Tag: The Body of Christ

Sermon – Baptism

Pastor Steve Ward preaching on Baptism.

Baptism is a picture our our amazing union with Christ.  In this sermon, we prepared for the Baptism of Hannah Gragg and Maddy Ward by examining the picture in Baptism of a believer’s:

• Union with Christ’s Death (Romans 6:1-7)
• Union with Christ’s Life (Romans 6:5, 11-14)
• Union with Christ’s Body (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

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Love and the Church

This past Sunday, we began a new study on the place of love in the Christian life.  As an introduction, we looked at a list of verses in which the Scriptures look to analyze the well-being of the churches by their testimony of love.  Here is that list for your reference and meditation:

Ephesians 1:15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints.

Colossians 1:3-9 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

1 Thessalonians 3:5-6 For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain. But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you,

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater;

Philemon 4-7 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.

1 Peter 1:20-22 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,

3 John 1-6 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

The Church and the Armor Of the Messiah

Our brother Chris Carmichael has written an excellent article based on some of the themes we have seen over the years at Heritage and the desire that we have been burdened with especially of late.  Please read Are We Still the Body of Christ Without the Full Armor of God? at the Sacred Sandwich website.

May the reading of his article compel us all to seek for the Kingdom of Heaven!

Multifaceted

We have grown much over the past several years in our understanding of Christian fellowship and the importance of the corporate nature of the Body of Christ.  We have seen the biblical pattern and exhortations over and over as we study the Word of God.  Ultimately, we have seen the Spirit of God dwelling in our midst and enjoyed the warmth of Christian fellowship in the ever-growing Temple of our Lord.

I found this quote today from C.S. Lewis and it continues to unfold the glorious impact that we have on one another in the Body of Christ.  He writes:

“In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets.” (C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves, Page 61)

Lewis is pointing out that we need to establish greater breadth in order to grow closer to one another.  If we limit our fellowship and friendships to the same small set of people in the same situations, our knowledge of one another will be quite limited.  But if we observe one another in connection with others, our knowledge of each other grows.  Our appreciation and love of one another ought to grow as well.

But be warned, you must be prepared.  The greater you know one another, the more you will realize that we are each far from perfect.  You may will see that we are not always as wise, as mature, and as self-controlled as we may appear.  You must be armed with patience, gentleness, and a Christ-like forgiveness so that we may bear with one another for the glory of Christ.  But though this work may not be easy, it is the will of God and the law of Christ.

Gal. 6:1-3 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Col 3:12-17 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

May God bless us with the richest of Christian fellowship.  May He grant us the willingness to grow near to one another, even if it reveals that we are not as strong and perfect as we would like others to think we are.

Repentance and Restoration

This month, we have been discussing how to deal with sin in our lives as believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The following points represent some of the things that we must seek to do to overcome sin and live in the newness of life through the power of the Gospel.

1. Repent with godly sorrow and seek after holiness and righteousness through obedience to Christ.

Do you have sorrow for your sin?  This must be the first step that drives us to Christ and to restoration.  As 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 tells us, there are two types of sorrow.  There is a worldly sorrow that merely seeks relief from guilt and/or escape from punishment.  This is not the sorrow of true repentance.  Then there is godly sorrow, which comes from the gracious work of conviction by the Holy Spirit.  Godly sorrow creates a desire to put the deeds of the flesh to death and to turn from sin and seek holiness and righteousness.

If you struggle with sin and do not feel you have godly sorrow, then ask the Lord in prayer for it!  Turn in the Word of God and read of the enmity of sin…read how sin is contrary to God, to the glory of Christ, to your fellow believers, and it is contrary to your soul.  See that sin is heinous and it is the shameful expressions of hatred of the holiness of Christ.

2. Rest in the Gospel.

Realize that your restoration and your assurance of your faith in Christ must not stem from your ability to personally overcome sin.  You have sinned and no amount of obedience will make up for it.  No amount of tears will cover it.  Your sins can only be covered with the blood of Jesus Christ and your restoration will only occur if you are in union with Him by faith.  As Galatians 3:3 says, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

Perhaps it is made most clear by Paul in Romans 6:

Romans 6:4-11 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

It is by the power of the Gospel that we find not only forgiveness of sins, but also the power of sanctification from sin. As Paul states in Colossians 3:1, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”  The rest of the chapter deals with the mortification of sin and the obedience of holiness and righteousness that comes through faith and union in the Gospel with the resurrection of Christ.

