07 - Character Sketches 2008

Saw last time that God imparts to every believer His Spirit, Who energizes that believer with the desire to do His will, and the power to carry through.

As we journey along in our life with Christ, Paul encourages us not to:

Muddy the waters along the way

14 “Do all things without complaining and disputing…”

Complaining is from a word meaning “to murmur.” And 1st Cor. 10:10 tells us that murmuring brought ruin to the lives of God’s people.

“Nor discontentedly complain (murmur) as some of them did--and were put out of the way entirely by the destroyer (death).”

Someone once quipped that “the only difference between a rut and a grave is timing.”

Murmuring, complaining, faultfinding will put you in a rut faster than any single thing.

Our Apostle of joy refused to allow himself to go there!

Disputing means to involve yourself in useless debates that lead to nothing but arguments.

“…that you may become blameless and harmless… Harmless is from a word meaning “Without the slightest catch or hook.

Literally “without a horn, like a steer that can gore you. To the best of your ability you are not to cause others to stumble.

“…children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,

Without fault refers to being without a blemish, like a bodily sore. There is no open sore of sin in your life.

Crooked comes from the Greek word scolias, from which we get the word scoliosis or curvature of the spine.

It means bent unnaturally and describes our generation.

Perverse actually means “thoroughly bent” like a bent wagon wheel that makes the entire wagon drive roughly and unbalanced. The Bible says that the generations of our world are thoroughly bent, twisted, and depraved.

When Peter was preaching at Pentecost, he said,

“Save yourselves from this crooked (bent) generation!”—Acts 2:40

“…among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Lights is from a word meaning not only to shine but to make things around you that are in the dark come to light, to make them appear, to reveal them.

“It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,

14 for the light makes everything visible.”—Eph. 5:13

“…holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain…”

The Day of Christ refers to the judgment of believer’s works.

Paul is saying that he looks forward to the day of Christ when not only he, but all of those he nurtured in Jesus will receive their rewards. His prayer is, “Lord, please don’t let me have labored in vain.”

Then Paul introduces us to two characters. First we have Timothy, the faithful servant.

“If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. 20 I have no one else likeminded, who genuinely cares about your welfare.”

“Likeminded” means “Like-souled.” We could almost use the word soul mates here in the best possible sense.

Their souls were the same in their natural care about the welfare of others. Interestingly, there was NO ONE ELSE Paul knew who was this way!

21 “All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.”

Here is the sad fact of fallen man. He is selfish, self-centered, and out primarily for himself until the cross of Christ touches his life.

Fallen man seeks his own ambitions, desires, and fulfillment.

He can’t really care about others because he’s so focused on himself.

Timothy had been set free to serve others and this had been a rare event in Paul’s circle of acquaintances!

22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. 23 I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here.

24 And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.

“Proved” means “proved by trial and experience.” Timothy had stood the test of time and troubles and proven himself trustworthy.

The content of our character is revealed in trials and time.

This is why God commands us in the church to:

“Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.”—1 Tim. 5:22

Next, Paul Commends Epaphroditus

25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to minister to me in my need.

Notice again that Paul is holding forth someone who has been proven. He is a “true” brother, co-worker, and soldier for Christ.

“Minister” is “a public servant, a functionary in the Temple, or a worshipper (of God). Epaphroditus was a worshipper of God and servant of men.

26 I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill.

“Distressed” full of heaviness; troubled of mind. In other words, unselfish, truly caring about others. He almost died yet was worried about how his ordeal was going to burden others!

27 And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.

So who are we to esteem in the church?

Those with proven character resulting in trustworthiness

Unselfish character

Those who have a natural care for God’s people

Notice what’s not in the list: Charisma, talent, physical attractiveness…all the things our culture celebrates.

Starting in Chapter 3, Paul brings dire warnings about Judaizers.

Judaizer: Someone who teaches others to adopt the Jewish religion and Jewish cultural practices.

Now, keep in mind that Paul had been the best of the best in his Jewish, O.T. religion. He wrote:

“If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.” Phil 3:5,6

But when he found faith in Christ, he was delivered of works righteousness. This became Paul’s life message. It is best summarized in Eph. 2:8

“Saving is all God’s idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.”

The Problem: The Judaizers were running around teaching that it took both faith and works to be saved. They taught you had to mix circumcision with faith to experience salvation.

Circumcision was the sign God gave to Abraham of His covenant with him.

Gen. 17:10-14 “This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

This was the covenant God cut with Abraham and his descendants. It was a sign of faith toward God.

But when Christ came, this sign was no longer necessary. Paul tells the Romans:

“When Christ died he took that entire rule-dominated way of life down with him and left it in the tomb…Now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.” Ro. 7:6

So when these Judaizers tried to bring the church back into bondage to the law, Paul went ballistic!

To the Galatians he wrote:

“Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” 3:1-3

And he says again in Chapter 6:

“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”

2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.

6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Gal. 6:1-2, 6

His strongest language is found in vs. 11-12

“As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then—it would be so watered-down it wouldn't matter one way or the other. Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!”

Bottom line? Salvation is by FAITH ALONE. It can’t be added to or taken away from.

Christianity is not our learning how to behave a certain way in order to be saved; it is putting our faith in what Jesus has already done!

So when you and I sin, we are not repenting to get our salvation back. We’re repenting to restore our walk with Christ.

If works can’t save you, works can’t unsave you!

What is the truth about works? We aren’t saved by works, but we are called to works once we’re saved.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good works he planned for us long ago.” Eph.2:10

It is the pride of the flesh to think that you and I can have anything to do with our salvation.

Christianity is not a performance religion, it is faith in a Person.

We don’t work to get saved, or work to stay saved. We work righteous works because we are saved!

So Paul says, BEWARE of anyone or anything that takes you away from that simple but crucial truth!

1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!