Preparing for His Coming

Romans 13:11-14

Introduction

After prayer and thought BCL agreed that for the next year, the preaching should be planned by using the Biblical texts from the Revised Common Lectionary. The Revised Common Lectionary is a way of reading Scripture in worship services. It has been put together by a large group of churches. It is organized around the Christian year and guides us in celebrating the events of Jesus’ life. The Lectionary is organized in three year cycles and we will be following year one this year. After that we will evaluate to see if we will continue. Each week there are readings from the Old Testament, Psalms, the Gospels and from the rest of the New Testament. We will encourage whoever is preaching to choose one of the texts and we will read some of the others in the worship service. If you would like to read along, you can find the Lectionary on line or purchase a copy. The Lectionary begins on the first Sunday of Advent, which is today, so we will begin today.

Advent means coming. In this season, we think about the years during which people waited for the first coming of Messiah. There is a similarity in this time of waiting to our time. We also are waiting, now for the second coming of Messiah. The text we will look at today is Romans 13:11-14 which reminds us of the waiting period we are in. Let’s read it.

Last week we talked about the good news of salvation which God has given us in Christ. As we wait for the second coming of Christ, we wait as those who are His followers. We are people who have received the gospel and we look forward with anticipation to His coming. How do we live as people who have received the gospel while we wait for the coming of our Saviour?

I.                Know What Time It Is

As we wait, we need to know what time it is.

Whether you look at your wrist or at the clock on the wall or at your phone, there are occasions when we check the time in order to know how near we are to whatever we are waiting for. How the time seems to go by varies depending on what we are waiting for. If we are waiting for a dentist, 10 minutes seems like 1. If we are on vacation 1 minute seems like 10. What was it like to wait for Jesus before He was born?

The Old Testament contains many promises of the coming of Messiah. Isaiah 9:6 promises, “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This and many other passages speak about the promises of His coming and so the people waited. I Enoch was a book written within 200 years before the birth of Jesus. It speaks of the hopes of the people that the Son of Man, the Elect One or the Messiah would soon come and so expresses the hopes the people had. In Luke 3:15, John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of Jesus and there we also read of this expectation. It says, “…the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah…” For so many years the promise of His coming created a longing for His coming. The people waited and finally the day arrived and Jesus came into the world the first time.

In a similar way, we are waiting for Jesus to come again. Are we aware of the time that we are living in? Do we recognize that we are in a similar time of waiting? Does a similar longing fill our hearts?

In Romans 11:11, we read that “…salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers…” This statement is founded on the truth that we don’t know when Jesus is coming back. A strange thing happens to us in relationship to anticipation. When it is sunny, we anticipate that it will never rain and when it rains for a few days in a row, we anticipate that it will never be sunny again. In a similar way we live in the present time and we think that Jesus will never come back again, but that is not true. Jesus came the first time and there is a limited amount of time until He will come back again. When Paul wrote this, time had passed, which meant that they were closer to His coming than when they had first believed. Much time has passed since then and so today we are even closer.

What makes it so hard to remember that Jesus is coming back is that we live in the time of darkness. But Paul says, “…the night is far gone…” Since we are closer now than when we first believed, the time when night and darkness reign is getting shorter all the time. It is important to know that we are in the night because it explains why there is so much evil in the world and why people gladly choose evil. But to say that it is far gone also reminds us that that darkness is passing away. Darkness is not the eternal reality in God’s world. The time of darkness is almost gone and when Jesus returns, it will be removed completely.

            The other reality is that “…the day is near.” The term “the day” is used in the Bible to refer to the return of Jesus. For example, in I Thessalonians 5:2 we read, “For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Jesus’ coming will happen any time and then the full light of God’s day will dawn on all who follow Him.

            We need to “know what time it is. We need to know that the night is almost gone and the day is getting closer. We can’t allow the human tendency to extrapolate the present into the future to influence us. We can’t allow the delay of Jesus to cause us to give up hope. Although sometimes all we see is the dark horizon, Paul is telling us that the eastern sky is getting lighter. The return of Jesus is imminent. We live by this hope not because of any signs we think we may see, but because God has promised that He will return and the time of His return is getting closer.

            When someone promises to come and pick us up at 7:00 we sit and wait for them to show up. When they don’t come on time, we may question their promise, their integrity or our understanding of the right time and location. We feel as if Jesus’ return has been delayed a long time, but we don’t need to engage in questioning His promise or His timing. God has told us that He will come and that coming could be any time.

When I was growing up, mom came into my room to wake me up in the morning. I have two memories of that time. One is the smell of Nivea cream, which she was putting on her hands. The other is having my toes pinched when I didn’t immediately get out of bed. When she came to wake me I understood two things. Sleeping time was over and it was time to get ready for the day.

