Consider…

 Phil 2:12-16

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”  (start wth the last part of vs. 15)

 I.  “In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation..”  What kind of world do we live in? Have you ever contemplated the state of our society?  “Crooked and perverse generation” – this is an interesting phrase. The term “generation” refers broadly to the people of the day. Each age has its own specific culture, lifestyle and worldview. The society of Paul’s day was:

• Crooked – skolios – what is bent, curved or twisted (scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine). It is used here metaphorically to refer to that which deviates from the standard. It implies the ability to measure or judge what it should be.  Solomon speaks of “those who “leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; 15 Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;”  (Prov 2:!3-15). The world rejects the standard of conduct given by God.
• Preverse – translates from diastrepho (dee-as-tref’-o); which means to distort, i.e. (figuratively) misinterpret, or (morally) to corrupt: That which is perverse is contrary to its intended purpose, and thus corrupt. We live is a corrupted society and its is continuing to decay.  We must not be influenced by it, but be saved from it. Acts 2:40 – 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”  

 A. As some theologians would describe it, we now live in a “post-Christian culture”  This simply means that the old norms once held true are no longer accepted by the majority  For example, people as a majority once believed in God, that the Bible was the Word of God, and that Jesus was the Son of God; but such is no longer the case.  The majority no longer accepts certain basic principles of morality taught in both the Old and New Testament, even ridiculing those people who do as “old-fashioned” and “un-enlightened”

1.  That we live in a “post-Christian culture” is true both socially and religiously:

• Socially, in that divorce, remarriage, living together without marriage, and homosexuality are now commonly accepted as “alternative lifestyles” 
• Religiously, as women take roles of church leadership & homosexual ministers, and various forms of “new age” religions are now accepted by many. 

2.   Paul and other 1^st century Christians lived in a “Pre-Christian” culture where the society was driven by pagan religious thought, intellectualism, and immorality. How were they to react to their world? How should we react to ours?

 II. “Shining Lights”  - How do we do this?    Should Christians form political action committees, boycott products, picket, or participate in economic blackmail? Should we resort to violence and bomb abortion clinics? Should we isolate ourselves in religious communes? Look again at Paul’s answer in Phil. 2.  Our duty is to daily live so as to influence others – the natural influence of godliness. Notice the accompanying elements of this obligation to shine in a dark world.

A. “work out your own salvation”   Godly influence begins with taking personal responsibility for my own salvation.  A few implications here:

• Salvation is personal & no one can secure your salvation through obedience except you. 
• If you are not careful to be saved yourself, how can you influence others to be saved?  Jesus made it clear that we could not be effective is helping others if the “beam” remained in our own eye. (Matt. 7:1-6) Paul told Timothy “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”  1 Tim 4:16; 
  • The tragedy of hypocrisy – Rom. 2:17-24 -  Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God,  18 and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,  20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. 21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? 24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

1.  How does this verse reconcile with salvation by grace? Barnes says that this passage “does not mean that we are to attempt to deserve salvation on the ground of merit. That is out of the question; for what can man do that shall be an equivalent for eternal happiness in heaven? Nor, does it mean that we are to endeavor to make atonement for past sins. That would be equally impossible, and it is, besides, unnecessary. That work has been done by the great Redeemer. But it means: (i) that we are to make an honest effort to be saved in the way which God has appointed; (ii) that we are to break off from our sins by true repentance; (iii) that we are to believe in the Saviour, and honestly to put our trust in him; (iv) that we are to give up all that we have to God; (v) that we are to break away from all evil companions and evil plans of life; and  (vi) that we are to resist all the allurements of the world, and all the temptations which may assail us that would lead us back from God, and are to persevere unto the end.  (from Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

B. “With fear & trembling”- There is very little fear in many Christian’s lives. The perspective of judgment must always be before us. (the Calvinistic doctrine that once a person is saved, he cannot be lost has robbed many religiously sincere people of the fear of judgment.) Matthew 10:28- And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

C. “It is God who works in you” – the ability that we have to influence others and shine in the world is from God. Provided through His word. A person plants a tree – but the production of the fruit is entirely God’s work.

D. “Without murmuring and disputing..”. Living in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation can easily get us down, where we can become constant complainers.  But allowing that to happen will render us less effective.  And as with Israel, “murmuring” can lead to our own downfall –  1 Cor 10:6-11 “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”  Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come”

1. Paul warns against “disputing” – profitless arguing among ourselves.  Unity among brethren is extremely important as we try to convince the world. Disputing with one another simply reveals we have some growing up to do.

E.   As “Blameless & harmless” children of God - Not that we are perfect, but like elders are to be blameless, we are to be “above reproach”  We may be sinners, but we quickly confess our sins and make amends when it is called for. We should live in such a way that we have no “outstanding faults” that are clearly evident to others. Nothing hinders our ability to “shine as lights” like inconsistency and hypocrisy, especially that which is evident to all.

1. We must never appear to desire to do harm to others. As Jesus said, we are to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” – Mt 10:16

F.   “Holding Fast the Word of Life” – Some translations say “hold fast”, others “hold forth” We must both “HOLD FAST” and “HOLD FORTH” THIS POWERFUL WORD!  – “Hold fast” the word in our own study and application & “Hold forth” the word as we proclaim it to those we are trying to change

1.  In this, we would do well to follow the example of Ezra, and the order in which he applied himself -  Ezra 7:10 -  10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel”   a. To first “seek the Law of the Lord” b. Then “to do it” & Finally, “to teach” others.

 Conclusion:  . In these verses we find the way Christians are to “shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation”  It involves…

1. Working out our own salvation
2.  With fear and trembling
3. By letting God work in us
4. Doing things without murmuring and disputing
5. As children of God without fault
6. Holding fast the word of life

If our ultimate objective is not just changing legislation, but the hearts of men to the ways of God, then this is how we can do it! And this is how we will “rejoice in the day of Christ” — and know that our own labor will not be in vain! -  Phil.  2:16

• Consider that thought in the context of our spiritual work.   Eph 2:8-10  8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
• This morning we considered the importance of doing good works in the process of letting our light shine in a dark world.
• Paul here says God prepared for Christians to walk in good works. This walking involves more than sporadic activity. We need to develop a lifestyle of working. We were created to do it. How does God prepare the works for us and us for the works?

 A.     He prepares us for good works by redeeming us from sin. Redemption makes us new. It is the concept of a new spiritual creation that dominates Paul’s letters to the Ephesians and Colossians.  Redemption is a re- creation. It involves a change in possession. God purchases us through Christ.  In Acts 20:28 Paul says Jesus “purchased the church with his own blood.”

• 1 Peter 1:17-19 – 7 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

1.  Paul says in Eph. 2 that we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works”. Notice how Paul also links these two concepts in Titus 2:14 “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Paul indicates that Christ’s sacrifice not only purifies us, but creates in us a new attitude – a zeal to do good.

2.  God’s willingness to utilize people in His work involved preparation. Not everyone could minister. This preparation has always been connected with the process of sanctification (setting apart). This setting apart process in the OT involved a cleansing.  Ex 40:12-15 – Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. 13 You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 14 And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests…

3.  God called Israel to be  a “peculiar people”  – Deut 14:2- for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.  This peculiarity is not simply strangeness, but rather a change in possession, and thus activity.

• Adam Clark says… S‎ignifies such a peculiar property as a man has in what he has purchased with his own money. Jesus gave his life for the world, and thus has purchased men unto himself; and, having purchased the slaves from their thraldom, he is represented as stripping them of their sordid vestments, cleansing and purifying them unto himself that they may become his own servants, and bringing them out of their dishonourable and oppressive servitude, in which they had no proper motive to diligence and could have no affection for the despot under whose authority they were employed. Thus redeemed, they now become his willing servants, and are zealous of good works-affectionately attached to that noble employment which is assigned to them by that Master whom it is an inexpressible honour to serve.

 B.   He prepares us for Good Works through the inspired scriptures.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  Without the revelation of scripture, we could not know what work God desires of us. God uses His word to prepare us for our work in 2 ways:

1. 1. Through the instruction of scripture – knowledge is essential to the work he calls us to. He must identify the work, and give us the pattern for its completion.

a.  Throughout the OT description of the building of the tabernacle the Lord speaks of the pattern that was given on the mountain. Ex 26:30 -  And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.  Later, as Stephen recounts Israel’s history he also mentions the pattern.  Acts 7:44 – “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,

b. God continues to prepare his people to do good works by defining the works themselves. We must do all things according to the pattern found in the NT.

1. Not only does God identify the work he expects, but through the word he disciplines us so that we can be equipped to do it. God’s discipline is a necessary ingredient to being prepared to do good works. John 15:1-2 – I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Have you ever been pruned?

3.  Barnes says… God purifies all true Christians so that they may be more useful. He takes away that which hindered their usefulness; teaches them; quickens them; revives them; makes them more pure in motive and in life. This he does by the regular influences of his Spirit in sanctifying them, purifying their motives, teaching them the beauty of holiness, and inducing them to devote themselves more to him. He does it by taking away what opposes their usefulness, however much they may be attached to it, or however painful to part with it; as a vine-dresser will often feel himself compelled to lop off a branch that is large, apparently thrifty, and handsome, but which bears no fruit, and which shades or injures those which do. …He removes the objects which bind their affections, and which render them inactive. He takes away the things around man, as he did the valued gourds of Jonah (Jonah 4:5-11), so that he may feel his dependence, and live more to the honor of God, and bring forth more proof of humble and active piety.

 C.   God Prepares us through the Family Relationship of the Church. Notice that immediately after the conversions in Acts 2 ,the impact of their relationship to each other identified their work.

1. Acts 2:44-47 “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.” God puts us together in a family (some who never have had a physical family) in order to prepare us to do the work He desires.) Notice how Hebrews connects the work with the relationship in Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,  not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. If you neglect assembly you cannot be prepared for good works.

 D.  God Prepares Us By Teaching Us to Give. Notice Paul’s admonition in 2 Cor. 9:1-8 (Read) Paul tells the Corinthians that if they learn to sow bountifully and give cheerfully, God will supply all sufficiency in all things – an abundance for every good work.

1. Every good work that God calls us to begins in a willingness to give. Not just money, but time, energy – to give of ourselves. Husbands, Fathers, Mothers, Wives, Brethren, all these relationships involve giving.

 E.  God Prepares Us through Suffering.

1.  Consider Moses – a man chosen by God to do a work. Yet it seems that his perception of how that work would be done differed from God’s. Acts 7:22-25 – “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds. Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.” Moses had to flee for his own life, and only after 40 years of exile was he ready for the job. Moses became the meek man that God needed to do this job. God prepared the work and the man.

  Conclusion: What a marvelous transformation grace brings. From death to life – From my own lusts to God’s good works. From the things of the earth to Heavenly places. Have you been saved by Grace? 

In these  verses Jesus describes our function as God’s people. In one word it is influence. When we live by the principles of the previous beatitudes we will have a profound influence on the world we live in. This is not the impact of government policy or political revolution, but rather the influence of individual character. It is the influence that Jesus wrought upon His world in the first century.  It is the influence of both doing and saying.  As we noticed last week, God introduced light into a dark world; first in the creation of physical light of the universe; next in the incarnation and revelation of His Son, Jesus.

Jesus declared in John 8:12  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (NIV) In exactly the same choice of words, He states here that we (as His people) are the light of the world.

 I.   “You are the Light of the World” – This is one of those statements that should cause us to rejoice about our situation in the world. If we are the light of the world, then we must be “in the light” ourselves. It is a glorious thing to be living in the light, and not groping in darkness.  Paul told the Ephesians “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord…” Ephesians 5:8). He told the Colossians in Col 1:13 – He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.   But Jesus’ words are designed to describe, not just our blessed position, but our serious responsibility. We not only have received the “light” of the gospel of Christ, we have become reflectors of that light.  The world must see God in us, and through us.

A.  Again we notice that Jesus here is not issuing a direct command, but stating a fact.. You ARE the light of the world. As with verse 13, the word “you “ is emphatic in the sentence – You and you alone…   As God’s people, we are the reflection of His light to the world. The question is whether or not we will allow our light to shine, or will be hide it.

1.  Light does not struggle to be noticed when it is introduced into a dark place. Light is the opposite of darkness. That seems too obvious to mention, yet there is a prevailing conclusion that God doesn’t expect his people to live much differently than the rest of the world. (“We must strive to coexist because, after all, we are all the same”.)  If we are following Christ, we will expose the darkness of the world we live in. I like this statement about Noah – “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”  Hebrews 11:7  -  Noah did not build the ark to condemn the world (God ‘s light of revelation  had already done that), but when he built it he did condemn the world because light exposes and condemns the darkness.  Don’t be discouraged if people view your lifestyle as condemning others. It may mean your light is shining bright enough to be noticed.

B.   But if we are lights then we are meant to shine.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden; you do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. (Can see Las Vegas from miles away)

1.   Jesus’ words clearly reject a monastic approach to godly living. God does not want us to isolate ourselves from the world, or hide out in a church building, feeling superior to others. We must be seen by others to fulfill our purpose as lights. But we must be careful here. This visibility is not about us.

2.    As God’s people, Israel was the recipient of God’s revelation.  As “people of light” they were to let that light shine in the world.  But their obedience was to point people toward God, not themselves.  Matt 6:1-2 – Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  V. 5 -  “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  This leads us to a vital question answered in this text:

 II.   What is the purpose of our light?  It is easy to list the number of things that physical light does for  the environment. Our world could not exist without it. But the spiritual light that flows from the life of God’s people has only one purpose – “that they (the world) may glorify your father who is in heaven. “

A.  Can others see what God has done (or is doing) in you?  (Cruising by a glacier in the fog; what a tragic notion.)  If others cannot see the evidence of God’s work, they have no incentive to turn to Him.

 III.  “Let your light so shine…” – Can you see the halo above my head?  No, and you didn’t expect either, did you? So what is this light that Jesus is describing that I must allow to shine in the darkness? How do I obey this command?   

• Peter says God’s people we are called to be ready to give an answer for our hope. The early Christians went everywhere preaching (proclaiming) the word. Light through teaching.

A.  But the most powerful method of dispensing light is contained in the text itself:  “That they may see your good works “.  Nothing points to God more clearly than doing good. God always does what is good – morally, ethically and practically.

1.  Peter described Jesus in Acts 10:38, as one whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, who went everywhere “doing good..”  

2.  Consider Luke’s description of the Jerusalem church as they dispensed their light in Acts 2:45-47: He says they “sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people.”  They were making a favorable impression upon others through their unity and generosity.  

a.  One author recounted seeing a pair of Cardinals at a bird feeder in the winter. One was healthy; the other had a broken beak and could not pick up the seeds. The healthy bird fed the other bird, seed by seed. The author’s comment was that it would not be hard to imagine that the bird with the broken beak would easily be persuaded to worship the God of his friend. We have no authority to make the church into the Red Cross. But we have every reason to believe that good works are evangelistic and speak well of whom we serve.

3.  Paul used the term “good works”  8 times in his letters to Timothy and Titus. It was vital that these evangelists urge the members of God’s church to practice and maintain a pattern of doing good. If they did not learn to do this, their light would not shine – Titus 3:8 – This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.  What have you done for others that would point them to God?

B.  But let me suggest that the most powerful list of “good works” that shine in a dark world are found in the context of Jesus’ sermon itself.  This is  Jesus’ list in the sermon on the Mount summarized for you: (turn to Matthew 5 and follow along. – Does this challenge you enough?

• Work on your heart first (5:21-28) – (murder and adultery begin there)
• Take sin seriously (5:29-30) – (pluck out your eye if you need to)
• Keep your vows and stay married (5:31-32) – (God hates divorce)
• Always tell the truth (5:33-37) – (your yes be yes; your no be no)
• Do more than is expected of you (5:38-42) – (go the second  mile)
• Do good to those that hate you (5:43-48) – (If you love only those who love you…?)
• Don’t be a hypocrite (6:1-18)- (do not do it to be seen by others)
• Seek spiritual things over the material things (6:19-24) – Lay up treasures in heaven)
• Don’t worry, trust God (6:24-33) (seek God and His righteousness FIRST)
• Don’t try to pick the speck out of your brother’s eye if you have a log in yours (7:1-6)
• Ask God for everything you need  (7:7-12)
• Follow the truth wherever it leads (7:13-23) – (the narrow way that few find)
• Obey God’s commands consistently (7:24-27) – (build your house on the rock)

If I did this would the world notice me?   This is the essence of light in a dark world.          1 Peter 2:11-12, 15 –  Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.  … 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men

 IV.   “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel…” –  I want to close our consideration of this passage with a look as verse  15 – Jesus states the obvious. No one intentionally hides a lamp under a basket.  It would defeat the purpose and plan of the light. This is the other half of Jesus implicit command: I must allow my light to shine by not allowing it to be hidden under a basket. 

