Untitled Sermon (104)

“One Another” Verses of the Bible INTRODUCTION:

A. The Bible is the Mind of God in Print!

1. Therein God reveals what He wants mankind to know.

2. Therein God reveals what mankind needs to know.

B. In the 27 New Testament Books . . .

1. Four relate the life of Christ

2. One relates the beginning and early history of the church.

3. 21 epistles books, Romans-Jude, pertain to guiding Christians to grow and live a faithful Christian life after obedience to the Gospel of Christ.

a. Books: 21 of 27 – 78%

b. Chapters: 139 of 260 = 53%

c. Verses: 5,190 of 7,967 = 65%

d. Words: 121,145 of 180,506 = 67%

e. Any way one measures it, (Books, Chapters, Verses, or Words) over half of the New Testament has to do with how to live after one becomes a Christian.

4. Listening Friends . . . . . . The Bible, as the Mind of God in Print, tells us:

a. There are right ways and wrong ways to live.

b. There are right things and wrong things to do.

c. There are right beliefs and wrong beliefs.

d. There are right behaviors and wrong behavior.

C. God wants each one of His children to help all other of His children remain faithful and serve Him to the very best of their abilities.

1. An examination of twelve of the “One another” verses of the New Testament will admonish and guide us to that end.

2. A profitable study is to be had in the study and application of them.

D. Review the 12 “One Another” verses of the Bible.

PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER. (1)

A. James 5:16 – “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. B. Prayer is powerful.

1. We need to pray.

2. We need to pray for others.

3. We need others to pray for us.

4. We need to pray for one another.

5. This is a duty that pertains to all Christians.

C. Prayer benefits the one doing the praying and the one being prayed for.

ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER. (2)

A. Hebrews 3:12-13 – “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort (ENCOURAGE) one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

1. This supposes a state of close church fellowship, without which they could not have had access to each other.

2. Brethren were to encourage one another.

3. Brethren were to encourage one another daily.

4. And so must we encourage and exhort our brethren regularly.

a. We each belong to the same fellowship.

b. We each belong to the same family.

c. We each have a responsibility to help one another.

B. While some may need more encouragement than others, we must be there for each other and all others who are part of God’s family.

1. A safeguard against believers turning away from God is for them to encourage one another daily.

2. Brethren should continually remind each other to turn away from sin and to stay focused on Christ.

3. The Hebrew writer urged Christians to be alert themselves and to encourage others. A person cannot encourage or be encouraged apart from fellowship; thus, believers are urged not to give up meeting together (Heb 10:24-25).

4. People cannot live as Christians in a vacuum.

a. They need more than individual vigilance.

b. They need encouragement and correction from their brothers and sisters in Christ.

c. Allow fellow Christians to encourage you, and also see that you do not refuse to listen to a fellow Christian who may see sin or a problem in your life.

d. Don't just wait for a minister or elder to encourage someone else; each person, you included, has the responsibility

e. Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

C. Unfortunately, however, many Christians end up discouraged, rather than encouraged, by other Christians.

1. Be attentive that you take opportunity to actively encourage others.

2. Without constant self-evaluation and encouragement, a person's sin can become a deceived mind, a hardened heart, leading to unbelief and rejection of Christ.

D. Sin is subtle, and often enjoyable, so we are easily drawn to it.

1. Christians need each other so that they don't become hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

2. Satan, the author of sin. In fact, Satan is so intelligent that he can and does deceive people, even intelligent and normally faithful people.

3. We protect against sin's deceitfulness by checking our private intentions and desires against those of a group of trusted Christian friends, and by checking our group's intentions and desires against the teachings of the word of God.

BUILD ONE ANOTHER UP. (3)

A. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 – “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”

1. Romans 14:19 – “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.”

2. Strive to build one another up . . . not tear one another down.

3. As Christians are lively stones built up together a spiritual house, we should endeavor to promote the good of the whole church by promoting good in one another.

4. We should:

a. We should communicate our knowledge and experiences one to another.

b. We should join in prayer and praise one with another.

c. We should set a good example one before another.

B. Christians will never stop needing encouragement or building up.

1. It seems in the school classroom that the students that are encouraged the most by their teachers are the students that learn the most.

