the conclusion of his letter, “Finally brothers . . . agree with one another.”  These passages point to the fact that in relationship it is important that our thinking be “on the same page”.  When our beliefs, values, and priorities are the same as another, relationship is easier, but when our beliefs, values, and priorities are different, relationship is more difficult. Through Christ, believers have a unique ability to have mental synchronization with one another. What are some of the things that we should have mental synchronization with others? Let me share a few passages that give some examples of things we should have mental synchronization with Christ and with others . . .

We should have mental synchronization about SPIRITUAL things (Colossians 3:1-4) – As believers in Christ, our minds should be “seeking” spiritual things above in contrast to things on the earth.  The object of our thinking is to be eternal and not temporal.  In other words, our mind’s continual focus is to be in line with our new spiritual life in Christ.  Sharing a singular pursuit of things above gives focused meaning, purpose, and depth to our relationships with others.  Living in harmony with one another means our relationships will no longer be cluttered with the temporal things on the earth, but instead we will have a common eternal goal that we are focused on together.

We should have mental synchronization about SUFFERING (1 Peter 4:1-2) – Jesus Christ endured the suffering of physical pain and death in order to do away with sin (1 Pet 3:18).  We are to arm ourselves with a similar way of thinking in order to do away with the sin in our lives.  Dying to our sin can be a difficult and painful process, and yet a mindset of death toward our “human passions” is the only way we will be able to live for the “will of God” (cf Romans 6:5-14).  Sharing such a way of thinking with others provides the accountability we need in order to be set free from the slavery of sin.  Living in harmony with one another means exhorting one another with the truth about our sin so that we don’t become hardened by its deceitfulness (Heb. 3:12-13).

We should have mental synchronization about SERVING (Phil. 2:5-11) – Jesus Christ displayed humble servanthood by His death on the cross.  He, unselfishly and with our interest in mind, sacrificed His own life in order that we might be forgiven and experience a new spiritual life.  Serving others is an action that requires a humble and other-centered mindset, and yet this is “the mind” we are to have among ourselves in Christ Jesus.  Sharing a mind of servanthood is creates a perfect relational environment for mutual benefit and growth.  Ultimately, the goal of living in harmony with one another is so that individually and collectively we grow together into the image of Christ (1 Cor 12:7; Eph. 4:15-16).

CONCLUSION
Mental synchronization is a necessary characteristic of good relationships.  We will not experience harmony with others until our minds are in harmony with Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 2:6-16).  Are you thinking what Jesus is thinking?  About God? About yourself? About others?  About sin?  About what is true?  About marriage?  About the future?  About life? About eternity? About salvation?  If not, maybe it’s time to get your mind in harmony with Him!

Welcome One Another

Relating with others is at the very center of most all of our lives.  Although we all desire and want to relate with others, we also know that relating with others can be very difficult.  I observe two very distinct ways that we can relate with others . . . 1) Selfish Relating is relating with others because of how we benefit from the relationship.  We enjoy relating with others because they make us feel good, loved, wanted, and valuable.  Another alternative that very few people experience is . . . 2) Shared Relating is relating with others because of the mutual benefits that you and the other person experience as a result of the relationship.  In Romans 12:5 Paul describes this ideal type of shared relating with others by saying, “we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another (cf Eph. 4:25).”  God’s ideal relationship is between brothers and sisters in Christ who share mutual love, acceptance, and belonging together.

God has provided a number of relational characteristics in His Word that will help us experience this type of shared relationship with others.  Let’s look at the very first characteristic of a godly relationship with others . . .

READ:  Romans 15:1-7

In verse 7 Paul gives us Godly Relational Characteristic # 1: WELCOME One Another!  The word welcome means to, “accept or receive someone into your life with friendliness.”  The beginning of godly relationships with others is a willingness to accept anyone and everyone into your life!  How do we do this?  Paul tells us, he goes on to say, “as Christ has welcomed you”.  As Christ has accepted us into relationship with Himself, we are to accept others into relationship with us.  So, an important question to answer is How has Christ welcomed us into relationship with Him?  Our text hints at a few ways Jesus welcomed us . . .

Jesus Christ welcomed us by PLEASING us (Rom. 15:2-3) –Jesus Christ’s entire life was lived not for the purpose of pleasing Himself, but rather for the purpose of pleasing others.  Jesus always spoke and did things unselfishly that would give pleasure to others (Phil. 2:3-8).  We must approach all relationships with a desire to speak and do things, “for (their) good” and to, “build (them) up”.  Pleasing others almost always involves personal sacrifice because it requires us to unselfishly give up what we want with the personal pleasure of others in mind.