A.  Baskets that hide our light :

• Hypocrisy – is it possible to do the right thing, but do it insincerely so as to rob the good work of its light?  Jesus did not condemn the Pharisees for keeping the law too carefully. But when they set aside issues of the heart to focus on outward conformity their example became darkness.  Matt 23:13-15 – “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
• Fear – Fear is the opposite of faith, and every disciple has been confronted with this light killer. Peter had the opportunity to shine in Jesus’ darkest hour, but he was afraid of the words of a servant girl. Are you afraid of the darkness?
• Worldliness or compromise – 1 John 2:15-16   Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.
• Rudeness -  Col 4:5- 6 – Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.  6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
• Self righteousness – “you think your right and everyone else is wrong”
• A lack of joy -  In john 16 Jesus told his disciples that He would give them a joy that the world did not have and could not provide. Do your neighbors see that joy in you, or do they see a murmuring , grumpy person whose bad attitude about life turns them off.

 Conclusion:  Is your light shining in this dark world?   We are the light of the world, this is our purpose.  1 Peter 2:9 – 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 

If you are not a Christian, how can you lead others out of darkness? If you are not a Christian, you are living in the darkness. Come to the light of the gospel and begin reflecting the glory og God to others.

• Prior to the 1900’s, the average American ate about 5 pounds of sugar per year. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the average American in 1999 ate       158 pounds of sugar.  (Avg of 2-3 pounds a week)
• In 1942, the average American consumed 60 12-ounce colas. However, in 1997, the average was 576 12-ounce servings.
• In the 1950s, the average American ate 4 pound of French fries per year. In 2001, we ate an average of 30 pounds of French fries. 
•  Today, less than 28% of Americans meet the USDA guidelines for daily fruit consumption.       Only 32% meet the USDA guidelines for vegetable consumption.
• Do you think that this change is diet has had any effect on the health of Americans?

I.  Accessing Our Spiritual Diet.  What about our spiritual diet?  Unfortunately we do not fare any better. The majority of Americans (even religiously conservatives) are not taking in much spiritual sustenance. In the words of author Edwin Crozier, “We like our religion like we do our food – fast, easy, tasty, low on nutrients and sugar-coated.”   There are many who attend a worship assembly somewhere every week, but do not get much of what they need.

 II.  A Famine of God’s Word:  The prophet Amos prophesied  to the northern kingdom of Israel about 750 years before Christ. It was during a time of prosperity for Israel, and the future looked promising. But Amos describes it to us from a spiritual perspective. Amos 8:9-12 – 9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight; 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, And baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, And its end like a bitter day. 11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God, “That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, But shall not find it.  God’s people would suffer from spiritual malnutrition as God would allow them to suffer a famine of hearing God’s word.

A.  This does not indicate that God would deny them the food they needed. In fact, it was the contrary. God was even then sending His prophets (such as Amos, Isaiah) to them, but they would not heed their words.  Amos 5:10 – 10 They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.  Israel rejected God’s counsel and Amaziah, the false priest of Bethel, even forbid Amos from speaking the truth in the city. (Amos 7:10-17) If one refuses to eat what God provides, he may go hungry!

 III.  Ezekiel’s Commission: Consider the prophetic calling of Ezekiel. He was called to speak for God while living as an exile in Babylon, serving as a priest. He revealed several visions concerning the coming judgment on Judah, and the coming of God’s kingdom.  Ezekiel’s job is to save the remnant that remained faithful to God. But Judah was corrupt, and the words of God would not be well received.

A.  Read Ezekiel 2:1 – 3:4 – Despite the fact that the people will not listen, Ezekiel is commanded to not be afraid or intimidated by their rebellious ways. He was to continue to speak, whether they accepted or rejected his preaching. Ezek 2:4-5 -  For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’  5 As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse — for they are a rebellious house — yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.

 IV. “Eat this scroll”  (3:1)– Consider this unusual request of God to Ezekiel. Why would God require this?  It was imperative that the prophet first digest the word before attempting to take it to others. Jameison says… “God’s messenger must first inwardly appropriate God’s truth himself, before he “speaks” it to others”  (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary)

• What does this unusual request teach us about the relationship between the word of God and those who would teach it? Have you eaten any scrolls lately? Maybe God wants you to develop an appetite for His words.

 A. “Eat what I give you” (2:8) – Ezekiel is commanded to open wide (literally, to gape) and eat what God will provide. Are you a picky eater? Some folks can eat anything, while others struggle to accept another’s palate. Those who would proclaim God’s message are not free to develop the menu. We must be willing to eat what God provides.

1.  1 Peter 4:11 – 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.  Peter was not ashamed to command Christians to speak only as God speaks. As an apostle he had taken that principled course, even when commanded to do otherwise:  Acts 4:19-20 – Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

2.  Why would we refuse to eat what God provides?  Consider at least 3 reasons:

• We do like the taste – It confronts our sensibilities of what we want.
• We are not hungry – As materialists we see no value in spiritual truth.
• We want something else – something sweeter, that is not good for us. We find what we seek here.

3.   God calls on us to develop an appetite for what God provides. This comes through the application of God’s words to our lives, which may involve suffering. Matthew 5:6 – 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,For they shall be filled.

 B.  “There was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.”  ( 2:10) How much of the scroll was Ezekiel to eat. All of it. That did not sound very appetizing considering that the scroll was written on both sides and was full of lamentations and woes.

1.  John was given a similar command in Revelation 10:8-12 – 8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” 9 So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

a.  This similar request was for the same purpose. John was to recognize that the words of God were not always appealing. It tasted good, but it made his stomach bitter (upset). It is appealing to be the preacher of the word, but when one personally applies that word (eats it himself) it can be a bitter experience. Eli was passionate proclaiming the word of God to rebellious Israel, but that same word condemned his evil sons.

b.  The word may be easy to eat at first, but lose its taste when persecution begins or the application brings suffering. (like chewing gum when the sugar is gone)  Parable of the soils –  Matthew 13:20-22 -  20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;  21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 

c.  “written within and without”; What does this mean?  The scroll contained all that it could. There was no room for Ezekiel to write more.  I must not only accept all that God says, but I must accept only what God says. 

d.  What about the menu is hard to eat? 

          – “Loving our enemies” (Matt 5:44)

          – “Submitting to others” (Eph 5:21)

- “Carrying our crosses” and “losing our own lives” (sacrifices)  (Matt 10:28-39)

- “To the weak, become weak” (giving up personal liberties) ( 1 Cor 9:21-22)

- Women must be submission “keepers (workers) of the home” (Titus 2:5)

- Fathers must provide (1 Tim 5:8)

1 Peter 2:1-3 – Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

 C.  “Go speak to the house of Israel” – This was the force of Ezekiel’s commission. He had to eat the scroll in order to speak the words that he had eaten. So we too must not eat just for ourselves, but others.  2 Timothy 2:2 – 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

1.  Many of those who have been given the responsibility to preach the word have voiced the compelling.  

• 1 Corinthians 9:16 – 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

 Conclusion:  What are you hungry for?  Will you eat what  God provides?

• Light , just as salt in vs., 13, represents influence.  Again, this influence is only possible through the distinctive character of the agent itself.  Light does not become darkness, but rather overcomes and dispels it.  The nature of light as we know it today helps us interpret Jesus’ analogy.  But the character of light that is most helpful, and is the true backdrop of Jesus’ words, is found in the words of scripture.

 I.  Images of  Light in Scripture – “Light” has a rich heritage in the scriptures (253 times in the Bible) especially as it stands in contrast to darkness.  What does light represent in the Bible?

A.  Light represents God’s presence and activity:    Gen 1:3-5 – Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.  

1.  Before God worked, there was “darkness on the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2).  Light was created on the first day, as a prerequisite to all other aspects of creation (even man).  Without light, life is not possible.  Without God there is only darkness.  

2.  many of the miracles of the Bible present this concept of darkness & light:

• The pillar of fire that led the Israelites in the wilderness (His presence was light)
• The darkness that fell at Jesus’ crucifixion (the presence of evil was darkness)

3.  Where God is, there is light – O.T. – “walking in the light of His countenance” – Ps. 89 – place where there is help & blessings.  1 Tim 6:15-16 – He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

B.  Light represents good, darkness represents evil: Isaiah warned about those who would call good, evil, or light, darkness (Isa. 5:20). Paul wrote in Rom 13:12 – 2 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.   “Light” and “darkness” frequently are used in Scripture as symbols of good and evil. D.A. Carson explains, “In the OT as in the NT, it most frequently symbolizes purity as opposed to filth, truth or knowledge as opposed to error or ignorance, and divine revelation and presence as opposed to reprobations and abandonment by God” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984, Vol. 8, p. 139).

C.   But light also represents  God’s words –as He revealed His will to a world of darkness, so He brought light.  Ps 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. As with the physical world, light dispels darkness whenever it is present, and makes it possible for us to see.  The ability to see gives is the opportunity to understand reality and react properly to it.  If you can see you can make wise decisions and move from one place to another.   John calls on us to “walk in the light”; Paul commands us to “walk as children of light…finding out what is acceptable to the Lord, having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Eph. 5:8-10)

D.   Light represents  God Himself – In identical language to Matt. 5:14, Jesus said in  John 8:12 – I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”   If we follow Jesus we will be walking in light, not darkness.

• If you have only one flashlight, who do you give it to?  The one who is leading!  I can stay in the light by following him. Jesus is the one with the light. I can follow Him and know I am OK.   “to whom shall we go, You have the words of eternal life”
• Psalms 36:9 – 9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

 II.  Light in a Dark World – In contrast to the beauty of God’s light, there is the presupposition in scripture of a dark world. Prov 4:18-19 -  But the path of the just is like the shining sun,  That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.

 A.  “It seems best to understand darkness, not as an opposing power to light, but rather the absence of light; and thus the absence of God.  If God is removed, there is nothing left but darkness.  Jesus described hell itself as “outer darkness” because God is absent.

In Eph. 4 the apostle urged Christians to not walk as they used to walk before they were converted. He said their “understanding was darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that was in them, because of the blindness of their hearts”. (Eph. 4:18) This world is a dark place without God’s presence.

B.  To Reject God’s words is to remain in darkness.   God is the only source of true light.

1.  We pride ourselves on being an enlightened society. We certainly have more knowledge than ever before, but not more light.  This world is as dark as ever.

• Paul described his own society as ones who knew God but did not glorify Him as God. He said they were “futile in their thoughts, and their hearts were darkened” as they “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator.” (Rom 1:21-25)

2.  Jesus told his disciples in John 12:35-36 – A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”    Jesus was responding to their question of disbelief concerning His identity – “Who is the Son of Man” ?  He was pointing out to them that they had a limited opportunity to respond to revelation of God.  If they refused to “see the light” now darkness would overtake them. 

C.  Jesus describes the rejection of the light of God’s words as a voluntary blindness. There are people who cannot see and it is not their fault; but there are also people who are spiritually blind who choose to remain that way.

1.  The Rejection of Christ by Israel is described in this way. John 1:4-12 -I n Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it… 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

2.  People reject God’s truth because they desire to practice evil, and the light exposes the nature of their deeds.  John 3:19-21 – And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”  (automatic security lights – not to help the criminal see better)

3.   Jesus confronted the Pharisees of His day for replacing the commandments of God with their own traditions. -  Matthew 15:7 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”.. He then went on to characterize them as blind guides leading the blind (v. 14) and both fall into the ditch.  There is no light in the teachings of men.

4.   Paul described these same Jewish rejecters of the words of Jesus years later in Rom 10:2-4  “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 

5.    To refuse to open your eyes to the light of God’s truth causes a blindness.  (blind cave fish)

• After Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Light of the world in John 8:12, He healed a man who was born blind (John 9). The Pharisees refused to acknowledge Jesus’ miracle or the truth it proclaimed.  They refused to see the light and were therefore the truly blind ones.
• After the healed blind man confessed his belief in Jesus, the Lord said,   “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” 40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.  (John 9:39-41)

 Conclusion:  How can we make sure that we are not blind to the light of God’s will?  How can we help others avoid this as well?  2 Corinthians 4:1-6 – 4 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  There is a blindness and veiling that comes with rejection. 

• To confront this blindness Paul would keep preaching Christ, that others might see the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus.  My eyes need more light all the time. I must keep looking toward Christ and His words.

Conclusion:  Have you seen the light?   Are you walking in it?

• The Word creates; Jesus creates.  The Word justifies; Jesus justifies.  The Word saves; Jesus saves.
• As we said last week, this is not to say that Jesus is nothing more than words written in a book. Jesus is not your Bible, and your Bible is not Jesus. But God cannot be divorced from His words. His purposes are accomplished through His words. His power is displayed in His words.
• The Bible also speaks of being “in Christ”; and being “in the Word.” How are we to understand these statements and what happens to those who get “in the Word” and” in Christ”? 

 I.  Read John 15:1-14 – Jesus is speaking to His disciples in the upper room just before His betrayal by Judas. Jesus’ words are designed to protect and encourage His disciples before He leaves them.

• He has already spoken about the peace He provides (14:27)
• He tells them Satan is on his way (14:29-30)
• He later tells them that He loves them (as a friend that would die for another -15:13) and that the world would hate them (as it has hated Him -15:18-19)
• John 16:1-4 – “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
• The illustration of the Vine and Branches is designed to teach them how they can survive what was coming. How can be expected to endure the persecution and accomplish what they would be commissioned to do? It would only be possible if they abided in Jesus and Jesus abided in them.

A. “ I am the True Vine and My Father is the Vinedressser” (v. 1)  – Jesus’ illustration portrays our heavenly Father as a vinedresser.  This is one who plants the vine and is ultimately responsible for its growth and development. 

1.  The Vine is Jesus.  He is God’s plan and God’s purpose. Jesus is uniquely from the Father. He is called the Only Begotten of the Father (John 1:14), not because He was a created being, but because He was uniquely chosen and honored by the Father. 

2.  We are the branches. This is the fascinating part – we are part of God’s plan when we, as branches, bear fruit for the vinedresser. Our fruit is the purpose of the Vinedresser. Our fruit magnifies Him, not us. (vs. 8 – Herein is my Father glorified)

B.   Abide in Me, and I in you” (v. 4) This is the command that is the focus of Jesus’ words. We are responsible for abiding in Jesus. It seems as well that Jesus abiding in Me is congruent and dependent upon my abiding in Jesus.  How do we do that?

1.  Abide (Greek – meno) “stay, dwell, endure, remain”.  It is more than an appearance or occasional dwelling, but a settled habitation.

a.   The Bible often speaks of God’s desire to live (tabernacle) with His people. God is said to live in us, as our bodies are described as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the church as the habitation of God in the Spirit.

b.   The Bible also speaks of us dwelling in God (as here in John 15). 1 John 4:14-15 – 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

c.   God in us, and us in God. This is not some mystical experience. It is the result of a choice that I make to allow Jesus to influence me. It defines a relationship that I develop with the Word of God. Our connection to the vine is as strong as we want it to be.

C.   He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5) – The branches cannot bear fruit apart from the Vine.  In the physical world we understand that the outer branch does not provide for the development of the fruit. The nourishment and life flow from the trunk of the vine, and any disconnection from the vine makes the branch useless.

1.  What is the fruit here? The Bible identifies the fruit of the Spirit of God as the qualities OF God Himself. (Galatians 5:22 – 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,) We cannot become like Christ without abiding in His words.  But the context may point more to the fruit of evangelism – converting others to Christ. That is the fruit that these disciples will be called upon to produce soon. 2 sobering thoughts here:

• You cannot make disciples apart from the word of God.  Mark 16:15-16 – 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
• If we do not convert others we will not survive the judgment of God. – Jesus’ passionate desire was “much fruit”; and Jesus’ stressing this here emphasizes the truth that the evangelization of the whole world is the first, last, and great duty of the church. Conversions are the fruit Christ had in view here; and no Christian, and no church, can be considered truly “in Christ” unless passionately engaged in soul-winning.

D.   “ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7) Abiding in Jesus is also described as abiding in His words. This is not to say that Jesus and the Bible are the same, or that the Holy Spirit is the Word, or that one gets more of the Holy Spirit by reading more of the Bible.

1.   But Jesus cannot be divorced from His words. I cannot enter or sustain a relationship with Jesus apart from obedience to Jesus’ words. John 6:63-68 – 3 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” 66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 

2.  Abiding in Jesus demands that we abide in His words. How do I do this?     

a.  It is more than an educational experience. Abiding in the word is more than memorization and study. We know this for several reasons.

• The devil can memorize Scripture. He quoted it to Jesus in the wilderness to tempt him (Matthew 4:1-10).
• Second, we know it because of what Jesus says in John 5:38. – “You do not have (God’s) word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom He has sent.” The people Jesus was talking to knew the words of scripture. They memorized it daily. But it did not impact their lives.
• Thirdly, Jesus said those who abide in His word bear much fruit. (Jn 15:2) Spiritual fruit comes through obedience to the words of Jesus. In Romans 6 Paul said that the Christians had become slaves of God and that they were bearing the fruit of holiness (Rom. 6:22)

 E.  What happens when I get in the Word  and the word gets in me? Look again at the text of John 15. I get these things:

1.  Purpose:  I can know God’s purpose and will for my life. God’s desire for me is that I bear fruit and bring glory to Him. The scriptures define this for me.

