We Need Each Other Means of Grace Pastor Josh Black January 28, 2018 We Are Now in the Fourth Week of Our Series on the Means of Grace
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We Need Each Other Means of Grace Pastor Josh Black January 28, 2018 We are now in the fourth week of our series on the means of grace. For those who are just joining us, let me give a brief introduction to this series. It’s clear in Scripture that Christ has given a mission to his church; we’re called to make disciples of Jesus Christ. But not only has Christ given us a mission; God has also given us certain means to carry out that mission. We’ve been given a number of ways we’re called to make disciples. The first two weeks we considered the Word and prayer. The Word does the work and prayer is powerful. God uses his Word and prayer to conform us into the image of Jesus. And this is not only true in your individual lives. It’s also true in our corporate life together. We minister the Word and pray for one another. Last week, we looked at Ephesians 4:11-12. In that passage we see that Christ gave the church pastors (v. 11). And pastors lead, feed, and protect the flock with the Word and prayer. And one of the pastor’s main roles is to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (v. 12). So, pastors don’t do all the work in building up the body. Each member of the body has a role to play. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. One Another How does this work? How does the body build up the body? What do we actually do? The New Testament uses the phrase “one another” over and over again. There are at least 58 commands that have to do with our responsibility to one another. These commands teach us specifically how we need each other in the church. About a third of the “one another” commands deal with unity in the body of Christ. We’re called to live at peace with one another (Mk. 9:50). We’re called to accept one another (Rom. 15:7). To be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another (Eph. 4:32). To confess our sins to one another (Jas. 5:16). Another third of the “one another” commands deal with loving one another. John alone gives this command at least ten times (Jn. 13; 15; 1 Jn. 3:11; 4:7, 11). Paul also uses it (Eph. 4:2; Rom. 12:10).1 And there are many other “one another” commands. We could do a whole series on the “one another” commands in the New Testament. But for our purposes this morning, I want to deal with two broad commands. First of all, we must speak to one another. Secondly, we must serve one another. SPEAK TO ONE ANOTHER (EPHESIANS 4:15) The call to speak to one another comes from a very familiar verse. Ephesians 4:15 says, “Speaking the truth in love, we…grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ….”2 This verse is 1 Kranz, Jeffrey, “All the “one another” commands in the NT.” Infographic, overviewbible.com. 2 Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® unless otherwise noted. 2 often used when we think of confronting someone. We need to tell it like it is. Speak the truth. But we need to be nice when we do it. We need to speak the truth in love. This is certainly an appropriate principle. But this verse is referring to something more fundamental to spiritual formation than confrontation. The truth spoken of here is a very specific truth. It’s the truth of the gospel. It’s basically saying that when we speak the gospel to one another, we grow; we become more like Jesus. This is Discipleship 101. Like we said in our first sermon in the series—the Word does the work. Sure, pastors are involved in teaching the Word to the body, but all believers are called to build up the body in love. Romans 15:14 says, “I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.” We need to speak the Word to one another. All believers are called to do this. The Word of God in Jesus Christ grants us salvation. But we don’t ever graduate from the gospel. Any disciple of Jesus who wants to continue to grow, will daily hunger for more of the Word. Sure, we can read the Word on our own. And it will benefit us greatly if we do. But God especially delights to put his Word into the mouth of human beings so that it may be passed on to others.3 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book Life Together, says, “God has willed that we should seek and find God’s living Word in the testimony of other Christians, in the mouths of human beings. Therefore, Christians need other Christians who speak God’s Word to them. [In fact], the goal of all Christian community is to encounter one another as bringers of the [gospel].”4 How do we bring the gospel to one another? We do it through one-on-one discipleship. We do it in our small groups. In our classes. Even through singing to one another. Colossians 3:16 says, “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.” But it’s not only in these formal ways that we speak the Word to one another. We also do so casually, as we live life together, day in and day out. But in order to speak the Word to one another in daily life, we have to have relationships with one another. And the best way that we establish relationships with one another is through serving one another. Bonhoeffer goes on to say, “Wherever the [ministry of] service…is being faithfully performed, the ultimate and highest ministry can also be offered, the [sharing] of the Word of God.”5 SERVE ONE ANOTHER And so, with the rest of our time, I want to talk about three ways we should serve one another and build relationships with one another so that we’ll create a context in which we can speak the Word to one another. I could obviously talk about serving one another through using your spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ. That’s certainly very important here at First Free. But we’ve taught quite a lot on that over the years. And so today, I want to talk about three things that aren’t talked about as much. I want to talk about hospitality, encouragement, and correction. 3 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 5. Minneapolis, Minn: Fortress Press, 1996, 32. 4 Bonhoeffer, 32. 5 Bonhoeffer, 103. 3 Hospitality The first way that we should serve one another is through hospitality. First Peter 4:9 says, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” Why is hospitality important in the Bible? I believe hospitality creates a context to speak and serve. Why do I say that? In the Bible, the word hospitality is a combination of the Greek words philos, which means love. And the word xenos, which means stranger. So to show hospitality is to show love to the stranger. Josh Jipp, a New Testament professor at our seminary, says, “Hospitality is the act or process whereby the identity of the stranger is transformed into that of guest.”6 So hospitality, in the biblical sense, is not simply opening your home to a friend. It’s opening your heart to a stranger. It’s providing a space where someone who’s unknown to us can become someone who is known to us. Jipp says that hospitality is offered particularly to “the other,” the one who is not like us, the one who is an outsider.7 Generally speaking, we avoid people who are not like us. We spend all of our time with people who are like us. In fact, if we’re honest, we’re a little bit afraid of the stranger, we’re afraid of engaging with people who are not like us. The fear of the stranger is called xenophobia. We are called to xenophilia—love of the stranger—not xenophobia.8 When I was a young man, I was infatuated with strangers. I loved to pick up hitchhikers and homeless men. I’ll never forget when I was in college, I picked up a homeless man named Joshua and brought him home with me. We were just chillin’ on the couch watching TV when my roommates came home. Needless to say, they were not impressed. They told me he wasn’t welcome in our home. He was stinkin’ it up and he might steal something from us. So I put him up in a hotel. When I started dating Maggie, she knew I liked to pick up hitchhikers. But then there was the time I picked one up while she was in the car. This guy was a little volatile and he scared Maggie. My days with hitchhikers were coming to an end. She made me vow to never pick one up again. I don’t share this to illustrate my virtue. I don’t know if I had any.