Stirring Up One Another To Good Works 3
Christian Bond • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
Over the last few weeks we have been studying through the theme “Christian Bond” based on the idea of how we can “sir one another up to love and good works” through the different passages found in the New Testament that deal with the phrase “one another.”
It’s in Hebrews 10:24-25 we see the plea by the writer to “stir each other up” when we meet together for worship.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Up to this point in our studies we have examined…
Stirring up one another to love.
Every time we come through those doors we are reminded we all are family and that our love for each other is never ending nor should ever be stagnant.
We then over the last “two weeks” have been looking at…
Stirring up one another to good works.
How every time we come through those doors find brethren that are welcoming, encouraging, kind, humble, willing to teach and admonish each other all the while staying in fellowship through submission to God and each other.
That brings us to our third sermon on “stirring up one another to good works” and our last lesson in this series.
There are three final “categories,” if you will, that finish up the “one another” passages on how, through our willingness to attend and worship our God together, we can stir one another up to good works.”
Every time we come through those doors to assemble to worship our LORD God Almighty we are presented with the opportunity to find spiritual comfort by…
Confessing Sins
Confessing Sins
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
(To be clear, before anything confessing to our brethren is done we must first make…)
Confession To The Father.
Confession To The Father.
When we sin, we break the law of Christ (1 John 3:4) and as such we have technically sinned against “God alone” as David declared in Psalm 51:4).
This doesn’t mean we can’t “transgress or sin” against others, it simply means we ultimately are sinning against God and as such we must understand he is worthy of our “repentance and subsequent confession.”
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
When we sin we must repent and confess that sin to the Father.
However, when we scour the New Testament we also find that confession of our sins to “one another” is expected as well.
There we also must have, as a part of our spiritual lives…
Confession To Each Other.
Confession To Each Other.
In James’ letter to the “twelve tribes in the dispersion” we find a section in the last chapter wherein “the sick” are being discussed.
It’s in James 5:14-15 James declare that if someone is sick they should call the elders to pray over them and this prayer of faith can lead to them being saved from sickness even if it is brought on by spiritual sickness because he has repented, confessed, (implied) and thus been forgiven. Right after that we read…
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
The reality is, there is a spiritual therapeutic that takes place when we “confess our sins to one another and pray for one another.”
In the book of Acts we see this in action in Acts 19:18-20.
You had some “Jewish exorcists” trying to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus whom Paul proclaims to remove demons and as we know the Seven sons of Sceva found out demons don’t listen to those with practicing “magic” rather than miracles.
After the possessed man beat up these men many who “practiced magic” became obedient to the gospel.
The bible says of these new converts in Ephesus…
18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.
Why confess these things, hadn’t they already obeyed the gospel and had their sins washed away?
Yes, but this was obviously something they were struggling with, maybe like Simon the sorcerer, and needed the prayers that come from “one another” in so doing.
Summary
Summary
You see when we come through those doors to worship our Great Shepherd we are reminded that everyone here not only sins but knows what it is like to, as Paul stated, “serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh serve the law of sin” (Romans 7:25).
That everyone here knows exactly what Paul means, and that no one here, knowing their own shortcomings will judge us with anything other than righteous judgment.
Knowing this means every time we come through those doors to assemble to worship our God Of Righteousness we are presented with the opportunity of…
Bearing Sins
Bearing Sins
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
(As you all know and understand…)
We All Commit Sin.
We All Commit Sin.
None of us are immune to such.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
This means…
We All Need Help With Sin.
We All Need Help With Sin.
Like the “sinners prayer’s” absence from scripture so to is any mention that we can deal with the sin in our lives on our own.
We need above all God’s help first and foremost.
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
We also need our brethren’s help.
As Paul declared we must be about the business of…
13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Why, because we want others to bear our sins.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Summary
Summary
When we come together to worship our Everlasting God we find comfort in knowing those around us struggle like us and can handle our confession of sins because it’s only then that we can “bear one another’s sins” and fulfill the law of Christ.
God doesn’t want us going through this life without helping our brethren with the sins in their life and through that may seem uncomfortable it is the only way we can truly help each other get to heaven.
Now sometimes confession of sins and even bearing of sin is based on us…
Forgiving Sins
Forgiving Sins
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
(Though sin ultimately lies at the feet of God because sin is the transgression of the law, we can have someone sin against us or we can find ourselves sinning against someone, which all means…)
We “Must” Forgive Others.
We “Must” Forgive Others.
Without question God expects us to forgive other, but first we must understand what it the is to be forgiven.
We are not to “forgive” misunderstandings, annoyances, or dislikes as these have no need to be forgiven, as they don’t meet the criteria.
Some cuts you off on the road, says something you don’t like, someone says something in a way you just don’t like, etc…
These things might make us upset or mad, and our anger could cause “us” to sin, but that doesn’t mean these things are in need of our forgiveness.
We need to let the anger and vengeance go about it but they have not done anything worthy of needing to be forgiven.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
On the other hand, sin against us necessitates that we “forgive” others.
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
With that said, us forgiving others, like everything else in scripture, requires that…
We “Must” Forgive Properly.
We “Must” Forgive Properly.
In other words, we must forgive as God forgave us.
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
In fact, we are only forgiven if we “repent & confess” those sins to God.
22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This gives us the patter that we forgive as God forgave us and thus we must only forgive if those that “sinned against us” repent and confess said sin.
3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
Summary
Summary
It’s not easy forgiving someone that has sinned against us but if they repent we must forgive.
If we forgive we must not hold that sin against them anymore lest they be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Each time we come through those doors to worship our LORD of Hosts we are able to help each other get to heaven by confessing those nagging sins we can’t seem to stop to each other, bear those sins for our brethren, and forgive each other of sins we commit against each other.
There is no greater encouragement than knowing I’m with people that want to go to heaven just as much as I do and that they are willing to help me get there too.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.