Good morning. It is good to be here with you all. For those of you who are newer, my name is Jake Risner. I'm an elder here.
! And this is my very first sermon. Nonetheless, the Christ family, so prepare for impact.
My only objective this morning is that we would see the scripture a little more clearly.
If we walk away with even an ounce of better understanding of what the Lord is communicating to us about himself through this text, praise the Lord. Mission accomplished.
So I trust that you all have been gleaning from our study in Romans. We are going to continue on into Romans 12, verses 14 through 16.
So if you would, turn with me there to Romans 12, 14 through 16.
Our text reads,
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
This text falls in the middle of Paul's instruction for how the Christians ought to be conducting themselves.
The ESV puts the header, marks of the true Christian, over these passages.
So this is particularly within the context of the church, but not exclusively.
Clay did a great job last week explaining how this chapter starts the practical instruction of self-sacrificial love.
So to best understand and apply our particular verses, we're going to consider and look back at two specific things within the larger arc of the book of Romans.
One, the sinful lifestyles present within the church.
And two, the clarity given to the Jew and Gentile dynamic.
So looking back at the end of chapter one, we find a host of unchristian behaviors and practices identified among the unrighteous.
But at the beginning of chapter two, Paul says,
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges, for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself,
because you, the judge, practice the same things.
So Paul establishes that he is privy to this misconduct and the hypocrisy within the church
and paints the picture of what a selfish, self-seeking congregation looks like.
But the second contextual item to recall is this Jew-Gentile dynamic.
The Lord has uniquely used Paul to author this letter.
As a Jew born in a Roman province, he has dual citizenship.
He has the cultural credit to speak to both of these people groups, even though he has not yet with them personally yet.
In his introduction, he is sure to include that Christ is a descendant of David, but that the gospel is for all nations.
So then that would include the Gentile nations.
So then throughout the letter, Paul addresses the misunderstandings of the Jews and the Gentiles within the churches of the region.
The Jews seem to think that they are special because they are the people of God, the ones who received the law and the prophets.
And the Gentiles seem to think that they are extra special since they got grafted in, despite the Jews being the firstfruits.
And so Paul gives a lengthy theological address how in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile.
We are justified through faith alone, and the gospel is for all that would repent and believe, those that confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God rose him from the dead will be saved.
The ethnic descendants of Abraham were a foreshadow to the future chosen people of the faith.
In chapter 9, Paul quotes Hosea, a Jewish prophet, in regard to the Gentiles becoming God's people who were not his people.
Before the foundations of the earth, God chose a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to be his chosen race.
And this is a glorious reality.
And with this doctrine, how ought the mixed congregation do community with one another?
Are the Jews to preside over the Gentiles since they are the chosen people from the Old Covenant?
Or should the Jews get on board with the Gentiles since they are in Rome?
Or should they create segregated churches to avoid the dissension?
What do they do with these doctrines that Paul has laid out?
As we have read and studied the past couple of weeks, they should be one body.
Working in unison, being of the same mind in Christ, Christ is the head of the body.
And additionally, they should not be affiliated with those kinds of sins referenced in chapter 1.
Envy, strife, gossip, slander, haughty, boastful.
These are the antithetical prescriptions to what Christ would have his children be and do as they are adopted into the same family.
Those who act that way presume upon the kindness of God.
So this contrast, starting in chapter 12, is not only for the Jew to Gentile relationship.
It is for the member to member relationships within the church.
But it is drawn out in light of the ethnic differences.
And so with these things in mind, we're going to look back into our decks.
If I were to give the note takers an outline, it would be sympathy towards the unsympathetic.
That's verse 14, sympathy towards the unsympathetic.
Verse 15, the two-sided coin of empathy.
And lastly, humility produces harmony.
And we're going to see through these three verses that the common denominator is an outward, self-sacrificial love.
So starting in verse 14, we read,
Bless those who persecute you.
Bless and do not curse them.
Paul has uniquely experienced this kind of blessing.
He was himself a persecutor of the Christians, but he has now been persecuted.
And so he knows exactly what he's addressing when he gives this command.
He has been an example of this, sort of blessing your persecutors already.
And even in his post-conversion humility, he says back in chapter 9,
I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers.
He has gone from intentionally cursing Christians to now having such a heart for the lost that he would be accursed in their place.
He doesn't have that authority, but he expresses this heart change from persecutor to persecuted.
And he knows what it is to suffer the wrath of evil men, yet he contends with the Romans to bless their persecutors.
