Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Exemplary Giving
“In 1972, a crack commando unit was
sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men
promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles
underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of
fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find
them....maybe you can hire The A-Team.”
One of my favorite TV shows growing up was the A-Team. As a
12 year old boy, I was drawn to its cool theme song, multiple explosions, and
the fact that there would be at least one a car flipping over during the
pivotal chase scene. Each episode was the same. Someone had a problem and they
reached out to the A-Team. The A-Team would begin to try and solve the problem
before hitting some sort of snag in the plan. The snag would then cause
everyone to pull together and build some secret traps or special device to
ensure victory.
As I look
back, I am only moderately impressed by the action sequences, the cheesy one
liners and the explosions, but I still appreciate how everyone pulled together
to snatch victory out of apparent defeat. Their success was only possible
because everyone was willing to use their individual gifts to work for the
corporate good. A team will always be more successful when everyone is willing
to sacrifice for the mission. The early church understood their mission. We
know that they understood the gravity and the responsibility of the mission
given by King Jesus because of their willingness to work together to complete
their mission. The early church was willing to give to complete the mission.
The Apostle
Paul traveled to preach the gospel to Gentiles. He traveled to plant churches.
He traveled to encourage and strengthen the churches. He also traveled to
collect money for the struggling saints in Jerusalem. One of the reasons Paul
traveled on his missionary journeys was to organize a collection for the saints
in Jerusalem. The saints were shut out of society and therefore could not earn
and income. The only way the church was able to survive was by the generosity
of believers in other cities.
This
morning, I want to encourage you to exemplary giving. We have a mission to make
disciples, but in order to fulfill our mission we all are going to need to come
together individually for the corporate good. Over the last several months, I
have witnessed our congregation grow in unity. I do believe we are on the way
to becoming an exemplary church, but we have hit a financial snag and have to
pull together so that we can continue to complete our mission.
Exemplary Giving is a
Sign
How you handle money is a sign
of whether you are a follower of Christ. We are called to be kingdom citizens.
We have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and transferred into the
kingdom of the Beloved Son. We are now citizens of the kingdom of God. Are you
living like a kingdom citizen? Paul writes to the wealthy Corinthian church
saying he is sending for the collection of the saints. 2 Corinthians 9:1-7,
Now it is superfluous for me to
write to you about the ministry for the saints, for I know your readiness, of
which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been
ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I am
sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this
matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. Otherwise, if some
Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be
humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. So I thought it
necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for
the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as
an exaction. The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one
must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:1-7)
Paul had confidence that the Corinthian church would give to
the need of the Jerusalem saints. He was confident and boasted in the
willingness, but they had to actually give to prove their willingness. Paul
implies that if the Corinthians didn’t give, both Paul and the Corinthians
would be humiliated. Their giving would be a sign as their willingness to
support the mission of the church. Would the church fulfill the promise that
they made? It was a matter of their word.
I believe
there are many Christians who say they are willing to give, but the reality of
the numbers claim that many Christians should be humiliated by what they give.
According to a study last October (2014),
·
Only 3-5% of Americans who give to their local
church do so through regular tithing.
·
When surveyed, 17% of Americans state that they
regularly tithe.
·
For Christian families making less than $20k per
year, 8% of them gave at least 10% in tithing. For families making a minimum of
$75k or more, the figure drops to just 1%.
·
The average donation by adults who attend U.S.
Protestant churches is about $17 a week.
·
37% of people who attend church every week and
identify themselves as Evangelical don’t give any money to their church.
·
97% of Christians who tithe make it a top
financial priority to give to their local church.
·
People who tithe regularly typically have less
debt than other demographics – 8 out of 10 have zero credit card debt and 28%
of them are completely debt free, including not having a mortgage.
·
77% of those who tithe give 11%–20% or
more of their income, far more than the baseline of 10%.
·
If Christians followed the Old Testament
standard of giving across the board, then $139 billion would become available
every year for additional ministry work.[1]
The tithe or 10% was part of the Old Testament law. We are
no longer bound by the law of Moses for we are no under the law of Christ.
Romans 7:4, “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to
the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to
another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear
fruit for God.” We have died to law through the body of Christ so that we might
belong to Jesus Christ. We are now under the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).
And if we
have a better law than the law of Moses, then why did Old Testament saints give
more than today’s Christians? If Christians gave according to the law, then
$139 billion dollars would be available for God’s mission. Paul makes it pretty
clear, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he
has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver.” We no longer have to give, but we get to give. For we get to
reap a harvest of righteousness for the King of glory.
I have
heard this verse used often as an excuse of why people are not required to give
their tithe to the church. And they are right, we are not required to give. But
in not giving we reveal our hearts do not have God as our supreme treasure.