Jesus Christ welcomed us by bearing our REPROACH (Rom. 15:3-4) – Jesus Christ was the object of reproach (insult/ridicule) throughout His life.  In even the most intense moments of criticism, Jesus committed no sin and did not return insult for insult, but instead entrusted Himself to God (1 Peter 2:21-24).  We all reproach Christ with our sin, and yet Jesus Christ did not give us what we deserve but instead mercifully, “died for us” (Rom. 3:23).  There will be relationships in our lives that we must allow the reproach of others to “fall on us” without a word or act of vengeance or retaliation.  The temptation in these moments will be to reject them and shut them out of our lives.  Christ was willing to bear the reproach of our sin, therefore we must be ready to bear the reproach of others’ sin toward us!

Jesus Christ welcomed us by living in HARMONY with us (Rom. 15:5) – Jesus Christ lived in harmony with others and He established harmony between others.  Where there was once hostility and animosity between Gentiles and Jews, Jesus Christ brought peace, harmony, and unity through the cross (Eph. 2:11-16).  Oneness and unity with others (no matter how big of a social, financial, religious, or racial difference) is the result of our individual oneness and unity with Jesus Christ.  Such harmony with Christ and others will result in us together and in one voice, “glorifying God”.

 CONCLUSION

At the conclusion of Paul’s letter to the Romans 16:16 he commands the believers to express their acceptance of one another in a tangible way by, “greet(ing) one another with a holy kiss”!  Whether it is a kiss on the cheek, a handshake, or a hug, there is something special about a tangible expression of acceptance in a shared relationship.  Jesus’ tangible expression of welcoming us into relationship with Him was His death on the cross for our sins.  Have you accepted Jesus’ welcoming you into relationship with Him?  Once we’ve experienced the welcoming love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, you’ll know exactly what it means to welcome others into your life!

Out of This World: Loss NOT Gain!

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian who stood against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.  Bonhoeffer was hung as a martyr for his Christian faith in a Nazi concentration camp at the age of 39 in 1945 for participating in a resistance against Hitler in support of the Jews.  He is most well-known for writing a book called “The Cost of Discipleship” in which he penned the famous statement, “when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”  This statement summarized Bonhoeffer’s belief that being a follower of Christ is not cheap but costly and allows us to, “live in the world without being of it”, and to be “truly free to live our lives in this world”!

Where did Dietrich Bonhoeffer obtain such a strong belief?  What was the source of his willingness to stand up to Hitler in the face of death?  

READ:  Matthew 16:24-26

Jesus Christ taught what Dietrich Bonhoeffer came to believe and live out, that life is FOUND when we LOSE our lives in this world!  It is a great and beautiful paradox in Christianity that when we lose our lives we truly find it.  Losing our lives has a specific cause, it is for a specific purpose, most significantly losing our lives is for the sake of a specific person . . . Jesus Christ!  How do we lose our lives for the sake of Jesus Christ?

We must FORBID ourselves the LIFE we want (Mt. 16:24) – Forbidding ourselves things we want is hard to do.  Our golden retriever Daisy had zero ability to forbid herself something that she wanted.  She would spend 5 straight days digging a hole underneath a fence just so she could get to a ball.  Are there things in life that we react the same way towards?  We spend our lifetimes pursuing what we want when we should “deny (ourselves)” and live for God.  Our lives are not our own to do with what we want, we are the possession of God and therefore we need to use our lives for His purpose and glory (Rom. 14:7-8; 1 Cor. 6:19b-20a)!

Every day we are to WRITE another page of our OBITUARY (Mt. 16:24) – An autobiography is an account of a person's life written or composed by themselves.  If you were to write and autobiography do you think that you would choose to choose the genre of an obituary?  The apostle Paul wrote his own obituary in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”  Like Paul, by “taking up (our) cross”, we are to put ourselves to death in order that we may walk a new life in Christ (Rom. 6:3-7, 11)!  Daily we are to die to the desire to write our own story, but instead let God author every chapter of our life.

See ourselves as a FOLLOWER instead of a LEADER (Mt. 16:24) - Do you remember getting to be the line leader in elementary school?  How proud to be the ONE that marched everyone down the hall to recess or to the lunch room.  Is that not the position that we are encouraged to achieve in life?  Jesus does not call us to be at the front of the line, rather to place ourselves last and least among others and take up the humble position of following.  Jesus’ call to be disciple is an invitation to leave the world and follow Him (Mt. 4:18-22)!

CONCLUSION
Another popular Christian martyr was Jim Elliot.  Jim was one of five missionaries killed at the age of 29 in 1956 while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to share the gospel with the Huaorani people of Ecuador in South America.  Jim’s expressed the heart of loss not gain eleven years before he died when he wrote in a personal journal, “he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lost”.  Jim understood something that we need to understand as we live in this world.  There is nothing in this world that is worth holding onto compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing and following Jesus Christ!