2. This principle should be applied to the church as well.

CONFESS OUR FAULTS TO ONE ANOTHER. (4)

A. James 5:16 – “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

1. This spiritual truth . . .

a. This spiritual truth is to be used . . . not abused.

b. This spiritual truth is to be applied . . . not misapplied.

c. This spiritual truth is to be rightly taught . . . not wrongly taught.

2. This passage does not say:

a. Does not say confess your sins to a formally robed priest.

b. Does not say confess your sins to an elder . . . but one can.

c. Does not say confess your sins to a deacon . . . but one can.

d. Does not say confess your sins to a minister . . . but one can.

e. Does not say confess your sins to an evangelist . . . but one can.

f. Does not say confess your sins to a teacher. . . but one can.

3. Confess your sins to one another.

4. Illustration: 1966 – Terry Hughes (Air Force) – Bridgeport Elementary School.

5. Confessing our sins - such as resentment, a grudge, lack of forgiveness, etc. - can and often does lead to the healing of physical ailments because of the stress brought about by these sins.

B. Christ has made it possible for us to go directly to God for forgiveness. But confessing our sins to one another still has an important place in the life of the church.

1. If we have sinned against an individual, we must ask that person to forgive us.

2. If our sin has affected the church, we must confess it publicly.

3. If we need loving support as we struggle with a sin, we should confess the sin to those who are able to provide that support.

4. If after confessing a private sin to God we still don't feel his forgiveness, we may wish to confess that sin to a fellow believer and hear him or her reassure us of God's pardon.

C. Listening friends, it is not God’s plan that His people be alone.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER. (5)

A. John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

1. The disciples of Christ were known by this love which they bore to each other.

2. The primitive Christians were particularly known by this among the Gentiles.

3. Tertullian, in his Apology, gives us their very words: "See, said they, how they love one another, and are ready to lay down their lives for each other."

B. Jesus is saying, You shall not be known by special rites or habits; not by a special form of dress or manner of speech; not by unusual customs, like the Pharisees, the Essenes, or the scribes, but by deep, genuine, and tender affection . . . deep, genuine, and tender love.

1. It is an excellent command.

2. It is a demonstrable command

3. It is an everlasting command.

4. It is new in that before it was “You shall love your neighbor,” but now it is You shall love one another; it is pressed in a more winning way when it is thus pressed as mutual duty owing to one another. The newness of Jesus' command pertains to the new kind of love that Christians have for one another because they have each experienced the love of Christ.

C. “Of all the instances of Christ's love to his disciples, which they had already experienced during the time he went in and out among them.

He spoke kindly to them, concerned himself heartily for them, and for their welfare, instructed, counseled, and comforted them, prayed with them and for them, vindicated them when they were accused, took their part when they were run down, and publicly owned them to be dearer to him that his mother, or sister, or brother. He reproved them for what was amiss, and yet compassionately bore with their failings, excused them, made the best of them, and passed by many an oversight” Matthew Henry

D. Jesus said that our Christ-like love will show that we are his disciples.

1. Do people see petty bickering, jealousy, and division among brethren?

2. Or do others know you are Jesus' followers by your love for one another?

3. Love is more than simply warm feelings; it is an attitude that reveals itself in action.

4. How can we love others as Jesus loves us?

a. By helping when it's not convenient.

b. By giving when it hurts . . . I am not referencing the giving of money, but of ourselves.

c. By devoting energy to others' welfare rather than our own.

d. By absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back.

5. This kind of loving is hard to do. That is why people notice when you do it and know you are empowered by a supernatural source.

E. When we love one another with pure hearts, fervently, even unto death, then shall it fully appear that we are disciples of that person who laid down his life for his sheep, and who became, by dying, a ransom for all.

F. Jesus would be gone, and His disciples would not be able to join him for a while. In the meantime, they were to follow this commandment: Love one another. A command to love one another is not a new commandment; it had been mandated in the Old Testament).

G. The newness of Jesus' command pertains to the new kind of love that Christians have for one another because they have each experienced the love of Christ.

