Today, for Campbell’s baptismal service, I have chosen a Scripture reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In the book of Ephesians, Paul explores the mystery and wonder of the Christian church. From Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1-6, Paul writes…
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
Oneness:
The largest living organism on the planet is a tree, known as Pando. On the surface Pando looks like a forest of individual trees, but underneath it is connected by one huge root system. Pando is, in fact, one tree with 47,000 stems.
Pando stands as a parable for the Christian church. On the surface, the church appears like a forest of individual trees, but underneath it is connected by one huge root system. The church is, in fact, one giant living organism with hundreds of thousands of congregations.
In verses 4-6 of Ephesians 4 we come across 7 ones: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.
These 7 ones are not separate or independent of each other; they are all inter-related. The 7 ones are one. Paul is reminding us here of the root system all believers share in common.
The one body is the church universal, all Christians everywhere throughout history. The church may seem fragmented and divided from our perspective, with all its different denominations and controversies, but from God’s perspective the church is one, like a tapestry with many different coloured threads, or like a human body with many different parts.
Baptism is entry to the church. By being baptised we become part of the body of Christ, one of the stems growing from the ancient root system of the church.
There is one Spirit, the Holy Spirit who gives life and breath to the body. Indeed, the Greek word for Spirit also means breath. As believers in Jesus, we all breathe the same air, the same Spirit of God. The Spirit gives life to the body of Christ. Without the Spirit the church is dead.
Baptism is a sign of life, a new beginning, made possible by the Spirit of Jesus.
There is one hope. Jesus is our hope. Because God raised Jesus from the dead, we have hope of eternal life, through faith in Jesus. No more suffering, no more sickness, no more tears.
Baptism is a parable of resurrection. Going down under the water is a picture of dying to our old way of life. And coming up out of the water anticipates our resurrection when Jesus returns in glory.
There is one Lord, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. To say that ‘Jesus is Lord’ means that Jesus has authority over all things in heaven and on earth. Jesus has conquered sin and death. He is worthy of our love and obedience.
Baptism is submission to Christ. We no longer live for ourselves. We live for Jesus and God’s kingdom purpose.
Because there is one Lord it naturally follows there is one faith.
Jesus is the object of our faith. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to God the Father except through Jesus the Son.
Baptism is an act of trust. We don’t know where our journey of faith will take us. We don’t know what the future holds, but we trust Jesus to be present with us wherever he leads.
There is one baptism. Although different Christian denominations practice baptism in different ways (for example some sprinkle and some immerse),
we are all baptised into the same person, that is into Jesus Christ.
Regardless of the amount of water, baptism is a commitment to learn from Jesus. To be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ is to become a disciple of Jesus, his apprentice.
The seventh ‘one’, in Paul’s list, is the one God and Father of all. God is our creator; we are made in His image. Although we appear different or separate, we (who believe in Jesus) all stem from the same root.
With this in mind, we are called to unity, to oneness. Our unity comes from God. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one.
But unity also requires some effort on our part. We need to be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love.
Baptism is an important step in responding to God’s call to unity.
Campbell, we are blessed and encouraged by your baptism today. You are not alone. You are one with us and you are in Christ. Remain in him.
Let us pray…
Gracious God, help us to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Most weeks we find a police car in our church car park watching the roundabout. Or at least I think they are watching the roundabout. They might be staking the church out for criminal activity. Brodie’s name is known to the police.
Sometimes I talk to the police. Once I asked them what they were looking out for and they said, people using their cell phones while driving. Driving while distracted is a major contributor to car accidents in New Zealand.
Driver distractions include things like talking with passengers, using cell phones, looking at scenery, eating, smoking, or searching for objects in the car.
According to transport New Zealand statistics, in 2023 there were 15 fatal crashes, 98 serious injury crashes, and 796 minor injury crashes where driver distraction was to blame. Distraction can be a dangerous thing, not just with driving, but in life generally.
Today our message focuses on Acts chapter 6, verses 1-7. The book of Acts tells Luke’s account of the early church and the spread of the gospel. In Acts 6 we read how the apostles avoided distraction and saved the church from crashing.
From Acts 6, verse 1 we read…
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jewsamong them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men of good standing from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
There’s a lot going on in Acts 6:1-7; it would be easy to become distracted.
To give you a road map, the church in Acts 6 faced a problem. The apostles came up with a proposal to sort the problem and the outcome was growth.
