Jump Start # 2618

Galatians 5:25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

Our verse today reminds us that we are a Spirit driven people. To live by the Spirit but not walk that way is inconsistent. It would lead one to question our position and our faith. It’s easy to talk a good game, but one must show it by their actions. Sitting in a church house, surrounded by fellow believers is a comfortable setting to discuss the golden rule, fruit of the Spirit, the good Samaritan, turning our cheek and loving our enemy. Now doing those things is much harder. It’s much harder the next day when we are not surrounded by fellow believers. It’s much harder when all around us are those who do not walk that way.

The following verse in Galatians states, “Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” The immediate platform of “one another” are the fellow Christians. Don’t push be the one who causes tension in the flock. Don’t stir things up. Don’t be a trouble maker.

Boastful: arrogant, pride, “I’m better than you,” or, worse, “you have change, because I said so.” Boasting about what I did and reminding you of what you didn’t do. Boasting about how great a Christian I am. Boasting about how blessed I am. Boasting doesn’t set well. It’s rude, unbalanced and stirs things up. Those without the Spirit boast. They have to. They don’t have anything else but themselves to lean upon. Disciples of Jesus have the Lord. There is no need to put folks down, look down at others, or feel that we are better than others. This is not about race, education, or status. This is all about walking by the Spirit.

Challenging one another: don’t confuse this with motivating others. This is emotionally pushing someone. It is questioning them. It is making them defend and prove themselves. This naturally follows boasting. Not only are these folks pounding their chests, believing that they are something great, but they are pushing the other guy down. Challenging is aggressive. Challenging puts the other on the defensive. Challenging forces one to prove why they are worthy to be with the others. Challenging creates tension within the flock.

Envying one another: this is where pride ends up. This is where being challenged puts you. You wish you were on the other side. You wish you were like the boastful. You wish you were the one challenging, not being challenged. You envy others. You want what they have. You wish you could be like them. You are not, but you wish you could be. You’d like to be included. You’d like to be at the top. But you are not.

Most of us can remember those three words, boastful, challenging and envy, as we walked down the high school hallway. Bullies roamed those hallways with their little pack following them. Loud. Arrogant. Challenging. Picking on those who were alone, different and unsure.

But Paul’s words are not addressed to a high school setting. He is talking to a congregation of God’s people who are supposed to be walking by the Spirit. Tension within the flock causes some to drop out. It makes some feel that they are never accepted or part of the group. It’s often hard for someone new to fit in. Those that have been around won’t let that happen. They control the fellowship. They call the shots. This can go on for years and years. A person feels like they have to earn their place among those who are truly leading the church. It’s not the shepherds who are guiding the flock, but the boastful, challenging ones who are not walking as they ought to. Not from the right family, or not from around that area, or didn’t go to the right schools, and a person can be treated as a perpetual outsider. Never included. Never invited. Rarely talked to. Ignored often. Ideas never considered. A fellowship in name only. The congregation becomes a “old boys’ club” that if you don’t fit in, you’ll never fit in.

We want to say that those things do not exist, but they do. It happened in Corinth. It happen among the Galatian churches. It was felt in Jerusalem. A growing church faces the problem of having everyone get along. New faces and the old regular faces have to accept, love and work together. In Keller’s masterpiece book on Psalms 23, he names a few factors that will harm sheep and among them are tensions in the flock. The church can’t have ‘bullies.’ We all must humbly walk with our Savior. No one is too good for Bible classes or coming to services. No one can say, “I don’t need to come.” That boastful spirit is what causes tension.

How do we get along? How do we smooth out the tension?

First, spend time with each other. Include those you do not know well. Broaden your circle of people you talk to, invite over, and do things with. It’s hard to fit in when the same ‘ole always includes the same ‘ole.

Second, listen. One common characteristic of pride is that the person likes to talk. He likes to dominate. He controls the conversation, the direction of the conversation and who is allowed to talk. Let the air out of that big head and allow others to talk. Realize that they may bring a perspective, an experience, a life lesson that you don’t know about. You can learn from others. We all can.

Third, walk by the Spirit. Those were Paul’s words. That’s what God wants. Walking by the Spirit will cause us to settle down, accept others, and find our proper place with the Lord.

Tension is unsettling. It is like stretching a rubber band. You know before long it will either snap and hurt or it will simply break. The same is true of congregations. The best thing one can do is to make sure you are doing what you ought to be doing. Are you walking as God would want you to? Are you loving the people that God loves? Are you helping or are you part of the problem?

Tense times, reminds us that we do not have to be a part of the problem.

