Serve One Another

INTRODUCTION

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Local churches can be unique in the way they are organized and function. And yet local churches typically have a few things in common – a meeting place/weekly worship gathering, a set of doctrinal beliefs, and church bylaws. Church bylaws are the “standing rules that govern the structure, requirements for leadership and membership, and protect the liability of the church. We have our own set of bylaws that regulate how we are organized and function as a church. Some church bylaws are simple, some are super complex, and some are really strange. Thom Rainer (President & CEO of Lifeway Christian Publishing) has uncovered some of the “weird” church bylaws in his blog.

· Rainer – Church Bylaws

Wow! Hilarious – I’m not sure we’ll be recommending any of those revisions to our bylaws in the near future. Just like families have their own set of “rules” and “guidelines” that govern the life of their home, as church family we have bylaws and guidelines based on the God’s Word that governs “how” we are organized and “how” we function. Our ultimate authority as a church is God’s Word—the biblical imperatives and principles are the basis for our bylaws and guidelines that govern organization and structure—and in the Holy Scriptures we discover that God calls us to live as a family. How does God want us to treat one another in this church family?

That’s what our “ONE ANOTHER summer series is all about. Today is week three of our summer series that examines the various “one another” passages in the NT that teach us how to live together as God’s family. We began with God’s call to “Love One Another.” Last week Pastor Jake preached on the call to “Forgive One Another” – the Holy Spirit did a profound work in our hearts as a church family (People asking for forgiveness and people offering forgiveness). Today we continue with the call to “Serve One Another.”

Need

As we walk through this series let me begin with a caution – none of these will be mastered in a week – I trust you haven’t nailed “loving one another” and “forgiving one another” yet. Don’t put a mental check beside each one each week – got it, done! The one another’s must be continuously, repeatedly, and simultaneously lived out for the rest of your life by the power of the Holy Spirit. You’ll never master them all but by God’s power and grace we’ll grow (babysteps) in each one as we live our lives together.

Today we turn our focus to the call to “Serve One Another.” What’s your initial response to the thought of “Serving One Another?” Seriously? It’s a safe place for us to share our thoughts & hearts with one another, we’re family, right?! What’s your gut-level reaction to the thought of having to “serve” your fellow believers/members of God’s family? (Share)

If we’re honest, if left to our own desires, we’d rather be served than serve? Who doesn’t like going to a nice restaurant, being waited on hand and foot, “can I get you anything?” or “Do you need anything?” and we expect our waiters and waitresses’ to serve us well! If we’re honest, we want to pick and choose who we serve! We want to serve the people we like or serve people who will be grateful. If we’re honest, we want to serve people on our terms (our way & our convenience).

We are selfish, we live in a “selfie” society, we want to sing the song “me, me, me, me, me, me me” but we don’t want anyone to know we’re singing it. We want to look out for our own interests instead of looking out for the interests of others. We all have excuses to justify “why” we don’t serve one another. We need a heart like Jesus – the heart of a servant – and we need a heart empowered by the Holy Spirit to be the servants that God’s called us to be. We need to consider God’s call to serve one another in this family.

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Take your Bible and turn to . . . In we will discover a life-changing truth about “serving one another” that has profound implications for our lives.

I) THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM

Galatians is likely the earliest NT letter written in A.D. 49. The letter from the apostle Paul to the Christians in the region of Galatia (Pisidia Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe) – MAP. Paul preached the gospel to these areas during his missionary journeys (). Paul wrote this letter to encourage Gentile converts who were being led astray by Jewish Legalists (Judaizers) who were teaching the Gentile Christians that they had to obey the OT (specifically circumcision) as a part of salvation. Galatians highlights the truth of the gospel – salvation by grace alone, in Christ alone, and through faith alone. The false teachers were proclaiming that salvation was through Moses (Law) but Paul rebuked the error and proclaimed salvation in Christ. Paul’s letter rebukes false teacher’s perversion of the gospel, highlights there is only one gospel (2:1-10), calls out the Christians in Galatia for departing from the truth of the gospel (3:1-14), acknowledges the Law is a gift to reveal our sin and point us to Jesus (3:15-29), and calls each reader to embrace the Christian freedom without giving into legalism or license (4:21-5:15), and calls us to live the Christian life by the power of the Holy Spirit (5-6).

