DATE: 2-8-26

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Today we’re going to start something new — a time of pastoral prayer. It’s actually not really new — just an old practice that we’re going to renew in our worship time together. Where — each week — we’ll be more intentional about praying for people, circumstances, and situations going on in our congregation, community, country, and the world. One critique of the contemporary church in the US is how prayer is often just a time of transition — a time for the worship team to get on or off the stage. Yet prayer — historically — has been a sacred practice by God’s gathered people. So we’re going to take time each week to develop this sacred practice even more than what has been our practice around here. 

Feel free to take these prayers — or the topics prayed for — and use them throughout the week. For — when God’s people unite together in prayer — quite often — amazing things happen. So — with that — please join me in prayer.

Gracious Father, we begin by praising you for being a God who is full of generosity towards your creation and especially your people. You are the God who meets our every need according to your glorious riches in Christ Jesus. And you have called us to be a generous people. 

Holy Spirit, thank you for teaching us what it means to be generous. We ask you to inspire in us an ever increasing spirit of generosity as a congregation. Thank you for the faithful giving of your people in this local church — and stretch us towards even greater generosity.

For our local community, Father, Son, and Spirit, I want to bring before you other local pastors in our city — friends of mine — my co-laborers in ministry. For pastor Blair at Living Hope, pastor Mike at First Naz, pastor Chris at Cedar Creek, pastor Travis at Bible Methodist, pastor Kirk at College First, and pastor Ken at the Upper Room — may you speak through them in a mighty way this morning. Change lives for all eternity as your Word is preached through these men. May they trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to speak through them to awaken many to new life in Christ.

As we turn our attention to our nation — tonight is a night when many will be gathered to enjoy a football game. Enjoyment of such things are good gifts from you. So my prayer for our nation is that this evening — for many people — hundreds of thousands of people even — that the joy they find in watching the Super Bowl would point them to the infinitely greater joy that’s found in Jesus. For football games come and go — even Super Bowl victories for our team are nothing more than fleeting moments — but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And the joy that’s found in him endures forever.

Finally — as we now pray for the world — we lift up to you the Arora people group. Nearly four point one million people who — today — don’t believe in Jesus because they haven’t heard about him. Your Word tells us that “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” — may men, women, and children of the Arora people group look up to the sky, recognize that you exist, and see their need to be in right relationship with you. And Father we ask that — at the very moment when they recognize their need — may someone you’ve called and anointed for this very purpose bring them the Good News of Jesus Christ. Though this may seem impossible to us — nothing is impossible for you. For you are the God who is orchestrating all things for the good of the people that Jesus came to seek and save.

Thank you for hearing our prayers. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. We’ll be in James chapter one today. James chapter one — looking at verses nine through eleven. There we read…

James 1:9–11 ESV

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

This is the first of a few warnings that James will give to the rich. And — immediately — our thought is, “Well, I’m glad he’s not speaking to me. I’m not rich!” Be careful with that thought. Most of us are rich in James’ estimation. Either way — the principle James is teaching applies to the rich and the humble — interestingly — that’s the two categories of people James uses in our verses. The rich and the humble.

But — today — we’re going to — first — explore an echo of the Bible — I’ll explain what I mean by that in a moment. Then we’ll briefly look at two false gospels. Then we’ll face the fact that life is fading away. But we’ll end on a high note of being amazed by Christ.

An echo of the Bible. Two false gospels. Life is fading. And Christ — that’s where we’re headed.

THE BIBLE’S ECHO

First — the Bible has an echo to it. By that — I mean — when you get to know the Bible better — you’ll find repeated themes — or echoes — throughout it. Where something said early on in the Bible is echoed later in another part of the Bible. And then it echoes again. And again. And again.

James — if you recall — is writing to Christians of Jewish background. And — for the most part — the Jews knew their Bibles — what we call the Old Testament — really well. And they would’ve immediately recognized the passage that James is echoing in our verses.

Maybe you recognized the echo as well. It’s in his words about the rich when he writes…

James 1:10–11 ESV

10 because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes.

The Old Testament passage that James is referring to — or echoing — is from the prophet Isaiah. For some context — the people of God have been living in exile. They’re being punished for abandoning God who had graciously warned them to come back to him or face the consequence of their sin. They refused to do so and their punishment was being conquered by another nation.

Now — you can imagine how demoralizing, depressing, and disheartening it must have been to experience being defeated by another nation. And it’s in the midst of this situation that the prophet — on behalf of God — says…

Isaiah 40 NLT

1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. 2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.” 3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! 4 Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. 5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!” 6 A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” 9 O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!” 10 Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. 12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? 13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? 14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice? 15 No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand. 16 All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God. 17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing — mere emptiness and froth. 18 To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him? 19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains? 20 Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down! 21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God — the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? 22 God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. 23 He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. 24 They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff. 25 “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. 26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. 27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Even though the people are presently in exile — experiencing the punishment for their sins against God — God speaks words of comfort and hope and of power to them. He tells his people that their sad days are over. Their sins have been forgiven. A path will be made which will lead them back to God — back to the Promised Land — back from the wilderness to their home.

I can’t help but think that some among us need to know that God’s words still echo to his people today. That your sad days are coming to an end. Your sins have been forgiven. God has made the path for you to walk on which is leading you to an eternal Promised Land — heaven — for this wilderness of a world is not your home.

Now for the people in Isaiah’s day — this is all an echo of an earlier part of their history. For — just like when they wandered in the wilderness during the Exodus — some of the people in Isaiah’s day will fade away — they will die before the promise is fulfilled when God’s people return to the Promised Land. But what will never fade away is the Word of God — it stands forever. 

The Word of God which declares — and tells us to shout from the mountaintops, “Our God is coming to rule! He’s coming in power and is bringing his reward with him. He will feed his people like a shepherd — and he’ll carry them in his arms. He’ll hold them close to his heart and will lead them gently back to him.” Words of comfort for his people. Words that I hope give you comfort today — if you believe in Jesus.

And the Word of God — which will never fade — says some amazing truths about God. For example…

• He holds the oceans in his hands.
• And has measured the heavens.
• And knows the weight of the world.
• And he is all-knowing and needs no one to instruct him on anything.
• He knows what is good.
• He knows what is just.
• And all people — along with all of creation — are mere dust compared to him.

Isaiah goes on and on and then concludes by asking, “What compares to God?” The answer? No one and nothing — that’s what. But oh how easy it is to get excited about — and distracted by — and give our lives to things — like money — that don’t even come close to the awesomeness that is our God.

This is the passage James is echoing in our verses. For he wants his original readers — who were living in exile — dispersed from Jerusalem because of persecution — and us — his people living in exile as we await the return of our King — to remember — and have great confidence in — who our God is so that our lives become more and more committed to living for him alone. And — by the way — the benefits of living this way are countless.

For example — if you’re feeling weak right now — remember — your God is the God who gives strength. If you’re feeling powerless — remember — your God gives power to his people. For — as Isaiah says — those who trust in him will find new strength. They will soar like eagles. They’ll run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

If you’ve been with us during our journey in James — which we’re just a few weeks into — me mentioning that I memorize books of the Bible a few weeks ago may have made you think that I’m pretty weird — and if you talk to folks who know me — they’ll tell you that I’m weird. One of my other weird habits is that I have a list of life resolutions. These are statements of who God says I am in Christ that I know I’m prone to forgetting — so I’ve collected them as a list and read them regularly to remember who I am and who God’s called me to be.

Resolution number twenty-seven is based on the passage from Isaiah that we just read — in fact — it’s based on the last verse. My resolution number twenty-seven is this: To be thankful during soaring seasons. Faithful in running seasons. And to persevere in walking seasons.

And the way you and I can be thankful, and faithful, and even demonstrate perseverance — when life is soaring or when it’s soul-crushing — is by remembering who our great and mighty and powerful and saving God is as he’s told us in his never-fading Word.

TWO FALSE GOSPELS

Which leads us to two false gospels I want to point out to us. But — first — our verses again. This time in a different translation.

James 1:9–11 NLT

9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

There are two false gospels that are a constant source of division in the church: the prosperity gospel and the poverty gospel. The prosperity gospel is the false teaching that God rewards our faith with health and wealth and that Christians should expect God to bless them with health and wealth in an ever increasing way. The poverty gospel — on the other hand — is the false teaching that God requires poverty — or denying oneself of material goods — as a sign that your faith is genuine.

Obviously, our verses in James would be correcting those who believe the prosperity gospel — as the rich — in our verses — are given a warning. And the prosperity gospel — if nothing else — is about being rich. Yet our verses have the potential to be used to justify the poverty gospel — which again — like the prosperity gospel — is false. It’s a lie. And it’s to be rejected.

The Bible has much to say about the poor — but never is being economically poor a way to judge the spiritual state or maturity of a person. Maybe the person was foolish with their money. Or maybe they were called by God to exercise the spiritual gift of generosity in a way that few have been called to. Their bank accounts may have the same amount in them — but for very different reasons. And — generally speaking — we’re all pretty terrible at judging people’s motives.

I bring these false gospels up to warn you to be careful with what you consume in books, podcasts, and sermons. There are many prosperity gospel preachers and teachers in our country today. They sell a message that entices our sinful desire to be rich. And these false teachers cause many people to be disappointed in God when he doesn’t live up to the lies they’ve been sold — which is why you must know who God says he is on his own terms in his unfading Word.

And though not as popular — poverty gospel false teachers are also out there. And — ironically — they make quite a bit of money selling a false message — telling their readers and listeners to denounce wealth and give everything away as a sign of spiritual maturity. Both the prosperity and poverty gospels can be quite lucrative for the false teachers selling such lies.

So — remember — God calls his people to — one — love him and not money — because you can’t love both according to Jesus. Two — God calls us to be generous with our money — really, I should say — be generous with his money because it’s not our money anyway. Which is why generosity is one of the values we hope to see in all who follow Jesus here at Gateway — and I’m continually blown away by your generosity. And — three — we must remember…

2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT

9 The generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

We’ll reflect more on this truth in a moment. 

LIFE IS FADING

But — before we get to Jesus — let’s face the fact that life is fading for all of us. James tells us this a few times in our verses.

James 1:9–11 ESV

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Passing away. Withering. Falling. Perishing. Fading away — they all mean the same thing: The rich — and the poor — the proud and the humble — all of us are experiencing the fading away of our lives. I recently heard someone say, “I’ve got a lot of good years behind me.” That’s not how we expect that sentence to go, is it? Most of the time we talk about good years that are ahead of us — and often people talk as if the years are never gonna run out.

But — according to James — life is like grass in a field. The sun rises and dries out the grass — and it withers and dies. The flowers wilt and the petals fall off and the flower’s beauty is gone forever. Later James will say…

James 4:14 NLT

14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog — it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.

The morning fog is something we’re all familiar with living in Northwest Ohio. Growing up in Florida — I didn’t have fog delays when I was a student. But — here — we occasionally get a fog delay or cancellation. And — inevitably — when school’s cancelled — the sun comes out — warms everything up — and the fog burns off leaving a beautiful day for the students to enjoy. Our life — James says — is like that — fog. It’s here in the morning and gone in a few hours.

In the Old Testament our lives are described as a handbreadth.

Psalm 39:5 ESV

5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

A handbreadth — if you don’t know — is this — four fingers. Essentially each finger represents a quarter of a person’s life. Some of us are under twenty years old. So this first finger — though not all the way up — hasn’t completely closed. Some of us are between twenty and forty. The first finger is down — and the second is on its way down — but you’ve still got two full fingers of life left ahead of you. Some of us have passed forty — which is middle age by the way — not sixty — we’re not living to a hundred and twenty these days. Once you pass forty — the third finger is starting to creep its way down. And when you pass the sixty year old mark — you’re on the last finger — and it’s started its way down.

And — in response to this truth — the psalmist says, “Selah.” Which means — pause, reflect, meditate on the reality of how brief your life is — for this is the only way to not waste your life — but to live it to the full.

Our culture wants us to not think about such things. Ignore your mortality. Ignore the wrinkles — botox them away even. We idolize youthfulness and despair when there’s nothing more we can do to cover up the fact that our life is fading away.

If you saw a picture of me from my twenties — you’d recognize it’s me — but you’d probably think, “What happened?” A few years ago — during a sermon I quoted from a television show I watched growing up and someone said to me, “When you said that, I realized I never imagined that you were a kid. I just always think of you as being this age.” I remember hearing a pastor lament because he was already up there in age when recording sermons on video became a thing. He said something like, “People will always think of me as an old preacher even though I’ve been doing this for decades.”

But age happens. Gravity’s been pulling on my body for nearly five decades. I don’t dye my hair — so gray is happening. My life is passing away.

I’ve had to give up on many pursuits I once dreamed of accomplishing — there’s just not enough life left to pursue everything — which is good — because now what matters makes it to the top of my priorities — at least I hope it is. Life has a great way — if you allow it — to prioritize things for you.

And — to what should be the biggest priority — for those who follow Jesus — we now turn.

CONCLUSION: CHRIST’S HUMILIATION AND EXALTATION

In our verses — two words kept sticking out to me over and over again. Humiliation and exaltation. The lowly — or the humble — are exalted. And the rich are humiliated. And here’s where my mind kept going.

A few weeks ago I read our Essentials of the Faith. Think of them as the standard of beliefs that Christians have always held regardless of denomination, church affiliation, and so on. They unite us together with other local churches in Findlay — like Living Hope, Cedar Creek, First Naz, College First, Bible Methodist, the Upper Room, and so on. Churches in town whose pastors I’m friends with and meet with on a monthly basis.

Yet — in our church tradition — we’re part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church if you’re newer to Gateway — in our church tradition we also hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms. Catechisms are a list of questions and answers — which are very helpful as they cover many of the questions people have about the Christian faith.

What does any of that have to do with humiliation and exaltation? Well when the two words kept sticking out to me — where my mind went to was the Larger Catechism. It’s called “larger” because it has more questions than the shorter catechism. And the forty-sixth question in the larger catechism is this.

Q. 46. How was Christ humiliated?

The answer.

A. For our sakes, Christ emptied himself of his own glory and took on the form of a servant, and so was humiliated in all the poor circumstances involving his conception and birth, life on earth, death, and after his death until he was resurrected.

Paul speaks of this when he writes…

Philippians 2:6–8 ESV

6 [Jesus], though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The next few questions are…

Q. 47. How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth?

And…

Q. 48. How did Christ humble himself in his life?

And…

Q. 49. How did Christ humble himself in his death?

And…

Q. 50. How was Christ humiliated after his death?

And what the answers to these questions reveal — and I’d encourage you to go read them for yourself — the answers reveal that Jesus — the Rich Man of Heaven — left his infinite riches and humbled himself — in love — for our sake. What love displayed for you and me. What compassion towards us who are spiritually poor. The Rich Man gave up everything for us — he gave up everything for you. Christ humbled himself in love for you.

Yet that’s not all. Remember — there were two words that stuck out to me: humiliation and exaltation. The last question we just read — on Christ’s humiliation — was number fifty. The next question asks this.

Q. 51. How was Christ exalted?

A. Christ’s exaltation includes his resurrection, ascension, sitting at the right hand of the Father, and coming again to judge the world.

The catechism goes on to ask.

Q. 52. How was Christ exalted in his resurrection?

And…

Q. 53. How was Christ exalted in his ascension?

And…

Q. 54. How is Christ exalted by sitting at the right hand of God?

And what the answers to these questions reveal is that — the Rich Man became poor for your sake. And — just like James tells us — the humble man — Jesus Christ — is now exalted to the heavenly places. And because of all that he’s done in love — for you and for me — we’re to exalt the name of Jesus together. Meaning — we’re to lift up the name of Jesus in song and praise — and we’re to honor him in how we live as we show the world that — though the flower fades and its beauty perishes — not so with Jesus Christ. 

Though you and I age and get old, and bare the physical scars of medical procedures and surgeries to help fight off sickness and diseases and decay — the Word of the Lord — the Bible — will never fade away — just as the Word of the Lord — Jesus Christ — though he still has the scars in his hands and feet from the cross — he will never fade away. For he considered his humiliation a small price to pay to save his people from their sin — and to rescue them from the wilderness — so that they might experience being lifted up to Heaven where they’ll be with their exalted Savior for all eternity.

Wisdom has been speaking to us today. Wisdom’s told us much about who God is, who we are, and what Jesus has done for us. How will you respond to what wisdom has said to you today? May you receive the advice that wisdom has graciously taught you today and turn to the humble — and now — exalted Savior, Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father in Heaven, your ways are not our ways. If anything — we’ve learned that today.

Spirit of God, may you take the truth of your Word — which is never-fading — and apply it deep into our hearts at this very moment. Maybe it’s the truth of how awesome God is, or how fading our lives are, or how beautiful Jesus is, or the love that is ours because of what Christ has done. 

And — Jesus — the Rich Man of heaven, our humble and exalted Savior — we now prepare our hearts to join together in praising your awesome and mighty name. May you receive our praise. If it’s praise from those who are soaring like eagles. If it’s praise from those who are running. And especially if it’s the praise coming from those whose lives are in a season of walking. May our praise bring you honor and joy. In your name we pray. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

In love — Christ humbled himself for your sake. Therefore — in love — may you go and exalt his name by living for him. Amen

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 11-16-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

Can you believe it? Today we finish the book of Romans.

• We began Romans back in 2017. I wasn’t even the Senior Pastor at the time — that’s how long ago we started Romans. We finished chapters one and two of Romans that year.
• In 2018 — I was the Senior Pastor now — we looked at chapters three and four.
• In 2019 we looked at chapters five, six, and seven — woo-hoo — three whole chapters that year!
• But — then — things slowed down quite a bit for us. Romans chapter eight was eighteen sermons long — which we split between 2020 and 2021.
• We then took a two year break — no Romans in 2022 and 2023 — you may not even remember that. I knew we’d taken a break but had forgotten how long it was.
• But we picked right back up — in Romans chapter nine — in September of 2024. And — other than breaks for Christmas and Easter, a short series on suffering, and our recent two week break — we’ve been in Romans ever since.

So — if you’re newer to Gateway — maybe today’s your first day with us — obviously you’re coming in at the end of a long investment for some of us. But know that you can catch up on all that you’ve missed by going to our website — gatewayepc.org — where you’ll find all of the sermons that have been preached from the book of Romans. 

