An Undying Love

Ephesians 6.23-14
2-26-06 DBC

An Undying Love

“Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.”

When Paul uses “peace” or shalom. Shalom speaks to wholeness and reconciliation. There exist perhaps a couple of things Paul uses peace in consideration of: 1. The Ephesians were once in darkness but have been put at peace with God who is in the light (5.8) Or 2. The Gentiles and Jews have been brought together in God (1.10; 1.22; 2.6; 2.14; 4.4)

The brethren consisted of Gentiles and Jews, Wives and husbands (5.22), Parents and children (6.1), and slaves and masters (6.5).

Paul concludes his letter to the Ephesians urging them to hold on and keep on keeping on; he says to them, “[grace to those who] love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.”

The phrase undying love is translated in other ways in other translations: in sincerity, incorruptible, unchanging, and it can mean unwavering.

Paul knew what the early believers (Ephesians) would be up against. They would face false teachers, a world system against the teachings of Christ, and a world shrouded in darkness, selfishness, greed, lust, hate, murder, and every sort of evil.

What does an undying love to Christ look like?

At the end of John’s gospel there is a narrative dialogue between Jesus and Peter (John 21.15-18). It echoes Peter’s three denials:

Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love [agapo] me?”

Peter says, “Yes Lord, you know I love [phileo] you.”

Jesus says, “feed my lambs.”

Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love [agapo] me?”

Peter says, “Yes Lord, you know I love [phileo] you.”

Jesus says, “tend my sheep.”

Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love [phileo] me?”

Peter says, “Yes Lord, you know I love [phileo] you.”

Jesus says to him, “feed my sheep.”

Jesus was calling Peter to an undying and unwavering commitment and love to him that would be evidenced by love for and to the flock of Christ (the church). But Peter was still not there yet . . . And Jesus dropped a bomb on Peter by prophesying, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst where thou wouldest; but when tho shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee, and carry thee where thou wouldest not.”


*An undying for love for Christ is evidenced by our willingness to give all of our life to Christ.
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A story by my blog friend CS. (Click here for his blog and this particular story in its entirety.):

“I’m walking in downtown Portland and this homeless guy stops me on the sidewalk. They call it aggressive panhandling. He obviously doesn’t have anything beyond a bundle of stuff that is lying beside the road. A bunch of his buddies are leaning against a building.He’s got long hair, a longish beard, and is wearing not only sandals, but this old robe that looks like it might have come from a monastery or something. It’s got a couple of holes in it and the hem is frayed.I smile at him, a little nervous, and run through a quick calculation of what is in my wallet, how much I really need today, and come up with a sum that is generous in my circumstances.

“Excuse me, sir...” he begins. (At least he’s polite.)

“...I haven’t any money for something to eat. Can you spare a few?”

“Sure,” I say, and reach for the wallet in my front pocket (I keep it there ever since I had my wallet stolen when I was 16).I hand him $6.He looks at me with sharp, clear, brown eyes, piercing eyes.

“This isn’t enough.”

I’m more than a little surprised. It’s more than I usually spend on my own lunches, and it is pretty nervy of him to ask for more when most folks would have pulled out the change in their pockets and left him looking at 62 cents in his palm.

A little offended, I ask him how much he needs.

“All of it.”

(WHAT?!!!)

I look beyond him to see if there is a cop or someone of authority in sight.

“Pardon me?”

“I want it all.”

For a moment I think about it. Maybe I could skip my own lunch. He probably needs it more than I do. This almost seems like some kind of test, so I pause, I consider. I reach into my wallet for the last $3.

“That’s not enough,” he says.

Now I am getting a little uncomfortable, and maybe a touch more than a little testy. I size him up. He’s about three inches shorter than I am, but he looks wiry, strong.

“Just what is it you want from me?”

“I want it all. I want your wallet, and your car keys....“I want your pin number for the ATM...“I want your house and your job, and your kids, and everything.“I want your life.”
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[At this point CS stops his story and tells of his church’s fire set by his son and the need for sacrificial giving to rebuild it.] He (CS) concludes with,

“I’m giving everything I have to the man with the long hair and sandals.”

