“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. [1]
The furies of hell hold no dread for the person who has one friend who stands with him in the time of trial. If you have a friend, a true friend, you are blessed indeed. Whenever I speak of standing in the face of opposition, of standing during time of trial, my thoughts turn almost without conscious effort to the biblical account of Elijah and his response to the trials he faced. I see the stalwart man of God standing boldly against evil that had spread throughout the nation. Anyone reading the biblical account of his lonely stand will recognise him to be a brave man, to be a courageous man!
Elijah stood alone against the entire religious establishment, thus giving pause to the nation that was on the brink of turning from God to embrace wickedness. He defied the king through lonely years and brought about a return to decency and reasonable faith. At last, however, the cost was too great even for this great man of God. The irrational threats of an enraged queen broke his spirit and he fled into the desert seeking refuge.
Look at the broken man as he lodges his complaint before the LORD His God. “The people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away” [1 KINGS 19:10]. I’m tempted to title this scene, “The Last Fundamentalist.” God’s wearied prophet seemingly cries out in anguish, “Alone! Alone, against the world!” This great man has stood athwart the nation’s rush to embrace evil, resisting every inducement to wickedness, until at last he is exhausted from bearing the burden alone. It is all well and good to smugly say, “One standing with God is a majority.” We say this when we are not under assault. However, it is much different when standing alone amid the fray.
Sometimes we are unable to see what needs to be seen because we have become so focused on the immediate problem facing us. At such a time, we truly can’t see the forest for the trees, and each of us has been there at one time or another. At such times, the immediate has so gripped us that we are incapable of believing that God is in control. That was the situation in which Elijah found himself. God had to force His servant to look away from his situation so that he could see what God alone could see. After informing the dejected man of God that He had plans for the wicked, God told him, “I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” [1 KINGS 19:18].
Where were they? Where were those seven thousand who refused to bow before Baal? Why had they not stood with the valiant prophet? I know from experience that a man can withstand any evil, if he believes he is not alone. I know from experience that a man can resist any wickedness, if only one someone will stand with him. In the same way, I know that any one of us is susceptible to fleeing from nothing at all when we are exhausted and when we imagine ourselves alone. One friend can make all the difference in the world. Multiple people throughout the years of my service before the Lord have pledged that they will stand with me when the evil rages; the majority of those promising such have fled in an act to preserve their own hide. I don’t condemn them; I have learned to take all pledges of courage to mean little before the battle begins. I have learned that all the pledges in the world mean little when the man in the arena stands alone.
In 1910, shortly after leaving the Office of the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt delivered an address at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France. In that speech, entitled “Citizenship in a Republic,” Roosevelt said, “It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” [2]
I’ve read the Proverbs, as you have; I know the reality of what is written there.
“A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
[PROVERBS 18:24]
I’m not discounting that our Risen Saviour is that friend who sticks closer than a brother. And I can testify that He has never deserted me! Still, I hold to the reality of my statement that any one of us can resist almost any wickedness if only one someone stands with us. In this broken, hostile world, we want someone to stand with us when we are compelled to face trials and temptations. We want to know that we are not alone!
Jesus commanded those who follow Him, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” [JOHN 15:12]. I have always found it surprising that we who profess to follow the Son of God would require a commandment to love one another. Somehow, I would have thought that loving others, and especially loving those with whom we share this holy Faith, would come naturally to us as His followers. However, that appears to be far from the reality that has prevailed. Throughout the Word we will discover admonitions to love one another.
Even a casual review of the writings of the Apostle to the Gentiles will reveal the repeated instructions to love one another. Consider just a few instances in Paul’s letters. For instance, in ROMANS 13:8 we read, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
Before he had written those words, the Apostle had admonished his readers, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” [ROMANS 12:10].
In a later missive, you will recall that the Apostle wrote, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” [EPHESIANS 4:1-3].