2.  Pruned:  I can be pruned to bear more fruit.  John 15:2 – Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

• “Prunes” (Greek) can also mean “cleanse, purge” (It’s a Vinedresser tool to promote growth) The sdiscipline of the word is an important tool of God to do accomplish His purposes.  “Whom the Lord loves He chastens” –  Heb 12:11  - “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful;    nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it”

3.  Power : “Ask what you desire and it will be done” – Does this mean I will get everything I want?  I dare not explain away the force of this promise.  But those who continue to abide in God’s word develop different desires. They desire to do God will above all else – as Jesus did. God will not deny us the ability to do His will. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. As I abide in the word I access the power God provides. – 2 Tim 1:7-9 – Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our  works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began”

• Rom. 8:28 “All things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”

4.  Life:  This is an integral understanding of Jesus’ words here in John 15. Unless we abide in Jesus we cannot live. John 15:6 – 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.   Without a real connection with the Vine I am dead! 

• You may not appear dead to others, but you are. (cutting my trellis vine. Some branches were disconnected. They would be made known later.)
• Burton Coffman connects vs. 7 with Jesus statement in John 14:20 - “I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”– “Here is the whole prospectus of God’s kingdom in embryo, making this verse rank with Gen 3:15 as a statement of the whole plan of salvation. Here is the achievement of God’s righteousness, the secret of justification, and the basis of the redeemed’s avoidance of judgment – the whole works; it’s all here! Ye in me …” (from Coffman’s Bible Commentary)

 a.   My salvation is defined by my identification with Jesus.

• 2 Cor 5:17 – 7 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
• Eph 1:10 – That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him.
• Eph 2:6  … raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
• Eph 2:13 – But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
• Col 1:28 – Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
• Gal 3:27 – 7 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

 Conclusion:  1) I f you are not in the Vine you are dead.  You have not hope.   “Good” people do not go to heaven.  Saved people do!  They abide in the Vine.  2) If you are not bearing fruit…you will be cut off… because you are dead. And        you will be cast into the fire.

a.  His statement is passive in its approach as it describes what the world does to the Christian. But then Jesus turns to consider the positive side of what the Christian is to do for the world.

b.  What Jesus teaches here is consistent with the principle given to Abram before: “I will bless you … you will be a blessing.” (Gen. 12:2) God uses people to bless other people. Christians are blessed so that they can positively influence the world around them. “If we fail in this we fail in a fundamental role that God intends for us.” (Tack Chumbley)

 I.  The Distinctive Influence of the Christian on the World:    Read Matthew 5:13-16 – “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

A.  Some Evident Points: I want to focus on the words of verse 13 today, but when we view these words as a whole there are a few necessary implications:

• The Christian Influences the World.  Christianity is meant to be public. Not in the self-seeking manner of the Pharisees who did what they did for the praise of men (Jesus condemns that in this very sermon). But Christianity is designed to have a definite positive influence upon the world. Our lives, if lived correctly, will impact those around us.  This should not surprise us. Who has influenced human society and history more than Jesus Christ?

• Some people will respond favorably and be saved; others will ridicule and persecute us. Paul writes…2 Corinthians 2:14-16 – “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life..”  In either case our lives have profound effects, and even persecution is not to alter our function in the world. We “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

• The world needs to be changed for the better. The presupposition on which Jesus bases His teaching is the ever increasing darkness and corruption of the world around us.
  • 2 Tim 3:12-13 -  Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.  13But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.  Scripture reveals to us that this world is getting worse and worse, and there is no inherent remedy to the moral decay without the gospel.
  •  The evil world needs the moral influence of Christians. As God’s people we can make a difference. But Jesus is not advocating a social gospel approach that is so popular today. The influence that Jesus says is evident is the product of the lifestyle He just described – A moral life of meekness, sacrifice, and a thirst for God’s righteous judgments. God’s social reform is through personal righteousness, not political movements or government policy. Who is your hope?
• Our ability to influence the world for good is dependent on our sanctification from it. Any positive, intended effect that we have on the world around us is based on our distinctiveness from the world, not our assimilation to it. By definition, an influence must be different from that which it influences. Both salt and light are unlike that which influence.  Both salt and light do not lose their distinctive nature or character in the process. Christians therefore must be different from the world they are called to influence. John 17:15-17 -  15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
• The purpose of this public influence is to glorify God, not self.  We must have influence on others so that others will be brought to praise God. It ought to be evident in the way we live that the source of our morality is not self, but God.

 II.  “You are the salt of the earth”  – Jesus uses a familiar item to describe the power of influence in the life of the Christian. Why does Jesus compare the Christian to salt?

A.  Salt is one of the most basic necessities of life. Sodium is involved in muscle contraction, including heartbeats; in our never impulses, in the digestion of protein, regulates the exchange of water between our cells. Without salt the human body goes into convulsions, paralysis and even death. 

B.  Salt has always been valuable in human society, often much more so than it is today. During a period of ancient Greek history it was called theon, which means divine. The Romans held that, except for the sun, nothing was more valuable than salt. Often Roman soldiers were paid in salt, and it was from that practice that the expression “not worth his salt” originated. In numerous ways Jesus’ hearers–whether Greek, Roman, or Jewish–would have understood salt of the earth to represent a valuable commodity. Though most could not have understood His full meaning, they knew He was saying that His followers were to have an extremely important function in the world. Whatever else it may have represented, salt always stood for that which was of high value and importance.

 III. The important qualities of Salt: Jesus’ words demand interpretation. He does not give much detail. There are several qualities of salt that have been suggested as the spiritual basis of Jesus’ words in Matt. 5. All of them point back to the general importance of salt.

A.  Some point to the color of salt. It is white suggesting purity. So Christians are to remain pure in an impure world. Their influence is to help purify the world around them. James 1:27 – 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

B.  Some focus on the sting of salt as it is put in a wound. Some interpreters believe that Jesus meant to teach that Christians are to sting the world by pricking its conscience and making it uncomfortable in the presence of God’s truth. A gospel that does not confront sin and make sinners uncomfortable is not the gospel of Christ. Apostolic preaching brought people to conviction of sin and was a call to repentance.

C.  Others point out that salt creates thirst, as it increases the body’s craving for water. So God’s people are to live in such a way as to create a spiritual thirst in others and then attempt to lead them to the Water of life. A person may see our peace in a trying circumstance, or our confidence in what we believe, and thereby be persuaded to try our faith. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. This has merit but doesn’t seem to be the best interpretation here.  

D.  Others emphasize the flavor of salt. It makes food taste better and thus makes it more attractive and palatable. (Can anyone eat popcorn or eggs without some salt?). So Christians are to live in such a way that they add flavor to the world and make it more palatable. Although the previous considerations have merit, the context seems to point in this direction. Jesus speaks about salt losing its “savor”, not its color or sting. But to whom do we make the world more palatable?

E.  It seems that the best emphasis here may be on the preserving power of salt.  The influence of the Christian is designed to preserve the decaying earth. This is not about Environmentalism or efforts to save the planet. The concept is spiritual, as the decay and corruption are spiritual, moral and inward. We noticed earlier that the biblical picture of the world system is that it is continually worsening and decaying. Salt does not so much make a rotten piece of meat good as it prevents good meat from going bad or from getting worse.

1.  God stands ready to bring judgment upon all sin. The righteousness of the Christian and his effective prayers give savor to the world and make the world more palatable to God, and thus forestall His judgment.

• God was willing to spare the immoral cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of Abraham and just 10 righteous ones.
•  It seems that God was willing to forestall the immediate judgment of Israel at Sinai because of the influence and intercession of Moses.

  F. Making it last…. Have you ever considered the place of salt in the worship and covenant of God’s people in the O.T.  It seems that it points toward salt as a preserving agent intended to make the effects of the sacrifice and the covenant eternal or perpetual.  Leviticus 2:13 – 13 And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt. Why would Go command salt to added to the sacrifices?

1.  In the O.T. salt was the opposite of leaven (which the Israelites were to remove). Leaven corrupted; salt preserved. Leaven was impurity; salt was purity.

2. As a preserving agent, salt represented the eternal and irrevocable nature of the covenant of God. So that covenants that were meaningful and long-lasting were called “covenants of salt”.

• 2 Chron, 13:5 calls God’s eternal covenant with David a “covenant of salt.”
• Numbers 18:19 – 19 “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you.”

 IV.  The power of our influence – “You are the salt of the earth” – the “you” here is emphatic – you and you alone are the preserving influence in the world. If we are not influencing the world for good, who will?  How do we do this? 

A.  The power of our influence is in the contact.  Salt does not impact what it does not touch. Although we are not to fellowship the worldly in  their sins, we must make contact to make a difference.  If you are not close enough to your neighbor to invite them for coffee, you probably aren’t close enough to be an effective influence in their lives.

B. The power of our influence is in the truth of God’s word.  Paul warned Timothy of those who would have no regard for the truth, depart from the faith and give heed to seducing spirits (doctrines). He instructed Timothy to instruct the brethren in the nourishing words of faith and of the “good doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:6). “These things command and teach” (4:11)

C.  The power of our influence is in our obedient conduct. He also told Timothy to be an example to those that believe in conduct, love, spirit, and purity (4:12) 1 Tim 4:15-16 -15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

a. One of the most effective ways we retard the corruption of the world in fulfilling our duty toward our family. Nothing will preserve the next generation of God’s people more than faithful parents. We must teach our children. Who else will do it? Which leads us to consider Jesus’ own rhetorical question here:

 V.  “But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

A.   Physical salt can become contaminated and thus useless for its original purpose. Jesus describes this condition as “the salt loses its flavor” (savor). Salt has lost its power to influence as it should.

1.  In ancient times this was a common problem.  Salt was mined from the earth, and was not always pure (no means of chemical purification, etc.).  When it became tainted with other chemicals, it lost its ability to season, preserve, and disinfect.  In such cases it would be thrown out of the door and into the street.

B.  The problem here is “worldliness”. When Christians fail to be distinctive they fail in their “most fundamental responsibility”.

1.  There are several pertinent applications we could make to specific moral issues:  dancing, wearing immodest clothing, social drinking, gambling, etc. Such questionable activities definitely do affect our influence for good, and it is naive to think otherwise.

• But worldliness is more. It is a life lived in comfortable conformity to the world around, that does not disturb its surrounding.  One writer said “If by concessions made to the world the salt has been leached out of us, leaving only a residue of worldly respectability, fine buildings, congenial social circles and empty rituals, we, too, have become utterly worthless!”  
  • John said…” Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.16 For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

 Conclusion:  How salty are you? The power of influence is an enormous responsibility. We need to make the right applications. It goes far beyond what we do in our assemblies. As important as it is for Christians to worship God according to His will, we must remember that most lost men will not be made to glorify God because we eat the Lord’s sup­per every Sunday or don’t use mechanical instruments. They may indeed be moved to exalt God by the quiet love with which we bear one another, by our self-control in the face of great provocation, by our calm assurance in the presence of tragedy, and our firm refusal to be drawn into a world of mindless lusts. If we have gained the vic­tory over a worldly system of pride and carnality it will surely show, and God, not ourselves, will be glorified.

I wonder how many AH Hah moments  the apostles had after Jesus went back to heaven.

As John was writing late in the first century (both his gospel, and the epistles of  John) he seemed to be connecting the dots.

• ·         John 2:19-22 – 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”  21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

Wisdom, age, study, and reflection can greatly enhance our understanding of any event.  But John also has been given a deeper revelation.  The Holy Spirit is also guiding him. Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would reveal all truth to them and bring to their remembrance all that Jesus had taught them.

 The focus of John’s gospel is the personal divinity of Jesus. This is what John wants us to see in his biography of Jesus.  John 20:30-31  30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

 Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe that Jesus is divine?  This is at the heart of our faith as Christians. We have confessed it.

 I.  Jesus is God’s Word:  John 1:1-3 – 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 

A.  This text is talking about Jesus. Notice the proper promoun “HE” in verse 2, and “HIM” in verse 3. Jesus is the Word.  This is made clearer in vs. 14 – John 1:14  – 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  Do you believe that Jesus is the Word of God?  What does that mean?  Let’s look closer at this text:

B.  John makes three important points here about the deity of Jesus in vs. 1:

1.  “The Word was in the beginning…”   The Word (Jesus) was in existence before the worlds were created. He is therefore , not a created being, but preexistent. Since time began with the creation of the physical universe, whatever existed before that creation is eternal.) “The Logos [Word] did not then begin to be, but at that point at which all else began to be, He already was. The imperfect tense of the verb confirms this meaning – continuously in existence.

a.  In the beginning …  is like the opening words of Genesis. Burton Coffman says… “by such a choice of words, the apostle John evaluates the new creation through Jesus Christ in the same category of importance as the physical creation itself, and, in fact, being another creative act of the same Word which was active in the first.”  We noticed this morning that the word of God was the active force in creation (God said). Thus Jesus is not just present but actively involved in creation.  Col 1:16-17 – 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  Jesus claimed His own divine preexistence in John 8:58 – 58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

2. “The Word was with God…”  The original words (pros ton theon) mean more than that Jesus existed with God. It gives the picture of two personal beings facing each other and engaging in discourse. MacArthur says… From all eternity Jesus, as the second person of the trinity, was “with the Father… in deep, intimate fellowship. Perhaps pros ton theon could best be rendered “face-to-face.” The Word is a person, not an attribute of God or an emanation from Him. And He is of the same essence as the Father.  Jesus often spoke of being with God before His incarnation.

3.  “The Word was God.” – The first two phrases point to their climax in this one. Jesus (the Word) was God. These 4 words (in English and Greek) are the clearest declaration of Jesus’ divinity in scripture.  Col 2:9  - “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, for you are omplete in Him who is the head of all principality and power”

4.  Each of these three statements complements the other and form succession of thought. Each one seems to correct any misapprehension formed by the previous one.

a.  The Word was eternal; 

b.  Yet this was not the eternity of the Father, is the Word simply an attribute of the Father, but a distinct personality;

c.  But neither is this the distinctness and fellowship of two different Beings mean that there is a plurality of Gods. There is one absolute Godhead.

C.  What does “Word” mean? Words are the main ingredient of communication.  If I want you to understand me, I have to use my words. Emotions are non-specific; actions are often ambiguous; if I need to get thoughts that are in my brain into your brain, it’s going to take words.

1.  The Greek word for word is logos. Logos in classical Greek meant a thought expressed, or something said.

a.  The Greeks saw logos as reason or wisdom. In the Greek worldview, the Logos was thought of as a bridge (go between) between the transcendent God and the material universe. Therefore, for his Greek readers the use of the term Logos would have likely brought forth the idea of a mediating principle between God and the world.

b.  The  Jewish readers would have easily been drawn to the O.T. connotations of the word of God as the creative force in Genesis. It denoted the revelation of the mind of God.  “Hear the Word of the Lord” is a phrase constantly used by the prophets to accentuate God’s communication.  For God communicates with words.

D.  Jesus as the Word:  But John goes beyond the familiar concept of Logos that his Jewish and Gentile readers would have had.

1.  Jesus, as the word of God is not just a force or principle. He is a person (as John goes on to emphasize His physical appearance in the incarnation).

2.  Jesus is also not simply a personification of God’s revelation as the Jews thought, but was indeed God’s perfect revelation of Himself in the flesh. As the Word of God fully makes known His mind, so Jesus, as God in the flesh, fully made known God.  John 14:9 -  9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

3.   Here is the point. Everything we can know about God is revealed in Jesus. Christ as the Word (logos) constitutes the complete and ultimate divine revelation.

• Hebrews 1:1-2 -  God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
• Only such a Being coming forth from “the bosom of the Father” could, as a distinct Person of the Godhead, “explain” the Father -John 1:18 – 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

4.  Jesus is not merely a representation of the Word – He is the Word of God. There are other ways we can see that Jesus and scripture are one. Notice these connections:

            Scripture                                                                  Jesus

 Psa 33:6 “by the word of the Lord were                      Col 1:15-16 “for by Him all things were the heavens made”   created… all thing created for Him”

 Psa 119:140 “Thy Word is very pure”              Jn 19:4, 6 – Pilates finds “No fault in Him”

 Pro 30:5-6 “Every word of God is pure”           1 Jn 3:3 – “Every man has this hope purifies himself as He is pure”

Psa 119:105 – Thy Word is a light to my path           Jn 1:4 – In Him was life and light of men

 Gal 1:16 – “That I might preach Him among the gentiles” (Note: “Preach Jesus”)

Acts 8:35 – “And beginning with that Scripture He preached Jesus unto him” 

  E. To Listen to Jesus is to Listen the Word Revealed in Scripture.  John 5:37-40 – 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

•   Jesus scolded the Pharisees because they searched the scriptures and did not find Jesus, because the scriptures spoke of Him.
•  When Jesus was here, those who refused to listen to Him could not claim to be listening to the scriptures
• When He is not here, those who refuse to listen to scripture cannot claim to be listening to Jesus.

1.  If you could meet Jesus what would you do?  Talk all the time… dominate the conversation… or would you ask questions and listen?  Would you cherish the moments with Him?  Would you invite distractions?  Or would you put Him first.  Note:  When we get in the Word we’re meeting Jesus!    

2.   Bible reading is important.  But Bible study is vital to our spiritual health.  – Acts 17:11  11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

3)  I am Purified by the Word of God.  Jesus is My Savior. He cleansed me from my sins.  But the Bible also describes a cleansing by the word of God

• o   Eph 5:26  “That he might sanctify and cleanse it (church) with the washing of water by the word”
• o   Jn 17:17 – “Sanctify them in truth, they Word is Truth”

Conclusion: God’s Word is powerful. Jesus is the Eternal Word of God. I cannot think of God’s word as just a book or collection of Writings. The Word of God is the person of Jesus, revealed and made known for me.  Revelation 19:13 – 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

I like the NIV translation of this verse: “ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”   (NIV)  This verse is simple, but the implications are profound and compelling.

