God Was Not Their King

Posted by David on October 6, 2002 under Sermons

For the next few weeks, I want to take our Sunday evening lessons from the Old Testament book of Judges. In these lessons, I do not plan to do a verse by verse study. I will call some things to your attention that you may or may not have noticed in this book. I hope I can encourage you to include Judges in your weekly readings. The things I share with you will have much more meaning if you are reading in the book. I continue to ask you to bring your Bibles with you.

This evening I call a feature of the book to your attention. It is a feature that all of you who have studied the book have noticed. Tonight we will not be content to note the feature is there. Our primary focus will be on this question: What does this feature mean?

1. Let’s begin by calling this feature in Judges to our attention.
   1. It is found in the ending section of the book. Turn to Judges 17 as we begin to look at this feature.
      1. Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.
         [Everything declared from Judges 17:1 through the closing of the book verifies that God was not a factor in the actions or the directions that were commonplace in Israel at that time. God’s leadership was completely rejected. In fact, some of the people were so ignorant of God’s ways that they thought they were doing what God would have them do.]
      2. Judges 18:1 In those days there was no king of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel.
         [This chapter combines Micah’s failure that was created by identifying idolatry with God’s way in chapter 17 with the failure of the tribe of Dan to settle a territory in chapter 18. Such enormous, wicked failures can be understood only if it is understood that there is no king in Israel.]
      3. Judges 19:1 Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah.
         [A Levite’s concubine was raped to death in Bethlehem of Judah. He dissected her dead body, sent a piece of her body to each tribe, and as a result produced a major national crisis in Israel.]
      4. The book of Judges ends by closing this last section with Judges 21:25.
         In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
   2. Let’s recall a basic understanding in this period of Israelite history.
      1. Moses, Israel’s first great human leader who led them from Egypt through the wilderness, had been dead for a long time.
      2. Joshua, Israel’s second great human leader who led them in the basic conquest of Canaan, was dead.
      3. All the people who assisted Joshua in his leadership were dead.
   3. This statement declares how the historical period of the Judges began.
      Judges 2:10-23 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. So they forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed. Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.” So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
   4. To me, these are the keys to understanding what happened in Israel in the period of the judges.
      1. A generation arose that did now know the Lord.
      2. This generation did not know the work the Lord did in the past to bless them.
      3. They wanted to worship the gods everyone else followed.
      4. Any time they or their descendants devoted themselves to God, it was a temporary dedication.
      5. Their behavior:
         1. Moved God to pity when they suffered oppression and cried to Him.
         2. Moved God to anger when they rebelled against Him.
      6. They never learned.

2. What does the statement, “There was no king in Israel” mean? What should that statement say to us?
   1. To answer that question, we need to read 1 Samuel 8:4-9.
      Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day–in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods–so they are doing to you also. Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.”
      1. Samuel, who was a great leader in Israel, was an old man, deemed too old to lead them as they wished.
      2. His sons were dishonest men who took bribes and perverted justice.
      3. Because of each of those conditions, the elders of Israel met with Samuel and asked for a king.
         1. The request deeply offended Samuel–he felt rejected.
         2. He took the request to God in prayer.
      4. God replied, “Give them what they want, but warn them about what to expect.”
         1. Then God said, “It is not your leadership they are rejecting; it is my leadership they are rejecting.”
         2. “I am their king; they do not want Me to be their king.”
         3. “Israel has rejected my leadership from the time I delivered them from Egypt.”

3. To focus you on the meaning of the phrase, “There was no king in Israel,” I wish to do two things.
   1. Later, in the next two or three historical ages, when Israel had kings, did having a king solve their problems?
      1. Was King Saul, the first king, a solution? No! God was not their leader.
      2. Was King David, the second king, a solution? He was a godly king much of the time, but he made some horrible mistakes. At times God led Israel; at times He did not.
      3. Was King Solomon, the third king, a solution? He began as a godly king and ended as a very ungodly king. Again, God was not their continuous leader.
      4. Were the kings of the divided kingdom a solution? No! Rarely was God their leader.
      5. Let me share with you a statement and challenge you to think about it: the vast majority of the time when they had a physical king, they still had no king in Israel because they continued to reject God’s leadership.
   2. Let me make the same point in another way.
      1. In Judges 17 when the Ephraimite Micah set up his own shrine, placed idols in it, and appointed one of his sons as priest, then later hired a Levite to care for his idolatrous shrine, was God king? No, God was not leading him.
      2. In Judges 18, when the warriors from the Israelite tribe of Dan, stole Micah’s idols, and enticed the Levite to go with them, was God king? No, God was not leading them.
      3. In Judges 19, when a Levite’s concubine was raped to death, was God king? No, God was not leading them.
      4. In Judges 20 and 21 when a national crisis developed out of this situation, was God their King? No, God was not leading them.
      5. Then what was happening? People were doing what they considered to be right and calling it God’s leadership.
         1. Did they realize they were rejecting God and His leadership? Probably not.
         2. Remember, they did not know God, and they did not know what God did for Israel.

4. Consider what I regard to be some lessons we need to learn.
   1. When people who consider themselves godly people do not know God for the personage He is, they are inviting disaster.
      1. Too many Christians do not know God.
      2. They know their personal concept of God or what they have been told about God, and they assume their understanding is correct.
      3. When God reveals Himself in His actions in ways that contradict our concepts, we reject the revelation.
      4. Remember, God is infinitely greater than we are; our minds cannot fathom or predict Him.
   2. We often fail to live in an awareness of what God has done for us.
      1. God invested thousands of years, the life of His son, mercy, grace, and forgiveness to create our opportunities.
      2. For us to be ignorant of His works and attitudes in our behalf is an insult to Him that will cause of us grief and pain.
   3. Too many of us commonly fail to let God rule our lives.
      1. Too much of our focus is on how we can get others to accept God’s rule.
      2. Too little of our focus is on letting God rule our personal lives.

When we combine these three attitudes and situations, we produce the same result: everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes.