And since you know what’s ending today — here’s what you can expect for the rest of the year. Next week — one of our elders — Matt Heft — will be preaching as part of our Westminster Shorter Catechism series. A catechism — if you don’t know — is a resource that has questions and answers that focus on what we believe. I find catechisms to be a very helpful resource because — often — a question I’m asking is answered in a catechism.

That’s next week. Then we’ll begin our Christmas series — which will take us up through Christmas Eve. And — the final Sunday of the year — December 28th — we’ll have a combined campus worship service. Only one worship service that morning and we’ll all gather at our County Road 9 Campus. That morning will be focused on prayer and — you won’t want to miss it because — one — it won’t be live-streamed — so no online option that day — two — we’ll be taking the Lord’s Supper together — and three — we’re going to have some Gateway family members visiting with us who we sent out earlier this year to serve in a country that — in 2025 — is ranked as the tenth most dangerous place for Christians. I’m going to interview them during the service so you all will get to hear directly from them. But — since we’re live-streaming right now — I won’t say their names or their location — but — if they’re watching — we love you and look forward to seeing you soon.

So that’s what you can expect in the coming weeks. But now let’s turn to our final verses in the book of Romans. Here are Paul’s final words to the Christians living in Rome. We’re in Romans chapter sixteen — beginning in verse seventeen.

Romans 16:17–20 ESV

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

And skipping to verse twenty-five we read…

Romans 16:25–27 ESV

25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

In Paul’s concluding words to the Christians in Rome we find his final words of warnings and his final words of blessings to them. Final warnings and final blessings. This is Paul’s focus as he ends his letter — and it’ll be our focus for our final sermon in Romans.

FINAL WARNINGS

First, his final warnings. We’re in verse seventeen.

Romans 16:17–19 ESV

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

After praising so many in the church — which we looked at last week — Paul takes an abrupt turn here. “Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you’ve been taught; avoid them.”

Watch out! Be careful! Don’t be duped — because — there are people in the church who cause division and create obstacles. These people don’t serve Jesus — regardless of what they say — they don’t serve Jesus — they serve themselves. And these people are cunning and are able to deceive those who are naive. Paul’s final warning to the Christians in Rome.

But this isn’t the only time Paul shared such a warning. To the Christians in Corinth Paul wrote…

2 Corinthians 11:12–15 NLT

12 But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. 13 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

To those in Philippi he writes…

Philippians 3:2 ESV

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

And later he tells them…

Philippians 3:18–19 ESV

18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

And notice the similar language between Paul’s description — of the kind of people we’re to watch out for — and what’s found in the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 6:16–19 ESV

16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

• False apostles. 
• Deceitful workers. 
• Servants of Satan who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. 
• Evildoers. 
• Enemies of the cross of Christ. 
• Lying tongues. 
• Hearts that devise wicked plans. 
• Those who sow discord. 
• People whom Paul warns us to watch out for.

About Paul’s description — that these people use “smooth talk and flattery” — one pastor has said, “The word for flattery [means] blessing. And smooth talk…means pleasant and plausible. So the reason we must be so vigilant over biblical doctrine is that those who depart from it take simple people with them by pleasant, plausible speech that presents itself as a blessing. False teachers don’t get a following by being rough and harsh. They get a following by being nice.”

Be vigilant in knowing what you believe — don’t be naive or simple — because the naive will be led astray by the pleasant, nice sounding words of false teachers. 

But here’s my question for us: How do you know when you’re dealing with someone who’s misguided versus someone who’s using smooth talk and flattery to be divisive so they lead people away from the truth?

Meaning — how do you know when someone’s a false teacher versus a mistaken teacher? There is a difference!

But it’s so hard to know who’s who, isn’t it? Perfection can’t be the standard — for we all make mistakes — even doctrinal ones. But how do you know if it’s not a mistake — but is intentional deception meant to lead people astray?

Here’s something I’ve learned having been a pastor for nearly twenty years: Rarely does the conversation go well when someone says to me, “Pastor, this book (or this sermon or podcast or whatever) has changed my life. Would you read (listen or watch) it and tell me what you think?” Because — when whatever they share is bad  — meaning it’s deception or heresy or the like — me saying so doesn’t go well.

Here’s a real life example. A few years ago I was given a book by a member of Gateway. He handed it to me and said, “This book has changed my life!” Now I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover — but — by the title I knew it was a health, wealth, and prosperity kind of book. If you’ve never heard of that phrase before — it’s a false gospel that teaches that God always wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and prosperous — usually accompanied by a request for money to be sent to their ministry so that God’s blessing on your life can be guaranteed. And — if the blessing seems to be delayed — well — you probably need to send a bit more money — to their ministry, obviously — so the blessing gets to you faster. I so wish that wasn’t an exaggeration.

But I read the book. And I told the guy — who gave it to me — that I’d read it, had some concerns, and would like to talk to him about it. We met on my front porch. And do you know what happened? Every concern I brought up — even with Bible passages to back up my concern — he dismissed because, “He had discovered the truth and I just wasn’t willing to accept it.” Afterall, that’s exactly what the author told him would happen — the author literally wrote to expect that your pastor is going to disagree with the “truth” found in this book. Talk about a worker of Satan.

But here’s the sobering part to this story: The guy who was duped by the book wasn’t a new Christian. He’d been at Gateway longer than I’d been. He’d sat under solid Bible preaching for years — and yet — was deceived by the smooth talk and flattery of an author. And he left Gateway because I disagreed with an author that had changed his life.

I bring this up to let you know what’s become my ministry philosophy when it comes to the true gospel versus false gospels. It’s based on a well used preaching illustration that — turns out — is actually true! The illustration is about federal agents and how they’re taught to spot counterfeit money. They’re taught to spot counterfeit money by studying — not counterfeit — but real money. 

Here’s how this relates to my ministry philosophy: Instead of warning you of false teachers that are writing books, preaching sermons, and producing podcasts — my goal is to make you so familiar with the true gospel that you’re able to spot an impostor without my help. That’s what grieved me about the man who left Gateway. Somewhere, somehow he’d not become familiar enough with the true gospel to not be deceived by that wicked imposter.

And my ministry philosophy is also why I emphasize the difference between the essentials of our faith and the non-essentials. False teachers go after the essentials. And I don’t want you to mislabel a true teacher of God’s Word — who you disagree with over a non-essential — as a false teacher. Disagreements over a non-essential doesn’t mean someone’s a false teacher. 

Another reason why I have this philosophy of ministry is because there’s just not enough time in my day to make exhaustive lists of who are the false teachers and who are true teachers — but would disagree over a non-essential — and who are true teachers — who agree with all of our non-essentials — and so on. There’s just no way to keep up in our day and age with all of the books, podcasts, and sermons that are out there.

So I do my best to teach you — as clearly as I can — the true gospel — and what’s essential to the Christian faith versus non-essential. And — I do so — so you’re equipped to recognize the true gospel — and its false imposters — as you follow Jesus.

But — let’s do the even more difficult task — and move from out there — to the people out there writing books, preaching sermons, and producing podcasts — and let’s move in here — to us — to Gateway. For Paul’s writing to a local church — and he warns them about divisive and obstacle-creating individuals who were among them. What are we to do about such people?

In one of his other letters — Paul gives a clear biblical command as to what we’re to do with such people. He tells Titus…

Titus 3:10–11 ESV

10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

First warning. Second warning. Then have nothing more to do with a divisive person in the church. 

Now — think about it: Who really does this? Have you been part of a church that’s this swift to act? There’s some sort of expectation — isn’t there — to not be so “strike one, strike two…you’re out!” — when it comes to divisive people — especially in the church, right? Why?

Because no one’s a fan of church discipline — which is the topic we’re now talking about. Where someone in the church is creating division — they’ve been warned about their behavior — and they’ve been warned a second time — and now — instead of obeying Paul’s words — we give them a third warning. Maybe a fourth. A fifth. 

We start to think, “Maybe if we ignore them this will all go away.” Church leaders wrestle with, “What will the rest of the congregation think if we actually do something about this individual? Some will definitely get upset — remember — smooth talk and flattery wins people over. Others will leave. Some will want to know more than they need to know. Others will think anything we do is heavy handed and anything we say is gossip.”

What I’m pointing out to us is how the church has lost her ability to practice church discipline. Not just Gateway — but God’s Church has lost this important skill.

Do you know why church discipline is a good thing? The purpose of discipline — according to our church constitution — is…

• To maintain the honor of God.
• To restore the sinner.
• And to remove the offense (the sin not being repented of) from the church in order to keep the church pure and holy.

When Paul — in verse nineteen — tells the Christians in Rome “to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil” — I wonder if he had something like the purpose of church discipline in mind. 

• For it’s good to maintain the honor of God. 
• And it’s good to restore sinners. 
• And it’s good to keep the church pure and holy. 
• Similarly, anything that doesn’t maintain God’s honor, or restore sinners, or keep the church pure — is evil. 

And when we realize that excommunication — or removing individuals from the fellowship of the church — is only reserved for the most grievous and unrepentant of sinners — which should be on the rarest of occasions — we see that most discipline that happens in the life of the church is actually what’s called discipleship. Where individual members commit to grow in Christ-likeness and holiness and purity so that God is honored in our lives. For — and I think this is obvious — the words discipline and discipleship are similar in their spelling — because — they’re words that are related to one another.

Discipline is what happens to disciples who — instead of growing in Christ-likeness and holiness and purity — head off in a sinful direction that brings dishonor to the Savior who gave his life for them. And — the practice of discipline — helps all who follow Jesus — catch a glimpse of how easy it is to head off in a sinful direction: that fleeting lustful thought that caught your attention, that desire to switch to private mode in your browser to search for porn, the ease it is to tell a lie and to believe the lies you tell, how good it feels to gossip. None of us are beyond sin — thus discipline is God’s gracious way of keeping us from destroying our lives for all eternity by giving into sin.

This is Paul’s final warning to his readers.

FINAL BLESSINGS

And — now — his final blessing. We’ll begin with a verse we’ve already looked at — verse nineteen.

Romans 16:19–20 ESV

19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

And skipping to verse twenty-five we read…

Romans 16:25–27 ESV

25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Paul’s final words of blessing. Words of blessing which include, “Your obedience is known to all — so I rejoice.” What wonderful words to write to the Christians in Rome. He writes a similar praise to the Christians in Thessalonica when he tells them…

1 Thessalonians 1:8 ESV

8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

This verse has become one of the prayers I pray for us as a church. For I regularly pray that “reports of our faith in God will spread and be an encouragement to others. Not for our glory — but for God’s glory.” A prayer that I’d encourage you to join me in praying for us — so that our testimony of what Christ has done for us — and is doing in and among us — encourages other churches and Christians to live more faithfully for Jesus. Where our obedience to Christ — both individually and corporately — would inspire other Christians and churches to live in obedience to Christ. That our example would spur on others to do far more for Jesus than they might have ever dared dream is possible.

But what an opportunity to rejoice. When we recognize — even more than we do right now — how God’s hand of blessing is upon us. 

• We witness people come to faith in Christ. 
• We get to celebrate when people are baptized. 
• We have parents bring their children before us with the intention of raising their children up to know and love Jesus. 
• We’ve sent a couple to one of the hardest places in the world to be a Christian. 
• We’ve got someone else leaving soon to go overseas long term. 
• Another couple is also in the process. 
• We’ve got our first pastoral resident joining us in January. Someone who we’ll train in pastoral ministry, get him the seminary education he needs, and then send him and his family out with our blessing to go pastor God’s people in a local church.
• We’re becoming more and more of a sending church — which is a blessing and a reason for us to rejoice.

Yet there’s even more blessings for us to recognize. For — in verse twenty — Paul writes…

Romans 16:20 ESV

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

A few weeks ago we looked at God’s covenant promises to his people — including us today. One promise is found shortly after Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden. When God says…

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

As I told you in that sermon — on the cross — though Satan bruised Christ’s heel on the cross — Jesus crushed the head of our foe — for on the cross our victory was secured. Yet — as of now — our victory isn’t fully experienced. For Jesus must still return for that final day of victory to be inaugurated. But the blessing Paul reminds us — in his closing words — is that: The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

So the day is coming soon — and it’s a reason for us to rejoice. But what about this: God will crush Satan under our feet.

“Under our feet? Under my feet?” Yes, under your feet. “I thought Satan was crushed by Jesus’ feet.” He was. But dear Christian — the blessing here for us is in knowing that every step of obedience we take — every moment when you choose holiness over wickedness — faithfulness over rebellion — joy in Jesus over joy in the things of this world — each and every one of these moments is a step closer to the Serpent being finally and forever defeated. Every step of faithful obedience that you take is another blow to the head of our enemy.

CONCLUSION: DOXOLOGY

Which — with such blessings bestowed upon us — is it any wonder that Paul ends his letter with worship? That’s what he does — he ends Romans with praise — what’s called doxology.

Romans 16:25–27 ESV

25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

To him — the only wise God — to him who is all powerful — which means he’s able to strengthen you by his power — which he does through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To him who’s revealed what was once a mystery — that his plan has always been to save people from all nations. To him the only saving God — who brings people to faith and obedience so that his Son looks glorious to the world — to this only wise and all-powerful and saving God — be glory forever, and ever. Amen. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father, what more can we pray than what we just heard. You are the only wise, all-powerful, and saving God whose plan has always been to rescue people from all nations.

Holy Spirit, you shine the light of the gospel into the hearts of people as the Good News is faithfully preached — as you do the wonderful mysterious work of raising spiritually dead people to eternal life. 

Jesus — all of this is possible because you gave your life in love for us. Crushing the head of the Serpent on the cross. Shedding your blood for our sins. Clothing us in your righteousness.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — to you alone be glory forever and ever. Amen. 

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go knowing that the only wise God has — and is — making you wise and strong for his glory. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 10-5-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend and we’re in the practical application section of Paul’s letter where — after eleven chapters of theological truths — we’re now in the “so what” section of Paul’s letter. Meaning he’s now addressing how all of the theology — that’s found in the first eleven chapters — is to play itself out in how we live. Or at least how it should influence the way we live.

And — today — we’re concluding our mini-series within our series in Romans — as Paul continues to address the same topic we’ve looked at the last two times we’ve been together. What topic is that? How to disagree.

When Paul started his discussion on how to disagree, he began with something quite controversial for the times in which we live. He says that part of the reason why we have disagreements with each other is because — and this is the controversial part — some of us are weak and some of us are strong. And — what he means by that — is that some of us are weak and strong when it comes to our understanding of the Christian faith and how it applies to life — which tells us that Paul is focusing on disagreements among Christians — though there are many ways to apply what he teaches to all of our relationships.

Last time — Paul instructed us on what we’re to do — and not do — when we disagree with one another. We were told to not despise or pass judgment on Christians with whom we disagree over a non-essential matter. This isn’t disagreement over an essential of the faith — doctrines like faith alone in Christ alone for salvation — this is about disagreements over non-essential matters. The examples Paul uses indicate that the Christians in Rome disagreed over what foods were acceptable to eat as followers of Jesus and whether or not there were special days for worship. Neither of these topics are essential to being a Christian.

And — as I’ve said again and again — non-essential doesn’t mean non-important. Many non-essential beliefs and practices are very important — they’re just not essential in determining whether someone’s a Christian or not. Non-essential also doesn’t mean that we believe in subjectivism — that what’s true for you is true for you, but for me this other thing is true. It just means that — in our fallibility and human limitations — we haven’t come to unity on what the Bible teaches on these matters and we believe that Christians on both sides are trying to be faithful to God and what they believe he’s said on the matter in the Bible.

So with that as a guide as to where we’ve been — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to Romans chapter fifteen. We’ll be in Romans chapter fifteen today — looking at verses one through seven. Where Paul — concluding his discussion on how to disagree — writes…

Romans 15:1–7 ESV

1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

In this — our final look at how to disagree — Paul reminds us of our ultimate goal in life. What goal? That God would be glorified in all areas of our life — including how we disagree with one another. We’ll look at this goal before turning our attention to an obligation we must fulfill in order for us to accomplish our goal. And — finally — we’ll see how we fulfill our obligation.

We’ll begin with our goal: the glory of God. Then we’ll look at an obligation we must fulfill in order for God to be glorified in our disagreements. And — finally — how we accomplish our obligation.

FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

So — first — our ultimate goal in life. The ultimate goal — when we disagree — should be the same for all areas of our life as followers of Jesus: That God would be glorified. That’s why Paul ends his section on how to disagree with the words — this is verse seven…

Romans 15:7 ESV

7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Now — why did I say that the glory of God is our ultimate goal — not just in our disagreements — but in all areas of life? Because this is what we read in Scripture. For example…

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Including using the spiritual gifts that God’s given to each of us — which we looked at earlier this year — for Peter writes…

1 Peter 4:10–11 ESV

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Glorifying God also includes what we do and don’t do with our bodies…

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

And why must we do this? For God is the One who created us…

Isaiah 43:6–7 ESV

6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I (God) created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Which means all that we do is to be done for the glory of God so that others might turn to him. For as Jesus said…

Matthew 5:16 ESV

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

And…

John 15:8 ESV

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

And — when we live this way — we’ll join the psalmist and say…

Psalm 115:1 ESV

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

And join the saints in heaven who proclaim…

Revelation 4:11 ESV

11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

And join creation for…

Psalm 19:1 ESV

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Because we agree with Paul who said…

Romans 11:36 ESV

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

All things — including our salvation — which is a gift from God. For…

Ephesians 1:11–12 ESV

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

All things — including grace…

2 Corinthians 4:15 ESV

15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

All things — including our love for and unity with one another…

Philippians 1:9–11 ESV

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Thus we say…

Psalm 86:12 ESV

12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

Knowing that God’s glory will continue to expand across creation…

Habakkuk 2:14 ESV

14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Therefore we’re to…

1 Chronicles 16:28–29 ESV

28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;

So…

Isaiah 60:1–2 ESV

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

And — at just the right time — the moment when darkness covered the earth — the Light of the world pierced the darkness…

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

For God has said…

Isaiah 42:8 ESV

8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

Therefore when Jesus had fulfilled all that his Father required of him — and as the cross was just before him — he said…

John 17:4 ESV

4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

To glorify God in all of our life — that’s the ultimate goal for every Christian — including our goal in how we disagree with one another. This means that displaying God’s greatness and praising his name is the primary goal in our disagreement. Not winning an argument. Not proving our point. Not getting the other side to concede. For you can be on the right side of the debate and not have God being glorified as your goal — and that would mean you win an argument and yet fail to fulfill your God given purpose. 

