The Transformed Life in Action

Transcript

GR 1468
04/17/11
The Transformed Life in Action
Romans 12:12-16
Gil Rugh

We're going to be in Romans but I want to take you to II Corinthians 5. The salvation that Christ provided, Paul refers to this. I want you to see something of its sweep in II Corinthians 5:14, for the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died. In His death He provided salvation and all who place their faith in Him experience the provision of that salvation applied to them. So there it is. One died for all, therefore all died but all are not saved because to receive the benefit of that you must place your faith in Him. And He died for all so that they who live, live through faith in Him, as we've been seeing in our study in Romans, might no longer live for themselves but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. And as we have been studying the book of Romans, the unfolding of the good news about Jesus Christ, the gospel of Christ, it is a message that Jesus Christ came to this earth, suffered and died because we are sinners. And the penalty for our sin is death, which includes physical death, spiritual death and eternal death, separation from God for time and eternity. But Jesus Christ came and died on the cross to pay the penalty for that sin so that those who believe in Him and thus have life in Him.

So verse 15, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. He not only died to provide us forgiveness, He died to provide for us new life, a life now that is to be lived for Him. So verse 17 says, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, a new creation. The old things passed away, behold new things have come. We have been made new, new in every way. And the old things that characterized our old life are now things of the past. New things have come, we now live the life that God has given us in Christ. And we invite the world to be reconciled to God because verse 19, God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making an appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

What an amazing accomplishment that in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross He took our sin so that we could be given His righteousness. That's what happens at the moment of salvation. When a person comes to a clear understanding of their sin and guilt before God, turns from their sin and places their full trust and confidence in Jesus Christ and His death as the payment for their sin, their sins are forgiven. They are reconciled to God and the righteousness of God is credited to their account. Life is never the same. Old things pass away, new things come.

You come back in your Bibles to Romans 12. We have been studying the book of Romans together and Paul has spent the first eleven chapters basically talking about the provision of God's righteousness for us through the death of Jesus Christ. We who were sinners now can be counted as righteous before the holy throne of a holy God. With that comes the provision for new life, a righteous life, the life of Christ now being lived and manifest in and through us. So when he picked up chapter 12 he started talking about how we live that new life, the things that are to characterize us in our new life in Christ. It's the life that we have received in Christ, it's the life lived by the power of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God in our lives. But it's just not something that happens naturally when we sit back and do nothing. In the purpose and plan of God it is His intention that those now who have become His children through faith in Christ, who have been reconciled to Him, who have received new life in Him will have been credited with His righteousness, now manifest their new life in the way they live. It can only be lived by the power of God and it takes every ounce of energy and strength that you have as a new creature in Christ. Don't be confused. You cannot become pleasing to God, you cannot become righteous in the sight of God by giving all your energy and effort to live the best life you can. That's empty. The penalty for your sin is death. But when you have received new life in Christ you live now a new life. You are a new creature. And so the old life is gone, the new life has come.

What is being unfolded in these closing chapter of Romans is the new life that has come. And what we are responsible to do in pouring our energies into living a life now that is pleasing to the God who saved us and made us new in Christ.

He started out by encouraging us, exhorting us to present our bodies on the basis of the mercies of God we have received in Christ as a sacrifice to God. A sacrifice now, this body is His and everything I do with this body now is to be done to be pleasing to Him. It is a living sacrifice, I'm living this out day by day and moment by moment. It is a holy sacrifice. My body now is lived, separated from sin, set apart for God. It is well pleasing to Him.

We talked about the gifts that God has given us so that we might serve Him. And he talks about some of the characteristics that are to be true of us as we live day by day, the conduct of our lives. Picked up in verse 9, let love be without hypocrisy. And these are brief, short statements that describe us as children of God and tell us what we must do and how we must live. Our love is to genuine, unhypocritical love. Abhor what is evil and cling to what is good. Have nothing to do with anything evil. That was my old life, a life of sin. Now I abhor that, I want nothing to do with it, but I am fastened inseparably to that which is good.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. We are the family of God as those made new in Christ. We are to give preference to one another in honor. What does a family do when your children receive honor and blessing? You are so happy, you couldn't be happier if it happened to you. If something tragic happens to a member of your family, it causes you great grief and you couldn't have more grief if it happened to you. So we give preference to one an other in honor. We are thrilled when a fellow believer gets greater honor than we ourselves do. Give preference to one another in honor.