Those in Rome, especially the Jews, have already experienced a bit of persecution.
The Jews are a people accustomed to being taken captive, to being uprooted, turned to slaves, released back to their homeland.
And over the span of their heritage, they have a lot of persecution represented.
More relevant to this letter, it is recorded in Acts 2, that Aquila and Priscilla had met Paul and Corinth after all the Jews were commanded to leave Rome under the rule of Claudius.
They were permitted back in a few years later, but nonetheless, they were driven out for their Christian beliefs.
And this is a good image for the definition of persecute.
It means to make, to run, to flee, to put to flight.
It can have other implications, but it's still in the framework of doing away with a certain people or a certain ideology.
And perhaps the Jews have had in their mind that their enemies should suffer for the wrongdoing, as would be the case in the Old Covenant law.
That is, if the chosen people are faithful to God, they would have relief from their enemies.
Or maybe the Gentile believers have been susceptible to cursing the ones that banned the Jews originally out of brotherly affection.
Whatever specific reason for their persecution or their cursing, Paul is contending with them that instead of cursing them back, they should bless them.
The command is not only to endure the persecution or to ignore your persecutors.
It's a step further than that.
It's two steps away from the treatment that they have been receiving.
They are to bless those who persecute them, who don't deserve it.
The word bless is the same word we get eulogy from.
It means to praise, to speak well of, to invoke a blessing upon someone.
In Luke 6.28, amidst the Beatitudes, Jesus says,
Bless those who persecute you.
And immediately followed by that, he says,
Pray for those who abuse you.
Be reminded of when Stephen was being stoned to death.
He prayed to God, saying,
Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
Or better yet, when Jesus was being executed,
he says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
The goal of Gentiles and Jews is alike,
to know Christ, to make Christ known to all peoples.
Even amidst their persecution,
they are to have sympathy and wish upon all men
that their souls be turned to God
in hope and faith that they would be saved.
This would be a hot topic in the coming years
when Nero would assume authority
and literally burn Christians
to serve as lampposts at his garden parties.
And thankfully, we serve a God
who is sovereignly preserving his bride
so that the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it.
In light of this context,
the Christians in Rome,
how much quicker should we be
to bless our persecutors?
Our suffering is futile
to what many of our brothers and sisters
over history,
and even currently across the globe,
suffer.
Ours may look like
being made fun of at work
or being ignored
or belittled at the family Thanksgiving.
We may not be the popular one
at the dorms.
I would not be surprised
if some of us soon
are called to suffer more severely.
I haven't heard of much of that
in the long ago yet,
but maybe being fired from a job,
being sued for what the world
would call hate speech,
or failing college courses
for not submitting to the hive mind
of the secular world.
Nonetheless,
the Christian will be persecuted,
severe or mild,
and when we experience it,
we should bless our persecutors.
We should pray for their salvation.
We should see their sin
ultimately against the Lord.
When you are persecuted
for righteousness' sake,
do not avoid the value
of persecution
by cursing those
who curse you.
We ought not
curse our persecutors
like perhaps the Jews
were doing in Rome
as they were driven out
by the government,
but we are to bless them.
And in doing so,
you will show your persecutor
there's a greater hope,
hope in Christ.
What good would it be
to suffer for unrighteousness?
That's no sacrifice at all.
That's getting what you deserve.
But if you suffer for righteousness,
the Lord may use it
to reveal himself
to the persecutor,
and you will be blessed.
What would our current status be
if Christ had responded
with cursing?
We all,
before regeneration,
are called enemies of God,
and yet while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
He did not curse us.
Christ himself became a curse
so that those who cursed him
might be blessed.
Live as holy sacrifices,
point others to Christ,
and be sympathetic
to the unsympathetic.
Verse 15 is a two-part
exhortation of empathy.
Rejoice with those who rejoice
and weep with those who weep.
Where Paul was calling
the persecuted
to be sympathetic
to the persecutors,
now he is calling the church
to be empathetic.
Empathetic is to understand
and to share the feelings
of another.
The Jews and Gentiles
come together
to form a very diverse church
with many differences.
They have different upbringings,
different culture,
different expectations.
They are instructed
to try and understand
their brothers and sisters
who have different experiences
and predispositions
so that they can be unified
as they rejoice
and as they weep.
In the previous passage
in this chapter
about the church
being one body
with different members,
we read that the Lord
uniquely gives different gifts
to different people.