The Christian Challenges of Caring

Posted by David on under Sermons

[Brad Pistole began the time dedicated to the sermon by administering (i.e., “walking the congregation through”) the Congregational Family Needs Analysis (see last week’s Sunday morning lesson). After the completion of the analysis, David Chadwell shared the following thoughts with the congregation.]

1. Brad Pistole guided the congregation through the “Congregational Needs Analysis” (composed of 25 questions, 24 of which were multiple choice).

2. After the completion of the survey, David spoke to the congregation.
   1. I hope you have your Bible handy and will turn in it to Romans 12. I want you to focus on an emphasis in the last section of Romans.
      1. Read these statements with me:
         Romans 12:3-5 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
         Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.
         Romans 12:15,16 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
         Romans 14:1-4 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
         Romans 15:7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
      2. I challenge all of us to take a serious look at Paul’s statements in these scriptures.
   2. General context of the letter of Romans.
      1. The majority of those Christians converted from first century Israel and its Judaism had a very difficult time relating to the Christians who were converted from idolatry.
      2. There were two primary reasons for them having such difficulty.
         1. These people were not Israelites–they had the wrong ancestry and the wrong religious background.
         2. Prior to conversion, many of these did not even know the living God, and some of their concepts were just plan strange to the Jewish devotee to Judaism.
   3. Specific context of chapters 12-15.
      1. Paul spent the majority of this letter declaring two points:
         1. God always intended His salvation to be for all nations, all people, regardless of their ancestry or culture.
         2. God through Christ and the work of His Spirit made this possible by His mercy and grace.
      2. If all of them [Christian Jew and Christian non-Jew] correctly understood what God did for them in Christ, they would start treating each other like members of the same community, members of the same family.

3. Application: in the same way they failed, we are failing.
   1. We are losing, not because of God, but because of our very poor understanding of God’s purposes.
      1. If people have physical needs, we do great. We do wonderfully well with physical challenges.
         1. We can help feed and pass out clothing in our inner city work, and that is good.
         2. We can give several thousand dollars to the starving people in Africa, and this is good.
         3. We can operate C.U.RE. and send medical supplies all over the world, and that is good.
      2. However, at the very same time we do horribly with people challenges.
         1. If a person is hungry, we know how to help, but if a person is struggling with internal turmoil or relationships we have no idea of what to do.
         2. To struggling people, including struggling Christians, our most common answer is, “You should not be having that problem.”
         3. So we are surrounded by the pain and suffering of struggling people, and basically what we teach people in the church to do is hide it.
   2. This problem is as old as Christianity; not as old as Jesus, but as old as the primitive church.
      1. The cure that Paul said addressed the situation among Christians in Rome very much is the cure we Christians need right now.
      2. The cure is closeness, knowing, encouraging, and helping each other.

Being a religion is not enough. Being a community of believers who trust the God who sent Jesus to be our Christ is the only thing that will fulfill God’s purpose.

“Who Wants To Help?”

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

Most people see that question as a horrible question. We DO NOT like to ask it or answer it. About the only time most of us willingly ask or answer that question is when we are with people “who share our personal passion.”

Why regard that question as horrible? (1) We fear someone will take advantage of us. (2) We fear someone will expect more than we can do. (3) We fear we will get into circumstances or situations we cannot get out of. (4) We fear someone will mistake our concern for commitment. (5) We fear we might be exploited. (6) We fear we may become an “opportunity” rather than a person. (7) We fear feeling used and deceived.

We fear. Note often our response to an opportunity to help is more likely to produce fear rather than compassion. We are more likely to feel fear instead of compassion. Our focus is more likely to be, “Do they care about me?” rather than, “Do I care about them?”

Jesus wanted to help. Did he help everyone? No. Did he help those that asked? Sometimes, but not always. Often his response was determined by others’ motives. Did he help the hopeless with enormous needs? Frequently. Outcasts in dire need often received his compassion and help.

Did fear determine who he helped? No. Did some take advantage of him? Yes. Did some expect things he could not give? Yes. At times was he in extremely awkward circumstances? Yes. Did some mistake his concern for compassion? Yes. Did some attempt to exploit him? Yes. Did the motives of others deceive him? Never. Did others’ bad motives or attempts to exploit him cause him to quit caring, to quit expressing compassion? Gratefully, I can say never.

Jesus never said, “I am tired of people being ‘down and out’ before they seek my help. I am tired of people asking for my help when they finally realize they have no where else to turn.” Consider the statement found in Hebrews 4:14-16.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Jesus specializes in helping those with weaknesses. He specializes in helping those who need mercy. He wants us to realize our weaknesses and need for mercy. Then, he wants us to approach “the throne of grace” in confidence.

We have problems and needs. Jesus has mercy and grace. His compassion is our help.

Your Spiritual Needs Matter

Posted by David on September 29, 2002 under Sermons

(The format of this occasion of sharing with the congregation was different. David Chadwell and Brad Pistole sat on two stools in the pulpit area [on that level]. They shared information about the upcoming Congregational Family Needs Analysis by each asking three questions. They used an informal dialogue format to share with and inform the congregation.)

This morning Brad and I want to share some important (perhaps critical) information with you. We are going to share this information by asking each other questions. We hope you listen, think, and remember.

1. David asked Brad three questions and Brad shared information in his answers to those questions.
   1. The three questions David asked Brad:
      1. Brad, what should be our definition of Family Life Ministry?
      2. Brad, what are the objectives in developing a Family Life Ministry?
      3. Brad, explain to us what a Family Life Ministry is and is not.
   2. The information that Brad shared included the following:
      Many people are thinking, “Family Life Ministry … I continue to hear that term, but I’m just not sure what you mean by that.” We need to begin by defining what we mean by Family Life Ministry.

      Family Life Ministry is ministry of the church through preventative and therapeutic efforts designed to strengthen ALL forms of families in the church and in the community.

      In other words, we want to begin by finding some form of ministry for every single member of our church family, whether they are single, married, divorced, remarried, widowed, young, old, or in between. By actively involving every member in some form of ministry or service to others, we will in turn, be better prepared to reach out to our community and reach others for the cause of Christ.