Reading these several passages and recalling numerous other passages that appear throughout the pages of the New Testament, I am driven to the conclusion that loving one another is not as easy as many of us might imagine. And that holds true for Christians as it does for non-Christians. Loving others deeply from the heart must be difficult; otherwise, why does the Spirit of Christ include the admonition to love one another so frequently throughout the New Testament. I have become convinced that loving one another is so difficult that without the presence of the Spirit of Christ to empower us to love one another this responsibility can never be fulfilled.
Standing with another in the time of trial, being a friend to one who is wearied after multiple desertions by those who had pledged to stand firm—people who should have stood with the beleaguered soul, reveals true friendship. In fact, that one who will stand with another in the day of trial becomes more than a friend, he becomes a brother. Among the Proverbs is one that speaks of this issue. The Wise Man has written,
“A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.”
[PROVERBS 17:17]
We know the love of a friend, but when times of difficulty come, that friend who stands with us is revealed to be a brother. In the message this day, I seek to encourage us to be friends in the biblical sense. If we will be a friend to God, it will be necessary for us to work at becoming friends to those who walk with the Saviour. And that is the goal as we move through the truths emphasised in the message this day.
THE BIBLICAL DEFINITION OF A FRIEND — “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” [JOHN 15:12-15].
There is a distinction between a friend and an acquaintance. I would suspect that all of us recognise this to be true, though sometimes we are prone to rely on acquaintances as though they were friends, and we treat friends as though they were mere acquaintances. Perhaps we need to pause for one moment to ensure that we know what we are talking about when we begin to think about what a friend is. The word translated “friend” in the New Testament is the Greek word phílos. Perhaps you recognise this word as a root for our English word philosophy, philosophical, etc. This word is consistently translated “friend” in the New Testament, though context is required to determine the degree of intimacy intended by use of the word.
It is obvious that Jesus uses this word in such a manner that He speaks of a heightened degree of intimacy between Himself and His disciples. This profound intimacy becomes apparent as we witness the Master speak of the transition that had taken place as the disciples moved from being known as servants to becoming friends. The transition came about because of intimacy that had not been known previously. Jesus kept nothing back concerning the Father, and the result was that the disciples were now fully apprised of the character of God. We are servants of the Risen Saviour, to be sure; but that servanthood arises from our friendship with Him.
In the text before us, there is a concept that may be missed if one should read Jesus’ words casually without pausing to weigh what He said. Anyone who has been walking in the way for more than a few years, having attended services where the Word of God is taught, will have likely heard a preacher say that there are two verbs occurring in the New Testament that are commonly translated by our English word “love.” The verbs in question, phileo and agapao, are distinct from one another though there is some overlap in their usage.
The first verb, phileo, denotes an inclination prompted by sense and emotion. It means “to love” in the sense of being friendly. One shouldn’t get too hung up on the strict definition of the word, however, because despite what well-meaning individuals may have said at various times, the word can be used of divine love. [3]
The other verb, agapao, communicates the concept of love that is founded on admiration, veneration, and esteem. It speaks of being filled with good will both in thought and love. [4] The noun form of this verb is a distinctly biblical word, commonly used in the spiritual sense. The concept communicated expresses God’s love to mankind, man’s love for God, and speaks of spiritual love expected among God’s people.
The reason I have presented this brief word study of these two words is because of the way Jesus used the two concepts in our text. It will prove helpful for us to understand that while Jesus did not use both verbs in our text, He did use the noun form of phileo, which is phílos. Let me read the passage, pointing out the use of the noun and the verb as Jesus spoke as recorded in our text. Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love (agapao) one another as I have loved (agapao) you. Greater love (agapao) has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (phílos). You are my friends (phílos) if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends (phílos), for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” [JOHN 15:12-15].
