Sunday, July 29, 2012

Christlike Love


Christlike Love
Ephesians 5: 1 – 2.

Introduction
When our children were younger, we used to make them leave the room when we watched the news on TV.  In fact, we started telling them we were watching the “scariest show on TV” when we watched the news.  And it is scary…a shooting in Colorado; civil war in Syria; predictions of economic meltdown; etc…  But, sometimes the news is more entertaining than it is scary.
Last month, a man was arrested in Maryland for impersonating a police officer.  He was driving a white pick up truck with red and blue lights on the dashboard.  He drove up behind another vehicle and turned on his flashing lights.  Walked up to the driver’s window and asked the driver for identification.  The driver identified himself as an off-duty police officer…and the tables were turned.  The criminal fled the scene.  The real officer called in back up.  And the criminal was apprehended.[1]
What is the moral of the story?  I guess we could say, “Be careful who you pull over when you impersonate a police officer.”  But, since most of us don’t plan to impersonate a police officer, we could probably find a better moral…  “Be careful who you impersonate.”
Impersonating a police officer is illegal.  Impersonating the wrong kind of person can lead us to make some questionable choices.  But, impersonating Jesus is always a safe choice.  In fact, that is what all Christians are supposed to do.  We are supposed to impersonate Jesus in the way we live our lives.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have preached about imitating (or impersonating) Jesus.  Christians are supposed to imitate the humility of Jesus and imitate the way Jesus served other people.  Today, I want to encourage you to imitate the love of Jesus.


Ephesians 5: 1 – 2.
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (NIV).”



One of the big questions facing the earliest Christians was related to how they were supposed to live the Christian life in a pagan world.  It was a question about how to define themselves individually and how to define the community of faithful Christians—or the church.  It was a question about boundaries.
The Jewish people had clear boundaries that separated them from the rest of the world—circumcision, the Old Testament Law, dietary restrictions, Sabbath observance, and the annual feasts and festivals.
The Romans had clear boundaries that separated them from others as well.  The most obvious was their allegiance to the Roman Emperor, which often manifested itself through the worship of the Roman pantheon of gods, patriotism, and even worshipping the Emperor himself—Caesar is lord.
What about the Christian community?  What made the Christians different from both the Jews and the Romans?  Paul answered these questions by discouraging two types of behavior—legalism and the freedom to live any way you want to live.  According to Paul’s letters to the early Christian churches, the Christian life is not about legalism and is not about freedom from all rules.  Instead, the Christian life is about living like Jesus lived…following Jesus’ example…imitating Jesus.
There are two very important things we need to notice about Paul’s instructions about Christian boundaries.  On one hand, we need to note that Paul never told us to withdraw from the world.  On the other hand, Paul tells us specifically that we are supposed to be different from the rest of the world.  Yes, we are to be different from the world in the way we live our lives.  Yes, we will often find ourselves in conflict with the world, because we do not share the same values as those who do not know Jesus and live as imitators of Jesus.  But, if we totally withdraw from the world, the work of evangelism becomes impossible. 

Be Imitators of God
Interestingly, this is the only place where the Bible tells us to “imitate God.”  In the Old Testament, we read about obeying God and even following God.  Jesus’ call to his disciples was to “Come, follow me.”  But, even Jesus did not explicitly say “Imitate me.” 
Of course, there is probably not a big difference between “Follow me” and “Imitate me.”  Following Jesus can mean that Jesus is our leader and guide as we live our lives.  We pray for wisdom and discernment in the day to day decisions we face.  However, following Jesus can also mean following the example Jesus set for us.  He lived a life of humility and service to others.  Therefore, we should not think of ourselves too highly.  No act of service was beneath Jesus, and no act of service is beneath us as followers of Jesus.
I am interpreting this verse as if Paul said “Imitate Jesus.”  But, that is not what he said.  He said “Imitate God.”  Is there a difference between imitating God and imitating Jesus?
We find an answer to this by noticing the word “therefore” in verse one.  When we encounter the word “therefore” it tells us we need to pay attention to the words that came before it.  “Therefore” means Paul is drawing a conclusion from his argument.
Let’s read Ephesians 5: 1 along with the verse that comes before it, Ephesians 4: 32.

 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children… (Ephesians 4: 32 – 5: 1 NIV)”

When we place this verse in the context of Paul’s overall argument, we see three very important points to keep in mind.  First, it’s all about Jesus and what Jesus has done for us.  Second, we are to imitate God in the way we forgive other people.  Third, God’s forgiveness and the actions of Jesus on the cross are motivated by God’s love for us.

Dearly Loved Children
It makes sense that Paul wants Christians to imitate God.  After all, Paul tells us that we are God’s dearly loved children.  And, it is natural for children to imitate their fathers.
This raises an important point about what it means to be a child of God.  For example, the Bible never teaches us that all people are children of God.  Instead, the Bible tells us that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.  Jesus did not have an earthly father.  He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of a young virgin.  Jesus is uniquely the Son of God.  However, you and I can become sons and daughters of God through Jesus.  The Gospel of John tells us that we must be “born again.”  Paul does not use the phrase “born again” in his writings.  Paul prefers another image and tells us we must be “adopted by God.”  Both images mean the same thing.  No one automatically becomes a son or daughter of God by natural, biological birth.  The only way to become a son or daughter of God is through a spiritual birth or adoption—faith in Jesus as the Son of God, who died on the cross and rose again to demonstrate God’s love for us.  God loves us so much that he provided a way for you to be adopted as his child.  Your sins can be forgiven.  You can have eternal life and a resurrection like Jesus’.
Since God demonstrated his love through the cross and resurrection, God is worthy of our imitation.  This is a mistake many people make when they choose someone to imitate.  Some people imitate people who are not worthy of imitation.  You should be very careful about who you impersonate / imitate.  Do not imitate just any one.  People need to earn the right to be imitated.  And don’t think you can imitate abstract ideals like justice or equality.  We need a personal example to show us how to live our lives.  God has done both.  God has demonstrated his love for us in the cross and resurrection.  Jesus is the Incarnation of God himself and gives us a personal example of the life God wants us to live.