Not lagging behind in diligence. We don't wind down in our Christian life. Not lagging behind in diligence. We don't slow down. It's true, we are in physical bodies and these bodies are in the process of deteriorating, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians in II Corinthians 4. These physical bodies are decaying day by day but I don't lose my passion for the Lord, I don't ease up in my service. I don't have as much physical strength to give Him as I had as a younger person, but all the physical strength I have is His. We are to be fervent in spirit, we don't cool off. Boiling hot, on fire for the Lord.

Turn over to Titus 2:14. You'll note here verse 11, for the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men. So the provision of salvation that Christ has made is for all. It's the manifestation of God's grace, and all who believe in Him enter into that salvation. And this grace instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope. This is where Paul is going shortly in Romans 12, the hope that we have. We live looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, to purify for Himself a people for His own possession. On fire for good deeds, zealous. That's our word back in Romans 12—fervent in spirit, boiling in spirit. He saved us so that we could have a passionate, burning zeal to serve Him. Whether you've been saved for one month, one year or fifty years, doesn't matter. So it's well, I've been saved a long time so now I've cooled off. Not at all. Is my zeal for Him, my burning love for Him, my passion to serve Him any less than it was? If there is a regret that comes with age, it's that you don't have the same strength. You don't have the same physical stamina perhaps, but you shouldn't have any less fervor in your spirit, in your devotion to Him, passion to have a life that burns out for Him. Not just slowly winds down to nothing, sitting and enjoying nothing. No. To the end we are fervent in spirit. We are serving the Lord.

Come back to Romans 12. Serving the Lord. Verse 12, rejoicing in hope. We just saw that in Titus. We are looking for the blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is our ultimate, blessed hope, that time when we are called into His presence. Our bodies are transformed into conformity with the body of His glory, a body like He had following His resurrection. We realize the completion of our salvation in its fullness. We are to be rejoicing in hope.

Come back to Romans 5. Now this connection of rejoicing in hope, because what gives us our great joy is knowing the hope that is ours. In Romans 5 Paul talked about this. He opened the chapter, having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we exalt in hope of the glory of God. That's our hope, to enter into the fullness of the glory of God and the glory He has promised to those who love Him. Not only this, we exalt in our tribulations. And that's where Paul is taking us in Romans 12 in a moment. Following rejoicing in hope he is going to talk about persevering in tribulation. We exalt in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; perseverance, proven character; proven character, hope. That's what it comes back to again—hope. And hope does not disappoint. There will be no disappointment in the hope that we have in Christ because we will realize it. Because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given us. God loves us as His children, as those who have experienced His salvation in Christ. We belong to Him for time and eternity. So we are rejoicing constantly in our hope.

Look in Romans 8:17, talks about the fact that we are children of God and if children we are heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with Him so that we may be also glorified with Him. That's our hope of glory, being glorified with Christ in the glory of God, the presence of His splendor. I mean, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Verse 18, for I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to compared, here we are, with the glory that is to be revealed to us. That's where we are going, that's our hope—it's glory. So we are rejoicing in hope. That's not something we've experienced yet, the glory that God has provided. We have a taste of His salvation, we've experienced the liberty of forgiveness in Christ, the joy of belonging to the living God, having His Spirit dwelling within us and assuring us of the love of God. But the best is yet to come. The full realization of all that God has promised, the splendor of His presence when we have been glorified. No wonder we are looking for the blessed hope, even the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior because when that happens we will experience the transformation ourselves to glory as our salvation is brought to completion.

Come back to I Peter 1. Paul is just listing things quickly, but each of these becomes its own study, and just to expand a little bit. Verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy. Remember Romans 12? I beseech you therefore brethren, on the basis of the mercies of God that you present your bodies a sacrifice. Now here Peter writes, blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope. There is our hope, it's a living hope, it's because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead that we are assured that someday we will experience that resurrection, that transformation to glory where we will receive an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away. And it is reserved in heaven for you. What greater hope could you get than this? I mean, the world goes up and down and what hope do you have? What are we going to do? The debt of our county, the market going up and down. Am I going to have enough to retire on? I have plenty to retire on, you can't count it because it doesn't matter what happens with the market, doesn't matter what happens to the country, doesn't matter what happens to the world. My inheritance is reserved in heaven for me, that's where I'm going, that's my retirement plan. Isn't it your? Glory. That's why we can be rejoicing in hope. We are protected ourselves by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice in our hope, what is promised to us in Christ. Even though now for a little while if necessary you are distressed by various trials. And on it goes.

