The Believer's Duties to All Men (Eph. 3:8-12), Part 2

(Transcript of a lesson taught at Landmark Baptist Church, Locust Grove, GA, on 12 July 2015.) 

1.     Moderation (Phil. 4:5). I think that this grace is very similar to temperance, since both point to avoiding excess in our lives. Temperance speaks of controlling one’s tempers, not just anger, but any carnal drive. Moderation, I think, aims more at maintaining balance, vs. drifting to any extreme. It’s something that can and should be known or observed about us by believers and unbelievers. It begins in the heart, but works its way out. I think that physical moderation is the main application here, but spiritual immoderation is just as dangerous, if not more. Peter warns of the “unstable” wresting the scriptures “unto their own destruction” (2 Pt. 3:16), so it’s important to be moderate both spiritually and physically and for all men to see this. Why? To give them a true picture of God, who is not excessive or intemperate about anything. He is a perfectly balanced being. The Bible speaks of “the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19:15) and conversely of his “great mercy” (Eph. 2:4), but there’s nothing unbalanced about God’s character, including its different expressions. And since he’s now residing in us, he wants to express his moderation through us, since we are his members (1 Cor. 6:16) and epistles (2 Cor. 3:2). Are you allowing God to show his moderation through you? Being anorexic or bulimic isn’t spiritual, but neither is neglecting your fitness. Also, spirituality doesn’t foster flakiness or weirdness, but rather a pleasant moderation in spiritual matters. It’s important that we show our moderation not only for men’s sake, but more importantly for God’s, since we’ll give an account to him for it (“The Lord is at hand”). Remember Paul’s testimony before Felix? What did he reason of? Righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. So moderation is not something to take lightly: God expects it of us, and men need to see it.  

2.     Increasing love (1 Thes. 3:12-13). In the first part of this chapter, Paul expresses his concern over the welfare of the Thessalonians following his expulsion by the Jews and his relief at their stability. He then expresses his earnest desire and prayer to see them and perfect them (cf. Rom. 1:10-12) and concludes the chapter with a prayer that their love for one another and for all men will grow. He uses he and his fellows as examples of such growing love, and rightly so, since he just told the church how his company’s hearts were overflowing with love for them. Two points here:

a.     It’s not just growing love for believers, though that comes first (Gal. 6:10, but for all men. That would include those persecuting them (cf. context of “labour of love” in 1 Thes. 1:3—affliction (vv. 4-8).

b.   Something is wrong with our growth in holiness if this love is not growing. There’s a heart issue that needs correction, and if it’s not corrected down here, well then, it will be corrected up there. Now ultimately all of us will appear before the Father with “hearts unblameable in holiness,” but not until after the judgment seat of Christ. That’s why I think that Paul is praying for this to be effected in us down here, since he will correct this at the judgment seat if it’s not accomplished down here.

3.     Patience (1 Thes. 5:14). This is a good opportunity to define this grace: it’s restraint. New versions substitute “patience” for “longsuffering,” even in the fruit of the Spirit, but they’re similar, not the same (Col. 1:11). I think that it’s a difference in degrees. You may only have to be patient for a little while, but longsuffering obviously takes place over a long period of time, and I think that it runs deeper too: long-suffering. We need to show general restraint in our dealings with others, including unbelievers, and I believe that is Paul’s thought here.

4.  Prayer and the gospel (1 Tim. 2:1-6). In True Evangelism, Lewis Sperry Chafer emphasizes the importance of prayer in evangelism, but prayers for salvation need beautiful feet to follow them (Rom. 10:15). So even though the opening verses of this chapter deal with prayer, including prayers for salvation, it doesn’t stop there. Christ’s redemptive work is mentioned in vv. 3-6a, the means of salvation in this age, but notice v.6b and v. 7. The gospel needs to be testified (v. 6), preached (v. 7) and taught (v. 7). So it’s commendable to pray for lost souls, but it’s not complete without your personal testimony.

5.     Gentleness (2 Tim. 2:24). Ministers in this age are characterized by gentleness, not strife. In the kingdom program, God’s ministers could take the sword and execute judgment on God’s enemies (e.g. Samuel and Agag), but in this age, our weapons are spiritual. That doesn’t preclude self-defense, as we saw in Rom. 12:18, nor does it preclude military service, but the spirit of our ministries and lives should be gentle, since we’re ministers of reconciliation, all of us (2 Cor. 5:18-21), and the fruit of the indwelling Spirit in this age includes gentleness (Gal. 5:22-24).

