DATE: 3-8-26

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 or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Each week — during our worship services — we set aside some time to pray for people, circumstances, and situations going on in our congregation, community, country, and world.

Today we’ll be praying for our church elders — those who lead us here at Gateway. We’ll pray for our local police officers and a Bible study recently started for them. And we’ll pray for the wars going on around the world.

Please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father, in your Word to us — you show us the kind of men you call to lead your people. 

1 Timothy 3:2-7 NLT

A church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? 6 A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

And you give them this mandate:

1 Peter 5:2-4 NLT 

Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

Father, we thank you for the men who serve us as your shepherds. For Matt Buttermore, Dana Fought, Ed Grable, Matt Heft, Terry Jolliff, Scott Sharpe, Kevin Snyder, Justin Stiles, and Jim Tomlinson. Thank you for their faithfulness to you and to the call you have on their life as elders of your people. Thank you for their care for your people. Thank you for their eagerness to serve you and your people here at Gateway. Thank you for their leadership — and for leading by a good example. Remind them of the crown of never-ending glory and honor that will be theirs.

As we turn our attention to our local law enforcement — we want to pray specifically for the Bible study that’s recently been started in our community specifically for them. Thank you for the many officers and staff who have shown up to learn about you through your Word. Thank you for their openness and curiosity about who you are. Spirit, lead, guide, and direct more officers to come to the Bible study so that more of the men and women who serve our community in this way would be people who know the one and only living God. Thank you for the hope that your Word gives — may your Word give the officers the eternal hope that’s found only in Jesus Christ.

And as we pray for our world — Father — we can’t help but think of the warring going on halfway around the world. Pakistan and Afghanistan. Israel, Iran, and our nation — and many others getting involved or experiencing attacks. War was never your intention for your creation. Peace was — and is — your intention for your creation. Yet we are a people who war with one another. Father, forgive us. Jesus — our Prince of Peace — bring peace to our world. Holy Spirit, change our hearts — from hearts that desire rebellion, death, and destruction to hearts that — because of faith in Christ — desire and live for faithfulness, and life, and restoration, and reconciliation. This work — that only you can do — is a work for people of all nations — including those in Pakistan and Afghanistan — in Iran and Israel — as well as the hearts of people here in the US.

Father may you be glorified as the message of Jesus Christ continues to go forth to all people by the power of the Holy Spirit. And may we be found to be faithful goers and sharers of your News until Jesus returns. And we pray all of this in his name. Amen. 

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series in James this weekend. Learning from the wisdom section of the New Testament. And boy do we have something to learn from wisdom today. What’s that — you may wonder — what does wisdom want to teach us today? That simply hearing God’s Word is insufficient — for we must do God’s Word.

But don’t take my word for it — here’s what we find in our verses from today. We’re in James chapter one — beginning in verse twenty-one. There we read…

James 1:21–25 ESV

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Here’s where we’re headed today. We’re going to see what it means to be a doer of God’s Word by looking at what a life of repentance and faith looks like. Then we’ll see what a life of self-deception looks like. Then we’ll see what a life of true faith looks like. And — I know — “Josh, the first and third points sound the same.” Yes, they both include faith — but you’ll see that faith has two aspects to it which James highlights in our verses.

The life of repentance and faith. The life of self-deception. And a life of true faith. Together — these will show us the difference between being someone who merely hears God’s Word versus someone who hears and does the Word of God. And — as I said a moment ago — hearing God’s Word is insufficient — we must be people who do God’s Word.

A LIFE OF REPENTANCE AND FAITH

So let’s begin by looking at a life of repentance and faith. We’re back in verse twenty-one. There we read…

James 1:21 ESV

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Our verses for today build on what’s come before — that’s what the word “therefore” tells us. Anytime you find a “therefore” in Scripture — pause and ask yourself, “What’s the therefore, there for?” 

Therefore is a connecting word. It connects what comes after it with what comes before it. So what comes just before our verse? These words from James that Joe Sherrieb had us look at last week.

James 1:19–20 ESV

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Which leads to our verse…

James 1:21 ESV

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Here’s another way of seeing the relationship between these verses. Ask the question “why”. Here’s what I mean. Our verse again is…

James 1:21 ESV

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

And our question is, “Why, James? Why are we to put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and so on…?”

Because — that’s another way of saying “therefore” — because…

James 1:20 ESV

20 The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

To which we ask another question — “Where — one of those famous W’s we’re taught to use in English class — where does the anger of man come from James?”

This kind of ungodly anger comes from within — and it shows up when we’re not…

James 1:19 ESV

19 quick to hear, slow to speak, [and] slow to anger;

I hope that’s helpful — me showing you how to ask questions and not just simply droning on while reading the Bible. For we’ll never be doers of God’s Word if we don’t understand it. And understanding — often comes when we slow down and ask questions.

So — back verse twenty-one. What is James telling us? He’s telling us — in his own words — to repent and believe. For a life of repentance and faith is the first step away from a life that doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. And it’s also the first step towards the life that does produce the righteousness of God.

Repentance means to turn away from — and faith — is what we turn towards. What do we repent of — or turn away from — according to James? All filthiness and rampant wickedness. “Put it away,” James says.

Filthiness — in the original language — is a word that means moral impurity. Wickedness — again, in the original language — means evil or depravity. And — to wickedness — James adds the word “rampant” — which means an overabundance of wickedness — or an excessive amount of evil and depravity.

The word translated as “filthiness” is only found here in the New Testament — but the word translated as “wickedness” is used quite often in the New Testament. And — when it’s used — we find it used similarly as in our passage — where wickedness is something to put away or put off or to turn away from. Here are some examples.

Ephesians 4:31 ESV

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

And…

Colossians 3:8 ESV

8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

In these examples the word “malice” is the same word translated as wickedness.

1 Peter 2:1 ESV

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

And…

1 Peter 2:16 ESV

16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Evil’s the same word as wickedness.

Finally — and in about as clear of a statement as we could ask for — in showing how repentance is turning away from wickedness — in the book of Acts — Peter says…

Acts 8:22 ESV

22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

We’re to repent — or turn away from — filthiness and rampant wickedness. And that’s all of us. Christian or not. Remember — James is writing to followers of Jesus — he’s not writing to those who don’t believe — but repentance is for everyone — Christian or not. And James is reminding his readers to keep turning away from filthiness and rampant wickedness. And why does he do this?

Because — unfortunately — following Jesus doesn’t rid us from choosing to do such God dishonoring activities. And we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. For those who pretend — or deny that they’re capable of making such filthy and wicked sinful decisions — are those who usually destroy their lives — or the lives of others. Or they’re the proudest and most obnoxious people you know. Often they’re the most intolerable people to be around. Not only do they forget that…

Titus 3:3 ESV

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

They act as if this was never the case for them — much less the case for them presently. And they do all of this while claiming to follow Jesus — giving Christ — and his followers — a terrible reputation. We’ll get to these folks a bit more in a moment.

Now — if you’re not a Christian — you may be all like, “That’s right Josh. Get ‘em. Those people are the worst!” But I want to take your eyes off of them — and ask you to do some self-reflection. You see, the first step in following wisdom — which we saw weeks ago — is repentance. For the God who created everyone and everything — including you — has spoken. And he’s given his Word on what is good and what is wicked. He’s told us what is pure and what’s filthy. And wisdom is asking you, “Will you take God at his Word?”

But here’s something both counterintuitive and incredible: Us taking God at his Word is a work of God. This is how gracious and good and kind God is to us — to you. For he knows that none of us will take him at his Word if left on our own — so God does a work in us — so that — we’re awakened to the truthfulness and reliability of his Word. James tells us this in the last half of our verse when he writes…

James 1:21 ESV

21 and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Here James tells us wonderful news: The Word of God has been implanted in our hearts. And who put God’s Word in our heart? The Spirit of God did. For the Spirit implants God’s Word in the hearts of God’s people. And the implanted Word will do its work — the work’s guaranteed to happen. What work? The work of salvation. Where the Spirit of God takes the message of the Word of God — the gospel — and through the gospel gives new life. Meaning a spiritual resurrection takes place — this is a death to life experience — when the Spirit uses the Word to awaken us to the truth.

At this point — a great question for us to ask is, “What is the gospel?” The gospel is this: In the beginning God created everything. And it was good — meaning — it was whole, perfect, without the pains and sorrows we now experience — like cancer and war, the heartache of relational turmoil and the death of those we love. 

The cause of these pains and sorrows is found all the way back to a decision that our first parents — Adam and Eve — made when they distrusted God and believed the lies of our Enemy. As a result — sin — which means “missing the mark” — entered God’s creation. Adam and Eve missed the mark — they did not trust God — they didn’t take him at his Word much less do his Word. And ever since — all humans have sinned — missed the mark — and have distrusted God — not taking him at his Word — not doing his Word. This includes you — and this includes me.

Sin resulted in our relationship with God being destroyed. For God — who is holy and pure — cannot be in the presence of the unholy and impure — or in the presence of filth and wickedness. So we were cast from his presence — kicked out of the Garden — and sent out into the wilderness as our punishment. And — not only that — but death entered creation. Physical death — and all of the aging, and disease, and illnesses, and stresses, that comes with it — and spiritual death — separation from God. Spiritual death is probably the best way to describe our natural relationship with God. For he is Spirit and Life and — because of our sin — our spiritual life was killed.

But God…two of my favorite words in all of the Bible, by the way.

Ephesians 2:4–10 NLT

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

God — in love for his people — sent his Son, Jesus Christ — to seek and save those who were lost. Jesus came to save sinners. And the way he ensured our salvation was by giving his life — on a cross — in our place — for our sins — for the wages of sin is death.  Yet during his life — Jesus lived perfectly. He always trusted God the Father — he always took God at his Word — he always did what God’s Word required. And on the cross — though sinless — he took the punishment we deserve for our sin — the punishment of death. And in his resurrection — he defeated Satan, sin, death, and Hell and promised a new and abundant life — he guaranteed a resurrection empowered life to all who turn to him in faith — this is a guarantee to all who take Jesus at his Word.

That’s the Good News — that’s the gospel — that’s the message all need to hear. Whether it be your neighbor — or your coworker — or your child — or your spouse — or a group of people halfway around the world who’ve never heard the name Jesus before. The gospel is the only message that saves — for Jesus is the only Savior.

A LIFE OF SELF-DECEPTION

Returning to our verses — next James says…

James 1:22–24 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

And — at this point — I can’t help but wonder if James had one of his older brother’s parables in mind. I say this because — what James just wrote is basically a very short parable. A parable — if you’re unfamiliar with the term — is a short story that’s meant to teach a lesson. Here’s a parable that Jesus once used to teach some folks.

Luke 8:4–15 NLT

4 One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: 5 “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. 6 Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” 9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.’ 11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. 12 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. 13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. 15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

What kind of soil is your heart like? Those whose hearts are like the good soil — are hearts that are gentle towards God’s Word. If you’re here today — and you wouldn’t call yourself a Christian — what’s your attitude towards the Bible? Is it gentle or hostile? Are you open to learning or are you closed-minded? Can the Bible critique you or are you the only one allowed to be the critic?

Though we can’t do anything to save ourselves — salvation is in God’s hands — there’s much we can do when it comes to the receptivity and sensitivity of our heart. Often it takes a crisis in life to soften our hearts — maybe that’s why you’re here today and are more open to hearing from God and his Word. But I pray that — even if you’re not in a crisis — that you’d pause and consider the attitude that you’ve brought with you today. And that you’d be open — that’s all — just open to what God is saying to you through his Word.

But for those of us who say we’re a Christian — who claim to be a follower of Jesus — this is where James is really challenging the status quo Christianity that’s prevalent in our country. You see — James is calling out the group of people who call themselves Christians in the US — yet whose lives and behaviors make it clear that they’re not taking Jesus at his Word.

Now hear me out: We need to be very careful in making behaviors — of any sort — the litmus test of proving whether or not a person’s faith is genuine. Right now — my concern isn’t for those who are spiritually proud and full of themselves — my concern is for those who are genuine believers in Jesus and have very sensitive spirits. Who are prone to beating themselves up or tearing themselves down — who view God as if he’s not pleased with them because they’re all too aware of their ongoing sin and shortcomings. And — for these folks — I want you to know that God loves you. If you believe in Jesus — as difficult as this may be to believe — I want you to know that God is delighted in you. He can’t think any more highly of you because — when he thinks of you — he thinks of you with all of the Fatherly affection that he has for Jesus.

I hope that’ll cause you to marvel, and be in awe, and to rejoice, and to be happy — for the God of Heaven sees you — and you give him joy.

Now — with that caveat — a way to test the genuineness of your faith — not a foolproof test, but a test that’s a tool to measure yourself against — and to examine where self-deception may’ve ensnared you — is our discipleship process here at Gateway. Think of this as the mirror that James mentions — a mirror you agreed to when you became a member of Gateway. And I especially want to speak to those of us who are members of Gateway because — as a member — you’ve given your word that you’d be committed to growing in obedience as a follower of Jesus. And our discipleship process is our mirror. It’s how we spiritually grow together as a church. For we’re members of a local church — not solo Christians doing our own thing.

So let’s all take a look in this mirror and see if we’ve forgotten what we look like — what we committed to — when we became members of this church.

Worship is the first step in our discipleship process. And — by worship — we mean regular worship with your faith family. And — I’ll just say it — weekly is best. Where you have a weekly event on your calendar to gather with your faith family to worship God. Some questions that may reveal self-deception or encourage your obedience are…

• How regularly are you worshipping with your faith family?
• Is worship a priority for you and your family?
• What other activities easily keep you from gathering with us for worship?
• What would happen if the rest of us imitated your worship attendance? Would we be attending more or less than we already are?

Our nature — right now — is to have a lot of justification going on in our heads. “Here’s why I’m not here weekly and it’s all very justifiable, Josh, thank you very much.” I’m not asking you to defend yourself to me — I’m asking you to take a look in the mirror of what you committed to and have a talk with the person whose reflection is staring back at you.

The second step in our discipleship process is connect. And we connect with one another in Life Groups. Life Groups are where we apply the Bible to life and care for one another. Yes, there are many great opportunities to learn, study, and discuss the Bible outside of Life Group — but as members of this church — we make it a priority to do this with our faith family — just like we want to care for our fellow church members. Some questions that may reveal self-deception or encourage your obedience — as you look in the mirror — are…

• Am I in a Life Group? If not, why not?
• If you are, how often are you attending?
• Are you coming prepared?
• How are you caring for your fellow group members? Life Groups aren’t the only way care happens around here — but they are the primary place where care takes place in our church. So how are you caring for your faith family members — and how are you allowing your church to care for you through our Life Group ministry?

The next step in our discipleship process is serve. And — by serve — we mean serving those in our faith family. Some questions that may reveal self-deception or encourage your obedience are…

• Are you serving your fellow church members?
• If so, how often?
• If not, why not?
• Since I liked this question so much I’m going to reuse it: What would happen if the rest of us imitated your serving? Would we be serving each other more or less than we already are?

Finally — we go — go is the final step in our discipleship process. Where we go to proclaim the gospel — both here in our local community — as well as in our country and around the world. Some questions to reveal self-deception or encourage your obedience — as you look in the mirror — are…

• How are you going?
• If you’re physically unable to go — how are you supporting those who are going?
• If overseas missions isn’t your thing, how are you serving with our local partners here in Findlay or our national partners? If you don’t know who they are, go to our website — gatewayepc.org/ministry-partners for more information.

And — remember — “and” is the key word. It’s not worship or connect or serve or go. Not “or” but “and.” Just like it’s not going locally or going globally — it’s “and”. And I get it — you may be thinking, “Well this sure seems like a lot! It sure seems like a sacrifice. It sure seems like somebody else is in charge of my life because I’ve got all kinds of reasons to not do all of this.” And you’re absolutely right — Somebody else is in charge. For you are not your own — but have been bought at a high price. 

CONCLUSION: A LIFE OF TRUE FAITH

Now — worshiping, connecting, serving, and going are no guarantee that you’re not living a life of self-deception — but I’ve found it to be a principle that most people can only keep up appearances for so long before they give into whatever their heart really desires — which leads us to the life of true faith. We’re in verse twenty-five.