1)    Faith cannot exist apart for hearing the message sent from God.

2)    One does not hear the message of God through intuition, mystical experience, philosophy, or consensus, but in the words of Christ revealed by the Holy Spirit.

3)    True faith and obedience are based upon a revealed and objective message

4)    If we do not preach or teach this message, others will not have faith, and therefore be lost.

We will spend some time looking at the place and value of God’s words.

• Some charge Christians with placing too much emphasis on the Bible. They charge us with Bibliolotry – worshipping the Bible, rather than God.
• What we can recognize from the words of the Bible itself is that it is not possible to put too much emphasis on God’s words. It is impossible to worship Him without emphasizing His words.

 Begin with a familiar passage that we studied recently in Bible Class. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.”All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.   The term translated inspired literally means “God-breathed” (in fact the NIV says that). It indicated that scripture is the product of God alone.

1. 1.  In some passages the term scripture is synonymous with the person of God Himself.

• Gal 3:8 “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, (saying,) In thee shall all the nations be blessed.” (ASV)
• Gal 3:22 “But the scriptures shut up all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” So in these verses Paul tells us that scripture was God’s own voice and action. In Rom. 9:17 Paul says that scripture spoke to Pharaoh, when we recognize that God himself was the one speaking.

  The Word of God in Creation: Turn to Genesis 1 –  From the beginning, God has spoken. The words of God have always produced results. The account of creation in Genesis 1 & 2 is one of the most powerful treatises on the power of God’s Word.

1. 1. A.    The main character of this chapter is the Word of God… The words “God said”  are used 10 times in this chapter. These words describe the force at work.  There can be no ignoring God’s voice in creation. Everything exists because God has spoken.
2. 1.    The first 2 verses are a general statement of what God did  – Gen 1:1-2  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  (NIV) – God brought the heavens and earth into existence. At this point the heavens and earth were formless and empty – (waste & void – ASV).
   1. The rest of the chapter describes how God brought order and design to His Universe. What we see around us is the result of both initial creative power and intricate forming, so as to make this place suitable for man (the pinnacle of God’s creative work.)
   2. In the spiritual realm it is also God’s word that brings order and value to God’s creation. The physical creation is a parallel to the spiritual creation.
3. 2.    Genesis 1:3-5 – Then God said,”Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.  5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.  On the first day of the first week God created light and divided the light from the darkness. The creation of light paved the way for all life. Without light, no life could exist.
   1. What did God do another first day of the week? He brought Jesus out of the grave. This is described as providing light to all the world.  2 Cor. 4:3-6 “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Paul uses the event of that first day to illustrate how God has brought “light” to the spiritual world as well.
   2.  God called the light “good” and divided the light from the darkness.  Again we recognize the power of God’s words. Not only does He create perfectly (good), but He also makes distinctions.

1)    7 times in Gen. 1 God says that His created physical world is “good” – not morally good or w/o sin – but the word means suited to its purpose. (like a “good” lawnmower) This physical world is not an end in itself. It exists to bring glory to God, and ultimate glory through the redemption of men through Christ.

1. These distinctions in the physical creation are consistent throughout and cannot be abrogated. We set our watches by the decrees of God’s words. These are so set that we refer to them as “laws”. 

1)    Why is it that we recognize the objective, unalterable nature of God’s words in the working of nature, but easily set aside His words revealed in scripture? If there are consequences to violating one, there consequences to violating the other.

2)    This reminds us of Heb. 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.  God’s word can distinguish what may seem indistinguishable. (Watermelon & the rind).

• 1 John 1:5 “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”  We must always be ready to accept the divisions that God’s word provides (evil & good; right & wrong) It is as impossible to dissolve the distinction between right and wrong as it is between light and darkness.  Phil 1:9-10 -  And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,   How do you approve the things that are excellent? You must make distinctions. How?  By the word of God.

  Creation is the Unique Work of God’s Word:  A study of the creation account causes us to pause at the use of the Hebrew word, “bara”  - to create. This word is unique in that its only subject in scripture is God.  Vines says… “bara.. is of profound theological significance, since it has only God as its subject. Only God can “create” in the sense implied by bara. The verb expresses creation out of nothing,.”    We may call ourselves creative, but we cannot do what this word describes. Only God can create out of nothing.

1. In Gen. 1 we find bara only 3 times. (that doesn’t indicate that the other Hebrew words do not signify the act of creation). But it does point out the absolute necessity of God’s intervention in all three places:

• Gen. 1:1- matter & energy
• Gen. 1:21 – Life (breath of life)
• Gen. 1:27 – Man in the image of God

1.  Evolutionary theory supposes spontaneous existence of matter & energy (which is scientifically impossible), but even if you have that present, it takes another divine intervention to get life, and then another intervention (out of nothing) to create morally responsible life in the image of God!
2. Look at Heb 11:3  “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.  By faith in what? (Faith comes by hearing the word of God) The Hebrew writes says that can only understand the unique work of God’s word in framing the worlds, by our faith (trust) in the revealed word of God scripture.
3. Peter connects the creation to the power of God’s word in 2 Peter 3:5-9  For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,  by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.  But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.  But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
   1. Peter says that those who live as though there is no judgment forget some important things.

• They forget that God is not limited by time. He is never late or early.
• They forget the purpose of God is to save (longsuffering) so the delay does not suggest He is not coming.
• They forget the power of God’s word. The heavens and earth that they see exist because God spoke. They are preserved by His word. When He speaks again, all these things will cease to exist.

1. When God is finished with this world He will destroy it with the power of His word.  (It is now being preserved by His word, and will one day end with His word. Those who refuse to obey God will be condemned by the word of the Lord.  Heb 1:10-12 “You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail”.   (Like a paper plate, do you put it in the dishwasher?) What a pity we invest so much energy and time into this world.
2.  God’s New Creation – The physical creation is not God’s best work (hard to believe when you see what we recently gazed on in Alaska.) But this world will come to an end.

1. Christians are the new spiritual creation of God. 2 Cor 5:17 – 7 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.   Paul emphasized the creative aspect of God’s spiritual work in our behalf in the book of Ephesians:

• Eph 2:10 – 0 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
• Eph 2:15 – 5 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
• Eph 4:24 -  4 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

2.   How are we created?  By the power of God’s word.  - James 1:17-18 – 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.   

• Romans 1:16 – 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
• Mark 16:15-16 – 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

 Conclusion:  There is nothing more powerful than God’s word. How can you and I resist it?  Heb 2:1-4 – Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

• Jesus rebukes Peter for being too quick to speak up (Matthew 16 – told Jesus He would not be killed – “Get behind me Satan”)
• In the garden Jesus scolds Peter for using a sword to protect Him.

But we dare not overlook the fearless conviction that prompted Peter to be so outspoken for Jesus.  He seemed always ready to answer the pivotal questions that were designed to define one’s convictions.

• When others were deserting Jesus at the end of John 6, it was Peter who gave a profound and clear answer to Jesus’ question.    John 6:66-69 – From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  When others may have been tempted to be silent, Peter spoke up.
• In Matthew 16, Jesus asked who do you say the son of man is? Matthew 16:16-19 – 16 Simon Peter answered and said,”You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  His public confession of Jesus became a pivotal moment in the coming of the kingdom as Jesus promised to build His church on the truth contained therein.

 If there is anyone in the N.T. who can encourage us toward boldness it would be Peter. He has been tested and proven.  He knows the importance of answering the questions that are destined to be posed to us concerning our faith. His experience makes his statements in 1 Peter 3 even more compelling.

  1 Peter 3:15-17 – But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.                  NIV

 I. Prepared to give an answer:  What does that require of me? Does it mean that I must be ready and willing to debate anybody on any religious issue they might propose? Does it require me to confront every false claim and every false way?

A.  Other translations of this passage replace “give answer” with “make a defense”  (NAS, RSV). This seems a better rendering of the thought. God is not simply calling on us to know the answers to some questions. It is a call to a comprehensive defense of my hope.

 II. Who Needs to be Prepared? This letter was written to Christians who were different than those around them. They were different from what they had been in the past; different associations, different goals in life. Their different lifestyle created the need to be ready to give an answer.

A.  Notice first that this verse speaks to all of us. Peter is not just addressing preachers or elders. In vs. 8 he calls on “all of you” to be of one mind. The overall context of this command is focused on all the Christians who were being persecuted for their faith (v. 14). If anyone asks we must be prepared. If we are living our faith, they will ask.

 III.  What are the Questions? Peter assumes that others will ask us questions concerning our hope. Have you ever been questioned about your faith?  If not, it might be because you are not living a different lifestyle than those around you.

A. What questions did they have to answer?  We often think of intellectual questions on Bible topics. What if they ask me about the mark of the beast, or the book of Revelation.  Maybe on instrumental music or the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are certainly questions that need answers and we need to be prepared.

B.  But I am convinced that the questions that Peter has in mind here are more personal and practical to the inquisitor.  Their former friends and present associates would think it strange that they no longer ran with them in sin – 1 Pet. 4:2-4 ..”that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles– when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.” ; They would be spoken against, and reproached (3:16) , and accused of evil ( 2:12). Those who choose to serve God today face the same response. For this context the questions that we face may not be theological inquiries. They may be more personal and intimidating. Why don’t you like to go out with us anymore? Are you too good to do what we do?  Aren’t you going overboard with this religion thing?

C.  Peter says the questions will challenge the reason for our hope. This implies that the world will notice if we have any hope that differs from others. It will take notice if our hope impacts the choices that we make.

1.  How often do you speak to others about your hope? Earlier Peter spoke to these Christians about the value of the hope of heaven:  1 Peter 1:3-7 – 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, …

 IV. What Do I Need? What kind of preparation do I need to make?  From the context of Peter’s letter, there are things I need: 

 A.  I need the truth. I cannot defend my faith with anything other than the truth.  

• 1 Pet 4:11 “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God;” (KJV)
• The NIV translates I Pet. 4:11 as  “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.” (NIV) You cannot successfully defend your faith unless you take the Word of God seriously and learn the truth for yourself.
  • 1 Pet 1:13-14 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (NIV) How are you preparing your mind for action? Do you know what the God thinks and desires from you? Do you spend time in meditation and study of God’s word?

 B.  I need a sanctified heart.  1 Pet 3:13-15 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,... Peter calls for courageous sanctification.

1.  The call for sanctification is a call for single minded devotion. Peter says in our text that in preparation to answering the questions of the unbeliever, I must “sanctify the Lord Jesus in my heart.”  What does that mean?

a.  The NIV translates it “set apart Christ as Lord” – consider Him to be absolute Master. This is the heart of answering the questions that relate to my hope.

b.  The answer that God wants me to give others is more in the form of “who” than “what”.  I will tell you what I hope for, but first let me tell you who I hope in.  

c.  The words of Jesus answer every question. My conviction rests on what He says alone.

d.  This is only possible as we develop a clear perspective on our identity and accountability. We are God’s people; accountable only to Him… To the world Jesus is a “stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” ; but to us He is “precious … “chosen of God..” (1:7-10)

 C.  I need a good conscience.  In vs. 16, Peter says we must have “a good conscience, that wherein you are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ..” If others question our hope, it is a clear indication they are scrutinizing our lifestyle. Peter points us to holiness through obedience as an answer: 1 Pet 1:14-16  “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” We must resist the temptation to blend into our culture and strive to be like Christ in all things.

• Our actions and behavior can discredit our words. Our answers may be right, but if our life is wrong, no one will listen. 1 Pet 2:11-12 “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
• There was a time when this was a crucial discrepancy in my life. I was dating a young lady that was not a Christian, but she was living her convictions much better than I. She had a good conscience and my unfaithfulness discredited even the right answers I could give from the Bible. (can you preach about seatbelts if you don’t wear one?)

 D.  I need the right attitude. Peter says I must answer others with “meekness & fear” – a submissiveness to others and a respect for God. My answer must reflect my discipleship to Christ as I follow His example – when He was reviled, He did not revile in return.

1. I can either create animosity or curiosity by the manner in which I respond to others questions. Just having the right answer is not good enough. I must learn to speak the “truth in love” so the truth can change people’s lives.

 Conclusion:  I must never lose sight of what God calls on me to defend. It is not myself, or my self-respect.  Peter says I must be ready to defend the hope that is within me.   

What is the Hope within Me? Peter relates it to the “revelation of Jesus Christ” ( 1:13). 

• It is the true expectation that even if we are ridiculed and put to the test here, we can never forget that “He that believeth on Him shall not be put to shame.” (2:6)
• It a hope born through God’s Holy and incontrovertible word. Do you have this hope.. If you do then prepare yourself defend it. If you do not, then find it in the obedience of your own faith toward God.

 These words became real to the early Christians as they followed in the footsteps of Jesus. Although Jesus is certainly the “Prince of Peace”, His message brought division, as men and women were confronted with the truth.

• Matt 10:34-37 – 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ’set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

 In our continuing study of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5, I want to look closer at the event of persecution. How did the early Christians respond to persecution? What does God expect of us when we are persecuted for the sake of righteousness?

 Read Acts 4:1-23 – This is certainly an intriguing series of events. The enormous success of the preaching of the apostles on Pentecost, coupled with the amazing miracles, such as the one in chapter 3, led to public and violent opposition.

• As recorded in chapter 3, when Peter healed the blind man (actually Peter says Jesus did it) a crowd gathered around him. Peter preached the 2^nd gospel sermon recorded in scripture. But he was not even allowed to finish the sermon before persecution began.
• Those who came to stop Peter are described as:  the Priests, probably the temple priests who upset at the disturbance Peter and John had created; The captain of the temple – the head of the temple police responsible for keeping the peace; and the Sadducees. -The ruling sect of the Jews, they were adamantly opposed to the teaching of the apostles concerning the resurrection from the dead.  The text says they “came upon them”, literally “came suddenly” with malicious intent (same phrase used to describe the crowd as they approached Stephen in chapter 6.)
• They were greatly disturbed for two reason:
  • Peter and John were teaching the people – They had no official credentials.
  • They were preaching the resurrection from the dead – the Sadducees did not believe it. (Questioned Jesus on this in Matt. 22- You err not knowing the truth ). The Jewish authorities recognized the Messianic overtures of Peter’s teaching and saw it as revolutionary and possibly insurrectionary. 
  • Peter and John are immediately arrested and taken away.  

  I.  The “Driving Force” of Persecution – How would we react if this happened to us?  What if the authorities came in and arrested the preacher, or Bible class teachers? It was on the nightly news and there was a publicized trial? How would you react?  It is difficult for us to relate to the events of Acts 4. We do not face this type of open opposition. In fact we may never be thrown in prison for our faith. But we do face persecution (if we are living godly),

• We noticed last week that the Greek word for persecuted in Matthew 5 means literally to be put to flight or driven from. This account is Satan’s dramatic attempt to drive the disciples away from Christ; cause them to flee from their convictions and faith.
• Does suffering for righteousness drive you away from Christ or closer to Him?  What was the result here in the Jerusalem church?  Let’s look closer and see.

 II.  The Power of a Bold Response –  Peter and John provide an important example for us (just as Jesus did for them.) When the council convenes the next day, they are placed right in the middle of this intimidating convention (v. 7) and asked to make a defense of what they had taught. “By what power or by what name have you done this?

 A.  Peter’s passionate preaching – Peter seizes the opportunity to preach the word.

1.  He is “filled with the Holy Spirit.” (v.  I am tempted to not place a miraculous connotation on this description, because God calls on me to be filled with the Spirit also. It may simply tell us who is influencing Peter. But Jesus had also promised the apostles in Mark 13:9-11 that the Holy Spirit would speak for them, giving them the very words to say. Peter is not intimidated because the Spirit of God is providing the strength and the words he needs.

2.  vs. 10 – Peter boldly proclaims the identity and power of Jesus. He is the One who has made this man whole. Peter repeats what he had preached in the temple. The presence of persecution and opposition does not change the message. He boldly states, by the name of Jesus Christ..

a.  Peter’s words in vs. 10 not only impugn the council in Jesus’ death (whom YOU crucified..) but unreservedly teach His resurrection ( and GOD raised up.) Peter refused to compromise the gospel by deleting what would offend the Sanhedrin.

b.  vs. 12 – Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.  The word “saved” in vs. 12, is a form of the same verb (sozo) used in verse 9 to describe the healing of the lame man. Not only was Jesus the source of physical healing, but He is also the only source of spiritual healing.

c.   Peter & John preached an exclusive Christ in an inclusive age. So do Christians today. We are often accused of being narrow-minded and intolerant. How dare we insist that Christ is the only way?   Matt 7:13-14 – “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

 B.  The Council’s Perceptive Observation:  Notice what the Sanhedrin observed about these apostles as they defended their faith: Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

 1. Boldness:  Peter and John were not intimidated by the council. Satan’ s attempts to intimidate disciples is often successful. In fact, it takes much less for us to cave in. John MacArthur states, Boldness is that essential quality without which nothing significant can be accomplished for the gospel. Jesus warns sternly against those who would deny Him in times of trouble.

a.  It says the council also perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men (they marveled) – By the one word (uneducated) they mean ‘men uninstructed in the learning of the Jewish schools;’ and by the other (untrained), ‘men of the common sort,.. There were not the elite, but common men, not a place you would find such reasoning and boldness.  The also said the same thing about Jesus. John 7:15 – 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” Which leads to their next observation:

2.  They had been with Jesus:  This possibly refers to their remembrance of Jesus’ boldness at His trial. Or they recognized Jesus’ irrefutable reasoning from scriptures. But this is the true measure our response to persecution. If what we do reminds others of Jesus we have responded successfully.

