Grow With Pastor Joe

It’s hard to live consistently. I grew up a Washington Redskins fan. Up until the most recent season I had not been able to see us live up to the hype or ability. For years, my common answer about how the football season was going is that we were consistently inconsistent. By God’s grace those days are gone. However, in our Christian life, this is too often the case. We, like Paul, know what we should be and do, but for some reason (the sin/flesh within) can’t seem to do what we know to be consistent with our Christian life. As a pastor, one of the things that I personally struggle with, and witness others desperately battling is consistency in the Christian life. If you are consistently inconsistent, there is grace for you and for me. We are still in this flesh and will have this battle every day until glory. It is a battle worth fighting. The Lord would have us to be consistent, but the world, the flesh, and the Devil would have us be consistently inconsistent with our confession of faith. I’m sure that like myself, you are tired of big highs and dramatic lows. I want to be consistent for the sake of the gospel, the good of the church, and the glory of Christ. I believe that today, we must resolve ourselves to live consistently with our confession of Christ.

            Most have heard of Jonathan Edwards who was used of God in the first Great Awakening in the colonial, pre-revolutionary days of the United States. Edwards was a young man with a bright future ahead of him. In his young adult life and ministry (roughly 19 years old), he found himself in the middle of a church split in New York City. Young Edwards was not yet the Edwards of the Great Awakening, but in this pivotal moment of life and transition, Edwards began over the course of these struggles writing what he would call his “Resolutions” for life and ministry. In an article about Edwards’ life and resolutions, Stephen Nichols writes,

“Edwards started writing his resolutions as fall gave way to winter in 1722. Edwards dated resolution number thirty-five as December 18, 1722, dating the last one, number seventy, on August 17, 1723. It’s likely he began his resolutions shortly before the date on number thirty-five, having just arrived in New York City in August of 1722 as an eighteen-year-old. These resolutions helped him face this tense moment in his life, this moment of uncertainty and change brought about by a new environment. Before Edwards got to number one, however, he offered a prefatory word: ‘Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will for Christ’s sake.’ This preface undergirds the seventy resolutions to follow, which is crucial to keep in mind. Cutting the resolutions off from the foundation of the preface leads to seeing them as the stuff of personal grit and determination to better oneself. That’s not only a mistaken reading, it’s a tragic one. The self-made person is a modern ideal, not a biblical one. With the preface in mind, though, one does see that Edwards calls himself to a life of high standards and great expectations. He’s resolved to a life that counts, not just a life of putting in time.” (https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/resolutions-jonathan-edwards)

            In his fifth resolution, Edwards wrote, “Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I can.” The Lord has reminded me in the study for this week’s sermon that time is short and precious. Eternity is eternal but today is all that I have to make my life count for the glory of Christ and furtherance of the gospel. As we pick back up our series through Romans, we press on into Rom. 12:9-13 which covers how we are to live consistently in relation to one another within the local church and community. We have covered the need to live a life of love rooted in the love of God. Today, we will cover Rom. 12:11 with the focus of living consistently in our conduct. Rom. 12:9-13 says, “⁹ Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. ¹⁰ Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; ¹¹ Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; ¹² Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; ¹³ Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.” Ultimately, Romans 12 has 40 different imperative commands for our Christian life. The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans as his magnum opus of the gospel. The first 11 chapters only give a few imperatives in light of the gospel found in Rom. 6. Now, as we continue our study of Romans 12, we are met with the reality that the gospel has demands and commands for our life. All of our life is founded upon the gospel and flows from the gospel and gives fruit from the gospel. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is our life. It makes and motivates the Christian. Nothing else can do. We see this in Rom. 11:36 that all things are “of Him, through Him, and to Him.” Thus far in our study we have seen that the gospel is the power of our conversion, consecration, connection and conduct of life. The gospel demands that we live consistently with all that has, does, and will accomplish in our life. With this in mind, we will see today in Rom. 12:11 which says, “¹¹ Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;” that we are to have consistent conduct in our life because of our confession of Christ. In this verse, we will see that we should be excellent, excited, and exclusive in our conduct.