For God being glorified in your life is why you — and I — and all people exist. This is why you exist — Christian or not. God being glorified is why you’re alive and breathing — Christian or not. And we’re either moving towards this goal — as followers of Jesus — the theological term is growing in our sanctification — so that God being glorified is more and more the goal of our life. For — if we’re not growing in our spiritual maturity — then we won’t disagree with one another in a way that glorifies our God.

AN OBLIGATION FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

So how do we grow in our spiritual maturity when it comes to our disagreeing with one another? Because — in order for us to accomplish our goal — that God would be glorified even in our disagreements — we must recognize the obligation that’s now before each of us who follow Jesus. For our goal — that God would be glorified in our disagreements — comes with an obligation. There’s something expected and required of us who follow Jesus. Paul tells us this in verse one.

Romans 15:1–2 ESV

1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

Here’s our obligation if God is going to be glorified in our disagreements: We who are strong are to bear with the failings of the weak — and none of us are to please ourselves, but we’re to please our neighbors — our fellow Christians — so we build them up in the faith.

Bearing with the failings of the weak — and pleasing them — doesn’t mean that we just capitulate and give them whatever they’re asking for. After all — our goal is to build them up. And often the very thing the weak think will please them is what’s keeping them from maturing in the faith. That’s what Paul means by “the failings of the weak.” These aren’t moral failings — or necessarily sinful behaviors — this is a lack of spiritual maturity on their part when it comes to non-essential beliefs and behaviors.

And I want to be clear about something: A person can be spiritually mature in many areas and weak in others. So it’s not that one person is always a weak Christian or always a strong Christian — for one can be strong in ninety percent of their Christian faith and yet incredibly weak in the other ten percent. And this is why disagreements among Christians are so tricky — for most of us think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. We think, “Well I read my Bible regularly. I attend worship every week. I’m actively involved in my Life Group. I serve. I give. I go on missions trips. I’ve memorized lots of God’s Word. I can defend my view of the end times and so on.” And all that is great and spiritual growth and to be commended. But all of that can be true — and yet — you’re still an immature spiritual leader in the home. Or unaware how the religion of your political party has sunk its nails in you. Or how social media has consumed your time and thoughts and views in many areas of life. 

Not to mention how many of us don’t read our Bible regularly, or attend worship weekly, or serve, or give, or go on missions trips and so on — and yet — view ourselves as spiritually refined and mature in our views on — well — on everything!

All that to say — though some of us may be new to the faith — and thus — generally speaking — weak in most areas — while others of us have been faithfully following Jesus and growing in the faith for years — and thus — generally speaking — strong in most areas — the majority of us fall somewhere in between. We’re strong in some areas — really strong in others — weak in some — and more weak than we realize in other areas.

But our aim — if you remember — is to glorify God — to please him first and foremost. And that means — especially if you happen to be the weak brother or sister in Christ in a particular situation — that we realize that — just because you don’t get what you want or what you think you should — that doesn’t mean that the strong are being unloving, unkind, or disobedient.

And — for those who happen to be the strong — in a particular situation — the strong are to be bearing — which means enduring — and kind towards your weaker spiritual siblings. Your goal should be to help them mature in the faith in this area. For Paul wants the weak to become strong — which should be the desire of all of us — we should desire for all who follow Jesus to grow stronger and stronger in the faith.

I wonder what your attitude is towards those whom you think are weak or spiritually immature on a particular non-essential issue? Sometimes everything about them is immature. Other times it’s just one area where you happen to disagree with them. Regardless, what’s your attitude towards the other person? Is your desire to help them grow and mature? Or do you just want to avoid another long conversation with them? Maybe you just want to prove to them how wrong they are? Or to get them to agree with you? I wonder if your answers to these questions reveal that — maybe — just maybe — you’re not as strong as you think you are?

HOW WE FULFILL OUR OBLIGATION

At this point — we now know our goal — that God would be glorified — and that we have an obligation we must fulfill in order to accomplish our goal — we’re to bear with the failings of the weak, not please ourselves, but seek to please our fellow Christians instead. And that sounds good and all — but how do we actually fulfill our obligation? Do we just grin and bear it? Tighten our belts and trudge on through the disagreements among us? Give up and go our separate ways?

Paul explains how we do all of this beginning in verse three.

Romans 15:3–6 ESV

3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul gives us three reminders that we must keep before us in order to fulfill our obligation when we disagree — so that God is glorified in our disagreements. Three reminders — think of them as instructions that you most likely already know — that Paul gives us so that we become the kind of people who glorify God in our disagreements.

First, we must look to Christ. In verse three Paul writes…

Romans 15:3 ESV

3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

To fulfill our obligation we must look to Jesus and remember that Christ did not please himself. But notice that Paul doesn’t say, “For Christ did not please himself, instead, he did what we wanted.” That’s not what Paul writes. Paul goes from Christ not pleasing himself to something Christ did that is unexpected and challenging to those who follow him: he gave his life on the cross. And it’s his sacrifice which ultimately pleases his people — for his sacrifice is the reason we have found true life.

You see, Jesus didn’t try to appease the unappeasable. He knew us — he knew our hearts — he knew that we’d never be pleased for there’s always one more demand, suggestion, “helpful piece of feedback” we’d have given him. Yet he denied himself for our sake anyway — he gave up his freedom so we might be set free from our enslavement to Satan, sin, death, and hell.

And — when we look to Christ — we see the One who welcomed us into his family, into a relationship with him — not because we deserved it or even because he looked around at humanity and thought we were the best options available. No — he did so because he chose — in love — to take our sins — our reproaches — that were offenses against him — and instead of giving us what we deserve — he experienced the judgment we deserved for our sins on the cross.

Thus what we’re to remember is this: Whatever we may have to give up for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ is — as they say — small potatoes. Not even worth comparing to what Jesus gave up for our sake. A great question to ask yourself is this: Am I seeking to please others as Jesus has first pleased me? Am I following Christ — and his example — of what it means to bear with the failings of the weak?

Remember — he is the One…

Philippians 2:6–11 ESV

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

To be the kind of people who glorify God in our disagreements we must look to Christ.

Second, we must turn to the Bible. In verse four Paul writes…

Romans 15:4 ESV

4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

This book is what was written in former days. For sure — Paul would’ve been thinking of the Old Testament — but we’re blessed with the Old and New Testaments. And as Paul writes elsewhere…

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Thus all of God’s Word is written for our instruction — so that we may be complete and equipped for every good work. Including the good work of disagreeing with one another in a way that glorifies God.

Yet Paul tells us that we’re to turn to the Bible with a specific purpose in mind: We turn to it for both endurance and encouragement. Again in verse four we read…

Romans 15:4 ESV

4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Do you know what makes division so easy when you find yourself in a disagreement? It requires no enduring with the other person. Do you know why it’s so easy to allow divisiveness to spill over into words that do anything else but encourage the other person? Because we’re not submitting ourselves to God’s Word.

God’s Word — at all times — but especially when we disagree with a fellow Christian over a non-essential matter — will give us the endurance and encouragement that both parties need so that unity — not division — is the result — which leads to us living with hope. 

Again in verse four Paul writes…

Romans 15:4 ESV

4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

And hope is what we all need in this divisive age in which we live. Culture says, “Oh, you disagree with me — we’re through — it’s hopeless.” Yet God says to his people, “Endure with one another. Encourage one another. Stay unified with one another. Continue to love one another. In this way you will have hope — hope that abounds and overflows.” Whose voice will we listen to? Whose voice will you listen to? Culture’s voice or God’s?

Finally, we must remember to pray. Did you notice how — after all of chapter fourteen — and four verses of chapter fifteen — in this lengthy instruction on how to disagree — Paul suddenly starts to pray? Look at what happens in verse five.

Romans 15:5–6 ESV

5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul goes from instruction straight into prayer. No “let’s all bow our heads and close our eyes” — none of that. He just goes straight into prayer. 

And what does Paul pray for? He prays for everything he just instructed us to do in order to fulfill our obligation so that God is glorified in our disagreements. For our God is the “God of endurance and encouragement” who grants us the endurance and encouragement we discover when we turn to the Bible as our final authority. And doing so gives us hope. This is the very endurance and encouragement we need in order to live in harmony with one another. And all of this follows the example of our Savior — Jesus — who we’re to turn to. So Paul ends his discussion on how to disagree by praying — and he prays that God would be glorified in our lives.

CONCLUSION

Christ. The Word. And prayer. 

Jesus. The Bible. And bringing one another — and our disagreements — to God in prayer. 

This is our goal. This is how we disagree in a way that brings glory to our God. This is how we can disagree over non-essential matters — and not have to go our separate ways. But only if we’re all committed to following Christ, submitting to God’s Word, and to prayer.

Our unity is in our hands. No one of us can maintain our unity — we must all work to maintain it together. But it only takes one of us to create division. Which will you choose to be? A promoter of unity or of division?

That’s the question before each of us. And my prayer — and even more — my hope for all of us — is that we will fight for our unity — especially in our disagreements. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, when we think of all that you’ve done to unite us with you — and with each other — all we can do is stand in amazement — and ask for forgiveness. For often we work against you and the unity you desire for us to display to the world.

Holy Spirit, this is why we’re so desperate for your power in our lives. For the only way that we’ll submit to the Word of God in all areas of our lives — including in how we disagree — is by being empowered by you who lives in all who believe in Jesus. For Scripture calls you the Spirit of unity — unite our hearts together we pray.

And — Jesus — our unity with your Father — and each other — is only possible because of the loving sacrifice you offered when you gave your life on the cross. You came to earth to fulfill what we failed to do — which ultimately led to your death in our place. May we look to you. May we look to your love for us. May we look to the love you displayed — with your arms stretched open wide on the cross — for each other — and maintain the unity you died for.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — it’s hard not to see the division in our world — and the division is exhausting. May those who don’t yet believe in you — hear of the unity you offer — and see it in our faith family — so that they respond by believing in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And we pray all of this in his name. Amen.

COMMUNION (JOSH MOVES TO TABLE)

As we turn our attention to the table — the Lord’s Table — in the words of Paul that we’ve looked at today…

Romans 15:5–7 ESV

5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant us to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 May we welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us, for the glory of God.

Therefore…

Leader: Lift up your hearts.

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise.

Leader: With joy we praise you, gracious God, for you have created heaven and earth, made us in your image, and kept covenant with us — even when we fell into sin.

Congregation: We give you thanks for Jesus Christ, our Lord, who by his life, death, and resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. Therefore we join our voices with all the saints and angels and the whole creation to proclaim the glory of your name.

We give thanks to God the Father that our Savior, Jesus Christ, before he suffered, gave us this memorial of his sacrifice, until he comes again. At his last supper, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this in remembrance of me.” For whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Leader: Therefore we proclaim our faith as signed and sealed in this sacrament.

Congregation: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

INSTRUCTIONS

At this time, I’d like to invite forward those who are going to be serving us. And — while they make their way forward — know that as the bread and cup are passed down your rows, you’re to take the bread on your own — but save the cup — which we’ll drink together. Also — there’s a gluten free option in the trays with the bread. 

If you’re not taking communion today — first — know that no one is judging you. And — second — we’d appreciate it if you could help those who are taking communion by passing the trays to the next person in your row. If you have any questions about communion — or what it means to follow Jesus — please stop by the resource center before you leave today.

Eat the bread on your own — but save the cup — which we’ll drink together.

COMMUNION PASSED OUT (Worship song)

The blood of Christ, shed for you.

CLOSING WORSHIP SONG

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

I think it’ll be good for us to hear Paul’s prayer one last time:

Romans 15:5–7 ESV

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 7-13-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re returning to our series in Romans this weekend. After taking a few weeks to explore the topic of suffering — we’re returning to the apostle Paul’s letter to Christians living in the city of Rome. And — if you remember — the chapter that we’re currently in — chapter twelve — is the pivotal point in Paul’s letter. 

After eleven chapters of rich theological truths — he gets to the so what? Meaning — how does all of the theology — of the first eleven chapters — play itself out in how we live — or at least — how should it influence how we live? That’s the journey we began earlier this year with Paul’s big “therefore” statement — when he writes…

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

In light of the theology he’s taught us — Paul now tells us to live our lives as sacrificial offerings to God — where our lives are acts of worship that make our God look glorious to the world.

And since the beginning of Romans twelve — and for the majority of our remaining time in Romans — we’re getting very specific with ways that our lives can make God look glorious. We’re getting into the nitty gritty of life so we see how — what we believe — shapes how we live. And how — as Christians — what we believe — is to change how we live compared to how we lived when we didn’t believe in Jesus. So incredibly practical stuff — how the Christian faith changes us.

With that — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to Romans chapter twelve. We’ll be in Romans chapter twelve — looking at verses fourteen through twenty-one. There Paul writes…

Romans 12:14–21 ESV

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The summary verse — of all we just read and will encounter today — is verse twenty-one. If you want to know the point of this sermon — where we’re headed today — it’s in Paul’s words:

Romans 12:21 ESV

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Everything else is an explanation of this summary verse. So our goal for today — is to understand what it means to not be overcome by evil — but instead — to overcome evil with good. For this is a change Paul says we should expect in those who believe in Jesus.

But a few important ground rules before we begin.

If you’re here today and wouldn’t consider yourself to be a Christian — I know this may be hard — but I need you to set aside whatever definitions you have for evil and good. We’re reading Paul’s letter and so Paul gets to define for us what he means by evil and good. All I’m asking you to do is to give Paul the same consideration you’d want us to give to you if you were the author of the letter — you’d want us to use your definitions of evil and good.

A quick example: If you’re a business owner and you make a contract with a company to supply you with a certain number of items for a specific price — definitions matter. You want the exact number of items for the exact cost you agreed to. If the shipment contains less items than you paid for — or if the bill comes back at a much higher price than you agreed to — I don’t think anyone would simply accept the excuse, “Well, I was using different definitions than you when we made the contract.”

When Paul uses the words evil and good — he’s using biblical definitions. He was highly trained in the Jewish religion and — after an encounter with the resurrected Jesus — became a follower of Christ. So — for Paul — evil is anything that is “morally disgraceful, sinful, or wicked.” And evil — biblically speaking — usually falls into two categories: evil against fellow humans (murder, theft, adultery, and so on…) and evil against God (unbelief, idolatry, blasphemy, and so on…). Though you may have your own opinion on what is evil — Paul would be thinking biblically.

Good is biblically defined by God’s nature — meaning his character — and his actions. And this means that for us — humanity — to do good — whatever it is we do must be done with God’s nature and actions in mind. Which means that the good we do is only truly good if it’s done to make God look glorious.

Again — a quick example may be helpful. Helping an older gentleman reach something off of the top shelf at Walmart is a good deed. But — biblically speaking — if the act isn’t done with the intent of making God look glorious — then it missed the mark. “How dare God demand that our good deeds be done with making him look glorious in mind!” Think of it this way — though admittedly this is an imperfect illustration.

If while helping the old man get something off the top shelf — you simultaneously steal his wallet — did you do a good deed? Yes and no, right? You did help him get something off the top shelf — good — but you stole his wallet — evil. When we do good things without the purpose of God being glorified — we’re doing the equivalent of robbing from God what he deserves.

“Well that’s a high standard Josh. Am I really supposed to have God on my mind that much?” That’s what Paul’s “therefore” statement is all about. If you believe what the Bible says — your goal in life will be to grow in glorifying God in all that you think, say, and do — because — your life is not your own — but belongs to God. For Jesus gave his life in love for you — and now in response — in love — you give your life — all of it — for him.

That’s the goal of the Christian — to give more and more of our life — in love — to Jesus. And — today — we’re learning how to give more of our life to him by not being overcome by evil — but by overcoming evil with good.

BLESS OTHERS

To this we now turn — how do we avoid being overcome by evil and — instead — overcome evil with good? Part of Paul’s answer is that we do so by blessing others. We’re in verse fourteen.

Romans 12:14–16a ESV

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.

We have a repeated command — and its counterpart — and then a description of what obeying this command looks like. The repeated command is to “bless.” Paul tells us to “bless those who persecute you; bless…” and then comes the counterpart — “do not curse them.” The rest of the verses just read explain what it means to bless and not curse.

Now right away — if you’re familiar with the Bible — you may be thinking, “This sounds awfully familiar — ‘this whole bless those who persecute you’ stuff.” And you’d be right. In fact — it seems that Paul has words that Jesus spoke on his mind. For Jesus said…

Luke 6:27–36 ESV 

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

In a day and age when it was acceptable to love those who were part of your tribe and hate those who weren’t — Jesus says something radically countercultural. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you.

In saying this — was he just being idealistic? Sentimental maybe? Or was Jesus showing us what it means to live a “therefore” kind of life — a life that exhibits a change between who we were — before we believed — and who we are — having believed?

Think of some of Jesus’ final words while he hung on the cross. He said…

Luke 23:34 ESV

34 “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Even as he was dying — Jesus blessed those who were murdering him.

What do you make of Jesus’ words — or Paul’s rendition of them? Are these options that we can pick and choose from? Or are these expectations that God has for those who are his people? I think the answer is obvious — though it’s not easy, right? Jesus isn’t giving us options to choose from — he’s giving us the characteristics of a life that’s been changed by him.

A life like Stephen’s who…

Acts 7:59–60 NLT

59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.

Stephen shows us that it’s possible to live a “therefore” life. A life where — because of what we believe — we bless those who persecute us — even as they kill us — we bless and do not curse them.

Blessing others doesn’t mean we have to put ourselves in potential danger — for example — if someone abuses you — it’s good to remove yourself from them and the situation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t bless them. And pray for them — as Jesus said. Their sin doesn’t justify you disobeying what God has said in his Word: do not curse them. 