READ: Philippians 3:7-11

Out of This World: Light NOT Dark

We do not have to look any further than the front page of a news web site to realize we live in a very dark world.  The darkness of our world is evident in a long list of sin, evil and wickedness including things like war, injustice, oppression, murder, sexual immorality, anger, drunkenness, hatred, gossip, and jealousy.  This darkness is not just “out there” in the world, it is within each and every one of us.  Darkness is in our lives and the lives of those around us.  We desperately need a light to shine in this darkness in order for us to experience good, righteous, and true things including peace, justice, fairness, faithfulness, mercy, kindness, and love.  Where might we find the source of such a great light?

God’s Word tells us that the source of light that overcomes the darkness is Jesus Christ!  John 1:4-5 says that, “Jesus was the life, and the life was the light of men . . . and (His) light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  In John 8:12 Jesus Himself said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  Just as darkness cannot exist in the presence of light; sin, evil, and wickedness cannot exist in the presence of Christ.  How do we bring the light of Christ to the world?

READ:  Matthew 5:14-16

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells His disciples that believers in Christ are to be the LIGHT in a dark WORLD!  Ephesians 5:8 says that, “at one time (we) were darkness, but now (we) are the light in the Lord.  Walk as children of the light.”  Believers in Christ carry the Lord Jesus Christ as the source of the light of goodness, righteousness, and truth within us which can be seen by others.  How can we most effectively shine this light in our dark world?

As believers in Christ, light must be who we ARE (Mt. 5:14) – The invention of electricity has changed the way we use light.  If we want light, we turn the switch on.  If we don’t want light, we turn the switch off.  This is not how we are to understand the light of Christ dwelling within us.  Jesus said that his disciples, “ARE the light of the world”!  We do not turn this light “ON” when we want to and turn it “OFF” when we want to.  Since Jesus is light, if He dwells inside of us, the switch in our lives has been permanently turned to the ON position . . . light is who we ARE!  The light of Christ is either within us and is shining brightly or it is not within us and we are darkness.  Since light is who we are, we will only do what a light does, . . . shine.

Our light must not be HIDDEN, but SHINE for the world to see (Mt. 5:15) – “This Little Light of Mine” is a popular children’s song written in 1920.  One line in the song says, “hide it under a bushel? NO! I’m gonna let it shine.”  No one lights a lamp and hides it!  Once the light of Christ is shining within us, it is not something we should be embarrassed or ashamed of and want to keep “hidden” or conceal. The light of Christ dwelling within us should be something that is visible for all to see.  He should be placed on the stand of our lives where EVERYONE will see His glory in our lives.

Our light shines before others through GOOD WORKS (Mt. 5:16) – The way that Christ will shine brightest in and through us is by the “good works” that He has created for us to do for other people (Eph. 2:10).  God created us to transmit His glory (often described as light) throughout the world.  The good works we do radiate the love and compassion that God has for all people.  We put the glory of God on display as the light of Christ shines through the good works of our lives (2 Cor. 9:8; Col. 1:10; 1 Tim. 6:18; Titus 2:7, 14).

CONCLUSION
Philippians 2:15 Paul said that we are to be, “children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom (we) shine as lights in the world!”  The crooked and twisted generation that we are living in desperately needs the light of Christ.  Is the light of Christ shining brightly in and through you?

Out of This World: Content NOT Rich

It doesn’t take too much to make us feel discontent in life.  We are discontent with our game system, we are discontent with our clothes, we are discontent with our car, we are discontent with our phone, we our discontent with our house, in general we all live in a pretty miserable state of discontent.  Why?  Because we do not possess the latest or greatest of what the world has to offer.  Discontent does not have to characterize us . . .

Writing from a jail cell Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13 that he has, “learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.  In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”  But wait, he told us he had learned the secret of contentment, but he didn’t tell us how he had learned it.  Come on Paul, don’t leave us hanging!  Thankfully, Paul wrote another letter to a young disciple named Timothy where he shared a few details about the secret behind his contentment!

READ:  1 Timothy 6:6-10

The pursuit of godliness relieves us of our need for RICHES and allows us to be CONTENT in this world (cf 1 Timothy 4:7-8)!  What are some things we need to learn in order to be content?

