For the sake of the Kingdom, be united and thankful Philippians 4:2-9 Philippians 4:2–9 (NRSV): 2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, … [Read more…]
Let’s put ourselves into the story here today. A month or so ago we spoke about the Armor of God and how it is armor that is provided by God, that it belongs to God. So, for that Armor to belong to us, we must belong to him. When it comes to leaders in the early church, battles occurred frequently. Timothy is a perfect example of this.
Paused in time is Luke’s record of Paul during his final years. It seems that most Jews are at odds with Paul in Rome. However, the Gentiles, pagans seemed very interested in what he had to say that they went to his rented home to see him under guard. However, as historians dictate, the number of Christians in Rome during this time is very small. They are the smallest of minorities and soon they will be persecuted heavily. Of course, Paul already knew this.
I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.
Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
Paul is writing this letter to Christians, no matter their background. The key to this passage is that Paul is telling the churches in Rome on how to achieve biblical unity. Paul places the first idea on finding out what we all have in common, whether they were a Jew, a Gentile, or a Pagan who now follows Christ.
Jesus is the only answer to the fallen behaviors of humanity. Jesus’ prayer for his disciples was for his Father to help them overcome themselves and their culture. Love God, love people, love yourself. Combat the human nature of hate and division!
So, hate can be like cancer. Undiagnosed or unrecognized, a malignant tumor can grow little fingers that spreads to other parts. If you don’t catch it in time, it can lead to death. Hate is like cancer metastasizing. Insomuch, hate leads to the scandal of libel, slander, and gossip. Then that cancerous cell has a bunch of buddies, just like him, ready to spread and make all around them unhealthy.
John 15:13 is often associated by being cherry picked and used as ultimately being Jesus’ death on the cross, and rightly so. Jesus did show his love for all people by his atoning sacrifice. That’s “Salvation 101” if you were to have had a class about it. But Jesus’ conversation goes far deeper than just that!