Jesus said,
Do not lay up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and
steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body.
So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your
eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you
is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:19-24)
Jesus then goes on to say how seeking after the things of
this world, food, drink and clothing, is a reflection of the citizens of this
world not those of the kingdom.
A lack of
giving is a spiritual problem. God loves a cheerful giver. He does not love a
reluctant one. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart. And if you
have decided in your heart not to give, this may be an indication of a lack of
love for God or his gospel. God does not want your money, He wants your heart.
He will use your money to get to your heart.
Exemplary Giving is
Sustaining
God
sustains your giving. God supplies seed to the sower and bread for food and he
will multiply both.
And God is able to make all grace
abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you
may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he
has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed
to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing
and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every
way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to
God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the
saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they
will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of
the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for
all others, (2 Corinthians 9:8-13)
There are many tangible benefits for being generous.
I just want to draw out one
application of this text. Verse 12, “For the ministry of this service is not
only supplying for the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many
thanksgiving to God.” The giving of the saints was necessary to supply the
needs of the saints. There are needs for ministry that must be met by the
generosity of the saints. And when needs are met with generosity it leads to
thanksgiving to God. It is a privilege to meet the needs of the saints for it
encourages others to glorify and give thanksgiving to God.
Have you
ever had your needs met unexpectedly? Maybe you were facing a big house repair
and you were unsure how it was going to be paid when a contractor shows up at
your house and he tells you the work has already been paid for by someone else.
What do you think the response will be? It will be joy and thanksgiving and
giving glory to God. When we give to meet the needs of the saints it leads to
God’s glory. It is a privilege to give. The Bible often pictures the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ as an offering to pay off debt. Jesus gave his life as a ransom
to buy us back from slavery and death. How much joy and thanksgiving and glory
has Jesus’ payment brought into our world? The Bible says for the joy set
before Him, He endured the cross. Jesus knew the great privilege it was to pay
for the sins of the world because it resulted in the glory and honor and praise
of God the Father.
Do you see
the motivation to give is not from guilt? We give for God’s glory. We give
because God is our greatest treasure. And we give because our giving will
result in others glorifying God. Giving to God’s people leads to God’s glory.
Exemplary Giving is Simple
Paul ultimately does not praise
the Corinthians for their gift, but gives thanks to God for His surpassing
grace and inexpressible gift that rests upon the Corinthians.
By their approval of this service
(giving), they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your
confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for
them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of
the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible
gift! (2 Cor. 9:13-15)
The Corinthians give in response to the surpassing grace of
God that rests upon them. God has given them an inexpressible gift so they are
simply acting in kind. God gives to us so that we can give to others.
Giving,
like most of the Christian life, is simple, but it is not easy. It is more
blessed to give than to receive. Money brings great temptation. Paul warns
Timothy, “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. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is
through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced
themselves with many pangs.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10) Do you love money more than
gospel? Do you love money more than God’s glory?
How you
handle the gift of money is a sign of your treasure. God has given to us so we
could give to others. God is generous with us, lavishing his grace upon us, so
that we could lavish the riches of his grace on others. If you read the Bible,
it should not take long for you to be convinced of the many benefits of giving.
Giving is simple, but not easy. We have to decide in our hearts to give. A good
starting point for Christians is to give their tithe (10%) to the local church.
We know from Scripture that members are responsible to support the preaching
ministry of the local church. 1 Timothy 5:17-18, “Let the elders who rule well
be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching
and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it
treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy
5:17-18) “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one
who teaches.” (Galatians 6:6) 1 Corinthians 9:9-12
Do I say these things on human
authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of
Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for
oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It
was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the
thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual
things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If
others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?
Even here Paul uses the law as an example implying from the
law that it is right to support teaching elders in the church. Yes, we are not
under the law of Moses, but the law of Christ which is more excellent than the
old covenant, for it is enacted on better promises (Hebrews 8:6). If we are now
under the law of Christ, our giving should reflect that reality. If we gave
according to the Old Testament standard, there would be $139 billion available
for the ministry of Christ. Is Christ not better than the law?
If you do
not tithe, I am pleading with you to start today. Maybe you haven’t tithed
because you never saw its importance or were never taught that you should. Or
you haven’t tithed because you are struggling with debt and barely making ends
meet. Whatever the reason, I am urging you to start tithing to your church. If
you need help creating a budget, we have gifted individuals in this church that
would be more than happy to help you on a path to wise financial stewardship.
Your money shows what you value.
