TESTS Of CHRISTIAN TOGETHERNESS—Galatians 3:22-29
Attention:
Homecoming is a time for...
A. Regathering—with our brothers & sisters in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. We worship, pray, learn, sing, give, & fellowship with our brothers & sisters in Christ.
B. Recollection—Fond remembrances, joyous as well as difficult recollections color this gathering.
C. Reconnection—With God’s people(the church) who have been instrumental in bringing lasting positive strides to our lives thru Christ. We are aided in the seasons of our faith journey.?•There may be some here today who have drifted away from the Church as a whole. This is your opportunity to reconnect.
D. Mutual Encouragement—Vividly rekindle the times of mutual encouragement among fellow ministers, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
E. Refreshing—Responsibilities are maintained & rekindled with those brothers & sisters in Christ.
F. Friendships—Established & Restored.
We are proud to be Americans. And much of that pride has to do with Our nation’s motto: ‘E Pluribus Unum’—‘Out of many, One’
That motto is vital to who we are, & it exists because God’s people are to be one body in Christ!(Rom. 12:5; Eph. 1:23)
Rom. 12:4-5—“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
Eph. 1:22-23—“And He put all things under His feet, & gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
•The apostle Paul described some foundational commonalities of belief that draw God’s people together.
•God’s people share commonalities of belief that ensure their togetherness/cohesiveness.?•And so, there is Divine justification for the ‘home-coming’ of God’s people.
•What commonalities of belief/justifications lie behind any ‘home-coming’ of God’s people?
•7 biblical justifications for celebrating ‘homecoming’ among God’s people.
OR--•7 Tests Of Christian Togetherness.
1—A Test Of Christian Togetherness is a Shared...
APPROACH To SIN(:22a)
Explanation:(:22a)Understanding
:22—“But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
*“The Scripture” is that body of written revelation FROM God Himself, that has been granted TO mankind, thru various people, times, & means. Thus “the Scripture”—being God’s word—holds authority for those who accept it as God’s word. “The Scripture” when coupled with relationship with God Himself, grants sure direction for believers.
*What is “sin”? “Sin” describes my & your lack of obedience to God. “Sin” describes any personal disallowance of God’s will in someone’s life. So “sin” describes a personal human self-interest placed above that of God’s interest/glory.
*And the authoritative written body of God’s revelation(“the Scripture”) plainly “has confined” or placed every manner of people(“all”) together. “All” humanity of every era is ‘in the same boat’ as it were.
*God says that “all” people are victims of “sin” along with it’s deceptive & resulting effects...
•Thus, no matter an individual’s or group’s ‘perceived’ bragging rights, privileges, limitations, or heritages, “all” people are, in fact, susceptible to(“under”) “sin.”...They are “under” sin’s curse.
•“Sin” is unaffected by which ‘side of the railroad tracks’ you live on. “Sin” is unaffected by your economic status—the vehicle you drive, or the domicile you live in. “Sin” is unaffected by location, language, privilege, race, or creed adhered to...
•If you are into secular self-help...you “sin.”
•And if you are a humbled servant of God...you “sin.”
•God does not tolerate “sin” in heaven(Hab. 1:13). So thru every person’s personal choice to “sin”, they condemn themselves to hell. God created hell for the specific purpose of containing & the devil & his demonic angels(Mat. 25:41). *The only way a person can undo that same condemnation for themselves, is to personally trust Jesus!(:22b)
•Thus “ALL” people are personally accountable to or answerable to God Himself!(Heb. 4:12-13) They are accountable to God because of the inherent presence of “sin”, which “confines” them “all” together, whether they “all” like it &/or accept it or not!
“Scripture”—grafh—Noun Nominative Sing. Fem.—1) A writing, thing written; 2) The Scripture, used to denote either the book itself, or its contents; 3) A certain portion or section of the Holy Scripture. Strong—a document, i.e. Holy Writ(or its contents or a statement in it).