Come back to Romans 12, we're going to talk about those trials. That is next in Paul's unfolding. Verse 12, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation. No one ever promised an easy road here and now. Jesus said, in the world you have tribulation. Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. He didn't say, in the world you won't have tribulation. In the world you do have tribulation but you have the ultimate victory in Me. Right? That's our hope. He doesn't promise us deliverance from trial. The word tribulation here, you look it up in a Greek dictionary for the Greek word, it means to squeeze, to compress, to crush. Thlipsis is the word. What is tribulation? It is when you are under great pressure. You say to somebody, I'm under too much pressure right now, I can't handle anything more. I feel like the life is being squeezed out of me. I'm being crushed. That's what tribulation is. It's like you take that lemon or that orange and you squeeze it, you crush it down. I feel like the life is being squeezed out. Well we are those who are persevering, enduring under the tribulations and trials that come. There is an interesting connection, we are rejoicing in hope and at the same time we are persevering in tribulation. We think we can be rejoicing when the tribulation gets removed. No, we are rejoicing in our hope while we are enduring in our tribulation. Because tribulation is not the last chapter for us, the last chapter is our hope, our glory, our inheritance. We are just working toward that right now.

We have the little song, this world is not my home, I'm just a'passing through. How true it is. We get all caught up and unsettled and disoriented. We need to get refocused on our hope, rejoicing in that hope and that hope gives us endurance in tribulation. Same connection we saw in Romans 5. God has good intention for us, even in our tribulations because He is developing our proven character as we saw in Romans 5, which will sharpen our hope.

So rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. And these three things do connect closely together because we have the song that also says, where could I go but to the Lord. And doesn't tribulation do that to you? Our life gets busy, we get scattered and for prayer we just catch a piece here and there, just a quick little prayer. But someone dear to you, all of a sudden catastrophe comes into your family, all of a sudden you become a great prayer warrior. Now I'm going to pour myself out before the throne of grace with an intensity that I haven't done perhaps for months. But I'm to be devoted to prayer. I can go to God every day all the time. I walk with Him, in fellowship with Him. He never leaves me. I don't have to ask if I can make an appointment.

I want to go to the doctor, you know when you get older you always talk about your doctor's appointments. And life begins to be built around your doctor's appointments. I'm beginning to sound like my Dad. I can't do it then, I have a doctor's appointment. No, that won't be a good day, I have a doctor's appointment. Now I'm asking Marilyn, when is your doctor's appointment? Mine is coming up .......... But I have to make an appointment to see the doctor. You know what? I don't have to make an appointment to see the Lord. I talk to Him every day. You can talk to Him every day, every moment of every day, He is right there with me. Lord, I am so relieved to know that here I am going through this and you are right here with me and you are the God who will strengthen me and enable me. And you will provide me the ability to give you glory and honor you even as I go through this. And Lord, you will be the One who will either bring deliverance or added strength. Lord, you know that I feel like the life is being crushed out of me and I can't take any more of the pressure. And you have promised that you won't allow the pressure to crush me totally. So Lord, give me the grace.

I can just talk with Him all the time, I'm never alone. We ought to be those devoted to prayer. It ought to come as naturally to us as anything. My first reaction, I'm going to talk it over with the Lord because I talk to Him all the time about the littlest things in my life. I'm not waiting for something big so I can go talk to the Lord, I want to talk to Him about the littlest thing. Devoted to prayer.

And all these things are laid out for us because these are what has been provided for us in Christ, but they take all of our energy and effort to see we are carrying them out in a way that is pleasing to God. My life is not my own because I've been bought with a price. But I am still to present my body as a living sacrifice. So the fact that it is all by the power of God doesn't change the fact that it takes all of my energy and effort that I might live the life that God intends me to live as His child.

We are, verse 13, to be contributing to the needs of the saints. We have been joined together in one body, we saw in the first part of chapter 12. We are now part of the family of God, and another analogy used. We are to be contributing to the needs of the saints. That word contributing, fellowshipping, koinonia. In past years it was popular to use that, we had koinonia groups, fellowship groups and so on. It means to share in common. And here we are sharing in the physical needs of the saints, the holy ones, fellow believers because we belong to the same family. And that's what families do. When part of your family is hurting in one way or another, in need, if you are able you want to help meet the need. So we are to be contributing to the needs of the saints, fellowshipping with them.