Now I know — because it’s the cultural air that we can’t help but breathe in — I know we’re told to get revenge, to take back what’s ours, and so on. That’s the way of the world but not the way of Jesus. You can either follow the world or Jesus — but you can’t follow both — for they’re headed in two very different directions.

Back to Paul. In fleshing out what it means to be a blessing to others — Paul tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Rejoicing with those who rejoice can be incredibly hard, can’t it? Why is this? If we’re honest it’s because we can easily be jealous of others’ success and achievements and reasons for rejoicing.

• It’s hard to rejoice with the individual who got the promotion you also applied for.
• It’s hard to rejoice with the couple who announce their pregnancy when you struggle with infertility.
• It’s hard to rejoice with the parents of a child who’s doing great when you parent a child who has significant struggles.
• It’s hard to rejoice when your college roommate gets engaged when you’re still waiting to go on a date.

Rejoicing when others rejoice can be incredibly challenging — impossible even — when we try to live with any other goal than God being glorified in our life. For when that’s our goal — God gives us everything we need to overcome evil with good.

And we’re to weep with those who weep. Generally speaking — we Christians are much better at this than we are at rejoicing with others. I think this is partly due to our society still viewing it to be pretty nasty to not be sympathetic with those who are in the midst of sorrow. 

We recently had to put down our family cat. He lived a long good life — but his body started to shut down and it was time. One of our Gateway families is a vet in town and they were so kind to us throughout the process. The whole staff were very gracious. About a week later — we received a sympathy card in the mail that the staff had signed.

Weeping with those who weep is still valued in our culture.

• This would include weeping with your friend who didn’t get a promotion.
• And weeping with those unable to get pregnant — even if you’ve just announced your pregnancy.
• Weeping with the parents whose child is struggling.
• Weeping with your friend who’s still longing for a godly relationship.

Though we must be careful to neither rejoice or weep when the cause of either is dishonoring to God — it’s good and godly to rejoice with those who are rejoicing and weep with those who are weeping when what we’re rejoicing or weeping is biblically justified. And all of this is where our value of being a family is best experienced — a value most clearly expressed when we gather in Life Groups.

Though I know it’s summer — and many Life Groups are taking a break — may I encourage you to check in with each other? Reasons to rejoice and weep don’t take the summer off — and there may be folks you can come alongside — even during the summer — and bless them as you rejoice or weep with them.

Paul also tells us that — to bless others — means we live in harmony with one another. This is one of Paul’s favorite ways to describe the “therefore” life — a life of living in harmony with your fellow Christians. For example, later in Romans he writes…

Romans 15:5–6 ESV

5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To the Corinthians he writes…

2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV

11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

And to the Christians in Philippi he writes…

Philippians 2:1–2 NLT

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

And to two Christian women who found themselves in a disagreement Paul writes…

Philippians 4:2–3 NLT

2 Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. 3 And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

Notice why Paul appeals to us living in harmony with one another.

• To the Romans — so that with one voice — together — we glorify our God and Father.
• To the Corinthians — agree with one another — because — the God of love and peace will be with us.
• To the Philippians — work together with one mind and purpose — because — you belong to Christ.
• To the two women — settle your disagreement — because — you both belong to the Lord.

The purpose of living in harmony with one another isn’t self-serving — it’s not about what we’ll get out of it — it’s about who we belong to and who we honor by living in harmony with each other.

Finally — to be a blessing to others — Paul tells us to not be haughty — but to associate with the lowly. To be haughty is to be proud — and God opposes the proud.

As Jesus’s younger brother — James — reminds us.

James 4:6 ESV

6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

And as Peter tells us…

1 Peter 5:5 ESV

5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

For as David writes…

Psalm 18:27 ESV

27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.

And…

Psalm 31:23 ESV

23 Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.

And — though these warnings against pride should be sufficient in themselves — there’s the positive example of Jesus that Paul puts before us.

Philippians 2:3–11 NLT

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Christ — the only Savior — humbled himself for our sake. He didn’t look out for his own interests — but ours. He gave up his divine privileges and took the position of a criminal on a cross. He did so in love. And in keeping with Paul’s theme — “therefore” — we who benefit from Christ’s humility are to be men and women of humility — who are not proud or haughty — who associate with the lowly. The outcasts of society. The lonely and forgotten. The discarded.

The people of God are at their God-glorifying best when they humble themselves and serve those the world has forgotten. This is how we conquer evil by doing good.

YOUR VIEW OF YOURSELF

But this isn’t the only way that we do so. For — not only are we to bless others — we’re to have a biblical view of ourselves. We’ve touched on this briefly — but now Paul turns our attention directly to the idea — when he writes in verse sixteen…

Romans 12:16–20 ESV

16b Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Here there’s just one command — but this single command comes with a lengthy description of what it means to obey it. The command is “never be wise in your own sight.” Other Bible translations say, “Don’t be conceited.” (NET/NIV) Or, “Don’t think you know it all.” (NLT)

Who wants to raise their hand when I ask, “Who thinks they’re a know it all?” Though many of us may want to raise our hand for someone else — few of us really desire to be the “know it all” in our circle of friends, family, co-workers, and — hopefully — the church.

Something I find interesting about the age in which we live is how we can’t get enough of “know it all” types. There’s a whole group of people who are popular solely because they’re conceited. This is the person who records street interviews where their sole goal is to make the other person look like an idiot. We can’t get enough of this junk — as long as the people they go after aren’t our kind of people, right?

Yet — when this kind of individual shows up in your life — well — we all know how we feel about a “know it all”. 

• They’re the family member everyone does their best to avoid at the holiday gathering. 
• The guy no one talks to at the high school reunion. 
• The gal who everyone dreads showing up to the book club.

And though some of us enjoy having a conversation with a “know it all” — for me — my enjoyment doesn’t come from a very God-honoring part of my heart. I once had to kick a “know it all” out of my house — the only person I’ve ever had to kick out of my house. But it was intolerable. I mean — I enjoyed it for a while because his assertions were so ridiculous. But when he started saying that we — Gateway — have a basement here at our County Road 9 Campus where we sacrifice chickens — and I couldn’t convince him that we don’t even have a basement — much less sacrifice chickens — and my kids were present — well — my enjoyment was over — so I kicked him out when he wouldn’t apologize. I remember laying in bed and just waiting for my wife to let me have it for not being patient enough with him. So I brought it up — and she totally surprised me. She said something like, “I can’t believe you lasted as long as you did.”

Don’t be a “know it all” — no one will like you. You wouldn’t even like yourself if you weren’t so blind to who you are.

Having a godly view of ourselves also influences how we treat others. We saw this earlier — but Paul repeats the idea. Don’t repay evil with evil — do what’s honorable instead. We live in a “pay back evil with not only evil — but amp it up a notch” culture, don’t we? We even see justification for striking with evil first — “get them before they get you.” Whether it be celebrity feuds or the way politicians speak about each other — we live in a culture that lacks being honorable — and far too many of us are taking cues from culture instead of God’s Word. For God’s Word tells us…

Ephesians 4:29 NLT

29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

I wonder how many of us are surprised to find out that God forbids us using foul language? It’s a biblical idea, not just a “wash your mouth out with soap” conservative cultural one. 

Peter tells us to…

1 Peter 2:12 NLT

12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

Additionally, we’re to live peaceably as Paul says. For those who follow the Prince of Peace are to be peacemakers in this world at war. To do so we must be aware of ourselves — our tendencies — ways in which we promote war and division and dishonor instead of the peace that God has called us to. And Paul tells us to live peaceably with all people. And “all” means “all” here. 

What a high expectation in our “therefore” lives, right? This doesn’t mean we won’t experience conflict or disagreement, but what it does mean is that we each have the responsibility to not leave things there. We’re to pursue peace — meaning — if you find yourself in a conflict — even if you think it’s the other person’s fault — you’re responsible for pursuing peace with them.

“But, Josh. Don’t you know how stubborn people can be? How they can be so convinced that they’re right and I’m wrong that there’s no peace to be had.” I didn’t say you had to convince them that they’re wrong and you’re right — you may be right, they may be wrong — they may be right, you may be wrong — even both of you may be wrong. What I said is that you must pursue peace with them.

• This may mean forgiving them for sinning against you even if they don’t ask for forgiveness — and — not holding on to any bitterness against them. This is pursuing spiritual peace with them even when relational peace is unattainable. This is what I had to do with the guy I kicked out of my house. 
• This may mean making an uncomfortable phone call and setting up a time to meet. I know how easy it is to wait for them to initiate — but as a follower of Jesus — you follow the Peacemaker who entered into our warring world of conflict — he didn’t wait for us to come to him — he took the initiative — and he commands his followers do likewise.
• This may mean making yourself a resolution — like my life resolution number eleven: To stop postponing difficult conversations. Do you know why I have life resolutions — “Yeah, because you’re weird, Josh.” That’s probably the case — but in addition to that — I have them because I’ve recognized areas in my life where I need to grow — where — by having a biblical view of myself and who God calls me to be — I see a gap that I want to narrow. One of those gaps is my natural ability to postpone difficult conversations. If there was an award given out for being the best at postponing difficult conversations — I would’ve been the winner many times over. But not anymore. In fact — if you talk to the elders and staff that I work most closely with — they’d probably tell you of other areas I need to work on instead of this — because — having this life resolution has worked. Having a proper view of myself led me to be dissatisfied with a gap between who I was and who God had called me to be.
• I wonder where there’s a gap in your life when it comes to being a peacemaker? I wonder how content you are with that gap? I also wonder how satisfied God is with this gap in your life?

In having a proper view of ourselves — in our effort to overcome evil with good — Paul tells us to never avenge ourselves. Never. Like ever. You and avenging yourself are like Taylor Swift and an ex-boyfriend. You’re never ever getting back together. That was for my daughter. 

For God’s people are to trust him when he says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” Instead of getting revenge — what we’ve been commanded to do is to love our enemies. If they’re hungry — feed them. If they’re thirsty — give them a drink.” For as we heard Jesus say earlier…

Matthew 5:43–44 NLT

43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!

CONCLUSION

You see — in the end — the way we overcome evil with good — is by being people who love God and love others — who obey what Jesus called the greatest commandments. Neither creating our own god to love — a god who always agrees with us, never challenges us, never asks us to change — nor choosing who we’ll love. Instead — we follow Jesus and obey his commands. And — when we do — evil will be conquered in our lives and in our world — and good will prevail — as we live a “therefore” life. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for your word to us today. Reminding us that evil can be conquered — that it doesn’t have to prevail — that it doesn’t have to rule our lives — but instead — good can overcome it. Good as you define good to be — not us — for you are God and we’re not — and we must submit — not only our lives — but also our definitions of good and evil to you.

Holy Spirit, we need your help and power to live this “therefore” life we’ve been called to live. To be a blessing to others — to have a proper view of ourselves. To love. To be peacemakers. To not seek revenge. All of these things — and more — can only be done by your powerful presence in our lives. May we live by your power and not our own.

And to you — Jesus — the Prince of Peace. The One who first loved us. The One who lived honorably. The One who conquered evil with good…thank you. Thank you for all that you’ve done — in love — for us. May many respond to your love today — resting in your love — receiving your love — and allowing your love to change them so they now live a “therefore” life. And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

Μay you gο conquering evil with good — by being a blessing to others as you follow Jesus and all he’s commanded. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 6-8-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series looking at some of King David’s psalms that address the topic of suffering. There are many aspects to suffering — many reasons for our suffering that David touches on in his psalms — and each is important for us to consider. And though you may not be in a season of suffering — suffering has a way of showing up — often unexpectedly. Yet — for the follower of Jesus — suffering is an opportunity: suffering is an opportunity to spiritually grow for those of us who follow a Savior who experienced suffering.

Now — for sure — suffering is not an easy opportunity to grow — often suffering comes when life is most challenging. But — in another sense — suffering is one of the easiest opportunities to spiritually grow — because — when life is most challenging we’re forced to change in some way. The question for us is: Will our change be to become more like Christ?

So let’s continue to see how our Christian faith offers a different opportunity in these hard moments of life: an opportunity to become more like our Savior — Jesus — who — in love for us — experienced suffering, trials, persecution, hardships, rejection, hatred — you name it — he experienced it so that we might have hope in the midst of the sorrows we face.

And I say all of this knowing that not all of us believe in Jesus. But all of us have experienced suffering — or know others who’ve experienced it. And — if you’re honest — it’s scary. Because there’s no good answer offered by our culture as to why we suffer — and even more importantly — how to suffer well. That’s why so many turn to coping mechanisms to numb themselves — drugs, alcohol, overeating, sex, binge watching Netflix — or give up on life altogether in a seemingly never-ending depression.

But is that all there is — is that the best offer on the table in a world full of suffering? It’s not.

Which is what we’re exploring in this series as we look at some of David’s psalms — including today’s psalm — psalm thirty-two. So — if you have your Bible — please turn there — to psalm thirty-two. And while you’re finding psalm thirty-two — last week — if you weren’t here — we looked at the relationship between suffering and our prayer life. And — in the coming weeks — we’re going to look at the suffering we experience at the hands of others, we’ll see the important relationship between our suffering and worship, as well as the relationship between suffering and salvation. But — today — we’re looking at the suffering we experience due to unrepentant sin in our lives. Not a topic many want to address when it comes to suffering — especially in the victim mentality age in which we live — but we must face the reality that — there are seasons of suffering that are a result of decisions we’ve made. David addresses this in our psalm for today — psalm thirty-two — when he writes…

Psalm 32 ESV

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Today we’re addressing an unpopular aspect to suffering: Suffering we experience due to unrepentant sin in our life. But there’s good news in this not so good news — unrepentant sin need not be the cause of our suffering. There is hope — even for those whose suffering is due to our own sin.

THE UNREPENTANT

Let’s return to our psalm — but — before we do so — it’ll be helpful to know that many scholars believe that David wrote this psalm in response to his sin with Bathsheba. David and Bathsheba is a biblical story most people have heard about — but to make sure we don’t leave anyone behind — here’s what happened.

At this point in history — David is king of Israel. And one day — while his army was off at war — David was back at his palace when…

2 Samuel 11:2–27 NLT

2 Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. 3 He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. 5 Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.” 6 Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. 8 Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. 9 But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. 10 When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?” 11 Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.” 12 “Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. 14 So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. 15 The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” 16 So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. 17 And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. 18 Then Joab sent a battle report to David. 19 He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. 20 But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? 21 Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’” 22 So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. 23 “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate, 24 the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.” 25 “Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!” 26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.

Around a year goes by before God sends a man named Nathan to confront David and — eventually — David responds with repentance. But it’s this year of unrepentance that David’s probably describing when he writes — in verse three of our psalm…

Psalm 32:3–4 ESV

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

And skipping to verse nine we read…

Psalm 32:9–10 ESV

9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 10a Many are the sorrows of the wicked…

Did you notice how David describes the consequence of his unrepentance? Similar to last week’s psalm — David says his bones were wasting away. Last week — when David used this phrase — I mentioned how we don’t know if David’s suffering was self-inflicted or caused by others. But — here — we’re fairly certain that this is self-inflicted suffering. Yet he uses the same phrase — “my bones waste away” — which means his sorrow and suffering has affected all of who he is — down to his bones. I’ve been reading a book titled Counseling the Hard Cases and — in one chapter — there’s a repeated idea: The mind affects the body, the body affects the mind, and a downward spiral begins.

In David’s case — it could’ve been the anxiety of being found out — someone doing pregnancy math and saying, “This doesn’t add up.” Or someone blabbing about the orders he gave to have Uriah murdered. The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind.

I wonder how many of us can relate? Have you ever done something and waited in angst for the consequences?

• Maybe you’re sixteen and you accidentally ran a red light. You didn’t tell your parents, but live in fear that — every ring of the doorbell is the police.
• Or a night out having fun and partying and too much to drink led to a night you can’t remember. And — as you wait for the pregnancy test result — your stomach’s upset, your head aches, you experience involuntary shakes. The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind.
• Or you’ve maxed out your credit card and know you can’t even make the minimum payment. Your body is tense — your temper is short.

One of the reasons why self-inflicted suffering is so hard is because — deep down — we know we don’t have anyone else to blame for our situation. We were the ones looking at our phones while driving. We had the extra drink. We saw our version of Bathsheba and — like David — made sure we got what we wanted.

“Well how do you know that what David’s referring to was self-inflicted?” By the way he personally takes responsibility in other verses in our psalm. David uses the phrases “my sin” — which he uses twice — and “my iniquity” and “my transgressions” to describe the cause of his suffering.

But it’s not just the act of sinning — that’s the cause of his suffering — David’s unrepentance is also a contributor. To repent means to turn away from sin — which includes confessing — or admitting — the wrong you’ve done. Unrepentance is what David describes in our psalm when he gives the command to not be like a horse or mule which must be curbed — or restrained — by a bit in its mouth.

What a picture of how stubbornly unrepentant we can be. That I can be. That you can be. God help us all to respond to our sin with repentance — and to respond to those who lovingly point out our sin with gratitude. For rare is the friend who loves us enough to call us to repentance. It’s much easier — isn’t it — to distance ourselves — “if I don’t see him I won’t have to talk to him about…” — or explain away — “that’s just her personality” — it’s tempting — and all too easy — to avoid doing what Nathan did for David.

Yet none of us are without sin — we’ve all sinned. And — if we’re honest with ourselves — some of the suffering we are — or have experienced — is due to sin that we’ve committed. And — until it’s repented of — it will waste away our bones and dry up our strength and cause us to groan — which is what we experience if we’re blessed. Because many — instead of groaning and dried up strength and wasting away bones — many continue in their stubbornness and unrepentance and will experience far more serious — and eternal — consequences.

THE BLESSED

But — for those who are blessed — the groaning and wasting away and weakness — is not God’s end goal. Instead — as we read in verse one…

Psalm 32:1–2 ESV

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Let’s be mesmerized by the blessing of forgiveness. David says that blessed — or happy! — is the one whose transgression is forgiven. Transgression is a word that means “rebellion against God.” So blessed — or happy! — is the one whose rebellion against God has been forgiven. And blessed — or happy! — is the individual whose sin is covered. Sin means “turning away from the true path.” So blessed — or happy! — is the person whose turning away from the true path has been covered. And blessed — or happy! — is the person who the Lord counts no iniquity. Iniquity means “distortion, evil, perversion, or disrespect for God.” So blessed — or happy! — is the man, woman, or child whose disrespect for God is no longer counted against them.

