Serving Selflessly with our Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on March 19, 2017.

Last week we talked about using our natural gifts to serve God’s people, and so today we will move to the area of spiritual gifts.  Though they are very different things, they are intended for the same reason, to help others.  Spiritual gifts may sometimes look like natural gifts, but they will always have a lack of natural explanation.  Thus, a person with a natural gift of healing has studied and learned through experience what works and what doesn’t.  But a person with a spiritual gift of healing simply prays for them.  When people are healed through either method, it is clear the source of gift, whether it is natural or spiritual.

It is easy to let fear in this area cause us to stay away from it, ignore it, or even reject that it is meant for today.  This fear can rise from the fact that spiritual gifts are not generally a part of our everyday experience, whereas natural gifts are.  Another issue is that the spiritual gifts have been abused quite often.  Thus many people stay away from them because they don’t trust people who are “exercising” a spiritual gift.  Many people who are not submitted to Christ have used the guise of a spiritual gift in order to manipulate people and bring glory to themselves.  However, in the Bible we are told to be careful in this area.  Just because someone seems to be spiritually gifted does not guarantee that they are motivated by God.  There are false spirits and false motivations within people.  In the Bible they had to be vigilant continually against false teachers, false prophets, and even false-Christs.  So, some have felt that this area is so fraught with difficulty and confusion that we would be best to just jettison it from our religious experience.  Let me challenge you on that kind of logic.  If we quit doing something because someone somewhere abused it, we would be hard pressed to find anything left.  In fact many Christians still believe in the gift of teaching even though this is one of the most abused spiritual gifts of all.  If they will not quit teaching the Gospel because of the fact that others distort it, then why would they quit seeking spiritual gifts and their use because they are abused by others?  The truth is that we need to grow up and approach this with a mature attitude.  We must exercise responsibility for our own motivations and the leadership of churches must also exercise responsibility for what they allow and promote as spiritual gifts.  Sure it is an area that can be abused, but when we look to the Lord for help, He helps us grow in understanding and discernment in this area.  God challenges us to grow up and become more mature, so that the spiritual gifts can operate through us and we can recognize their proper use.

The use of Spiritual Gifts

Starting in verse 1 we notice that Paul is concerned about ignorance.  All teaching is intended to counteract not just the lack of knowledge, but also those things that we have mistakenly accepted as knowledge.  For the Corinthians as well as for us, we come to Christ with a lot of cultural ideas and ways of thinking.  It is easy to make the Gospel conform to these ideas and “truths” that we think are true.   Paul has heard reports about some issues that are happening with spiritual gifts and wants them to understand the truth.  In verses 2-3, Paul describes what I would call testing for that which is genuine.  The Corinthians had come out of a pagan background full of idol worship, temple prophets and prophetesses, and the oracles of these false gods.  The pagan gods had no unifying principle.  Their prophecies and spiritual operations were generally cryptic and purposefully misleading.  One was left questioning the motivations of the gods and their prophecies.  This cultural background was affecting how spiritual gifts were being used in their church.  Thus they needed some instructions to help them guard against false spirits and to embrace the Holy Spirit.  Paul’s test is simply this question.  Does the person promote Jesus as the Lord or not?  Both Christ and his apostles had taught that Jesus was the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.  He had ultimate authority over all things in heaven and on earth.  Thus Paul reveals this as an important test.    We could add to this a more general test that Paul gives in Galatians 1:7-8.  There the question would be this.  Do they contradict the Gospel that has already been given from Jesus and his apostles?  In fact Paul goes so far as to say that if he himself were to come back later with a gospel different from what they had already received, then he should be excommunicated.  The technical term is to become anathema.  Galatians 1:8 says, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema).”    So what it teaches about Jesus and about the Gospel becomes the test of what spirit is behind a person.  The apostle John in 1 John 4 gives these same tests only in different words.  There John says that if someone denies that Jesus came in the flesh or is the Son of God, they are of the spirit of antichrist.  He goes on to state that those who won’t receive what the apostles were teaching were not of God.  So we are given a very clear means of knowing whether someone is of God or not.  We check what they teach about Jesus and whether or not they embrace what the apostles taught.  This of course describes the New Testament.  The Bible itself becomes the means by which we can test the spirit behind any spiritual gift.

Spiritual gifts are intended to be motivated and enabled by the Holy Spirit.  The enemy loves to promote a knock-off fake of the original.  So, each of us need to be motivated by the Holy Spirit.  It is the New Testament that helps us to have confidence that we are being led by the right Spirit, as we read it and embrace it.  We are all to be truth and error detectors.