 C.  The Disciple’s Blessed Response: (v. 19-31) Just as Jesus predicted, with the persecution there would be a blessing. What was the response that brought the blessing of God? Let me suggest 6 ways we should react to persecution as evidenced by Peter and John in Acts 4.

1. Be Submissive – Do you remember the Peter who was with Jesus in the garden. He had his own ideas about how to respond to those who would oppose His Messiah. John 18:10 -  “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear…. 52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? ( Matt 26:52-53)

a.  What happened to that Peter? This was not the same man. Peter did not fight or resist. Someone showed him how to overcome your enemies by trusting in God, not your own strength. Later he taught others this same lesson:  1 Peter 2:18-23 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.

2.  Seize the Opportunity to Teach – Submissiveness is not cowardice, and Peter boldly took the opportunity that this trial provided. It is easy to reference every difficulty in the context of how it affects us. We need to see how our persecutions and troubles may benefit others – even those who oppose us. Phil 1:12-14 -But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; 14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

3.  Be Obedient to God at All Costs – Acts 4:17-20 – 17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” 18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”  The Council attempted to intimidate Peter and John into silence and ordered them not to speaking the name of Jesus any more (no more talking about a resurrection).

a.  It is ironic that the early believers had to be commanded to be quiet, while we have to be commanded to speak.

b.  The parents of the blind man in Acts 9 were afraid to speak up for fear they would be excluded from the synagogue. What does it take for you to be silent? What is the price?

c.  Peter himself, earlier denied Jesus at the hint of persecution, but now he is fearless.   

• Matt 10:27-28 - 27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

4.  Seek Solidarity With Other Christians –  Acts 4:23 – And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.  The first thing Peter and John did after being released was to go to be with other Christians (their own companions). They sought encouragement from others and sought to encourage them as well. Later in this chapter Luke describes the unity the resulted from the initial opposition and the apostles’ imprisonment. Acts 4:32-33 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.  Why does trouble take us away from the assembly rather than draw us towards it?

5. Be Thankful – As Peter and John report of their opportunity to preach Christ to the Sanhedrin , the group breaks out in praise as they remember the prophecy of David about those who would oppose the Messiah. (vs. 24-29) They did not express fear of rejection or self-pity. They were thankful to be a part of the fulfillment of God’s plan.

1. Later, after another imprisonment, the apostles expressed joy at the opportunity to suffer for Christ.  Acts 5:40-42  40  “.. and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

6.  Pray for More Boldness – Peter and John were ready for anything.. right? As bold and confident as they appeared before the council, in their humility and dependence on God, they pray for more boldness to face future trials.  Acts 4:29-31  29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

a.  If there is anything we need to pray for it is boldness. Boldness to speak the word of God to a world that does not want to hear it. Boldness to speak to our children & our family.

b.   The answer to their prayer was not long in coming. The lord gave evidence that He was pleased with their courage when he shook the house and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

c.  Satan’s attempts to frustrate the preaching of the gospel had turned against him. He has no weapon against the courageous preaching of God’s truth.  If we can react to the persecution Satan sends us in the same way that Peter and John and the early Christians responded to their trials God will work His plan in our lives as well.

 Does God care?  Doe He see you when you suffer? The character of God is at stake as we answer that question. Events of the O.T. provide a clearer picture of God as He interacts in the history of the nation of Israel. There was a particular time when God’s people may have wondered if God was paying attention – When they may have thought that God had abandoned them.

 Background – the family of Abraham were living in a foreign land – in the land of Egypt. They arrived there a couple of generations before through the blessing of God  in the promotion of Joseph to second in command in all of Egypt. Joseph saved his family from the famine, and for a while they prospered in Egypt.

But There is a change in the situation facing the Israelites in Egypt during the centuries after the death of Joseph. As God prospers them and they grow in number the new rulers of Egypt see them as a threat. So Pharaoh issues three commands in this chapter:

·        To enslave the Israelites, setting ruthless taskmasters over them

·        For the midwives to kill all their baby boys at the time of birth

·        After that fails, to throw all baby boys into the Nile

Although the Israelites continue to grow in number despite this oppression, they are suffering greatly. This brings us to today’s text:

I.   Crying Out For Help…(v. 23)  “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.”

A.  The Israelites have now been In Egypt almost 400 years. There is no biblical record of any prophet speaking to the people during this time. There is no record of any writings handed down from Abraham to subsequent generations about God’s dealings with the patriarchs. While certainly there is an oral tradition, stories of their forefathers that are told from parents to children, the days of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph must seem far away. Think of your own ancestors of 400 years ago – in the year 1602. How much do you know about them?

B.  So here are the Israelites: slaves to a king who hates them, who is trying to wipe them out as a people by killing all their baby boys. They still cry out to God – through the generations they have been taught to do that.

C.  But: Is God there? Is He aware of what is going on with His people? Does He care? Does He remember?

 II.  God’s Response …(v. 24 – 25)  “So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.” (NKJ)  In the Hebrew, the author uses only 15 words in these verses, but repeats the word “God” four times. Each time “God” is used as the subject of a verb, putting strong emphasis on the Lord Himself.

A.  God Hears:   “So God heard their groaning..”  God  did hear their groanings. And He always hears our cries. As the Psalmist says,  When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears. (34:17)

B.  God Remembers: “..and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob”. Not only does God hear, but He also remembers his covenant, his promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants.

1.  Indeed, at the time of the formal establishment of the covenant with Abraham God tells him about this very time when his descendants will cry out in Egypt: Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. (Gen 15:13,14)

2.  The time in Egypt was not an unexpected occurrence to God; He was not caught off guard by their sojourn. God had planned it centuries previously – and had also promised their deliverance.

3.  More generally, God has promised each of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He will bless all the nations through their offspring (Gen 12:3, 26:4, 28:14). Given these promises, God had to remember, He could not forget His people in Egypt.

4.  And what about us? God has promised to not tempt us above our ability to bear it. He has promised to provide an incorruptible inheritance to those who are faithful. Will He remember?

5.  In chapter 49 of Isaiah, the prophet portrays the fears of the exiled Israelites that God has forgotten them:  But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” But God replies: Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands (Isaiah 49:14-16a)  If we are God’s people, our names are right on God’s palms, directly in front of His face, never to be forgotten. God forget? He can never do so. God always remembers His promises; He is always faithful to His people.

a.   As Paul tells us,  For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. (2 Cor 1:20)

C.  God Sees:  “And God looked upon the children of Israel”(v. 25) God sees the Israelites! He sees all that happens to them – the slavery under which they suffer, the murder of their children – even the worse oppression which is coming.

1.  The enemies of God – especially Satan himself – always try to get God’s people to think that God does not see. The Psalmist quotes such enemies in 94:7: “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”  8 Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? 9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? God always sees. The all-seeing eye of God is not just fear in judgment, it is also comfort in affliction.

D.  God Knows:  “ And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.” (v. 25)

1.  The final clause is the most important – and also the hardest to translate. English translators have struggled with this phrase, and have rendered it many different ways.

• the NIV has “was concerned about them”,
• the NAU “took notice of them,”
• the KJV “had respect unto them.”  But all of these translations include considerable interpretation. The Hebrew is quite simple: it says “God knew.”
• Young’s Literal translation says,  “and God heareth their groaning, and God remembereth His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob; and God seeth the sons of Israel, and God knoweth.

2.  In this context, what is it that God knows? What does the author of Exodus mean by this phrase? The NIV, NAU, and KJV translators evidently think the primary idea is that God knows the problems of the Israelites and is concerned about them. Surely this is part of the meaning, as is brought out a few verses later in Exodus 3:7. This verse is in many ways parallel to 2:24-25, using three of the four Hebrew verbs we consider today:  “And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.” (NKJ)  “I know their sufferings.” God knows their pain, their sorrow, their loss. And He cares.

3.  But the most literal translation and understanding of this statement is also applicable. God knew more than just about their suffering. His willingness to deliver them from their bondage was based on His absolute knowledge of their circumstances.

Let me mention 4 items in addition to their suffering that God knew:

a.  God knew their present weakness. He knew that they can do nothing to help themselves. He knew that unless He acts, they are lost. As the Psalmist says,  For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. (103:14) Or as Jesus said to his disciples, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

b.  God knew their future failures. Remember how rebellious these very Israelites become. Did God make a mistake in choosing them?

• He knows our future acts and decisions, including all our sins – yet He still calls us by name to Himself.  So God knew all the future failures of the Israelites, but nevertheless chose them to be His people. So do not be disheartened by your own weakness and remaining sinfulness.
• God loves us in spite of our failures. His love is unconditional
• God can save us even though we fail. He can transform the heart and change us.

c.  God knew the power of the enemy. He was aware of Pharaoh’s stubborn heart. In fact He told Moses that Pharaoh would not yield to his request.

• God knows the obstacles we face.  Whether that power is a physical disease or an oppressive state, whether it is a human enemy or Satan himself, God knows its strength. He knows all of Satan’s plans and ploys, and all the tricks and deceitfulness of every human enemy. As the author of Hebrews puts it: And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (4:13)
• God is not surprised by the power of Satan. He does not struggle to defeat Him.
• He will not allow me to be tempted beyond my ability to resist.   1 Cor 10:13 – 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

d.  Finally, God knows His plans for the Israelites. Think of the situation of these people: God already had rescued Moses from death in the Nile; He already had placed Moses in the household of Pharaoh so that he would learn all that was necessary to play his future role; He already had placed in Moses’ heart a desire to save his people from the Egyptians. Soon, He would appear to Moses in the burning bush, display His power over all the Egyptian gods through the plagues, and rescue His people from slavery. God knew all these plans.

4.  Just so in your own life. As the Lord says through Jeremiah,  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (29:11) And God always brings about His plans. He declares, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” (Is 46:10)

a.  Recall also the end of Psalm 1: “The LORD knows the way of the righteous.” Surely this means, in part, that the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, as the NIV translates it. He guards our ways, protects us from the evil one, guides us in His paths. But this verse also relates to God’s plans for us: He knows the way He will lead us, and the sufficient provisions He has made to save us.  (This does not preclude our unwillingness to obey Him and be lost) But knows what we need. And He has provided it.

Conclusion  So what are your sorrows? What are your pains? Why are you crying out to God? Whatever your sorrows, whatever your pains, whatever your cries, know this:

Your God Hears! Every word you cry out, even your unspoken thoughts, God hears.

Your God Remembers! All the promises of God are Yes in Christ Jesus. And He is faithful to all those promises

Your God Sees! He sees what is behind and what is ahead, all the threats, all the dangers.

Your God Knows! He knows you: Your sins, your failures, your weaknesses; He knows your enemies, and the trials they will put in your path; He knows what we need.  

So persevere! Hold on! Trust in the God.

Matthew 5:10-12 – “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

This 8^th and last of the beatitudes provides a proper conclusion to the list.  Those who faithfully live according to the first seven beatitudes are guaranteed at some point to experience the eighth. Those who live righteously will inevitably be persecuted for it. Godliness generates hostility and antagonism from the world.

To live by the principles of Jesus (as described in this text) is to stand out from the crowd – to be different. The world has always been intolerant of God’s righteousness. Those who live in darkness hate the light. It is ironic that peacemakers are the objects of scorn and persecution.

• Jesus says that even this inevitably painful occurrence is a source of blessing (happiness) for the Christian. How can this be so?

 I.   The Inevitability of Persecution:  God makes it crystal clear – Those who choose to serve Him will be persecuted by those who do not. Despite the prevalent assumption that good and evil are subjective, God’s word describes a distinct dichotomy. The children of God are opposed by the children of the devil.  1 John 3:10-13 – 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

A.  Jesus warned his disciples of the imminent hatred that would be exerted against them. John 15:18-20 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. (NIV)  Jesus spoke clearly about what was coming. Mark 13:9-13 - 9 “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought* before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate* what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  If you are going to be a Christian, you can expect opposition, even from those close to you. It is an inescapable price of godly living.

1.  Paul encouraged Timothy to follow his example in facing the inevitable.

• 2 Timothy 3:10-12   But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra — what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.  Paul mentions 3 specific occasions of opposition from his past.
  • At Anticoch (Acts 13:50) the Jews stirred up the city and Paul and Barnabas were “expelled from their region.”
  • At Iconium (Acts 14:2-5) “…the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren…This led to a “ violent attempt …made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them…”
  • At Lystra (Acts 14:19)  the Jews from Antioch and Iconium persuade the multitude to stone Paul, dragging him out of the city and leaving him for dead.  In every city there was opposition that became personal.

 II. The Reason for Persecution –  The blessing announced in Matthew 5 pertains to a specific type of persecution. “those who are persecuted for righteousness sake”  Righteousness is simply doing what is right. A.  Not all persecution is blessed by God, only those who suffer for doing what is right. Those who are persecuted for the same reason Jesus was persecuted. 1 Peter 4:13-16 – 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.  

A. Persecuted by choice. It does not come simply because I call myself a Christian, but rather because I choose to live as one. Christians do not seek persecution, or live the life of an antagonist. But they recognize the consequences of the choice to live righteously. It is easy to avoid persecution. Just “live and let live”, laugh at the world’s jokes, enjoy its entertainment, refuse to expose its sinfulness, and refuse to take a stand for Christ.

1.  The choices of true discipleship are various, depending on our circumstances and obligations. In Ancient Rome Christians were obligated by their government to give an oral pledge of religious worship to the deified Emperor once a year. If they did this they were free to worship whatever god they chose. When Christians refused they were considered traitors. They often lost their property, families, were imprisoned or even burned alive and allowed to be torn to pieces by wild beasts.  One Roman poet spoke of them as “the panting, huddling flock whose only crime was Christ.”

2.  We seldom face such devastating physical consequences. But the cost of discipleship is still persecution. We are called upon to make choices that will separate us from the world around us. We may be expected to hedge on the quality of our work in order to increase company profits; expected to lie or engage in the entertainment of the world, in order to secure a sale. Expected to accept the sinful lifestyle of others. If we refuse we will be ostracized by others. There is always a cost being righteous.

3.  “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26). If we are ashamed of Christ, He will be ashamed of us. Christ also warned, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).  In this sense being mistreated by others is evidence of righteous living and gives the Christian confidence in the face of difficulty or uncertainty.

B.  The righteousness that brings persecution is Biblically defined. The world is not opposed to “good” people, as long they judge their “goodness” by its standards, and not God’s. It you let society determine what is right or good, you will not be persecuted for being a “good” person.

 III.  The Faces of Persecution: What can we expect from the world if we live by God’s standards?      In the last beatitude Jesus speaks of three specific types of trouble we can expect.

A.  Reproach (Revile) – The Greek word (oneididzo), means primarily to insult, to mock, scorn, ridicule, swear at, and abuse.

1.  Jesus faced this type of assault often: He was called a Samaritan and a devil (Jn 8:48), a mad man (Jn 10:20), and a glutton and a winebibber (Lk. 7:34). On the cross “even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him”. (Matthew 27:44) But, being reviled, he did not revile in return. 1 Peter 2:23 – 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

2.  Bible-believing Christians are still castigated even by the most conservative religious denominations. We are called ignorant, out of touch with the modern world, unthinking, naïve, and even labeled as terrorists.

B.  Persecution (dioko – Jesus uses this word three times, v. 10, 11, 12) Literally it means to chase or flee. It points to the physical mistreatment that is designed to drive people away. Early Christians were chased from their homes, and physically driven from their families.

1.  The Greek verb is a passive perfect participle, which can be translated “allow themselves to be persecuted”. It indicates a willingness to be continuously persecuted or driven away. Are we willing to accept whatever righteous living demands?

a.  The second-century writer Tertullian was once approached by a man who said, “I have come to Christ, but I don’t know what to do. I have a job that I don’t think is consistent with what Scripture teaches. What can I do? I must live”   Tertullian replied, “Must you?” To endure persecution is to be prepared for loneliness, misunderstanding, ridicule, rejection, and unfair treatment of every sort.

C. Slander (Say all manner of evil against you falsely)  This is perhaps the hardest to take: when your enemies create lies about you, and attempt to ruin your reputation. They accuse falsely. Again, Jesus faced this often. The enemies of Jesus brought false witnesses to testify against Him.

 VI.  The Reward of Persecution: As with the other beatitudes, the spiritual quality mentioned brings its own reward.

A.  “Blessed are”  - v. 10 – means those who are persecuted find fulfillment or happiness. They find a true source of joy in the opportunity to follow Jesus where He leads.