What’s being described here are the actions that happen to us — and our sin — when we repent — when we turn from our sin and turn to God in faith.

First, we’re forgiven — which means that our transgressions are removed from us — our rebellion against God is removed from us. Second, our sin is covered — it’s concealed from sight. And — since our sin has been removed from us — that’s what forgiveness means — this concealing of sin doesn’t mean that the sin is still present with us — remember it’s been removed from us — but this sin which has been removed from us — God no longer regards — he no longer considers — it’s not on his mind. Which results in God not counting our iniquity — or are disrespecting him — against us.

This is what it means to be blessed — which results in us being happy! For what could possibly make us more happy than to know — I mean think about this — that the God who created everyone and everything — who we’ve had the gall to disrespect — because we’ve turned from our sin and turned to him — he forgives us and no longer counts our transgressions against us — and puts it all out of his mind.

Which — with great hope — should cause all of us to ask: How do I receive this blessing? Meaning — how does one go about having their transgressions forgiven? Who are these people that God counts no iniquity against them?

REPENTANCE LEADS TO BLESSING

We find out in verses five and six of our psalm.

Psalm 32:5–6 ESV

5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

How do we receive this blessing — what’s the key to true, lasting happiness? Repentance — acknowledging our sin to God. No longer covering it up and trying to hide it away. Instead we confess our sins to God as we turn to him in faith — trusting that he forgives all who come to him truly repentant of their sin.

What sin might you need to acknowledge to God — to stop covering up and pretending as if it’s not part of your life?

We often think of sin as bad things we do — and that’s definitely an aspect of sin. But — equally important — sin also includes not doing the good things that we’re commanded to do. Here’s an easy example.

Stealing — stealing is sin. It’s wrong to take from someone what’s rightfully theirs. We get that — Christian or not. But the Bible goes further. For you can not steal — and yet — still sin in regards to money. For example, you can be selfish with it — greedy — and not be generous towards others which is also a command in the Bible.

“OK. I get all of that Josh. So what’s the big deal?” The big deal is that this tells us that sin isn’t just the presence of evil — sin also includes the absence of good. After all, Jesus’ younger brother did write…

James 4:17 NET

17 So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.

Thus the biblical goal — in regards to money and wealth — isn’t just “don’t steal” — though it’s one of the ten commandments and should be obeyed — but the biblical goal — in regards to money and wealth is to be generous. The absence of generosity is sin in a person’s life — which I know can be hard for us to grasp — that the absence of something good can be just as sinful as the presence of something evil.

To which — one theologian said…

If I have a hole in my sock, the hole is not anything at all, it is just an absence of wool or cotton or whatever, but it is a perfectly real hole in my sock. It would be absurd to say that holes in socks are unreal…just because the hole isn’t made of anything…Nothing in the wrong place can be just as real and just as important as something in the wrong place. If you inadvertently drive your car over a cliff, you will have nothing to worry about; it is precisely the nothing that you will have to worry about. (Systematic Theology 13.3.5. Sin as Privatio)

I wonder how many of us are comfortable with the absence of something good in our lives — not realizing that its absence is just as sinfully serious as accidentally driving your car off a cliff?

Now you’ve heard me say the words repentance — which I’ve said is turning from sin — and confession — but what is confession? Confession means either to admit sin or affirm belief. Both aspects are important for us to understand. Most of us — I think — when we define confession usually focus on the admitting sin part — and it’s an important part. But — similar to what James taught us about not doing the good we know to do — confession also has a positive side to it: confessing what we believe.

In church history, confessions — or statements of belief — have been written to positively articulate what Christians believe. And confessions have been used — not only to guide us in knowing when we’ve sinned — but also in fighting temptation before we sin by reminding us of the truths we believe. In our church tradition — the Westminster Confession of Faith is a positive statement of what we believe.

What does the Westminster Confession have to say about repentance? It says…

Repentance which leads to life is the blessed product of the gospel working in believers’ lives. (WCF 15.1)

Jesus connects repentance to the gospel — the Good News of what he accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection — while explaining how all of the Bible was about him to his disciples after his resurrection.

Luke 24:44–48 NLT

44 Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.

What good news indeed! There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.

The Westminster Confession says…

In this repentance the sinner is able to see his sins as God sees them, as filthy and hateful, and as involving great danger to the sinner, because they are completely contrary to the holy nature and righteous law of God. Understanding that God in Christ is merciful to those who repent, the sinner suffers deep sorrow for and hates his sins, and so he determines to turn away from all of them. And turning to God, he tries to walk with him according to all his commandments. (WCF 15.2)

The Bible distinguishes repentance from the sorrow of being caught. Paul explains it this way to Christians in Corinth who had received a letter calling them to repent.

2 Corinthians 7:8–11 NLT

8 I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

Repentance leads to change — a change of direction — a change in our choices. Repentance leads us away from sin and towards God. True repentance even results in thankfulness for the one whom God used to call us back to him — no matter how severe and painful it was to hear.

About repentance — the Westminster says…

Just as there is no sin so small that it does not deserve damnation, so there is no sin so great that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent. (WCF 15.4)

Two truths we must remember. First, there are no insignificant sins. Every sin is worthy of eternal judgment — may this humble all of us and call us to repentance. Second, no sin is so great that forgiveness can’t be offered to those who repent. As the apostle John tells us…

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And as the prophets of the Old Testament remind us…

Micah 7:18–19 NLT

18 Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. 19 Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

And…

Isaiah 43:25 NLT

25 “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.

For as the Westminster Confession says about God…

He is completely loving, gracious, merciful, and long-suffering. He overflows with goodness and truth. He forgives wickedness, transgression, and sin, and rewards those who diligently seek him. (WCF 2.1)

Friends, this is why it’s important to know what you believe and to have Scripture that backs it up. This is why the historic confessions of the church are so helpful — and necessary — in our day when many believe that biblical illiteracy is at an all time historic high. May the truths we’ve looked at today lead us to repent when we sin and fight against sin when we’re tempted.

REPENTANCE LEADS TO JOY

For all of this good news — this good news about repentance and forgiveness and who God is —what does it all lead to? It leads to our joy. In verse seven of our psalm — David writes…

Psalm 32:7 ESV

7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

And skipping to verse ten…

Psalm 32:10–11 ESV

10b but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Even when our suffering is self-inflicted due to sinful choices we’ve made — joy is still possible. How so? Because the steadfast love of the Lord surrounds those who trust him — who trust that he always forgives those who turn to him in repentance. 

Earlier we saw the command to not be like the stubborn horse or mule. Here — the commands are much more positive. We’re commanded to be glad in the Lord and to rejoice and to shout for joy! Why? What’s the source of our glad rejoicing and shouts of joy? This truth: The steadfast love of the Lord surrounds the one who trusts in him.

Nothing else in all of creation can guarantee unwavering joy — even in the midst of suffering — accept knowing that you are surrounded by the love of God. A reality we so easily forget. A truth that our spiritual amnesia is the first to snatch from our hearts. This is why you hear from me every single week what? That God loves you. And that I love you too. Because no one hears these words enough — and none of us believe them to the degree that they’re true. We don’t. I don’t. You don’t. But here’s what I so love about us.

We’re believing in God’s love for us more and more every time we gather together. Our forgetfulness isn’t as quick as it once was. And — not only are we remembering God’s love for us — individually — but we’re reminding each other of God’s love for us. It’s the norm now — when I talk to you on the phone — for the call to end with us saying “I love you” to each other. And I pray that this isn’t just when it’s me on the call — but that we’re all loving each other and reminding each other of God’s great big forgiving love.

CONCLUSION: LISTEN TO GOD!

Therefore — may we all leave here today listening to God! As David writes…

Psalm 32:8 ESV

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

This is God speaking and acting in these verses. It’s God who is instructing and teaching us the way that we should go. It’s God who’s giving us counsel — who’s attentive to what’s going on in our lives — even in our seasons of suffering. Therefore — may we all leave here today listening to his instruction — receiving his teaching and counsel on repentance and forgiveness and how loving, kind, and merciful he is. May we leave here knowing that he’s aware of what we’re going through. And may this bring us comfort — may it give you comfort — that the One whose steadfast love surrounds you is the God who so cares for you — that he offers relief from our suffering even when we’re the cause of it. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Gracious Father, what a marvelous truth: your love surrounds those who trust in you — even when we’re suffering. Even when our suffering is due to sinful choices we’ve made.

Holy Spirit, help us to trust — to really believe — that we’re loved by you. For when we know that we’re loved — repentance will be our heart’s desire. For our love for you will exceed our love for sin.

Jesus — you came to make forgiveness of our sins possible. For the joy set before you — you endured the cross — to pay the debt for our sins. And now — for the joy set before us — eternal life with you — we choose to trust in your never-ending, always pursuing and protecting love for us — and that you always forgive those who turn back to you in repentance. 

For you — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — are completely loving, gracious, merciful, and long-suffering. You overflow with goodness and truth. You forgive wickedness, transgression, and sin, and reward those who diligently seek you. May many more seek you today. May many trust in your love. May many repent of their sin. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / Self-inflicted suffering)

May you go with great joy — even in suffering — knowing that the steadfast love of the Lord surrounds you. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 4-17-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you for this Maundy Thursday evening communion service. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you regularly hear this from me in person or via video — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our Easter series this evening — as we reflect on all that happened leading up to Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins. Tonight’s going to be a bit different — “a bit” may be an understatement. We’re going to be in the gospel of John — so if you have your Bible — go ahead and open it up to John 13. But tonight’s sermon will be different as — we’ll spend some time in John’s gospel — and then have a time of response. Then we’ll spend more time in the gospel and respond again. So on and so forth until we take communion together.

During evening communion services like this — we also take up a benevolence offering. This is a special time of giving where the money received goes towards taking care of the physical needs of those who are part of our faith family. If you’d like to give this evening — you can do so in the black boxes on your way out or digitally — there’s a benevolence offering option both on our website and app.

The act of taking communion is a time for us to remember and receive all that God’s done for us because he loves us. And — spoiler alert — that’s my goal for this evening’s sermon: For all of us — Christian or not — to receive God’s love. If you already believe in Jesus — I guarantee there’s more of God’s love for you to receive. And — if you don’t believe in Jesus — I also guarantee there’s more of God’s love for you to receive.

So we’re all in the same boat tonight — with an opportunity to receive more of God’s undeserved love towards us.

ADORATION

With that — let’s turn to John chapter 13. We’ll begin in verse one.

John 13:1–5 ESV

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

We begin with adoration. Adoration is an “act of worship, of paying honor, reverence, and obedience to God” according to one of my Bible dictionaries. And worship begins with adoration. 

If you were able to join us for the Saturday seminar that Dr. Bryan Chapell taught — this will be familiar to you. Dr. Chapell showed us that — throughout church history — the worship of God begins with God. And — in beginning with God — we worship him for who he is. We give him honor because he alone is God. We revere him — lift him up in high esteem — because there is no god like our God.

Back to our text. On this night — when Jesus would be betrayed — we read that he loved his disciples to the very end. Jesus knew the hour of his death was quickly approaching — and yet — his love for his Heavenly Father and for his people was still on the forefront of his mind and affections. A love displayed so beautifully in verses three and four where we read…

John 13:3–4 ESV

3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

Jesus knew that his Father had given everything into his hands. He also knew that the plan they made — before the foundation of the world — was about to be accomplished. Jesus knew where he’d come from and where he was going — and he especially knew what was still ahead of him: the cross. And — in knowing all of this — where he came from, who he is — the Son of God, where he was going — back to his Father’s side in Heaven, and what was still ahead — the suffering and agony of the cross and all that it entailed…Jesus got up from the table. Took a towel. Tied it around his waist. Poured some water into a basin. And began to wash his disciples’ feet.

In the midst of a situation that would cause all of us to be self-focused — Jesus — in love — served. What a reason we have to adore him. To worship him. To praise him. To lift up and pay him honor. He knew what was about to happen — and yet — he so cared for his disciples that they received his loving attention — his same loving attention that we receive today.

At this time — let’s respond to who Jesus is — our attentive and loving Savior. Let’s adore him in song together.

RESPONSE OF ADORATION (Song: Ever Be)

CONFESSION

After adoration — the church has turned to confession. For — in knowing who God is — we can’t help but tremble in fear in knowing who we are. Today it’s common for Christians to talk about fearing God as revering him — as adoring him. And — though there’s an aspect of fearing God that is adoring him — we just adored God — so the Christians who’ve come before us knew something about confession and fearing God that goes beyond just adoring him some more.

Take Noah as an example. The people of his day were wicked — leading to God’s decision to judge humanity’s wickedness with a flood. Yet God provided Noah with a way of salvation: an ark. The author of Hebrews tells us that…

Hebrews 11:7 ESV

7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

A pastor from centuries ago said this about Noah. “If he had not been moved with fear of God’s judgments God would never have provided an ark.” He goes on to write, “It is a real complaint against us that we are not moved enough by the fear of God’s judgments.”

The people of God have always been moved to confess their sins, rebellion, and disobedience when — in holy reverent fear — they recognize who God is, who he’s commanded us to be, and how we’ve fallen short of his glorious standard.

Continuing in John’s gospel — on the night Jesus would be betrayed — we see confession when…

John 13:6–11 ESV

6 He (Jesus) came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

Where do we find our need to confess in this moment? When…

John 13:8 ESV

8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

We — meaning every single one of us — must be washed by Jesus if we want to no longer fear God’s eternal judgment. We must be washed in order to be clean. But how are we washed? With his blood.

In the Old Testament, all of the bloody sacrifices point ahead to the blood Jesus would shed on the cross. In the Old Testament — items used for worship would be sprinkled with water or blood — a sign indicating they’d been cleansed. Priests would wash themselves before entering the presence of God — for God is holy — without sin — separate from sin — and God cannot be in the presence of sin. Which is our great dilemma — for we are all sinners.

Do you see your need to be washed? How your sins have stained you? Made you unpresentable and unholy to God? How — on your own — you have no hope of being right with God?

Let’s respond to this sobering truth of who we are with a time of confession.

RESPONSE OF CONFESSION (Ben)

ASSURANCE

Continuing in John’s gospel we read…

John 13:12–17 ESV

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Historically — after confessing our sins — the church then offers assurance. For — through faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross — we are washed, cleansed of our sins, made pure, spotless, and holy. And — though we don’t deserve it — we now have a relationship with God that is restored — because — Christ makes us right with God.

And — again — our hope in these truths — the reason for our assurance — is because of who Christ is and what he accomplished on our behalf. We see this in verse 16 when Jesus says…

John 13:16 ESV

16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

A servant is not greater than his master. None of us are greater than Jesus. Thus the hope and confidence in our assurance of being forgiven, redeemed, and made right with God is because of who Jesus is — and he’s really, really great. He’s the greatest! And — he who is the greatest — is the One who said…

John 6:37 ESV

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

Or as Paul tells us…

Romans 8:28–39 NLT

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. 31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let’s respond to this wonderful assurance that we have in Christ.

RESPONSE OF ASSURANCE (Song: It is Well)

BELIEF AND BETRAYAL

What assurance we have in knowing that — through faith in Christ — all of our sins have been forgiven. An assurance — to be clear — for those who believe in Jesus. We see this as we continue on in John’s gospel where Jesus says…

John 13:18–30 ESV

18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

Here we see belief and betrayal. The assurance — we just reminded ourselves of — is for those who believe in Jesus — that’s the good news. But judgment is coming for those who betray Jesus — that’s the bad news. And though the bad news of God’s judgment often gets downplayed or — due to us being offended by a God who judges — it’s dismissed entirely — the same book which tells us the good news also tells us the bad news. In fact — without the bad news of God’s judgment towards those who betray Jesus — by not receiving his sacrifice — there is no good news — that God welcomes into his eternal family those who do receive Jesus’ sacrifice.

For Jesus tells us this is why he came to earth when — after telling the disciples that one of them will betray him — he says…

John 13:19 ESV

19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.

Jesus often spoke of his upcoming sacrifice to his disciples. Yet they — like many of us — heard what Jesus was saying without hearing him. They couldn’t fathom the idea of Jesus being killed and this being the will of God. Who wants to believe in a defeated Savior? The irony is that Jesus told him about this death ahead of time so that — when it happened — they’d know that death was not the victor. For he also told them about his resurrection. They heard him say, “Destroy this temple and in three days it will be raised again.” But it wasn’t until after his resurrection that John and the other disciples connected the dots.

Yet what Jesus offered them is what he offers all of us: an invitation to believe. To believe that he’s the One whom the prophets foretold. The promised Savior of the world. The One who though…

2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

21 never sinned, [was] the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

There’s an invitation before all of us: to believe in Jesus Christ — to receive him as our Savior.

{Let’s respond to this invitation to believe.}

RESPONSE TO BELIEVE (Creed)

LOVE

Continuing in the gospel of John, we read…

John 13:31–35 ESV

31 When he (Judas) had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Even Judas’ betrayal brought glory to Jesus. For God the Father made God the Son look glorious in his sacrifice on the cross. And — in response to his loving sacrifice for us — we make Jesus look glorious by paying attention to his words…

John 13:34–35 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

An expectation for those who believe. A commandment — one of many — that we’re to obey. Just as we’ve been loved by Christ — we’re to love each other. For — by our love for one another — all people will know that we’re disciples of Jesus Christ.

You see, believing in Jesus’ loving sacrifice on the cross changes the one who believes. Often I’m asked, “How do I know if I’m really a Christian? How do I know if I’m really saved? How do I know if I believe?” Are you changed? For belief in Jesus — and his immeasurable love for you — changes you.

Examples of change — in Scripture — include someone — who was once a thief — who now — because they believe in Jesus — hasn’t just stopped stealing — most non-Christians agree that stealing is wrong. But — belief in Jesus results in a former thief now working so they not only provide for themselves — but also are generous to others. The thief doesn’t just stop stealing — he works hard, provides for his own needs, and is generous in helping meet the needs of others. That’s a changed life.

And — for all of us — even those who aren’t former thieves — there’s a “once I was blind, but now I see” kind of change from who we were to who we are now — and who we will be by God’s grace — tomorrow. For believing in Christ’s love for you changes you.