Come over to Ephesians 4. You know the concern of the world is what they can get for themselves, how much they have for themselves. They have so much of their own pressures, trying to get as much as they can so that they have enough for themselves, to live selfishly and in a selfish lifestyle. But that all changes when you become a believer. Ephesians 4 talks something about this transformation. Look at verse 28, and here in the context he is talking about what we were before the salvation we have in Christ, an old man, and now as a new man in Christ. Then you come down to verse 28, he who steals must steal no longer but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. You're not just laboring, working hard so you have enough for yourself or extra for yourself, we as believers are working so we have the privilege of helping other believers who may not be in the position to make enough. What a beautiful picture. Before you may have stolen, you look for ways to get more for yourself. Now you are willing to pour yourself in exhausting labor so you not only can provide for your own basic needs, but you are in a position to help those who might have special need.

Turn over to Titus 3:14, Paul writing to Titus about his ministry in the churches in Crete. Our people, Paul referring to fellow believers. Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs so they will not be unfruitful. This is something we have to grow in and become better at as God's people, contributing to the needs of the saints. Paul is concerned that they learn to engage in good deeds, to meet pressing needs.

Come over to I John 3:14, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren, that family love we now have for one another as the people of God. Verse 16, we know love by this that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's good and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us love not with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. I mean, the reality of it. We don't just talk about loving one another, we don't just say we'll pray for one another. If we are in the position, we will do what we can to help meet the need you have as well. That's to be our goal.

Now there is a balance to this. Come back to II Thessalonians 3:6, now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life, not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know you have to follow our example. We didn't act in an undisciplined manner among you, Paul using himself as an example. Nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it. But with labor and hardship we kept working day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you, not because we don't have the right to this, because as an apostle, as one ministering the word He had a right to be supported. But he didn't take that because he wanted to give them a good example. Verse 11, why? For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in a quiet fashion and eat their own bread. As for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. What's the point? Verse 10, if you don't work, you don't eat.

So of course there are believers who get into situations where they need help. You lose a job and you're not able to get another job right away and there are certain needs that are there that fellow believers can help with. But by the same token we just don't help lazy people. In fact, lazy people should be disciplined by the fellowship of believers. We are not functioning in a way that is honoring to the Lord, but brings dishonor on His name. So there is the balance. If you come and ask the body of believers to help you because you can't make the payment on your Bentley, we probably will say, sell the Bentley. But something inexpensive to get you back and forth to work. You haven't worked for months and you really don't have much drive to get a job because most of the jobs available aren't things you are interested in, don't expect fellow believers to help you.

So it is being discerning, using biblical common sense. I'm amazed that people call on the phone to the church here and they just want money. They have never attended here, they don't know anything about us, but a church ought to give money them. Why? Because I want money. We just don't give money to everybody. Well, what are you? I thought you were a church. Yes, we are, and we can tell you how to get to heaven. Right now I'd just like a beer. You know, we want to be wise, that's all. There is a balance.

We don't have time to go into II Corinthians 8-9, but read that on giving and see how it is used of the Lord to bring honor to Himself. Even in our poverty, the Macedonians scraped together what they could to help the poor, impoverished believers in the mother church at Jerusalem during a time of great need.

Come back to Romans 12. Contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. And that would go together. Hospitality, you know the willingness to open your home, perhaps to have people in for meals, perhaps to provide a room when it is needed. Again, scripture says much about hospitality, and cautions about it. John in II John and III John talks about those you shouldn't show hospitality to—those who teach false doctrine. You don't even give them a greeting and you close your home to them. But in biblical times men like Paul and others in these days of the early church are traveling. Where were they going to stay? They didn't have nice hotels so you opened your home to them. That's what John exhorts in those epistles, and welcome them, provide for them. We can do that today. Doesn't mean that sometimes we don't have people come to town and we put them up in a motel. We can do that these days and provide a nice, safe accommodation that is adequate. That may be an alternative. Sometimes you might tell somebody, I don't have room for you in my home, that wouldn't work out, but I would be happy to help put you up for a night or something like that. There are a variety of ways. But being hospitable. In other words we are concerned. We don't just say, I don't know what you are going to do. If there is something we can work out, we want to be hospitable, open to one another, helpful to one another in whatever way we can.

He changes in verse 14. He had been using participles, and we notice them in English because they have “ing” on the end. But the point is the same because in Greek some participles can be used as imperatives and the focus is the same. These are instructions for them and things they are and must do. But we get a change in verse 14, we focus on what you are to do to those who are unbelievers who are not very nice to you. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. This is a radical transformation. You read the commentaries on this, with the coming of Christ we have a new emphasis that you can't find in any prior Greek writings and so on, any kind of exhortation to do this. Sometimes you can find similar instructions even in the secular world. But this is something new, you bless those who persecute you. You bless and do not curse. That is consistent with what Christ said we are to do.