Starting in verse 4 Paul makes the point that the spiritual gifts are diverse in their expression, but unified in their source, the Holy Spirit.  This is important because we should not try to make everybody be the same.  No, there is to be a diverse expression of the spiritual gifts that is as diverse as the people God gives them to.  Just as the Creator makes a diversity of natural things, so He operates in a diverse manner through the spiritual gifts.  Yet, they are always united by their connection to the Holy Spirit.  This is an important point.  At times churches have descended into a chaos of “dueling prophets” or teachers, each trying to get the majority to come under their influence.  This is a sure sign that the Holy Spirit is not behind what is happening.  Each claims to have the Spirit of God, all the while, they tear the Church apart.  The true spiritual gift will work in harmony with all the others in the body, because it is motivated by the same Spirit that motivates the others.  Each of us must be submitted to this truth.  God is not trying to raise me up above others, but rather, He is trying to harmonize His work through us all.

Thus in verse 7 Paul states what should be obvious by now.  The purpose of the spiritual gifts is for the common good of all believers in the Church.  The spiritual gifts are given as rewards or badges of honor to individuals to lift them above others.  They are not meant to be used to win “the Olympics” of spiritual gifts.  This question must always be behind the use of any spiritual gift, “How can this be done for the good of everyone?”  When there is turmoil and factions that develop around the use of spiritual gifts, it calls for believers to stop and remind themselves of this truth.  Even if the Spirit speaks something to us to share, we should always seek wisdom for “how” and “when” to share.  The goal is not to conflict with the other gifts and to promote the good of the whole church.

Examples of Spiritual Gifts

In verses 8-11 we are given 9 examples of spiritual gifts.  We know that there are more than nine because later, at the end of the chapter, Paul mentions two other spiritual gifts: the gift of helps, and the gift of administrations.  So let’s acknowledge that though these are some pretty big spiritual gifts, they are not meant to be a complete list of all spiritual gifts.  The first two are a word of wisdom and a word of knowledge.  People who have these gifts will receive wisdom and knowledge from the Holy Spirit.  Wisdom has to do with the plan or how to do something.  We see this in Acts chapter 15 when the early Church was debating about what to require of the Gentiles who were being saved.  The Spirit of God gave them wisdom through certain individuals that led them to refrain from requiring the Gentiles to obey the Law of Moses plus embrace Jesus.  A word of knowledge has more to do with information.  It often works in conjuction with a gift of prophecy.  God will give individuals knowledge of things that there is no natural reason why they would have that knowledge.

Next we see the gift of faith, which should not be confused with the faith by which we are saved.  In this case we are talking about a spiritual gift in which individuals have great boldness and confidence in their natural and spiritual gifts.  God uses them to help encourage and embolden the other believers.  Next is the gift of healing.  I mentioned this earlier and it hardly needs much explanation.  Though we can all pray for healing, some are given a spiritual gift in this area.  Though healings would technically be a miracle, Paul lists the spiritual gift of miracles, which is the ability either to predict or direct events that cannot be naturally explained in their coincidence.

The gift of prophecy is not only about trying to predict the future.  Prophecy simply means to speak on behalf of God.  In a general way, all Christians are to speak on behalf of God to the lost of the world.  But, within the Church, God speaks to some in order to speak to the whole assembly.  These words of prophecy may be about the past, the present or the future.  Either way, it is up to the people of the church to discern whether the prophecy is in keeping with the New Testament.  Also, it would not be treated as being on par with Scripture.  However, we should recognize that if it truly is the Holy Spirit speaking to a person, it will be 100% accurate.  The idea that a person can be completely wrong in a prophecy and somehow still have been motivated by the Holy Spirit is a blasphemous thing to say.  At the very least, the person has presumed that their own ideas were from the Spirit of God.  It takes strong leadership to pull such people aside and caution them.   The spiritual gift of discerning of spirits has to do with an ability to recognize the spiritual motivation behind a manifestation of a “spiritual gift.”    There is no natural reason for them to question a person’s motivation, but they recognize it by the help of the Holy Spirit.

The last two spiritual gifts that Paul points to are speaking in different kinds of languages and the interpretation of such.  The Holy Spirit can help people to speak in a language that they have never learned.  This may or may not be understood by people present.  In fact, some languages may not be of this earth.  Either way, in the church assembly they are intended to be interpreted (not translated).  Both of these gifts go hand in hand.  They can be used by the same person, or with two different people.

Now in looking at all of these spiritual gifts, some of them have natural counterparts.  But, the emphasis with spiritual gifts is that there is no natural explanation for them.  They are powered and enabled by the Holy Spirit.

More about Spiritual Gifts

It is important to recognize that these are not things we can take a class on and learn.  They are not things that we can hang out with a person who has them and can mentor us.  These are given by the Holy Spirit as He desires (vs. 11).  There is no place for self-promotion or self-calling with the spiritual gifts, and yet, these very things are often on display.  Instead of worrying about what we have or don’t have, we are to be a people of prayer seeking to help one another.  In that context we will discover gifting within ourselves.  The emphasis is on helping each other, not on having a list of gifts embroidered on our lapel.  Now I want to skip to the end of the chapter to recognize how the apostle Paul wraps up this section.