• Paul called on Timothy to “not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,” (2 Tim. 1:8)
• James calls on the Christian to count it all joy when his faith is tested by difficulties, because it improves our character and provides what we lack.(James 1:2)
• Peter declares the true value of suffering for the sake of righteousness. It is pleasing to God. – 1 Peter 2:19-21 – 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.  21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

B. “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven” – v. 10; great is your reward in heaven” – v. 12) – The ultimate fruit of kingdom life is eternal life. Persecution can take from us every possession, every freedom, and every comfort, and even take our physical life, but it can take never take away the spiritual life we have in Christ.  The Beatitudes begin and end with the promise of the kingdom of heaven (cf. v. 3) We close our thoughts with some of the most powerful, yet comforting words in scripture. Rom 8:18 – 8 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us…. vs. 31-39 – 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We also noticed this morning that making peace required the right attitudes as well as the right actions. What are the attitudes that make for peace?  Peter helps us here

1 Peter 3:8-12  8  Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;  9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.  10 For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.  11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.  12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

I.  Attitudes of Pursuing Peace. – Peter mentions some key elements to having a good life and pursuing a peaceful life. These qualities are first attitudes, and then the acts of obedience that flow from them.

A.  “Be of One Mind” (NASV, “harmonious”)…The phrase means to be united in the same purpose, the same goal. Unity of practice begins in a unity of purpose. We have to all be seeking the same thing. Jesus prayed for this kind of unity in John 17:20-21

1. The church displayed this type of unity in its beginning. Acts 4:32  “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.  The basis of their shared life was twofold.

a.  First, they were preoccupied with ministering to each other. So intent were they on meeting each other’s needs that they had no concern for gratifying their own desires. Theirs was a humility stemming from seeing themselves in relation to Jesus Christ, and others as more important than themselves (Phil 2:3).

b.  Second, they were focused on reaching the lost world with the truth of the gospel. That left them little time to bother with trivial personal matters. Their unity stemmed from focusing on those priorities Jesus had left them: selflessly loving each other, and reaching the lost world.

2. How can we have this “oneness of mind”?  - 2 necessary things:

a. It is attainable only to the extent that we all submit to the will of God. Our purpose is defined by His work and will.  Even as Christ did while on earth – cf. John 5:30   30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

b. this oneness is also the fruit of receiving one another as Christ has received us. Rom 15:5-7 5 “Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7  Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.  Our reception of each other is not based on our personal likes or preferences, or based on how much everyone else is like us, but on the recognition of our mutual need of Christ. Christ received us without impartiality, and to the glory of God, the Father. We receive each other in order to bring glory to God, not ourselves. We are able to receive each other because we ….

B. Have “Compassion For One Another” (NASV, “sympathetic”)…This means to have pity, a feeling of distress toward the ills of others. It is that disposition which is moved by the problems of others (like sickness, hardships, etc.)

1.  This is the attitude manifested by Jesus during His earthly ministry – Matt.  9:35-38  “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”   Such compassion can only come from a tender, loving heart, which may be why Peter goes on to say that we need…

C. “Love as Brothers”… Literally, this means to be “brother lovers” Peter lists “Philadelphia” (brotherly love) as an essential element of spiritual growth in 2 Pet. 1:7.  It is through this love for one another that we may be able to convince the world that we are truly the disciples of Jesus. (Jn 13:35)

D. “Be Tenderhearted” (NASV, “kindhearted”)… This descriptive term is used only here and in Eph. 4:32, where it is related to the willingness to forgive another. The “tender heart” is sensitive the needs and feelings of others.

1.  This may be most applicable in the spiritual realm. How sensitive are you to the spiritual needs of others? Even if we start out as “cold-hearted”, in Christ Jesus we can and must undergo a transformation, in which we develop a “tender heart” –  

• Colossians 3:8-10  – 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,… vs. 12 – 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.

      2. Have you considered what kind of heart you have?

E. “Be Courteous” (NASV, “humble in spirit”)….Vincent says that the best rendering is humble-minded, emphasizing the spiritual demeanor of lowliness (poor in spirit). This attitude would lend a person to be courteous as opposed to insolent or arrogant toward other. s An arrogant or proud spirit does not bother to be courteous. – rich folks can be the most rude.. they are proud.

1.  The word used here is from the same root word as Jesus’ words in Matt. 11:28 –come learn of me for I am meek and LOWLY in heart.  Christians are to imitate their Lord and Savior, and not think so highly of themselves that they cannot be kind and courteous to others – cf. Phil 2:5-8  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

2.  kind words promote peace.. “umpiring tactics” – don’t fold your arms, never raise your voice, speak politely.

F.   “Return blessing for evil”.. The next admonition is more of a response than just an attitude. But the choice reflects the humble and committed mind of Christ. .When someone (e.g., a brother) does us evil, we are to respond with a blessing! While this may go against “human nature”, Peter gives two reasons why we are to react in this way:

1. We are called to follow the example of Christ – Peter elsewhere indicates our need to follow the perfect example left by Jesus – not through our own sinlessness, but in the willingness to return good for evil, and commit the judgment of evil to God. 1 Peter 2:21-23  21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

2. That we might receive a blessing from God – Luke 6:35 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

III. The Reward of  Peaceful Attitudes… To motivate us in fulfilling these duties in vs. 10-12 Peter quotes from the 34th Psalm..  (10-12)

A. “Love life and see Good Days”  Everyone wishes to enjoy life as they experience it from day to day. But too often, many make their own lives miserable by their own self-seeking, self-destructive attitudes. Constantly complaining, contentious, retaliating to evil with evil, they only aggravate the situation. But David in his psalm gives the secret to loving life and seeing good days:

1. Peter’s admonitions involve both what we say and what we do.

• Refrain the tongue from evil, and lips from speaking guile  - say what is right & don’t lie.
• Do good, (in contrast to what feels good, do what is good; good to others)
• seek peace and pursue it (to seek –intensive and aggressive action – as a hunter pursues prey. Make choices that will make peace. “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.”- Most people fail to see good days because they make the wrong choices. They say and do the wrong things. They are not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to make peace.

B.  So that the Lord will be open to Us.  1 Pet. 3:12  – 12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

1.  Only by doing the will of God (as found in 1 Pet. 3:8-9) can we ensure that…

a. His gracious eyes will watch over us & His ears will be open to our prayers

2. On the other hand, the Lord’s face is against those who do evil, and will not hear their prayers.

3. Indeed, consider the list of abominations found in Proverbs 6:16-19 and notice how many are the direct opposite of how we are to be…    Prov 6:16-19 – 16 These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,  19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

a. We are to be courteous (humble) – but the Lord hates a proud look!

b. We are to be compassionate – but abusing the innocent is an abomination to the Lord!

c. We are to be tender-hearted – but the Lord hates a cold heart that thinks evil of others!

d. We are to return good for evil – but those who respond quickly with evil, the Lord abhors!

e. We are to be of one mind – but if we sow discord by murmuring and complaining, we are abominable in God’s sight!

Conclusion:   So God knows what is best for us. Hew knows what makes life worth living and how we can see good days. We must strive to be like Him

In our previous lesson we investigated the qualifications of the Christian as a peacemaker. The personal reconciliation of the sinner to God, and the transformation of his character through the influence of the word of God uniquely qualify the Christian to make peace. But how do we live the life of a peacemaker?

I. The Priority of Peace: The Bible emphasizes the importance of peaceful personal relationships. Although our first responsibility is to God, the priority of peace is even greater than the call to worship.

• Matthew 5:23-24 -  23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,  24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  

A. Even though some division is a necessary result of practicing the truth, disharmony is often a sign of the presence of sin – especially sinful attitudes.   When Paul confronted the Corinthian church about their divisive ways he said, 1 Cor 3:3 – You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? (NIV) They were not living like the peacemakers they were called to be. Paul addressed the particulars:

• There were “quarrels among them” (1:11) and they had divided on sectarian lines (I am of Paul, Apollos, etc)
• They were taking each other to court before unbelievers (1 Cor. 6)
• They were not respecting each others conscience in matters of liberty. (1 Cor
• They were even disrespectful toward each other in the observance of the Lord’s Supper. (1 Cor 11:17-22)

B. Paul presented what I think are principles of peacemaking at the end of 1 Cor 10 – 1 Cor. 10:31 – 11:1  So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 11 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.  Paul tells us here why we should seek to be at peace. The principles of the peacemaker are:

1.  The glory of God (v. 31)–. The presence of peace and the willingness of God’s people to be at peace brings glory to God. Jesus told his disciples that the world had a legitimate right to judge their authenticity as followers by the love they showed toward each other.

2.  The salvation of others – (v. 32-33) Paul tried to please others and be at peace with them for their spiritual good. This is a divine, not a humanitarian objective.

a. As the Christian seeks to facilitate the salvation of others he overcomes the selfish impulses that dominate the flesh.” For I am not seeking my own good”  - This attitude of selflessness and humility is the true power of peacemaking.  James 3:16-17 – For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable… The peacemaker cannot seek his own honor, self-respect, vindication, or rights.  1 Cor 6:7 - Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?

3.  The Example of Christ – (11:1) – resolving conflict and seeking peace was the mission of Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace, and I must use Him as my pattern for peaceful living. Why should I forgive the brother who sins against me? Ephesians 4:32 – 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

II.  The Pathway to Peace – The scriptures provide concrete instructions and guidance for the peacemaker. How is the Christian to react to conflict?  I will consider some essential activities of the peacemaker as the 3 G’s. (This is the most powerful 3G network!)

A.  Get the log out of your own eye. One of the most  challenging elements of peacemaking is found in Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:5 -  5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  The word ‘first” is critical. Jesus calls on us to look at ourselves before we try to “fix” others. We often believe that we could be at peace, if the other person would just act differently. But this is the wrong approach for more than one reason.

• Jesus commands introspection first. Hypocritical judgment is sinful.
• Introspection guards against pride and self-righteousness and leads to true change.
• I cannot change others only myself. Any change that I accomplish in others is a result of the change I make in my own life.

1.  The log of sinful attitudes: Does this conflict exist because I have an overly sensitive attitude? Am I seeking my own way at the expense of others?  Am I envious or jealous? Am I looking for something to condemn or disagree with?

a.  After urging Euodia and Syntche to make peace with each other, Paul described a peace that surpasses understanding. This guardian peace came through thinking on the right things (matter of attitude first).  Phil 4:8-9 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

2.  The Log of sinful words and actions:  The second kind of log you must deal with is actual sinful words and actions. Often we are blind to our own sins and need someone else to help us be objective about ourselves.

a.  Our tongue is a difficult beast to tame and can often cause trouble.  Prov 15:1 – A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.  Prov 15:18 – 8 A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.  

b.  As God opens our eyes to our own sins, he simultaneously offers a path to peace. It is called confession. When you identify ways that we have wronged another person, it is important to admit our wrongs honestly and thoroughly.  James 5:14 – Confess your trespasses* to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

c.  Many people fail to find peace because they fail to confess honestly and unconditionally. They use words like these: “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” “Let’s just forget the past.” “I suppose I could have done a better job.” “I guess it’s not all your fault.”  “If I have hurt anyone, I ma sorry.”  These token statements rarely trigger genuine forgiveness and reconciliation. The Seven A’s of genuine confession

1. Address everyone involved (All those whom you affected)
2. Avoid if, but, and maybe (Do not try to excuse your wrongs)
3. Admit specifically (Both attitudes and actions)
4. Acknowledge the hurt (Express sorrow for hurting someone)
5. Accept the consequences (Such as making restitution)
6. Alter your behavior (Change your attitudes and actions)
7. Ask for forgiveness.  This honest attempt to get the log out of my own eye is a first and vital step on the pathway to peace and reconciliation:

B. Gently Restore – Another key element of peacemaking is helping others see how they have contributed to conflict and helping them get rid of the sin that creates conflict. This is a difficult aspect of making peace and is fraught with apprehension and danger. But that does not change its necessity.  Galatians 6:1-2 – Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  Not all conflict requires me to confront the other person.

1.  With spiritual discretion I can choose to overlook minor offenses. Proverbs 19:11 – 11 The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.  This does not mean I can overlook sinful behavior that jeopardizes my brother’s soul, or would cause others to sin against God. But when the offense is against me and has not dishonored God I can choose to forgive the infraction.

2.  But if my brother’s actions are sinful and he needs to be restored to God I must go to him in the name of peace.  Matthew 18:15-17 – 15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’  17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  What is the character of this activity? In isolation from its context we might see this as a command for direct confrontation in order to force others to admit their guilt. It is certainly describing confrontation, but notice the context:

• in vs. 12-14 Jesus uses a metaphor of a loving shepherd who goes to look for a wandering sheep and then rejoices when it is found.
• later in vs. 21-35 He uses the parable of the unmerciful servant to emphasize our obligation of forgive each other.
• The context suggests a loving and redemptive objective in this action. “If he hears you you have gained your brother..”  The commands of Matthew 18 focus on restoration, not simply condemnation.

3.  How can I do this in a way that creates hope for peace?  Here are some guidelines:

• Pray for humility and wisdom (God has a stake in this as well. He will guide you. ( 2 Timothy 2:24-26 – 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.)
• Plan your words carefully. (Speak unto others as you would have them speak to you.)
• Choose the right time and place (talk in person whenever possible)
• Assume the best about the other person until you have facts to prove otherwise ( Proverbs 11:27  – 27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him  ho seeks evil.)
• Listen carefully (Proverbs 18:13 - 13 He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.)
• Speak only to build up (Ephesians 4:29 – 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.   Col 4:6 – Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

4.  If personal efforts to secure peace are not successful, Jesus says we are to “take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. (Matt 18:16-17) Peace is too important to abandon. If reconciliation efforts fail, others must get involved through mediation, and even arbitration. (1 Cor 6:5 – Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?)

C. Go and Be Reconciled – The command of Matthew 18:15 is to be reconciled to your brother. True reconciliation requires genuine forgiveness. This is at the heart of our reconciliation to God. We are reconciled because He truly forgives.  Often we fail to have peace because we fail to show that forgiveness to others. “I forgive her—I just don’t want to have anything to do with her again.”  How you would feel if God said to you, “I forgive you; I just don’t want to have anything to do with you again”?

1. Forgiveness is a commitment toward reconciliation. Although it must be sought by both parties, it cannot come without unreserved forgiveness.

2.  4 promises of forgiveness. Forgiveness may be described as a decision to make four promises:

• “I will not dwell on this incident.”
• “I will not bring up this incident again and use it against you.”
• “I will not talk to others about this incident.”
• “I will not let this incident stand between us or hinder our personal relationship.”

3.  By making and keeping these promises, you can tear down the walls that stand between you and your offender. You allow reconciliation without fear. This is exactly what God does for us, and it is what he calls us to do for others. Isaiah 43:25 - 5 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.

Conclusion:  The call to make peace is an enormous challenge. Sometimes we fail because reconciliation is not possible. Paul said,  Rom 12:18 – If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.  We must keep in mind these important facts:

• God does not measure success in terms of results but in terms of faithful obedience. He knows that you cannot force other people to act in a certain way. Therefore he will not hold you responsible for their actions or for the ultimate outcome of a conflict.
• Second, A peacemaker should never close the Bible. Resolve that you will not give up on finding a biblical solution. If a dispute is not easily resolved, you may be tempted to say, “Well, I tried all the biblical principles I know, and they just didn’t work. It looks like I’ll have to handle this another way (meaning, ‘the world’s way’).”
• Third, a peacemaker constantly seeks God’s help and power earnestly through prayer.  

If you desire peace come to Jesus and become His child

I.  The Peace of Trusting in God.  – I remember when my boys first started to drive a car. It is not a calm experience. On one trip to Ohio, David was adamant that he could drive on the interstate. So we picked a deserted stretch of road in Georgia and he got behind he wheel. I had been driving and I was supposed to sleep while he drove. Nothing could have been more unlikely! I was anxious and nervous the entire time, jumping at every bump in the road, and watching every lane change. Why?  It was a matter of trust and confidence. I did not trust his driving ability. There was no peace.

A.   Col 3:15 – 5 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  Once the sinner has made “peace with God” (Rom 5:1), through obedience to the gospel, he called to peace. God expects His people to live lives of tranquility and calm amid the storms of life.

1.  Isaiah wrote of this peace: “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You” (Isa 26:3). Paul prayed for the Romans that “the God of hope [would] fill [them] with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom 15:13). Shortly before His death Jesus promised, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). Do you believe that this peace is possible today? If we do not have it what is the reason?

2.  The absence of peace is evidence of a lack of trust and confidence. (why I had no peace in the back seat of the car.) But in this case it is a lack of confidence and trust in the God of heaven. There is no reason for us to not trust God. This is a favorite teaching point of Jesus.

II.  Anxiety, the absence of peace:  Do you worry? Worry is one of the most natural things in the world. Yet it is also one of the most unnecessary, useless, and harmful things. Jesus teaches that it is anxiety is one thing that destroys the peace that we seek. He also affirms that it is sinful. t it

A.  Read Matt. 6:25-33:  Jesus was always concerned with the spiritual dangers that confronted his disciples. He spoke candidly to them about

• false & superficial religion of the Pharisees (6:1-18),
• the threat of materialism (6:19-23)
• But just as insidious and dangerous is the threat of anxiety.  What Jesus tell us about worry? Why is it depicted as a spiritual problem?

1.  What is worry? – Merimnao is used nineteen times in the New Testament and in the KJV it is translated with four words or phrases: take thought (11 times), care (5), be careful (2) and have care.

a. Although there is a proper concern for the physical things – (if one does not provide for his own he is worse than an unbeliever) this is an excessive concern that depicts a lack of faith in God.

