Sunday, January 3, 2016 am
OTHERS
Introduction
Last year, we spent extensive time addressing the subject of going on to
perfection. As Christians it
is imperative that we not think all is fine to remain where we are at.
God expects us to be moving forward.
That is why we spent time addressing the need to move forward
(Heb. 5:12-6:1), the mindset and attitudes that will promote growth, as
well as various actions that will help us to grow (dealing with
temptation & sin, prayer, Bible study and worship).
Our primary purpose was to address how YOU AND I develop as
Christians.
This year we want to take that theme a step further as we notice the
life of a Christian involves others.
Some of the topics we will address include:
·
The various relations we
have as Christians –
o
What is our duty to
society – how are we to treat others within our community?
o
Our duty to our
government
o
Our work
responsibilities
o
We will also address, in
great detail our spiritual and family relationships
·
The Power of a godly
example – our example clearly affects others.
So we will address aspects of our example – such as moral issues,
compromise within the church, etc.
·
We are brethren – what
does that mean? We want to address what it means that we are the church
belonging to Christ Jesus.
·
One another – the New
Testament uses the expression, “one another” some 87 times.
We will examine many of topics as we learn how we are to treat
each other as brethren. This
will be one or our MAIN areas of focus.
·
Our duty within the
family – The family unit as described in the Bible is under attack on
every front. We will remind
ourselves of what God expects the family to be and various roles we
have.
·
The problems we face as
Christians – while not always directly related to others, the problems
we face as Christians have a bearing on the church, one another as
brethren and our influence within society.
So we want to take some time and address such problems as –
guilt, discouragement, doubt, disappointments, apathy, ruts, addictions
and the burdens of life, etc.
·
Evangelism - Addressing
error – we want to continue to emphasize how to answer doctrinal error
so that we can win OTHER souls and to keep ourselves pure (we sometimes
have internal issues we need to address as well).
These are a few areas we intend to study.
So let’s get started addressing the subject of “others”.
a.
Other, a
simple term that means someone or something that is different than you
or the thing being mentioned.
When speak of others, we are addressing how our faith impacts
others.
b.
Passages that speak of
others
i.
Phil. 2:3-4 – let each
esteem others better than himself.
This will be our theme verse.
ii.
2 Timothy 2:2 – commit
to others – we share God’s word with others.
iii.
Jude 23 – but others
save with fear, pulling them out of the fire…
iv.
Matthew 23:23 – a thing
– in this case keeping ALL of God’s word. “These you ought to have done,
without leaving the others undone.
c.
Other descriptions of
others
i.
“One another” – this is
an expression that implies mutual edification – where we are building
each other up. You cannot
have “one another” without others.
ii.
Fellowship – the idea of
fellowship is sharing something spiritual with our brethren.
The term clearly implies a relationship.
Philippians 2:1 speaks of our fellowship of the Spirit, etc.
iii.
Fellow – the word means,
one who works together with someone else (Romans 16:3 – “fellow workers”
– our English word, “synergy” is a derivative of this Greek word);
Ephesians 2:19 speaks of us being “fellow citizens”;
iv.
Brethren
(brotherhood) – a description of how we are a family.
1 Peter 2:17 calls for us to love the brotherhood.
v.
Many other words will be
added to these as we progress in this study.
a.
“It’s not about me!” As you study the
New Testament it becomes clear that the life of a Christian is not one
of selfishness. While your
ultimate goal is for YOU to get to heaven, it is a path that impacts
others in virtually all that we do.
b.
We do not live in a
bubble.
Monasticism is not the lifestyle of a Christian.
Whether we are speaking the monastic lifestyle of monasteries or
isolationist communities (such as Amish or communes) we must realize we
have a responsibility to live in the world.
While there is something to be
said about not letting the world live in us (be separate), but that is
different from isolating ourselves from the world.
Perhaps for a short time it might be good to get away and be with
other Christians, but we need to live in the world.
As Jesus prayed for His apostles in John 17:14-17, He noted that they
are in the world but not of the world.
He even requested “I do not
pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should
keep them from the evil one.”
How can we be an impact in the world if we totally isolate
ourselves from OTHERS?
c.
You are a servant of Christ – one of the first things we realize is that our life is
about serving Him (Galatians 2:20).
A servant by its very definition involves others.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the
love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for
all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live
no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
d.