Let us begin with the problem.
The problem:
One person you almost never see on an airplane flight is the pilot. If the captain in charge of the plane started walking down the aisle handing out boiled sweets, the passengers would likely feel quite disturbed, and rightly so. If the pilot is in the back with us, who’s flying this plane?
Although the pilot is the person in charge, they don’t usually fly the plane by themselves. The co-pilot supports the captain and the navigator makes sure the plane stays on course.
It is important for the pilot to not be distracted while flying, especially when taking off and landing. Those in the cockpit also need to keep an eye on all the dials and gauges to make sure fuel levels, cabin pressure and other vital systems are as they should be.
The pilot could not do their job without the flight attendants. It’s the role of the flight attendants to ensure the safety and comfort of the passengers. If the passengers have a problem, then the flight attendants deal with it.
Say for example, one of the passengers had a medical emergency. The flight attendant would help that person. If the pilot had to respond to the medical emergency themselves, that would put the lives of everyone else on board at risk. The pilot cannot afford to be distracted.
In Acts 6, verse 1, we read how the early church had a problem. The church was growing quickly, which was a good thing. But fast growth also comes with challenges.
The apostles were not aware of the problem at first. It only came to their attention when frustration boiled over into complaint and grumbling. There were at least three aspects to the problem. An organisational aspect, a cultural aspect and a welfare aspect.
The cultural aspect was the deeper underlying issue. Before addressing the organisational and welfare concerns, the apostles had to deal with the cultural disconnect.
At this point the Christian church was almost entirely comprised of people of Jewish descent. However, not all Jews of the first century were the same.
There were basically two cultures in the early Jerusalem church. The Hebraic Jews and the Hellenistic Jews. Hebraic as in Hebrew and Hellenistic as in Greek.
The Hebraic Jews were those Israelites who had been born and raised as Hebrews living in Palestine. They mainly spoke Aramaic. Jesus and the apostles were Hebraic Jews.
The Hellenistic Jews were those Israelites who had been born and raised outside of Palestine. They grew up speaking Greek and had been immersed in Greek culture for most of their lives.
The members of the Jerusalem church may have all been descended from Abraham, but they did not think or communicate in the same way. I suppose in contemporary terms it would be like the difference between Middle Eastern Jews and American Jews. Same ancestry, different culture.
The Greek speaking Jewish widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. The daily distribution of food was sort of like a food bank for those in poverty. This was the welfare aspect of the problem.
Widows were especially vulnerable in the first century. There was no social security benefit from the government and work opportunities were often limited for women. If a widow did not have a way of supporting herself or if her family wasn’t able to help, then the church provided for her.
That the Hellenistic widows were being overlooked was probably unintentional. The disconnect was likely caused by a cultural misunderstanding. Some cultures have no difficulty speaking up for themselves, while other cultures feel it is rude or impolite to ask for help or to put themselves forward.
Perhaps the Hellenistic Jews expected the Hebraic Jews to read between the lines and see what was needed without having to be explicitly told. When that didn’t happen, tensions rose.
The twelve apostles were like the pilots of the plane; they could not afford to be distracted from their work of bearing witness to the risen Jesus. They could not deal with this concern themselves without putting the whole church at risk. This was the organisational aspect of the problem.
What would they do? It is to the apostles’ proposal we turn now.
The proposal:
A hospital is a complex organisation. There are many different jobs needing to be done by different people, all of them vital to the health and wellbeing of the patients.
The surgeon’s role is essential of course. What is a hospital without doctors.
It is imperative that surgeons not be distracted from their work, especially while in theatre. And when they are not in theatre, surgeons are often on call, needing to be ready to respond to emergencies.
It would not be right for the surgeon to spend their time and energy changing bed sheets or emptying bed pans. That would be a waste of their training and skill. More good can be achieved if the surgical team are allowed to focus on doing operations.
This is not to imply that the role of nurses, orderlies and cleaners is somehow less. If no one changed sheets or cleaned up bodily fluids, disease would spread, patients would suffer and the doctors’ work would be undermined.
In verse 2 we read how the apostles called all the disciples together to address the problem. They did not react defensively when people complained. Nor did they sweep the problem under the carpet or minimise it. They faced the problem with humility and wisdom, dealing with it in a timely manner.
Another thing we notice here is the way the twelve apostles functioned as a team. Just as it takes a team of people to fly a plane and a team of people to perform a surgery, so too it requires a team of people to lead a church.