Live a Life of Love
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love…”
The most basic difference between the Christian faith and all world religions is the concept of Grace.  We do not believe there is a set of religious principles which people ought to follow so that we can become good enough to become God’s child.  Instead, we believe no one is good enough—and no one can become good enough—to become God’s child.  The only way to become God’s child is to be adopted through faith.
But, once we become God’s child there are clear expectations for how we live our lives.  God changes our behavior so that we don’t live like the rest of the world.  We don’t live a legalistic religious life.  We don’t live in total freedom to do whatever we want because we were saved by Grace and not by works.  Instead, we live a life of love.
We see this in the teachings of Jesus.  There was a time when Jesus was asked to rank the thousands of Jewish commandments.  A Jewish expert asked Jesus which commandment was the most important commandment.  Jesus answered that the entire teachings of the Old Testament Law and Prophets could be summarized in two commandments.  The most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.  The second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
We see this in the writings of the New Testament as well.  The Apostle John—who was one of Jesus’ closest disciples—tells us to love our brothers and sisters.  Since we have been “born again” or “adopted by God” through faith in Jesus, we have become family members with other men and women as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Christians are supposed to love other Christians.
If this were all the Bible said about loving others, we would have a loophole.  We only have to love Christians and neighbors.  If someone is not a Christian, or if someone is different from us, then we don’t have to love them.  But, these are not the only teachings about love.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven… (Matthew 5: 44 – 45 NIV).”
There are no loopholes.  We are to love people who are close to us and people who are far away.  We are to love people who love us back and people who hate us.  We are to love Christians and people who are hostile to the Christian faith (and people who are hostile to the Christian view of ethics / right and wrong / sin).
In my first church as pastor, Shauna and I taught a Sunday School class for young married couples.  One of our lessons has stuck with me for 12 years.  The lesson taught that we are to love people who are hard to love.  Everyone has a list of people who are hard to love.  But no one wants to admit that your name is on someone else’s list.  Someone in your life thinks you are hard to love.  Aren’t we glad other people love us when we are hard to love?  Aren’t we glad that God loved us when we were unloveable?


Just as Christ Loved Us
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us…”
I think I am grateful that Paul is so specific in his instructions.  He does not tell us to imitate love as an ideal.  He gives us a personal example of what love is supposed to look like.  It is supposed to look like Jesus.  However, I am not necessarily grateful about the personal example Paul chose.  He wants us to love others the way Jesus loved us.
Jesus didn’t love us with his words and his feelings.  Jesus loved us with his life.  This tells me that we are not talking about love as an emotion.  Instead, this is love as an action.  And, this is no ordinary action.  Love is an action of self-sacrifice for someone else’s benefit.  Jesus did not meet his own needs in his death on the cross.  He put your needs before his own and chose to meet your needs above his own.
The end of the verse tells us that Jesus gave himself up as both an offering and a sacrifice.  It’s possible for us to think of “offering” and “sacrifice” as technical terms from the Old Testament.  In this interpretation, “offering” usually refers to gifts which came from the farm, and “sacrifice” refers to a living animal whose blood was poured out on the altar.  It’s also possible to take a simpler approach.  Since both words are used, it tells us that Jesus has fulfilled all of God’s requirements.  The important thing is that Jesus voluntarily gave his life on the cross to meet our needs—not to meet his own needs.  This is what love looks like.
This is also how we love others like Jesus loved us.  We put ourselves in second or third place.  If Jesus is our first priority and other people are our second priority, then the best we can hope for is third place.
(In fact, this is one way we can determine if someone loves us.  If that person puts your needs and desires above their own, it is possible they love you.  If they expect you to satisfy their desires or meet their needs, it’s not love…it’s something else.)
If God expects us to love others as Jesus first loved us, then we need to consider the ways we refuse to put others ahead of ourselves.  Love affects the way we spend our time and use our money and invest ourselves in the lives of other people.  Do we spend our time and money on ourselves more than on other people?  Do we invest more in our careers and quality of life than we invest in other people?


Conclusion
“Be imitators of God…” 
We need to be careful in the way we read these verses this morning.  There is a temptation for us to think that we have the ability to mimic the life of Jesus.  It’s possible for us to think that all we have to do is change our own behavior so that our lives look more and more like the life Jesus modeled for us.  Such a view does not fit well with the Christian view of Grace and salvation by faith alone.
If we truly believe that we are not capable of becoming children of God through our own efforts, then we also need to admit that we cannot become more like Jesus through our own efforts.  We need spiritual help to accomplish this.
Perhaps we should think of ourselves as an imitation of Jesus rather than imitators of Jesus.  One definition of an imitation is a “work of art.”  The artist looks at the original and copies it.  The artist looks at a mountain landscape.  Then, she uses brushes, paints and a canvas to create an imitation.  A sculptor looks at a person.  Then, he uses a block of marble, hammers and chisels to chip away at the block until it forms an imitation of the original.
Perhaps this is a better image for us.  When we place our faith in Jesus as the unique Son of God who put our needs above his own, dying on the cross and rising again to give us forgiveness and eternal life, then God begins sculpting us as imitations of Jesus.  When we yield to God’s work in us, he chips away at our lives until one day we look like imitations of Jesus.  One day we live a life of love, just as Christ loved us.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Christlike Service



Christlike Service
John 13: 1 – 17.