We will be content when we understand we can take NOTHING out of this world into ETERNITY (1 Tim. 6:7) – He who dies with the most toys, . . . still dies!  According to Paul, reflecting on the reality of our imminent death is a way to learn contentment.  Sounds a little depressing, but it is true.  No matter how much we accumulate, no matter how valuable something might be to us, whether we live 20 years or 100 years, our net worth and our stuff do not go with us.  Plain and simple, when our lives are over we cannot take “anything” with us out of this world.  That fact should shape our priorities in life and be a constant reminder of what is important and valuable.  Life is so much more than the abundance of our possessions. If we want to be content in life, we need to learn this NOW (Job 1:21; Eccl. 5:13-16; Lk. 12:13-21).

We will be content knowing our BASIC NEEDS have been PROVIDED (1 Tim. 6:8) – “There are children dying in Africa!”  This is a phrase that parents use to get their children to eat food that they are discontent with.  In order to be content, we need to be able to identify the huge difference between what we WANT and what we NEED.  By elevating so many wants in life to the level of need, we forget that our true needs do not go a whole lot further than “food” and “clothing”.  Confusing wants and needs destroys our contentment, whereas being genuinely thankful for our daily bread is a big step toward learning to be content (Mt. 6:11).

We will be content if we avoid the DESIRE to be rich and the LOVE of money (1 Tim. 6:9-10) – We are all guilty of wanting more, and more, and MORE, and MORE!  This is a serious issue, if we are not careful, we are in jeopardy of destroying more than our contentment, but our very faith in God.  Listen very carefully, there is nothing wrong with being rich, but our “desire to be rich” will plunge us into ruin and destruction.  There is nothing wrong with having money (even lots of money), but our “love of money” is the source of all kinds of other evil in our lives.  Our desire for more must be put to death, and when it is, we will be free to be content and enjoy what God has blessed us with (Mt. 6:24; Lk. 18:24-25; Col. 3:5-6).

CONCLUSION
Make no mistake about it, we are rich!  Paul has some final words for us in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, “as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” Paul learned the secret of contentment and it was found in a relationship with God!  Let us find our contentment in Him and Him alone!

Out of This World: Strangers NOT Citizens

One of the strangest experiences I have ever had was in college.  I played basketball and studied most of my free time so I didn’t have an abundant social life.  In an effort to loosen me up a bit, my college roommate and another friend “kidnapped” me, blindfolded me, and drove 45 minutes to a dance club.  I’ll be honest, I felt about as strange and out of place as any moment in my life.  The noise, the atmosphere, the overall everything were not the environment that I would have chosen to participate in.  Nobody likes to feel strange, and yet, sometimes feeling strange and out of place is an appropriate response to our surroundings.

READ:  1 Peter 1:1; 2:11-12

In writing to Christians, Peter tells His brothers and sisters in Christ that being STRANGE is good! According to Peter, we will not feel at home on this earth because we are SOJOURNERS and EXILES in this world!  A SOJOURNER is a person who lives in a land where they have no citizenship.  An EXILE is a person who temporarily lives in a place that is not their normal place of residence.

Being a sojourner and an exile is hard.  If you’ve ever traveled to a foreign country you know what it is like to be a stranger.  The COMMUNICATION is strange, the citizens speak a different language.  The CULTURE is strange, the citizens have different values and priorities.  The CONDUCT is strange, the citizens have different behavior and habits.  Living in this world as believers will be strange.  Why do we feel strange and what are we supposed to do as sojourners and exiles in this world?

We have been ELECTED by God to be EXILES in the world (1 Pet. 1:1-3) – As a result of Marianne and I electing to adopt a little girl named Sarah from Guatemala into our family, she is no longer a resident of her home country.  By becoming a member of our family she moved to a “foreign land” and has accepted a different language, different culture, and a different way of living.  In a similar way, our salvation changes our resident status in the world from citizen to stranger.  As God’s “elect” we are no longer citizens of this world, but we are “exiles” who have accepted a completely different way of living!  We are now citizens of God’s kingdom who are living in a foreign and very strange land (Eph. 1:3-6).

As sojourners and exiles in this world, we are to ABSTAIN from sinful behavior (1 Pet. 2:11) – War is a battle waged against an enemy whose goal is to destroy.  As sojourners and exiles in this world, there is an enemy who is waging war against us, but unlike what we might think, it is not an enemy who is outside of us.  We are at war with ourselves!  Our enemy is our own earthly passions, our own desire and attraction to return to our old sinful way of living (James 1:14:15).  How do we defeat this enemy?  God’s battle plan to fight against the “passions of our flesh” is to “abstain”.  The word “abstain” means to, “be a distance away from”.  We can defeat our passions by staying away from those things that entice us back to our old sinful ways of living.  If we don’t, we will be defeated.