Someone once shared with me how
they had never tithed because they never thought they could afford it. He
really wanted to buy a new car so he started to rearrange his finances so that
he could afford the car payments. After he bought the car, he realized that he
could do the same thing with his tithe. It wasn’t an issue of ability, but of
desire. Giving is simple, but not easy. Today, purpose in your heart to give.
Exemplary Giving is Sacrificial
We have been entrusted with the
gospel. We have a mission to make disciples of all nations. Over the last several
years, our church has been slowly depleting its savings. We have been spending
more than what we have been taking in. We have been slowly bleeding like a
soldier in the field. We need to apply a tourniquet to the wound. Our finance
committee wants to set our budget at our expenses, but to do so we would have
to make cuts that would significantly impact our ministry. In order to set a
realistic budget for our church, we are going to need a little over $27,000
more per year. We are trusting in God to provide for the needs of the church,
but as we saw in our text this morning, God provides for the needs of the
saints through the saints.
Many of you
are already giving sacrificially to the budget, and we are grateful for your
sacrifice. We are grateful that because of years of wise financial stewardship
we are in a better financial position than many churches. We are debt free and
have some reserves, but we are not currently meeting our expenses through our
weekly giving. We have cut our expenses by almost $30,000 already, which still
leaves a gap of $27,000. We need to come together to meet this gap so that our
ministry will continue to move forward. Everyone is in a different financial
situation so we are asking everyone to look at your situation and see how God
has blessed you to meet our shortfall.
We cannot
move forward with a budget at our current expenses unless our church body is
willing to sacrificially give to our needs. We need:
|
Giving Units Needed
|
Increased Monthly Donation
|
Increased Yearly Total
|
Increased Church Yearly Total
|
|
25
|
$10
|
$120
|
$3,000
|
|
20
|
$30
|
$360
|
$7,200
|
|
15
|
$50
|
$600
|
$9,000
|
|
10
|
$70
|
$840
|
$8,400
|
|
70
Total families
|
|
|
$27,600
Fills our budget gap
|
We need everyone to come together and look for places in
your own budget to sacrifice so we can meet the difference in between our
receipts and expenses.
We are
asking each family to make a pledge on what they plan to give next year. We
want you to be praying over the next several weeks and we will collect the
pledges on December 6th during our morning service. The goal is
realistic, but it cannot be met unless we are all willing to sacrifice
together. We are trusting in God to meet our budget through the generosity of
the saints. Pray for God’s hand to be upon our church. We cannot out give God.
He has given us so much and He promises to give even more. Let me close with
one of my favorite Scriptures, “What then shall we say to these things? If God
is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him
up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
(Romans 8:31-32)
Monday, October 19, 2015
An Exemplary Hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
How do you handle death? Everyone
deals with death differently. According to Mental Health America, they provide
a list of emotions that one feels when encountering the death of a loved one:
denial, disbelief, confusion, shock, sadness, yearning, anger, humiliation,
despair and guilt[1].
As one has encountered death often, the list is extensive, but not complete. They
also provide a list for those to help others with the grieving process: share
the sorrow, don’t offer false comfort, offer practical help, and be patient.
Again, they provide a very helpful list, but it is not complete. The one thing
that is missing from both lists is hope.
Death and hope are not naturally
placed together, but for the Christian they are inseparable. We are called to
hope in the face of death and we are called to help others hope as they face
death of those they love. Churches are places of hope. We are called to be a
hopeful people. Even in the worse moments of life, Christians are called to
hope. And the hope of Christians by no means lessens the pain of death. All
death is awful. Death is sign of the curse and consequence of human rebellion.
Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and
death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Death is
a constant reminder of the curse. We will face death, but how will we face
death as church?
An exemplary church lives with an
exemplary hope. We want to have hope always on our lips for we have been born
again to the living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading in heaven (1
Peter 1:3). We will not escape death as a church. And we truly love one
another, we will experience deep sadness when we face death as a congregation,
but we must face that sadness with hope.
Hopeful
Grieving
The Thessalonians were a young
church and they believed in the resurrection. Remember back to 1 Thessalonians
1:9-10, “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had
among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true
God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus
who delivers us from the wrath to come.” They waiting for their deliverance on
the return of Jesus Christ, but there were some people that were concerned
about those who died before Jesus returned. Paul writes to give the church
hope, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are
asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” (1 Thess. 4:13)
Jesus redefined death for his
followers. Jairus’ daughter was sick and near death and he asked Jesus to come
and heal her. When Jesus and Jairus arrived at the house, they told them that
she was dead, but Jesus said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.”
(Luke 8:52) And taking her by the hand he called, “Child, arise,” and her
spirit returned and she was restored to her parents. Death for Christians was
redefined as sleep for those who go to sleep will one day wake up. Paul is
teaching these young Christians how they should think about death. Those who
die in Christ are not dead, but are asleep.