In the spotlight is put on Freedom in Christ—to embrace the Judaizer’s legalistic ways would be equivalent to being in slavery and adding to the finished work of Jesus Christ which is a distortion of the gospel (5:1-12)—so in we are confronted with the ESSENCE OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM. Let’s walk through together to consider an important truth about “serving one another” and its implications for our lives. Read

A) The Call to live a life of Freedom (5:13)

First, we begin with “The Call to Live a life of Freedom” in . The Call to Live a Life of Freedom. Paul reminded his brothers (and sisters) in Christ of their Christian freedom—“You, my brothers, were called to be free.” The Gentile believers divine call to salvation in Jesus through the preaching of the gospel () was a “call” to a life of freedom. The very essence of the gospel is a divine invitation into a life of freedom! Christians enjoy a new life of freedom. In the context of Galatians, and in the flow of Paul’s argument, the call to freedom is set in contrast to legalism. The Gentile Christians are not under the legal bondage of obeying the Law. The Judaizers were teaching that Gentile Christians had to get circumcised in order to be saved but this was clearly not a part of their calling. In the previous paragraph of this letter Paul rejects the preaching of circumcision—it’s a perversion of the gospel that is preventing them from obeying the truth of the gospel (5:7)—and Paul used strong language to denounce this perversion by suggesting that these “agitators” of the gospel would go beyond mere circumcision to castration (5:12). Paul reminded the Gentile Christians that they had been “set free” from the demands of the Law—they were no longer under the domination or constraint to fulfill the practices of the OT Law—they no longer lived under the obligation to be physically circumcised as an outward sign of covenant or to be declared righteous before God or a part of His covenant people. The sign of the New Covenant was spiritual circumcision of their hearts by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Paul wanted the Gentile Christians to know that they were called to be free! The Gentile Christian’s freedom was threatened by a returning to life under the slavery of legalism being promoted by the Judaizers (5:1). Paul informed the Gentile converts that they were no longer under the bondage of the OT Law—they had been set free from the slavery of the Law to become slaves to Jesus Christ—but they were in danger of lapsing back into the bondage of the Law if they embraced the need to be physically circumcised in order to be declared righteous before God and truly in covenant relationship with Him by this work of the flesh. Christians are set free from the Law that was given to the nation of Israel—we don’t have to get circumcised as a covenant sign we are the people of God, we don’t have to follow the dietary laws (pork ribs summer BBQ), we don’t have to follow the laws about ceremonial washing of our clothes, bodies, and dishes, we don’t have to follow the laws about worshipping on the Sabbath or celebrating the feasts. We are called to a life of freedom in Christ!

B) The Proper use of our Freedom (5:13-15)

Secondly, we are confronted with “The Proper use of our Freedom.” Paul’s reminder about their “Call to Freedom” is quickly followed by instructions about “The Proper Use of Our Christian Freedom.” The Christian’s call to freedom rejects legalism as a distortion of the gospel. One might assume that Christian freedom is just that, freedom to do whatever you want to do. Freedom can be scary (parents). Liberty can tempt people to embrace license—"I can do whatever I please because I’m free in Christ.” Freedom can be horribly perverted and misused in the Christian life! Freedom keeps us from drifting into legalism but it also denounces license. Remember, we’ve talked about these two extremes of the Christian life—legalism (obey the OT to be saved or add human rules to be holy) and license (unrestrained, lawlessness, and permission to sin)—and Galatians rejects them both as distortions of the gospel.

The Gentile Christian’s freedom was being threatened by legalism (5:1, 13) but there was the temptation to use their freedom from the law as license to sin. In we discover “The Proper use of Our Christian Freedom.”

1) Don’t use your freedom to indulge your sinful nature (5:13b)

First, “Don’t use your freedom to indulge your sinful nature.” “Don’t use your freedom to indulge your flesh. This powerful exhortation is a rejection of using your Christian freedom as a license to sin. The phrase “sinful nature” is also translated as “flesh” (sarx) in the NT. The sinful nature or “flesh” doesn’t refer to our physical body. “Flesh” here refers to the psychological aspect of our human nature that includes our reasoning, will, and desires, our depraved nature of self-will & sinful desires that reside within us, or our “self-regarding element of human nature which has been corrupted at the source and our appetites and propensities corrupted by sin” (NIGTC).