6.     Meekness (Tit. 3:2). Lastly, and closely related to gentleness is meekness; something we owe to all men. Meekness is defined as subjection in 1 Pt. 3:4-5 and fits perfectly in Tit. 3:2, since v. 1 deals with subjection and obedience to worldly powers. These passages are two good examples of the scope of meekness: wives toward their husbands (cf. Eph. 5:21-23) and believers toward worldly powers, certainly included in “all men.”

As I wrote these things out in my study, I was delighted to find a thread. Most of the things that I’ve mentioned comprise the fruit of the Spirit. Two passages deal with the scope of the Spirit’s fruit: Eph. 5:9 being a general statement of it and Gal. 5:22-23 a more specific. We began this list with owing all men the truth and honesty. Eph. 5:9 says that the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.

My summary point, then, is that we owe all men the fruit of the Spirit, in all of its manifestations. Joy isn’t mentioned in this survey, but if our apostle tells us to “Rejoice evermore” and “Rejoice in the Lord alway…,” then I think that it’s safe to say that all men will see our joy also (Rom. 15:13). 

If it sounds like a huge debt difficult to repay, think again. What you owe all men is who you truly are, your new nature in Christ. If you will yield to that, you will fulfil your debt to all men, and not otherwise. You can try to be good, be you saved or lost, but until you feed your spiritual life and yield to the Spirit’s work thereafter, you won’t be truly fulfilling your debt. What people need is Christ’s life, nothing Adamic. So take heart, and concentrate on developing your spiritual life through the word of God, prayer, and fellowship with other believers, and watch the Spirit’s fruit come forth and your debt to all men repaid!

Weeds and Bugs Before and After the Fall

I think that no plants before the fall were noxious and destructive to others, nor will they be after the Lord returns to the earth (Rom. 8:19-22). Likewise, just as the serpent was non-threatening before the fall (Mrs. Adam spoke to one), I don't think that any bugs were pestilent either, but rather had a constructive purpose. I expect the same to be true in the Millennial reign. A "plague" is mentioned during that time in Zech. 14:16-19, but the context is the Lord withholding rain as punishment (v. 19) for not keeping the feast of tabernacles. I have not found any references to date re: pestilence in the Millennial reign. Pest control, then, is dispensational it seems.

The Believer's Duties to All Men (Eph. 3:8-12), Part 1

(Transcript of a lesson taught at Landmark Baptist Church, Locust Grove, GA, on 5 July 2015.)

Notice the phrase “all men” in this passage. One of our duties as believers is “to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery” (v. 9), i.e, the unity of Jews and Gentiles in the body of Christ, which “from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God…” But Paul uses this phrase throughout his epistles, so I decided to look at other places it’s used and determine other duties that believers have toward all men. All believers are spiritual debtors: we owe some things to one another and the world, and this lesson is to highlight those things and encourage us to “Render therefore to all their dues…” (Rom. 13:7).

Usage

Paul mentions “all men” to five of seven churches that he addresses, and two of three ministers (Timothy and Titus), in 10 of 13 epistles. So our duty toward all men is not an isolated theme in Paul’s epistles, but a thread running through them.

Definition

According to Gal. 6:10, “all men” includes the household of God and everyone else. 1 Cor. 10:32 shows us that everyone else is made up of Jews and Gentiles, again highlighting the fact that in Christ “there is neither Greek nor Jew” (Col. 3:11).

Duties

In this survey, we’ll begin with a single reference from the latter part of Acts, followed by several references from Paul’s epistles.

1.  Declaring all the counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27). Verses 17-35 is Paul’s famous farewell to the Ephesian elders. Verse 27 ends the historical part of the farewell, with vv. 28-35 shifting to a pastoral charge. In v. 26, Paul states that, in his apostolic ministry, he was “pure from the blood of all men.” Verse 27 shows that “all men” includes more than the Jews and Gentiles (cf. Acts 18:6): it includes the church, since he says, “For I have not shunned to declare unto you…,” referring to the elders. So we, especially the ministers among us, have a duty to declare all of God’s counsel to all men. We not only owe sinners the gospel, but we owe each other the truth that God has revealed to us. I realize that the context here is ministers, since they’re the most accountable for the church (v. 28), but all brothers and sisters in Christ should minister to the truth to one another every chance they get (Acts 18:26). How do you think that ministers develop? They develop by using the light they’ve been given (Heb. 5:12). Many believers are atrophied from not using the truth they’ve been taught. Start using your spiritual muscles and see what happens. You owe it to sinners and other believers to enlighten them as much as possible. Don’t be like the servant that hid his talent and blamed his Lord for his failure. Be proactive and declare God’s counsel to everyone you can.