*An undying love for Chirst is evidenced by love for the least of these (Matthew 25.40).

Bono Quote said [in Christian Century]:

“God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives. And God is with us, if we are with them.”

Mother Teresa said, “Where God is, there is love; and where there is love, there is always an openness to serve. The world is hungry for God.”

Jesus said, “Insasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethern, ye have done it unto me.”

You Are Your Brother’s Keeper

Ephesians 5.21
DBC 2-19-06

You Are Your Brother’s Keeper

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

-Prayer-

Anna said to Amy the other day, “[She said in her biggest most sophisticated three year old voice:] When I get older and bigger than you Mama, I’ll take care of you . . .” Amy understood what she meant.

The greatest charge Christ gives to us is the well-being of one another. He gives us responsibility for each other’s well-being. Scripture says to each of us and to all of us, “love one another,” and “bear one another’s burdens.”

I’m responsible for your well-being and you are responsible for my well-being. In the sense of well-being, you are my keeper and I am your keeper . . .

Paul writes to the house church at Ephesus, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Before we tackle the meaning of this verse and its application for our life and church let us first consider its connections to previous and hereafter verses:

First we must not forget the written context where verse 5.21 is placed.

In 5.18 Paul admonished the Ephesians to be continually filled with the Spirit. I wish we had much more time to talk at length about this point, for it’s the height of Christian maturity (to be continually filled with the Spirit).

Let me only briefly say here, about being filled with the Spirit, that it only happens when we freely surrender and lay down our lives (wants, desires, ambition, will, dreams) before the Lord and confess that unless we have God and his love and power in our lives we have nothing, not a thing, of lasting significance or of everlasting value.

You will never accomplish all of what God commissions of you and you will never achieve supremely and intimately knowing Christ (in you) and the fellowship of his sufferings unless you freely surrender and submit your all of your life to him.

Surrendering your life to Christ means carrying your cross; and carrying your cross means dying to yourself.

When God fills our lives with his Spirit, he intends for us to pour his spirit and lives into one another. The greatest love and reverence we show Christ is when we love and submit to the needs and well-being of one another.

-Being filled with the Spirit produces harmony in our relationships.
-Being filled with the Spirit enables us to fully love one another.
- Being filled with the Spirit is the only thing that can bring unity to any church.

5:21 qualifies all of the following verses in chapter 5 and all the way through 6:9.

Paul was speaking to the early church, which was a house fellowship that consisted of people from all walks of life. Just from this context we know that slaves and masters, children and parents, and wives and husbands were all equally apart of the same church and fellowship. We know this because Paul addresses each one of them in his letter, which was to be read to the entire church at the same time.

The equality that the Gospel presented is truly amazing, in its day and age, to women, children, and slaves.

In order to better understand Paul’s words “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” we must also understand the cultural and historical context, which Paul wrote in.

The cultural and historical context of Paul’s day was a patriarchal society. Men were chief in such a society; they had authority and ownership over their wives, children and slaves. It was quite a different culture and world than our present day (that we a familiar with).

One of the most common biblical interpretation eras we make (when we try to apply the Bible to our lives) is when we ignore the cultural and historical context of the Scripture.

Have you ever been in another culture different than your own? The first time I ever traveled outside of the United States was when I went meet Amy’s parents who were serving as missionaries in Albania, Eastern Europe (across from Italy and the Adriatic Sea).

I was surprised to observe the cultural differences there compared to how I (and you most likely) grew up with. For example, when you shake your head up and down there that means no and when you shake your head side ways that means yes; also, when it’s time to celebrate birthdays over there, the one having birthday buys all of their friends and loved ones gifts of appreciation! These are just a few cultural differences.

You can easily imagine how not understanding cultural differences could get one in a little or much trouble (i.e. Like driving on the left side in England!)!

So when we read and seek to apply the Bible we do well to pay attention to the historical and cultural context it was written in.

