Gospel Partnership
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
A popular Pastor, Lecturer, itinerant preacher, and author was recently caught and subsequently exposed for having a 5-year affair with a lady 50 years younger. The news was met with shock all across the world, leading to cancellation, disassociation, and rejection of this preacher. The church he pastored, the organisation he founded, and several high-profile organisations and universities he was associated with all removed his sermons, articles and pictures from their respective platforms. In less than a week, over 40 years of ministry wiped out because of his transgression.
EVERYBODY BELIEVES IN GRACE UNTIL A LEADER NEEDS IT.
A systemic problem in the modern church is the failure to accept that most churches including christian relationships are not conducive environment for people, especially Leaders, to confess serious sin.
The pastor in question was the victim of the very culture he promoted, preached and protected for over 40 years. In the midst of the Big Boys expressing their sadness, anger and disappointment due to the painful betrayal by this pastor people rarely take time to ask a fundamental question:
Was my relationship with this brother conducive to inspire confession of serious sin?
Is our relationship with each other a constant reminder of the things we stand to lose or about what we stand to gain when we confess serious sin?
As you come to KRBT are you growing in your confidence that come what may the people I clap hands with, sing and drink coffee and pray with have my back not matter what?
Gospel Partnership is about living in such a way that our attitudes towards each other, especially those caught in sin, confirm the restorative grace of God in Christ crucified.
Main Idea: Your gentle response to someone caught in sin confirms the work of the Spirit in your life, enabling you to work for the good of others and God's eternal reward.
Galatians 6:1 (NIV)
1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
God Exposes Sin (of others) to Confirm the Work of the Spirit in Our Lives
God Exposes Sin (of others) to Confirm the Work of the Spirit in Our Lives
Notice the subject of the sentence in the first five verses. It is not the one caught in sin but the other christians. Brothers and Sisters (our new identity by virtue of our Union with Christ.
Brothers and Sisters are those who live by the Spirit or moved by the Spirit.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Paul is dealing with a group of people who are on the verge of compromising the true gospel (faith in Christ) for circumcision (law-based religion).
Although Paul wrote this personal and painful letter to defend the gospel and his calling, God is using the occasion to confirm the Spirit’s work in Paul’s life.
In Chapter 1:11-16 confirms his conversion. He who once persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it…is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy (v.23).
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
What was Paul trying to achieve? Paul’s goal is:
19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
No doubt Paul was disappointed, felt betrayed and abandoned by these christians yet he did not give up on them. Because his priority was not to protect his image or show that his theology was sound on paper but rather to portray CHRIST as their Savior, Lord and God.
We often prone to protect our Theology/our brand at the expense of
Affirming that Christ came to save the chief of sinners.
That even the best of us fall into serious sin (Rom 7)
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
What was Paul’s purpose?
5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
If you have not noticed, let me make it clear. The most visible sign of a Spirit-filled life is a passion and commitment to reminding others of God’s love for us in Christ.
Do you know when I need to hear that God loves me?
When I feel unworthy of his love.
When I am caught in sin and the burden of shame and guilt are crushing me.
Avoid the mistake of creating a church culture where confession is difficult.
Because these christians have received God’s love through Paul’s ministry, they are empowered to do likewise to someone else.
It is easier to give love when we ourselves have received and experienced it.
Paul’s emphasis on gentleness nullifies the possibility of using the negative response of the one caught in sin as a viable excuse for propensity to respond in anger.
Imagine a father trying to teach his son how to ride a bike. The boy wobbles and falls, and the father, instead of scolding him, chuckles and says, 'You're just making sure the grass is soft!' This light-hearted response encourages the boy to get back on the bike. Similarly, Proverbs 15:1 tells us, 'A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.'
The word caught indicates the suprise/shock experienced by the person discovered or caught in sin. It also mean “someone who is involved in…”
Notice that Paul is talking to the collective group; calling them to act collective to a single situation.
In our response to serious sin we allow an individual sin to overhelm our collective capacity to show Grace. However,
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Summarise the first Point
The behaviour of those caught in sin should not overpower those who live by the Spirit because the Spirit empowers us to respond with gentleness in the hope of complete restoration, confirming God's power.
Application
Consider the many sins we could prevent in the church by learning to respond gently to people who are caught in sin.
Our gentle response to the sins of others inspires confidence in others to tell us about their hidden struggles.
19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Consider the multitude of sins that we could be prevent in the church when we learn to respond gently to people caught in sin.
The word 'restore' holds a deep significance for us. It means to mend, to bring something or someone back to their former wholeness or soundness. This is the essence of our faith-to bring healing and wholeness to those who have strayed.
Taking down the sermon of a person caught in sin from your platform does not help the person but hurts them. Such action contradicts the positive course of action Paul exhorts us to follow.
Does your response to the sin of another christain a confirmation that you are being led by the Spirit or the flesh?
May be you need to take sometime to pray for God to forgive and strengthen you.
God Exposes Sin to Humble Us
God Exposes Sin to Humble Us
Galatians 6:1 (ESV)
1b Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
One of the most significant lessons we can learn is that God often uses the exposed sin of a Christian to remind you of the importance of paying attention to what’s going on in your heart.
