(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)
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