“Confined/Concluded/Shut Up”—sugkleiw—1Aorist Active Indicative 3rd Sing.—1) To shut up together, enclose—1a) Of a shoal of fishes in a net; 2) To shut up on all sides, shut up completely. Strong—To shut together, i.e. Include or figuratively--Embrace in a common subjection to. Used 4X--Lk. 5:6; Rom. 11:32; Gal. 3:22, 23.?From—sun—1) With. Strong—With or together(but much closer than meta or para), i.e. By association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc.; a primary preposition denoting union.—&—kleiw—To close(literally or figuratively).
“All”(See :25, 26, 28)—pav—Adj. Accusative Plural Neuter—1) individually—1a) Each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything; 2) collectively—2a) Some of all types. Strong—All, any, every, the whole; apparently a primary word.
“Under”(See :23, 25)—upo—Preposition—1) By, under. Strong—Under, i.e. (with the genitive case)of place--Beneath, or (with verbs)the agency or means--Through; (with the accusative case)of place--(whither--Underneath, or where--Below, or time when--At); a primary preposition.
“Sin”—amartia—Noun Accusative Sing. Fem.—1) equivalent to amartanw—1a) To be without a share in, 1b) To miss the mark, 1c) To err, be mistaken, 1d) To miss or wander from the path of uprightness & honor, to do or go wrong, 1e) To wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin; 2) That which is done wrong, sin, an offense, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act; 3) collectively,--The complex or aggregate of sins committed either by a single person or by many. Amartia meant originally the missing of a mark. When applied to moral things the idea is similar, it is missing the true end of life, & so it is used as a general term for sin. It means both the act of sinning & the result, the sin itself. Strong—A sin(properly abstract).
Argumentation:
Rom. 3:19-23—“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, & all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law & the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all & on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God,”
Rom. 2:3-11—“And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, & doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, & longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness & your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath & revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, & immortality; but to those who are self-seeking & do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation & wrath, tribulation & anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first & also of the Greek; but glory, honor, & peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first & also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
Illustration:
•Thru the years I have run into a lot of people—Non-Christians & Christians—who see themselves as okay in God’s eyes because they don’t see themselves as having sinned/They tell themselves that they haven’t murdered anybody(big whup...most people don’t murder anyone!)/They tell themselves that they never ‘run-around on’ their spouse(okay, so what?!, non-Christians do the same)/But these don’t appreciate the minutia of the reality of sin in their lives/Suppose you were walking onto the property where you work, & you see an empty Dollar General bag blow across your path/You briefly consider—reasonably-speaking— that it would be good for you to pick it up in order to:
1)Keep the stray bag from tacky-ing up somebody else’s property, or ...
2)to Keep someone else from having to pick it up, or ...
3)to Help someone out whose job it is to pick up trash.
BUT you do NOT pick it up!/If you are a Christian & the Holy Spirit has told you specifically to pick up that particular bag, which you did not do, then you have sinned!/The reasoning person has sinned because they did not hear the voice of God in the first place but trusted human reasoning/Sin is subtle for many people, & can be easily disregarded by many/But you are in good company if you are among a gathering of people who allow themselves to be humbled by it/SHARED APPROACH To SIN
•Again, IF you watch TV &/or movies...IF you spend a good bit of time listening to & responding to social media, IF you watch &/or listen to ‘news-talk’...IF you are an ‘avid reader’...Then, you are allowing yourself to be bombarded by a steady diet of worldly thinking! But be sure to temper such worldly thinking by:...
1)Continually immersing yourself in God—in His word, Prayer, Worship, Giving, Fellowship with His people; Church attendance & involvement is vital to God’s people & Kingdom work!
AND...
2)Entertaining & expressing yourself thru limiting the worldly bombardment to something that is Christ-honoring—specific TV/movies, social media, news-talk, & reading.
•In so choosing 1 & 2, you will be about the business of overcoming the world(Jn. 16:33)! And you will realize that what you hear & experience in gathered worship, in Bible Study, etc., is greatly at odds with the philosophies & belief systems of the world which absent themselves from Christ.