Introduction
Have you ever put together a “bucket list?”  A bucket list is a list of the things you want to accomplish before you “kick the bucket.”  (In case you don’t understand the phrase “kick the bucket,” a bucket list is a list of things you want to accomplish before you die.)
If you need some help, there are websites you can visit to get ideas about putting together your own bucket list.  Some of these websites even allow you to publish your bucket list online or help other people accomplish the items on their bucket lists.
Here are some of the popular things people have listed on their bucket lists:  fall in love; swim with sharks; skydive; see the Northern Lights; run a marathon; ride an elephant; travel around the world…
Perhaps you have never made a bucket list.  But, have you ever stopped to think about what you would do if you knew you were about to die?  What if you knew you only had one year to live?  What about one month?  What about one week?  What about one day?
None of us really knows how much longer we will live.  We may have years, months or days left to live.  It might be good advice for us to live every day as if it were our last day on earth.
In the Gospel of John, we read that Jesus knew his time had come.  He knew that he had been sent by his Father to demonstrate God’s love for all humanity.  Jesus knew he was headed toward the cross.  He predicted that he would be lifted up on the cross.  He told his disciples that he was going away and coming back for them.  He told them he had to leave them in order to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house.  Jesus knew the time had come for him to die.
Death may come as a surprise for you and me.  But, Jesus was not surprised by death.  He knew how much longer he had to live.  Since Jesus knew he was about to die, I think he was intentional about the way he lived in his last days and hours.  So, what did Jesus do in his last hours with his disciples?


John 13: 1 – 17.
What do you think was going through the disciples’ minds during this time?  If the disciples had lived in the Twenty-First Century, they would probably have Twitter accounts to share every personal thought to the public world.  Let’s pretend that the disciples did have Twitter and eavesdrop on what they were thinking.
Slide 1: Title Page.
Jesus washed his disciples’ feet while they were gathered to share their last meal together.  John sets the context for this meal as “just before the Passover Feast.”  Since Jesus grew up in a good Jewish home—and we assume the disciples grew up in good Jewish homes as well—it makes sense to us that they would want to celebrate the Passover Feast together.
Peter: Today is the first day of the feast.  Wondering where Jesus wants us to prepare?
Jesus gave his disciples specific instruction about where to set up for the Passover meal. 
John:  Looking for a man with a pitcher of water in the city.
The disciples found a private room where they could cook the food and set the table.  They were celebrating the way God rescued his people Israel from slavery in Egypt.  The disciples prepared the lamb and the flat bread and the bitter herbs.  They took care of ALMOST all of the details for the Passover meal.  It seems they forgot one detail.  There was no one to wash their feet before they sat down to the meal.
Thomas: Finally, everyone is here.
We can speculate that the disciples probably noticed this oversight.  After all, it was unheard of to eat a meal without first washing your feet.  Today, we don’t wash our feet before meals.  We wash our hands.  But, that is because we wear shoes and don’t walk around on dusty streets littered with garbage and animal waste.
Simon, the Zealot: The Supper begins!
We don’t know if the disciples noticed or not.  But, we do know that they began eating without washing their feet.
Andrew:  Tonight seems different…
During the meal, something very unusual happened.  Jesus got up from his place at the table and started removing his clothes
Thomas:  OM!  What is Jesus about to do?

Matthew: Why has Jesus changed his garments to that of a servant?
More than likely, Jesus put on a towel as his clothing—a towel that stretched from his waist to the floor.  The slave who washed feet for the guests usually wore this towel and used it to wash and dry the feet.
James, Son of Alphaeus:  Uh-oh!  What is Jesus going to do?

Peter:  Why does Jesus want to wash my feet?  I should wash his!
When the disciples saw Jesus dressed in the clothes of a slave and stooped down to wash their feet, the room fell silent.  No one was willing to say a word.  No one, that is except Peter.  This is not surprising, because Peter is usually the first one to speak.
Bartholomew:  Wow!  Peter just said no to Jesus!
On first glance, it seems that Peter is being humble.  He is startled by the sight of Jesus, the Son of the Living God, kneeling at his feet.  Whether he is being humble or not, Peter is once again trying to tell Jesus how to do his job.
Jude Thaddaeus:  Jesus told Peter that if he didn’t wash his feet, then Peter wouldn’t have any part with him.
Jesus tells Peter that there is only one way to have a “part” with Jesus.  “Part” is probably a reference to an inheritance.  The only way to inherit abundant and eternal life is to allow Jesus to “wash” us.  Not to wash us with water, but to wash us spiritually through his crucifixion and resurrection.
Peter:  I can’t be separated from Jesus—wash my feet, my hands and my head!

Peter:  OK, a little over zealous—just my feet—wash my feet, Jesus—please!
It is interesting to me that Jesus washed the feet of all his disciples.  He methodically knelt down and washed each
James, Son of Zebedee:  How humbling, to see Jesus wash my brother John’s feet.  And, apparently, I’m next.

John:  The room is so quiet.