Paul does not say that Christians
shouldn’t grieve, but should grieve entirely different than the
For if we have been united with
him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a
resurrection like his. (Romans 6:5)
For those whom he foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29)
For as by a man came death, by a
man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also
in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Corinthians
15:21-23)
Indeed, I count everything as loss
because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I
have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I
may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that
comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the
righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power
of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his
death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
(Philippians 3:8-11)
Jesus said to her, “I am the
resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he
live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe
this?” (John 11:25-26)
Christians always live in the hope of the resurrection. Do
you believe this?
By saying that believers live in
the hope of the resurrection, Paul is also saying that those who do not believe
in Jesus have no hope in death. There is a resurrection promised for everyone.
Jesus says in John 5,
Truly, truly, I say to you, an
hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son
of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so
he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority
to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for
an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come
out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have
done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:25-29)
What will happen when you die? You will experience a
resurrection, but what kind of resurrection will you experience? If you were to
die today, how confident would you be that you would experience the
resurrection of life 50%, 85%, or 100%?
I have done a lot of funerals
where the family had certainty that their loved one was a believer in Christ
through their word and deed. And I have done others, when the family did not have
confidence in their loved one’s faith. The family did not have hope. It is a
completely different kind of grief. They are not comforted with truth, but come
face to face with the reality of death without God. Atheists comfort themselves
about the prospect of death by believing that they cease to exist or that they
become part of the earth and the circle life. Although they may look for
comfort elsewhere, the reality is that in death they will meet God and answer
for their sin alone. And to stand in death alone without Jesus means they will
be put in Hell.
Hell is not something that is
often mentioned in general yet alone mentioned during death. There is no hope
for those who do not have Christ, because they will have to face God
themselves. When we try to erase Hell, we darken our understanding of God’s
power. Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God.” God is so glorious and so holy that any sin against His name
deserves to be punished severely. Great American Theologian Jonathan Edwards
writes,
Rebellion against God’s authority
and contempt of his majesty, which every sin contains, is an infinite evil,
because it has that infinite aggravation of being against an infinitely
excellent and glorious majesty and most absolute authority. A sin against a
more excellent being is doubtless great than against a less excellent; and
therefore, sins against one infinite in majesty, authority and excellency must
be infinite in aggravation, and so deserves not a finite, but an infinite
punishment, which can be only by its being infinite in duration.[2]
A crime against an infinite being deserves infinite
punishment. So an exemplary church must believe in an exemplary hope, but also
must believe in a total lack of hope for those who do not have Christ. This is
the Christian message.
And when we understand how
horrific the punishment of hell truly is, we only can then understand how
glorious the hope we have in Christ. We cannot have one without the other.
Beloved, since we believe Jesus died and rose again, even so, with Jesus, God
will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Death may be hard, but we
bear it with hope. We must face death as a community with a hopeful grieving.
Hopeful
Gazing
When will this glorious hope be
finally realized? On the day of our Lord’s return. We keep our hopeful gaze on
his coming. We long for our Lord’s return. We, ourselves who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit of God, grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for
adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:24-25, “For in this
hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what
he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
And what do we wait for? Paul declares it to us by a word from the Lord. 1
Thessalonians 4:15-16, “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,
that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not
precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from
heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (1
Thessalonians 4:15-16) We wait for the blessed hope the appearing of our great
God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Paul mentions the Parousia or The
Coming of Jesus Christ four separate times in this letter (1 Thess. 2:19, 3:13,
4:15, 5:23). The coming of Christ was meant as an encouragement for the
Thessalonians to stand firm in the face of persecution. And here Paul uses the
coming of Christ to comfort his brothers and sisters who have seen dear friends
fall asleep in Christ. There is no need to worry about those who have fallen
asleep for their resurrection will precede those who are left until the end.
Those who are asleep will be the first in the resurrection. The church should
be comforted because those who have died will not miss anything. Paul does not
explain in this letter where Christians are in the intermediate state between
their physical death and the physical resurrection. We must focus on what Paul
does say rather than on what he doesn’t.
Paul uses three prepositional
phrases describing the Lord coming, “a cry of command, a voice of an archangel
and the sound of the trumpet of God.” Scholars debate on the exact nature of
how these are connected, but most see them as connected to calling the dead in
Christ to their resurrection. Christ descended from heaven issuing a cry of
command through the voice of an archangel and the sound of the trumpet of God.
Therefore Christ calls the dead via the archangel and the trumpet. The trumpet
is a common symbol throughout the Old Testament to inaugurate the Last Day (cf.