SACRIFICE

And — as you’ve heard me allude to already — the pinnacle of Christ’s love for us is him giving his life for us on the cross. Continuing in John’s gospel we read…

John 13:36–38 ESV

36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

You’ve got to love Peter. His enthusiasm is commendable — even though we know his actions won’t match his words. Indeed — before the rooster crows — Peter will deny knowing Jesus three times.

But isn’t this true of all of us? We make promises to Jesus — only to so easily break them. We make all kinds of promises — but do we hear him asking…

John 13:38 ESV

38“Will you lay down your life for me?”

What’s your response to his question? An honest answer is, “Jesus, I want to. But I know I’ll fail time and time again.” 

Thank God our hope isn’t in us — but is in the One who laid down his life for us.

Yet — even though we know we’ll fail — the question is still before us all: Will you lay down your life for Jesus? In love — he laid down his life for you. Peter was obviously full of himself — proud — arrogant — ignorant of what he was really saying — and especially of the denial he was about to do. But the question still remains a valid one for all of us. Will you lay down your life — will you lay down having to be in control — or having to have things your way — or will you give your life and control and your way — over to the One who so loved you that he gave his life for you?

COMMUNION

All that we’ve read — as you’ve heard me say a few times this evening — happened on the night on which Jesus was betrayed. It was a night when he and his disciples dined at a table as they ate the Passover Meal. You heard about the Passover earlier from the passage in Exodus. The celebration of the Passover Meal was a night where the Jewish people remembered God rescuing them out from under the hand of the Egyptians. The tenth and final plague had been announced — the death of all firstborns in the land. The Israelites were not exempt from this plague of God’s judgment — though they were provided a way of escape.

They were to sacrifice a lamb and put some of its blood on the doorposts of their homes. A sign that their home was covered by the blood of the lamb who was slain as a sacrifice for their sins. A way that — through faith — for they had to believe God in order to obey him — that they’d be saved from God’s wrath and judgment. And — having put the blood on their doorposts — the families were to eat a meal that was called the Passover. For on that night — God’s judgment passed over all whose homes were covered by the blood of the lamb.

It’s this meal that the disciples were eating with Jesus. And…

Matthew 26:26–28 ESV

26 as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

In this supper God declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he finished on the cross once for all. Come, therefore, all of you who are truly sorry for your sins, who believe in the Lord Jesus as your Savior, have confessed his name, and desire to live in obedience to him. Come eagerly and joyfully, with the assurance of faith. For Christ — our risen Lord — invites you as guests to fellowship with him — and each other — at his table.

At this time — if you’re serving communion — please make your way forward. In just a moment, ushers will begin dismissing you by rows, so you can come forward to receive the bread and the cup. Take both before returning to your seats. There are baskets — up front — for you to put your empty cups in. We also have a gluten free wafer option for those who need it. If you’re unable to come forward — raise your hand and let the usher know as they dismiss your row — and someone will come and serve you in your seat.

Come and receive and feast on the love of God as displayed in the sacrifice of his Son. Come with hope, come with assurance, come in awe of your God, come repentant, come in faith. Come all who are truly sorry for your sins and whose hope is in Jesus Christ.

RESPONSE TO GOD’S LOVE AND SACRIFICE (Two songs: O the Blood; Great are You Lord)

PRAYER

Holy Father, Son, and Spirit, what marvelous truths we’ve beheld this evening. Who you are. Who we are. Assurance you’ve guaranteed. Promises to those who believe and warnings to those who don’t. We’ve seen your love for us and what you require of all who’ve received your love. And we’ve gazed on the horrific beauty that is the death of Jesus Christ. Horrific because the Son of God was killed — beautiful because resurrection day is just around the corner.

Gracious God, may you open all of our eyes to see Jesus for who he is so we all leave here believing in him for our hope and salvation. And it’s in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.

Please stand for the benediction.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go knowing that you are loved by God — and may you receive his love. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 4-6-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend — taking a look at the spiritual gifts that Paul mentions in his letter so we all understand what these gifts are and how they’re to be used in our faith family. Now the purpose of the spiritual gifts is something I have and will continue to remind us of: Spiritual gifts are abilities given to individual believers by the Holy Spirit in order to equip God’s people for ministry, both for the edification of the church and for God’s salvific mission to the world. – Lexham Survey of Theology

Here’s what Paul says about the gifts — in Romans chapter twelve — beginning in verse four. There we read…

Romans 12:4–8 ESV

4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

We started off by taking two weeks to explore the gift of prophecy. Next, we looked at the gift of service — then the gift of teaching. And — last week — we looked at the gift of exhortation or encouragement. Which means that — today — we’re going to look at the gift of generosity or giving, which Paul mentions in verse eight when he writes…

Romans 12:8b ESV

8b the one who contributes, in generosity;

WHAT IS THE GIFT OF GENEROSITY?

So let’s begin by answering the question, “What is the gift of generosity or giving?” The definition that I shared with you a few weeks ago is…

Giving

The gift of giving is the divine strength or ability to produce wealth and to give by tithes and offerings for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God on earth.

You may remember that this is one of my top five spiritual gifts — along with teaching and prophecy — two other gifts we’ve looked at in this series on spiritual gifts.

Now — giving — like many of the other spiritual gifts — is not only a spiritual gift — but is also something God expects of all his people. Like you’ve heard me say about other gifts — just because you don’t have the spiritual gift of giving doesn’t mean you’re off the hook when it comes to the commands about money, wealth, and giving that we find in the Bible.

In fact our vision is that every follower of Jesus — who’s part of this faith family — would be generous. In many ways — collectively as a church — giving or generosity is a spiritual gift that we’re known for. This was long part of Gateway’s DNA before I arrived — but is something I’m happy to continue promoting. Whether it be our Christmas Eve offering — which we give entirely away — or how much of our church budget goes to missions — and specifically to people groups around the world who have little or no access to the gospel — being generous — especially with our resources — is a characteristic of the kind of disciples of Jesus that Gateway is known for.

In fact — I’m reminded of Paul’s words about the Christians in Macedonia — when he writes…

2 Corinthians 8:1–9 ESV

1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. 8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Though experiencing a severe test of affliction and extreme poverty — because of their abundant joy in their Savior — the Christians in Macedonia overflowed in their generosity. Collectively — as a church — each person gave according to their means — because giving is something God expects of all of his people. Yet — many went beyond their means in their giving. And the way Paul applies this to the Christians in Corinth — whom he’s writing to — is by reminding them that — just as they were striving to excel in their faith, speech, knowledge, and so on — to excel in their giving too. Why? Because our generosity proves that our love for God and one another is genuine. What does your generosity say about your love for God and others?

And — if that wasn’t motivating enough — Paul goes on to remind them — and us — of what Jesus gave up for our sake. He left the infinite riches of Heaven and became poor on our behalf. Born — not to a king and queen — but to a poor couple. He lived most of his life dependent on the generosity of others — as we’ll see in a moment. And — when he died — he was buried in a borrowed grave. Jesus did all of this so that — through faith in him — we are made co-heirs with him — those who are promised the infinite riches of Heaven.

EXAMPLES OF THE SPIRITUAL GIFT OF GIVING

But — this isn’t a general sermon on giving — this is a sermon on the spiritual gift of giving. So — let’s look at some possible examples of this spiritual gift in the New Testament. 

There are a few examples — from the life and ministry of Jesus — where we see something like this gift at work. You may have noticed how I keep saying that these may be examples of the gift of giving — and that’s because — in none of these do we find a statement such as “And this was the spiritual gift of giving on display.” But this doesn’t mean there isn’t something we can learn from these examples.

Here’s one from Luke’s gospel. In Luke chapter eight we read…

Luke 8:1–3 ESV

1 Soon afterward he (Jesus) went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

These women — Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna — and some others who are unnamed — financially supported Jesus’ ministry of proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Given that the church today is funded by the generosity of others — it’s interesting to notice how infrequently we hear of how Jesus’ ministry was financially funded. Which is why — when we do come across these passages — we should pay attention.

Jesus — and his twelve disciples — are able to do full time ministry because of the generosity of these women. I’m sure others supported them — gave them food to eat, a place to stay for the night and so on — but these women are highlighted by Luke. In the church today — we prefer to keep the giving of individuals private. Know that this hasn’t always been the case even though it feels “right” or “the only way” to us today. 

Pastor Ben — Gateway’s founding pastor — once told me that the church he grew up in as a boy listed all of the financial givers in the church publicly. And — the list was based on how much an individual gave — with the biggest giver at the top of the list. Obviously, there might be all kinds of bad reasons to put the biggest giver at the top of the list — but think of how our view of giving in the church has changed in pastor Ben’s lifetime?

Yet Luke — inspired by the Holy Spirit — has no qualms mentioning these women by name because of their financial contributions to the ministry of Jesus. Maybe this is to highlight how the Spirit of God worked in and through these women in a special way — through the spiritual gift of generosity — as they supported Jesus and his disciples.

Here’s another possible example — this time we’re in Mark’s gospel. After warning his listener’s about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of the day…

Mark 12:41–44 ESV

41 He (Jesus) sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

For many of us — just the idea of clearing out our savings account and giving it all away — is beyond comprehension. It’s not that you’re any less of a Christian — you can’t help but think of biblical passages about financial prudence and planning — rightly so. Yet — for some Christians — especially those with the spiritual gift of generosity — it’s not that they aren’t financially prudent or that they fail to plan — the call to give all of their financial resources away is a matter of obedience.

This too — unfortunately — can become a point of division among Christians. Where — those with this gift can view other Christians — who are being faithful in their giving as commanded in Scripture — as if they’re being greedy for not giving more — or all — of their resources away. And — at the same time — those without this spiritual gift can view those with it as being financially irresponsible — which may be the case — but isn’t always the case.

As I mentioned — this is a spiritual gift that makes my top five. My wife also has this gift. At one point in our marriage we were led by God to give away everything in our bank account. Our kids were all in elementary school and younger at the time and — in the eyes of most people — this wasn’t a good time to give everything away. But this was a matter of obedience for us. Was it scary? Absolutely! But we’re never told that following Jesus won’t lead to unusual — or even scary — circumstances in life.

So — we did it. We gave everything in our bank account away. And — within two months — without being solicited or knowing about our decision — other Christians started sending us money. Like thousands of dollars. Now — listen to me very carefully — because I’m no health, wealth, and prosperity preacher — but I am one who preaches about the faithfulness of our God. And he took care of us — I believe — because we were obedient. “Well, Josh, would God have taken care of you if it wasn’t really him telling you to give everything away?” I don’t know — that’s not what happened! But — for us — it was the one time in our marriage where we felt called to do something that — in the eyes of nearly everyone else — seemed crazy. And God showed up in ways we didn’t expect or anticipate.

Like the widow — we didn’t give out of our abundance — though we have done that for most of our marriage — this was an instance of giving everything we had to live on so we could experience — not only dependence upon God to meet our needs — but his faithfulness in supplying all that we needed and more.

Here’s another possible example of the spiritual gift of giving — we’re in Acts chapter four. At this point in church history, the church had grown quickly and the Christians have started to experience persecution. Things haven’t gotten that bad for them yet — but it’s becoming evident that not everyone is going to be open to this new religion. Yet the poor, widows, orphans, and outcasts of society are finding hope in the news about Jesus. And here’s how Luke describes the church in Acts chapter four.

Acts 4:32–37 NLT

32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. 33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. 34 There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them 35 and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need. 36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.

Our focus will be on Barnabas again — we looked at him last week — he’ll later become one of Paul’s companions in ministry. Now Barnabas is obviously not the only Christian being generous — but he’s highlighted in this story which is why we’re focusing on him. He sells some land he owns and gives all of the money to the apostles — the leaders in the church. We’re not told that he sold all of his land — or that he gave all of his wealth away — but he did give all of the money from the sale of this particular plot of land to the church. An act of generosity above and beyond the giving expected of followers of Jesus.

And — if you don’t know — the very next story in Acts is an account of counterfeit generosity. We’ve looked at the story in previous sermons — so we won’t read it now — but it’s the story of a husband and wife — Ananias and Sapphira — who sell a piece of land they owned. And — in wanting to appear to be generous like Barnabas — and the other unnamed individuals — they claim to give all of the proceeds to the church — when — in reality — they kept back some of the money for themselves.

Now — to be clear — they had every right to keep some of the money from the sale of their land — that’s not sinful — which tells us that’s not why they die — spoiler alert — if you don’t know their story. They die because they lie about their generosity. They wanted the accolades for doing what Barnabas did without the sacrifice. Which tells us that the spiritual gift of giving — just like prophecy and teaching and other gifts — has a counterfeit. Meaning — just like we’re warned about false prophets — in the Old Testament — and false teachers — in the New Testament — we’d be foolishly unbiblical to not be aware of people faking generosity in the church for ill intent.

You see — God’s church isn’t to be bought. And people will use wealth and giving as a way to try and buy the direction of a church — or threaten to hold back their giving if they don’t get their way. And God will have none of it — and neither will the elders of Gateway. Thankfully — this isn’t something we deal with often. But giving to God — and his church — isn’t done to get something in return. It’s done because it’s a commandment to obey. And — for those who recognize the beauty in Christ — which we looked at earlier — the desire to control anyone or anything with their giving will be put to death and not an option.

Now something I find conflicting — in regards to the spiritual gift of giving — is that — because giving is something that’s such a private affair among us American Christians — we’re unable to be grateful for those who the Holy Spirit displays himself through this spiritual gift for our good. Think about it. A few weeks ago I named a bunch of different people who the Holy Spirit displays himself through the spiritual gift of serving. The next week I named individuals when I preached on the spiritual gift of teaching. But if I was to start naming folks who display evidence of the spiritual gift of giving in our church — well — things would get weird, wouldn’t it?

And I think that weirdness is less biblical than we realize. Think about the passages we’ve already read. We know the names of the women who financially supported Jesus’ ministry just like we know Barnabas’s name. But I recognize the culture in which we live — so I’ll just suggest that there’s some room for us all to grow in recognizing how to be grateful to specific people among us who the Holy Spirit uses in this way. Not so we show favoritism, but so that we show honor. For all spiritual gifts are needed and all parts of the body are to be honored — and maybe the spiritual gift of giving is one of the parts of the body that Paul called “unpresentable” — but we still need to honor and show thankfulness to those whom the Spirit uses in this way.

Nevertheless, thank you to those among us whom the Spirit of God has empowered with the gift of giving. We’re a more generous church because of the Spirit using you in this way.

CONCLUSION: SOME REMINDERS ABOUT GIVING

I’d like to conclude with some reminders about giving. Though these are some general reminders — for those with the spiritual gift of giving — these are the verses that make your heart sing. And for those who have yet to develop or discover if they’ve been given this spiritual gift — may these verses stir in you a desire to pursue being used by God in this unique way.

On his way to Jerusalem — Paul called for the elders of the church in Ephesus to come and meet with him. He reminds them of what he taught them while he was with them. He warns them about people who will try to lead the church astray. And then he says these final words to the church leaders.

Acts 20:32–35 ESV

32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Final words matter. We don’t just save our best words for last — we save the most important matters for last. And — in his final words to these church leaders in Ephesus — Paul quotes Jesus in saying, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.” Paul used some of his last words to remind these church leaders about giving.

Similarly — years later when Timothy was pastoring this same church in Ephesus — Paul would write to him…

1 Timothy 6:6–19 ESV

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. 17 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. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Be watchful of what you desire — for those who desire to be rich will find themselves in eternal ruin and destruction. The love of money leads many away from following Jesus. And those who follow Jesus are to flee from such things. And instead are to pursue righteousness — being right with God — godliness — becoming more like Christ — faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness as we hold firmly to the eternal life we’ve been given.

And — in the age in which we live — we are the “rich in the world.” The least wealthy among us are still rich compared to the vast majority of the world. Thus we’re to take to heart Paul’s command to not set our hope on riches, but on our God who’s so generous that he richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

So do good. Be rich in your good works. Be generous and ready to share with anyone in need. For — in doing so — you will be storing up treasures in Heaven where you will experience God’s presence — and his glorious riches — for all eternity. Let’s pray together.

PRAYER

Father, thank you for being rich in kindness and mercy towards us. For being generous to us by providing us with all we need and infinitely more in Christ.

Spirit, what a unique way you’ve called your people to live. You call all of us to be generous — and yet you empower some of us to display your power through the spiritual gift of giving. This is a gift we need in order to grow into our full maturity in Christ as a congregation. Thank you for those you’ve called and gifted in this way. 

And — Jesus — you left the riches of Heaven to come to earth for our sake. And — because of your love for us — as displayed on the cross — we’ve been made co-heirs with you. Eternal riches will be ours for you have guaranteed this in your blood. 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — generously pour out your favor, grace, mercy, and kindness on those who don’t yet believe in Jesus by drawing them near to you and giving them the gift of eternal life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / ELDERS AVAILABLE)

May you go with grateful hearts for the Spirit’s work in making us a generous people. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 3-30-25

INTRODUCTION

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend — taking a look at the spiritual gifts that Paul mentions in his letter so we all understand what these gifts are and how they’re to be used in our faith family. Now the purpose of the spiritual gifts is something I’ve reminded us of each week: Spiritual gifts are abilities given to individual believers by the Holy Spirit in order to equip God’s people for ministry, both for the edification of the church and for God’s salvific mission to the world. – Lexham Survey of Theology

Here’s what Paul says about the gifts — in Romans chapter twelve — beginning in verse four. 

Romans 12:4–8 ESV

4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

We took two weeks to explore the gift of prophecy — followed by a week to look at the gift of service. And — then — last week we looked at the gift of teaching. Which means that today we’re looking at the gift of exhortation, which Paul mentions in verse eight when he writes…

Romans 12:8 ESV

8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation;

WHAT IS THE GIFT OF EXHORTATION?

So let’s begin by answering the question, “What is the gift of exhortation?” The definition I shared with you a few weeks ago is…

Exhortation/Encouragement

The gift of exhortation is the divine strength or ability to strengthen, comfort or urge others to action through the written or spoken word and Biblical truth.