& 6 highlights the constant battle that rages between our “flesh” (sinful nature) and the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer (). Paul warned the Gentile Christians about using their liberty/freedom as an opportunity to “indulge” their sinful nature. The term “indulge” is a term that refers to a “military base of operations” where soldiers are launched for battle. In this imagery the flesh is depicted as an enemy that is using “freedom” as an advantageous opportunity carry out its activities (sin). Paul warned the Gentile Christians about using their freedom as a “springboard” or “base of operations” to gratify the lusts of the flesh (sin). There is always a temptation to “misuse” our freedom to indulge our flesh.

J. Brown: “The mad man who has mistaken his tattered garments for the flowing robes of majesty, and his manacles for golden bracelets studded with jewels, has not erred so widely as the man who has mistaken carnal license for Christian liberty.”

When this happens our freedom is corrupted and perverted, our precious liberty in Christ is turned into a license to sin. Therefore Paul prohibited using their freedom as an opportunity to fulfill their desires of their sinful nature! License is “every bit as spiritually paralyzing as a lapse into legalism” (NIGTC). Legalism is distortion of the gospel and license is a distortion of the gospel.

2) Use your freedom to serve one another in love instead of promoting strife (5:13b-15)

We move from the negative to the positive (prohibition to exhortation) to highlight the proper use of our Christian freedom Secondly, “Use your freedom to serve one another in love.” “Use your freedom to serve one another in love.”. We have been set from the Law but that doesn’t mean we can use the freedom as a license to sin. Instead of using our freedom as a springboard to indulge our sinful nature we should use our freedom to serve one another in love. sinful desires (sin) they were exhorted to use their freedom to “serve one another in love.” The word “serve” (δουλεύω) denotes the act of becoming a slave—it’s a call to use one’s freedom to serve the demands and needs of others in a humble manner—so we’re exhorted to use our freedom as a springboard (base of operations) for serving one another instead of gratifying our own sinful desires.

The Christian life of freedom is a paradox--we are freed by Jesus from the bondage of the Jewish law—only to be slaves of Jesus Christ and of one another through the bond of Christian love (agape). Paul encouraged the Gentile converts to use their freedom to “serve one another in love”—make yourselves slaves to each other—and a live a life of serving one another through love. Love is the means by which we serve one another.

Wiersbe: “liberty without love equals license to do whatever fulfills your selfish desires. Liberty plus love equals service to others.”

We express our love through acts of service—love is the way to a life of serving one another—for our love (agape) for one another gets our eyes off our selfish desires and on the needs of others. Serving others in love is best exemplified by Jesus Christ who freely humbled Himself to become a man and go to the Cross as an obedient servant ()—Jesus came to earth as the “Suffering Servant”—for He did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many (Mark). If you want a role-model of servanthood—fix your eyes of Jesus. Our call to “serve one another” is a call to be Christ-like.

And while we are freed from the Law, when we serve one another in love we fulfill the law. In we discover that “serving one another in love” fulfills the law. Paul declared that the entire OT law is “summed up” (fulfilled or finds its true expression) in one word (logos)/command—“Love your neighbor as yourself”(). We are not justified by the Law but by God’s grace but when we use our freedom to humbly become servants to each other we are fulfilling the intent of the Law. When we use our freedom to serve one another through love we are fulfilling the moral law. We no longer gain acceptance by keeping the OT Law but our faith in Jesus frees us to fulfill the law when we serve one another.

Finally, in we “A Serious Warning” about strife among the believers in Galatian. Look at the sharp contrast (“But”) between and —we shift from “serve one another” to “biting, devouring, and destroying” each other (one another). Instead of serving one another there was ongoing strife towards one another. The use of vivid language describes their practice of “harming” one another instead of serving one another. The term “bite” is primarily used of snakes and animals. The believers were depicted as “wild animals” biting one another and “gulping down” one another through verbal abuse and criticism. Paul warned the Galatians Christians that if they continue to promote strife they would eventually destroy one another. Such strife would lead to utter annihilation of them as a church. Instead of fulfilling the law of love by serving one another they were promoting strife—if they continued in strife instead of serving one another their vitality and longevity as a church would one day come to an end.