Across the broader extent
of the letter,
the Lord has used
the Jews and Gentiles
individually
to fulfill
his various objectives.
the Roman Christians
need to set aside
their envy
and their pride
from one another
in order to rejoice
in the things of God.
They are on the same team.
If the Gentiles
have now received
the gospel
that was first presented
to the Jews,
that's something
to praise God about.
If that means
that they are grafted
into the same root
as the Israelites,
they should praise God.
As we spoke earlier,
the promise of faith
is not just for those
of Abrahamic lineage.
The Gentiles have been welcomed
into the covenant people
and this calls for rejoicing.
It doesn't say it specifically,
but I assume
that Paul is addressing
dividing lines
on when and how
to rejoice
with the other group.
They may be reluctant
to rejoice
with the opposite ethnicity
and the presumption
that their own kind
will fulfill that duty.
They have their own family
to do life with.
Why should I bother?
Type of mentality.
But there is
no other group.
We are one body.
There should not be
cliques or posses
of people in the church
such that it would exclude
rejoicing together.
It is not wrong
to have relationships,
a deeper relationship
with fewer people,
but it would be wrong
for a church culture
to organize itself
where the members
are severed
from the rest of the body
such that it would
exclude rejoicing together.
And this takes a lot
of outward
and selfless thinking.
If you are jealous
or envious
or covetous
over one another's
success or blessing,
you will not be able
to rejoice
with one another.
We have to be
so content
in the Lord
with what He
has given us
and namely,
salvation,
that when we see
others rejoicing,
we can celebrate
with them.
We can praise God
when someone else
has received something
that we have not.
Our hope is in Christ alone,
not in our comforts,
not in our family,
not in our work,
or our grades,
or our roommates.
If Christ is your treasure
and the church
is your family,
rejoice like a family
when one of their own
has been blessed.
There are times,
however,
when it is not helpful
to rejoice
with those who rejoice.
Pagans often rejoice.
The pride marches
bear many smiles
and cheers of people
in complete rebellion
to our Lord.
People who worship money
instead of God
rejoice when they
deceitfully make money.
Pro-choice activists
rejoice when laws
are passed in favor
of murder.
We ought not
to rejoice in these things.
We ought to rejoice
with the truth
as Paul says elsewhere.
Love does not rejoice
at wrongdoing,
but rejoices with
the truth.
Jesus sets a precedent
in Luke 10
of what we should rejoice in
when he rejoices
in the Father
revealing the hidden
things of the gospel
to a specific people.
He commands his disciples
in that same chapter
to rejoice
that their names
are written in heaven.
We are also called
to rejoice in our sufferings
as suffering presses
on to hope
that does not put us
to shame.
Luke 15 says
that there will be
more joy in heaven
over one sinner
who repents
than over 99
righteous persons
who need no repentance.
So we rejoice
in the things of God
and namely
the Lord reconciling
sinners to himself
whether Jew
or Gentile.
Isaiah puts it well,
I will greatly rejoice
in the Lord.
My soul
shall exult
in my God
for he has clothed me
with the garments
of salvation.
On the other side
of the empathy coin
we are called
to weep
with those
who weep.
The call is similar
to rejoicing.
We must be empathetic.
We must put ourselves
in their shoes
and try to understand
what they're going through
and respond accordingly.
Living in a fallen world
there will always be
instances of weeping
and the Romans
were not exempt from this.
As we mentioned earlier
the Jews within the church
have already been
run out of town
before.
Rome at this time
is filled with idols
and false gods
and this may cause weeping
as they watch
the dying world
around them
in rebellion
to the one true God.
There could be
Gentile family members
that are still
worshiping these
false gods.
Maybe some of the Jews
are having a hard time
being second class citizens
away from their homeland.
There are various things
that the Gentiles
and Jews
could be weeping about
that would differ
from one another
but they are called
to empathy
and not
tribalism.
They can't sit around
as a member weeps
and ignore it.
They are called
to weep
to feel the pain
to recognize the hurt
to get in the trenches
with them.
When one member suffers
the whole body suffers.
There's no room
for prideful annoyance
of another's suffering.
You don't have to be
a pastor
or a counselor
or to have
experienced the same
kind of trial
to weep
with someone.
If you don't have
the words to say
just weep.
Christ again
is our ultimate
model and reason
for this.
If his spirit
is within us
we will walk
in his ways.
Christ was a man
of sorrows
acquainted with
deepest grief.