Paul was writing to a small house church that consisted of members who were wives, children, slaves, masters and fathers who lived in a patriarchal society (where culturally men we authoritative and dominant).

Let me say here, that while the Gospel and Scripture did not primarily deal (at great length anyway) with the inequality and injustices of slavery and patriarchal domination of women and children, the eventual momentum and socially freeing impact of the gospel would change the scope of every civilization where it was fully lived out and proclaimed in.

Bob Utley notes that, “The NT never attempts to address the unfairness of these cultural pillars of the ancient world. Possibly because to do so would have meant the destruction of Christianity. Yet the gospel through time is abolishing both [male dominated patriarchal societies and slavery]!”

The single most important understanding of verse 21, however, is that it concerns mutual submission, reciprocal submission. Paul used the term submit (huptasso) (hoop-o-TASS-o) in the imperative middle voice form in emphasizing the voluntary nature of being submissive to one another.

Sometimes people proudly and self-righteously proclaim what the bible says in plain English . . . The only problem is that the Bible was not written in plain English, but in a very nuanced and ancient Greek and Hebrew language; this is why it is also important to not only pay attention to the historical and cultural context but also the grammatical context of the Scripture as well.

The three principle relationships that Paul instructs to such mutual and reciprocal submission are:

1. Wives and husbands. (Look carefully at 5.23)

Here it important to understand that women are in no way spiritually inferior to men (Acts 2.16-21 and Gal 3.28 also Proverbs 31 and Gen 1.27, also all of women prophets, judges and deacons that are mention throughout Scripture.)

We do well to understand the correct meaning of the term head in 5:23. It is not the authoritative ruling term (head of) that our English cultural connotation implies. There were two word choices for Paul to choose from at this point in his letter. One of those choices was arche (archangel or archbishop). Paul did not use this term (arche), rather he deliberately used the term kephale (kef-ah-Lay) which commonly had one or two meanings: 1.) The part of one’s body (origin) or 2.) *One who went before the troops in battle (This better describes Christ as being our head and leader- first born from the dead).

The term kephale (kef-ah-Lay) was never used to mean: leader, boss, chief, or ruler. For a more in depth study, consider how and when rosh is translated into kephale or arche in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament read by Jesus and Paul).

The Husband and wife (bodies) belong to one another (1 Cor 7.4)

For those who argue that women are to be submissive to men (Eve to Adam) because of the fall (Gen 3.16), then does not the curse end with the advent of Christ and humankind’s salvation in him (Gal 3.13).


2. Children and Fathers. The voice and concern that Paul gives here to children is culturally striking. In a patriarchal society children were subhuman, mere property. Fathers are not to break their Spirits (6.4) and children are to obey and honor their parents (6.1).

3. Slaves and Masters. Slavery, as human exploitation, was never God’s original intention. In fact, we know Paul’s greater concern for the topic in Philemon 12-21 (and Gal 3.28 “Neither slave nor free.”). Paul does, however, advocate his spiritual slavery for the sake of the Gospel.

With the understanding of the voluntary nature of the mutual and reciprocal submission the (culturally radical) application of 5.21-6.9 then is:

That wives must submit to the out-front-risk-taking by their husband’s sacrificial love for them; husbands must submit to all of the needs of his wife and do so with Christ like sacrifice and love; parents should submit to the needs of the children by bringing them up in the ways of the Lord; Children should submit to the parents responsibility of looking out for them and raising them in the Lord; slaves and masters should submit to the needs of one another.

We are to serve one another the way Christ served us!

“If anyone wants to be first [“important” & “powerful”], he must be the very last, and servant of all.” (Mark 9.35)

Do you remember the story of Cain and Able, Adam and Eves’ boys? Able tended to flocks and Cain worked the soil. They both offered sacrifices to God, but Able’s sacrifice was better than Cain’s sacrifice (Hebrews 11.4). Cain became jealous of his brother and killed him.

The Lord called out to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4.9). You’re the keeper of my well-being and I am the keeper of your well-being.