We must use our freedom to serve one another instead of promoting strife. Sadly, in my experience strife is so much easier than serving. Our “me first’ attitude wants to fight for my own way instead of serving someone else. Have you or are you producing strife—biting and devouring others to get your way? Don’t use your freedom to create strife in this family – Lord have mercy on us – when tempted to “bite and devour” one another (produce strife) let’s use our freedom to serve one another by the power of the Holy Spirit.

APPLICATION

In we are confronted with an important truth for us as a church family as we continue our ONE ANOTHER series.

We must use our freedom in Christ to serve one another

The gospel frees us from the cosmic forces of evil, the power of sin, and the bondage of the law and yet we’re called to use our freedom in Christ to become a slave. We have been set free, yet we are called to be a slave to Jesus and a slave to one another, it’s one of the paradoxes of the Christian life. We are free to willingly become a slave – to freely serve one another not because we have to but because of our love for one another. Let’s use our liberty to serve one another.

Now any mention of being a servant compels us to fix our eyes on Jesus – we have no greater model of servanthood that Jesus – if we are going to serve one another we must look to Jesus who lived a life of servanthood taught that one of the distinguishing marks of a disciple is a life of servanthood.

· – “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

· - Now when the other ten heard this, they became angry with James and John. Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Followers of Jesus are servants – it’s not optional! If you want to be like Jesus, you will become a servant. Servanthood is one of the distinguishing marks of the discipleship. The Christian life is a life of servanthood.

· Swindoll: We are never more Christ-like than when we serve one another.

Now I realize serving one another is a tough assignment. Whoever said being a servant was easy? If we’re honest, in the deepest and darkest places of our hearts we would rather be served by others than serving others – we resist lowering ourselves to the place of a servant. And yet we’re most like Christ when we humble ourselves to the lowly place of serving one another.

All too often we doubt our ability to be a servant. Galatians teaches us that we have the freedom to serve one another, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve one another so we’re not doing it in our own strength (), and believe it or not we have the ability to serve one another. Take your Bible and turn to . Peter’s exhortations here are connected to his call for the Christians in Asia to minister to one another in light of the Lord’s return. Since the “end of the age” is near, here’s how you should live (4:7)—live a life of prayer, love, hospitality, and servanthood. Peter’s exhortations serve as a word of encouragement. (Read ) God has given every believer a spiritual gift, and your spiritual gift should be used to “serve others” for His glory.

· John McArthur defines a spiritual gift as “a God‑given capacity through which the Holy Spirit supernaturally uses you to minister to the body.”

· Ryrie

· Grudem

God has set us free – we must use our freedom to serve one another in love. God has also gifted us to serve one another for His glory! He sets us free to serve and then equips us with the gifts we need to fulfill our calling. God has given each of us different gifts to be managed in the way that He desires and has designed as our master (, 27-31, , and ). You don’t get to choose your gift, you get to be grateful for the gift God has given you, and then put it into practice to serve one another. We have been equipped with gifts in order to serve one another—the gifts are designed to be “others” focused instead of “me” focused—they are to be used to serve one another and not ourselves. God has given you a gift to serve one another for God’s glory and not our own. Peter declared that every believer possesses at least one spiritual gift given to them by God.

· List of NT gifts

Many of you have been walking with Jesus for many years and part of your spiritual maturity was the discovery of your spiritual gift(s). If you know your spiritual gifts you possess, please use them to serve someone this week. I know that many of you are, I see your gifts put into practice every week, and we need to continue to be good stewards of the gifts God has given us to serve one another.

· Serve one another through the gift of knowledge – share a truth from God’s word

· Serve one another through the gift of wisdom -

· Serve one another by using the gift of teaching

· Serve one another through the gift of encouragement – card, message, or comment!

· Serve one another through the gift of leadership

· Serve one another be exercising the gift of administration

· Serve one another through the gift of helping - mow a lawn, setting up chairs.