This text functions like a wakeup call. As we wait for the coming of Jesus and as we become aware of what time it is, we must also understand that it is time to wake up. Night is for sleeping, and the day is for working. If this text functions as an alarm to wake us up to the reality that Jesus’ return is going to happen any time, we can’t hit the snooze button! Living as followers of Jesus means being aware of the time and ready for His return at any time.

II.             Lay Aside the Works of Darkness

One of the first things we might do when we wake up is to lay aside the clothing of the night. We take off our pajamas, we wash the sleep out of our eyes and we get rid of our “morning breath.” In a similar way, knowing that the day may soon be here means getting rid of the clothing of the night. Paul calls for followers of Jesus to “lay aside the works of darkness.” It is inappropriate for those who belong to the light to live in the darkness. It does not fit for a follower of Jesus to follow the path of sinfulness.

The text identifies 6 deeds of darkness in three pairs. Reveling refers to the kind of parties where self-control and appropriate behavior are thrown out of the window in favor of self-centered self-indulgence. It is often associated with drunkenness. The second pair addresses darkness in regards to our sexuality. God has declared His intention for our sexuality. It is that we should abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage and then be faithful to our spouse in marriage. This is God’s plan because sexual activity is intended by God to be the physical expression of the deep bond between a husband and wife.  NLT translates the third word “sexual promiscuity.” This warns us about the hurtful way in which sexual activity outside of marriage destroys relationships and is part of the darkness which we must avoid. The other part of the pair refers to the person who does shameful things and does not care who notices. It is the attitude of the absence of shame. The third pair warns about the terrible consequences when people fight with each other because they are jealous of each other. Dissension is the willingness to fight for what we want and often arises out of selfishness. Jealousy is the hatred of those who have what we want.

Many more deeds of darkness exist in the world around us and are tempting for us. Deeds of darkness, such as greed, conspicuous consumption, racism, bullying, abuse and many others, are not appropriate for those who live in the light.

In order to avoid these deeds of darkness we need a strategy to avoid them. In verse 14 we have some thoughts on that strategy. It says, “…make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” How do we do that?

The most dangerous position we can be in is to deny that we have a problem with our “flesh.” If we think that we have conquered sin in our life, we are more susceptible to it than ever. To make no provision for the flesh begins with the understanding that we are in danger, subject to temptation and susceptible to yielding to temptation. When we understand that, then we can begin to learn how we can “make no provision for the flesh.”

A good starting place is to covenant with ourselves that we don’t want sin in our life. Sometimes when we are faced with temptation, we resist it, but in the back of our mind, we may leave the door open to allowing it someday. If we are to make “no provision for the flesh” we must close the door to sin by making a covenant to avoid all sin.

This won’t, of course, guarantee that we won’t sin. In order to gain victory, we need to know when and how temptation comes into our life and have strategies in place for victory. Satan isn’t really all that clever and usually attacks us in pretty predictable ways. If we are aware of those ways, and have a plan to counter-attack temptation, then we can have victory over sin. Someone reminded me this week about Billy Graham’s strategy to avoid temptation. It was his rule in life never to be in a room alone with a woman. He even had a staff person assigned to make sure that that never happened. What a great way to make no provision for the flesh.

We are children of light and the deeds of darkness, which are all around us and even within us, do not fit with who we are. May we make every effort to lay them aside!

III.           Put On the Armor of Light

If we know what time it is, the text also calls us to “put on the armor of light.” This is an interesting term for it is military language. Why would it say “armor” of light? The use of this term reminds us that we are in a battle. It isn’t just a matter of darkness gently co-existing with light and the light gradually taking over the darkness. The darkness is opposed to the light and there is a war going on. The powers of darkness know that their days are numbered and they are seeking to drag as many as possible into the darkness before the day arrives. That is why it is not as simple as avoiding darkness and putting on light. We must battle to avoid darkness and we are in a battle to represent the light.

A great passage to help us think about the armor we need to put on is Ephesians 6:10-20. But I would like to stick to our text which invites us to put on the armor of “light.”

What is the armor of light? Satan uses the methods of darkness. He hides things and deceives. The armor of light is exactly the opposite. Jesus said in John 8:32, “…you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” God’s methods involve truth, transparency, openness and honesty. That is the armor of light. Another phrase in this text adds to this strategy when it says in verse 13, “…live honorably as in the day.” Last week one of the survey questions which CTV news asked was, “Are you concerned about government surveillance of your online activity.” I suspect there are aspects of that I have not thought about, but on one level, it seems to me that if we are living “honorably as in the day” then we have nothing to hide from the government or anyone else. When we live that way, we put on the armor of light. When we put on the armor of light, we gain victory because the enemy does not know how to handle the truth nor honorable living.