Oh how the promise keepers and Southern Baptist Convention (Baptist Faith Message 2000 version) have it all wrong when it comes to interpreting the 5.22 and verse 23!

It’s not about who is in authority or in control, it is about who is most like Christ and most self-sacrificial (last and least) servant to all! In this way:“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Christian Century Quotable

Christian Century Quotable

Another Bono Quote in Christian Century:

“God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives. And God is with us, if we are with them.”

Reminds me of Jesus’ admonition:

“ . . . If you care for the least of these, you have cared for me . . .”

Turn on the light

Turn On The Light , morning message at Dellviw Baptist 2-12-06

8-For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9-(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. 11-Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12-For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13-But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14-for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’
(Eph 5.8-14 NIV)

It is true that no amount of darkness can extinguish even the smallest source of light . . .

In the classic and currently popular Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe Chronicles of Narnia, a little girl named Lucy is drawn into the magical world of Narnia by the faintly warm soft glow of a street like lamp she sees while stumbling out of her earthly dimension (through the wardrobe) into Narnia.

We were first drawn to God by the light of Christ; that’s partly what light does, it serves to guide to and reveal the previously unknown. Our Scripture reminds us:

8-For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light . . .

Light and darkness (synonymous with day and night) were ancient metaphors for contrasting: truth and falsehood; life and death; revelation and confusion; good and evil; meaning and chaos.

The Scripture writers used this well known metaphor (light and darkness, day and night) to contrast being a child of God (knowing and loving God) and living apart from the truth of God (choosing the secrecy of darkness).

When one comes into the light (to Christ), God transforms us from darkness into light.

At one time we were enemies to God. We did whatever we wanted. We thought thoughts of darkness and acted upon our dark thoughts. The Scripture admonishes us new children of light to no longer behave and live as the children of darkness.

5-Now the message that we have heard from his Son and announce is this: God is light and there is no darkness at all in him. 6-If, then, we say that we have fellowship with fellowship with him, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions. 7-But if we live in the light—just as he is in the light—then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin. (1 Jon 1.5-7 Good News Bible)

“God is light and there is no darkness at all in him.”

Scripture has always testified that God is light and free of any darkness.

He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. (Daniel 2:22)

God, however, did not avoid the darkness. Jesus came to illumine the dark land and redeem its prisoners.

Did you ever think of yourself as a prisoner to darkness? There is a bondage and addiction that accompanies darkness.

Scripture records:

1-I n the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2-From the very beginning the Word was with God. 3-Through him God made all things; not a thing was made without him. 4-The Word [Jesus] was the source of life, and this life brought light to the people. 5-The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has never put it out.

Other translations say that the darkness did not comprehend or understand the darkness, but the better rendering is more violent.

Darkness is active and violent. Darkness seeks to extinguish light. Darkness resists light.

But as the Sun slowly breaks into the dawn of morning, so does Christ into this world and our life.

9-(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

Galatians 5.22 talks about the fruit of the Spirit. Ephesians 5.9 commends the fruit of light. If you’re in God these things should be evident:

1. Goodness or acts of charity and benevolence;
2. Righteousness (doing the right and pure thing toward others and God);
3. Truth (always speaking and seeking the truth in all matters).

What truth are we telling others as a church?

What good and benevolent thing are we doing as church?

What work righteousness are we contending for as a church?

We live in a dark land inhabited with prisoners, victims and violent people (whom take advantage of the darkness).

The victims and prisoners cry out, “Where is the light?” “Who will come to me and show me the way out of here?” “Who will come tom and rescue me?” Where is the light, hope and rescue?

We live in a dark land and we are the light of Christ. If we (Christians) do not shine out into the darkness there will be no message of light and gospel in this dark land.

If we as (Christians) do not shine out into the darkness there will be no freedom for the prisoners or rescue for the victims of this darkness.

You are light in the world . . .

I was gripped once again by my Christian responsibility this week. I was watching a PBS documentary about the vast sex slave trade practiced all over the world (on our borders as well).