A Christian is somebody who always sees your own sin as a plank and the sins of other people as specks. Religious people always see their own sins as specks and everybody else’s sins as a plank.
Timothy Keller
One reason we find it hard to respond in a spirit of gentleness is that we are prone to see the sins of others as great but our own sin as small.
Consider the last time you discovered or heard about someone caught in sin. Were you more conscious of your anger, disbelief, or hidden sin that no one knows [yet]?
When God exposes the sin of another Christian, it is never for us to gossip, laugh, or become angry. Rather, it is to remind us of his grace towards us. To refuse to acknowledge this is the root of pride, but acknowledging it can inspire and motivate us.
Nathan rebukes David 2 Samuel 12:1–7
5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,
The woman caught in Adultery
Therefore Paul states in vv3-4 “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing he deceives himself.”
Your rude response to a christian caught in sin is a sign of pride in your heart. Therefore Paul states:
12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
Instead, we are to stand shoulder to shoulder to carry the burden of the person who needs restoration. In this way, we fulfil the law of Christ, which is love. Otherwise, we are nothing.
In the context of the local Church, the mess of an individual must never exceed the collective mercy of those who live by the Spirit.
The sin in the church must never exceed the sanctifying grace of the Spirit in the Church.
Within the local Church, it's crucial that no individual's struggles surpass the collective mercy of those who are guided by the Spirit.
The works of the flesh must never overcome the fruit of the Spirit; otherwise, restorative grace becomes impossible.
The Man possessed with Legions Mark 5:3-5
Mark 5:3–5 (ESV)
3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
We ought to help each other because, genuinely speaking, we are nothing without grace. To have confidence independent of God's grace is to have overconfidence in oneself, which is delusional.
There are sins in the Church that requires the collective efforts of those who are spiritual to confront and overcome!
Our focus should not be on comparing ourselves to others, especially those who have stumbled into sin. Instead, we should use the law of God as our mirror, providing a true reflection of our heart's condition.
I can then boast in the Lord as I recognise the evidence of his transforming grace in my heart.
The fact that we are supposed to bear each other’s burdens does not nullify personal responsibility.
5 for each one should carry their own load.
Our works of obedience do not save us but they confirm the extent of God’s grace in our lives. We must be careful not to undermine personal responsibility in sanctification.
For Example KRBT marriage Policy: Giving People the allowance to carry their own load.
TRANSITION
Why must we live by the Spirit, restore those caught in sin, watch ourselves, bear each other burden and carry our personal burdens?
God Rewards our Labour of Love
God Rewards our Labour of Love
In verses 6-10, Paul reminds us of the importance of maintaining the integrity of the Gospel with the means God has given us. For some of us:
We must ensure we utilise all available means to teach and defend the Gospel.
For others, it may be through your financial giving to ensure the Gospel is taught and the Pastor cared for.
Although the ultimate end of all things is the Glory of God, this (God’s glory) must not be disconnected from the reward God has promised to give those who honour Him.
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
These verses remind us that God does not ignore anything we do for him. On the contrary, He rewards every one of us according to our works.
As those whom the Spirit leads, we must ensure that we are sowing to the Spirit (allow the Spirit to have his way).
When someone sins against us, and we refuse to give him to the flesh to cut him off, become angry, or harbour unforgiveness, we confirm that the Spirit is leading us and assure our hearts of our eternal reward.
Notice the contrast between sowing to the flesh, which leads to corruption, and sowing to the Spirit, which leads to eternal life.
Romans 6:20–23 (NIV)
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 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. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sowing to the flesh means to allow the old nature to have its way. So also, sowing to the Spirit means to allow the Holy Spirit to have his way.
William Hendriksen; Simon J. Kistemaker
It is easier to get tired when we don’t see results. Also, we are reluctant to help when our generous efforts have been exploited. Therefore, Paul exhorts us:
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
The due season for our reward is not based on our timeline. Instead, it has been fixed by God. Our job is to continue to do good, trusting that He will reward us at the right time.
Therefore, let's seize every opportunity to extend kindness to everyone, especially to those who are part of our faith community. Our compassion should know no bounds.
Social action is good, but it must not be at the expense of caring for missionaries, members of the local church, and others who have devoted their lives to advancing the gospel.
Summerise
Gospel Partnership is about putting Christ restorative agenda at the centre in the way we care for each other, especially those caught in sin.
We must allow the Spirit to shape our response so that the person is helped, not hurt.
We are not as strong as we think we are. God’s grace prevents us from experiencing severe sins in our lives.
Let us not grow weary in doing good. God is faithful in rewarding our perseverance in this life and the one to come.
We cannot be so protective of the institution, the church, that we discard leaders and members of the church as if they’re broken and no-longer-needed commodities.
Paul Tripp, LEAD.
We must be a church community that are commited to fresh start and new beginnings, especially as it relates to those who are caught in sin.
The Gospel is not just for unbelievers. It is also for believers who are in conflict with the desires of the sinful nature.
May God grant us the grace to embody the restorative grace of the gospel to the praise of his glorious grace. Amen.