      Good Family Life Ministry will be built on 3 things:

      1. The Bible
      2. Marriage and the Family
      3. Adult Education– address and prevent problems before they arise and teach people how to deal with specific problems when they do arise.

         The church often deals with the task of having to “pour cold water on smoldering ashes.” Effective Family Life Ministry helps you “get there before it’s too late”–before the problems arise.

      Before we go any further, let us tell you what Family Life Ministry is not. Family Life Ministry is not:

      1. Building a Facility
      2. Not necessarily expensive (it can start small and grow to different levels and involve many different ministries)
      3. Not a catalog of programs–(“if we just get the right program, it will fix everything here”).
      4. A “title only” approach to ministry–(“we definitely need something new here, so let’s start this new thing and give it a fancy name”).
      5. A counseling center–it will involve counseling but goes far beyond just counseling alone.
      6. Not just limited to mom, dad, and the kids–(The percentage of traditional families in the church has dropped to about 15%. [The definition of a traditional family: parents and children with the father working as the only source of financial income. Mom stays at home.] The number of families in the church that are dual income families has risen to over 25%. The fastest growing type of family in the church is the single parent family. There are also singles, blended families, and widow/widowers.)

      Family Life Ministry is a philosophy of ministry that is people centered and seeks to do good to others just as Jesus did.

      Family Life Ministry will help families begin their spiritual journeys, grow, suffer, struggle, etc. In order to do this, the leadership must know their members well.

      Because of the need to know each member better, we have decided to participate in a Congregational Needs Analysis. This 25 question survey will allow the leadership to get to know the congregation better and it will better prepare us for the types of programs and educational classes we need to provide our families here.

2. Brad asked David three questions and David shared information in his answers to the questions.
   1. The three questions Brad asked David:
      1. David, what is God’s purpose for any person [man or woman] being a Christian?
      2. David, what do you consider to be ONE critical understanding that each one of us in the congregation needs right now?
      3. David, you have spent forty years of your life preaching, teaching, counseling, and studying. With all of that as a background, what do you understand God wants us to be as a congregation of Christians?
   2. The information David shared in his answers included the following:
      1. Question one: what is God’s purpose for any person [man or woman] being a Christian?
         Let me begin my answer by stating that I am convinced (even among Christians) many purposes we champion for being a Christian are more about our purposes than God’s purposes.
         1. These common purposes have existed for a very long time.
         2. They have been around so long that the vast majority accept them and no one uses the Bible to question them.
         3. In fact, to question them is to be “ungodly,” “unbiblical,” and disloyal to the church.

         My understanding of God’s purposes for being a Christian must included these two basic understandings:

         1. God’s purpose for the man or woman who becomes a Christian is for him or her to become a spiritual person in Jesus Christ.
            1. That is much, much more than becoming a member of the church.
            2. That is the dedication of that Christian man or woman to let Jesus Christ remake him or her into a specific kind of person.
         2. God’s purpose for the man or woman who becomes a Christian is for him or her to come as close to His mind and His heart as possible.
            1. He or she wants to think from Jesus’ perspective because Jesus thinking was God’s thinking in a human body living in this world.
            2. He or she wants to have the feelings of Jesus (again) because Jesus’ feelings are God’s feelings clothed in a human body in the world.
      2. Question two: what do you consider to be ONE critical understanding that each one of us needs in the congregation right now?
         1. One critical understanding everyone of us needs to have in common right now is this: it is okay with God for Christians to be different. Romans 14 made that point very powerfully to the Christians in Rome.
         2. God’s objective in Jesus is to make spiritual persons, not to make spiritual clones.
         3. Each one of is an individual. God wants each one of us to be a godly individual.
      3. Question three: what do you understand God wants us to be as a congregation of Christians?
         1. This is my understanding of what God wants us to be as a congregation of Christians: any struggling person could come into our midst and sense quickly that he or she could find help with those struggles and encouragement.
         2. People who are hurting should be able to be with us and quickly sense that we care.
            1. With a little time they should be able to understand that we care because we know God.
            2. With a little time they should be able to understand that knowing God is the greatest source of pain relief in existence.
      4. There is a lot of pain among us.
         1. We need to provide the teaching and help that opens our lives to God.
         2. To do that, we need to know where you are hurting and in need.
         3. That is the purpose of this analysis.

      [Transition: Brad steps down and David closes]

3. If Jesus the man lived in Fort Smith today, and if Jesus the man met with this congregation, several of us would have a very difficult time hearing him and watching him.
   1. Think about only the people and incidents that are found in the gospel of John.
      1. In John 2, he took plain water and turned it into wine at a wedding feast.
         1. If he performed a miracle right here right now, some of us would have real problems–“Jesus, you simply cannot do that here. Miracles are not permitted around here.”
         2. If he made wine right here right now, some of us would have real problems–“Jesus, you simply cannot do that here. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted around here.”
      2. In John 2, he ran people out of the temple because they were there for the wrong reason.
         1. If right here right now he got into someone’s face and told that person to get out of here because they were here for the wrong reason, some of us would say, “Jesus, you simply cannot do that here. ”
         2. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get people to come?”
      3. In John 3, he challenged the knowledgeable Nicodemus by demanding that he grasp the basic concept of the new birth.
         1. Nicodemus was very prestigious in the religious community, and Jesus exposed his ignorance.
         2. “Jesus, you simply cannot do that here. Do you have any idea of who he is?”
      4. In John 4, he offered living water to a Samaritan woman who had been divorced five times and was currently living with a man to whom she was not married.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, “Jesus, you simply cannot do that here.”
         2. “That is not the kind of people God wants in His church.”
      5. In John 6, Jesus miraculously fed five thousand people many of whom had no spiritual interest in his teachings.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, “Jesus, what are you doing? You simply cannot do that here.”
         2. “Do you have any idea of the problems you are creating?”
      6. In John 8, Jesus refused to condemn a woman who was taken as she was in the actual act of committing adultery.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, “Jesus, you simply cannot do that here.”
         2. “People will get the wrong idea about God.”
      7. In John 9, he healed a blind man and really upset the religious community.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, “Jesus, you simply cannot do that here.”
         2. “You are alienating the people who are serious about God matters.'”
      8. In John 12, he allowed Mary to anoint his feet with a very expensive perfume.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, “Jesus, you simply cannot do that here.”
         2. “That is a waste of money, an extravagance that cannot be justified.”
         3. “You simply must learn to make better use of our resources.”
      9. In John 13, he very humbly washed his disciples’ feet.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, “Jesus, you simply cannot do that here.”
         2. “You are embarrassing people by making them feel very awkward.”
         3. “Making people feel awkward is not what we are about.”