Throughout this time while He was instructing the disciples, the Master was using the verb agapao and the noun phílos. What He was teaching was built around these two concepts that speak of His love for His own and the manner in which that love is reflected in our own relationships with our fellow Christians. The love expressed to the disciples was the same love that God had showered on them. Therefore, they were expected to reflect that love toward their brothers and sisters who were walking in the Faith. Because they had a relationship of sacrificial love for one another, they were recognising one another as friends united in a vibrant relationship with God and with one another.
Each follower of the Risen Saviour knows that the revelation of God’s character as the Father of those who believe is not restricted to those relatively few individuals who walked with Jesus two millennia past. To be certain, no one can claim a relationship with God as Father if they do not come through Jesus. The Saviour Himself has testified, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” [JOHN 14:6]. That relationship is stronger still when we hear Jesus say, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” [JOHN 6:44]. All who enter into a vibrant relationship with Christ today receive a full revelation of the Father through the relationship with Christ. We receive this revelation because we put our faith in the Risen Son of God and are born from above and into the Family of God. Jesus reveals this truth as He presents His High Priestly prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John.
In that prayer, we witness Jesus praying, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” [JOHN 17:1-26].
Here is the point that we must grasp: Christ the Lord has made it possible for each of us to transition from being at enmity with God to being friends with God—and more than friends, we will be dearly loved sons of God. This change of status is made possible through the redemption offered in Christ the Lord. And make no mistake—the mind that is not redeemed is hostile to God.
We see this when the Apostle writes, “Now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father” [EPHESIANS 2:13-18 NASB95].
There is no more enmity with God, and thus there is to be no enmity between us as Christians because we represent different races, or diverse cultures, or because we come from differing economic strata of society—there is to be no hostility between us as followers of the Risen Son of God. We are to be friends, accepting one another because Christ has accepted us. Hostility toward our fellow saints must never be permitted in the congregation of the Lord Jesus.
Though it may be difficult for us to accept, especially when we think of our friends and family that are yet unsaved, we know the reality of the Word that teaches us, “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” [ROMANS 8:7-8].
This is not the situation for the one who follows Christ, however. For us, we know the reality of the instruction that teaches, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” [ROMANS 8:9-11].
Now, we who are born from above, we who are twice born, are friends with God and therefore we are to be friends with those who share this holy Faith. This is what is meant when we speak of friendship—accepting one another without hesitation, preferring one another in love, esteeming one another as fellow members of the Body of Christ.
THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATION OF FRIENDSHIP — “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” [JOHN 15:12-15].
In our text, the Master speaks of what would be revealed in shared friendship by urging His disciples toward moving from their role as servants of the Lord to friends of the Lord. To be certain, serving the Lord is not drudgery, as some might suppose. The Psalmist has testified, as would any of the saints of the Most High God,
“A day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!”
[PSALM 84:10-12]
It is true that each one who loves Christ as Master would rather be a doorkeeper in the House of the Lord than to have whatever fleeting fame this dying world offers. And yet, our Lord does not demand that we be His servants! Rather, He calls us His friends. And as friends, we are treated with love and respect. Thus, we treat one another with respect, holding each other in esteem. We are but reflecting the grace we have received.
I have already alluded to the practical implications of friendship as followers of Christ, but I want to take just a brief while to think together of what it means to be friends. I’m often struck by the power revealed in the simple admonition as John writes, “Greet the friends, each by name” [3 JOHN 15b]. His words imply that Christians are to know their friends. And the friends of whom John speaks are those fellow Christians who share the Faith with you, worshipping week-by-week as you gather in assembly. Because they are friends, we know their fears, their aspirations, their joys, their sorrows.
The Master made one of the greatest statements concerning friendship when He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” [JOHN 15:13]. Of course, Jesus demonstrated this very evidence of love when He laid down His life for us. And He committed this selfless act when we were still enemies! Though it is true that He knew that those who believe would be transformed from enemies into friends by the work of His Spirit in their lives, it does not negate the need for courage as He faced the cross.