Jude Thaddaeus:  Why would Jesus wash our feet?  He is going to be a ruling king!  This is an odd way to become a ruler.  Kings don’t act as servants, right?

Andrew:  Three years ago, Peter and I were fishing.  Never would we have thought that following Jesus would place us here—with him washing our feet.

Phillip:  I can’t bring myself to look around the room, but I can hear him stepping in my direction.

Jude Thaddaeus:  I know Jesus will be our king—our ruler.  I will follow him for many years.  I hope he rules soon so I can understand his plan and be a part of it.

Phillip:  Jesus is acting as a servant to each of us—going around the room to clean our feet.  Should I wash the feet of others also?  To be like Jesus?


Jesus Knew His Time Had Come.
For the first 12 chapters of the Gospel of John, we read many references to time.  When Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding in Cana, Jesus’ mother insisted he do something about the shortage of wine.  Jesus told her that his time had not yet come.  When Jesus preached in his home synagogue in Nazareth, the crowd was enraged by what Jesus said about himself.  They even tried to kill Jesus.  But, John tells us that Jesus walked away unharmed, because his time had not yet come.  In John 7, Jesus’ brothers urged him to go to Jerusalem and reveal himself to the religious leaders.  Jesus would not give in to their demands, because it was not the right time.
Chapter 13 is a turning point for Jesus.  Now his time has come.  It was time for Jesus to reveal himself through betrayal, suffering, crucifixion and resurrection.  Jesus knew it was his time, and Jesus was in control of his time.
Knowing that he would die in approximately 24 hours, Jesus chose to spend all his time with his disciples outside of the public eye.  He was not focused on himself and his own needs and desires.  He didn’t spend his last hours traveling around the world or riding on elephants.  Instead, he spent his last hours investing himself in others.

Jesus Showed Them the Full Extent of His Love.
Washing the disciples’ feet was a teaching moment for Jesus and his disciples.
If we compare the Passover meal in the Gospel of John to the same meal in Matthew, Mark and Luke, we discover a controversy among the disciples.  They were arguing over which of them was the greatest disciple.  In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus addresses their argument with a teaching about true greatness.  John doesn’t tell us anything about the disagreement among the disciples.  But, it is very possible that Jesus’ actions in washing their feet was intended to show them what true greatness looks like.  If so, then what we have here is something like an enacted parable.  Jesus washed their feet, then explained why he did it.
If we stick with the passage in the Gospel of John alone—and don’t try to compare it to the other Gospels—we still have a teaching moment.  John tells us that in Jesus’ last hours of his life, Jesus demonstrated the full extent of his love for his disciples.
This is what biblical love looks like.  Love is an action, not a feeling.  Love is putting the needs and desires of another person ahead of your own needs and desires.  Love is doing whatever it takes to meet the needs and desires of someone else—even if it means getting your hands dirty in the process…even if it means doing something that people normally think is beneath them.
 In a word…Love is Service.  Jesus demonstrated the full extent of his love for his disciples by serving their immediate needs.
What makes this remarkable is the fact that Jesus knew his time had come.  Jesus knew that Judas was about to betray him.  And, Jesus washed Judas’ feet.  We can assume that Jesus washed Judas’ feet, because Jesus washed all his disciples feet…and Judas was there.  Judas did not leave the meal until John 13: 30—after the meal was finished.
This fits into what we read about Love in the teachings of Jesus found throughout the Gospels.  For example, Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount to “Love your enemies.”  Again, biblical love is not about feelings.  Biblical love is about actions and service.  Therefore, Jesus does not teach us that we have to LIKE our enemies.  Jesus teaches us to LOVE our enemies by serving them and meeting their needs.

Jesus Knew the Father Had Put All Things under His Power.
Washing the disciples’ feet was also an act of humility.
The Gospel of John teaches us that Jesus was well aware of his identity.  Jesus knew he was the Son of God and got into trouble with the religious leaders by telling them he was God’s Son.  Jesus knew he had been sent by his Father to accomplish God’s mission of Love and salvation.  He told his disciples that he would be lifted up.  He told his disciples that he was going to the Father to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house.  And, here in chapter 13, we read that Jesus knew the Father had put all things under Jesus’ power.
Jesus had all the Father’s power and authority.  Jesus was the rightful ruler of Heaven and earth.  But, Jesus chose to exercise his power and authority by kneeling down and accepting the role of a household servant.  This would have been unheard of in the ancient world.  The culture was dominated by the opposing concepts of honor and shame.  Everyone wanted to gain honor for themselves.  No one wanted to bring shame on themselves or their family name.  Jesus willingly stepped down from a position of honor and assumed a position of shame.
Why would Jesus choose to exercise his power and authority this way?  It is because Jesus knew who he was and was confident in his identity.  The  disciples were unwilling to wash each others’ feet, because they were too worried about bringing shame on themselves and what other people might think of them.  Their sense of honor and shame came from the opinions of other people.  Jesus’ sense of honor and shame came from God’s opinion alone.