There are many, many lessons to be learned from all those incidents. To me it seems one lesson is obvious: Jesus cared. He cared about God. He cared about people. He cared about hurting people. In his caring, he gave hurting people hope.

The more you learn about God, the more you care about people. The more you learn about Jesus, the more you care about people. The more you learn about God and Jesus, the more you extend hope to struggling people.

Congregational Family Needs Analysis

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

This Sunday morning Brad Pistole and I will discuss the Congregational Family Needs Analysis. The elders request everyone to fill one out the following Sunday (October 6). [Yes, the analysis will be available to those who cannot be here October 6.] It is totally anonymous. The only information about your person requested is your age group (a multiple choice request). It is intentionally anonymous so each person can express himself or herself freely and honestly.

It has twenty-five (25) questions. Twenty-four (24) are multiple choice questions. The last question: “Additional comments.” Many should complete the survey in less than 20 minutes.

The basic objective is to gather information that will assist the elders and staff. It will help us address the spiritual needs of more people as classes, support groups, special events, etc., are planned. Without this information, we often plan on the basis of “what we think your spiritual needs are” rather than what you know your spiritual needs to be.

Often you are challenged to realize that members of this congregation have many differing spiritual needs. While all Christians have some similar needs (repentance, increasing faith, greater commitment and devotion, etc.), most Christians have needs unique to his or her situation. The combination of what is happening in one’s family; among one’s peers; in one’s work; in one’s educational process; in one’s severest temptations; in one’s greatest discouragements; in one’s most acute disappointments; in one’s harshest trials; and in one’s greatest fears make each of us unique.

What may be of powerful encouragement to one Christian may be meaningless to another Christian. What may powerfully motivate one Christian may leave another Christian unmoved. Spiritual maturity in Christ follows many paths. This information will help us improve the encouragement given each baptized believer as he or she travels his or her path. We want each of us to be closer to God a year from now than we are at this moment–regardless of how close to God each of us is now.

With a dialogue method, Brad and I will seek to help you memorably focus on the importance of the Congregational Family Needs Analysis. Jesus taught Jews and Samaritans. Paul taught Jews and Gentiles. Many of the early evangelists taught those who worshipped God and taught those who worshipped idols. The paths to faith in Jesus Christ often required different routes. Want a biblical example? Read the sermon in Acts 2 and the sermon in Acts 17. Note the differences in preaching to a Jewish audience and an audience who worshipped the gods.

God’s Christ is adequate for all groups, though each group is different. Help us plan for God’s Christ to meet your spiritual needs.

We Are Not Alone

Posted by David on September 15, 2002 under Bulletin Articles

Last Sunday morning I shared this thought: we must not discourage God’s influence in our lives. Along with several Bible statements, I called this one to your attention:

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

Consider this part of the statement: “… by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” The “sealed” Paul used illustrated the fact that Christians at Ephesus must not “grieve the Holy Spirit” whom God allows to live in His people. It referred to a well known practice in that day. Persons of position or importance possessed signet rings. These rings made imprints. An imprint declared something was a person’s or from him.

For example, when such a person wanted to send a private letter to someone, he “sealed” the letter. Sealing wax was softened by heat, closed the message, and was imprinted [while soft] with his insignia. When the wax hardened, a broken “seal” was obvious.

What was the insignia’s purpose? It said several things. (1) “This is from me.” (2) “I intend this message for you personally.” (3) “This message belongs to me. It is my property given to you.” It protected a private, personal message.

Consider the contrast. A message not sealed belonged to anyone who wished to read it. They did not have our modern forms of mail service. Often a message passed from person to person before final delivery. If unsealed, everyone handling it could have it read. Ownership of the message was questionable. (A great way to start false rumors!)

I think Paul made this point to those Christians: “You are God’s property, and God verifies that fact. His seal is the Holy Spirit’s presence in your lives.” What did God’s seal verify? (1) It verified they were God’s because they were in Christ. (2) It verified that their relationship with God was individual and personal. (3) It verified that their lives, their existence were God’s property. They BELONGED to God!

What was their responsibility? They must understand they belonged to God. God’s ownership was to be obvious in them internally — in heart, in emotions, in dedication. God’s ownership was to be obvious in them externally — in words spoken, in behavior, in habits. No one associating with them should fail to be aware that they belonged to God!

This statement includes an extremely important encouragement. God was at work in their lives. His influence actively worked in them to move them closer and closer to God. God’s influence within them must not be discouraged. They must not want to discourage His influence. Why? This influence meant THEY WERE NOT ALONE!

The person in Christ is not on his or her own! WE ARE NOT ALONE!

Being God’s Person Inside and Out

Posted by David on September 8, 2002 under Sermons

All of us are astounded when we meet someone who sees basic things in ways that are completely different from the way we see them. They can look at the exact situation I look at and see something completely different. Thus I wonder how could he possibly see what he sees, and he wonders how could I possibly see what I see.

My first introduction to this truth came through my involvement in mission work in West Africa. I actually thought I was well prepared to do that work because I loved people and was devoted to God’s word. Actually, I was poorly prepared to do that work because I did not understand a basic fact: people who come from different cultures use different thought processes.

May I use two illustrations. The first illustration is based on the word “missionary.” To most of us that is a good word. Twenty-five years ago it was a very good word in the church in this culture. To us (and those who sent us) it was a word that said love, compassion, caring, sacrifice, and devotion.

But to many who received us, it was a terrible word. “Do you think we are an ignorant people? Do you think we are the kind of people who need missionaries? Do you think we are uneducated? Do you think the way to help us is by destroying the values and relationships we honor?” The concepts involved in the word “missionary” insult many people.