IV.           Put On the Lord Jesus Christ

As we wait for the day to come, we are also invited to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Salvation is about Jesus. Our sins are forgiven because of Jesus. We have eternal life because of Jesus. Therefore, it makes sense that we also live our life of faith in relationship with Jesus. When we become Christians, we receive Jesus and so put Him on. We also put on the Lord Jesus as we follow Him every day.

How do we put on the Lord Jesus Christ? We put on the Lord Jesus as we walk in His way and as we do the things He did. We put on the Lord Jesus as we walk in a daily relationship with Him. It isn’t about memorizing the things He did or about creating a list of Jesus deeds. It is about knowing Him as our companion and friend. We can live that way as we begin each day on our knees before Him. There we declare to Him, “You are my friend and companion through this day. I recognize your Lordship and I am on my knees to declare my submission to you.” As we come to the end of the day, we can put on the Lord Jesus Christ by looking back over the day and considering how it has gone. There is an ancient spiritual practice called “Examen” in which we discern the times during the day when we have experienced Consolation and also when we have experienced Desolation. Or another way of saying that is to think about when we have experienced the presence of God and when we have felt the absence of God. As we reflect on that, we process our day in the presence of God. As we do so, we can begin to understand ourselves and also how God is at work in our life. With these strategies we book end our days with Jesus and learn to remain in Him throughout the day.

Conclusion

During this advent season, we have an opportunity to think about what it meant to anticipate and wait for the coming of Jesus. In light of what we have just learned from Romans 13, we know that this is not just an exercise in historical reflection. It is an opportunity to think about what the coming of Christ means to us as we realize that we are also in a period of waiting for the second coming of Christ. The two comings are closely connected. They both contain an element of anticipation and waiting. Both comings focus on the Lord Jesus. What happened in the first coming prepares us for the second coming.

May we know the time and, while putting aside the deeds of darkness, may we put on the armor of light and walk with Jesus. May we wait with joy and faithfulness during this Advent and Christmas season!

Jesus Saves

John 3:13-21

Introduction

Although most people in church are followers of Jesus and the preaching that we hear is most often directed at helping people follow Jesus, once in a while it is good to proclaim the simple gospel message and that is what I would like to do today. Many of you have accepted this a long time ago and I hope as we review it that it will encourage you. There may be some here who have heard this message before and who may be very familiar with it, but have not fully embraced it. I would invite you today to consider accepting the good news of Jesus Christ. There may also be some here today for whom this is new information. I would invite you to listen with an ear to hear what God may be saying to you today. I speak from my heart today because Jesus is the one I love above all and He is the one who has given me life, peace for today and hope for all eternity.

It is not unusual to see John 3:16 in public places. I have seen it at golf games, on hats, bumper stickers and so on. I guess some people think is that if try to express the message of Jesus with one verse, this is probably one of the best. Although I am not sure quoting this reference is a very good witnessing tool because too many people in today’s world have no idea what it means, it is a very good verse for us to learn about the good news of Jesus Christ. So let’s take a careful look at it.

I.                God Loved and Gave

A.               God is Love

Jesus gave this message to Nicodemus who was a man who had a lot of religious knowledge, but not a lot of knowledge of God. The first thing that Jesus said was the good news is that “God so loved the world.” In saying this Jesus did not start with our need, or some desire that we have. His starting point is not a religious establishment or a human quest for God. The good news begins with God and not with God’s power or sovereignty, but it begins with God’s love. That tells us right from the start that whatever this good news will involve it comes from a place of love.

Why does God begin at the point of love? Because that is the nature of God. He is love. This means that love is at the core of every aspect of God’s being and every part of His interaction with people. God is a judge, but to know that He is judge and is love means that he is not judgmental. We associate being judgmental with making a judgment without knowing all the facts or assigning motives that may not be accurate. God’s judgment is accurate and fair because He is love. When He calls us sinners it is because we are sinners.

God is also all powerful, but because He is love it means that His power is not used to bully anyone. His power is used to create but also to punish all evil in a way that is right.

God knows all things, but He is not a know-it-all. His love means that His knowledge is used to bless and encourage and help.

God is sovereign over all things, but because He is love, it means that He is not controlling. That is the main reason why we have not been destroyed. The sovereign God has allowed us as human beings to make our own determination about what our life will be all about. He loves us enough to let us go and when we blow it badly, His love provides a way back.

That is what the love of God which initiates good news means. God understands us, since He created us and made us in His image. He cares about us and wants to help us. This love is the starting point of the good news of the gospel.

B.               God Gave His Son

If you love someone, how do you show that love to them? How is love communicated? Family therapists talk about the five love languages. Every person experiences love in different ways. Some feel loved primarily through words of affirmation others through acts of service, through gifts received, through quality time or through physical touch. Which of these communicates love most clearly to you?

God has used all of these to communicate His love to us through His Son. He prophesied the coming of Jesus to redeem His people and declared His love through those words of prophecy. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. God came into this world in the person of His Son and was physically available to us. But the greatest way in which God demonstrated His love was through the gift of His Son who came to live among us, to die for us and to rise again for our salvation.