Conclusion: Jesus Is Our Example.
Notice what Jesus said to his disciples after he washed their feet:  “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done (John 13: 15 NIV).”
Perhaps this raises a question for us.  If Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and told them he did it as an example for them to follow, then why do we not wash each others’ feet today? 
Some churches do wash feet as an element of their worship services.  Some churches hold special “foot washing” services at designated times of the year.  Some churches incorporate “foot washing” into the way they observe the Lord’s Supper.  Some churches hold “foot washing” services once every one hundred years.
What would you do if I announced that we were going to have a “foot washing” service next Sunday morning?  Some of you would probably start right now searching for a good reason to skip church next week.  The rest of you would do the same thing that I would do.  I would trim my toenails and wash my feet extra carefully before coming to church.  (Some of our ladies might even schedule a pedicure for next Saturday.)  It wouldn’t be the same thing that Jesus did.  Jesus didn’t wash clean feet.  Jesus washed disgustingly dirty feet.
Also, go back and read the Book of Acts and Paul’s letters in the New Testament.  We don’t have another example of “foot washing.”  We read about Christians’ practicing baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  We read about Christians’ preaching the Gospel, casting out demons and healing the sick.  But, we do not read about the disciples’ carrying around portable foot washing kits to wash the feet of others.
Apparently, the disciples knew Jesus was speaking figuratively.  Washing their feet was a parable.  It demonstrates how we are supposed to imitate Jesus.  We are to know who we are in God’s eyes.  We are not supposed to worry about what other people think about us.  We are not to think too highly of ourselves.  Then, we can kneel down before others and serve their immediate needs.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Christlike Humility


Christlike Humility
Philippians 2: 1 – 11.

Introduction
Do you ever watch the TV show “Pawn Stars?”  The show focuses on a family operated pawn shop in Las Vegas, Nevada.  People bring in unusual items to sell.  Then, the show’s stars bring in one of their “buddies” to appraise the item or sometimes determine whether or not the item is authentic.  (I always feel a little sad for the people who think they have something valuable only to have the expert tell them it is not real.  It is only an imitation.)
This illustrates that there are at least two ways to think about the word “imitation.”  It can be used either positively or negatively.
In a negative sense, “imitation” can mean something like a counterfeit or a forgery.  We might think of imitation leather…imitation jewelry…imitation crab meat.  “Imitation” is negative when someone tries to pass off a fake as if it is the real thing.
Of course, “imitation” can also be a positive thing.  Think of the famous quote, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”  Children learn by imitating their parents.  Teenagers and young adult develop by imitating their role models.  (Sometimes we have to choose between good role models and bad role models.)  And Christians grow by imitating the life of Jesus.
Over the next five weeks, I will be preaching about becoming like Jesus.  In these five weeks we are going to look at five characteristics of Jesus which we should imitate.  We should imitate Jesus in his Humility, Service, Love, Patient Endurance, and Mission.

Philippians 2: 1 – 11.

1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(NIV)



Most of the time, we associate the Book of Philippians with the theme of joy.  Philippians is one of the New Testament books the Apostle Paul wrote from prison.  He was not experiencing happy circumstances when he wrote this.  However, he was able to experience the joy of Christ which does not depend on our external circumstances.
Joy is a great theme and obviously plays an important role in the Book of Philippians.  However, this is probably not the reason why Paul wrote this book.  More than likely, Paul wrote Philippians to stress the importance of unity within the church.
Paul ended chapter one by telling the Philippian Christians how important it is for them to live together in unity.  There are cultural forces which are opposing them and hoping to distract them from the work of the Gospel.  In light of these cultural forces, Paul wants the Philippians to “stand firm” and to “contend for the Gospel” united together as if they are one person.
Don’t let Paul’s use of the word “if” confuse you.  Paul is not trying to create doubt about the encouragement and comfort Christians receive from Christ.  Instead, he is affirming the reality that we do receive encouragement and comfort from Christ.
It’s like when we say to someone, “If I am your friend (and I am your friend), then you can count on me.”  Another way to express this is the use the word “since” in place of the word “if.”  “Since I am your friend, you can count on me.”
In Philippians 2: 1, we can translate Paul as saying, “Since you have encouragement from being united with Christ…Since you have comfort from his love…Since you have fellowship with the Spirit…Since you have experienced tenderness and compassion…Make my joy complete…”
Then Paul tells the Christians at Philippi what will make his joy complete.  He wants them to live together in unity.  He wants the church to experience a kind of fellowship that is different from the rest of the world.  He knows this is the only way the church stands a chance in a culture of opposition…to be united in mind, united in love, and united in spirit and purpose.
This does not mean we are all supposed to think and act alike.  No.  There is supposed to be diversity within the Body of Christ.  We have different gifts from the Holy Spirit.  We have different personalities and temperaments.  And, we all have different life experiences.  God uses all of that diversity and brings us together to accomplish one purpose through us.
Diversity is not the greatest threat to unity within the church.  Diversity is a wonderful part of God’s plan that God uses to make us better together than we can be individually.  The greatest threat to church unity is Pride which causes us to think more about ourselves than about the purpose for the church.
To be united in one mind does not mean we all think the same thoughts.  Instead, being united in one mind means that no one is supposed to think of himself or herself as the most important person in the church.


