Accountable
Notes
Transcript
Accountable
Accountable
Last week we looked at the SPLENDID LAW
What do you do when the law of your land and the law of God conflict.
You search for the splendid thing to do, which was to follow the law of love towards your brother and sister.
This week, we are going to look at the same material from another angle.
It is possible that some of you saw the title slide and had a bit of a reaction.
Are we talking about people, the church, ourselves...
YES!
Church discipline often means the pastor, elders, or leaders of a church exercising “discipline” on another member for something they have done wrong or a sin they have committed.
Church Discipline is nasty business
Money
Sin
Dress
Dissent
I have a lifetime of examples of this and how it plays out.
Money: Give, even if you have nothing, no job, etc. Just put it on a credit card!
Sin: You are in rebellion to God for whatever reason, so you are barred from communion and fellowship with the church
Dress: You are wearing something that disrespects the sanctuary and the congregation of God
Dissent: You are not loyal to the leadership of the church and you might cause others to rebel against the leadership
But, here is the question I have.
Who holds the Church accountable?
I ask this because if we remember, Paul addresses the letter to Philemon and the church where he attends.
Paul, a prisoner of King Jesus, and Timothy our brother: to our beloved Philemon, our colleague and partner, to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our comrade-in-arms, and to God’s people who meet in their house. May grace and peace be upon you, from God our father and King Jesus the Lord.
So it is addressed to the whole gathering where Philemon attends. We don’t know Philemon’s role. He could be a leader or he could be a patron, or just an upper class attendee.
Paul is going to give us a splendid example of how to issue a correction in a church.
I always thank my God when your name comes up in my prayers, because I’ve heard of your love and faithful loyalty towards the Lord Jesus and to all God’s people. My prayer is this: that the partnership which goes with your faith may have its powerful effect, in realizing every good thing that is at work in us to lead us into the King.
How often does Philemon’s name come up in Paul’s prayers? Anyway...
I have HEARD of your love and FAITHFUL LOYALTY towards the Lord Jesus and to all God’s people.
How has he heard?
He is getting reports from someone
The reports seem to be good, concentrating on the proper things
1. Love and faithful loyalty to the Lord Jesus
2. Love and faithful loyalty to all God’s people
There seems to be some system of governance, or at least regional reporting.
Faithful to God’s PEOPLE! This is the crux.
Philemon has a responsibility to serve those “less than.”
This is the Roman empire, so people are carrying goods and messages between cities on a pretty regular basis.
****SLIDE: My prayer is this....
Partnership: There is a unified loyalty among others, where our faith in Jesus combines into something powerful.
Powerful Effect: Realize every good thing that is at work IN US to LEAD US into the King.
Here, Paul lays out the foundation of his argument.
The love, the loyalty, the faith, it ALL LEADS to THE KING.
We are all of us accountable to the King.
Because of all this I could be very bold in the King, and order you to do the right thing.
The statement is Bold, but also indicative of a time when federal and family structures where critical to the functioning of a society.
Everyone knew what it meant if the KING DECREED something.
We don’t really have this sense.
In our government, if the President declares something, there is a sense that, yes, we are bound to the law of the land, but it is not like a King. You are not likely to be drug into a kangaroo court and killed for speaking out against the imperial court.
Paul, as an Apostle, could speak on behalf of the King, Jesus himself.
Which, consider this for a moment, is a high position
We would like to think we live in a democracy, but we don’t
We live under the rule of God, the King of the Universe.
Paul could COMMAND, no COMMITTEE, no DELIBERATION
Here is the right thing, you need to do it.
But, because of love, I’d much rather appeal to you—yes, it’s me, Paul, speaking, an old man as I am and now a prisoner of King Jesus! I am appealing to you about my child, the one I have fathered here in prison: Onesimus, ‘Mr Useful’.
Consider a few cultural aspects
Paul is older now, there is a sense of being an Elder in his community. Elders were considered to be wise and were owed more respect.
But, he is also in jail. According to Rome, he is a suspected criminal, under house arrest.
**** SLIDE: I am appealing to you...
And he is Onesimus’ spiritual father
Just as he is Philemon’s spiritual father
Look at it like this. Maybe this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you could have him back for ever—no longer as a slave, but much more than a slave, as a beloved brother, beloved especially to me, but how much more to you, both as part of your household and in the Lord.
TORAH TUESDAY: Do you see the situation?
Philemon is Paul’s spiritual son
Onesimus is Paul’s spiritual son
One is the master, seems to have some degree of wealth, and has a position of importance as a free man
The other serves, is considered a person, but is also property, and is not wealthy by normal standards.
They are brothers, so to speak.
One brother has RUN AWAY
Onesimus is BEING SENT BACK...
Paul is going to draw on this analogy from then entirety of the Hebrew Bible.
Paul is going to appeal to the story of the Exodus.
Will Philemon be like Pharoah, harden his heart, and punish Onesimus for wanting to spread the gospel and be a free man?
Will Onesimus use his freedom to not spread the gospel, going about doing his own thing and serve other gods?
What can we take away from this?
We asked, who holds the CHURCH ACCOUNTABLE?
Who holds the church accountable?
You do.
Yes, GOD is the one who will JUDGE, but given what I see today, I don’t know if leaders really believe that.
People will behave if they think they are being watched. Generally.
(I think that is changing in our culture, some just don’t care)
Lack of shame for sinful behavior.
Also, a LACK of courage from those in the church.
It is just easier to ignore or leave a problem behind you and let it be someone else’s problem.
Paul was SENSITIVE to this issue because of his
Jewish heritage
Knowledge of this history of his people
Knowledge of scripture
Knowing God’s heart
For Paul, it would seem, he was COMPELLED to act as the Moses between Philemon and Onesimus.
“But Paul was an apostle!”
Yes, that helped, but you too are brothers and sisters in Christ.
The health of the church depends on you and I to call it to account.
And we would be wise to follow the PATTERN of PAUL
Argue from scripture
Argue from Love
AND, MOST IMPORTANT
Remind yourself that you too are accountable to God
When you do what is asked, you contribute to the solution