H. Jesus commanded his followers to love one another "as I have loved you." This was revolutionary, for believers are called to love others based on Jesus' sacrificial love for them. A love experienced by doing. CHRISTIAN LIVING –

1. Jesus was a living example of God's love, as we are to be living examples of Jesus' love.

2. This love would be the mark of distinction: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

3. One of the major themes in 1 John is brotherly love

4. Jesus was going to die . . . he was going to be raised again . . . he was going to return to the Father.

a. The disciples would be left in the world. Jesus gave them this one all- encompassing command -- to love one another.

b. Not only would such love bring unbelievers to Christ; it would also keep believers strong and united in a world hostile to God.

c. And such love, enabled by Jesus' love for them and by the coming Holy Spirit's power in them, would allow them to love all those for whom Christ died, and unite them with Christ spiritually.

BE DEVOTED TO ONE ANOTHER, HONOR ONE ANOTHER. (6)

A. Romans 12:10 – “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

1. The word used here occurs no where else in the New Testament. It properly denotes tender affection, such as what subsists between parents and children; and it means that Christians should have similar feelings toward each other, as belonging to the same family, and as united in the same principles and interests.

2. Love for the brethren is a badge of discipleship.

3. Not in seeking honor, but in preferring honor for other brethren.

a. Not to see who can receive the most honor, but rather to give honor to others.

b. To honor means to give a person high value and respect.

1. As Christians, we honor people because:

a. Because they have been created in God's image.

b. Because they are our brothers and sisters in Christ,

c. Because they have a unique contribution to make to Christ's church

2. In Christianity, others come before self.

B. The meaning appears to be this: Consider all your brethren as more worthy than yourself; and let neither grief nor envy affect your mind at seeing another honored and yourself neglected.

C. Instead of contending for superiority, let us be forward to give to others the pre-eminence. Philippians 2:3 – “Let each esteem others better than themselves.”

SERVE ONE ANOTHER. (7)

A. Galatians 5:13 – “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

1. Faith works.

2. Faith helps.

3. Faith serves others.

B. Serving others is a proper manifestation of love.

1. Where there is love there will be servitude.

2. Duty is pleasant.

3. Kindnesses are expected of Christians.

C. It is human nature to want to be:

1. The master rather than the servant.

2. The one being served rather than the one doing the serving.

D. We are His hands to lift others up to help them. Galatians 6:10 – “

E. Jesus was a server of others . . . How can we follow in His steps without being the same.

BEAR WITH ONE ANOTHER. (8)

A. Colossians 3:12-13 – “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. “

1. “Forbearing one another” . . . Avoid all occasions of irritating or provoking each other.

2. “Forgiving one another” If ye receive offence, be instantly ready to forgive on the first acknowledgment of the fault.

3. “Even as Christ forgave you” Who required no satisfaction, and sought for nothing in you but the broken, contrite heart, and freely forgave you as soon as you returned to Him.

4. “If any man have a quarrel against any” - "or complaint." The Greek word Used here occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.

a. It means, "fault found, blame, censure;" and here denotes occasion of complaint.

b. The idea is, that if another one has given us just occasion of complaint, we are to forgive him; that is, we are:

1. To harbor no malice against him;

2. We are to be ready to do him good as if he had not given us occasion of complaint;

3. We are to be willing to declare that we forgive him when be asks it;

4. We are always afterward to treat him as kindly as if he had not injured us-as God treats us when he forgives us.

a. Freely-he did not hesitate or delay when we asked him;

b. Entirely-he pardoned all our offences;

c. Forever-he did it so as to remember our sins no more, and to treat us ever onward as if we had not sinned. So we should forgive an offending brother.

B. "Putting on" Christ affects how we treat others.

1. It is only in the outworking of people's relationships with one another that compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience are worked out.

2. The testing ground is when people have grievances . . . against one another.

a. Paul called for the believers to bear with and forgive one another.

b. "Bear with" means putting up with the "extra grace required" crowd. This is only possible for those who are clothed with patience.

c. To "forgive" implies continual, mutual forgiveness of the problems, irritations, and grievances that occur in the congregation.

d. In order to do either one of these actions, a Christian must do both.

e. It takes forbearance to forgive, and forgiveness means putting up with offensive people.

C. From the human standpoint, there are two alternatives: FORGIVE OR HATE

1. Formerly, when people had a grievance, they could challenge one another to a duel.

a. That settled it, except when relatives of the loser decided to carry on the feud, sometimes for generations.

b. Each crime against one side would escalate the motives for revenge.

2. Now with duels illegal, we use courts to "make ourselves whole" when someone has cheated or slandered us. It is a longer process, less bloody, more public, and civilized.

