Consider Others

 

Text: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Focus: unity

Function: to see how we are to live in consideration of each other.

8:¹Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. ²Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge, ³but anyone who loves God is known by him.

⁴Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists” and that “there is no God but one.” ⁵Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— ⁶yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

⁷It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ⁸“Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do. ⁹But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? ¹¹So by your knowledge the weak brother or sister for whom Christ died is destroyed. ¹²But when you thus sin against brothers and sisters and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. ¹³Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never again eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

Not that we have a problem with it here, but this morning’s passage is a teaching on sort of the idea of how to get along. How to live in a way that considers the needs, passions and perspectives of the other person.

The New Testament is made of of the 5 historical books, the gospels and the book of Acts, plus different letters written by various apostles to different churches and the book of the John’s Revelations.

The letters, or epistles, as they are called in theological circles, were mainly written as instructional pieces that dealt with theology sometimes, but most of the time, especially the letters to the Church in Corinth, Paul was trying to sort out some sort of mess within the church.

Although people have been given a cleansed heart and an Holy Spirit driven conscience, they still were not yet perfect and Paul had to correct them.

This is one of the corrections that he addresses and apparently he is answering some sort of correspondence with the leaders about the official church policy on eating meat that was previously used in a pagan ceremony.

I think I read somewhere that it was cheaper than going to a regular butcher.

And this caused controversy among some of the believers because before they trusted in Christ, they worshiped in the pagan temple and the practice of eating such meat now bothered their conscience.

However, Paul tells them that although their conscience is bothered by the practice, for some people, especially those who never worshiped in the pagan temple, they understood that although pagan peoples placed spiritual significance to the meat that was offered in the sacrifice, because they as believers were made pure by the Spirit, nothing has spiritual significance anymore if it isn’t tied to the Christian faith. Therefore, the “knowledge” was, it is okay to eat meat used in a pagan ceremony.

So, here is the problem: within the church, they had major differences of opinion about what holiness looks like.

For some it was liberty and freedom since Christ has set us free from the bondage of religion to a new faith of caring for others. But to others, they lived a sacrificial life and holiness to them was abstaining from what they might consider an appearance or justification of evil. They were afraid it would make them look bad. Their conscience was “weaker,” Paul said, that those who had the freedom to eat.

Now, there is a similar teaching in Romans 14. In this passage, the question has extended itself beyond meat offered to idols to any meat at all since before the flood we were created to not eat meat, and also drinking wine and whether or not we should worship on Saturday or Sunday or every day.

These differences of opinions lead to division within the body, and they do today. So Paul wants to address the important thing to remember when facing different opinions, consider the needs of the other person.

Romans 14:7-9 says: ⁷For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. ⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

The context in the teaching is that the people who abstain from meat and wine are people who choose to live a life of sacrifice before God. I describe it like this: For them their faith is about the practices of the world that they abstain from.

And the same verses say that the people who feel the freedom to eat meat or drink wine do so because Christ has set them free.

And he tells us that both people are serving Christ with clear consciences.

And that brings us back to today’s passage. He is giving us instructions on how to get along and consider the needs of the other person.

He says we need to be concerned about the conscience of people. (Pause) I was going to say: “Because…” but then I realized it needed a period. Care for others is the salient principle of the passage.

Care for the ones whose conscience is weak.

I think the comparison using the terms weak and strong conscience indicates that those who are weak are yet to grow in their faith.

For example: It is kind of like the alcoholic. I would never tempt a sober alcoholic with a drink because it could lead them back into dependency.

I might even, as the passage says, abstain at that moment in order to protect their conscience.

But there may come a time when that person is healed, saved and restored by God and no longer feels dependent on alcohol to cope.

Jesus came to heal and restore people.

And that person has grown in their faith and may be free to imbibe again. And therefore, we don’t have to worry about their conscience anymore.

Brother Paul is telling us to be concerned for their well being more than proving a point about ourselves.

We are constrained, then, by the weaker conscience of those who are still growing.

I love the example of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church. He drew a picture of a hill and people climbing up and everyone had the hand of the person in front of them and the person behind them, pulling each other up from level to level on the mountainside.

We as believers are in this position to encourage and enable others and Paul is asking us to take into consideration the fears and the misunderstandings about God that do not lead us to Christ.

