The Major Dynamics of Church Life
(Romans 15:1-13)
NOTE: If I could do it over again, I would make three sermons from this text. All three points could have used more elaboration than I gave them. In the first point, I could have demonstrated further that the New Testament purpose for church gatherings is edification/building up. A simple concordance contrast between that and the term "worship" in a church context leans heavily toward an emphasis on edification with worship a natural outcome.
On the second point, I could have spoken more about the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament believer, emphasizing what Paul means (all Scripture is profitable) while not negating the literal meaning of the texts to those who originally received them.
On the third point, I could have demonstrated that Covenants were meant to clarify God's oaths, not muddy them. They were meant to be understood properly as originally given.
1. Most of us have never heard of one of the most important men in history. If not for this man, the world might be a different place.
2. In 1983, one man prevented a nuclear war between the USSR and the USA. Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov was the duty officer at the command center for the Oko nuclear early-warning system when the system reported that a missile had been launched from the United States, followed by up to five more. Petrov judged the reports to be a false alarm, and his decision to disobey orders, against Soviet military protocol, is credited with having prevented an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack on the United States and its NATO allies that could have resulted in large-scale nuclear war. Investigation later confirmed that the Soviet satellite warning system had indeed malfunctioned [summarized by .boredpanda.com; better documented at www.npr.org].
3. Think about how our lives hung by a thread….behind it all is a Sovereign God. We influence history, and history influences us in varying degrees.
There are many factors that influence church life, incluiding our own personal histories. We carry with us the sum of our past.
4. Although not in exact order, this text echoes the acrostic for JOY; Jesus, Others, Yourself in that order. It is unnatural to give up “me first,” but that is what we must do.
Main Idea: Our personal histories, church history, our culture and experiences all color our view as to what church is about. We need to recalibrate and correct our assumptions by returning to the Scriptures.
I. The Focus of Church Life is EDIFYING One Another So That We Serve God Better (1-3).
In this text, the idea of “hope” keeps resurfacing.
A. This includes patiently TOLERATING the failings of others (1).
B. We are out to PLEASE our brothers and sisters in Christ (2).
1. The concept of “consideration” is falling on hard times.
2. One blogger writes, “…my girlfriend and her best friend have been in a contest to see who can go the longest without showering. They’ve just hit day 22. They smell so bad, I can’t stand to be in the same room with them anymore. I'm really about to dump her.”
3. To edify (build up) means to build a house. Used figuratively for Biblical instruction, helping other believers become stronger in their faith, endure trials, encourage, correct wrong behavior; edification moves us toward spiritual maturity/endurance.
4. The purpose of this upbuilding is not man-centered, but to equip us as God’s servants, and to demonstrate His love for us by our love for one another.
5. Edification term defines why the church gathers. Worship is only part of why a church gathers, but not the whole. That’s why we need relationships in the body. You can worship anonymously but can’t build up others if you don’t talk to others.
6. The rubric for what is be done in a church meeting is edification.
• I Corinthians 14:26b, All things are to be done for edification (NASB)
• Same verse in ESV, Let all things be done for building up.
Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Peter’s imagery in I Peter 2:5, “…you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
C. Christ’s EXAMPLE demonstrates concern about BENEFITTING others (3).
II. Our Main TANGENT is Returning to the Scriptures (4-7).
A. Paul links two subjects by emphasizing the IMPORTANCE of Scripture (4).
1. He is linking his teaching about edifying others with the subject of hope, all of which find their origin in the Bible.
2. This constant return to the Scriptures is an example for us. Boomerang
B. Studying Scripture encourages HOPE which promotes endurance and encouragement (4b-5).
1. When we have problems, it is natural to try to fix them. Get a medicine. Confront a spouse. Change jobs. Turn over a new leaf. Yet these approaches don’t’ always work.
2. Often we have to learn to work around them and find God’s strength in the hope He offers. Hope helps us endure what we cannot fix. And it is focused on Christ.
C. Paul’s first blessing suggests God will nurture a spirit of HARMONY, UNITY, and WELCOMING in response to our Scriptural focus.
III. Our Great Confidence is in God Who KEEPS His Word; His Plans for Jew and Gentile Endure (8-13).
A. Although Christ ministered to the JEWS, He also blessed the Gentiles (8-9a).
1. The Jews had to be (and still are) first priority.
Matthew 10:5-7, These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
2. It is through His atonement rather than His earthly ministry that He began the process of incorporating believing gentiles into the church.
3. These verses tell us that God has everything planned, that He does not bait and switch the meaning of His covenants, and that we can depend upon His promises as originally understood when given.
B. The Old Testament is RICH with promises of God blessing the Gentiles (9b-12).
1. The church age is the beginning of this blessing.
2. Most of the promises of God fulfilling His covenants are completely or partially indexed to Jesus’ Second Coming.
3. The New Covenant began on Passover in roughly 33 A.D., but its complete fulfillment will be in the Millennium at Jesus Second Coming. God’s promised of land to Abraham will be fulfilled then, as will the reign of David’s descendant.
4. The blessings upon the gentiles began in the first century, will be completely fulfilled in the Millennium.
C. Paul’s second blessing is for the SPIRIT and His fruit to create overflowing HOPE (13).
CONCLUSION
1. Church life is about supporting one another and helping turn our focus toward Jesus. We find our hope in Him.
2. Life can get stormy for us all; different kinds of storms, different intensities, different frequencies; some of us get it all the time, it seems, while others less.
3. What keeps you going? Hope in the Lord.
4. If you look at your prayer list, what keeps you praying?
5. What do we find in His Word? Hope. In Christian fellowship? Hope