•One noteworthy foundational belief that sharply separates God’s people from the world, is that the world generally supposes that humanity is inherently ‘good’ at it’s core. The problem with ‘basic human goodness’ thinking is that GOD is the ultimate determiner of what is ‘good’ & what is ‘bad.’ If you don’t ‘walk with the God of the Bible’, then you cannot fully know the difference between good vs. bad.
•The supposition that humanity is inherently ‘good’ at it’s core, is in direct opposition to Christianity. Christianity holds that all of humanity is ‘sinful’ & self-serving at it’s core. Thus, without an individual’s devotion to God thru Christ Jesus, it is utterly impossible for a person or mankind to make truly godly choices. Choosing a direction that parallels God’s direction, is NOT of God...It is from yourself or others!/SHARED APPROACH To SIN
Application:
*So Christian, be careful of what you might ‘parrot’ to others falsely as a Christian belief system.
?Is YOUR APPROACH TO SIN, of God?/biblical??•Is YOUR APPROACH TO SIN justified among the Church, your brothers & sisters in Christ??•?Does it elevate & glorify God?
?Do YOU pass the Test Of Togetherness for God’s people?
2—A Further Test Of Christian Togetherness is a Shared...
CENTER Or FOCAL POINT Of FAITH(:22b)
Explanation:(:22b)
:22—“But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
I previously stated that“all” people are personally accountable to or answerable to God Himself, because of their inherent bondage to “sin” in/by which they are “confined”!...
HOWEVER, there is Good News! There is an eternal solution to the constant presence of “sin” with it’s resulting condemnation!
In :22b note the following 4 phrases:?1. “The Promise”?2. “Given to”?3. “By faith” & “Those who believe”?4. “Jesus Christ”
1. “The Promise”
There is a “promise” that is “given to those who believe.”
*Concerning “the promise” & “promises”:
•Verse :14—refers to “the promise of the Spirit” that is received “through faith.” So then the Holy Spirit Himself is & fulfills “the promise” to God’s people. He is the guarantee or our heavenly inheritance(Eph. 1:13-14). He is the certainty of our heavenly home.
•Verse :16—tells us that “the promises”(plural) were “made “to Abraham & his Seed”(singular—“Christ”). Those “promises” describe the blessing that the saved would one day receive having come thru Abraham & being lodged entirely in Jesus the Christ(Gen. 12:3c).
•Verse 18—tells us that “the inheritance” is that ‘thing’ which was promised.?Acts 26:17-18—The risen, ascended, & glorified Jesus, to the Apostle Paul—“‘I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, ‘to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, & from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins & an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’”
•Verse :19—tells us that “the promise was made” “to” “the Seed”(Christ Jesus)(see :16). That is, “the promise” was always intended for it’s fulfillment thru the promised Messiah, Christ Jesus.?•Furthermore, “the promise” during the ‘tutorial times’(:23-24), was officially ordained or “appointed” “through angels.” The angelic messengers faithfully passed God’s message to Israel thru Moses, the God-ordained mediator between God & man for that time. Jesus is the ultimate & unique Mediator between God & man!
*So...“the promise” involves ‘everything that is associated with a person’s ‘eternal inheritance.’ And thereby, God’s promised ‘eternal inheritance’, & inherently compels an eternal security, which in turn, brings God’s eternal peace into the ‘earthly’ life & lifestyle of the believer(Jn. 14:27; Php. 4:7; Col. 3:15).
Rom. 1:1-4—“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel[Good News] of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, & declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
Jn. 14:27—Jesus said,—“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Php. 4:6-7—“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer & supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; & the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts & minds through Christ Jesus.”
2. “Given to”
•Note that “the promise” is “given.” So “the promise” comes to anyone ONLY by God’s insistence to “give” it. It is ONLY by God’s ‘grace’ that we receive “the promise”(Eph. 2:8-9).?•And the gift that God gives—that is, “the promise”—is ONLY ‘gift-ed’ in the specific manner by which God Himself has chosen to “give” it...It is “given” “by faith in Jesus Christ.”