In verse 31 Paul tells us to earnestly desire the best gifts, and yet there is a more excellent way.  Of course that way is the way of love in chapter 13.  This verse has two aspects.  The first has to do with desiring the best gifts.  As I said at the beginning, some are afraid of spiritual gifts and want to avoid them.  However, the apostle tells us to desire them.  I would point out that this is both individually and corporately.  However, sometimes our desire can be fueled by the wrong reasons.  The Corinthians all desired to speak in tongues because they thought that this was the most spiritual gift.  In their mentality, it must be the most spiritual because you couldn’t be understood.  Yet, Paul would show them that without interpretation this gift does not help the whole Church.   It is better to prophecy in a language that is understood than to only speak in tongues without interpretation (we are talking about within a gathering).  There misunderstanding of the purpose of the spiritual gifts had caused their gatherings to become a wild and chaotic free for all with everyone speaking in an unintelligible language.  His words are not meant to shut it all down, but rather to give it wisdom.  This way the true purpose of the gifts and the Spirit who gave them could happen.

Now the second part of verse 31 points us to the way of love.  There are some who believe that Paul is trying to replace spiritual gifts with love, like it is better than them.  However, when you honestly read the opening verses of chapter 13, we see that Paul is still talking about using spiritual gifts.  “If I speak with the tongues of angels and have not love…”  The Corinthians had become very self focused in their use of the spiritual gifts.  The more excellent way is to have our spiritual gifts tempered and directed by the love of God.  Spiritual gifts are meant to operate through the love of God.

I pray that you will not run from spiritual gifts, but I also pray that you will learn to be wise in what truly is of the Holy Spirit.  There is always going to be some immaturity in this area if we are winning people to Christ.  We will have our own moments that parallel Paul’s attempts to teach the Corinthians.  However, this can be a good thing if we have enough people who are spiritually mature in the use of the spiritual gifts and can help those who are not to grow and learn to serve properly.

Serving with Spiritual Gifts audio

Do not Test the Lord Your God

Matthew 4:5-7.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 04, 2016.

Today we continue our study of the temptation of Christ that we see in Matthew 4, and look at the second one presented to our Lord.  If the first temptation was to satisfy and sustain yourself with material things, then the second temptation is to promote yourself and make things happen by your own wisdom.  Another way to categorize these three temptation is to use the phrases that are given in 1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  The first temptation appealed to the lust of the flesh (make bread for your stomach).  This second one seems to be more about the pride of life.

All of us deal with issues of significance and often desire situations in which we are exalted above our fellow man.  Satan loves to play off of these desires and mislead us into a path of destruction.  For some this path leads them towards religion, but twists it with human pride.  For others the path may lead them away from religion out of a wounded pride.  Either way he wins because there is no other solution for the hearts of mankind than the Creator Himself.  So the first are walled off to Him by the self-delusion that they are acceptable, and the second wall themselves off to Him out of their pain.  May we all learn to lay our pride at the foot of the cross of Jesus and thereby remove from Satan’s arsenal a very powerful, spiritual lever that he loves to employ against us.

 We are tempted by pride

It is often said that Satan fell through pride in his own wisdom and beauty.  Thus it would stand to reason that he would seek to enamor us with his own prideful reasoning.  The Bible does not make it completely clear whether Satan knows he was wrong and is operating out of sheer spite, or whether he still thinks there is a play here where he actually “proves his case” and wins.  Regardless we must expect to be tempted in this area of pride.

We see in verse 5 that the devil takes Jesus up to the highest point of the temple.  It is not really important the mode of this travel, though many can speculate.  The setting is a place that no one may see immediately (while he is being tempted).  But if he listens to the devil there will be a very public spectacle.  How could jumping from of a height that was as much as several hundred feet be tempting?

It starts with being reminded of his relationship with the Father.  The first temptation tries to paint the Father as not taking care of Jesus.  “God doesn’t care about you as much as you think.  Make your own bread.”  However, this temptation does the opposite.  It plays on the pride of such a close relationship with the Father.  “Since you are the Son of God make a public show of God’s love for you.  There is no way He would let you die.”  Of course the devil makes no mention or shows no regard for what the Father’s plan might be.  Jesus loves the Father and has been in a relationship of unity with Him since the beginning.  So He is not only concerned with what the Father wants, but already knows that what Satan suggests is not the plan. 

So what does Satan hope to accomplish?  It is tough to say.  Perhaps he hopes to try and thwart any spiritual help that would come with his own angels, so that Jesus would die.  Clearly he seeks to kill Jesus because of the cross later.  Let’s get one thing clear.  Satan is not interested in promoting Jesus and he could care less about promoting you.  In the end his only aim is to destroy your life.  If he can do that by inflating your pride in your relationship with God, then he will.