I need this lesson myself. He is telling us to be patient with the weakness of others when in that area we might be gifted with strength.

One of the things that I have found in my life is that I have areas of strength and weakness and I have to remember that if someone is strong in another area than me, but weak in a different area, we are both gifted by God with the Holy Spirit and God is working it out in our lives according to our individual needs.

So, from this passage, I learn to be patient with others.

Starting with Jesus and his acceptance of the woman caught in adultery and the fact that he regularly ate with people who the weaker folks called sinners, to Paul and his preaching of accepting non Jewish people into the family of God, to John telling us that Love is really the only thing that matters, we see God at work opening the circle of faith bigger and bigger because as Peter reminds us, God is patient with us it is not God’s will that any should perish and everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

So, let us bring this into a major area of division within the Church today.

First off, I believe the Holy Spirit is working in our culture to overcome the beliefs and practices that keep people from the LGBTQ+ community to have the same rights and privileges as others.

God is moving for us to accept “the other,” whether they are Queer, Muslim, or People of Color and is leading the Church to be more inclusive.

We are simply following the command to treat others they way we want to be treated. It isn’t a “Gay agenda” but it is working for equal rights for all citizens because Jesus set the example by eating with those the religious folks despised.

So, that is where I stand but I realize that the idea of normalizing a lifestyle we have been taught to call sin pricks at the conscience of those whom the Spirit has not convinced.

And Paul is telling us to be patient with those who disagree and allow the Spirit of God to do the work in God’s time in their life.

So, be kind in the way we oppose each other, because we love them and care for them as Christ does. It doesn’t mean that we all agree, it means we are all patient and believing that God is working with the other just as God has worked with ourselves.

Walking With God

 

Text: Psalms 139:1-6

Focus: Intimacy with God

Function: trusting that we are under the Spirit’s control

139:¹O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
²You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from far away.
³You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,
    O Lord, you know it completely.
⁵You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Good morning and welcome to the possibilities that we are facing for us in this new year. I pray for peace in this new year as we are going to face a political election that won’t be about the issues but mud slinging and bitter accusations. I am afraid that we have sunk to the level of those who use ridicule and lies about their opponents because people are easily manipulated. I am greatly grieved at how so many Christians have picked up on the bitterness.

The thing is, Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we are in a spiritual battle, and 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 tells us we are not to use the weapons of human origin, but divine, Spirit filled and Spirit led manifestations of God dealing with injustice.

God does indeed care about injustice.

And the OT shows us that the laws of God that are not written on the hearts of men and women are ineffective to change society into a just and loving place, like Jesus preached and prophesied about.

But the Old Testament also prophecies about the Spirit and it says that God will fill those who trust in God with the Spirit and the Spirit of God. I believe, to work on the conscience of the individual and help them manifest God’s love in any given situation.

And that is what David is talking about in this Psalm. He explains how he walks with God in his own conscience.

God changes hearts to change society.

It is important to note that Jesus came to transform human culture into a society that cares for the least of these. That is why the continued rhetoric against people at the border who are just like Jesus, Joseph and Mary were when they were fleeing from violence to a safe place is evil. It dehumanizes them so that our conscience is not bothered. It is a form propaganda.. It is sin to use these suffering people as political pawns to garner votes and whip up support.

As I mentioned last week, God said God’s blessings for us are so that we can share with others. We are indeed blessed here in the USA.

God has blessed us and we don’t need a wall. I believe that God is calling us to a bigger table.

David is speaking of how God changes his own heart and Jesus spoke of how it will change the world around us.

We need to understand that salvation is both personal and corporate, or community wide.

When Jesus prayed the Lord’s prayer, it was not “MY Father…” but OUR Father…” The emphasis is on the corporate nature of Jesus’ salvation. Again, Jesus came to change the culture into a place that is safe and loving for everyone.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called it “The beloved community.”

Loved by God and thus, loving others equally and ensuring that the peace given isn’t merely the absence of conflict, but justice for everyone.

I am sure God’s heart was broken on Oct 7 in Israel when the war broke out and non combatant innocents were slaughtered. It was an act of terror. But, Jesus made it clear that retributive justice does not work.