Notice too how the whole church was asked to come together. Now, it is not necessary or wise to involve the whole church with every pastoral problem. As a rule, you address the issue with those who are affected. If just two or three people are affected, then the whole church doesn’t need to know about it.
But the situation in Acts 6 did affect the whole church and so the apostles wisely included everyone in discussing their proposal. This was a big deal. If left alone the issue threatened to split the church, which would not be good for anyone.
Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The church’s greatest witness for Christ is the way its members relate with each other.
The apostles start by saying to the congregation, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.”
Ministry is simply another word for service. A ‘minister of the word of God’ is someone who serves God’s word, like a prophet or a preacher or an evangelist. A minister of God’s word seeks to understand God’s message and communicate that message to others.
Usually this is done by prayerful study of the Scriptures. As the minister reads the Bible, the Holy Spirit illuminates God’s word in the Scriptures. Other times God’s word comes to the minister through providence or in a dream or through another person or by divine inspiration.
As ministers of God’s word, the apostles were like surgeons on call, needing to be ready to respond to God’s word and Spirit.
When God’s word does come, there is usually a process of discernment, which takes time. God’s word is a weighty thing; it carries a lot of meaning. And it often has sharp edges, like a scalpel, so it needs to be handled with care.
It requires a high degree of concentration to deliver God’s word. You cannot afford too many distractions.
For the apostles in Acts 6, neglecting the ministry of the word of God to wait on tables would be like surgeons neglecting the operating theatre to change bed pans or the pilot neglecting the landing of the plane to hand out biscuits.
It’s not that waiting on tables or serving the poor is somehow less important than preaching. Both are important. Indeed, those who cared for the widows gave credibility to the apostles’ message of love.
But the apostles had been entrusted by God with a special task. The twelve knew Jesus personally, had heard his teaching first hand and had witnessed Jesus’ death and resurrection. It would be a waste of their training and experience to wait on tables when others were able to do this.
The apostles did not want to become distracted, like Martha. They wanted to remain attentive to Jesus, like Mary.
In verses 3 and 4, the apostles present their proposal saying…
“Brothers and sisters, choose seven men of good standing from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
Wow, this is impressive. The apostles do not impose a solution on the church. Nor do they try and fix the problem themselves. They propose a democratic approach; they admit their own limitations, trusting the congregation and the Holy Spirit to find the right team of people to handle this responsibility.
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
The interesting thing about this list is that they are all Greek names, most likely from a variety of different places. This is a multi-cultural group. The Hellenistic widows would not be overlooked now, because the people in charge of the foodbank had the cultural understanding to meet their needs.
What has God given you to do? When we are young and have lots of energy, the temptation is to try and do everything ourselves. But as we get older, we learn to be more strategic with how we spend our life.
If you don’t know yet what your niche is in God’s purpose, you might ask yourself: What am I good at? What do I enjoy doing? What can I do that most other people can’t?
The apostles did not try to do everything themselves. They did not allow themselves to become distracted. They kept the main thing the main thing. They gave themselves to God’s calling on their lives and it resulted in growth.
Growth:
In verse 7 of Acts 6 we read of the growth that happened in the early church. The word of God spread, the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
When we look at this verse, we probably notice the numerical growth before anything else. Afterall, it talks about the number of disciples increasing rapidly and a large number of priests coming to faith. Numbers have their place, but they don’t tell the whole story.
We also read how the word of God grew (or spread). The word of God is like seed planted in the soil of the human heart. Just as a seed grows into a plant which is good for the soil, preventing erosion, so too the word of God grows inside our mind and is good for the soul, giving integrity to our inner life.
Hearing God’s word may stop someone from doing something bad or it may prompt them (on an unconscious level) to perform some kindness, without them realising God is in it. Christian values (inspired by God’s word) influence our secular society for good, in ways most people are not aware of.
The other type of growth we read about in verse 7 is growth in the obedience of faith. Faith is not just an idea we agree with in our head. True faith leads to action. If faith is the root, obedience is the fruit. How is your fruit? Are you growing in things like kindness, faithfulness, patience and generosity?
The kind of growth described in Acts 6 does not happen by human effort alone. Yes, we have our part to play in sowing the seed of God’s word and in being obedient to the faith, but ultimately it is God’s Spirit who makes our efforts fruitful.
