The third article in our covenant states, "We agree to watch over each other for good, to the intent that we may build up together in Christ, grow in grace and a further knowledge of truth and be instrumental in brining men to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Whew! That's a lot of ground covered in one agreement, but it boils down to holding one another accountable and leading others to Christ. We'll explore what that means this coming week in church and right here on the blog over the next several days.
“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules." (Mark 7:6b-7)
Jesus was talking to the Pharisees when He said this, but this is a caution for everyone whose desire is to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which they have been called. It doesn't matter how clean my "outside" is if my inside is marred by sin. I am no more than a whitewashed tomb, as Jesus said. And one of the ways in which we can avoid that fate is by allowing those we covenant with the authority to speak into our lives regarding our walk, both when they see us succeeding and when they see us stumbling. That is the point of the third article of our covenant. We agree to "watch over each other for good," celebrating the growth we experience together and helping one another through the pitfalls and pratfalls that come when imperfect people seek to be obedient. As we encourage one another we build each other up in the faith. As we admonish one another we are enabled to avoid putting up a good front while failing behind the scenes. When you agree to this part of the covenant, you are agreeing to encourage and be encouraged, to admonish and be admonished, so that we might grow in grace and a further knowledge of the truth.
"I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)
The things we agree to in our covenant are not easy. Left to our own skill, will, or strength we would have no chance of keeping any of those promises. But we do not enter this agreement alone; we do so with God's help, for He is a party to this covenant as well. So it is not with my skill, will or strength which make keeping the covenant possible. We do so through God's skill, will and strength. As you keep the covenant, especially when it is a struggle to do so, remember from whence your help comes: the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
"Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established." (1 Kings 2:10-12)
When David died he left his son Solomon an invaluable gift: a rule that was firmly established. David didn't work to just establish his own rule. He also worked to establish Solomon's. He worked to provide a stable place for Solomon to begin and build on what David accomplished with God's help. As you and I work to establish the Kingdom here in Berlin, we are not working to simply provide a stable place for our own ministry. We are also working to provide a stable place those who follow after can begin with and build on until Jesus returns, so that they might build up together in Christ, grow in grace and a further knowledge of truth and be instrumental in brining men to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13)
Our gifts were certainly not given to us for our glory. They weren't even given to us for our benefit. Instead, God has given us spiritual gifts so that we might work together to build up the body of Christ (that is, the church) and, together, become mature. Or, to put it another way, "...to watch over each other for good, to the intent that we may build up together in Christ, grow in grace and a further knowledge of truth." Attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ is a tall order. There is no way we can accomplish that on our own. It requires the Lord's grace and power for that to happen. It also utilizes the gifts of those around us according to God's plan. When you use your gifts in the church, you take part in the process of building up those around you so that they might become mature Christians.
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:14-16)
Last week we talked about using God's Word to establish orthodoxy and orthopraxis. Wait, you say, we talked about no such thing. Well, actually we did. We talked about the fact that right belief and right behavior, which is all orthodoxy and orthopraxis are, are drawn from the study of God's Word. We have a role to play in helping one another live out our faith, too; to have and hold onto right beliefs and right behavior. That is why we watch over one another for good, so that we can help one another stay on the right path. As we speak the truth in love, encouraging and admonishing one another in the faith (speaking that truth in LOVE, did I mention that part?), we equip one another to withstand the false teaching the world surrounds us with, allowing us to be built up in love as we do God's work together.
A while back I was drawn to study what it means to speak the truth in love. The essence of what I came away with is this:
Biblical love (TRUE love) is when we seek what is best for the other person. This love is based firstly on a desire for someone to have a relationship with Christ, and secondly on a desire for that relationship to grow.
What I need to realize (and walk according to) is the fact that neither of those things are dependent on me. I cannot talk, plead, argue, or otherwise cajole a person into a relationship with Christ, nor can I force them to submit to Him and grow in that relationship. This means that, when I get the urge to say something, I need to put it to two tests:
1) Do I want to say this because it will help the person in their relationship with God, or just because I want to show them that I know better than them (or to make them act in the way that I want them to act)?!
2) Does God want me to say these words? (Sometimes, when I ask Him this question, the answer He gives is, "No. I don't want to use your mouth right now -- it will only cause trouble. What I want is for you to pray that this person will hear the Spirit speaking the words to their heart.").