Eph. 2:4-9—“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), & raised us up together, & made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, & that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
3. “By faith” -&- “Those who believe”
•That “promise” is “given” ONLY to “those who believe.”?Which immediately begs the question—‘What exactly is it that is “believed”’?...
•“Those who believe” are those who have willingly placed, & continue to place, their “faith in Jesus Christ.” The Scripture testifies to the fact that such “faith” is life-changing, so it is not mere ‘mental agreement’, although that IS part of the overall equation. Scripture declares that saving “faith” must also involve agreement by the spiritual center—heart & soul— of a person.
“By Faith” describes the means by which “those who believe” live out their lives. They live by “faith”, rather than by sight or by the flesh’s desires.
2Cor. 5:7—“For we[God’s people] walk by faith, not by sight.”
Heb. 11:6—“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, & that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Col. 3:4-7—“When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, & covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.”
4. “In Jesus Christ”
•Note that “Jesus Christ” is the ‘object’, to which “faith” & “believing” are ‘inseparably’ attached.
•“Jesus Christ” is a specific & definitive ‘title’ applied to a specific historical person in a specific time period. Meaning that Jesus is God’s unique & ’Anointed Savior/Salvation’ for mankind!
*Thus both “the promise” as well as all “the promises” could never be fulfilled by Law—Jewish or otherwise! The inheritance promised by God to mankind, thru Abraham’s Seed(:16), can only be had by personal “faith” in that singular “Seed.” “The Seed” then is THE only One who can secure the particular “promise”(inheritance) from God. So then, every person who extends “faith”/“belief” in the “Seed” is likewise “promised” God’s inheritance.
Jn. 1:1-5, 10-13—“In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, & without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, & the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, & the darkness did not comprehend it.”.....“He was in the world, & the world was made through Him, & the world did not know Him. He came to His own, & His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Jn. 5:20-21—“For the Father loves the Son, & shows Him all things that He Himself does; & He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. “For as the Father raises the dead & gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
Jn. 11:25-26—“Jesus said to her[Martha], “I am the resurrection & the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives & believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?””
Jn. 14:6—“Jesus said to him[His disciple, Thomas], “I am the way, the truth, & the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Argumentation:
Lk. 12:32-36—““Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have & give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Let your waist be girded & your lamps burning; & you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes & knocks they may open to him immediately.”
?Is the ‘Center’ Or ‘Focal Point’ of your being a Christian, about how many people you can populate your church building with? ?Is it about how much money you inject into whatever ministry? ?Is it about how many baptisms you perform in any given year? IF Jesus is not your first priority, then anything you do becomes suspect, is tainted with sin, & is ultimately dishonoring to the Kingdom of God!
Rom. 12:1-2—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
Illustration:
Size- -‘Tall’ shirts/I need around 4 extra inches of cloth added to the length of a standard shirt for it to fit correctly/Momma always called me ‘long-waisted’ & I didn’t know what she meant until I got older & started buying clothes for myself/Now my focal point when buying shirts for me is ‘centered’ upon XL-Tall, that is, We don’t even look at shirts for me, unless they come in a ‘tall’ size/CENTER Or FOCAL POINT Of FAITH
Application:
?Is YOUR CENTER Or FOCAL POINT Of FAITH, of God?/biblical??•Is YOUR CENTER Or FOCAL POINT Of FAITH justified among the Church, your brothers & sisters in Christ??•?Does it elevate & glorify God?
?Do YOU pass the Test Of Togetherness for God’s people?
3—A Further Test Of Christian Togetherness is a Shared...
TUTORIAL TESTING(:23-25)
Explanation:(:23-25)
:23—“But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.”
:24—“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
:25—“But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
•Consider the Old Testament:?•promise of the Christ(Messiah)?•setting forth of God’s direction lodged/borne in a specific people group—Israel.