As sojourners and exiles in this world, we are to keep our CONDUCT HONORABLE and do GOOD DEEDS (1 Pet. 2:12) – It’s easy to spot someone who stands out in a crowd.  A Chicago Cub’s fan stands out at a Cardinals game at Busch Stadium.  What is it that makes a Christian stand out in the crowd of the world?  “Honorable conduct” and “good deeds” are what make our lives’ stand out and captures the attention of an unbelieving world.  We declare our heavenly citizenship by the holy and upright manner in which we conduct our lives.  Such “foreign” behavior is what will give God the attention and glory He deserves (Matthew 5:16).

CONCLUSION
This world is not our home!  We should feel strange and out of place on this earth.  If we don’t, we should ask ourselves, “am I a citizen of the Kingdom of God?”  The good news is that transferring our citizenship from the world to God’s Kingdom is easy, confess your sin and believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10)!

Out of This World: Hatred NOT Friendship

Have you ever taken the time to read the comments at the end of a news article or a Facebook status on a controversial issue?  Wow, those comments are full of cruelty and hostility!  I think those comments often represent the hidden hatred that dwells inside the hearts of people.  Leaving an “anonymous” comment is a way for people to express their animosity toward someone or an issue that they feel strongly about.

For example, World Vision’s decision to reverse its decision concerning the hiring of individuals in a same-sex relationship caused an eruption of hateful responses.  These responses unveil some of the thoughts and beliefs people have toward God and those who are genuinely attempting to follow Christ.  What’s behind this hatred?

READ:  John 15:18-25

The world will HATE us as a result of our friendship with God!  Expect it, don’t be surprised by it, don’t try to avoid it, in fact, we are blessed as a result of being hated by the world (Luke 6:22)!  As Christ followers, understanding why the world hates us will help us be more prepared for the hostility directed at us.

The world will hate us because it HATED Jesus FIRST (John 15:18, 20-21, 25) – In other words, we are guilty by association. To be guilty by association means the world attributes guilt to us because of our association with Jesus who the world considers guilty.  Since the world hates Jesus, we who are associated with Him will be hated as well.  Why does the world hate Jesus?  Jesus was "hated" because He claimed to be God, He spent time with sinners, and He claimed the authority to forgive sin.  To the world, Jesus is a divine authority that they do not want to receive or submit to.  So, when we receive and submit to Him the world violently rejects us as well.  Is there enough evidence in our lives that others would say we are associated with Jesus?  If so, expect to be hated; if not, it might be worth considering whether we are truly associated with Him or not!

The world will hate us because God CHOSE to SET US APART from this world (John 15:19) – As long as we speak, behave, and live in a way that is similar to the rest of the world we will be loved.  As long as we “fit right in” the world will welcome and accept us.  The world loves us when we “join the party”.  In contrast, being “chosen” by God means being set apart and living a distinctly different life of holiness.  When God sets us apart and we are no longer “of this world” the world will be personally offended.  Our attempt to live holy lives will be interpreted by the world as treason and therefore we become bigoted and intolerant.

The world will hate us because GOD’s PRESENCE in us reminds them of their SIN (John 15:22-24) – In my previous youth ministry I would go once a week to the public school and visit students during the lunch hour.  There were many times when I would approach a table and I would see the students whispering to one another.  I’m pretty sure the conversation went something like, “hey you guys, this is my youth pastor, let’s clean up the conversation.”   My presence made them feel guilty about their behavior.  God’s holy presence convicts and reminds the world of the “guilt” of their sin (John 16:8-11).  To the lost and dying world, Christ followers are the presence of God, so when we walk in a room, it is God’s presence in us that reminds them of their guilt.  Remember, it is not us they hate, it is the presence of God in us that brings conviction into their life!

CONCLUSION
For some of us we are not in the position of the world hating us, but rather in a position where we are the ones who hate God!  “What!?!” you might ask, “I don’t hate God.”  James 4:4 says, “do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  Our close companionship with the world puts us in opposition to God.  As enemies of God we must repent of our friendship with the world, put our faith in Christ for salvation, and confirm our association with Him.  When we do, we will reverse our status, no longer being enemies of God, but instead friends of God who are hated by the world.

Out of This World: Transformed NOT Conformed

There are two things that most young children enjoy when they are little, . . . jello and butterflies! 

My best memory of jello as a kid was one evening when my mother made strawberry jello squares.  Rather than eat them like normal human being, I decided to impress my siblings by trying to bounce them off the ceiling and catch them in my mouth.  This did not work, the first jello square I tossed stuck to the ceiling.  At first this seemed fun, I laid on my back on the floor and waited for it to fall so I could catch it in my mouth.  This never happened and in an effort to hide this activity I scraped it off the ceiling with a spatula.  This did not work either, removing the “popcorn” texture from the ceiling and leaving a red stain that needed to be painted over!