            First, believers must be excellent in our conduct. Look at the first phrase of the verse that says, “Not slothful in business.” Let me firstly say that God is not telling us that rest or relaxation are sins. However, like all of God’s good gifts, our sinful flesh often turns what He designed for good into something marred with sin. Remember, it is God who made the Sabbath rest during the creation week and as well promises us rest in Him throughout eternity. It is also God who commands and empowers man to work. Man was designed to work and rest. Where rest becomes a sin is when we slack off at work or perhaps work hard at not working hard. The issue at hand in the passage is that Paul is having to warn these Christians who had the temptation or perhaps had even acted upon drifting into laziness. The immediate context reminds us that because of our conversion we should be consecrated to Christ and connected to one another. Our life is one where we rest in His finished work, and we know that we have finished our earthly work when we enter into His eternal rest. Until we reach glory, there is no possibly of retiring in the Christian life, sitting back and collecting a spiritual pension that you earned. Paul is giving a warning to believers about drifting into inactivity or indifference to the work of Christ, both in the church and outside. The first phrase, “not slothful” gives us the command to not be slothful in the work of the gospel. The Greek word “okneros” from “okneo” has the meanings to be slow, delay, hesitate. The command is given so that we would avoid the pitfalls of being unengaged and uninvolved in the work of God. Within this chapter we see the very reasons that we are to be engaged and involved in the life of the church and work of Christ. We have been converted and are eternally connected to Christ and His Body. We have been given gifts of grace to be exercised within the local church with love for Christ and one another being our motivation. In Paul’s day and in ours, there are many Christians who are unengaged in activity due to an attitude of personal indifference, insecurity, or inconvenience. The gospel doesn’t allow us to be indifferent. The gospel gives us our security in our identity in Him. The gospel is not an inconvenience it is our very life. In the scriptures, being “slothful” is regarded as being sinful. There are many illustrations and warnings against it. Proverbs 20:4 says, “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.” Proverbs 21:25 says, “The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.” Proverbs 26:13-16 says, “¹³ The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. ¹⁴ As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. ¹⁵ The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. ¹⁶ The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.” The same word that is used for slothful here is also used by Jesus in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 with the pronouncement of the lazy wicked servant in Matthew 25:26. The second phrase, “in business” not only shows that we have a work to do, but it also tells us how to do it. Our conduct in life should be excellent. Excellent conduct is not slothful, but is earnest and eager to do a good job. I remember as a kid being told by my parents not to do a “rushed job” or a “half-way job.” The word business is the same as seen in Rom. 12:8 as diligence. The word is “spoude” meaning with haste, intense effort, or earnest. Excellent conduct begins with an excellent attitude. If we are slothful in our attitude, then we will be slothful in our actions. We are commanded to take part in the work of God and because everything that we are and do is to be for His glory, then we must seek that our conduct is excellent. William Carey, the father of modern missions wrote, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” The Lord deserves excellent conduct, but I believe as well that the local church excels in our mission only when each of us consecrate ourselves to the Lord to live consistently in excellent conduct for the good of the church and glory of Christ.

            Second, believers must be excited in our conduct. Because we have experienced the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we should exercise faith with an excited attitude leads us to action. The second phrase of the verse tells us that we are to be “fervent in spirit.” If the gospel doesn’t excite you, then there is a problem or blockage between your mind and heart (maybe just a blockage in your ears). The word “fervent” is the word “zeo” which means to be hot. In ancient usage, the word would be used for a liquid boiling or a solid metal glowing from heat. This is a specifically emotional word. The range of meaning also had the application of one who is stirred up emotionally to do either good or evil. Does the gospel stir your heart? The truth of the gospel as seen in Rom. 1-11 leads to a life of gospel transformation in all parts of the life of the believer as seen in Rom. 12-16. While emotions should be under control so that they don’t control us, the truth of the gospel should stir us up from the inside out so that we are bubbling or glowing for Christ with the heat of the gospel. However, the danger is that you and I tend to allow our emotions to not be controlled and boil over causing burns to others or burnout to ourselves. We must burn for Him, but don’t burn others or burnout in the process. A life of faith should be fervent in all things. We get to not only go to heaven one day, but we get to be participants in the work of God in our life, both in our church and in our community. God has allowed us a place in the greatest work of all time for the glory of Christ. You might not get excited to go to work on a Monday morning, but if you know Christ then you ought to be excited to conduct yourself consistently with the gospel. Notice though that we are to be “fervent in spirit.” There are many who disagree with this phrase’s meaning, however it is quite simple. The spirit of man is our inner self in relation to God. It is who we are in Christ. Our spirit was quickened, made alive, the moment of our conversion leading then to an eternal connection with Christ and His Church. This though demands that our life would be consecrated from the inside out to the Lord, so that in all manners of life we would live consistently with our confession of faith. This directive tells us to be bubbling and glowing from our inside attitude to our outside actions. Our spirit must be yielded to His Spirit within us because outside of the Holy Spirit we can do nothing of eternal value for the glory of Christ. His grace enables and equips us to live a life of faith and fervency as we are energized by the indwelling Holy Spirit. I believe the reason that we don’t feel so bubbly or glow-y is because we are conducting our life in the flesh through the strength of the flesh which only ever leads to frustration. When we fix our eyes on the gospel, grace, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should be then stirred up and fired up for the work of God in and through our life. I remember many times as a child not being excited to do my household duties, but when we see the grace and glory of Jesus, we should be excited to do anything for Him. Don’t lose the wonder and excitement of what it means to belong to Jesus. Let this excitement be brought to a boil in your heart as you concentrate yourself on His grace and glory and consecrate your life to Him. Be excited to conduct your life for Jesus Christ.

