Sunday, August 21, 2016 am
OTHERS 2016
Be of the Same Mind To One Another
a.
Romans
12:16, “Be of the
same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things,
but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.”
As Paul begins describing our behavior toward one another, he
includes this command.
In this I see that we ought to strive for agreement.
I also think of how “one another” includes ALL brethren.
b.
Romans
15:5-6, “Now may the God of
patience and comfort grant you to be
like-minded toward one
another, according to Christ Jesus. that you may with
one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.” This is in a
passage bringing Romans 14ff to a conclusion, dealing with how we
respond to Christian liberties where we differ as brethren.
His point here is that we think about each other.
That is a big part of being of one mind.
c.
More
Scriptures speak of being of one mind –
i.
2 Cor.
13:11, in his final remarks, become complete, be of good comfort,
of one mind and live in
peace.
ii.
Phil 1:27 – let your conduct be
worthy of the gospel of Christ, Paul hearing that they stand fast in one
spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.
iii.
Phil.
3:16, as we press toward the goal we seek to walk by the same rule and
to be of the same mind.
iv.
Phil. 4:2,
Euodia and Syntyche are implored to be of the same mind in the Lord
v.
1 Peter
3:8, finally, all of you (i.e. one
another), be of one mind, having compassion for one another…
a.
The idea of being of one
mind means that we have unity.
This is continually emphasized in scripture and from this pulpit.
b.
John 17:20-21 – Jesus’
prayer for unity is one that is as the unity he has with the Father.
c.
1 Corinthians 1:10 –
speak the same thing…be perfectly joined together in the same mind and
in the same judgment. (More on this verse in a moment)
d.
Ephesians 4:1-3, in a
context dealing with unity (4:1-16), Paul begins by challenging these
brethren. They are to walk
worthy of their calling, with a humble and gentle attitude, “endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Sprit in the bond of peace.”
e.
Philippians 2:1-2,
describes the degree to which we are to be united – like minded (to be
agreement), having the same love (same motives), being of one accord
(acting in harmony) and of one mind (think the same way)
a.
Doctrine
– Acts 2:42 – they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine
1 Corinthians 1:10 – you all speak the same thing, 4:17 – Paul
taught the same thing everywhere in every church (no contradictions),
Philippians 3:16, let us walk by the same rule,
2 John 9-11, if one teaches a false doctrine, do not endorse it in any
way.
b.
Purpose
– Philippians 1:27 speaks of how with one mind we are striving together
for the faith of the gospel.
Among our purposes, with one mind we together worship God, seek the
purity of the church, seek to build each other up and to save the lost.
c.
In our goals –
Phil. 3:12-14 – that I may
lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me, we press toward
the goal.
2 Corinthians 4:18, while we do not look at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen
Our desire is to spend eternity together in heaven
To bring glory to God – 1 Peter 4:11, in whatever we do, our goal
is to bring glory to Him,
1 Corinthians 10:31, whatever we do, it is to the glory of God.
2 Thess. 1:12, Paul’s prayer was that the name of Jesus be glorified in
us.
To take as many with us to heaven as we can!
a.
We do not show respect
of persons.
Acts 10:34 – Peter had figured this out as he speaks with
Cornelius. Romans 2:11 says there
is no partiality with God.
James 2:1-4, 8-9, clearly warns against prejudice – in context, based
upon social status or appearance.
b.
We set our minds on
things above
- Colossians 3:1-2, we seek (and find) that which is from above
(heaven), and we set our mind on such things.
We ought to ALL be striving to reach heaven when this life is
over. You cannot separate
this from the word of God as it gives us all things that pertain to life
and godliness (2 Peter 1:3, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, etc.)
c.
We seek to imitate Christ
– 1 Corinthians 11:1 where Paul, though his example calls for
us to imitate Christ.
Philippians 2:5-8, after call for us to be of one mind (2:1-2) calls for
us to consider the mind of Christ and let it be our mind.
If we will all learn the mind of Christ (as taught in scripture)
we will find agreement and be of one mind toward one another.
Contrary to what some think, Jesus didn’t intend to divide.
Yes, in Matt. 10:34 we read that
He came to bring a sword that
would divide people. That
“sword” was His word, His message.
But was that what He actually wanted?
His desire was (and still is) to bring all men together as one.
Again consider His prayer in John 17:20-21.
1 Timothy 2:3-4, He desires that all men be saved (John 3:17, 2
Peter 3:9).
Sadly, the world was not willing to receive this (John 1:9-11, etc.).
1 Peter 4:1-2 – Peter calls for us to arm ourselves with the same mind
as Christ had in His suffering.
In so doing we will live for the will of God.
When we ALL do this, we will be likeminded.
Jesus is the unifying source as Chrsitians.
d.
We look out for the
interests of others
- Philippians 2:3-4, in a context we have been examining, Paul calls for
us to think about each other.
This too is continually emphasized in scripture.
In 1 Corinthians 8:9-13, we must be aware of how our liberties can cause
our brother to stumble, and avoid that!
When we are of one mind with our brethren, we are going to look out for
what is in their best interest in our words and actions.
e.
We are careful in our
judgments of one another
– Matthew 7:1-5, in examining this text we often emphasize that it is
not saying that we should never render judgment (cf. John 7:24).
But in its proper context, Jesus is speaking of prejudice and
other unjust and inconsistent judgments.
He is speaking of having a proper attitude toward each other as
we make judgments. Do
we give the benefit of the doubt as to motives?
Do we even consider the reasoning behind one who does something a
little different than we do? (NOT compromising the truth of God’s word).
In Romans 14 Paul is dealing with these types of liberties.
When we genuinely strive to be one mind toward each other we are
going to make sure our judgments are just.
f.
With one mind and one mouth we glorify God
- Romans 15:6, when we are
of one mind, TOGETHER we will glorify God.
This would include our worship to Him.
Worship which is a communion with Christ and one another (1 Cor.
10:16, 17). Our
singing to one another is with grace in our hearts to the Lord (Col.
3:16), etc.
g.
We will grow as the body
of Christ -
Ephesians 4:16 – when every part does its share to achieve this like
mindedness, the church grows in every good way.
Being of one mind we will willingly do our part because it is needed in
so many ways.
A
key to realizing our relationship with one another and God is to strive
to be of one mind toward one another.
How are you doing with this?
Think about it!