In elementary school I had a friend name Greg who lived across the street who was a park ranger wanna be.  If he saw a creature in distress you could count on Greg to save the day.  I would often do things to antagonize Greg, one particular time I decided to swat butterflies to the ground out of the air just to make Greg mad which turned into a wrestling fight.

There is a verse in the Bible that uses jello and butterflies as an illustration of how we are to live “out of this world” lives, check it out . . .

READ:  Romans 12:1-2

Did you catch it?  The word “conform” in verse 2 means to, “mold or shape into a certain pattern”.  Does that sound like a characteristic of jello?  The word “transform” in verse 2 is where we get the word metamorphosis which means to, “completely change the essential nature of something”.  Does that sound like the process a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly?  What do jello and butterflies teach us about Romans 12:2?  I thought you’d never ask . . .  

The world wants to us CONFORM ourselves into its MOLD (Rom. 12:2a) – Just like jello can be molded into any shape, the world has a mold that it wants all of us to “conform” ourselves into.  It is a mold that shapes our thinking, our attitudes, our words, and our actions.  The world’s mold is NOT something we are to pattern our life after.  We must be careful not allow our love for the things of this world to be what shapes our lives (1 John 2:15-17).

God wants to TRANSFORM us into something completely new (Rom. 12:2b) – METAMORPHOSIS is the unexplainable and miraculous transformation a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly.  This is the type of complete transformation God takes us through when we give our lives to Him.  It is not something that we do for ourselves, but something that God does in us to change us from one thing into something completely new and different (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Where does this transformation begin?

Transformation begins with a renewed MIND (Rom. 12:2c) – New and improved!  This is a phrase that advertisers use to communicate that an old product has undergone a significant change and is now either brand new or superior to the old one.  God wants to take us through a “renewal” process where the end result is a new and improved version of ourselves!  This renewal begins with our thinking.  When God changes what we think, therefore what we believe, He will effectively change our outward actions and behavior into the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:17-23)!

Transformation results in the ability to discern the WILL of GOD (Rom. 12:2d) – With a new and improved mind and self we will have a brand new desire and ability discern and do God’s will.  God’s will for our lives is good, it is something that is morally right and honorable.  God’s will is acceptable, it is something that is pleasing to do.  And ultimately, God’s will is perfect, it is something that is exactly right for our lives.  With a transformed life we will be dedicated to discerning and understanding what pleases the Lord and doing it (Eph. 5:9-10, 17; Col. 1:9-10).

CONCLUSION

When we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, God radically CHANGES our NATURE into something different than the world!  There are 2 pre-requisites for God to do this transformation in our lives.  We must receive God’s mercy through faith in Jesus Christ and we must present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1).   Only then will we be able to step out of the world’s mold and experience the life transforming work of God in our lives!

Out of This World: Alive NOT Dead

What is your understanding of what it means to be alive?  Breathing in oxygen?  Heart pumping blood?  Brain firing off neurological messages?  Is this life?  Popular culture would lead us to believe that life is living each moment to the fullest and striving for the most exhilarating experiences possible, experiences that get the heart pumping and make us “feel” alive.  Is this life?  If you are conscious of what’s going on around you right now, you are enjoying the benefits being physically alive, and yet you may have moments when you wonder if there is more to life than just your physical existence.  You may have had a number of exhilarating experiences, but those experiences fade causing us to wonder if there is more to life as we seek a new experience.  If you don’t have an answer to the question of whether there is more to life, the reason is because, . . . YOU ARE DEAD!

READ:  Ephesians 2:1-10 (Colossians 2:13)

We can be physically alive, living and breathing, even experiencing exhilarating moments in life and yet be spiritually dead and have no idea what it means to experience true life.  How is this possible?  1 Timothy 5:6 says that a self-indulgent widow is, “dead even though she lives”.  In the context of contrasting life lived by the Spirit or by the flesh Romans 8:6 says, “to set the mind of the flesh is death”.  The Bible describes that there is a way of living that is actually non-life or death.  Those who are spiritually dead are missing out on the life that God created us to experience and enjoy.

But there is good news!  According to Ephesians 2:4-5 God demonstrates His love by giving SPIRITUAL LIFE to those who are DEAD!  Spiritual life is true life and without it we are dead men and women walking.

How do we obtain spiritual life?  Why is obtaining spiritual life important?

God gives us the spiritual “death penalty” because of our TRESPASSES and SIN (Eph. 2:1-3, 5) – Capital punishment is the legal process by which someone is physically put to death for a serious crime.  In Genesis 2:16-17 God defines what is worthy of capital punishment, “you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  According to God’s law, one simple act of disobedience is deserving of the “death penalty”.  Did Adam and Eve physically die?  No, so physical death was not the penalty, it was something worse, a spiritual “death penalty”!  The spiritual death penalty meant Adam and Eve were sent out (separated) from the presence of God and denied access to the tree of life (Genesis 3:22-24).  The punishment for our sins is spiritual death!  BUT . . .