James 1:25 ESV

25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Here James says that when we look into the perfect law — a law of liberty — a law of freedom — which is James’ way of saying “the gospel” — James says when we believe the gospel we’ll persevere as someone who does the Word of God. What he’s saying is that those who look to the perfect law won’t forget the message. They’re no mere hearers of the Word — but are the people who live in response to the gospel — who do the Word. And these are the men, women, and children who will be blessed. For — what they do — in response to what they believe — pleases God. And they do the Word because the soil of their heart is producing a huge harvest of righteousness — an abundant harvest of obedience and of joy in Jesus and of hope — because they-re looking to — and not forgetting — the One who died so the seed of the gospel would be planted within them.

This is the life of true faith. It’s not a perfect life. It’s often a life of tripping and stumbling and full of reasons for much repentance. But it’s a life with a holy stubbornness to it. A stubbornness that refuses to forget — that refuses to turn from the mirror — it’s the life that keeps looking to Jesus. For he’s the mirror to which our eyes are to be fixed — and when we look to him — we will be doers of his Word. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you for not leaving us dead in our sins. Thank you for your plan to rescue and save your people — to set us free — to raise us up from the dead.

Spirit, may you — right now — take the gospel and implant it into the hearts of those who hear my voice. May you soften their hearts so that — like good soil — a harvest of righteousness will be the result. 

And — Jesus — the hope we have is because you did for us what we can’t do for ourselves. You were no mere hearer of the Word — but a doer. And you obeyed — never wavering or distrusting your Father — on our behalf. And you gave your life of perfect obedience on a cross — so that we might be given life. 

So as we look into the mirror — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — help us not to forget what you’ve done for us so that we live for you — as doers of your Word. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / Faith in Jesus = Resource Center)

May you go with your eyes fixed on Jesus — for then — what you do — will be in obedience to his Word. Amen.

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

DATE: 2-22-26

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

A few weeks ago, we reintroduced an ancient practice to our worship services — a time of pastoral prayer. Where — each week — we’re being more intentional about praying for people, circumstances, and situations going on in our congregation, community, country, and world. 

Today we’ll be praying for our friends in Bucyrus. This is their last Sunday with us — as their new pastor begins next week. We’ll pray for those who serve our community as emergency medical responders. We’ll pray for those who serve in the military. And we’ll pray for our Christian witness around the world as this is the first Sunday of Lent. 

Please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father, what a gracious God you are. For every good and perfect gift comes from you — including the gift of fellowship with our friends in Bucyrus. And how thankful we are that they’ve found a pastor to lead them. May you bless them in the weeks and months ahead as they and their new pastor get to know each other. May you forge a sweet relationship between him and the elders. Spirit, may you unite the congregation together in a common purpose — and that purpose isn’t finished now that a pastor has been called — for the purpose you’ve called your church to — wherever she is found — is to go and make disciples of all nations. So may the arrival of their new pastor be the beginning of a new and fruitful season of making disciples of Jesus Christ. 

As we turn our attention to our local community, we lift up to you those who serve as emergency medical responders. Spirit of God, give them quick thinking, wisdom, and steady hands as they help those in need of their service. And we ask you to help them to not only live trying to save the lives of others — but may you help them to live life themselves. To live the abundant life that’s only possible through faith in Jesus Christ.

For our nation’s military — first — we thank you that they’re willing to serve us by protecting our freedom as a nation. As someone who’s served — the further I’m removed from my time in the military — the more I see how precious a thing it is to have others who are willing to give their life so that we can experience the freedoms we have in our country. Even the freedom to disagree with the decisions our military makes is a freedom they’ve secured on our behalf. May you protect them. May you give those in leadership wisdom from on high. And may all of us — no matter our political views — be grateful for those who protect the freedoms we have.

And — finally — as many Christians around the world participate in the season of Lent — the forty days between now and Easter symbolizing the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness before being tempted by Satan — may those who participate — and even those who don’t — recognize and respond to what Jesus accomplished on our behalf during those forty days. Jesus, thank you for denying yourself and overcoming the temptations you faced. The times that we’ve done the opposite are countless — and it’s only by your grace that we find forgiveness when we come to you in repentance and faith. 

May all of us — who believe in Christ — recognize what a gift it is to repent of our sins. What a gift it is to believe in Jesus Christ. What a good and perfect gift salvation is — and may we show the world what wonderful gifts these are — during Lent — and throughout the entire year.

And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. Learning from the younger brother of Jesus who believed that his older brother was the Son of God. And James seems to have taken Jesus at his word — for much of what we read in James — appears to be mini-sermons — explaining, illustrating, and applying what Jesus had taught. So there’s much wisdom for us to gain from what we find in this book — including what James has for us today.

So — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to James chapter one — we’ll be looking at verses sixteen through eighteen together today. We’re in James chapter one — beginning in verse sixteen. There we read…

James 1:16–18 ESV

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

This is going to be a very theological sermon. But the goal isn’t for this to just be a sermon for our minds — the goal is for this to be a sermon that penetrates our hearts. For what we’re going to discover today — about God and salvation — is meant to stir not only our minds — but is to excite our hearts as well. Let me explain what I mean.

If you were here with us last week — when we saw God’s purpose in the trials we experience in life — we uncovered a truth about where temptation comes from — and it was a sobering truth. For temptation — we saw — comes from within us — from what’s called our sin nature. In and of ourselves we’re not pure — we’re tainted by sin. It’s the condition we’re born in because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God in the Garden.

Yet we also saw how — one of the habits of our sinful hearts — is to find someone else to blame for the temptation we give into — for we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that temptation comes from within us — so we look outside ourselves. And it’s quite common to throw blame right at God. But James told us that — not only is God not tempted by evil — he also doesn’t tempt us with evil. Meaning — the temptations we face don’t come from God.

We also learned that temptation — when given into — leads to sin. And sin always takes from us — ultimately taking away life — for sin — James tells us — leads to death. And — death — is the ultimate taking away from.

So — in arguing against the belief that God’s the one tempting us and — instead — arguing that temptation comes from within us — James now says…

James 1:16 ESV

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Don’t be deceived. That’s the only command in our verses. So — if you want to know what you’re to do today — this is it: Don’t be deceived. Don’t be misled from having a true and proper belief about where temptation comes from.

The Bible gives us many warnings about being deceived. For instance, why are we deceived? According to Jesus…

Matthew 22:29 NET

29 “You are deceived, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God.

While others will be deceived by…

Matthew 24:24 NLT

24 False messiahs and false prophets [who] will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

Or — in a quite memorable way — Paul warns…

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV

33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

And the consequences for being deceived are severe.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And none of us are above being deceived. In fact — especially those of us who believe in Jesus should remember how…

Titus 3:3 NIV

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

So…don’t be deceived! Don’t be fooled! Don’t blame God for tempting you to do evil when what’s to blame is the sin within you.

ON GOD

That’s the command James uses to transition us from last week’s text to our verses for today. And — now — he’ll show us how great God is. We’re in verse seventeen.

James 1:17 ESV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

In this verse we find incredible truths about God. We find that he’s generous, unchanging, and is light.

First, God is abundantly generous to us. James tells us this in saying that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” 

Now — when I read this verse — the question that came to my mind was, “What’s the difference between a good gift and a perfect gift?” And I don’t know that I discovered any great difference other than what’s pretty obvious: a good gift is something with positive qualities whereas a perfect gift — is just that — perfect — complete — without any deficiency.

Good gifts are something we humans can give. As Jesus says…

Matthew 7:11 ESV

11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Obviously Jesus is helping us to question something we so often doubt — something James is reiterating to us: Is God good? Will he be good towards me? 

What Jesus and James are saying is that — because our Father in Heaven is good — he only gives good gifts to his children. To stress his point — Jesus mentions how we humans — as imperfect as we are — have managed to figure out how to give good gifts to our children. And then he says — how much more so does your perfect God know how to give good gifts to his children?

Now the perfect gift — that James refers to — is something we’ll come back to. But our first truth about God is that he is gracious.

Second, God is unchanging. About God — James says — “There’s no variation or shadow due to change.”

Variation is a word that means “mutation or a change of position” — and change means a “turning around or reversing course.” So what great news! God doesn’t change. As Scripture tells us…

Malachi 3:6 ESV

6 “For I the Lord do not change…

And…

Hebrews 13:8 ESV

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

God doesn’t change — which means — when you read of God — in the Bible — you’re reading about who God is today — and who he’ll always be. God doesn’t waver in who he is — like we do. Who he is isn’t a response to anyone or anything else. 

• He’s not loving because we’re worthy of his love. He’s loving because he is love. 
• He’s kind because he’s kind. 
• He’s merciful because he’s merciful. 
• He’s just because he’s just. 
• He’s good because he’s good.

With God you get exactly who he says he is — every single time. That’s why we must take him at his word — which means you have to know his word. Let him tell you who he is — to do anything else — is the ultimate act of foolishness.

God is gracious. And God doesn’t change. And — third — he’s the Father of lights. As the apostle John also tells us…

1 John 1:5 ESV

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

God is light and in him is no darkness — which is why he’s the Father of lights. Light represents purity — holiness — being completely separate and untainted by evil. And God’s purifying light is so bright and powerful and holy that nothing can block — or interfere with — his light. Nothing stands between God’s light and where he wants it to shine — which is why his light never casts a shadow. For a shadow is what happens when something interrupts light — but nothing can stop God’s light from shining wherever he wants it to shine.

In his gospel — John begins his words about Jesus this way.

John 1:1–5 NLT

1 In the beginning the Word (that’s Jesus) already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John goes on to say…

John 1:9–14 NLT

9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn — not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

The Father of lights sent his Son — who is the light of the world — to shine the message of salvation — so that a world clothed in darkness might have hope.

God is gracious. God doesn’t change. And God is light.

ON SALVATION

But there’s one more truth about God that we discover in the next verse — verse eighteen — which is also where we’ll discover the perfect gift that God gives to his children.

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Here James focuses on the topic of salvation. But — before we get to salvation — let me explain what’s about to happen. A few weeks ago — I had some guys in my office — and I was showing them how I prepare my sermons — how I take a few verses — like our three verses for today — and end up with a sermon. 

Quite often — a lot of the work that I do in sermon preparation — is actually in my sermon — if you know what to listen for. But I’m going to make it even more clear for you all today as we talk about salvation. So imagine — if you will — that I’ve invited you into my office to show you how I prepare a sermon.

When I’m preparing a sermon — and this can apply to any time you read the Bible — but preparing a sermon is a time when I slow things way down. And while I’m reading the Bible passage — I’m constantly asking questions about the text. And when I tell you the questions I ask you’re going to think, “There’s no way it’s that simple.” I promise — it’s really as simple as what I’m about to tell you. Of course there’s an anointing by the Holy Spirit that makes what one person does — with this process — and spiritually multiplies it to be used for others through preaching — but any follower of Jesus can look at a text, ask the questions that I’m about to share with you, and better understand the Bible.

So here are the secret, mysterious, “got you on the edge of your seat” questions that I ask when I’m preparing a sermon. Are you ready? Got your pen and paper — or your notes app open? Here they are:

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• And how?

Anybody’s mind blown right now?

That’s right — who, what, when, where, why, and how — questions you learned to ask back in elementary school! Some of you can’t believe that what I’m saying is true — so let me show you.

Here’s our verse again — and then we’ll ask it some questions. About salvation — James writes…

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

So let’s ask a question: Who? Who’s will is James referring to? Who’s will is it for people to be saved? James writes…

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will…

Who does the word “his” refer to? God the Father. How do we know? Because the Father is the last “who” referred to in our verses.

So look at what James is telling us: God is the one doing the action in our salvation. This is one way to describe God’s sovereignty in our salvation. God’s sovereignty means that God’s in control of all things. And what James is telling us is that — the act of salvation — is an act done to us — it’s not something we do. And — to prove his point — James uses a phrase that’s meant to bring to mind an illustration.

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth…

The phrase “brought us forth” is the same phrase he used in verse fifteen when he said…

James 1:15 ESV

15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

So what does “brings forth” mean — what is James describing? He’s describing what theologians have called regeneration — or the new birth — or being born again. This is the moment where the Spirit of God gives life to our spiritually dead and stone-like hearts — awakening us to the truth of who Jesus is — leading to our repentance and faith. And — remember — this is of God’s own will and he’s the one bringing us forth — this is an act of God.

Now — I did say that — regeneration does lead to repentance and faith. Repentance is our turning away from sin and rebellion against God — and faith is our turning to Jesus — trusting in him alone for our salvation. Repentance and faith are our choice — we make the decision to repent and believe — this is what is called conversion. But prior to our repentance and faith is a work of God — where he transforms the condition of our heart — so that we can repent and believe in Jesus.

Here’s what Jesus had to say on this topic when he spoke to a man named Nicodemus.

John 3:1–8 NLT

1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

“You must be born again,” Jesus says. “And humans can’t do this — only the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.” For — just as sin “brings forth death” — God is the one who “brings forth spiritual life.”

Often — at this point — many people — including many Christians — have a strong reaction against the idea that God — according to his own will — is the one who brings forth new life in those who believe. This is why the illustration of giving birth is so helpful — because — in the illustration that Jesus gives — we’re the baby being born. 

The mom gives birth — the baby is born. No one says, “The baby gave birth to itself” — the mom gives birth. And James and Jesus both say that God is the one who gives spiritual birth to his people. We don’t spiritually birth ourselves — we can’t. But we do respond to the spiritual birth that God gives. And — just like a baby in the womb — there’s nothing that baby can do to stop itself from being born. It may fight. It may fuss. It may even turn itself around and force the doctors to do a C-section — but — it’s gonna be born. So too when it comes to God giving new life to his children.

OK. So God the Father is the “who” — and “what” he’s doing is giving us spiritual birth — but “how” — “how” does this new birth take place? Back to our verse again?

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth…

God the Father gives us new life by the word of truth. And what’s the word of truth? The word of truth is the Word that is truth. As the apostle Peter says…

1 Peter 1:23 NLT

23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

Notice how Peter uses the same born again language. And how being born again leads to a new and eternal life. And this new life is eternal because it comes from where? It comes from the eternal, living word of God. And what is the word of God?

That’s a bit of a trick question. For we learn in the Bible that the word of God is both Jesus — as we saw in the gospel of John — and Scripture. But — here — James is referring to the Bible — the written word of God. 

The Bible is God’s Word and it is both true and truth. And the message of salvation — what’s called the gospel — is found in this book. Yes — the gospel can be shared to a friend over lunch without a Bible present — but the message being shared comes from the Bible. And the message of the Bible is the means by which God brings forth new life and saves his people.

As you heard me say in a sermon a few weeks ago — God’s Word to us is his generosity on display — it’s one of his good gifts to us. And it’s a gift — not only to those who believe — but to those who’ve yet to believe.

Hebrews 4:12 NLT

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

And what’s the result of the word of God being alive and powerful? One result is that…

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NLT

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

And one way that God’s word accomplishes this purpose is when pastors…

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

And pastors are to rightly handle the word of truth because they’re called to…

2 Timothy 4:2 NLT

2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

And — through the preached Word — God calls people out of spiritual death and darkness — and into new life that’s found in his marvelous and saving light.

So God the Father uses the word of truth — the gospel — to give us new life. But why does God do this? Back to our verse one last time.

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Why does God save us? So that we’d be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. So what does that mean?

If you’re thinking, “OK, Josh. We get it. You’re laying all of the who, what, where, when, why, and how on pretty thick right now” — I’d encourage you to take note of how often you hear them in future sermons — or go listen to some past sermons if you’re up for it. For — not only am I preaching a sermon — I’m modeling for you how to read the Bible so that you get the most out of it when you do. And the sermons you hear should make you a better interpreter of the Bible when you read it — which is why I’m taking time to show you how to understand God’s Word when you read it.

So back to us being firstfruits of God’s creatures — what does James mean by that? It means that we’re God’s choice offering — meaning — God considers us the first of all of his creation. 

Paul uses the term this way in writing to Christians in Thessalonica.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Notice — again — who’s doing the act of salvation here? God is. “God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved,” Paul says. The Bible’s quite consistent and clear when it comes to salvation. Yet I think firstfruits — in addition to meaning God’s choice offering — gets a bit clearer in its meaning — in another of Paul’s letters. In a section where he also writes about our salvation.