The third article in our covenant states, "We agree to watch over each other for good, to the intent that we may build up together in Christ, grow in grace and a further knowledge of truth and be instrumental in brining men to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Whew! That's a lot of ground covered in one agreement, but it boils down to holding one another accountable and leading others to Christ. We'll explore what that means this coming week in church and right here on the blog over the next several days.
ReplyDelete“‘These people honor me with their lips,
ReplyDeletebut their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules." (Mark 7:6b-7)
Jesus was talking to the Pharisees when He said this, but this is a caution for everyone whose desire is to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which they have been called. It doesn't matter how clean my "outside" is if my inside is marred by sin. I am no more than a whitewashed tomb, as Jesus said. And one of the ways in which we can avoid that fate is by allowing those we covenant with the authority to speak into our lives regarding our walk, both when they see us succeeding and when they see us stumbling. That is the point of the third article of our covenant. We agree to "watch over each other for good," celebrating the growth we experience together and helping one another through the pitfalls and pratfalls that come when imperfect people seek to be obedient. As we encourage one another we build each other up in the faith. As we admonish one another we are enabled to avoid putting up a good front while failing behind the scenes. When you agree to this part of the covenant, you are agreeing to encourage and be encouraged, to admonish and be admonished, so that we might grow in grace and a further knowledge of the truth.
"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
ReplyDeletewhere does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth."
(Psalm 121:1-2)
The things we agree to in our covenant are not easy. Left to our own skill, will, or strength we would have no chance of keeping any of those promises. But we do not enter this agreement alone; we do so with God's help, for He is a party to this covenant as well. So it is not with my skill, will or strength which make keeping the covenant possible. We do so through God's skill, will and strength. As you keep the covenant, especially when it is a struggle to do so, remember from whence your help comes: the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
"Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established." (1 Kings 2:10-12)
ReplyDeleteWhen David died he left his son Solomon an invaluable gift: a rule that was firmly established. David didn't work to just establish his own rule. He also worked to establish Solomon's. He worked to provide a stable place for Solomon to begin and build on what David accomplished with God's help. As you and I work to establish the Kingdom here in Berlin, we are not working to simply provide a stable place for our own ministry. We are also working to provide a stable place those who follow after can begin with and build on until Jesus returns, so that they might build up together in Christ, grow in grace and a further knowledge of truth and be instrumental in brining men to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13)
ReplyDeleteOur gifts were certainly not given to us for our glory. They weren't even given to us for our benefit. Instead, God has given us spiritual gifts so that we might work together to build up the body of Christ (that is, the church) and, together, become mature. Or, to put it another way, "...to watch over each other for good, to the intent that we may build up together in Christ, grow in grace and a further knowledge of truth." Attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ is a tall order. There is no way we can accomplish that on our own. It requires the Lord's grace and power for that to happen. It also utilizes the gifts of those around us according to God's plan. When you use your gifts in the church, you take part in the process of building up those around you so that they might become mature Christians.
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:14-16)
ReplyDeleteLast week we talked about using God's Word to establish orthodoxy and orthopraxis. Wait, you say, we talked about no such thing. Well, actually we did. We talked about the fact that right belief and right behavior, which is all orthodoxy and orthopraxis are, are drawn from the study of God's Word. We have a role to play in helping one another live out our faith, too; to have and hold onto right beliefs and right behavior. That is why we watch over one another for good, so that we can help one another stay on the right path. As we speak the truth in love, encouraging and admonishing one another in the faith (speaking that truth in LOVE, did I mention that part?), we equip one another to withstand the false teaching the world surrounds us with, allowing us to be built up in love as we do God's work together.
A while back I was drawn to study what it means to speak the truth in love. The essence of what I came away with is this:
DeleteBiblical love (TRUE love) is when we seek what is best for the other person. This love is based firstly on a desire for someone to have a relationship with Christ, and secondly on a desire for that relationship to grow.
What I need to realize (and walk according to) is the fact that neither of those things are dependent on me. I cannot talk, plead, argue, or otherwise cajole a person into a relationship with Christ, nor can I force them to submit to Him and grow in that relationship. This means that, when I get the urge to say something, I need to put it to two tests:
1) Do I want to say this because it will help the person in their relationship with God, or just because I want to show them that I know better than them (or to make them act in the way that I want them to act)?!
2) Does God want me to say these words? (Sometimes, when I ask Him this question, the answer He gives is, "No. I don't want to use your mouth right now -- it will only cause trouble. What I want is for you to pray that this person will hear the Spirit speaking the words to their heart.").