We notice that the text says that He gave His “only” Son. This tells us that the gift which God gave was one that was very precious to Him. It was a valuable gift given to us sacrificially. Included in the phrase, “He gave His only Son” is all that Jesus did. In this phrase we recognize that Jesus left the glories of heaven. He was willing to leave that wonderful place and come to this not so wonderful place. He left perfection to enter into the world of sin. He left a place of trust, love, holiness and beauty to live in a place of mistrust, hatred, sin and brokenness. He left being God to become a child and live a completely human life.

As a human, Jesus lived on earth and came to know all about what it means to be human. God’s love includes the willingness to identify with every aspect of the human condition with all its struggles, pains and temptations. He came to know all about us. Yet as a human being, He lived without ever giving in to the sin that has its hold on every human being. He lived without sin. Those who hated Him could not accept Him and so they sought to kill Him. They succeeded not because they were more powerful than He was, but because He permitted them to put Him to death. Yet because death is punishment for disobedience to God and since he had never been disobedient to God, the death He died, He died in our place. In verse 14, Jesus talks about the Son of Man being lifted up. He was talking about Himself and knew that He would be hung on a cross. This is what happened. That is where Jesus died, and although He died and was buried, He did not stay dead. Three days later, Jesus was raised from the dead and in doing so was victorious over sin and death.

The Bible speaks in many different ways about what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Each of them helps us understand a different aspect of the meaning of the good news.

Romans 1:16 says, “…the gospel…is the power of God for salvation…” Salvation means that we were headed for trouble. We were on our way to being destroyed, but God provided a way out of it. He saved us from destruction.

In Matthew 9:2, Jesus proclaimed to the man he was healing “Your sins are forgiven…” The good news is that the guilt and punishment which we feel in the presence of God because we are guilty and worthy of punishment is removed and we are guilty no more and we will not be punished for the things we have done wrong.

In I Corinthians 5:17 we read, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” Through Jesus, God has renewed us so that we become people capable of following Him and capable of walking in holiness and love.

There are many more ways we can describe what Jesus has done for us. What a gift of love which has been given to us in Jesus!

               The other thing that we notice about this gift is that it is given to the world. There is no one excluded from this gift. It is given to everyone. It was given to the Jews who lived in Jesus day and is given to the children of Africa who have not yet been born. It was given to the pagan tribes of Northern Europe who became Dutch Catholics and then Mennonites and is for each one of the multitudes of people in China. It was given to the followers of Muhammad in the Middle East and is for the Catholic Pope who was born in South America. What Jesus did is for everyone on this entire globe. Morris says, “It is a distinctively Christian idea that God’s love is wide enough to embrace all mankind.”

II.             So Believe in Him

Yet although Jesus has given this gift to everyone and it is for everyone, not everyone accepts it. Twice in this passage, we are told that it must be believed. In John 3:15 we ready, “whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” In John 3:16 it says, “…everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

This is a key phrase. This gift must be received and it is received by belief in Jesus. What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

A.               Understanding Truth

Believing includes understanding certain truths. What is the truth we need to know? Do we have to know everything that a well-educated Bible teacher knows? Then this is not good news to most people who have never read all the books written about Jesus and have not studied theology! In verse 18, we have a summary of what needs to be believed. There we read that “those who do not believe are condemned already because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”  This tells us that belief must be belief in the name of Jesus the only Son of God. To believe this is to believe that Jesus is God who has come down to earth. Of course it is great to know much about Jesus and we can spend our life getting to know Him better, but what we must believe in order to believe in Him is that Jesus is God who came to earth.

This is the core belief because we must understand that Jesus is not just a moral teacher nor just a good moral influence in the world. He is God Himself who has come down and belief in Jesus begins with the recognition of that truth. And if we understand that truth, what does that mean?

B.               Accepting Jesus

To understand that truth means that we believe that God has come to earth for us and that we need Him in our life. The truth that Jesus is the Son of God who came from heaven to earth, must be personally embraced and accepted. Can we really say that we believe in Jesus if all we do is have an intellectual understanding of the truth that Jesus is the Son of God? There are many who recognize the truth about who Jesus is, but it does not impact their life in any way and they do not experience all of what God wants to do in their life because the truth about Jesus remains an abstract concept not a truth relevant to their own life.

To say we believe in Jesus must involve an understanding that He is God’s Son and that He has come into the world for us.

C.               Entering Relationship

When we accept that, it is clear that we must also enter into a relationship with Him. Believing in Jesus cannot be merely the understanding of an intellectual truth nor can it be merely receiving a gift from God. Believing in Jesus must also include inviting Jesus into our life. Believing in Jesus means that we accept Jesus not merely as a historical figure or as a God who is in heaven. It means accepting Him into our life as the one who has died in our place, who has forgiven our sins and has given us eternal life.