Turn back to Matthew 5, we'll just take this one passage on this. We're going to take another passage, but this from the gospels, a work of Christ. Verse 43, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. That's what's involved in blessing those who persecute you. You desire God's blessing on their life. Not the natural response. Pray for those who persecute you. Not that God will judge them, bring misery and destruction into their life, hopefully very soon. No. We're blessing them, we're desiring God's blessing on them, we're praying for God to work in their life. That even my handling the suffering that they are bringing to my life, my family, the way I handle it might be used in the grace and mercy of God to draw this person to Christ. Difficult to do under the pressure. What did Christ do when He was on the cross? Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing. What did Stephen do when he was being stoned to death in Acts 7? Father, forgive them. I mean, that's what we do. We want their blessing, we want them to experience the forgiveness of God and come to know His salvation. We bless those who persecute us, we bless and don't curse.

Come over to I Peter 1. And this is in the context of Peter giving instruction to slaves who had unjust masters. Verse 18 says, servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle but also to those who are unreasonable, perverse. They are really wicked and evil. This finds favor, for if the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrow when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if when you sin you are harshly treated and you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it and you patiently endure it, this finds grace with God, favor with God. This is pleasing to God. And isn't that the desire of our life? To be pleasing to Him? For you have been called for this purpose. Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example. He committed no sin, and while being reviled He did not revile in return. He uttered no threats. So that's what marks us off as different.

Sometimes in reading the account of martyrs in the church's history, I'm amazed at their grace and asking God to bring salvation to those who are burning them at the stake or mutilating their bodies. How do they do that? It is the supernatural work of God in them. How easy it is, we begin to develop resentments and those resentments grow. And they grow to hatred because of what people have done to us. And this didn't happen just once, they've done it again and again. And we forgive them again and again. Seventy times seven, it doesn't matter, we're not keeping count because we are manifesting the new life we have in Christ.

So come back to Romans 12. Clear manifestation of a person who has been transformed. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We are back to dealing with believers, the family of God. What do you do? You rejoice. What do you do if your child gets a better job, a better job than you had. You don't say, I resent that. Why should my child get a better job than I had? No, you are thrilled, you rejoice with them, you are so happy. You are more happy than if you had gotten a better job. If something tragic happens to a family member, you weep with them. So we rejoice with those who rejoice, we weep with those ............. There is not envy there, we're not in competition with one another. I'm not jealous because you are doing better than I am. I'm not happy because something bad has come into your life. I don't wish something bad would happen to you so you would know how unhappy you would be. I'm glad for your blessings, I'm sorry for the tragedy that has come to you. We are God's family. He expects us to act like it. So we rejoice with those who rejoice, we weep with those who weep.

Verse 16, be of the same mind with one another. This is back to a theme that we have had. We are to be of the same mind toward one another, we're not to be haughty in mind, we're to associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Up in Romans 12:3, through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think. I mean, this idea, you know, arrogance easily creeps in. Often when we are initially saved we are reduced to such humility and amazement that God would save us. That overwhelms anything. But with the passing of time, isn't it interesting how the old man wants to reassert itself? Pretty soon we are proud of our spiritual accomplishments, we begin to think that we're a little better than someone else, that my opinion on this is better than your opinion. Why didn't they ask my opinion? I wouldn't have done it that way, I wouldn't have picked that, I wouldn't have .......... Wait a minute, it's not all about “I.” Be of the same mind toward one another and that means do not be haughty in mind. Associate with the lowly. We are to have oneness of mind. That doesn't mean we all think like robots, but on the basic issues we think alike. Like your children, we might have a child who likes music and is musical. We might have a child that is more into athletics and likes sports. We say, you both ought to like the same thing. That's not the kind of same mind we're talking about. But they ought to have the same mind, we are all family here and we support one another and we encourage one another and we help one another. We serve one another, we love one another, we build one another up. In that way we are the same. There is no squabbling—you would be better if you liked music more than sports, or you'd be better if you liked sports better. Those kinds of things................ We are of the same mind as God's children. And with all of our diversity we are of the same mind.