Ephesians 2:1–10 NLT

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil — the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Though we were once spiritually dead because of our sins — living just like the rest of the unbelieving world as children of the devil — following the desires of our sin nature — subject to God’s wrath and just judgment like everyone else — “but God,” Paul says. There’s God in action once again. “But God” — this God who is abundantly generous, who never changes, and who’s sovereign — “but God, who’s rich in mercy and love, gave us life” — and he raised us up from the dead by the power of Christ’s resurrection. And this is all by grace — it’s undeserved — it can’t be earned — it’s a total and completely free gift from God to his people.

And now we get to the firstfruits part: Why did God do all of this? So that he can show the rest of his creation how gracious and kind he is towards his people. So that he can show all of his creation what he’s done — through Christ — for his beloved children. That’s what it means for his people to be his firstfruits. This is what it means for you — if you believe in Jesus. 

It means that God is lavishing his grace and kindness and favor and mercy and power and love on you — so that the world may know how generous he is — and will always be — to his people — for he is the unchanging God. To be God’s firstfruits means that you’re his masterpiece — and it means he has a specific plan for you — a life to live — a mission to accomplish — so that the world may know of his great and never-ending love for his people.

CONCLUSION

Friends, do you see where James has taken us today? As one person has said, “Far from enticing [us] to evil, God is the source of every good gift, one of the greatest of which is the new birth.”

When you hear me say, “God loves you” — know that this is what I mean by those three words. May you rest in God’s generous, unchanging, and saving love towards you. May you soak it in. May you embrace his love. May you enjoy him and his love for you. May you respond to his love. May you have hope because of his love. And may you show the world what it means to be loved by the God who saves. For he’s the giver of every good and perfect gift — and he is lavishing gifts on you so that the world may know how generous he is to his children. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Gracious and generous Father, we marvel at who you are. We’re in awe. We feel the holy weight of your love towards us right now — and it feels good.

Holy Spirit, may you take your word preached — and use it to give new life to some who are listening. And may you do so at this very moment. For that woman who came here today feeling hopeless — give her eternal hope. For that man who came here today feeling dead inside — may you raise him from the grave and give him new life. For that college student who’s been overwhelmed — may you draw them to the Prince of peace. Spirit, whoever they are — those who — according to God’s own will today is the day of salvation — may you give them life.

And — Jesus — this new life is only possible because you gave your life on the cross for our sins. The good and perfect gift of salvation is ours because you gave the good and perfect gift of your life on our behalf because of your eternal love for us. Thank you for loving us — and for proving your love for us on the cross. We pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / If you’ve responded, please stop by the Resource Center)

Whoever you are — Christian or not — may you respond to God’s generous, unchanging, and saving love towards you. Amen.

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

DATE: 1-18-25

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 the book of James this weekend. As we learned two weeks ago — James — our author — is the younger brother of Jesus — and he was also a key leader in the early church. And James — the book — is essentially a collection of mini-sermons — or teachings — on a variety of topics. The book is considered by many to be the wisdom literature of the New Testament — sort of like the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament — as it contains many short statements that show us how life generally works.

Last week’s topic was on the purpose of the trials we experience in life. Those unexpected — and often — unwanted moments — those experiences in life that are trying and hard and exhausting do have a purpose. Again — that’s what we saw last week. And — today — we’re on to a new — but somewhat related — topic. Here’s what James has for us today. We’re in James chapter one — beginning in verse five. There we read…

James 1:5–8 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Christian or not — here’s a topic that’s relevant and practical for all of us. For — inevitably — we come to moments in life when we don’t know what to do — where we lack wisdom — and James is going to tell us what to do in these moments. And — spoiler alert — his advice isn’t to turn to Google or to ChatGPT. No — James is going to tell us to turn somewhere else — or — I should say — to Someone else — when we find ourselves in need of wisdom.

But before we get to our destination — here’s how we’re going to get there. We’re going to first answer the question, “What is wisdom?” Then we’ll look at the generosity of God which — believe it or not — has everything to do with where wisdom is found. And — finally — we’ll look at how we receive — or find — wisdom.

What is wisdom? The generosity of God. And how we receive wisdom. That’s where we’re headed today.

WHAT IS WISDOM?

We’ll begin with our question, “What is wisdom?” As James says in verse five…

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom…

If wisdom is what we lack — we need to make sure we’re in agreement with what we mean by wisdom. I say this because there are two very different meanings of the word wisdom that are used by people today. 

The first definition is something like this: Wisdom is applying knowledge to a situation. 

Now — that doesn’t sound all that bad. And — it’s not — except for one significant aspect. Often — with this definition of wisdom — morality and theology are not taken into consideration. And that’s because this view of wisdom is human-centric — meaning — it puts the power and responsibility of determining what is wise in the hands of us humans.

The second definition of wisdom is nearly identical to the first — but with a significant change. If definition one is “applying knowledge to a situation” our second definition of wisdom is “applying biblical and theological knowledge to a situation.” 

This second definition emphasizes that wisdom — foundationally — is biblical and theological. And — theology — if you’re unfamiliar with the word — has to do with God. Thus, wisdom is understanding our — humanity’s — proper place in relationship to God as found in the Bible. Which means — to live wisely means we must live according to what the Bible tells us about God, ourselves, and our relationship with him.

Here’s another way to show the difference in these two definitions of wisdom. Wisdom — under definition number one — asks, “What works?” Wisdom — under definition number two — asks, “What honors God and reflects his character?” 

And we live in a “what works” world created by a God who is more concerned with “what honors him.”

For example,listen to what the Bible has to say about wisdom and notice its relationship to God.

Proverbs 1:7 ESV

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

And…

Proverbs 9:10 ESV

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

And…

Psalm 111:10 ESV

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.

And…

Job 28:28 ESV

28 And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Fear — in these verses — means to revere — to hold in admiration — to have a profound respect for someone or something. And in these verses we learn that wisdom’s birthplace is in having fear of — or a profound respect for — the Lord. 

Now fear is a word we quickly associate with something scary. So let me try and help us all out. To fear the Lord means that — in knowing who God is — for example — in knowing that God is holy — that he’s pure and without sin — and that he’s righteous — meaning God always does what’s right — and that he’s just — meaning God doesn’t play favorites or take bribes — and that he’s loving and kind and good and merciful and wrathful — that last one means that God hates wickedness, sin, and will punish those who do such things — in knowing who God is — on his terms and in his own words — we then fear him — are in awe of him — have great respect for him — and live accordingly. 

So there’s a theological aspect of wisdom — it’s God-focused. Yet there’s also a moral aspect of wisdom. We saw this in the verse from Job which mentioned “turning away from evil.” Turning away from evil is a statement of morality. It supposes that there’s a definition of good and evil and that — to be wise — means you turn away from evil and turn to God who is good.

Having said all of that — even in the church — the wisdom of “what works” continues to dominate — at least in the church in the US — I won’t speak of churches around the world. Here in the US — we’re such pragmatic people — that the wisdom of “what works” — and the success it often brings — in relationships, in business, in politics, even in the church — the wisdom of “what works” excites us. 

But the wisdom of “what works” will not produce righteousness — which is the goal of biblical wisdom. And — righteousness — as you may know — when it comes to us humans means to be right with God. And there are many people who call themselves Christians today — and many organizations that call themselves churches — who are very successful — they’ve figured out “what works” — and yet — they are not right with God. 

Many people have discovered “what works” — again — in relationships, in business, in politics, even in the church — and they think this makes them right with God. But our works — what we do — have never made us right with God — even works that bring about great success. And those who are biblically wise understand this. For it’s not our works — that makes us righteous — but the work of the One who’s called the Wisdom of God. We’ll get to him in a moment.

So wisdom — according to God — means more than just “what works” — for many sinful decisions may bring about success. Dictators — who have their opponents killed — win elections — a shocking example, I know — but when wisdom is solely about “what works” — people will go to extremes. 

But “what works” and what honors and pleases God are not always the same thing. And we who claim to follow Jesus need to be very careful of which definition of wisdom we allow to influence the decisions we make. We who follow Jesus need to be careful about which definition of wisdom we expect and tolerate those in leadership to use. Because God will not bless the wisdom of “what works” when it does not bring him honor and glory. And — many people — after doing nothing other than “what works” — then try to spin their decision as if honoring God was always their goal. But God is no fool.

Interestingly, provocatively, and — what’s quite possibly one of the most shocking statements in his entire letter — James will later say this about wisdom. In chapter three he writes…

James 3:13–18 NLT

13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

We’ll get to these verses in a later sermon, but — for now — I want you to notice what James says about wisdom in verses fifteen and sixteen. I’ll read them to you again.

James 3:15–16 NLT

15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

What’s often called wisdom — the pragmatic kind that “gets the job done” and is “what works” — is often wisdom clothed in jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, and evil of every kind. And James says that this kind of wisdom is earthly, unspiritual, and — wait for it — demonic. And — friends — this is why we need to be so very careful about giving into the spirit of our age in which getting things done — and “what works” — matters more than whether or not something is demonic.

THE GENEROSITY OF GOD

A moment ago I said, “God is no fool” — but he is generous. Which leads us to some extremely great news about wisdom found in our verses. We’re in verse five again.

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James — being a good Jewish man — may’ve been thinking of a verse like this one from the book of Proverbs when he wrote these words. In Proverbs we read…

Proverbs 2:6 ESV

6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

God has, is, and will always be the source of true wisdom. And though it may seem overwhelming — especially when thinking that something may work and bring about success and still be grounded in something like the demonic — though it may seem impossible to know where to begin — “How do I even know what’s biblical wisdom or just something that works” — James points us directly to step one — which will never lead you astray. For James essentially says, “Do you lack wisdom? Here’s step one: Ask God.” 

Ask God.

Yet how many of us make decisions — and not just small or insignificant ones — but even really huge decisions — without ever asking God, “Hey God, I’m about to make a decision about — marriage or a promotion or switching careers or having a hard conversation with a friend — and I need some help here. What’s the wise thing to do?” And — my goal — is to encourage all of us — myself included — to do more asking. Let’s ask God more and more for wisdom.

“OK. But how will I know what he’s telling me?” Great question! Did you know that there are many ways that God responds to us when we ask him for wisdom?

In his cleverly titled book, God Told Me: Who to Marry, Where to Work, Which Car to Buy…And I’m Pretty Sure I’m Not Crazy, author Jim Samra lists twelve different ways that God speaks to us. His list includes the Bible, the preached Word, individual prayer and fasting, corporate prayer and fasting, the inner prompting of the Spirit, spiritual direction from others, to name a few.

We’ll look at just two ways that God answers us when we ask him for wisdom: 1) God’s Word — the Bible — and 2) Prayer. His Word and prayer.

By far — prayer is perceived as the less demanding of these two. You can pray whenever and wherever — but reading the Bible — well that’s a lot more work. But here’s something I’ve found to be a principle of following Jesus: The better we know his Word — the Bible — the better we’ll know his answers to us in prayer. Meaning — God’s answers to us in the Bible are clear. Yes, this is a big book with lots of words — but — instead of viewing that as an insurmountable obstacle — I wonder what would happen if we viewed the bigness of this book — and the vast amount of words in it — as God’s gracious way of making sure we know how to be wise. And — again — the principle I’ve found is that the better I know what he’s said in the Bible — the better I know what he’s saying to me in prayer.

A recent survey by the Barna Group found a hopeful trend regarding Bible reading in our country. Forty-two percent of adults in the US say they read their Bible weekly — up from thirty percent in 2024. That’s forty-two percent of all US adults — Christian or not. Can you believe that? Nearly half of all adults in our country say they read the Bible weekly. That’s pretty encouraging to me!

So what about those of us who claim to follow Jesus? If forty-two percent is the national average — surely we Christians are tipping the scales, right? Not so fast. In that same survey, just fifty percent of self-identified Christians report reading their Bible weekly. 

Though I’m thankful that both numbers have seen an increase — I see such an opportunity for Christians to engage more and more with God’s Word — so that — we’ll be people who grow in wisdom and influence our nation for the better. 

Here at Gateway we describe this as our desire for us to be Word and Spirit Christians. Where — as followers of Jesus — we live under the authority of the Word of God and by the power of the Spirit of God. And — to do this — we must be people who know this book.

That same Barna survey revealed another piece of data about Bible reading. This data focused on what’s going on generationally in our country in regards to Bible reading. Though Bible reading has grown among Boomers, Gen-Xers, Millennials, and Gen Z — one of these groups is lagging behind the others in their weekly Bible reading. Any guesses as to which generation in our country is falling behind the others? 

Who thinks it’s Gen Z — the youngest generation surveyed? They’re just on video games and social media, right? I bet they’re not reading their Bible.

What about the Millennials — who thinks it’s them? They’re all depressed because we’ve moved on from talking about their generation and now it’s all about Gen Z, right? I bet it’s them — they’re probably the ones not reading their Bibles.

Who thinks it’s the Gen Xers? Nobody does — because everyone forgets about my generation.

Well — it’s not Gen Z. It’s not the Millennials. And it’s not Gen X. The generation falling behind the others — when it comes to Bible reading in our country — are the Boomers. 

Forty-nine percent of Gen-Z, fifty percent of Millennials, and forty-one percent of Gen-Xers read the Bible weekly — but only thirty-one percent of Boomers do. So — to the Boomers among us — first, I love you. And I see this data as an opportunity for you to lead your generation. You have an opportunity to be an example to your peers when it comes to the practice of reading God’s Word and living by his wisdom.

God answers us in his Word and in prayer. 

But I want to take this a step further — because we need to push back against our individualistic view of the Christian faith. How many of us make decisions without ever asking a fellow Christian, “What do you think God would say is the wise thing to do here?” I bring this up — because often — for those of us who do read our Bible and pray about our decisions — God’s leading often ends up being the choice we wanted to make anyway.

You know. I know it. And God knows it. 

Whether it’s a relationship decision, a business decision, a church decision, and so on. And we know if we clothe our decision with “God’s leading me” or some other spiritual sounding statement — we know that no one can question our decision. Even if it’s just a “what works” decision or a decision that’s nothing more than selfish ambition on our part. 

I mean who does God think he is that he can use someone else to tell me what to do? Or have someone point out a verse in Scripture that should cause me to pause in the decision I’m about to make. Or have the preacher say something that — even though he has no idea of what choice I’m thinking about making — well that preacher said something in his sermon that’s clearly a direct warning to me to stop in my tracks.

Will we be people who desire biblical wisdom — wisdom whose primary purpose is to make our God look glorious in all of our decisions — and not just be people who make decisions that work? If so, then we must ask God for wisdom — knowing that he’s generous and has given us the Bible, prayer, sermons, our fellow Christians, and much more to give us his wisdom.

RECEIVING GOD’S WISDOM

Which leads to our final thought for today — receiving God’s wisdom. We’re in verse six. There James writes…

James 1:6–8 ESV

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The way we receive God’s wisdom is by asking him in faith — with no doubting. James then goes on to describe what he means by using the illustration of waves of the seas being tossed around by the wind — an illustration we looked at last week. But — now — James goes on to call the person who doubts a double-minded individual who’s unstable. And this tells us something very important about what James means when he says we must ask in faith without doubting: He’s describing our posture towards God. 

And — when we remember our two definitions of wisdom — one based on “what works” — the other based on “what honors God” — this shows us that James is definitely meaning the second definition of wisdom.

The apostle Paul says something similar to the Christians in Ephesus in a passage we looked at last week as well. Though he doesn’t specifically use the word wisdom — notice the similar illustration he uses to describe why we — together as a church — need to mature in faith. He writes…

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Here Paul warns about doctrinal instability causing us — as a church — to be tossed around by the deceitfulness of false teachers and their lies that lead us away from faith in Christ. James is warning about the personal instability that comes from this kind of doctrinal instability. 

And this all becomes clear when we understand that the word ‘doubt’ — in verse six — doesn’t mean a moment of uncertainty — but rather having a divided mind or being double-minded. The word means to have a discrimination against God — where our default setting is to take God out of the picture when it comes to our decision making and what we think is the wise thing to do. Whereas faith — and this will not surprise you — means to have a commitment to God — a wholehearted commitment, in fact. Where you keep God — not just in the picture — but in the center of your life — where your desire is for your decisions to honor him.

Or — to say it another way — it means to…

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on — or trust only in — your own understanding — even if it’s “what works.” Thus — to receive God’s wisdom — requires a humble and teachable spirit. Humble — because — we recognize our limitations in what we know and understand. Teachable — because — even what we do know and understand will need some correction. And then you can add to that — how all of us have a lot of unlearning we need to do as well — especially when it comes to believing that the wisdom of “what works” is what matters most.