3. Jesus offers an even better way: forgive and forget.

a. It's the new way of the gospel: let God worry about the wrongs you've suffered.

b. Don't quench your life in bitter feuding; live renewed in love and joy.

4. Why did Paul call believers to do this?

a. The church had enough enemies and troubles dealing with the outside world; they didn't need infighting or energy wasted on grievances or grudges (either held over from pre-Christian days or arising in the church) that could be worked out with forbearing and forgiving.

b. The key to forgiving others was for the believers to:

1. To remember how much God had forgiven them, and

2. To realize the presumption in refusing to forgive someone God had already forgiven.

5. Remembering God's infinite love and forgiveness should help the Colossian Christians, and us, love and forgive one another.

A. Ephesians 5:19-21 – “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. “

B. There is a mutual submission that Christians owe one to another, condescending to bear one another's burdens: not advancing themselves above others, nor domineering over one another and giving laws to one another.

1. Paul was an example of this truly Christian temper, for he became all things to all men.

2. We must be of a yielding and of a submissive spirit, and ready to all the duties of the respective places and stations that God has allotted to us in the world.

C. Submissive roles for Christians:

1. To God

2. To government

3. To elders

4. Wives to husbands

5. Children to parents

6. To one another

D. People often misunderstand the concept of submitting to another person.

1. It does not mean becoming totally passive. Christ -- at whose name "every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Philippians 2:10 ) -- submitted his will to the Father, and we honor Christ by following his example.

2. When we submit to God, we become more willing to obey his command to submit to others, that is, to subordinate our rights to theirs.

3. In Paul's day, women, children, and slaves were to submit to the head of the family -- slaves would submit until they were freed, male children until they grew up, and women and girls their whole lives.

4. Paul emphasized the equality of all believers in Christ (Galatians 3:28), but he counseled all believers to submit to one another by choice.

5. This kind of mutual submission preserves order and harmony.

E. Submission provides evidence that we have Spirit-controlled relationships, and it requires the Holy Spirit's guidance and restraint (4:2-3).

1. In the church, the believers should be willing to . . . learn from . . . serve, give to . . . or be corrected by others in the fellowship.

2. Such submission can allow growth both individually and corporately as the believers seek to follow Christ.

3. Our motives should be "reverence" (literally, "fear") for Christ.

4. We should not treat one another rightly just because it is expected or because we will be well regarded but because one day we must give account to Christ of how we have lived.

5. The principle of submission is not to be abused.

F. Submission often has unpleasant implications for modern Christians, perhaps because this principle has been abused in the past and has been used to justify overbearing and self-serving behavior.

1. But Jesus was willing to submit to the will of his Father and to the agonies of the cross.

2. "Submission" is not a bad word. How do you respond to the idea of submitting to others? G. The question becomes . . . “Are you willing to place the interests and desires of others ahead of your own in Jesus' name?”

SPUR ONE ANOTHER ON. (10)

A. Hebrews 10:24 – “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good work”

B. Matthew Henry writes: “Christians ought to have a tender consideration and concern for one another; they should affectionately consider what their several wants, weaknesses, and temptations are; and they should do this, not to reproach one another, to provoke one another not to anger, but to love and good works, calling upon themselves and one another to love God and Christ more, to love duty and holiness more, to love their brethren in Christ more, and to do all the good offices of Christian affection both to the bodies and the souls of each other. A good example given to others is the best and most effectual provocation to love and good works.” C We are in this Christian life together.

1. Christians need one another on a daily basis.

2. Don’t try to go at it alone . . . you have brethren who will help you.

3. You need brethren . . . and brethren need you.

4. Spur one another on!

BE HOSPITABLE TO ONE ANOTHER. (11)

A. 1 Peter 4:8-9 – “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.”

B. Have warm ardent love toward one another.

C.

1. Love to another shall so cover or hide a great many imperfections in him, that you will not notice them.

2. This passage is quoted from Proverbs 10:12: - "Love covers all sins."

a. True love to another makes us kind to his imperfections, charitable toward his faults, and often blind even to the existence of faults (not sins, but faults).

b. We would not see the imperfections of those whom we love; and our attachment for what we esteem their real excellencies, makes us insensible to their errors.