Ex. 19:16, 19; Is. 27:13; Joel 2:1; Zp. 1:14–16; Zc. 9:14).[3] The
trumpet calling the dead to life is also consistent with 1 Corinthians 15,
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will
be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put
on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (1
Corinthians 15:51-53)
This promise of an imperishable body is only for those who
are dead in Christ. “In Christ” being an abbreviated way of defining believers.
Do not lose the intent of the
passage. Paul speaks about the coming of the Lord as an encouragement for the
church. It was not written to garner debate and disagreement about the timing
of the Last Day, but to encourage the saints to press on even in death because
one day God is going to come again. We all may differ slightly on how we view
the sequence of the end of history will occur, but there should be no
disagreements that we all believe that Jesus Christ will come again and close
all of history.
Hopeful
Gathering
Paul offers one more encouragement
to the Thessalonians. He not only wants them to see that those who have fallen
asleep will not miss out on the resurrection, but they will not miss out on the
glorious gathering of the saints in heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we who
are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” Let us first
deal with the content of the verse then we can look at the main intent of
verse.
The idea of a rapture has come from
verse 17. The word “caught up” comes from the Greek word harpazo which is
translated rapio in the Lain which is where we get our English word rapture. As
we have seen in verse 16, it does not appear that this is a silent event, but a
loud visible cosmic declaration of the coming of the King of kings and the Lord
of lords, Jesus Christ. The saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the
air or the clouds. Daniel mentions that the Lord will be coming in the clouds
and the angel said after Jesus ascended into heaven that they would see him
return in the same manner. The term “meet” comes from the technical greeting of
a visiting dignitary to a city. The city officials and citizens would meet the
dignitary on the road and then be ushered back into the city with great
celebration and fanfare. The word is used with a similar meaning elsewhere in
the New Testament[4].
Although the passage does not clearly state what happens after the alive and
sleeping saints meet the Lord together in the air, it is a logical deduction
that they met Jesus in the air to usher him back to the earth. We do not have
time to unpack how this passage relates specifically to the millennium and the
tribulation, but appears based on this passage alone that Paul is describing
the Last Day and consummation of history.
It would be easy to get lost in
the details, but we have to continue to focus on the Holy Spirit’s intent
through Paul to encourage the church of the Thessalonians. There are two main
encouragements from this verse. First, all the saints of history will be
reunited as it says, “caught up together with them.” We have not lost those who
have fallen asleep. Their sleeping will one day end and w all will be reunited
together. How comforting and encouraging is that truth!!! We will see all those
we have lost in Christ again. It is hard to quantify how encouraging that is.
One of my favorite things to watch is military reunions. I love to watch
children run to their dads and wives run to their husbands. The joy and
happiness is so overwhelming that in almost every reunion I see, I am moved to
tears. Can you even imagine how glorious our reunion will be with the saints
who fallen asleep?
The second encouragement from this
verse is that we will be with the Lord. The text says we will be caught up
together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with
the Lord. Our Savior who for our sake, became sin who knew sin. Our King who
bore our sins in his body on a tree. Our Messiah who took our shame nailing it
to the cross. Our Prince who delivered us from God’s wrath. Our Lord who cast
our sin as far as the east is from the west. On that Day we will always be with
Jesus and all his saints. Do you long you to see Jesus? It will be glorious to
see our love ones, but it will be even more glorious to see the King of Glory.
Jesus is our only hope in life and
in death. On November 15, 1982, Atheist and Russian General Secretary Leonid
Brezhnev was buried at the age of 72. Then Vice President George H.W. Bush
attended the funeral. Five years later when giving a graduation address, Bush
recalled that day,
(At the funeral of Soviet leader
Leonid Brezhnev,) things were run in military precession; a coldness and
hollowness pervaded the ceremony – marching soldiers, steel helmets, Marxist
rhetoric, but no prayers, no comforting hymns, no mention of God. The Soviet
leaders took their places on the Kremlin Wall as the Brezhnev family silently
escorted the casket around to its final resting place. I happened to be in just
the right spot to see Mrs. Brezhnev. She walked up, and took one last look at
her husband and there – in the cold, grey center of that totalitarian state –
she traced the sign of the cross over her husband’s chest.[5]
There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife
of the man who had run it all, hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that
there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who
died on the cross.[6]
She knew that the only hope in the face of death was Jesus. She knew people in atheistic
Russia didn’t want to think of Jesus, but she also knew that the only way to
bring hope in death was to share the hope of the cross.