•Consider that Jesus came to fulfill the OT law(Mat. 5:17-18).
•Consider that saving faith commands a lifestyle that is utterly faithful to God, & is the intended end(fulfillment) of God’s desire for mankind. God’s people are “no longer under a tutor” but are instead completely dedicated to God thru faith in Christ Jesus! “Faith” justifies a person rather than blind ‘perfect obedience’ to law.
*?Do you disregard the Old Testament & “the Law” contained within it?
?OR—Do you instead rightly learn from it?
?Do you find the fulfillment of “the Law” in Christ Jesus?
?OR—Do you narrowly limit yourself to following orders line-by-line, rather than loving God from the heart?
There was a time prior to(“before”) Jesus & His Cross-work, when “faith” was not solely God’s equation for salvation & life(cf.-:11-14). “The Law” was tied to it as well.
Gal. 3:11-14—“But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”[Hab. 2:4] Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”[Neh. 9:29] Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)[Deut. 21:22-23], that the blessing of Abraham[Gen. 12:3] might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
“The law” was given to keep us(Jews & thus all men) funneled in God’s direction—“kept under guard”(:23). And as such “the law” was “our tutor”(:24-25). That is “the law” was merely the “tutor” for any who were & who would eventually be God’s people.
cf.-3:5—Paul poses a question of the Galatian Christians which sums up his argument(2:14--3:5).—“Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
?Are we partakers of the Spirit through human fleshly works, or rather are we partakers of the Holy Spirit by grace through faith—by means of hearing the truth & believing?
IF we are indeed saved by the Spirit’s presence in us thru faith(& God’s people are!), then we cannot be sanctified by any other means, than by the Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ. That is, we cannot be sanctified or perfected by works of the flesh(:11-12)!
*“Tutor/Schoolmaster/Put In Charge”(See :25)—paidagwgov—Noun Nominative Sing. Masc.—1) A tutor i.e. a guardian & guide of boys. Among the Greeks & the Romans the name was applied to trustworthy slaves who were charged with the duty of supervising the life & morals of boys belonging to the better class. The boys were not allowed so much as to step out of the house without them before arriving at the age of manhood. Strong—A boy-leader, i.e. A servant whose office it was to take the children to school; by implication[figuratively]--A tutor[“paedagogue”]. RWP—old & common word for the slave employed in Greek & Roman families of the better class in charge of the boy from about six to sixteen. The paedagogue watched his behavior at home & attended him when he went away from home as to school. Used 3X--1Cor. 4:15; Gal. 3:24, 25.?From—paiv—A child(boy or girl) of an age requiring some form of punishment from a parent; 2) Servant, slave.—& a reduplicated form of—agw—1) To lead, take with one. Strong—properly--To lead; by implication--To bring, drive, reflexively--Go, specially--Pass(time), or figuratively--Induce.
Christians can drift away from their drive to remain in the vine(Jn. 15:5). Our sufferings in association with Christ are in vain, IF we are NOT saved by grace thru faith. Without God’s grace thru individual faith in Christ, then all our works become works of the flesh, & are thereby empty, being of mere human origin.
Jn. 15:4-8—Jesus said,—“Abide in Me, & I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, & I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch & is withered; & they gather them & throw them into the fire, & they are burned. If you abide in Me, & My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, & it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
•We must keep in mind that “the law”, with it’s commandments, is holy, just, & good(cf.-Rom. 7:7-12). And that that law is specifically made “for the lawless & insubordinate” rather than for “the righteous person”(1Tim. 1:9). And that merely keeping the law comes by human effort, making law-keeping a condemning action & thus a preparatory(tutorial) endeavor instead of a saving one(Gal. 3:24-25; Js. 2:8-9).
Argumentation:
Rom. 9:8—“That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.”