Second illustration: I thought everyone used and followed the same thought process, just used different languages to think as they thought in the same ways. Was I ever wrong! There are many different ways to think. If all a person does is master another language, he or she still will not communicate well if he or she does not learn how to think like other people think.

The ruling counsel of a sizable village charged one of our mature students with a crime. I asked and received permission to attend the hearing. I listened for about an hour as they discussed the crime this student committed on a specific date. On that date at the time he was accused of committing the crime, he was in school, not in the village.

I politely asked for permission to speak and explained he was in school. They politely listened, thanked me, and continued their discussion.

The student was Nigerian. The village was Camerounian. The counsel was offended because they felt the student acted disrespectfully to Camerounians. This was the way they addressed and corrected the situation.

Ridiculous? Not at all! They just did not use my Western logic to address their problems. The student knew what was happening and why. The counsel knew what was happening and why. I was the one who did not understand what was happening and why. I did not think the way they thought.

Before you decide that is ridiculous, force yourself to remember in this culture a time when you rejected someone because he or she did not think your thoughts in the way you think.

This evening I call your attention to Matthew 15.

1. The Pharisees and scribes confronted Jesus with a serious religious question.
   1. To use our words, they said, “Explain yourself. For generations, in accordance with the teachings of those long respected, we have religiously purified our hands before we ate. Why do you not require your disciples to practice this?”
      1. First, we need to place the issue in clear focus.
         1. Jesus did not oppose all tradition because all tradition is bad.
         2. Jesus opposed a specific kind of tradition: tradition that contradicts God’s commands (teachings).
      2. Second, we need to understand their concern.
         1. Many Jews went through a religious ceremony of purifying their hands before they ate.
         2. The purpose seemingly was to protect them from accidentally defiling themselves before God when they ate.
      3. Third, we need to understand Jesus’ reply.
         1. “Why are you guilty of doing what you accuse me of doing?”
         2. “The ten commandments instruct you to take care of your aging parents.”
         3. “You say that if a person makes a pledge to the temple, your pledge to the temple takes precedence over one of God’s commandments.”
         4. “That is hypocrisy! As Isaiah the Prophet said: you use good words when you talk, but that is all it is–just words. Your heart is not in what you say. You consider human rules to be more important than God’s teachings.”
         5. “God knows it, so your worship is just words and an insult to God.”
   2. Jesus then asked the multitude of people to listen to him and understand.
      1. “It is not what you put in your mouth that makes you impure before God.”
      2. “It is what comes out of your mouth that makes you impure before God.”
      3. From its beginning hundreds of years before, Israel thought keeping the dietary code in Leviticus 11 was an essential key to purity.
         1. Purity long had been a procedure, a ritual.
         2. Jesus said purity involves much more than adopting what you conclude are the right procedures.
   3. Jesus’ disciples then said to Jesus, “Don’t you realize what you just said offended the Pharisees?”
      1. The Pharisees were the symbols of devotion and knowledge of God’s word.
      2. Jesus answered by making two statements:
         1. “If God did not plant it, it will be uprooted.”
         2. “Blind people make horrible guides.”
   4. Peter then asked for an explanation.
      1. Jesus’ first response: “You mean you do not understand either?”
      2. Jesus’ second response:
         1. “When you eat food, the body will eliminate it–the act of eating does not change your spiritual condition.”
         2. “But what you say comes from your heart, and this does reveal your spiritual condition.”
         3. “That does defile you before God.”
         4. “From your heart comes evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, stealing, deceitfulness, and slandering, and these things defile you before God.
         5. “Failing to ceremonially purify your hands before you eat will not make you spiritually impure, but letting evil live in your heart and express itself in your life will make you spiritually impure.”

2. I want to encourage you to do some in-depth thinking about the situation and the problem Jesus addressed.
   1. First, think about the Pharisees.
      1. It is very easy to stereotype these men as a group of “bad people,” “religious villains.”
         1. That stereotype is misleading.
         2. These were devoutly religious people who totally disagreed with Jesus’ approach to God or his emphasis in Judaism.
         3. In their understanding of scripture, Jesus was teaching error.
      2. Consider:
         1. Did the Pharisees believe in the God who is the Father of Jesus Christ? Yes.
         2. Did they believe that God’s word was inspired, the truth, the living will of God? Yes.
         3. Did they believe that God’s word was the final authority in all religious discussions? Yes.
         4. Did they believe that Israelites had to obey God and do precisely what God said do? Yes.
         5. Did they believe that God’s word could be applied to any situation that arose as the world changed? Yes.
      3. Then what was the problem between these people and Jesus?
         1. The Pharisees tended to equate obedience with following the correct procedures.
         2. They determined correct procedures by:
            1. Applying God’s word to every situation.
            2. By considering what had happened in the past important.
            3. This was the way they answered two questions: what and how.
         3. What occurred in Matthew 15 illustrates how they thought and what they did.
            1. What does God expect in His people? Purity or cleanliness; that is what God’s word said.
            2. In the matter of diet, how can an Israelite be pure? He or she ate the right foods, and he or she ate them in the correct manner.
            3. What was the correct manner? The past said an Israelite must go through the religious ceremony of hand washing prior to a meal.
            4. Was their intention evil or ungodly? No.
      4. Their approach to obeying God and following God illustrates a problem that always plagues conservative approaches to obeying God “by just doing what God said.”
         1. Such people want to do what God said for us to do, and that is good.
         2. In our zeal and dedication, too often we do not distinguish between what God said and what we think or conclude.
         3. In our zeal and dedication, too often we reduce obedience to God to what should be done and how it is done.
         4. Too often this is the result: we place too much emphasis on how and not enough emphasis on motives.
         5. When we do that, we easily become procedural and ritualistic; we attach more significance to what is done than why it is done.
   2. There are two extremes we always must keep in our awareness with the understanding that neither extreme accomplishes God’s purposes.
      1. Extreme # 1: reducing obedience to God to procedures.
      2. Extreme # 2: declaring that how we do things is unimportant as long as the heart is right.