2.     Honesty (Rom. 12:17). Defined as “manifestation of the truth” in 2 Cor. 4:2. Honest dealings with all men is something Paul enjoins through all of his epistles. It’s not right to be honest with believers and dishonest with unbelievers. How does that adorn the truth that we want them to receive? Yes, we should be honest in our dealings with saints (2 Cor. 8:20-21), but also our entire manner of life should be a testimony of honesty to the world (1 Thes. 4:12, 1 Tim. 2:2). They’re used to lies, but honesty speaks to their consciences (2 Cor. 4:2). One of my Chinese business contacts told me this, “God always takes care of the honest person,” so my honesty bore witness to him, praise the Lord.

3.     Peaceable living (12:18). Here is another reference to “all men” immediately after the one in 12:17. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. A good way to live peaceably with all men is to provide things honest in their sight (v. 17). A good way to cause trouble is to be dishonest. Heb. 12:14 also exhorts the kingdom saints to “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” In the last days of Israel, perseverance in personal holiness is required to “see the Lord.” The principle I want to highlight here is that the root of truly peaceable living is holiness. Paul says the same thing in 1 Tim. 2:2, “…that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” Ring a bell? I know that the spirit of the prayer for “kings, and for all that are in authority” (v. 2a) is for them to give us quiet and peace, but two things that will help that are godliness and honesty. Both Paul and Peter support this: (1) Rom. 13:3, “For rulers are not a terror to good workds, but to the evil…do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same”; (2) 1 Pt. 3:13, “And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” Now of course these are general rules; notice 1 Pt. 3:14, “But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake…” and 2 Tim. 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Believers should live godly and peaceably, pray for their leaders to deal with them peaceably, and to spiritualize Jer. 29:7, “…seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof ye shall have peace.”

4.     Liberality (2 Cor. 9:13). In this familiar passage on church age giving, I think one item that’s often overlooked is the principle of liberality not just toward other believers, esp. the poor, but toward “all men.” According to this verse, the Corinthians were not only taking care of other believers (kingdom saints in the context), but also liberally giving to “all men.” This agrees with Paul’s exhortation in Gal. 6:10 to “do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith,” which I think includes both kingdom and mystery saints, as we have opportunity (cf. Eph. 2:19).

5.    Goodness (1 Thes. 5:15). This is a good segue to the next grace that we owe unto all men: practical goodness. Paul affirms this in 1 Thes. 5:15, “See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.” This verse reminds me of Rom. 12:17a and Rom. 12:19-21, both of which tell us to not recompense evil to those who wrong us, but rather to repay them with good. That may seem like weakness, but “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:26). Have you ever applied this? How did the opposition respond? They were probably quite surprised, since it’s not natural. It’s natural to seek revenge. I tried this once on a man at work, and won a friend. He was ill at me for inadvertently slighting him, but I had an opportunity to help him later, and it totally changed his attitude toward me, praise the Lord. Listen to some wisdom from Patch the Pirate Down Under: “Conquer your foes and turn them into friends/This is the remedy the Bible recommends/Give back good for evil and never seek revenge/Love your enemies to death and turn them into friends.”

(To be continued)

Paul's Graduation Message (2 Tim. 4:1-22)

(Slightly edited transcript of a message preached at Faith-Grace Vietnamese Baptist Church, Clarkston, GA, on 28 June 2015). 

It’s customary at American graduations to have a special speaker from among the student body called a valedictorian. This person is honored for the highest academic achievement in the graduating class. For years I wondered why that person was called the valedictorian, which seemed like a strange word to me. Over time, however, my knowledge of Latin roots in the English language grew, and it dawned on me one day that valedictory simply means “saying farewell.” So it’s a farewell speech wishing the audience, in this case the student body, well.

To prepare this message, I started thinking about graduation or farewell speeches in scripture, and one stood out to me fairly quickly: Paul’s final words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4.  As I looked at this chapter closely, I began to see numerous principles that could apply to graduates, even though the letter is a senior minister writing to a junior. 

1.  Accept your personal accountability. A successful Christian life begins with realizing (1) that you are accountable for your actions; and (2) who you are accountable to. Now this verse shows that we’re accountable to God, Christ, and man (“I charge thee…”). One way to show your accountability is found in v. 2: witnessing continually. If you really believe that you and everyone else will stand before God one day, then you’ll try to tell everyone you can about the Lord, including other believers. You not only owe lost people the gospel, you also owe other believers the truth that you’ve learned. The best preparation for witnessing to people is learning your Bible well (“doctrine”) and a willingness to put up with others’ opposition (“longsuffering”). Not everybody’s going to like what you say, including some other believers. But if you love them, you’ll patiently put up with their opposition for giving them the truth.