But — ultimately — the key to receiving God’s wisdom — is to know the One who is the Wisdom of God — which is where we turn to as we end our time together.

CONCLUSION: TO KNOW WISDOM IS TO KNOW JESUS

For quite a few years — we did a series here at Gateway that was called Finding Jesus. In that series I preached one sermon on every book in the Old Testament. For the sermon on the book of Proverbs — which is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament — and a book I’ve quoted quite a bit from today — I helped us find Jesus by looking at verses from Proverbs chapter eight. Specifically these words that wisdom speaks…

Proverbs 8:35–36 ESV

35 For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, 36 but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Throughout Proverbs chapter eight — wisdom is personified as if it — wisdom — is a person. And there’s a reason for this — the wisdom of God is a person. The apostle Paul tells us so.

1 Corinthians 1:24 NLT

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Jesus is the wisdom of God. 

And wisdom — whether in Proverbs chapter eight or in James chapter one — or in all of Scripture, for that matter — wisdom is pointing us to Jesus. In fact, true wisdom will always point you to Jesus because Jesus is true wisdom. And all who find Jesus — who believe that he is who he says he is and has done what he says he’s done — all who find Jesus find life and favor from the Lord. And all who fail to find him — all who reject him instead of believing in him — whether they realize it or not — love death. For eternal death — separation from the wisdom of God for all eternity — is what’s in store for them.

You see, in obedience to his Father’s will — and in love for you — Jesus went to the cross. He did so accomplishing the wisest plan ever made — the salvation of the people of God. And — in finding Jesus — the wisdom of God tells us that we must take the step of repentance. For — as one person has said, “The most basic act of wisdom is repentance.” 

What is repentance? Repentance is turning from the direction you’re headed in and turning to the Wisdom of God — Jesus Christ. It’s the “turning away from evil” that we saw in the passage from Job. We repent — and turn away from evil — as we turn to Jesus in faith. And faith is more than just knowing that Jesus lived, or knowing that he was crucified, or knowing that he rose from the grave — faith means you act on the knowledge of his life, death, and resurrection. That you live accordingly — in response to now realizing that he — Jesus — is God in flesh. 

For — as Paul — just before telling us that Christ is the wisdom of God — writes…

1 Corinthians 1:18–24 NLT

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Jesus is the wisdom of God. And the message of what he accomplished on the cross is foolishness to the world. And — though the world may find it foolish — it’s the news all people need to hear. For it’s the news that must be received in order to be saved. It’s not a message that makes the most sense — it’s not the obvious “what works” — yet Jesus and his cross is the wisest plan ever to have been made. And — not only that — it’s the wisest plan ever to be accomplished. And — not only that — it’s the most loving act in all of history. 

So — now — having heard of God’s wise plan — let me ask you: What’s the wise thing to do in response to the news about Jesus that you’ve just heard? Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father, we begin by being struck in awe with who you are: wise, good, kind, righteous, holy, all-knowing, all-powerful, just, wrathful, the God who saves, and the one who is in control of all things. You are awesome.

Holy Spirit, help us to fight against the lure of “what works” wisdom — and instead — commit ourselves to “what honors God” wisdom. And help us to search our hearts and desires — especially in those decisions of life where we’re prone to deceiving others and ourselves into thinking our desire is to honor God when — in reality — we’re selfishly doing nothing more than “what works.” 

Jesus — to you the Wisdom of God — as we turn ourselves to you — we turn ourselves from our sinful ways. We thank you for loving us. Thank you for your commitment to us. Thank you for showing us what it means to be wise. And may we honor you as we follow in your footsteps. And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go asking God for the wisdom you need. And may you remember that he is always generous in giving his wisdom to those who ask. Amen.

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

DATE: 1-11-26

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.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. And — as I mentioned last week — I have a personal fondness for this book because it was the first book of the Bible that I memorized from beginning to end. And James is a great first book to memorize because it’s essentially a book of mini-sermons. It focuses on one topic — then goes on to another topic — then another — and so on. Our brains — or at least my brain — appreciated the kind of focus James offered me in my first attempt at memorizing an entire book of the Bible.

So give it a go — I dare you to try and memorize James. You’ll be doing yourself a favor — and all of us, too — because I can’t think of a downside of more of us putting God’s Word to memory.

INTRODUCTION

Last week was an overview of the book and its author and — today — we’re going to dive into the text itself. So — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to James chapter one. We’ll be in James chapter one today — looking at verses two through four. Here’s what we read in James chapter one — beginning in verse two.

James 1:2–4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

In these verses we find a call to joy, an explanation of the trials we face, and we learn the purpose of the trials we experience. A call to joy. An explanation of what trials are. And the purpose of the trials we experience in life.

A CALL TO JOY

We’ll begin with a call to joy. We’re in verse two.

James 1:2 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

James begins by calling us to joy in our trials — and this is a command. We’ll get to the specific kinds of trials we face in a moment — but know that most trials include some form of suffering. James knows this — and yet — he begins his letter by calling his readers — and us — to joy.

So right away — we’re faced with a seemingly impossible scenario — at least impossible if you’re a mere mortal like me: For the scenario we’re called to is one of joy in the midst of suffering. So how is that possible? How is it possible to have joy while facing trials in life? That’s the question we’ll be answering in this sermon.

But — before we get to our answer — I want to ask you: When you suffer — or if you’re in the midst of suffering right now — how’s your joy? James isn’t saying don’t grieve. He’s not saying don’t pretend as if you’re not experiencing sorrow — he’s not negating those kinds of emotions. But he is saying that — for the person who follows Jesus — in the midst of trials, sorrow, and suffering — there will be joy.

So — I’ll ask again: How’s your joy?

Now — if you’re not a Christian — I can imagine the idea of joy in the midst of trials and suffering seeming absurd to you. Trials are something to avoid — at least that’s what we’re told by culture — so who’d expect to have joy?

And — for those of us who believe in God — James is challenging the false idea that God never wants you to face trials, or moments of discomfort, or challenges, and so on. But — remember — James is Jesus’ younger brother. And James is well aware of what his older brother went through. And if Jesus experienced trials and sufferings in life — why would we think that we won’t?

And — even more than this — instead of just accepting that we’ll face trials and suffering — James takes us a step even further — a step that’s in the footsteps of Jesus our Savior. For we…

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

2 look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

And — in looking to him — the One who looked at and past the cross — to the joy that was set before him — the eternal love and pleasure of his Heavenly Father — in looking to Jesus we’re able to — imperfectly, yes — but we’re able to look past the trials and sufferings we face in this life to the joy that’s set before us — the eternal love and pleasure of the One who created us and who died for us. Thus we can count it all joy when we face trials in this life.

THE TRIALS WE FACE

But what kinds of trials is James referring to? We’re back in verse two.

James 1:2–3 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith…

A great question to begin with is: What would James have meant by the world “trials”? The word that James uses — which we translate as “trial” in English — has the sense of “being examined” in our verses. Where something — or in this case, someone — is “examined closely for potential flaws or mistakes or opportunities for growth.” The specific opportunities for growth — that James may’ve been thinking of — would fit the broad category of trials and suffering due to persecution that his readers would’ve experienced.

In history — the experience of persecution has had a variety of effects on Christians. Some Christians — due to persecution — find themselves faced with strong temptations. Some denied Christ in order to not experience physical pain. Others gave in to the temptation to not speak out against something that went against God’s Word in order to keep their job. Often these Christians will live the rest of their life with a guilt that they can’t shake. 

But there’s another response to persecution that results in a different kind of trial. One that John records for the church in Smyrna.

Revelation 2:10–11 NLT

10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. 11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

Instead of giving in to the trial — there’s the man or woman who doesn’t deny Christ and is killed for his or her faith. He experiences the trial of facing death head on — while his wife and children experience the trial of no longer having a husband and father. There’s the follower of Jesus who chooses to speak up for truth and experiences the trial of losing her job for not giving in to the expectations of her employer or co-workers. She then may face a testing of her faith — because — there’s no guarantee that God will make sure she gets another job just because she stood faithfully for him.

What are some of the kinds — or categories — of trials we face today?

We experience relational trials — whether it be parenting, in our marriages, a friendship at work or in the church. But as James will later warn us…

James 4:1–3 ESV

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

And what’s our response? We want to say to James, “Well that’s not true when I’m the one in the conflict! I’m standing for the truth. I’m standing for what’s right. I’m, I’m, I’m…” It’s amazing how — though quarrels and fights are abundant in our world today — no one seems to take James at his word: That quarrels and fights among people in the church — by the way — come from passions and desires that are at war within us. We murder to get what we want — James says. We covet and fight with one another. 

We face physical trials. For many — these are medical situations. The number of people on my prayer list who are facing physical trials usually hovers just over twenty — and those are just the situations I’m aware of. And physical trials can’t help but influence our walk with God. Waking up in pain every day — is painful! Yet some of the most joyful and joy-filled people among us face physical trials every day. Deb Oman and Lyn Loewen come to mind.

For others of us — it’s the physical trials of those we love. Where you long for news like what Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi about their friend who was ill.

Philippians 2:25–30 ESV

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Oh what joy — did you see it — joy! — when someone we love finds healing from the physical trial they’ve been facing. Yet there’s joy to be experienced in and during the trial as well.

There are emotional trials. The violence we see in the news — the comparison trap of social media that we’re all strangely addicted to. We love to be outraged — to be shocked — to be angry. And every now and then we need a break and just need something pretty stupid to laugh at — my personal favorite has anything to do with people tripping and falling.

And both the news and social media have figured out how to control us all like puppets on a string. I know — you’re the exception to the rule. “The algo hasn’t gotten its claws in you,” the pastor said facetiously.

And there are trials of temptation. As the apostle Paul writes…

1 Timothy 6:9 ESV

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.

There’s a temptation — the same word translated as trial in James — when one’s desire to be rich ensnares them: It leads to ruin and destruction. Of course — the danger of this kind of trial is that we never think we’ll be ensnared by it, right? Only “those” kinds of people get trapped by it — not people — well — like me. I’m above being trapped by money, or porn, or power, or alcohol, or — fill in the blank. This kind of thinking is the first step in the direction of the “senseless and harmful desires” that lead people to ruin and destruction.

The age of information in which we live and consume ideas — is an age of good ideas and bad ideas — of godly ideas and ungodly ideas — it’s an age with teaching that honors Christ and teaching that’s promoted as Christianity but dishonors Christ. It may not seem like a trial but every day people are — instead of having their faith tested — are having their faith destroyed by lies that seem so clever that they sound like the truth. Paul warns us of this when explaining the importance of being part of a local church when he writes…

Ephesians 4:11–16 NLT

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

In the midst of this world that’s like waves of the ocean — that keep going back and forth — into the shore, back out to the ocean — instead of getting tossed around by the winds and waves of culture — we’re to be steady — anchored — built on a firm foundation that’s a solid rock. And this steadiness only comes by rooting oneself deeply in one’s faith. Knowing what you believe, why you believe, and — most importantly — living as if you actually believe it.

For some of us it would be a big step to start focusing on what you should believe as someone who follows Jesus. If you don’t know where to begin — I’d suggest starting with the Essentials of our Faith statement. You can find it on our church website — gatewayepc.org — on the “who we are” page.

But I’ll do you a favor and read them to you now — it’s always good for us to be reminded of the Essentials of our Faith.

All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation, we affirm these additional Essentials of our faith: 

1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To him be all honor, glory and praise forever! 

2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross, a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day, he arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator. 

3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, he gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption. 

4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits his righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifying them in his sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life. 

5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord. 

6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth-personally, visibly, and bodily-to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:20) 

7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

If you have any questions about the Essentials — please stop by the Resource Center before you leave. Someone will be available to either answer your question or take down your info so someone can follow up with you this week.

If you’ve got the Essentials down and want to dive deeper into what you believe — I’d suggest studying the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Catechisms — also available on our “who we are” page. If it interests you — we did a whole series on the Westminster Confession of Faith on our church podcast.

Know what you believe and know why you believe it. For it’s not enough to know the “Bible answer” as if you’re studying for a test — you’ve got to know why you believe there’s only one God or why only those who put their faith in Christ alone are saved or why we’re to proclaim the gospel until Christ returns.

And — finally — we must live like we believe what we say we believe. Think about it — when it comes to politics — what you believe dictates how you behave. You vote for a certain candidate — don’t vote for the other candidate — or don’t vote altogether — because of something you believe about politics. What you believe leads to how you behave.

If you’re a parent — your belief about education — public school, private school, or home school — influences what your family does.

If you believe that Pepsi tastes better than Coke — or vice versa — you probably prefer to drink the one you think is better. Just like if you believe that Nike makes a better shoe than Reebok. What you believe affects what you do.

And then we come to the beliefs of the Christian faith. For example, to be a Christian means you believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way a person will spend eternity in Heaven — and that those who die without faith in Jesus will spend eternity in Hell. And — that means — you can’t be a Christian and be apathetic about sharing the gospel. For sure — you may not be the next Billy Graham — but neither can you ignore Christ’s command to go and make disciples of all nations. But according to a recent study by the Barna Group — more and more Christians in the US aren’t sharing the gospel. We say we believe these things about salvation, heaven, and hell — and yet — sharing the faith is increasingly becoming optional to Christians in the US. Why?

Because we’re giving in to trials instead of allowing their purpose to be fulfilled in our lives.

THE PURPOSE OF TRIALS

Which leads to the purpose of trials. Now — if we’re honest — most of us wish this wasn’t in the Bible. Trials are never fun — but that doesn’t mean they’re not for our good. And that’s what James is telling us. We’ll start in verse two one last time.

James 1:2–4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I want to read our verses in another Bible translation to help us better see what James is saying.

James 1:2–4 NLT

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

So trials — or troubles of any kind — come into our lives so that our faith is tested — remember — James is specifically speaking to those of us who follow Jesus. And — when our faith is tested — its ability to endure has an opportunity to grow. Like muscles — which only grow and get stronger through the enduring activity of regular exercise — so too our faith must be tested so that it grows stronger and stronger in its ability to endure the trials of life. And this continues throughout our life until our faith reaches its God intended goal: perfection and completion — which doesn’t happen in this life — but in the life that’s to come.

So some not so great news: Throughout this life here on earth you’ll continually experience trials. But — in knowing this — you can now view them as growth opportunities for your faith. For the only other alternative — which many people unfortunately choose to take — is to allow trials in this life to destroy your faith instead of strengthen it.

Now — you should know that James isn’t the only one who tells us that this is the purpose of trials. Notice how similar Paul’s words are on this topic. Paul writes…

Romans 5:3–5 NLT

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Like James — Paul says, “Have joy when you find yourself facing problems and trials in life — for they help you develop endurance.” Paul then goes on to say, “And endurance develops your character. And character strengthens the hope of your salvation, which will never lead to disappointment because you will know that God loves you” and — as Paul says elsewhere — “is working out everything for the good of those who know God and are called according to his purpose.”

So the goal of these trials — their purpose — is to lead us on the path whose destination is our perfection. And here’s some encouragement from God’s Word that — I hope — will ignite an even greater desire in your heart to endure whatever trials you are — or may face. Elsewhere in the Bible we read…

Philippians 1:6 ESV

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

The good work that God began in you — a good work that began the moment you responded to the gospel by believing in Jesus Christ — God has guaranteed that he will bring his good work to completion — or perfection — in your life. And what is that good work? Your eternal salvation. Which means — for those who believe in Jesus Christ — you will endure this trial and every trial. You will pass the test — for God has guaranteed your success with the blood of his Son.

CONCLUSION

In the book of Genesis — we find the story of Joseph. He’s his dad’s favorite — and his brothers hate him for it. In fact — they hate him so much that they want to kill him. But — instead of killing him — they sell him into slavery to a group of people headed to the faraway land of Egypt. And for years Joseph experiences trial, after trial, after trial. And betrayals. And false accusations. And imprisonment. Nothing good. Nothing fun. Nothing pleasurable.