Jesus did not endorse either extreme. Jesus said justifying your religious procedures at the expense of ignoring God’s purposes misses the point of belonging to God. It is not enough to control what your body does. One must give his or her heart to God. The key problem is what is in a person’s heart. The origin of evil in a person is his or her heart. It is not enough to control the body by following the right procedures. A Christian belongs to God inside and out.

Encouraging God’s Influence in Me

Posted by David on under Sermons

Can you imagine saying this to anyone you care about or love? “You have entirely too much good influence in your life! Your peers encourage you to do all the right things in all the right ways. (Or) your best friend sees all of your finest qualities and encourages you to be the very best you that you can be. (Or) your husband constantly influences you to be a better person. (Or) your wife always inspires you to become a better person. (Or) the people you associate with everyday bring the best out in you. Your friends really help you be a better person.”

“And that is not good! The influences in your life encourage you to be too good. You are too compassionate, too kind to others, too merciful, too generous, too helpful, too considerate of others’ needs and feelings, too forgiving, too thoughtful, too caring. Do you not understand that being a good person is bad for you!”

Can you imagine saying that to any member of your family or to any Christian in this congregation?

The objective of being a Christian is to allow Jesus to have so much influence in our lives that he teaches us how to be godly. Would you think about these questions? Can any person have too much good influence from God in his or her life? Is it undesirable for any person to have too much of God’s good influence in his or her life?

1. In Acts 2 Peter spoke to a Jewish audience about Jesus’ death and resurrection.
   1. This was a dedicated, religious audience who were serious about God.
      1. Some of them were residents of Jerusalem (2:5).
      2. Some of them were pilgrims who came to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, one of Israel’s most important Jewish gatherings to honor God (2:8-12).
      3. Peter told this audience:
         1. They knew God sent Jesus because of Jesus’ power.
         2. They were responsible for Jesus’ death.
         3. God made this Jesus that they had crucified both Lord and Christ.
   2. Those whose consciences were penetrated by Peter’s statements earnestly wanted to know what they should do–Jesus was dead; they were responsible; was there anything they could do about the situation?
      1. Peter said yes, there was something they could do if they realized that they made a horrible mistake.
      2. Peter said there were two things they could do, and doing those two things would produce two results.
         Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
         1. The two things those who believed that Jesus was God’s Christ could do:
            1. Repent
            2. Be baptized
         2. The two results:
            1. The forgiveness of sins, including forgiveness for being responsible for the death of the Jewish Messiah God promised Israel.
            2. Receiving God’s Spirit in their lives as God’s gift to them.

2. When we choose to become Christians (when we have enough faith in Jesus that we make a personal choice to repent and be immersed into Christ), God allows His presence to live in each of us.
   1. That fact is emphasized in a number of ways.
      1. When Peter spoke for the apostles before Israel’s highest court and affirmed that God resurrected Jesus from the dead, he made this statement:
         Acts 5:32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.
         1. There were two forms of witnesses to the truth of Jesus’ resurrection.
            1. One form was human: “We are witnesses of these things.”
            2. One form was from God: “So is the Holy Spirit.”
            3. The Holy Spirit was more than just a witness; he was also God’s gift to those who obey God.
      2. To an entirely different group, Paul emphasized the same fact.
         1. Peter spoke to Jewish experts in God’s teachings.
         2. Paul spoke to people converted from idol worship to Jesus Christ.
      3. Paul urged these people to understand that they could not longer indulge their sexual desires in ungodly behavior.
      4. Listen to Paul’s explanation of why ungodly sexual behavior could not occur in the lives of these Christians.
         1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

   Song: #71 As The Deer
   Song: #683 I Am Mine No More

3. One of the most difficult understandings to cling to, to embrace, to never turn loose of when we become Christians is this: “I am now totally dedicated to a changed existence.”
   1. What does that mean?
      1. It means that I desire God, I choose God as the most powerful, consuming, “every moment” influence in my life.
      2. It means I change my focus every day of my life in every situation.
      3. It means I change the ways I think and feel.
      4. It means I change the ways I act.
      5. It means I change my words and my conversation.
   2. In Ephesians 4:30 Paul made this statement to the Christians at Ephesus:
      Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
      1. “Paul, what are you talking about?”
      2. If God’s presence in my life is God’s gift to me when I repent and am baptized into Christ, if from that moment on the Holy Spirit living in me makes me God’s temple, I have a responsibility to God’s presence living in me.
         1. What is my responsibility?
         2. My responsibility is this: I encourage God’s presence in my life; I do not give God’s presence in my life grief.
         3. God’s presence in me is influencing me to be the godliest person I am capable of being.
         4. My responsibility is simple: I do not make the Spirit’s work in me more difficult.
      3. “How does a Christian do that?” I call your attention to the context:
         1. Verses 17-24–I begin by understanding I am no longer to live, act, feel, and think like an ungodly person.
         2. Verse 25–I do not deceive anymore.
         3. Verse 26–I am not controlled by anger anymore.
         4. Verse 28–I do not steal anymore.
         5. Verse 29–I do not use rotten words and rotten conversation any more.
      4. “I don’t understand; just what do I do if I refuse to cause God’s presence in me grief?”
         1. I stop being deceptive, being controlled by anger, stealing, and using rotten speech–all of which show contempt for people.
         2. Instead, I am truthful; when I feel anger, I make it brief; I do honest work and help those in need, I use speech that encourages people.
         3. God’s presence in me is the insignia (seal) verifying that I belong to God, that God has redeemed me.
      5. Paul reminded the Ephesian Christians that they would not be bitter, resentful people filled with malice, but kind and compassionate people filled with a forgiving attitude.
   3. To the Christians in Thessalonica Paul wrote this statement:
      1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.
      1. The words Paul used suggest that they had been quenching the Spirit and need to stop quenching the Spirit.
         1. “Quench” was a word whose common use was what was done when a person put out a fire.
            1. God’s presence in a Christian’s life is there to encourage that person to become an increasingly godly person.
            2. Paul stated it was possible for a Christian to oppose the Spirit’s work to the extent that you made the work of God’s presence impossible.
         2. “I technically want to be a Christian but I do not want to be a godly person.”
      2. Again, I call your attention to the context in chapter 5.
         1. Verses 1-5–Instead of being a bunch of irresponsible drunks who have no idea of what is happening, encourage each other and build each other up. (Your influence should make it easier for a Christian to be godly, not harder.)
         2. Verses 12, 13–Respect those who are encouraging you to be a godly person.
         3. Verse 14–Warn the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
         4. Verses 16-22–Do the kind of things that help you grow closer to God.