We care for Israel because of the holocaust and we support their right to exist as a nation state so that the holocaust does not happen again. And we also support the Palestinians right to exist as a nation state. The problem is, those two sides are full of hate and refuse to allow the others the right to exist in peace.

I understand the frustration of the Palestinians, they are victims of two governments, just like the Jewish people were during WWII.

People cannot find the peace in their hearts to forgive and love their enemies as Jesus promised would happen when we trust Christ and the Spirit fills us.

What they need is a dose of the Holy Spirit.

David speaks of the intimacy that comes in his relationship with God.

Paul said we call God’ “Daddy” by the power of the Spirit.

And David speaks of how he believes that in his connection with the Christ, the Christ knows thoughts and motivations better than he knows himself.

That, to me, is the importance of spending time in meditation and contemplation. It gives us a chance to listen for the voice of God as God instructs our hearts in the way that we should go.

And I love the way he says that God “hems him in.” God sets boundaries in his heart. I believe he is speaking of how the Holy Spirit can lead and guide us to be obedient to God and the teachings of the Christ in our own lives.

It is also important to spend time studying, like you are this morning listening to a sermon, but also in your own personal time.

I don’t want to shame you if you don’t have a regular practice. But I would humbly ask you to ask God to increase your knowledge of God and the Spirit’s leading when you are praying.

Isaiah 11:5-7 says that in the end, Jesus comes to end war and hatred and strife. I don’t know how that will happen as it seems as if we are going backwards and our passion to see our side beat the other side keeps us from loving them as we love ourselves.

We are being divided. My new sources do nothing but criticize the other side and the other side’s news sources do nothing but criticize my side.

We need peace. We need the power of the Spirit to draw us together so that we can work together for the common good.

Again, peace is not peace until it gives justice to both sides of the conflict. So, the Prince of Peace, Jesus, preached peace and yet attacked those who refused to love and accept the other, mainly because of greed.

You know I love the verse from Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O human, what is good and what does God require of you? Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

I confess, that humble part is hard for me. I get passionate, but then, so did Jesus and we are called to be like Him.

I believe that Jesus interacted with those who opposed him with the desire to redeem them and transform them instead of merely trying to win an argument.

He seemed to be focused on the individual and their needs instead of trying to prove something about himself.

I believe that is part of the essence of what it means to walk humbly with God.

David does something profound, I believe, in this passage. As he speaks of how God knows him intimately, he speaks of what it is like to walk with God.

It is how we fulfill the New Testament command to pray without ceasing. I believe it is the same thing. God doesn’t want us literally on our knees every minute of every day, but God does want us to acknowledge His presence and power in our lives as we go about our daily work. I believe God wants us to acknowledge God’s presence in every part of our lives.

God is there with us in our vocational work, in our sewing, teaching, driving, welding, bookwork, cooking, creating, helping and whatever else your hands find to do. God is there, with us.

And this song of David is a testimony to his own faith and dependence on God.

The world still has a lot of evil to be overcome. And God’s Spirit gives us the power to face the injustices of this world knowing that we are indeed walking with the hand of God on our backs.

So pray and listen for the Spirit’s guiding in your own lives.

A Changed Mind

 

Text: Mark 1:4-11

Focus: Repentance

Function: to help people see that God is constantly helping us to grow.

⁴so John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And the whole Judean region and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. ⁸I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. ¹¹And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

There are two different men named John in the gospels. The first one is Jesus’ cousin through Elizabeth, a man who was born to a woman in her 80’s and shared a brief time of pregnancy with the mother of the Lord.

The other John is the one who was called the beloved disciple and he wrote the gospel of John, 1, 2, 3 John Epistles and the book of Revelations at the end of the Bible.

Today, we are looking at the message of Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptizer and he came on the scene as a predecessor to the Lord preaching this message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

He instituted a new ordinance for the Church. Baptism. Paul talks about it in Romans 6 as being the beginning of this new life where the Spirit reigns in us. Remember, it is a symbol.

1. Here is the verses: 3 Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

It symbolizes that we have our sins forgiven as they are washed away through the water. It then also became a symbol that we died to selfish living and have chosen to live for the good of everyone.

That is what is meant by John preaching repentance.