– Excursus –

On a related note, I have found that there are many who do not believe in the power of the Gospel to overcome sin.  Many will look at the condition of the masses of people who attend churches and yet their lives are full of unrepentant sin.  They arrive at the conclusion that these people have believed the Gospel and yet the power promised in the Scriptures has not come to pass.   I think this attitude has created a dangerous misunderstanding of the Gospel and a failure to examine the so-called faith of these people.

I have found that in virtually every case where a person’s life is filled with unrepentant sin, with a little bit of questioning, you will find that these are not believers of the Gospel that lack the power of the Gospel, these are people who do not believe the Gospel according to the Scriptures.  Ask them what they believe the Gospel is, and you will find in most cases that they cannot begin to explain it.  If they have a basic understanding of the person of Jesus, the virgin birth,  and the deity of Jesus, ask them if they believe the resurrection of Jesus, His Lordship at the right hand of God, and the coming Day of the bodily resurrection and the Day of Judgment.  Are they still with you?  Ask them if they believe that Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life and that only those who trust in Him will be saved from the wrath of God and an eternal punishment of damnation.  No other faith will do.  All other religions are false and lead to damnation.

I think when you get to this point, you will find in most cases, a person who does not care to repent of sin and seek holiness will deny the Gospel of Jesus.  Hopefully, you will be there to ask them to repent and believe the Gospel that you have just described to them.

– End of Excursus –

3. Ask for the power of the Holy Spirit and the new life through the resurrection of Christ.

As discussed above, there is no power to overcome sin apart from faith in the Gospel, and there is also no power apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, in order to effectively ask for the power to overcome sin, ask the Lord specifically to defeat the sin in your life through the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit.  Paul discusses in Romans 8:1-14 that it is only by the Spirit that we can overcome the deeds of the flesh.  In Galatians, it is the Spirit that produces the fruit of righteousness.  This passage does not mean that the Spirit just makes these things possible, it is by the continual work of the Spirit that we live out this fruit in our deeds, words, and thoughts.

I am not saying that Christ’s power will not operate in you if you do not specifically ask for the Spirit.  However, I do believe that we will be better at overcoming sin if we acknowledge the source of power (the Holy Spirit) to overcome sin and we seek this power in faith.  I fear that our tendency to not ask for the power of the Spirit is because we do not realize that it is only by the Spirit’s power that we will find the power to overcome sin.

4. Do not let sin drive you away from participation in the Body.

Apart from all the other things that must be done throughout our struggle with sin, I have noticed over and over again that those who withdraw themselves from the Body of Christ are often overcome by sin. I am not saying that it is hopeless if a person withdraws from the Body of Christ, but it is dangerous.  More times than not, such a person does not end up being restored in the faith of Christ…and they depart the faith.

Hebrews 10:25 is not simply a exhortation to “go to church”, it is a command to be followed, especially in light of those who may stop meeting with others in the Body of Christ and may fall into apostasy.

We are to be encouragements to one another.  This doesn’t mean we just say “Good job!” to each other…it means that we help one another when we are in sin!  Notice the connection with the “confession of our hope” of the Gospel (Hebrews 10:23) and the commands to “stimulate ourselves to love and good deeds and not forsake gathering together.”  The Body of Christ is critical to overcoming sin in our lives.

5. Examine your love.

There are two points that I am shocked to see are often missed in the discussion of repentance and restoration.  The first is to ask the Lord for the power of the Spirit to overcome sin, as discussed above.  The second is to examine your love.  If you are sinning, it is a heart issue and you are not loving the Lord or your fellow brethren in Christ as you should.

1 John deals with sin and even says in 1 John 3:4 that “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”  How does this relate to love?  The NET Bible’s exegetical notes for the verse state the following:

The Greek word ανομία  is often translated “iniquity” or “lawlessness” and in the LXX refers particularly to transgression of the law of Moses. In Jewish thought the ideas of sin and lawlessness or iniquity were often equated because sin involved a violation of the Mosaic law and hence lawlessness.  For the author [of 1 John], it is not violation of the Mosaic law that results in lawlessness…The ‘law’ for the author is the law of love, as given by Jesus in the new commandment of John 13:34-35. This is the command to love one’s brother, a major theme of 1 John and the one specific sin in the entire letter which the opponents are charged with (3:17). Since the author has already labeled the opponents “antichrists” in 2:18, it may well be that he sees in their iniquitous behavior of withdrawing from the community and refusing to love the brethren. (NET Bible – Notes on 1 John 3:4)

John 13:34-35:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

And Paul states in Romans 13:8-10

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Therefore, if we are struggling with sin, we ought to examine our hearts to see how our self-love is trumping our love of Christ and the love of our brethren.  As we do this, we can deal with the root of our sin that is often clouded by the various manifestations of our sinful deeds.