We do not have
a high priest
who is unable
to sympathize
with our weaknesses
but one who
in every respect
has been tempted
as we are
yet he was
without sin.
He was born
in the likeness
of men.
He and his
loving kindness
experienced
what we experience
as humans.
During his ministry
when Lazarus dies
and some of the
disciples are sad
and weeping
Christ wept.
He knew that
he would bring
Lazarus back to life
but he stopped
and he wept
with his people
anyway.
He came to us
and he got in
the trenches
with us.
He could have
stayed upon
his throne
comfort and
ease
but he
forsook that
to come and
bear burdens
with us
and we are
called to have
that humility
not to be
arrogant or
selfish but to
go and to
bear burdens
with our
brothers and
sisters.
Now Christ's
mission was
ultimately to
bring about
reconciliation
not just to
have the
human experience
but he did
accomplish that
mission through
his earthly
ministry.
Being as we
are yet without
sin he would
become the
perfect sacrifice
on our behalf.
like rejoicing
there are also
things we
shouldn't weep
about.
Godly grief
or sorrow
is different
than worldly
grief.
Christians
grieve when
we recognize
that the
fallen state
of the world
is not what
it's supposed
to be.
We see and
experience the
thorns wrapped
around the
beautiful terrains.
The ground we
work has been
cursed.
We also see and
experience spiritual
thorns wrapped
around the heart.
By nature we do
not seek for
God.
we sorrowfully
battle with
sin even as
believers.
And it can
grieve us to
see family and
friends who
reject the
gospel.
Paul writes
to the
Philippians,
for many of
whom I have
often told you
and now tell
you even with
tears walk as
enemies of the
cross of Christ.
Things are not
how they ought
to be.
The result of
sin causes
things to be
bad.
Work is
difficult.
Our bodies
wear out and
expire.
Childbirth and
child rearing is
painful.
Our flesh wants
to indulge.
Our emotions
control us.
And ultimately
our hearts are
wayward.
When we see or
experience this
reality, we
weep.
These are
legitimate things
to be sad
about.
And I want to
be clear, we do
not weep as if
there is no
hope.
There will be an
end to this
suffering.
As TJ brought
up this morning
at the Lord's
Supper
gathering, it
is not worth
comparing to
the glory that
will be revealed
to us.
But it still
hurts in the
now.
And we would
do well to
weep with
those who
weep.
The world
also weeps,
but it does
not weep in
the same way.
The world
weeps when
their flesh
suffers, when
they don't get
their way, when
their indulgences
are withheld,
when good and
godly moral
ideologies are
recognized as
good.
as the
church weeps
when God
is not
honored rightly,
the world
weeps when
God is
honored.
And this
ungodly
weeping is
a foretaste
for the
unrighteous.
When God's
common grace
and his
presence is
withheld in
hell forever,
there will
only be
weeping and
gnashing of
teeth.
So Paul is
not committing
us to weep
with anyone for
any reason,
but we weep
with those who
weep in a
godly way.
And the
ethnic differences
within the
church of
Rome there
should not
hinder that.
Moving into
verse 16.
Live in
harmony with
one another.
Do not be
haughty, but
associate with
the lowly.
Never be
wise in
your own
sight.
We come to
our final
point,
harmony from
humility.
The end
goal, living
in harmony,
is insulated
with ways to
achieve that
goal.
The first
layer, as we
just discussed,
is empathy,
and now
secondly, forsaking
ego and
putting on
humility.
These are the
means to the
end of
achieving
harmony.
I want to
recall back in
chapters 1 and
2, at the
end of the
number of
those listed
sins that
Paul sums up
in chapter 2,
verses 6-8,
he will render
to each one
according to
his works,
to those who
by patience and
well-doing
seek for glory
and honor and
immortality,
he will give
eternal life.
But for those
who are
self-seeking
and do not
obey the
truth, but
obey unrighteousness,
there will be
wrath and fury.
So also
remember that
throughout the
letter, Paul is
correcting the
Jews for
boasting about
their heritage,
and to the
Gentiles for
boasting about
their adoption
into the
spiritual family.
He just
exhorted them
to be
selfless
with a
nuance
towards
action,
but now
he's exhorting
them to be
selfless
with a
nuance
towards
thought
and
perception.
Verse 16
in the
ESV
flows really
well,
but it
doesn't quite
hit the
literary
consonants
between the
first sentence
and those
latter two.
I think
the NASB
is helpful
here.
The NASB
reads,
be of the
same mind
toward one
another.