The person who is a Christian is not on his or her own. God’s presence lives in the Christian. God’s spirit lives in the Christian man or woman to influence him or her to grow closer and closer to God.

But that influence is not powerful in me unless I want it to be powerful. I cannot live my life any way I please and expect God’s presence to “make” me be what God wants me to be. I, through my attitudes and behavior, can grieve God’s presence in my life. I, through my attitudes and behavior, can quench God’s presence in my life. I can be influenced to become an increasingly godly person who constantly grows closer to God only if I want to be godly.

If I cooperate in every possible human way–by study, by prayer, by obedience–God’s Spirit within me as a Christian has an enormous challenge in moving me closer and closer to God.

I must want to cooperate! I must want to be a godly person! I must value closeness to God and His ways! God will do within me what I literally do not have the ability to do, but God will not do this in spite of my opposition. God will do it with my desire and cooperation.

As a Christian, I must not grieve the Holy Spirit. I must not quench the Spirit. I must work with God in becoming the man or woman God knows I am capable of becoming.

“Do I Have To?”

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

I am amazed at how often I transform joyous blessings into agonizing drudgery. That seems to be characteristic of Americans. Too many Americans believe the “ideal life” combines no responsibility with sufficient money to be self-centered. Unfortunately, too many Christians confidently accept this conviction without thought.

I truly enjoy what I do. I always have felt blessed to do what I do. My age reminds me that a radical change is coming. Because of “the passing of time” I physically will not be able to do what I enjoy doing. What a strange thought!

If life’s only purpose is to be selfish and self-centered, life has no purpose. If all a person has to think about or consider is “me,” that person’s life is horribly empty. If “my” existence revolves around “my” pleasures and “my” desires, “I” am mixing the ingredients for a recipe of disaster. Consider:

Use your own life and experiences to expand this list. I have heard about people who ate other’s garbage to prevent starvation. I have lived where there were no jobs, where some people wore rags, where many people could not read, where many people had no home, and where some people went a lifetime without seeing one doctor.

In two completely different contexts this summer I talked with individuals who (a) came from impoverished third world countries and (b) were visiting the U.S.A. for the first time. I asked both the same question and received from both the same answer. Question: “What most impresses you about this country?” Answer: “Your infrastructure. You actually can see what your taxes do.”

Amazing! Not the food, the houses, the wealth, the pleasures, nor the lifestyles, but our use of taxes to create infrastructure! When was the last time you were thankful for our infrastructure? When was the last time you were grateful for the way our taxes are spent?

Perhaps we cannot be grateful for such things unless we live where there is little infrastructure, and we never see anything constructive produced by taxation.

By the way, when was the last time you felt deep gratitude for God’s forgiveness?

Acts: Understanding Our Origin (part 6)

Posted by David on September 1, 2002 under Sermons

For five lessons I have asked you to consider specific information in the book of Acts that talk about Christianity in its earliest form. I have not asked you to agree with me. I have only asked you to look, to study, and to think from a perspective that many do not use when approaching Acts.

1. Thus far I have asked you to study and consider these facts and situations revealed to us by Acts:
   1. In the first nine chapters of Acts the church is completely Jewish.
      1. The Jews who accepted Jesus as being the Christ or Messiah that God promised Israel understood that in Jesus God kept His promise to Israel.
         1. The “restoration of the fortunes of Israel” was understood to be God’s work in the resurrected Jesus.
         2. The early sermons to the Jewish people stressed that fact.
      2. The primary distinction between those Jews who were Christians and those Jews who were not was this: the acceptance of the resurrected Jesus as the Christ or the Messiah.
         1. Jews (a minority) who believed Jesus was the Christ or Messiah were Christians.
         2. Jews (a majority) who believed Jesus was not the Christ or Messiah were not Christians.
         3. Both believers and rejecters attended the synagogue and the temple.
         4. Both believers and rejecters honored Jewish customs and Jewish practices.
      3. Peter’s visit to the home of Cornelius and his social association with people who were not converts to Judaism created a major crisis among Jewish Christians.
         1. The issue was not can people who are not Jews be saved through the resurrected Jesus.
         2. The issue was can people who are not Jews be saved through the resurrected Jesus without approaching Jesus through Judaism.
      4. Paul, as a Christian, was falsely accused of doing two things:
         1. Defiling the Jewish temple by bringing people who were not Jews into temple areas forbidden them.
         2. Teachings Jews not to practice Jewish customs.
      5. Paul was not guilty of doing either of those things.
         1. He made a Jewish vow (likely Nazarite vow) prior to coming to Jerusalem on his last trip there (Acts 18:18).
         2. He sponsored four Christians who took a Jewish vow (likely Nazarite vow) and escorted them to the temple (Acts 21:20-26).
      6. He did the last thing by the direction of the Jewish elders to make a specific point to Jewish Christians who believed the false reports given against Paul.
         Acts 21:24b all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.