So exhortation and encouragement are related words — though encouragement is a more familiar word to many of us. Yet — though related — the two words do have a slight difference to their definitions. One definition of biblical exhortation is “an urging done by someone close beside.” (Got Questions?) Another is “an urgent recommendation or encouragement to pursue a course of action.” (Logos Factbook)

Whereas biblical encouragement is defined as “giving someone confidence or boldness to do something.” (Logos Factbook) Or as “one person inspiring another person with comfort, counsel, and confidence.” (June Hunt)

So the words have similarities and differences.

Like all spiritual gifts — exhortation is a supernatural ability. In fact — the Greek word translated as exhort or comfort in verse seven — is related to something Jesus promised to us. Let’s see if you can figure out what I’m referring to.

John 14:15–17 ESV

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

What I was referring to is the word “Helper” — which refers to the Holy Spirit. In other places the Holy Spirit is called the “Comforter, Advocate, or Counselor.” I bring this up to remind us — again — that these spiritual gifts are not natural talents or personality traits — but are displays of the Holy Spirit working in and through the people of God. And — with this particular spiritual gift — the work that Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit would do — comfort, advocate, counsel, and so on — is made evident. What an important spiritual gift for the church today.

Now — for me personally — of all of the spiritual gifts — this is the one I currently long for the most. Because — though I can’t say for certain — my guess is that you — like me — love to be around people who have this spiritual gift. Why? Because they’re so encouraging even as they challenge you to grow in your faith and take steps of obedience. When the Holy Spirit displays himself through others in this way — it’s hard to be offended by their correction because you know that you’re being loved. And — if you remember what I said about preaching a few weeks ago — how spiritual gifts come into play as much as an individual’s personality — when I hear others — who have the gift of exhortation teach God’s Word — I just love it and long for more of it in my preaching.

Now — before we go any further with this gift — and its connection with the gift of teaching — which is important — let’s look at some examples of exhortation in Scripture. Think of this as a big overview of the many ways exhortation and encouragement are seen in the Bible. And I know that — for some of us — a bunch of different Bible verses may be hard to follow. If you don’t know — my sermon manuscripts are available on both our church website — gatewayepc.org — and our church app. We make them available so you can follow along with me, go back and look at them for reference in the future, and so on. But — when we talk about topics — like these spiritual gifts — we must see what Scripture as a whole has to say — because often just looking at a verse or two won’t give us the full biblical picture.

Some of these will be examples of how all Christians are to exhort one another — even if we don’t have this particular gift — while others will be examples of this particular spiritual gift at work. 

Now for some examples. In the longest teaching we have from Jesus — his Sermon on the Mount — at one point he says…

Matthew 5:4 ESV

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Most likely the mourning — the sorrow — that Jesus is referring to is due to the condition the nation of Israel was in at the time when he said these words. If you’re unfamiliar with the history of the Jews — the Old Testament records for us a rollercoaster of a relationship between them and God. Now God was steady — he was always faithful to them — yet they — the Jews — would go through seasons of faithfulness and seasons of unfaithfulness. And — many times — the consequence of their unfaithfulness was life in exile — where their land — called the Promised Land — was occupied by other nations. In Jesus’ day it was the Romans. And the Temple — the sacred place of worship for the Jews — was still under construction — because twice it’s been destroyed by occupying nations.

So the people’s mourning and sorrow was due to them being occupied and under the control of Rome. And — the comfort — Jesus speaks of — is the future fulfillment of the Kingdom of God being restored. That’s what many of the Jewish listeners would have understood. 

Yet — some would have also understood this mourning to be a sorrow due to their sin. Others still would have thought of difficult situations they were going through. The beauty of biblical truth is that — though there’s one meaning of the text — those who mourn will be comforted — the applications are many — for countless are the reasons for our sorrow.

Regardless if your sorrow is due to the immoral state of our nation, or a sin you’ve committed that’s caused pain in the lives of others, or is due to the choices an adult child of yours is making — blessed — Jesus says — are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Yes — God himself can and does comfort his people. And — yes — more specifically — the promised Comforter — the Holy Spirit who lives in us — comforts his people when they are in sorrow. But also — yes — the Holy Spirit wants to comfort those who are in mourning through individuals whom he’s empowered with this spiritual gift.

What an intimate call for some among us. To be with people in their hardest moments of life knowing that the Holy Spirit will use you to bring them comfort. Yes — all Christians are called to “weep with those who weep” — but those with this spiritual gift have a way of being a source of encouragement in people’s lives when they need it most.

Here’s another example of exhortation, encouragement, and comfort in the New Testament. We see this in a man named Barnabas. In Acts we read…

Acts 11:19–24 ESV

19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

Due to persecution — the Christians had spread throughout the Roman Empire. Christianity was no longer solely in the hands of the apostles who’d been taught by Jesus. And so these ordinary Christians spread out — yet they keep proclaiming the gospel — for they know that Jesus’ mission for the church was as much for them as it was for the apostles. Yet there’s always been a need to ensure that what’s spreading is the true gospel — for history shows that false gospels and even — “almost the gospels” — spread right alongside the true gospel. So Barnabas — an early church leader — goes to check in on these Christians who’ve been dispersed because of the persecution in Jerusalem. And look at what he does when he finds these faithful ordinary Christians doing the Lord’s work. 

He’s glad — he rejoiced because of what they were doing. And he exhorted them — he encouraged them and urged them to remain faithful in the work they were doing. And — because of their faithfulness and Barnabas’ exhortation — a great many more people believed in Jesus.

Again — that’s my dream role in the church. To show up and — not be viewed like a health inspector showing up to surprise a restaurant or a Bible referee ready to call fouls when you answer a question in Life Group when I’m visiting — but am there to encourage you to keep doing the good work of the Lord that you’re doing. Yes — people need to be corrected when they err. Yes — instruction is important. Yes — doctrine matters. But — more often than not — people just need some encouragement. That’s what Barnabas was able to give to these Christians.

When I was brand new to working in the church — I was on staff of a large church where I oversaw adult discipleship — in our church, think membership class, equip classes, and our Life Groups. There was a man in the church — Wayne Detzler — who was in his 70’s at the time. He had multiple advanced degrees — including a PhD. He’d worked at multiple seminaries, was the president of a seminary at the time, had been a missionary overseas in Asia, and was part of Billy Graham’s team back in the day. And I — well — I had a jazz saxophone degree, no seminary education, and a lot to learn in my late 20’s. 

Wayne asked me to co-teach an adult class with him. We went through books of the Bible verse by verse teaching a class of about a hundred people. And all I remember from that time is Wayne encouraging me. We both knew — he especially knew — that I had a ton to learn. Yet that’s not what Wayne focused on. Instead he encouraged me, and encouraged me, and encouraged me to keep teaching, to keep studying, to keep preparing for the class. 

We were in a small group together and he let me lead. We went through Ephesians and — when we finished the book — Wayne gave me a copy of the book he’d written on Ephesians. He waited until after we were finished to tell me he’d written a book on what we’d been discussing. And — on the inside page — Wayne wrote, “Thank you for leading our group into a deeper understanding of Ephesians.”

It’s not an exaggeration to say that I wouldn’t be here today if it hadn’t been for the Holy Spirit using Wayne to exhort me in being faithful to the work God had for me to do.

I wonder how many Wayne’s there are among us? People with this spiritual gift who the Holy Spirit wants to use to encourage others — especially the next generation — so they remain faithful to the work God’s called them to.

Later on in Acts there’s a theological controversy that the church has to deal with. The leaders of the church gather in Jerusalem, discuss the issue, and come to a conclusion on the matter. And they send their conclusion in the form of a letter to the church in Antioch by way of Paul, Barnabas, Judas, and Silas. After the letter was read to the Christian in Antioch, we read…

Acts 15:32 ESV

32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.

Remember that one purpose of all spiritual gifts is the strengthening of the church. And these two men — Judas and Silas — who we also see were prophets — encouraged the Christians in Antioch — and strengthened them.

In the apostle Paul’s life we find moments like…

Acts 20:1–2 ESV

1 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece.

After a riot in Ephesus — where a large crowd would’ve killed Paul without thinking twice about it — Paul wanted to make sure that he encouraged the Christians who lived there before he departed from their city. I bet they needed some encouragement, right? That’s a hostile city to live in as a Christian. Thus the Holy Spirit used Paul to strengthen the resolve of those who’d continue to live there and fulfill the ministry Jesus had called them to.

And — in my mind — what may be one of the clearest displays of the supernaturalness of this gift — while on a ship at sea that’s caught in a deadly storm and everyone on the boat assumes they’re going to die…

Acts 27:33–34 ESV

33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.”

Due to Paul’s exhortation in the middle of raging seas — the men listened — and not one of them died — they all made it to shore. In times of chaos and uncertainty — a word of exhortation — the Holy Spirit speaking through someone — can bring a peace that surpasses all understanding — a powerful word that may even result in the lives of many being saved. 

What a spiritual gift to be appreciated and thankful for — that God the Holy Spirit chooses to use some among us in such a powerful way.

Though it shouldn’t surprise us that the Holy Spirit would display his power through some of us in this way. After all, Scripture does say…

2 Corinthians 1:3–6 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.

I wonder if Paul was thinking of Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount — that we read earlier — when he wrote these words. That our God will provide supernatural comfort to his people when we experience affliction and suffering. For sufferings are guaranteed to come. There’s no escaping heartache in this world cursed by sin. We’re in a spiritual war with an enemy who’s afflicted saints in the past — go read the first two chapters of Job if you don’t know his story — and the man whose words we just read — Paul — is the one who said with confidence…

Acts 20:22–24 ESV

22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Dear Christian, you can face affliction, uncertainty, persecution, and sorrow with confidence if you live under the authority of the Word of God and by the power of the Spirit of God. And — even more so — you don’t have to do this alone — you can’t do it alone. For the Spirit of God empowers others with his gift of exhortation and encouragement to strengthen you in the hard days of life.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV

11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

And…

Hebrews 3:13 ESV

13 Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

And…

2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV

11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

EXHORTATION AND GOD’S WORD

Before we look at how we should respond — I want to remind us again of our discipleship value of being Word and Spirit Christians here at Gateway. For we want to be followers of Jesus who live under the authority of the Word of God — the Bible — as we live empowered by the Spirit of God — including the Spirit’s gifts.

And the spiritual gift of exhortation has a strong connection with God’s Word — especially to our obedience of God’s Word. For example, in the gospel of Luke we read…

Luke 3:18 ESV

18 So with many other exhortations he (John the baptist) preached good news to the people.

John was preparing the way for Jesus. He preached repentance — turn from your sins — and faith — turn to the living God. He called people to respond to the Word of God and he did so with many exhortations.

Or Peter — in the first sermon he preached — after quoting from the prophet Joel — which we looked at weeks ago — we read this…

Acts 2:40 ESV

40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Peter calls the people to respond to the Word he just preached to them. By exhorting them — he encouraged them — to respond to the Word.

Or as Paul began the chapter of Romans we’re in with the words…

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 I appeal to (I exhort or encourage) you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

As you heard me say before — because of all the theology Paul taught in the first eleven chapters of Romans — he now appeals to us — he exhorts us — he encourages us to make Jesus look glorious through how we live because of what we believe.

Later he writes these words.

Romans 16:17 ESV

17 I appeal to (again, I exhort or encourage) you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.

Words to be obeyed — not just then — but even in our day. 

Or that — pastors today — like Timothy — should…

1 Timothy 4:13 ESV

13 …devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

Look at how the Word is to be my central focus as a pastor. Reading the Bible. Exhorting others to obey the Bible. Teaching the Bible. 

The Spirit gives these gifts — all of the spiritual gifts — not to contradict the Word of God — but to help us live more faithfully to the Word of God.

RESPOND LIKE JESUS

Now — as we close our time looking at the spiritual gift of exhortation — I want to exhort all of you — appeal to you — and encourage you to respond to exhortation like Jesus did. For the Savior you follow — if you believe in Jesus — responded to the exhortation of others in this way.

Mark 1:40–41 ESV

40 And a leper came to him, imploring him (exhorting Jesus), and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.”

In response to the exhortation of this leper — Jesus — moved with pity — full of compassion and love for this man — touched the untouchable — and healed him.

Or — when a ruler of the synagogue — a man named Jairus — approached Jesus, and fell at his feet…

Mark 5:23–24 ESV

23 and implored him (exhorted him) earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he (Jesus) went with him.

In response to this desperate father — Jesus — went with him and healed his daughter. 

Another time — after returning from Tyre and Sidon and arriving in the region of the Decapolis — some people…

Mark 7:32 ESV

32 brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him (they exhorted him) to lay his hand on him.

And in response to their exhortation — Jesus healed the man. 

Or when Jesus and his disciples…

Mark 8:22 ESV

22 …came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him (exhorted him) to touch him.

Jesus — responding to their exhortation — touched the blind man and healed him.

If the Savior we follow could humble himself — stoop down to our level — and respond to our exhortations — our begging and pleading and desperate cries — how much more so should we respond to the Spirit of God when he exhorts us through our fellow Christians that he’s empowered with the gift of exhortation? 

What a blessing this spiritual gift is for us. And what a blessing — and what an important part of our faith family — are those whom the Spirit displays himself through this gift. For the Spirit does so for our good and for Jesus’ glory. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father, as we’ve been reminded — you’re the God of all comfort who comforts us in our afflictions so we might comfort those afflicted. Comfort your people. And use us to comfort one another.

Holy Spirit, you’re the promised Comforter who lives in the people of God — giving us a peace that surpasses all understanding. Give us this peace, we ask.

And Jesus, you’re the One who calmed the raging seas with a spoken command. Though your disciples were scared for their lives — you spoke a word and creation obeyed. Speak to us and lead us to obey.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — fill us with your words of exhortation and encouragement for the good of others and for your glory. Specially anoint many in this faith family of ours with the spiritual gift of exhortation. And — right now — through me — call some to believe in Jesus — to respond to the most encouraging words they will ever hear: You are loved by God. 

We pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

‌‌SCRIPTURE: Romans 9:30-10:4 (ESV)

DATE: 11-24-24

It’s good to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And — if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — are joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

After a three week break we’re returning to our series in Romans. And we’re in the middle of Paul’s answer as to why so many Jews — even though they were God’s chosen people — why did so many of them reject Jesus as the promised Messiah? And — in answering this question — Paul showed us that their rejection of Jesus was not because God’s Word had failed. For the promises to the Jewish people — according to Paul — had been promises given to the true Israelites — not to all who were ethnically Jews — they were promises given to a chosen remnant among the Jews. 

Paul then goes on to defend God’s sovereignty in choosing some to be part of this remnant — what he calls the children of the promise. For God chose Isaac — not Ishmael. He chose Jacob — not Esau. He chose the enslaved Israelites — not Pharaoh. God — in his sovereignty — chooses those whom he will save to be his people.

‌Which leads Paul to respond to our next question: Does this mean that God is unfair? Does the fact that God chooses some — and not all — to be children of his promise of salvation — does God choosing some — and not all — make him out to be unfair? “Absolutely not” according to Paul.

‌To which Paul — knowing what our next question will be — makes it clear that — though God chooses those who will be children of the promise — those not chosen are still responsible for their sin and rebellion. Paul’s pushing against an idea that’s common among us. The idea where we think that God — if he’s going to be merciful towards some people — is required to be merciful towards all people. So Paul makes it clear that God isn’t required to be merciful towards any of us — for we’ve all sinned and fallen short of his glory — therefore we all deserve his judgment. And — if we want to talk about fairness — us all experiencing God’s judgment would be the only fair option. 

Thus — what should astound us isn’t that some are judged by God because of their sin — instead — we should be amazed by God being merciful towards anyone. Yet — God being merciful towards some and not all — often doesn’t sit well with us — even those of us who have a high view of Scripture. Yet our being disturbed by God’s sovereign mercy is due more to secular thinking than what we read in God’s Word. For secular thinking tells us that we’re the final judge of how things should be. So we switch roles and play judge of God — questioning him for being merciful only towards some — as if his mercy is something we all deserve.

‌And — yet — and please don’t miss this — though none deserve mercy — God’s mercy is something that many do experience. Again — can we marvel at how amazing it is that any of us experience God’s mercy? And that — as Paul’s told us — the reason that any of us do is because God — though sinned against by us who he created to glorify him by living in obedience to his Word — and though it would be right for him to only dispense his judgment upon all of us — instead — God has said to his chosen people, “You are my beloved. Yes — you — though you don’t deserve it — you will be called my people.” 

For here is our humbling and sobering reality: If God did not keep for himself a remnant — none of us would be saved. 

‌Which leads us to our verses for today — where Paul now turns to the responsibility of those who reject Jesus. We’ll be in Romans chapter nine — beginning in verse thirty and reading through verse four of chapter ten. We’re in Romans chapter nine — picking up Paul’s thought in verse thirty — where he writes…

‌Romans 9:30–10:4 (ESV)

‌³⁰ What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹ Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. ² For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. ³ For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

A FUTILE PURSUIT

As you may have noticed earlier — I’ve titled this sermon: When passions and achievements aren’t enough. This title is based on two ways we can pursue being made right with God as found in our verses. Now I know not everyone is concerned about their relationship with God — but ultimately — most people instinctively — or naturally — operate under a default pursuit — where they’re trying to be right with God in a way that’s futile. 

We find this in people who want nothing to do with religion — but claim to be spiritual. They’re pursuing a relationship with God based on their own wisdom or folly — intuition or self-deception — or maybe worst of all — because some celebrity or influencer — who knows nothing about the things of God — has led them down a path of ignorance.

‌But this isn’t just an outside the church problem — even those who are active in a local church can pursue trying to be right with God in a way that’s futile. This is what Paul says the Jewish people in his day were doing when he writes…

‌Romans 9:31–10:3 (ESV)

‌³¹ Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹ Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. ² For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. ³ For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

‌I want you to notice what Paul says about the Jewish people’s pursuit of righteousness. Now — this wasn’t the case for every individual Jew — but this was the case for the Jews who rejected Jesus. Paul says they pursued righteousness — they tried to be right with God — through the law and their works — and not through faith. So they pursued righteousness — or being right and acceptable to God — by means of their own achievements. And Paul says they did so zealously and with lots of passion. And — the real kicker — Paul says — is they did all of it ignorantly. 

This is the pursuit of righteousness that is futile. This is the attempt of being made right with God that is hopeless.