But God — being sovereign — which means he’s in control of all things — God was orchestrating all of these events in Joseph’s life to prepare him to be the one who would save Egypt — and many neighboring nations — from starvation during a devastating famine. By enduring trial after trial after trial — Joseph rises to become second-in-command in Egypt. And this former slave and prisoner — because his faith was strengthened through enduring all of those trials — was now ready for the responsibility he would be entrusted with.

Some of the people he saved were his family members — his father, his brothers, and their children. And at the end — here’s how Joseph summarized his many years of enduring trials. He said…

Genesis 50:20 NLT

20 You (his brothers) intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

What his brothers meant to cause him harm — God used for Joseph’s good — all of those trials only strengthened his faith in his God. Similarly — but on a grander scale — what was meant to harm Christ — the cross and all of its evil and brutality — God intended for good. For he brought his Son to the cross — the trial of all trials — so that Jesus would be the one who saved the lives of many people for all eternity. And — as we saw earlier — Jesus endured the cross with joy.

Early on in this sermon I told you that I’d answer the question of how it’s possible to have joy in the midst of trials and suffering — the answer is this: By believing that God is sovereign — that he really is in control of all things — for that’s the truth we hold fast to — which leads to our endurance — which will lead us to our perfection and completion. For only a sovereign and in-control-of-all-things God can take what is meant for our demise and use it to lead us to our perfection in his eternal presence. 

And believing that your God is sovereign — when you know in the depth of your soul that the God you believe in is in control of all things — can’t help but give you joy. For no matter what is set before you — you are looking to your Savior who loves you and endured the cross so that he might be your joy in all things. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, may you fix all of our eyes on your Son right now. And may Jesus be our joy.

Holy Spirit, comfort those who are suffering. For those who are lonely — may they have a sense of your presence. For those who feel unloveable — may they know your love. For the hopeless — give hope. To the joyless — give joy. Spirit, we ask these things not because we deserve them — but because we know it delights you to give them.

And — Jesus — for the joy set before you — you endured the cross. The joy you saw was eternity with your Father and with us — your people whom you love. Jesus — I don’t know who it is — but I know someone right now needs to know that you love them — that they were part of what you saw that gave you joy — would you tell them right now, “It was you — you gave me joy.” And may we have ears to hear and receive your sweet love for us.

We pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

No matter the trials you are facing — or will face — may you endure them with joy — knowing that your loving God has guaranteed your eternity with him. Amen.

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

DATE: 10-26-25

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

For two weeks — we’re taking a break from our series in Romans. And — we’re doing so to prepare for our evening worship service next week. During our evening worship service we’re going to welcome new members into our faith family. We’re also going to celebrate baptisms and take the Lord’s Supper together. Three practices that have been part of the life of the church since its beginning. Yet these are three practices for which there’s much confusion and misunderstanding.

So — to prepare ourselves for our evening together next week — we’re going to look at each of these practices of the church. Today we’re going to look at church membership. Next Sunday morning we’ll look at baptism. And then — on Sunday evening — before we take the Lord’s Supper together — we’ll see what God’s Word has to say about it.

Now — if you’re not a Christian — and maybe even if you are a Christian — sermons on church membership, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper may seem absolutely irrelevant to whatever’s going on in your life right now. Something I can totally understand. Yet I’d like to offer that ancient practices — like membership, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper — help us to see how the church of today is connected to the church of the past — going as far back as what we read on the pages of the Bible. Which means that — though these topics may seem irrelevant to your specific situation — when we step outside of our individual worlds and into this corporate world known as the church — we find three topics that have much relevance for us. True even if you’re not currently a follower of Jesus — as these sermons will give you a better understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.

So baptism and the Lord’s Supper next week. And — today — we’ll look at church membership.

INTRODUCTION

Quite possibly my most infamous sermon — while here at Gateway — is a sermon from 2018 titled Looking Ahead where I preached on church membership. Since then — every few years we return to this important topic. And — every time — I go into this topic with some hesitation because it — more than just about any other topic — is the one that seems to offend folks the most.

Yet — at the same time — I go into this sermon hopeful because it seems that the number of people who sign up for our membership class increases when I preach on this topic because — for many — it’s the first time they’ve heard about the importance of membership in a local church.

In 2023 we broke a record during my time as your pastor when — after I preached on church membership — around sixty of you signed up for the next membership class. Total shock. Who would’ve thought? Not me — that’s who.

Today we’re going to look at three aspects of church membership. I’ve covered each of these in previous sermons — so think of this as a reminder for many of us. Remembering — after all — is one of the most popular commands in the Bible. While — for others of us — today may be a day for action — by responding to what you hear by signing up for the next membership class.

Today we’re going to see if membership in a local church is a biblical expectation. Then we’ll look at the benefits of being a member in a local church. And — finally — we’ll look at the responsibilities that come with being a member here at Gateway.

Is membership a biblical expectation? What are the benefits of being a member? And what are the responsibilities of being a member?

IS CHURCH MEMBERSHIP A BIBLICAL EXPECTATION?

First, is church membership a biblical expectation? To know one’s surprise — my answer is yes. But I’ll concede that there’s no clear command in Scripture — like — “thou must become a member of a local church.” But we must also acknowledge that “thou must not become a member of a local church” also isn’t in the Bible. In fact, your view of church membership — if it’s a biblical expectation or not — is based — not on a clear command — but on what theologians have called “good and necessary consequences” of what we find in the Bible.

If that makes anyone uncomfortable — know that there are many church practices that fit the category of — “there’s no clear command in Scripture, but doing this practice is based on good and necessary consequences of what we do find in the Bible.”

For example, in the Bible we find no clear command that women are to take the Lord’s Supper. Neither is there an example of a woman taking the Lord’s Supper in the Bible. There’s no command and no example in the Bible. Yet we know that the church in Corinth — which received Paul’s instructions on the Lord’s Supper — was a church that included men and women. So even though there’s no clear command in Scripture — nor an explicit example of women taking the Lord’s Supper — by good and necessary consequence of women being part of the church in Corinth — we believe it’s biblical for women to take the Lord’s Supper.

So what do we find in the Bible that leads us to a similar conclusion about church membership?

First, there’s the amount of the New Testament that’s written to local churches. Nine of Paul’s letters were written to local churches. His other four letters were written to leaders of local churches. It’s believed that Hebrews was written to several local churches in Rome. Peter’s two letters were written to local churches. John’s three letters were as well. And the book of Revelation was written to seven local churches. That’s twenty books of the New Testament — all written to local churches.

Yet I know that this point — by itself — doesn’t justify church membership. But it at least highlights the importance of being part of a local church.

Which leads us to another defense of church membership. And that’s the many biblical metaphors used to describe the church. Such as…

1 Peter 2:4–5 NLT

4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.

Here — individual people — who’ve come to faith in Christ — are compared to individual stones that God’s joined together to build his spiritual temple. Certainly, there’s a universal aspect to what Peter’s saying. But when we remember that he’s writing to local churches — we see that there’s also a local church application: We’re joined to God’s spiritual temple as found in a local church.

We’re also called members of the body of Christ. As Paul writes to a local church in Rome…

Romans 12:4–5 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.

Yes — these words are true about our membership in God’s universal — or global church — but that doesn’t mean that these words aren’t also to be applied to our membership in a local church. For they are words originally written to a local church.

Similarly — to the Christians in Corinth — Paul writes…

1 Corinthians 12:27 ESV

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Nearly identical words to what we just read in Romans. Letters to two local churches — telling the individual Christians in the churches — you are part of the body of Christ as seen in local expressions of the body of Christ.

Whether the church is described as a flock of sheep, or a vine, or a city — these biblical metaphors describe something more than just the universal church made up of Christians from all times and places. These metaphors also describe something local. And — often — the Christians are called members in these biblical metaphors written to local churches.

Finally, there’s an expectation regarding leadership and submission found in Scripture that’s connected to the local church.

Peter writes…

1 Peter 5:1–5 ESV

1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder (implication — Peter’s an elder but is not among the elders of the churches he’s writing to…) and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 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.”

And as the author of Hebrews writes…

Hebrews 13:7 ESV

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

And…

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

And Paul writes…

1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 ESV

12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

Once again — when we remember that these words were originally written to local churches — we see that the original audience would’ve heard “shepherd the flock of God that’s among you” to mean the “local church that specific elders are responsible for.” And the command “be subject to the elders” to be specific elders in your local church. The same elders whose lives you’re to imitate. The same elders who keep watch over your souls, and who will give an account to God. Elders of local churches that individual Christians are responsible to obey and submit to.

Though there’s no clear command to be a member of a local church — the good and necessary consequence of the biblical evidence we’ve just looked at leads to questions such as:

• Who are the elders among you?
• Who are the elders responsible to shepherd you?
• Which elders are you subject to?
• Who are the leaders whose way of life and faith you’re imitating?
• Which elders are you obeying and submitting to?
• Which elders are keeping watch over your soul?
• Which elders will give an account to God for their care of you?
• Which elders are you esteeming highly in love because of their work?

Questions no Christian gets out of answering — at least not while being obedient to God’s Word. And this is why I think church membership ends up ruffling so many feathers. For it forces the issue of obedience to commands in Scripture that are hard to obey while not being a member in a local church.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP?

Now let’s turn to the benefits of church membership. 

Often — when I hear from someone who has concerns about church membership — one of the questions asked is, “What are the benefits of me becoming a member?” Sometimes it’s asked in the opposite way — wondering if I and the elders will care for people who get sick and aren’t members — will we show up to the hospital to visit them — will we provide marriage counseling for non-members — and so on. And the answer — in case you’re wondering — is yes. Yes we do all of those things for non-members as well as members.

Now knowing this — you — like the person who asks the question — may wonder, “Well, then I really don’t see any benefit to becoming a member. If you get all of the same benefits without being a member — why become one?”

So what I want to do is orient our focus in a different direction. Away from the individual who is or isn’t a member — and put our attention on the rest of the church. I know this is hard — but let’s take the focus off of you — if you’re you — and I’ll take the focus off of me — because I’m me — and let’s put all of our focus on everyone else instead — the other adults, youth, and kids of Gateway. 

And here’s our new question: What are the benefits for everyone else if you become a member of Gateway? 

How about that for an unexpected twist? 

Here’s the question asked a bit differently: What benefits are you keeping others from experiencing by not becoming a member of Gateway?

Remember — someone will show up to the hospital when you’re sick — we’ll provide marriage counseling when you need it — and so on — regardless if you’re a member or not — you benefit. So what about everyone else? What benefit are you offering — or keeping from — them?

One benefit of you becoming a member is that your membership spiritually protects everyone else at Gateway. What do I mean? When you become a member of Gateway — you agree to a set of beliefs that are called the Essentials of our Faith. I read our essentials not too long ago during a sermon. But here they are again.

All Scripture is self-attesting, and being Truth requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God — the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments — is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation, we affirm these additional essentials of our faith.

1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To him be all honor, glory, and praise forever!

2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day he arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, he now is our High Priest and Mediator.

3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior, indwelling our hearts. He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.

4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits his righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby justifies them in his sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.

5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible yet imperfect expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity, where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting she awaits the return of her Lord.

6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth personally, visibly, and bodily—to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “him who loved us and gave himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Again — every member of Gateway formally says, “I believe these essentials. And if anything in my beliefs about the essentials changes — I agree to let the church know.” 

Now — let me say — because someone may be thinking it — yes — this isn’t a sure fire way to know for certain that someone actually believes and agrees with our essentials. The Bible warns of false teachers who will try to infiltrate the church to lead people astray. Yet I think it’s still good practice to have a theological line of entry that we know all members of our church have agreed to.

Especially when we read passages such as…

James 3:1 ESV

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

A warning not just to pastors who preach — but to all who teach or help others understand what God’s Word means and how it applies to life. This would include our Life Group leaders, teachers of our Equip classes, those who serve as small group leaders in our youth ministry, those who serve as large group teachers in our Kidway ministry, those who are small group leaders in our kid’s ministry, and so on.

But the benefit — to all who receive such teaching — is that you know the person teaching you has agreed to the Essentials of our Faith. Meaning — you don’t have to wonder about what they believe about God’s Word, or God, or specifics about Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, or salvation, or the church, or the second coming of Christ, or our mission until he returns, and everything else we just read. That’s all clear in the Essentials of our Faith and every member of Gateway agrees to these beliefs.

• What a reassuring benefit — I hope — to all of you who are in a Life Group.
• What a reassuring benefit — for all who sit under my preaching. You don’t have to worry, wonder, or be concerned about where I — or others — stand on the Essentials of our Faith.

Yet — we do have some loopholes right now. Though we currently require all of our adult Life Group leaders to be members of Gateway — and thus — they’ve formally agreed to the Essentials of our Faith — we’ve yet to make membership a requirement for those who teach in our next gen ministry. We have a theologically solid curriculum that all of our volunteers use in our next gen ministries that gives us some peace about this membership loophole.

And let me acknowledge that I’m sure many of our non-members — who serve in our next gen ministry — do agree with our essentials — and that’s great! But I can’t help but think that it’d give more assurance — to the families you serve — if you made your agreement to the essentials of our faith formal — which is what happens when you become a member. 

I bring this up not to throw our next gen staff team under the bus — I don’t think this was ever their decision — it’s been a membership loophole for over a decade. My reason for bringing this up is to highlight an area where some of us have an opportunity to increase the benefits our families receive by you becoming a church member. 

Here’s another benefit the church receives when you become a member. You become an equal participant when you get baptized — or when your child is baptized or dedicated. What do I mean by that?

According to our church constitution — when an individual is baptized — the members of the church are to be asked…

Do you, the members of this congregation, take responsibility for the continued Christian nurture of those being baptized today and do you promise to set a godly example by your own life?

And when parents bring their children to be baptized or dedicated — the members of the church are to be asked…

Do you, the members of this congregation, acting for yourselves and on behalf of the whole Body of Christ, as far as you are able, assume responsibility with these parents for the spiritual nurture of these children?

And are asked…

Do you commit yourself to set a godly example before these children, to provide as far as you are able, all that is necessary to the end that these children may one day confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord?

I bring this up because — first — look at the benefits the individual, the parents, and the children receive from the members of Gateway.

• The members of the church commit themselves to the continued nurture and growth of the person being baptized.
• The members commit to setting a godly example to the person being baptized.
• The members commit to sharing in — with the parents — the responsibility of the spiritual nurture of the children being presented for baptism and dedication.
• The members commit to setting a godly example to the children being presented for baptism and dedication.

What benefits to those being baptized and to the parents of the children presented — a church full of individual members are committed to you and your children.

Yet — and this will be a rather strange sounding question — what’s the benefit for the church members?

The person being baptized — what benefit are you offering to the members? Parents of the children — what benefit are you offering to the members? After all — the members are making quite the commitment to you and your children. You benefit from us. So what are you bringing to the table?

To ease anyone’s concerns — here are the benefits on my mind:

• What if the person being baptized commits to becoming a member — so that — the congregation’s commitment to your spiritual growth is intertwined with your — the one being baptized’s — commitment to spiritual growth?
• And what if the person being baptized commits to becoming a member — so that — the congregation’s commitment of setting a godly example for you becomes a commitment you — as a member of this congregation — agree to set for others who are baptized after you?
• What if the parents presenting their children become members — so that — the congregation’s commitment to the spiritual nurture of your children — which is a benefit and blessing — is directly linked to your commitment to your children’s spiritual nurture through the ministry of this church?
• And what if the parents presenting their children become members — so that — the congregation’s commitment of being a godly example to your children is a commitment you make to us — and to you children — as members of this church?

Then there are benefits — not only to those being baptized — and not only to the parents of children being presented for baptism or dedication — and not only to the children — but also benefits for the members of this local church. Benefits that can be ours — and abundantly so — when — instead of making our decisions based on the benefit we’ll receive — we instead see the benefit others may be missing out on by us not being a member.

WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF BEING A CHURCH MEMBER?

Finally — and briefly — what are the responsibilities when one becomes a member of Gateway Church? Two passages from Ephesians will do.

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

And in the next chapter we read…

Ephesians 5:18–21 ESV

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

The path that leads us towards the spiritual maturity that Paul describes — is summed up in our discipleship process of Worship, Connect, Serve, and Go. Where — because of our submission to one another — not just the leaders — who we’re to submit to — but in our mutual submission to one another’s spiritual growth and maturing — every member of Gateway commits to our discipleship process of Worship, Connect, Serve, and Go.