We only have time for one passage on this. Turn over to Romans 15. This is repeated a number of times, this same mind. Verse 5, now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus. It's at the end of II Corinthians, it's in Philippians 2, it's in Philippians 4. Be of the same mind. It takes out the division and the conflict. We have one mind, we bow in submission and obedience to Jesus Christ. Our desire is to serve and honor Him. That takes precedence over my own personal desires and interests. And you made a choice, you are doing something, it's not the way I would have done it. I'm glad that you were willing to make the choice, happy to support you in it. We are of the same mind, we are here to honor the Lord. It just is to characterize us.

Be of the same mind, that means do not be haughty in mind. Sometimes you can't think of yourself. Well, I obviously know more about this than they do. Maybe you do, but humble yourself. I can appreciate the fact they are willing to do it, even though they may not know it as well as I do, understand it as well. You know, when I'm sitting and hearing someone else teach, am I supposed to be sitting there and thinking, do they teach as good as I do? I sit there and appreciate the fact that God is communicating His truth to them. Were they better than you or worse than you? I don't know, I didn't think about that. I thought about how great God's grace was, the truth that I was learning through them. How wonderful that God would use them that way. I mean, isn't that the way we are supposed to think? Be of the same mind, don't be haughty in mind. Associate with the lowly. In other words associate with the lowly can be used of lowly people or lowly things. You probably have a note in your margin, and both are true. This is to characterize us. That's not above me. Whatever would facilitate the work of the Lord, if it's possible, I'm happy to help. And of course there should be no divisions in the body between those who are better off and those who are not so well off. Like James has to rebuke. If someone comes in with a gold ring, he gets a good seat. Someone who comes in who is poor and stinky, I hope he doesn't get a seat. There are churches for people like that, and ours isn't one of them. Are we just as thrilled if the governor comes to our service? The governor was here, I hope people were friendly, I hope people said “hi,” I hope people treated him friendly. If someone comes in obviously very poor and not very well. Is anybody concerned whether they were friendly to them, welcomed them, made them feel at home. It easily settles into us because this is the way the world is. Important people are important people, we have to treat them a certain way. Wealthy people are wealthy people, we have to treat them a certain way. Unimportant people are unimportant people, there are lots of them, we don't have to ............... Wait a minute, we are happy to associate with the lowly. Whatever position, lowly things. I don't have to have an important job, an important position. I don't have to just have people on my level that I associate with. What's my level? We're all on level ground in Christ, right? I understand they may be wealthier than I am when I take into consideration their inheritance in glory. I am glad to be associated with them.

Do not be wise in your own estimation. That says it pretty well. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Proverbs 26:12. Don't think you are wise. We can think soberly minded, we don't have to think, I shouldn't be up here teaching, I can't teach as well as some people. Well, I have to think soberly. God has given me a gift, He has given me a responsibility, He has placed me in a certain position and I'm to do it. I have to be careful that I don't become wise. That's true of each one of us. With the blessings we have experienced, the gifts God has given, other things God has brought to us, we have to be careful those don't become reasons why we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. We've become wise in our own estimation, we think highly of our opinions. And it brings division. I can't do that. I can't be thinking highly of me and highly of you because thinking highly of me is comparing myself to people I don't think are as high as I am, or as wise as I am, or as important as I am, or as good as I am, or as smart as I am. That's where the world is. The world wants to build your self-esteem, you have to think more highly of yourself. And the Bible says, think less highly of yourself, more highly of others. Philippians 2, have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. Although He existed in the form of God, did not think equality with God a thing to be grasped, but humbled Himself. That's the model for us. Have this mind in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. We want to have the mind of Christ, I want to think like He does. What a step down from existing with the glory of the eternally triune God to becoming part of humanity and then suffering the lowliest of death with crucifixion on a cross. And I should think highly of myself?

We function together. God has brought about a remarkable transformation in our lives. What a salvation we have. What a privilege we have now to live out that salvation in these basic, practical ways day by day. We fellowship together.

Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for the greatness of our salvation, salvation that not only brings forgiveness of sins, salvation that has provided eternal glory, salvation that has brought to our account the crediting of your righteousness. Lord, it is a salvation that has made us new. Not just made parts of us new, but made us new creations in Christ, a new man in Christ. Lord, now enabled by your grace as new creatures in Christ, empowered by your indwelling Spirit to live new lives. Lord, we are encouraged and blessed even as we look in this portion of your word and realize the privilege that is ours to live lives with bodies yielded to you in all that we do and all of our behavior. May we be careful to examine ourselves in light of your word and be ready and quick to bring any adjustments necessary to make our lives more conformed to your purpose for us. We pray in Christ's name, amen.