B.  Anxiety is wrong because of the Master we serve.  Notice that verse 25 begins with ,”for this reason” (NASU). This phrase points back to vs. 24 where Jesus declares that the Christians has only one master – God.  To be anxious is to exhibit a lack of trust in Him and unfaithfulness to His words.

1.   In the Greek, the command do not be anxious includes the idea of stopping what is already being done. In other words, we are to stop worrying and never start it again.

• “For your life” makes the command all-inclusive. ‎Psuch¢ ‎(life) encompasses all of a person’s being — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Jesus is referring to life in its fullest possible sense. Absolutely nothing in any aspect of our lives, internal or external, justifies our being anxious when we have the Master we do.
• The English term worry comes from an old German word meaning to strangle, or choke. That is exactly what worry does; it chokes out the faith we need to place in God.

2.  Worry is the opposite of contentment.  Later in Phil 4 Paul describes his own perspective. Phil 4:11-12, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need“ ()  Why should Christians not worry and be content?

a.  God owns everything -  David proclaimed, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it” (Ps 24:1). He also said, “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth” (1 Chron 29:11).

• If everything belongs to God why should I worry if it is taken from me?  One day when he was away from home someone came running up to John Wesley saying, “Your house has burned down! Your house has burned down!” To which Wesley replied, “No it hasn’t, because I don’t own a house. The one I have been living in belongs to the Lord, and if it has burned down, that is one less responsibility for me to worry about.”

b.  God controls everything -  Again David gives us the right perspective: 1 Chron 29:12 - “Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone” . Daniel declared, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, and knowledge to men of understanding”  (Dan 2:20-21). Do you believe that God is in control?

c.   God provides everything –   James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Phil 4:19 – “God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus”   These facts form the basis for our unwavering trust in God on a daily basis. They also provide the soil from which peace grows.

III. Jesus’ argument Against Anxiety:

A.  Argument from the greater to the lesser:  v 25.  – Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?   The gist of the argument is this: if God gave us life to begin with, does it not stand to reason that he will also provide us with the things to sustain our lives?  The point is that if he gave us the greater, he will certainly provide the lesser.

B.  Argument from the lesser to the greater:  V. 26; 28-30 -Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?   God feeds the birds, and they do not go to work every day and worry about their survival!  Will not our Father (in many respects this is the key of chap. 6) thus also feed us?  Will he feed the birds and let his children starve to death?

1.  vv 28-30 –  concerning clothing.  Clothing is a basic necessity of life.  Again, God will provide it!  Lilies are beautiful flowers; “clothed” in bright, pretty colors, but are basically “grass.” God even provides the grass in the field with clothing. Are we not more important in God’s eyes than grass?  Note that Jesus here specifically relates the entire matter to our faith.  Do we have faith in this promise from God and Christ?

C. Argument from Practicality -  v. 27 — What good does it do?   ”Stature” here refers not to physical size, but to length of life (cf. Ps 39:5).  Can you make yourself live longer if you worry about it? Worry does nothing.  It does not pay the bills, it does not feed your mouth, and it does not make you live longer.   

D.  Argument from our sanctification:  v 32 -  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. “The Gentiles” here refers to the unbelieving, the faithless.  To worry about and spend all of your time — or even most of it — seeking for these worldly things is to exhibit the very same attitude which the godless and unbelieving manifest.  It thus shows that we are no different from them when we act that way.  We are then another faithless person. (Matthew 5:47 – 47  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?)

E.  Argument from the God’s Omnicscience:  v 32 – “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”   Note again that God is referred to as our Father here.  He sees everything and cares for us. IF God knows then that presupposes that He will take care of it.

F.  Argument from God’s Priority:  v 33 – But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  The presupposition is that God will keep His promises, and that some things are more important than others.

1.  To seek the kingdom first is to put the corporate spiritual concerns of God above the political or social concerns of this world.  Evangelizing the lost and supporting the work of the church.

2. To seek God’s righteousness first s to pursue the character of God in our personal lives and obey Him. It is the same as hungering and thirsting after righteousness (5:6).  Are you desiring, more than anything else, to live in the way that pleases God?

3.  He has promised that if we will seek him first, He will see to it that we do not have to waste time working for merely earthly concerns. Psalms 37:25 – 25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.  This does not ignore proper stewardship and responsibility.

  G.  Argument from the nature of time:  v 34 – Therefore do not worry  bout tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  The RSV says… “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.

1.  “The morrow will be anxious for itself” does not mean “let God worry about it” (for God never really worries), nor does it mean that tomorrow will take care of itself. It means there is no sense in being concerned about tomorrow until tomorrow gets here. We spend 99.9% of all our worries on things that have not yet happened, and which in fact may not ever happen!

2.  Then he adds, “tomorrow will have enough of its own problems.”  That is, do not ruin today with tomorrow’s problems.  Live each day one day at a time, and always by faith in the promise of God.  

IV.  Peace, the Absence of Anxiety: Go back to Phil 4:7 – The Christian who prays about everything and is anxious for nothing has a peace that surpasses understanding. What does this mean?

• John Macarthur defines it this way… It transcends human intellectual powers, human analysis, human insights, and human understanding. It is superior to human scheming, human devices, and human solutions, since its source is the God whose judgments are unsearchable and whose ways are unfathomable (Rom 11:33). It is experienced in a transcendent calm that lifts the believer above the most debilitating trial. …The real challenge of the Christian life is not to eliminate every unpleasant circumstance; it is to trust in the good purpose of our infinite, holy, sovereign, powerful God in every difficulty. Those who honor Him by trusting Him will experience the blessings of His perfect peace.

• When realized in believers’ lives, God’s peace will guard them from anxiety, doubt, and worry. ‎Phroureœ ‎(will guard) is a military term used of soldiers on guard duty. The picture would have been familiar to the Philippians, since the Romans stationed troops in Philippi to protect their interests in that part of the world. Just as soldiers guard and protect a city, so God’s peace guards and protects believers who confidently trust in Him.

 Once again, true peace is not available through any human source, but only in Christ Jesus. 

Matthew 5:9 – 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.  Last week, in our study of this verse, we viewed Jesus as the original Peacemaker. His sacrifice on the cross made peace between us and God by paying the redemptive price for our sin.

• Eph 2:14-18 – 4 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.  Since God makes peace, it follows that His children would also seek to make peace. How do we make peace, not war?

I.  Peace is Impossible without Righteousness.  The genuine peace that we seek among ourselves and that God provided for us at the cross is not compromise. True peace with God came through the victory over the cause of conflict, that is sin. Therefore, true peace among ourselves is achieved when we win a victory over the sin because sin is the reason for every conflict. It is the seed of disharmony.

A.  Purity & Peace: James describes the nature of God’s peace in James 3:17 – 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable …”  Two people cannot hope to have peace unless they are pure.  

1.  Hebrews 12:14 – 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord   The psalmist states… – 10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. (Psalms 85:10) God does not reconcile us to Himself without cleansing us first. So we cannot expect that we can bring peace between one another without calling people (including ourselves) to repentance.

B. Truth & Peace:  Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt 10:34). Is this a contradiction to Matthew 5:9?

1.  There is no contradiction in Jesus’ words. He did bring peace through reconciling man with God, and modeling the principles that make for peace.

2.  But the peace that Jesus provides comes through faith and obedience to truth. (John 17:17 -  17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.) Not all men accept truth. In fact, truth always brings opposition and strife. Sometimes within families. When believers set God’s standards of righteousness before a world that loves wickedness, there is an inevitable potential for conflict. But there is no way to achieve true and lasting peace apart from purity and truth.

II.  The Qualifications of the Peacemaker: What does a peacemaker look like? What does it take to be one? When Jesus says that his children are peacemakers, he infers that God has qualified them as such. True peacemaking does not come through human psychological techniques. One does not need a counseling degree to help heal and reconcile. The Peacemaker creates peacemakers. Let me present some essential qualifications: (these come from God)

A.  Has Peace with God. The true peacemaker is a Christian. You and I cannot be peacemakers unless we are at peace with God ourselves. The Christian has a great advantage in the pursuit of peaceful relationships.

1.  He understands the source of peace. He knows God and he knows that peace comes from serving Him. When Paul wrote to the Philippian church and urged them to be joyful, he often mentioned that peace would come from God.  (push button once) Phil 1:2 – Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Phil 4:6-7 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Phil 4:9 – The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

2.  He recognizes the source of conflict. He knows the destructive consequences of sin. James 4:1-4 – Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet* you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and* adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  James tells us that conflict comes from our desire to please ourselves and our rebellion against God’s will. There can be no peace for the worldly person because he is an enemy of God – the source of true peace. To make peace we must be willing to identify sinful attitudes and actions in the lives of those who are in conflict.

3.  He has a Respect and Confidence in God’s Word and God’s Ways: The Christian is willing to rely upon what God says will work. This confidence in God’s word is essential. Many times we give a token nod to what God says and then put our trust in the psychological techniques on men.  The Bible is a manual for peace relationships.

a.  This willingness to trust God’s word is the evidence of the new spirit of the Christian. In Eph. 4 Paul told the Ephesian Christians that they should not walk as they used to walk “in the futility of their thinking” but to be renewed in their attitudes and to be like Christ.

• Eph 4:25 – Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor,
• Eph 4:26 – Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
• Eph 4:29 – Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up…
• Eph 4:31-32 – Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  

Paul goes in chapter 5 to instruct:

• wives to be submissive to their husbands and show them respect..
• He tells husbands to love their wives even to the point of personal sacrifice…
• Children to be obedient to parents in all things
• Parents to sacrifice for their children and discipline them according to God’s admonitions.
• He tells slaves to obey their masters (even the evil ones) and
• masters to be kind and unthreatening to those who serve them.

Do you believe that these things will make for peace?

4.  He seeks peace among men from God’s perspective. Consider Abigail, one of the great peacemakers of the Bible. David had ordered an assault on Abigail’s husband, Nabal. Abigail met David on the way and appealed to him for peace, not war. On what basis?   

• 1 Sam 25:28-31 – For the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not found in you throughout your days. 29 Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. 30 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31 that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”   How did she make peace?
  • She spoke of her faith in God and his promises to bless David in the future.
  • She told David that vengeance was against his character and God’s law.
  • David thanked her for saving him from doing wrong.
  • There was no human reason for David to be peaceful, but there was a spiritual reason. Abigail was qualified to make peace because she understood the morality of the issue and could appeal to David’s heart.

B.  He Leads Others to Make Peace with God: When Paul metaphorically described the spiritual armor of the Christian in Ephesians 6, he said Christians are to have their feet arrayed with “the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15)  Earlier Paul wrote  4 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” ( Rom. 10:14-15) Those who have been given God’s peace are called upon to share it with others. If you can tell someone how to become a Christian you are a peacemaker.

• John MacArthur wrote: “To preach Christ is to promote peace. To bring a person to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is the most peacemaking act a human being can perform.”

1.  The inherent motivation to evangelize the lost is our ability and willingness to assimilate with them. Do you appreciate the peace that you have with God? Are you humbled by what He has done for you? If so, you will lead others to him. “Those who are forgiven much, love much.”

2.  A ministry of reconciliation: Paul was quick to tell the Corinthians that he was compelled by the love of Christ to suffer and preach the gospel to them (2 Cor. 5:14-15). He then characterized the Christian as a new creation – (“old things have passed away, all things are made new” – vs. 17) The Christian is new because he is reconciled to God, he is at peace with God.

a. What does this new person do? Altough Paul’s words may best refer to the apostles themselves, I believe thay also describe us as peacemakers.  2 Cor 5:18-20 – 8 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,  19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.   God’s children seek to reconcile others to God. They implore others to be reconciled.

Conclusion:  This is not all that characterizes the peacemaker. We will consider more. Especially our obligation to make peace among ourselves. Are you at peace with God. The Christians here are imploring you, be reconciled to God.

• 1 Kings 13:23-25 – 23 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him.  24 As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.  25 Some people who passed by saw the body thrown down there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.  (NIV)
• Read the events of I Kings 13; this is a lengthy reading but we want to get the whole story.
• There are 3 major characters in this story. The King, the man of God, and the liar. They are very different people, but they share in one thing: They each exhibit a lack of respect for God’s message. In the end they are all sinners.

I.  Jeroboam and His Idolatry:  Do you remember Jeroboam? It is often said of him that he made Israel to sin. He established a renegade priesthood and himself offered sacrifices at Bethel. Jeroboam is infamous for his lack of respect for God’s law. His disobedience was so great that God decreed to exterminate his house from the face of the earth (13:34-35)

II.  A Man of God and His Message: In response to this evil God sends His own man , a nameless man of God appears. He travels for his home in Judah to deliver a message to Jeroboam.  He makes a remarkable prediction about Josiah that wasn’t to be fulfilled for 360 years. 1 Kings 13:2-3  2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’” 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.”

A.  This man is very courageous and dedicated. Jeroboam stretches out his hand to do harm to the young prophet and God sends an immediate sign of the truth of his message –  Jeroboam’s withered arm. Jeroboam pleads for the young prophet to pray for the restoration of his hand, and God restores it. Jeroboam must have realized a need to get this young man on his good side, so he invites him back to the palace. 

B. In conjunction with the prophetic message to Jeroboam, God had also given this young prophet explicit instructions (designed to add force to his stand against the practices of Jeroboam.) 1 Kings 13:7-10 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 But the man of God said to the king,”If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

C. God had told him to make the long journey and not to rest or eat in that place. Why? Probably to demonstrate God’s abhorrence of the defilement of the Israelites. (We ought to feel that kind of abhorrence as well, rather than send a mixed signal)  He was faithful to these instructions and we would honor his name if we knew it; but for some reason God withholds it. Perhaps because the story is not yet all told.

III. An Old Prophet and His Lie: There is in Israel an older prophet who hears of these events from his sons. Who is this man? Was he a prophet who had compromised his faith in God and was silent when he should have spoken out? Was he a coward or had he been bought off by Jeroboam.

A. He is intrigued by the young prophet’s courage and prophecy and goes to request the young prophet to eat with him. Maybe he wanted to help. Maybe he was just curious about what else God had revealed.  He is a strange mixture of apathy and enthusiasm, desire for good and cowardice.

B. He is so adamant that this young prophet come to his home that he lied. He said an angel had spoken to him. 1 Kings 13:18 18 He said to him, ” I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But  he lied to him. .  Again we marvel and wonder at his motivation Why did he lie? Maybe he didn’t see it as such a big deal. He allowed his seemingly good purpose and intention to justify disrespect for God’s word. Didn’t see any consequences.

C. The outcome? As they eat a real message is delivered to the old prophet. 1 Kings 13:21-22  21 and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have disobeyed the command of the LORD, and have not observed the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,  22 but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water”; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.’”   Can you imagine his fear – He knew more than anyone that God keeps His promises.

D.  Soon travelers returned with the story of a dead man, a donkey and a lion. Many wondered about this strange event, but one man immediately put it together. The sad old prophet recovered his body, buried it in his own tomb and lamented the young man’s death with the words Alas my brother.

1.  He requested that he be buried with him. What a sad grave. The liar and his victim. What if God buried us with the victims of our sin? We might feel the lion ate the wrong man but God’s ways are not ours. There are lessons to be learned here.

IV.  Lessons from the King, the Man of God, and the Liar

A. Temptation is Persistent. The young prophet resisted personal threat, flattery by the king, the king’s bribe and first invitation by the old prophet. In spite of all that resistance, Satan still persisted, and the prophet was finally captured.

1.   Luke 4:13 – 13 And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season. (ASV) Some translation say “until an opportune time” Satan had not given up. He would be back.   1 Cor 10:12 – 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

2.  We may resist the stronger temptation and yield to the weaker.  The young prophet may have thought himself successful as he sat by the roadside on first trip home but journey was not yet over. He was still vulnerable.  

• A man may go to war and evade the fatal weapons intended to kill and then come home and slip in his tub and die.
• A man may flee youthful lust and be brought down by the worldliness of middle age.
• He may resist the greed of middle age and succumb to the discouragement of old age.
• He may resist false doctrine and yet be lost to pride and self righteousness.
• David refused to take vengeance on King Saul, but fell to the temptation to revenge himself on that fool of a man, Nabob.  Phil 3:13-14 – Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  We must never reach the point of being satisfied of being secure. We can never retire in the service of the Lord.

B.  It is possible to believe a lie and be lost. In fact, believing a lie and disrespecting God’s truth lies at the root of all condemnation. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. {11} And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, {12} that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. That is why we must search the scriptures. It does matter what we believe.

1. Appearances and intentions are deceptive: The old prophet seemed hospitable but he was the enemy in disguise. Just because someone is your friend does mean they are right. They may be leading you in the wrong direction.

2. We are responsible for what we believe. The old prophet lied but the young prophet knew what God had said.  Paul would have said If we or an angel preach to any other Gospel than that which we have preached let him be accursed. Gal 1:8. Does this passage apply here? Proverbs 14:12 – 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

3.  It is a temptation to substitute what we want to believe for what has actually been revealed. The old man’s lie was he product of his own desires. The Biblical Illustrator says…   “There is a modification of the old prophet’s sin, into which we may sometimes fall, without at all going to its full extent. We are apt to be enamoured of our own particular views of what we are pleased to think is truth; to cherish these, and to propagate these, without sufficient warranty for their sound and solid foundation in what is right.”

