Get to Work
Notes
Transcript
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
Motivation to work (feeding bison)
Work for Personal Holiness
Work for Personal Holiness
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Though our salvation does not come through works, the Christian life is a life of hard work
In this text we are called to work heard for two things: peace and holiness
Peace
Lacking in the world
Election, Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, Crime
Holiness
Purity found only in God, but called to be emulated by man
Characteristic of Christians when we see God
Matthew 5:8 “8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Romans 6:22 “22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
They go hand in hand
Both peace and holiness are gifts that we receive in Christ
So what we are being called to do here is to live like what we are.
The world is not filled with peace because it is at war with God
The world is not holy because it rejects the holy one
Christians should be different.
Getting Practical
Getting Practical
Peace in our homes
Peace in our church
Peace in our society
Not only are we supposed to have peace in our relationships, we are supposed to actively support the faithfulness of others
Work for One Another’s Holiness
Work for One Another’s Holiness
15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
See that no one falls short, and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many
See that no one falls short, and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many
Hebrews 4:1 “1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.”
1 Corinthians 15:2 “2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
Deuteronomy 29:16–18 “16 You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. 17 You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold. 18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.”
See that no one is sexually immoral or is godless like Esau
See that no one is sexually immoral or is godless like Esau
He uses an OT story to illustrate the corruption the church could face
Sexually immoral
Esau isn’t particularly associated with sexual sin
This could be a reference to his unfaithfulness that was spiritual adultery or sexual sin that isn’t emphasized in the OT
The truth is, sexual immorality and godlessness go hand in hand – look at Esau’s sin to see this
27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.
Esau, as the firstborn of Isaac is the rightful recipient of the promises of Abraham
He thinks so little of God’s promise that he swaps it for a bowl of soup
Sexual immorality follows the same pattern – it takes the the promises of God and the delights of fellowship with him and swaps it for a bowl of soup
Ultimately, Esau’s rejection of God’s blessing cost him dearly
See That No One
See That No One
The call to holy living is not pursued in isolation
We have a responsibility to one another
How can we be a church that takes this seriously?
How can we be a church that takes this seriously?
Come to work on Sunday morning
Be wise with your schedule
Be the connector
Practice hospitality
“How can I pray for you?”