Illustration:
We give our children ‘do’s & dont’s’ & expect them to be followed/If the rules are blatantly disobeyed, punishment is certain/A young child may not understand that a fire can burn them, but they do understand that they don’t want to be punished/They do not understand that fire can be approached safely & even used for their betterment/Until a child reaches a stage of understanding the dangers involved with fire, the child is limited to not ‘crossing-the-line’/However, after grasping the danger, the child gains freedom in their approach to fire, recognizing that being burned is far more dangerous than Mom & Dad’s punishment could ever be!/TUTORIAL TESTING
Grade school/We are generally expected & ‘forced’ to meet a minimum educational requirement by the state/Once you graduate High School, you are basically on your own to either, Enter the work force(learn a trade; not requiring any further ‘schooled’ education), Or after High School, you may further your ‘schooled’ education/Both tracks get a person ready for entering into their career & the remainder of their life/TUTORIAL TESTING
Application:
?Is YOUR TUTORIAL TESTING, of God?/biblical??•Is YOUR TUTORIAL TESTING justified among the Church, your brothers & sisters in Christ??•?Does it elevate & glorify God?
?Do YOU pass the Test Of Togetherness for God’s people?
4—A Test Of Christian Togetherness lies in a Shared...
UNITY Of BROTHERHOOD(:26)
Explanation:(:26)
:26—“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Your “faith” must be centered upon “Jesus” of Nazareth , who is the “Christ” & not some spiritualized Americana or some such.
•Unfortunately we have all met many a war veteran who was tenderheartedly teary-eyed & proud of their service for their country way more than their service for the Kingdom of God! Service for country becomes their religion because their ‘all’ was given to it!
!Any pastor & any local church(including this one) deals with people who are way more comfortable with being good Americans, than they are with being good Christians!
Argumentation:
Rom. 6:3-14—“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion 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. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, & your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
• “All” of God’s people ‘together’, are expected to present ourselves “to God as being alive from the dead”!
Eph. 4:1-6—“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness & gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body & one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God & Father of all, who is above all, & through all, & in you all.”
•That is, “in you all” who have trusted God thru Jesus Christ!
Eph. 2:14-22—“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, & has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, & that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came & preached peace to you who were afar off & to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers & foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints & members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles & prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
1Cor. 12:14-21—“For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.””
Php. 2:1-5—“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection & mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”
Eph. 4:11-16—“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to & fro & carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Illustration:
A Crepe Myrtle can be either a bush—starting off life as a bunch of small trees(suckers) vying for place among the others, OR it can can be trained to have a single trunk becoming a strong & beautiful tree...
•The ‘suckers’, will appear thruout the life of the tree. The ‘suckers’ must be removed so that the strength will not be ‘sucked’ out of the tree/UNITY Of CHRISTIAN FAITH
Application:
?Is YOUR UNITY Of CHRISTIAN FAITH, of God/biblical.?•Is YOUR UNITY Of CHRISTIAN FAITH justified among the Church, your brothers & sisters in Christ??•?Does it elevate & glorify God?
?Do YOU pass the Test Of Togetherness for God’s people?
5—A Test Of Christian Togetherness lies in a Shared...
APPLIED Or PRACTICAL FAITH(:27)
Explanation:(:27)
:27—“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
This concept—Applied/Practical Faith— is what gives a pastor the potential to always ‘have work.’ God’s people always struggle with the application of the faith they know in their head & feel in their heart. So you & I constantly struggle with what it means to “put on Christ.”
We must “put on” Christ...That is, anyone who confesses Christ as Savior, must also ‘practically apply’ that faith in real life. We must NOT entertain our faith in Christ as a ‘nice concept’ only. Christian faith is inherently ‘practical’! Christ is not only our Savior... Jesus must also be ‘Lord’ of our life!
Argumentation:
Mk. 9:43-49—““If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ “And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire-- where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, & every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.”
Php. 2:9-13—“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him[Jesus] & given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, & of those on earth, & of those under the earth, & that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear & trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will & to do for His good pleasure.”