You may recall the agony Jesus experienced as the time of His sacrifice neared. Accompanied by His disciples, Jesus prayed while on the Mount of Olives. We read in Luke’s Gospel, “[Jesus] withdrew from [the disciples] about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” [LUKE 22:41-44].
It is as though the Father has drawn a dark curtain around the agony Jesus experienced as He faced the cross. No mere mortal can pierce that darkness. Nevertheless, the Father has provided a brief glimpse into what transpired in those dark moments before the Son was seized to be haled before a kangaroo court with authority though without legitimacy when an unknown writer penned, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence” [HEBREWS 5:7].
It is an easy thing for us to avow our willingness to die for another, even someone whom we love dearly. Lovers vow their love for one another, sometimes even saying that they are willing to die for the one loved. On occasion, we will hear of a parent who dies attempting to save a child from death or injury. More often still we read of a parent risking everything to deliver a child. We hear many avowals of love motivating someone to put their life on the line, but what is not often acknowledged is that deliberately risking one’s life for another out of love is not something that is easy. Assuredly, this is not an act that is performed after extended forethought.
Peter brashly avowed his commitment for the Master. We read about this rash avowal in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus had just observed the last supper, instituting the meal we know as “The Lord’s Table.” The disciples and Jesus had sung a hymn and now were going out to the Mount of Olives. At this point, Jesus spoke to these men, saying, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee” [MATTHEW 26:31-32].
Apparently, Jesus’ testimony that all the disciples would fall away caused pain for those who heard Him. Without thinking of what he was saying, Peter brashly responded, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away” [MATTHEW 26:33].
You will no doubt recall that Jesus attempted to bring the Big Fisherman down to earth by cautioning him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times” [MATTHEW 26:34].
I have no doubt that Peter meant what he said. No one can doubt that Peter loved Jesus. Undoubtedly, he did want to stand firm, defending the Master against slander and the attacks of wicked men. However, the courage that would be required to stand in the face of adversity was not something that Peter possessed, nor is it something that you and I automatically possess. We may prepare for the day of adversity, but the response we exhibit in that day is not something that automatically lies within us. Despite the gentle rebuke the Saviour delivered, Peter boasted, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you” [MATTHEW 26:35a].
Perhaps stung by Peter’s brashness, we read, “And all the disciples said the same” [MATTHEW 26:35b]. No one wants to be thought a coward; and I am certain none of the disciples wanted anyone to think that they were afraid to face death. This is especially true among us who are Christians. Even within recent years I’ve heard the testimony of well-meaning members of this congregation avow, “I’ll stand with you, Pastor. Even if everyone else leaves, I’ll stand in the hard place.” Most of those making such boasts have since left the assembly. I don’t fault them. I understand that it is a difficult thing to stand in the face of adversity, and simply boasting that you will stand does not constitute courage required when the hard day comes.
THE DEMONSTRATION OF GODLY FRIENDSHIP — “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” [JOHN 15:12-15].
It is easy to speak of loving one another, but in a practical sense, how do we show love for one another? What would be different in our lives if we loved one another deeply from the heart? Would we allow ourselves to be miffed when a sister or brother said or did something with which we disagreed? Would that sudden flash of anger that surprises even us darken our heart, filling our mouth with vicious words of censure? Would we allow ourselves to react explosively, threatening to withhold fellowship from that friend who angered us? Would we speak harshly of those who are friends when discussing their character with others? Would we besmirch their character to others because we were irate over some trifling matter? Would we ignore them when they pleaded with us to address some difficulty they were facing? Would we withhold our help as they pleaded for us to lift them up? I’m certain that if we loved our brothers and sisters as Christ loves us, we would be very careful in our speech and in our actions.
If we loved one another earnestly from a pure heart, wouldn’t we take seriously the admonition delivered by the Apostle when he wrote the Christians in Colossae? Perhaps you will recall how the Apostle has commanded, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” [COLOSSIANS 3:12-17].