A Church of One Mind
Paul spells this out by describing a couple of different attitudes which are inappropriate for church members to hold. 
It is always inappropriate for church members to have an attitude of selfish ambition.  We might recognize this better under the labels of rivalry and competition. 
Sometimes rivalry is a very personal attitude.  A person compares himself or herself to other people and has a superior opinion of themselves.  They are richer or better dressed and therefore think they deserve to be treated better than anyone else in the church.  Or, they know more about the Bible than anyone else and think their opinions are more important.  (Some people think their opinions are more important because their family has been in the church longer than all those new people who have joined less than 50 years ago.)
Sometimes rivalry is between groups of people rather than individuals.  Perhaps the younger folks think they are more important than the older folks—or the older folks think they are more important than the younger folks.  Or, even worse, maybe there are cliques of people who divide up according to social standing and consider their clique the most important clique.
A church cannot fulfill her God-given mission and purpose as long as there are rivalries within the Body of Christ.
Another attitude which has no place in the church is the attitude of “vain conceit.”  There might not be a lot of difference between rivalry and vain conceit.  “Vain conceit” literally means “empty opinion.”  People who have empty opinions are people who think more highly of themselves than they think of other people.  Empty opinions lead people to feel jealous of other people and to the desire to fight to prove they are right and everyone else is wrong.  A church cannot be of one mind when everyone is trying to be right.
Individualism is the American way.  We live in a culture which champions individual rights to the exclusion of anything else.   We live in a culture that worships at the altar of individualism. Individualism may be the American way, but it is not supposed to be the Christian way of life.  Demanding our own rights can destroy our community and involves a way of life in contradiction to the Gospel.  There has to be a better way.  That is why Paul proposes a church of one mind…a church of individuals who think of others before we think of ourselves.


Humility
Humility is not very popular in American culture.  But, it wasn’t very popular in the First Century Roman Empire either.  In fact, no one in Paul’s day considered humility a virtue.  They thought of humility as a weakness.  Humility was considered the opposite of pride, and the Romans considered pride a virtue.
The word Paul used for humility was associated with slavery.  We might even say that Paul is telling the Philippian Christians they ought to adopt the mentality of a slave.  They should think of themselves as the lowest of social standings and unfit.
Perhaps Paul is thinking about the Old Testament teachings about how God works.  For example, the Old Testament teaches us that God often chooses people who seem to be small and insignificant to accomplish big things through them.  It also teaches us that God shows grace to the humble and opposes the proud (Proverbs 3: 34).
It seems there are two ways we are supposed to be humble.  We are to demonstrate humility in our behavior toward other people, both inside and outside the church.  And, we are to be humble in the way we approach God.  God hears our prayers when we approach him as people who are unfit and unworthy.


Jesus as the Model of Humility
It would be good enough for Paul to appeal to an Old Testament text or story to describe Christian humility.  However, Paul went one step farther.  Instead of appealing to the Old Testament, Paul appealed to the character of Jesus himself.
More than likely, Philippians 2: 6 – 11, contains the words of an ancient hymn.  Modern translations like the New International Version recognize this as a long quotation and set these verses apart with indentations.
Since Paul does not cite his sources, we are left with some unanswered questions.  Did Paul write this hymn?  Did Paul quote from a familiar hymn sung in the Philippian churches?  Of course, that doesn’t really matter.  What matters is what the theology of the hymn teaches us about Jesus and how Paul uses that theology to inform his ethical teaching about humility.
One way to read the hymn is to note the way Jesus moves from Heaven to earth and back to Heaven.  The preexistent Jesus left Heaven and came down to earth.  The earthly Jesus went to the cross—the lowest point of his earthly life and the lowest point of the hymn.  But, the cross is neither the end of Jesus nor the end of the hymn.  Jesus went from the cross to being exalted by God in the resurrection, and now Jesus lives in an exalted status at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
One of the differences between us and Jesus is the fact that our lives had a beginning.  There was a time—before my birth—when I did not exist.  There was never a time when Jesus did not exist.  We read about this in John 1: 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  (Then John connects the preexistent Word with Jesus in John 1: 14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…”)
Just as John says the Word was with God and the Word was God, Paul tells us that the preexistent Jesus was every bit of the nature of God in his essential nature.  Yet, Paul tells us, Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
What do you think it means to say Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped?
I can think of two examples of people who tried to grasp equality with God.
The first example comes from the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  God had placed Adam and Eve in the middle of Paradise.  They did not have to work for their food, because they were living in perfect harmony with God’s creation.  All the food they could ever desire was right there for the taking.  Adam and Eve didn’t need clothing or shelter, because there was no shame to separate them and no danger for them as long as they were caretakers of God’s creation.  But, that wasn’t enough for Adam and Eve.  They were not satisfied with their status as creatures in God’s creation.  They wanted to be equal to God.  Because they considered equality with God something to be grasped, they overstepped God’s boundaries.  As a result of their sin, Adam and Eve lost Paradise…and all of humanity now experiences separation from God.
The second example comes from the traditional understanding of Satan himself.  According to legend, Satan started out as one of God’s angels named Lucifer.  Lucifer was not satisfied with being one of the angels.  Instead, he considered equality with God something to be grasped.  When Lucifer tried to grasp equality with God, he fell from Heaven to Hell.
These two stories have something in common.  Adam and Lucifer had a misconception of what it means to be equal with God.  They were tempted, because they thought equality with God means they could do whatever they wanted to do.  They thought equality with God means having your own way and getting everything you desire.
According to the hymn in Philippians 2, this is not what Jesus demonstrated.  Jesus had equality with God.  In his preexistent state, Jesus was equal to God.  Yet, Jesus did not consider this equality something to be grasped or held on to.
So, in verse 7, we read that Jesus made himself nothing.  He emptied himself.  He poured himself out.  Jesus took on the nature of a slave, a human being.  And, Jesus poured himself out on the cross…the most humiliating form of death ever known.
Jesus shows us what true equality with God really looks like.  Equality with God is not having your own way and getting everything you want.  Equality with God is giving yourself away.  Because Jesus has the character of God, Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for others.  The cross is the ultimate symbol of humility.
Because Jesus humbled himself and went to the cross on our behalf, God exalted Jesus in the resurrection and ascension.  Today, Jesus occupies the highest status possible.  Jesus is Lord…the name above all names…the name that brings all creatures and all kingdoms to their knees.  Jesus was exalted because he willingly humbled himself and gave his life away for others.