Conclusion:
With today’s message I’ve highlighted the dangers of distraction. But I also need to acknowledge the benefits. Sometimes distraction can be a good thing, something helpful for our wellbeing.
Watching cricket in summer provides a pleasant distraction for Robyn and I. Kane Williamson is perhaps the greatest batsman New Zealand cricket has ever produced. He has played 105 test matches, scoring over 9,200 runs at an average of 54.9. This is to say nothing of his records in other forms of the game.
Kane is wonderful to watch. He plays the ball late, finding the gaps in the field. He seems to go into his own little bubble, blocking out all distractions and staying calm. You wouldn’t put Kane in to bat at number 10 or 11; it would be a waste. He does more good higher up the order, batting at 3 or 4.
I once saw Kane in person walking around Mount Maunganui. He was pushing a buggy with one of his children in it. He acknowledged me with a nod and a smile. I smiled back but I didn’t interrupt him. It gave me joy to see Kane spending time with his kids. I’m pleased he has a life outside of cricket.
If Kane (or anyone else for that matter) were focused on cricket all the time, it would do their head in. As human beings we need other interests. We need to spend time connecting with people and nature, doing things unrelated to our work. Too much of anything is not good for you.
At the end of the day the pilot and the surgeon need time away from the cockpit and the operating theatre. Just as the preacher needs time away from the Bible and the pulpit.
Some distractions are bad, some are good, and others are unavoidable.
Even though the ministry of God’s word was Jesus’ main priority, he often turned aside to heal people. How can he ignore human need. Jesus’ words were accompanied by miraculous deeds of power. The ministry of God’s word goes hand in hand with the ministry of God’s compassion.
The risk with miracles, of course, is that they can distract people from the message. Discernment is required.
We need to ask ourselves, is God in this distraction?
It appears at least two of the seven chosen to take care of widows were distracted from their task of managing the food bank. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, both Stephen and Philip became ministers of the word of God, preaching to people in Jerusalem and Samaria.
Focus on what God wants you to do. Give your life to it. But remain open to the Spirit. Sometimes God may want to distract you; he might want to restore your soul or lead you to something new.
May the Spirit of God make us fruitful as we abide in Christ. Amen.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
Discuss / reflect on the apostles’ response to the problem in Acts 6. Why do the apostles choose not to get involved (in a hands-on way) with the daily distribution of food? What can we learn from the apostle’s response?
What has God given you to do? What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? What can you do that most other people can’t?
Are you doing what God has given you to do? What sorts of things distract you from God’s purpose for you? How might you avoid these unhelpful distractions?
What kinds of distractions are helpful to you? How might we discern when God is wanting to distract us?
How is your growth in obedience to the faith going? Are you growing in the fruits of the Spirit?
There’s a well known saying among Christians: In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love.
Essentials are not negotiable. We do not depart from those things which are essential to the Christian faith. Essentials include things like our belief that there is only one God and that He raised Jesus from the dead.
Non-essentials are those aspects of faith which are less crucial. For example, how much water is used at baptism and whether we gather for worship on a Saturday or a Sunday. We have freedom to decide for ourselves with the non-essentials.
The kind of love in view here is self-giving love, the sort of love which seeks the good of others. Love of God and love of neighbour needs to be our motivation in all things.
In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love.
We are not sure where this saying comes from. It is often attributed to St Augustine, but no one has been able to substantiate that. More likely it comes from a 17th Century Lutheran theologian by the name of Rupertus Meldenius.
Whoever coined this phrase though was probably reading the apostle Paul at the time. Over the past several weeks we have been working our way through First Corinthians chapters 8-10, where Paul writes about Christian freedom.
Two weeks ago, in Corinthians 10, verses 14-22, we heard about one of the essentials of Christian faith. Namely, avoiding idolatry. Christians are not to participate in pagan worship, that is not negotiable. We believe in one true God and we worship only him.
Today we conclude our series in Corinthians by focusing on the remainder of chapter 10, where Paul writes about the exercise of liberty in non-essentials. From verse 23 we read…
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.
“I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” 27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
We are talking about the exercise of Christian liberty in non-essentials. Today’s message has three parts. Brass tacks, guiding principles and Christ’s example. Let’s begin with Paul’s brass tacks.
Brass Tacks:
The idiom ‘getting down to brass tacks’ is a way of saying let’s focus on the practical details. Let’s go beyond pleasantries and determine how this is going to work out in reality.