It is easy to become irritated with a fellow believer. Have you ever wondered how it is that we can become so easily annoyed with a brother or a sister, and the matter that annoys us would be ignored if it was coming from someone else? Isn’t the reason we act like this is because we take our family for granted? A husband will be short with his wife when he would never snap at a family friend. A wife will be sharp-tongued with her husband when she would ignore similar provocation from a friend. While we are indeed members of one another as the Family of God, we are admonished to be friends. We must work diligently at the hard task of treating one another with respect.
It is humbling to note the instruction we have received knowing how often we ignore what has been delivered. What I mean is the manner in which we are taught, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” [ROMANS 12:10].
Or again, consider how we have been taught, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight” [ROMANS 12:16].
I am aware of the evident theme urging us to live in harmony with one another that is witnessed throughout this Letter to the Christians in Rome. And we know that the instruction delivered to those saints is incumbent upon us even in this day. In fact, Paul revealed the prayer he offered on behalf of those to whom he wrote, writing, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” [ROMANS 15:5-6].
Recall how Paul pleaded with these Roman Christians, and thus pleads with us, “Let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” [ROMANS 14:13].
The Apostle is emphasising that relationships matter, especially within the assembly of the righteous! Think about those who share this holy Faith with you, determining that you will do nothing to jeopardise your relationship with these who are friends. You are members of the same body; you are interconnected. We know that “God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” [1 CORINTHIANS 12:24-26]. We care what happens to those who are part of this body, because their pain is our pain, and their joy becomes our joy.
We accept one another as friends so that we reveal the glory of Christ working in our midst. This is the reason the Apostle urged Christians in that Letter to the Saints in Rome, “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” [ROMANS 15:7]. Imagine that! We consider the act of welcoming one another to be such a pedestrian task that we give it almost no thought. And yet, in this simple act we are taught that we reveal the glory of God. Greeting one another as we enter the House of God demonstrates the glory of God. And you may be certain that even the lost recognise the power of what is witnessed as they share in our services of worship. We eagerly invite outsiders to join us in our worship knowing that they will witness God’s glory as we share in the worship of the True and Living God.
We must take seriously the admonition delivered by the Apostle when he writes, “By the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” [ROMANS 12:3-5].
I know that I have been repeating a theme throughout this message until it has undoubtedly become redundant. However, it is necessary in this day when membership in the assembly of the righteous has been reduced to an act akin to joining a service club. We must never imagine that our membership in the assembly of the righteous can be treated in such a casual manner that we can take it or leave it, treating our intermittent attendance as a non-issue, as a matter of no great consequence. The Church of the Living God is not a club. The Congregation of the Faithful is a living entity; it is the Body of Christ! And the Spirit of the Lord God lives in us, individually and corporately. Therefore, we must demonstrate respect for Him Who redeems us, and He Who lives among us. Gathering in assembly, we are given opportunity to reveal His presence.
We are encouraged to formally confess our union with a given congregation because we understand that God has placed us there. We come to faith in Jesus as our Saviour, identifying with Him in baptism as one who receives Him as Master over life. The congregation that performed that baptism is usually the assemble with which we unite. Should we move, or should it become necessary to leave that affiliation because the congregation has drifted doctrinally, we will seek out another assembly where we may serve the Saviour, investing the gifts with which His Spirit has equipped us to serve. Just as the first assembly was composed of friends, so the second consists of friends.
Throughout all this, we are being led by the Spirit of Christ, always seeking how we can honour the Lord through investing our lives with the lives of those with whom God brings us into contact. Always, we who will honour the Lord seek to maintain an openness to receive one another and an eagerness to serve. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ? 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Monica Herald, “Teddy Roosevelt’s Man in The Arena Speech,” July 17, 2019, Teddy Roosevelt's Man in the Arena Speech - WorldAtlas, accessed 26 July 2023
[3] See Moisés Silva and Merrill Chapin Tenney, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, H-L (Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, MI 2009) 1112-1113
[4] Ibid.