Roger

Jump Start # 2617

1 Timothy 5:15 “for some have already turned aside to follow Satan.”

Our verse today is tucked in a long section about financially helping needy widows. In a time when there was no Social Security, life insurance, or government help, those in need truly needed someone to help them. It is easy just to assume that the church ought to help anyone and everyone. Down and out on your luck, call a church, plead your case and hopefully you’ll get some cash. It doesn’t matter what you believe, how committed you are, or even if you go there. The church is there to help you out. That’s the common thought among many, if not most today.

In this chapter, the thoughts are directed towards those who are Christians. In fact, there is a consistent pattern in the N.T. of the church helping fellow Christians. Antioch sent money to help the famine plagued Christians in Jerusalem. What about the others in Jerusalem who weren’t Christians? This was not the responsibility of the church. The very passage that is used to describe taking up a collection, 1 Corinthians 16, states that is for “the saints.” The thoughts in this passage are directed towards widows who were Christians.

Three things were said.

First, those who had family were to take care of their own. The church was not to do what the family was supposed to do. Family comes first. We have an obligation to take care of our family. Not wanting to is not the same as unable to. Living paycheck to paycheck puts one in a position where he cannot help his family.

Second, those needy widows who have shown a long history of dedication to the Lord would be helped out by the church. The church takes care of it’s own, after the family. There is an order here.

Third, those who were young needy widows were advised to get married. The church wasn’t to help these young widows.

And, it is in this last situation, young widows, that Paul writes our verse. Some of the young widows have turned aside to follow Satan. They were no longer faithful in their walk with the Lord. They were no longer committed and dedicated. They tossed in the towel. They turned their back on the brethren. And, rather than being a help, they became a burden. They went to the other side.

Paul’s expression, “some have already turned aside,” indicates that some have already gone over. Paul knew this. Some have exchanged their soul for pleasure. Some were now lost again. And, from this we learn some lessons:

First, as much as we want everyone to be saved, some will not. Some change their minds. Some do not want to do what it takes to be saved. Maybe the death of their husbands were too much. Maybe they felt abandoned by God. Maybe they were never fully convinced, but were only following their husbands. Maybe their husbands were not Christians, and that thought caused them to go the other way. Many ideas we could place on the table. The fact is, no matter how great the preaching, how wonderful the shepherds are, how powerful the church is, some will turn aside to follow Satan. Some walked away from the Lord. We can beat ourselves up with guilt, thinking that we ought to have done more, but with some, nothing more could be done. It was the choice of the people. They decided to follow Satan once again.

This hurts the most when it is in the family. It strains relationships. It makes get togethers awkward.

Second, we must never give up on trying to get a person back to Christ. Every night we need to pray for those we love who have turned to follow Satan. We need to drop reminders, hints, suggestions to help them see the need to come back. Too much guilt preaching at them can cause them to cut all ties. So one must be careful. Think about the golden rule. What would you want done to you if you were in their shoes?

Third, there are times when the faithful of God care more about the soul of a lost person than he cares about it himself. He may rarely if ever think about his spiritual condition. His thoughts are all centered around the here and now. His focus is upon the material side of life. He had no time and no interest in Biblical discussions. When the person gets around to talking about spiritual things, often it’s negative finger pointing about all the things that are wrong in the world and in the church.

Fourth, Paul’s words today would be considered judging by a lot of people. Rather than trying to encourage the young widow back to the Lord, some would blast Paul for having a condemning spirit. And, in the times we live, people don’t what to know the truth. They want to be told that everything is ok. And, if one dares say otherwise, he is written off as a narrow, judgmental, Pharisee who doesn’t love. Yet, how can one say they love when they know a friend is turning to follow Satan? Does ignoring the situation define love? Does remaining silent speak of love? Seeing them slip away from Heaven, is that love?

And, as we know, a time comes, when those young widows that turned to follow Satan, would realize that it was a major mistake. At death it would be too late for them. And, today, those very people that Paul had in mind, are realizing that they gave up the most precious thing they ever had, salvation in Jesus Christ.

Is there anything that can be done to keep this from happening? Keeping close to those who are going through storms is important. These were young widows. Did they have children? Could more attention be given to their situation? But even with that, some will make the wrong choices and return to Satan.

Teaching God’s word is another powerful help. We need to know. We need to be informed. We need to understand that some things are just not on the table for discussion. Leaving the Lord is one of those things. It doesn’t matter how tough the road becomes. It doesn’t matter how long the journey seems. It doesn’t matter if you seem to be all alone in this, walking away from the Lord is never the right thing to do.

We need plain preaching and plain teaching of God’s word. Folks need to hear it. People need to understand the consequences of their choices.

Some have already turned aside…such terrible words. I wonder if tears were coming down Paul’s cheeks as he wrote those words. I wonder if there were names that he could have listed right then? I wonder if he stayed awake a long time that night praying about those young widows?

Sure is something to think about, isn’t it?

Roger