2. This evening I want to call your attention to two things: the first is Paul’s defense speeches that are found in Acts 22, 24, and 26.
   (If you would like to do some deeper research in Paul’s defense speeches, a good starting source would be The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, complied by Ben Witherington, III.)
   1. In Acts 22, I ask you to note these things:
      1. Paul spoke to a Jewish audience (probably including proselytes) from some steps that connected the temple court yard of the Gentiles with the Antonian fortress.
      2. Verse 1 makes it clear that Paul addressed them as a Jew and identified with their Jewishness: he called them “brethren and fathers.”
      3. Verse 2 states he used their language (not Greek) to talk to them, and that they listened to him because he was speaking to them in Jewish language.
      4. In verses 3-5 he identifies with his Jewish audience by declaring his Jewish credentials.
         1. He was Jew born in Tarsus, Cilicia (which had an honored Jewish community).
         2. He grew up in Jerusalem.
         3. He was taught at the feet of Gamaliel, the most prestigious Rabbi in Israel of that time.
         4. He was conservatively taught the law of “our fathers”; he had a strict Jewish religious background.
         5. He was as zealous for God as they were.
         6. He was a persecutor of The Way.
         7. Jewish leaders right there in the Jerusalem Sanhedrin and the Jewish temple could verify these facts.
         8. His point is, “I am Jewish,” not “I used to be Jewish.”
      5. Then he explained why he become a believer in Jesus Christ. (Verses 6-21)
         1. He told them about his encounter with Jesus, and nobody got upset.
         2. He told them about the visit of Ananias, the man who was devout by the standards of the law and was respected by all Jews, and nobody got upset.
         3. He told them about his baptism, and nobody got upset.
         4. He told them about the warning he received in a vision, an nobody got upset.
         5. He told them about the instruction to go to non-Jewish people, and everybody got violently upset.
         6. They wanted to kill him because he associated with people who were not Jews.
   2. In Acts 24, I ask you to note these things:
      1. He made his defense before the Roman procurator or governor, Felix, after Jewish representatives from Jerusalem have accused him of being: (verses 5,6)
         1. A real pest.
         2. A man who stirred up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world.
         3. The ringleader of a dangerous group.
         4. A man who desecrated the Jewish temple.
      2. Paul defended himself by declaring his Jewishness: (verses 10-13)
         1. He went to Jerusalem to worship (as a Jew).
         2. He was not engaging in confusing discussions or riots in synagogues, or the temple, or the city of Jerusalem.
         3. The Jewish representatives could not prove any of their charges.
      3. He plainly admitted these things: (verses 14-16)
         1. He did belong to The Way.
         2. He served the God of the Jewish fathers.
         3. He believed everything that was in accordance with the Jewish Law.
         4. He believed everything that was written in the Jewish prophets.
         5. He placed the same hope in God that his accusers placed in God, a hope based on the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked.
         6. Because of his belief in the resurrection, he was serious to maintain always a blameless conscience before God and men (that would include Jews).
      4. He explained how this situation happened. (verses 17-21)
         1. He came to Jerusalem to bring a gift to Israel (probably the collection from Gentile churches).
         2. He was found in the temple quietly purifying himself (according to Jewish teaching), causing no disturbance.
         3. Those who caused the disturbance were Jews from Asia, not Jerusalem.
         4. One of two things should happen:
            1. Either the Jews from Asia should be there telling the court what he did wrong.
            2. Or the accusers who were present should tell the court what he did wrong in the Jerusalem Sanhedrin.
   3. In Acts 26, I ask you to note these things:
      1. Paul made his defense before King Agrippa who was an expert in Jewish customs and questions.
      2. He began by affirming his Jewishness. (verses 4-7)
         1. From the time he was a boy the way he lived demonstrated his commitment to Israel and to Jerusalem, and all Jews knew that.
         2. His commitment to Jewish ways was well known–he was a strict Pharisee.
         3. He was being tried because of the hope God gave the Jewish fathers.
         4. The Jews are accusing him because he was devoted to Jewish hope.
      3. He then explained why he believed in the resurrection of Jesus (verses 8-21)
      4. Everything he taught was in agreement with Moses and the Jewish prophets.
   4. Paul did not teach Jews to abandon Jewish ways, and Paul himself did not abandon Jewish ways.
      1. However, Paul did not bind Jewish ways on non-Jewish people.
      2. People who were not Jews did not have to do things the way Jews did them to be saved.
      3. Jews who believed in and accepted Jesus had to have some basic understandings.
         1. Jesus was the Christ that God promised Israel.
         2. Jesus is God’s high priest who represents Jews and all people before God.
         3. Jesus is God’s atonement sacrifice that eliminated Jewish atonement sacrifices.

3. Most Christians who were Jews and most Christians who were converted from idolatry did things very differently.
   1. Most Jewish Christians met in synagogues when they were welcome; most Christians converted from idolatry did not.
   2. Most Jewish Christians who had access to the Jewish temple went to the temple; Christians converted from idolatry did not.
   3. Jewish Christians ate kosher food; Christians converted from idolatry ate many different kinds of foods.
   4. Jewish Christian could make certain kinds of sacrifices at the Jewish temple; Christians converted from idolatry did not.
   5. Jewish Christians observed regulations regarding religious purity that Christians converted from idolatry did not.
   6. Jewish Christians observed Sabbaths and Jewish holy days which Christians converted from idolatry did not observe.

4. Turn to Romans 14. These differences are precisely the problem Paul addressed.
   1. I call your attention to:
      1. Verse 4: do not judge Jesus’ servant; Jesus’ judges each of you, you do not judge each other; Jesus can make both of you stand.
      2. Verses 5, 6: when it comes to what you eat or what days you observe, your actions should be determined by your convictions–the Lord knows when you are honoring him in what you do.
      3. Verse 10: do not judge each other or hold each other in contempt.
      4. Verse 16: do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as an evil thing (do not use your liberty destructively).
      5. Verse 20: do not tear down God’s work by insisting on things being done your way–even when your way is precisely what God has said.
   2. Let me make some observations: I ask you to think about these things in your heart and understanding.
      1. There are times when we create terrible disturbances among Christians because baptized believers in Jesus Christ sincerely do something others do not do.
         1. It may be raising hands.
         2. It may be clapping.
         3. It may be the kind of songs sung.
         4. It may be assembly atmosphere issues.
      2. The common reaction is to judge baptized believers who do things differently.
      3. The common judgment is made on their motives: “they are just drawing attention to themselves” or “they are just interested in entertainment.”
      4. Be careful! The Lord knows your heart and their heart. The Lord knows your motives and reasoning and their motives and reasoning.

One of the most difficult Christian challenges we face is learning how to spiritually encourage Christians who do things differently from ourselves.