Do not be
haughty in
mind,
but associate
with the
lowly.
Do not be
wise in
your own
estimation.
So you
pick up on
the thread
of like-mindedness
a little more
with that
translation.
And verse
3 is pretty
similar.
I say to
everyone among
you not to
think of
himself more
highly than
he ought to
think, but
to think
with sober
judgment.
And the
word translated
think there
in verse
3 and mind
here in
verse 16
is the
same root
word.
So it
adds to
that theme
of cognition,
perception,
wisdom.
Verse 16
is not
saying we
all must
have
perfectly
uniform
theology.
In fact,
Paul permits
different third,
maybe second
tier issues to
be present
within the
church later
on in
chapter 14
when he
concludes that
each one
should be
convinced in
his own
mind.
That's
regarding what
is clean
to eat
and if
we should
esteem
one day
more
significant
than
another.
But these
minds are
different.
The one
in 14
and the
one here
in 12
are two
different
words being
used.
The mind
seen in
chapter 14
is the
same as
verse 2
in chapter
12 when
we studied
the renewal
of your
mind.
It is
more
specifically
the
intellectual
aspect
of your
thinking and
there is
room for
disagreement
there.
the mind
we see
in chapter
12 is
a little
more
emotionally
driven.
It is
the
thoughtful
expression
of how
you feel
about
something.
We see
it depicted
when Jesus
tells his
disciples that
he is going
to Jerusalem
to suffer
and die
and Peter
rebukes
him and
Jesus
responds
get behind
me Satan
for you
are not
setting
your mind
on the
things of
God
but on
the
things of
man.
So
Peter
was
thinking
emotionally.
Paul
in our
text is
exhorting
these two
different people
groups to
have a
unity of
spirit.
Not just
an intellectual
common ground.
That's a
club.
We are
called to
have a
thoughtful
brotherly
affection for
one another.
When you
consider the
glory of
God and
saving the
people to
himself,
it will
cause you
to reflect
emotionally
on your
common
inheritance
with your
brothers and
sisters.
there's
no room
for
disagreement
here in
our text
in heart
or spirit.
The church
is a
people with
one voice
that glorifies
one God.
We weep
together,
we rejoice
together,
we endure
persecution
together,
all for the
sake of
Christ.
In
Philippians 2,
Paul says,
complete my
joy by being
of the same
mind,
have the
same love.
That is
being of the
same mind.
That
objective will
not be
accomplished
if everyone
is perceiving
themselves as
set apart
from the
rest.
If the
Gentiles or
the Jews
think that
they are
special because
they're given
position within
the kingdom,
there can't
be unity
or like-mindedness.
The community
of believers
won't function
well.
The feet
of the body
will be
stumbling
over one
another.
You can't
use both
hands to
write at
the same
time.
Because the
task before
us is the
same,
to glorify
God,
to know
Him,
and to
make Him
known,
there's no
room for
solo missions.
This is a
team sport.
God has
called a
people to
Himself.
If everyone
is a
quarterback,
then who
blocks the
quarterback?
And who
retrieves?
We have to
be more
concerned with
the job
getting done
than with
who gets
the recognition.
And in fact,
the text tells
us to associate
more with those
not getting
recognition.
whether this
is associating
with people
of low
state or
things,
the principle
is the same
way to
associate
with the
lowly.
Don't
strive to
associate with
the high
class,
the ones
who get
the spotlight,
but condescend
to the
lowly.
If we are
caught up in
pursuing lavish
lifestyle and
high status,
we end up
worshiping
ourselves instead
of God.
That disunity
and selfish
desire contrasts
the Lord's
will for
unity and
selfless
living.
To quote
from Philippians
again,
verses 5
through 7
shows us
the glory
in having
a corporately
humble
mindset.
Have this
mind among
yourselves,
which is
yours in
Christ Jesus,
who though
he was in
the form of
God,
did not
count equality
with God
a thing to
be grasped,
but he
emptied
himself by
taking on
the form
of a
servant.
This
like-mindedness
that we
have is
derived from
and only
from Christ
Jesus.
The Spirit
of God
dwells within
the believer,
causing him
to do the
kinds of
things that
Christ does,
pursue the
kinds of
things that
he pursues,
because Christ
stooped down
to be a
servant,
suffering for
the sake of
his people,
we put on
humility and
servitude for
the sake of
God's glory to
the benefit of
the church.
So finally,
we see in our
text that to
pursue harmony,
we can't be
wise in our
own sight.