Where we each recognize the personal responsibility we have as a member of this faith family to prioritize weekly worship with our local church. Which means part of the weekend is already booked on your calendar. Because — as a member — you have a weekly event you plan on being at and you schedule the rest of your weekend accordingly.

Of course sickness happens — and we’re not against vacations — we know that college students may go home for the summer and snow birds may be gone for the winter — but what I’m saying is that all too often worshiping God in a local church can become more of an “option we’ll do if our calendar is open” instead of a “priority we plan all of our other weekend activities around.”  

And members of Gateway know it’s their responsibility to make weekly worship a priority.

As the author of Hebrews writes…

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.

The next step in our discipleship process is Connect. And the primary way we connect to one another is in our Life Groups. Life Groups are where we meet regularly with fellow Christians to discuss how the Bible applies to life and to practice care for one another. And members of Gateway agree that it’s their responsibility to be in a Life Group. 

The third step in our discipleship process is Serve. And — by serve — we mean serve each other in the church. One of the questions all new members are asked is…

Do you promise to serve Christ in his Church by supporting and participating with this congregation in its service of God and its ministry to others to the best of your ability?

And members of Gateway know it’s their responsibility to serve in our local church.

And — finally — we Go. For Jesus said…

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Every Christian has been called and commanded to go and make disciples. And — the members of Gateway — have accepted the responsibility to make disciples here in Findlay, in our nation, and to the ends of the earth.

These are the responsibilities every member of Gateway has freely accepted: To make worship a priority, to be an active participant in a Life Group, to serve the people of this congregation, and to go and proclaim the gospel. 

If you’re a member — now’s a great time to ask yourself — how am I doing with these responsibilities I agreed to when I became a member? 

CONCLUSION

Now I’ve preached enough sermons on church membership to know that I haven’t convinced everyone that it’s a biblical expectation. I also know that the benefits I presented didn’t persuade everyone. And I’m sure that — for some current members — there’s a reason why you’re not fulfilling the responsibilities we just covered.

Yet — I hope — that for some listening today — you were convinced of the biblically good and necessary consequence of church membership. And that you’ve seen the benefits you’ve received from others — even while not being a member — and now desire to be a benefit to others. And that — for some — you’ve been nudged to reengage in some of your responsibilities that you’ve allowed to be lacking in your life.

And I have this hope because — every time — thus far — the Lord’s been faithful in maturing us — just a bit more — after we’ve been reminded of the importance of church membership. May he do so once again — for all of our good — but more importantly — so we make him look glorious to the world. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, use your Word — to increase in all of our hearts and minds — the love you have for your church. 

Holy Spirit, you’re the Spirit of unity. Unite our hearts together so that — individually — we commit to being an even greater benefit to those around us.

And — Jesus — any benefit we receive from each other is because of what we’ve first received from you and all that you’ve done — in love — for us as individuals — and as your church.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — draw us closer to you and to one another. For your name’s sake we pray. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams / Resource Center to sign up for membership class)

May God use his Word to you today to grow us into the church he desires us to be. Amen.

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

DATE: 10-19-25

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 rich theological truths — Paul’s now in the “so what” section of his letter. Meaning he’s showing us how all of the theology — that’s found in the first eleven chapters — is to play itself out in how we live. 

But — before we turn to our text for today — I want to let you know what to expect in the coming weeks. Starting next week — we’re going to take a break from Romans — just when we’re almost at the end — and we’re going to take three sermons to look at three important practices in the life of our church: church membership, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper — also called communion.

In a few weeks we’ll have a combined evening worship service here at our County Road 9 Campus. And during this evening service we’ll welcome new members into our faith family, celebrate baptisms, and take the Lord’s Supper together. So I thought it’d be good for us to spend some time looking at all that will be happening during that evening worship service ahead of time.

So next week we’ll look at church membership. The following week we’ll look at baptism. And then — during the evening worship service — we’ll look at the Lord’s Supper.

Then — after our short break — we’ll jump right back into Romans for the final two sermons we have left in the book.

But — today we’re in Romans — we’re not on break from it yet. And our final three sermons in Romans may end up being the most unique. For Paul — as he ends his letter — becomes quite personal in his final words. Let me show you what I mean.

Here’s what Paul writes in Romans chapter fifteen — beginning in verse fourteen.

Romans 15:14–33 ESV

14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” 22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. 30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

As I said — this is a very personal section of the letter for Paul. And in this part of his letter we find two ideas: The call that God had on Paul’s life — and the call that God has on us — individually and as a church. Paul’s call and our call — that’s what we’re going to explore together today.

PAUL’S CALL

We’ll begin with Paul’s call — but know that there’s overlap even with the specific call God had for Paul and God’s call for us. But we’ll do our best to focus on Paul’s call — beginning in verse fifteen — where he writes…

Romans 15:15–25 ESV

15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” 22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints.

And skipping to verse twenty-eight we read…

Romans 15:28–29 ESV

28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

In these words, Paul helps us understand how he viewed his call. And he describes his call — and I rarely do this — but we’re going to go for it today — he describes his call as that of a priest, of power, of preaching, and of planting. For those of you who’ve been waiting for some preaching alliteration — today is the day the Lord has made for you. Paul’s calling was one of priest, power, preaching, and planting.

Part of God’s call on Paul’s life was to be a priest. We see this beginning in verse fifteen where Paul writes…

Romans 15:15–17 ESV

15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.

And in verse twenty-eight we read…

Romans 15:28–29 ESV

28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

Paul was called to be a priest. Where a prophet speaks on behalf of God to the people — a priest intercedes on behalf of the people to God. We’ll get to Paul’s prophetic role in preaching the gospel — in just a moment — but I want us to focus on his call which he describes as a priestly service. 

When I think of this priestly call on his life — I can’t help but think of his prayers for the Christians he writes to. Think of some of the words he wrote to others that are an expression of this priestly call on his life.

To the Christians in Thessalonica Paul wrote…

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 ESV

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

And…

2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 ESV

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

To the Christians in Ephesus he wrote…

Ephesians 1:16–21 ESV

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

To the Christians in Colossae he wrote…

Colossians 1:3–5 ESV

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

To Philemon he wrote…

Philemon 4–6 ESV

4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

To Timothy…

2 Timothy 1:3–7 ESV

3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

I wonder how God might want you to enter into a similar kind of priestly service for others by praying for them in this way? In our most recent membership class, I was asked what’s the best way to encourage me as the pastor of Gateway. My answer was to pray for me. To pray for my family. And to let me know that you’re praying for me.

A recent addition to my list of life resolutions came from the sweet joy of realizing how many of you are praying for me. I worded my new resolution this way. Remember: God’s people are praying for you. I’m encouraged every time I read these words.

You may or may not be aware — but before every worship service a group of men pray with and for me. One of these men is Dave Vaas. I didn’t warn Dave that I’d be mentioning him — so Dave — warning — I’m about to pastorally brag on you. Knowing Dave — he’s probably already read this anyway. You’ll know what I mean in a second. 

As I said, Dave’s one of the men who meets with me to pray for me and my sermon before I preach. And — what I so appreciate about Dave’s prayers — is how he comes having read through my sermon manuscript. He — Randy Casper also does this — to pastorally brag on someone else — Dave and Randy will pray for a specific point in my sermon, or a section that stuck out to them — and they often pray that God will use that point or section to speak to you all. They’re fulfilling a priestly service for me and you. To Dave and Randy — and to all of the men who pray with and for me before I preach — thank you for fulfilling such an important priestly ministry that God has called you to.

Paul was called to be a priest.

Additionally, part of God’s call on Paul’s life was to be a vessel of God’s power. We see this beginning in verse eighteen where Paul writes…

Romans 15:18–19 ESV

18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;

Paul was called to be a vessel of God’s power. Earlier this year we spent quite a few weeks looking at the spiritual gifts that Paul mentions in chapter twelve. In those sermons we saw how the Holy Spirit empowers every follower of Jesus with a spiritual gift that’s to be used to build up and strengthen the church. And here — in our verses — Paul tells us that living by the power of the Spirit was an important part of God’s call on his life.

A call — not only on Paul’s life — but on all who follow Jesus — is a call to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Regardless if we’re preaching, evangelizing, greeting people when they enter our buildings, enjoying the giggles and screams of terror by our toddlers, or whatever you may do around here. We’re called to live by the power of the Holy Spirit and to recognize that what goes on around here isn’t natural — but is a supernatural work of God. For — when we’re served by each other — we’re being served by the Spirit of God who’s working through each of us.

Yet don’t miss that — when Paul points to what Christ accomplished through him — he says it came about by “word and deed…by the power of the Spirit of God.” This is why part of God’s call on Paul’s life was also that of being a preacher. We’re back in verse eighteen again…

Romans 15:18–20 ESV

18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,

Paul was called to be a preacher of the gospel. And when we take these two calls on Paul’s life — calls of power and of preaching — we come to one of the characteristics we desire to see in every follower of Jesus here at Gateway. We call this being Word and Spirit Christians. Where our desire is to live under the authority of the Word of God and by the power of the Spirit of God so that we make our saving God look glorious to the world.

Obviously not all of us are called to preach the Bible — but all of us are called to proclaim the Good News. Every follower of Jesus should know the basics of the gospel — the Good News of what Christ accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection — so that — you can share it with others. 

Do you see this call on your life — to share the gospel? Are you fulfilling this call that God has on your life?

Finally, part of God’s call on Paul’s life was that of planting — or starting — new churches. We’re in verse twenty…

Romans 15:20–25 ESV

20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” 22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints.

Paul was called to plant new churches. Paul had a passion for taking the gospel to people living in places where the gospel had not yet been heard. So he planted — or started new churches — which would be an outpost for the gospel in their community. This was part of God’s call on Paul’s life.

Obviously, not all Christians are called to be church planters. But we’re all called to go in some way. After all — Jesus’ final words before ascending into heaven were…

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

And as Luke records in the book of Acts…

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Something I love about us as a church — is our commitment to taking the gospel to places where it’s currently not believed. We just had our Go celebration this past week and it was great to see so many of you come together to hear stories of how we’ve been going this past year. 

We call this our commitment to being Kingdom-minded around here — more on that in a moment. But I want to acknowledge that I know how hard it can be to imagine that there are still places on this planet where the gospel isn’t heard or believed. We live in a bit of a Christian bubble here in the US. Obviously, not everyone in our country is a Christian — but it’s hard to live in the US and not hear about Jesus — there are churches everywhere! But that’s not the case across the globe.

According to Joshua Project — an organization that tracks people groups that lack the gospel — there are a little over 7,000 people groups who are considered unreached — which means they have no access to the gospel. This represents over three billion people who have little or no access to the gospel — which we rightly believe is the only means of salvation.

And — like Paul — God has uniquely called us — Gateway Church — to go where the gospel is currently not known. In fact — this calling on us is so great — and our commitment to fulfill this calling is so known — that we’re viewed as a very missional church in our denomination. If you don’t know — missional basically means spreaders of the gospel — locally and globally. Like me, you may be thinking, “Really? Aren’t we the Bible church? Or the kid’s ministry church? Or the church with rocking worship music?” All I know is that the further removed you are from us — the more we’re seen as the church who takes seriously the call to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. And I hope that you — like me — are happy to claim this reputation.

OUR CALL

Having looked at Paul’s call, we’ll now look at our call a bit more. I know we’ve done so already — but there are few more aspects of our call found in our text. We’re back in verse fourteen.

Romans 15:14 ESV

14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

Skipping to verse twenty-six we read…

Romans 15:26–27 ESV

26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

And in verse thirty Paul writes…

Romans 15:30–33 ESV

30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

When it comes to our call — as a faith family — though this doesn’t encompass all that we’re called to — in these verses Paul reminds us of our call to be disciples who make disciples, our call to be generous, our call to be a family, and — again — our call to be Kingdom-minded. All — I hope — are familiar ideas for you — for these are four out of the five characteristics we hope to see in all who follow Jesus here at Gateway. The fifth being Word and Spirit Christians — which we looked at earlier.

First, we’re called to be disciples who make disciples. Paul writes this in verse fourteen…

Romans 15:14 ESV

14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

Paul praises the Christians in Rome because he knows that they’re filled with goodness, with knowledge, and — thus — are able to instruct — or disciple — one another. The call to make disciples of all nations — which Jesus gave us — is a call locally as much as it is globally. And it’s a call on us corporately — as a church — as much as it is individually. For every disciple of Jesus is called to make disciples of Jesus.

How are you fulfilling this call on your life — and how are you helping us fulfill this call as a church?

• I’m so thankful for those who make disciples by serving as a Life Group leader. 
• And for those who serve in our Kidway ministry — helping us make disciples of the youngest in our church. 
• For those who make disciples among our youth. 
• Who lead equip classes. 
• Who meet one on one over coffee or a meal to help someone else grow in their faith — that’s being a disciple who makes disciples. 
• For parents who read God’s Word to their children, and teach them to pray — making disciples in your home.

If you’re not currently a disciple who’s making disciples — and you want to become one — stop by the Resource Center before you leave. They’ll take down your name and I’m sure we can find a way for you to step into this call God has on your life.

We’re also called to be generous. In verse twenty-six Paul writes…

Romans 15:26–27 ESV

26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

How lucky are you, right? Everyone loves when the preacher talks about money — not! When it comes to our desire — for us to be a generous people — generosity must include our finances. The old “time, talent, and treasure” mantra unintentionally shifted to the idea that we have a choice — “I’ll be generous with my time, or my talent, or my treasure” — when the Bible calls us to be generous with all of it.

And here — in our verses — the Christians living in one area of the world were pleased to be financially generous with Christians living in Jerusalem. Twice Paul tells us that it pleased the Christians to be financially generous. And he tells us that it pleased them because their financial generosity was birthed out of the spiritual blessings they’d been recipients of.

I wonder how the spiritual blessings you’ve received have made you into a more financially generous person? For it’s not just in these verses — but throughout the Bible — that you’ll see a connection between recognizing and appreciating the spiritual blessings you’ve been given and how financially generous you are.

We’re also called to be a family. We’re in verse thirty…

Romans 15:30–33 ESV

30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

These verses also show us our call to be Kingdom-minded. We see our call to be family in Paul’s description of this striving together — implying a unity among these Christians in their prayers for Paul. A family like unity birthed from Jesus being our Lord and the Holy Spirit filling us with love for one another.

And we’re called to be Kingdom-minded. We saw this earlier, but here Paul mentions Judea and Jerusalem — two of the areas Jesus mentioned in our call to be his witnesses.

CONCLUSION

Paul’s call and our call. God’s call on us as a church and his call on you as one of his followers. May we — like Paul — fulfill the calling to which we’ve been called — so that — we strive together in unity, and pray for one another, and find refreshment and joy by one another’s company — because — Jesus is our Lord and Savior — and because we’ve been filled with love for one another by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for your call upon us — both as a church and as individuals. For those you call as individuals you call into your church. May we never try to separate your call upon our lives — individually — with your call upon your church.

Holy Spirit, you’re the One who awakens deaf ears, blind eyes, and dead hearts to the Good News of the gospel. You give new life and we believe. This is the very first call in any of our lives. May you make this call — right now — to many who hear my voice and yet don’t believe in Jesus. Call them. Awaken them. Give them life so that they believe.

And — Jesus — for those who respond — you call to a life of purpose. That of being a disciple who’s a Word and Spirit Christian. Who’s generous. Who makes disciples. Who’s Kingdom-minded. And who fulfills his or her call as part of your faith family. What a gift it is to be called by you. What a purpose. What a thrill.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — may you use each of us to fulfill your calling upon us as a church. And may the result be unity, and refreshment, and joy among us. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you respond to God’s call upon your life as we will fulfill his call for us as a church. 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.

I’m glad you asked for verses(s), because there’s not a single verse that conveys the idea I shared. The idea comes from multiple passages in the Bible. I’ll share a few below, but know there are many that I’m leaving out!

Overall, when we take what we learn in the verses below, and elsewhere in Scripture (especially in the historical accounts of people who didn’t speak honestly), we see there being a tie between dishonesty in our lives (even about what’s going on personally, which is what I referred to as “keeping up appearances”), and the experience of anxiety. For those of us who follow Jesus, who is the Truth, speaking truthfully is the standard for all areas of our lives. For when we don’t speak truthfully, there will be a consequence for our disobedience. Often, when our dishonesty is over a personal matter, anxiety is often a consequence we experience.