Notice that this time Satan backs up his temptation by quoting Scripture.  His first temptation was pushed aside by Jesus reminding him of Scripture.  So he tries to reverse this tactic back on Jesus by quoting some Scripture himself.  One thing is clear in the Bible; the devil always twists the meaning of God’s Word.  He is only capable of abusing Scripture for his own ends, which are contrary to God’s.  An illustration of this can be seen in politics.  Every word of an opponent is generally twisted out of context and used against them by the other side.  Finding a truly, objective treatment of the person is rare.  As Christians we must flee this kind of activity in our own life.  2 Timothy 2:15 says that we must “rightly divide [handle] the word of truth.”  We can see that the devil does not do such a thing but twists the meaning of Psalm 91 by skipping phrases and leaving out the context.  So let’s look at this section of Psalm 91.

Satan quotes from verse 11, skips the second part of it, quotes verse 12, and leaves off verse 13.  It is always important to pay attention to what is left out.  Notice that God’s angels would be commanded to watch over the righteous “to keep you in all your ways.”  The way of a person is a huge theme in the Bible.  In fact the righteous are known by their determination to walk in the “way of the Lord.”  Thus the passage is about a person who is in a trusting relationship with God and living as God has taught us.  When God’s ways are our ways then the devil will find little within us that he can manipulate.  Now verse 12 points out that God’s protection is upon the righteous.  But verse 13 shows why.  We are protected in order to tread upon the lion and the cobra.  Now this is not a passage about handling literal lions and cobras, although God is more than capable of delivering the righteous from such.  There is never a case of people “treading” on lions and cobras in the Bible so that should be your first clue that something deeper is going on here.  The lion and cobra are metaphors for our spiritual enemy, the devil.   1 Peter 5:8 says, “Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”  God doesn’t necessarily protect us from ever falling down literally.  But He does offer constant protection so that we may never fall to the schemes of the devil and be devoured by Him.  Similarly, in Revelation 12:9 it says, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.”  The “serpent of old” is an allusion to Genesis 3 and the Fall of Adam and Eve.  Adam and Eve fell before the Serpent (Satan) because they were tricked into distrusting God.  Clearly Satan doesn’t want to quote this part of the passage and highlight that angelic protection is so that we can tread on the devil, not cooperate with his plans.

However, Jesus does not go into Psalm 91 and point these things out to Satan because there is an even greater context to these verses.  All Scripture is context to any one verse.  A very powerful thing about Scripture is that its proper understanding will not contradict any other part.  If it seems to then you know there is an error in your understanding.  So, dig deeper.  Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16.  Yes, God will protect you along your way.  But we also, must not test Him in this.  Now, God is gracious and many of us have been in times of weak faith and have asked God to give us a sign of his love.  If we do so without the threat of walking away from Him then He sometimes graciously responds.  But, if you lay down something as a test that God must pass or you are walking away, then beware.  Such actions are not born out of a loving relationship with God, but out of selfish love for yourself.  Beware of those who trumpet on Scripture to the detriment of the rest of Scripture.  This is classic cult leader stuff.

We must not put God to the test

So let’s develop that last point that Jesus makes to the devil.  The Holy Spirit had not led Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple; the devil had.  In our own lives it is not always so clear who is leading us.  Thus we must be careful to recognize anything that smacks of trying to force God’s hand, or trying to speed up things.  This is manipulation of the relationship that God wants with us.  Now, a parent loves a child, but would be foolish to allow the child to fall into the habit of trying to manipulate them.  Of course, kids are learning how to love.  They don’t understand such deeper concepts.  It takes a parent who loves them too much to let them get away with it, a parent who disciplines them in such times, in order to help a child grow in love.  Just as your flesh desires material things, so it desires the pride of life: public success, and the accolades of those around us.  Satan plays off of these things.  Yet, Jesus did not operate in such a way as to lift himself up, or try to out think the plan of God.  In fact, Jesus often did the opposite of what self-promoters would do.  Jesus pointed us to the Father and for such a blessing he was crucified.  That was to be his public moment of demonstrating the love of the Father.

But it goes deeper than just crass manipulation.  We cannot force God to demonstrate His love as we dictate.  When a person lays down an ultimatum to God, “either you do this or I walk,” we step out onto shaky ground.  God in His grace does work with our weakness.  Gideon was given a sign by God.  Yet, we must always have as our foundation, “Nevertheless, Thy will be done.”  In fact, God gave the greatest demonstration of love possible when He gave His One and Only Son to become a man and do for us what we could not do for ourselves.  All this is so that whosoever would believe on Jesus would have everlasting life instead of perishing.  It is easy for us to do this to one another.  We can be angry and made that someone didn’t show their love in a particular way.  We can even do the politician thing and twist everything that they do or say into “not love.”  But when we act this way we actually destroy the very love that is being given to us.  Too many people say, “If God would only do such and such, then I would know that He exists and that He cares about me.”  The problem is that you are trying to control God and refusing to deal with the countless ways that He has demonstrated His love for you.  So we can push aside 1,000 ways of love and complain that we did not receive a particular 1.  This is folly and not the path of love.  Love is a discovery of the uniqueness of another and how we can uniquely love them back.  How can we demand more than that?  Love doesn’t dictate how another person loves.  Rather, it receives it freely and with Joy.