If we invite Jesus into our life we begin a relationship with Him and then we begin to truly understand what it means to believe in Him.

D.              Submitting to His Lordship

And if we do that, then we will also accept Him as Lord. To believe in Jesus means that we understand and submit to His Lordship in our life. It means that we understand that He is God and that He has given His life for us. It means knowing that what He has done, He has done for us. It means accepting Him into our life and it means that from that day on He is the Master of our life. If Jesus is God, which is the starting point of believing and if we have allowed Him to come into our life, then everything changes. Then the primary relationship in our life is a relationship with Jesus. Then we no longer live for ourselves, but we live for Him. Then we no longer follow our path, but rather the path He has set out for us

How many of us have stopped short of believing in Jesus. How many of us have acknowledged certain truths about Jesus, but have never recognized that those truths are meant for us personally? How many of us have recognized that those truths are for us personally, but have never allowed Jesus to enter into our lives? How many of us have allowed Jesus into our lives, but continue to fight His rule in our lives? To believe in Jesus is all of this - understanding the truth, accepting Jesus, entering into relationship with Him and submitting to His Lordship.

III.           And Receive Life

The verse concludes with two promises of what will happen if we believe in Him.

A.               You Will Not Perish

The promise is that those who believe “will not perish.”

Yet the first thing we wonder about is, “Why is Jesus talking about perishing?” If a young child makes a move to run out into traffic, the parent is terrified and quickly grabs the child. The parent knows that there is terrible danger, but the child is oblivious to the danger. Like that child, it may be that we are not aware of the mortal and eternal danger we are in. Verses 18-21 explain why we are in danger. There we are told that apart from Jesus we are under condemnation. We don’t have to do anything to “run out into traffic” because we are standing in the traffic already. Verse 18 says, “…those who do not believe are condemned already.”

How did we get under condemnation? We stand under condemnation because we have rejected God. The coming of Jesus revealed that rejection. Verse 19 says “people loved darkness rather than light.” When Jesus came into the world, He was absolute purity and perfection because there was no sin in Him at all. The brightness of his perfection revealed the sinfulness of everyone around Him. In Luke 5:8 Peter perceived that and said to Jesus, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” His perfection causes us to shy away from His light because we don’t want our sinfulness to be exposed. Who likes to be embarrassed with a revelation of the things they have done wrong? The sinfulness in us is revealed in our rejection of Jesus and in our self-centeredness when compared with His sinlessness and self-sacrifice. This is what it means when it says in verse 20, “all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light so that their deeds may not be exposed.” Because of that, we are all under condemnation. Matthew Henry says, “…they hate the light because it robs them of the good opinion they had of themselves.”

The problem is that we don’t realize this. I had worn glasses for many years and had not had them updated for some time. Then they broke and it was time to get new ones. I went to the optometrist and he tested my eyes and prescribed new glasses. After I picked them up, I was driving home and I looked at my fingers. I commented to Carla, “I have finger prints.” My old glasses had been so bad that I never noticed them until I looked through the new ones. If we look through the darkened eyes of our own life or even the eyes of those around us, we may not think that we are in darkness, but when our life is brought near to the life of Jesus, our sinfulness is revealed and we understand that we stand under condemnation.

Being under condemnation, we are subject to the punishment of death – physical death and eternal separation from God.

The blessed promise of this passage is that we will not perish. The death of Jesus on the cross is the basis of forgiveness for all our darkened thinking and living and is also the foundation for renewal that God gives to all who believe in Jesus so that the sin soaked life we had before can become a life of holiness when submitted to Jesus.

John 3:17 is the word of God’s love which shows us that God’s intention is not to condemn, but to give life and to save us from condemnation. When we realize that we are under God’s condemnation the good news of God is that He wants us to be saved.

B.               You Will Have Eternal Life

The other promise is that we are given eternal life. If we are no longer under condemnation, then we are worthy to have life forever in God’s presence. If condemnation is equal to separation from God, then the absence of condemnation is being in the presence of God.

This eternal life is something we “have” which means that it is not only something we will have, but something we have now already. Eternal life does not start after we die, but starts right now for all who are in Christ. If we are under condemnation, then physical death separates us further from God and from everyone else who lives on earth. If we have eternal life, death only separates us from those on earth, and only temporarily in regards to those who also belong to God. It does not separate us from God, but actually brings us closer to God. That is why eternal life begins now already. It is life with God now under His love and guidance that will never end.

Eternal life is life that will last forever, but it is also life that is like nothing we have ever experienced on earth. If some of the days we have here on earth would go on forever that would not be such good news. But eternal life is not only a quantity of life, but also a quality of life. It is all the best of life forever. There are some days when we say, “I wish this day could go on forever.” The quality of eternal life is that those days will go on forever. It will be life with God’s face always smiling down on us. It will be life without pain or sorrow or crying or guilt. It will be life in perfect relationship with everyone. It will be true blessing forever.