D. Here is a noble rule in Christianity.

1. Christians ought to love one another, which implies

a. An affection to their persons.

b. desire of their welfare.

c. And a hearty endeavor to promote it.

2. This mutual affection must not be cold, but fervent, that is, sincere, strong, and lasting.

E. The words above all indicate that love would help these Christians face suffering. The mutual love, support, and encouragement would be a great defense. No Christian is an island . . . no one in Christ is alone . . . Never nor ever!

F. This does not mean that love ignores, overlooks, or tries to hide sin.

1. Instead, Peter probably was thinking back to his words in 1 Peter 4:1-2 that the believers should live the rest of their lives according to God's will and not human desires.

2. As believers, they were "finished with sin."

a. The "covering of sins," then, is the ability that believers have to forgive one another because Christ has forgiven them.

b. Love works as a shock absorber, cushioning and smoothing out the bumps and irritations caused by fellow believers.

G. Love can be an antidote.

1. Life needs strong soap to wash away the buildup of hurt and grief. What's the better soap -- love or hate -- when

a. Your friend forgets a breakfast meeting that you lost sleep to get to?

b. Your teenager has a fender bender, distracted by a song on the radio?

c. Your church passes a budget with expenditures you believe are frivolous?

d. Your spouse is in a cantankerous mood?

e. The neighbor next door above you likes their music loud?

f. some potbellied loudmouth on the first-base side is talking about your son's pitching? Your mom is on the phone again? Your boyfriend is seen with someone else?

H. As Christians, we should forgive the faults in others' lives because we have experienced God's gracious forgiveness in our own.

I. Karen Burton Mains wrote: “If our hospitality is to minister, to impart to each who crosses our threshold something of the presence of Christ -- if it is to CHRISTIAN LIVING – transcend the human and deal with the supernatural -- there must be an agony of growth, a learning, a tutoring at the hand the of Holy Spirit.”

J. Being hospitable is different from social entertaining.

1. Entertaining focuses on the host -- the home must be spotless; the food must be well prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured.

2. Hospitality, in contrast, focuses on the guests.

a. Their needs -- whether for a place to stay . . . nourishing food . . . a listening ear . . . or acceptance . . . are the primary concern.

3. Hospitality can happen in a messy home.

a. It can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup.

b. It can even happen while the host and the guest are doing chores together.

4. Believers should not hesitate to offer hospitality just because they are too tired . . . too busy . . . or not wealthy enough to entertain.

5. Hospitality is a strong expression of love, which Peter already commanded the believers to show.

GREET ONE ANOTHER. (12)

A. Romans 16:16 – “Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.”

B. In those early times the kiss on the cheek, as a token of peace, friendship, and brotherly love, was frequent among all people; and the Christians used it in their public assemblies, as well as in their occasional meetings. The "holy kiss" was a common form of greeting, much like the handshake today.

1. This was at last laid aside, not because it was abused, but because, the church becoming very numerous, the thing was impossible.

2. In some countries the kiss of friendship is still common; and in such countries it is scarcely ever abused, nor is it an incentive to evil, because it is customary and common. a. Israel b. Jamaica – Large bushy-bearded brother.

3. Shaking hands is now substituted for it in almost all Christian congregations.

4. The use of the word "holy" here serves to denote that Paul intended it as an expression of "Christian" affection; and to guard against all improper familiarity and scandal.

CONCLUSION: A. You . . . Me . . . We . . . Us-es

1. All of us . . . Excluding none of us CHRISTIAN LIVING –

2. One another . . . one of another.

3. The Pirate cry . . .

“All for one and one for all.”

B. Illustration: William C. Schultz, writing in Bits and Pieces, December 1990 – “People need people. Laurie was about three when one night she requested my aid in getting undressed. I was downstairs and she was upstairs, and ... well. ‘You know how to undress yourself,’ I reminded. ‘Yes,’ she explained, 'but sometimes people need people anyway, even if they do know how to do things by themselves.”

C. Brethren need the fellowship and assistance of other brethren.

1. Let us love one another.

2. Let us help one another.

3. Let us pray for one another.

4. Let us help one another reach Heaven.

God’s Plan for Man’s Salvation There is a decision to be made . . . Or you going to go UP to Heaven . . . Or are you going to go DOWN to Hell?

It is YOUR choice . . . YOUR CHOICE!