God gives us spiritual life as a result of His MERCY and GRACE (Eph. 2:4-9) – The President of the United States has a unique power called “presidential pardon”.  With this power the president can overrule the justice system, withhold punishment, and declare someone innocent who has committed a serious crime, even a crime deserving the death penalty.  Miraculously, God uses His divine pardon not merely to withhold punishment, but to bring us back to life after our spiritual death sentence was already by carried out.  Why?  As a gift of His great “love” (vs 4), “mercy” (vs 4), “grace” (vs 5, 7, 8), and “kindness” (vs 7).  Our spiritual death penalty is reversed restoring us back to true life . . . unhindered communion with a holy God!

God gives us spiritual life to do GOOD WORKS (Eph. 2:10) – What does someone do who is “truly alive”?  The same thing for which we were created, . . . to do “good works”.  God uniquely created each and every one us to have a meaningful purpose.  As recipients of God’s great mercy, we are to sacrifice our lives in order to fulfill God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will for our lives (Rom. 12:1, 2; Mt. 5:16; 2 Cor. 9:8; Tit. 2:13-14).

CONCLUSION

Have you received God’s pardon of the spiritual death penalty?  If we want to be raise from the dead and experience true spiritual life we must put our faith in Jesus Christ who died for us (Rom. 5:8-9, 8:9-11)!

Out Of This World: Salvation NOT Condemnation

I was in love with my wife Marianne from the first week that we met.  Here are a few excerpts from a journal that I began writing on the first day I met Marianne . . . Aug 9, 1997: wonderful week of camp.  Not necessarily what we did, but because of who I met . . . Marianne Elizabeth Stanton”.  Aug 18, 1997: “I walked into my apartment and saw my machine blinking I said out loud, ‘If only this could be Marianne’”.  Aug. 29, 1997: Marianne came to Atlanta tonight to see me . . . . and go to an Olympia football game. Every conversation we have gets better and better, she is so easy to talk to.” Sept 9, 1997: “I truly love her.  Never before has that thought entered my mind about a girl”.  Jan. 17, 1998: All my life I have waited for your direction and leading in my life, somehow I feel you have created us for each other, help me to love Marianne as you have loved me.”  May 2, 1998: Marianne and I are engaged to be married . . . sometime, we know not when.”

I have done a lot of things for Marianne over the years because of my love for her.  I have written letters, driven late at night to see her, cancelled plans with others to be with her, bought her an expensive ring, planned a scavenger hunt for our engagement, made a covenant to be married to her . . . all for the purpose of making sure that Marianne understands, without a shadow of a doubt, that I love her.  I want her to be in my life forever.  My demonstrations of love for Marianne are a faint shadow compared to God’s love for the world!

READ:  John 3:16-18

God demonstrated His love in order to SAVE the world, not CONDEMN the world!  To what extent did God demonstrate His love for the world?

God demonstrates His love for the world by GIVING His SON (John 3:16) – We love to measure everything . . . carbohydrates in food, miles to a destination, gigabytes of memory in a computer, but how do you measure love?  1 John 3:16 says that, “by THIS we KNOW love, that (Jesus) laid down His life for us”! According to God’s standard, love is measured by sacrifice.  We might be willing to sacrifice for someone who is kind and good to us, but God sacrificed His one and only Son for us in the midst our rebellion against Him.  God was willing to sacrifice His one and only Son for one very simple reason, because of His great love for us!

God demonstrates His love for the world so we will not PERISH (John 3:16) – I’m convinced that there have been times when I punished the wrong child for something another one did.  It’s one thing to be unjustly punished for something someone else did, but to willingly choose to receive that punishment is another.   I guarantee we will never here our son Caleb say, “Dad, you can spank me for what Zachary did wrong”.  And yet, that’s what Jesus did!  God’s justice demands that we “perish” for our sin (Gen. 2:16-17; Eph. 2:1-10).  Jesus perished in our place, He received the punishment we deserve on the cross, and satisfying God’s wrath so that we do not have to perish (John 3:36; 1 John 2:2, 4:10; Romans 5:8-9; 2 Pet 3:9)!

God demonstrates His of love for the world so that we will have ETERNAL LIFE (John 3:16) – How would you complete the following statement?  “I would like to experience a(n) __________ life!” Many would complete this statement by saying a “rewarding” life, a “fulfilling” life, a “peaceful” life, a “long” life . . . God knows that the greatest life we can experience is an eternal life, a life that is SO much bigger than anything we could experience on this earth.  God does not want for us to perish and be separated from Him for eternity.  He wants nothing less than to be in relationship with us and enjoy His presence forever.  We deserve to perish in our sin, but God gives us the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23)!