“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”.....“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.”.....“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?”.....“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”.....“Do you see that faith was working together with his works, & by works faith was made perfect?”.....“You see then that a man is justified by works, & not by faith only.”.....“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Rom. 6:11-14—“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, & your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.””
Gal. 5:22-24—“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires.”
•All those above fruits of the Holy Spirit begin ‘inside’ a person...BUT they must be manifested in practical ways ‘outside’ of a person for the sake of others, so that others will know God’s heart & His love for all mankind & all of His creation.
•God’s people manifest the fact of their being recognized as belonging to God, by their having “crucified the flesh.”?•So that their very human “passions & desires” inherent to that “flesh” do not reign in or over what they do, & how they are perceived by others.?•Rather, the individual Christian & the gathered Church, willingly surrender the desires of their flesh to the Holy Spirit’s desire, so that God is served thru their flesh.
Illustration:
Remember the earlier illustration about picking up the stray Dollar General bag? Hearing & obeying God continually is inherently an example of APPLIED Or PRACTICAL FAITH!
I grew up hating to mow the lawn/I absolutely hated using a push-mower!/Now I use a weed-eater for trimming & a Zero-Turn mower with a 48” deck/For me, Those tools make mowing a ‘dream’ in comparison to push-mowing!/I don’t just leave the weed-eater & zero-turn in the garage!/I apply them practically to the yard’s upkeep on a regular basis!/APPLIED Or PRACTICAL FAITH
Application:
?Is YOUR APPLIED Or PRACTICAL FAITH, of God?/biblical??•Is YOUR APPLIED Or PRACTICAL FAITH justified among the Church, your brothers & sisters in Christ??•?Does it elevate & glorify God?
?Do YOU pass the Test Of Togetherness for God’s people?
6—A Test Of Christian Togetherness lies in a Shared...
DECISION POINT(:28)
Explanation:(:28)Free from secular limitations
:28—“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
•The decision point of our/Christian faith is lodged first-&-foremost in God—the Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit— & thus the Christian’s decision points are free from common human prejudices with it’s flesh-skewed ‘decision points’.
*An aside: The statement, “there is neither male nor female” does not mean that you can choose which one you want to be depending upon your mood, whether decided within seconds, minutes, years, or decades!
•For the true Christian, every decision flows from the foundational basis of trust in the triune God. Every aspect of the Christian’s life is centered & derived from his/her close relationship with God in Christ.
*The Scripture, being God’s word(as said before(:22a), is the standing measure of all decision-making!
Argumentation:
Col. 1:13-18—“He has delivered us from the power of darkness & conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven & that are on earth, visible & invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him & for Him. And He is before all things, & in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”
Col. 3:5-14—“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, & covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, & have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all & in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy & beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, & forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
Isa. 19:22-25—“And the LORD will strike Egypt, He will strike & heal it; they will return to the LORD, & He will be entreated by them & heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, & the Assyrian will come into Egypt & the Egyptian into Assyria, & the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt & Assyria--a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, & Assyria the work of My hands, & Israel My inheritance.”
Jn. 10:14-16—““I am the good shepherd; & I know My sheep, & am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; & I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, & they will hear My voice; & there will be one flock & one shepherd.”
Illustration:
Back in the day, Granite Lake(like Blue Waters Pool & Happy Lake(the Bull Hole?) was local summer hangout for kids & teenagers/Those kids & teenagers represent a ‘mixed-bag’ of ‘moral diversity’/Suppose a tween-ager is chided & ‘double-D-dared’ by a group of young teenagers for not being manly enough to take a candy bar with them into the water/The tween-ager sneaks the candy bar out, gets reprimanded by the lifeguard, & then gets time-out of the pool or even expelled from it!/DECISION POINT/FREEDOM
?Do you make your decisions by pressure from your ‘buddies’?...
OR-from your brothers & sisters in Christ?
OR better yet, from Jesus Christ Himself?