On anxiety:

Proverbs 12:25 – Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

Proverbs 29:25 – The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

Matthew 6:25-34 – ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

Philippians 4:4-8 – ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

1 Peter 5:6-7 – ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷ casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

On honesty:

Psalm 32:3 – For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

Psalm 101:7 – No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes. 

Jeremiah 9:5 – Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity.

Mark 8:36 – “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”

John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Ephesians 4:15 – Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

DATE: 8-24-25

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. We’re in the practical application section of Paul’s letter where he shows us how all of the theology — that’s found in the first eleven chapters — is to play itself out in 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.

Paul tells us — in light of all the theology he’s taught 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.

But now I need to let you in on a little insight about these verses — and this ties into today’s sermon. When Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world,” the word translated in English as “world” doesn’t mean the planet we live on — nor does it mean “that which is in opposition to God.” The word used means “age or era.”

I think you’ll see why I bring this up if you turn to our text for today. We’ll be in Romans chapter thirteen — looking at verses eleven through fourteen. Again that’s Romans chapter thirteen — beginning in verse eleven — where Paul writes…

Romans 13:11–14 ESV

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Paul’s returning to the idea found back in chapter twelve — do not be conformed to the world — when he writes “you know the time.” Not being conformed to the world means to not be conformed to the time in which you live — the era — the age in which you live. For every age has its way of leading us away from faithfulness to Christ — so we must not conform — we must stand firm — for this is war.

Which leads us to where we’re headed today. We’re going to talk about knowing the time in which we live — something we’re commanded to do — to know the time. Then we’ll look at how not to live in this age. Followed by how to live in this age.

Know the time. How not to live in these times. And how to live in these times. 

KNOW THE TIME

Let’s begin in verse eleven where Paul writes…

Romans 13:11–12 ESV

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand.

The first thing I want you to notice is the urgency in Paul’s words. 

• The hour has come. 
• Salvation is now nearer to us. 
• The night is far gone. 
• The day is at hand. 

There’s urgency here. 

As you may know, Emily and I have three kids. Three kids — three very different birth experiences. For Wesley — our oldest and firstborn — Emily’s water broke while we were playing a game at our dining room table. We went to the hospital…and we waited. And waited. And waited. Her water may have broken, but Wes didn’t get the message it was time to be born. Emily and I played board games in the hospital for hours to pass the time away. There was no sense of urgency.

For Caleb — our second child — things were quite different. We lived in Tampa and the hospital was quite big with lots of babies being born. Emily started having contractions — things felt kind of urgent — so we went to the hospital. 

Now — though Emily felt an urgency — the hospital staff — well — not so much. We got checked in but were sent to a large waiting room. And we waited. And waited. And waited. Or — at least that’s what I did. Emily — on the other hand — was going through labor. There were some young gals waiting for their friend to give birth and I’m pretty sure watching Emily go through labor changed their minds about having kids in the future. 

Eventually Emily strongly suggested that I go tell the security officer that he either needed to get someone to see us ASAP or come over and deliver a baby. So I went up to the guy and was all like, “Yeah. So you probably get this a lot. But my wife says she really needs to be seen by someone or you need to go deliver our baby.” He went and got a nurse who took us to what seemed to be an ER type room — and then she left! That’s right — she left me with my wife all by myself — can you believe she treated me that way? More time went by — resulting in Emily strongly suggesting I go get someone because it was time. 

Now — I don’t like telling medical professionals how to do their job — but — even more so — I don’t like to be on the bad side of a very stressed — and about to deliver a baby — wife. So I went to the nurse’s desk and said, “Yeah. So you probably get this a lot. But my wife says she really needs to be seen because she’s about to deliver our baby.” Though I think she didn’t trust my wife’s assessment of the situation — she did follow me to the room. She asked a few questions and then said she’d check to see how things were progressing. And — ALL OF A SUDDEN — things became very urgent for that nurse. She pressed some button and a flood of people came rushing into the room. I was pushed to the side. And Caleb was born. There was a sense of urgency for Emily — but the hospital staff didn’t quite see things the same way — until they did!

With Alice — our beautiful, talented, and — let me check what else she told me to say — amazingly funny daughter — with Alice I think Emily decided to split the difference. Here I am sleeping the night away while she went through labor. I guess she figured, “I’ve been through this twice before — I’ll know when it’s time.” She woke me up in the wee hours of the morning and said, “Josh. It’s time. We need to go to the hospital. We called our friend to come over to watch our boys, got to the hospital, and Alice was born within the hour.” Emily knew the times. She knew what to expect. While I was literally sleeping the night away — only to be awakened from my sleep to an urgent situation.

What Paul’s telling us — we who believe in Jesus — is that the time in which we live is a time of urgency. This is not like Wesley’s birth — a time for board games while you wait for a baby to be born. This is a mix of what that nurse in Tampa went through — when she finally saw that Caleb was coming — or what I went through with Alice — which may be the better analogy because I was literally asleep — for Paul says, “The hour has come for you to wake from sleep!” A phrase he loves to use in his letters.

Ephesians 5:13–14 NLT

13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

And…

1 Thessalonians 5:6 NLT

6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.

And…

1 Corinthians 15:34 ESV

34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

And…

1 Corinthians 16:13 ESV

13 Be watchful (wake up), stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

And…

Colossians 4:2 ESV

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

And not only Paul says this — Peter does as well.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

And Jesus agrees.

Matthew 24:42–43 ESV

42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

And…

Matthew 25:13 ESV

13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

And…

Matthew 26:41 ESV

41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Know the time in which you live so that you stay awake and don’t fall asleep. For the time in which we live is one of urgency. For we don’t know when our Savior will return — AND — we do know that our enemy is prowling around seeking people to devour. 

Add to this urgency that our time is limited. Your time is limited and so is mine. Time is our greatest asset and we so easily squander it away while focused on trivial things.

If you’re not a Christian — you know your time is limited. All born into this world will die. And I know there are some crazy ideas out there right now — the AI apocalypse — not AI taking over like Terminator — but a merging of humanity with AI so we’ll somehow live forever. God help us for such manmade substitutions of promises he’s already made and guaranteed. Humanity has always put our hope in the next great technological discovery that will be our defeat of death. We’re not the first generation to think we’ll conquer our greatest enemy — but will we be as foolish as the previous generations who thought they could save themselves while rejecting God’s Savior? Will you reject God’s plan of salvation in hope that man will come up with a better plan?

And — for the Christian — because your time is limited — for all who are born into this world will die — there’s no time to waste. You have the Good News of salvation entrusted to you — by God — to share with others. No time for apathy. No time for waste. No time for indifference. No time to be caught like a worker who didn’t know that his Master was about to return or a sleeping father who didn’t know his daughter was about to be born.

I’m not talking about ignoring God’s gift of rest — I’m talking about wasting away God’s gift of life. For you are…

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

10 God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

And — until Jesus returns — or your death day arrives — you’re to live with God’s good works for you in mind. Knowing that every day is both a gift and one day closer to your day of salvation — the day when your salvation is completed when you see Jesus face to face.

And here may be the greatest motivation for living this way in the time in which we live.

Romans 13:12 ESV

12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand.

With Jesus’ first coming — the rising sun of salvation began to dawn on God’s creation. The night — creation under the curse without the resurrected Savior — came to an end. Yes — it’s not fully day yet — that’s the eternal glorious day of eternity — but the night has come to an end. Winter is over. The first signs of spring — signs of joy and life — are upon us. The sun is rising, the day has dawned, and hope has burst forth into God’s creation.

I love what one author says about the phrase “the night is far gone.” He writes, “The reign of evil has almost expired and is in its last gasp.”

Though we still live in what Paul calls the “present evil age” to the Christians in Galatia — this isn’t an age of defeat for the people of God. It’s an age of power. An age of love. An age where the Holy Spirit lives in us — giving us new desires that run counter to the desires of this “present evil age” — new eyes that see how this age isn’t to be sought after and lived for — as if it’s the age to come. 

Our present age — the culture in which we live — like all cultures — is declining in morality — and this shouldn’t surprise us. For all cultures decline in morality to the degree that they reject Jesus. Thus we must live with eyes wide open to the values of the culture in which we live and not allow ourselves to be overtaken by a worldview that’s rejected Christ. Living for this “present evil age” is what we did prior to believing in Jesus — but now — we live for the “age which is still to come” — the age we catch glimpses of in this age — glimpses that give us an even greater longer for the sun to fully rise and for the night to give completely over to the eternal day that’s coming.

HOW NOT TO LIVE

Thus — in knowing the time — let’s look at how not to live in this present age. We’re back in verse twelve. There Paul writes…

Romans 13:12–14 ESV

12 So then let us cast off the works of darkness…13 Let us walk…not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy… 14 and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Notice Paul’s instructions. 

• Cast off the works of darkness. 
• Let us walk…not in. 
• Make no provision for the flesh — which means our sinful, rebellious nature. 

In this age there are ways of living that we’re to cast off — that we’re to get rid of — like clothes you’ve worn all day while working out in the hot sun. You take them off and you throw them into the dirty laundry pile far away from the noses of your family members who don’t want to smell your stank. Similarly, Paul’s saying, “There are ways you used to live” — works of darkness, he calls them — “ways that people live in this present age — that you need to take off and throw in the dirty laundry pile.” And he gives a few examples. Not an exhaustive list — just a few highlights so we get the idea of what it means to live according to the values of the present age.

He says don’t walk in orgies and drunkenness. A Bible scholar states, “These words used together picture drunken individuals having a so-called “good time” and disturbing the citizens of the town.”

Paul says don’t walk in sexual immorality and sensuality. The same scholar says, “Sexual immorality is a Greek word which can simply be translated as “bed” and the word rendered “debauchery” is one of the ugliest words in the Greek language, describing one who is not only given over to immorality, but is incapable of feeling shame.” Our present age’s love for pornography — and its snare on many Christians — is exactly the kind of thing Paul’s saying we must throw into the dirty laundry pile.

And don’t walk in quarreling and jealousy. This would include things like holding grudges and being envious of the success of others.

This is how you used to live — Paul says — when you were in the darkness — when you lived according to the present evil age — when you were a child of wrath.

HOW TO LIVE

But now — Paul says — we’re to live differently as the people of God. In verse twelve he says…

Romans 13:12–14 ESV

12 So then let us…put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime… 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…

Here’s a truth we all need to believe more deeply: We’re not helpless victims, but are victors because of what Christ has accomplished on our behalf. Christ did not depart for heaven to leave us as orphans — or the illustration Paul uses — as soldiers without the weapons and equipment we need to fight and win. No — we’ve been provided everything we need in order to defeat the works of our enemy, to not give in to our fleshly desires, and to live a life of victory. But this life of victory is only possible when we walk closely with Jesus — meaning when he has the desires of our heart — instead of our desires being given to the things of this present age.

Paul’s use of armor — I’m sure — can’t help but remind many of you of what he says in Ephesians chapter six.

Ephesians 6:10–18 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

While others may think of his words to the Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 5:4–11 ESV

4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Here Paul only mentions the breastplate and helmet — where to the Ephesians there’s much more to the armor. But I found this to be an eye opening connection: In First Thessalonians Paul calls it a breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet the hope of salvation. Faith, hope, and love. Anyone recognize this trio of Paul’s? They’re found in Paul’s love chapter that we looked at last week — where he writes…

1 Corinthians 13:1–13 NLT

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

If we think back to what we learned last week — how love does no wrong — we now see how important love — along with faith and hope — is. Faith, hope, and love are part of our spiritual armor. They’re part of how we live faithfully for Christ in this present age. They’re part of what it means for us to put on Christ — which Paul tells us to do — because our faith, hope, and love are in a person — Jesus Christ.

Now — if you know your Bible — you may wonder, “But Josh, isn’t there some place in the Bible that says we’ve already put on Jesus Christ?” Yes — and Paul’s the one who says it.

Galatians 3:27 ESV

27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

If we’ve already put on Christ — how are we supposed to put him on again? Great question! In Galatians, Paul’s referring to our justification — a theological word that means the moment we’re declared to have a right standing with God. In Romans, Paul’s referring to our sanctification — a theological word that means our ongoing growth in Christ-likeness and holiness that comes after we’ve been justified.

In other places in the Bible we see that we’re declared to be holy — justification — and also commanded to grow in holiness — our sanctification. The Bible uses different language to express the same idea — but here in Romans — Paul’s using the imagery of putting off and putting on.

But — specifically and practically — how do we put on Jesus? Let’s use faith, hope, and love as the key to help us understand what it means to put on Jesus. Paul told us earlier in Romans that faith comes from hearing. So we put on Christ — through faith — by hearing the Word of God about Christ. This would include regularly worshiping with a local church where Christ is faithfully preached. This would also include listening to Scripture and listening to Christ-exalting songs.

Hope comes by believing in God’s promises to his people. To put on Christ — through hope — means we must know, remember, and remind ourselves of God’s promises to us that are guaranteed because of what Jesus has done for us. We do this by reading and meditating on Scripture. We do this through Bible memorization where — you take a verse that declares a promise of God to his people — and put it to memory. We also do this through discussing God’s Word with others — something many of you do in your Life Group.

Finally — there’s love. We put on Christ — through love — by seeing and savoring the beauty and loveliness of Christ. By dwelling on his love for you — which will lead you to love others as you’ve first been loved by Christ.

If we return to the clothes analogy — one person has said, “When I get up in the morning I put on my clothes, intending them to be part of me all day, to go where I go and do what I do. They cover me and make me presentable to others. That is the purpose of clothes. In the same way, the apostle is saying to us, “Put on Jesus Christ when you get up in the morning. Make him a part of your life that day. Intend that he goes with you everywhere you go, and that he acts through you in everything you do. Call upon his resources. Live your life IN CHRIST.” And [remember that] Paul emphasizes that it’s “the Lord Jesus Christ” that we put on. We bow to his Lordship. We’re to live under his lordship. He is King of all or he is not King at all.”

And though I don’t want to make this a legalistic rule — as I understand some of us have unique situations — this putting Jesus on is accomplished during your quiet time — your devotional time — your whatever “Christianese you want to call it” time. And it’s best when this is done first thing in your day. 

I know some of us aren’t morning people — and I think our enemy loves for our “not being a morning person” to be the reason why we go about most of our day without having put Christ on. For that’s what happens if you wait until half or nearly all of the day has gone by to spend time with Christ.

Think about it — how many of us sleep in the clothes you’re going to wear the next day? For most of us that’d be weird. If that’s true for our physical clothes, why do we think we can do this spiritually? As followers of Jesus — who live in this present evil age — we need to wake up every day and put on our armor.

If you don’t know where to begin — when it comes to starting your day by putting on your spiritual armor — let me recommend this booklet that I’ve written on How to Make the Most of Your Devotional Time. It’s available at the Resource Center at your campus and on our church website — gatewayepc.org. And it’s free! So grab a copy and begin starting your day by putting on Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION

Know the time. And — in knowing the time — make the most of every opportunity to live faithfully in the day in which you live. For salvation is now nearer than when you first believed. The time is drawing near. Therefore put on the armor of light. Walk properly. Put on Jesus Christ. And live for him. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word to us today. A warning about the time in which we live — and — a hopeful message about the time in which we live. For the night is far gone — and the day is at hand. What hope there is in knowing that the dawn of the sun has pierced the darkness of our world.

Holy Spirit, we need your power, your guidance, and your wisdom to live faithfully in this present age. We need you to remind us each day — and each moment of every day — to put on the armor of light.

And we’re able to do so because you — Jesus — gave yourself in love for us. You lived faithfully in the age in which you lived. You remained faithful and hopeful as you saw all of us wandering aimless in the darkness. And you were determined that our enemy would not be victorious — but that we would be victors because of your sacrifice on the cross.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — indeed — faith, hope, and love will last forever. May you call many to come to faith, to experience true hope, by receiving your love for them today. And may you empower those of us who do believe to live in faith, and with hope, and in love because of all that we’ve been given in Christ. And we pray all of this in his name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

In knowing the time — may you go and live faithfully — having put on the armor of light and of Christ. Amen.

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

DATE: 8-17-25

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 and — to everyone’s delight — we’re moving on from the topic of politics — three weeks on the subject was enough. But we are continuing in Paul’s letter — and we’re in the application section — where he’s showing us how what we believe is to change how we live. 