There is little agreement on where the saying originated from. Some think it refers to the brass tacks used to hold furniture upholstery in place. Others reckon brass tacks is like a Cockney rhyme for ‘hard facts’.
And then there are those who say brass tacks alludes to the metal tacks on a shop counter which are used for measuring things, like lengths of rope or rolls of dress fabric.
Whatever the origin of the saying, in First Corinthians 10, Paul gets down to brass tacks. When it comes to the question of meat sacrificed to idols, this is what it looks like, practically, to exercise Christian freedom.
Can I eat meat sacrificed to idols as part of pagan worship, in a pagan temple?
No. Never, this is idolatry. We covered this a couple of weeks ago. Pagan worship is the worship of demons. You cannot worship Jesus and demons at the same time; those two things are mutually exclusive. In essentials unity.
What about meat that I buy in the market? In all likelihood some of the meat sold in the Corinthian market place had been offered to idols when it was butchered. So, can I eat idol meat that I purchased in the market place?
In verses 25-26 Paul says: Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
Verse 26 is a quote from Psalm 24. God created the lamb and the cow and the chicken. All meat belongs to God and comes from God, so it is kosher.
What if a pagan invites me to dinner in their home? Can I eat the meat they serve me? Yes, but not if someone else is negatively affected. The other person may be quite wrong in thinking you shouldn’t eat idol meat, but being right is not the point. Do all things in love; that is for the good of the other.
You may wonder how this brass tacks discussion about idol meat might be relevant to us. Well, given the increasing ethnic diversity in New Zealand it is becoming more relevant every day. For one thing it means you don’t have to worry about where you order your takeaways from or what restaurant you might go to with friends.
Let me give you a real-life (brass tacks) example, something that happened to me a year ago. Every now and then I bake a brownie for morning tea at Robyn’s school. One time one of the staff asked Robyn if I would make her a brownie.
I was a little surprised by the request, because this person follows a religion with strict food rules. She has to be careful about what she eats. Apparently, my brownie is okay though, probably because it’s meat free.
I was more than happy to bake her a brownie. She offered to pay but I wasn’t having any of that. A few days later the container came back (via Robyn) filled with some of her cooking. It was delicious.
I didn’t raise questions of conscience. I wasn’t worried that eating her chicken samosas would somehow displease God. How could it. God made the chicken.
Food is something God uses to connect people. Eating someone else’s food is an act of trust. It brings us closer to one another and therefore better able to see the image of God in those who are different from us.
Guiding Principles:
In essentials unity. In non-essentials liberty. In all things love. Our main focus today is how to exercise Christian liberty in non-essentials. We have heard about Paul’s brass tacks. Now let’s consider his guiding principles.
If you think about it, our freedom generally as human beings is fairly limited. Most of the really important things in life, the things that make a real difference, are decided for us.
We don’t have a choice about when or where we are born. We don’t decide what kind of family we grow up in. We are not free to choose our genetic make-up and we have little to no choice about who we fall in love with.
And yet all those things set us on a particular path in life.
Millions of people in this world live in poverty through no choice of their own. Poverty isn’t just a lack of money. It’s a lack of options, an imposed restriction of freedom. When it comes to freedom, we need to acknowledge that it’s not an even playing field. The grass is greener for some people.
Brass tacks may be useful up to a point, but they only go so far. We need guiding principles in the exercise of freedom because every person’s situation is different.
In simple terms, Paul has two guiding principles when it comes to liberty in non-essentials: God’s glory and other people’s good. Whatever we do, we need to be asking ourselves, does this glorify God and is it beneficial to others?
God’s glory is a constant theme throughout Scripture. We don’t have time to explore every aspect of God’s glory today. Suffice to say that in the context of Corinthians 10, verses 30-31, giving glory to God means thanking God for his provision, in all things.
More broadly, we glorify God by living in a way that reflects his character. Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, so too the people of God are to reflect the glory of God. We see God’s character most clearly in the person of Jesus.
Giving glory to God is intimately connected with seeking the good of others.
In verses 23-24 Paul makes the point that just because you have the freedom or the right to do something, it doesn’t automatically follow that you should. Our primary consideration needs to be the good of others.
Paul repeats this principle in verses 32-33 where he writes…
32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
Paul uses his freedom to help others come to faith Christ. If eating meat is going to create an obstacle for someone getting to know Jesus, then Paul will give up his right to eat meat. Likewise, Paul would not refuse the hospitality of an unbeliever if doing so would turn that person away from Jesus.