7. Seek Guidance from the Word of God

There are many reasons to study the Word of God.  In the context of seeking to overcome sin, the Word becomes essential to obtaining wisdom, which is necessary to be victorious in your life.  Search the Scriptures to find the godly things that you should be seeking.  Seek the Scriptures to find the wisdom that has been demonstrated throughout history by the people of God.  Here you will find that the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, the pursuit of money and hedonism have all been proven to be the vanity of vanities.  You will learn that we must therefore fear God and obey His commandments.  You will see examples of how sin how brought destruction and despair.

Beyond all of the specific exhortations to forsake sin and live in holiness, you will also see the majestic character of our merciful God.  The more you know, the less you will be able to be comfortable sinning against the holy and loving Lord.

8. Implement godly disciplines.

Now, with all of the discussion above still in our minds, we must also seek to implement godly disciplines to help us in our struggle with sin.  Godly disciplines are of tremendous value, but they should never be viewed as a means to conquer sin apart from faith in the Gospel, the work of the Spirit, etc.

Prayer – Prayer is vital, and is involved with almost every step above.  It is beyond just including it as a “step” to deal with sin…it is essential throughout the entire process.  Your prayers must earnestly seek the power of the resurrection of Christ from the source of all life…Christ Himself.

Studies in the Word of God – We have already discussed the value of the Word to overcome sin, but we must also must make this a discipline, and not just a resource.

Service and devotion – Do not simply stop your sin, but replace the time, the energy, and the desire that you once had for sin with time, energy and desire for godly service and pure worship.

Environment – Examine the things that you are surrounded with…who you are with, what you listen to and watch.  Do everything possible to put a shield of protection around you to keep sin from gripping you.  For example:

• If you struggle with anger or gossip, avoid the situations that tempt you to become enraged or frustrated with other people.
• If you struggle with lust, don’t put yourself within arm’s reach and eye’s sight of the objects of your sin.
• If you struggle with laziness or are too tired to exercise spiritual disciplines, avoid the things that drag you down by doing things like getting a good night’s sleep as much as possible, throwing a brick through the television screen, or doing something out of the ordinary to break your bad habits.

Surround yourself with godly music.  Make time  for Christian fellowship.  Replace your television time with a good Christian book.

Accountability – Seek help!  Share your weakness with your spouse, a trusted friend, your pastors, etc.  Seek their prayer and their wisdom.  Ask for them to “check up” on you.  Study the Word together.

The things that you can do go on and on.  I by no means intend to be exhaustive with everything written above.  However, I hope that it helps us all to overcome sin and seek to honor our glorious Lord.  May we bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ!

Acts 7:58-8:3 – Saul

This Sunday, we looked at the snippet of information contained in this passage that Saul witnessed Stephen’s martyrdom. As the Jews removed their garments so that they might better throw stones at Stephen, they laid them down near the feet of Saul, who was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.  The text goes on to state that Saul was ravaging the church, entering house after house and dragging believers off to prison.

In this text, we see two completely different forms of warfare.  There are the weapons of this world, used for the advancement of the kingdoms of this world, and there is the heavenly weapons, used for the heavenly kingdom.  The weapons of this world include threatening, imprisonment and physical harm or death.  As believers in the Gospel, these weapons may be used against us as they were used against the early church in Acts, and against Stephen in this passage.

What are the weapons that we have to stand for the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus?  They surely are not typical, nor physical.  We are not to conquer the world for Christ using military might and physical harm.  Instead, the Scriptures tell us of a warfare not used against flesh and blood.  In Ephesians 6, we see the amor of God.  As we have discussed previously in our studies of Ephesians, there are some incredible things about this armor.  It is not simply a metaphor to keep rough-housing boys interested in Sunday School by dressing them in a cardboard shield of faith and giving them a plastic sword of the Spirit.  It is actually something quite humbling and startling.  All of these instruments of Christian warfare are discussed in the Old Testament prophecies.  We are told that one day the Messiah would come and on His body would be these things…the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, etc.  And now in Ephesians, which discusses THE BODY OF CHRIST in great detail, the Church (the Body) is to clothe herself with these things that were prophesied to be on the body of the coming Messiah.

Isn’t it incredible that the Body of Christ is so intimately connected with the Messiah himself? (I pray that the Church will arise and realize this great and marvelous truth.)