Slaves in this day and age? Many young girls are kidnapped and others are falsely enticed into the dark practice of prostitution (sex slaves).

One woman was invited to leave the Ukraine and shop in Turkey for inexpensive merchandise to take back and sell in her Mother’s home shop. She was married with a 5 year-old son and caring husband. Also, she was 4 months pregnant. An acquaintance had lied and said that he knew the Turkey well and would watch out for her, that she could come along on a trip he had make to Turkey. Once there, he sold her for a $1,000 to a pimp and left her. She barely escaped; she was raped and lost her baby and was emotionally and physically scared.

Another story in the documentary focused on a young woman’s return home to Russia, Chernobyl from the sex slave trade in Turkey. Many of these women are desperately trying to find income for their poor families. They are falsely enticed to oversea work with the false promise of making more money than they could ever possibly make at home.

She returned home to Chernobyl to her sister who had a brain tumor and her younger brother with a deadly cancerous lesion on his stomach and with two other hungry children. She went back to prostitute herself, because she did not know of any other way to provide money to care for her family’s medical and basic survival needs. She was arrested and deported. Her brother died shortly afterwards.

I watched this and cried out, “Where are you God in this situation?” His reply was:

11-Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12-For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13-But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14-for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’

We are the light of Christ in this dark land. If we do not shine into the darkness there will be no light!

‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’

Expose the darkness and wickedness of this world we live in.
Rescue the exploited and victimized.
Shine the gospel toward the lost and dying.

Every light must have an energy source.

Fire from heaven is our source: Be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5.18)

Read Hymn 573 Set My Heart Afire

Ephesians 2.11-22

2.5.06 DBC morning message

Room at the Table for All

[Paul was writing to the Gentiles.] 12-At one time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God’s chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God’s promises to his people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God [God, alone, gives sure hope in this life.] . . . [Paul mentions how the blood (vs.13), body (vs.14), cross (vs. 16) of Christ unite both the gentiles and Jews into God’s kingdom.] 18-It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father [God]. 19-So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now citizens together with God’s people and members of the family of God . . . 21-He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. 22-In union with him you too are being built together with all others into a place where God lives through his Spirit. (Good News Bible, Eph. 2.12; 18-19; 21-22)

Picking Teams

Do you remember the childhood ritual of choosing up sides? It usually goes something like this: First two team captains are elected and then they start to point toward whom they want on their team. Many times they point first toward their buddies and then toward the fastest and strongest and often the attractive girl (it works this way when boys are doing the picking, vice versa when girls are doing the team selecting.) gets into the fray of the top 3. Do you remember where you were selected during this ritual? I’ve been on both sides. I’ve been the first one picked (I’ve even done the picking). I have also been the odd kid out and the last one reluctantly selected.

I’ve seen the most popular, athletic and prettiest selected first in the every day life. But Jesus doesn’t select his team like this, does he?

He’s for the underdog. He has a last will be first mentality. He’s the kid who served as team captain who picked first the most unlikely, unattractive, oddest, and most out of place kid to be on his team. That’s the way Jesus has always rolled; that’s just how he rolls.

Background of the early church struggling to accept Gentles

Acts 15.7-11 (1^st Church council); Galatians 2. 11-14 (Paul confronts a snobbish Peter at Antioch.)

In today’s passage Paul is speaking to the gentiles and reminding them that they are on God’s team . . . They are apart of God’s team (family) even if other Christians (Jewish Christians) make them feel less than equal and accepted!

The application for us that I laboring for today is how do we as a church do at accepting other Christians into our fold? Do we open truly open up wide our arms and embrace (include) others who come seeking to join God’s work here? Or are we like the kids on the bus when Forest Gump steps onto it looking for a seat? As Forest was walking down the isle (odd looking to the others), kid after kid covers up openings by them and say with their southern Alabama accent, “Can’t set here . . . this seat taken!” Forest had just as much right as any other Kid to be on that school buss headed to school as any other kid on that buss, but he still wasn’t accepted. Jenny finally invited him to set next to here (she innocently and childlike asked, are you stupid or something?).