Do not Test audio

Old Man New Man

Ephesians 4:20-32.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on May 15, 2016, for Pentecost Sunday.

Today is Pentecost Sunday, which is the commemoration of the day that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all of God's people in Jerusalem following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  Today it is easy for us to be so fixated on a particular experience with the Holy Spirit that we can lose sight of all that the Spirit of God is trying to do in our life.  If you are a believer in Jesus, you have been made spiritually alive by the Holy Spirit.  It is impossible to put your faith in Jesus without his aid.  Thus that same Holy Spirit is at work in your life whether or not you have had a particular kind of experience.  Over the course of history we see that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit does not always happen the same way and look the same.  I mention this because one of the problems in the Church today is that people can actively reject the leading of the Holy Spirit in their life, all the while seeking a religious experience in a service.  It is important for us to come to grips with the reality that we cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit while we continue to embrace the life of our old nature, and that those who have been filled with the Spirit and turn back to their old nature grieve Him and negatively affect His work.

As we look at this passage today, we will focus on the work of the Holy Spirit to deliver us from the "old man," and enable us to be a "new man."

We are learning a new way of life

In the verses leading up to this section Paul has been talking about the gentile nations, which is the unbelieving world around Israel.  They had hardened their heart towards God, and thus were ignorant of the life that God had for them.  Paul shows how their futile thinking separated them from that life God had.  In Jesus, we who believe have been called out of that futile thinking and separated state, into the mind of Christ and connection with the Father.

Putting off the Old Self.  Sometimes this phrase is illustrated with clothing.  When we wake up in the morning we take off our night clothes (pajamas) and we put on our day clothes.  Thus the believer is waking up to the daylight of God's truth.  This calls for a different attire, which is the actions of our body and the intentions of our mind.  Yet, this illustration can be somewhat misleading.  In life we continually cycle back between night clothes and day clothes, and there is nothing wrong with this.  However, God does not intend for us to put back on our "night clothes."  In Jesus we dwell in an eternal, spiritual day.  Thus wPaul uses the phrase "old man" in verse 22.  Another way to see this is to think of it as the old self.  The old self represents the old way of life before the truth of Jesus.  I was ignorant of God's truth and used my futile thinking (influenced by the futile thinking of the world around me) to live my life in a way that was contrary to God.  My own sinful desires deceived me into embracing them and thus I further corrupted my life and mind.  Our fleshly desires deceive us into adopting all manner of thoughts and actions that increase the separation between me and the Life that God has for me.  This is why we are called to lay aside the old man or old self.

Putting on the New Self.  In verse 23 Paul states the positive side of this.  We put off the old so that we can replace it with the New Man or New Self.  The New Self is not just a better you, bu rather is Jesus himself.  Those who put their faith in Jesus begin a process of cooperating with the Holy Spirit's makeover of our life.  He intends to make us like Jesus.  The new me is being patterned after Jesus.  The mind and thinking of Jesus is not separated from God, neither is it ignorant of His plan.  Rather, it cooperates with God in accomplishing His will.  The Spirit of God operates to soften our hearts so that they can be made righteous and holy.

The "List of Sins."  It is common in the New Testament to run into lists of sins.  Paul begins such a list in verse 25.  It is amazing that some who call themselves believers ignore these lists under the guise of being under grace and not under the law.  Of course we are no longer under the Law of Moses.  However, we are under the Law or rule of Christ.  In Romans 8:2 Paul calls it the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is not counseling us in the sense that He is giving us a good opinion or advice, something that we can regard or disregard.  He is God working in us to lead us where we ought to go and teach us how we ought to be.  If we refuse Him, we do so at our own injury, as well as the injury of others.  Christ wants us to be free from those deceitful desires of our flesh that separate us from God.  How can we give into those deceitful desires and still claim to not be separated from God?  Paul calls these sins to task: lying, sins of anger, stealing, unwholesome talk, bitterness, rage, brawling, slandering, and all forms of evil.  We are called to lay such things aside and leave them behind.  We cannot avoid this by saying we are under grace.  No, we are under Christ and in that place have been given grace.  Grace is not given to those who reject the Holy Spirit.  It is given to those who recognize what He is doing and are embracing it.  Yes, we do fail at times and God offers grace for the repentant.  But a person who is not repentant cannot use grace as a shield for rebellion.

