The
Tenth Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
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ET thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of thy humble
servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things
as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Paul’s letter to the Romans, the Twelfth Chapter,
Verses One through Nine:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among
you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think
soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For
as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of
another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is
given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of
faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth,
on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let
him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth
mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that
which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (Romans 12:1-9)
Paul’s Epistle for today takes on that old besetting and very formidable enemy
of the souls of men – PRIDE. I might add that it was PRIDE that also led to the
fall of Lucifer from Heaven along with a third of the angels who rebelled with
him. But for every admonishment, God also provides an edification.
You will note in the Prayer of Collect that the mercies of God are besought for
those of a HUMBLE heart. Once more, as in the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God
will give us the mind and will of Christ in asking for those things that accord
with His Will, and not our own. If our hearts and minds are fully reconciled to
God, all that we desire will also be precisely that which God wills for us.
The verse that I wish to expound upon most particularly from today’s Epistle is
the third: “3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every
man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to
think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the
measure of faith.”
The devoted Christian is a tool or vessel in the hand of God. He can take no
credit for the artwork God has used in making him and, since his very hands
belong to His Maker, he can take no credit for whatever good works they
perform. The Christian should be very much like a magnifying glass to enlarge
the very Person of God with his mouth, with his works, with his thoughts, and
with his desires. A magnifying glass is only a tool that helps enlarge detail
so that we might know more of the object it magnifies. If we are close to God,
His image will be magnified and enlarged. If we view him, even through a
magnifying glass from a distance, His image will be small in our hearts. We
must “draw near by faith” as in close and constant Communion with our God. In
looking through a telescope, we see images brought nearer. But if we look
through the same telescope from the opposite end, all images are made to look
smaller and insignificant. Our lives should magnify that image of God and
diminish our own image. That is the right relationship we should have with God.
As the Psalmist has said: “I will praise the name of God with a song, and
will magnify him with thanksgiving.” (Psalms 69:30)
If we are erudite in wisdom, we will know that it is faith that enables us to
know God – and this faith comes from the attending grace of the Holy Ghost in
opening our eyes to the Word which we have both heard and read. “So then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans
10:17) And even in the hearing and believing, we may take no credit for it is
the grace and power of God drawing us by the efficacious working of that Holy
Ghost in our hearts. Did you choose Christ to follow and believe? “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may
give it you.(John 15:16) Paul
makes the point very clear that we may boast of none of our virtues for they
are from God and granted by His Grace. “For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9)
Paul opens this chapter with great plea: “…..ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
A sacrifice takes no account of its own desire, but is made and given solely to
the love and praise of God. A sacrifice to God is given with no intent for
personal benefit but only to the glory of God to whom it is given. The Temple
Lamb would have preferred to forego its sacrifice, but it had no means of
enforcing its own will. When our wills are subdued and given over to that Mind
that was in Christ, we, too, will have no carnal will to defy that Will of God.
His Will becomes ours. This is not a great accomplishment of the Christian – it
is simply the LEAST he can do: “….which is your reasonable service.”
Paul also issues a dire warning to the Church as well as to the individual
Christian. The Church is just like a great ship. A ship is designed and created
to be seaworthy – to navigate the Ocean Seas with its cargo and passengers. Its
designers have made it to be secure from the waters in which it sails. It is
provided with water-proof hull and sails that will enable it to take advantage
of wind currents for movement. It also is equipped with a tiny instrument that
will determine success or failure in navigation – the compass. The rudder,
being less sizeable than the main sail, is nonetheless, extremely vital to the
ship’s direction and handling.
The ship is made to be in the Sea, just as the church is made to be in the
world. The Church also has a compass – the Word of God as its chart &
compass. It has mighty sails to take advantage of the gentle winds of the Holy
Ghost to give it movement. And the Church has Jesus Christ as its anchor and
foundation to keep the world from seeping in. The Church is made for the world.
As long as the Ship is in the sea, all is well and good, but when the sea gets
into the ship, disaster follows. As long as the Church is in the world, and
separate from it, all is well. But when the world seeps into the Church, all is
lost in SHIPWRECK! Today, the world is not seeping into the Church – it is
flooding into the Church. The philosophy of the world, the music of the world,
the PRIDE of the world, and the false ministers of the world have entered into
the Church and abide as the fowl of the air (demons) in her branches as in the
Mustard Tree of Matthew 13:31-32.