CONCLUSION

1 Timothy 1:15 says that, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners".  The whole reason Jesus came into the world was to save sinners like you and me.  God demonstrates His love for you and me by making the ultimate sacrifice of giving His Son so that we might be saved!  Our responsibility is simply to believe!

Out Of This World

What do you think of the world that we live in?  Would you describe the world as a place of peace and joy or a place of pain and trouble?  There are many moments of happiness, but they can seem few and far between compared with the difficulties and the struggles.  Natural disasters destroy homes and communities.  Children around the world are orphaned because of abuse or poverty.  Planes crash and kill innocent people.  People we care about get sick and die.  Whether a small disappointment or a big tragedy, the world can be a cruel and scary place filled with chaos and confusion.  These realities can cause us to want to get out of this world!

What is wrong with this world?  Is there any hope?  In the New Testament, the Greek word κοσμος, translated “world”, has a few meanings including, 1) the created UNIVERSE, and 2) HUMANITY.  God’s Word gives us some insight into what’s going on in our world and if there is any hope . . . 1) God CREATED the world and all things in it (Jn. 1:10; Acts 17:24; Heb. 1:2).  2) As a result of sin and the fall, the whole world, including humanity, is CORRUPT and SINFUL and under the POWER of Satan (2 Pt. 1:4; 1 Jn. 2:16, 1 Jn. 5:19).  3) God sent Jesus to SAVE the world from the penalty of sin and the power of Satan (Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 3:8, 4:9).  Our world can be a complex and confusing place, but God has a plan to rescue the world He created and loves!

READ:  John 17:9-21

In this passage, literally moments before His betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, death resurrection, and ascension Jesus’ prays for believers that we remain IN the world, but not be OF the world (vs 11, 15)!  Jesus’ desire for those who would follow Him is clear, that we stay in the world and continue the eternal mission that He came to the world to begin.  In order to fulfill this mission, Jesus prays for us while we are in this world . . .

Jesus prays for PROTECTION from SATAN while we are in this world (John 17:11-12, 15) – The name Denny Christianson won’t mean anything to anyone else but it means protection to me.  Mr. C was my high school gym teacher.  While playing flag football I was unnecessarily shoved out of bounds by a classmate.  I reacted by turning around, walking toward him, and politely yelling, “what did you do that for?” to which he grazed my neck with a punch.  I had no intention of getting in a fight, so I was glad when Mr. C quickly stepped in and protected me from a worse attack.  The evil one is going to take his swings at us in an attempt to destroy us, but Jesus prays that God will “guard” us from his attacks.  Satan may land a few blows, but God will “keep” us from being harmed (Prov. 18:10).

Jesus prays for the PROVISION of JOY while we are in this world (Jn. 17:13) – Although the world is filled with discouragement and disappointment God provides a way for us to be “filled” with joy.  We are not filled with joy by a guarantee of favorable circumstances, good health, or prosperity, but rather by God’s presence in our lives. This is the joy that Jesus experienced in spite of the suffering He endured.  The Son of God was not provided a divine shield of protection from the difficulties in this world, and yet He experienced joy because of the intimacy of fellowship with His Father (John 15:11, 16:20-24; Heb. 12:2)!

Jesus prays for the PECULIARITY of SANCTIFICATION while we are in this world (Jn. 17:17) – I have a profound theory in life, . . . we are ALL weird.  There are people who I think are weird simply because they are different from me.  At the same time, there are those who think I am weird simply because I am different from them.  We are all weird to somebody, so get over it!  As a Christian, what makes us weird from the rest of the world is our sanctification.  God “sanctifies” us by setting us apart to live holy lives which conform with the truth of God’s Word.  Living a holy life in the world is a neon sign that says, “I am weird” (1Peter 1:14-16).

Jesus prays for our PURPOSE of being SENT while we are in this world (Jn. 17:18) – We have been sent by Jesus with the same purpose that Jesus was sent by His Father.  Why did God send Jesus?  John 3:17 says that, “God did NOT send His Son to the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be SAVED through Him.”  Our purpose is to continue spreading the message of belief in Jesus Christ for salvation!

CONCLUSION

Why does Jesus want us to be in the world?  According to John 17:21 God wants us to stay in this world, “so that the world may believe that (He) sent (Jesus)”!  In moments when we want to get out of this world, remember, Jesus has prayed for us, that we will have the protection, the provision, the peculiarity, and the purpose we need to stay!