2.     Take responsibility for your spiritual life and ministry. Accountability describes a relationship between us and others: we owe God, Christ, and man something. Responsibility is acting on that accountability; taking action ourselves. Based on Paul’s prophecy in vv. 3-4, we shouldn’t expect the church, and certainly not the world, to get better. Paul warns that in the last days before Christ’s coming the church as a whole will turn away from the truth, just like they were in his day. In v. 5, though he charges Timothy to do what’s right, no matter what everyone else is doing; to be proactive, and not a victim. Why? (1) his personal accountability (v. 1); and (2) hope of reward (v. 8; nothing wrong with that, otherwise God wouldn’t have mentioned it as an incentive). Drop down to v. 10, in doing your duty, your closest friends may desert you (cf. Judas, Peter), but you have to go on. There may be periods where you have few friends (v. 11), even face opposition (v. 14). You can’t be friends with everyone; that’s been hard for me to accept at times, but it’s true; however, try to help everyone you can any way you can and steer clear of those you find you can’t (like Alexander the coppersmith; cf. v. 14.).

3.     Live sacrificially. Let’s look at v. 6, “For I am now ready to be offered…” Paul’s entire life following his conversion was a sacrifice.  Your mentor won’t be around forever, but a good mentor will teach you to lay down your life for others and do so themselves. How could Paul tell Timothy to suffer if he wasn’t suffering himself? But he was, so he tells him in vv. 5-6, “You keep enduring afflictions, I’m about to be offered myself. Do as I do, then as I say, right? One more thought, from v. 8. God offers eternal rewards for sacrifices in the present. Someone wisely said, “Don’t sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the temporary.” In other words, don’t give up lasting blessings for temporary pleasures now. That applies to your bodily purity, your spending, and a host of other things too.

4.     Finish what you start. Look at v. 7. Your life will be a battle, but finish what you start. Paul did, and told others to also (Acts 20:24; Col. 4:17). “I have kept the faith:”—stay true to your core convictions, ones you would die for; but be willing to change your views on others things (cf. Acts 17:11 re: the Bereans). Remember Winston Churchill's speech at the Eton graduation: “Never, never, never give up.” Demas did (v. 10; Phile. 24), and goes down in history as a quitter. Don’t let that be said of you, especially in your service to God.

5.     Never stop learning. Note v. 13. Don’t stop studying the Bible and reading books, even in this Information Age. Spurgeon: “He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains of others, proves that he has no brains of his own.” Set goals for important books you’d like to read, first of all the Bible, and others, and keep at it. Now that I’m older and have more responsibilities, I have less time to read, so use this time of your life to spend much time reading and praying. It will be tougher when you go to work, get married, and have a children.

6.     Trust in God’s care. According to vv. 16-17, God will stand with you, though all forsake you. This is not some theory: it’s been done and written down for everyone to take heart from. Verse 18 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible: no matter what you face as a Christian, God will get you home. Once saved, always saved, period. Rom. 8:38-39 should settle anyone’s doubts about the eternal security of the believer. According to these verses, even Satan (a creature) cannot change your position as a child of God once you’ve trusted Christ. You did nothing to get saved, you do nothing to stay saved. It’s all by God’s grace in Christ. Paul reminded Timothy of this as a legacy for whatever trials he might face afterward, and what a comforting reminder!

7.     Cultivate your fellowship with God, privately and with others. Verses 19-22 are the last words from Paul’s pen before he dies. And what does he mention: Christ and his grace…of course! That’s what his ministry was all about; so what does he stress to the end? our personal fellowship with the Lord (v. 22, “with thy spirit”) and grace in the church (v. 22). That’s the foundation of our Christian life, and ministry flows from these things; how fitting that Paul’s last words are the core of what he taught, and what we should take to heart and apply the rest of our lives. In the end, what matters is people (from John Maxwell), not your possessions. Paul doesn’t even have a cloke at this point, it seems, with winter approaching, yet he’s concerned about people far more than his physical needs.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this graduation message, and I hope that you keep these seven principles in mind as you continue and finish your education. Even if you’re not a student, these principles are good for any believer at any stage of life. God help us all to be faithful in this life so that we may be richly rewarded when we graduate, or move on, to the next.