For Paul, the best way to glorify God and seek the good of others is to help people to receive Jesus.
Now in hearing that Paul tries to please everyone in every way, we need to be clear, Paul was not a Chameleon. Paul did not compromise the gospel. Paul held fast to the essentials of Christian faith. At the same time, he was flexible with the non-essentials.
When it comes to freedom, the Christian believer needs to be a bit like bull kelp. Bull kelp is a type of seaweed which is incredibly strong and flexible.
The holdfast, which anchors the bull kelp to rocks, is very difficult to remove and can withstand forces equivalent to 1100 km/h on land. The stem is flexible and can stretch by up to 40% of its length before breaking. This allows it to absorb the energy of waves, preventing it from snapping.
The strength and flexibility of the bull kelp enables it to grow in strong ocean currents, forming kelp forests which are essential to the survival of many marine species.
As believers in Jesus, we need to be like bull kelp, strong and flexible. Anchored to the rock of Christ, but also flexible enough in non-essential matters, that others may come to faith in Jesus.
Christ’s Example:
In essentials unity. In non-essentials liberty. In all things love. We are talking about how to exercise Christian liberty in non-essentials.
We have heard about Paul’s brass tacks and his guiding principles. While these are helpful, there’s nothing like seeing a model of what Christian freedom looks like in practice. And so, it is to Christ’s example we turn now.
In verse 1 of Corinthians 11, Paul concludes his commentary on Christian freedom by saying: Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Paul did not come up with these ideas about freedom and responsibility on his own. Paul took his lead from the example of Christ. The gospels are peppered with story after story of different ways in which Jesus demonstrated what liberty in non-essentials looks like.
When Jesus sent his disciples out on a short-term mission trip, he told them to eat what was put in front of them, for it is not what goes into a person’s stomach that makes them unclean. It is what comes out of the human heart that matters.
On other occasions Jesus touched lepers and helped people who were technically excluded, thus showing what it looks like to exercise liberty in non-essentials for the glory of God and the good of others.
Of course, not everyone can agree on what is essential and what is non-essential. For example, Jesus often came into conflict with the Jewish leadership over what was acceptable to do on the Sabbath.
Keeping the Sabbath holy by resting from work is one of the ten commandments, given by God, and therefore essential.
By the time of Jesus, Sabbath keeping had become integral to Jewish identity, with literally hundreds of manmade rules surrounding it. Rules like not healing people on the Sabbath, because that was considered work.
To the Jews these man-made rules were essential, but to Jesus they were non-essential. In fact, they obscured God’s purpose for the Sabbath. In Luke 13 we read how Jesus exercised his God given liberty in the non-essentials…
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
In this vignette, we see how Jesus glorifies God by bringing the Lord’s purpose for the Sabbath into focus. At the same time, Jesus also seeks the good of the woman that she may be saved. To do this though, Jesus had to break the non-essential manmade rules, and that got him into trouble.
Conclusion:
Exercising liberty in the non-essentials requires us to find a right balance. Jesus was challenging a narrow legalism which, although well intentioned, actually undermined God’s purpose. We too need to avoid that kind of legalism.
However, the context in which Jesus was serving is not the same as our contemporary New Zealand context. Our society is highly secular and relatively permissive by comparison with first century Jewish society.
Narrow legalism is probably not a significant risk factor for most of us today. We are more likely to go to the opposite extreme of compromising the essentials. Whatever context we find ourselves in, Jesus is our guide. We must follow his example of love with truth.
Let us pray…
Gracious God, may the love and truth of Jesus guide us, that we would keep unity with the essential elements of our faith and wisely exercise liberty in the non-essentials, to the praise of your glory. Amen.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
What are some of the essentials of the Christian faith, which we must hold to? Why are these essential?
What are Paul’s brass tacks when it comes to eating idol meat? How might this apply in our world today?
Discuss / reflect on Paul’s guiding principles in relation to exercising liberty in non-essentials? How do we work out these principles in our daily life?
How can we discern what is essential to Christian faith and what is non-essential?
Discuss / reflect on the ways Jesus (in the gospels) held fast to the essentials while remaining flexible in the non-essentials?
How might we reach out to others without compromising the essentials of our faith?
Tawa Baptist 