The Principle of Opposite Virtue.  There is another thing to notice in this list.  Paul is pointing out that in our life of sin before Christ, we gave ourselves to such sins.  Part of putting off these sins is to adopt the virtue that is opposite the sin, or the virtue that counteracts that sin.  Thus in verse 25, liars should practice speaking the truth.  This will be extremely difficult at first.  But those who listen to the Spirit and fight the good fight are given the grace to do so without fear.  In verse 26 we see that those who sinned out of anger need to channel that energy into righteous action.  In fact, in light of verse 31, we should get to a point where we are not acting out of anger at all.  Rather we are energized by the mind of Christ and the Spirit's power.  In verse 28, theives should use their hands at a legitimate job and use the money to give to others rather than take.  In verse 29, those who practice unwholesome talk (corrupt or rotten speech) should speak only that which builds others up in Christ according to their needs.  This whole issue is worth investing hours of prayer and seeking God for wisdom regarding how we can replace our own sins with the virtues that nullify the hold these sins have on us, as long as we pursue them.

Grieving the Holy Spirit.  Because we are in a relationship with Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, we can grieve Him.  He is leading us from the Old Man to the New Man.  Like Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, so we can be stubborn and mule-headed, moaning and complaining.  Thus in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Paul encourages believers by saying this, "Do not quench the Holy Spirit."  This literally says, "Do not put out the Spirit's fire."  The presence of the Spirit of God in your life is like a powerful fire that burns in you to become like Christ.  When we douse that power and embrace our old life, it causes the Spirit of God to be sorrowful.  He is not sorrowful out of petty, selfish reasons.  Rather, He knows the pain and sorrow we are bringing on ourselves and the people around us by embracing these sins.  In Galatians 6:7-8 Paul warns, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.  Whatsoever a man sows that will he also reap.  If you sow to the flesh you will from the flesh also reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

Yielding to the Holy Spirit.  Thus we need to learn to yield to the Holy Spirit and stop grieving Him.  The Holy Spirit dwells in us in order to teach, lead, and fill our lives with power to obey.  He also marks us as belonging to Jesus (sealed with the seal of Jesus in verse 30).  He is teaching us to let go of evil motivations and desires, so that we can operate from the Love of God.  This is what verse 32 is describing.  The Holy Spirit will fill our life with God's kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness if we will yield to His direction.  It is when we yield that the power to do will come from the Lord.  Let's become like Jesus and not like the world!

Old Man New Man audio

The Sin of Hypocrisy

Today we will be in Luke 12:1-12.  We apologize that the audio is not available for this sermon.

In the previous chapter, Jesus had been speaking in particular to the Pharisees and Lawyers.  Here he turns directly to his disciples in the midst of a chaotic scene that had developed around them.  His directives to them can help us to see how these religious leaders could be so blind to the Truth of what God had actually called them to do.  Well the answer to that has to do with Hypocrisy.   This is a Greek word that originally referred to the dialogue that would occur between actors.  But over time it became associated with acting itself.  This quickly was used with the negative connotation of someone who wasn’t being real, they were acting out something other than what they actually were; thus, a hypocrite.  These religious leaders had become great actors (hypocrites).  But their inner life was anything but godly and they constantly talked about being like God, but never actually doing it.  So, today, we use this word to speak of those who say one thing but do another.  Of course it has become an easy pejorative to throw around.  What I mean is this.  Just because someone sins doesn’t mean they are automatically a hypocrite.  Some refuse to try and live as the Bible tells us because they don’t want to be hypocrites.  However, this is actually hypocrisy.  With their mouth they are testifying that they want to be a “good person.”  Yet, with their actions they reject God’s direction in this area.  The truth is that they only want to follow their own ideas.  Let’s look at the passage.

Beware of Hypocrisy

Now in verse 1 it tells us that the crowd had increased greatly and that people were beginning to “trample” one another.  It is possible that people were actually getting stepped on and hurt.  However, this word was also used metaphorically to refer to rudeness, insults, and overall selfish activity at the expense of others.  There is an irony pointed out that they were trampling one another in order to get near and hear Jesus, who would be teaching them to love one another.  Did they really want the Word of God?  How can one justify trampling their brother in order to get something from God?  Of course this is the way of the world and to be expected of humans.  But it is not the way of God and should not be acceptable in the life of one who claims to love Him.  When you look at the angry, verbal attacks coming from the Lawyers and the people trampling each other to get closer, it becomes clear that there is some evil spirits at work here.  This is not as an excuse for the people, but as an extra dimension to what is stirring them up.  Jesus has spoken truth to them and they don’t like it.  Their flesh and a spiritual enemy is stirring them up so that they do not receive what Christ has to offer.  Things are getting ugly quick.  It is here that Jesus teaches his disciples to beware Hypocrisy.

