One Anothers #4: Greet One Another Series

Greet One Another

Series: The One Anothers: The Church’s “Body Builders”

Chuck Sligh

June 12, 2022

BLURB: Did you ever attend a church and did not feel welcome? This should be a preposterous possibility if you understand God’s design for the church. Yet it is not. This is why Paul commands us to “Greet one another” in Romans 16:16 and other places. This sermon is a reminder that our churches are meant to be places of warmth and worship.

NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.

TEXT: Romans 16:16 – “Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.”

Adapted from Melvin Newland's sermon "Be Generous with your Greetings" on SermonCentral.com.

INTRODUCTION

I came across a little ditty that went like this:

Some go to church to laugh and talk, and some go there to walk the walk.

Some go to church to meet a friend, and some go there an hour to spend.

Some go to church to find a bride, and some go there a fault to hide.

Some go to church to celebrate, and some go there to agitate.

Some go to church to doze and nod, but the wise go there to worship God.

One of the most important functions of the local church is worship Most of what we usually call worship could be described as “vertical” worship, where we LIFT UP our voices in praise and prayer and song to our wonderful God. But there’s also a “horizontal” dimension to worship in which we REACH OUT in fellowship to those around us in corporate, unified worship to God TOGETHER.

Acts 2:42 says of the early believers: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (horizontal) and to the fellowship (both horizontal and vertical because 1 John tells us that we have fellowship with one another because we have fellowship with the Father), to the breaking of bread (horizontal) and to prayer (vertical).”

Now the word “fellowship” has as its basic meaning the idea of SHARING with one another, of SERVING one another, of our RELATIONSHIP with one another. Which is why we’ve been in a series on the “One Anothers” of the New Testament.

So far in our series, we’ve talked about how Paul says we’re “members of one another”—so we should be attached to a church body to grow and serve together. We’ve also looked at the first two “One Another” commands: to LOVE one another; and to BE LIKEMINDED with one another.

This morning I want to call your attention to Romans 16:16 where the Apostle Paul says, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” I’d like to answer two questions about this passage today:

I. FIRST, WHAT DOES PAUL MEAN BY THIS “ONE ANOTHER” COMMAND? – We can best understand what Paul is teaching us by analyzing this command’s two parts separately:

1. First, Paul commands us to “greet one another...”

The word greet is an active command verb. In other words, it implies that YOU should take the initiative, not for you to expect OTHERS to greet you. Sometimes people come to church and hunker down in their seats and wait for someone to come and greet THEM.

If you’re one of those people, you’ve got it backwards. Paul says for YOU to take the initiative. He says for YOU to greet one another.

Sometimes people attend or join a church and they never quite fit in. They’re waiting for others to be friendly with them.

But Proverbs 18:24 says it’s the other way around, where we read: “A man who has friends must show himself friendly….” So, the best way to make friends when you join a church is for YOU to invite people over or YOU to invite them out for a meal together.

Now you realize, of course, that there are some people who expect—even demand—the attention of others. In Luke 11, Jesus discusses the Pharisees, who always seemed to get it wrong. Describing them, Jesus says, “They walk around the marketplace all dressed up in fine robes. They look so dignified, and they expect a greeting.”

You see, there are some people who seem to say, “Well, here I am. Everybody notice ME!”—and there are others who seem to be saying by their spirit and attitude, “THERE you are. I’ve noticed YOU.” The PHARISEES were “HERE I AM” people and JESUS was a “THERE YOU ARE” person who was really concerned about others.

In Matthew 5, He said, “Don’t just love your own or those who love you and who are nice to you. Why, even the pagans and tax collectors do that.” And James said, “Never show partiality. When the rich come, don’t give them the best seats in the house. Treat everybody the same.” – In fact, James even said, “If you show partiality to people, you’re sinning.” So, no matter one’s station or condition, no matter where one is in his or her spiritual journey, when you see people, be a “THERE YOU ARE!” person and greet them with love and enthusiasm.