Application:
?Is YOUR DECISION POINT, of God?/biblical??•Is YOUR DECISION POINT justified among the Church, your brothers & sisters in Christ??•?Does it elevate & glorify God?
?Do YOU pass the Test Of Togetherness for God’s people?
7—A Test Of Christian Togetherness lies in a Shared...
INHERITANCE(:29)
Explanation:(:29)
:29—“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, & heirs according to the promise.”
Thus or moreover(“and”) “if” any group of people truly belongs to “Christ” thru faith, “then” it naturally(supernaturally) follows that such people “are Abraham’s seed”...that is, they are all of one “seed” even as & because Christ Jesus is the promised unique & singular Seed(:16).
Thereby the person & people belonging to God’s Christ are citizens of the Kingdom of God, because they are “heirs” of the Kingdom of God.
They are not “heirs” because they earn it(“of the law”), but because it is theirs “according to the promise”(:18). That is, the Kingdom of God belongs only to those who receive forgiveness of their sins by God’s grace, thru their faith in Jesus.
Brothers & sisters, whether you like it or not, even in America, God’s people are aliens & strangers in a foreign land. Because our ‘inheritance’ is in heaven & not in America, nor any other country on earth!
Jn. 18:36—“Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
“Heirs”—klhronomov—Noun Nominative Plural Masc.—1) One who receives by lot, an heir—1a) An heir, 1b) in Messianic usage--One who receives his allotted possession by right of sonship; 2) One who has acquired or obtained the portion allotted to him. Strong—A sharer by lot, i.e. Inheritor(literally or figuratively); by implication--A possessor. Used 15X.?From—klhrov—A die(for drawing changes); by implication--A portion(as if so secured); by extension--An acquisition(especially a patrimony, figuratively).—& the base of—nomov(in its original sense of partitioning, i.e. [reflexively]--Getting by apportionment).
“According To”—kata—Preposition—1) Down from, through out; 2) According to, toward, along. Strong—a primary particle; prepositionally--Down(in place or time), in varied relations(according to the case [genitive case, dative case or accusative case] with which it is joined).
“Promise”(See :22)—epaggelia—Noun Accusative Sing. Fem.—1) Announcement; 2) Promise—2a) The act of promising, a promise given or to be given, 2b) A promised good or blessing. Strong—An announcement(for information, assent or pledge; especially a divine assurance of good).?From—epaggellw—reflexively--To announce upon, i.e. by implication--To engage to do something, to assert something respecting oneself.
Argumentation/Illustration:
Lk. 12:32-34—“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have & give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Col. 1:9-14—“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, & to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom & spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work & increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience & longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness & conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
Gal. 3:7-9—“Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”
Gal. 4:6-7—“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, & if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
Js. 2:5—“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith & heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”
Titus 3:4-7—“But when the kindness & the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration & renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
1Pet. 1:3-5—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible & undefiled & that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Rev. 21:1-8(:7)—“Now I saw a new heaven & a new earth, for the first heaven & the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, & He will dwell with them, & they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them & be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true & faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha & the Omega, the Beginning & the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, & I will be his God & he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, & all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire & brimstone, which is the second death.””
Application:
?Is YOUR INHERITANCE, of God?/biblical??•Is YOUR INHERITANCE justified among the Church, your brothers & sisters in Christ??•?Does it elevate & glorify God?
?Do YOU pass the Test Of Togetherness for God’s people?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Homecoming Togetherness
Action:
Some Tests Of Christian Togetherness are, a Shared...
1. APPROACH To SIN(:22a)
2. CENTER Or FOCAL POINT Of FAITH(:22b)Faith in Jesus Christ
3. TUTORIAL TESTING(:23-25)
4. UNITY Of BROTHERHOOD(:26)
5. APPLIED Or PRACTICAL FAITH(:27)
6. DECISION POINT(:28)Free from secular limitations
7. INHERITANCE(:29)
Points 1-2+ Presented 07/11/2021(Homecoming 2021) to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