He does so by using the imagery of yeast or leaven.  When you add a little bit of yeast to a lot of dough it will cause the whole loaf to become fluffy.  Now this is good if you like fluffy bread.  But it is a picture of how sin and hypocrisy work.  Whether we are talking about a group or an individual, to allow hypocrisy to continue without rooting it out will eventually affect the entire person or group.  Now the word “beware” is to watch out for something, and to keep it in front of you so as not to forget about it.  Thus we must be vigilant within ourselves and not put up with “small” amounts of sin.  This is how hypocrisy starts.  We make excuses for small amounts of sin and yet pretend as if they don’t exist or matter.

Next Jesus warns that all hidden things will be brought to light.  Now many things are brought to light in this life, however, not all things.  Still, imagine if everything you said in private or thought in secret would end up on your FaceBook page.  We can be thankful that life doesn’t work that way.  Yet, Christ warns us that we should not “bank” on secrecy and privacy.  God has an interest in making all things public because everyone of us plays the hypocrite throughout our life.  If it wasn’t for the reality of God we would all be completely consumed by it.  Yet, eventually we will all stand before God one day.  God knows all things.  Our hidden thoughts and secret counsels are completely open to Him.  He will bring forth judgment upon our life.  If we don’t want to be convicted and exposed as a hypocrite before Him then we will have to judge our own hidden things now.  What I mean by that is this.  God calls all who want to follow Him to live lives of recognizing their own sin, confessing it to Him, and asking for forgiveness.  This “pre-judging” of our own sin, if done with faith in the mercy of Jesus, will allow us to avoid the judgment of God.  Also, if I will not judge myself now, then God will judge me later.  Either way, the truth is going to come out.  This should affect the life of anyone who believes that Jesus means what he says.

Thus we should be careful what we say in secret, whether to another or to ourselves mentally.  The disciples of Jesus are called to be those who guard their tongue.  A part of ourselves that James says is “a world of iniquity….and it is set on fire by hell.”  Most people fear private speech only because of the threat of a tyrannical government.  But God challenges us to think higher.  We guard our words because God Himself has vowed to bring them all to light.  What is going on in the secret place of your heart and mind, your inner sanctum?  Jesus warns us to not play the hypocrite, but rather bring those areas under control.  This naturally leads to the problem of those who fail to heed this advice and choose the path of Hypocrisy.

Don’t Be Afraid of Hypocrites

Hypocrites are able to worm their way into many positions of authority and power.  The temptation is to let our fear of them be the only thing that affects what we say or do.  This might keep us from speaking, but it will not put out the seething inferno that is ignited in the heart of those under tyranny.  I don’t say this to promote tyranny.  Just to point out that fighting against tyrants may bring relief in the life of many, but it will never make us more like God.  In fact, many rebels who have thrown down tyrants have in turn become tyrants themselves.  Jesus moves to the issue of the fears of our heart that lead to compromise and hypocrisy.  He says point blank that they will seek to kill his disciples.  Here we already see their anger against Jesus.  Elsewhere Jesus told his disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before you.”  When we follow Christ we are called to be the opposite of a hypocrite.  Instead of acting out a pretend role we are actually living the life of one who is a warrior against their own sin.

Like Cain with Abel, the hypocrite’s beef is not with you.  Rather, it is with God.  However, since they can’t take it out on God they take it out on you.  Many hypocrites started out wanting to be like God and stay true to the principles of their heart.  But fear of the hypocrites they ran into along the way caused them to compromise and eventually they became a hypocrite themselves.  At this self-loathing point one either drops the charade or angrily defends their portrayal of righteousness.

Yet, Jesus reminds us that these hypocrites are limited.  They can only kill your body.  Now this is not to put down the horrendous things that men have done to each other.  Torture and hideous deaths are not just things of history.  They are our everyday news.  Yet, Satan uses our fear of being limited and weak as a means to bully us into playing the hypocrite.  Jesus tells us that this can only go so far.  Ultimately, they cannot control what you think and believe in your heart.  Even though they kill you, they can do nothing more.  Yet, God is greater than these hypocrites or any man for that matter.  He can not only kill you but destroy your body and soul in hell.  If it is fear that motivates you then fear the right thing.  Don’t give up in the short-term at the expense of the long run.