Conclusion
The hymn in Philippians teaches us that God’s ways are not like our ways. 
We think the path to greatness is the path of upward mobility.  It requires us to promote ourselves, to champion our own rights, to prove we are right, to prove other people wrong, and to compete against other people.  This is not God’s way. 
God’s way to greatness is downward mobility.
The more we exalt ourselves, the more we prove how small we truly are.  The person who gives themselves away for others will receive God’s greatest gifts.  The person who loses their life will receive true life from God.  The person who humbles himself or herself will be exalted by God.

Sunday, July 08, 2012

Jesus Christ: The Model


Jesus Christ: The Model
Romans 8: 28 – 30.

Introduction
One year ago, in July 2011, evangelical Christianity lost one of our greatest heroes.  Perhaps you have heard of John Stott.  He was the pastor of an Anglican church in LondonAll Souls Church.  He was a prolific writer of New Testament commentaries.  And, he was a committed evangelist—preaching in large evangelistic rallies, writing popular books about why the Christian faith ought to be believed and working one-on-one to lead people to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.[1]
When John Stott died, he was 90 years old.  But, he retired from public ministry four years earlier and preached his last sermon at 86 years old.  In his last sermon, Stott gave a wonderful summary of what he had committed his life to—Bible study, preaching, pastoring a church, and evangelism…  Everything Stott did came down to one central idea.  “God wants his people to become like Christ.  Christlikeness is the will of God for the people of God.”[2]
A friend of mine told me about Stott’s final sermon, and since then, I have read through it several times over the past few weeks.  While I don’t really want to just steal his sermon and preach it in our church, I do think this is a message we need to hear and apply to our lives.  “God wants his people to become like Christ.” 
Instead of preaching Stott’s sermon, I am going to break it into five parts and preach about Christlikeness over the next five weeks.  (After all, I don’t think I am as smart as John Stott.  So, it will take me five sermons to say what he said in one sermon!)
We begin today with the underlying concept of Christlikeness.  Does the Bible really tell us God wants his people to become like Christ?

Romans 8: 28 – 30.
Most of us associate these verses with some sort of crisis in our lives.  When bad things happen to us, either we remind ourselves or someone else quotes Romans 8: 28 to us.  “And we know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
A crisis is a good time to remember these words.  After all, that seems to fit the context of the entire chapter of Romans 8.
In Romans 8, Paul tells us that we are not alone in our suffering.  In fact, the entire creation is experiencing suffering.  The creation is “groaning” because it has been subjected to frustration.  This frustration is the result of the fact that creation cannot fulfill its God-given purpose.  Of course, there was a time when the creation fulfilled its purpose.  That was in the Garden of Eden.
God created a world in which all creatures lived together in perfect harmony.  God placed a man and a woman in the center of that perfect creation to be stewards and caretakers of creation.  As long as the man and woman took care of creation, the creation would provide all that they needed to live a peaceful and blessed life.  There was plenty of food and water to support their lives.  There was beauty all around them for their enjoyment.  There was shelter to protect them from anything they might perceive as a threat.
This Paradise did not last very long.  It only lasted until the man and woman decided it was not enough for them.  They were not satisfied in being creatures in God’s creation.  They wanted to be their own gods.  The creatures wanted to take the place of their Creator.
And, Romans 8 teaches us that humanity was not the only casualty when sin entered into God’s creation.  Even creation itself has been subjected to frustration.  The creation is not living up to its God-given potential.  In fact, the creation cannot fulfill its God-given purpose until human beings have been formed into the image of God’s Son, Jesus.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, it affected three things.  Their sin changed their relationship with God.  Their sin changed our relationship with God by handing down “original sin” to every human who followed them.  Their sin affected God’s creation.  As a result of their sin, all humans are fallen creatures living in a fallen creation.
But, Romans 8 also gives us some Good News.  Creation will be restored to its God-given purpose when humanity is restored to our God-given purpose.  When we become “sons of God”—conformed into the image of God’s Son, Jesus—creation will be restored.  This can only happen when we experience the Resurrection.  Until then, “(T)he creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed (Romans 8: 19, NIV).”


Verse 28, “And we know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

I think we need to notice this verse refers to a specific group of people.  It is written only about people who love God.  I think this is important for a couple of reasons.  First, this is something of a rarity for the Apostle Paul.  Most of the time, he writes about how much God loves us and holds us in his love.  Here he is writing about our love for God and acknowledging that it is important for us to love God.  Secondly, Paul is not teaching that all things turn out good in the end for all people.  No.  This is an exclusive claim only available for people who love God—or have a personal relationship with God.  This is because God is the one who is at work behind the scenes in our lives. 
God wants each of us to have a relationship with God that is defined by love.  We are to express our love for God in our worship—by worshipping God alone and not worshipping any false gods like self, money, possessions or any of the false gods of false religions.  We are to love God in the ways we live our lives—by committing ourselves to hearing God’s word in the Bible and applying God’s words in obedience.
When that kind of love for God is a part of our lives, we can experience the promise of Romans 8: 28.  God is at work to bring good from evil.  God redeems all the bad things that happen in our lives and uses them to accomplish his purposes in our lives.
Of course, we need to keep in mind that Romans 8: 28 does not say God causes all things to happen.  Again, we are fallen humans living in a fallen creation.  We are frustrated that we cannot fulfill God’s purposes for our lives.  We live in a creation which is also frustrated that it cannot fulfill God’s purpose.  But, God is not frustrated.  God can use whatever circumstances we face to bring about his good purposes.