Do people ever feel like Forest Gump on the bus when the come to church here?

Paul writes:

12-At one time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God’s chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God’s promises to his people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God [God, alone, gives sure hope in this life.] . . . [Paul mentions how the blood (vs.13), body (vs.14), cross (vs. 16) of Christ unite both the gentiles and Jews into God’s kingdom.]

We make room for Jesus in our lives and in our church, when we make room for others in our life and in our church.

The basis for one being apart of God’s team and that which holds and unites his family together is the blood and crucified body of Jesus (The team coach).

There are no man made hoops, elaborate creeds, or outer qualifications for being apart of God’s team. The Jewish Christians thought that the new Gentile Christians should have to come the way they first cam to God, the way circumcision and the Law.

The earliest simple affirmation of faith required for acceptance into the church was simply a profession of Faith in Christ as Lord (Romans 10.9).

Paul continues:

18-It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father [God]. 19-So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now citizens together with God’s people and members of the family of God.

Do we make others (newcomers) feel like apart of God’s family?

Tony Campolo tells this story:

"When I pastored a small church in a rural community, I discovered that a young women of the town had become pregnant out of wedlock. The word was out, and the gossip about her condition was everywhere.

I went to see her and even as I knocked on the door, I had this uncanny awareness that the Holy Spirit was on me in a special way and that something unusual was about to happen. The young woman invited me in, and as I sat in her living room explaining the forgiveness of God and how God wills for each of us to have a new start, she responded with great intensity. She gave her life to Christ, and I watched joy cross a face that an hour before had been marked with sadness.

I wasn’t surprised when she showed up at church the following Sunday. [Week after week she showed up] She showed up the week after that and the week after that. And then she stopped coming. I went to visit her again and asked why she wasn’t attending church anymore. She said, “I can’t! Every time I go into that church I get the feeling that I’m dirty and no good!”

“You shouldn’t feel that way,” I said. “Jesus has forgiven and Jesus has forgotten.”

I’ll never forget her answer. She said, “Jesus may have forgiven, and Jesus may have forgotten. But the people down there at your church—they haven’t forgiven. And, they haven’t forgotten.”

I was reminded of that verse of Scripture where the apostle Paul says of the church, “Because of you, the Gospel is made of none effect.” (Let Me Tell You a Story, 155-156)

Churches don’t want to think that they’re like that. It doesn’t matter, however what we think, can we see thought the newcomer’s eyes and sympathize (imagine) with their awareness in our midst?

Paul adds:

21-He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. 22-In union with him you too are being built together with all others into a place where God lives through his Spirit.

Jesus is the standard by which we must include people (newcomers) into our fellowship, Kingdom work, and life of his church.

If Christ receives one, then he/she is a member of his church (our church). We must freely receive as Christ receives.

If we reject whom Christ has freely received, then we have excluded Christ himself.

Elsewhere Paul says it like this:

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15.7)

John says it like this:

“What we have seen and heard we announce to you also, so that you will join us in the fellowship that we have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1.3)

Peter learned what James taught that God shows no favoritism (Acts 10.34).

Jesus said it this way:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11.28-29)

Today, every Sunday, we have the opportunity to accept newcomers into our fellowship, God’s team. Today we welcome all newcomers who have joined our fellowship this past year.

Today we are also observing The Lord’s communion together. There is practice of closed communion among some churches and in many Baptist fellowships. Closed communion is the practice of only allowing local church members to observe the Lord’s Supper. By doing this they flirt with the risk of excluding Christ himself when the exclude those who Christ has accepted into God’s Kingdom.

Often we unknowingly (or knowingly) present exclusive club like membership clicks in our fellowship. We often find it easier to impose denominational doctrines over ecumenical fellowship. It’s easier and more convenient to hold onto denominational tradition and dogma then it is to embrace the open liberating acceptance of the Gospel of Christ; Paul preached, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”