Now God wants us to be motivated by something better than fear.  If we are rejecting Him then we need a healthy dose of the reality that His power over our lives is greater than all the other things we fear in life.  But if we want to be His disciples then he wants us to know his love and care for us.  Thus God’s love is the prime motivation for not being a hypocrite.  If you love God then you will flee hypocrisy like Ebola.  Jesus softens the previous words about hell, by pointing to God’s desired intentions toward them.  God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  When you are surrounded by hypocrites it always feels like God has forgotten you.  You are tempted to give in.  Yet Jesus reminds his disciples that God has not forgotten them.  Just like the Father did not forget His Son who was hanging on the cross feeling abandoned, which was proved by the resurrection and ascension.  So God hasn’t forgotten you, no matter what you are going through.  He also points out that we are valuable to God.  If he notices when even one sparrow falls, does he not notice you?  Of course He does.  You are more valuable to Him than many sparrows.  He counts the very hairs on your head; that’s how much He cares for you.  We can always know that God has not forgotten us because of the Truth that we are valuable to Him.  How do we know this?  God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  Jesus hanging on the cross is God’s ultimate picture to you of how much He loves and cares about you.  So don’t be unfaithful to Him and play the harlot with other hypocrites.  Rather endure their insults and persecutions and keep your eyes upon the character and will of God.  When the righteous are put to death, God is not forgetting them nor are they merely expendable.  Rather, they are doing exactly what Jesus himself did: testifying with their dying breath on behalf of the love of the Father.  Hypocrites live as if God cannot see them.  But believers live knowing they are always in His sight.

Speak as Christ before All Men

In verses 8-12 we have several words that deal with speaking.  Hypocrisy is generally revealed through the things we say in private versus those in public.  The word “confess” means to acknowledge, to agree with, or to speak the same as another.  The word “deny” means not to speak for or on behalf of another.  The term “blaspheme” means to speak evil against another.  Lastly the word “answer” means to speak in defense of one’s self or another.  This is why I summarize the section with the phrase “speak as Christ before all men.”  We are not only to acknowledge the Truth of Christ, but we must also agree with it and speak it exactly as he did.  We are to be Christ living through our lives.

Thus in verse 8 Jesus tells his disciples, who in their fight against hypocrisy would be struggling with these temptations, that if they will confess him before men (speak the same thing as he and be identified with what he said) that Jesus will acknowledge them before the angels in heaven.  Now in Matthew 10 Jesus says the same thing only saying that he will acknowledge them before his Father in heaven.  Thus the idea is that our confession here on earth before men will be vindicated by Jesus in heaven.  There is a timing issue here that is not specified.  In the now, it seems that heaven is silent as we suffer and are persecuted.  Yet, we are told that Jesus is interceding on our behalf before the Father.  He is speaking up for us and acknowledging us.  This ought to give us great hope to know that whatever we face, God is in control; even if it be a cross.  Yet, when we die we will stand before the Father.  He could bring out a long list of our sins and failures.  Yet, Jesus promises that He will acknowledge us and speak up on our behalf.  “He belongs to me.”  Thus judgment will be avoided by those whom Jesus acknowledges.  Yet the alternative is true.  If we refuse to speak on his behalf (whether out of being neutral or from rejecting him) he will refuse to speak on our behalf.  Thus we will face judgment without the forgiveness of Christ.

Next Jesus gives an interesting view into our sins against God Himself.  Jesus says that those who sin against him will be forgiven.  The implication is that those who ask forgiveness will receive it.  He is not saying it is okay to sin against him.  Only that it will be forgiven to those who ask it.  We can think of the Pharisee Saul/Paul here.  He fought against the Christians and the testimony of Christ and yet, when confronted by Jesus himself, Paul repented and received forgiveness.  Jesus then warns against blaspheming the Holy Spirit, i.e. speaking evil against the Holy Spirit.  This leads us to what has been called the “unpardonable sin.”  Ultimately the unpardonable sin is completely rejecting the witness of the Holy Spirit, which is pointing us to Jesus.  If you are afraid that you may have committed the unpardonable sin then it is pretty clear that you haven’t.  I say this because sensitivity to sin is a sign that the Holy Spirit is still working in your heart and you are open to Him.  I do not believe Jesus is saying that one cannot ever reject the witness of the Holy Spirit.  Otherwise, a story like Paul’s would not make sense.  When Jesus confronted Paul with his sin of rejecting the witness of the Holy Spirit, Paul repented, changed his thinking and life.  Yet, many of his generation refused to accept the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives.  They persisted to the point that they could not receive the very thing that was sent to save them.  If we die making our stand against His witness then we cannot be forgiven.  That is what many of the Pharisees did.  Yet, there was still hope for them if they would repent and believe.  The Holy Spirit would especially be working once Christ was resurrected and ascended into heaven.

Lastly, Jesus reminds them that when they are persecuted they are not supposed to worry about what they will say.  Jesus knew that those who speak with him in their life would eventually face persecution.  He comforts us with the reality that we need not worry how we will defend ourselves or even Christ.  We needn’t worry because the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say in the moment.  Though we won’t be able to see Him, God Himself will be present with the followers of Jesus and in the moment of their greatest loneliness He will fill their mouths with the words to say.  We see this evidenced in Scripture when Steven is martyred.  Can we trust God and live open unhidden lives before Him and each other?  Only by dying to self and following Jesus is it possible.  Let us fervently love one another in truth.