An exemplary church will regularly
speak of our exemplary hope as we face death. 1 Thessalonians 4:18, “Therefore
encourage one another with these words.” Is there anything that could be more
encouraging than sharing real hope? Let
us commit ourselves to the unwavering hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. “May
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the
power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13) Believe and
share the gospel of hope.
[1]
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/coping-loss-bereavement-and-grief
accessed 10.17.2015
[2]
Jonathan Edwards, quoted in Jonathan Edwards on Heaven and Hell by Owen Strachan
and Douglas Allen Sweeney. Moody Publisher, Chicago 2010
[3]
Wanamaker, C. A. (1990). The Epistles to
the Thessalonians: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 173). Grand Rapids,
MI: W.B. Eerdmans.
[4]
“To meet” the Lord translates a term used only two other times in the New
Testament. In the parable of the ten maidens the maidens are called out to
“meet” the groom and join the marriage procession (Matt 25:6). Outside Rome
some Christian brethren came to “meet” Paul and escort him back into the city
(Acts 28:15[4]
[6]
Gary Thomas, in Christianity Today, October 3, 1994, p. 26.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Exemplary Love (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12)
On June 28,
1919 Harry married Bess. Harry and Bess attended school together from
elementary to high school, but Harry claimed he fell in love with her when he
was 6 years old in a Sunday School class in Independence, MO. Sadly, Bess
spurned his advances throughout school. It wasn’t until a “chance” encounter
when Harry returned a dish for his aunt to her neighbor and Bess opened the
door that their romance began. Their relationship of love grew for one another
and after Harry’s service in the war, they married and would spend 53 years
together as husband and wife. During their courtship and marriage, Harry wrote
1,300 letters to his beloved Bess almost every night he spent away from her[1]. Harry loved Bess. And
Harry was a very busy man, as he was the 33rd President of the
United States of America. Harry Truman wrote to his beloved Bess during times
of campaigning, diplomacy and war.
On June 28,
1948 on their 29th Anniversary, Harry was in Washington and wrote to
Bess in Independence, “You still are on the pedestal where I placed you that
day in Sunday school 1890. What an old fool I am.[2]” Harry Truman did not need
to be told how to love his wife, for it was clear to everyone around him that
he loved his Bess. There are 1,300 letters documenting various ways he
expressed his love to his wife. His love was undeniable. Could the same be said
about our love? Is our love undeniable?
Love is the
distinguishing mark of a Christian. If a person does not love, then they do not
know God. The Apostle John writes, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love
is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who
does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8). Love is
the undeniable mark of the Christian faith. Therefore love should be the
undeniable mark of the Church. Are we known for our love? Is the love in our
congregation undeniable to those inside and outside our congregation?
The
Thessalonians were known for their love. If we want to become an exemplary
church then we must have a love that is undeniable to others. In our text, we
will see one theological aspect of an undeniable love. Then, we will focus on
three specific applications on what that love will look like to those around
us.
Powerful Love
of Others
Paul is closing the letter with
specific exhortations to the church. He begins the final section of the letter
with highlighting the importance of sexual purity. The church must have a
different sexual ethic than the world. Remember the church would have been full
of young believers since it was only a few months old and those young believers
would need to be taught and re-taught on how to live for Christ. After
addressing sexual purity, Paul makes a sharp transition to address brotherly
love. 1 Thessalonians 4:9, “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for
anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one
another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout
Macedonia.” The Thessalonians had been taught by God to love one another.
The first
theological truth is that true love is supernatural. It is a gift from God. We
cannot love without God powerfully changing our hearts. In John 3, Jesus told
Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see
the kingdom of God.” Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and
in sin did my mother conceive me.” We were born sinners, born in the flesh with
a heart against God. Our natural desires were to serve ourselves. Ephesians
2:1, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.” Ephesians 2:3 says that we
“were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” The fact that the
Thessalonians love each other like a family was a demonstration of the power of
God, because of the total depravity of the human heart.
If we understand
how sinful our human hearts can be, we will be amazed at the power of God’s
regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. R.C. Sproul helps us understand the
difference between total depravity and utter depravity. He writes,
The Bible teaches the total
depravity of the human race. Total depravity means radical corruption. We must
be careful to note the difference between total depravity and "utter"
depravity. To be utterly depraved is to be as wicked as one could possibly be.
Hitler was extremely depraved, but he could have been worse than he was. I am
sinner. Yet I could sin more often and more severely than I actually do. I am
not utterly depraved, but I am totally depraved. Total depravity means that I
and everyone else are
depraved or corrupt in the totality of our being. There is no part of us that is left untouched by sin. Our minds, our wills, and our bodies are affected by evil. We speak sinful words, do sinful deeds, have impure thoughts. Our very bodies suffer from the ravages of sin.
depraved or corrupt in the totality of our being. There is no part of us that is left untouched by sin. Our minds, our wills, and our bodies are affected by evil. We speak sinful words, do sinful deeds, have impure thoughts. Our very bodies suffer from the ravages of sin.