Christians also serve
others –
God is a God of others – He cares about us – John 3:16, 1 Peter
5:7 notes that “He cares for you.
Jesus came to serve – Mark 10:45
– Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve.
See also Philippians 2:7 & John 13:1-15, Jesus washed the feet of
His apostles. Vs.
12-15 shows why. It was not
so much a ritual, as teaching us that we are to serve one another.
We strive to imitate Christ – 1 Corinthians 11:1, John 13:15, “For
I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you…”
Galatians 5:13, “For you,
brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an
opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
IN Mark 10:42-44 which leads us to what Jesus did.
Galatians 6:2 calls for us to bear one another’s burdens.
e.
What is the church?
Universally, it is the body of ALL who are saved.
Locally, it is a body of saints joined together for the purpose of work
and worship. The emphasis of
a body is seen in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, where we find that each part
has a function. Together we are
the body and when we are functioning with consideration of OTHERS, it
will cause growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
(Ephesians 4:16) You
cannot have a local church without others.
Furthermore, when one within a congregation seeks to dominate without
the others there will be problems.
The Bible deals with this as well – cf. 3 John 9-11 – Diotrephes
loved preeminence.
f.
The greatest commands involve others
– God and man – Matthew 22:37-39.
The word love (agape) is defined as, “Caring enough to sacrifice for
what is best.” That affects
every relationship we are in as Christians – God’s love toward us and
our love toward God, our neighbors, our brethren and even our enemies.
1) Love God (another) with all your heart
2) Love your neighbor as yourself.
This phrase is from Leviticus 19:18.
But it is also mentioned in the New Testament several times –
Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, and James 2:8.
In Luke 10:27 where Jesus is asked by a lawyer what is the greatest
commandment, He asks the lawyer to answer it.
He correctly answers with this command.
The lawyer then, “seeking to
justify himself said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus then tells the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke
10:29-37). Again the
emphasis is one of thinking about others.
g.
Caring about others – along with the Good Samaritan, there are numerous passages
that call for us as Christians to care about the needy, both within and
without the Lord’s body - The continual teaching in scriptures about
being generous is about others.
James 1:27, Galatians 2:10 -
“they desires only that we
should remember the poor, the very thing which I was also eager to do.”
1 Timothy 6:18 – the rich ought to be rich in good works, ready to give,
willing to share…
Luke 14:12-14 – when you give a feast invite those who cannot repay you.
One of many parables dealing with the needy.
h.
The idea of example is
about others
–
Matthew 5:13-16 – you are salt and light.
Let is shine so that God is glorified.
Romans 13:10 – “Love does no harm
to a neighbor. Therefore love is
the fulfillment of the law.”
Live with conduct honorable among
unbelievers – 1 Peter 2:11-12., 3:15-16 – living in such a way that
those who revile you may be ashamed (when disproven).
i.
Attitudes –
both good and bad demonstrate our concern for others.
Love, humility, longsuffering, brotherly love, kindness, assuming the
best, etc – these all are related to others.
Similarly, ungodly attitudes such as selfishness, pride, arrogance,
wrath, bitterness, grumpiness, envy, gossip, etc. will negatively affect
others. That is why the
Bible give clear direction on attitudes and our conversation.
j.
In everything we do, we need to consider how it affects others.
Romans 14:7-8, “For none of
us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live
to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we
live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
In a text that addresses matters of liberty (things about which God is
indifferent – whether or not we observe a day, what we eat, etc.) Paul
notes that what we do, even if it is not wrong in itself, needs to be
done thinking about how it impacts others.
He also addressed this in 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 where he speaks of
considering the conscience of a weaker brother.
This is also addressed in 1 Corinthians 10:32-33.
k.
Evangelism is about others – Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20 – when Jesus gave the “great
commission” to His apostles (and disciples) He implied that the gospel
is not something to keep to ourselves.
IF there is to be a church in the next generation, we are
expected to try to reach others.
2 Timothy 2:2 – 4 generations.
1 Peter 3:15 – be ready to give a defense.
Etc. We will continue
to address reaching the lost this year.
These are a handful of principles in scripture that remind us that we
must be thinking about others.
We will not reach perfection in faith by ourselves.
That is why we must give serious consideration to others.
And this we will do this year!
Think about it!