Conclusion

This verse is a great description of the good news God has for us. It is rooted in the love of God that has given us all we need. It is ours not because of our good deeds or supposed perfection, but because of belief in Jesus that fully embraces Him and submits to Him because what He gives us is a gift. It promises hope that is ours for today and for all eternity.

If you had gotten a trip to the Grey Cup – flights, hotels, good seats and all the food you want – you would not have as good a deal as this verse declares. If you were promised three wishes granted by a genie if you rub a magic lamp you would not have as great a blessing as God gives through Jesus. This is good news! This is the best news!

As we recognize this good news, we know that we must respond to it in some way. If you have already received Jesus, then this is an invitation to give thanks and to rejoice in the hope and blessing that is yours. It is also an invitation to declare this good news to others. If you have listened to the offer from God which is yours in Jesus, and have wondered about it and have been intrigued by it, but have delayed or have backed away from it, then this is an invitation to accept it and invite Jesus into your life. If you have never understood this good news before, then this is an invitation to acknowledge the gift for the first time and give your life to Jesus. I would encourage you not to delay, but to accept it today.

Following the service, if you would like to receive Jesus for the first time or renew you commitment to Him, there will be a few people in the front of the church who will be glad to talk to you and help you if you have any further questions. One thing I would encourage you to do and that is don’t make this decision and keep it secret. Satan would like nothing better than to have you keep it secret because that way he can tempt you to forget about it.

May the good news of Jesus lead all of us to fully accept the life God has given to us.

Growing Towards God Likeness

Matthew 5:38-48

Introduction

            The spate of political scandals which we have seen in Canada recently have revealed that those who have been caught doing wrong have a hard time admitting it. That's probably not much different than most of us. It isn't easy to admit that we were jealous of someone, that we lied or that we desired something that we could not have. Although we have a hard time admitting our wrongdoing, at least we admit that it is wrong to lie, to be jealous and to lust. What's different about the passage we have just read is that sometimes we don't even know if we ought to obey it. Is it not true that we have a hard time giving a street beggar money because we believe they will just use it for alcohol. Isn't that a failure to obey the command "Give to everyone who begs from you?" Most of us would say that we would defend our family if an intruder came into our home. Is that a failure to obey the command "Do not resist an evildoer?" If someone sues us it is not uncommon for us to get a good lawyer and defend ourselves. Is that a failure to obey the command in verse 40? If our country goes to war, many will join the military. Is that a failure to obey the command to "Love your enemies?"

            These are difficult commands and we are not at all certain how or sometimes even whether we should obey them. Geddert, in his book, "Double Take," lists some of the ways in which Bible commentators have approached these words. Some suggest that these commands are not meant for normal living, they were meant as special instructions for the disciples on their preaching mission. Some have suggested that "you can't run society on principles like that, but that they are for special times like the time of Jesus or Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. Others dismiss them completely by suggesting that they are for an ideal world after Jesus returns. Some suggest that they are in Scripture to show us just how impossible it is to live up to God's standards. The purpose of that is to drive us to God for His grace, which of course He gives.

            So what is this passage saying if, as it seems to many, it is impossible to follow the commands in it? There it is in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount and presents itself as God's Word to us. What do we do with it?

I.     Be Perfect!

            Although all the imperatives are difficult to understand and even more difficult to do, the final line in the chapter is even more difficult. In this verse we are called to be perfect. Is that even possible? Is it really expected? Let's think carefully about this statement.

A.   God Likeness

            Sometimes when we are faced with a large amount of confusing information, we want to know, "What's the bottom line?" If we understand the bottom line, perhaps all the rest of the details will become clear. The bottom line in this passage is not difficult to grasp. In verse 45 we read, "…that you may be children of your Father…" and in verse 48 we read, "…as your heavenly Father is perfect." Whatever these commands mean, we are to obey them in the context of being related to our heavenly Father.

            When God first created human beings, he created them "in the image of God." We were created like God. When sin came into the world something about that image was broken and we were no longer like God. The image of God is still in us, but it is a broken image because of sin. The point of God's work in salvation is to once again restore the image of God in us.

            The language used in these two verses is family language. It speaks about God as our Father and we being His children. If we have become children of God we must be like God. It makes sense that there be a resemblance between us and God. The text says that just as God is perfect, or complete, we also must be like our heavenly Father. There must be a family resemblance.

            This helps us understand something very important. These commands are not for everyone in the world. They are written for everyone who is a follower of Jesus. Because Jesus Christ is living in us we once again resemble God and therefore we are called to be like God.

B.   Becoming Like God

            But we need to note how we are to be like God. What is interesting in this passage is that these two phrases about being like God are not imperatives. There are numerous imperatives in the text. We are commanded to "not resist an evildoer," to "give to everyone" and to "love your enemy." But there is no imperative in either verse 45 or 48.