Perhaps
"radical corruption" is a better term to describe our fallen
condition than "total depravity." I am using the word
"radical" not so much to mean "extreme," but to lean more
heavily on its original meaning. "Radical" comes from the Latin word
for "root" or "core." Our problem with sin is that it is
rooted in the core of our being. It permeates our hearts. It is because sin is
at our core and not merely at the exterior of our lives that the Bible says:
"There is none righteous, no not one; there is none who understands; there
is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together
become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." Romans
3:10-12[3]
We are sinful to the core which is why we need conversion.
We need God to teach us how to love for this is exactly what he did with the
Thessalonians.
If you are
not a loving person, it may be because you have never experienced the new
birth. Churches may not be full of love, because they may be full of people who
have not experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in conversion. Conversion is
not a mere modification of behavior, but a radical transformation of the heart.
Our passions change. Our desire change. Our very core changes. We no longer are
set against God, but are brought into his family. We are changed from enemies
to sons and daughters adopted by his grace. We must repent of our sins and
trust in Christ. And when we turn from our sins, we are transformed from the
inside out.
We even see that in how Paul
defines love in saying, “now concerning brotherly
love,” he is redefining how we are called to treat one another. We are a
family. A family of people who have been born of God whose hearts have been
transformed to love another. We are taught by God to love. It is supernatural. One
sign of this supernatural love is how we treat all the brothers. The
Thessalonians were loving all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Jesus says,
You have heard that it was said,
‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love
you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And
if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not
even the Gentiles do the same? (Matthew 5:43-47)
Do you love all?
One of the marks of an exemplary church is when people love those who are not
like them. When the rich love the poor and the young love the old, and the
singles love the married, and black loves white. An exemplary church is full of
undeniable love for all the brothers.
So the
first theological aspect of love is that it comes from God. We must be born
again. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
If you want to love, you must believe in Jesus Christ who died for sinners. He
died and rose again so that for whoever believes in him would not perish but
have eternal life. The first step of love is conversion. We love, because God
first loved us.
Peaceful Love
of Others
There is always room to grow in
our love for one another. The Thessalonians had an undeniable love, but are
told to continue in that love. 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11, “But we urge you,
brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind
your own affairs.” Christians are called to aspire to live quietly. This is a
very interesting phrasing by Paul because he puts to opposite ideas together.
We are to aspire or work eagerly to live quietly and at peace. They seem at
odds, but Paul’s focus is that the church would live in such a way to make the
gospel attractive. Although we could make an application from verse 11 to the
church, I think the primary focus is how the church interacts with the world.
Christianity
had a bad reputation in the first century. The Jews were constantly bringing
rumors before the Romans that Christians were stirring up trouble and causing
dissension in society. Paul wanted Christians to strive to be at peace and lead
a quiet life so they would be able to draw more attention to the gospel.
Christians are called to engage in our society and live as good citizens so
that we give a good witness to the world. Christians are not primarily called
to transform the culture, but to be a different culture. The greatest impact
that Christians will have on the world will be through the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We, therefore, have to be very careful in how we engage with our
culture. We are called to promote justice and truth in every area of life, but
we do so with wisdom and grace. We must live well before our culture, meaning
we must strive to be at peace within our neighbors so that people will listen
to our message.
Who do you
think will have a great impact in their workplace for the gospel: the employee
who is constantly challenging his boss to change their business practices or
the one who faithfully does their job without grumbling? I believe Christians
should focus much more on being good and faithful employees than working to
transform their work culture because I believe the best way to transform their
work environment is by being a faithful employee. Christians do not have a
great reputation in our culture. We need to be wise in how we interact with
others so that the gospel will be attractive. The main goal of Christians is
not social revolution, but to adorn the gospel and draw people to Jesus Christ.
It does not mean we should not care about society, but rather societal
transformation should not be the main goal.
The second
exhortation Paul gives to the church is to mind their own affairs, or mind your
own business. We should be focused on what we are called to do rather than
focusing on what we think others should or should not be doing. We do not know
exactly the context in which Paul gives this exhortation. It could be a general
statement or referring to something specific going on in the community that he
knows about from Timothy’s report. Either way, Christians are called to love
others by keeping their own affairs in order without meddling into other
people’s problems. We should avoid gossip and talking poorly of our brothers
and sisters. The best way to enter into the affairs of our brothers and sisters
is through prayer. Let us first bring our brother and sister’s needs before the
Lord.