Just because the
Jews have
studied the law,
that doesn't
mean they
can't be
taught the
spiritual
things that
God has
revealed to
the Gentiles.
Conversely,
just because we
are not under
the law
anymore doesn't
mean the
Jews can't
illuminate the
beauty of
God's grander
arc of
redemptive
history throughout
the Old
Covenant.
The individual
can't be the
smartest one in
the room all
of the time.
At least they're
not supposed to
perceive themselves
as the wisest.
Their goal should
always be God's
glory and not
their own.
When that is
the true heart
of the believer,
it won't matter
who reveals the
Lord's will.
It will mostly
matter that the
Lord's will is
being exalted.
The mixed
congregation needs
to praise God
in giving insight
to their brothers
and sisters of
the faith,
regardless of
their ethnicity.
The book of
Proverbs is filled
with exhortations
to seek counsel
outside of yourself,
and one verse
that ties particularly
well into our
text is a
Proverbs 11,
14.
It says,
Where there is
no guidance,
a people falls,
but in an
abundance of
counselors,
there is safety.
Not one of us
here holds all
the wisdom of
God in and
of ourselves.
The Lord has
uniquely and
preciously grown
and matured
some of us at
different paces
in different ways.
He has even
concealed some
things from all
of us.
So, we
will never
know all
things as
God knows
all things.
In fact,
from now
until eternity,
we will be
exploring the
immeasurable
riches of
God's wisdom
and glory.
So, as the
creation,
not the
creator,
we need
humility and
our self-perception
to recognize
only God's
word is
all true,
is all
authoritative,
and all
wise.
In
exemplary
fashion,
Paul boasts
in his
weaknesses so
that God
would be
proven strong.
He humbly
exhorts the
Corinthians in
1 Corinthians
chapter 3.
He says,
Let no one
deceive himself.
If anyone
among you
thinks that he
is wise in
this age,
let him
become a
fool that
he may
become wise.
For the
wisdom of
the world
is folly
with God.
For it is
written,
he catches
the wise
in their
craftiness.
And again,
the Lord
knows the
thoughts of
the wise
that they
are futile.
So,
let no one
boast in
men,
for all
things are
yours,
whether Paul
or Apollos
or save
us,
or the
world or
life or
death or
the present
or the
future,
all are
yours and
you are
Christ's and
Christ is
God's.
Even the
apostle Paul,
well studied
as a Jew
and a
Pharisee,
miraculously
saved on
Damascus Road,
he was granted
much spiritual
authority and
power.
He humbly
confesses that
even his
wisdom is
nothing apart
from Christ's.
So,
in order to
glorify God
as a church,
we must be
humble in
recognizing all
things come
from him,
we did
not create
ourselves,
we came
into the
word to
us,
true wisdom
that comes
only from
the Spirit.
In closing,
I want to
leave you with
a few
reflections and
some encouragement
regarding
application.
the overarching
instruction is
to live
selflessly.
Remember that
before salvation,
you too were
an enemy to
God, and
had it not
been for his
grace and
his mercy,
you still
would be an
enemy.
So, have
sympathy for
your
persecutors.
Within the
church, be of
the same mind
in such a way
that you first
know what's
going on in
the personal
lives of your
fellow members,
and then respond
accordingly.
The body of
Christ does
not keep to
itself.
We care for
one another.
We deny our
own fleshly
desires in
order to
serve one
another.
So, do not
let jealousy
withhold rejoicing.
Do not let
pride or
insecurity
withhold weeping.
In humility,
strive to be
of the same
love with
people who
are different
than you,
with people
who wouldn't
be your
friend on
paper, per
se, but
are your
family in
Christ.
Lastly,
consider that
you are
created and
sustained by
God.
If you
have any
wisdom, any
wise thought,
any understanding,
give God the
glory.
In doing so,
you spur one
another on to
love and good
works as you
glorify God.
As a means of
encouragement, we
elders have been
very heartened by
the way that you
all serve one
another in
humility and
empathy.
We see and we
hear the
compassion you
have for one
another regularly.
I have
personally
experienced the
rejoicing and
weeping with
you all.
Our sentiment
is that of
Paul to the
Thessalonians
when he said,
Now concerning
brotherly love,
you have no
need for anyone
to write to you,
for you yourselves
have been taught
by God to love
one another.
For that,
and indeed,
is what you are
doing to all the
brothers throughout
Macedonia.
But, we urge
you, brothers,
do this more
and more.
Let's pray.