Verse 29, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

I realize that I am treading into dangerous territory by reading a verse about God’s foreknowledge and the word “predestined.”  It is dangerous territory because there are so many different opinions on predestination—even within our church!  But, this is the Bible, so we need to deal with “predestination” as a biblical concept.  We just need to be careful that we do not allow modern-day human interpreters to influence our understanding more than the Bible influences us.
For example, this verse uses the word “predestine,” but it does not say God “predestines” who will be saved and who will be damned.  Instead, it tells us that everyone who loves God has been “predestined” by God to be conformed into the image of God’s Son, Jesus.  This verse describes Christian discipleship (or sanctification) and God’s commitment to fulfill his purpose in every Christian’s life.
Notice the way Paul describes predestination in this verse.  The people God foreknew God predestined to be conformed into the likeness of his Son.  Paul does not say, “The people God predestined God foreknew.”  There is a difference between these two statements.
If we reverse the order of “foreknew” and “predestined,” then we are left with an understanding of God that God has predetermined who will be saved and who will be damned.  God intentionally saves some people and intentionally passes over some people and thereby sending them to Hell.
If we preserve the order of “foreknew” and “predestined,” then we have an understanding that God’s foreknowledge does not determine who will be saved and who will be damned.  God’s foreknowledge is not determinative.  God simply knows ahead of time exactly how things will end.  God knows ahead of time who will love him and accept Jesus as Lord.  In fact, this is the exact point Paul makes about Israel in Romans 9 – 11.  God foreknew Israel as his chosen people.  However, not everyone in Israel accepted Jesus as the Messiah and followed Jesus as Lord.
God knows ahead of time what you will believe about Jesus.  God knows whether or not you will love God in worship and in life.  And, for those who love God, God is at work bringing about his plan in your life.  God uses the good times and the bad times.  God uses the easy and the hard.  And in all this, God is making you and me to look more and more like Jesus.  Jesus is the destination.  God has predestined you and me to look like Jesus.
There is another important word in verse 29.  The New International Version translates “be conformed.”  Paul does not ask us or expect us to conform ourselves to the life of Jesus.  In fact, none of us is even capable of changing our lives.  This is God’s work in us.  Our job is to yield ourselves to God…to stop resisting what God wants to do in us.
God wants his people to become like Jesus.  In fact, for every person who loves God, this is our destination.  God has set the destination ahead of time and is working within all the circumstances of our lives to accomplish this.  Our job is to let God do his work in us.  This does not happen in a one-time event of making a profession of faith or being baptized.  Instead, this is a daily—sometimes even hourly—yielding ourselves to God.  The best thing we could do is to pray every day, “God, do your work in my life.  Let my thoughts be like Jesus’ thoughts.  Let my actions be what Jesus would do.”


Verse 30, “And those he predestined he also called; those he called he also justified; those he justified he also glorified.”

If we take this verse out of context we can build a case that God has predetermined who will be saved and who will not be saved.  However, it is building on the verse we just looked at.  In that verse, we discovered that God foreknows who will love him and predestines those who love God to be conformed (by God’s activity in their lives) to the image of Jesus.  Those who are predestined to look like Jesus are called by God, justified by God and eventually glorified by God.
What we read here is a little like good news and bad news.  The good news is that God wants your life to look like Jesus and will work in all circumstances to bring about that purpose.  The bad news is that we will never really look like Jesus until we have been glorified in Heaven.
As long as we live in this fallen creation, we will face difficulties and trials.  God is working in our trials to conform us to the image of Jesus.  God’s purpose for us will not be fulfilled until we experience the Resurrection of our bodies as Jesus was Resurrected.  Then, Jesus will be the firstborn among many brothers—brothers and sisters who look like Jesus in every way.  This is what we are waiting for.  This is what creation is waiting for—the sons of God to be revealed.  Nothing will be right until God’s purposes are accomplished in us.


Conclusion

On Friday night, I watched a Barbara Walters television special on Heaven.  In many ways it was a disappointment for me.
I was disappointed that she tried to interview a cross section of Christian theologians and pastors.  She interviewed Catholics and mainline Protestants.  But the only person she interviewed to represent the evangelical perspective was Joel Osteen.  (And Joel Osteen does not reflect my perspective on Scripture or theology.)
I was disappointed that she seemed to syncretize Christian theology with Buddhism and Islam by saying everyone believes in Heaven and thinks they are going to Heaven after they die.
I was disappointed by the few times she tried to compare Christianity with other religions.  In each case she made Islam and Buddhism look much more appealing.
But, what really bothered me was the fact that there was a lot of talk about God but not enough talk about Jesus.
In a world where people believe all religions lead to the same God and everyone thinks they are going to Heaven, we need less talk about God and more talk about Jesus. 
What is the best way to talk about Jesus?  We start by living like Jesus.  This is not something we can do by our own abilities.  It is simply yielding to God every day and allowing God to accomplish his purpose in us.  It praying daily, “God, do your work in my life.  Let my thoughts be like Jesus’ thoughts.  Let my actions be what Jesus would do.  Help me to reflect the humility of Jesus…to reflect Jesus’ service to others…to reflect Jesus’ love…to reflect Jesus’ endurance in suffering…to reflect Jesus’ mission to the world.”