‌Now — what makes this so challenging — is that we live in a culture where our value is determined by our achievements — by what we’ve accomplished and done. When we meet someone new — what’s one of the first questions we ask each other? “What do you do?” This tells us something about how we define our self-worth — and the worth of others — by our achievements.

‌When I was in the Army — your achievements determining your worth — was in your face on a regular basis. We got evaluated all of the time. Peer performance evaluations — where — say there were ten soldiers — you would rank everyone from one to ten — from who’s the best soldier in the group to who’s the worst — including yourself. Then you’d be told, “Your fellow soldiers ranked you ___ out of the ten of you.” 

Sounds fun, right? But that’s not all. Then your chain of command evaluates you. And you get an evaluation report that would say something like, “Of the ____ number of soldiers under my command — you’re number ____ in the ranking.” And this was official record stuff — meaning these documents would be taken into consideration for future promotions.

‌But it’s not just the military who dishes out this kind of “here’s what you’re worth to us based on what you do” evaluation. Think of the jobs in our country that are paid the most compared to jobs that are paid the least. Now I know this is an incredibly complex subject so — to narrow our focus — let’s take jobs that require a college degree.

‌The highest paid jobs in our country probably don’t surprise you. Being a CEO, a medical doctor, a psychiatrist, a pilot, a lawyer — no real surprises. I’m not knocking anyone who has one of these jobs — by the way — this is just an illustration. Those are the top paid jobs in our country with a college degree.

So what about the lowest paid jobs that require some kind of formal education beyond high school? And — I promise I had no idea what number one would be — but according to two separate websites — the lowest paid job is that of priest, pastor, or rabbi — folks who have a theology degree of some kind. Journalists make the lowest paid jobs list — which may explain why it’s so hard these days to figure out what’s true or not and why so much reporting seems to be more opinion than fact-based — but I digress. Paramedics make the list — that one is kind of concerning — especially when I think we’d all like to actually make it to the doctor if we’re having an emergency. And — to no one’s surprise — teachers.

‌Now — salary isn’t the only measure of how much we value what someone else does — but it’s quite telling — isn’t it — that paramedics — who most of us will never be in need of their service — are on the lowest paid list. Much less teachers and journalists or — how the rise in psychology as a means to help people sort out issues — is now one of the highest paid professions — even though their field was once reserved for pastors — a profession often called “doctors of the soul”. 

Regardless of what you think a doctor, paramedic, teacher, or pastor should make — it’s obvious — isn’t it — that our culture has an inconsistent principle in determining the value it gives people based on their achievements and what they do. Stay at home moms might even make CEO kind of salaries if things weren’t so twisted. 

And — yet — even with all of the distorted values we give each other — just like the Israelites — we think this is how our relationship with God works. And here’s what usually ends up happening.

‌In believing that what we do is what will make us right with God — we become like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. If you’re unfamiliar with the Pharisees — their greatest mistake — like any of us who believe that our achievements are what will make us right with God — their greatest mistake was that they wrote their own rules — their own playbook on how to be right with God. And — when we do this — just like them — we end up hearing Jesus say something to us like…

‌Matthew 23:23–24 (NLT)

‌²³ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. ²⁴ Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

‌The Pharisees had defined being right with God to include tithing — or giving ten percent — not just of their income — but even down to ten percent of the herbs that grew in their garden. And notice that Jesus doesn’t dismiss the act of tithing. What he dismisses is the idea where — obeying a religious rule over here — releases you from the obligation to obey what God has said over there. Again — the issue isn’t that they’re obeying God’s command to tithe — the issue is that they’re using their obedience of one command to be the achievement that makes them right with God — even when they’re disobeying other commands God had given them. 

‌Now — far too often — being more like the Pharisees would be a step in the right direction for some — not in being made righteous by what we do — but in making what you do align with God’s commands. Usually the rules we think that will make us right with God have little to do with his Word. But — never forget what God’s Word says about the law — the commands that we’re to obey. 

For example, the book of Psalms begins with…

‌Psalm 1 (NLT)

‌¹ Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. ² But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. ³ They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. ⁴ But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. ⁵ They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. ⁶ For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

‌God’s law — his Word and commands — how he tells us to live — is to be our delight. Not because it tells us that what we do will earn God’s favor — not because it lists the things we’re to achieve in order to be right with God — but because those who recognize what God has done for them in sending his Son — Jesus Christ — who realize that their achievements and passions will never be enough — and — instead — put all of their trust in what Jesus has accomplished on their behalf — these are the people for whom the law is no longer viewed as a means of salvation — but instead is seen as the way those loved by God — and who love him in return — are to live.

‌We know the Pharisees didn’t understand this about the law because they did what we all like to do: Instead of delighting in God’s law — we make a bunch of rules that are sure to tip the scales of the law in our favor, right?

‌We know the rules that we’re good at following — so we tell ourselves that following these rules — and only these rules that we’re good at obeying — is what makes us right with God. And these can be good, moral — even biblical — rules. Like reading our Bibles and showing up to church. Or giving money to charity or volunteering our time at a local homeless shelter. The options are nearly limitless to the kinds of rules we’ll use to say, “What I’ve achieved has made me right with God.”

• Like always voting for a certain political party — because we all know that the ballot we cast is what makes us right with God. 
• Or not watching anything above PG-13 or — if you do — make sure you squint your eyes when too much skin is shown — because we all know that squinting our eyes is what makes us right with God. 
• Or being so theologically refined that you’re ready to correct the slightest mistake anyone else says in Life Group — that definitely makes you right with God.

If you want to pray a dangerous prayer — ask God: God, how am I trying to be righteous by my achievements? What list of rules — that I’ve picked to be in my favor — am I following — convinced that my obedience will make me right with you? Or — like the Pharisees — what of your Word do I ignore because — if I didn’t — I’d clearly see how the scales are not tipped in my favor?

‌Here’s another way to think of this. 

On a bad day — a day where you miss your alarm, are late to class or work, yell at your spouse or kids or best friend on your way out the door, say a four letter word when a car swerves in front of you causing you to spill scalding hot coffee all over your shirt on your way to Life Group — on a day like that — how much does God love you? 

Compared to a day when you wake up fifteen minutes before your alarm and spend that extra fifteen minutes in prayer for every co-worker by name, and then complete your BSF study on Revelation, and as your driving your kids to school you have the sweetest time of worship because K-Love played all the right songs as if the Spirit of God chose them just for you, and while grocery shopping you pay for the groceries of the person in front of you who couldn’t find their wallet, and — in the afternoon — you hand out water bottles to the students running around your neighborhood for cross country practice — on a day like that — how much does God love you?

‌We’re so used to the conditional love of others — where we’re loved because of what we achieve. And simultaneously we’re used to — when we don’t meet someone’s expectations — they abandon us. And — because of both of these — being loved because of what we do and being abandoned when we fail to meet their expectations — we confuse God’s unconditional love as if his love for us is based on what we achieve for him.

‌And we Christians — and you don’t have to be a Christian to do this — but I’ll just pick on my people right now — we Christians can be silly when it comes to saying that following my list of religious rules is what makes a person right with God and earns his love. And I wish silly was where it ends — but we can be divisive because of our rules, proud because of our rules, unloving because of our rules, and self-deceived because of our rules. Much less the unbearable burden we carry everywhere we go because we believe that our achievements are what will make us right with God.

‌And — then add to all of this — as Paul says — how we pursue being right with God — based on our achievements — and do so with great passion and zeal. In verse two of chapter ten he writes…

‌Romans 10:2 (NLT)

‌² I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.

‌And — passion — or enthusiasm — especially in our culture today — is viewed as the trump card — as the determining factor — for whether or not something is true, authentic, and valid. Yet — just like the Israelites in Paul’s day — passion without knowledge — is just overzealous ignorance.

‌Again — Paul says it this way.

‌Romans 10:3 (NLT)

‌³ For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.

‌And there’s a lot of ignorance going around these days — a large amount of “refusing to accept God’s way and clinging to their own way” when it comes to what makes a person right with God. Oh it’s full of passion — but that doesn’t make it any less ignorant. And I say this — not to be proud — but because passionate ignorance is eternally damnable. I don’t care how passionately you believe something — that doesn’t make what you believe to be true. And — in our day — there’s a pursuit that’s nothing more than an act of futility: Thinking that our achievements and passions will make us right with God.

A RIGHTEOUS PURSUIT

Which leads us to the counter to this pursuit of futility — meaning — get this: There is a right way to go about pursuing a relationship with God. And — given what we’ve seen — that righteousness is not to be pursued by our achievements — no matter how passionate we may pursue them — how are we to pursue being made right with God? 

Paul tells us — wasn’t that kind of him? In verse thirty he writes…

‌Romans 9:30 (ESV)

‌³⁰ What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;

‌In verse thirty-three he says…

‌Romans 9:33 (ESV)

‌³³ as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

‌And in verse four — of chapter ten — he writes…

‌Romans 10:4 (ESV)

‌⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

‌The only way to pursue being right with God is by faith. Faith in who? Not in ourselves. Not in our achievements. Not in anything we do. For it’s faith in the stone — Paul says. The Rock. The One who — when believed in — means a release from the shame so many carry with them everywhere they go because of all the things they’ve failed to achieve. 

This is faith in Jesus Christ — for he is the end of the law. That’s Paul’s way of saying that Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law and achieved what none of us could do. And he did so without tipping the scales of the law in his favor. He obeyed it all — everything we read in the law — and he did so perfectly. And — that means — Jesus is right with God his Father.

‌Now back to the idea of promises and truths that should floor us and cause us to drop down to our knees in thanksgiving and wake up to the reality of the futility of making up our own set of rules and spending so much time judging others for how crappy they are at keeping our rules instead of facing how crappy we are at keeping God’s rules: All who believe in Jesus are given his righteousness. Through faith in him — God the Father credits you with the righteousness that Jesus achieved.

‌In another place Paul says it this way.

‌2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)

‌²¹ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

‌On all of the peer evals — Jesus always ends up on top — number one — and it’s not even close. And though he has every right to take what he’s earned and keep it all for himself — which is exactly what we’d all do — in fact — we’re often quick to take what we haven’t earned and keep that for ourselves to — thank you very much. But not Jesus.

‌In love for you — in love for his people — in love for the children of the promise — the remnant he’s chosen — he blesses his people with his righteousness because they believe in him. And — in being blessed with his righteousness — in being loved by him — we pursue obedience to all that he’s commanded. We work — yes! But we work because we’re loved — we’re loved — we’re loved. We pursue obedience — absolutely! But we do so — you do so and I do so — because I am loved by God. Would you say that out loud right now? Say “I am loved by God.” 

Say it again. I am loved by God.

One last time. I am loved by God.

I hope you believe what you just said. For it will change your life.

CONCLUSION

One final thought — and this takes us right back into the middle of the tension we’ve been in and where we’ll continue to be in these chapters. Paul’s explained why the Israelites — God’s chosen people — have — as a group — not every individual Jew — but overall — he’s explained why they rejected Jesus as the Messiah.

• He’s defended God’s sovereignty in his plan of salvation. There’s always been a true Israel — a remnant — within the nation of Israel.
• He’s defended God’s sovereignty in his plan of salvation for individuals. Isaac not Ishmael. Jacob not Esau.
• Paul’s defended God’s sovereignty in his choosing to be merciful towards some and not others — not based on what a person does — but is a decision solely up to God.
• And — now — in demonstrating a path of futility that many are on — of pursuing a right relationship with God based on what they do — Paul — and again here’s the messiness of all of this — Paul prays that they might be saved. 

Did you catch that? 

In verse one of chapter ten Paul says…

‌Romans 10:1 (ESV)

‌¹ Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

‌Do you remember how Paul began this section of his letter? By demonstrating a deep love for those who are lost — for those who don’t yet believe in Jesus. And here — once again — we see his love for them. For his heart’s desire is that they may be saved. This is what he prays about — the salvation of those who are caught up in a pursuit of being made right with God based on their achievements and passions — and he prays that God would save them from their futility.

‌Which means that we too — can believe in God’s sovereignty in salvation as we love people — and desire for them to understand how to be made right with God. Not based on their achievements — no matter how passionate they may pursue them. And not based on a set of rules that they — or others — say will make them right with God. But that they would understand that the only way to be made right with God is by faith in Jesus Christ. 

Know that you are loved by God. And may his love for you ignite in you a desire to see others saved by our merciful God. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

God, this never-ending cultural treadmill — of our value being determined by what we’ve achieved — is so exhausting. So many are desperate to get off of it — but they know of no other way to live. Yet you’ve offered another way: Resting in who you say that we are — trusting in what Christ has achieved on our behalf.

‌Holy Spirit — the treadmill we’re on is going so fast that — if we’re honest — it’s scary to think of how to get off of it. Maybe we’ll go flying off the back in a mess of a crash. And at least — for now — we’re keeping up. Would you give us a confidence and trust in you so that we’re willing to crash? Not that we will crash — but may our fear of crashing be swallowed up by our trust in you.

‌And — Jesus — when we really ponder what you’ve done — especially compared to what we’ve achieved — it does seem quite ridiculous to think that somehow we’ll out perform you. Why even try — that’s the question. Not in a sense of hopeless self-defeat — but in a hope-filled sense of victory. For your works and achievements — perfect obedience — a life pleasing to your Father — a sacrifice made for our sin — the defeat of Satan, death, and Hell — is what you give to your people. Thus there’s no need to pretend that we’ve done or earned anything. What freedom — there’s no need to pretend. What sheer joy because of your love for us.

‌Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — may you draw more and more people to your love for them so they might experience the joy of what Jesus has achieved on their behalf. Life to its full. And we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION

May you go trusting in Christ’s work on your behalf — experiencing the freedom of God’s love for you — not because you’ve earned or deserve it — but love that he’s said is yours. Amen.

‌God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

Date: 8/26/2020

Lighting Round

1. Kinos when set up his reign for the first 1000 years (Rev 20) and then “Neos” when a new heaven and earth comes down from above (Rev 21)?
   1. Nope. 
   2. New Heavens and New Earth isn’t mentioned in Revelation 20. 
   3. As I said in my sermon, when New Heavens and New Earth are mentioned in Revelation, the Greek word for “new” is always kainos. (2 Peter 3:13 as well)
   4. Maybe revisit the marriage illustration from sermon.

2. As my boys delight in fishing, I have been speaking with them about how God has given Man the responsibility of caring for creatures. So this week’s sermon hit on topic for our family. One thing that my mind keeps dwelling on is the word “dominion” in Genesis 1:26. Is having dominion over creation the same as caretaking?
   1. The Hebrew word that we translate as “dominion” means to exercise authority over.
   2. What’s important to remember is that this came before the Fall so we need to not think of authority being exercised in any way that’s sinful or sin influenced.
   3. So this is an exercise of authority that’s for the benefit of those under authority. What we long for from those in authority over us. Where they lead us, but do so with our good in mind.
   4. So does dominion mean the same as caretaking? I think it at least includes caretaking, because of the fact that sin was not a thing yet when God gave mankind this mandate.

3. Loved your sermon about taking care of creation on Sunday. What can we as a church be doing better, practically, even on Sunday mornings? Has Gateway implemented a recycling program themselves? Can we reduce the paper handouts that often get thrown out, or encourage people to bring their own coffee mugs?
   1. Someone texted me after the service asking if the coffee cups in our cafe are made of styrofoam.
   2. I’d love for folks to bring their own coffee mugs.
   3. We’ve done our best to reduce paper copies of most everything (handouts, etc…).
   4. We’ve recently installed new lighting that will be better economically and in use of electricity.
   5. Recycling?

Questions

1. I want to love others with no record of wrong (1 Corinthians 13:5). But when my mind is quiet I unintentionally go to a place where I relive past conversations and hurts. I want to hold every thought captive to Christ. How do I accomplish this?
   1. The last verse was 95% quoted correctly. But a key word was left out.
      1. 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ”
      2. Paul is arguing against critics of his in Corinth who are trying to divide the church. And essentially, Paul says, “Remember that we all belong to Christ. And all have work to do on his behalf. But shouldn’t divide but be a united people.”
   2. So regarding this person’s situation who is having trouble reliving past hurts.
      1. Have you forgiven them?
      2. Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting and there may be times when you do need to think about the past in order to move towards personal healing.
      3. They also say this is “unintentionally” — this thinking about the past.
         1. Are there any patterns that this “unintentional” thinking happens?
         2. Is it when you’re bored? Alone? Or some other pattern that maybe you can recognize.
   3. Obedience comes by being empowered with God’s Spirit and by living under the authority of God’s Word. The Spirit desires to help you obey God’s Word, but you have to know it in order to obey it. So be a person of the Word (read, study, memorize, meditate on it).
   4. Resources (in other doc)

2. Questions from an almost 10 year old about Moses and the Passover (submitted by her dad): I know God is holy, but how can He be holy if he kills people?” (then we talked about God’s righteousness and justice). Does God (or His angels) kill people or does he allow Satan to kill people for Him? Also, why is it that children ask their most deep spiritual questions when they know it’s already past bedtime??
   1. Why do kids ask these questions at bedtime? They want to stall going to bed.
   2. Difference between killing/murder and righteous judgment (which is hard for us to distinguish).
   3. It’s easy to think of the people who are judged as innocent. As being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But that’s an inaccurate view.
      1. All have sinned.
      2. All are guilty.
      3. All deserve judgement.
      4. Yet God is merciful. What should surprise us is his mercy not his judgment. But it’s his judgment we question and we presume upon his mercy.
   4. Finally, Satan kills (steal, kill, and destroys). God judges. I’d be cautious to say that God kills because that seems to imply innocence on the one killed and guilt on the one who kills. And that’s vastly different than God judging guilty people.

3. The question asker has concluded a nearly 3 year personal Bible study on God, the Holy Spirit; His Person, Characteristics, and Ministry. At the conclusion of the study, a specific question continually surfaced. After all that God has done for us through the New Covenant, why do we Christians live our lives at a much lesser spiritual quality than Jesus died to give us?
   1. We’re like the father in the gospel of John. We believe but we need help with our unbelief.
   2. We get caught up in what our eyes can see instead of what faith requires of us (believing and living for things not seen).
   3. We’re still in a spiritual war.
   4. Resource recommendations (in other doc)