What has allowed the world and her demons to take such possession of the modern
church? I believe it may all be traced to the PRIDE of the flesh to which Paul
has alluded in verse three. We think of ourselves more highly than we should.
We desire, not only the acceptance of God, but the acceptance of man as well so
that we will be respectable and accepted. We desire, as did Israel, a king like
unto all the other nations round about – instead of having God as our King. The
Church has willingly accepted every abominable sin including homosexuality and
the murder of innocent babies as the norm. As we read in Revelations, Jesus is
no longer inside the modern Church but rather stands at the door without and
knocks. At the conclusion of His words to the Seven Churches, see what Jesus
says to them: “Behold, I stand at the door,
and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him,
and will sup with him, and he with me. To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also
overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches.” (Rev 3:20-22)
How is it possible for the body to hate its own heart, lungs, stomach, brain,
etc.? The Church is the Body of Christ and should remain not only Holy, but One
with Christ. If the Church is ONE with Christ, how can there be divisions?
Christ is not divided against Himself, so how can the Church, being His Body,
be so divided? It is because the larger Church has ceased to be the Body of
Christ and grown many cancers that destroy its soul. “4 For as we
have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So
we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 Having
then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether
prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or
ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or
he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with
simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with
cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is
evil; cleave to that which is good.” Does the heart perform a most
vital function? Yes, for without it the heart, there would be no blood supply
to all other cells and organs of the body. Do the lungs have an indispensable
function? Yes, in providing life-giving oxygen to every part.
Each Christian servant is gifted with unique gifts of service that will benefit
the entire Body of Christ. There is no Christian that stands in some greater
office than the least of these. Without kidneys, the body will perish. Without
lungs, the body will perish. Without a heart, the body will perish. The eye of
the Body is the Holy Ghost. The ears are for hearing the Word of God. The mind
is for giving over to that Mind which was in Christ Jesus. “Let this mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Phil 2:5) The prophesying
referred to is the preaching of truth. Faith engenders greater desire and
hunger for the Word of God. The greater the faith, the greater the zealous and
diligent study of the Word – not in pride of knowledge, but in love of sharing
that most valuable possession.
A much neglected gift in the church is that of exhortation. Our friend, Mr. Webster,
defines exhortation as “…to incite by argument or advice: urge strongly.”
Please do not be taken aback by the term incite, for to incite action is to
urge by the facility of the spirit or emotion. Of course, we often think of mob
violence when we think of incite, but when the full body of reason, truth, and
spirit are combined in convincing, no power shall stand in the way. After all,
what did Christ say to the Samaritan Woman at the Well concerning worship? “…..the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to
worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24) Knowledge of the truth is
not enough. That knowledge must be acted upon in humility and faith.
One last point of great importance: The Christian and the church should ABHOR
evil! There should be a far greater righteous indignation over the evil that
has befallen our Church, the nation, and our children than is obvious today. (Abhor
that which is evil.) Instead of an uncompromising abhorrence of evil,
we see, instead, the modern Church embracing evil. How can this be? Perhaps it
is because the Church has ceased to“..cleave to that which is good.” Can
we not judge sin according to the clear Word of God? Have we become impotent of
truth and naïve to sin? Where is the red blood of indignation at evil of the
Christian today? Perhaps they have followed their blind guides, who seem so
silent over the evils of our day, into the ditch of deception!
So both the members of the Body, as well as the Body as a whole, need to be
humble in our worship, reverent in our communion with God, faithful in our
living and witness, preferring the feelings of others to our own selfish
desires, hospitable to all, intolerant of sin in the sanctuary of God (church
discipline), and pursuing all things in the same Mind and will of Christ.
Reading the Bible straight through 50 times will no avail – though that would
be commendable if the Spirit of God attends the reading. Boasting of our
studies is an undesirable side-effect of such an approach. Loving the God who
has written His Love Letter to us will INCITE us on to a deeper knowledge and
understanding of His Person. He will be magnified and glorified in all that we
say, do, or think. That is our object of today’s lesson. “A word to the wise is
sufficient!”