So — if you have your Bible with you — please turn with me to Romans chapter thirteen. We’ll be in Romans chapter thirteen — looking at verses eight through ten. There Paul writes…

Romans 13:8–10 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Today we’re going to focus on what it means to be people who love others. And we’ll do so by looking at — one — what Paul means when he says that we owe others our love — two — how our love fulfills the law — meaning the Ten Commandments — and — three — what it means to love others as ourselves. What does Paul mean when he says we owe others our love, how does our love fulfill the law, and what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? That’s where we’re headed today.

Now — if you’re here and wouldn’t call yourself a Christian — know that for those who follow Jesus — God’s Word is our final authority on all things — or at least it’s supposed to be. We Christians are a work in progress — individually and corporately — so don’t hold our failures against God. But with God’s Word as our final authority on all things — his definition of love and what it means to be a loving person is what we aim for. Again — God’s Word gives us the ideal — of who we Christians can and should be — but because of our sin — just like you — we regularly fail at being who we long to be. That doesn’t invalidate God’s Word — in fact — many times our failures prove the truthfulness and trustworthiness of God’s Word because — often — it’s like, “Yup. The Bible did say that would happen if I did that.”

• That you’d experience anxiety by putting all of your hope in keeping up your appearance rather than being honest with others about what’s really going on in your life.
• Or that you’d face a seemingly insurmountable gap in your relationship by betraying your spouse for that one night stand on a work trip.
• Or that you’d know the feeling of loneliness by refusing to practice spiritual disciplines that God designed for his people’s good.

So — yes — God’s Word is our final authority. And — yes — we Christians still often try to find a way to fulfill what we long for while ignoring God’s Word. But we gather together each week to sit under God’s preached Word — so that — we’re all drawn back to God and his Word and live the “therefore lives” that Paul’s describing to us. Which — today — is on how we’re to love others.

WE HAVE A LOVE DEBT TO PAY

So let’s jump in by returning to the beginning of verse eight where Paul writes…

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other…

With as slow as we’re going through Romans — it’s hard to remember how what we’re currently reading relates to what we’ve previously seen in Romans. But not too long ago, Paul wrote…

Romans 12:9–13 ESV

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

We looked at this passage back on Mother’s Day — three months or so ago — which is long enough to miss the connection between it and our verses for today. My point is that our love for others isn’t a new topic for Paul. He brought it up back in chapter twelve — early in his description of what a life changed by Christ looks like. In fact, I’m not sure that Paul ever left the topic of love. In describing genuine love — in Romans twelve — Paul mentions “holding fast to what is good” and “honoring” others. He then tells us how to overcome evil with good and — as we’re all familiar with by now — he goes on to talk about how we’re to honor those who are in authority over us. Including the words…

Romans 13:7 ESV

7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Which then transitions nicely to our verse…

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other…

Paul’s made it clear — I think — that those who believe in Jesus are not to go delinquent on the debt we owe. Whether it be taxes to the government. Revenue for something we’ve purchased. Respect and honor to those in authority. But — now — he adds love. And Paul says that we’re to owe no one anything — except — to love each other. 

Some take Paul to be saying that Christians are not to have debt — no credit card, car, or mortgage debt. Yet this would be quite odd for Paul to say right after saying, “pay back what you owe people” — including financial debts. I’m not saying we’re free to pile on a bunch of debt — there’s biblical warrant for being careful about debt — but what I am saying is that this kind of debt isn’t on Paul’s mind in our verse — he’s focusing on a different kind of debt we owe: a debt to love others.

In fact — the point of this sermon’s title — “love does no wrong” — is to highlight the importance God has put on love in the life of his people. For God calls his people to be lovers of people — where everything we do is to be done as a loving person. And love does no wrong towards the one loved. As Paul writes elsewhere…

1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV

14 Let all that you do be done in love.

…including — paying back the debts we owe. Which means that we — who believe in Jesus — don’t just pay our taxes — even non-Christians can and should do that. But we’re to pay our taxes — not reluctantly, or angrily, or indignantly — but lovingly. And we pay for our purchases lovingly. And we show respect and honor — and are to do so — lovingly. And we know exactly what Paul means by love. For he defines it when he writes…

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Words used in wedding ceremonies — but unfortunately — have failed to be applied to the breadth that Paul originally intended. For Paul wasn’t even writing about marriage when he wrote these words. He was just talking about love. Love for husbands and wives? Sure! But also love that Christians are to have for other Christians. And love that Christians are to have for non-Christians. Even love that Christians are to have for their enemies.

Now — in our culture — love is often described as a subjective feeling. Then there are people who — if you say, “You never say ‘I love you’,” will respond with, “My actions demonstrate that I do.” Paul challenges both of these views of love. Love isn’t a subjective — undefinable — feeling — he’s defined love! — and neither is it purely action. As one pastor has said…

Love is not just an action toward a person; it’s a mindset, an attitude, a disposition that produces behaviors that are good for people. Isn’t it amazing that Paul’s description of love contains almost entirely inner dispositions not outward actions. To be sure all these dispositions produce certain outward behaviors, but that is not the essence of love: patience, not envying, not arrogant, not irritable, not resentful, not rejoicing at wrong, rejoicing in the truth, bearing, believing, hoping, enduring. These are all acts of the soul first, not acts of the body.

Which means — you can be doing all of the “loving things” while still not loving people — or God — for that matter.

So — here’s where we are. Everything we do is to be done in love. And love is specifically defined for us in God’s Word. Yet we still haven’t seen how loving others is a debt we owe them. Remember Paul tells us to…

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other…

Admittedly confusing language — because — owing something usually means that they’ve given us something. Whether we agree with all that it goes to or not — we owe taxes because we receive benefits from the government. We owe someone revenue because we’ve received something from them. And so on. But there are many people who’ve never given you or me anything — and yet — Paul says we owe them our love. So what does he mean — how did we get in their debt? 

Let’s make this personal — how did you get into my debt — where you owe me your love — just as I owe you my love — just as we all owe each other our love — just as we owe everyone in Findlay and Bucyrus — and ultimately the world — our love? That’s a really big debt to owe, right? So how’d we get into such debt?

Again Paul says, “Owe no one — that’s all inclusive — anything, except to love each other” — and the “each other” refers back to “no one.” So — for the Christian — this command includes loving Christians and non-Christians — because loving everyone is a debt we owe. So how’d we get into this debt?

We believed in Jesus.

Look at what Paul wrote earlier in Romans.

Romans 1:14 ESV

14 I am under obligation (“I owe a debt”) both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

And what is the debt Paul owes them? He goes on to tell us.

Romans 1:15 ESV

15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The debt he owes — to Jews, Greeks, barbarians, slaves, and freemen — is sharing the gospel with them. And why is Paul under this debt? He tells us in his opening words of the letter.

Romans 1:1–7 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God had called Paul — called him from spiritual death to spiritual life — called him from being an opponent of Christianity to an apostle. He says that God set him apart for the gospel — set apart is one of the most common phrases used to describe God’s people — holy ones, saints, set apart ones — something true not just of Paul but of all who believe in Jesus. Additionally, Paul says that God had given him grace and faith — and gave these gifts to Paul for the sake of God’s name being proclaimed among all the nations — including those in Rome who are loved by God. And — all of this — put Paul in debt.

And since — if you believe in Jesus — God has called you from spiritual death to spiritual life. And God has set you apart for the sake of his gospel being proclaimed throughout all of his creation. And God has saved you through faith in Jesus Christ and all that he accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection on your behalf. You also are in debt.

Yet this is not a debt you can pay back to God. So the debt you owe isn’t to God — you can’t pay that debt back. Yet — the debt we owe to others isn’t because of something we’ve received from them either. The debt we owe — to love others — all people — Christians, non-Christians, even our enemies — with a love that is patient and kind, isn’t arrogant or rude, and so on — the debt of love you owe to others is because you’ve been loved by Christ when you did not deserve his love. And — in response to his love for you — not to pay him back — but because you want to honor him and make him and his love for you look glorious to the world — you love all people.

• What about those who don’t deserve your love? Remember — you didn’t deserve Christ’s love.
• What about those who won’t receive your love? How long did Christ love you without you receiving his love?
• But, Josh, this sounds awfully self-sacrificial and costly.

1 John 3:16 ESV

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought (are debtors) to lay down our lives for the brothers.

1 John 4:11 ESV

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought (are debtors) to love one another.

Two questions before we move on. First, do you know that God loves you in this way — unconditionally so? God doesn’t love you because he weighed his options and thought, “Well, I’ll get a little more something out of this one than that one, so I’ll love her and not him.” He didn’t think, “Look at how pathetic she is, I’ll only give her a little bit of my love, but not all of it.” Nothing like that.

When God chose to love you he knew everything about you. Including that…

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

1 you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, [and how you followed the] the course of this world, [and followed] the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, [and how you carried] out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

And — yet — he said, “This one’s mine anyway. I love him. I love her. She’s my daughter. He’s my son. They’re my forever children.” Pastor Tim Keller described all of this with these words: “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

And — in being loved this way — we find ourselves obligated to love God in return — so much so that our love for him overflows into our love for all people. And this kind of love is a love that fulfills the law.

A LOVE THAT FULFILLS THE LAW

As Paul writes…

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

And…

Romans 13:10 ESV

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

The “law” — here — refers to the Ten Commandments. We know this because Paul quotes some of the Ten Commandments in verse nine. This is important for us to understand — because this highlights the difference between true Christianity and what many think is Christianity. Many think that Christianity is — if you do these things — or don’t do these things — then God will love you. Where — what you do — earns God’s love. And that’s not Christianity. 

Christianity — true Christianity — is what Tim Keller said. Yes — you are more flawed and sinful than most of us would ever dare admit about ourselves. And — at the same time — you’re more loved and accepted by Jesus than most of us are able to dare believe is true. But — in being loved — not because of what we have or haven’t done — but simply because God has chosen to love you — now — what you do isn’t done to earn God’s love, but is done because you are loved. Meaning the motivation behind what we do — having believed in Jesus — isn’t the law — “if you do this you’ll be rewarded or if you do that you’ll be punished” — but is love. For the God who created everyone and everything has said, “You are my forever loved son or daughter.” Love — not law — is the motivation for what the Christian does. And — plot twist — that includes — obeying God’s law!

So it’s not that the law — or the Ten Commandments — is unimportant or out of date. What Paul is stressing is that the motivation for the Christian — when it comes to…

• Worshiping no other gods.
• Including the idols of our day.
• And not taking God’s name in vain.
• And resting as we remember the Sabbath.
• And honoring our fathers and mothers — which — as we saw the past few weeks — applies to all who are in authority.
• And our motivation for not murdering.
• And not committing adultery.
• And not stealing.
• And not lying.
• And not coveting…

…is love. God’s love for us and our love for him in return. And our love for God can’t help but spill over into our love for other people. I mean — right — more than half of the Ten Commandments are about our relationships with others. And our obedience to these commandments — like all of the commands — is love.

Which may make you wonder, “Then what’s the point of the law?” Traditionally there are three reasons for God’s law — but we’re only focused on one: God’s law shows us how to love God and love others. That’s why — when Jesus was asked…

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

LOVING OTHERS AS WE LOVE OURSELVES

I’m sure you noticed — if you hadn’t already — that Paul quotes Jesus when he writes…

Romans 13:9 ESV

9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” is a quote from the Old Testament book of Leviticus. What an interesting command — the wording, I mean: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Some have tried to take Jesus’ two commands and make them into three. 1) Love God. 2) Love others. 3) And love yourself. But that’s not what he says — that’s not what Paul says either. 

It’s 1) love God and 2) love others…as you already love yourself — or in the same way that you already love yourself. You see — Jesus and Paul — and the rest of the Bible for that matter — assume we already love ourselves. Now — because this is what we do — we go to a few exceptions. Like, “What about the suicidal person? Do they really love themself?” There’s not enough time to explore such a personal subject like suicide. All I’ll say is that — exceptions like this — prove a principle — they don’t disprove it. And what we see all around us is that the vast majority of people are experts at loving themselves. Thus God found no need for “love yourself” to be a command. 

So what are Jesus and Paul saying? Essentially they’re saying, “With all of the passion, zeal, energy, and focus that you put in loving yourself — make that your measure of what it means to love others.” Sometimes we Christians are way too quick to call the idolatry card on others simply because they’re finding enjoyment in God’s creation. And — to be clear — being loving towards yourself and enjoying God’s creation aren’t necessarily sinful — though they can become sinful.

For example…

• For those who love to golf — who find great joy and delight in getting out on the course. Take the same passion you have for golfing — the zeal, the time you put into it, and so on…Paul says, and “Put in the same effort toward loving God and loving others.” Then you’ll know that golf is simply a gift from God that you enjoy and not an idol of your heart.
• Or maybe you find joy in sewing, or crafts, or painting — what Jesus and Paul are saying to you is to put the same passion you have for your sewing, crafting, painting, or whatever — the same zeal, the same time and effort you put into it, and so on…and put the same effort in your loving God and loving others. Then you’ll know that your hobby is simply a gift from God that you enjoy and not an idol of your heart.
• Whether it be running, or listening to music, or playing video games, or going on vacations to Disney World, or whatever you find joy in — put the same energy and focus into your love for God and others — so that you love others as you love yourself.

Now — some of you are playing mind referee right now. Instead of thinking about yourself — you’re thinking of someone else. If this is you — the first thing you should do is repent. And — second — know that the very real spiritual enemy we face loves nothing more than for you to hear truth from God and ignore how it applies to your life by thinking of how it applies to someone else. 

Does it apply to others? Absolutely! But the point of hearing God’s Word preached is for God to speak to you about your life first. 

• All of us have good gifts from God that are vying for the affections of our heart. 
• All of us have an enemy who wants us to hear God’s Word and — instead of being changed — to become religiously smug and proud. The irony being that — in doing this — we end up being unloving towards ourselves.
• So I’ll be honest for all of us: We all have room to grow in our love for God and others. None of us have matched our love for others with our love for ourselves. 

So…

• How might God want you to love others? 
• To love your family? 
• To love your spouse — if you’re married? 
• To love your co-workers? 
• To love those who are part of your church family? 
• To love the kids in Kidway? 
• The youth? 
• To love your neighbors?

CONCLUSION: LOVING OTHERS AS JESUS FIRST LOVED US

Yet we can’t talk about loving God and loving others — without remembering two other things Jesus said on this subject. 

Luke 10:25–37 NLT

25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” 29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. 33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ 36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Jesus’s point is obvious: it’s possible to be very religious — and — very unloving. You can even be an expert in God’s Word — and — be an expert in being unloving. At the same time — someone can not fit the mold of those same religious so-called experts — and yet be someone who fulfills the law by their love.

Second, Jesus said this about love.

John 13:34 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.

Followers of Jesus are not only to love our neighbor in the way we love ourselves — we’re to love others in the way we’ve been loved by Christ. For Jesus is the true and better Good Samaritan who didn’t leave us to eternally perish on the side of the road because of our sin, but entered into our world to soothe and bandage the wounds caused by our sin. And he took our place — not just half dead beside the road — but on a cross where he died for our sins. And it’s this love — Jesus’ love for you as displayed in his life and death — that he now commands you — and me — and all who believe in him — to love others with. For this is the only love that does no wrong — not to God or others. For it’s a love in response to — and empowered by — the perfect love that Jesus Christ has for you. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Loving Father, today your Word has told us of your great, powerful, and saving love for your people. And — in being loved by you — we’re indebted to love others. Forgive us — we ask — for the many times we’ve not loved you or our neighbors. And forgive us for forgetting and doubting your love for us. For when we really trust in your love — grasp your love — dwell on your love — we will be changed into people who love.

Spirit, you’re the One who causes this change in us. Change us, we ask. Give us new hearts. Open our eyes and ears. For those who already believe — stir in us an increasing passion and trust in your love so we live a life of loving others.

And — Jesus — you are the perfect display of what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. We’re so grateful for your love. May we keep our eyes fixed on you so that we show the world your love for them through our love for them.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — to any who’ve yet to trust in your love — may you draw them to you — giving them new life — as you give them faith to believe and trust in your love for them. And we pray all of this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / I believe, now what? at Resource Center)

May you go knowing that Jesus gave his life in love for you — and in response — may you love God and love others. Amen.

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