            Third, believers must be exclusive in our conduct. The final phrase of Rom. 12:11 says, “serving the Lord.” What else is there in this life? What is our motivation and mission? The reality is that the slothful or unfervent servant of God is only serving their own appetite. Everyone in this world is a servant. It doesn’t matter what position or title you have; you are a servant. You either serve yourself, others, or the Lord; but the Christian is to consistently serve the Lord and others. We are expendable and must seek the good of others first (Rom. 12:9-10). All of the Christian life is one of service to the Lord. You and I know this in theory, but do we know it practically? Every bit of our conduct in life is either serving our flesh or serving Christ. Serving the Lord, we know, is the eternal mission and motivation of the Church (and every believer). There is not a higher calling, purpose, or manner of life. Our problem though is that we mistake a lot of activity for serving Jesus. Serving the Lord for His glory is less about your own aptitude and more about your attitude behind your actions. You can have a lifetime of activity with the wrong internal attitude and accomplish nothing of eternal value. Our conduct of life should be exclusively serving the Lord for the good of the church and glory of Christ. It is present tense because it is to be our continual lifestyle. Serving the Lord is the fruit of the surrendered life to Him. The word “serving” is the word “douleuo” from “doulos” meaning a slave or one who is in bondage or bound to another, in the state of being completely controlled by someone or something. It means to be in bondage or in the position of servant and to act accordingly, dutifully obeying the master’s commands. We love Jesus being our Savior, but do we love Him being Lord of our life? We love the idea of being adopted into God’s family with Christ being our joint-heir, but do we love Him having the ownership of our life? If you are in Christ, then yes, you are His own adopted child, but you are eternally bound to Him. We are saved sons who now gladly submit as slaves to His Word, work, and will. He owns your life, you don’t. He is to control your life, not you. There used to be bumper stickers that said, “Jesus is my co-pilot.” Then new editions came out rebutting those saying, “If Jesus is your co-pilot, then switch seats.” Submitting to Jesus as Lord while continuously serving Him through consistent conduct begins with an attitude of submission then it leads to the outward action of service to Him. We do this because He is Lord, and we are not. The word Lord is “kurios” meaning Lord, master, or owner. He has ownership over our life therefore our life should be lived in faithful obedience in every opportunity that He gives to us. We serve Him by His grace with a grateful attitude that is excited to do excellent work for His glory. Col. 3:22-25 says, “²² Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God; ²³ And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; ²⁴ Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. ²⁵ But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” All of life is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ through serving one another and others by grace through faith. Jonathan Edwards wrote in his fifty-fifth resolution, “Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to act as I can think I should do, if I had already seen the happiness of heaven, and hell torments.” If you and I could catch a glimpse of eternity, then it would radically impact our present conduct. Conversion matters, but so does our conduct. Make sure that you don’t make the gospel just about keeping you out of Hell, it is for you today to live for His glory in His service. We don’t “got to,” rather we “get to.” As Edwards discovered early in life and ministry, we must be resolved to live consistently in our Christian life. Souls are at stake. Time is short. And the gospel demands that we would conduct ourselves consistently with our confession of faith. Does your conduct match your confession? Is your life consistent with who you are in Christ? What kind of servant are you, or even deeper, who are you serving? Because of the gospel, our conduct should be exclusively for the glory of Christ, but we should be excited about it and seek to be excellent in it. God deserves excellence, excitement, and exclusivity in our conduct in this life. May we no longer settle to be consistently inconsistent. May we be resolved today to be consistent in our conduct for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.