That work repent is a theological term and to some, it might have a negative connotation.

When I picture the word repent, I picture an angry preacher with a red face, all blustery, pounding the pulpit with one fist and pointing a finger at me telling me that I must repent or I will not make it to heaven.

Actually, his message is, repent or burn in hell.

It isn’t a very attractive way to bring people into the abundant life that Jesus came, lived and died to give to us.

Now don’t be alarmed. The image I get in my head is almost cartoonish. It is completely imaginary and a very wrong understanding of the message that John the baptizer was preaching about repentance.

What DO we think of when we hear the word repent? The word in the Greek is metanoia. It literally means to transform or to change your mind.

So, here is John the baptizer, on the scene getting people ready to receive Jesus and he is preaching about the new kingdom that Jesus is bringing to them and he is telling them to get ready for it by changing their minds.

His message is: Stop being closed minded and open up yourselves to new possibilities. God is here and is going to make things right.

If you want to be forgiven for your sins, then change the way you are thinking. John tells them that his baptism is merely human, in water but Jesus’ baptism is with the Holy Spirit. He is telling them that the Spirit is coming to transform their minds and their thinking.

I think one of my biggest problems is that once the Spirit began a good work in me, I thought I was finished.

But the point of the passage and the message that John is preaching is that we are people who are constantly being transformed by the Spirit in our lives.

God keeps on transforming us as the scripture says line upon line and precept upon precept. God’s goal is that we be transformed into people who will bear the image of Christ to a world that needs to embrace the redemption that God is giving us.

So, here is John the Baptizer saying “Jesus is coming to forgive your sins” and you need to be ready to change your minds in order to join this new kingdom.

When Jesus stood before Pilate at his trial, he said: “My kingdom is not of this world…” He indicates that it is again, a different way of thinking.

I look at what the apostles did with the teaching of right after he ascended into heaven and left them to build the community known as the Church.

The first thing they did was set up a new system, I guess it was nothing less than an ancient commune, where the rich shared their blessings with the poor because they realized that loving their neighbor as themselves meant that one person cannot hoard goods while another person starves.

1 John 3:17 implies that to see our brother in sister in need and have the resources to help them and refuse is sin because we are not loving our neighbor as ourselves.

I don’t think those are hard words. We see a need and we are filled with compassion and we meet the need depending on God to pay us back because Proverbs 9:17 tells us that giving to the poor is a loan to God that God will indeed repay.

If not in this life, then in the life to come.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating a commune and the Bible doesn’t command it. But what I am talking about is our relationship to our wealth and the way that we use it to be the blessing that God wants us to be.

Genesis 12:2 gives us the biblical principle that God blesses us to be a blessing to others.

Again, I am not advocating socialism, we live in a capitalistic society.

Maybe this is where we need to change our mind as we place these values into our capitalistic society: Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us that if we are blessed financially, it is God who blessed us. If we earned our wealth through hard work, it is God who gave us the strength and the luck to have succeeded.

John is telling them to allow their minds to be changed by the Holy Spirit as they enter this new era of God’s blessings and power in their lives.

He is calling us to live for the kingdom of God and remember that our reward is in heaven.

I believe it is the same for us.

John’s message to be ready for something new in their lives still resonates with me.

I think of the way that the Holy Spirit has led me in my life. That cartoonish image that I have in my mind is based somewhat on the reality of hearing angry preachers when I was young.

The Holy Spirit has moved me from a God of wrath to a God of love and is inspiring me, us, to be loving and kind people who depend on God and each other and recognize that we belong to God and to each other in this life.

And all of this is done, I believe, by the power of the Spirit that John promises will come to us who trust in the Christ for our redemption.

So, praise God there is a real beauty to this. I complained at first about my perception of what the word repent means. But when we look at it, it is completely different and it is God, by the Spirit setting us free. One of my favorite verses by Paul is 2 Corinthians 3:17: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom.”

I was raised with a “don’t sin” mindset. Sin was the focus. In this passage, the people confessed their sins and then moved on to this new life. John isn’t shaming them with the past but promising them the future driven by the Spirit of God.

So, my take away is to not be afraid to let the Spirit keep on transforming us into the people who demonstrate Jesus’ love.