C.  The end is what counts. We can start well and yet fail. Blessed are those who persevere to the end.  Judas sat at the feet of Jesus and Demas traveled alongside the apostle, but where did they end up? Paul said of the Galatians.. You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? (Gal. 5:7)  2 Peter 2:20-22 – 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

Conclusion (take out your songbooks)  Well might we say with the old prophet ” Alas my brother.”  In this matter we are all brothers. We are brothers in our fight against sin and in our vulnerability to be deceived. God has told us the truth and called us to obey His will. Don’t be deceived.

(From a sermon by Thaxter Dickey)

• “Blessed” is translated from the Greek word  makarios (mak-AR-ee-os) which literally means fortunate or well off and is many times translated as happy. We have noticed that several of the characteristics mentioned by Jesus are antithetical to our perception of happiness. Society does not envision happy people as poor, mournful, hungry and thirsty, or meek.
• However, the character trait mentioned in vs. 9 seems to make more sense to us. Happy are the peaceful and those who make for peace. Matthew 5:9 – 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.  Peace is at the heart of our hope for happiness. When we describe a happy world it begins with a hope for peace. 

Do we have peace?   In 1968 a major newspaper reported that there had been to that date 14,553 known wars since thirty-six years before Christ.

• Since 1945 there have been some seventy or so wars and nearly two hundred internationally significant outbreaks of violence.
• Since 1958 nearly one hundred nations have been involved in some form of armed conflict.
• Some historians have claimed that the United States has had two generations of peace — one from 1815 to 1846 and the other from 1865 to 1898. But that claim can only be made if you exclude the Indian wars.
• Peace from the physical and global perspective has been quite illusive. The scarcity of peace has prompted someone to suggest that “peace is that glorious moment in history when everyone stops to reload.”

I.  The Meaning of Peace:  Most of us have a well defined concept of peace. The word engenders many emotions. Any good English dictionary will define “peace” as

• as a circumstance or physical condition – freedom from war, harmony, agreement.
• as a state of mind: calm, tranquility, quietness, contentment, the absence of anxiety
• What is the opposite of peace?   Its antonyms are war, anxiety, disorder, disturbance, disruption, conflict and commotion. 
• But what does peace involve in Jesus’ words in Matthew 5? What is peace in scripture?

II.  Peace in the Bible:  The idea of peace dominates the Bible.  The history of our creation and redemption is a story about peace lost and regained.

• Man was created and placed in a peaceful environment by God. (“It is very good”)
• But man’s disobedience interrupted the peace – broke the relationship.
• The peace of the original creation was created by God, not man. In fact, humans could not do anything to restore that original peace.
• The gospel is God’s plan to restore that lost peace. So God is the original peacemaker. The prophets often spoke of the coming Messiah as THE Peacemaker. Isaiah 9:6 – 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

A.  “ Covenant of peace” -  Both Isaiah and Ezekiel, speak of God’s covenant through the Messiah as a “covenant of peace”   In Ezekiel 37:21-28, the prophet speaks about a time when “David” (The Messiah) would rule over the united people as one King. God would cleanse them (v. 23) and establish a covenant of peace with His people. Ezekiel says God would dwell among them.  Ezek 37:26-27 – 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

1.  The write of Hebrews later identifies this covenant as the new covenant of Jeremiah 31. (Heb. 8:10-12) that would provide peace through the forgiveness of sins. 

B.  How is peace defined in scripture?  The Bible uses the word peace as we have defined it in the English. Ecclesiastes 3:8: “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”  But it goes further, and deeper. Peace is more than the absence of conflict.

1.  In the O.T. peace is translated from the familiar word.  Shalom –It was a familiar greeting and was usually translated as a single word: rest, favor, health, prosperity. However the concept behind the word goes beyond just the absence of conflict. It denotes a complete state of well-being.

• The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says Shalom has “a basic meaning of totality or completeness including fulfillment, maturity, soundness, and wholeness.”  
• Shalom was even translated as prosperity as it denoted how one prospered – his total welfare – 2 Sam.11:7 – David asked Uriah,“how is the peace (shalom) of the war?”

2.  In the N.T. the most common Greek word translated peace is Eirene (i-ray’-nay).

• It has the sense of “joining what had previously been separated or disturbed.” Thus, it frequently is used to signify “setting at one; quietness; and rest.” As the Greek equivalent of Shalom it also defined a comprehensive satisfaction or contentment that derived from living a full life.
• The Daily Study Bible Commentary by William Barclay says it “means not just freedom from trouble but everything that makes for a man’s highest good.”

III.  Jesus, the Peacemaker – John 16:33 – These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.“  What is the peace God provides? It is easy to recognize that the peace that God provides is not political or national, but spiritual.

A.  “Gospel of Peace” -   Paul said that those who preached the good news preached the gospel of peace. (Romans 10:15). Although God’s word makes for peaceful relationships, the good news of the apostolic message was not peace among nations, but peace between man and His Creator. The apostles constantly connected the promise and provision of peace to work of Christ on the cross.

B.  Peace through Justification:  In Rom 5:1-2 Paul writes: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”  These verses follow a long section on justification by faith. Here Paul says that peace comes as a result of our justification (being declared innocent). Because God is willing to forgive us and declare us innocent, we are brought back into a peaceful relationship with Him. This restored fellowship is what Paul describes by the word peace – (joining what had previously separated or disturbed). As in human society, the execution of justice creates peace, as the demands of law are satisfied.

1.  This state of justification is the circumstance of peace; or peace with God; – the wrath of God is satisfied and there is not more conflict.

2.  But this peace was not cheap. There was a price that was paid for the peace that God provides. Ephesians 2:13-18 -  13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.  Paul says it was the blood of Christ that brought us near again to God (reconciliation). The law (through my disobedience to it) made known the enmity between me and God. But Jesus abolished that enmity “in His flesh”, or through his physical sacrificial death. He has reconciled both the Jew and the Gentile in one body though the cross, and now preaches peace to us in the gospel message.  What gift!

3.  The Bible uses the word propitiation to describe the efficacy of Jesus in bringing peace between God and the sinner.  1 John 2:1-2 – My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.  The word propitiation means satisfaction or appeasement. It reflects the fact that the blood of Jesus completely satisified the payment that was due as a result of my sin.

a. Sin cannot be ignored (1:8 – if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves).

• b. Nor can sin be worked off.  I cannot do enough good deeds to erase the guilt of my sins. The blood of Jesus is the only propitiation. It was enough to make peace.
• Colossians 1:19-20 -  For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

C.  Peace Through Conquest:  The concept of peace in the first century, particularly among the Romans was different from our modern concept. We often think of peace as the absence of war. We pursue peace through diplomacy and cooperation.  

1. But the Roman concept of peace was the peace which resulted from war and conquest. Peace was the result of military action, not diplomacy. Peace was not achieved by negotiation or cooperation. Peace was imposed on the subjugated by means of force. Peace was not negotiable nor was peace voluntary. Peace was brought about by taking lives and creating inequality.

• Tacitus records the words of Calgacus, chieftan of the Britons, in a speech before battle against Agricola, in Agricola 30: “To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; and where they made destitution, they call it peace.” The Romans called peace conquering other nations.
• Mark Antony praised Julius Caesar in his funeral oration as a “peace-maker” because he had so successfully subjugated his enemies. 
• The Pax Romana, the peace of Rome, was also called Pax Augustus, not because there was peace in the world, but there was an end to the civil wars in Rome. Augustus brought an end to civil war and went conquering the nations, subjugating them to Rome, bringing about this peace.
• Even more interesting is that the Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis) stood on the Hill of Mars, the god of war. Peace was brought about by war to the Romans.

2.  The peace that God accomplishes is not a negotiated peace. God did not arrange a truce or ceasefire with Satan (the one who initiated the conflict).  God brought about peace by conquering Satan, and leaving him powerless. Heb 2:14-17 - 14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.  16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.  17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

a.  Earlier in Ephesians Paul described this conquest that came through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead as the exceeding greatness of His power- Eph 1:19-23 – 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

·         What did Jesus do at the cross? Col 2:15 – Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.  Jesus subjugated His enemies and secured the peace for us all.

·         Paul also tied war and peace together in Romans 16:20, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

D.  Peace through Faith: The peace that God offers is accessed through faith. I must trust in Him for the victory He has won. Contrary to popular religious thinking, faith does not exclude obedience, but rather demands it. James says faith without obedience is dead faith. “He that believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16)

Conclusion: The gospel of peace is the good news of a conquering Savior who cannot lose. If you are in His Kingdom you have nothing to fear. He is in complete control. But to be in His Kingdom you must submit to His authority. Have you obeyed His commands? We submit our lives to God by dying to sin and being immersed in water (Romans 6:1-4). Paul says if we die with Christ we are made alive with him.

I.    God in Christ:  John 14:6-11 – 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.  7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.  Jesus appears surprised that Philip (and possibly the others) do not know or had not seen the Father. He knew they had never physically viewed the glory of God. His expectation was they had had seen the Father in Him. They had been with Him. Those who had been with Him were expected to see God, the Father. Why would Jesus make such a bold claim?  How could they see God, the Father in Him?

• It is difficult for us to know for sure what Philip was asking for when he said, “show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us”.  He may have been anticipating a theophany, or a visible manifestation of God’s celestial glory (similar to Moses’ request in Ex. 33. – Moses, as a person of pure heart desired to know God more completely.) Coffman says that Philip wanted Jesus to “pull aside the veil separating the seen from the unseen – to disclose a great Father-figure.”  But such a theophany is quite unnecessary. Philip had seen Jesus. Jesus was (and is) the full revelation of the Father.  No one had to ask to see the Father again. (“from now on you know…”)

A.  Jesus was the physical representation of divinity. Paul makes this same claim in Colossians 1:15 – 15 He is the image of the invisible God…

1. The word for image here is eikon, from which we get the word, icon. It means a picture or statue that is an exact replica of the original. (Heb. 10:1). 

2.  By using the term ‎eikœn‎, Paul emphasizes that Jesus is both the representation and manifestation of God. He is the full, final, and complete revelation of God. He is God in human flesh. That was His claim.

3.  Man is also called the ‎eikon ‎of God in that he was created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27), but man is not a perfect image of God. Like God we have rational personality, intellect, emotion, and will, and we can think, feel, and choose. We humans are not, however, in God’s image morally, because He is holy, and we are sinful. Nor are we created in His image essentially. We do not possess omniscience, omnipotence, immutability, or omnipresence. We are human, not divine.

4.  We can only see the Father fully in the person of Jesus. Heb 1:1-3 – God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person,

B.  Jesus is in the Father, and the Father is in Jesus (John 14:10, 11).  Twice in this passage Jesus makes this claim. There is a mutual indwelling between Jesus and the Father. What does this indicate? 

a.  Jesus isn’t seeking to mystify the disciples with inexplicable language. (He had already claimed this oneness in John 10:38) He is simply indicating that the Father and Son are intimately close – as close as possible.

• Matt 11:27 – All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

b.  The oneness of the Father and Son can be viewed in practical manifestations. His words and His works.  vs. 10-11 – …the words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.  

• Jameson’ commentary says…”‎Observe here how in the expression of this Mutual Inbeing of the Father and the Son, our Lord passes insensibly so to speak, from the words He spake to the works He did-as the Father’s words uttered by His mouth and the Father’s works done by, His hand. What claim to essential equality with the Father could surges this?
• John 12:49 – 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”   This was evidence of the oneness between the Father and the Son that Jesus offers.  The disciples did not know that Jesus was divine because he had a halo around His head, or His face was shining. They were expected to see the Father in Jesus through the words that He spoke and the obedience he exhibited.

II. God in Us:  In a lesser way, people should be able to see God in us as well. When Jesus came to the earth, He came for two primary purposes.

• One was to die for our sins. The angel told Joseph,  “Thou shalt call His name Jesus:  for it is He that shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). He “gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:6).
• The other purpose was to show men what God is like and how God would act as a man-thus showing us a perfect, ideal man. This point we have emphasized numerous times  John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:4 “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men”. John 1:18  “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”

A.  Partaking of Divine Nature: 2 Peter 1:4  “by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  Peter describes this latter purpose as a partaking of divine nature. How does the Christian partake of God’s nature?

1.  The partaking of the divine nature does not occur suddenly. It is something which has to be taught and learned:

• John 6:44-45 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”

In the process the mind is renewed day by day. 

• Romans 12:2  “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. The old, erroneous principles by which our conscience guided us are rooted out. They are replaced by the characteristics of life we see in Christ. Our will is gradually reformed until it becomes identical with the Father’s will.

B.  We must pattern ourselves after Jesus, the perfect image of God. As this change takes place, at first, in every situation, we ask ourselves, What would Christ do here? For this practice to succeed in helping us to partake of the divine nature, there are three things that are required.

• First, we must obtain a broad knowledge of what Jesus did under various circumstances.
• Second, we must be very honest with ourselves so that there will be no delay in doing what we know Jesus would do nor any attempt to rationalize a refusal to follow His example.
• Third, these reactions must become automatic so that there will be no decision to make when we confront the need to act.

C.  Scriptures describe this partaking of divine nature as a mutual indwelling of God in us and us in God. The Bible clearly teaches that all three Persons of Deity indwell the child of God. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9), the indwelling of God the Father (2 Cor. 6:16), and the indwelling of Christ (Eph. 3:17) all describe the same reality.

1.  There are not three indwellings, but three Persons dwelling in the Christian through one Spirit. In fact in Romans 8:9-16 Paul identifies the Spirit of God as the “Spirit of Christ” (v. 9), the “Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead” (v. 11), and the “Spirit Himself” (v. 16).

2.  Interestingly, some of the same passages that teach that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dwell in the Christian also affirm that the Christian abides or dwells in Them. Carefully consider 1 John 4:12-16 and notice the mutual aspect of the abiding that is mentioned. In John 15:4-6 Jesus teaches that we are to abide in Him, as a branch is to abide in the vine, and that He will abide in us. Paul proclaims that those in whom the Spirit of God dwells are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, describing as well a mutual indwelling (Rom. 8:9).

1.  When viewed together, the scriptures that speak about a mutual indwelling or abiding convey a common image. When one person lives in another it portrays a close, intimate relationship, where there is singleness of purpose and activity.

III. Every Man Perfect in Christ: This leads us to Paul’s statements in Colossians and Ephesians about the perfection of the Christian. Colossians 1:28  “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”  This process of perfection is viewed in the book of Ephesians by Paul as the acquiring of spiritual blessings available through Christ.  Paul catalogues these blessings in chapter 1 and says that these blessings are in order that we might be to the praise of God’s glory. Eph 1:4-7   “..that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. 

A.  Eph. 3:14-21 – Paul then shows what depths we were rescued from at the time we received those blessings and how our present state is so different from the one we were in (chap. 2). Then he says: “God has a whole storeroom of spiritual treasures. Now go in and gather all you can carry.”

1.  But too many Christians want no more than they can get by with. God wants us to have all His spiritual blessings. “For this cause I bow my knee unto the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inward man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen” ().

IV.  The Garden of the Spirit: To close this lesson, let us consider the garden of the Spirit. Jesus said a branch that would not bear fruit would be taken away (John 15:2). Fruit bearing is essential to our continuing relationship with Christ. Anything you do because of God’s influence is fruit. Our obedience in anything related to our service to God is fruit.

A.  The Bible speaks of the fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control (Gal. 5:22). How is this fruit produced? The Spirit produces it.

B.  The Spirit is He who exerts the influence of God upon His creation and upon us. The word Spirit means “breath or wind.” When God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, He animated him and gave him life. (Gen. 2:7). When the wind blows upon the sail of a ship, it activates that ship and moves it along just as the Spirit “moved” holy men of old (2 Pet. 1:21).

1.  All that Jesus has done for us would accomplish nothing if it were not made known unto us. The Spirit has made known the will of God, the revelation of God through inspired apostles and prophets (Eph. 3:3-5). That revelation is the gospel, God’s power to save (Rom. 1:16).

2.  It is through the word that the Spirit exerts the influence of God upon us. When we receive the word the seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:11) falls upon our hearts. Our hearts are the seedbed. When the seed falls and takes root then our hearts become the garden of the Spirit and produce the fruit of the Spirit.

3.  It is through this fruit that the world can see God in us because they can see a divine nature (love,joy ,peace, longuffering, etc) living in us. The light of God reflects off of us into a dark world.

Conclusion:  Thus the knowledge of Christ, multitudes of good principles, healthy thoughts are planted in our minds. Our hearts are saturated with the good things of the word. What impulses will we have? Good impulses, good thoughts will rise up.  We might awaken in the morning and feel an urge to pray. The Spirit did not miraculously act upon us to make us want to pray. But, in a way, it was the work of the Spirit because it is His revelation that has filled our minds with good things. It is only natural then that such a mind would want to pray. Or, the good impulse is to call a sick brother or sister or neighbor. Out of a heart conformed to the mind of Christ our good impulses come. Do not quench these things! As time and opportunity afford, do them. These good things that come from the heart filled with love and knowledge of God are the fruit of the Spirit.