            Verse 45 can best be translated, "…thus you should become children of your Father." For those familiar with grammar, the verb in this verse is not an imperative, but a subjunctive. A subjunctive has nuances of being an imperative, but is not directly an imperative. It is usually translated "should." A very loose translation which my help us understand is, "It makes sense that there should be a resemblance between you and your Father."

            Verse 48 is even further away from an imperative. It is a future indicative, which means that it is predicting what will be. A loose translation would be, "You will be mature/complete/perfect, as your Father in heaven is…" It emphasizes that we are becoming like our Father. In other words, this is not what we are, but what we are going to be. God is working in us so that we will become like Him and we need to obey Him so that we will become like Him.

            What we learn from this is that likeness to the Father is not something we must be before we are accepted by Him. Rather, it is something that fits with who we are, something we are moving towards, something we are becoming and something we will be.

            So it doesn't say we must be perfect now. Rather, it declares that we are becoming perfect, or mature, or complete. God has come into our lives and is working in us to make us complete and we need to co-operate with Him to allow Him to make us mature.

            I don't know about you, but I find it much easier to understand this passage if I recognize that God has a goal for who I am and that I must learn to grow into that goal rather than that I am expected now and instantly to be perfect. However, that doesn't mean we can let ourselves off the hook or fail to diligently try to understand what it means to be like God.

C.   There Must Be A Difference

            As we think about this, we realize that God is completely different than anyone on earth. Therefore, if we are to be like God, we must also be different than everyone on earth. This idea is presented in verses 46 and 47. There we discover that if we love only those who love us, we are no different than anyone else. Even gang members have a fierce loyalty and love for those who belong to the gang. So if everyone loves their family members and the people who love them, what is it that must distinguish us from them? Is it not that we love our enemies? Similarly if we greet only those whom we know and feel comfortable with, we are no different than anyone else. Today there are a lot of people who care for the poor. "We Day" has prompted students to have a concern for others and to do things for others around the globe. This effort to encourage volunteerism and motivate young people to care about inequities has had a huge impact and is a really good thing. The question is, "If that is what everyone else is doing, what distinguishes us from those who don't know God?" How will we be different? How will we be God-like?

            We get a glimpse of what God is like when we read in verse 45, "He makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." In other words, God is magnanimously gracious to all without discriminating. That is not to take away from the fact that He is still a holy judge who will destroy all evil in the end. But at this present time, God graciously gives rain and sunshine to all people on earth. Therefore, there has to be something different about those who follow Christ. If we only do what everyone else does, how are we different? We must also be characterized by something different, something that rises above what is normal in our world. God is not like a human being. He is filled with a holiness and a compassion that is unexpected, unusual, greater, more gracious, more kind than what is normal. We are supposed to be like that because we belong to God and we are being made into His image.

II.  Living the Details

            This is wonderful theological truth. God has created us in His image and is recreating us into His image so that we are becoming like Him and will be like Him. It is reasonable to expect that there will be some resemblance of the children to their Father. But this is not only a theological theory. This teaching only makes sense in intensely practical terms. In other words, it doesn't mean anything unless we actually do these things in the details of life. So the question is, "What are the details?"

            If we read these difficult commands and ask, "what makes sense" we are asking the wrong question. If, on the other hand, we are asking, "What is God like? How does God operate? and How can I be like Him?" we are asking the right questions. When and only when we have figured out that we are children of the Father and that we must be different can we go back to the specific examples and begin to try to figure out how to live them. So as we look at these details, that is the question we must be asking. There are many ways in which we are to be different than the rest of the world and like God. The things written here are a few of those ways. What I am saying is that we are not to see these as a list of rules to follow, but rather, they are examples of how to fulfill the call to be a Christian, or to be like God. How can we live this?

            There is no doubt that each of these ways are not difficult to understand, but they are difficult to apply. Each of us must make decisions about how we will be like God in our life. Yet it is also important for us to discern together in community what it means. Let me suggest some things. The approach I want to take as we think about these things is to think about how God did these things and then to consider some of the ways in which we might be like God.

A.   Do Not Resist an Evil Doer

            The first command is "Do not resist an evildoer." This is said in the context of what is a normal human expectation. The law Jesus refers to is "eye for eye and tooth for tooth." This law has an interesting history. It came into being to address the natural tendency of human beings to overreact to a wrong done. Lamech is the first example of this in Genesis 4:23 where he brags, "I have killed a man for wounding me." This is the natural human tendency and this law came in to change unlimited revenge to equal justice. Law today continues to function very much according to this law. Justice requires equality and that is what this law declares. It is the normal human understanding.