· Serve one another through the gift of mercy - lending a listening ear and a hug

· Serve one another through the gift of giving - giving a financial gift or a taking a meal to someone in need

· Serve one another through the gift of hospitality - the Sunday morning Greeter or welcome others into your home

· Serve one another through the gift of faith – helping others to deepen their trust in God.

I trust some of you have put your faith in Jesus but you haven’t discovered your spiritual gifts. It’s o.k., no one is going to usher you out, and you’re not going to put on some list labeling you as a lower-class Christian. Discovering your spiritual gift is an important step in your maturity. You need to discover your gift in order to be a good steward of what God has entrusted to you to serve others in the family. How do you discover your spiritual gift? Great question. We don’t have a chapter/verse in the Bible that says “Keith” has this gift and “Mary Lou” has that gift. Let me give you four things that will help you in this discover.

· First, in what areas have other believers affirmed your abilities? The affirmation and encouragement of others can help discover your gift. Ask others to speak into your life, invite them to tell you where they see God’s gift at work in your life.

· Secondly, what passion have you’ve sensed well up inside you since you’ve come to faith in Jesus? When you dream about serving the Lord, what do you dream about? Music, writing, teaching, counseling, taking a meal to someone, setting up chairs, loving on babies, encouraging someone, leading a team, praying for others, giving money to support ministry, or administering a program? Over the years I’ve seen that God gifts are often in tune with one’s passion.

· Third, take a spiritual gifts inventory! A spiritual gift inventory is an assessment you can take to help identify key areas of giftedness in your life. Obviously, it’s not inspired by God, but it’s a good guide. You can go to this website to take a spiritual gifts assessment. Write this website down. Get out your phone and type it into your browser. You can take the assessment on your computer when you get home. If you want a written copy we have a similar assessment at the Welcome Center for you to pick up. If you’re interested I left several copies at the Welcome Center for you to take home. I encourage you to take the assessment and then share it with a fellow believer. I know Pastor Jake, myself, the elders, deacons, and team leaders would love to assist in any way in order to help you discover your gift.

· Finally, get plugged into an area of ministry! Try out different ministry areas to discover and affirm your passion and giftedness. Be a greeter! Volunteer to set up chairs. Sign up for nursery. Talk to a team leader about how to get involved in a specific area of ministry. We have various ways that you can discover and practice your gift to serve one another in the family.

Let’s exercise our freedom by using our gifts to serve one another in love.

CONCLUSION

Refresh

Churches have biblically informed bylaws and guidelines to govern the organization and function of the church. Some churches have really weird bylaws (Share bylaw)

You know what’s not “weird” or “whacky” but rather wonderful—God’s design for how we are supposed to treat one another in this family—the call to love one another, the call to forgive one another, and the call to serve one another. Let me leave you with three clsoing “diagnostic questions.”

How will you use your freedom in this family?

Feel free to write that in your Bible next to this passage as a reminder—“How will I use my freedom in God’s family?” Every day you will be tempted to use your freedom to indulge your sinful nature. Don’t use your freedom as a springboard to promote strife in this body. Will you use your freedom to satisfy the selfish desires of your flesh/sinful nature– biting and devouring one of your fellow brothers and sisters—being overly critical and judgmental that will lead to our destruction?

God’s calling us to use our freedom to serve one another in this family. You have been set free to serve one another—use your freedom to be a servant in this family. We must be willing to use our freedom to become a slave – seeing our freedom as an opportunity to attend the one another’s needs ahead of our own – humbly considering the simple ways we can serve one another in love.

Who will you serve this week?

We can talk about this call to serve one another but it can remain just talk. Put this into action by asking the Holy Spirit to put a name on your heart of someone you can serve this week. Write it down. Use your gift to serve them well!

Will you allow yourself to be served by others?

Finally, will you allow yourself to be serve by another? For some of you, this is might be the hardest question of all. Some of you are stellar servants—you’re pouring your life out to serve others in the family—and yet you’re hesitant if not down-right resistant to let others serve you. Keep using your freedom to serve others – while being humble and vulnerable enough to let someone in this room serve you – it’s a reciprocal relationship!

If we’re serious about being like Jesus—we’ll humble ourselves—and live a life of serving one another by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pray