This spiritual armor  includes truth, righteousness, the Gospel itself, faith, and salvation (New Covenant Lordship), the Spirit, the Word of God, and prayer.  Our weapon against the darkness is the Church…the Body of Christ, which Jesus promised would not be overcome by the gates of Hades.

Stephen is fully armed.  He does not react in hatred or anger, but in truth and righteousness.  He utters the heartfelt cry “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!”

Oh how Christian warfare is found in the weapons of grace, humility and love!  This does not mean that we forsake the harsh truth of God’s judgment against those who reject Jesus.  After all, Stephen is being stoned because he proclaimed God’s judgment.  But he did not do so out of pride and hatred.  His hope was that the Gospel will rescue them from that judgment.  He loved them so that he was not concerned that they were murdering him…he was concerned for their souls!

The fact that Saul was here is no coincidence.  Read Acts 9.10-16.  The fact that this persecution drove these believers out of Jerusalem and into Judea and Samaria is not a fluke!  Read Acts 1.6 and 8.4 ,12 , 25, 35, and 40.  This was the sovereign and risen Lord directing all of history so that His salvation would extend to the ends of the earth!  Nothing occurs outside his will.  Read the second Psalm and you will see this day ordained by the will of God.  We may struggle with God’s sovereignty because it means God may stand in the way of what we want.  But there is the sweetest relief when we realize it also means we will always have what we need – the ability to glorify, honor, and serve the King of Kings!

May Jesus grant us the strength, confidence, and boldness to proclaim the glory of the Gospel!

Are we drunk and foolish?

Perhaps you are already answering the question in your mind…”Surely not Steve. You’re asking us this question at 8:00 AM. It’s not even “the third hour of the day” in Peter’s words. Plus – we’re Baptist; the strongest thing we drink is Chai Tea!”

But I am not speaking of drunkenness from wine or the foolishness from the immorality of the wicked world around us. I ask in the context of Ephesians – that great work that calls us to consider the New Covenant Temple, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are we drunk with the wine of family and personal ambition and therefore become foolish architects/builders of the Temple that we are to be focused upon?

In our previous studies at Heritage, we have seen how the letter to the Ephesians is filled with construction language. Some of the language is clear in English translations, some is not. In Ephesians 5, we are faced with a question. Has the light of Christ shone upon us? If so, we must arise and if we are wise, we must redeem the time.

What is it to be “wise”? A builder/architect was demonstrated to be wise by the quality and durability of his work. An example of this is found in the parable of the two builders in Matthew 7:24-27. The builder of the strong, secure house was called “wise”. The builder of the house destroyed by the rain and the floods was called “foolish”.

So, are we wise?

• How are we doing at building up the New Covenant Temple, composed of both Jew and Gentiles (Ephesians 2.14-21)?
• How are we doing at understanding the glory and importance of the Church as this temple, which Paul prayed God would reveal that we see the magnificence of it in its splendor and glory (Ephesians 3.14-20)?
• How are we doing at utilizing our spiritual gifts that we were equipped with through the resurrection of Jesus so that we each hold one another together and support one another and grow together in the Corporate Temple (Ephesians 4.10-15)?

If we are wise builders, and not fools, then we will redeem the time. The prophets rebuked Israel for not being concerned with (re)building the Temple. Zechariah was one of these prophets. As he encouraged Israel to give effort to build the physical temple, his words were prophetic of the true Temple to come. In Zechariah 4:6 the word of the Lord says, “Not by strength, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the sovereign Lord”.

In Ephesians 5, we are commanded to be “filled” with the Spirit. “Filled” is a construction term that is used to speak of the materials of a building being incorporated into one another during construction. As Zechariah promised, God is building his temple by his Spirit.

So, are we redeeming the time? If we do not do so, weeks will fly by, months will disappear, and the Temple will be left degrading instead of being built up.

Let me suggest a few practical things:

• Pray with the apostle Paul (Ephesians 3:18), that you and your family will understand the glory of the New Covenant Temple.
• Pray that the Spirit of God will use you in the “filling” of the Temple, so that you and your family will help the whole Body to grow in love, being integral “fittings” and “supporting ligaments” (Ephesians 5.18 and 4.16).
• Commit in every way possible to being involved with the meetings and studies in the church.
• Find ways to use Christian conduct and the gifts of the Lord Jesus to build one another in the the Body.
• Do not let other things take you away from this great work.

Let us be wise builders. May the Spirit provide this strength to us.