            The point of this passage, however, is that we, as children of God, are to be different. We are to live by a justice that goes above what is normal for humans. We are to be like God. What is God like? God's actions are demonstrated through Jesus in 1 Peter 2:21 & 23, "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps…When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly."

            While we must work for justice for others, when an injustice is done to us, we need to find a way to respond in a God-like way. The text also helps us understand why we can choose this way. As I Peter 2 says, we can entrust ourselves "to the one who judges justly." God sees every injustice and we can trust Him to make everything right.

            In Matthew 5:39-41 Jesus gives some specific examples. In the first example it speaks of someone hitting us. Many commentators point out that a strike on the right cheek by a right handed person would not only be a physical strike, but also an insult. Jesus suggests that one way to live in a God-like way is not to strike back, not to demand repayment for injury or insult, but to simply absorb it. In regards to law suits mentioned in verse 40, we are called to yield. Paul agrees with Jesus' way of responding when he says in I Corinthians 6:7, "Why not rather be defrauded?" Why can we do this? Because we know we are cared for by God.

            These are some examples. The application is that when we are wronged, we need to find a way to respond that is different than normal, that is how God has treated us in Christ. I once met with a couple who had been cheated by someone else. As we talked about possible responses, I thought about this passage and wondered whether I should suggest that they just absorb the wrong done. It was hard to do so because it isn't normal, but isn't that what this passage calls us to do?

B.   Give To Everyone

            The next command is "Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you." There are a lot of giving people in the world. Recently a Mosque in Winnipeg gathered a whole truck load of food to donate to a northern reserve. What a good thing to do!

            The question we are asking, however, is "what makes us different than everyone else?" "How are we like God?"

            How did God manifest generosity? The great example of God's generosity is demonstrated in the way in which he gave us Jesus. You know what John 3:16 says, "“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son..." Romans 8:32 says the same thing but uses a slightly different term. There we read, "He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us…"

            How is this different than normal? God's gave what was most precious to Him in a sacrificial act of love. It was intended to evoke a response, but did not guarantee it. Can we give like that? Several times I have been involved in Mennonite Disaster Service projects. I quickly learned that not everyone who is helped deserves help. Yet we helped them. Is that not the kind of generosity which this passage calls us to?

            Whenever people beg or ask to borrow from us we need to consider how we can be like God in our response.

C.   Love Your Enemy

            The command in verse 44 is once again contrasted with the normal human understanding. It is not Old Testament Scripture that says "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy." In Leviticus 19:18 we are told, "…you shall love your neighbor as yourself..." But no where does the Bible teach us, "hate your enemy." Yet that is normal human thinking and is reflected in many human relationships.

            We, however, are called to be different and one of the most profound ways in which we are to be different is that we are to love our enemies. That is what God is like as demonstrated in Romans 5:8 where we read that, "…God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." God chose to love us when we were His enemies and we are called to be like that.

            When we discover that our brother has become our enemy, what do we need to do to love our brother? When we discover that our fellow church member has become our enemy, how do we process that hatred so that in its place we love our enemy? It is in the church that Christians have failed most miserably in regards to this command. When we find ourselves on the opposite side of an acrimonious fence from our neighbor, what do we need to do to tear down that fence? When our country finds itself at war with another country, how do we as children of God respond to that enmity. Of one thing I am sure. We cannot separate our life as followers of God into categories in which we love our personal enemy, but accept that we can hate or kill our national enemy. In any and every relationship we need to discover, as children of our heavenly Father, how we can love our enemy.           

D.   Pray for Your Enemy

            The very next line gives us the final imperative in this text and says, "pray for those who persecute you."

            Once again we see that this is something that God did. The prime example is Jesus who when he was crucified, prayed in Luke 23:34, , "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

            What kind of prayers do we pray for our enemies? How do we pray for the Taliban? How do we pray for Al-Qaeda? Do we pray that God will bring peace? Can we also pray that God will bring them to Himself? Can we pray that God will bless them with good crops? What kind of prayer would make us like God?

            Barclay wrote, "We cannot go on hating another man in the presence of God."

Conclusion

            This text is not easy to understand and so we struggle to obey it. It is not obvious how to obey this in every situation because sometimes it is confusing and we are not sure what is the best wisdom and the best way of obedience.

            One danger with these verses is to become legalistic about them. Some have made them into rules and been very militaristic about believing they should love their enemies. I believe that these are not rules in that sense, rather they are imperatives which help us think carefully about what it means to be like God. The other danger is to decide that these things are just too difficult and because they don't make sense we are justified in avoiding obedience to them. I don't believe we can treat Scripture like that, dismissing what doesn't make sense or trying to avoid it.

            If we ask, "am I resisting an evildoer" or "am I loving my enemy" we are asking the second question. I believe that the best way to obey this text is to ask the first question first. That question is, "What is God like and am I seeking to be like Him?" If we do that, we will learn to be like God and we will learn to live these words of Jesus.