As our
culture continues to evolve and drift away from traditional Christian values,
it will become even more important that Christians are careful in how we
interact with the world around us. We are called to be in the world, but not of
the world. How should Paul’s exhortation to aspire to live a quiet life and to
mind our own affairs govern our cultural involvement? We should think about the
various applications of these twin truths for our jobs, our neighborhoods, and
our politics. An exemplary church should be known primarily for their love for
Jesus, one another and the lost rather than their love for political or social
change.
Productive
Love of Others
Now we command you, brothers, in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is
walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from
us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not
idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for
it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a
burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give
you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we
would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.
Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their
work quietly and to earn their own living.
Everyone was responsible to work to care for themselves and
to contribute to the needs of the church. Those who were not willing to work
(not those who can’t find work) needed to be admonished to get busy.
Greek culture
degraded manual labor thinking it was only fitting for slaves. Christians
viewed manual labor as an honorable pursuit. Many Christians probably were
slaves and were exhorted to work hard for their master and the sake of the
gospel (Titus 2:9-10). Many Christians have adopted the Greek culture’s
perspective of manual labor, viewing it as a degrading task, but working with
ones hands is a noble undertaking. We should not avoid hard work, but rejoice
in the gift of work. Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as
for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the
inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
Love should
be expressed in being productive for the sake others. Lazy and idle people are not
loving others. Proverbs 18:9, “Whoever is slack in his work, is a brother to
him who destroys.” There were some among the Thessalonians who were depending
on the labor of others and not contributing to the needs of the community. Love
for others is an undeniable mark of a Christian, so one’s willingness to work
and serve others is an indication of that love. One’s lack of work is an indication
of their lack of love. This is not referring to those who can’t work because of
physical disability. It is referring to those who have the ability, but choose
to remain idle.
Proper Love of
Others
Paul provides the purpose for
these expressions of love. The theological principle is that Christians love
because God has taught them to love by the Holy Spirit. Those who are born of
God love others. He gives three specific expressions of that love to aspire to
live a quiet life, to mind your own affairs and to work with your hands. Then
he gives the purpose for those expressions in 1 Thessalonians 4:12, “so that
you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”
There is a
direct link in how the church lives to how it is viewed by society. Paul cared
about outsiders. Paul gave his life so that others would come to faith in
Christ. He was beaten, stoned, and suffered a lack of food so that
non-believers would come to Christ. Christians have a mission. We are called to
go and make disciples of all nations. We want the world to come to Christ and
one of the best ways for us to make an impact in the world is to be an
exemplary church. When the church is full of love, the world will know what it means to follow
Jesus. Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “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.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another.” The world will know us by our love. It is that simple.
And yet we
have to know what love is. Love is aspiring to live a quiet life and to mind
our own affairs and to work with our hands so that outsiders will see their
need for the gospel. A church should have a love that is undeniable so that those
on the outside of the community will realize what they are lacking and be
attracted to the gospel. Jesus Christ has taught us to love. “By this we know
love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for
the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need,
yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little
children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John
3:16-18)
Let me
close with a story that illustrates this principle from someone’s personal
experience. Jason Helopolous writes about how the Lord used the “strange love”
of the church to draw him to Christ:
As a freshman college student and
self-declared atheist, I attended a campus Christian fellowship to fulfill a
promise to a Christian friend. I only had the intention to go once. It was
merely duty and upholding my word, nothing more. I went begrudgingly, but I
went. My life was never the same.
I walked into a room full of
Christians and was struck by what I observed. Here was a diverse group. They
were from every walk of life. I remember scanning the room and labeling people
in my mind, “There is a jock, over there is a geek, and walking in the door is
a boy scout.” But what struck me was that they were together. They weren’t just
together in the same room, they were together in every sense of the word. They
were actually talking with each other and genuinely seemed happy to be
together. There didn’t seem to be division. Even in my atheist mind, I knew
what I was seeing: they loved one another.
I had no categories for this, so I
kept returning to find out why they had love like this for one another. Over
the course of a few months I found the answer, or more accurately stated, the
answer found me. One of the best evangelism programs you can start at your
church is to pursue loving one another well. At some point they will
have to hear the gospel proclaimed from your lips or the pulpit, but
that “strange love” will set the table before them. People will know that you are
His disciples, because it is a shocking love. It has a gravitational
attraction, because it is a love that is foreign to this world. A love that the
inquirer, if seeking an answer, will find comes from heaven[4].
Beloved, God has given us a mission to make disciples by
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. God will use the undeniable love of a local
church to draw people to Christ. Beloved, let us be a church that lives out a
faithful gospel witness in word and deed.
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